9)Laurel Wreath

"Was that really necessary?" Dio smirked as Alex walked past him and took a seat. Her hands were slightly rosy as an aftermath of using those skills, but otherwise, she remained completely unharmed. "Water gnash? Really Alex? Seems like someone's trying hard," he scoffed as he took a seat right next to her.

"Please, oh please Lord Dio, continue to grace me with your wonderful and oh so virtuous input," Alex said in a melodramatic tone, "I simply wanted to set a standard you moron, I want the future opponents I face to know what to expect,"

"As a venerate it is only natural that I grace you with my blessings," Dio nodded without a care for whether or not she was sarcastic. Compliments were consumed like water, they were simply naturally accepted and taken in, regardless of the intention. "Hmm, don't you think taking them by surprise gives you more of a chance to win?"

"Yes, but who wants that? I need them to go all out on me, that is the only way I'm going to grow. Not all of us are gifted," she looked him up and down before looking forward.

"Yeah go on, be louder about it," he frowned, his ability or his gift was supposed to be a secret that only those close to him could find out about. The reasoning behind this was pretty cliche and stereotypical, but it made sense. He was far too weak to do anything at the moment, even if he had the ability to learn any and every spell, his mana pool was far too small at the moment.

There were so many individuals or groups that would instantly seek to use him as a lab rat if they were to find out about his existence. In a world where memory was everything, Dio was the odd one out. Of course, this ability of his had even more value now, it was due to the past king, the sorcerer supreme who was said to have perfect memory as well.

Nobody, even Dio himself was not aware of the fact that he was named after himself. In his first life, things were relatively harder to accomplish, but that wasn't exactly the case anymore. Under the rule of the supreme, who was said to have the ability to stop time, technology was definitely something that flourished.

Things became relatively easier, there was a sense of management and planning amongst the citizens, there was no reckless spending of resources, there was no thriving criminal gang, and things were smooth. The only issue the citizens had with the past king was that he was quite the narcissist, someone filled to the brim with pride.

Dio and Alex sat in silence as they watched the matches, some of the matches were interesting, and the students displayed skill that he didn't expect them to show, more than that, there was a sense of equality, a good part of the contestants were magic swordsmen. It was always fun to see diversity, and magic swordsmen typically had something that satisfied this need.

"John Fade and…..Dio Aethereus…"

The announcer was very clearly and pleasantly surprised to see someone named Dio. The crowd shared the same feeling, other than Alex and a few others, there really wasn't anyone who didn't have an unusual look.

"Dio Aethereus? Tch someone's parents are hopeful,"

"Talk about overconfidence, the poor soul is definitely going to suffer a lot,"

"Ah! I can already imagine the bullying he will soon face,"

Chatter, perhaps the one thing that remained common amongst all educational institutions. Regardless of prestige, or ranking, gossip and unwarranted chatter were something that would always exist.

"Go on then, prove them all wrong," Alex smiled as she looked at Dio getting up from his chair. He walked slowly, pushing past the crowd until finally, he was on the stage. "Show them why you deserve to be called Dio Aethereus," she whispered under her breath.

They were best friends, but at the same time, there wasn't a single person who would attack the other more. They were practically always at each other's necks, every opportunity they received, they would take. However, even with all the teasing and the friendly jabs, they trusted each other with their lives, there was no one else Dio trusted his back to. Of course, it wasn't as if such a situation would occur anytime soon.

(AN: Unless....jkjk...unless)

While Dio's name quickly spread through the crowd and the others who were present during the assessment, John Fade, Dio's current opponent was trying his hardest to not let the pressure get to him. Sweat slowly dripped down his face as he began to calm his breathing. His heartbeat was loud enough to cover some of the murmurs in the crowd.

"You got this John…." He whispered to himself as he let out a deep breath, it was an attempt to calm his racing heart. "It's just a name…..but he's so good-looking….far better than me…his attitude…his grey hair and crimson-like eyes….the way he carries himself…I want it. I want to be able to do that…"

"I understand you're overwhelmed by my presence?" Dio smirked as he snapped his finger, bringing John out of his thoughts.

'He can see right through me….?'

In truth, Dio would've said that regardless of who or how his opponent was, that was simply his nature. A Dio without confidence would be like a son whose father "went to get milk", weird.

"There isn't a single thing I can't recall…" Dio said in a solemn tone, it wasn't exactly a chant, but as a narcissist, it was important he reminded himself of his gifts.

"Begin!…."

The instructors were interested in this match, more than usual. After all, this was the first time they had come across someone named Dio Aethereus. Even if everyone there pitied him or ridiculed his family, they were all secretly hoping he was some kind of a genius, and as we know, Dio is definitely a peerless soul.

"Laurel Wreath.." As soon as he uttered those words, a giant horse-shaped object that was made up of the leaves and branches of an evergreen leaf appeared, he made a forward motion, almost like he was gesturing for the spell to move and bend to his command.

The leafed-crown shot towards John and opened up even wider than it previously was. It was like a monster trying to swallow a being, the wreath wrapped itself around John, it was very much like a specific red cloak that listens to its master.

"??????????" John could barely react, he expected Dio to make a move as soon as the match started, but he could never predict that he would use a trapping spell. They weren't rare per se, but it was just slightly unusual.