The arena had fallen silent.
Alden stood beside Aziel’s unconscious body. Across from him, Lucien lay motionless too.
Not that he cared.
He looked down at Aziel’s face.
Still smiling, huh?
He couldn’t help but be amused by the reaction of his stupid friend.
He was an inch away from death. If he hadn’t interfered... Aziel would have likely been crippled or worse killed.
He frowned.
But why were two of the primordial elental spirits here?
He had initially thought Aziel had bonded with so normal high level spirit.
But a Primordial? That was sothing else entirely.
Ellara had once told him about these spirits. She said they were banished to never interfere in the Eryndor.
And yet, here they were.
Alden exhaled slowly. Just another mystery to toss onto the growing pile.
First things first—get his idiot friend to the infirmary.
From the looks of it, the spirit had already healed most of Aziel’s injuries.
He could see Cecilia, Amyra and Nyx making their way towards the platform. Even Seles was on the move, likely to collect her fallen prince.
But soone else arrived earlier than them.
"Step away from the dueling platform."
An authoritative voice echoed.
Alden wasn’t surprised. He even expected this.
Interfering in an official duel ant trouble and he knew about it.
He turned toward the voice.
From the announcer’s booth a young man with blonde hair and green eyes walked. He wore the standard red-black uniform of the student council.
Square frad glasses rested on his nose. His body was lean and without any visible muscles.
Probably a mage.
Alden noted.
A na tag was present on the pocket of his shirt.
Chris Rivergale.
Alden calmly t his eyes. He didn’t say anything just yet.
He wanted to see what the guy had to say first before responding.
"You interfered in an official duel," Chris began. "You breached an active arena barrier. That’s a direct violation."
Alden nodded calmly. "I’m ready to pay the fine."
No excuses. No explanations.
Explaining would be a waste of ti. Mages were prideful. If Alden told him the attack would’ve killed Aziel, Chris would’ve dismissed it or worse, launched into a lecture.
Better to just take the hit.
Just accept the mistake and pay the fine.
He had many credits to burn anyway.
Chris hesitated, clearly thrown off. He had prepared a full speech on the different sections Alden had violated.
"...It’s good you understand," he managed.
Just as he pulled out his device to issue the punishnt, another voice cut in.
"Not so quick." The voice was filled with amusent.
Alden gaze snapped towards the direction of the voice.
Fuck my life.
He recognised the voice.
How could he not?
He had grown up hearing that arrogant and condescending tone.
Of course, he’d show up now.
Rodrick Draven.
That fucker really has nothing else to do.
Bright red hair. Narrow crimson eyes. And the sa punchable face Alden rembered.
Naturally, he wasn’t alone.
How could King Rodrick be alone right?
The great Rodrick Draven—student council president, rank one of the third years, youngest Master-rank in the Empire—couldn’t go anywhere without his entourage.
An imnse pressure was unleashed on Alden as soon as Rodrick stepped in the arena.
His lackeys moved fast, blocking Cecilia, Amyra, Nyx and even Seles from coming up on the platform.
Rodrick stopped a few steps from Alden.
"You broke the academy law," he said in a tone that tried to sound reasonable. "And it’s acceptable."
A smirk curled up on his face.
"But you also broke imperial law by interfering with a sacred duel."
Alden raised a brow.
Now that’s new. Rodrick trying to be clever instead of just spouting clichés?
Yes, the Empire had rules against interfering in sacred duels unless the individual was authorized.
But that law didn’t apply within academy grounds. It was pure bullshit. Rodrick was trying to escalate this into sothing bigger.
He probably wanted to give Alden more severe punishnt.
"So," Alden asked calmly, "what’s the punishnt?"
He already had an answer ready. But he wanted to see what Rodrick would pull.
Rodrick’s smirk deepened. He pointed his finger at Alden. "The only punishnt for such a violation... is expulsion."
Now that’s just a new level of bullshiiing.
Alden took a step forward. His eyes staring directly into Rodrick’s. "I don’t think you get to make that decision, dear brother."
The word was deliberate.
He knew Rodrick hated him. He used to get angry whenever Alden called him brother.
Rodrick clenched his jaw. His eye twitched with rage.
Alden enjoyed that.
"Have you forgotten even the basic decency after your exile?" Rodrick muttered.
"Yeah," Alden replied. "Care to reteach ?"
Rodrick might have the title. He might be a legitimate heir of the Draven family. But within this academy, Alden had the heavier card.
He was the personal disciple of Jeremy Voidforge—the principal of the academy and one of the strongest n in the Empire.
So why not play it?
With precise motion, Alden reached into his coat and pulled out a small black insignia.
Dark tal. Etched silver rings. Forming a perfect triangle.
