"Although I was very much disappointed, not being able to face you myself. But Christina did perform stupendously, so I am satisfied for the day." Chris announced even when no one asked for his opinion.
Aron turned to see the brother carrying his slumbering sister on his back, impressed by the affection between the siblings. "She did put up a good fight."
"Heck.. now I understand why the academy allowed you guys to be interjected mid-semester. All three of you deserve that." Ben pecked his head with a lot of newfound respect for his new roommates.
Traveling back towards their hostel, the sun was shining right on top of their heads. "Hm.. about that Tina girl.. Ben. How strong do you think she is? I can tell she is stronger than anyone around her, but for how much.. I could not fathom."
Aron muttered seemingly in thought. His mind flashed back to a few minutes back when Tina helped him get rid of the new fangirls he had managed to amass without any intention of doing so.
"I am looking forward to facing you myself, kid. Let's hope we can do it sooner than later." Her last words resonated in his mind. Just like her, he is also very keen to test himself against a capable opponent.
"Tina? Hah.. she is a part of the Elite-100. Maybe this helps you gauge her level." Ben proclaimed. "Oh.. that's impressive. What about me? You saw me perform today, how much you will rate me?"
Even Chris was very much interested in this, perking his ears waiting for Ben's reply. "Let me think.. the top performers among the freshers' lot are all around 250. You were good.. but I don't think you can win against them. Obviously, that's if you don't have ANY other hidden trump cards.. do you?"
Ben ended his description with a question. Aron shook his head. "None at all. Even that last trick... I came up with it today itself." Ben glared at the boy as if looking at a monster.
"You tell me.. you never tested that technique of yours and came up with it mid-fight?" It was simply baffling to hear. Ben can only shut down his brain and listen to him.
"Haha.. that's my brother for you..!!" Chris had no qualms accepting the fact. From the feats he had seen Aron perform, it didn't seem too out of place for him to end up doing something so unprecedented.
All this was quite bad for Ben's ego, considering how much he had worked hard and how he was still unable to break into the top 400 ranks. "I certainly hoped for amazing roommates.. but this is a bit too amazing damm.."
"Hmm? You saying something?" Ben's voice was feeble, as such no one could hear him. "Nah.. nothing.. so what was I telling.. yeah.. if that's all you got, I would rate you lower than 250.. but higher than 300."
"300 you say.." In the Radiance hall, Aron noticed a chart stating the rewards for every group of ranks. His mind did some quick calculations, but the rewards still felt quite short of what he required for unlocking the next body refinement spell from his Grimoire.
'Heir of the Midnight Sun..' Let's hope the spell can justify its extravagant name. This next spell was going to take a lot of commitment from Aron, in order to collect the resources mentioned.
"You think we can get our pass for Radiance Arena in a week?" He confirmed. To which Ben replied in the positive. "It should not take any longer than that."
As soon as he gets the required clearances, Aron must advance to the very top of the ranking list, to where his potential can lead him. Those monthly ranking rewards, though not enough to satiate him completely, will definitely help a lot.
"I still don't get it brother.." Out of nowhere, a hunched-back Chris turned to Aron with his own doubts. "Why would you let Christina win? I hope you are aware.. if she finds out.. it's only going to make her mad."
Aron wasn't too surprised Chris saw through him. Unlike his twin sister, the boy was in perfect clarity of mind while inspecting him on the stage towards the end of the fight. His senses had not been dulled like Christina, so he had realized what Aron was hiding.
"Is it only because you want to escape the limelight that would have come with it?" That's the most plausible argument he could think of. "Haha.. there is that. But it's not the only reason."
Ben's eyes fluctuated back and forth between Aron and Chris. This guy.. did he just lie to him so seamlessly? "Do you think she was done? This girl.. she only let herself fall when I admitted defeat."
Aron was greatly impressed by Christina's dedication to the fight. She might be a little snobbish and at times a little suspicious of him, but yeah.. she did manage to leave an impression with her sheer conviction.
Looking at the red face breathing peacefully, Aron tore down a piece of his raggy shirt and helped wipe the blood clots from the corner of her lips. "Though exhausted, I could have certainly pushed ahead and I was sure she would have responded in the same token. But while I am very confident in recovering myself, I wasn't sure she could do the same."
"All in all, it was but a friendly match. No one should get injured. Also, didn't you see the audience? Heck.. they ended up making me the villain.. bullying a young maiden on the stage. You think I want a such reputation for myself, even before I attended a single class?" There was grumbling at the partiality on display, his words making both boys chuckle.
To think that even Aron cared for how the opposite gender viewed him, made Ben feel a strange sense of relief. All this time, he was not at all able to resonate with the boy, but at this point, he can finally be sure Aron was not too different from him.
