Lykos sighed as Arvell walked out of the alchemy building
'Sometimes I feel like I'm creating a monster.'
Arvell scoffed inwardly at his master's words.
'If I'm a monster, what does that make you? After all, you're the one who's well-versed in these kinds of things.'
After successfully joining the club, Arvell purchased a few supplies that he was currently lacking.
Recently Arvell felt that the bottleneck preventing his Aether core from increasing to the next level was loosening.
Getting infinitely close to ranking up, all he needed was one more push to reach the next level.
'Hey Lykos, I should be able to use 'that power' after upgrading my Aether core, right?'
Pondering for a moment, Lykos nodded his head.
'Theoretically, yes, but you won't be able to use it for long, same as right now. However, you should have enough Aether in your reserves to use it properly in a fight.'
A look of excitement flashed across Arvell's eyes.
He'd tried to use 'that power' during his training, but while he managed to make it work, the consumption of using 'that power' was far too great.
It would have been utterly useless in almost all situations he had found himself in, considering that using this power along with temporal manipulation would have resulted in him running out of Aether within mere moments.
However… If he were to finally have enough Aether to use this power?
Perhaps he could even serve as an actual challenge for people on the level of James and Angela!
Arvell was considered mature for his age, but even someone like him couldn't suppress the urge to run back to his dorm and begin refining the elixir he planned to make.
*Bang*
The double doors behind him once again opened with a bang.
"Hey, you! Wait! I SAID WAIT, YOU SILVER-HAIRED B*STARD!"
Having disturbed his thoughts by a screaming voice behind him, Arvell visibly sighed.
He didn't even bother turning around to know who it was.
Instead, he continued his stride, blatantly ignoring the fuming girl behind him.
"Are you deaf? I said wait!"
As if he could not hear her words, Arvell kept walking away from her.
An action that served to increase Kaera's rage.
Kaera's burned bright red in anger, and the tips of her hair seemed as if they had caught fire.
At this point, she looked like a bomb that was about to explode, something that wasn't far off from the truth.
Knowing that the boy before her wouldn't stop, Kaera ran past Arvell and directly blocked his path.
Arvell narrowed his eyes at her actions and tried to walk around her, but Kaera moved to the side to prevent him from moving.
At this point, even Arvell was starting to get pissed.
Why did this girl have some sick obsession with causing issues for him?
They hadn't even met before!
At least with Arvell's current identity…
Arvell returned the girl's glare with a frosty look.
"What do you want now?"
The girl glanced at Arvell's bulging backpack, no doubt stuffed with a hefty stash of Alchemical resources.
At that sight, a sneer formed on her lips.
"Why bother buying all those herbs? Any elixir you create with your magical artifact would be sub-par if you can't even use fire magic. And that's only if you can successfully refine an elixir in the first place!"
Arvell's cold gaze remained unchanging, but he felt a strong urge to slap the b*tch standing before him.
"Why is this any of your business? What I do with my money is my choice. Furthermore, would you kindly mind moving out of the way? Some of us have better things to do in our lives than causing problems for strangers."
He had given up using reason to talk to the girl before him.
During his youth, Arvell had heard stories about how the Brandel family consisted of hotheads who didn't think before they acted, and Kaera seemed to embody her family's inherent nature almost too perfectly.
Moreover, Kaera didn't seem to have any semblance of a cool head, instantly getting aggravated over every insult Arvell hurled her way.
It was almost like dealing with a toddler's temper tantrum.
Kaera scowled at Arvell's words and gnashed her teeth furiously.
"I challenge you to a duel!"
Kaera removed the brooch on her uniform and chucked it on the ground before Arvell.
Her words caused Arvell to be momentarily stunned, but her doing this was still well within the realm of his expectations.
There was no way the red-haired tomboy would not resort to using her fists if something didn't work out.
However…
This was undoubtedly the best possible outcome for a battle junkie like Arvell.
Arvell's lips curved up slightly into an icy smile.
"Are you sure you want to fight me?"
He wanted to fight against Marcus, but for some reason, the black-ringed boy had bolted before he could even say a word to him.
Moreover, this could be an excellent opportunity to finally test 'that power' in actual combat.
Seeing that Arvell didn't look like he was planning on rejecting her challenge, Kaera's lips curved into a mocking smile.
"As if someone from the noble Brandel house would return on their word! You should be asking yourself that question instead."
Arvell picked up the brooch lying before him and threw it back to Kaera in one fluid motion.
"All right then, I accept. When do you want to have our duel."
"Right now!"
Arvell put his fingers to his chin, seemingly in thought.
"Right now doesn't quite work for me since I need to put this stuff back in my room first. How about we have the duel in 2 hours? We also need the time to get a professor to supervise it. Unless you want to get punished for conducting an illegal duel."
Sky Sword Academy Students were permitted to challenge each other to duels, but they needed to have a professor supervisor present to ensure things didn't go too far out of hand.
If a participant cannot fight or surrender, the professor would step in to stop the duel.
An unauthorized duel could result in both parties being promptly expelled from the academy!
Kaera initially frowned at her words but nodded her head in the end.
"I'll see you in two hours then. Meet me in the fields behind the school. Oh yeah, If you dare to run away…."
A ridiculing glint flashed across Kaera's eyes.
"I'll make sure everyone in the academy knows just how much of a coward you are."
Arvell snickered at her words.
"Keep dreaming. After all, that's the only thing your brain can do right."
He walked around Kaera, but she didn't make any effort to impede his movement this time.
A maniacal smile formed on Arvell's lips as he walked past her.
'This place is full of punching bags to hone my skills on. They even deliver themselves to my doorstep. So it seems coming to this academy was not a mistake.'
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