Rio didn't get any spirit stone since he never got to find out the source of the beast waves, but it didn't matter; he still got his piggy bank, thinking that he hadn't seen her since the secret realm, Rio tried looking for her.
After asking around, and seeing people's depressed faces, "Don't you know, Lara was one of the people that didn't come out of the secret realm" a girl with blonde hair and an average face said with a sad tone.
'Tch, that's annoying, my piggybank broke. Now I need to find a new source of funds, though I am not in need now, the amount I have now won't last forever. Rio thought before leaving the student.
Rio tried looking for Daniel since he was an elder's disciple, he probably knows about other elders, so it's best to know who he can pick to be his umbrella. After about 20 minutes, Rio finally found him in the library.
'This is the last place I expected him to be, but who cares? "Yo, Daniel, I have a question. Do you know about the elders in the academy?" Rio said curiously
"Oh, hey Rio, looks like you're all better, haven't seen you in a while, went to check on you about a week ago but you were nowhere to be seen" he replied ignoring his question
'This is why I hate communicating, there's always these petty, trivial talks before we can ever reach the main subject' Rio rolled his eyes internally
"Yeah, I recovered and went on a mission, I stayed there for about a month, and just returned," Rio said so in his normal stoic tone.
"Ahh, you workaholic, as soon as you recover, you go on a mission, resting won't kill you, look, I think I can even see some wrinkles forming on your skin and some grey hairs, here and there," he said jokingly
'Resting would kill someone, the time resting could be used to get stronger,'. Rio said internally but proceeded to ask his initial question, trying to get to the point
"Ah, that's right, you did ask me a question, sorry, just got surprised seeing you." He said with one hand rubbing the back of his head
"The Elders, I wonder why you're asking but I won't probe. The elder I have as my master is Mahfuz Sander, he is named the Sword Elder, he has a lot of disciples however only the one with the best potential really catches his eye, luckily, he said I have potential, so I can cultivate in peace. I've heard those who don't catch their elder's eyes will have very difficult lives". He said with his chest sticking out
"So, how high is he in the ranking of elders?" Rio asked
"Hmm, what I've heard, in terms of strength, he's around 4th in terms of strength, but I can't confirm if this is accurate, this is just what I've heard from my fellow disciples".
'Hmm, that won't be enough, I don't expect to find someone as strong as the High Elder, just someone that, the High Elder will think twice before causing trouble'.
Daniel interrupted my thinking by saying "I don't really know why you ask this, but I think I can get a book with the elders and some information gathered, it was pieced together by someone from the core disciples, so it's as accurate you can find, only the elders really know who is the strongest out of them."
"That would be great. When do you think u will have it" Rio said pleased
"Give me a day, I think I can get a copy from my disciple brothers, I'll give it to you when I get it".
"Okay, Thanks," Rio said whilst standing up and leaving
'What a strange guy' Daniel thought but went back to what he was doing putting the thought at the back of his mind.
Rio was on his way back to his room when the person he didn't want to see just ended up lurking outside his dorm, 'what's with this guy, does he actually not have anything better to do than lurk around my place.' Rio thought but decided to keep going, he can't keep avoiding him after all if he is persistent in finding him.
"Ah, Rio, I haven't seen you in a while, where have you been?" he asked nicely but he could clearly hear the cold voice in the tone.
"I don't remember us being so close to each other that I have to report to you my whereabouts, or is there something wrong with my memory?" Rio said whilst tilting his head
"True, but you are going to be a subordinate of mine, so I would need to know your whereabouts in the future, anyway, since you're here let's go," he said as he walked past him
'Well, that's easier, he moved in front of my door' Rio thought entering his room
"Rio, it looks like wherever you went helped with your rank because I can see that you're now a 4th rank mage, and well established in it, it's good to be dedicated to your cultivation" he turned around saying the last part expecting a should to meet his hands
"…"
A few strange gazes landed upon him when they realized he might be crazy talking to himself, but nobody dared laugh due to his status.
"…"
This has never happened before, 'he dared defy me, and not only that, but he also ignored me…he ignored ME??'
He took in a large amount of air and let out a deep breath. Faced my door, circulated his mana, and…broke down Rio's door with his palm
"You, ungrateful insect, you were blessed that me, Xander Murik, even took his time to meet you, people would die to be in the situation you're in right now, but…but you dare ignore me?" the whole sentence was said calmly with a creepy smile placed on his face.
'Does he plan to fight here? Well getting into a fight wouldn't be ideal, he would get away with it, but I wouldn't" Rio thought
"Xander, I don't plan to be a subordinate of yours, I never said I would, it was just your assumption."
"…"
'Has he already been contacted by Elise? How did she find out about him? This is troublesome, no one dares to be so calm in this situation, if he's now with Elise, I must eliminate him before he becomes an obstacle.' Xander now came to a conclusion and was about to act on it…
"Who dares to act too audacious in the academy", half a dozen people in black robes came, but unlike the mage initiate mage uniform this one had a silver outlining and a lion badge. However, when they saw it was Xander Murik, no one dared to say anything, when all of them were in a curious state about what to do, one saw Rio in the room with the destroyed door, and they proceeded to direct their attention on Rio.
"Hey, student, what are you doing? How dare you cause such a ruckus in the academy" one yelled angrily
'What a pain' As Rio was thinking this, Xander left, it's not like he could kill him in front of so many people.
"Hey, are you listening, kid"
After all the unnecessary shouting, trying to show power, Rio rolled his eyes and said "Sorry, I was practicing a martial art and accidentally caused the door to break".
when they heard what Rio said, they nodded and proceeded to say, "You're going to have to pay for that door and next time is careful".