Chapter 96: You Are All Worthless

"You are all worthless."

The whole banquet hall went quiet. No one knew what to say or how to respond after their apex, the person who was supposed to represent their year, just straight up told them that they were worthless.

’What is he doing?’

Arthur thought as he stood next to Seraphine, who, like him, looked at Valerian with a confused expression.

He knew that Valerian could be a bit arrogant at times, but he also knew that this "arrogance" stemmed from the pure confidence that he was the best and had every right to carry an ego about it.

So now he was a bit bewildered as to why his friend would step up on stage only to insult millions of students.

Yet Valerian seemingly didn’t notice, or simply ignored, the furious glares the students sent his way, continuing his speech without missing a beat.

"You stand here as if you earned it. You feast, you drink, and you indulge yourselves. And yet, none of you have proven you are worthy to even set foot inside this academy."

By now, their initial confusion had vanished completely, replaced by searing fury, but Valerian paid it no mind.

"You spent your lives cradled in the warmth of peace. I don’t care if some of you have witnessed death before, or perhaps even taken a life; it means nothing to me."

Since the academy was open to everyone, the vast majority of the student body were commoners hoping to forge a foundation for a better future through education and connections.

And yet Valerian had just bluntly proclaimed that he couldn’t care less.

"I don’t care if my words bruise your fragile pride. If you truly despise me, then step forward and face me, and I will show you what true worth looks like. My challenges remain permanently open, and I will accept every single one of them."

Valerian fell silent and turned back toward Sylas. After giving a brief nod, Sylas snapped his fingers, and Valerian was instantly teleported back down beside Arthur and Seraphine.

The silence gripping the hall broke almost immediately. Outraged shouts and curses erupted in waves, and Valerian could already spot several nobles storming toward him with veins bulging on their foreheads.

"Why did you do that?"

Valerian turned to Seraphine, who was studying him with an inquisitive arch of her brow.

Shrugging casually, Valerian flagged down a passing server and lifted a glass of wine from her tray.

Serving wine at a banquet filled with sixteen-year-olds would normally be deemed reckless, but thanks to the mana coursing through every student’s veins, mild toxins like alcohol were neutralized long before they could cause harm.

For Valerian, the process was instantaneous and effortless, given that his entire constitution was forged from pure mana.

Taking a measured sip, he glanced back at Seraphine with an amused smirk.

"The academy would be boring otherwise."

Seraphine let out an exasperated sigh, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips. But the moment the memory of Arthur’s earlier gossip resurfaced, that warmth vanished, and her detached, guarded expression slid right back into place.

’I really need to clear that up with her.’

Seeing that sudden emotional wall shoot up gave Valerian an uneasy twist in his gut. But he had to put it aside for the moment, as the vanguard of furious students was bearing down on them.

"We’ll show you who’s worthless!"

"I’ll tear you apart!"

"You’re courting death!"

Clap.

As the mob surged forward, a single, sharp sound echoed across every floor. It should have been swallowed by the deafening roar of the crowd, yet it sliced cleanly through the entire venue.

Every charging body froze mid-stride. The surrounding space solidified around them like hardened amber, locking them in place down to the millimeter.

"Now, now. Let us refrain from brawling at such a grand gathering. You are more than welcome to challenge the apex to your hearts’ content once the formalities conclude, but for now, take your seats and dine."

Clap.

With the second strike of Sylas’s palms, every standing student across all tiers was seamlessly placed into a chair, plates of untouched delicacies appearing right before them.

Valerian found himself seated at an exclusive table reserved strictly for the top twenty rankers of the incoming class.

Arthur sat directly to his right and Seraphine to his left. Further down the long table, he could spot Lucian as well as Clara, the dragon girl he had "befriended" during the ranking tournament.

’This actually looks incredible...’

Crafted by the academy’s master chefs, the spread before them was nothing short of breathtaking.

Though Valerian had long outgrown the biological need for food, the rich aromas genuinely stimulated his appetite. Even so, he exercised restraint, holding back from piling his plate immediately.

Arthur, on the other hand, possessed no such manners. Having skipped meals all day, first from pre-tournament jitters, then deliberately saving room for the banquet, he began devouring everything within arm’s reach.

Spurred by his lack of hesitation, the rest of the top twenty began filling their plates, which promptly signaled the rest of the hall to follow suit.

