The sound of continuous tapping on a hard surface resounded through a large hall where close to a hundred men and women ranging from their 20s to their 100s were seated around a large table.
Dozens of holographic screens were projected above the table, attracting the interest of the men and women seated around.
'Did I see correctly?'
A perfectly normal thought popped into Alice Zenovia's mind after she watched the battle between Lincoln Piedra and Michael Fang.
Her fingernails drummed against the table's surface rhythmically until she decided to open the starnet messenger. She opened the chat with Michael and typed a short message.
[Alice Zenovia: Are you a Triple Awakened?]
Her eyes remained glued on the chat for a few minutes until she realized that Michael wouldn't answer her anytime soon.
Alice leaned back in her seat and clicked her tongue as she was deep in thought. Some of the people seated near Alice looked at her pointedly for a moment, causing Alice to straighten her back once again.
Even if she was from the Zenovia family, there were enough people of higher status present right now. Offending them was one of the last things on her mind.
During events like the Real Combat assessment, the Instructors, Professors, and other staff responsible for education in combat would meet up, analyze their students' combat prowess, and determine what most students lacked. It was important to know what the masses lacked to fix their bad habits and give everyone a chance to improve.
They watched the recordings of certain fights – which the supercomputer deemed exceptional using specific parameters.
"I think we should pay more attention to Silva Ori. He deserves a few bonus points for defeating an opponent, who was at a higher stage, and in possession of an advantageous Soultrait. His usage of the Quarz Oath Saber technique was pretty good," One of the Professors said aloud.
He waved his hand, expanding the screen on which the fight of a young silver-haired man wielding a white sword was being displayed.
"His comprehension of the sword is pretty good," An old man seated at the large table murmured to himself, "If he continues to fight well, using the heart of the sword to improve his technique's proficiency, I might take him in as a personal student. It should be worth a try."
Some of the Professors and Instructors looked at the old man with slight surprise.
Everyone present had the authority to give certain students bonus points, and Saphire points if they fought greatly against certain opponents. They could also pick a few students and focus teaching on them privately – if the students had compatible Soultraits, fighting styles, and suitable personalities.
However, it was not often that the teaching staff picked students to teach privately. It cost a tremendous amount of time, and effort to teach students individually, and it could cause conflicts between certain families with frail egos.
"By the way, what's with the student you recommended, Professor Zenovia?" The young Professor next to Alice Zenovia asked.
It was Oliver Zeus, who had been with Alice in Elyra.
Alice heard what Oliver said, but she could only sigh and take another glance at the chat on starnet messenger.
"I'm not sure…"
"Not sure? Hearing something like that from you…feels weird," Ophelia Blaze joined the conversation by pushing Oliver's head to the side.
Oliver Zeus was seated between Ophelia and Alice. Ophelia hated that, but she could make use of the opportunity to torture the idiot of the Zeus family a little bit more. That was more than enough to make up for the seating arrangements.
Alice could only give Ophelia a shrug. She also knew that her behavior was not normal. However, Michael's fight confused her.
It didn't make any sense, no matter how hard she thought about it.
'Was that why the Karmatic Compass broke before it came to a conclusion?' She mused in her mind when her gaze fell on a holographic screen not too far from her.
It displayed Michael's fight against Lincoln Piedra. The supercomputer awarded the fight with two stars, indicating that it had noticed something odd about the fight.
One of the older folks present at the table noticed the familiar appearance of the Piedra household's descendants and expanded the holographic screen to have a better view.
A few more instructors and professors noticed the video after it had been expanded. They created a copy and opened the video in front of them on their screens to watch it without having to move from their seats.
"Lincoln Piedra, the descendant of the Piedra household. I didn't know that he also came to our academy. The next Battle Exchange will be very interesting with him present!" An Instructor mumbled loud enough for many to hear.
They agreed with a subtle smile on their faces. It was only obvious that Lincoln would become a very valuable asset to the Saphirelake Military Academy, whether it was for their image, or the Battle Exchange in half a year.
Lincoln was already a Tier-2 Lord, and he was in possession of a 6-Star Soultrait. As long as he was nourished patiently, he would grow strong enough to affect the result of the next Battle Exchange.
