Chapter 721 – In The lead.

“I demand a thorough inspection! They have to be cheating! Otherwise, how could they be doing this?”

A few angry-looking mages stood before Archmagus Vaelen’s temporary office. The sun elf was responsible for maintaining order within the convocation, but that did not mean he was easily accessible to ordinary tier three class holders.

“The archmagus has heard your complaints, gentlemages.”

The professional-looking elf attendant stood before the heavy oak doors, his hands tucked into his wide sleeves.

“However, all equipment brought by the participating academies was cleared by the official review committee before the events began.”

“That staff is not standard casting gear!”

One of the disgruntled professors snapped, his face flushed with indignation.

“It completely trivializes the necessity of advanced spell shaping. A child could hit a target using such a device. It subverts the very spirit of the convocation!”

The attendant did not budge, and his expression remained unchanged.

“The tool falls within the specified limits of enchantment. The rules do not forbid such specialized equipment, and its use does not subvert the spirit of the convocation. If you wish to lodge a formal protest, submit the paperwork to the high council after today’s matches conclude.”

Inside the luxurious office beyond the wooden doors, Archmagus Vaelen sat at a grand mahogany desk, listening to the muffled arguments outside. A hovering crystal orb displayed a crystal-clear recording of the marksmanship final, replaying the red-haired girl’s precise shots over and over.

“Interesting… and then…”

Another orb floated forward, displaying a white knight like golem fighting with remarkable fluidity against a rival construct that could not even touch it.

“So that half dwarf wants me… Hm…”

He examined various other displays, tilting his head from one to another while listening to the complaints outside his office. It seemed this convocation would be different from the usual affairs. Perhaps even transformative in some way.

“Maybe this won’t be as boring as I thought it would be.”

A grin spread across his face as he nodded.

*****

“The last match to determine who will qualify for the semifinal bracket of the golem battle! Can the Xandar Institute golem pull it off?”

Roland’s machine stood opposite another peculiar-looking golem. Its lower body had four legs, though they were nothing like those of a horse or centaur. They were more insect like, with sharp joints and a low, sturdy stance. Above them were four arms, each holding a different weapon, and two heads perched atop its broad torso.

It was not quite an insect, nor was it quite humanoid. It was some strange blend of the two, as if its creator had been unable to decide what kind of creature to make.

‘His movements have become lighter. The synchronization rate has also increased…’

Roland glanced at the display inside his helmet, monitoring Robert’s shifting stats. Ever since he had met his younger sister, his connection to the golem seemed to have deepened.

Perhaps emotional stability and lower stress levels were affecting the construct as well. Whatever the cause, the change was obvious. Robert appeared to be entering some kind of flow state. The fight had already begun.

His opponent charged, swinging a longsword in one hand and a massive flaming axe in the other. The heavy blades swept through the air in a terrifying flurry, while the hybrid construct moved with surprising speed for its bulky frame. Its four insect-like legs dug deep into the reinforced stone of the arena as it advanced.

Robert did not panic. Inside the cockpit, his eyes remained calm as he focused on the displays relaying both the regular view and the assisted prompts Roland had provided. As always, he analyzed the model, predicting its actions and identifying even the smallest openings. That tiny advantage was all his brother needed. And he used it well.

The white knight construct glided across the arena with strange ease. With a fluid rotation of its wrist, it deflected the oncoming longsword with the edge of its shield. The sound of metal screeching against metal echoed through the stadium, followed by a shower of bright sparks.

In the stands, the spectators gasped. To them, it looked as though a living knight were wearing the heavy plate rather than a magic-powered golem. There was no stutter in its limbs, no delay between command and execution. Its movements were almost as fluid as those of a large human wearing a suit of armor. It was a display no one had expected.

‘Should I tell him to take some damage...’

Thanks to the prediction system and Robert's improving golem piloting skills, the construct stood little chance. All of its attacks were predictable and were either dodged, defended against, or even parried by his sword. The white golem, with its vibrant blue torso and shield, had barely taken any damage. The one-sidedness of the match was beginning to bother Roland. He disliked standing out, yet he still wanted to win the competition.

‘Did I overdo it...’

His students were winning. His golem was dominating the competition. That should have been something he celebrated, but instead, it only brought a mountain of unwanted attention. Standing out this much meant more eyes on his designs, more questions about his methods, and, more importantly, more prying eyes into his origins.

