The Official Start of the Preliminary Round

Even after finding a better mech than the Phoenix, Phoebe did not stop testing other mechs.

In the following days.

Phoebe showcased a variety of light armors to the audience—from videos she purchased.

The activator is implanted directly into the human body. When activated, the nerve-like substance fuses with the body's tissues. After receiving instructions from the nerve-like substance, the body undergoes drastic changes at the molecular and atomic levels, thus strengthening into a Superman muscle armor called Kuuga.

It can manipulate the elements of earth, wind, water, and fire, and switch between different forms as needed in battle: the all-around form with balanced abilities, the agile Azure Dragon form, the Pegasus form which excels in aerial combat, and the Titan form which enhances muscle strength and provides astonishing defense.

It adopts some design elements from "Paradise Lost", and the Phantom Beast beasts within the Mirror Dimension are transformed into armored vehicles that can enter and traverse the mirror plane - Mirror Knight.

The Kabuto is a light armor that uses [tachyons] created by wizards to warp reality (which, when used, can greatly accelerate the particles flowing around the rider, allowing the rider to move freely within the flow of time and achieve a [Time-Accelerated State] state—in which everything in the rider's eyes slows down, others move at a snail's pace, while in the real world, the rider's speed appears extremely fast from the perspective of others) as an acceleration device.

A light armor capable of arbitrarily creating phase shifts and theoretically distorting everything—the [Spatial Vortex].

Extracting Earth's [memory] and recreating it using a special device creates a strange light armor—the [Earth Library].

Transform desires into coins, insert a coin to activate the mech—OOO.

The Fourze is a light armor made using the "Cosmic Switch," which is said to be created from the purest Cosmic Energy, as its second energy source.

Also built using elements of wizards distorting reality, Drive is a mecha with the [Heavy Acceleration Phenomenon] (a phenomenon that slows down the movement of all surrounding objects, causing humans to only move their bodies slowly while maintaining consciousness) as its trump card.

Anchored by its own history, inscribed with the time of its birth, and condensed into a luminous armor of its life— the Beyonder.

But in the end, Phoebe still chose Build.

After all, Phoenix Upgrade Full Bottle transformation form comes with its own puppet, and in the combined state, her power overlaps with Ariana's to the greatest extent.

This overflowing power is excessive and difficult to control for other knights or even Champion.

But her "path" is best suited for high-precision manipulation.

Moreover, while the light armor tested was excellent, it was far too unsuitable for her.

The Mirror Knight is hampered in his battles against the Phantom Beast.

[Spatial Vortex] The clothing almost distorts the user, and even a light step can cause the user to Splinching. It is hard to imagine how the user can determine their coordinates in the superimposed space without backfiring.

The [memories] of the [Earth Library] are poisonous. If it weren't in the Virtual Universe but in real life, she could only get rid of them through rebirth.

Kabuto's "tachyons" are very unstable. These creations, made by wizards who distort the rules of reality, can only be stable in the hands of wizards with similar personalities.

Drive was abandoned for the same reason.

Kuuga goes without saying; a pretty girl wouldn't want to be all muscle, and its performance isn't superior to Build.

The oddly named OOO has strange requirements for its users: either the user is without desires or has desires so deep as to be perverse. Phoebe simply does not meet the user's standards.

Fourze, on the other hand, was completely out of sync. Although her light armor was powerful, the effect of her outfit was not as good as when she used the Phoenix.

The most interesting Beyonder, who uses his own life to fight, is too idealistic and, like OOO, can't even start.

So in the end, Phoebe chose Build.

For this reason, she even tried the Genius Full Bottle, which actually costs over a million dollars.

But it's just as bizarre and outlandish as the sound effects that trigger its transformation.

She had just inserted the Full Bottle when it exploded instantly.

Clearly, just like those advanced light armors, compatibility is also crucial.

Only Kiryu Sento, who calls himself Genius DJ, can use it.

As for the other Champion, Harry is still training, constantly using the light armor to refine the power unleashed by the Magic Immortal Artifact.

Krum has been using his ultra-high-speed configuration of his mech to fly at supersonic speeds over various obstacles and in various environments.

(However, some viewers were not very satisfied.)

(Especially Ron, whose appetite had been spoiled by the costume shows on Phoebe's side, said, "If it weren't for Krum piloting it, this mech would only be at normal speed. It can't compare to the speed of Kabuto [Time-Accelerated State] in the video at all. I wonder if they could equip it with such an instant acceleration device?")

