by Nikostar A
Carmen Ashmore frowned, "So you are trying to say that the Flemming group was trying to pass some credits to their new recruits, but the student named Alexander managed to get in the way? This still does not explain how he managed to use Dragon Breath. Is there an organization behind him?"
Carmen thought for a moment, but she could not delay the release of the battle room for much longer without raising suspicions. "Send another student to duel him. Tell him that the bet will be the one thousand Earth Credits he has just earned against two thousand more Earth Credits."
"Miss, this is not a good idea. What will the other students say? That we are stepping on the winners? Even if Alexander is somehow a genius that managed to understand Dragon Breath that quickly, he just awakened one day ago. His mana reservoir should still be extremely small, barely large enough for him to cast a high-level spell."
"Shut up. Our role is to maintain fairness between the student. One thousand Earth Credits is a lot and he can easily pull ahead. We need to send a clear message to those organizations! Do you want to watch a few students stomp over everyone else just because of their background? Besides, he is free to refuse the duel and in this case, we won't be able to do anything. But that Alexander is probably young and reckless. Send someone appropriate; neither too strong nor too weak."
***
Alexander quickly noticed that the exit of the battle room was not immediately opening. "I guess they are checking if I cheated. Everything should be alright. The star energy should still remain undetected by the equipment here."
Eventually, the exit door opened, and Alexander walked out, followed by Frank. A faint smile was displayed on his face as he went to grab his X-Driver. With a quick look, Alexander confirmed that one thousand Earth Credits had been transferred to his account. He was delighted.
Next to him, Frank wore a dejected expression. While the event was indeed sponsored, two hundred Earth Credits still came from his own account.
"I now have about 1400 Credits to spend but it is still lacking. I will have to wait for a few months before buying the raw materials..."
Alexander carelessly walked toward the stairs of the stage when suddenly, the instructor of battle room 19 stopped him.
"Your name is Alexander, right? Seeing how you have won so easily, the upper management was wondering if you will be interested in having a follow-up match. As you can see, your victory did not go unnoticed; all your fellow students would be pleased if you showed them your real strength!"
Alexander followed the instructor's line of sight and found that there was indeed a lot of eyes staring at him. He could not hear what the students were saying but many were probably encouraging him to continue as they wanted to witness his real strength.
Alexander did not mind being in the limelight. Although he did not actively try to, he was already aware that he would immediately be noticed if he won against a second year. What worried him was the request for a second duel!
"Looks like the instructors are unwilling to let me get those one thousand Earth Credits." The policy of forcefully sharing equal resources might look good on paper but in reality, it was deeply flawed. People progressed at different paces; the lack of resources would naturally end up slowing down the actual progress of some students.
The academy set up those rules with noble goals in mind, but Alexander was not necessarily willing to adhere to the rules. Wherever there were profits to be made, people would always find ways around rules and Alexander was unwilling to obtain the short end of the stick.
"They don't have anything against me anyway. If they are willing to send me enough credits for me to make my potion. I have no reason to say no," said Alexander to himself. As for defeating a student, Alexander was a 100% confident in his capabilities. He only used the stargazer's power in his previous duel and still had his elemental mage spells as a backup. Using spells might drain his life force but as long as he moderately used them, the benefits would greatly outweigh the drawbacks.
"Sure!"
The instructor let out a sigh of relief and signaled to one of the second-year students to step forward. "He will be your opponent for this duel: Diego Ramirez."
Chapter 11: Meeting her again
Diego Ramirez was a tall tanned Mexican. He was one of the fifteen second-year students who volunteered to duel against the freshers. He was not particularly fond of this kind of events but all the volunteers were, in fact, being paid one hundred Earth Credits for their participation. It was a small fee for forcing them to reveal some of their abilities.
Diego had been going easy with the freshers. He was not trying to be rough and only used the minimum amount of mana to break his opponent's talisman.
While he was chatting with his friends, Diego was surprised to be suddenly called by the instructor. "One of your friends lost to a fresher. We might make a rematch and if the fresher agrees, you'll be his opponent. Wait here for my signal."
"What? A second-year lost to a fresher? Impossible!" exclaimed Diego. He nevertheless listened to the instructor and waited. The instructor's words caused a ripple in his heart; hidden within his words were a clear warning to Diego. 'Be careful and don't underestimate him. One of your friends lost, you need to regain back the second-year students' honor.'
Diego waited, unsure whether the fresher would agree to the rematch. To his surprise, he soon saw the instructor waving at him, telling him to step forward.
***
Soon, Alexander once again found himself standing in battle room 19. This time, he was facing a prepared student and could not afford to be careless.
