"FIREBALL!"
"WATER GUN!"
"LIGHTNING DARTS!"
The big arena suddenly turned into chaos when all the participants unleashed their spells. Most of them were dominated by fire and water magic. There were also wind and lightning, but it wasn't much. The students must have misconceptions that wind didn't deal enough damage and lightning was hard to control, so they mostly focused on fire and water in the end. It was easy to learn normal attributes as long as you had money and resources on your hand. For flare and ice attributes, people could only depend on their luck. Once in a while, someone might get it and people could only envy that person.
The thing happened to Baston where only him who had rare attribute while the rest didn't have one. Because of that, most students tried to attack him first so the strong contender could be removed quickly from the harsh magic competition. Too bad Baston was very different when he already
experienced the development from the old book. He could mobilize three elements
of magic which consisted of ice, flare, and gale. Still, he knew he could only use ice magic for now since he had to fool everyone to accept that he truly had one attribute at the present.
Baston simply erected ice shards around him so no attack could hit him. He was just like a turtle which could only hide and protect
himself. As for what happened outside, he didn't need to know. Until everything subsided, he then would come out and finish this first round. The students were gnashing their teeth since the plan failed to commence unless Baston came out himself.
"Are you a coward? You can only hide inside!"
"Come out and fight like a man!"
"You are such an embarrassment! No one would like you if you can only run!"
Despite the harassment, Baston still stayed silent inside his ice dome. As long as no one broke the ice shards, then he was perfectly
safe. It didn't matter whether he won or not because he was here just to find an opportunity to kill his target. Many participants found Baston didn't budge
and could only direct their attacks to someone else. As long they could beat
one or two, they could feel the satisfaction.
Many audiences thought differently about Baston from the spectator area. Some said he was too coward and some said he was smart. Whatever strategy he used; everything was permitted as long as he got his victory. Rather than wasting his magic energy and stamina, it was better to wait and strike for a chance. Of course, there were rules to obey so during the match, he would comply with it the best he could.
"That fat boy seems quite good…"
"Yes, my lord. I heard this boy had enormous luck to awake his talent when the great wizard Angus came to the academy. At that time, he gained ice attribute which was quite rare."
"I see…"
Inside the VIP section, Levan and his assistant was watching the match boringly. Despite his eagerness to go somewhere, he needed to stay for the first round of the magic competition. He had to show his face at first and last match as a matter of attitude. During the rumble, he tried to hide his
yawning. The match in the Prius Academy was less exciting than the famous one.
If he went to the capital, he surely wouldn't get bored since the highest talent flocked at there. He thought he needed to stay still until Baston took his attention.
The fat boy didn't proactively chase his opponents but only stay safe inside his ice magic. Even though many insults were thrown out, he never showed his impatient behavior. Just looking at the match, Levan could already foresee who would be the winner. He took an interest of Baston because his way of fight was just the same as him. Although it was slow, at least it
could leave him out from danger. People might think he was too conservative, but as long as he reached the purpose, he was fine with it.
"It's really good strategy…"
Levan slowly watched the match ended. One by one, the participants were run out of energy or defeated along the way. Baston never confronted his opponents directly unless he needed to because just staying to survive already earned him enough chance to move to the next stage. Although it looked
cheap, but the referee could pinpoint whether the fat boy was eligible to continue his match or not. Levan in the VIP section could also predict that even though Baston never moved from his position, his strength already spoke his prestige. There would be no way he would be dismissed in the first round.
Surely, when only several participants remained in the arena, Baston blasted his ice shards to the surrounding. Many hit his
opponents, making them trembled and fell to the floor. It gave them blunt damage since the fat boy made it looked like a snowball. Getting the ice thrown to person directly was quite painful. Although it didn't have much impact, it gave some bruises at least. The referee nodded thoughtfully because Baston
could keep his damage to the minimum. By the end of the match, there was no surprise when Baston became the winner.
"Congratulations, young noble! I know you can win this easily. Luckily, I place the bet on you before."
At the lobby, Baston twitched his mouth because he never thought this servant took advantage of him. At least, he also wanted to put a big bet on himself. Although the temptation was great, it should not be done
for now. The official bet was operated by the kingdom so anyone who placed their money inside must provide their identity. Baston had a lot of money, but he didn't keep it inside the bank. He always bought it inside the old book so no one knew that he was already rich. Except some people, others should not
know about his secret transaction.
