173 Chapter 173

It was almost as if no one had heard about them before now. Even more unpopular than Cassell high school was the student representing them- Sabrina.

An unknown entity getting to this point was an anomaly. It scarcely ever happened. How could anyone have missed her all through this while? Sure, she had fought well a couple of times, but there had been nothing really remarkable about her. Who the hell was this Sabrina anyway? Where had she come from? And what made her so remarkable that she had been able to make it to the finals?

These were the questions roaming through everyone's mind. They all had an idea or so of the teams and schools that would make it, but no one had accounted for an unknown contender. This spurred questions from every angle. While no one seemed to know who this girl was, there was one person seated amongst the spectators who wasn't completely oblivious of this girl's identity. Once again, Zavier Adam found himself in the shadow of the one percent that was in the know.

It was the weirdest thing really, Zavier actually remembered this Sabrina girl. His encounter with her was one of the fondest memories of this competition. She was the little girl that gave him an apple at the onset of the first game. Truly, Zavier hadn't met a kinder soul amongst the students and others all through his duration here. But why was she alone? Didn't she have a team before?

Judging from a few whispers and the slight gossip going around, Zavier was able to get her that Sabrina was the only one who had been recommended by Cassell High School this year. This was a very interesting bit of information. Zavier looked closely at the cute, petite, well mannered girl and wondered what kind of seismic activity was going on underneath all that front.

If she was all Cassell High school had to offer this year, then she must either be an outstanding stellar student, or just a product of some obscure school somewhere. Either way, she had attained this position all on her own. This was pretty amazing considering his first impression of her. Zavier was sure that he was going to be entertained.

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Valarie was a household name, a young legend of sort. But Wallice was on the edge of becoming the new Valarie. She herself was a force to be reckoned with, and her past achievements were still speaking for her. Wallice's family saw her as an up and coming prodigy. They had ridiculously high expectations for her and it served as a boost for her resolve. But unfortunately, this pressure also made her somewhat nervous.

Her anxiety had tripled during her stay here with her students. This was her first assignment as a lead teacher. Wallice had already set a tone for excellence with her past records. However, this time was very different. The success of this mission was resting solely on the shoulders of her students. Although Wallice had been trying her best no to make this about her, but she was counting on the fact that her students might make her a failure by being failures themselves.

This was the first time she had had to rely on others for her own success. It wasn't a great feeling at all. Nevertheless, she had done her part in prepping them for the competition ahead. Her fear of messing things up was illogical since, at the end of the day, it was the students who were going to compete after all.

Actually, Wallice hadn't been all too scared like this before. As someone who had done her own research on her students' potential enemies, she knew what to expect already. But learning about the strange trio that had the power to use Blood Blade- it had been a serious cog in her plans. And Wallice absolutely hated unforeseen eventualities. The thought of her students going up against a Blood Blade user had put her on edge basically all through the first part of the second round.

Especially when she knew that there were three yet to be identified skillful mages disiguised amongst the students. So, with each contender her students' faced, Wallice had watched with her heart beating wildly as they fought. It was exhausting never knowing which of the contestants was one of the mysterious trio with the ability to use Blood Blade. So, it was with great pride that she watched her student scale through each battle and come out victorious.

It was a thing of joy watching her students emerge among the final four teams. Not just as a personal achievement for her, but also because it was customary for the top four teams to be received by the president of the university himself; Galen. This was Wallice's honor as much as it was her students' and she was all too grateful for it. About sixty five percent of their problems were behind them now. All that was needed was just a follow through.

By this time, the end of second round of the competition was in sight now. It had been going on continuously for six days due to their number of contestants this year. There had been a lot of interesting battles, but eventually, it was time. Eventually, all contestants and lead teachers retired back to their respective dormitories. There was a lot of chatter about the students who would be honored the next day.

Of course there was some jealousy and all that mixed feelings that was to be expected. But none could contest the fact that they were all worthy. Well, maybe asides from Zavier Adam of course. They still thought of him as just another privileged scum hiding behind his skillful teammates and family connections.

At the crack of dawn the next day, the candidates to be honored rose to prepare themselves for the honor that was to be bestowed on them. Meeting the president of Caesar University was no small feat. Indeed, Galen was the closest thing to a deity around here. And so, his time was very valuable to him. Consequently, he alotted his time sparingly. There were thousands of students and even staff who never got to meet the old man one on one.

Wallice had left strict instructions to her students the previous day to be tardy. They didn't disappoint. Being the prudent one, Wallice had taken great care to make sure that her and her students were prepped for the encounter. Wallice left no stone unturned. From their speech to their mannerisms, and right down to their formal wears, she made sure that they were ready.

With the way and manner she had grilled them, one would have thought that they were going to meet the king or something.

"Be sure to hold back your tongue. Don't speak unless you're addressed directly. And when you do, don't embarrass me or your school by going overboard. Also, don't be too timid either."

They had all chorused a "Yes ma'am" like a bunch of mechanical automatons. Wallice wasn't playing at all. The students could sense it, she was even more intense than usual.

"I'm sure you all know this by now, but in case you've forgotten, allow me to remind you just who we're going to meet. This man right here isn't just the president of Caesar University, he is a legend in the wizarding world. He is the only remaining one of his kind. So, you will treat him accordingly! Understood?!"

Again they chirped the same song collectively; "Yes ma'am."

Like a hen gathering its chicks to the roost, Wallice led them all into the principal's office early the next morning. But it was way too early! Not even one of the other teams were present yet. Wallice took tardiness to a whole other level. She was a full hour earlier than the scheduled time. As she walked up to the secretary's desk with her students behind her, she looked every inch like an ambitious headmistress at a secondary school.

Even the secretary couldn't help but express her shock when she saw the smartly dressed bunch making their way towards her. Being the president's secretary who knew his schedule thoroughly, she instantly knew who they were and why they had come. But why were they so damn early? It was barely 6:45am!

"Good morning, and welcome to the office of the president of Ceasar University. How may I help you?"

Wallice returned her warm greetings. "Good morning.Miss. I would like to--" Wallice stopped when she realized something. Without warning, she turned to her students and reprimanded them sharply; "Will you greet the nice lady this moment!"

The secretary was about to protest that it wasn't necessary, but Ibneiah paved the way for the others and they greeted her.

"As I was saying madam secretary, we would like to see the president."

"So you have an appointment Miss?" The secretary knew fully well that they had an appointment, but she simply couldn't resist the urge to make Wallice confess the scheduled time of their meeting, so she could see just how awkward it was to be here so early.

Wallice took the bait. But with none of the shame or regret. "Yes, we have an 8am appointment."

"Okay. The president's schedule is currently open for now, please come with me."

"Thank you for squeezing us in miss, we feel honored."

The dutiful secretary stood up to usher the team and lead teacher into the president's office. Wallice once again gave the secretary a thankful nod and nervously made her way with her students into the office. On getting in, Wallice discovered that there were four people inside.