After placing Isabella on her bed and tucking her in, Alan returned to the main hall.
Francis shuddered at the sight of Alan's return, worried he might attack again. He was in no condition to continue fighting.
Alan walked up to him, extending a hand.
"Sorry about earlier," he said.
Francis let out a sigh of relief.
"I knew it! I didn't do anything to your sister. She just cried because she saw how badly hurt I was!"
With that, Francis took Alan's hand and was pulled to his feet.
He sized Alan up curiously.
"What was that magus skill you used earlier? It was terrifying!"
"Light Sword Spell," Alan replied.
"Light element? No wonder it was so fast and overwhelming. I couldn't block it at all!" Francis finally relaxed, a visible weight lifted from his shoulders.
Being defeated back-to-back by Alice and Alan had been a huge blow to his confidence.
Alice was on an entirely different level, an untouchable prodigy.
But Alan? Alan was supposed to be on par with him—or even beneath him. Yet Alan had utterly crushed him.
He had just arrived in the capital, dreaming of glory, only to be met with humiliating defeat.
Fortunately, he could at least console himself that Alan, like Alice, wasn't an ordinary prodigy.
Alan asked, "What skill did you use earlier? You moved like the wind."
Francis smirked.
"I've mastered an element beyond the basic four—gravity. By negating gravity, I can become as light as a feather!"
"In this state, even basic movement skills become far faster. In terms of speed, few can match me!"
"If not for this, I wouldn't have been able to dodge your Light Sword Spell."
Hearing this, Alan felt even more apologetic.
"Sorry again."
Francis waved it off.
"Don't sweat it. Honestly, your sister crying wasn't entirely your fault. She saw me looking all pitiful and started crying, so I thought I'd cheer her up by saying you looked worse than me. Then she really started bawling."
??
Alan blinked, completely at a loss for words.
At that moment, a towering man approached from the base of the mountain. His rugged face and hulking frame exuded a fierce, bandit-like energy that made the air around him feel oppressive.
Francis froze. He had thought of himself as muscular, but compared to this man, he looked scrawny.
"Who is this guy?" Francis scratched his head in confusion.
Alan considered it and said, "I think he's the final student Gayle mentioned."
Though the man looked mature, his eyes held a certain clarity, suggesting he wasn't as old as he appeared.
Francis grinned mischievously.
"Why don't we test his strength as a welcome ritual?"
Alan nodded slightly.
"You go first."
"Fine, I'll go first!" Francis said confidently.
He grabbed a sturdy stick from the ground, tested its weight, and then activated his gravity-based skill. His body became feather-light, and the stick in his hand seemed to harden into iron.
Bang!
In an instant, Francis darted behind the hulking man and swung the stick at the back of his head.
The strike whistled through the air but was met with no reaction. The man's body shimmered with golden elemental energy, giving him the appearance of an unbreakable statue.
When Francis' stick landed, it rebounded with a loud clang, sending him flying backward. His right hand trembled from the impact, as if he'd struck an iron wall.
The man turned slowly, his clear eyes flashing with a hint of killing intent as he glared at Francis.
Francis steadied himself, realizing this opponent wasn't someone he could defeat alone. He turned to Alan and shouted,
"This guy's tough! Let's take him down together!"
Alan stepped forward calmly, smiling as the man's wary gaze settled on him.
"I'm also a student of Sirius Academy. Welcome aboard!"
Francis stared at Alan in shock, as if struck by lightning.
The man, sensing no hostility from Alan, relaxed slightly and nodded.
"Thank you."
But then his gaze shifted back to Francis, turning icy. With the ferocity of a tiger, he charged at him.
Francis' eyes widened in panic. As he fled, he shouted at Alan,
"Alan, you traitor!"
Soon, the lush forest echoed with Francis' screams.
By midday, Gayle and Blanche sat at the stone table in the main hall.
Gayle was leaning back, drinking wine with a drunken grin.
Blanche, however, clutched a dagger tightly, her expression one of desperate hunger.
The hulking man, now seated properly, exuded discipline.
Across from him, Francis sat slumped, sporting two black eyes and a body covered in bruises. If not for his resilience, he might have been bedridden for days.
Before long, Alan entered with Isabella, carrying a large tray of roasted meat.
As the tray was placed on the table, Blanche's dagger flashed. A large, sizzling piece of meat was in her hands, and she devoured it ravenously.
Gayle's drunken eyes lit up as he stood on his chair, grabbing a huge chunk of meat with his bare hands despite its heat. He paired it with his wine, eating with gusto.
Francis and the hulking man watched, stunned, before digging in themselves, their hunger overriding their shock.
Blanche's speed in cutting and eating the meat was like a whirlwind. Seeing this, Gayle frowned.
"A young lady should show some restraint. Who taught you such terrible manners?"
Even as he complained, Gayle's own hands moved quickly to grab more meat for himself.
Alan and Isabella watched this chaos calmly, having already eaten.
After the noisy lunch ended, Gayle leaned back, picking his teeth with a sharp fingernail. He scanned the group and said,
"Now that everyone's full, let me introduce our new student."
He gestured to the hulking man.
"This is Fort, from Mist Forest in the northern Plantagenet Kingdom. He has a rare metal bloodline."
A special bloodline!
Everyone turned to Fort in surprise.
Although they had sensed he was extraordinary, hearing it confirmed was still astonishing. Rare elemental bloodlines were incredibly scarce in the Plantagenet Kingdom.
Fort met their gazes with clear, proud eyes—except when he looked at Francis. Then his expression darkened.
Francis glared at Alan, who pretended not to notice.
Gayle then looked at Francis, still bare-chested.
"This is Francis, from the Sunset Swamp. He wields the gravity element, giving him unparalleled speed and strength."
Hearing this, Alan's expression shifted slightly.
Francis' incredible speed had already been evident. If his strength matched, he was truly a force to be reckoned with.
At Gayle's introduction, Francis puffed up proudly, but then he pointed at Alan.
"What about him?"
Gayle responded nonchalantly.
"That's Alan, from House Roan in the Northern District. A grand magus."
A magus! And a grand magus at that!
The group turned to Alan, astonished.
Magus-class mages were incredibly rare, requiring immense talent. Despite the Plantagenet Kingdom's large population and long history, there was only one other magus in the kingdom.
Alan's youth made his achievement even more remarkable.
Francis suddenly laughed.
"Alan? Alan! Don't tell me you're the guy Lioncrest Academy rejected!"
At this, Isabella's blue eyes widened in fury.
"My brother is a genius, not some reject! You're not getting any more of our roasted meat!"
Fort nodded in agreement.
"Starve him for a couple of meals."
Francis waved his hands frantically.
"Wait! I meant that Lioncrest Academy must be blind to reject someone as talented as Alan. They're fools, all of them!"
Isabella smiled again, satisfied.
Gayle took the opportunity to speak.
"In the depths of this valley, there's a library containing magical notes and skill books left by predecessors. What you find depends on your luck."
"But don't expect too much," he added.
"Why not?" Francis asked.
Gayle scratched his head.
"Because agave liquor keeps getting more expensive, so we've had to sell off the better books to cover the costs."
Francis' jaw dropped in disbelief.
Gayle continued calmly.
"One more thing: our Sirius Academy has a long-standing rivalry with Lioncrest Academy. Every three years, our students engage in life-and-death duels. If you die, your body will be hung beneath the Sky Ladder. So, work hard."
"You have about a year and a half left. Whether you live or die depends on your own strength."
He turned to leave but paused, slapping his forehead.
"Wait, there's one more thing!"