Chapter 281: Rank Reassignment Exam [I]

I walked across the academy campus, my destination the Academy Arena.

Two more days had passed since my battle or rather, my showcase of dominance against Varek and ever since then, life had been peaceful, to say the least.

Even those nobodies who used to glare at me for being engaged to Arza now bowed whenever they came across me.

Most of the students had divided themselves into two camps. One believed I had used some forbidden magic to make Varek so submissive, which I actually did because, in some ways, using a Demonic Artifact to swap souls wasn’t all that different.

While the others believed I had shown some overwhelming strength to make Varek submit. Either way, people were now afraid enough not to mess with me.

Hell, Rio, who managed my faction, told me how many applications he was receiving daily from people desperate to join. Some even went as far as sending bribes, especially those from demon noble families who had once sworn loyalty to Varek.

In the Demon Realm, every family had to choose an heir to the Demon King to support and apparently, Varek had been quite popular, enjoying the support of dozens of them. But since I had defeated him and he had sworn loyalty to me, those noble families wanted to switch sides because technically, as the Demon King’s disciple, I was also considered a candidate for succession.

Not to mention, Arza, one of the most promising candidates, was my fiancée, while Varek, another popular candidate, had sworn loyalty to me. So they knew that even if I failed, their investment wouldn’t go to waste. As a result, they sent their children to join my faction and earn my favor.

As my mind swirled with such useless thoughts, I arrived at the arena gates. The crowd of first-years had already gathered there because today was finally the day.

After so many months, it was finally time for the rank reassignment exams. The exams were going to be conducted in a PvP format and it would be lasting for four days.

And during the fourth day, the A.S.S. members would launch their attack all at once because Morvana wasn’t present. Even Lilith, who had been the wildcard in this scenario, was somehow gone alongside her, saying there was a meeting of all the Demon Generals to discuss an important matter.

In any case, it was all for the best because if they were here, I was sure they would protect me... Which was the last thing I wanted since...

I wanted to be kidnapped by A.S.S.

As soon as I entered the arena, Viola was already waiting there with a frown.

"Why are you so late?"

She asked.

"There was an elephant who needed help crossing the street, so I was helping it." I replied. "Can’t a man even take his time arriving nowadays?"

She didn’t bother responding.

"Where are the others?"

I asked, deciding to divert the topic.

"Sera and Noah have already entered their matches since they’re in the first bracket, while Sylvie and Arthur are in the waiting room, waiting for their matches because they’re in the second bracket."

She answered.

"What’s your bracket?"

"I’m in the seventh and while I was at it, I also checked yours. You’re in the fifteenth bracket." She continued with a frown. "While your dear fiancée is in the twelfth. Though I can’t seem to find where she vanished either. She was with me when we arrived."

"She must be eating chocolate somewhere. Don’t worry about her. Let’s find ourselves some seats and watch the matches. I’m sure she’ll be back soon."

I said as we made our way towards the audience’s stands. There were sixteen pairs in each bracket, and all of them were currently standing on different platforms across the arena.

This was merely the preliminary round and the same format would be repeated for all twenty brackets.

After that, the eight winners from each bracket would advance to the next round. In a similar fashion, each bracket would eventually have its own victor, who would then face the winners of the other brackets and so on.

It was quite a simple format, to be honest.

And this was also the beginning of the true hell of Noxvalen because only after the reassignment exams did the real hellish curriculum begin.

Out of all these students, only three hundred would survive the A.S.S. attack and by the end of the academy, only seventy would actually graduate as third-years.

That was the fate awaiting this class.

Shaking my head, I dismissed those useless thoughts and took a seat alongside Viola and as soon as we sat down, the referees’ voices echoed throughout the arena simultaneously, announcing the start of the preliminary rounds.

It was actually the first time I would be witnessing Noah fight. Although I didn’t know his Nexus since it was never mentioned in the novel, I knew most of his abilities, so I was quite excited to see him in action.

So, as soon as the matches began, I searched through the platforms to find where Noah’s battle was taking place and soon enough, I found him.

He was standing on platform number eight.

My gaze immediately shifted towards his opponent and surprisingly, it was someone familiar. ℴ

A handsome boy with golden hair, cold blue eyes and with two horns curling up on his head like a crown.

Alden Redspire.

Or, as I knew her, the Dragon Prince or more accurately Dragon Princess.

Although her flaw made her male during the daytime, her Nexus more than compensated for it, making her one of the stronger characters in the novel, especially in her male form, which boosted her physical abilities tremendously.

After she found a cure for her flaw, she became even more monstrous. At one point in the future, she even fought Arthur, who was a Dragon Slayer and her natural enemy.

So, seeing her matched up against Noah, only one thought came to my mind.

This was going to be interesting.