Chapter 120 - The Entry to the Palace of Champions

As more and more students arrived at the Lyceum, the academy became more and more boisterous. One aristocratic family after another would gather and talk to each other, all with smiles on their prim and sometimes made-up faces. How many of these smiles were genuine, well, that was another matter entirely. Different groups and cliques quickly formed, all paying attention to who attended this impromptu gathering of the elite.

"General Vega! It's an honour to see you here my Lord General. Are you here to accompany your brother Roman? I also came to join the fun with my nephew Gonzo." said a middle-aged man with purple-grey hair and some wrinkles around his eyes and forehead.

"Uncle Justin, please, don't call me General, you're treating me like a stranger. Indeed I came to accompany my brother during the Ranking. I'm currently free from obligations in the Council, so I came to watch over the likely talents that would represent Ansem in the next Grand Tournament." answered Vega Dai Alaria. This was the same General Vega that lost to Elijah in the naming of Dragon General. Next to him, Roman Dai Alaria was proudly standing, his demeanour attracting the looks of some of the female students who blushed shily.

"I'm sure Roman will be one of the chosen. He is probably the best out of all the third-year students in the Inner Class. Uncle Justin, it's so good to see you! Lord Father told us to remind you to pay him a visit soon," said a beautiful female voice behind the group of men. It was Cynthia Dai Morena, who was walking with her little brother Gonzo by her side towards both Justin, Vega and Roman. Cynthia looked at Vega with mirth in her eyes and barely concealable adoration.

They greeted each other and walked together to enter the academy when two carriages appeared at the same time near the Gates.

The Royal Carriage, led by two ferocious Dire-Lions, rank 4 beasts, stopped to the incredulous look of the people entering the school. As Karel, Philip and their retinue stepped out of the carriage, they immediately became the centre of attention.

However, that attention was almost robbed because another carriage, much less lavish, came to a halt right next to the royal carriage. It commanded a similar amount of respect, nevertheless, as it didn't just have the Royal Eagle and Lion that symbolized the Royal Family, but also three very distinctive swords crossed behind the Royal Family crest, with a dragon's head in the hilt of each sword. This was the unique coat of arms that represented the Dragon Generals of the Kingdom of Ansem. The two Wargod Horses leading them were also rank 4 beasts.

This carriage was, of course, carrying Nerun, Elijah and Serena, who had also dismounted. Even though Tobias and the captain of the Royal Eagle Guard were emperor-level experts, and Vega himself was a saint, their momentum seemed somewhat inferior to Elijah, whose sharpness had increased since his appointment. After all, what they represented at this moment were completely different things. Vega had not come in an official capacity but on his own. Tobias and the other emperor were bodyguards. But Elijah was different, for whenever he was in public, he represented the full power of the army, the right arm of His Majesty himself.

Vega couldn't help but squint a bit, however, his emotions were quickly put under control and no one was the wiser. He brought his brother and the rest from House Morena into the Academy quickly before they could formally meet the people from the two recently arrived carriages. Cynthia in particular had no desire whatsoever to meet Elijah so she rapidly followed Vega. Meanwhile, the 2nd Prince quickly approached Elijah and saluted him respectfully, since even if he was the son of His Majesty, he had no true power over the Military, a prerogative that belonged only to the King, and when he wasn't present to the Dragon Generals. Such was their clout.

Elijah saluted the 2nd Prince back and introduced him to his brother.

"So this is your famed brother, whom I have heard so much about recently. It's a pleasure to meet you. Please allow me the honour to formally introduce you to a very dear guest of the Kingdom, this is Karel St. Ajora, a member of the Temple" said the 2nd Prince.

"We meet again," said Karel in his usual ethereal tone. His disposition, elegance and overall feeling made him look like an immortal from the heavens, something that made most of the female students look at him over and over again uncontrollably. Even those that had looked at Roman earlier seemed to have forgotten completely about their previous infatuation. Even the 2nd Prince standing next to him felt somewhat inferior to them, although such a thing should have been preposterous. However, that was the feeling that Karel incited naturally.

