Novel Full Chapter 381 A Boy Called Maximus
In the hallways of the academy, right after the Survival Exam ended. Elias’ Pov.
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“Did you see that? Now tell me, who’s stronger?” Lumi smirked arrogantly at Elias, Toph in her hands trying his best to mimic her smugness, but his fat cheeks just broke into a smile every time he tried.
He hated her smug smile, but guess she was right. He had never expected Maximus to be that scary. The way he fought against so many pugilists was truly mesmerizing. There was no way in hell he was a mage or runesmith.
But then the items he created could shame even master runesmiths. The spells he used were so strange. He could change how spells worked… that was barely something second-rankers could do. He wouldn’t even be surprised if he showed a spell that was created solely by him.
Of course, he would never admit that to Lumi, though. Master Samuel was still the best duelist.
“He just had too many advantages as a runesmith! Those runic scrolls and the spatial storage box helped him spread the chaos. In a direct fight, the Master would still win!” he argued back.
“Oh yeah?” Lumi said, squinting at him. “Did you ever consider the fact that Maximus can make tens of swords like the one he had in the exam? One blow from it, and Sam wouldn’t even remember his name…”
“He would never get hit! He’s super fast! Did you see how fast he crossed the whole ground to reach the dummies? That giant monkey couldn’t even see him properly as he crossed the whole bridge!” Elias shot back.
They had already arrived at the VIP section of the Knowledge Keepers. The guards told them they had brought all Knowledge Keeper students to the infirmary, which was where they were headed.
“Running away? That’s what you’re bragging about?” Lumi flared her nose. “Maximus used one attack! One attack to defeat the monster near their house! Can you say that anyone else, any of them, could replicate that?”
Elias refuted once again, though in his heart, he had made a resolution to never anger Maximus. Ever. The guy had gone into the exam with a giant roll of runic scrolls. If he had activated those all at once in a direct fight against the two sections, Elias couldn’t help but admit he would have decimated them all.
No wonder he had been selected to become a Highsword member, even though he had not participated in the final Highsword ranking exam yet.
****
Inside Obsidian Bastion, a secret room, a few hours after the Survival Exam ended.
“Space-time spells… Light spells… And even Ice spells…” Windcarver murmured.
“Who is this kid, really? There can’t be a commoner with such merit!” Thunderclaw said, grabbing everyone’s attention.
“There is no information on him. As far as the records go, he and those two second-rankers just joined the Eldoris army as recruits. There’s nothing about them before that,” Shadecaster replied calmly.
“He is arrogant and disrespectful! And a threat!” Silverspell said with disdain.
“You just shut your mouth, Silver! Wasn’t it you who wanted to give him the honor and glory of joining us? You didn’t even consult us before acting on your stupid plan,” Ironspike pointed at the white-bearded old mage with his massive, muscled arm.
“Enough!” Sunkeeper bellowed. Her voice forced everyone to look at her heavenly beautiful face. She looked annoyed and disappointed. Her shiny blood-red armor highlighted her short golden hair as she glared at Silverspell.
“You cost us a huge opportunity here, Silver…” She paused, looking at all of them one by one. “Worldscribe already has a working relationship with him, meanwhile none of your so-called noble contacts have even managed to get close…”
“The boy is a strange one, Keeper,” a man dressed in casual noble attire said intently. “Money, fame, power—he cares for none of these. His allegiance is to nothing. Even the Eldoris queen couldn’t force him to pledge to her as a knight.”
“He cares for his friends. Maybe we can use that…” Shadecaster added.
“That blonde-haired one… Sam, was it? We can try pulling him in. He seems to like glory and fame…” Windcarver suggested.
“My contacts tried… He seems to have the same distaste for nobles as Morph Vialist. Even though they serve the Elven princess…” Thunderclaw replied.
“Bah! The two most powerful, and both are commoners… What happened to the blood of legacy mages?” Silverspell sneered again, though no one paid much attention to him.
Sunkeeper spoke up after a while, “Shadecaster, keep an eye on this kid. He could prove to be problematic. The contract he signed with Worldscribe is not exclusive… We have to try harder to attract him. There has to be something he needs. The potions of his alone can give us an edge in securing more levels in the dungeon. Even his runecrafting skills are better than our second-rankers…”
“Runefather himself said that the kid has five times the knowledge he had at his age. What this brat will become in the future… is frightening to think about.” Shadecaster murmured.
“He won, right?” Sunkeeper asked. “He will enter the dungeon. Let’s use that. Maybe by revealing some of the ancient relics we have will get his interest as a runesmith…”
****
Around 30 minutes after the exam, Infirmary of Knowledge Keeper section. Damian Pov.
Damian started hearing voices, and moments later, he opened his eyes. He was in the infirmary, he realized. Many Knowledge Keeper students were sleeping on beds around him, still recovering enough mana to wake up.
He looked to the side and found Reize with Toph in her lap, sitting in a chair. Her hands held a thick book as her eyes scanned his body after seeing him get up and sit. Damian realized his top half was naked, covered in woolen clothes that they had used as bandages.
“Already…? I barely read two pages…” she complained.
“Did they declare the results yet?” Damian asked as Reize handed him his two bracers.
“Not yet… They announced tomorrow there will be another gala-like event where they will reveal it, so everyone can relax. The participants of the exam are mandatorily required to attend… if they can walk by then,” she answered him.
Damian took out a high-grade healing potion from his bracer and immediately drank it, feeling much better.
“Did you…?” Damian was just going to ask, but she cut him off.
“Yes, I gave them the potions. No one was seriously injured, but many with heavy injuries felt instantly better after consuming them and wanted to thank you. I told them they could wait till tomorrow.”
Damian nodded, but his face turned slightly red when she added, “I planned to get beside you after this page… You ruined my plans.”