Chapter 357: Challenging Nicholas

"Haaa!" Two students clashed. The student using a spear took the initiative, using the absolute advantage the spear had over the sword to suppress the other student.

Ultimately, the student with the sword fainted.

"William from Dermania is unable to continue. Winner, Gerald from the UK," the referee announced.

"Oohhh!"

The students cheered, especially the students from Esfrata. They definitely liked the fact that a student from Dermania was removed. Of course, the Dermanian students felt the same way about Esfrata.

Auric was watching their fights even though he didn’t want their elements.

However, it looked like people had begun to move even though the first competition hadn’t ended.

"Antonio Sastre, I’m allowing you to challenge me in the universal competition!" A woman arrogantly pointed at Antonio.

Antonio, who was still drunk, just chuckled and said, "I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t mind accepting it if it’s a drinking challenge."

"What?! You bastard. I’ve graciously given you the opportunity to challenge me."

"So?" Antonio shrugged. "Just leave me alone. I want to drink."

Auric was watching their argument from the side. Katarina whispered, "That woman is Theressa Lee from Granda. One of my main competitors in this tournament."

"Hmm..." Auric nodded. "I’m interested in her element, but I’m not exactly interested in challenging her. I guess I will just wait until I’m Rank 4 before I copy that element."

"You need to be fast. She might evolve to Rank 5 at that time."

"No. I’m just talking about memorizing the flow of her energy. It doesn’t matter if she gets stronger in the future." Auric shook his head.

"Can you even remember all that?"

"Taking notes, of course." Auric shrugged.

"Fair enough." Katarina pointed to the side. "Look at that. Alexander seems to be planning to challenge someone as well. Since he’s a Rank 4, he can’t exactly challenge someone unless he wants to ruin his reputation."

That was what Katarina thought until Alexander stopped in front of Auric.

"!!!" Katarina raised her eyebrows. "Hello? I’m here."

"Hahaha! Woman, I’m not interested in you. I can fight you anytime in the competition. I’m more interested in this man." Alexander smirked while taking off his sunglasses.

"Me?" Auric pointed at himself. "I don’t exactly want to challenge a Rank 4, though. It’s too much of a hassle to win, and I don’t have anything to prove."

"You need to act like a man. Tackle all the challenges in front of you." Alexander grinned.

"I don’t see any point." Auric shrugged. "Besides, the gap in our strength is too big. Do you think I’m foolish enough to be provoked by simple things?"

"I don’t intend to provoke you. Rather, I’m challenging you. We’re not going to fight. We’re just going to show our ’muscle.’ In the fight, I’m not going to do anything other than stand there. Defeat me in three moves."

"..." Auric frowned. It looked like Alexander was trying to probe his strength. Alexander wanted to see whether Auric had any power that could bypass not one, but two ranks.

Auric didn’t see any point in doing it, so he rejected, "I don’t plan to accept. What can you do about it?"

"Hahahaha! Very well." Alexander laughed and walked away, not arguing any further.

Katarina crossed her arms. "That guy is not someone who gives up. I’m afraid that he has a scheme for you. However, he’s not the scheming type. Maybe someone will do it for him, especially Selena Bellegarde."

Auric sighed. "We’ll have the evolution master competition first, so I’m not exactly worried right now. It will be different after Sunday, though."

"Fair enough." Katarina nodded in understanding.

The competition continued smoothly. The students were fighting with everything they had, trying to get into first place. Unfortunately, other countries also sent their best students. They were also doing their best to win for their countries.

The fights were fierce. Some students even chose to sacrifice themselves for other candidates from their countries, exhausting their opponents so that their respective countries could win.

Of course, Supervisor Jacob and other instructors were also sending their people carefully, giving instructions to each student.

In fact, due to how intense the competition was, some students even dragged other students out of the arena, risking heavy injuries just to win one more match.

The citizens were applauding their determination.

A few hours later.

"Haaaa!" A student from Esfrata unleashed a massive fireball toward his opponent. On the other hand, a student from the UK panted heavily, but he still managed to slash down the fireball.

Without hesitation, the student from the UK rushed forward and slashed his opponent.

The other student tried to avoid it, but he failed to do so.

Auric watched the student from his country fall to the ground, but he didn’t lose without putting up a fight.

"Damn it." He fell to the ground.

His opponent suddenly spat a mouthful of blood as the flame erupted one more time, almost burning him.

However, he managed to release his energy at the last moment. He fell to his knees, but he managed to use his sword for support to avoid falling completely.

Meanwhile, the student from Esfrata fainted.

Seeing one student unable to continue, the referee announced, "Match ends. Victor: James Jefferson from the UK. Second place, Quinn Elefan from Esfrata."

