"That’s good to know," Sebastian said with a cheerful smile. Normally, he and Alfred wouldn’t be this friendly with any cultivator — at least not before the Arcadia hunter academy test. But after witnessing what had happened that day, their perspective had changed significantly.
"By the way," Sebastian continued, "do you happen to know who cleared three floors consecutively in the tower? He’s from the sa house as you and is also a first-year. You two must know each other."
Both instructors thought highly of Derek, but it never occurred to them that he could be the masked student. The idea just seed too unlikely.
Derek’s expression shifted slightly, his eyes narrowing. "Why? Did sothing happen?"
"No, nothing like that," Sebastian replied quickly. "We were just curious to know who that remarkable student is, that’s all." Of course, he didn’t ntion that he had been ordered to find out.
"I see," Derek said calmly. "But I’m afraid I don’t know, sir." He had no intention of revealing the truth.
"Alright then," Sebastian nodded. "Take care, Derek. We’ll have plenty of chances to interact once your regular classes begin after the orientation period. For now, we have so other matters to attend to."
With that, Sebastian and Alfred left. Derek waited for a few monts before walking away himself.
Later, when Sebastian and Alfred t ridith, they imdiately asked her about the masked boy’s identity. ridith, however, claid she didn’t know. Still, she did confirm that the masked boy who was actually Derek really did clear three floors consecutively.
Both instructors fell silent, stunned by the revelation. They wanted to press further, but when ridith refused to say anything more, they had no choice but to return.
Days passed quietly after that. Derek made sure not to do anything that would draw unnecessary attention.
His daily routine soon fell into a steady rhythm. Every morning, he woke up early and went straight to the training chamber. After completing his practice and freshening up, he would head to the dining hall for breakfast with Art and Henry. Their bond continued to grow stronger with each passing day — the more ti they spent together, the deeper their trust and friendship beca.
After breakfast, Eva would often guide Derek around the academy, showing him various important places. On the days she didn’t, Derek would simply return to the training chamber and continue his practice until lunchti.
There weren’t any particularly exciting places left for Eva to show him, but everything she introduced was essential for living comfortably within the academy. She showed him where to buy necessities, where the main cafeteria was located, and where to collect new uniforms or training outfits in case the current ones beca damaged.
Life in the academy was convenient — all basic necessities, such as food and accommodation, were provided free of charge, and there were no monthly fees. However, anything beyond that required money. For instance, students had to pay for extra uniforms or als from the cafeteria. Since the academy provided no way for students to earn money, everyone relied on allowances sent from ho. Fortunately, the expenses were minimal even for middle-class families. Students from lower-inco families, on the other hand, avoided unnecessary spending entirely. Unless they absolutely needed a new uniform, they rarely spent a single coin.
anwhile, after failing to extract any information from ridith about the masked boy’s identity, Sebastian and Alfred finally decided to resort to less-than-honorable thods — sothing both had been reluctant to do before.
One morning, the peaceful atmosphere of the dining hall suddenly turned chaotic. A rumor had spread that Leo was speaking ill of Henry’s family, while at the sa ti, Leo was told that Henry had been mocking him behind his back whenever he was with Derek.
It didn’t take long for tempers to flare. Leo stord into the dining hall and challenged Henry to a duel.
Henry, though clearly in a bad mood, had no intention of fighting. But when Leo confronted him face-to-face, refusing to back down, Henry’s pride wouldn’t let him walk away either.
Within half an hour, the two of them stood opposite each other in the academy’s coliseum-like arena — the very sa place where Derek and Henry had sparred just a few days ago.
From the balcony above, Derek and Art watched silently, while almost all other first-year students gathered around, eager to see what would happen next.
In the fighting arena.....
"Today, I’ll make you understand the consequences of looking down on , Henry," Leo said coldly, his expression devoid of emotion.
"I don’t know who’s feeding you this nonsense that I’ve been mocking you," Henry replied, his tone sharp with disbelief. "But do you really think I’ve got that much ti to waste talking about you? Who do you think you are — the main character of a story?"
Leo’s face darkened even more, fury flashing in his eyes. He opened his mouth to retort but stopped midway. Taking a slow breath, he closed his eyes briefly, then exhaled.
"I didn’t plan to show off my strength right after entering the academy," he said calmly, his voice steady and unshaken. "I didn’t want people to think I was flaunting power. But you... you really need to be shown your place. Attack whenever you’re ready."
"You’ll regret your overconfidence!" Henry snapped. With a flick of his hand, several blazing fireballs materialized in the air and shot forward at Leo.
Leo rely waved his hand. Instantly, multiple small rifts tore open in the air, swallowing the incoming fireballs whole.
"Wh—" Henry barely got a word out before several rifts appeared behind him — the sa fireballs from earlier burst out from them, now flying straight toward him.
Reacting quickly, Henry dodged the attacks with surprising agility, and soon, the clash between the two erupted in full force, kicking up clouds of dust.
anwhile, as the other students crowded on the balcony, eagerly watching the fight unfold, Nicholas observed the scene from a different vantage point — a windowed room situated above the balcony.
A faint smirk curved his lips. "Let’s see which one of you ends up transferring to my house," he murmured with a low chuckle.
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