Valerian hesitated over the lavish selection, unsure where to start, when Seraphine abruptly solved the problem by shoveling a portion of her own dish onto his plate.

Baffled by the sudden delivery, Valerian glanced over. Seraphine’s nose was wrinkled in mild disgust as she continued scooping items across the table.

Catching his stare, she met his eyes deadpan.

"What? I didn’t realize they tossed shredded meat into the greens. I’m a vegetarian..."

Valerian chuckled quietly under his breath and helped her separate the strips of meat onto his side. Once cleared, she served herself an entirely meatless dish and ate in quiet contentment.

Looking down at his plate, now piled high with fresh greens and seasoned cuts, a faint smile surfaced on his lips as he took a bite. The flavor was exceptional, the savory glaze of the meat pairing effortlessly with the crisp dressing.

Arthur watched the entire exchange from the side, a knowing grin spreading across his face.

’Haa... I need a cute girlfriend too...’

Slumping back into his seat, Arthur quietly mourned his nonexistent love life. From that point on, the banquet unfolded without further disruptions. Even if countless students still harbored a grudge against Valerian, nobody dared defy the principal’s direct decree under this roof.

As the gathering drew to a close and students began trickling toward the exits, the trio rose as well.

Seraphine arched her back in a long stretch, the weariness of the day catching up to her frame.

"We’ll be sharing the same classroom tomorrow anyway. Good night, both of you."

"Good night."

She offered a brief wave and turned down the corridor, Valerian’s gaze lingering on her silhouette. The moment she was out of earshot, Arthur slung an arm heavily over Valerian’s shoulder, wearing an insufferable smirk.

"So that’s the one, huh? The girl you made out with? Heh."

Valerian promptly drove an elbow straight into Arthur’s ribs, not bothering to turn as he straightened the high collar of his coat.

"I already told you, nothing happened."

"R-right... totally..."

Arthur doubled over, clutching his torso in theatrical agony. Valerian merely rolled his eyes, knowing full well his friend’s physical resilience could shrug off an impact ten times harder than that.

Taking another step into the courtyard, a distinct flash of crimson hair caught Valerian’s eye in the distance, and he stopped in his tracks.

"Arthur, head back without me. See you tomorrow."

"Huh?"

By the time Arthur straightened up, the space beside him was vacant, leaving him blinking at the empty path.

’Where the hell did he vanish to?’

Scanning the crowd yielded no sign of silver hair, so Arthur merely shrugged, adjusted his jacket, and headed toward his personal quarters.

...

Just beyond the banquet hall, a dragon girl made her way back toward the dormitories. Waves of vibrant scarlet hair tumbled down her back, and her slitted amber eyes smoldered like banked coals. The twin horns crowning her head and the subtle patches of scales along her temples marked her draconic bloodline clearly.

She wore a sleeveless, crimson evening dress tailored flush to her frame, its deep shade echoing her hair while lending her an air of composed elegance.

Her eyes were fixed straight ahead, but out of nowhere, a heavy palm rested on her shoulder. Before she could whirl around to confront the intruder, the space around them warped violently, the manicured stone pathway melting away into the shadows of a secluded alleyway between towering buildings.

’What is this?! An ambush?!’

She instantly surged mana into her pathways, embers flaring around her fingertips, but the circulation was crushed instantly as an suffocating weight pressed down upon her shoulders, forcing her to one knee with a sharp crack against the cobblestone.

"Agh!"

The aura was terrifyingly familiar, the exact crushing presence she had encountered earlier that day during the tournament. Looking up through gritted teeth, her suspicions were confirmed: standing directly above her in his full apex regalia was Valerian.

His violet eyes burned with the cold depth of miniature nebulae, sending a shiver of cold sweat down her spine.

’Wh-what does he want...?’

Though barely a few seconds ticked by, the oppressive silence felt like an eternity.

"Channel your mana into this."

Stepping forward, he extended the spatial key linked to his residence. Trembling slightly, she complied without a word, feeding a strand of her signature mana into the ring’s enchantments. Seemingly satisfied with the resonance, Valerian pulled his hand back.

"Be at my dorm room in one hour. Do. Not. Be. Late."

Before she could process the command, his figure dissolved into the air, the stifling pressure vanishing with him. Clara collapsed forward onto her palms, chest heaving for air.

"Haa... haa... What in the world was that...?"

She had no idea what he wanted from her, but one realization hammered into her mind with total clarity: showing up late was not an option.