In the arena, Robert gave his opponent no room to recover. The hybrid construct lunged forward with its remaining weapons, attempting to use its sheer mass to pin the white knight against the boundary wall. Robert simply shifted his center of gravity, sidestepping the clumsy charge with uncanny grace. His shield came up, catching the opponent's elbow joint, while his enchanted sword slid cleanly through another limb, slicing it off with its heated edge.

The severed limb landed on the ground with a thud, scattering bright sparks across the reinforced stone floor. The hybrid golem staggered as its internal mana flow fluctuated violently from the sudden loss of an extremity. The opposing mage frantically attempted to stabilize the machine, shouting orders while desperately trying to come up with a plan to keep the white knight at bay.

A surge of lightning energy burst from the heavy axe as it swung in a quick arc, but Robert saw through the attack. Moments later, another limb was on the ground, sliced away by the heated blade.

Soon, Robert drove the tip of the white knight's blade straight into the chest compartment. He bypassed the thick outer plating by targeting a hairline fracture near the central power joint, precisely where Roland's visual assist had marked the weakest point.

A loud screech echoed across the stadium as the multi limbed golem froze in place. Its remaining weapons slipped from its artificial fingers and clattered onto the stone floor, while the mana engine that gave it life ceased to function. The battle was over. Victory was assured once again.

“There it is! Xandar's Institute qualifies for the semifinal brackets. We will see them back here tomorrow!”

Silence enveloped the arena for two brief seconds before the announcer's voice boomed through the surrounding amplification magic. The crowd erupted into a sudden roar, amazed by the sheer efficiency of the duel. Xandar Institute had claimed another decisive victory, securing its place in the semifinals without suffering any meaningful damage.

Roland watched everyone cheer around him while he remained in the controller box. There were a lot more people here than during his first match, and interest was clearly increasing. He stood up and started walking, wondering if this would continue all the way to the final match, which he still believed his golem would win.

‘That should be about it for the first day.’

Things were winding down now as night approached. Most of the other events had concluded, and it was time to officially announce which schools were in the lead. They did not usually count the points together after the matches, but it seemed that this time they would reveal which school was ahead at the end of the day.

“Good job. You can rest for today. No more matches.”

The two eventually managed to return to the golem hangar, receiving angry looks from the school they had just defeated.

“Rest… but I can’t take this off, right, brother?”

Robert was stuck wearing the helmet and pilot suit for now since he was a fugitive in the kingdom. If he were discovered, things would become quite complicated.

“No, you can’t.”

“...How did you get used to constantly wearing a helmet?”

“I just did? It’s not that uncomfortable. Didn’t they teach you anything in knight school?”

Roland replied without really knowing how to explain it. At this point, wearing heavy armor had become like having a second skin. His skill with it was maxed out, probably surpassing that of some professional knights who still removed their armor from time to time. Roland, on the other hand, barely took his off and sometimes even went to bed wearing it when his wife wasn’t around.

“...”

He couldn’t see Robert’s expression, but it was clear that he was probably regretting ever asking about the helmet. To get rid of the uncomfortable silence, Roland turned on the main screen and looked through the recent events. Soon, the announcement of which school was in the lead came through.

“That concludes the events for today!”

The announcer’s voice boomed from the screen and echoed throughout the entire pocket dimension. A massive floating illusion expanded over the central open amphitheater, visible even to those outside. Glowing magical symbols scrolled rapidly across the illuminated panel before locking into place with a ringing sound that resonated throughout the entire valley.

Starbloom Academy, the previous winner, was surprisingly in second place by a narrow margin. Right above them, sitting in a shocking first place, was Xandar Institute.

“First place overall. Was Lucienne’s school always this prestigious?”

Robert asked while standing next to Roland and watching the points being shown. The lead wasn’t large, but they were already in first place, something almost unheard of. They weren’t a bad school of magic, but they shouldn’t have been in the top three across the entire kingdom. To everyone watching the competition, the reason for their sudden success was clear: the strange enchanted items everyone was using.

“No, it wasn’t... This is above what I expected.”

His bet with the Archmagus did not require him to take first place overall, making this situation something he had not truly desired. The plan had simply been to win the golem competition while the kids finished no higher than third place. That could still happen, but at this point, he wasn’t sure if he could influence the results.