More professors opened a holographic screen to inspect Lincoln's battle. They watched it with great interest, only to notice that something changed in the midst of the battle.
"Did he lose control of his Soultrait? Wait. What is his opponent doing?! This kid is suicidal…" One of them blurted out, while another one added as he saw the fierce glint in Michael's eyes after the referee intervened, "His fighting spirit is not bad. Look at his eyes!"
"This student is just a Tier-1 Lord but he managed to keep up against Lincoln pretty long. That's not too bad. Wait…isn't he using 3 Soultraits at once?" An old woman asked in doubt after she rewatched the battle.
She noticed that Lincoln's opponent used two Soultraits right off the bat and chose to open the files that had been documented about Michael Fang. Only two Soultraits had been mentioned in the records.
However, the moment Lincoln broke his opponent's arm, something changed. Lincoln couldn't keep his Soultrait materialized, and his opponent began bleeding from his nose.
"Three Soultraits? I thought he was using the enchantments of his Artifacts…but Tier-1 Artifacts shouldn't be strong enough to forcefully terminate the usage of Lincoln's 6-Star Soultraits…that's right! Is that kid really in possession of three Soultraits? What a lucky bastard!" Oliver Zeus grumbled while shoving Ophelia back into her seat.
Ophelia grumbled something incomprehensible about wanting to sit closer to Alice, but she stopped herself from fighting Oliver for his seat.
Meanwhile, Alice wasn't even paying attention to Oliver, or Ophelia.
"His third Soultrait should be a 3-Star Soultrait that affects the mind if it can disturb Lincoln to such an extent. That's pretty good! But…if he is using three Soultraits simultaneously, shouldn't he be one of the special students? I have never seen this kid…" One of the younger Instructors said while sensing that a golden opportunity unraveled in front of him.
"Michael Fang…" The old woman mumbled before she shook her head, "That doesn't ring a bell. I've never heard of this kid before."
"If nobody has ever heard of him, he must be from an ordinary background," The young Instructor said with a tinge of excitement before adding, "I'll take him then. His fighting spirit is calling to me!"
"Delvis, your Soultrait is not suitable. You don't understand the struggle of possessing multiple low-level Soultraits. It's much better for someone like me to teach him," One of the female instructors suddenly added.
She was in possession of two low-level Soultraits, which she could use to fight against opponents who had much stronger Soultraits. Her combo attacks were feared by many, even the prodigies of influential families. It was justifiable for her to teach someone like Michael.
Michael's combat prowess didn't stand out too much compared to other freshmen, but he had three combat related Soultraits, and his fighting spirit was not to be underestimated as well. As long as he was taught properly, he would turn into a frightening opponent!
This was also something Alice understood after watching Michael's battle against Lincoln. However, she couldn't feel happy right now. Alice felt frustrated, realizing that Michael had never exposed his full potential to her. And now, she pondered whether she had done enough to lure him, or if he required more bait to trust her wholeheartedly.
She was just about to release her anger when the sound of a notification dragged her out of her thoughts. The sound rang in her ears, causing her body to respond subconsciously.
[Michael Fang: Maybe I have three Soultriats, maybe I don't. Are you asking this as a Professor of the Saphirelake Military Academy, or as Alice Zenovia?]
Alice didn't even realize it at first, but the corners of her lip curled upward. Michael's cheekiness was something she couldn't get tired of.
He was different from the dogs, wagging their tails in front of her, praising her day in and day out for being a prodigy.
"You cannot get him," Alice mumbled, barely loud enough for those with a strong hearing sense to hear.
Oliver Zeus, Ophelia Blaze, and the others turned to her at once upon hearing her.
"Of course, we can compete to determine who'll be the best to teach him, but don-..." The female Instructor said before looking over to Alice, whose eyes were as cold as a glacier.
"He is mine!" Alice retorted sharply.
Hmmm?
What was she talking about?
Alice noticed something and cleared her throat.
"I recommended him, so I'm using my right of priority," She said, before slowly but fiercely adding, "He. Is. Mine!!"
Alice's eyes brimmed with confidence and the desire to beat up everyone who was daring enough to take away what belonged to her.
