"Is he still down there?" Beatrice asked, casting a sceptical glance at Agnes, who simply nodded in response.
Beatrice couldn't help but roll her eyes at the unreliable individuals that were her superior, as she found herself alone in dealing with the team, morning had arrived, and the issues from the previous night appeared to have settled down.
The walls that Alec had demolished had been magically reconstructed, thanks to so form of reconstruction magic that the staffs of the inn used, but Both Alec and Lucas had descended to the training room in the basent after that event.
However, Selene also ventured out before they could inquire further what had happened, she had entrusted the affairs of the team to the captain and vice captain, emphasizing the team as their responsibility before vanishing, but Alec hadn't erged from the training room and was not even aware of her disappearance .
According to Selene, Alec had provided Lucas with a Tier 5 cultivation pill to expedite his breakthrough from the Tier 4 to the Tier 5 realm.
This gesture aid to salvage the reputation of the War God Academy, as the only academy without a single Tier 5 Mage and had managed to secure a spot in the top 8 selection which looks suspicious.
"I've never been great at coordinating things; I'm much better at controlling people during a fight," Beatrice admitted, her frustration evident.
"Well, what do we do now?, We don't have a match today, and we have to wait for the other academies to compete for the next four days before we learn who our next opponent will be," Pale pondered.
The entire team fell into a state of deep contemplation, unsure of their next move without the ones who were primarily the decision-makers(Alec & Selene) present.
The inn staff behaved as if they were invincible, barely acknowledging the ongoing conversation.
"Alec did ntion that sothing like this might happen, fortunately he had left us a ssage outlining what we should do!" a voice interrupted, causing everyone to beco alert.
Even Knight manifested his dual daggers before they even realized that the one who appeared was Lucas when they turned towards his location, it was quite amusing because they could see him, yet they couldn't feel any of his mana at all or read his presence.
Lucas had reached a level where he could effectively conceal his energy and presence, allowing him to creep up on them undetected.
Although every living being possessed energy, Lucas had awaken an ability to hide his presence so well that they might never know he was there if they didn't see him with their own eyes.
This was one of the enlightennts he had gained during his second awakening.
"How strong are you now?" Pale asked, walking closer to Lucas with an emotionless expression.
"Well, I've just entered the Tier 5 Mage Realm, so you could say I'm a low-tiered Tier 5 Mage at the mont, though i still have one pill left, but I'm not planning to consu it yet, Alec gave advice on how to absorb the residual energy left in my body faster..." Lucas began to explain, but Pale interrupted him.
"That's not what I'm asking, I want to know how strong you truly are, I could easily sense and pry into you yesterday when you were still a peak Tier 4 Mage, but now, I can't, that ans you must have surely broken through to the next realm," Pale clarified.
"What I'm asking is how strong you are, i was on the battlefield yesterday, and I was easily defeated, the only way to erase that sha is to beco stronger and have teammates who can support , though I know Alec will always have our backs in the final monts, but what if he doesn't even have to fight?
That ans his abilities could still remain hidden," Pale explained, his determination evident in his voice.
"And there would be fewer people who could co up with strategies to restrain him! So, I'm asking again, just how strong are you really?" Selene's voice held a mix of curiosity and excitent.
"Well, if I have to answer that, I would say I have the combat power of an ordinary High Tier 5 Mage."
Lucas responded with a cheeky smile, rubbing the back of his head nervously.
"Damn, we finally have soone else who can share the load with Alec!" Endrick exclaid, clearly relieved.
"How can you tell? You just broke through; there's no way you could accurately gauge your battle powers yet." Pale interjected, sceptical of Lucas's assessnt.
"Well, that's because I fought with Alec and lost, he was the one who told not to feel too bad because my power level actually reached that of an ordinary High Tier 5 Mage, and for soone who is just breaking through, he said it was a significant leap and that I should be happy." Lucas's innocent confession caught everyone's attention.
"Well, that's no surprise, Alec's sword and blade techniques are out of this world, It's as if he was born with those weapons in his hands." Pale couldn't help but agree.
"Actually, he didn't defeat with any weapons, He was fighting barehanded and mostly like that Chronomancer – fast, with every attack carrying extra damage, it was overwhelming, and before I knew it, the accumulated damage was too much for to keep up with." Lucas added nonchalantly,
The room fell silent as the realization sunk in, Alec was leaving them in the dust, seemingly growing stronger with each passing second.
"So, what does Alec want us to do?" Finally, Endrick voiced the question they had all been waiting to ask.
anwhile, Lucas looked over at the four silent mbers of the Gordons clan who had remained remarkably quiet throughout the discussion.
Lucas was totally unfazed by their behaviour, but the Gordons Clansn hearing of Alec's uncanny ability to integrate the battle skills of his opponents, only served to highlight to them how they were falling behind.
They had always aspired to support Alec, but after witnessing his last match, they realized they would need to double their efforts to keep pace with the rest of the team, talk less of him.
"We can't give up, Alec wouldn't if he were in our shoes, we promised we'd always have his back after this competition, we'll return back to the peak or the Abyss to stir up more trouble."
" We must ensure that even if we can't stand by his side, we beco strong enough not to be a burden to him," Agnes declared, with knight, Arthur and Brandon nodding in agreent.
"If you're done sulking, let's review the daily missions we need to tackle!" Lucas interjected.
"Agnes, Beatrice, and Endrick, you're off to the stadium, buy tickets, watch all the matches for the day, your mission is to gather intel on the teams participating today , note their elent affinities and any standout competitors," he instructed, tossing them a pouch filled with magic crystals, from part of Alec's winnings due to his gambling.
"The rest of you, follow to the training room, we'll train until you're drained of Mana, then we'll rest and resu again, only till they return from the Colosseum that we are allowed to stop, and to sweeten the deal, each mage present today will earn a Tier 4 cultivation pill by day's end," Lucas announced, their eyes lighting up at the promised reward.
"I can't wait to spar with you, Lucas, i might not be able to defeat you on my own, but with so support, I'm sure I can manage it," Pale remarked, eager for the challenge.
Lucas shook his head with a smile and began leading them to the training room in the basent.
–
Alec, anwhile, remained deep within the second level of the Beast Forest, the previous night's events had delayed his sleep, yet he still found himself transported to the Amulet world.
Before him stood another Alpha Shadow Wolf.
But this ti, however, Alec harboured no doubts about his chances of victory, since this Alpha wolf's pack was smaller than the one he had previously encountered, and both he and his golems had grown significantly stronger since then.
So he was prepared to risk everything in this encounter if he didn't, he felt he wouldn't be able to achieve the substantial progress needed to maintain his role as the pillar of his team in the Inter-Academy Competition.
"Bring it on!" Alec declared with a grin, summoning the Blood Changdao and the Bone Katana.
He gripped the Blood Changdao firmly with both hands while the Bone Katana hung securely at his waist.
The wolf tattoo emblazoned on his chest seed to mirror his readiness, as it showed a snarling expression.
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