"..." Auric closed his eyes. The tournament for Rank 1 students was finally over. They were strong, but it looked like the goddess of victory didn’t smile upon them. It was a shame, but Katarina actually showed the livestream. "There is a lot of support for this guy."

[You did well.]

[Thank you for your hard work.]

[You were simply unlucky. You faced so many seeded candidates from other countries. If your path were smoother, you would be able to get first place.]

Auric smiled. "I guess that’s the situation. We will compete tomorrow. You’re planning to get first place, right?"

"There are plenty of strong people like me . Besides, there are a few fellow student council members at Kallarnos University who are also participating. Just because I’m always with you doesn’t mean I’m not going to cheer for them. But yes, I intend to win." Katarina smiled.

Auric nodded. "Gloria is not here, so I guess your main opponent will be Alexander, Theressa, and Timothy."

"Yep, I will do my best as usual." Katarina turned serious. "You should also be careful. It’s true that your power has far exceeded a Rank 2 student, you shouldn’t underestimate them."

"I never underestimate them. What I’m worried about is..." Auric scratched the back of his head. "...the fact that I won’t be able to participate."

There was a reason why they ended the first day of the competition early with only Rank 1 students.

They needed to prepare for the evolution master competition.

As soon as they finished the ranking competition, the new head instructor, Vanessa, went onto the arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen, now that the competition is over, there will be more competitions tomorrow, specifically for Rank 2, Rank 3, and Rank 4 students.

"I wish you luck, but this is not the reason I came to the stage. As you know, there will be a competition for our evolution masters. To hold this competition, we will need a lot of preparation, especially regarding participants who need to undergo evolution.

"To prepare for such a thing, we will now hold a special event where you are able to challenge anyone you like among the evolution masters.

"These are the names of the evolution masters who have been registered for this event."

The screen changed to show a list of names. Auric’s name was included, but to everyone’s surprise, there was one name that wasn’t on the list. It was the genius gold-grade evolution master Nicholas.

"What’s going on? Nicholas can’t be challenged?"

"Well, isn’t it understandable? He’s the only student who has become a gold-grade evolution master. If we compete with him, there’s no chance to win."

"Can’t Nicholas compete as a silver-grade evolution master?"

"If he does, do you think you can win? There’s a big difference in skill between silver grade and gold grade."

"That’s...."

The students were arguing, wondering if this was appropriate.

In fact, the citizens of Granda seemed to be proud of it.

[Hahahaha! Our Nicholas is amazing, isn’t he?]

[No one can challenge him. Why would he bother with you peasants?!]

[You guys can take the victory for other competitions, but the evolution master competition is something that our country will dominate.]

As if knowing their confusion, an old man stood up and said, "Our Nicholas will not accept any challenge unless it’s a challenge from a gold-grade evolution master.

"However, because of the same reason, Nicholas will also not participate in the general competition. This will ensure everyone has the chance to get first place in the general competition.

"Still, if you wish to challenge Nicholas, he will welcome that challenge, as long as you agree to participate according to the rules. This is a fair competition, so we are doing our best to ensure fairness."

Other countries could only grit their teeth, unable to retort their words. It was a shame, but Nicholas was simply on a completely different level.

"Hahahaha! A fair challenge indeed." Supervisor Jacob stood up with a big smile on his face.

"Head Instructor Jacob..." The old man narrowed his eyes. "I admit that your Auric Elfe is a genius. He’s indeed someone who is capable of rivaling Nicholas given enough time.

"There’s no need to ruin a talented child’s future for your own selfishness."

Auric just scratched the back of his head. With Supervisor Jacob standing up, he really had no choice but to deal with the matter.

Auric sighed, then walked to the front and raised his hand. "I would like to challenge my fellow student, Nicholas.

"I wonder if you’re willing to accept my challenge."

Supervisor Jacob smirked.

"Supervisor Jacob... Shouldn’t you stop him? At this rate, he would just embarrass himself." One instructor warned Supervisor Jacob. He was worried that this defeat would cause a setback for Auric.

If his future was ruined because of it, they couldn’t imagine the fury of their citizens.

"That’s right. We know how strong Auric is. There’s no doubt he will dominate the Rank 2 competition. However, an evolution master competition is different. He might be able to win against other silver-grade evolution masters, but the other party is a gold-grade evolution master."

"This is just their trick, Supervisor Jacob. They want us to provoke them so that they look like they’re willing to lower themselves to compete with us. This is humiliating."

Supervisor Jacob simply smiled.

The old man from Granda shook his head. "Student Auric... I advised you not to challenge our Nicholas.

"However, if you’re still stubborn about this, then our Nicholas is willing to lower himself and compete with you as a silver-grade evolution master."

To everyone’s surprise, Auric suddenly said, "Excuse me? When did I say I wanted to challenge him as a silver-grade evolution master?"

"!!!"