Chapter 50: The Competition Between the Two Academies (1)

Around the end of April, the Saxon Imperial City finally sent an army of three thousand royal knights—many of them veterans who had participated in suppressing rebellions—along with six royal magicians, to Jacobson to thoroughly investigate the rebellion. This was a proposal put forward by Grete Kaines, the former headmaster of the Rexox Academy and a grand mage.

For this suppression mission, the empire did not allow students from the Royal Knights Academy to join. Normally, this would have been the best opportunity for them to gain experience on the battlefield, but this time the empire refused to let the top students from the knights’ academy accompany them, and the meaning was obvious.

The Jacobson people, who dared challenge the authority of the nobility, were bound to suffer a great disaster…

When the army set out, the weather was poor—indeed, terrible. Although it wasn’t raining, the dark clouds made people feel uneasy, as if something terrible was about to happen…

There were also continuous thunderclaps, as if someone were laughing wildly, preparing to welcome a new era…

All of this seemed far away to Jiang Zhe. At the relatively peaceful Rexox Academy, his days were filled with repeated classes—though it might sound boring, he considered himself to be doing well.

Although Lavia’s constant urging drove his lazy nature to the brink, and Professor Hode’s self-satisfied jokes left him speechless, and though he sometimes faced provocations from noble students, and although Professor Vera Covetti kept shaking her head at his attempts to make potions…

In short, despite encountering many troubles here, Jiang Zhe still thought he was doing well.

Though he had only known Allen and Scott for a year, the three of them had a much stronger bond than most people. It might sound exaggerated, but they could be said to share joys and sorrows together—at least when things went well, none of them forgot the others; and when a bad idea came up, of course, they didn’t leave anyone behind either.

When Professor Hode was absent, Scott could almost act as a half-professor. Having read extensively, he could answer almost every question Jiang Zhe had. Hmm? Lavia? Oh, her role was mostly to urge and push him on.

And then there’s the other Allen, who though he seems carefree and comes up with most of the bad ideas, is still reliable. At least with him around, those noble students generally don’t dare trouble Jiang Zhe, unless they want to test Allen’s strength—his ability to crush stones…
There’s also Lisa, the girl who laughs heartily at Allen’s jokes every day. Though she seems bold, she’s actually quite timid…
And then there’s Lailira, the oldest and most sensible of the three girls. Seeing her gentle demeanor around her crush, Scott, she might also be the smartest and most scheming of the three… At least Ravia hardly ever gives Jiang Zhe a friendly look.
And then there’s Dia… that gentle-minded senior who brings a spring-like sense of comfort…
These are Jiang Zhe’s close friends among the students. He never was good at socializing, and it got worse after he came here. He would never take the initiative to talk to strangers.
Among the professors, his closest relationship is probably with Professor Hodde. This middle-aged man, nearly forty years old, surprisingly gets along very well with Jiang Zhe. Of course, this is mostly because their personalities are similar. Speaking of which, Jiang Zhe also has a slight fondness for Argus—perhaps the three of them share some similar traits.
And then there’s Abel, oh, Professor Abel’s assistant. Though Jiang Zhe isn’t very familiar with her, they gradually became acquainted through Professor Hodde. Their relationship is quite good now—at least Abel will speak up for the kids and secretly help them pass some exams, something Professor Hodde would never do.
There’s also Professor Vera Covetti, the mature female mage who teaches potion-making, and Salter Amix, who teaches dark magic defense… Well, secretly, both Allen and Jiang Zhe call him Old Amix…
And then there’s Professor Manhert, who oversees the school’s rules and regulations… Well, I heard Allen has become quite close to him. After all, Allen is the kind of troublemaker who gets called to the dean’s office every two or three days. As for Jiang Zhe… well, he’s been there once or twice…
And then there’s Ms. Tilda, who handles student housing issues… Well, she prefers to be called Miss Tilda, even though she’s probably long past that age…

