"What are the conditions?" Michael asked in suspicion.
Alice hesitated for a moment, exposing herself. Something was definitely wrong.
"What is it?" Michael inquired once again.
"Well, it might sound a little weird, but your punishment can be removed if you participate in the Interdimensional Flag War in three months," Alice answered at last, revealing one of the conditions.
"What's that?" Michael asked, confused.
Participating in some event was enough to revoke his punishment? That didn't seem logical.
Alice understood Michael's confusion and gave him a helping hand, "You remember the Battle Exchange, the annual combat exchange of the Tritan Alliance's youngest generation, right?"
"Ah, yes. I remember…" Michael nodded, waiting for Alice to keep going.
"Some Great Nobles, including the Piedra and Lavita household demanded that your punishment be to participate in the Interdimensional Flag War against the Tekur. That means you will have to take part in the Battle Exchange in two weeks, and win at least three fights to become one of the Tritan Alliance's representatives in the Flag War."
'Ohhh, now I remember!' Michael nearly blurted out when Alice mentioned the Tekur.
He recalled Alice telling him about the Tekur and that they had created a Lesser Dimension Gate to infiltrate the Lumina Stellar System.
'Did they call it Flag War because of the Dimensional Pillars that have to be destroyed to prevent the Tekur from infiltrating?' Michael wondered before he gave it a shrug.
He was not really sure how the Interdimensional Flag War was related to not getting punished, but he didn't ask immediately. Michael thought about the Piedra and Lincoln household, not 100% sure whether Lincoln and Zeke had somehow influenced this, or if their family's involvement was a pure coincidence.
"How high do I have to be in the ranking to attend the Battle Exchange?" He asked, hoping to get answers to a few questions before he ended up even more confused.
"You have to become the Sun of the freshman year, or become one of the 12 Stars," Alice answered without hesitation.
There were only 13 spots for freshmen to attend the Battle Exchange. That was a little less than Michael expected, but it was not impossible. The freshmen were mostly his age, some even a little younger, and none of them had as many powerful Soultraits as he did.
"And I have to win three fights in the Battle Exchange to meet the criteria to join the Interdimensional Flag War. That's what you said, right?" Michael asked again, his mind rattling wildly.
The Battle Exchange was interesting for most students of the Saphirelake Military Academy because their families, households, clans, and guilds wanted to get closer to the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs. Both were old war races with exceptional combat prowess and large territories in the Origin Expanse. Growing closer to them would elevate their status in their family drastically.
Michael was also interested in them, but his curiosity was more in their knowledge than anything else. However, the Interdimensional Flag War seemed more interesting.
'Last time, Alice said that the Tekur are known for possessing powerful Soultraits. If I can…' Michael might have enough Soultraits for himself, but he was worried about Tiara.
Tiara had yet to gain any benefits from his Extraction of Soultrait Symbols and SoulStar Fragments. She would only accept Soultraits that were useful for her. That was only logical but it made things a little bit more problematic. They hadn't found anything Tiara liked until now.
'If Tiara had a strong defensive-type Soultrait, our combined efforts in the Lord Rift would have been enough to protect everyone.'
Michael sighed heavily. He thought about providing the Forest Elves with more Soultraits as well, but he didn't like that they could terminate their Link of Loyalty whenever they pleased. Providing them with more Soultraits, and upgrading them further was not something Michael would do without receiving something of an equivalent value. But Tiara was different.
While thinking about the Soultraits he could procure in the Lesser Dimension Gate by hunting the Tekur, Michael felt a little confused. For most other youngsters, the Lesser Dimension Gate was merely a training ground and a golden opportunity to realize that other races were extremely powerful, but for Michael, it was a golden opportunity to strengthen himself.
But did he really want to jump into danger once again? So soon after the terror and injuries he had sustained in the Lord Rift?
"You will have to kill at least one Tekur in the Flag War as well…that's the second criterion you have to meet to avoid punishment," Alice said, a heavy sigh escaping her lips soon after.