"Hahaha.. You made so many considerations? That's impressive.. I guess we are different in that regard. It doesn't matter if my opponent is a man, woman, or beast.. all I care about is to give my best and win.. hahaha.."
"Oi.. simmer it down.. you will wake her up." Ben forced Chris to keep quiet. "Hmm.. thinking about opposite genders. Hey.. what about that Mauler girl you told me about? What's her rank like? I totally forgot to check her out in the list." Chris slapped his forehead.
In his excitement to face Aron, he ended up forgetting all about this fierce rival of his. "Currently, she is at 67th rank. But people say she could rank higher than that. She just doesn't try hard enough."
"Mauler? Who are you guys talking about?" Chris offered a brief description of this made-up rival of his. "Wow.. someone like that exists? Ranking in Elite-100 despite being a fresher?"
"Absolutely. Let me tell you.. all the matches she had fought in the Arena until now..." Ben was good at storytelling, letting the suspense build up as Aron and Chris gulped while looking at each other. "all those matches.. she won under a minute."
"It's a mayhem whenever she challenges anyone. It's like she challenges only those who she is confident of not just defeating.. but simply crushing." Ben did all he can to dehumanize the character, building the girl more like a fiend.
"Whatever you say, dude.. if she wants, she can break my bones.. I don't care. I must face her at least once. If there is such a large gap between us, I must experience it for myself." At this point, Ben knew it was stupid to expect any rationality from the boy. Thus he didn't bother convincing him otherwise.
It wasn't long before the three boys found themselves at the main gates of the girls' hostel. "Hain? Are you dumb or what? Can't you see my sis is like this? I got to put her to bed."
All three of them were appalled when they were stopped from entering. "Then please hand her over. We will take her in. Just tell us her room." Chris hesitated a bit but finally decided not to haggle too much.
"Leave it. Let me take her." Aron was tired as hell. But seeing the hesitation on Chris's face he had to step in. "You sure about that?" Chris checked with him, aware the boy required some rest.
"Yeah, I just need to drop her off and check if she needs any first aid or anything. Both of you can leave, I will be back in a while." Having been a regular visitor, the lady at the gate recognized the kid very well.
Though confused at him interacting so freely with boys that seemed to be academy students, the woman didn't comment on it. For all matters and purposes, slaves were not particularly restricted from entering the premises.
"I forgot to ask her about her room. You might need to search for it." "Not an issue." Aron replied, gently peeling the girl from Chris's back and holding her in a princess carry.
Not bothering to wait, Aron sidestepped the lady guard and fervently stepped strained to the extravagant building entrance. "Ma'am, can you please help me find her room number? Name is Christina Desmond, a fresher at the institution."
The woman on the counter was a lot more friendly, thankfully. "Is she okay? We can help you get her to the medical ward if that's necessary." Concerned, she took another glance at the young maiden. Apart from her unnaturally red countenance, she didn't see any injuries on her.
"For now, that's not needed. She just needs rest. But if possible, can you arrange for first aid for her?" With a generous smile, the lady looked through her register to get to the students' records.
"Sure. You can head over to room number 323. Here is the spare key." Having seen the boy around, she had found him quite well behaved, hence her trust in him.
"I will check for a maid and send her right behind you." Seeing her take off, Aron thought of something and called out. "Miss, can you look for a girl named Kyla? We are friends. If it's not too much to ask, can you send her with the aid?"
The lady passed on a mysterious smile before nodding her head. Aron can tell she definitely got the wrong idea about his genuine request, but whatever.
Visiting the girls' hostel building is always a pleasure in itself. Walking through the matted corridors, Aron looked no different than a roadside beggar in his torn clothes. Nonetheless, his more than ordinary face attracted a lot of eyeballs.
Navigating the building, he reached Christina's room but found it hard to fix the key in the hole, thanks to it girl in his arms. "One second.. please hold on miss." He was forced to put her on his shoulder, freeing his hand to unlock the door.
What Aron failed to notice was Christina had ended up waking up sometime back. But finding herself in the arms of the boy, she rationalized it was better to pretend it out than to face the embarrassment of waking up in such a vulnerable condition.
Yet, being placed in such a shameful position with Aron's hand right next to her butt, her mind short-circuited. Knowing better than waking up like this, she let Aron bring her in and place her in the cushioned bed.
"Hm.. is she heavy or am I too fatigued?" Christina's face was twisted when she heard the boy mutter to himself. "Must be the latter." Fortunately, he clarified otherwise the shame from earlier had already begun to simmer into a rage in Christina's mind.
< Kudos!!>>