If one day, he suddenly came up with big amount of money, someone surely would ask him about it. By then, the government would know and the first thing they did was to make sure they counted his debt right to the smallest. Becoming a commoner for Baston was useless for now. His scope was
just around the academy mostly so it didn't have big difference. Once he could roam freely outside, that would be the time when he needed to pay all his debt and finally changed his own class.
"Excuse me, young boy. Are you Baston?" a man suddenly came up from behind, looking at the fat boy in front of him.
"Yes, is there something I can help you?"
"My lord, Sir Levan, wants to meet you. Do you have a time? I promise it won't be long."
"Sir Levan?"
Baston was shocked but his face looked the same without excited or sad expression. Although his heartbeat drummed quickly, he wouldn't show it less he made unnecessary impression. On the other hand, Karte was excited that his young noble was going to meet his idol. The servant knew beforehand that Baston was destined to reach further, but he couldn't help to have a blast when
he heard Levan wanted to meet. While he considered Baston as his future master,
Levan on the other hand was deemed as the savior of the town. If there was no this humble and kind man, there would be many more victims. It was better to eliminate the criminals but he knew it was very hard to accomplish. There would be a lot of money to spend and it couldn't be handled by just one person.
This thinking should be the common for people, but not for Baston. In order to know more about the man named Levan, he agreed and followed until he was in front of VIP room. He knocked the door and somehow, Levan's assistant opened it. The man asked him to go toward Levan directly. Unlike the waiting room, this VIP room was just like a small decorated house with many
facilities around. There was a personal bathroom, living room, and spectator
room. From this location, one could fully enjoy the best treatment. They could watch the match directly by looking from the balcony or just go to the spectator room where there would be a big monitor. It was powered with magic so anyone could view closer than ordinary audience.
"Such a luxury treatment. I wonder if I could enjoy it later in future…" Baston thought, glancing at the man who held the wine glass, "Let's just think it later. Right now, I have to learn more about this man..."
Levan on the other hand was watching Baston from his couch. Looking at the fat boy, he found Baston was more mature than any other kids. Instead of being nervous, he showed calm demeanor. It was neither humble nor overbearing which was just right when greeting the others. Levan stood up,
welcoming Baston on his simple ways.
"Welcome to my humble abode, young boy. Please, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Levan. You can call me directly. There's no need to be too polite. Even though I'm an exclusive supplier for Prius Academy, I myself would like to be the same as others."
"I can't do that, Lord Levan. Your reputation is very high among the students and townies. I heard you often help people using your own personal money. If I dare to call your name nonchalantly, then people will
condemn me."
"Ha… ha… ha… You don't need to be so serious…" Levan was happy, "Just call me Sir Levan. If you call me Lord Levan, people will think I'm already a noble although I'm still not the one yet."
"What? Impossible?" Baston pretended to be puzzled, "The merits of always helping people, giving them money in time of need should not be overlooked by the kingdom. I think Sir Levan is already eligible to become a noble. Although you're not the one yet, I think it will be just a matter of time."
Levan smiled humbly, but deep inside his heart, he really couldn't wait when the time came. He already spent so much time and resources until he himself was bored, but it seemed the kingdom still hesitated to give a
nobility to him. If he could find who was the person that dared to deny his dream, he swore he would pay a lot of money just to make this person disappeared from the world. Although the criminals around the town wouldn't be so brazen to take the job, there was still many assassins in the big cities who was happy to work on it. The downside was the money needed was much more than the usual.
"Regarding the noble status, I can only wait. By the way, the reason I call you here is I want to hire you."
"Hire me? What do you mean?" Baston was confused.
"It means I'm impressed in your ability in magic battle today. Rather than waiting for you to be snatched away, I want to employ you hurriedly. I know you can't work fully since the academy will be in your focus
in years. When you graduate, then you will already have a job. I promise you won't be disappointed in the payment."
"This is rare opportunity, boy. If I were you, I would just accept and thanked Sir Levan tremendously. It's very rare for my boss to help such a young boy like you. Everyone must be jealous of your luck."
"No, it will be my unfortunate moment to work with such a swindler like you. Surely, it's rare because your boss will prefer robbing
people to helping them…" Baston thought.
The urge was still ongoing, but he knew better what kind of man in front of him. Levan was full of disgusting and evil things, but his
attitude and manner was impeccable in front of people. He always smiled, looked kind enough, and treating people patiently. It was like this but Baston couldn't be fooled by this man. Since he knew the truth, he surely must reject it. The fat boy could refuse straightforwardly, but he had a mission to know better his target. He had to play his cards right to move forward.