Chapter 122 - Didn't Participate
"How about today's magic class? Very satisfying, isn't it? All of you can use magic more effectively. Excellent and good. Today's class ended beautifully. For students who want to take extra hours can stay, and others can return to your own activities." Teacher Ruth announced with a happy and refreshed heart.
"Teacher Ruth, is there no challenge with a reward for today? You said in the first week of the school year, there will always be challenges to encourage students in learning." A student asked enthusiastically.
From the first day of class with the reward that Elysia had won, he had been training hard to get that particular reward. He also wanted the same, and he was confident he could destroy three wooden targets today.
"A challenge, yes. Alright, I'll give you one for the last magic class of the week. The challenge is simple, you only need to destroy three wooden targets with the same rules as in the previous magic class. However, the target will move, and you will also not stay on one. position." Teacher Ruth immediately agreed to give a challenge with a reward.
Even though the teacher gave the challenge with a reward, it wasn't that easy. Usually, within that initial week, no one could solve it. Students who had successfully completed the challenge and deserved a reward like Elysia were rare and scarce.
Understanding the rules imposed in the slightly different challenge this time, the students who wanted to try their luck immediately volunteered to be tested.
Surprisingly, in the challenge this time, no one asked what prize was offered in this challenge. Most of the students just wanted to test their abilities and luck in the challenge. The reward that might come afterward was just a bonus.
"Ely, you don't want to be tested in the challenge? Maybe the reward is something good too, you know..." Evelyn asked her best friend, who was still standing in her position. The students who wanted to participate had already lined up in front of the wooden targets.
"Ah, Eve. I became so reluctant to participate, but you can participate. I'll cheer and pray for your success." Elysia slightly shook her head.
She was actually reluctant because Teacher Ruth looked unconvincing. If during the previous magic class, Teacher Ruth, who was so sure, excited, confident, and seemed pushy, only had the reward of a used device... Then how about the one that was almost forgotten, and she appeared to be indifferent?
Elysia didn't dare to have high hopes from the stingy teacher. However, it might be different when it was the knight class. Instructor Dillon was so generous as to bestow one of his treasures from his arsenal.
"Alright! With encouragement and prayers from you, I will definitely succeed! I'll go there first." Evelyn sweetly smiled as she waved her hand.
Elysia just smiled back and waved her hand slowly with minimal movements. She saw that Evelyn was lined up for the challenge, then she looked to the right and left slowly. Around her weren't many students who deliberately didn't participate, but she didn't know them either.
But by the time Elysia looked back to the front to see the starting challenge, she was approached by a male student with a relatively athletic and muscular build.
"Hello, Miss Elysia. You are not participating in this challenge?" A short black-haired student with a fresh and radiant expression came to greet her with a friendly smile. He was like a sports athlete.
"Hi, ah, it's you, Mr. Ashton. No, I don't want to participate." Elysia turned her head to the side to see who had come.
"If I may know, why is that?" Ashton didn't understand. Weren't most students passionate about rewards? If she could get 'easy money' in the form of valuable prizes, why not took it? Ashton asked with wonder in mind.
"I just don't want to, for no particular reason. Coming back to you, Mr. Ashton, if I may know why you didn't participate on purpose too?"
"Hehe... I'm not like the other students who purposely don't participate because they don't have the confidence or too proud of themselves. I didn't participate because it's a magic class, and I'm focused on becoming a great knight. Elemental magic, just extra talent." Ashton laughed in a small voice while holding and rubbing the back of his head.
"Oh! Great knight, that's amazing. Hopefully, your goals and dreams can be achieved in the future, Mr. Ashton." Elysia put her hands together as if in awe.
"Ah, yes. Thank you. Since losing to you two days ago in the knight class, I have kept my promise to train twice as hard, and it will always be like that."
"Oh my... How many hours do you practice every day?" Elysia asked simply out of curiosity.
"Normally, I only practice three to four hours a day as a fixed routine, and now it's six to eight hours a day with advanced training." Ashton proudly replied as if he was bragging about something.
"Oh, my goodness... That's a quarter day to a third day... You are really diligent in practicing, and you have been earnestly pursuing your goals. Strong will and determination." Elysia seemed quite surprised. She would feel numb and sore if she practiced that long.
"Hehe... It's nothing. I'm training at my best." Ashton nodded happily. Somehow, exchanging words with Elysia made him happy.
"Er, I just remembered. If magic was additional, what about Reinforcement Magic and Enhancement Magic? I remember you were passionate about these two types of magic." Elysia tilted her head slightly and put her finger on her cheek.
"It's elemental magic as an addition, not my focus either. But, yes, those two types of magic are the great things I pursue in magic. Unfortunately, we haven't gotten into that material yet." Ashton immediately corrected the wrong estimate.
"Hmm... Amazing hard work. I am sure with the determination and strong will that you have, it will surely bear sweet fruit." Elysia smiled faintly. She said that to close the conversation.
"Yes, thank you for your kind words. In your opinion, what reward will be given for the challenge this time?" Ashton asked again. He didn't understand that Elysia had closed the conversation.
"Teacher Ruth is a mage. Maybe a Magic Wand or something." Elysia curtly answered as she rested her cheek against her hand.
Ashton knew that their conversation was closed at this point, and it was best not to continue. The girl was already bored, and she just wanted to watch the ongoing challenge without being disturbed.
After her little trick worked and kept Ashton quiet for as long as she didn't want to be disturbed, Elysia smiled slightly then watched the challenge in progress.
She changed her body language, hands clasped in front of her lower abdomen. Elysia witnessed the students having a hard time completing challenges, nothing worked, and no one succeeded.
They stood on the planks that were moving erratically, and their targets moved around unexpectedly too. It was unpredictable, and it all required sufficient accuracy and concentration just to hit wooden targets.
Never mind the three wooden targets that needed to be destroyed, hitting one target was already so hard with all the object's movements.
Just like the other students, Evelyn also failed the challenge. Neither of the wind spears she threw hit the target. She walked back to her best friend's side with a slightly disappointed and gloomy expression.
However, when she saw Elysia standing with a male student and watching the challenge silently, she smiled as if she understood. Evelyn covered her mouth with her hands gracefully and walked over, but Elysia also walked over to her.
"Eve, you look disappointed. It's okay. Maybe the reward is just a used Magic Wand. We can train our accuracy next time." Elysia comforted her friend, who looked disappointed. But why did Evelyn's expression suddenly seem like she was teasing her? Where did the earlier disappointment go?
"My my~ I just left you alone for a moment, and you have been taken away by others. Huhu~" Evelyn dramatized the situation.
"What are you saying, Eve? I don't understand, he's Mr. Ashton, remember? The first student to challenge me to mock battle in the knight class." Elysia tilted her head slightly, utterly clueless.
"Hehe... It's nothing. You are still the usual Ely. Nothing's wrong and nothing strange, don't worry." Evelyn waved her hand a little and then turned to look at Ashton. "Hi, Mr. Ashton, how was your double training day?"
Ashton immediately approached and answered happily. "It was a great day. Thanks to Miss Elysia, I really challenged my limits."
"Er, is that so? Good for you. It's like a reward, yes, rather than punishment. As long as it's good, then it's great." Evelyn nodded slightly.
After remembering again, she also gave her three challengers the same punishment as what Elysia gave to the students who lost.
Simultaneously, Elysia, Evelyn, and Ashton were talking... Brian and David had just accepted Teacher Ruth's challenge but failed.
When Brian walked back and saw a male student chatting with his idol girl, his brain's alarm sensor suddenly rang a warning sign.
Brian unconsciously took several significant steps to approach them to find out more. David quickly followed suit.