Chapter 231: Argument
His chuckle drew the attention of the boy who made the remark. He looked toward Leo with an angry expression.
"Do you have a problem, freshman?" The boy didn"t like Leo"s chuckle. He started approaching Leo.
"Stop it, Lucius," the girl said. The boy remained motionless without any concern about what was going to happen.
Everyone around them saw this and started to act on it. The rest of the freshmen formed a defensive layer around him. Even though two of them didn"t even know who Leo was, they wanted to stop the fight.
The two girls who Leo saw outside the city blocked Lucious from getting to Leo.
"Stop picking a fight with your juniors right before we are leaving. We don"t want to have problems in our team before we even get there," Elysia said.
"Ha! Problems in our team? As I said, they will never make it past the reserve tournament, so why are we even bringing them along? There are tons of good candidates among the second years that have a better shot than them," he said.
"And what were you doing when you were a freshman? I remember that you were only an Early-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight. Are you just jealous that they are getting an opportunity that you didn"t?" The red-haired girl beside Elysia said.
Her comment made Lucius angry, but he didn"t refute it. Meanwhile, the professors stepped in to stop the argument.
"I think we should stop here. We have our reasons for bringing along the freshmen," Asher said.
"And what is that, professor? Is it something to do with the two commoners they have among them? We all know that you have a soft spot for commoners, so you must have changed everything to give those two a better chance."
Before anyone else could refute that statement, Leo stepped out of the encirclement he was in.
"It doesn"t matter whether or not I am in the reserve team. I think we need to be more concerned about why you deserve a spot. Out of every 2nd year here, you seem to be the weakest. Stop trying to show that we don"t deserve our spots. Maybe prove that you deserve yours."
His response made Asher look at him angrily. He had explicitly warned Leo not to cause any problems, but he had done just that. Maria had a disappointed expression too. Only Selena was unconcerned about what was happening.
A few people saw the professors" reactions to his comment and were very curious about the mult.i.tude of expressions. They were expecting a common reaction of worry for him, but that one thing seemed to be missing in all of them.
"That is it! Are you out of your mind?! If I decide to fight you here you won"t be able to walk for the Phoenix Trials! What will they do other than find a replacement for you pitiful a.s.s? They won"t touch me for someone like you," Lucius said while storming toward him.
The aura around him intensified and the pressure of an Early-Stage 3rd Circle Aura Knight frightened two freshmen behind him. Only Marcus and Lyra were unbothered. They looked at Asher to see if he would stop the fight.
However, all three of the teachers stood motionless as the boy approached Leo threateningly. All of the students there were surprised that they were letting this happen. Marcus and Lyra were no longer unbothered and became worried that a fight might actually break out.
As he got close, Leo remained motionless as the boy winded his arm. He let loose a punch that almost impacted him but stopped an inch away from his face. His eyes didn"t show any fear and stared right into that of the boy"s.
The boy retracted his arm and turned around.
"I don"t want him near me during the journey," he said while walking toward his group. As he went away, Elysia walked to Leo.
"I am sorry for him on behalf of the second years. He is upset because his friend wasn"t able to qualify because of you," she said.
"It"s okay," he said and turned around to look at Asher.
"When are we leaving?"
Asher looked at everyone. "We leave immediately. Everyone, pick a horse. If you don"t know how to ride one, find a friend to ride with you."
"Where are the horses?" A freshman asked.
"They should be here anytime now," he said in response.
As he said that, they heard the sound of hooves from inside the academy. They were expecting normal horses, but what they saw surprised them. Instead of regular horses, they were looking at Magical Beast variants.
Every single horse had the strength of an Apprentice Aura Knight. In the front, there was a mage controlling them. Leo"s eyebrows raised when he saw who it was.
The mage that brought the horses was their headmaster. Leo hadn"t seen him since the day of the first speech. And now that he saw him after breaking through, he realized exactly how strong he was.
The Head Master was a Peak-Stage 5th Circle Mage. His presence alone made Leo start to feel fear. If he noticed the magic he possessed, it was game over for him. He had far too many secrets along with just the magic. There was also Nefrati and the Blood Aura.
Out of the secrets he had, the Head Master saw through one of them instantly. He took a single glance at all the students while getting near them and knew who was special and who wasn"t.
The horses were very well-behaved and bent down for him to get down. He walked toward the group and talked to Asher.
"I trust that everyone is ready to leave immediately."
"Yes, Head Master. Should we start now?"
"That will be preferred."
He turned to the students and spoke.
"I am sure you weren"t expecting that you would be traveling with an old man like me, but it is unavoidable to guarantee your safety. Before we start, I congratulate all of you for qualifying to represent the Eldridge Academy in the Phoenix Trials.
You all worked extremely hard to get to where you are now. However, I am aware that some of you are not a supporter of the idea of allowing freshmen to join us this year. That decision was made by me, so if you want to raise your concerns, I will be available."
The minute he said this, the boy took a step forward. He was still angry at Leo for riling him up. The Head Master took a single glance at him and chuckled.
"However, if you do have a concern and I prove it to be false, then we will reverse your positions, making you a reserve member."
His statement made the boy falter for a second, but he still took another step forward.
"How will you prove that my concern is false? Will you have them duel a 2nd Year Student?" He asked.
"No, they already did that. All of them were ranked before being considered. I meant that if they defeat you, then your roles will be reversed."
"And if they don"t?"
"Then we will compensate your fellow 2nd Years with Aura Essence Pills or Magic Essence Potions to compensate. Is that fine?" The old mage said calmly.
"Fine. At least they will receive those as compensation. Who do I have to fight? I can take all of them at once," he said.
"Head Master, we might get late," Asher said softly.
"We allotted ourselves ample time in case things go wrong. This duel will take very less time, so it won"t cut into the travel. As for you, boy, you only have to fight a single person of my choosing."
He looked at Leo immediately after saying that, which made him turn his head down by reflex. The mage had clearly seen through his aura level and knew exactly how strong he was.
After taking a breath to calm himself he looked up again. The chance that he knew about either inheritance was minuscule, so he would be fine. He had to concentrate on the chance he was given instead of worrying about the Head Master.
If he won against the boy in front of him, then he could move up to the normal team. Then he wouldn"t need to worry about being a reserve member and worry about the tournament.
"I"ll do it," he said and stepped forward.
His action didn"t surprise anyone since he had a little beef with the boy anyway. They all looked at the Head Master to see if Leo was the one he was talking about. When he nodded, they all got ready for the fight. Only one person retorted.
"But sir, how fair is letting him fight a person an entire year older than him?" Elysia asked.
"If I am not wrong, Leo should still be 15 years old. Am I right, boy?" fre ewebn ovel
The Head Master looked at Leo who nodded in response.
"But do not worry. I believe that he has a fair chance in this fight. Keep in mind that what you see must not discourage any of you in any way. It is simply the way the world works. It is not fair and you will not be able to pick and choose your enemies."
His word made everyone shake their heads. In their minds, he had already picked a side, which was very odd. His words made them all think that he was going to support the freshmen, but what he did was the opposite.