Daniel walked behind the Old Man and Enfred as they made their way towards the dining area for the Neophytes sentinels. The hallways were still simply dark stone with torches every couple of meters, but the cold that he felt better was gone.
'Geez, it's like a maze down here,' Daniel thought to himself, finally getting the hop and skip in his step back after the recent ordeal.
"Alright, Young Daniel," The Old Man spoke, "Go join your friends, you have 15 minutes left before we begin the second rounds." The Old Man spoke as he padded Daniel's back in encouragement.
"I look forward to seeing how you have improved, now that you don't have so much on your mind. Either way, we are proud of you!" Enfred commented with an ugly smile.
Daniel nodded with a smile and looked around for Enise and Adora. 'Oh, there they are.' Daniel slowly made his way over, quickly being bombarded by questions as soon he sat down next to them.
"Mr. Daniel, what happened? Why did you leave so quickly?" Adora spammed the chat.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt? I don't see any injuries but you looked pale when you left, so what's going on?" Enise joined the chat.
Daniel warily shook his head and smiled, "Guys, we'll talk about this later, alright? For now, I'm okay and I'm doing better than I was before I left in a rush. I apologize for worrying you both."
Enise still bore worry as she saw Daniel try to dispel their concerns, but she relented and simply nodded.
"Everyone's been talking about you, Daniel. The fight was brutal, the way you left the prince was crazy!" Adora began the conversation with excitement.
Enise chuckled, "Well most of us Neophytes will always be commoners. Sometimes the academy takes in Nobles or Royal members and from what I've heard they're all arrogant assholes."
The people around them chimed into the conversation.
"Yep! I hate those damned nobles. It's almost like they have a stick up their ass because they were born with silver spoons."
"Good Job Daniel, you really showed that asshole to stop spewing shit everywhere."
"Great job bro!"
"Neophytes, you have two minutes to be on stage for the second round!" Captain Vios' sonorous voice resounded as everyone was chatting.
Everyone quickly shoved their remaining meals down their throats, running out of the dining area straight towards the stage. Due to the running, the Colosseum rumbled.
The crowds on the seats all looked towards the hall, anticipation shining from their eyes. Many had already begun cheering. The Nobles maintained a more reserved bearing but even their eyes were like lanterns.
As the Neophytes made their way down the hallway, they slowly moved Daniel to the front. In his confusion, Daniel looked around.
Everyone had a look of admiration, as they smiled and nodded encouragingly.
"Go on bro, you have to lead us!"
"What he said, you're super strong so we're relying on you!"
Enise and Adora both smiled at each other, watching the crowd encouraging their new friend made them smile. Adora walked a little quicker to move beside Daniel. "Bro, they look up to you, isn't that crazy?"
"Is it right though? I don't want to divide the class with notions of commoners and nobles..." Daniel looked around and was able to spot the minority in the crowd all the way at the back.
"Ha! You don't have to worry about this, they do that all by themselves. Anyways, what matters right now is that you are the strongest thus far, keep your head up, Mr. Daniel!"
Thus, Daniel was at the forefront of the crowd, with Adora and Enise following right behind him. As they arrived at the end of the hall, the cheers of the crowd filled their ears, along were the drums. Keeping the event at a feverish pitch.
"Everyone! Let the Second Round commence!"
"Ahhh!" The crowd went wild, as even the nobles shouted!
"Up first will be The 50th Neophyte vs the 3rd Neophyte. Please enter the stage."
As Daniel and the Number Neophyte prepped on the stage, the other youth spoke.
"Daniel, I admire your strength. I wish to try my best, so please give me the honor of fighting you" The young boy, carried a determined gaze as he bowed slightly.
Daniel took a good look, the boy had blonde hair and grey eyes, with a slightly heroic face.
"What's your name?" Daniel asked as he took the boy's request seriously.
"Marin, from Eagerwood Village in the East."
"Marin, I don't know if what I've done is worthy of being admired by everyone, however, I will take your request seriously. So do your best." Daniel smiled as he looked around, his eyes finally settling on Marin.