After the Battle Exchange started, Alice Zenovia and the other Professors of the Saphirelake Military Academy had a hard time befriending the higher-ups of the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs. The cultural differences were a lot larger than they had anticipated, and the Dean of the Octagon Council didn't really help Alice and the other Professors either.
On the contrary, the Dean and the representatives of the Big Five Universities and the Great Three Academies were trying their utmost to hold back the representatives of the Saphirelake Military Academy. They wanted to keep their benefits to themselves and continue to develop their relationship with the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs. Thus, the Saphirelake Military Academy was a thorn in their eyes. The Military Academy was clearly trying to squeeze and push its way through before throwing everyone aside.
It was only obvious that the heads of the Great Three and the Big Five didn't look happy with this.
Therefore, Alice Zenovia, Oliver Zeus, and Ophelia Blaze had a hard time getting close to the Berserker Chieftain, and the War Priestess. They were always surrounded by the Dean of the Octagon Council and the other representatives. It was truly a nuisance.
Fortunately, the events on the second day of the Battle Exchange created a great opportunity for Alice, Oliver, and Ophelia to move near the heads of the Berserker race and the Warlock race. As the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs grew more aggressive in the battles against human Awakened, some representatives of the Big Five Universities made some unpleasant comments.
The comments earned them a deadly glare from the Chieftain and the War Priestess. Afterward, they began to ignore the representatives. Taking advantage of that, Alice pushed past them.
"Looks like we finally gained some recognition," Alice said just loud enough for a few people around her to hear.
The Chieftain was one of the people who heard her. They had been observing the Duo discipline's battles from the VIP section where nobody could bother them – or that was how it was supposed to be. Unfortunately, most representatives of the human race didn't know when to keep their mouths shut. They couldn't enjoy the welcoming sight of a fierce battle when it unraveled in front of them.
However, the frosty female human, who appeared next to him didn't say much – and the few words she said weren't unpleasant to her. Her words showed that she understood the reason the Berserkers were fighting more aggressively all of a sudden. That was more than the Chieftain expected after hearing the comments of the other human representatives.
"Allies are supposed to show their true selves in battle. How else are they supposed to get to know each other?" The Chieftain asked while turning his head back to the center of the Underground Colosseum.
Alice nodded her head in response. Seeing that the Chieftain had given her some attention, Alice figured that it was not time to strike. Her family had researched the Berserker race and Warlock Centaurs for months. Their extensive network system had been used to collect countless reports about their allies, and Alice studied every single report.
She spent several months preparing for this day, and she wouldn't let it slip past her fingers.
Other representatives would have been angry at the little attention they received, but Alice knew that the Battle Exchange was an important event for the Berserkers and the Warlock Centaurs. The war-loving races competed with the human Awakened with all their might to determine who would be the leading force in the Interdimensional Flag War. Everyone wanted to be the leading force, but that was not possible.
To fight the Tekur race head-on, they were in need of a united team, trust, and explosive power. Having a single entity leading the rest would make things much easier than a loose group of a thousand Awakened thrown into the Lesser Dimension Gate – especially with the Tekur race being their common enemy. Fighting alone against the Tekur race was similar to committing suicide. That was something the Chieftain and the War Priestess had realized after they were nearly annihilated in a single attack from a Tekur powerhouse.
Without the help of the human Lord, they would have died, and the portal connecting the Tritan Alliance and the Tekur race wouldn't have been altered, preventing powerhouses from slipping through.
Alice used every piece of information that had been stored in her mind to her advantage. Since her earlier words had been enough to garner the Chieftain's interest, Alice continued to drop a few sentences here and there. She didn't speak a lot, but every sentence she said clearly pointed out that she had extensive knowledge about the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs.
Others tried to copy her tactic, but they failed after a few minutes. They approached the Chieftain without patience or preparation, resulting in angry outbursts and frustration.
