Chapter 273 - 272 : Exhibitionist

Chapter 273: Chapter 272 : Exhibitionist

Damian stood outside Arthur’s hotel room, his impatience growing with every passing second.

He glanced down at his watch again.

Only 40 minutes remained.

"Damn it. Only 40 minutes are left."

The second match of the Inter-Academy Tournament would begin soon.

Every participating student needed to be selected, prepared, and present in Celestias Academy’s meeting room before the event was officially announced.

But Arthur was still inside his room.

And Damian had absolutely no idea what that idiot was doing.

Beside him, Aiden leaned against the hallway wall with his arms crossed.

"Calm down," Aiden said. "If he doesn’t come, Senior Layla will choose the participants instead."

Damian’s eyes widened.

"What if she doesn’t choose me?"

His hands clenched into fists.

"My father is here."

His expression became serious.

"The honor of the Stromborn Family is on the line."

He lowered his gaze, his voice becoming more determined.

"I have to show him how much I’ve grown."

A faint aura stirred around his body.

"How strong I’ve become."

Aiden looked at him carefully.

"So you came here to request that Arthur choose you for the next event."

Damian nodded.

"Exactly."

Aiden narrowed his eyes.

Then he gave Damian an exasperated look.

"Then why do you look like you came here to pick a fight?"

Damian clicked his tongue and looked away.

"I don’t know."

He paused.

"Maybe because he’s an honorless bastard who will do anything to win."

Aiden sighed.

"You’re still holding a grudge over the entrance exam."

Damian’s mouth twitched.

"I don’t like him."

He paused for a moment.

"But you can say that I respect him."

His eyes became more serious.

"For the strength he possesses."

His hands clenched again.

"All 3 of us are System users."

Damian looked toward Arthur’s closed door.

"But he’s on another level."

Aiden nodded.

"Well, I can’t argue with that."

He was about to say something else.

But before he could finish—

Click.

The door suddenly opened.

Damian and Aiden froze.

For several seconds, neither of them moved.

Arthur stepped out.

He was wearing nothing but his underwear.

His entire body trembled slightly.

His clothes were nowhere to be seen.

His upper body was fully exposed, revealing a lean but well-defined physique. His muscles were clearly visible beneath his pale skin, while sharp lines of abdominal muscles ran across his stomach.

His shoulders were broad.

His arms were muscular.

Yet his body wasn’t bulky.

It was the physique of someone built for speed and combat—lean, powerful, and far more dangerous than his appearance suggested.

Arthur didn’t even acknowledge Damian and Aiden at first.

Instead, he slowly turned around and closed the door behind him.

Very slowly.

Carefully.

As if even the slightest sound might awaken some terrifying disaster sleeping inside the room.

Damian slowly turned toward Aiden.

Then he spoke in a completely dry voice.

"I take back my previous statement."

Aiden raised an eyebrow.

Damian looked at Arthur with disgust.

"This exhibitionist bastard doesn’t deserve my respect at all."

Aiden sighed.

"Well, I can’t argue with that either."

Arthur finally turned toward them.

He immediately placed one finger over his lips.

"Shhhhh."

His eyes were wide.

"One wrong move, and all 3 of us will die."

Aiden frowned.

"What? Why?"

He glanced toward Arthur’s room.

"Is there an enemy inside?"

His gaze then dropped toward Arthur’s clothes.

"And why are you coming out like an exhibitionist in nothing but your underwear?"

Arthur looked down at himself.

For a moment, he said nothing.

’It’s a good thing my underwear was nearby and in decent condition.’

His expression became slightly awkward.

’My clothes were not.’

Aiden and Damian finally noticed the marks scattered across Arthur’s body.

Several reddish marks covered his neck and upper chest.

There were also faint nail marks along his arms and shoulders.

Aiden’s eyes widened.

"And what are those marks?"

He leaned closer.

"Don’t tell me you slept with—"

"Losers don’t ask questions."

Arthur immediately cut him off.

His expression became serious.

"And I haven’t slept with anyone."

He looked away.

"Just drop it."

Damian stared at him for several seconds.

Then he rubbed his forehead.

"Can you deal with your weird fetishes later?"

His voice was cold.

"We have a tournament to win."

Arthur’s mouth twitched.

He muttered under his breath.

"I wonder whether you’ll say the same thing after looking inside."

Damian frowned.

"Did you say something?"

Arthur ignored the question.

"Give me some clothes."

Aiden stared at him.

"Are we walking clothing shops?"

Arthur crossed his arms.

"What good are you useless bastards?"

Damian sighed.

He reached into his storage ring.

A plain white shirt and a pair of blue jeans appeared in his hands.

"Here."

He tossed the clothes toward Arthur.

"Let’s go, you bastard. You’ve already wasted enough of our time."

Arthur caught the clothes.

He quickly put them on.

The simple white shirt and blue jeans fit him surprisingly well.

Once he was dressed, Arthur glanced back toward his room.

His expression immediately became tense again.

Without warning, he grabbed Damian’s hand.

Then Aiden’s.

"Let’s go."

He began dragging both of them down the hallway.

