The banquet hall of juniors—those below Level 7 was easily the size of a few football fields.
It was an open air hall. Though not exactly one. A transparent barrier covered the banquet hall, strong enough to defend even the attacks of a high awakener.
The hall itself spoke in luxury.
The floor was paved with rare and luxurious alloy Codium—an excellent reflector of Aura.
The walls were engraved with aura gathering formation—thousands of aura crystals were burnt every minute resulting in rich aura atmosphere.
Just by breathing in the hall, a low awakener would make tremendous progress.
The golden Codium floor bounced back the aura, which soon condensed into white fog which hung two feet above the ground.
Clad in luxurious clothing, the young men and women walked in the hall with knee deep foggy aura. The scene seemed like one straight out of myths.
At that moment, a young man with blood red hair and sharp eyebrows turned to his right and squinted his eyes.
His aura, which was calm until then, sharpened like a sword.
His lips thinned and he spat. “Sarah.”
Even though his voice was low, everyone in the hall was strong enough to take notice.
More than half of the youngsters glanced in the direction.
Sarah Albert was here.
In a soft blue one piece dress that hugged her curves, she looked stunningly beautiful, yet striked an innocent temperament.
Unlike her usual cold expression, she held a neutral expression!
The young man’s gaze was locked on Sarah and Sarah alone, whilst the rest of the members saw her partner.
With an aura of only level 5, the handsome youngster seemed out of place. Yet, there was an aura of indescribability to him.
His level raised many questions and in an instant, hundreds of members locked their aura on him.
“Level 5s are very rare.” Sarah explained, sensing Varian’s confused gaze. She looked at the familiar faces in the distances and said. “Usually, everyone knows the people in the circle. Newcomers coming out of nowhere is rare.”
So, even if it was a genius from small background, they would be identified in high school, becoming a key training object in their academy.
With each of of their achievements piling up, their reputation would slowly introduce them to the circle.
When they attended the Solar Banquet on the third year, their reputation would already be cemented in the circle.
It was how it was. Or was supposed to be.
Varian was an anomaly. He did in two months what most couldn’t do in three years.
His actions didn’t build his reputation step by step. Rather, they struck everyone like lightning.
Reaching Level 5 before first midsem.
Ranking 405 in Honor List.
Disciple of Evander.
Just the first two achievements put him in front of him everyone.
Even the leading geniuses like Charles of Earth, Maisa of Uranus Cluster, Ashtart of Neptune paled in comparison.
His rise was akin to a rising legend. Thus, one by one, their auras locked on him, even rudely, tried to probe his level.
Varian simply snorted and asked the System to hide his aura.
In an instant, everyone in the hall, including those in high and even peak level 6 frowned.
Varian moved freely under their aura pressure. And they couldn’t sense his aura, even in the slightest.
Aura could of course be suppressed, but this exquisite control was too rare.
Soon, Varian and Sarah walked into the hall. “How did you come here for the past times? You weren’t strong enough, no?”
There were hundreds of tables and chairs covered by pristine white cloths. The table was filled with refreshments which would automatically be filled by a mechanism under the table.
“I wasn’t. But if you have a strong level 9 inviter, you can enter without those worries. Father invited me…” Sarah kept talking while Varian’s eyes continued to scan the people.
He saw mostly unfamiliar faces. The only thing these people had in common was their young age and super level.
“Sarah, long time no see.” As they were about to be seated, a young man walked up to them.
Sarah turned to him and frowned. “Arman? What is it?”
The blood-red haired young man grinned. “Children must bear their parents’ debt. For your father’s actions, you will have to pay the price. This year too.”
Bam!
“Excuse me?” Sarah slammed the table and glared at him. “Arman, we’re both Earthlings and you want to make a fuss here? At least pick an occasion.”
“What if we’re from the same planet? Our fathers both worked in the same regiment, but what happened?
My father worked off his life only to get placed to planetoids. Even though High General worked for the past five years, how did he ever survive in the military till then?” Arman’s voice drew the interests of many youngsters.
Varian quietly observed the aggressor.
The guy named Arman wore a simple red shirt with a tie and black trousers. He had a sword sheath attached to his waist.
The aura around his body seemed like a sword waiting to be unsheathed.
‘A swordsman?’
The aura was clearer.
High Level 6.
Meanwhile, gazes gathered on Sarah and Arman.
“My father, Dominique served the military faithfully for 40 years. Barring General Evander’s brilliant service in the past 6 years, the sole reason he was able to keep his post before that was due to his father’s—”
Clang!
Sarah’s ice sword was parried by Arman’s red sword. At their point of contact, sparks rose into air and temperature spiked.
“Haha! Can’t you wait? Then fine! Let’s have a duel!” Arman said. “Arman vs Sarah, Duel.”
Sarah gripped her sword and signaled Varian to secure a safe standing. “Sarah vs Arman. Duel.”
Following her words, a bright light flashed and a huge, almost transparent bubble covered Sarah and Arman.
With a top on their comm, they were both instantly covered by combat uniforms.
Varian stood at a distance as he calmly watched the duel play out. Even though Sarah didn’t say a word during the entire process, he could feel her immense confidence.
Shaking his head, Varian saw Dhruv, Williamson and Mia walking towards him. In a few steps, they were in front of him.
William glanced at the flashing sparks of Ice and the mirror breaking sounds of space and clicked his tongue. “So they’re going at it again.”
Varian looked at him and asked. “Who is he?”
“Arman. Earth has five academies, right? He is the strongest third year cadet of War God Academy. It just ranks below ours.” William explained and his lips curled into a wry smile.
“His father was denied the position of High General. This guy holds a grudge. Since then, he challenges and fights Sarah every year. Of course, he never went overboard because he didn’t want to piss off her father. But still, Sarah had to face him every year.”
Varian’s eyes narrowed. Two months…no, one month and he’ll wipe the floor with that guy.
William patted Varian’s shoulder and assured. “Don’t worry. Sarah in first year and Sarah in second year are like two different people.
She’s just like Charles. Her progress speed just multiplied.”
Varian’s eyes widened as he stiffened on the spot.