As for the other professors, Jiang Zhe wasn’t as familiar with them. For example, there was Alonso Carles, the professor of Enchantment class introduced in the second year—a stern old professor wearing thick glasses—and Raymond Born, the professor of Alchemy, who always created the danger of explosions in class… and so on. Oh, there was also one more: Greta Kaines, the most renowned magician at Rex Academy and the former dean. Although they had met only a few times, at most encountering this respected great magician in the garden in the evening, bowing slightly and responding to her questions with a few words, that was enough. Though Jiang Zhe found it incredible himself, he truly sensed the kindness from the former dean. Perhaps she was the greatest magician closest to him… It’s not strange for a person to have friends; similarly, it’s not strange to have enemies. Although Lavia kept claiming to be Jiang Zhe’s rival and enemy, as they spent more time together, Jiang Zhe still regarded her as a friend, though Lavia wasn’t entirely satisfied with this view… If by enemy one meant someone who triggered negative emotions, then Jiang Zhe didn’t think he had any such enemies. But if by enemy one meant someone full of hostility toward him… well, there was indeed one. That was Vincent Flores, a noble student from the same grade, coming from the upper aristocratic circles of the empire. His grandfather and father were both high-ranking officials in the empire. In terms of family influence and status, this blond noble boy might not compare to Lavia, but he was certainly no weaker than Scott. Their families had very similar levels of influence. Strangely enough, one became one of Jiang Zhe’s best friends, while the other saw Jiang Zhe as an enemy… Speaking of this noble boy named Vincent, although he was arrogant, valued aristocratic bloodlines, and looked down on commoners, he wasn’t as incompetent as the aristocratic youths in Jiang Zhe’s imagination. On the contrary, he was an excellent magic apprentice, mastering the courses comprehensively—far surpassing students like Jiang Zhe who were severely unbalanced in their knowledge. In the first year, Vincent didn’t bother Jiang Zhe, perhaps because he wasn’t yet familiar with Rex Academy. But after advancing to the second year, Vincent met a group of equally arrogant noble youths who also looked down on commoners, some of them even senior students. At that point, Jiang Zhe inevitably encountered some troubles…

In fact, it’s not just him—the rift and conflicts between common students and noble students can be considered one of Rexos’ oldest traditions. Due to the inevitabilities of this era, even the old dean couldn’t ensure that students from these two classes coexisted peacefully… Noble students took pleasure in mocking and teasing common students, while the common students harbored hatred toward them. Once their anger reached its peak, things would get out of control. At least last year, some fifth-year students were confined to isolation rooms because of this. If you see a few noble students bullying a common student in some corner of Rexos, don’t be surprised—this is a phenomenon even Rexos can’t avoid. Some professors will step in immediately to stop it, while others just shake their heads and leave. It’s not that they don’t want to intervene, but they lack the energy. Besides, if one is strong enough and not threatened by the other, would the latter really dare to use their family’s influence? No noble would really dare to interfere with Rexos Academy, let alone discipline its students! The bullied common students usually refrain from resisting out of fear of the other side’s power, as they don’t realize what Rexos means in the empire. This mindset generally changes around the fourth or fifth grade, and coincidentally, it’s during these grades that conflicts between common and noble students are most intense. Noble students often use beating and insults to make their opponents submit, while common students try to defeat them during academy tests to humiliate them. However, due to the difference in financial resources, it’s extremely difficult for common students to beat noble students who have magical artifacts at their disposal. After all, not every common student is like Jiang Zhe—even without magical wands or other tools, they’re not easy to defeat. Early May marked the third week since the Salonia students arrived at Rexos. Having gradually adapted to the empire’s climate, the Salonia students had mostly overcome the fatigue from the long journey. But at that time, the atmosphere at Rexos Academy suddenly became tense… Outside the forest to the north of the ancient castle, a rock-made competition arena about thirty yards long and wide had already been built. To be honest, for Rexos’ professors, building such an arena was a piece of cake.

But because the old dean had been keeping an eye on the Jacforestbu rebellion, and nearly a hundred students from Salonia hadn’t yet recovered from their long journey, the competition between the two academies kept getting postponed until now. Initially, the old dean intended to select some outstanding students from grades four to five to compete against those from Salonia Academy. However, Father Andrew wasn’t satisfied with this idea; he suggested mixing all the students registered from Riox Academy with those nearly a hundred from Salonia and determining the ultimate winner through elimination rounds. It might seem like Riox Academy had an advantage, but Salonia wasn’t at a loss either, as those hundred students were all top performers from grades four to six at Salonia. Perhaps because the Jacforestbu rebellion still remained unsolved, the old dean and Father Andrew couldn’t figure out what that Argus was up to. Instead of guessing randomly, it was better to put the matter aside for now. After much discussion between the two elders, the old dean finally agreed to the proposal—after all, such a competition could help students gain experience, which wasn’t a bad thing. Of course, although it was officially stated that all students from Riox Academy were eligible to participate, professors in each grade wouldn’t allow those who were too weak to join, as this was a competition that affected Riox’s reputation—what if they were laughed at? Just after finishing Professor Hod’s course on fire-based blue magic, Jiang Zhe had just lay down on the sofa to take a nap when Allen rushed into the dormitory and pulled him up. “Dude, get up! Hurry up!” “What’s the rush, Allen? Ugh… can you let go first? You’re squeezing me…” “Oh, okay…” Allen finally released his grip and said with a delighted expression, “Did you hear the news, dude?” Jiang Zhe adjusted his collar in exasperation and snapped, “What news?” “You don’t know?” Allen said, eyes wide with surprise and excitement, “The competition! I just came back from Professor Beman. We’re going to compete against those students from Salonia—those ones wearing white magic robes walking around our academy…”