"It's you! Indeed we meet again. Came to enjoy the show?" asked Nerun nonchalantly with a simple smile on his fair face. Nerun who should have been the most humble of the three young men reunited, looked sharp in his uniform, and his delicate features with mischievous yet pure eyes didn't seem inferior whatsoever to the standing of his two counterparts.

"Have you two met each other?" asked the 2nd Prince with curiosity.

"Something like that," said Karel. He greeted both Nerun and Elijah and continued "Will you take part in today's ranking?".

"I will," said Nerun succinctly. He was about to continue talking when he was interrupted by Elijah.

"Should we enter? This is not the place for proper greetings. Once inside we'll have more opportunities to keep talking."

They all entered the Lyceum together. Nerun did not have a chance to talk much, while the 2nd Prince kept talking cheerfully with Elijah. This was also an opportunity for him to make contact with the newest Dragon General and a possible future Legend. If they could get closer, the 2nd Prince could have made a very powerful ally, so he was quite merry.

Nerun said goodbye to the impromptu party once he reached the Academy's central plaza, and went rapidly towards the meeting point of his classroom, which would be led by Teacher Sarah towards the Palace of Champions. He met both Reina and Karel and stayed together while discussing their strategy for the Ranking. Since Nerun's victory over Solda, there had been no further incidents with his classmates, and those that were closer to Solda even seemed to walk on tenterhooks when they were near him.

Soon all the Inner and Outer Class groups from all years were led to the Palace of Champions. The Palace of Champions was magnificent from the outside. Just outside the entrance was a plaza with several statues of the purest stone, exquisitely detailed, representing some of the most powerful warriors and adepts that had graduated from the Lyceum. Nerun couldn't help but notice several of the statues and their plaques.

Johannes Helios Dai Ansem III - The Wisdom King

Laureen Kay Adams - The Hammer of Eternal Frost

Terrence Dai Baruna - The Spear King

Raphael Bertoldi - The Lord of the Fist

Armand Dai Mikaeli - The Lightbringer

Nerun stopped involuntarily. He was almost hypnotized by the visage in front of him. The statue with the name Armand represented a handsome, vigorous and brave young man, with great resolve and boldness apparent in his eyes. Once Nerun saw the statue he almost knelt in front of it, such was the turmoil currently going on inside him, however, both Reina and Karles noticed the strangeness about Nerun, and quickly took him by his arms and made him continue the march towards the Arena.

As the students entered, they were seated in their respective groups in the eastern stands of the arena. As there were no more than 500 of them, they did not take up much space. Nerun, however, was as if he had been left without a mind. The sudden encounter with the statue affected him deeply. Reina and Karles were both concerned about Nerun, but they weren't sure what had happened to him or how they could help him. In the front row, there were 10 separate seats that were currently empty.

Meanwhile, the many guests, noble families and greats of the kingdom took their seats in the north stand of the arena. Although some of the students' families had come to the arena to witness the ranking, they still didn't number more than a few thousand, barely enough to fill a small percentage of the vast stadium.

There were special boxes in all of the cardinal points of the area at its highest point that were destined for the most important of guesses. Currently in one of these special boxes, at the northern stand several people were inside talking and laughing among each other. Karel, Philip, Vega, Cynthia, and Justin were there. Marquis Bryan, Solda's father, was also present. Elijah as well, and he was currently talking to Samuel Dai Manota. Anastasia, the lady that had fought Samuel before was standing next to Elijah and Samuel. The kind Lunch Lady was there as well, offering delicacies to the selected group of guests.

The scene looked peaceful, however, there was a slight tension palpable in the air, especially when Cynthia met Elijah face to face since the former didn't dare look Elijah in the face. However, she seemed to have found relief and strength in the presence of Vega. Both Vega and Elijah had saluted each other with exquisite courtesy, and people could have thought that both were the best of friends, whatever lurked in the mind of both generals inscrutable.

The people drank and ate cheerfully and with great refinement. Though the food was exquisite, expensive and nutritious, the people in the box were among the very elite of the kingdom, and everyone was restrained.

