Chapter 32 - 31: Teach Them a Lesson

Chapter 32: Chapter 31: Teach Them a Lesson

At the Earl Mansion.

His three-day confinement had finally ended. Caius changed his clothes and stepped out of his room.

Over these three days, Lilia had brought him things every night, but she never stayed to eat with him like she did on the first day. Caius felt a bit disappointed, yet he understood that what Lilia needed was a "useful person."

He had helped her solve the trouble that was Griffin, which was why he received the treatment of having meals delivered and being fed. However, he had simultaneously messed up the situation with Victor, so this special treatment only happened once.

It was very reasonable. Compared to elusive love and emotions, such a clear and predictable reward and punishment mechanism made him feel much more at ease.

CLICK. As the door clicked shut, Lilia happened to be walking toward him. She had also changed her clothes. Her dark green uniform skirt perfectly hugged the girl’s soft curves. As she walked, the hem of her skirt swayed, revealing glimpses of fair skin underneath.

After eating breakfast, they boarded the carriage and arrived at school. Everything was exactly the same as before. Whether it was Victor or Griffin, their disappearance had not caused any impact on Lien Academy.

The teacher had already announced that today’s actual Magic combat would take place in Zone S, and students needed to arrive at the teaching area ten minutes before the course started. Naturally, Lilia and Caius went together. However, as they approached the vicinity, the path ahead was blocked. Caius was about to pull Lilia to take a detour when he heard someone shouting in the distance. Because they were quite far away, the voices were somewhat muffled. It wasn’t until Lilia pulled aside a spectating classmate to ask that they understood the situation.

It turned out that an upperclassman had blocked the only path to Zone S, clamoring that the first-year students were all sheltered greenhouse flowers—pushovers with talent but no backbone. He claimed that such Mages would only serve as target practice on the battlefield, so it would be better for them to drop out early and hide back home like cowards rather than waste Lien Academy’s precious resources.

Listening to the student’s vivid description, Caius looked indifferent. "Boring."

Indeed. Although many Class A students were so incensed by this string of taunts that their faces turned bright red, wishing they could rush up and fight them, in Lilia’s eyes, such a low-level provocation was truly a bit childish. It was only effective on those Nobles who had been high and mighty for so long that they couldn’t tolerate anyone defying them.

Just as she was about to leave with Caius, she caught sight of a figure standing in the crowd.

Blonde hair and blue eyes, with picturesque features. A smile played on his handsome face, making him look uninhibited and flamboyant. He was surrounded by quite a few people, both men and women. Even though he was just standing in the crowd watching the spectacle, he gave off the inexplicable illusion that he was the center of attention.

He was like a natural-born star.

[Lucian Williams.]

He was the third capture target Lilia had encountered in this playthrough.

Lilia didn’t know much about Lucian. She only knew that he was the only son of the Duke and two years above her. Even in Lien Academy, where elites gathered, he was a well-known figure.

When Lilia first met him, out of curiosity, she had guided her classmates to reveal a lot of information about him during their daily chats.

For example, Lucian was very popular. Most of the students in his year were his friends, and even those who weren’t rarely crossed him.

Another example was his popularity with women. His standard Prince-like appearance with blonde hair and blue eyes was already very eye-catching, and coupled with his strength and status, he was never short of female pursuers. He himself never refused anyone either. From his physical appearance to his lifestyle, his main MO was "always looking for girlfriends, but not looking for long-term girlfriends." His rumored flings were numerous enough to wrap around Lien Academy.

Furthermore, although the Williams family was also an old-money Noble family, they had gradually declined in recent years. The previous few generations of heirs had squandered their fortune completely, and Lucian’s father was an extravagant gambler. As the next Duke heir, many people were waiting for Lucian to graduate from Lien Academy and officially step onto the stage.

As for whether they were waiting for him to revive his family’s glory or wanted to see him make a fool of himself, that was hard to say.

Regardless, ignoring the intricate power dynamics among the older generation and simply focusing on this corner of Lien Academy, Lucian was definitely the leading figure of his year, just like Caius was for theirs.

Noticing Lilia had stopped in her tracks, Caius followed her gaze. Lucian’s handsome face, bearing a bright smile, entered his line of sight.

"Caius."

"Yeah."

Lilia looked at him. "To actually block our path, those guys are truly despicable."

Though she said this, there wasn’t a trace of resentment in her sparkling eyes. Instead, they were filled with the excitement of a good show about to begin. "Let’s go teach them a good lesson."

Meanwhile.

At the end of the road, a Class A student could no longer bear standing there being humiliated and charged forward without a word.

However, the upperclassmen opposing them, led by Nick, were naturally talented and had two more years of experience. Their proficiency in actual Magic combat was far beyond what the first-years could match.

Unsurprisingly, the Class A student lost, and lost miserably.

Because they wanted to assert their dominance, they absolutely could not show any mercy to the first guy who dared to rush up. Nick took to the field himself, defeating him in less than five seconds and throwing him straight back into the crowd.

THUD. The student slammed heavily onto the ground.

He felt a piercing pain all over his body, as if all his bones were about to break.

Being brutally beaten in front of so many people and eliminated in such a humiliating manner, the boy’s face turned pale and blue. He was so humiliated that he wished he could turn around and leave, or simply kill all those guys laughing at him on the opposite side!

Right at this moment, rhythmic and heavy footsteps approached from afar, gradually passing by his side. The boy looked up in somewhat of a daze, staring at the figure walking against the light. "Cai... Caius?"

Caius didn’t spare him a single glance. In fact, if Lilia hadn’t asked to teach them a lesson, he wouldn’t even have paid any attention to the few people opposing them.

Hearing the boy’s voice, the guy named Nick grinned. "You’re Caius?"

The seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth was well-developed. Judging by physique alone, Nick could probably beat two Caiuses with one hand.

"I heard you’re the strongest in your year? Just a bunch of little brats, and you’ve actually crowned a ’strongest’?" Nick chuckled. "I despise those whose abilities don’t match their status the most. Since you’re a genius, let me see your—"

"Come at me." Caius couldn’t be bothered to waste breath on him.

Nick froze for a moment. "What?"

"Didn’t you want to test my strength?" Caius finally raised his head, sweeping his gaze one by one over the figures across from him. His eyes were too cold; though they seemed so indifferent as to be devoid of emotion, they inexplicably made people feel a sense of danger.

Nick and the others subconsciously tensed their nerves.

Caius didn’t care at all about their shift in demeanor and finished his sentence without batting an eyelid. "Then come at me. We’re in a hurry."