For upperclassn, there were several things to do in the duel period of freshn. They could return to their hos or choose to stay in the academy.
They were free to choose either of them. However, many of the students chose to stay in the academy since this period was also a way for them to contact the scouts and their possible future partners.
Especially since they needed to consider their sumr internship, which would start in their sophomore year, many of the guilds would be willing to take the students of the Arcadia Hunter Academy, but the competition was still fierce.
Thus, Sophomore year students would use their tents for this purpose.
Yet, not everyone was like this. Especially people who had already secured these types of things from the start of the academy.
Maya belonged to those.
Since she was the top student in her whole year and had a talent that one would very hardly co across.
From the mont her grades were announced, almost all of the guilds had sent an offer to her for an internship. The progress would normally be reversed, but for Maya, things had been slightly altered.
In any case, for these reasons, she had a lot of free ti under her disposal, and she wanted to use the things she wanted, and she was doing just that exactly.
Since there was no way that she would miss her Junior's duel, she was both curious and expectant for this duel.
She wanted to see how much power her Junior would display or what kind of attitude he would take. Would he be different from how he is compared to other things?
'To be frank, I kind of like it when he is focused.'
She thought, reminiscing.
She wanted to see this part of him, and she got what she wanted. A serious, focused, and unbothered.
The duel may have looked like a fair fight with both contestants being on the sa level, but for Maya, who had a special vision and who had seen Astron's progress firsthand, the fight wasn't even close.
There was no way soone who could defeat such a strong vampire was not holding back. Astron hadn't used any special technique either, especially the move that she had witnessed.
Since he hadn't even revealed any of his cards, Maya naturally thought like that. But in essence, the duel was fun, and that was all she needed.
Since she had disguised herself perfectly, she had no doubt that no one would be able to see her. This was her pride as the strongest mage of her year and an Evergreen. She ca from no simple background, after all.
Yet, as she was watching the fight, she noticed sothing.
Precisely so people.
So people were watching the fight. Normally, this would be no issue. Yet, different from normal, one of these people was under a disguise, albeit a bit sloppier than hers.
And the other two…..
They were abnormal.
A presence she had seen fairly frequently.
'Professional Hunters….And higher rank on top of that.'
One bulky man who gave her the sense of not being able to be beaten….
And a woman with a mature figure who felt like a….Serpent….. A venomous serpent that would entangle one.
Maya's instincts, which she had developed over the countless different interactions in the Hunter field, were warning her. Though she had doubted her instincts at the ti when she was attacked by the vampire, after that, they had never failed her.
And those sa instincts showed her that her Junior was being watched.
'It should feel nice to see him getting the recognition…But I wonder why? What is the reason for this uncomfortable feeling?'
Yet sothing inside her felt different.
'Why?'
As if she didn't want others to take notice of him.
'A superb feeling indeed.'
Was all she could say as she followed him through the backstage, and there she had witnessed a scene out of a play.
******
"Do I know you?"
The mont those words left Astron's mouth, Irina almost spurted the contents in her mouth loudly.
The way he gave the response wasn't any different, yet the response itself was so humiliating that Irina couldn't help but cringe.
'This is not how one must answer, yet this is so like him.'
Hearing Astron's question, Reina shook her head with a smile. "No, you probably don't know directly, as this is the first ti we've t face-to-face. But that doesn't an I haven't been keeping an eye on you."
Astron raised his eyebrows at her response, processing her words. He blinked his eyes, a gesture that Irina had co to recognize. It was sothing he did when he realized sothing significant.
'Did he really not know her? No, he wouldn't talk this way if he did. Then, does he recognize her from sothing else?'
After a brief mont of contemplation, Astron turned to Garrett. "Nothing cos without a price, right?" he asked, his tone wary.
Garrett nodded, his expression serious. "That's right. Everything has a cost, and nothing is truly free."
Irina watched the exchange with growing curiosity. The dynamics between these three were intriguing, and she felt like an outsider witnessing an important mont. Her gaze flicked over to Astron, who seed to be piecing things together.
"Right," Astron said, turning to face Reina once again.
Reina's smile widened, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "You are pretty sharp. Not bad," she remarked. "I would have loved to talk more, but first, we need to deal with so people who lack manners. After all, it is bad to eavesdrop when soone else is talking, right?"