At this point, Michael was pulled back out of his train of thought. He was too confused to keep thinking about hunting the Tekur for their Soultraits and SoulStar Fragments.
"How is all of that related to my punishment? Shouldn't the academy be like 'You will have to compensate Mr. Klein and the twins for psychological and physical injuries, and you will be sent to detention for X days!'? They should at least give me a Mark, or something like that!" Michael blurted out, his voice containing a trace of desperation. It was almost as if Michael wanted to get punished.
"I thought someone schemed against me because of the Zenovia family's attempts to get closer to the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs. Why is there no setback, and why the hell did I have to listen to those bastards' comments, only to end up not getting punished?!?"
Alice stared at Michael after his sudden outburst, and her eyes widened a little. She didn't expect Michael to get that emotional all of a sudden. It took her a few seconds to understand why Michael reacted like that. Even then, Alice felt a little odd.
'Did he want to get punished for his actions? For satisfaction? No, probably not. Does he not like that others agree that he did the right thing?'
Almost everyone approved of Michael's actions after they saw the footage of the watchtower's security camera. Was that something Michael hated? Why? Wasn't it nice to receive approval for something like that? He broke the rules yet everyone supported him.
Michael didn't really understand himself either. He was not sure if he wanted to be punished. He hated the fact that the twins and Mr. Klein played with his emotions using his family, but he also knew that he should have handled the entire situation differently. He would rather get punished instead of receiving favoritism from Alice and others.
'Ah, I don't know anymore!' Michael screamed in his mind while trying to look fine on the outside.
"To get back to your first question… the relation between the punishment and the Interdimensional Flag War is a little bit complicated," Alice said in all honesty before she continued, "To put it in simple terms your punishment is to fight for mankind at the Interdimensional Flag War. As long as you obtain enough merit points, your punishment will be waived. That has been decided as per the voting of the military academy's Grand Elders."
Michael remained silent at that. He knew that he would spout nonsense if he opened his mouth right now. His emotional state was too delicate…once again.
Alice took the silence as a sign to continue, "The biggest investor of the academy questioned Mr. Klein's credentials. She demanded a detailed report about the reason the Zan Twins and Mr. Klein stalked a freshman for several days, why they provoked the freshman using confidential information they weren't supposed to have, in the first place, and why a teacher was not only unable to stop a freshman, but was also defeated by a freshman."
"The Investor also said that the Zan Twins should be thankful that you held back. You were obviously strong enough to leave them with permanent injuries, but you cut them cleanly, allowing them to reattach their arms without any issues. Adding the special treatment I provided, the investor said that you shouldn't be punished for teaching the Zan Twins a lesson as a fellow freshman. At the same time, Mr. Klein's professionalism and intentions were questioned," Alice said before adding lightly, "Overall, the situation was a little bit more complicated, but that bit–...the investor demanded that you shouldn't be punished."
'Who is that investor?' Michael wondered, continuing to listen to Alice.
"Unfortunately, the Investor was overruled by the Grand Elders, and the other families and households investing into the academy. Some were impressed by your strength, which included the Piedra and Lavita households. They said that it wouldn't be a good idea to be lenient with you. That would only cause more trouble in the future. Instead of waiving off your punishment, your strength should be used for humanity's sake."
"After a little bit of back and forth it was ruled that you have to use your own strength to participate in the Battle Exchange, be picked as a member of the Flag War and that you have to kill one Tekur. That will give you enough military merits in the name of mankind to have made up for your 'reckless behavior' and cancel your punishment. After all, the other party picked a fight, and you merely reciprocated their actions with force."
Michael was a little confused – quite a bit actually. However, the plan didn't sound too bad. It was definitely better than losing his War Rune.
There was just one thing that bothered him.
'They're not canceling my punishment but changing it in order to see how I perform. They definitely saw the video footage and are now curious about my power.'