Roland stared at the floating projection as the scores solidified. First place was a massive achievement for Xandar Institute, but that didn’t mean they would remain there for the rest of the competition. The difference between first and second place wasn’t that large, and the convocation would last for many more days. Anything could happen.

“Congratulations, brother. Your inventions are really effective. If only Father could see them, I bet he would appreciate…”

Robert trailed off after mentioning their father. He knew that Roland did not have a good relationship with the man who had cast him aside. The air in the hangar grew noticeably colder for a brief moment before Robert cleared his throat, trying to smooth over his awkward slip.

Roland did not respond. He simply adjusted a few settings on the main console and examined the golem’s diagnostics, finding several areas that needed attention. While the machine had not suffered any direct damage, its rapid movements and intense use of runic magic had caused a few components to loosen and deteriorate slightly.

“I need to fix a few things on the golem. You are free to go outside, but remember not to take off your helmet until you are in your private quarters. We cannot afford to have you discovered by anyone, so be careful.”

“Of course, brother.”

Even though Robert was the older sibling, it was clear that he listened to Roland’s orders. Roland held a higher status, both in terms of levels and his position as the right-hand man of a ducal son. With little else to do, Robert excused himself and wandered into the streets, leaving Roland alone to tend to the runic machine.

While it seemed unwise to let him wander the streets alone, Robert was not truly without protection. The suit he wore constantly fed Roland information about his whereabouts, and, much like their younger sister Lucienne, he was accompanied by a smaller golem that kept watch over him. Robert was also a tier three class holder, not a child who needed constant supervision.

The white knight golem towered over Roland, but with the help of levitation magic, repairing it did not take long. He patched the damaged areas and restored the runic traces and structures. Within half an hour, everything was repaired and ready for the next bout, which would take place sometime the following day, though it might be even later. Roland was not entirely sure of the schedule.

With that done, he moved outside and mingled with the crowd, making his way toward the hotel where his school would be staying. Now that the competitions were over for the day, they would soon leave the pocket space and return to the main sanctuary area, where the hotels and shops were located.

‘I had forgotten just how many people were attending this convocation.’

Once he returned to the main sanctuary area, he found it packed with people from every corner of the kingdom and perhaps even beyond. Scholars, noble scouts, merchants, and curious visitors crowded the cobblestone paths and rocky temple grounds. The area looked more like a metropolitan city now, with thousands of people constantly moving through the streets.

Conversations filled the air, but one topic seemed to dominate them all: the sudden rise of Xandar Institute. The unexpected performance of the sniper staff, the impressive showing of his golem, and even their success in the treasure hunt had thrown the established hierarchy into complete disarray.

Roland kept his hood pulled low as he waded through the dense crowd, deliberately maintaining a casual pace so as not to attract unwanted attention. He noticed several individuals wearing the insignia of rival institutions quietly questioning local vendors, clearly desperate for any scrap of information they could obtain about Xandar’s mysterious new equipment.

When he finally reached the hotel assigned to their school delegation, he found the lobby to be just as chaotic. Faculty members were busily responding to a mountain of formal inquiries and dinner invitations sent by curious high ranking mages.

‘So they have started making their move.’

He had known this would happen, and perhaps this was exactly what Yavenna had wanted. Her Institute was finally being placed back on the map. However, it was still unclear whether their five minutes of fame would last. There were still several days and competitions left to complete, and their sudden rise could just as easily fade away as quickly as it had begun.

Amid the bustling crowd, Lucienne stood near a marble fountain, engaged in a lively conversation with a few of her classmates, who were still celebrating their collective victories. Fortunately, her mother was nowhere to be seen, and Robert was absent as well, since his sleeping quarters were located elsewhere.

‘Hm, isn’t that?’

Among the crowd of teachers and professors, he spotted a few familiar faces. Arion from the Runic Department was there, as was Vice Principal Rathos, who looked quite jolly as he was surrounded by people from other schools attempting to pry the secrets behind their continued victories from him.

When Rathos noticed Roland looking at him, he gave a small nod of appreciation, as if thanking him for making all of this possible. That was all, however, as he quickly returned to his conversation with the other professors, a broad smile still on his face.

The first day was coming to an end, and everything was going well. He had even managed to bring his siblings together for their first real conversation, and he already had another location in mind where he could get them to meet again.

Everything was proceeding smoothly. Too smoothly for his liking. He was experienced enough by now to know that things rarely remained this peaceful for long. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a quiet voice kept warning him to be careful. Always to be careful...