Chapter 117 - Anticlimactic

While a lot of the students were expecting to watch a good show and see Nerun be utterly humiliated, the latter was completely tranquil while walking towards the central plaza of the academy.

The morning classes had been suspended in order for the Demotion Test to take place. The area occupied by the Lyceum was quite big, and there were different sections inside of it. Next to the training area, there was a gigantic arena, which was shaped like a Giant's Helmet. This was the Palace of the Champions, one of the most important areas of the Lyceum, and where the final exams of the students undergoing the martial path took place. Also, this was where most of the Academy competitions took place.

It was a big stadium capable of holding over two hundred thousand viewers. Some of the most important events in the Kingdom also used this arena and in past Grand Tournaments, this arena was the one where it took place.

Next to the main stadium, there were smaller arenas shaped like amphitheatres where smaller tests took place. Considering that the Lyceum did not have that many students, this was the usual place where the smaller tests for the general students took place, as well as the place used by the students to resolve disputes and duels. Every amphitheatre had some bleachers, which could hold up to 300 students.

Right now, most of the Outer and Inner Class students were gathered together in one of these amphitheatres, happily discussing with each other. Most of them were joking and laughing as they talked about possible candidates for the Special Course, who would eventually be selected for the Grand Tournament, and so on. There were even second and third-year seniors who had come to join in the fun before waiting for their respective classes. After all, it was quite unusual for one of the Inner Class students to be demoted, and Nerun in particular, although the noise that had followed his entry into the Academy had mostly died down, there was still some gossip here and there.

If Nerun were to be demoted, his reputation would be completely tarnished, and this would reflect very badly on Elijah, who was the one who not only supported Nerun but pulled all the strings to get Nerun accepted into the Lyceum. This situation could be used by Elijah's political enemies to keep putting hindrances in his path and would increase the difficulty in his ongoing tasks as a new General.

So, although this Test looked like a simple problem between the students of the Lyceum, It was really a shadowy struggle between the various powers of the realm.

Karles, Reina and Nerun had arrived together some time ago and were discussing among themselves some issues that had cropped up in their previous training. They were paying no heed to the chatter going on around them, as if Nerun was not the one implied, or as if the test had nothing to do with him. Most people that saw this behaviour simply took it as cockiness and nothing more.

There were even some senior students, that with some tacit agreement by the Academy, had organized some small betting of Contribution Points about how many minutes would take Nerun to lose his battle, or whether the Outer Class student would be able to enter the Inner Class, and such. Many of the students wanted to take part in the fun and made a bet of several Contribution Points just like that.

When Nerun found out about the bet, he didn't know whether to laugh or to cry, but looking at the all-around betting, and remembering his scarce remaining Contribution Points, he decided to earn some easy money. After all, if people wanted to give him some, who was he to say no? Therefore, in full view of everyone, he approached the student in charge of the betting and asked what the payout rate would be if he won the test and was not demoted. The student was a bit surprised by Nerun's question and simply answered with some derision, that in the unlikely case he was the victor, then those that had bet on him could earn up to 5 times their earnings. Nerun, with a satisfied smile on his face, then bet everything he had left on his own victory, 50 contribution points. Both Reina and Karles did the same and also bet on Nerun, with 20 and 15 Contribution Points respectively.

"Well, well, confident are you not? If you wanna give us the Contribution Points, just say so, stop trying to look cool while betting on yourself. It is due time you realize that you don't belong here. Not in this Inner Class, and not in this Academy. I hope you don't go crying to your brother afterwards, otherwise, he'll learn that is not a place where he can strut around however he likes."

Solda's irritating voice sounded aloud in the amphitheatre, but Nerun didn't bother to answer, considering it a waste of air. Most people took it as him being timid and not having the guts to defend himself, which only served to worsen the already deteriorated image they had of him.

Samuel Dai Manota entered the amphitheatre, followed by several other members of the Faculty, among them was teacher Sarah Lorena, a fact that allowed Nerun to understand that these were probably the professors in charge of the different classes present from the first year of the Outer and Inner Section of the school.

The director of the Outer Class was a middle-aged man, with a small amount of grey hair on his sideburns, which were quite big. He had some scars on his rugged, yet still handsome face, and overall looked like an imposing man. Nerun managed to detect that although his momentum was quite strong, he was still somewhat weaker than Director Samuel's. His name was Gilfred Molina.

All the pupils fell silent as the teachers entered. Samuel, wasting no time, began: "We'll start with the Demotion Test for the first years. Following the current rank, Inner Class Group C is the one with the worse position currently, and it has 11 students. As I had previously told Group C, two students from the Inner Class have to face the test. Nerun, you are one of them, I trust there will be no objections."

Nerun simply nodded and made no comments.

Samuel didn't even look at Nerun as he continued: "The Outer Class, Group B, is currently in the lead. Julian Jericho, as the top-ranked Outer Class student in your group, and according to the rules, you are entitled to challenge one of the Inner Class students. That student is obliged to answer the challenge, and if you win, you will be promoted and the other student will be demoted. If you fail the challenge, you will remain an Outer Class student and won't be able to challenge another student for six months. If the challenged student wins, they can't be challenged again in the next test. You can also choose to waive your right to challenge, in which case you will retain the right to use it in the next demotion test. Have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal!" answered Julian Jericho.

"Your decision?" Samuel asked laconically.

After making a deep breath and strengthening his resolution Julian looked at Director Samuel and Gilfred and said: "I choose to challenge one of the Students from the Inner Class, group C. My challenge goes to Solda Dai Lorica."