Suddenly, a hand seemed to appear out of nowhere, grabbing a large piece of meat and placing it in the mouth of a sloppy-looking old man. This old man had very little hair on his head, with a white mustache and long beard. His height was short, and wore a huge robe that covered most of his body. As he ate, you could see the pleasure on his face, and you could see drops of fat dripping from his mouth.

Most of his teeth were yellow. When people noticed his presence, he had already vanished and was standing next to Cynthia, who couldn't help but yelp since she felt a strange sensation that touched her buttocks.

"Mmmh... Too bony, not enough elasticity..." murmured the old man. Cynthia became livid, and was about to yell when her uncle Justin Dai Morena put a hand on her mouth and simply smiled back at the old man who stood there waiting to see if Cynthia said something back to him. Since Justin stopped Cynthia, the old man showed a look of disappointment and once again appeared next to the table filled with food and started eating paying no attention whatsoever to any of the people present.

When Karel St. Ajora saw the old man, he was a bit shocked at the beginning. This was because the feeling the man gave him was quite special. It was as if the man didn't exist at all, and yet existed everywhere at the same time. The man was big. Quite big. Yet infinitely small. This incongruence made him feel uncomfortable, fortunately, such a feeling was fleeting and was gone in the blink of an eye. The old man turned to look at him and smiled crookedly towards him before starting to eat once again.

All of the people present at the special box were speechless and Samuel facepalmed while breathing deeply and then said: "Headmaster, please sit down. We were expecting you to start the Ranking."

"What were you waiting for me for? Begin, begin. Can't you see I'm busy? Where are the Core Class pups, are they too good to be present for the test?" said the Headmaster impatiently while waving his hand.

"Most of the Core Class students are in seclusion right now headmaster. But I believe three of them will arrive shortly."

Elijah's eyes twitched a bit while seeing the old man, and couldn't help but think, 'definitely birds of a feather...' However, it looked like the Headmaster read his thought because he threw a piece of meat at great speed towards Elijah, to which the latter could barely react catching it with his hand. The headmaster then said, "Eat, eat... so Dragon pup, what brings you here?"

Elijah took a deep breath when he heard the term Dragon pup, but held it. The old headmaster was probably one of the few experts on the continent who had both the right and the guts to call a Dragon General a Dragon pup. Although Elijah couldn't help but imagine the old man calling General Falma or Rafal a Dragon pup, and the thought almost made him smile.

"Greetings Headmaster Raciel. I'm here to watch the talents that may represent the Kingdom in the Grand Tournament. The King has let me know that my first official assignment will be to lead a small garrison of Elite Soldiers to guard the delegates from Ansem that will attend the Grand Tournament at Rhodnius. Also, I'm accompanying my little brother, who is also attending the ranking today."

"I see, I see, Dragon pup. Then sit and enjoy the show. Oh look. Three Core Class students indeed came. Good. Samuel begin. I don't have all day," said nonchalantly the Headmaster. Sometimes he spoke as if he was saying things to himself and just himself.

Indeed, right then, three students wholly dressed in white appeared. They were two boys and a girl.

The first boy was very tall, well over 6 foot tall, and quite muscular. The white and elegant uniform had black edges and motifs all around, and it was adhered to the young man's body showcasing his well delineated muscles. His face was perfectly chiseled and his eyebrows thick and straight as if measured with a ruler.

The second boy was quite young looking, clearly 15 years old, with long dishevelled hair, he was carelessly dressed and yawned from time to time as if he was bored. His eyes seemed lost, as if he were in a world of his own.

As for the young lady, she was quite beautiful, with long green hair that fell to her waist, very thin and somewhat flat-chested, with a cold and haughty expression on her face. Her waist was very thin and her legs were long and elegant.

When these three extraordinary students entered the arena, most of the people present noticed them and couldn't help but start whispering among each other in excitement. The students were also somewhat exhilarated when they noticed them. Nerun somewhat left his stupor when he looked at the three students. 'Strong...' was the one word that came to his mind when he saw them.

Nerun finally composed himseld somewhat. He knew what was at stake. The Inner Class Ranking was about to begin.