Chapter 18 - Lunch Break

An hour and a half yet nothing to do with it…

Delta was currently strolling around the school campus, hands in his pocket as he mulled over things he could do to pass the time.

The cafeteria would be packed at the moment, so Delta decided it would be best if he waited until everyone had left or sat down before he went to get some food, so until then, he figured he might as well go down to the shops and browse a little. After all, he had millions of gold coins at this point.

Delta began walking down the pathway towards the Academy's Plaza. It was the centre of the Academy's entertainment and it was where the students spent most of their free time.

Students had the option of opening or working at restaurants and coffee shops to make money on the side of their studies, however, they were also home to many civilians who had chosen to settle down in the Academy, in exchange for cheaper rent and a safe place to live.

The Academy was a popular place for people to spend their retirement years as well as opening businesses for the students. It was also a place where merchants could meet some of the rising stars in the magic world, make connections and prepare to pull favours years down the line.

Delta had mused over the idea of investing into some businesses and seeing where they would take him, but he decided it would be best to keep his coffers hidden and secure until he managed to find something he was truly interested in investing in.

Shortly later, Delta arrived at the plaza, quickly finding himself encompassed with incredible smelling foods from restaurants and diners.

Signs for advertisements and sales were being carried around or placed up on walls.

The Plaza became very chaotic around lunch since students would often come down to spend some of their money and spend some time with friends.

There were also houses students could buy if they wanted to stay somewhere outside of the Academy, so many nobles would stay outside of the academy, assuming they were old enough to live without adult care.

There was a large bulletin board in the middle of the Plaza, standing right next to a large fountain with a statue of a bearded man with a cloak draped over his shoulders.

It was made of gold and ivory and seemed to emphasise the man's power and authority with the massive greatsword slung over his back.

Delta found the statue interesting because he remembered Caligula having a very similar one erected in his name.

He walked over to the fountain, looking for a plaque or something similar to tell him about it.

Shortly after, he found what he was looking for.

"Great King Arceus - Hero of the People and Slayer of the Armageddon"

Delta stood there for a moment, wondering what kind of creature could get the title of Armageddon in a world of Magic and Dragon-slayers.

Suddenly, a large clock chimed twice, signifying that it was now 2 PM. The papers on the bulletin seemed to flash and flicker for a moment, before disappearing, being replaced with new papers later.

"Guys, the Tournament is being held here this year!" a voice from the bulletin board shouted.

Cheering erupted from the passing civilians, and many took out their CTs and began messaging their friends and sharing the news.

Delta walked over to the person who had shouted out, and asked, "What is this tournament?"

The man turned around, before chuckling. "You must be new around here, huh. These tournaments are an epic show of power, intelligence and talent, so students from every academy in the kingdom meet and compete in a contest of brains and brawn.

The winners can win awards for their schools, as well as for themselves, and the best performing student would win opportunities to engrave their names in the Tablet of Honour in the Royal Castle and would be offered positions by many companies and guilds.

Because of these attractive benefits and rewards, the competitions are extremely popular with the students and their teachers, both weak and powerful, as well as people like me who want to make a cheap buck on some bets."

Delta nodded, before turning to leave.

"You aren't thinking of competing are you, kid? I wouldn't advise you to do that. Some of the students in these competitions are absolute monsters. I've seen a kid make a palace of ice full of golems that acted on his whim! You wouldn't stand a chance!"

Delta was slightly surprised to think that someone as young as him could be that powerful, but it also meant that maybe he could do the same one day.

He stood for a second wondering about how amazing it would be to become powerful enough to live a good life in this world.

With a new conviction, Delta continued through the Plaza, searching for wherever they sold Crystal Tablets and clothes.

Finally, he reached a signpost which pointed out some of the major stores and their directions.

He followed the one that said 'Reiss Tech', arriving at the store shortly after.

The building was a large, modern one with reinforced glass walls and a rather futuristic design behind it.

Upon entering, Delta reaches a shop floor with multiple models of the devices mounted on tables, getting more expensive as you go along.