("We gave you so many Credit Points, what are you going to do with them? Don't you know how to find inspiration on the forums?" a Durmstrang student complained.)

("Yeah, why didn't they contact their relatives to ask? That Krum is supposed to be Cosmic Knight! All he knows is how to use his strength." someone nearby chimed in.)

Cedric's training could hardly be called training.

His training, compared to that of other Champion, is like the difference between an elderly person taking a walk and an athlete working out.

This was all at Riddle's urging.

Meanwhile, the external armor on Riddle's side has also been completed.

In his armored state, Cedric's light armor, which was originally only 3 meters tall, suddenly expanded to 5 meters.

Furthermore, defense, speed, strength, and the amplification of the Force all increased dramatically with the expansion of his body size.

Furthermore, this external armor can also Transfiguration and split.

To launch a surprise attack on the opponent.

And just like that, a month passed.

The competition began at 9:00 AM on December 12th.

Harry, Phoebe, Krum, and even Cedric were all waiting in their individual spaces at the selection tournament early on.

As the countdown in the sky reached zero.

A series of portals of light appeared before the eyes of all the registered university students.

"I can enter within 3 hours? The rules haven't changed. I'll go to the bathroom first." A contestant glanced at the countdown on the portal, breathed a sigh of relief, and chose to temporarily log off.

Harry and his three companions walked straight in.

"Four scenes." Phoebe, who had already donned her light armor and was expecting a battle upon entering, stared speechlessly at the four screens.

("The rules have changed?" Ron frowned. All four Champion had searched the rules from previous years, so he naturally knew them too. "I remember that after entering, you would immediately start fighting, and the scene would be randomized. Now they've even let us choose the scene ourselves?")

"The Deep, outer space, magma, ice and snow," Phoebe didn't hesitate for long. "I'm definitely magma."

Lava was everywhere, and on the shattered Dadi, a crimson light armor appeared, and countless 0s and 1s formed a dark light armor on the opposite side.

It was incredibly tall. As red lines faintly emerged beneath its black armor, the orange-red and yellowish magma gradually turned black. The distorted air in the field of vision under the high temperature was smoothed out, and frost condensed on the broken land.

Strands of ice and snow began to appear.

In an instant, the world seemed to be split in two, one side a frozen wasteland, the other Molten Hell.

The black, cold armor gleamed with a crimson hue.

The crimson, fiery armor continuously emitted light and heat to maintain the environment here.

("Oh no," Dumbledore frowned, "Phoebe has made a mistake.")

("The mecha on the other side is clearly absorbing heat and growing stronger; you can tell from the changes in the environment.")

("Phoebe is actually giving the other side strength by doing this.")

However, Phoebe knew that she had not done anything wrong.

Having browsed countless forums and purchased numerous reference materials, she recognized the mech in front of her— Frost Chill.

A rare, large-scale light armor that can absorb heat and continuously increase its size, with low energy consumption.

Its weakness is also its thermal energy.

If too much heat is absorbed and the energy cannot be released in time, it will cause the armor to disintegrate.

If its controller is a Cosmic Knight skilled in Life Force and Fire Force, capable of converting excess heat into life force to repair the light armor, or even using it directly as a source of energy for spellcasting, then Phoebe's actions might be aiding the enemy.

However, her opponent was a human-machine combination.

The heat she generated while wearing this suit of light armor was almost inexhaustible.

She wasn't fighting alone; she had the support of Ariana, the Magic Immortal Artifact, the light armor, and the companion Phoenix Fawkes from the Summoning Card in the [Nuclear Reactor].

The crimson Giant grew even larger.

Its speed did not decrease, and it pounced on the crimson light and shadow in front of it, which resembled a firefly, at an astonishing speed.

The rumbling sound resounded throughout the heavens and the earth.

The splashing black frozen soil and white snow created a magnificent scene.

(Due to Dumbledore's words, most people in the Great Hall believed that if Phoebe didn't use the power unleashed by the Magic Immortal Artifact, or her Force manipulation techniques, i. e., magic, or activate the [Raising Heart], she might only fail in battle relying on the performance of this light armor.)

(After all, the opposing mechs were getting better and better, and their speed, size, and the commotion they were creating were getting bigger and bigger, while Phoebe couldn't even maintain the scorching environment anymore. The crimson land and orange-red lava had all disappeared, leaving only a plain white expanse.)

Phoebe still showed no intention of using any other methods.

She simply shrank suddenly, transforming into Fairy Mode the size of a palm.

The crimson armor on his body also shrank.

