Chapter 99: Challenged
"His face was hidden behind a mist. I could not see him clearly," Chloe revealed, her tone soft. Her lavender eyes grew distant, lost in the memory of that dreamlike encounter. "He did not respond to me either when I called him. He only showed me the method of Mana-channeling. When I learned it, I somehow already knew that it was called Celestial Genesis."
’So this is how she formed her own source to use mana,’ Vlad sighed inwardly, but now he felt sorry for her. She had no memory of her parents, and the first time she actually met them, they did not even talk to her. How could they treat someone as precious as Chloe like this?
Chloe noticed the flicker of annoyance on Vlad’s face, clearly knowing what he was thinking.
"I will see him again," she answered his worries. Her voice carried a quiet certainty.
Vlad’s gaze turned to her, his eyebrows rising in curiosity.
"I have a feeling that when I grow stronger, I will be able to talk to him."
Now Vlad was even more worried about her. He would obviously be the happiest if it were actually true, but if it turned out to be wrong, he did not want to imagine the disappointment and grief Chloe might suffer.
He shook his head, removing the negative thoughts. If something as cruel as this actually happened, he just needed to stay by her side as her support.
"Now you have another reason to become strong," Vlad chuckled with a warm smile.
He checked the time on his phone. It was 10:49 am. Victor’s lecture had already ended at ten. The minutes had slipped away faster than he had realized.
"We have beast taming lecture from eleven," Vlad said, moving from the bed, his feet touching the floor. "Let’s go or we will be late."
"But your health—" Chloe’s hand reached out, her fingers brushing his arm with gentle concern.
Vlad snatched the juice bottle from her hand and declared, rising to standing position, "I’m completely recovered now." He opened the bottle and took a long gulp, the sweet apple liquid soothing his dry throat.
The venue for the next lecture was surprisingly the place from where Vlad’s actual academy life had started, the Grimveil forest. The familiar treeline loomed in the distance, its dense canopy casting long shadows across the ground. As Vlad and Chloe bolted to cover the distance of several kilometres, they realized why there was a break of an hour between lectures.
They barely made it on time. At the entrance of the forest, many students were gathered, their voices creating a low hum of chatter that echoed off the trees. The number was even greater than Victor’s first class when every student of Order of Blades was present, showing the clear popularity of the beast taming subject. The fact that students from both orders were present here was also the reason for the higher numbers.
"Yo, Vlad bro!" A familiar voice called out from the students along with a raised hand.
"Hey, Max!" Vlad shouted back with the same enthusiasm, a smile forming on his lips as he recognized the tangerine-haired man.
The duo’s exchange gathered the attention of everyone, or more accurately, sent PTSD through everyone as this was the legendary extortion duo that had caused them to survive on bread crumbs since they arrived at the academy.
Max moved through the students, shoving past a few with casual disregard, and reached Vlad, "You good buddy?" he asked, a hint of worry laced in his voice. His eyes scanned Vlad’s body, searching for any sign of lingering damage.
"What would happen to me?" Vlad chuckled. "I’m completely fine."
Before Max could answer, a boy from the gathered students scoffed in a mocking tone, "Look at him acting all tough after suffering mana backlash while forming a core." His voice carried across the clearing, drawing more attention.
"Haha, he must have a terrible talent to suffer mana backlash doing a task as easy as breathing. Should I challenge him for the title of Crownbearer?" Another one beside him said, giving side glances at Vlad with a smirk. His friends snickered around him.
"I would keep my hands off him if I were you. Lorenzo has already declared dibs on him." A third voice chimed in, dripping with smug satisfaction.
"Lorenzo did!? Then he is as good as done. I can’t wait to see Lorenzo beat the shit out of him."
The group moved forward, laughing while looking at Vlad with an amused expression, as if it were the last time they were seeing him standing on his feet. Their chuckles faded as they joined the larger crowd.
"How far has the news already spread? It’s not even been two hours," Vlad sighed, facepalming himself in oure exasperatation.
"Someone posted on the forum that the Crownbearer fell unconscious while forming the core," Max revealed, shaking his head. "In the comments, Lorenzo announced that he will challenge you for the title of Crownbearer." His voice carried a note of concern, his eyes fixed on Vlad. "You know how this works, right? The challenge will be officially set. You won’t be able to refuse."
"I don’t mind challenges, but first, is someone going to tell me who exactly is this Lorenzo?" Vlad asked, his brows furrowed.
Max did not even ask how Vlad could be unaware of one of the Five Rising Stars this time. By now, he had accepted that Vlad probably did not even know he was one of them. With a brief sigh, Max explained, "You should remain more active on the forums. Every year, the Scriptorium Club releases an article about the most promising freshers. This year, five students were selected based on their performance and talent." He pulled out his phone and navigated to the article, his fingers swiping across the screen.
He showed the article to Vlad on his phone. The title read Five Rising Stars. The names of five students and their small descriptions were written below.
The name read: Aria Starveil, A-Ranked Umbra user from Order of Knights,
Lorenzo Camber, A-Ranked, two ring Dendro mage from Order of Rings,
Noah Silva, S-Ranked, Ice Candidate from Order of Knights (Repeater),
Chloe, S+ Ranked Anemo user from Order of Knights and,
Vlad Lumberjack, concealed rank, Umbra and Electro user from the Order of Knights and current Crownbearer.
The shock was clear on Vlad’s face with widened eyes and parted lips as he read through the list. The first thing that shocked him was the information about Noah. His unhygienic roommate with whom he threw hands on the very first day was in truth an S-Ranked and already at the Candidate grade, just one step away from becoming a one star knight.
If Noah really used mana in their brawl back then, he could have clearly wiped the floor with Vlad, yet he had accepted defeat. There was something more to him than just a random bully.
The other part that shocked Vlad was the information about his rank. Why did they write concealed? Was someone actually helping him in the background, hiding his laughable talent? It did not take him more than a few seconds to pinpoint his mysterious benefactor. There was only one person who was capable of such a feat after all. The President of the Student Council, Seraphina Cendral.
"I should thank her when I meet her in the evening," he murmured with a soft smile that did not go unnoticed by Chloe.
"Who?" She immediately asked, looking at Vlad with narrowed eyes.
Before Vlad could answer, Max continued from the other side. "So can you defeat him? He is a two ring Dendro mage."
"We will see when we fight," Vlad tapped his shoulder before moving forward. Now that he was openly challenged, he was already planning on how to take maximum profit out of this challenge which would be happening in two days. He needed to pay the debt of fifty thousand credits after all.
While they were moving forward towards the gathered students, suddenly a large shadow cast over them before vanishing, or more accurately moving forward, casting over the other students. The darkness swept across the clearing like a passing cloud.
All heads turned to the sky where a massive bird with wide auburn wings, body of a lion and face of an eagle with a golden beak was flying. The creature’s wingspan blotted out the morning sun, its shadow swallowing the entire gathering.
"A-a Gr-griffin!?" Someone from the students exclaimed in horror. Chaos erupted, the sharp screams of terrified teenagers filling the surroundings as everyone bolted inside the forest to protect themselves from the dangerous monster about whom they had only heard in books and seen in pictures. The stampede of feet kicked up dust, the clearing emptying in a matter of seconds.
Vlad was also about to run inside the forest with Chloe when Max revealed his knowledge with a proud smile, "Don’t be scared bro. That’s the familiar of Professor Bjorn, Griffin King Ace."
