A buzzing sound reverberated across an old, plain room while a handsome boy with black, disheveled hair lay on the bed, scratching his butt.
The boy's eyelids open and shut every five seconds as he decided whether to attend school today or not.
'Wait, wasn't today…?'
Suddenly, the boy shot up from his bed and practically flew across the room, landing right inside the bathtub.
Scrubbing his body, he stretched out all of his muscles and quickly wore white pants and a black tunic.
Grabbing his blade, he hurriedly rushed out of his room and onto the Dueling Grounds.
Yes, there is a Dueling Grounds on campus, but it is only used for school purposes such as the Dormitory War, which Ace was currently heading to.
As he approached the Dueling Grounds, he saw the full two-thousand spectators and two people fighting on the grounds.
The spectators sat on seats which descended diagonally towards the Dueling Grounds, which was located right above sea-level.
He used [Flurry Steps] to swoop past the spectators and found a seat at the very back and top of the stadium.
He watched the fights play out as he yawned profusely, scaring a few birds away.
His black, wavy hair fluttered due to the wind while now indifferent face looked majestic under the sunlight.
Even so, no one spared a glance as they looked at the next two competitors descend onto the ring.
Ace's eyes widened when he realized who they were.
'So, they finally appeared, huh?'
His true goal wasn't Leo, but them…
Although he might have already reached their level, it was due to the power of knowledge from his previous life.
Without that, he might have been an ant compared to them, like in his previous life.
As the two faced each other, the tunics they wore fluttered around in the wind, making it look like a climactic showdown.
On the right, there was a girl, the same age as Ace. Her smooth blonde hair was tied into a bun as it complimented her perfect figure. Her tunics loosely hugged her body, highlighting her curves to the others. Her face was milky-white as it even shone under the sun.
'Lily Yearning.'
On the left, there was another girl. She possessed light-brown hair that fell down to her lower-back. She didn't bother tying her hair up as if to mock her opponent.
She wore dark-brown glasses a white tunic, contrary to what the rules of the War stated. However, no one dared to point it out, not even the teachers, because of her family.
'Melissa Smith.'
Ace's eyes narrowed into slits as he scrutinized the two girls that stood facing each other on the Dueling Grounds.
Lily and Melissa stared into each others' eyes, daring the other to make a move.
"Now, shall we begin?"
The referee asked, not waiting for an answer before announcing…
"Start!"
Even though he said so, not Lily nor Melissa moved an inch. The referee's expression was distorted as he questioned his life choices.
"Start!"
He announced once again, only to be met by a pitiful silence and sympathetic gazes from the spectators.
Giving up, he threw his flag on the ground and stomped out, leaving behind Lily and Melissa who just kept staring at each other.
'A smart strategy. However, if two people do it simultaneously, it loses its purpose.'
Ace had seen this strategy in his previous life.
It was when one prepared a trump card and waited for their opponent to strike. Once their opponent did, however, they unleashed the attack in their face.
Of course, no one would expect their most powerful strike as their first attack, so it was a nigh-perfect plan.
That, however, was until everyone found out about the strategy and started using it, causing it to become nigh-useless.
'Well, if it's them, one of them might still be able to pull it off.'
Ace scratched his chin while imagining the scenario.
Having been a Conscientious Ranker himself, he had some idea of how these strategies worked, but he'd never used them.
The spectators were still quiet, trying to process what was happening. Another reason for why they were quiet was, Lily and Melissa were also one of the 25 Kings of Academy 07, so they couldn't offend her.
The 25 Kings of Academy 07 are student-appointed leaders and representatives who reign over and represent Academy 07.
The teachers encourage this behavior since it is democratic and could be put to good use if utilized properly.
However, for now, it's just a bunch of strong kids who bully the weaker kids, while the latter praise them for it.
As Ace was thinking about what would happen next, a voice entered Ace's ears as everybody looked at that particular person.
'Ah, this guy again.'
Leo Kadz, the former King of Strength from Ace's previous life.
Ace didn't know if the former had become a King in this life yet, but there was a high possibility that he had, considering the fact that he just yelled at two of the most powerful people in the first year batch.
Lily and Melissa were very powerful, in strength, money, and background.
The Yearning and Smith Families were very powerful and influential.
The Yearning Family Lord, Harold Yearning is one of the core members of the Conscientious Faction alongside Noah Williams, while the Smith Family Lord, John Smith is the director of the most powerful weapon-producing organization in the Conscientious Faction, Smith Industries.
