A month had passed in the World Academy, and right now, Asher was standing in front of Xander who had called him to his office.
"So, I've gotten clearance from the Faculty Council," Xander said as he looked at Asher.
"But I have a condition before I hand it over to you," Xander added, with a stern look on his face.
"What is it?" Asher asked.
"It's simple, stop using the Space Element; you're strong enough without it," Xander said.
It was obvious why Xander suggested such terms; after all, using the Space Element was extremely harmful for the caster.
If it were someone else, Asher would have outright denied them, but he knew that Xander was different from others.
"You don't have to worry about it," Asher said.
"What if I tell your family that you're using the Space Element?" Xander asked, fully aware that the Kalvas Gala was about to happen.
"You can, and they won't stop me," Asher replied.
"Okay," Xander said, stopping his persuasion of Asher.
From this conversation alone, Xander could deduce that Asher could use the Space Element without much harm, and it was related to his family.
He knew where the limits were in asking such things from Asher.
"You can enter the Great Forest, but don't go beyond the Blue Area," Xander said as he handed a token to Asher.
"This is a special token that you can use to enter and exit the Great Forest," Xander explained.
He kept his word and persuaded the Faculty Council to allow Asher to enter the Great Forest.
Usually, the Council would have opposed such decisions as it looked like they were favoring one student, but Zacram and Neyman also showed their support to Xander, which quelled the opposition.
The fact that Asher could fight C Rank Monsters and had managed to defeat Blake Cranston in a spar helped Xander secure the rights for Asher to enter the Great Forest.
Xander glanced down at a message he had received from his younger brother.
He immediately read it, called his brother, and a hologram appeared. On the other side was the current head of the Demarcus Family.
"Brother, aren't you going to the Kalvas Gala this time either?" He asked,
"No," Xander replied.
"Why don't you worry about your daughter who keeps messing with others with her words," Xander said.
"Wait, did Venessa cause any problems?" His younger brother asked with a worried look on his face.
"I have handled them quietly, but tell her to behave like a student from a normal background if she wishes to stay hidden," Xander said.
"Umm, I will tell her," The Demarcus Head replied, but from his expression, it was clear he wouldn't say anything.
After all, he knew how indulgent his younger brother was when it came to his daughter.
Xander looked at the golden letter that he had received, the invitation to the Kalvas Gala.
For the last 20 years, Xander hadn't attended a single Gala.
***
There were 10 sites where the Kalvas Gala was held, but the final location was only disclosed when the invitations were sent.
The previous location was set in Desmar, but after the previous heist, they changed it as the head of the Levoure Family, Cristina Levoure, decided to host it in Somaria, on a Flying Island.
There were multiple flying islands across Somaria, and this one was far from Soran, and closer to the City of Vernes, where the World Association Headquarters were located.
"We have arranged the accommodations for the Elite Families," The Manager reported to Cristina Levoure, who herself was present on the Flying Island.
It was a week before the Kalvas Gala would open, and as the host, Cristina could choose to change the theme and a few other things with the approval of a select group from the Small Association that managed the entire Gala every year.
Most of them were individuals that were recruited by the joint decision of the High Council, ensuring they remained neutral at all times.
Cristina looked at the layout, and it was exactly she had told them to make it to be.
'Yes, keep these people away from each other,' Cristina thought in her head.
The Levoure family was incredibly respected among the upper society, and that was because of their connections to the elite families. That's why they were given full authority to customize the Gala to their liking.
But there was another reason why the Levoure family was so respected: Cristina's husband was the son of one of the Vice Chairmen of the World Association.
The power structure of the World Association was distributed among three SSS Rank Hunters. The first was Osber Tarvian, who was the Chairman of the World Association and held the most power. However, there were two others who also worked to keep him in check.
These two Vice Chairmen oversaw the two factions within the World Association.
One faction was responsible for maintaining peace and stability over the world.
The second faction, the one to which Cristina's father-in-law belonged, was responsible for managing the Dungeons throughout the world.
All three of them had their own authorities and power they wielded over the World Association.
"Gather all the people responsible for greeting the guests," Cristina instructed as she turned and looked at the majestic castle that was the venue for this Kalvas Gala.
All the 10 locations had castles, their layouts were similar, but the designs were completely different.
Preparations went into full swing as Cristina Levoure personally changed the way this Gala needed to be presented.
"I will make sure this Gala is memorable," Cristina declared, unaware at the time that even without her extra efforts, this Gala would be something people would never forget.
At the World Academy, Asher looked at the C Rank Mana Gem he had purchased from the Trade Market of the World Academy. He had purchased two of them.
"Take this," Asher tossed one of them in the air as a black shadow came out of his right hand and wrapped itself around the mana gem.
[Rifir has absorbed the Mana Gem]
[Rifir has reached Level 9]
Asher looked at the small snake which had grown a bit bigger.
"Can I get more?" Rifir asked, its blood iris eyes staring at Asher.
"No," Asher rejected Rifir as he wanted to use the C Rank Gem for himself.
He was about to step inside his training room when he received a video call from Sylvie. He accepted the call, and Sylvie's face appeared on the hologram.
"So how is my lovely son doing," Sylvie asked with a smile on her face. It was hard to contact Asher as he spent most of his time training.
"I am fine, mom," Asher replied as he put his sword back into his spatial ring.
"Were you training?" Sylvie asked.
"Yeah," Asher replied.
"Don't push yourself too hard," Sylvie reminded Asher.
"Well, I wanted to ask if you wanted us to choose a partner for the Gala," She asked.
"No," Asher replied.
"Well, if you change your mind do tell us, and Amelia told me you are not leaving on the First Day?" Sylvie asked.
"I will arrive after the Auction," Asher said.
"Inform Emmy before you leave the World Academy, she will arrange everything," Sylvie told Asher.
"You can go train now," Sylvie said with a smile as she disconnected the call.
Sylvie's smile faded away as she looked at the list of people from the Abyss Corporation that were found to be selling information to outsiders. After the death of one of their executives, Sylvie received a report about the executive selling information of Abyss Corporation.
"Kill them all," Sylvie said as she handed the report to her secretary.
"As you wish," The secretary took the report and left the room.
It was obvious that removing all the moles was not possible as some would still survive, but her actions would instill fear in those that wanted to betray the Abyss Corporation.
Sylvie looked at Arthur who was sitting in her office, casually looking at the reports of people that worked in the Abyss Corporation.
"Who is handling the guild work?" Sylvie asked.
"The old man, of course, I deserve a vacation sometimes as well," Arthur said with a smirk on his face.
"Should I also go and train to become SS Rank?" Sylvie asked as she looked at Arthur.
"Wait, then who will handle the Abyss Corporation," Arthur asked.
"Of course you," Sylvie replied.
"Sure, but don't complain if I mess things up," Arthur replied as he shrugged his shoulders.
