Chapter 73: Tell Your Father

Harry remained on the stage for a while, his Mana reserve completely depleted. Maintaining his invisibility required an enormous amount of Mana. He had devised a perfect plan to win without attacking his opponent, and if everything had gone as intended, he would have won. However, the sudden, powerful attacks from an opponent he had never expected to possess such an ability had thrown his plan into disarray. He had quickly exhausted his Mana while running around and using multiple skills to evade the attacks. Eventually, with his Mana depleted, he had no choice but to cancel his skill and reveal himself.

The embarrassment and shame he felt were deeply etched into his heart, and he would never forget this humiliation for the rest of his life.

On the stands, Noel and his group sat in silence. They couldn't comprehend what had just happened or understand how Harry could have lost in such a humiliating manner. He hadn't even attacked his opponent once; he had simply run around in the shadows and lost the duel. Noel gritted his teeth. The humiliation he had imagined Max would suffer was now being endured by Harry instead.

Among the group, however, only one person was somewhat relieved and surprised: Patricia. She wasn't particularly happy that Harry had lost, since he was her friend, nor was she angry at Max for causing her friend's defeat. Instead, she was mostly surprised by the sudden barrage of attacks that had completely turned the fight upside down.

"Now, who wants to challenge the guy next?" Noel suddenly asked.

Everyone remained silent. No one spoke. That was to be expected, since they had all witnessed the quality and sheer number of attacks Max had unleashed. They were reluctant to challenge him because they didn't want to suffer the same humiliation as Harry.

"No one?" Noel asked again.

"Noel, calm down. He isn't going to run away from the academy. You have plenty of time to challenge him to a duel," Patricia said quickly, realizing that Noel was trying to get someone else to fight Max.

"What? Did everyone get scared just from this simple showcase? If you aren't confident enough, just say so. I'll challenge him myself and show you all how it's done." Noel didn't listen to Patricia at all.

"I'll challenge him and defeat him!" the guy sitting behind Noel suddenly declared.

"Oscar, you've proved you have a spine. I want you to make that guy suffer twice the humiliation Harry went through. Now go and challenge him to a duel. Revenge is a dish best served hot," Noel encouraged Oscar to challenge Max immediately.

"Everyone, settle down. A person can refuse a duel if they've already completed one that day. So, save your revenge for another day," Patricia explained, revealing the rule that allowed students to decline a duel by stating that they had already fought once that day.

"That's okay. Didn't he come from a noble family? Those idiots always fall for their pride. Oscar, I want to see him defeated right away!" Noel wasn't ready to give up. He was even willing to provoke Max and exploit a noble's pride to make him issue a challenge.

Hearing Noel's command, Oscar quickly left the stands and headed toward the exit to catch up with Max and force him into another duel immediately.

Meanwhile, while Noel and his group were trying to trick Max into another duel, the opposite side of the stands was filled with disappointed faces. Amid the gloomy students, one person was grinning from ear to ear. It was Anne, who had won every single bet and earned a mountain of materials. Since everyone had expected Harry to emerge victorious, no one had bet on Max winning. As a result, Anne had earned enough loot to cover at least three months of her dungeon supplies.

Shaun stood near Anne, envy evident on his face. If he had placed a bet, he could have earned materials that he could exchange at the academy for potions and other supplies. Even Jeannie regretted not betting anything.

Moon, however, didn't care about the supplies. Her eyes followed Max as he exited the arena.

After leaving the indoor arena, Max walked toward the dormitory as the sun was about to set. He could rest before dinner and then plan for the coming days, since the restrictions would likely continue for at least a week. He also needed to prepare himself mentally for the Truth Seeker inquiry by the royal officials. It was going to be a pain, and he hoped the new academy head teacher would handle it, as his uncle had promised.

However, he still needed to find out who the lunatics who had tried to abduct him that day were. Even now, the incident seemed strange, so he planned to visit the new academy head teacher's office the following day to ask about it. Those people had threatened him openly, and although he had already informed his father about everything that had happened, his uncle hadn't told him who they were. His uncle had remained calm about the incident despite knowing that Max had been in danger and had been threatened.

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That meant those people were definitely connected to the royal family, since his own family had decided to downplay the incident. There was more to the situation than met the eye, and Max wanted to uncover the truth behind what had happened.

"How was my duel? Didn't I handle that difficult situation cleverly?" Max asked.

"I couldn't see it. Those people obstructed my view," Marlak replied.

"Oh, is that so? That's disappointing. There should be a special place where people can leave their pets," Max muttered. "Then you could have witnessed my capabilities and greatness without anyone obstructing your view."

"Yeah, yeah," Marlak replied, sounding as though he had no intention of continuing the discussion.

"What? Are you tired? You seem sleepy and uninterested in talking," Max asked.

"Yeah, I wanted to eat that cake. When will I get it?" Marlak asked.

"You gluttonous, shameless creature," Max said after hearing the frog complain about cake again. "Let's just go and ask someone to buy some from outside."

