It was already too late when he realized his mistake. Although losing the mask would make Magnus a bit more vulnerable, it doesn't mean that he would get weaker at all. He would still have the same strength and abilities.
Furthermore, Mursel didn't know that the mask is bound to Magnus! It means that the blind man could feel the presence of the mask!
Soul Bind is not something common even among the higher-ups of the Black Tower after all. As a matter of fact, reaching the status of a Grand Magus doesn't mean you can get access to items that can be bound to yourself.
Items like these weren't just extremely expensive but also difficult to find.
This is why Mursel hadn't even considered that Magnus would have this kind of item on him!
'I lost…'
This is his last thought as he accepted his defeat.
The audience sighed in amazement as another interesting battle ended.
The competition continued.
During this time, many students started showing off as they did their best to get attention from the Archons or factions within the Black Tower.
Some students who had gifts related to the fire were also the center of attention as many top-tier Alchemists are looking for disciples in the crowd.
These Alchemists would normally select their disciples who possess high-grade talent related to the element for obvious reasons.
Unfortunately, the best one who has talent with alchemy would most likely be taken by Faviona who is a Tier 5 Alchemist of the Union so the others could only try to recruit the others.
'I wonder why my last challenge wasn't being called yet…' Vincent mused. He was curious why no one was issuing a challenge to him and his challenge to Magnus seem to have been ignored.
Alexander and Elena have been challenged a few more times but they were no longer defeated. They continued their winning streak as everyone started to forget the loss they had against Vincent.
Vincent never appeared again on the stage until the last duel of the competition!
Over two hours had passed when everyone finally recalled his presence!
"On the second stage, Vincent versus Magnus…"
As soon as the announcement came, a few from the crowd started cheering. They were those who were defeated previously by Magnus and others who wanted to see Magnus fail even once.
"It's finally here! Two blind guys will fight."
"They were both disciples by the Tower Lord, right? I wonder if this is a battle of seniority… The one who loses will be the junior disciple?"
"Dream on. The Tower Lord did not say that Vincent is also his student. That guy is probably related to Professor Levent."
"Hmm? Really?"
"Ahhh… That's right, some students saw the two of them going out… They're probably related to each other."
Rumors started spreading as everyone wanted to know Vincent's real identity. After all, it was too coincidental that there was a couple of absurdly strong blind student in this competition.
Furthermore, the organizers even made this bout the final match!
At this time, Vincent and Magnus had plenty of rest so it can be said that they should be in their peak condition right now. None of them had really sustained significant injury in their previous battles after all.
"I will be the arbiter of this match… You both know the rules. Do your best in this match. If I think you're about to die, I will save you. Even if I can't, we have the best Alchemists and even the Tower Lord is here… You will survive as long as you're breathing. Go all out! Fight!"
The female referee said as she immediately announced the start of the match. From the fluctuations of her mana, Magnus and Vincent could tell that she's most likely a Grand Magus.
Vincent couldn't help but sigh after getting this kind of treatment. Anyway, he needed to perform really well to get the emblem he was aiming for. After all, those ancient dungeons were only accessible to certain members of the Black Tower.
The higher the emblem you have, the better dungeon and benefits you could get from it.
"Vincent, I heard from the others that you're blind. Is that really true?" Magnus suddenly asked.
They didn't immediately start fighting but the crowd didn't mind it at all. Having small conversations like this would allow them to enjoy this battle even more.
"That's correct. I also have a question, why did you send people to stop me from participating in this month's competition?" With Vincent's question, Magnus was stunned as he was unable to react.
"I don't know about that."
Vincent shook his head as he knows that Magnus is lying.
'He clearly knows it…'
Furthermore, Vincent already asked Guven to use his mysterious ability to detect lies and target Magnus.
Right now, Guven should be able to tell whether he's telling the truth or not. Vincent can just ask Guven after the match is over.
"Is that so? You didn't send people to my residence to stop me?" Vincent continued asking.
"That's right… I can't be bothered to do that. Anyway, since you've attended today's match, it doesn't seem like someone stopped you at all."
Magnus replied.
Vincent couldn't help but smile as he could see through Magnus' technique.
'He's buying time, huh… Since he doesn't know about my Item Sense ability, he's probably thinking that he's outsmarting me right now.' Vincent thought as he could actually feel Magnus' activation of his magic tools from the start.
Magnus probably thought that he was doing this stealthily. It appears on the outside that he's only setting up his Mana Shield and other defensive Mana Arts.
However, the truth is that he's actually controlling his Magic Tools!
"Ho~ So you've found out my technique, huh…" Vincent said after realizing that Magnus had completed his preparation.
"What?" Magnus asked.
"I know that you've found out how I defeated Alexander and Elena… So you're setting up a Formation Art with that core…" Vincent softly said as he held his Soul-Forged Ironbark Cane that has recovered an additional 25 points of durability.
He no longer waited for Magnus to reply as he also finished his preparations…
"Soul Manifestation…"