Watching Allen make strange gestures, Jiang Zhe laughed and shook his head, saying, “I know… Everyone in the academy knows about this, right? But why are you so happy?” As he spoke, he stretched out and lay back on the sofa, adding slowly, “The requirement to sign up is to be a student in the fourth grade or above, and also an outstanding student, so as to be recommended by a professor. I think only Dia is qualified to participate…”

“Tsk!” Allen pouted and waved his hand, saying, “I thought you really knew! What you mentioned was from some time ago. Do you know it’s been changed today?” He leaned in close to Jiang Zhe, his expression serious as he said word by word, “All students can sign up—everyone!”

“…” Jiang Zhe blinked inexplicably and asked, “Everyone?”

“Everyone! Including us!” Allen pointed at Jiang Zhe first, then at himself.

“Oh…” Jiang Zhe nodded as if he had suddenly understood, then reached out to push Allen’s big face away and changed his lying position. He said, “So what? Anyway, I’m not going. These boring competitions are the most exhausting…”

“Hey!” Allen was speechless by Jiang Zhe’s words. He fiddled with his fingers anxiously and said, “Dude, such an interesting thing, and you call it boring? And exhausting too? Good heavens!” He covered his face and shook his head, saying, “I think none of us three—whether in team battles or one-on-one fights—can be defeated…” He thought for a moment and added, “I mean, those below the fourth grade…”

“Anyway, if you’re going, go. I’m not going!” Jiang Zhe lazily turned over on the sofa. Then, seemingly feeling uncomfortable, he reached into the sofa and carelessly threw the dazed soldier puppet Sogjes aside.

“Hey, dude, that’s not fair! Didn’t we say we’d go in and out together?”

“That’s a different matter!”

“Sigh,” Allen looked at Jiang Zhe helplessly and said irritably, “I’ll go convince Scott first. I’ll have Ravia talk to you later. Anyway, with her personality, I’m sure she’ll definitely participate in such a competition!”

“Whatever…”

Shaking his head helplessly, Allen glanced at the soldier puppet Sogjes. Seeing him dazedly trying to get up from the long table, he smirked, snapped his finger, and knocked him back onto the table. Then he left, chuckling, seemingly in a hurry to convince Scott, so much so that he didn’t even close the door.

“Hey, close the door, Allen… this guy!” With a helpless sigh, Jiang Zhe stood up from the sofa and was about to close the door when he suddenly saw someone coming in.
Seeing the opponent’s hair as bright as flames and eyes shining like fire elements, Jiang Zhe was momentarily stunned.
“No way? They came so fast?”
“Who came?” Raviya looked at Jiang Zhe in confusion.
“Did you meet Allen?”
“Allen? No, why?”
“Nothing, don’t worry,” Jiang Zhe shrugged and leaned against the long table. “By the way, why did you come? Is there something?”
Glancing at Jiang Zhe disdainfully, Raviya said irritably, “Can’t I come just because there’s nothing?”
“That’s not what I meant,” Jiang Zhe said with a wry smile. “I was just talking casually. Um, look, it’s not even time for tutoring yet, so I’m a bit curious why you came so early…”
“No need to be curious,” Raviya said softly as she sat down on the sofa next to Jiang Zhe, propping her chin on her right hand. “Sos, do you still remember how we met?”
“How could I forget?” Jiang Zhe grunted helplessly and grinned. “Even if I didn’t remember, my left side of my face would remind me…”
“This guy!” Raviya’s face showed a hint of embarrassment as she defended herself, “I wasn’t close to you at that time, and you just suddenly hugged me… Well, anyone would do the same!”
“Okay, okay, it’s all my fault. Is that fine?”
“Sos, can’t you talk properly?”
“Alright, fine. What do you want to say?”
“You should remember, right?” Raviya said with a strange expression as she stared deeply at Jiang Zhe. “I said I’d try my best to surpass you…”
“…I remember!” Jiang Zhe nodded slowly.
“Sigh,” Raviya let out a soft sigh and shook her head self-mockingly. “Maybe I understand your current strength better than the professor. Your talent is the most incredible I’ve ever seen. It’s really hard to surpass you… Maybe impossible even in a lifetime…”
Seeing Raviya, who was usually confident and proud, show a vulnerable side in front of him, Jiang Zhe wasn’t expecting it. After hesitating for a moment, he said softly, “Then why do you still urge me every day? Isn’t that against your goal?”

