360 Crumble
The tournament continued as the Second Year Final Match was getting near.
"Do you think you will win?" Reece asked as he looked at Leonard.
They were sitting in the VIP Room, as the Third and Fourth Year matches would start after the First and Second Years were finished.
"Do you think I won't?" Leonard as he leaned back into his seat.
Reece just smiled, and Leonard ignored him.
Blood Faction was Leonard's personal idea, so Reece had no hand in it.
Reece was supporting Raelyn because she was his fiance.
"You should worry about your match," Leonard said.
"This match would have been easier if the product was delivered on time," Reece replied,
"Mana Crystals, there were simply not enough to make a stable one for you," Leonard replied.
"And you know I want you to crush Jayden Hargrave more than anyone," Leonard said as he smiled widely, looking back at Reece.
Reece didn't reply as he kept observing Leonard.
Both of them were friends, but they always kept observing each other.
It was difficult to claim that something like trust existed between the two, as they were so alike.
This similarity was why Leonard appreciated Reece, kept him close, and even involved him in the business plan he intended to launch after graduating from World Academy.
"You sure enjoy playing with others," Reece remarked.
"That makes the two of us," Leonard responded.
"Hahaha," Reece laughed.
"But, what about Asher Greville?" Reece asked.
"Didn't you say you would talk with him," Leonard spoke.
"I will be graduating, so it's up to you now," Reece replied.
"Let him do what he wants for now," Leonard told Reece.
"The plan is already pushed back because of the appearance of the calamities and all the mess after it," Leonard said, looking at Reece.
"And that means we have more time to get things done properly," Leonard added.
Reece got up to leave.
"Good luck with your plans," Reece waved his hand as he left the room.
"He is surely planning something," Reece muttered in the hallway.
Half an hour went by as the Final of the Second Year was about to start.
"Rank 1 Blake Cranston vs Rank 2 Velmond Louis, the final match of the Second Year!!" Gazil announced.
"Hehe, go easy on me," Velmond said as he looked at Blake.
The fight started as everyone saw Blake go all out from the start.
"He is not that bad compared to his older brother," Xarax said, glancing at Joseph, who was sitting there with a calm look on his face.
Joseph knew that Blake was learning under Cade, but he never interfered with their training.
'He has improved a bit,' Joseph noticed, but the rumors about Blake losing to Asher in a spar upset him.
Although Cade made sure it didn't spread, it was hard to control rumors like these when so many people were witnesses of the spar.
Even Blake was aware that his value in Joseph's eyes had gone down a lot after that incident.
Even his Rank 1 Status became dull just because he lost to a Rank 1, and that's why this match was a great way to suppress the rumors that were going around about him.
Rotating his grip, Blake brought down his sword at high speed, which Velmond dodged barely, but the impact of the sword made a huge cut in the ground.
"That was close," Velmond glanced at the power behind that attack.
He was aware of Blake's intentions, but even for Velmond, who was C Rank Hunter, a Peak C Rank's attack was a lot to handle.
'He is quite serious about this,' Velmond thought.
He only stuck with Blake because he was from the Cranston Family, and his own family wanted him to stay close to Blake.
'Is he trying to overshadow Asher Greville's win?' Velmond as he frowned, seeing Blake's movement.
Even though he was Rank 2 and the difference between their strength wasn't that big either, when Blake used his Sword Art and the techniques he learned from his family, Velmond was no match for him.
The sword art that could control the momentum was something quite hard to deal with in One on One duel especially if there was no way of restricting Blake's movement.
'I need to show them,' Blake said to himself as he poured his aura and refined his attacks to his limit.
Boom!
Boom!
Their clashes were causing damage on the stage, and it happened because Blake's attack was comparable to a B- Rank Hunter even though he was at C+ Rank.
Their swords clashed, but each time, Velmond would be pushed back.
"He is so powerful,"
"Are you sure he lost to Asher Greville?"
Many students were surprised to see such a dominant performance from Blake, and the fight soon ended.
'Is he using that?' Velmond's eyes went wide.
He saw the hand movement and the stance that Blake was taking, and he had seen that technique in Blake's training before.
It was something that could produce force and power to defeat their opponent in a single strike.
Velmond instantly raised his aura as much as he could to try and dodge Blake's attack, but it was useless because he couldn't even see Blake's sword.
It was almost like it disappeared and vanished into thin air.
"Is that the sword art of the Cranston Family?"
Some students recognized Blake's movement.
In the next second, Velmond felt pain all over his body as he got pushed into the air.
And he felt as if something was cutting through his body.
He wanted to scream, but he went unconscious before he could even do so.
Blake stopped just a moment before he got too far.
Everyone was stunned to see the bloodied body of Velmond, but Blake was smiling as he had shown what he was capable of.
Even if it came at the expense of someone like Velmond, who was like a subordinate to him.
Velmond was taken to the treatment center right away.
Farnus came onto the stage, and Blake was declared the winner soon after.
During the loud cheer, Blake felt happy, and he knew by showing his strength like this, rumors about him being weak would disappear.
In the VIP Room, where Cade and his friends were sitting, everyone was cheering for Blake except Cade.
'What an idiot,' Cade thought as he looked at Blake,
"Aren't you happy with your brother's win?" His friend asked, looking at his facial expressions.
"If he can't even win against people like them, he doesn't deserve the name Cranston," Cade replied.
His words made everyone who was cheering for Blake a bit awkward.
In his head, Cade felt that compared to Asher's match, Blake was not worth looking at.
It might have been his obsession to prove that his swordsmanship was better, but looking at Asher's swordsmanship, Cade felt the urge to duel with him.
But it couldn't happen now, but the opportunity would arrive someday, so Cade wasn't impatient.
He wanted Asher to become stronger and come to his level.
Ping!
A message took Cade's attention as he ignored the celebration that was happening on the Stage while Blake was being given his rewards for winning.
One of his close friends noticed Cade's frown.
"What happened?" He asked.
"Seven more dungeons appeared near the areas that are under us," Cade replied.
"Do we have to leave?" He asked.
"No, they can manage for now, but be ready if the situation changes," Cade said.
'Sigh, I can't even focus on my own training,' Cade felt irritated.
The number of dungeons appearing was increasing so much that there was always a need for backup teams of Hunters.
Because the area where the dungeons appeared was under the Cranston Family, Cade was responsible for them.
New Dungeons were more dangerous as they could not expect what would be inside of them.
To this day, there were times when a new monster species would be discovered that they knew nothing about.
There was always a risk of people dying while exploring the Dungeons.
So new dungeons needed to be handled carefully so that they had every information about it.
"Well, the big matches are about to start. It would have been a shame if we had to leave without watching them." His friend replied, and others in the room also agreed.
The next match was going to be between Leonard Tarvian and Tyrone Martell, and the winner was to fight Raelyn Whiteheart.
The match between the Student Council President and the leader of the Blood Faction.
And after that, the fourth-year matches would also be held.
After 15 minutes, the stage was changed entirely to a new one that could endure the mana of Rank B Hunters.
"Now the match of the Third Year, Tyrone Martell Rank 3, Vice President of Student Council,"
"Against Leonard Tarvian, Blood Faction's face," Gazil announced as both of them walked on the stage.
Unlike when they were in the World Academy, they didn't need to suppress their mana anymore.
Leonard smiled as he waved towards the students while Tyrone walked on the stage and took his position.
Leonard was slightly smaller than Tyrone, but that didn't mean that he was weaker.
"Good luck," Leonard said, looking at Tyrone.
Many students were already cheering for both of them, as they were one of the most popular people in the World Academy.
Next Chapter after Two Hours!!