Well, Leo had every right to berate the two because his familial background didn't fall behind Lily and Melissa, but everyone still sent a scowl at Leo.
In Ace's previous life, Leo had been one of the most respected students in the academy, but now, he was the most frowned upon…
"Hey, hurry up already!"
He yelled again, but neither Lily nor Melissa moved an inch.
Soon, twenty minutes passed, and Ace noticed a slight fluctuation of mana in the atmosphere.
He looked around and confirmed it wasn't just him who had felt it. Everyone was now staring at the two girls with glittering eyes.
'They finally started.'
Ace swallowed these words while scrutinizing the two cautiously.
For Ace, the Dormitory War wasn't only about what Dormitory he would live in for the rest of the year. It was also about improving his senses by watching battles while also gaining only superficial battle experience.
Using the two girls, he was trying to predict their moves and utilize that ability during his own battles.
Soon, Ace's eyes widened as he realized what they were planning on doing.
'Because they had taken so long, they'll unleash their trump card at the beginning, in turn forcing the person who used a lower amount of mana to win. Wait, if one uses lower mana, they won't be able to deflect the other's attack…'
Ace realized that there was no possible way to predict how this would go.
However, he could predict what they would do due to their personalities.
'Melissa looks cold on the outside but is an easy-going person on the inside, so I think she'll use a lower amount of mana. Lily, on the other hand, is a cold and merciless villainess, so she'll probably go all out and try to hurt Melissa as much as possible.'
The mana in the atmosphere became thicker and thicker after each passing second.
Lily unsheathed her sword, which quickly ignited in flames.
Melissa performed a pattern using her fingers, which caused water to materialize on one hand, and a translucent green barrier to appear on the other.
Their eyes showed a sense of killing intent, which freaked the students out.
However, little did they know Lily and Melissa were completely evenly matched. Even if one wins, they won't be able to kill the other no matter how much they fight.
Soon, the flames on Lily's blade had increased to the size of a house, encasing her and her surroundings in a cage of fire.
Magic could only be used when someone had the correct skill, such as an affinity or a specific spell. Since Lily had [Self Fire-Affinity - S], flames wouldn't cause her any damage.
On the other side of the grounds, the right side of Melissa's body and her surroundings were covered in water while the left side was covered in a green barrier.
'She's using [Self Water-Affinity - S], and [Barrier Magic - A].'
Ace commented while stroking his chin rapidly.
A couple of seconds later, they began…
Water shot out from Melissa's reserve while Lily used the flames to block. Soon, both attacks had been annihilated, and it was clear that both of them had used the same amount of mana.
'Well that's a surprise.'
Now, it was a game of how long they can maintain their mana.
Lily needed to maintain the flames which concentrated on her blade, while Melissa needed to maintain [Barrier Magic] to deflect those attacks.
Basically, Lily had the advantage because of her offensive capabilities even after using her trump card, a massive amount of flames created using mana.
Bang!
Clank!
Lily closed the gap between her and Melissa while swinging rapidly on her barrier, trying to break it using sheer force.
However, little did she know, [Barrier Magic] can only be broken using a skill of a higher level, such as [Sword Saint].
Unfortunately, the skill she possessed was an inferior version named [Sword Master - A], which was the same rank as her [Barrier Magic].
Perhaps realizing that, she targeted Melissa's right side, which was now free of mana since Melissa had already used water magic on that side.
However, as Lily's blade was about to hit Melissa's flesh, the latter quickly turned her body around, bringing the barrier along with her and safely blocking the former's deadly strike.
"It's just a matter of seconds now, Lily."
Melissa called out as many students gazed at her with lovestruck eyes.
'Ah, right. She also has the [Charm - B] skill. Forgot about that.'
It was why she was called the King of Charms; because of the [Charm] skill.
Lily gazed at Melissa coldly and stated…
"Exactly, give up then."
Melissa snickered as he blocked Lily's every move; with fluent moves too, causing her new fans to stare at her with even more passion.
Ace swore he could see little hearts inside their eyes as they gazed at Melissa.
Lily jumped up using [Body Augmentation] and prepared for the strongest vertical strike she had ever performed.
Using up the last of her mana reserves, she increased the amount of flames imbued into her weapon to the maximum, and…
Boom!
A deafening roar resounded throughout the arena as everyone fell silent.
