Mr. Adonis sat to one side, not expressing his opinions, his eyes fixed on the screen.
The students below began to discuss animatedly.
"Vincent truly lives up to being a hybrid of human and Merfolk. His strength is terrifying."
"Indeed, and that student using Ice Magic as well; I've heard he's the gem of the Frank family."
"No wonder the magic is so powerful."
"What about Austin? He was quite impressive just now; why isn't he doing anything now?"
"Ha ha, he's probably run out of mana. Although that last attack was impressive, it's really foolish to exhaust all his mana so soon."
"Indeed, a good-for-nothing is still a good-for-nothing."
"…"
The chatter among the students grew louder, with most of the comments disparaging Austin's abilities. Even though Austin's recent attack had indeed been impressive, they would never believe that he was no longer a good-for-nothing.
The notion that Austin was a failure was so deeply ingrained in their minds that they would never change their perception of him.
However, not everyone was like these naive students.
Both Mr. Adonis and the principal were well aware that a good-for-nothing like Austin in the past could never unleash such powerful Fire Magic; something had clearly changed that they were unaware of.
The principal smiled at Mr. Adonis and then said, "It seems you're worrying for nothing. This battle might actually see your son emerge victorious."
Mr. Adonis fell silent at the principal's words, furrowing his brow as he gazed up at the large screen, his mind racing with questions. When did Austin awaken such a strong innate talent for Fire Magic?
Was it a recent awakening, or had he been hiding it from him for a long time?
Seeing Mr. Adonis's increasingly cold expression, the principal couldn't help but sigh.
Human emotions were indeed strange; why must concern be accompanied by such a cold demeanor? Wouldn't it be better for both sides if he expressed himself more openly?
The principal looked at Mr. Adonis and said, "Alright, the students around you are so frightened by your expression that they can't say a word. Can't we just wait until Austin comes out and ask him?"
Mr. Adonis didn't respond but his aura had indeed changed, indicating that he was taking the principal's words to heart.
Meanwhile, in the testing area, Vincent, Cliff, and Robert were still fiercely battling the collar-less Magical Beast. The student safety officials outside were also focusing intently, ready to teleport them out at the first sign of real danger.
After all, having an unclassified Magical Beast in the students' testing area was the responsibility of the royal academy.
Even though it was obvious that there was some kind of scheme behind this, they still had to carry out their duties outwardly.
The massive Magical Beast roared thunderously and then swung its arm, sending Vincent and Robert flying. The force of its arm created a gust of wind.
The one who landed the most gently seemed to be Cliff, as a bubble of water appeared under his feet, looking incredibly soft, with streams of water swirling around him, helping him hover in mid-air.
He appeared light and untroubled, but in reality, he bore quite a few injuries, and overusing magic was gradually weakening him.
Cliff frowned as he looked at the raging Magical Beast, then turned his gaze to Austin—who was still calmly standing to one side.
The strong wind generated by the beast seemed to have no effect on Austin; he stood there nonchalantly, as if his feet were nailed to the ground. Cliff thought to himself.
He looked at Austin and asked, "Aren't you going to do anything?"
Having witnessed Austin incinerate an entire group of Golden Sparrows, Cliff was certain that Austin was not the good-for-nothing he was rumored to be.
There was no way Austin could have exhausted all his magic from that one attack; otherwise, he wouldn't be standing here so composed, but would have been blown away instead.
Austin remained unbothered by Cliff's question. He dusted off nonexistent dirt from his clothes and slowly said, "I see you all are fighting quite vigorously."
Cliff couldn't help but reveal an incredulous expression. What on earth was Austin thinking? Although Austin's magic was indeed powerful, how could the difficulty of the Golden Sparrows compare to the Magical Beast before them?
Did Austin really think that he could just wave his hand and incinerate this beast like the flock of Golden Sparrows? How foolish.
Just as Cliff was about to scold Austin, a silver net suddenly appeared from the sky. The net descended and captured the frenzied beast below.
Vincent, who had just struggled to get up, immediately exclaimed upon witnessing this scene, "Déjà vu!"
Austin: "..."
At that moment, Alice's voice rang out: "Hold tight to these kids; if it escapes, we're all done for."
Accompanying her voice was her agile figure. Alice jumped down to stand opposite Austin and the others, glancing over them before smirking and saying, "Even the heir of the Anderson family and the gem of the Frank family are this battered; it seems the strength of this beast is quite extraordinary."
Vincent snorted derisively from the side, while Cliff spoke in his usual cold tone: "Whether it's extraordinary or not, Miss Alice, can't you just try and see?"
As soon as Cliff finished speaking, a thunderous roar erupted from behind them. Alice's subordinates began to shout, "Miss Alice, this beast is too strong! The Heavenly Net is being torn apart; be careful!"
Alice immediately turned her head sharply and saw the beast frantically tearing through the Heavenly Net. In just a moment, that precious net would be ripped to shreds. However, what Alice was concerned about wasn't just the net.
After seeing her subordinates successfully flee, Alice turned back to look at Cliff, her brows furrowing; it was clear that her current mood was far from pleasant. Alice even suspected that Cliff was up to something.
Seeing their expressions, Austin couldn't help but feel a bit amused. He didn't understand why he was sitting here, watching this ridiculous dispute.
Perhaps it was because, having been reborn at the age of 13, his temperament had been rejuvenated?