Chapter 834: Autograph [GT Ranking Bonus Chapter]
Upon getting to the bus, Asher didn’t find Thalric. His purple eyes and Omni Perception searched around for a bit, but there was no sign of him anywhere.
"FatelessPen, where is Thalric? I thought you said the other students who were disqualified would be here?" he asked, his purple eyes shifting towards FatelessPen, who was leaning against the bus as the students entered one after another.
"The Second Moon came to get him under the orders of your Uncle, Castle Wargrave. So, if you want to meet him, you’ll have to wait until he returns to the Gentle Hotel," FatelessPen answered without turning towards Asher.
Asher nodded before moving to enter the bus, but the very moment he was about to step inside, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder, startling him ever so slightly. He immediately turned around, and there he was.
Malrik Wargrave.
"Elder Brother," Asher called out in surprise as he hadn’t expected Malrik to suddenly appear at this point in time, or even at any point throughout the day.
"Don’t be so surprised. I came to see our winner," Malrik spoke with a smile on his face, already labeling Asher as the winner before the competition had even reached its conclusion. "Do you need anything?" he asked.
Asher shook his head as he replied, "I don’t. I was just heading back to the hotel to get some rest before the next round."
Malrik nodded his head and said nothing more. He was simply here to check on Asher. That was all. His eyes shifted to the side where he could feel numerous gazes fixed upon him, each one filled with emotions ranging from awe to disbelief and admiration. However, he didn’t react in the slightest. He had long since become accustomed to receiving such looks wherever he went.
"It seems these are your friends. Why not introduce them?" Malrik spoke, clearly in a rather good mood after the enormous amount of money he had won from betting on Asher.
He recognised Asher’s friends. He had seen them talking after the competition and had also noticed them during the gala five days ago. Although he didn’t exactly know all of their names, he certainly recognised each of their faces.
"Ah..." Asher murmured as it finally dawned on him.
"This is William Canestane, a classmate of mine. He’s ranked third at the Star Academy and finished within the top four hundred after the Qualifier Round," Asher spoke as he gestured towards William. "This is Ryaen Silvershade. She’s ranked second at the Star Academy and finished within the low one hundreds," Asher introduced Ryaen with a small smile. "And this is Vaelric Lux Vanthelmor, ranked fourth at the Star Academy and finished within the top five hundred," he gestured towards Vaelric, although he was certain that Malrik already knew the Prince’s identity. "And lastly, this is Finch Whale. He finished in thirty-first place," Asher introduced every one of them without leaving anyone out.
Malrik gazed at each of them before speaking with a smile, "it seems you all worked very hard to achieve such remarkable rankings in such a harsh competition despite only being first-year students. Keep up the good work."
"Thank you, First Sun," they all replied, their bodies becoming slightly stiff from nervousness.
Who wouldn’t be? They were standing before a living legend.
Although, what exactly was this "good work" they were supposed to keep up? They had already been eliminated from the competition.
Malrik’s eyes shifted towards Finch as he spoke, "Although you seem to be the weakest amongst everyone here, I’m rather intrigued by how far your ridiculous luck has managed to carry you," his tone calm. "I’m looking forward to the next round. After all, I wonder whether your luck can bend reality itself," he added.
"I’ll try my best, First Sun," Finch replied enthusiastically.
He couldn’t help but feel delighted after learning that the First Sun had actually watched him throughout the past four days. But then again, who wouldn’t eventually be drawn towards Finch’s live feed after witnessing the countless outrageous and almost unbelievable things that had happened around him?
"It seems you aren’t planning to introduce me, Asher," FatelessPen’s voice came from behind as he walked forward with a smile on his face.
"Sorry about that," Asher spoke with a slight shake of his head. "This is a mercenary-like Instructor whom the Principal hired to protect us during our stay within the Thalvorn Empire," he introduced.
"Nice to meet you, First Sun. I’m FatelessPen," FatelessPen stated as he extended a hand for a handshake.
"Thank you for your hard work thus far," Malrik spoke as he accepted FatelessPen’s handshake.
’This guy... even while standing here and speaking so casually, he poses an immense amount of danger,’ FatelessPen thought to himself as every instinct within his body began sending warning bells throughout his mind.
FatelessPen ignored those warning bells. He knew the First Sun wasn’t going to attack him. His instincts were merely acknowledging the overwhelming strength of the man standing before him.
"Please, it’s simply my duty," FatelessPen finally spoke.
He retrieved his hand, and the very moment he did so, his soul-bound pen appeared within his grasp. He drew a book into reality before passing it, together with his soul-bound pen, towards Malrik as he asked, "Can I get your autograph?"
Malrik stared at the pen and the book. This wasn’t the first time someone had asked him for an autograph, but it had been years since he had last given one.
He nodded before taking the book, though he ignored FatelessPen’s soul-bound pen. Instead, he slowly raised a finger as golden-orange energy ignited at the tip of his index finger. Using nothing but that radiant energy, he elegantly scribed two words across the book in an exceptionally stylish script.
Bloodline Eraser
Malrik passed the book back to FatelessPen before speaking, "I’ll leave my younger brother’s safety in your hands then."
With a smile still resting upon his face, he vanished from where he stood.
FatelessPen stared at the stylish golden-orange flaming words with a wide grin on his face. Without wasting even a second, he immediately created a specially reinforced glass case before carefully sealing the autograph inside it and transferring it into his space ring as though it were the greatest treasure imaginable.
Remembering Malrik’s final words regarding the protection of his younger brother, FatelessPen silently resolved to place his own life on the line if necessary to protect Asher from that moment onward.
But unknown to FatelessPen, or rather, had he stopped to think about it for a moment, he would have realised that Malrik had merely been speaking out of courtesy. There was absolutely no way Malrik would entrust his younger brother’s life to someone he had only just met. If anything truly dangerous happened to Asher, Malrik would undoubtedly be the very first person to come running.
FatelessPen’s eyes shifted towards the remaining students, all of whom were looking at him with rather peculiar expressions.
"What? You think you guys are the only First Sun fans? You’re a hundred years too early to call yourselves die-hard fans, so get on the bus and let’s leave," FatelessPen stated without making any effort whatsoever to hide his admiration for the First Sun.
"I can’t believe I actually exchanged words with the First Sun. I need to permanently seal my mouth and tongue from now on. They can’t just be used to talk to any random person or kiss any random girl anymore," Finch spoke, still unable to believe everything that had just happened.
"It seems our luck is certainly overflowing today," William followed up. "We won ten thousand platinum coins, and we also got to meet the First Sun, all in a single day."
"I fear we might have already used up all of our lifelong luck," Ryaen spoke as she gently shook her head, though there was a faint smile lingering upon her face.
"Speaking of the platinum coins, when will they be given to us?" Finch asked, his attention immediately shifting back towards the reward.
Asher turned towards Finch before asking with a smile, "Already glossing over the First Sun the moment money gets mentioned, huh?"
Before Finch could defend himself, FatelessPen spoke.
"The coins were already given to me. I’ll distribute everyone’s share on the way back to the Gentle Hotel," his tone flat and straightforward.
With that, everyone boarded the bus, and before long, it slowly drove away from the grand Coliseum, carrying the Zarethorne Empire’s students back towards the Gentle Hotel.