The Chieftain continued to ignore them. He merely answered some of Alice's questions once he realized that Alice had done her homework and took her time to find out more about their allies, the way they thought, and why they acted the way they did. Other representatives might have done some research, but it was beneath them to actively spend weeks, if not months, of their valuable time as powerful Lords and higher authorities of the human race to learn more about their allies. They didn't think it was necessary to learn everything since they could do so in the future.
Palika Mavenham, the Chieftain, didn't like this sentiment. He would rather be in possession of too much information than lacking important pieces of information.
But that was also why he regretted his lack of interest in a particular individual after their first encounter. As the Berserker's Chieftain, he had been too busy in the last few weeks. He had been unable to research a certain individual of the human race's youngest generation.
Thinking about the young man with eyes that were as dark as the night, and short black hair, Palika Mavenham looked across the spectator area. He had yet to see the young human, whom he had encountered in the Library and in the Ulran Arena.
The clock struck midnight and Duo discipline ended after dozens of fierce battles. Many Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs were excited because they finally found some worthy allies to fight against with their full power. Unfortunately, It would take a few more minutes before the teams for the Team discipline would enter the combat rings.
After his gaze moved past the spectator area, the Chieftain observed the representatives of their allies. He looked at the emblems and medals that were fastened to the representatives' clothes, indicating the place they represented. However, a particular emblem attracted his interest. The emblem was a small sapphire-colored lake drawn in front of a humongous tower.
It was the emblem of the Saphirelake Military Academy attached to the collar of the young woman standing next to him – the same emblem that had been attached to the black-haired youth's clothes.
A tinge of interest flickered in the Chieftain's eyes when he realized that the woman and the young man were from the same place.
However, before he could ask something, the exclamation of the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs in the arena attracted his attention.
The first teams of the Team Combat discipline had entered the arena.
"Oh? That is…unexpected," Oliver Zeus exclaimed next to Alice all of a sudden.
Alice had noticed the curious glance from the Chieftain earlier, and she wanted to say something, but both Oliver and Ophelia distracted her.
"Why didn't you tell us that your little brother has applied for the Team discipline with Berserkers and a Warlock Centaur? Didn't you say that your brother is leaning toward being anti-social? Teaming up with strangers doesn't really seem anti-social to me…" Ophelia Blaze complained to Alice.
Alice's head flicked to the combat rings, and her ice-cold expression crumbled for the first time in a while.
'What is Kaleb doing there?' She nearly blurted aloud.
Since they arrived in Piloq, Alice had been too busy to take care of her brother. But that was fine with Kaleb as he didn't like being treated like a little child. He hated that Alice pampered him, which was also why she had to promise her little brother not to bother him after arriving in Piloq.
But that was even more reason for Alice to end up confused. She knew Kaleb better than anyone else. Kaleb was not as hard to approach as Alice, but he didn't bother getting close to other people. It was hard to become his friend and to stay friends with him for a long period.
Yet, Alice's little brother ended up being the only team consisting of the three races of the Tritan Alliance. How was that possible?
"There he is."
Alice heard the Chieftain's voice to her right and turned around. She was still shocked, but Alice would never forget the mission the Zenovia house had given her.
Her gaze followed the direction the Chieftain looked at, only to end up staring at Kaleb and his team again.
"Huh?" She blurted out, the confusion in her voice apparent.
"I wasn't eavesdropping, but your colleague was rather loud," The Chieftain said all of a sudden, "The blue-haired youth is your brother, and not Michael, right?"
It took Alice a moment to register that the Chieftain was speaking to her. Afterward, a few more seconds of doubt passed until some words slipped through her lips.
"Kaleb is my brother, yes…but how do you know Michael?"
The Chieftain glanced at Alice from the corner of his eyes, and his lip curled upward ever so slightly.
"I had two encounters with this kid before, one more surprising than the other," Palika acknowledged before he added, "...let's hope that the third encounter is even more surprising."