Rodrick’s eyes locked onto it instantly.
And the audience reacted.
Everyone knew the aning of that symbol and who it belonged to.
"I–Insignia of Voidforge Family." Chris, standing beside Rodrick muttered unconsciously.
Rodrick stiffened. The smirk on his face disappeared without a trace.
Alden didn’t care.
"You can take it up with my master," he said evenly. "Jeremy Voidforge."
"You expect to believe Voidforge took you in?" Rodrick still couldn’t believe it.
"I don’t care what you believe," Alden shrugged. "Go ask him yourself."
He wasn’t being reckless by revealing his connection. He had plans.
Seles had sent weaker assassins after him only because she thought he was weak. After he wiped them out, the next hit would’ve co from soone stronger.
He needed to show he wasn’t alone.
Jeremy’s backing would buy him ti—ti to grow strong enough to protect himself.
And Rodrick?
He’d handed Alden the perfect opportunity.
Alden took it.
I finally get why Xianxia protagonists love face-slapping.
Feels damn good.
Then, with no further drama, he picked Aziel’s unconscious body over his shoulder and made his way towards the infirmary.
__
Rodrick’s expression remained barely neutral.
A beat of silence passed.
Then Rodrick turned, just slightly. "Chris."
"Yes, sir?" Chris replied imdiately.
"File this incident under pending principal review. No action until the seal’s authenticity is confird."
Chris nodded and quickly typed the command into his device.
Rodrick said nothing more.
He turned and walked off the platform with his followers trailing behind.
__
Seles looked at Alden’s back as he left.
Her mind lingered on the insignia Alden had revealed.
So... it’s true.
You really are his disciple.
A small smile curled at the corners of her lips as she turned away and walked toward Lucien’s unconscious body.
Interesting. Very interesting.
She crouched beside him, brushing strands of damp hair from his forehead with a soft touch that was more habit than affection.
You’ve grown bold, Alden.
Either you’ve grown stronger, or you’re bluffing behind a bigger shield.
She looked down at Lucien, her gaze unreadable.
Either way, I’ll have to change my plans slightly.
__
Alden stepped off the platform and was imdiately joined by Cecilia.
Her eyes darted to Aziel’s pale face. "Is he okay?"
"He’s breathing," Alden replied. "His body doesn’t have any injuries. Still unconscious, though."
Without a word, she reached out and touched Aziel’s cheek.
Her hands trembled.
"He really is an idiot?" she whispered.
"Wouldn’t be Aziel if he wasn’t," Amyra said gently, placing a hand on Cecilia’s shoulder.
Nyx stood nearby, her arms folded and eyes scanning the crowd warily. "You really know how to draw all the attention, don’t you?"
Alden gave a smirk.
Can’t do anything about it with my handso face.
He wanted to reply but he kept his thoughts in his mind.
Still, no matter how calm he tried to act, the truth was—everything had changed.
The world had shifted.
Seles was watching.
And the world now knew that Jeremy Voidforge had another disciple walking these halls.
He shifted Aziel’s weight slightly on his shoulder and began walking toward the infirmary.
Let them plot. Let them whisper.
He was done hiding.
__
After ensuring Aziel was in safe hands and deflecting Amyra’s relentless questions about where he had been for the past week—Alden finally made it back to his dorm.
He unlocked the door to his apartnt, expecting silence.
But sothing was off.
Soone is here.
His senses picked up a movent.
There—barely audible—movent from the guest room.
Alden’s expression didn’t change.
He calmly coated his feet in shadow mana, silencing his steps.
Within seconds, he stood before the guest room door.
Let’s see who’s stupid enough to break in.
He pushed the door open slowly, activating [Eyes of Supre].
His gaze landed on the intruder.
And then—his eyes widened.
Only one thought echoed in his mind:
"What the hell are you doing here?"
His voice sliced through the room, shock filled in every word.
___
Author Note: Trivia Drop
Did You Know?
Unlike Eryndor, other worlds don’t share the sa awakening age.
Each world adjusts based on its mana density and magical structure.
In so, kids awaken as early as 5. In others, not until 20. It’s all tied to how saturated the world is with elental mana.
This is the reason why Nyx was ranked so high despite being nearly the sa age as others.
She awakened much earlier—because she’s not originally from Eryndor.
Her growth began sooner and in a more mana-dense environnt.
Of course, the full story behind Nyx’s origins is... complicated.
But we’ll get there. 😉
Just rember:
Not every genius is born equal.
So are forged under very different skies.
And If you enjoy lore drops like this, let know.
Btw, the Inter-Academy Arc is about to begin soon. If you’ve got any suggestions—drop them in the comnts. I’m always open to ideas that can make the arc more exciting.
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