“Hmph! A victory obtained that way is utterly meaningless!” With that, Ravia raised her head, glanced at Jiang Zhe, and said softly, “You are only my target. No one other than me should be able to defeat you. Otherwise, wouldn’t all my efforts to keep up with you be meaningless?”
Shaking his head in exasperation, Jiang Zhe said speechlessly, “It’s really complicated. What exactly do you want?”
Ravia stood up and said to Jiang Zhe seriously yet politely, “I want to fight you again, Thors! A real duel between true magicians!”
Instantly, a sense of foreboding arose in Jiang Zhe’s heart. He asked tentatively, “When? Now?”
“No!” Ravia shook her head. “In the competition held by the academy in a few days…” She pointed her slender finger at Jiang Zhe’s chest and pretended to say fiercely, “I don’t care about those Salonia students. My opponent is only you! If you dare to lose on purpose in the preliminaries, hmph!”
“…” Staring at Ravia’s finger on his chest in shock, Jiang Zhe was momentarily speechless.
“Speak up! Hey, say something, Thors!” Ravia looked at Jiang Zhe, who seemed dazed, and then followed his gaze to her own finger.
Pulling her hand back abruptly, Ravia held it, bit her lip, her face turning red, and stammered, “You… you can consider what I just said… as a threat. If you avoid this fight, you… you’re dead!”
“Huh!” Letting out a long sigh, Jiang Zhe shook his head self-mockingly before looking at Ravia and saying helplessly, “I don’t owe you anything, do I, Ravia?”
“Hm?”
“Oh,” as if remembering something, Jiang Zhe corrected himself, “I mean Avi. If you want to fight, I’ll just agree. Besides, it seems we’ve fought quite a bit already, right?”
“Is that even a fight? That can only be called practice! Thors, I want to truly fight you again, a real duel between true magicians! Just like last year…”
Looking at Ravia in surprise, Jiang Zhe asked doubtfully, “Are you confident you can beat me?”

Lavia fell silent for a moment before saying with deep regret, “No…” She then raised her head to look at Jiang Zhe and said in a peculiar tone, “You really are infuriating. I thought that even if you were talented, as long as I trained harder, I could still surpass you and defeat you. But… from the moment you learned Flame Flash, I realized that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t narrow the gap between us. And I had a feeling that this gap wouldn’t shrink over time—it would only get wider…” She stuck out her tongue and said proudly, “So, I need to take advantage of this time to defeat you! At least once…”

“Hey, hey…” Jiang Zhe really didn’t know what to say. He glanced at Lavia, who was staring at him intently, and said helplessly, “Okay, okay, I promise. I’ll go to that competition and fight you there in a real duel between magicians. But!”

“But?” Lavia raised her head in surprise.

“Only this once. If you lose, you can’t challenge me again…” Jiang Zhe sighed and said irritably, “Can’t we just do it properly? Why do you always have to… Avi?”

“Huh?” Lavia seemed distracted. Woken up by Jiang Zhe’s voice, she glanced nervously at the boy before falling silent again. Biting her lip, she hesitated and said, “If… if I lose, will I never be able to challenge you again? For the rest of my life?”

Nodding vigorously, Jiang Zhe said weakly, “Yes! If you agree, I’ll sign up!”

It seemed like a simple request, but Lavia lowered her head and bit her lip, thinking for a long time. After stealing a few more glances at Jiang Zhe, she finally raised her head and nodded seriously and firmly. “Okay, I promise!” She paused for a moment before adding in a peculiar tone, “But you have to agree to one condition of mine too!”

“Huh? What condition?”

Lavia stared intently at Jiang Zhe and said slowly, “If I lose, I’ll abide by our agreement. But after that, you must never be defeated by anyone else. If you lose, you must win back your pride!”

“Uh… oh… yes…”