I really like Denken, the imperial court wizard. He has none of the hubris that weak mages have, and views magic as a means to an end rather than the end itself. He feels like he's the strongest mage in this tournament, with the exception of Frieren. He might even be someone capable of defeating...
I think Kassis has good odds of escaping in this round. He's got a couple of secrets that Roxanne doesn't know about that will improve his escape odds:
1) Ability to control venom butterflies - they came out without Roxanne calling them after he kissed her. I believe that Kassis was calling...
"Now that I've sucked the poison out of her bloodstream, the butterflies figured out that they want to succ on me instead. How annoying smart of them." Kassis be stealing Roxanna's juices and taking over her power. Kassis is going to transition from damsel in distress to being the man on the inside.
What a disaster.
If the experienced mages are being sent to the back to train the newbies, then the next gen of mages will be kicking ass. Because the 203rd is being kept at the front, the next gen of imperial mages will suck.
I'm wondering if Aqua is plotting a move to make his father nervous. If he has her act as Ai and he acts like his father, he could force his father to get closer.
Based on how traumatized the telepath kid looked at the start, I imagine that they kidnapped him. Poor kid's lucky that Unabara's booby trap didn't kill him.
Looks like Yuri's got some conspiracy brewing. Her flaunting of informal influence is very remniscent of the imperial consorts who brought their countries to ruin. Now that she's been seen entering the dens of crime and poverty for a purpose, I'd suspect she's up to something nasty. Those places...