Damian struggled to keep up.

"Hey!"

He then remembered something.

His expression became serious.

"Have you seen my master?"

Arthur’s steps slowed.

Damian continued.

"I haven’t been able to contact her since last night."

Arthur avoided his gaze.

"Sorry. I haven’t met her either."

Damian narrowed his eyes.

He glanced back toward Arthur’s room.

’Strange.’

A complicated expression appeared on his face.

’Was it just my imagination?’

He looked toward the closed door.

’Or did I sense a familiar presence inside that room?’

His eyes then shifted toward the marks on Arthur’s neck.

The nail marks.

The fact that Arthur had emerged from his room wearing nothing but his underwear.

Damian’s eyes widened.

’It can’t be... right?’

He immediately shook his head.

’Of course not.’

His face became slightly pale.

’Master and I hate this guy. How could I even think something like that?’

Damian lowered his head.

’Forgive me, Master.’

His expression became solemn.

’I deserve a death sentence for even thinking something like this.’

───────────────

Meanwhile, inside the Golden Colosseum, the second day of the Inter-Academy Tournament had begun.

The massive stands were once again filled with more than 100,000 spectators.

The previous day’s Treasure Hunt had created an enormous amount of excitement across the world.

News channels, mana broadcasts, social media platforms, and even betting organizations had spent the entire night discussing Arthur’s performance and Celestias Academy’s unexpected victory.

Now, the public had returned in even greater numbers.

The atmosphere inside the Colosseum was louder than ever.

The announcer walked onto the central stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

His mana-enhanced voice boomed throughout the stadium.

"Welcome to Day 2 of the Inter-Academy Tournament!"

The crowd erupted into thunderous cheers.

"Yesterday’s first match was nothing short of thrilling!"

The massive mana screens immediately came alive.

Highlights from the Treasure Hunt began playing across them.

Arthur using Blink.

Victor severing the Chimera’s head.

Jasmine’s massive ice barrier.

Evangline firing her thermal bullets.

Rubina restoring her teammates’ strength.

The crowd reacted loudly to every scene.

"And it saw Celestias Academy take a commanding lead over every other academy!"

The spectators erupted into another wave of cheers.

The announcer raised his voice.

"Let us hope today’s matches will be just as exhilarating!"

The cheers slowly settled.

"But before we spin the roulette to determine the contents of the second match, let us take a look at the current points table!"

He raised one hand toward the massive holographic screen.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[ MATCH 1: POINTS TABLE ]

#1 CELESTIAS ACADEMY — 19 POINTS

#2 BLACK STAR ACADEMY — 7 POINTS

#3 GLACIER PEAK ACADEMY — 4 POINTS

#4 MARTIAL STAR ACADEMY — 4 POINTS

#5 LUMINA ACADEMY — 4 POINTS

#6 CHERRY BLOSSOM ACADEMY — 4 POINTS

#7 MIRAGE CROWN ACADEMY — 3 POINTS

#8 RAVEN ACADEMY — 2 POINTS

#9 STORMVEIL ACADEMY — 2 POINTS

#10 IRON FORTRESS ACADEMY — 1 POINT

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The crowd murmured as they studied the rankings.

The difference between first and second place was still enormous.

Celestias Academy stood 12 points ahead of Black Star Academy.

The first match had created a massive gap.

The announcer pointed toward the screen.

"It is clear that the other academies will need to bring their absolute best if they want to prevent Celestias Academy from increasing their lead even further!"

The crowd erupted once again.

Then the announcer turned toward the enormous holographic roulette.

A grin appeared on his face.

"Now..."

He raised his hand.

"Let the roulette spin!"

The giant wheel began rotating.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

Names, symbols, and possible match types flashed across the massive screen as the roulette spun faster and faster.

The entire stadium leaned forward in anticipation.

The wheel began to slow.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

The final sections passed one after another.

Then—

Triing!

A sharp sound echoed through the Golden Colosseum.

The wheel stopped.

The result appeared in the center of the screen.

[ MATCH 2: CLASH OF INTELLECTUALS CHALLENGE ]

For a moment, the entire stadium went silent.

Then confusion spread throughout the audience.

"What kind of match is that?"

"Clash of Intellectuals?"

"Is this going to be a magic quiz?"

"What are they supposed to do?"

The excitement only grew.

───────────────

Inside Celestias Academy’s meeting room, Layla sat at the head of the table.

Her eyes were fixed on the entrance.

They were sharp enough to cut through the door.

"He is late again."

Her voice was low and cold.

She glanced toward the time display on the mana screen.

"What are Aiden and Damian even doing?"

Her fingers tapped impatiently against the table.

"Did they get lost or something?"

Diana stood nearby with an instruction manual in her hands.

"Senior, the second match has been chosen."

Layla turned toward her.

Diana handed the manual over.

Layla accepted it and opened the document.

She was about to begin reading when—

Click.

The meeting-room door opened.

Three boys entered.

Arthur.

Aiden.

And Damian.

Layla slowly raised her head.

Her eyes immediately locked onto the 3 of them.

Arthur looked around the room.

Then he casually asked,

"Did I miss something?"