'What the…'
Ace swallowed his words while doing zilch to hide his sheer bewilderment.
As the smoke subsided, there lay a half-dead corpse of a girl whose burnt hair resembled that of Ace right before he regressed.
'How…'
Ace's thoughts resounded tumultuously inside his mind, forcing him to lose focus.
Lily was standing before the half-dead corpse of her rival, Melissa with an expression filled to the brim with sheer pride.
She took no fault for reducing Melissa to this state, and she knew that.
Despite that fact, she still felt a little bit of concern.
'No, what am I thinking!?'
Lily thought as he shook her head violently.
'Why am I feeling pity for this vermin?'
She buried those feelings of concern away while stepping on Melissa's head and stomping on it.
She knew the wounds could be fixed, but she wanted to leave a permanent scar on Melissa's face so that she could never use her [Charm] again.
But, right before her foot could reach Melissa's head, a white thread extended out of nowhere and captured Lily's foot, causing her to lose balance and almost fall.
She was saved by the white threads which held her up in place.
Soon, the medical team arrived as they quickly put Melissa on a stretcher and took her outside, leaving the spectators to wonder if what they saw was real.
Ace had already started recovering from his confused state, as he walked towards Leo, who was sitting right near the grounds.
"Ah, hey."
"Is that all you're gonna say? Y'know, I cut your arm off for the second time yesterday."
"Yeah, that was my mistake. Besides, Principal Felix helped me out."
"Uh, what's with this good two shoes behavior?"
Leo tilted his head as he sneered.
"Don't get used to it, nerd."
"I'm not the one who lost two limbs in a span of a week and a half."
Leo punched the ground, causing a small shockwave to arise.
"Express your anger in a productive way, you dolt."
"I challenge you to a duel again."
"Didn't you say you wouldn't do so yesterday?"
"Arghh!"
Leo yelled, causing the others to frown at him. Leo shrunk back down, supposedly scared of all the dissatisfied expressions.
He then turned around and proceeded to curse them out for 'bad behavior'.
"That's quite ironic, y'know?"
"Shut up, Ace. Ah, I wanted to tell you something."
"What is it?"
"Guess what the students call you."
"Uh, how the hell am I supposed to know that?"
Leo clicked his tongue to express his dissatisfaction; then, his expression suddenly brightened up.
"We're both Kings now. I'm ranked fourth and named the King of Idiocy… Cheh!"
He spat out.
'Wait, I'm a King too!? H– Right, I did trash Leo the other day.'
"What am I named?"
"King of Indifference."
"..."
A short silence rang out as Leo and I locked eyes. We stared at each other for a short while before I chuckled.
"King of Indifference, huh? Quite ironic to say the least."
"Why is that?"
"I have a skill named [Indifference]."
Ace knew he shouldn't be revealing his skills to people, especially not those who wanted to challenge him to a fight every two seconds, but he thought a non-combative skill wouldn't make a difference.
Besides, since he was named the King of Indifference, everyone should already know that he was devoid of any emotions.
"Ah, that's why you look so creepy all the time."
"Well, I don't have it activated right now!"
"That's because no one besides me and a couple others can see you."
"Yeah, well… never mind."
"Good."
Both of us stayed silent for a couple of seconds before an announcement rang out.
"Match #2, Leo Kadz versus Sebastian Dunford."
Ace chuckled at the irony of the situation once again.
This was a guaranteed win for Leo, and it could be proved so because Sebastian Dunford, the King of Flames, was fifth ranked while Leo was fourth.
"Ah, right. What King rank am I?"
"First."
His words echoed inside Ace's mind as it suddenly became chaotic there.
He suddenly felt like his head would burst, but it was soon filled with pleasant feelings.
'Well, at least people won't be stupid enough to mess with me now.'
He thought, unbeknownst to the fact that his life would change soon.
"Well, go ahead, King of Idiocy."
Leo took a second to try to slap me, but I caught his wrist and twisted it. He winced in pain and ran away like a wet dog.
Ace sighed as he sat back to try to enjoy the fight, even if he knew it was one-sided.
The power of Berserker was too much for the King of Flames to handle, even if he was an F+ Rank individual.
Leo had probably reached E- Rank at this point and had a clear edge against Sebastian.
'Hah, I truly hope Sebastian can win this, though. Would love to see Leo's distraught expression after he loses to a loser.'