Multiple companies made these devices, however, the most popular ones were the LS CTs and the Aronus CTs, with the first being an incredibly powerful yet expensive line of devices made by the Dixeritis Family. The other was a more affordable version whilst still measuring up to other higher class devices in performance.

The more powerful the device, the further the distance they could be used across, as well as additional design benefits and software updates. They could also be used in conjunction with other magic items, such as spatial storage and a GPS system that allowed the tablets to connect to magic satellites flying high in the sky to show the current position of the device, as well as directions to your desired location.

Because of this, newer devices were popular with nobles and merchants, who preferred the utility and speed of the newer devices, even if it cost a hefty price.

"May I help you?"

Delta turned around to find a young lady in her mid-teens standing in front of him. She had long black hair and a rather attractive face. She wore a black t-shirt under a beige jacket with a name tag reading 'Anna' pinned onto her left breast.

"Don't waste your time on him, Anna, he clearly doesn't have any money. Look at his clothes, for starters. They're barely wearable and he knows it."

Delta looked down at his uniform. After being torn from the explosion and soiled from the rubble, it barely looked wearable, but it wasn't a rare sight for poorer students to have their uniforms worse for wear.

The school only gave students their first set of uniforms for free, and after that, they were expected to pay for any additional clothing required.

"If I were you, Anna, I'd use your pretty face to woo some rich noble. You'd be set for life that way."

Anna blushed, however, didn't move away as Delta expected, but rather asked again.

"May I help you?"

Delta knew straight away that she was either a genius who had seen through him, or truly a nice person, and if Delta respected any one thing, it was someone who didn't care for class or money, but rather the person that they were.

Having been born in poverty, Delta hated the politics and troubles that surrounded noble families such as Caligula's ones, so he swore to himself that he would never allow those close to him to fall to such scheming.

"Yes, I could use your help. Could you direct me to the best CT in this place?"

"I could, however, we are strictly prohibited from allowing people to tamper and touch items that they are unable to buy."

Delta reached into his pocket and began pulling out small handfuls of gold coins, setting them onto the nearby table before pulling out more.

At first, Anna thought he was going to run out of coins after a few handfuls, but Delta kept going and going until a small pile of about 20-30 gold pieces had accumulated.

People had begun to stop and stare, pointing fingers and taking pictures to share with friends. Many had heard what the other worker had said to the girl named Anna, and yet there stood the same boy taking out small fortunes.

"I would keep going, but my wrists are getting sore…"

This single line shocked every bystander as they relished in the pure badassery of the boy's behaviour.

Anna smiled, clearly pleased with the outcome, before sticking her tongue out at her colleague and saying, "I'd be delighted to assist you then."

After Delta quickly collected the gold coins, Anna guided him further up the store, taking him past several devices and models with slowly increasing price tags.

The numbers climbed until they reached the top of the store, with the latest model reading 80 gold pieces.

Although this would be a steep price even for successful merchants, it was nothing to Delta's 10 million gold coins, so he was looking for something slightly more impressive, assuming it existed.

"Is there anything else better than these?"

Anna was shocked to hear this because she assumed that even if he was super-rich, he'd at least be impressed by the values of these items.

"W-well, I guess I can take you around the back if you really have the money… The boss should appreciate another big customer"

She guided him through a door at the back of the store that seemed to blend in with the background, clearly being a more exclusive privilege rather than a common occurrence.

Through the door, there was a room full of expensive materials and designs, holding 5 unique designs with values starting at 150 gold pieces and ending at a whopping 500.

Delta walked over to the most expensive one and began reading about it, more out of curiosity than necessity.

"Lasts a month without needing to charge, can run every app and game to date and top-level quality, thin yet durable device, lasts decades. I guess that'll do."

Anna had been standing close enough to hear him quietly talking to himself, and was terrified of whatever wealth he might have had.

"Oh, a big spender are we?" a voice came from behind.

Delta turned around to see an old man with a styled moustache and a bald head. He held a walking cane, however, didn't seem as senile as his appearance might initially suggest.

"C-chief? What are you doing here?"

He didn't say anything, however, looked at Delta carefully, as if measuring him up.

"What's your name, boy?"

"Delta. And who might you be?"

"They call me Ipsum. Ipsum Dixeritis."