If one asks the students of the Emerald Academy, no matter what grade kids they are, nine out of ten people will say the strongest student is Raydon Geller.
However, if one asks whether they think Raydon is awesome, eight out of ten say no. He wasn't exactly a popular person within the academy. He is just a d*ck who has a high disregard for the rules and people.
He is a loner who never plays with a team. In fact, he wouldn't hesitate to punch down a team member if he feels like the latter is dragging him down. He would repeatedly scold and speak harshly to five, six, and seven-year-olds (from pre-elementary) because he was annoyed by their crying.
Azzy only got his background details and didn't get to know too many details about him before because of the fact that WAMO didn't consider him worthy to be recruited.
And now, that kind of person is transferring to 10-B when barely two months left before graduation.
While this was confusing for the students of 10-B, for Azzy, his motive is clear. It's obvious that Raydon wants to learn the art of natural energy manipulation. There's no other possible explanation for this.
But, more than his transfer, the fact that the principal just listened to his request is something else to be noted of.
Azzy couldn't do anything about it, but as a person who had seen more monstrous talents than Raydon, he didn't think too much about it and allowed him to join the class.
As the principal took a seat in the audience section and Raydon entered the barrier, Azzy then calmly spoke to him, "Student Raydon, we are having team battles. You will join team Clove as the fifth member. Any problem?"
Usually, a student will shake his head and replies that there is no problem. However, Raydon isn't afraid of expressing his opinion. "I'm not suited for sparring matches. My Arcana is suited for real battles. And I'm not a team player. I will win the match but if my so-called teammates are injured in the process, you shouldn't blame me."
For a moment, Azzy almost felt like he was looking at his mirror but then he shook away his thoughts and spoke sternly, "Then, don't use your Arcana. Fight with an external weapon or use your fists. A real warrior would be fine even without his Arcana."
Raydon stared at his teacher for a few seconds in silence.
Some of the students gulped down their saliva in nervousness as they knew of Raydon's personality. He is the only student who dared to pick a fight with Snivy even after getting beaten up black and blue more than once.
In the end, Raydon complied with Azzy's advice and nodded, "Well, I guess you are right. I don't need my Carnwennan to deal with them. My fists are enough."
While the members of team Talia were irked by his statement but couldn't refute it, Azzy, on the other hand, heard the Reaper's words in his head. "Carnwennan; the name is quite familiar."
"What is it?" asked Azzy. If it is something the Reaper took note of, then, that Arcana spirit must be something special.
The Reaper answered, "It's one of the three Emperor Arthur's divine treasures, stolen from Angels. Each one is of earth grade (rank-10) but together combined, they become heaven grade (rank-11), the same as the weapons of gods. However, they were just weapons and don't have any spirits. So, the name must be just a coincidence. That's all. Furthermore, it is just a gold-grade Arcana, not significant enough to receive your attention."
"I see…" Azzy shifted his attention to the students and said, "Okay, everyone but these two teams will leave the barrier. We'll begin the sparring matches without wasting any time."
As the two teams remained in the barrier, Azzy then spoke of the rules, which are the same as the upcoming tournament. "It's a five-on-five team battle. The substitute will remain outside of the barrier and may enter the battle at any point in time but once entered, the team will have ten seconds of time to tap out a main member.
If six members remained after the time limit, then, it is considered the team's loss. Other than that, all kinds of skill cards except for healing cards are prohibited. Item cards are allowed. If you step out of the barrier, you are out. A substitute can replace that player. Ten minutes is the time limit."
Maybe, it is because of the population boom followed by the drop in the quality of Arcana spirits. The several millennia-old rules are slightly tweaked for the current generation.
Now, a substitute member's role is almost equal to that of a main member.
Team Clove didn't have any substitutes but they are confident in winning this match because of Raydon's addition.
Little did they expect that they don't even get to showcase their abilities in the match.
As soon as Azzy blew the whistle, Raydon equipped himself with a knuckleduster of grade-7 (able to hold soul power up to 50 million) and charged forward with his soul energy powering up his feet.
One punch to each opponent. All it took was five hits for Raydon to win the battle. And everyone spat a mouthful of blood as they either got kicked out of the barrier or knocked out unconscious.
"Bravo…" The principal was clapping like a little child full of excitement. The students outside and inside of the barrier, on the other hand, just stared at him in a daze.
With the knuckleduster filled with their blood, he let out what seemed like an evil grin and looked at the substitute, "Aren't you going to enter the ring?"
"Eeek!" The girl named Lilia shrieked in fear as her face turned pale and her legs started shivering.
Meanwhile, the surprised Azzy sighed inwardly and announced the win of Team Clove, not because he thought Raydon's speed and battle technique is quite awesome but the fact that this bunch of students are too slow.
But then again, he could understand the reasoning as except for Talia, all of them are below rank-5 and their opponent is someone who is at the doorstep of rank-6.
"The winner is Team Clove. After the class, stay behind. As promised, you will be getting your 500 SP worth of energy." After a brief pause, he looked at the students outside, "Now, the next set of two teams to come in for their match. Team Susie and…"
Before he picked the second team, he was interrupted by Raydon. The student said, "Wait a minute. Since I saved a lot of time, will I get a chance to spar against you?"
"Me?" Azzy furrowed his brows in displeasure. He felt like this fellow is too irritating and causing unnecessary trouble.
Raydon pointed his finger toward the crowd standing outside of the barrier, "This bunch of people cannot bring out the best from me even if they come together at me. 10-A students are no different either. I want to go all out without worrying about killing someone."
Earlier, Azzy felt like Raydon and him are a bit similar but he realized that they are not. This fellow is just crazy, that's all.
"Don't be so overconfident, Raydon." A voice came from that crown in response to his bold statement.
As Azzy and Raydon looked at the source, a student stepped forward and said, "Did you dare to battle me?"
"Oh, it's you, Ace." Raydon looked at him in disinterest. To rile him up, he added, "You are still alive, huh? I thought you died in the infirmary."
"You…"
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m