Namgoong Hyun

The rewards for the top seven contributors were a ticket to borrow an ability book from the Academy's library for each of them. The rank of the ability book they could borrow was limited to up to rank three.

Even though Jake had [Heavenly Access], this ticket was rather useful for him too. After all, he could only learn abilities that matched his level.

'Someone can learn an ability that's one rank higher than them. It is only a matter of time before I reach level 10. I can learn the rank 1 abilities soon, so I suppose I should get a rank 2 ability,' Jake pondered.

After the Chairman gave them the tickets, the seven students came back to the crowd. All of them weren't allowed to leave yet because he still had something to announce.

"I suppose some of you have heard that the continent is organizing a tournament once a year, and you—the first class—will be the ones who attend it. Before the tournament, our academy and an academy always held a sparring event between first year students. This time, it is your turn to attend the sparring event that will be held in our academy, so I want you to prepare yourself. You have one month to train and become stronger."

Everyone talked about this event when the Chairman finished talking. Most of them were nervous because they knew Beryl Academy always got the last rank in the Young Heroes Tournament, but a few of them couldn't wait to fight against strong opponents.

One of the students raised her hand and asked, "Lord Chairman, which academy will be our sparring partner?"

"I almost forgot to tell you. Our sparring partner is Goldenscale Academy of Sword and Magic."

People were surprised to hear that. Among 8 prestigious academies in this continent, Goldenscale Academy took second rank in the tournament last year, and they were known to have the best swordsmanship in this continent.

"I will tell you something. Goldenscale has a chance to get first rank this year. A certain student from a prestigious swordsman family attends that academy this year. To tell you my honest opinion, I don't have high hopes for our academy to beat them, but please don't embarrass ourselves."

When the Chairman finished speaking, a loud boom could be heard among the students. The students scattered, revealing Misael Grimes who was standing on the cracked ground.

Misael fixed his glasses and stared at the Chairman coldly. "I don't care if the seniors have disappointed you. You disrespect us by expecting us to lose against them. If the others lose, I will beat that academy in their stead. You can disrespect other people, but you can't disrespect me."

The students gained their determination after hearing Misael's speech. Even though people usually were wary of him, they admired Misael's courage today and gave him applause.

"That's right. We won't lose! We will try our best to win!" Warren exclaimed passionately. He was so excited that he unconsciously used his ability to float.

"Yeah, we will win. Butler will make us stronger!" Another person shouted.

Jake choked on his breath when he heard that. Sure, he would help them, but if they called him out loudly, he couldn't help but feel shy about it.

"You are right! Let's train our hardest for this one month! Our mentor, Jake Butler, will help us train! Let's cheer for him. Butler! Butler! Butler!" Warren cheered, and everyone followed him in unison.

Jake gritted his teeth, and his face reddened. "Damn you. Stop calling my name!" he was about to run away from embarrassment, but Marilyn wrapped her arms around him, preventing him from escaping.

"Where are you going? The Chairman still has business with us," Marilyn said while holding her laughter. Jake bet the sight of him getting embarrassed might be a treat for him. However, he could only endure it until they were done.

---

Goldenscale Academy, Headmaster's Office.

A male student entered the office and approached the Headmaster's desk. He was a tall man with long, black hair and a pretty face. On his waist, he carried a sword.

He bowed to the headmaster and said, "Do you call me, headmaster?"

The headmaster clasped his hands on the table and looked at him with a stoic expression. "We will have a friendly spar with Beryl Academy in one month. I want you, our strongest first year, to attend."

The male student smiled, making the female secretary who was standing behind the headmaster blush. "I refuse. I am not fighting with children."

The headmaster didn't have a reaction over his refusal, as if he had expected the answer. He pulled a paper under his desk and put it on the table. On the paper, there was a picture of Jake.

"You must know about this person. He is attending Beryl Academy."

The pretty male student glared at the paper as he took it. "Is this true? He is attending Beryl Academy?" he confirmed the headmaster's expression and laughed.

"Hahaha, I have come far from the Peridot Continent because of Marilyn, but I didn't expect you to be here too, Jake Butler!"

