Chapter 26: Chapter 25 – Competitors

On an island far away from Blue city, a few young adults were sitting around a long dining table made of expensive-looking wood. These adolescents were inside a large hall that looked like it was part of a royal palace due to the gold chandeliers hanging from its high ceiling.

"So, who will begin then?" said a man sitting at the head of the table as he addressed the 20 or so seated youngsters. He was handsome with shoulder-length blonde hair and looked around 19 or 20 years old, like the rest of the people in the hall.

"I will start as the witness from Waterly city. There were exactly 18 students that passed the trials, and none of them seemed promising or talented," replied a girl who sat next to the man.

"Oh, that's rather lucky. Waterly city usually has a lot of promising prospects. Thanks for the intel, Candice. Who would like to go next?" the blonde youngster asked.

"As the representative from Westend city, I report that 22 students passed the trials, and there were none that seemed spectacular in any way," said a young man with a scorpion tattoo on his exposed bicep in a rather calm manner.

"Hmm, Interesting. Who's next?" asked the blonde man. This continued for a while as each individual took the opportunity to relay the events they had witnessed. When there were about five people left, he noticed that someone was being uncharacteristically quiet.

"You seem awfully quiet today, Alex. What's wrong? Could it be that Little, old Blue City was that disappointing?"

"Err... you should probably leave me for last, James. I fear that no one will believe what I have to say," Alex shrugged.

"Spill it already. We're all allies here. Wasn't the whole point of this so that we could benefit as a group?"

"Sigh. It's just that the results of the trials in Blue city were nothing like what I've heard in this hall today" Alex knew he had no choice but to continue.

"What do you mean exactly? Get to the point already" James was beginning to get impatient.

"Well, for starters, only three students passed the trials."

"What? Three? I know Blue city doesn't house any major households, but surely, they had more than three worthy participants."

"Cut me some slack already. I'm telling the truth. Lucas got a bit excited and made the first trial very difficult. Then, surprisingly enough, Anna and Victor both followed suit with two hard trials of their own, although they were a little more reserved than him, to be fair."

"Huh? How could you be so sure?" James found it hard to believe what he was hearing.

"Are you forgetting how we all got here? The trials I took last year were nothing like the ones I witnessed two weeks ago. Lucas and the others wanted to test this particular participant, so they decided to set what I'm sure was their hardest trials to date," said Alex as he stared at the others.

"Who was the kid? Which house is he from?" James wasn't sure when exactly it had happened, but he had come to the edge of his seat and was leaning towards Alex's direction, the curiosity evident on his face.

"No clue. All I know is that he is a beginner mage named Silver and has most definitely caught the eyes of all three teachers hosting the trials" Alex shuddered a little as he recalled the final trial.

There was no way a beginner-level mage was supposed to beat a Shumow, yet somehow, that scarlet-haired youngster had done it. He remembered thinking he was dreaming and looking to those around him to see if it was real. The similar looks on the academy teachers' faces had been a rude awakening for him.

Even if it was just a simulation, it meant that if one could do it there, he could do it in reality as well. Ultimately, he was forced to admit defeat to the youth who had accomplished what he couldn't at his level.

"Hahaha, well, that's good. It would have been boring if we had no one to crush. Why would you think we wouldn't believe you, though? I mean, you're probably exaggerating the difficulty of the trials and the fact that this Silver brat has caught that eccentric trios' eyes. Still, everything else you said was completely plausible," James teased as he addressed the others.

"Well, I still haven't said the unbelievable part yet..."

"Hmm? You mean to say there's more to the story?" James was beginning to get irritated.

"No, the story is pretty much finished. It's just the details that I haven't fully covered. For starters, I haven't exaggerated the trials as you've suggested. If anything, I've downplayed them a little."

"What are you talking about? Spill it out already. Stop beating around the bush, for god's sake" James couldn't believe that Alex dared to tell him he was wrong in front of so many. He made a secret vow to punish him later if the information he gave didn't check out.

"During the first trial, Lucas made a bet with Victor for 10 million gold. The bet was to see if the Scarlet-haired youth could get within 10 meters of Lucas' summoned beast."

"T-ten million? That's a bit excessive even for him. Which beast did he summon? Surely it must have been a low-level C class at least," James interrupted.

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"Err... he summoned his Zafan..."

"What? His Zafan? Hahaha, poor kid, I guess Lucas didn't want to lose the bet after all" James was speechless and thought he had heard wrong at first but then realized that this was plausible considering the huge sum involved in the bet.

"Uhm... he lost..." Alex replied with a bit of difficulty. He could already feel the disbelieving gazes on him.

"Are you screwing with me? That's not very funny, you know. Do you actually expect us to believe a beginner mage was able to get within 10 meters of a Zafan?"

"Ehen... Actually... He... Uhm, petted it..." Alex regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth.

Silence.

Everyone looked at him as though he were crazy.

"You mean to tell us that a beginner mage was not only able to overcome a Zafan's aura, but he also petted it?" James asked while trying his best to suppress his laughter.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm telling you" Alex knew that although he would be made fun of, the best thing for him to do in this situation was to tell the truth.

"Pfft. Pwhahahaha," James could no longer hold his laughter, and soon the entire hall was filled with the mocking laughter of the others.

"I fear we have chosen the wrong person to act as a representative from those who observed the trials held in Blue city," said a man wearing spectacles after the laughter finally died.

"It does seem that way, doesn't it. Either our friend here has accidentally consumed some narcotics on the way to this meeting, or he thinks we live in a fairy tale world," James said as he wiped a tear from his eye.

"Well, you're all more than welcome to ask someone else. They will tell you the same," Alex said as he got up from his seat in anger for being ridiculed by his peers.

"Where do you think you're going?" James asked, pausing him in his tracks.

"You will leave when I say so and not a second sooner. Understand?" James ordered as he lowered his voice.

Alex contemplated for a bit and decided it wasn't worth offending this many people, so he nodded and retook his seat. He was beginning to regret ever coming to such a meeting in the first place.

He thought this would be an excellent opportunity to gather information on the new recruits. That way, he could feel more confident in keeping his current rank. Much to his disappointment, he now realized that this was just a meeting of cowards with no brains.

"Good. Now is there anything else you forgot to mention?" James asked as he took his seat.

"The second trial was just a normal survival trial, and nothing special happened. However, in the third trial, Silver was able to defeat a Shumow in the illusion world" Alex wanted to get out of this hall as soon as possible, so he rushed the report. There was no point in him wasting his breath on these clowns.

"What?!?!?" James got up abruptly and slammed the table

"How dare you continue to spout nonsense. If I find that anything you said today is false, I will personally remove that tongue of yours," he threatened.

"Sigh, I've told you nothing but the truth. Like I said, if you don't believe me, you can ask someone else. Or you could ask Silver himself as he will surely be coming to the Academy tomorrow." Alex was beginning to enjoy the look on James' face. What would he do when he found out it was all true? He couldn't wait to see that expression.

"You there, go out and find Lucile and bring her here by any means necessary. We must get to the bottom of this," James said as he pointed at a boy with short brown hair.

"Yes, James." the boy said as he left the hall in a hurry.

In a warm room inside an Inn in Blue city, Silver was beginning to drift asleep, unaware of the commotion he had caused miles away.

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