With that, Max turned toward the canteen. Since the frog kept pestering him about cake, he would buy something and put an end to the matter.

"Someone is coming toward us," Marlak suddenly said.

"Again?" Max looked around to see who it was. Hadn't he just finished the duel? Were those guys trying to mess with him again like a bunch of crybabies?

Soon, he spotted a slim guy with black hair and a horse-like face running toward him from the direction of the arena. Max recognized him as one of the people who had been with the guy he had just fought.

Max stopped walking and faced the approaching man. The guy noticed him and stopped a few feet away.

"Who the hell are you, and what do you want?" Max asked in an annoyed tone.

"You know what I want," Oscar replied.

"Are you a retard or what? How am I supposed to know what the fuck you want?" Max's irritation grew, and every word dripped with disdain. Hearing Max's hostility, Oscar was taken aback.

"Well, I like your straightforwardness. Did Harry tell you what you are to this academy?" Oscar asked calmly, without getting angry.

"That dipshit told me nothing. Tell me, what am I to this academy?" Max asked.

"You are a punching bag for the first-year students of this academy," Oscar said with a sly smile.

"If I'm a punching bag, what are you? A scumbag?" Max asked, looking directly at him.

"No, I'm not a scumbag. Your father is. Do you know why he wants to step away from his title and have you take his place?" Oscar countered, remaining unfazed by Max's insults.

"I don't know. Please enlighten me," Max replied, maintaining his composure.

"Because your father was an incompetent man who lacked the strength and power to manage the land," Oscar said.

"That sounds like a perfect description of my father," Max replied. "Is that all?"

"No, there are a few more reasons why you're going to be a punching bag," Oscar replied without faltering.

"Please hurry up. I don't have all evening," Max urged him to continue.

"Your father wasn't your real father, and you were born to another man," Oscar said. "Your mother was... you know, a whore, and that makes you a bastard."

"Dude, that's a pretty accurate description. Who are you, anyway? Does your family work as servants in my mansion?" Max asked calmly.

People like Oscar always assumed that nobles had strict pride to maintain and would fall for simple insults about their families. To some degree, that was true, but Max had gained enough knowledge and experience to deal with these lowly people. "Are you an heir from the Lamberts?"

"You bastard! Watch your tongue! I'm Oscar Tumiati. I'll fuck you up for disrespecting my name!" Oscar suddenly erupted in anger after hearing the Lambert family name.

Max had deliberately used the innocent Lambert family name to turn the situation around, and, as expected, Oscar had fallen for it. The Lamberts were a lineage that primarily served as noble butlers. Their family members awakened maintenance-related classes, which made them highly capable servants. Although they were skilled at their work, they were generally considered a low-status family among the nobility. When Max suggested that Oscar belonged to the Lambert family, he became enraged.

"I'm pretty sure I've seen a servant with exactly the same facial structure as yours, a horse-faced guy who cleans the lavatory in my mansion," Max continued, deliberately provoking Oscar.

"You motherfucker, I'm gonna kill you!" Oscar seethed with anger as he rushed forward to attack Max. He swung wildly, and a golden gauntlet appeared on his fist mid-swing, aiming directly at the center of Max's face.

Seeing that Oscar had taken the bait, Max smiled slightly. He channeled Mana through his body and moved out of the way.

Swoosh!

The momentum of the attack forced Oscar to stumble forward before he managed to stop. He turned to stare at Max with bloodshot eyes, only to find him standing a few steps away, still smiling.

"You're going to get expelled from the academy. Not only did you attack another student on academy grounds, but you even used a weapon. That's just sad, man. I'm gonna miss you. But tell your father that I asked about him. He'll recognize me."

After delivering that final insult, Max ran away. He had no intention of getting involved with this bunch of nobodies.

Oscar didn't chase after Max because he was far too fast. He simply stood there, cursing his own stupidity for initiating the fight, knowing that he would undoubtedly receive a summons from the Administration Office.

While Oscar regretted his actions, Max finally reached the canteen and asked to buy some cake. Unfortunately, his request was refused because academy rules prohibited students from bringing outside food onto the premises. There had been some exceptions before, but a poisoning assassination attempt two weeks earlier had led to stricter rules.

"You'll have to wait a few days. Just look at the food here, though. Everything tastes good," Max suggested to Marlak. Although the academy didn't sell cake, it offered several sweets and snacks for the students.

"That's very disappointing. Since there's no other option, I can settle for this green food," Marlak said, pointing toward a section of the glass display case containing snacks.

"That's Marsh Pectin Jello. Do you want that?" Max asked, knowing it would taste completely different from cake.

"Yes, I want that," Marlak declared firmly.

Hearing this, Max paid for a whole tray and packed it up so the frog wouldn't pester him about food again, especially cake. After paying, they headed toward the canteen exit, ready to finally get some rest. However, before Max could leave the premises, the assistant to the academy head teacher blocked his path.

"God damn it, can't a guy get some rest?" Max cursed, realizing that it was time for the inquiry.