Chapter 263: First Place

"It shouldn't be a problem now, right?" Leonel said calmly. "Please allocate me amongst the lower age bracket. There's no need to make wild guesses and conjectures any longer."

There seemed to be nothing wrong with Leonel's words, but they were laced with a hidden sarcasm that gave away his immaturity. It seemed that he wasn't very good at controlling his emotions, but this only made sense. He was still a teenage boy. 

However, none of that mattered. He was in the right. All of Lamorak's diligent planning went to waste. Never did he think that Leonel would actually have the ability to cast such a spell. 

In the stands, Lionus smiled. 

'This Leonel. It seems his true self is coming out more and more everyday. If Lamorak keeps pushing his buttons, he might not light the ultimate result.'

Without a choice, Leonel was allowed to enter the lower age bracket. 

From start to finish, the two with the highest authority — King Arthur and Queen Guinevere — didn't say a single word. They didn't step forward to help Lamorak, nor did they say anything in favor of Leonel. It seemed they were intent on being spectators to the end. 

As rulers of a Kingdom, they had long since become accustomed to internal strife. Though it was a bit surprising that Leonel could cast a Two Star Magus Art, it wasn't as surprising as killing two Demon Lords. So in the end, it was still acceptable. 

Like this, Leonel steam rolled through the lower age bracket. 

He didn't want to give Lamorak another excuse to target him, so since he was taking part in the Mage Academy selection, he used nothing but Mage Arts from start to finish, not pulling out his spear even once. In fact, he didn't need to use anything but Apprentice Arts. 

His skill and battle sense caught the attention of many of the elites of Camelot. With each passing moment, he only impressed them more. Despite knowing that he was being watched by so many powerful beings, he was still able to maintain his calm, taking control of the battlefield with practiced ease. 

The truth was that while they were impressed, Leonel was not. He could cast faster, his Spirit Pressure reserves were larger and his ability was created to be calculative. If he couldn't defeat them, he would be no more than a joke. 

Leonel knew that it would be almost impossible to find those with his level of strength at his age within the Third Dimension. Only those born in higher Dimensions would be able to match him. 

Soon, the result was obvious. 

Leonel proceeded not to lose a single battle and claim the first spot amongst the lower age bracket.

Within the middle age bracket, two young men stood side by side as they watched this with cold expressions. 

In truth, if an [Age Detection] was cast on them, it would be found that they were in their mid-30's. They had already bended the rules to battle it out with Leonel and force him into a loss. But, they had never expected such a result.

The reason they could get away with such a thing was because they were merely the servants of the Lamorak Knightship. Since they were orphans, they could use the same excuse of not knowing their own age as well. In addition, since they were mages, they looked younger than they really were. 

The truth was that though they had cold expressions, they were inwardly sighing breaths of relief. If they were caught, the one to suffer obviously wouldn't be Lamorak, but themselves. It could be said that Leonel had saved them as well, in a way…

Leonel accepted his first place token and turned to leave, not sparing a glance toward Lamorak again. Whether this matter would end with just this was still up in the air. 

Lamorak coldly watched as Leonel left. 

It could be said that he lost all face today without anything to show for it. However, he didn't feel hatred toward Leonel. 

He didn't do this because he hated Leonel. He simply didn't want Camelot to raise a snake in its grasses. Since this didn't work, he just had to think of something else.

**

Leonel retreated to his living quarters. However, there was no happiness on his face. Instead, his gaze was suffused with a cold light.

After a moment, he laid down a few auxiliary protection and detection spells before entering the Segmented Cube's Lab Setting. There were still two months left until the leaving date. So, he had to be prepared. 

First he needed to complete his glove craft. After that, he would have to bite the bullet and make some utility treasures. Before, he didn't want to waste the precious ores he obtained from the Project Hunt island because they were simply too difficult to gather and he wanted to save them for his Divine Armor, but now he had no choice. 

Lamorak seemed to believe that it would be a simple matter to deal with him. However, he had never been a pushover. 

As Leonel began to meditate, the cold determination within him only grew. 

He knew very well that at that moment, within the arena, the 100 or so elites of Camelot were discussing the placement of the youths the selection had just chosen. However, whether or not the position promised to him would be given to him was still up in the air. 

There were three reasons Leonel chose to come back to Camelot despite knowing this would be a possibilty. After all, he had already been burned once by returning to the Royal Blue Fort. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice without reason. 

The first reason was information. He simply didn't know enough about the Merlin Trials. Had he not returned, he would have no idea that the opening was still so many months away despite the appearance of that pillar of light. 

The second reason was due to the side quests. Completing and clearing this Zone perfectly required Leonel to have a good relationship with Camelot. If he didn't, it would be several times more difficult. He didn't want to break off relations unless he absolutely had to. 

And, finally… it was the Knight Academy. Leonel had still not gotten the opportunity to read through the libraries of the knights. It was very possible that the information they held would help better his Dreamscape. 

Thankfully, this selection provided a unique opportunity. The regulations of the academies had been relaxed so that students could improve in the time leading up to the opening. 

Leonel would take advantage of this time. He didn't know what trials lay ahead of him. For all he knew, his conjectures about the higher Dimensional Beings interfering with this Zone might all be wrong. But, the one thing he wouldn't be was unprepared. 

As expected, just as Leonel was beginning to lay out his plans, the debate between the elites of Camelot had begun.