1374 Imposter
Now, there were only 50 candidates left. The secondround began soon.
Varian's opponent was a familiar guy. It's the gym maniac Chanlar.
As soon as their battle was announced, Miss Calamity ignored her opponent and started laughing like a little devil while pointing at Chanlar.
"Hey ugly, do you think you can win against my handsome friend?"
Miss Calamity opponent wanted to exploit the situation but she casually swatted her hand and the man was sent flying out without any resistance.
The musclehead glanced at Miss Calamity and his face turned blue and purple. Then, he looked at Varian with a complicated expression before jumping off the stage.
But not before shrieking like a shrew. "I hope handsome guys like you all just drop dead! And I'm not ugly!"
"Okay?" Varian muttered with an awkward smile before flashing a glare at Aurora. "It's all your fault! That guy now has a big scar!"
"I'm so sorry…" Even though she said those words, her eyes didn't show the slightest remose.
When Varian shook his head and turned away, Miss Calamity narrowed her eyes and let out a small sigh.
'If a warrior doesn't have enough mental strength to bear these inconvieniences, how can they ever hope to achieve greatness? Forget divine rank, they would never even touch rank 9.
Going to the battlefield with wrong aspirations will only get them killed. It's better to stay alive with wounded pride and scarred memories than to grow overconfident of your abilities and die a worthless death.'
While others might call it bullying, Miss Calamity believed she was doing these kids a favor. What a warrior needed, besides talent and effort was the right mindset. It had to be trained by putting the students in uncomfortable situations.
On the other hand, Varian closed his eyes and reviewed his mission for coming so far.
'The competition will end in a few hours. I can then enter the lab. I just have to get into that room, steal those storage devices and escape. In the worst case, I can just jump back into Hortus.'
It was a great plan. But 'Aurora' was a big variable. Varian began to wonder how he could keep her distracted during the critical period.
'It's the most prized laboratory of the kingdom. So, it's natural to have living subjects. Someone was bragging about seeing rank 9 beasts, didn't they?'
Varian stood still like a statue but his mind began to calculate the consequences for his action and the risks that would increase with each change.
Miss Calamity frowned and looked at Telor in confusion. Something…felt off. Her intuition was telling that this man was thinking something that she'd not like.
[As the one who knocked out most of the competitors in first phase…Telor Xon Navak gets the pass.]
The commentator announced in a neutral voice but the pause he took when he read out the candidate's name was undeniable.
Telor knocked out 20 opponents, Robert knocked out 18. The next candidate was on 10. So, it was clear that the competition was going to be between these two.
The floating arena under Varian moved away from the main area. It'd take a while for the matches to end. So, he decided to kill some time.
Taking out a beach chair, a barbecue grill along with some nice spices, Varian began to grill meat.
The aroma quickly spread to the candidates who were in the middle of an intense battle. The sharp contrast of his leisure with their extreme hardship ignited the minds of the students.
"Your uncle! Don't you have any manners?"
"We're shedding blood, sweat and tears! Why the fuck are you grilling meat?"
"Cocky bastard!"
Curses were thrown without impunity.
Ignoring the pissed off folks, Varian hummed a song and started adding the spices.
Sia was really worried about his food—though he didn't need to eat anymore for survival. But after living like that for 18 years, he couldn't just give it up. It's one of the few things that still made him feel normal.
By the time he expertely followed the procedures taught by his wife and grilled the meat to perfection, the round ended.
The meat was that of a very powerful <Life Spirit>. So, it took much longer than normal to cook.
'If rank 1 or even rank 3 in Body path can eat this, their progress rate will double for at least a month.'
Varian smacked his lips.
[The 24 candidates have been assigned their respective opponents. Good luck!]
Leisurely tasting the delicacy, Varian observed the battles.
Aurora was the dark horse no one expected. The strength she showed so far would put her only below Prince Robert.
And Prince Robert, well, he was crushing it. The longest he took to end a match was three moves.
This round was also over.
[13 Candidates qualified. Telor Xon Navak gets a pass. The 12 candidates are matched against each other.]
Varian exhaled and stretched his arms. Leaning back in his recliner chair, h crossed his legs and fell asleep.
[…]
Outside the mini-world, there were thirteen screens, each dedicated to a candidate. Ironically, the screen that most viewers paid attention to was Varian's.
There were many competitions like this. There were many dark horses. There were many unexpeected twists and turns.
But.
Never in the history of the academy did a student make such light of the competition.
If even the students who would eventually leave the academy came to that conclusion, the state of the senior teachers could be imagined.
"Don't stop me, Dean! I want to slap that bastard!"
"He's taking this as a joke! A joke!"
"I'll expel that bastard right away!"
Dean Ankh shook his head lightly and the raging staff fell silent. This man was the founder of the academy and had the deepest feelings for the institute. If he didn't feel offended, it felt a bit too much for them to seethe.
The old man turned to the female professor seated beside him.
Despite wearing a professor uniform like everyone else, she stole the spotlight because of her noble temperment. She felt less like a stern professor and more like a royal princess.
She was his successor and the old man decided to train her as much as possible while he still could. So, his voice directly sounded in her mind. "What do you think?"
Catherine pursed her lips and looked at 'Telor' on the screen with a curious expression before she shifted to 'Aurora'.
Her voice also sounded in his mind.
"If she had taken an interest in him, then it means his worth is more than what he showed. Telor changed a lot once returning. Awakening his natal treasure, harnessing its power and jumping a sub-rank. Even the way he dealt with others in conditions of pressure. It's like a completely new person."
"Hm."
Catherine covered her lips and let out an elegant chuckle. "I checked him secretly. He's not an imposter as I suspected. Rather than a new person, it's a new personality. He must've faced something drastic to undergo such changes. An opportunity, I assume."
Dean Ankh rubbed his long beard and let out a small laughter.
"What's your opinion?" She asked.
"He's an imposter."
