Chapter 244: Competition Day 6 - 7 Chapter 244: Competition Day 6 - 7 While Gunther was busy persuading Leo, Brant’s gaze drifted and landed on Leon. For a split second, clear recognition flickered in his eyes—but it vanished just as quickly, carefully buried beneath a calm exterior. What is he doing here? Brant observed him quietly, his gaze measured, making sure not to alert Leon in the slightest. He looks... fine? I heard his soul was damaged so badly that a single cut could kill him—that he’d bleed endlessly. Brant’s eyes traced Leon’s body. Scars crisscrossed his skin, old and new alike, telling stories of countless battles. The most recent one—a long gash running across his arm—had been treated with obvious care. The wound was clean and already healing. Strange... His gaze shifted back to Leo. Did he do something? Brant gave a faint shrug inwardly. In the end, what mattered was that Leon was alive. And now that he seemed to be doing reasonably well, Brant decided not to pry further. He would simply inform the principal later. After a few more minutes, Leo finally stepped forward and gave Gunther a respectful bow. "I greet Master Gunther." In the end, Leo had no real choice but to agree—the benefits were far too tempting to pass up. Apparently, Ford’s blink-like movement speed was a form of soul technique. Brant nodded in satisfaction. His primary objective in bringing Leo to Aurelius Beast Academy had always been this—to make him Gunther’s student. It was a win-win situation. His eyes then drifted toward Lily. "Little girl, don’t worry," Brant said kindly. "After the competition ends, I’ll tell Katherine to start the main lessons. And I promise—with her guidance, you won’t fall far behind that brat." He smiled faintly. "She specializes in spirit utilization and swordsmanship. I’m confident she’ll turn you top-tier by the end of the session." His gaze moved again, settling on Miho. "Hmm... spirit-related talent as well?" He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "She’ll be very grumpy about taking another student." A chuckle escaped him. "Still, I’ll talk to her and see what can be done." Finally, his eyes met Leon’s. Leon narrowed his eyes slightly. The two stared at each other in silence. "I will teach you," Brant said simply. To everyone’s surprise, Leon accepted without the slightest resistance. Leo sensed something off about the exchange, but it didn’t trouble him much. Nearby, Brok watched the entire scene unfold with a completely dumbfounded expression. What the hell? Boss knows professors?! Is he that big of a shot?! And how does he know the ’Storm’?! Damn! Vorin and Shub, on the other hand, looked like their souls had left their bodies as they watched Brant casually converse with Leo. Just who did I mess with?! The same thought echoed in both their minds. Vorin internally cursed his sister, who was currently playing dead on the ground. Shub, meanwhile, cursed his own luck. With everything settled, Ford grabbed Shub like a piece of luggage and tossed him onto the eagle’s back. The professors exchanged brief farewells before departing, leaving Leo and his group behind. "Argh..." A faint groan suddenly broke the silence. Everyone turned. Karen immediately cursed herself for making a sound. "Do academies really not care what we do with them?" Lily asked, a playful giggle slipping out. "Hehe, let me have a bit more fun then." Karen’s world spun as tears welled up again. Vorin slammed his forehead against the ground repeatedly. "Please! We won’t d—!" He never got to finish. A golem’s massive fist came crashing down on his head, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished—teleported away. The same fate befell Karen moments later. Lily frowned. "Why?" she asked Leo. "We’re running late," Leo replied calmly. "Tier-2 matches have already started. We will miss some actual fun." --- As they made their way toward Arena-1, snippets of gossip floated through the air. "Did you hear? A secret realm opened up." "Yeah—and apparently, it has gnomes!" "Whoa, gnomes? Aren’t they that dwarf race famous for building and inventions? They’d sell for a crazy price. Let’s try conquering that realm." Talk of the gnome-filled secret realm was everywhere. Still, the danger was high and the numbers were few, so most students hesitated to form parties. Leo and his group soon forgot about the chatter as they stepped into the arena, where a match was already underway. Hato Rank – 61 CRP – 0 Gimi Rank – 48 CRP – 0 Timer: 40:25 The first battle was still ongoing. But suddenly— HatoRank – 61 CRP – 0 → 10 "Ladies and gentlemen! We have our winner!" "What a fight!" the host exclaimed. "I never expected a Tier-2 match to last this long! But boring? Not at all! What an incredible battle! Let’s give these students a round of applause!" The crowd erupted into cheers. Despite lasting over 40 minutes, the match had clearly kept everyone engaged. Meanwhile, 3 more fights had already begun in other rings. These 2 days were packed tight. With 53 students competing for Tier-2 seats, there were 530 matches to conduct. With only 18 hours across 2 days, a match had to begin roughly every 2 minutes. If necessary, additional arenas would be activated. After the day matches, the Leo and his group enjoyed a 3-hour break before returning for the Tier-1 seat battles during the night shift. Soon, the first match-up appeared. Uraan Hurricane Rank – 9 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦 Yano Gilbert Rank – 14 There was no CRP system here. You could directly challenge a higher-ranked student and attempt to claim their position. And it seemed Yano, ranked 14, had chosen to challenge Uraan, ranked 9. Yano raised his hand, summoning his beast. Boulder Rock Snake (Pseudo 3-star) – Super Bloodline A massive snake, 9 to 12 meters long, emerged. Its entire body was composed of solid stone. Its eyes were buried deep within rocky crevices, making it nearly impossible to strike its only weak point—though this also limited its vision. Uraan narrowed his eyes. "He chose me on purpose..." he muttered. His deep brown hair matched his eyes, giving him a rugged, raw appearance. Then, he smiled faintly and waved his hand. Hurricane Falcon (Low 3-star) – Noble Bloodline The host exploded with excitement. "Whoooooa! One of our top ten students has finally revealed his trump card! Uraan has summoned his main beast—Hurricane Falcon!"