The crowd went wild as they saw what had just happened, their cheers echoing like thunder across the sprawling arena that overlooked the simulated jungle area.

People had their hands on their head, absolute shock in their eyes.

The crystalline screens around the arena all displayed the final image of the match, Albedo standing tall amidst the steaming battlefield, Havoc and Ruin in his hands while Garrick lay unconscious and Vela was sat slumped in defeat.

All of the students were shocked, not just because Albedo had won. While it was still shocking, they had seen Lucian & Miranda win earlier, so the shock was lessened.

But moreso, how Albedo & Elara had achieved victory. Lucian and Miranda was a long drawn out battle where the duo had struggled all the way, only overcoming their difficulties at the ending.

Whereas for Albedo and Elara, it was much easier. They didn’t get hit by any huge attacks like Lucian and Miranda did, and aside from a small section in the middle, they had mostly dominated the match, especially the ending, where Albedo basically 1v2’d.

The instructors however, were even more surprised than seeing Lucian win, and that was due to the potential Albedo showed. Being able to dominate while almost an entire large rank down, how powerful would be become when he reaches the higher ranks?

That thought sent shivers down a-lot of their spines. Some of them, particularly the Nobles, or those who came from families with Guilds, already thought of trying to get Albedo to work for or with them.

No matter what, it would be moronic to get on such a genius’ bad side. Who knew if he’d grow up to kill all his enemies once he reached strong enough.

That had, un-ironically, happened before.

But amidst the ripple of praise and analysis, Professor Skye sat unmoving.

Her painted nails dug into the polished armrest of her ivory-inlaid chair, a muscle twitching at her jawline. Her eyes, always so cold and regal, were locked on the screen with an expression just shy of fury.

A commoner had just humiliated two Gold Ranks.

No.

Two nobles.

A boy with no family name, no noble blood, no crest. And he’d done it while wielding pistols, a weapon she had once publicly deemed “barbaric and crude.”

“Professor Skye?” one of the younger adjunct instructors beside her asked hesitantly, “Do you… have a comment on the match?”

She turned her head slowly, her voice quiet but laced with venom.

“A fluke,” she said coldly, “The terrain was in their favor. Garrick was still recovering from his last assignment, and Vela always overextends. Let’s see how well they perform in a setting without fog and foliage to hide in.”

She stood gracefully, as though she hadn’t just witnessed a reality-shattering upset.

Her pristine white-and-lilac robe shimmered as she turned from the pavilion window. “Raw talent doesn’t make a legacy. Nor does one lucky victory rewrite the rules of society.”

But even as she strode away, there was a slight stiffness in her gait.

And deep in her narrowed gaze, was something else, a flicker of anger and determination.

She hurried towards her office and locked the door behind her, approaching a shimmering mirror suspended within a polished frame in the corner of the room.

She didn’t speak at first.

Instead, she lifted a single white-gloved hand and tapped her nails, once, twice, thrice, against the mirror’s frame in a slow, deliberate rhythm.

On the third tap, the glass rippled like disturbed water.

A figure appeared.

Or rather, a silhouette, vague and androgynous, hidden in a cloak of shadows that even magic couldn’t dispel. Only the barest shape of a face could be made out, and even then, no one feature could be remembered twice.

A voice spoke, low and velvety.

“You don’t usually initiate contact this early in the term, Skye.”

Her jaw tightened as she saw the figure appear. She didn’t usually like the pull this card for a reason, the cost was too high to her pride, but what she saw Albedo and Lucian do had sent her over the edge.

“There’s a problem.”

A pause came from the shadowy figure in the mirror, alongside a chuckle before it finally spoke,

“Let me guess. Arclight?” The figure said.

Her lips thinned, “He’s a problem too. But not the urgent one.”

She took a breath, then continued, icy calm lacing her tone.

“The rank #1, Albedo Neverwinter.” She said.

A faint, intrigued hum echoed from the mirror, “The one with the pistols. Yes, I saw.”