Many whispers could be heard among the students, many of whom were surprised by Julian's response. Not, of course, because he had decided to challenge a student - that was a given, it was extremely rare for such a thing to happen - but because he had chosen Solda, which was probably the most implausible option of all. After all, unlike Nerun, Solda was considered one of the best students among those from the First Year, in fact, if not because the students' distribution was random, if people were to purely rank the students based on strength, not taking the different groups into consideration, Solda could very well be in the Top 8 students from the Inner Class. Solda was a noble, and his family was strongly connected to two of the Great Families, his strength was well known and ultimately a tough nut to crack. What could this mean?

Solda, for his part, did not look upset at being challenged by Julian. In fact, he did not even look at the latter but found himself smiling at Nerun as if he had just remembered a very funny joke that only he could understand. This supercilious look, as well as the confidence and tranquillity among Solda's clique, helped the students understand that maybe there was more than met the eye in this test, and many of them laughed softly as they began to guess at the meaning of these facts.

Samuel raised an eyebrow as he listened to Julian and said nothing for a few seconds after hearing the teenager's answer. Gilfred, on the other hand, frowned deeply and asked in a raspy voice, "Are you sure?"

Gilfred's tone made his displeasure at what had happened clear, which silenced the students and left Julian hesitant for a moment as he watched his director. However, it was very difficult to leave the tiger once mounted, so he simply confirmed his answer.

There was a great tinge of disappointment in Gilfred's eyes, but he remained quiet and decided to go sit with the rest of the teachers instead of remaining next to the arena to look at the farce.

Samuel then continued: "Since you are the challenger, you also have the right to choose the main method of challenge. There are two options: Option A, a round robin. You will all battle each other. The one who wins the two fights will stay in the Inner Class. The other two will go to the Outer Class. If there is a tie between you, you will be considered the winner as you are the challenger. Option B is a battle royale. The last man standing will remain in the Inner Class. Choose wisely."

"I choose Option B, director." said Julian.

If there were any lingering doubts about possible foul play behind the scenes, any such illusions were dispelled when Julian's answer came out. It was obvious that the most advantageous option for him was option A, and yet his choice showed that he did not seem to care about his promotion to the Inner Section. In fact, considering that several of the Inner Class students, even when they were rivals, often united in front of the Outer Class students, it was incredible what Julian had done. After all, the two Inner Class students could have joined forces to eliminate him first, before deciding among themselves who deserved to stay. Such was their pride.

Reina was fuming inside and was about to start yelling when Nerun simply put a hand on her shoulder as he smiled and shook his head. Reina looked at Nerun's cold eyes while smiling and couldn't help but shiver a bit, even though she knew that those eyes were not directed at her. However, seeing Nerun's confidence relaxed her a bit, and together with Karles simply gave him a thumbs up. No more words were necessary.

"Is that so? So be it. You three, to the arena." said Samuel.

Nerun got up and jumped towards the arena, landing some a small distance from the edge of it. Solda and Julian followed swiftly and entered the centre of the arena, and the three were in an apparent Mexican stand-off while looking at each other. The rest of the students looked at them expectantly while looking forward to a good show.

'Don't blame me, kid. Blame your circumstances, who told your brother to make so many enemies.' thought Julian. His resolution was firm, and he calmed himself down while gathering all of his strength. His Qi was flowing smoothly.

'Hehehehe... There is nowhere left to run, you damned beggar. I'll make sure I leave a mark you won't be able to erase for the rest of your miserable life. After all, fists have no eyes. No one can blame me if you happen to be maimed during the fight.' Solda was looking at Nerun maliciously. His objective was clear from the start, and Julian also did not have the mindset to keep pretending. "You better jump out of the arena, otherwise don't blame me for being merciless," said Solda trying to make Nerun nervous. He felt a twisted sense of bliss as he felt in control of Nerun's fate. It was he who would see to it that the latter was scarred, physically and mentally.

"You lose by being knocked out, conceding, or leaving the arena. If you attack a person who is already defeated, that person will be expelled from the Lyceum. I'll be acting as judge to prevent any fatal injuries, however, I know that such sometimes can't be avoided. Still, I'd prefer if you as fellow students don't go for the vitals of each other on purpose. If I feel that a person is about to be seriously injured, I will simply remove that person from the competition and my decision will be final. Clear?" asked Samuel in his monotone voice.

"YES SIR!" replied the three combatants in unison.

"START!"

As soon as Samuel said these words, both Solda and Julian turned all their aggression on Nerun, not even looking at each other. Both used their movement techniques and approached Nerun at maximum speed, cornering him at the edge of the arena where Nerun had stood from the start. Nerun had not moved at all from the very beginning, simply staring coldly at his two approaching foes, not even adopting a fighting stance.

When Nerun did not even seem to want to defend himself, some of the students felt pity for him, thinking that Nerun had simply accepted his fate, while most just laughed. This was all there was to him, and there seemed to be no surprise.

Solda and Julian quickly arrived beside Nerun, and Solda could already picture Nerun's look of despair. When he looked at Nerun, however, he could only see a sardonic look, as if Nerun was looking at a monkey trying to do some tricks. Before he could even understand what that look signified, both Julian and him attacked Nerun with their Qi-filled fists. However, after hitting Nerun both felt something horribly amiss since there was no weight to Nerun's body as if they had simply hit empty air. Furthermore, they then felt a strong push on both their backs, that along with the momentum they had garnered while attacking Nerun managed to send them flying out of the arena.

Silence reigned over the entire amphitheatre, while Samuel and Gilfred's pupils shrank to the size of a pin. Many of the teachers stood up in surprise, unable to comprehend what had happened.

Meanwhile, Nerun was standing alone in the arena, completely relaxed, as if nothing had happened. His victory was rather anticlimactic, to say the least.