"The time has come," Phoebe chuckled.

("When?" Dumbledore asked in surprise, then he saw Phoebe crash into the magma patterns on the Red Hulk's body.)

(Ron didn't understand at all. In his opinion, since Phoebe had shrunk, it would be harder for the Giant's mechs to catch her. Why would she want to run into them?)

(However, the next second, everything was resolved.)

Compared to the light armor opposite her, Phoebe now seemed like a luminous speck of dust and a towering Giant.

The gap that the audience didn't even notice was, to her, a wide road.

The heat that drew energy from the entire site and the energy she provided accumulated on the magma-like patterns on her body.

For her, who had used the Phoenix Enhanced Full Bottle, had a real Phoenix as a partner, and whose own form and the combined form of Ariana were both enhanced versions of the Phoenix, this was nothing more than a warm cup of tea.

[Confringo]

It wasn't some ancient, large-scale war magic.

The [Magic Immortal Artifact] has not been released either.

The newly acquired [Raising Heart] has not been activated.

It is merely a spell that, in the modern magic system, is known for its destructive power and could be considered Dark Magic.

The crimson Giant transformed into a giant firework.

A massive firework display, larger than Japan's atomic bomb.

The Dadi was reduced to dust, and everything in sight was destroyed.

The Phoebe that triggered all of this was transported thousands of miles away in a fraction of a second before the explosion, as Apparition at great distances with firelight.

Then he was ejected from the field.

I heard the voice message that I had passed the preliminary round.

("I understand," Dumbledore said. "She deliberately gave the enemy mech heat, causing it to grow larger, then shrank herself, and then detonated the excess heat inside the enemy mech.")

("Oh, I see." Ron said with a look of disgust. "But that's too much trouble. Cedric was already finished in the same arena with the light armor.")

Cedric had indeed already passed the preliminary rounds.

The entire match was dominated by Riddle.

This includes selecting a venue.

Riddle also chose a lava field.

The opponent was also a mech— Frost Chill.

But they didn't recognize her like Phoebe did.

Instead, upon discovering that the other party had become stronger by absorbing heat, he decisively unleashed the [Magic Immortal Artifact].

The armor turned black, and the golden patterns representing various Fantastic Beasts glowed, moved, and connected to form a large winged serpent. Riddle raised his right hand, "Avada Kedavra!"

Then the game was completed instantly.

However, Cedric was not the fastest to pass through.

It was Harry.

He chose the Deep as the venue for the competition.

He also didn't know what model the azure blue mech opposite him was.

But he directly unleashed the [Magic Immortal Artifact] and then descended rapidly.

Then I was ejected from the venue and received a voice message saying I had passed the preliminary round.

The light armor that followed it down was directly compressed by the increasingly strong pressure from the seabed and turned into a large blue iron ball.

In other words, of the four Champion, only Krum remains.

But it's not that Krum is bad.

Because

In the boundless, pitch-black space, within Winky Ring Belt, a purple and green light are constantly intersecting and colliding.

Not far away, another set of green light armor floated quietly to the side, OMO.

("Uncle, why are you just watching?" Ron couldn't help but ask.)

(Slap! Ginny slapped her forehead. "Isn't this obvious enough?")

("Krum is conducting live-fire training.")

("The preliminary round only requires passing; the time taken to pass is not counted in the next round of the points competition.")

("The points-based system also only uses random matching.")

("After all, according to the information from Phoebe Rongcha, there have been instances of deliberately prolonging the first match and then botching the second match.")

Krum is indeed conducting combat training.

He never imagined he would encounter a competitor whose speed was on par with his own.

It's still a human-machine interaction.

Yes, he can Ghosting, accompanied by a light armor, and possess speeds that transcend the laws of physics, that is, speeds exceeding the speed of light.

But this speed is excessive.

He also couldn't use this speed as a weapon; at this speed, aiming magic at an opponent was just a pipe dream.

As long as he doesn't get lost, the universe is, after all, infinitely vast.

Even without Ghosting, his speed remains incredibly fast, measured in Mach.

The difficulty of going supersonic is less than that of taking a walk.

Not to mention the added benefit of the light armor.

However, he still encountered opponents whose speed was comparable to his in this state.

"Come on, the final blow!" Krum reached behind him and plucked a wing that was openly a feather but secretly a lightsaber.

Then

The purple mechs opposite, which had suddenly stopped, began to explode.

Inside their private space, Krum and the Prewett Brothers looked at each other in bewilderment. "How did we win?"