'In any case, I should first use the star energy. I only learned to use three constellations. If they are insufficient, I'll use spells!'
The countdown started and just like in his previous duel, Alexander adopted Arado's posture. His body once again trembled as it was filled with star energy.
Diego was not like Frank. He did not underestimate Alexander's power and immediately reacted when he saw Alexander charging at him.
"He must have trained his body a lot to be able to have this sort of initial acceleration!"
Diego's mana started to flow in his spirit circuit. [Wind Blades]
When he noticed Diego's spells, Alexander frowned. Three wind blades were currently flying in his direction. With his current speed, even if he threw himself on the ground, he would be hit by a least one of the blades. Credits had to be given to Diego; he was indeed more talented than Frank. Not only did he cut off Alexander's possible escape path, but his spells were also perfectly adapted to the situation.
Spells could be modified to a certain extent depending on which spirit circuits were used and, in this case, Diego clearly gave up some of the strength of the blade for an increase in velocity! The strength of the wind did not matter in this case as the winning condition of the duel was only to force his opponent to use his talisman!
Alexander forcefully stopped himself. In a single motion, he hurriedly crouched down, placing his right knee and hand on the ground before opening his left hand in front of him. This was the posture of the second constellation!
[Besmoth, the Shieldbearer]
An invisible shield appeared in front of Alexander. The three wind blades continued on their way toward Alexander but when they came into contact with the shield, the blades exploded, releasing a violent wind current in the battle room.
Alexander successfully stopped Diego's spell, but the latter did not let his guard down. He never stopped the mana from flowing in his spirit circuit and his second spell was already activated.
[Earth Capture Hand]
A giant hand made of earth suddenly appeared from the ground where Diego was standing and violently slammed toward Alexander, threatening to crush him.
"Crap! He is probably using an earth spell because he thinks I am fire mage. Arado won't give me enough physical strength to break the spell and even if I can maintain Besmoth, I will end up in a disadvantaged position. I can only use spells!"
***
Outside the battle room, the entire audience was entirely focused on the duel taking place in battle room 19. Even the other students agreed to postpone their own duels in order to spectate Alexander's battle.
In the instructor's meeting room, Carmen Ashmore was intently looking at the screen. "Was that 'Protective Barrier'?"
She was constantly analyzing Alexander's moves, trying to determine his origins. She did not understand why Alexander suddenly chose to crouch on the floor, but she never associated it with the spells he was using.
The rest of the instructors were quietly watching, murmuring themselves. But suddenly, the air became completely still as the room fell into a deep silence. Even Carmen Ashmore froze for a moment.
On the screen, the large Earth Capture Hand heavily smashed the area where Alexander had been standing. The hand was firmly stuck to the ground, crushing anything that fell under it. From the position of the hand, it was clear that Alexander had successfully dodged the attack. However, Alexander was nowhere to be seen.
The system's response was clear, Alexander's talisman had yet to be broken but he had completely disappeared from the room.
Diego Ramirez was as surprised as any of the spectators. He never thought that his Earth Capture Hand would be able to hit Alexander, but he never believed that Alexander would completely disappear.
His eyes widened in panic. "Is that [Invisibility]?"
At this moment, the battle room suddenly became brighter. Diego saw the shadow at his feet extend in front of him and rapidly looked behind him.
"You lose!"
Behind Diego, Alexander proudly stood up with one large burning fireball in each hand.
"How did you..." Diego's question remained stuck in his throat as his vision was suddenly filled with raging orange flames. The necklace around his neck shattered but none of this mattered anymore.
***
"Bang!"
"Are you sure you made your research properly? First, it's Dragon Breath and now, it is even Invisibility? Both of those spells are advanced spells and Invisibility is not even taught at the academy. Is there even a need for him to study here? Which organization groomed such a monster!"
Carmen Ashmore glared at her subordinates! She was not angry at the fact that Diego lost to Alexander but rather because Alexander's prowess revealed how flawed the academy's system was!
After witnessing Alexander using those advanced skills, there were no more doubts in Carmen's mind that Alexander did receive some sort of guidance on the use of spells and in just one day, manage to use them successfully!
What did that mean? Alexander's record looked absolutely ordinary, giving them no signs of belonging to any organization! To Carmen, it was a clear proof that the academy's information system was a complete failure!
It was inevitable that large organizations would send students at the academy to learn magic, but a thin balance existed between the organizations and the academy. The academy was actively trying to promote fairness and give equal chance to the general populace to learn magical arts but if the organizations somehow managed to monopolize all their entry spots, it would end up in creating a definite barrier between them and the average citizens.
