Regnum Aetern Dual Rebirth Chapter 171

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[ … words ]

During the ranking duels of‌ previous years, things had been rather simple. Most of the commoner applicants who made the cut were Phase One, while most of the nobles who made the cut were Phase Two.

Considering the massive gap in strength between the Phases, the duels were only limited to the same Phase. This meant that nobles would duel nobles and the commoners would duel other commoners.

But that was not the case this time, and the reason for that was the existence of the four Phase Three applicants this year.

What was even more shocking was that one of those four applicants was actually a commoner.

And so, everyone was looking forward to the fights between these four.

Sitting amidst the audience in the arena, Adrian had a frown on his face.

’I don’t like this. This is turning out to be bigger than expected.’

Being a noble, reputation was one of Adrian’s greatest assets and his greatest liability.

He turned to Evangeline.

“You have to remember. We can only lose against each other, especially after our display during the practical examination—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Evangeline grumbled. “I have absolutely no intention of losing against anyone, not even you, Adi.”

Adrian turned his gaze to Ravian.

“What about you? What do you think your chances are against the Keldravon heir?”

Ravian looked ahead with a thoughtful expression.

“I would say I am at a bit of a disadvantage, but the fight is going to be a close one. Besides, I think there is a rather strong commoner among the Phase Two applicants, so I wouldn’t say that the Keldravon heir is the only obstacle for me.”

Adrian nodded.

“I see.”

“Adrian, I have new information.” Ravian turned to him and alternated his gaze between Evangeline and him. “Information about Saria Velcyra Mythrien.”

His words grabbed both Adrian’s and Evangeline’s attention.

Ravian continued.

“From what I was able to gather, she is blind. She wasn’t born that way, but her eyes slowly lost their light by the time she turned three. Make no mistake, though. She might be blind, but that doesn’t mean that she can’t see.”

Adrian saw Evangeline make a strange face. Her expression seemed to almost say, ’That is exactly what it means.’

“This isn’t confirmed, but apparently her Origin ability converts the mana she senses into visual information. This means that anything involving mana is clearly visible to her. Moreover, her personality is said to be aggressive and ill-tempered.”

’I see…’

Adrian turned his attention to the academy staff who were slowly setting up the stage where the duels would take place.

’It’s starting soon.’

He was paired with the Phase Three commoner who went by the name Xion, and Evangeline was paired with Saria Velcyra Mythrien.

’If things go the way I want, I should meet Evangeline for the final duel.’

Soon, the stage was set up, and Adrian and Evangeline entered their hypogeum in the arena, waiting for their name to be called.

This time, the duels between the Phase Threes were going to happen first.

Sitting on a chair within the hypogeum, Adrian had changed into plain, loose white training clothes provided by the academy staff. As he waited in silence, he finally heard his name being called.

Walking out with unhurried steps, he felt the gazes of the crowd. Soon, he reached the stage in the center of the arena.

A boy stood facing him a few meters away.

The boy’s purple-tinted soft black hair was neatly swept to the side, and his purple eyes scanned Adrian up and down with curiosity. But the boy’s most noticeable feature was the amicable smile stretched across his face.

Looking at the smile irked Adrian somehow.

He sharpened his gaze.

’So this boy has experience fighting in a war, huh? The fight doesn’t seem to be in my favour then.’

He could’ve outsmarted his opponent if they were an amateur, but there was a very low chance of outsmarting someone with real battle experience.

Adrian tensed his muscles and got into a stance as the referee arrived near the stage.

’I have to win somehow.’

***

Xion stared at the black-haired boy standing before him on the stage. His stance made it seem as though the boy would lunge at him the moment the referee announced the start of the fight.

’Adrian Caelis Ravenshade, is it?’

The boy with the reputation of being the greatest genius of his generation.

Of course, defeating him wouldn’t be hard. In fact, there was not a single individual among the applicants who Xion couldn’t defeat.

It was just that…

’If I defeat him, I’ll become too conspicuous.’

Considering that he was infiltrating the enemy nation and everything about him was forged, Xion didn’t think it was good to draw attention to himself.

The second-best option was to display the strength of a normal Phase Three mana user and then be defeated after a bit of struggle. But a skilled enough individual watching him would easily be able to see through his facade.

In the end, he was left with only one option.

’Here it goes.’

The referee raised a hand and signaled.

“Begin!”

The moment the referee signaled the start of the duel, the boy quickly drew his sword and lunged at him. But before he could close the distance, Xion…

…Raised both his arms up and shouted.

“I forfeit!”

The boy stopped in his tracks, and the referee froze. Xion could feel the bafflement of the audience watching.

The referee stared at him in confusion.

“Applicant Xion, are you sure that you wish to forfeit?”

Xion readily nodded.

“I have never been more sure in my entire life.”

The referee suddenly narrowed his eyes and glanced at the black-haired boy. After seemingly hesitating for a bit, he turned to Xion and spoke firmly.

“If you were threatened in any way, then you can tell us. The academy will do its best to help you.”

Xion frowned.

’What the hell, this is going in the wrong direction.’

He glanced at his opponent. The boy was staring at him expressionlessly, but Xion knew well what must be going through the boy’s mind at this moment.

’Damn! He probably thinks that I was sent by another noble to ruin his reputation.’

This wasn’t good; he would make an enemy out of the boy by accident if this continued. Xion turned to the guard and firmly shook his head.

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken, good sir. As someone who has fought on the battlefield and seen death up close, there is no way threats would work against me. Besides, this is the first time I’m seeing Adrian Caelis Ravenshade up close.”

The referee made a troubled face. After one last glance at the boy, he announced.

“This is the end of the duel! The winner is Adrian Caelis Ravenshade.”

***

The audience continued to stare blankly at the now empty stage as some of them muttered in confusion.

“What the hell just happened?”

“Why would he straight up surrender? He should’ve tried his best at the very least.”

“That’s right! What a coward. He ruined all the fun for me.”

Everyone who had witnessed the fight had the same question in their minds: just why did that commoner boy forfeit without even trying?

But just then, a commoner girl stood up.

“You people can’t understand, but his reason is so obvious.”