Chapter 88.1 - The First Year at the Academy - Harvis Razefal (1)
Chapter 88.1. The First Year at the Academy – Harvis Razefal (1)
About 2 weeks had passed since the martial arts tournament began, and I was visiting the arena after a long time.
Today, in addition to Lambert and Felix, Elphimia, Lola, and Elliot are here. The 4th and 5th-year students had finally appeared, and in ten days, the third-year students would also join, determining the outstanding individuals in each category. That was where the real competition began, both in name and reality.
While the 3rd-year students were fiercely competing in the qualifiers, whenever I had free time, I headed to the forest and repeated real battles using Shamshir to hone my skills. It was still awkward, but it was taking shape.
On the other hand, Lambert and Felix visited the qualifiers daily. Before they began, they observed the participants, speculated on their favored tactics, and watched the matches while considering how they would fight if they were in the participants' shoes.
After securing a spot where we could all sit, Lambert asked.
"By the way, what happened to the usual group?"
"It seems they're more focused on their battles than others'. Even without Elliot, they're taking on collection requests they can accomplish. Isn't that right?"
"Yes."
When I turned to Elliot and asked, he nodded happily.
When he registered with the guild, I thought he would make a good assistant, and there was much to learn from him. That turned out to be true, especially since Nails was inspired.
However, he was even more exceptional than I had imagined.
He was clever and cultured. I was starting to feel bad about entrusting Ted and the others to him as protectors.
So, a while ago, I asked him if he was satisfied with the current situation.
Elliot replied immediately.
"I have no complaints at all."
"Gema-san doesn't shy away from any danger. Nails-san always calmly assesses the situation. And Ted-san's decisions don't waver. He acts quickly, and even if he makes a mistake, he doesn't dwell on it but switches gears. He's a leader."
He praised them enthusiastically.
Still, he was laughing and saying, "Right now, I'm here to learn," so he must have his party in mind eventually. Whatever form their relationship settled into, I wanted them to remain good friends in the future.
Before long, Council Chairman Ravi Bartin Kane and Ruruktoo Academy's Principal Vens Parax took the stage and began their greetings.
After the incident in Lisria, Yarz Alastor resigned as a council member and disappeared somewhere. The gap left by Yarz and Lisria was still unfilled. Their time was taken up by the aftermath. But since both were civilian council members, it seemed difficult to find replacements.
With the speeches of the higher-ups concluded the 3rd-year students who had advanced through the qualifiers and the 4th and 5th-year students who were about to start their battles entered the arena.
There were about 60 3rd-year students and around 40 4th and 5th-year students. Even with this, a significant number had been eliminated among the 3rd-years, so there must have been more than two hundred participants initially.
The participants, especially the 3rd-year students, couldn't hide their nervousness amidst the cheers from the audience.
Amidst this, Lambert was searching for someone as he looked around.
Could it be a senior acquaintance?
I thought about that, and it was just as I suspected.
"He's here, Radikel. He's a 3rd-year from Lapnas. He's quite skilled."
Lambert pointed at a certain boy.
He's a senior but seems to be a notable student. His face does have a certain arrogance.
In response to the slightly excited Lambert, Elphimia glanced and murmured disinterestedly.
"Oh really?"
He's peeking again, huh? Even though it's a big tournament, it won't be interesting that way.
I pretended not to know and joined the conversation.
"Is he strong?"
"He's been winning all his matches easily. That guy will be the champion among the 3rd years."
"That's something to look forward to. You'll be competing against him, Harvis."
"No doubt about that. It'll be interesting to see how far he can go."
Lambert seemed genuinely excited.
The mock battles for each winner would be held at the very end, almost a month from now.
I also wanted to look forward to that day, but…
Looking at Radikel, I shook my head inwardly.
It's impossible. I don't feel anything.
When I first met Harvis, I knew he was no ordinary person.
Radikell seems strong, but he doesn't seem like he's planning to lose at all.
I averted my gaze from the expectant Lambert.
Meanwhile, Elphimia, who seemed to have lost interest, was sharing snacks with Lola.
This young lady is a genius in magic too.
She mastered two intermediate spells from magic books but learned the rest by herself. She had way more magic spells engraved in her stats than me. I should ask her to teach me [Light] next time. It seems kind of adventurer-like.
As I contemplated such things, the first match began.
As if it was planned, Radikel was in the first match, and Harvis was in the second.
After a decisive victory, Radikel didn't return to the waiting room. Instead, he watched Harvis's match from the side of the stage. He had an insolent smile on his face the whole time.
Oh no, what should I do? I'm starting to feel sorry for him.
◇◇◇◇
Follow current novℯls on f(r)eewebnov𝒆l