Chapter 290: Third Week [3]

Chapter 289

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Episode 76 - Third Week [3]

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The wind gently rustled the treetops as sunlight bathed the surroundings of ’The Arena’.

Sitting on a bench beside Veronica, I remained completely silent as some cadets who had decided to take a walk passed by.

None of them seemed to notice Veronica or me.

That was because the two of us were deliberately hiding our presence.

Among them, some couples walked hand in hand, while others simply chatted in groups of friends.

There were also those who preferred to be alone. They would enter a shop to buy something, then sit down and quietly enjoy whatever they had purchased.

’I wonder what this place will look like after tomorrow.’

At first glance, everything surrounding ’The Arena’ looked quite refined and elegant. On top of that, cutting-edge Magic Engineering could be found in every corner of the Academy.

The Academy covered an area of approximately one thousand square kilometers.

It was an enormous territory, although it hadn’t been nearly this large when it was first founded.

In any case, I simply enjoyed the soft, warm breeze blowing around me.

From my Inventory, I pulled out a cup of chocolate coffee and a few sandwiches.

"Older brother, I wonder why you became addicted to coffee. You know that if we were normal humans, you’d die from eating so much bread and drinking so much coffee."

I shrugged, brushing off her concern.

"I enjoy what I like while I can. And if coffee crops ever disappear one day, or wheat does too, I can simply find something else."

Veronica crossed her arms and said:

"I wonder what your wife would do, hehe. I think she’d punish you for eating sandwiches every day and force you to eat your vegetables."

"......"

"If I were your wife, I’d do the same thing."

"......"

With an expressionless face, I simply ignored her words.

Instead, I decided to change the subject and asked:

"There’s something I’ve been curious about."

"Mhm, and what is that...?"

"I received an Entry Ticket to the Yellow King’s Tomb. According to what the system says, there are other competitors who also have an entry ticket. My question is this: are these beings from other worlds, or are they from this world?"

When it came to inheriting the remains of a Fallen God, the natural answer would be the former.

Not necessarily every participant seeking to inherit the power of a Fallen God had to belong to the same world.

’I have no idea what the Origin is, but from what I know, the Origin is responsible for the Apocalypse that changed this world.’

That would mean the Origin was an absolute entity, perhaps even something that had created the universe itself.

Therefore, it was probably a being of unimaginable dimensions that selected certain worlds and then sent them a trial in the form of an Apocalypse.

Or, at least, that was what I had theorized. Perhaps I would discover the truth once I recovered my memories.

In any case, the Origin could have already chosen countless worlds inhabited by different civilizations.

Some of them might have even sent participants to inherit the Yellow King’s power.

"......."

Veronica, however, remained silent.

’I suppose I’ll find out eventually when I recover my memories.’

I sighed inwardly.

"Want some?"

"Ah, thanks, Older brother."

As I handed Veronica a sandwich, I used my senses to check the Arena.

’Looks like there’s one match left.’

After the next match, I would face another cadet once again.

The minutes passed quickly, and shortly afterward, the next match began.

It was between two girls who seemed to be rivals.

In any case, while I waited for the match to end...

Whoosh!

A figure appeared right beside me.

Instinctively, my hand moved toward my katana, but the person who had just appeared simply took a seat beside me.

"Ugh, how boring. Having to wait until tomorrow to face the supposed best cadets of the Holy Academy."

"......"

"They’re probably nothing special. If that girl Lumina participated, that’d be great."

"......"

"That includes you too, although you probably wouldn’t reveal your true strength, would you?"

Ignoring Very’Daal, I simply brought a sandwich to my mouth and took a bite. After chewing and swallowing it, I picked up my coffee and took a sip.

Meanwhile, Very’Daal turned her gaze toward Veronica and said:

"Ah, you’re the first-year representative, right? Your name is Veronica."

Veronica nodded with a stoic expression.

"Yes, that’s me."

"Mhm, you don’t seem very friendly."

"I’m not with people I’m not very familiar with."

"Ah, I see. That’s a fair point."

Very’Daal nodded, as if she genuinely understood the logic behind Veronica’s words.

"Ah, that’s right. I came to tell you something."

Hearing those words, I paid attention to her this time.

Then, Very’Daal said:

"I have a Unique Trait granted by the Dream and Desire Tree. You can think of it as predictive intuition."

I nodded without saying anything, although I already knew which Unique Trait she was referring to.

"Today, I felt a strange sensation. I think something is going to happen tomorrow, so be careful. I don’t like seeing what’s mine with even a scratch on it."