Reina's gaze shifted to the right, piercing directly through Irina's eyes. Following her lead, Astron and Garrett also turned their attention toward Irina. Irina felt her heart race, imagining the possible humiliation that might co next. The intensity of their stares made her feel exposed and vulnerable.
Before Reina could say anything, Astron raised his hand, stopping her. "I'll deal with this later," he said firmly. "There's no need for you to be involved."
His words were a clear way of setting boundaries and limiting Reina's intervention in his personal life. Reina's eyes narrowed for a second, but before she could respond, Garrett stepped in.
"Leave the kid be," Garrett said, his tone authoritative.
Reina scoffed, clearly displeased but willing to comply. "Fine. But you better compensate for this," she said, turning to Astron and Garrett. "Let's go."
With that, she turned and walked away, her deanor still composed and confident. Garrett nodded to Astron, then followed after her, leaving Irina and Astron alone.
Irina took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. She was grateful for Astron's intervention, but at the sa ti, she felt like her disguise had been seen through.
Yet, right now, she knew she needed to address the issue.
"I-I…." She stuttered, uncharacteristically of herself. "I-I didn't an to eavesdrop." For so reason, she felt like a snake had squird through her neck, wrapping her and choking her.
'That woman!'
It was evident that the reactions she was showing weren't normal and were artificially affected by soone.
"It is fine." Yet, his voice was calm. There were no hinges of anger or any other emotions. Sa dull and composed voice.
Yet, that sa voice cald her down. Using her mana, she scanned her body in a millisecond and identified the external mana trace on one of her mana pressure points.
'…..'
After burning the foreign mana to its psions, she locked her eyes with him.
"You already knew, didn't you?"
"Guess?"
"….."
"Next ti, if you are going to do sothing like this, make sure to pay attention more." Saying that he seized her from top to bottom. His eyes….
They sohow felt mocked.
"What does that an?" Irina mumbled, looking over her clothes.
"…."
Yet, as she turned to look at him, he was no longer there. Instead, he was just leaving the backstage.
"Hey! I asked sothing!"
"…."
She raised her voice, yet no answer ca. Instead, only gazes ca across all sides.
"Co on…..What did he an? Is it really that bad?"
Irina whispered to herself, looking at her attire. For the first ti in a while, she doubted her skills in sothing.
******
Astron made his way through the bustling corridors of the academy, weaving through groups of students and spectators who were still abuzz with excitent from the duels.
His mind, however, was focused on the eting ahead. He needed answers, and he knew exactly where to get them.
He soon reached a secluded area behind one of the academy's grand buildings, a place shielded from prying eyes and ears.
Garrett and Reina were already there, having set up a barrier to ensure their conversation remained private. The shimring energy of the barrier humd softly, a testant to its effectiveness.
As Astron approached, Garrett gave him a nod, a silent acknowledgnt of his arrival. Reina, standing with her arms crossed, watched him with a calculating gaze.
"Good, you're here," Reina said, her tone brisk. "Let's get into it."
Astron remained silent, his eyes flicking between the two of them.
"You did well in your duel," Garrett began, breaking the silence. "Your prowess was certainly beyond my expectations. Amongst monsters like these, you certainly paved your way out."
It was an honest statent.
"….."
Astron continued to stay silent.
"Now, coming to the questions you want to ask. Who am I, and why am I here?" Reina raised her index finger, pointing to the sky.
"These are the questions that you wanted to ask, aren't they?"
"Correct."
Even though Astron had already ford so theories in his head and had so guesses about the identity of the person before himself, he didn't show any of those outside. The reason for that was clear.
He had already shown enough. By already confirming that he could sense Irina's eavesdropping, he had shown his capabilities. Adding the duel on top of that, what he had shown was enough.
Reina smiled, hearing his response. "Good."
With a flick of her hand, sothing in her eyes changed. They shimred, and an intricate logo appeared, glowing faintly with a mystical light.
It was a circular emblem with a central symbol resembling an eye, representing hidden knowledge and vigilance. Surrounding the eye was an ornate pattern of intertwining lines and runes, symbolizing the interconnectedness and secrecy of the organization.
The outer edge of the circle was adorned with ancient script, glowing faintly, hinting at the magical nature of the emblem. In the center of the eye, a small, glowing gemstone shimred with changing colors, adding an elent of enchantnt.
Astron observed the emblem intently, recognizing it instantly.
'This is….Watchers of the Arcane….' A na instantly ca into his mind. A na from the ga.
'After all, there was no way Astron's past would be simple.'
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