"Emery Ambrose, the academy's new top 5!" said the Magus referee.
Bursts of excitement erupted from the crowd and spread throughout the arena as the young acolyte's victory was announced. Even the group of spectators that had just escaped danger by a hair's breadth seemed exhilarated by the battle they witnessed.
The only people who obviously didn't seem pleased were those of the Cross-Faction, who quickly pulled Shatter Cross from the arena in order to be treated.
Still in the center of the arena, Emery took a deep breath and glanced at a figure standing next to a wall a distance away.
Zach Talon, the dragon-bloodlined acolyte, stared back at him. Unspoken words were exchanged between them as the two looked at each other eye-to-eye, giving Emery the urge to immediately challenge the man right there and right at that moment.
However, he remained cool-headed and held himself back. He intended to thoroughly prepare himself before challenging the man once again.
As Emery walked out of the arena, many came to approach and congratulate him. The first person who immediately rushed toward him was Klea, who was soon followed by his acquaintances approaching one by one.
"Rank 5! Congratulations!" Klea rushed forward to give Emery a large congratulatory hug.
Among the others, one figure in particular was exceptionally excited. When the two's eyes met, she immediately congratulated him and, in an overly-friendly manner, went on about how she had been rooting for him ever since he first came to the Hyperion center.
It was the pink-haired Hyperion staff member, Magus Ramona.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtEmery could only give a wry smile as he listened without a word. Luckily, Klea quickly came to the rescue and politely diverted the topic to the dispersing crowd around them.
The event was over. When the group noticed that the masses had started to leave the arena, they also followed suit and headed to the main lobby together.
Finding an opportunity, Magus Ramona once again seized it to act friendly toward Emery and swiftly grabbed the wooden box filled with his rewards for this month.
"As you are now part of the top 5, here is the highest reward for you."
The wooden box was filled with 40 pieces of spirit foundation pills. In addition to the pills he owned prior, he now had a total of 95 pills.
Still, with a cheeky smile on her face, the magus reminded him that as long as he could hold the position of being in the top 5 for another two months, he would be able to receive the special reward of an A-rank Divine Art skill.
"But no need to worry. I believe none of them will dare to challenge you again after this," the magus remarked. Thinking about it, she couldn't help but chuckle in excitement.
Emery, however, didn't share the same sentiment. He believed that someone like the Metal Puppeteer or Anzi the Inhuman still posed a threat to him.
Not to mention, there was also Atlas, the half-machine acolyte who was his previous teammate.
However, Emery certainly had no intention of staying still and waiting for those people to take his place. Besides he still planned to fight the four figures above him.
And next in line was none other than Zach Talon.
While Emery was occupied by his thoughts, a huge commotion suddenly broke out around the lobby. Dozens of people were rushing in their direction out of the Hyperion center.
Klea quickly grabbed one of the acolytes running past them.
"What is going on!?"
The acolyte was a little startled by the sudden pull, but the excitement on his face didn't diminish the slightest as he energetically answered, "A duel! Another duel!!"
Emery looked at the acolyte who seemingly couldn't wait to leave. For him to be this excited even after watching Emery's duel just a few minutes ago, he had a vague idea why.
It must be a higher-rank duel, and the acolyte's next words confirmed his line of thought.
"It's Mahinder and Olivier! They're fighting for the number one position!!"
Upon hearing this, Emery, Klea, and even Magus Shena's faces lit up with excitement and the group looked at each other in understanding. They couldn't miss this.
The acolyte immediately rushed outside of the lobby, and the group quickly followed suit.
Apparently, this was the reason the solitary Mahinder came to watch him fight just now. The rank 2 acolyte was waiting for this duel.
A few miles away from the center of the arena, the bald acolyte stood calmly on one of the large boulders. He has a serene expression and his eyes were tightly shut as his hand was positioned on his chest. The young brown-skinned acolyte seemed to be meditating.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmIn just a few minutes, a crowd started to gather in the area. Having come here after hearing about the rumors, everyone there was now waiting for the arrival of Olivier, the number one.
Emery was no exception. He looked around to see where the first-ranked acolyte was, but there were still no signs of him.
Instead of Olivier, he noticed that Zach was also there among the crowd. As Emery looked around, a blond-haired girl approached him. It was Jinkan Nephilim.
The Nephilim girl only gave a short glance toward Klea and the others before turning toward Emery.
"Ambrose, have you seen any of them fight before?"
She didn't explicitly mention who she was referring to, but it wasn't hard to guess. The main characters of this event, the acolytes ranked first and second.
Emery shook his head and answered, "No, not yet."
The moment his answer reached her ears, Jinkan's lips curved into a smile.
"Good. Then I am sure you will enjoy this duel."
The blond-haired girl then turned her head toward the made-up arena and continued, "If people say that Zach and Eeshoo are geniuses, then those two are monsters. The magus universe would be elated to find such talent every hundred years, yet we now have two in the same year."
Just a moment later, Emery felt a powerful aura swiftly flying toward the plains.
A figure with a calm expression and his hands behind his back could be seen flying on a sword. The man had dark hair, and his privileged academy uniform was clearly revealed as his white robe fluttered in the wind.
"That's him! That's Olivier Arkland!"
When the crowd saw the figure in the air, fervent cheers of excitement immediately filled the arena.
The first-ranked acolyte slowly descended. Two figures now stood across one another in the middle of the open plains, ready to fight for the number one position.