Endless Leveling Done Right! - Chapter 648: Talents Of Frieden Academy [Part 2]
“All of you gathered here today are the representatives of our academy for the Inter-Academy Tournament hosted by the Kingdom of Faelarun,” Professor Rowan said. “I hope you all do your best, but there’s no need to be pressured.
“Treat this tournament as a way to gain life experiences. As long as you do your best, you’ll have nothing to regret. We only have a month until the tournament starts, so the Professors will do their best to support you in any way they can.
“All of you are also exempted from classes for this quarter. So concentrate on your training. Don’t worry about getting a failing mark. I’m quite generous, am I not?”
Chuckles and giggles spread in the assembly hall as the Headmaster did his best to liven up the atmosphere.
“Well then. I don’t want to bore all of you with my speech. Professors, please take good care of our talented students and make this event special for them.”
“”Yes, Headmaster!””
All the Professors who were assigned to each division replied with determination.
They were just as motivated as the students. After all, the Headmaster promised a raise if their talents won. Money had always been a universal passion, and they would certainly give their all in this year’s competition!
After that short speech, Professor Arienna herded the musical students, including Alex, to the musical training grounds of the academy.
However, Alex asked the Professor if he could be excused, saying he wanted to go to the Training Grounds where the candidates for the fighting competition would practice.
The Music Professor didn’t even bat an eye and gave Alex’s permission to do what he wanted. In fact, she preferred that Alex stay away from the musical training grounds lest he was pestered into singing a song.
After receiving permission, he followed Professor Gareth, who was leading Prince Edward and his team to an appropriate venue for a sparring match.
Of course, the Professor noticed Alex following them and wondered why the Blackmail King of the academy was tardy on his first day.
“Are you lost, Alex?” Professor Gareth asked. “The Musical Training Grounds are over there.”
“I’m not lost, Professor,” Alex replied. “I got permission from Professor Arienna to observe if our fighters are up to par.”
Prince Edward and his team looked at Alex with an appraising gaze. They had seen how the young man had fought against Willow in the Mistral Weave Forest and thwarted the plans of the Demon Worshipers.
They also heard the news of Alex, along with Renard and Chuck, rescuing Astrea and her brother, Cassian, from a Rank 5 Mutated Field Boss Monster in the Dungeon of Beasts.
They all had a great impression of his strength, so they felt a little pressured when he said he wished to see if they were up to par.
Professor Gareth noticed the subtle change in his candidates’ faces, which made him grin.
“Sounds good.” Professor Gareth nodded. “Let’s go then.”
The students from Prince Edward’s team all belonged to Class 1-A. They were the cream of the crop of the academy and were no pushovers.
But, Alex’s standards were higher.
How could these elite students win against the Heroes and Heroines of the academy?
Had he been allowed to form his dream team, the fighting competition of the First Years would already be in the bag.
When they arrived at the training grounds, the Second Years were already waiting for them.
Aside from the singing competition, the combat tournament was a Year-Level Event.
This meant that First Years could only fight First Years, so on and so forth.
To train properly, the First Years would spar with the representatives of the Second Years. Then, the Second Years would challenge the Third Years. Next, the Third Years would challenge the Fourth Years, and the Fourth Years would challenge the Professors.
This way, all of them could gain experience and develop new combative strategies.
“Let’s begin,” Professor Gareth declared. “Battle Start!”
As soon as the signal was given, Prince Edward and his team moved to attack the Second Year representatives in the arena.
Weapons clashed against each other, while spells exploded in the background.
’Their teamwork isn’t that bad,’ Alex thought as he carefully observed Prince Edward’s team.
They were putting up a good fight, but the Second Years’ teamwork seemed to be more polished.
And just as he expected, Prince Edward’s teammates got defeated one by one, leaving him as the only one left standing.
He did his best to fight valiantly, but was overwhelmed by the disparity in numbers.
’I see… so he still hadn’t awakened yet,’ Alex thought after watching the battle unfold.
Alex’s sense of timing had grown a bit warped due to certain events unfolding faster compared to the original route because of the butterfly effect.
He wasn’t supposed to meet anyone from Reverse Arcana until he was a second year. And yet, they had crossed over to their world without warning.
In the original route, Prince Edward’s awakening would take place after the Inter-Academy tournament, where he would suffer defeat from the representatives of the Kingdom of Solara.
Truth be told, Alex was conflicted about whether he should interfere in this tournament and help the prince and his team to win.
But he feared the complications that would arise from changing the original route again.
He had already interfered with the story’s natural progression a couple times.
He had saved Charles, who should have died in the Dungeon of Beginnings.
He saved Vaan, whose body should have been taken over by Willow.
Lavinia, Latifa, Fran, and Evangeline had also become his lovers, which he didn’t regret one bit.
While he still felt a little conflicted about his past, he knew that worrying too much about it would affect the future.
He could only take one step at a time and hoped that the Heroes, and Heroines would grow strong enough to handle the real battles that would happen when they became Second Years.
The First Year Arc was more of a training arc for the protagonists. A time for them to form connections and friendships, as well as fall in love with their chosen leads.
Their partners would then support them in the battles up ahead.
Nessia now had Charles.
Renard seemed to be growing close with Lady Celestria and Melissa.
He didn’t know if Cassian had already found his promised one, while Prince Edward’s private life was something not even Alex could casually interfere with.
If he suddenly approached Princess Xenia and asked her if her brother had any lover, she might look at him suspiciously for trying to dig up information about the royal family.
Also, since Arcana had endless possibilities, the prince had so many candidates to choose from.
’I just hope he’s not eyeing Astrea,’ Alex thought.
Although the Prince preferred older women, the possibility of him falling in love with Astrea was still there.
’That’s why one of his most famous leads is an elf.’ Alex smirked. ’In the game, Prince Edward fell in love with a thousand year-old elf named Freyren.
’What was the name of his love rival again?’ Alex thought. ’Oh, yeah. It’s Hymmel. Poor guy. He is considered as an aspiring hero. But he is all swag and charisma without actually confessing.’
(A/N: Somewhere in the multiverse, the Copyright God turned in Alex’s direction.)
It was then that Alex remembered that Prince Edward’s first meeting with this elusive elven heroine would also be in the Inter-Academy Tournament.
Of course, just because they would meet didn’t necessarily mean that there would be a spark.
The Prince would encounter over a dozen romantic leads in the Inter-Academy Tournament, and he could end up with any of them.
While Alex was thinking about Prince Edward’s love life, he didn’t notice that the very same prince was approaching him.
“Alex Stratos,” Prince Edward said calmly. “I challenge you to a duel.”
Alex blinked once then twice at the unexpected challenge.
“May I ask why you are challenging me, Your Highness?” Alex asked.
“I want to know how I measure up to the person who always challenged those stronger than him,” Prince Edward replied. “Because of my status, I am not allowed to put myself in any real danger. Unlike you, I am not permitted to be in battles of life and death.
“I have heard of your heroism when you fought the monster stampede in the Floating Islands of Thaloria, as well as how you survived the Dungeon Outbreak in the Dungeon of Beginnings during the Scholarship Trial.
“Time and time again, I have seen you fighting strong opponents. I want to test my mettle against someone who has accomplished all of those things.”
Alex could see the sincerity and determination in the Prince’s gaze. Because of this, he accepted his proposal.
Ten minutes later, Prince Edward was sent flying out of the arena, which made the medics scramble to his side.
Alex had completely forgotten that he was now a Rank 4 Oathkeeper and that he could easily overpower the Rank 3 Prince, whom he had just sent flying with a single bash of his shield.