“I don’t believe in prodigies,” she said flatly, “but I do believe in threats. And I saw enough today to know that boy is a threat. His Gift is still unclassified and he doesn’t flinch under pressure. Even Lucian showed nerves.”

The figure in the mirror said nothing at first, then finally murmured, “So, you fear him.”

“Of course not,” she snapped, angry and annoyed that the figure dared to say that. She quickly tried to calm herself down and then spoke,

“…I fear what he could become.”

The shadow tilted their head, “So you want him removed.”

“I want everything on him. Where he trains, who he talks to, even what he eats and when he sleeps. I know he has a sister, investigate her too, find out her schedule, if she has guards, if we can take her. Find anything we can use as a weakness.”

The figure inclined its head, “And Arclight?”

Skye’s eyes flashed, “Him too. I don’t care if he was engineered by the gods themselves. No commoner should rise above nobility. Not unless we say so.”

The mirror darkened for a moment, pulsing softly as if considering.

“And if we find nothing useful?” the shadow asked, its voice lower now, almost curious at what Skye’s reaction would be.

As for Skye, she didn’t hesitate before responding, “Then fabricate something. Not like we don’t have the power to do so,”

“This Academy is ours. Not theirs. If they won’t submit to the hierarchy, ” she said, and the room grew several degrees colder,” then we’ll grind them beneath it.”

The shadowy figure in the mirror chuckled, then spoke with a lewd smile, “We’ll definitely be able to accomplish our mission, but before that, I believe we have unfinished business.”

“Ugh, you never change,” She said, rolling her eyes in disgust, this was the part about asking for this force’s help that she always despised.

“Why would I? How’s the husband,” The figure said, it’s shadowy form reaching out from the mirror and reforming right in front of Skye, it had an aura that couldn’t be sensed, like there was nothing there at all despite its obvious presence.

“None the wiser,” Skye said, complaining in her heart while she began to remove her clothing, ready to pay what was needed for the work this force would do for her.

The loud sounds of moans and whimpers echoed out throughout the room, which was thankfully soundproofed.

By time it was over, Skye had to teleport back to her house, a limp in her step as her naked body arrived in her bedroom, a viscous white liquid sliding down her legs.

***

Meanwhile, back at the arena once the battle had been finished, the cheers were still echoing extremely loud, like distant thunder in the air.

Albedo and Elara waved to the cheering crowd as they stepped off the battlefield, heading back to the waiting room as the hallway pulsed with soft arcane lights.

Elara walked beside him, her braid loose from the chaos, flecks of mud on her leggings, and her mana slightly frayed at the edges.

However despite all that struggle, her face was glowing from satisfaction and glee, she giggled as she thought about all the details of the fight, “That was…” she began, then huffed a laugh, “…intense.”

Albedo simply holstered Havoc and Ruin, both weapons vanishing into swirling rings of black and violet mana. His coat swayed as he walked, his expression as composed as ever, though a hint of smugness curved at the corner of his mouth.

“Please,” he said with a faint shrug, “I was never worried.”

Elara rolled her eyes, at this point she was very much accustomed to Albedo’s smugness no matter the situation, she’d even call it a core personality trait of his, “Sure you weren’t.”

Just as they reached the end of the corridor, two figures were already waiting for them near the exit, Lucian, his black combat uniform still bearing faint cuts from his earlier duel, and Miranda, her silver hair pulled into a ponytail.

Lucian gave a low whistle as he approached, “That was insane, man. I mean, I thought our fight was impressive,”

“Yeah, it’s really no wonder you’re rank #1,” Miranda said.

“Thanks,” Albedo said simply. Then, with a faint smirk, he added, “I told you I wasn’t worried.”

Lucian chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder, “Just don’t expect me to go easy when we face off.”

Albedo returned the gesture with a nod, “Good. I’d hate to be bored.”

The group of them quickly walked off, talking about all the cool moments of the battle.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep