"A Minotaur."
"What? You can't be serious, Principal! The ogre was one thing, but a Minotaur? That's a rank A monster."
Yumai said as she looked at the principal, seriousness in her tone.
The principal remained silent, not even turning to react to her words, as he sat, his gaze fixed seriously on his child.
Yumai, knowing the seriousness of the matter, decided to sit attentively, planning to stop the match instantly if anything went wrong.
"What's the principal thinking? It takes at least a party of five adventurers to take down that thing, and my guild members aren't pushovers."
"Then let the match begin. Fight!"
Even before the door was completely opened, the Minotaur pushed through, destroying it with a single blow.
"Wrraaaaaaaa!"
It sounded off, trying to intimidate its opponent.
"Well, here goes nothing," Crimson said.
Also wearing his school uniform, he drew out his sword, planning to attack the creature head-on.
"The omniscient being, through your all-seeing eyes, grant me the power to know my enemy."
He began to emanate a faint white glow, not strong enough to be called a protective aura, as he readied his sword.
Without wasting time, the Minotaur dashed towards him, throwing its fist at him as he dodged with ease.
"How's this possible? He's only cast one spell, and it wasn't a protection or buffer spell either. So how can he move like that? More importantly, whom did he call upon?"
Yumai thought in shock.
"I know how the Minotaur fights. Its attacks are so predictable. So let me end this quickly. I don't want to make Dad look bad."
Crimson thought as he moved closer to the creature, using his speed to climb its body and slashing its neck with his blade.
"I don't think that's enough to kill it," he said, as the creature still stood, pressing its hand on its neck as blood gushed out of its wound.
"Wrraaaaa!"
It screamed in agony, stepping back to avoid Crimson, who stood at the edge of the arena, still expressionless.
"It seems you know when you've been defeated, as expected from a highly intelligent monster."
"Now die," he said as he pointed his sword at the creature, dashing toward it once more to deliver the finishing blow.
Since the monster was in a frenzy, it reflexively hit him with its massive hand, throwing him into the wall of the battleground.
"I need to do something!" Yumai said, trying to interfere with the battle but was stopped by the principal, who used his hand to alert her that it hadn't reached that point. The expression on his face was one of seriousness and hope.
"That really hurts," Crimson said in an emotionless tone as he fell to the ground after almost breaking the wall.
A trail of blood could be seen on his lips, which he wiped with his hand, supporting himself with his sword to stand up.
"Hmmm, you've done it now. You dirtied my uniform, and that's unforgivable."
It was as if he was a whole other person. Still, with an expressionless face, he dashed at incredible speed, leaping into the sky and finishing the Minotaur by severing its head from its body.
Before stopping, he made sure there was enough distance between him and the creature, trying to avoid any of the blood gushing from the corpse staining his uniform.
"Yeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaah!"
The crowd exclaimed as the VIPs gave him a well-deserved round of applause.
Crimson then walked to the creature, offering his prayer as it withered away, leaving behind a large magic stone.
"He actually pulled it off," Yumai said as she returned to her comfortable posture, easing up from all the piled-up stress.
"He's my son, after all. I'll expect no less. I'm really proud of him," the principal replied as tears welled up in his eyes.
"Haha," Yumai chuckled.
"That wraps up this year's exceptional display of talent from our graduates. Thank you all for coming."
---
That evening, a graduation party was held for the students. It was more like a ball, taking place in the grand hall of the school.
This was where the VIPs congratulated the students for their hard work and where guilds recruited new members.
Before the ball, there was a meeting amongst the guild leaders to choose who they deemed fit to join specific guilds. During this meeting, Yumai claimed both Mia and Crimson for herself, strictly warning the other guild leaders not to come into close proximity to them.
Hence, after walking into the ballroom as a couple, they weren't approached by any guilds for recruitment. Instead, they were only congratulated by the other VIP attendees and fellow classmates.
Seeing his father standing with Yumai, Crimson and Mia decided to introduce themselves, knowing the number one guild leader might have some interest in them. They moved closer, still in their couple posture.
"Father," Crimson said in an expressionless tone, seemingly weak and exhausted.
"Yeah, son, I want to introduce you to a friend of mine," the principal said, pointing to Yumai, who was dressed in a figure-hugging dress adorned with white jewels and heels.
"Pleasure to meet you, madam. You look absolutely astonishing."
"Hm, the pleasure is all mine."
"May we introduce ourselves? I'm John Crimson."
"And I'm Mia Flameheart," they said while taking a polite posture.
"Well, well, it seems you're good in manners as well. And, nice gown, Mia. You may address me as Miss Yumai from henceforth."
"Thank you, Miss Yumai," they said as they raised their heads.
Mia wore a blue, flurry gown that clung to her upper body, covering enough, complemented by a blue ribbon that tied her hair and a blue magic stone necklace with matching earrings.
As for Crimson, his lack of fashion sense made him wear his school uniform, complemented by a golden watch.
"I have great news for you two, but first, if I may ask, are you two a couple?"