Chapter 61 - 62: Freshman Training Camp!!

Chapter 61: Chapter 62: Freshman Training Camp!!

Gareth Quinn nodded.

"Exactly."

"Once we enter the Training Camp, competition will be unavoidable."

"Those students from the Five Top Academies are all incredibly arrogant."

"I can’t stand the way they look down on everyone."

"When the time comes, the two of us will join forces and put those guys from the Five Top Academies in their place."

Nathaniel looked at him.

"Can people be killed in the Training Camp?"

Gareth choked.

"When I said put them in their place, I was exaggerating."

"I just meant beating them until they submit."

"Make them take a detour whenever they see us."

He spoke with great enthusiasm, as if he could already picture the scene.

Nathaniel remained calm.

"We’ll see."

Gareth was taken aback.

"We’ll see?"

Nathaniel replied,

"I don’t know the specific rules of the Training Camp yet."

Gareth touched his chin.

"That makes sense."

But soon, he started laughing again.

"Brother, I like you."

"If those people from the Five Top Academies target you, come find me."

"I, Gareth Quinn, won’t claim to be good at everything, but I have plenty of experience fighting."

Nathaniel gave him a casual nod.

"Alright. Thanks."

Gareth didn’t seem to notice Nathaniel’s lack of enthusiasm. He patted his chest.

"Don’t worry."

"From now on, you’ve got me watching your back in the Training Camp."

Nathaniel was speechless.

Instructor Malcolm Rook glanced at Gareth again.

His gaze was calm.

Yet, for some reason, Gareth felt a chill run down his spine.

At that moment, the clouds parted.

The outline of a massive city appeared before them.

Unlike Westmere, a huge black stone tablet floated above this city.

The tablet stood a thousand meters tall. Its entire surface was pitch-black and covered in countless runes.

Each rune seemed to contain the same churning darkness found within the Abyss Rift, creating a heavy sense of oppression.

Instructor Malcolm Rook brought Nathaniel and Gareth down toward the base of the stone tablet.

Gareth glanced at it, and the corners of his mouth curved upward.

"Calder Academy."

"One of the Five Top Academies."

Nathaniel’s eyes flickered.

So this was one of the Five Top Academies?

Even before entering the academy itself, he could already feel how different this place was from Westmere.

The air carried a sharp, battle-hardened aura.

Many people who looked like ordinary students possessed strength far beyond that of the powerful figures in Westmere.

Instructor Malcolm Rook brought the two of them straight to Calder Academy’s Central Square.

Eight figures were already waiting there.

Four men and four women. Each possessed a refined and tightly controlled aura.

Among them, a young man wearing black battle armor stood at the front. His eyes were calm, and his presence was steady.

The moment Instructor Malcolm Rook landed, all eight students straightened.

"Senior Rook."

Instructor Malcolm Rook nodded.

"Are all eight students from Calder Academy here?"

The black-armored youth replied,

"Yes. Everyone is here."

Instructor Malcolm Rook spoke briefly.

"Come with us."

The eight seemed prepared for his direct manner. None of them asked any questions.

But just as they were about to leave, several students suddenly noticed Gareth.

The atmosphere grew tense.

Gareth grinned.

"Well, well."

"Students from Calder Academy."

"I didn’t expect this to be our first stop."

"Looks like the High Command knows which academy needs to be knocked down a peg first."

The expressions of all eight students darkened.

The black-armored youth’s eyes turned cold.

"Gareth Quinn."

"You defeated a few second-year students in the Hundred-Academy Tournament, and now you think you’re invincible?"

Gareth crossed his arms.

"A few?"

"Those were all the second-year students from the Five Top Academies."

He deliberately stressed the word all.

The expressions of the Calder Academy students grew even colder.

A short-haired woman spoke indifferently.

"You were only lucky enough to be born two years later."

"If you had faced our batch, you wouldn’t have even reached the finals."

Gareth immediately laughed.

"At the same age, I’d crush you."

"Want to test that?"

Boom!

The auras of the eight Calder Academy students surged almost at once.

The broad-bladed saber on Gareth’s back also released a low hum.

For a moment, it seemed the two sides would clash right there.

Nathaniel silently glanced at Gareth.

This guy really knew how to provoke people.

Instructor Malcolm Rook finally spoke.

"Enough."

The moment those two words fell, the air seemed to grow heavy.

The saber on Gareth’s back fell silent.

The auras of the eight Calder Academy students were also forced back down.

Instructor Malcolm Rook remained expressionless.

"If you want to fight, there will be plenty of opportunities after entering the Training Camp."

"Anyone who delays our schedule will be sent back."

Gareth shrugged.

"Fine."

"I’ll show Senior Rook some respect."

The students from Calder Academy looked even more displeased.

But none of them spoke again.

Instructor Malcolm Rook raised his hand.

Spatial ripples spread through the air.

The next second, everyone vanished from Calder Academy’s Central Square.

...

During the journey that followed, Nathaniel gained a full understanding of Gareth’s ability to provoke people.

Westbridge Academy.

Instructor Malcolm Rook picked up seven senior students.

The moment Gareth landed, he grinned and spoke.

"The students from Westbridge Academy this year seem to have plenty of confidence, but I’m not sure they have the strength to back it up."

"I wonder if the rest of you will be any better."

Several Westbridge Academy students immediately darkened their expressions.

Meridian Academy.

Instructor Malcolm Rook picked up six students.

Gareth looked at the students, whose auras carried strong magical fluctuations, and began his commentary again.

"Meridian Academy, huh?"

"Quite a few ranged professions."

"You’d better hope there aren’t any close-combat assessments in the Training Camp."

"Otherwise, you might be on the ground before you finish casting your spells."

The gazes of the Meridian Academy students turned cold.

A silver-haired youth spoke indifferently.

"You can come and test that."

Next came Northgate Academy and St. Orlan Academy.

Gareth stubbornly provoked every academy he visited.

Nathaniel, standing to the side, had fallen silent.

He realized he had underestimated Gareth.

This guy wasn’t merely good at causing trouble.

He was exceptionally good at it.

Nathaniel silently shifted half a step away.

It was better to keep his distance.

But Gareth seemed completely unaware.

Whenever Nathaniel moved away, Gareth moved closer.

When Nathaniel shifted again, Gareth followed.

By now, everyone else probably thought the two were close friends.

The gazes of the students from the Five Top Academies gradually turned toward Nathaniel.

Finally, the black-armored youth from Calder Academy spoke.

"Who is he?"

At those words, Gareth immediately perked up.

"You’re asking about him?"

"Then listen carefully."

Nathaniel’s eyelid twitched.

Gareth raised his hand and pointed at him.

"His name is Nathaniel Beaumont."

"He’s a senior high school student from Westmere."

"He hasn’t even graduated, yet the High Command selected him in advance."

"He skipped four years of university and came straight here."

"That’s far more impressive than anything you’ve done."

The entire group fell silent.

Everyone’s expression changed.

"A high school senior?"

"He hasn’t even graduated?"

"The High Command selected him before he entered university?"

"Even among the students at the Five Top Academies, very few get the chance to face the High Command’s selection before their final year."

"How did a high school student qualify?"

One gaze after another fell on Nathaniel.

Shock, suspicion, curiosity, and scrutiny.

Nathaniel expressionlessly looked at Gareth.

He was now certain.

Gareth didn’t just enjoy attracting trouble for himself.

He also enjoyed dragging other people into it.