Chapter 67 Weak (1)

Chapter 67 Weak (1)

The atmosphere was tense and silent.

Hajin gazed at both of them from his sunglasses. He gave off a solemn vibe, intrinsically different from his usual actions.

Ragna lowered his head and did not reply. However, upon a closer look, one could see his body slightly trembling from rage.

Being disturbed from a great battle, Ragna was without a doubt thoroughly enraged. That was the simplest description of his emotions right now.

Ragna retracted his shaking fist. He raised his head, bluish and purplish veins protruding on his face from infallible anger. He turned around and slowly approached towards Hajin.

Thump... thump...

Menacing, that was the air he gave off.

It seemed like even the wind agreed as with each step he took the wind stilled, silent as though afraid.

It was like calm before the storm. A boiling silence permeated the battlefield—with all eyes directed to the towering man who resembled a children's nightmare.

"What..."

Slowly, Ragna crept upon Hajin and looked down on him. His voice was silent but deafening.

"...gave you the guts to interrupt my fight!? Hajin, do you want to die?!"

ROAR!

The scarlet dragons on his arms roared with him, thoroughly angered by Hajin's remarks from earlier. It was raging to attack at moments notice.

Coupled with the immense and terrifying aura emitting from his body, he truly resembled a demonic asura now.

However, there was no trace of fear or nervousness on Hajin's face despite that. It was as though there was nothing in front of him at all.

Although Ragna was stronger than him in almost every aspect, who said that was what defined who wins a fight?

'This is way beyond my pay grade...'

Hajin looked directly into Ragna's eyes, raising his brows. He sighed tiredly. Then, he raised his hand and lightly touched his black staff.

Hum—!

At that moment, both Ragna and Lance's pupils instantly dilated. They suddenly took a step back, with their expressions turning grave.

—!

It was a mere second, but they saw it. They saw a sudden flash appear and felt their limbs be suddenly sliced off in half.

It was no exaggeration.

Ragna and Lance gazed at Hajin grimly.

Although it was a mere feeling, they intuitively knew that it was a premonition—a warning of what would happen if they let their guards down against the man in front of them.

Instant defeat.

But... that was only if they let their guards down. If they were serious, it was unknown what could happen.

At that moment, Hajin rubbed his nose and smiled awkwardly.

"You know what? I don't wanna die today. Girls and wealth are nothing compared to life, so you guys can continue fighting. Go on, go on, don't mind me,"

Hajin sighed in regret and took a step back. He waved his hands casually, acting as though nothing had just happened.

Lance furrowed his brows and opened his mouth. But before he could even speak, he suddenly heard Ragna laugh boisterously.

"Hahahahahaha! It seems... I was not wrong about you. You have the air of an apex predator. A hidden dragon. It's not difficult to convince me, I'll go back with you as long as you promise to fight me too."

"Nu-uh,"

Hajin instantly shook his head. I'm not crazy enough to fight a guy like you... Go ask that saintess chick or something, she's definitely crazy enough...

Probably.

However, Ragna was not surprised by his instant rejection. He laughed with immense excitement instead.

"That's good! We will fight in the academy, with no disruptions. Of course, that's after I beat up your cousin first...!"

Merely from the entrance exam, he had already encountered several opponents worth fighting. That was a cause for celebration!

Ragna was truly delighted to find plenty of worthy opponents. All of the anger brought by being disturbed in a fight was immediately washed away.

There was always time to fight later.

Near them, Lance quietly deactivated Noble Light and immediately felt a sense of weakness assault him from inside.

But because he experienced it countless times already in the past, he was already used to it and brushed it off easily.

Feeling slightly empty, Lance snorted. Beside him, a shadow suddenly crept up and Yoru appeared with a slight bow.

"I suggest that we should take a step back and meet the person they were talking about, Lance."

Hearing that, Lance frowned. That was originally the plan... but now he had a bad feeling about what was going to happen if he did, but he nodded in agreement regardless.

I'll go meet that person then.

***

On the checkmark, Elias sat on top of a six-meter tall golem's body. He wore a calm, amused smile and reached out his hand.

"You're Lance Schultz, right? My name is Elias Corleone. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"...It's a pleasure to meet you too."

Lance nodded, rather surprised. He reached out his hand and accepted the handshake. He observed the man in front of him.

The man was charismatic and handsome, for the lack of a better word. He had short white hair and wore a formal black suit, while his skin was white and pale, he possessed a calming air that naturally gravitated other people around him.

Furthermore, from the man's mere smile and actions—one could subtly discern a display of overwhelming confidence with disregard for everything.

Brilliant and rebellious, supported by his head-strong black eyes that could seemingly triumph over any insurmountable challenge.

From his impression of Ragna and Hajin, he faintly expected the one—the man—leading them both to be an unreliable person as well.

'This person is definitely not simple... but why haven't I heard of him?'

Color him surprised, Lance thought as he looked at Elias. However, the next few words that came out of the man's mouth made him immediately stunned.

"Now, let's get straight into business. I'll let you and your friend go if you give me your fragments. All of them."

Elias spoke while his smile faded, his gaze turned cold as it leered down on Lance from above the golem's head.

Robbing.

Although the inner circle exam tested the teamwork of a group to pass, there were certain loopholes participants could use to pass.

If you have no team or your efficiency is too low as a group, then resorting to robbing other people of their puzzle fragments could be your only choice.

Lance also thought of that, but unfortunately, the current participants that reached the inner circle were very few, so there were close to none to rob.

As for the Arcane Academy punishing them for their actions?

Nonsense.

This world was not a just one. Wherever power existed, there was bound to be a classification of the weak and strong.

In a world where strength could triumph over even an army of men, the authority of the world belonged to the strong.

Weak were the prey of the strong. All the factions and guilds in the world followed that philosophy although in a very subtle manner. nov-ELu,sb/c.0.m

As long as you're strong enough in this world, it will follow your way. Even Arcane Academy followed this philosophy and taught it to their students.

This world... does not take kindly to the weak.