Each organization could at most send twenty students each year and those students' affiliations needed to be clearly explained in their application form. It was to prevent the organization from suddenly monopolizing all the future mages.
The governments knew they would be unable to have the entire cake, but they at least wanted to keep the major portion! To get on the good side of the public, regular individuals from the masses were even able to learn magic if they were smart enough.
"Miss, what should we do about this situation?" asked one of the instructors.
"What can we do? Do you want to send another student? Let him go but keep a close eye on that guy. Also, go contact those organizations and warn them that the academy is not a place for them to resolve their conflicts. We groom the future of humanity not that of those organizations!"
"As for that Alexander. Send him an email and invite him to have a chat with me. I am curious about which organization he comes from."
***
When he stepped out of battle room 19, Alexander was greeted by the loud clapping and cheering of the students! It was completely different from when he defeated Frank; this time, the entire stadium was focused on his fight.
Alexander smiled and briefly waved to the crowd before disappearing in the corridors. As soon as he got out of sight of the other students, Alexander's expression changed.
"D*mnit, I messed up. I should not have used [Flash] and [Invisibility]; my mana reservoir is still too small! I did it by habit, but it was the wrong move. I should have used [Water Jet] or [Herculean Strike] to get rid of the Earth hand instead! D*mn... Because of that, my mana reservoir is already almost completely empty."
Alexander was not feeling very well. With his mana reservoir having been under such a huge strain for the first time, his body was suffering the consequences of his reckless action. Fortunately, just a little bit of rest would quickly ease that uncomfortable feeling.
Unfortunately, Alexander was unable to find a quiet place. How could the excited students just let him go quietly?
While he was still walking down the corridor, Alexander received a huge slap on the back!
It was Raphael, the charismatic young man brightly smiled and said: "Hey, where are you running to? Don't let all your fans down, you know!"
Behind him, Su Buqing, the two girls and many more students who Alexander had never met before, were all looking at him with reverence.
'D*mn, I feel like the night is probably going to be long,' thought Alexander. He quickly recomposed himself and smiled, "Haha, this place is too crowded. Let's go to the bar or something."
Alexander left the magic stadium followed by a whole bunch of people. They took over the bar and a long series of congratulations and handshakes started. He was the center of attention. After seeing his prowess, everybody wanted to befriend him; he was completely overwhelmed by the students.
Everyone was willing to offer him a drink. He chatted with many people, completely forgetting their name by the time he was accosted by the next student. At some point during the night, the cute little blonde Emily and her group of friends cheerfully came to congratulate him. Later that night, Jack and Stephano gave him a pat on the back.
The night was long and with the number of toasts he was offered, Alexander would most likely end up wasted on the next day. Alexander was well aware of his alcohol tolerance; to be polite, he mainly ordered light cocktails and drank with the students.
Alexander was sitting on a sofa with a tired expression. One more drink and he would definitely be wasted. At that moment, the atmosphere became strangely quiet; after having been assaulted by all those students, the peaceful atmosphere was openly welcomed by Alexander.
He enjoyed the few moments of peace with his eyes closed when suddenly, a melodious voice rang through his ears, "Hello champion. Would you do me the honor of a toast?"
As he heard the woman's voice, Alexander's heart trembled. That voice, he would always remember it! Alexander opened his eyes. He was momentarily blinded by the bright dazzling light but in his view was a single strand of yellow-green hair.
Alexander's eyes flickered; he did not even need to raise his head to know who it was. His mind raced. He felt his heart jump out of his chest. "It's her!"
Alexander slowly raised his head and looked at the perfect smiling face of the woman. His hand instinctively moved and grabbed the glass she was handing him. Even if Alexander knew he was going beyond his tolerance limit, he still accepted the glass. He could easily reject anyone else, but that woman was the only one he could never say no.
Alexander paused as he stared at the woman's perfectly symmetrical face. He felt like he was being swallowed whole by her deep amber eyes. Her attractive glossy lips felt like magnets urgi
ng him to kiss them.
Having freed her left hand, the woman gracefully pulled back her strand of hair back to where it belonged and seductively placed her hand next to Alexander. Even as she was maintaining a reasonable distance from Alexander; the latter's nostrils were completely being assaulted by her strangely faint alluring fragrance.
She lightly smacked her lips, "My name is Aila, nice to meet you!" playfully said the woman as she lightly leaned toward Alexander. By doing so, she accentuated her perfect curve. Her breasts jiggled despite her moving very slowly; it was a clear sign that she was not wearing anything under her tight black dress.
