The old man let out a cold chuckle and sneered,
"Didn't expect soone in this tiny country to recognize ."
"That's right. I'm here on behalf of the royal court of the NK Kingdom, to exact revenge on Sirius Academy!"
As he spoke, his sharp gaze landed directly on Alan, standing behind Old Gayle.
"During the Jacob Ruins incident in Kent Kingdom, the one who personally killed our sixth prince of Great Britannia—was that you?"
Alan's expression remained calm. Not a hint of fear could be seen on his face.
"I did it," he replied plainly. "So what?"
The old man stared at Alan for a mont, then slowly nodded.
"Impressive… quite impressive indeed. So young, yet already proficient in controlling both internal and external mana. And on top of that, a magus who's mastered all six basic elental forces."
"Forget Charlie. Even in the long history of our NK Kingdom, few have developed such a well-rounded foundation at your age."
After finishing, he stroked his beard thoughtfully and asked again,
"I heard that before you joined Sirius, you once tried to enter Lioncrest Academy, but were rejected outright by their vice headmaster. Is that true?"
"It is," Alan admitted without hesitation. It wasn't exactly a secret.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing the confirmation, the old man's face showed a trace of regret.
"A talent like you… and Lioncrest didn't want you? How utterly foolish."
Both Alan and Old Gayle were caught off guard by this.
What a bizarre old man—he had co with such hostility, and now he was regretting that Alan never joined Lioncrest? What was he even thinking?
"Forget it," the old man said suddenly, waving his hand dismissively.
"Even though Lioncrest and NK Kingdom are partners now, we're under no obligation to clean up their past mistakes. You killed our sixth prince—then it's only natural that you must pay with your life."
No sooner had he spoken than the silver-haired youth behind him stepped forward and said coldly,
"ntor, I'm enough to deal with them alone."
The old man yawned lazily, clearly not taking Old Gayle seriously at all. As the youth prepared to move out, he rely gave one final instruction:
"Make it quick. Leave no witnesses—things could get complicated later."
"Yes, sir!"
With that, the silver-haired youth took a light step forward—and in the blink of an eye, appeared in front of Alan and his companions.
Old Gayle's eyes narrowed as he looked at the youth, then glanced at the elder hovering above. A mont later, realization dawned.
The NK Kingdom, though influential on the world stage, cared deeply about its image. In other words, the royal court valued face.
They wouldn't publicly dispatch a battalion of elites just to crush a lone tier-silver magus with no backing. That would be disgraceful.
So instead, they sent only this elder and the silver-haired youth.
If the youth won, then the NK Kingdom could proudly declare that their formally trained magi were vastly superior to rogue talents like Alan. It would validate their magical supremacy.
And if the youth lost, the elder could simply eliminate everyone at the scene—erasing all evidence and witnesses. That way, the sixth prince would still be avenged, and the NK Kingdom's reputation would remain untarnished.
At worst, they could claim the elder acted on his own, and publicly distance the royal family from his actions.
An elegant, ruthless plan.
Now fully aware of their opponent's intentions, Old Gayle quickly relayed his analysis to Alan.
Alan clenched his jaw, eyes locked onto the silver-haired youth before him.
"In that case, there's nothing left to say… we fight!"
That single growled word detonated the tense atmosphere like a spark to gunpowder.
Alan shot forward like a bolt of lightning, charging directly at his opponent.
The silver-haired youth mirrored his speed, vanishing from sight the very next mont.
"Trying to escape?!"
Even while moving at extre speeds, Alan maintained crystal-clear combat awareness.
He stilled his breathing, sharpened his focus, and quickly locked onto the youth's location. In response, he activated Mana Compression, flooding his body with dense mana to boost his speed even further.
The youth, now slightly outpaced, clicked his tongue in frustration. A second later, he ca to a sudden halt—and just as Alan approached, he pivoted sharply and launched a powerful whip kick.
But Alan's reaction was lightning fast.
In the exact mont the youth twisted his body, Alan leaned back at an almost impossible angle, narrowly avoiding the sweeping kick. The strike passed so close that it grazed the tip of his nose.
Just then, the silver-haired youth sneered,
"Did you think it was over just like that?"
Incredibly, his whip kick halted mid-air—as though frozen by an unseen force. Then he raised his leg even higher and brought it down in a crushing arc, aiming directly for Alan's undefended abdon.
"Damn it… playing dirty, huh?"
Realizing he had no ti to dodge, Alan made a split-second decision to go head-to-head.
He redirected his Mana Overpressure into his fist, shaping it into a Mana Rupture field, and added a sharp, knuckle-duster-like mana blade to the forefront of his knuckles.
Then, with a furious shout, he launched a counterstrike against the falling kick.
BOOM!
A thunderous shockwave erupted at the point of impact, releasing an overwhelming surge of mana.
The silver-haired youth lost his balance and was flung backward, caught in the blast and hurled across the battlefield.
In midair, the elder's eyes twitched. He imdiately descended to check on his disciple.
But the youth swatted his ntor's hand away, never taking his eyes off Alan.
"Tier-gold… this kid is tier-gold!"
Gasps filled the air.
Francis and the others were particularly stunned. Just days ago, they had watched Alan ascend from tier-bronze to tier-silver. And now—tier-gold already?!
Not even a rocket could climb ranks that fast!
But no one could deny it. That single punch—fusing Mana Compression, Mana Rupture, and the mana blade—was unmistakably tier-gold in power.
What was going on?
In the center of attention, Alan offered no explanation.
He wasn't one to waste words in battle. Whatever needed to be said could wait until after the fight.
"ntor," the silver-haired youth said, eyes burning with newfound resolve.
"I take back what I said earlier. I can't beat him with that carefree attitude. I'm going all out now."
The elder hesitated briefly, then nodded.
"Just be careful."
With his ntor's permission, the youth stood once more. But this ti, his aura had completely transford.
Flickers of fla ignited at the tips of his silver hair—but they weren't the usual red or orange. No, these flas were an eerie pale white, exuding a chilling, unnatural cold.
He exhaled a thick plu of white mist, and with a flash, vanished again.
Old Gayle's expression grew grave.
This ti, the youth's speed had increased severalfold. Even he—an experienced Legendary Mage—was beginning to struggle to track the youth with his eyes alone.
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