Chapter 55: An Old Promise

Knock! Knock!

Max snapped awake from his deep sleep. Sitting up on his cot, he waited for the sound to repeat. Realizing that the knocking was what had awakened him, two more knocks sounded in the next second. With a slight stretch, he tried to clear his sleepiness before standing up and opening the door.

Behind the door stood a two teachers of the academy, wearing their dress codes. Looking outside, Max guessed the time was still early in the morning, perhaps around five o'clock.

After that strange incident, Max had left the [Buczacki] around nine o'clock last night, coming directly to his room and sleept. He had guessed he would be called in for a report in the morning, but he did not expect people to arrive this early.

"Maximus Bransford, please come with us," one of the teachers spoke.

"What for?" Max asked. If it had been yesterday morning, he would have definitely left with them without any questions, but the recent incident prompted him to ask. He wanted to know exactly why and where he needed to go. He was not going to blindly walk into a situation just to get attacked or insulted.

"Do not ask questions to Academy Teachers," the same teacher said, his expression changing.

"I do not care who you are. I am not going anywhere without knowing the details of where I am being taken," Max stated.

Hearing this, the two teachers exchanged glances.

"Did you get involved in any incident yesterday evening at the [Buczacki]?" the other teacher asked this time.

"No, I did not get into any incident. Why? What happened?" Max asked, acting as if he was completely unaware of what they were talking about.

"We received a report stating that you got into a fight with a Royal Official, and that you even killed him," the second teacher explained.

"Oh, is that so? That is unfortunate. My deepest condolences, but I am not aware of being involved in any kind of issue. So, perhaps it was someone else?" Max replied.

"Do not lie to us. We know it was you," the first teacher spoke.

"Oh yeah? Who told you it was me?" Max asked.

"You have no idea what you did. You had better come with us," he said again.

"See, I have already told you. It was not me, so I am not going to go anywhere with you two. Please leave the dorm area. You know it is a forbidden area for teachers, right?" Max reminded them of the rules.

"You!" The two teachers' faces turned ugly upon hearing the rules.

Max did not care. He closed the door and went back to bed. He still felt heavy fatigue; he needed more sleep. He might have to skip the morning class today.

---

Max woke up again around 11 a.m. While he was sleeping, he had heard several knocks on his door, but he ignored them. Since he still had a few hours before lunch, he practiced his Basic Healing Magic Reversal training for a while before taking out the weapon he had used the previous evening. This weapon was short and compact, but it consumed more mana and dealt double the damage. It had even killed those guards, who were at least Level 35.

Its name was the [Plasma Disruptor Pistol], and its grade was [Rare]. While he was hiding in the Level 3 Dungeon, he had checked this weapon in his second slot. However, he had no idea a [Rare] grade weapon would be that powerful. It was a surprise to him, but he was glad he possessed this weapon and had used it. Otherwise, considering the behavior of those people, he wasn't sure of where he would have ended up.

Max wanted to check the other items in his iStorage, but he was hungry, and he might have to report to the Academy Head Teacher. Therefore, he decided to check them in the evening after the class ended. With that decided, Max left his room and walked toward the canteen. While walking, he noticed that the other students' behavior had changed again. Five days ago, before he left, they had hardly glanced at him, but now they were looking at him just like they had when he first joined.

Max felt this could be related to the incident that had happened yesterday. He did not give an ounce of care to those people as he entered the canteen. He directly stood in line, picked up a plate, and went to his usual table. However, that table was already occupied. Seeing this, Max looked around and found an empty table far in the corner of the hall. Max decided to sit there.

"Max!"

Suddenly, his name was called. Although Max heard it, he did not respond as he continued walking to the empty table. Max knew the people sitting at his regular table; it was Moon and the others, and the call had also come from Moon. However, Max was tired of these people. They would talk to him whenever they thought it was convenient for them, and they had suddenly stopped talking to him the moment they received orders from their families.

Although Max could understand the situation, he simply did not care anymore. He had come to this Academy for a purpose, and he would walk toward that purpose. The good news was that he now held a better position to achieve that purpose. That was the reason he did not respond to Moon. Max ate his lunch in silence as a group of people approached him.

"Max," Moon called again, looking at him. "Where were you? Is the news about you true?"

Max did not respond. He simply ate his food at his own pace, ignoring the people.

"Max, I understand your anger, but tell me, did you get involved with any Royal Officials?" Moon asked again.

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"There was a huge commotion this morning; plenty of Royal Officials visited the Academy," Moon continued.

"Did you refuse to heal a princess? And did you kill an official?" she asked again.

Max heard all of this, but he did not answer. Placing the last bite of food into his mouth, he stood up and walked past them. Seeing this, the group simply stood in place, looking at his back as Max walked out of the canteen.

"What should we do now? He is angry at us," Anne asked.

"Which is a valid anger," Steven said.

Moon simply stood there; she did not know what to do.

Max left the canteen and walked toward the Teachers' building. There had been multiple knocks on his door since the early morning, and he guessed one of them must have been from the Academy Head Teacher's office. Max walked into the Academy Head Teacher's office, waved at the assistant, and stood silently. However, this time, he did not hear the Head Teacher call him in. This was bizarre, as he usually heard the call directly inside his head. Surprised, he stood outside, thinking there must be some meeting going on. He thought to ask the assistant, but since the assistant never revealed anything, why bother asking?

Max stood there as time passed. The lunch break ended, yet there was still no call. Max thought about waiting for a few more minutes; if nothing happened, he would leave and come back in the evening. Thinking the meeting was taking too long, he at least wanted to know how the Academy had changed during his one week of absence.