The male student slammed the headmaster's desk. As he leaned his face toward him, his lips twisted into a creepy grin. "I have changed my mind. You want me to win the spar? I will bring victory to you!"

The headmaster grinned. "You seem to be misunderstanding something. I don't want you to just win. Namgoong Hyun, I order you to obliterate them."

Namgoong Hyun turned around and said, "Consider it as done." After saying that, he walked toward the door coolly with a mysterious smile. "Jake Butler, I will defeat you," he murmured.

The Son of the Sword Sage; the Successor of the Prestigious Namgoong Family of the Peridot Continent; the Sword of Victory; Namgoong Hyun was ready for the sparring event.

---

Beryl Academy.

After the students left the gymnasium, the Chairman, Jake, and Marilyn were still there. It seemed the man still had some business with him and Marilyn.

The Chairman looked around and made sure no one was there to listen to the conversation. Even after that, he still opened up a barrier so no one could hear their conversation.

"Mr. Butler and Her Highness...." The Chairman started. "You two don't have to participate in the sparring event."

Jake looked at him in confusion. Personally, he wanted to accept the offer. Lazing around while people were busy sounded cool in his ears. However, if the Chairman himself proposed this idea, he couldn't help but feel suspicious.

"Why?" Jake asked.

"I have heard about the Empress's plan to leave the empire in one month. If she is gone, her highness will be in danger. As for you, Mr. Butler, you are supposed to be our secret weapon, so it is alright if you don't appear in this sparring event. We will also compensate you for not participating in the sparring event."

"I see." Jake laughed inwardly because this offer was too good for him. "I don't mind not participating, but I think Marilyn should go. You don't have to worry about her safety. Besides, the Academy is safe, isn't it? Especially when you are going to receive guests. I hope you are not saying you aren't confident in protecting your students."

The Chairman furrowed his brows. "That's rude, Mr. Butler. Of course, I can guarantee my students' safety in this academy. I was just conveying the Empress's message herself. I will protect her highness personally if she chooses to participate."

Jake smiled in satisfaction. "That's good. So, what are you going to do, Marilyn?"

Marilyn put on a determined expression and said, "I will participate!"

Jake was surprised by her choice. He thought she would choose to not participate, but it seemed he underestimated her.

"I don't know if mom can find a cure for my condition, but I won't sit idly. I want to prove my existence. I want to prove that I am not some weak princess who can only wait to be saved. I want people to see me as a powerful individual! That's why, I will help our academy to achieve victory with all my effort!" Marilyn explained.

The Chairman smiled proudly when he heard that. "I suppose I have insulted my students' determination. I am proud of you all, and I will support your determination. I have said everything, so I wish you good luck, her highness, no, Miss. Marilyn Norrington."

"Now can we go back? It's already night," Jake asked in the middle of their supposedly touching conversation. He wanted to help Marilyn too, but sleep was important too. He didn't want to disturb his sleeping schedule.

"Oh, actually I almost forgot about something. I said a certain powerful figure has entered Goldenscale Academy. You two probably are familiar with this person."

"Who?" Jake asked.

"The successor of the prestigious Namgoong Family of the Peridot Continent, Namgoong Hyun."

Jake cringed when he heard his name. He obviously knew who that person was. In the past, that person always challenged him to fight at every chance. Every chance! That person wouldn't stop bothering him before he fought him. Of course, Jake always won in every fight, but that person never got bored of it.

Even Marilyn cringed at the mention of that person's name. She and her mother often visited the Peridot Continent in the past. Naturally, she knew him too. Each of her encounters with him was unpleasant because he always proposed his love to her.

"Based on your expressions, I don't think you have a good relationship with him. I don't know what kind of person he was in your mind, but the current Namgoong Hyun was powerful. As a successor of the Namgoong Family, he was allowed to learn the family head's secret technique. I say he is even better than Reina Rowe in swordsmanship," the Chairman said.

Jake changed his expression to a serious one. The Chairman was right. He couldn't afford to underestimate Hyun anymore. As a descendant of the Tang family, he knew well about the might of the Namgoong Family who was renowned for their swordsmanship. Furthermore, their family head was a world ranker too. If Hyun inherited his father's technique, he couldn't imagine how strong he would become.