As Leo and Sebastian stood before each other, they shot glares at each other at a rapid pace.
A berserker against a fire mage. It would normally be a one-sided duel where the fire mage wins, but in this situation where Leo's rank and experience is higher…
Moreover, Leo has faced life-and-death situations because of Ace, which forced him to become opportunistic and less snobby in some ways.
Getting your arm cut off twice really makes the man.
"Now, shall we begin?"
The referee asked a rhetorical question, to which none of them answered.
"Begin!"
As soon as these words were uttered from the referee's mouth, Leo charged at Sebastian while the latter used flames to block the former's hand-to-hand combat skills.
"Cheap tricks, puny mage."
Leo snorted as he flipped forward while holding out his right leg. His right foot collided with the ground, sending shockwaves the size of cars towards the fire mage.
They were, unfortunately, blocked by Sebastian as he formed a spear using flames. As Sebastian threw the spear, Leo flipped backwards, avoiding the strike while running in to close the gap.
WIth no room to move left, Sebastian created a pillar using mana, deflecting any last-minute attacks before trying to prepare his trump card.
Since Sebastian was only in the F+ Rank, he normally had to be conservative while utilizing mana. However, now was the time to strike, because if he didn't, Leo would gain the advantage.
He now had one chance to finish the latter off with a single move, Area Combustion.
"What're you gonna do, pretty boy?"
Leo sneered while rapidly closing the gap. He arrived at the pillar of fire and kicked the flames.
Normally, that stunt would instantly burn the person's leg to a crisp, but his high-ranking skills along with [Body Augmentation] helped to negate the damage of such non-concentrated mana.
"Ha!"
Leo screamed, already celebrating his inevitable and triumphant victory.
However, Sebastian wasn't finished with his series of attacks…
A second later, the entire arena burst into flames.
Even the spectators were open to any attacks, which caused the teachers to step in.
Soon, a translucent green barrier appeared, blocking the combustion of flames in the area.
'Leo… is he dead?'
It wouldn't be surprising if someone died due to this attack in an instant. Even an E Rank expert, which is a minor rank higher than Leo, would die easily.
This was the superiority of such a destructive spell compared to other ones of the same element.
As the smoke started to subside, all eyes were locked on the figure lying on the ground. No, there were two figures.
Sebastian and Leo were both lying on the ground, probably unconscious.
'How the… no, did he land an attack at the last moment?'
It was the explanation. Leo had landed an attack on Sebastian right before the flames erupted, surrounding the arena completely.
The mana had integrated with the surrounding oxygen, causing combustion.
Contrary to Ace's expectations that Leo and Sebastian had either died or passed out, Leo showed signs of awakening.
"Ughhh."
Leo groaned as he puked the second he awoke. Turning around to lay down on his belly, he covered his arms with [Body Augmentation] using the little mana he had regenerated during the downtime, which was when the smoke erupted.
His puny amount of mana ran out in a mere two seconds as he lay flat on the ground once again.
"I won…"
He declared, not paying attention to his condition. He then tried to get up again, only to fall down head first.
'This idiot. At this rate, you'll die. Not that I care, of course.'
A very tsundere thought appeared in Ace's mind, but contrary to his thoughts, his face remained indifferent.
He wanted to maintain his image of the King of Indifference as long as possible.
However, right now, he had a different problem at hand.
Leo tried to get up again, but fell down.
Some spectators heard the noise of bones cracking.
He tried again.
This time, every spectator heard the noise of bones cracking.
'If this continues, he'll become crippled for life, and we can't have that, can we? Wait, am I really considering having him as my subordinate?'
'If he fails again, he's done for.'
As the thought entered Ace's mind, Leo had already started. He turned around to lay flat on his back this time.
Then, he placed his hands down and pushed up using all his strength.
Several deafening screams resounded in the arena as a lone boy who had his stamina and strength depleted, along with numerous wounds, tried to declare his victory.
By this point, Leo had already won, but he didn't care.
Pushing up using a quick burst of strength, he stood.
He stood for two seconds, but in that amount of time, he reached the heart of every single spectator.
Then, he was about to fall down back-first when a teacher interfered and saved him.
As he was carried using a stretcher, everyone saluted and chanted…
"King of Bravery, King of Bravery, King of Bravery."
Watching this, Ace just chuckled.
'Seems like a new King has been born. Well, an old one with a new name.'
He too saluted, praising him for his bravery.