"......."

Without saying anything else, Very’Daal’s figure disappeared shortly afterward.

In silence, I finished the rest of my sandwich and, a few seconds later, said:

"What did my ’self’ from Regression 9999 do to deal with that crazy pervert?"

Veronica, on the other hand, simply replied:

"I don’t know. I’m not the regressor."

"Ah, of course."

Without saying anything else, I stood up from the bench and walked back toward ’The Arena’ after sensing that the battle between the two girls had already ended.

Veronica followed me until we eventually parted ways.

"I’ll be watching you from the stands, Older brother."

I nodded without saying anything and, shortly afterward, returned to the Waiting Room.

It wasn’t long before a voice announced:

"First-year cadet, Rank 16, Ivan Solaris. Second match."

With that, I walked toward the Arena to begin my second match.

***

The next day.

Ninety cadets had gathered throughout the rows of seats in ’The Arena’. Excitement was evident on their faces as they waited for the matches to begin.

At that moment, the old man who had appeared on the first day appeared in the center of the Arena.

Clack!

He snapped his fingers, and the silence immediately spread among the cadets who had still been talking.

The old man waited a few seconds before beginning to speak.

"Yesterday, the winner of the Golden Crown was the Rank 10 cadet from the Holy Academy."

"Although 65% of the matches were won by the cadets of the Elvenheims Academy, in the end, what matters is who emerged victorious from the final match."

"Today is finally the last day of the Academic Exchange, as well as the day all of you have been waiting for the most."

"I can easily see the excitement on your faces at the opportunity to witness battles between the strongest cadets of your respective Academies."

"I must remind you that there will only be five initial matches in total."

"Now, regarding the one-on-one matches, it is true that if we established a fixed order, one of the Academies could end up with a considerable advantage."

"So, we will do the following."

"If the first match is won by the Holy Academy, the same cadet will continue fighting until they are defeated by a cadet from the Elvenheims Academy."

"At that point, the cadet who defeated them will remain in the Arena and face the next cadet from the Holy Academy."

"In this way, whenever a cadet is defeated, another cadet from their own Academy will take their place."

"Of course, a cadet may only continue participating as long as they remain victorious. Once they are defeated, they will be eliminated from the matches."

"This will continue until all five cadets from one of the Academies have been defeated."

"Therefore, although there will only be five initial matches, the total number of duels will depend on how long the winners manage to remain in the Arena."

"Finally, once all five cadets from one Academy have been defeated, the Academy of the last cadet standing will be declared the winner of the Academic Exchange."

The old man then proceeded to mention the names of the cadets chosen by both Academies.

From the Holy Academy, the selected cadets were...

Rinna, Charlotte Starlight, Leon Starlight, Julian Reinhard, and Clana Ordeal.

From the Elvenheims Academy, the cadets selected for the matches were...

Lhor’Sael Avarion, Kael’Drunn Valtheris, Adam’Leth Cristalys, Lya’Vert, and Very’Daal Elarion Valheim.

After mentioning the names of the ten cadets, the old man continued:

"Only one of these ten cadets will receive the Golden Star. It doesn’t matter if, in the end, cadets from the same Academy end up fighting each other after the cadets from the other Academy have been eliminated."

"The only thing that matters is who will be the last cadet standing."

"Now, I don’t want to drag this out any longer than necessary, so let’s begin the first match."

Whoosh!

Just like the first time, the old man’s figure simply disappeared.

However, this time, the cadets didn’t erupt into cheers. Instead, they remained silent as they waited for the two participants of the first match to enter.

Shortly afterward, from the entrances located at opposite ends of the Arena, the two cadets who would participate in the first match appeared.

They were Julian Reinhard and Lhor’Sael Avarion.

Julian’s long, pale-blue hair contrasted with his crimson eyes, similar to those of his opponent. One hand rested on the hilt of his sword as he advanced with a smile and a calm expression, never taking his eyes off his opponent.

On the other hand, Lhor’Sael Avarion had crimson hair and eyes, along with an attractive appearance that drew the attention of many women. He walked with his hands in his pockets, displaying a relaxed and lazy attitude.

He carried a greatsword nearly two meters long on his back.

Both cadets stopped in front of each other and looked at one another with confidence.

Then, the professor in charge of supervising the matches appeared in the center of the Arena.

The cadets sitting in the stands focused all their attention on the two participants.

The professor raised one hand and shouted:

"Begin!"

Whoosh!

The figures of both cadets vanished the instant the professor gave the signal.

In the very next moment, they both swung their respective swords at their opponent.