He also wanted to visit the arena. During the first two months, they were not allowed to visit, but now they could enter any number of times to watch other people's duels and learn from them.

Max stood for five more minutes. Seeing that there was still no call, he left the Academy Head Teacher's office. He had not brought any weapons for training, as he had mainly come to report to the Head Teacher; otherwise, he would have simply stayed in his room. However, since he was already here, he decided to roam around and see what the first-year students were doing.

First, he decided to visit the arena to see how it looked. However, as soon as he exited the Teachers' building, his path was blocked. Max looked at a slim, tall guy, remembering him from a week before. At that time, this person had made a promise to come and challenge him to a duel. Now, he had arrived exactly as promised.

"Where were you hiding, you rat? Do you think you could escape from me forever?" Detlev asked with a mocking smile on his face.

Max simply shook his head, too tired of dealing with these people.

"What do you want, man?" Max asked.

"I, Detlev Remar, challenge you, Maximus Bransford, to a duel right away!" Detlev loudly declared his challenge.

"I, Maximus Bransford, accept the duel challenged by Detlev Remar," Max replied. "Let's go."

Max walked past the three guys, leaving them standing with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. They must have expected Max to make excuses and beg not to duel; thus, when Max accepted the challenge without a single issue, they were thoroughly shocked. But soon, an evil smile appeared on Detlev's face.

Max casually walked toward the arena, which was located in a separate section away from the regular theory and practical buildings. There were two types of arenas. One was an outdoor arena, which was large and could accommodate a larger audience; it was used for famous duels or when the annual exam duels were conducted. Then there was the indoor arena. This one contained smaller arena stages that could accommodate multiple duels at a single time. Most of the weekly quota duels happened in this indoor arena stadium.

Max reached the large building structure and entered, looking around for a place to register for the duel. It did not take long to find, as it was located to the left of the entrance gate. Max walked over and waited for the other party to arrive. After a few moments, the challenger of the duel finally arrived.

Detlev and his lackeys walked at their own pace, stopping before the registry. Max waited for the challenger to speak for the registration, as that was the standard procedure.

"Excuse me, Sir. I have challenged this person to a duel. We would like to register for a duel today. It would be great if we could get a spot right away," Detlev said, shooting a glance at Max.

"Name and class," the Register Teacher asked.

"Detlev Remar, Class 1D."

"Maximus Bransford, Class 1A."

"Okay, we have a free spot. Go meet the Duel Arbiter, Teacher Luc Besson," the registrar said, pointing at a man currently arbitrating a match on the fourth stage. "Here is your registration tag. Hand this over to him; he will initiate and arbitrate the duel."

Max took the tag, which had his name, his opponent's name, and their classes written on it. He nodded, thanked the teacher, and walked toward the fourth stage.

The stages were situated deep in the ground, and on the sides, seats were built for students to sit and analyze the duels. Currently, a duel was taking place between a tall girl and a bulky boy. The tall girl was using double longswords, while the bulky boy was holding a large, round shield. The fight was in a stalemate. Both of their expressions revealed they were tired, yet neither was able to land a finishing attack. Groups of people sat on either side of the stage, watching and discussing the match.

Max stood in the sitting area, waiting for the current fight to finish. On the stage, a tall girl held her twin swords upright; taking a deep breath, she pushed forward. In response, a bulky boy also advanced, holding his large shield out in front.

As the tall girl neared her attacking range, she swung both of her swords in the same direction, aiming directly at the bulky boy's left shoulder. Seeing the incoming attack, the boy raised the shield to his left shoulder and defended. The strike landed on the shield with a heavy blow, but the attack was successfully tanked. The tall girl took a step back and raised her weapons to swing another double-sword attack, but her movements were too slow. Not only could she not finish her attack properly, but the boy was also unable to utilize the opening the tall girl had provided. Both of them had spent all of their mana.

"Stop!" the Arbiter Teacher suddenly shouted.

Both students immediately halted, struggling just to remain standing. They had pushed past their limits, resulting in a draw. The teacher announced the result, and both combatants agreed to the decision before exiting the stage.

Noticing that no one else was approaching the stage, Max walked down, greeted the teacher, and handed over the registration tag he had received earlier. Detlev followed Max and handed over his tag as well. The teacher took both tags, checked the information, and gave them a long look.

"Okay, listen carefully. I will read the rules of the duel. I will not repeat them, and if you break a rule, you will be punished severely," the teacher warned.

Max nodded. Although he already knew the rules, he decided to listen closely since this was his first duel.

1. You are allowed to use real weapons.

2. You are allowed to use Mana.

3. This is a duel, not a death match. Any deliberate attempt to take a life will be met with severe punishment.

4. The use of consumables is strictly prohibited during combat.

5. Attacks must cease immediately upon victory or the opponent's surrender.

6. When I say stop, you stop.

7. The duel consists of three rounds. Each will last three minutes, with a thirty-second reprieve in between.

8. Should these three rounds yield no victor, the final judgment rests solely with me.

"That is all. Do either of you have questions, or is everything clear?" the teacher asked.

"I understood," Max replied, and Detlev nodded his head in agreement as well.

"Okay, go to your corners," the teacher ordered, pointing to each side of the stage.

Taking his position in the left corner, Max stood ready for the match to begin. Even as he focused ahead, he caught sight of the crowd steadily packed into the stands.

"Ready?" the teacher asked. "Begin!"