Ten days had finally passed by. Ten days full of relentless training and perseverance. On the eleventh day, Emery made his way towards the Grand Hall with his newfound confidence.
The moment he entered the peripheral area of the hall, Emery saw something much different than the previous two games. The area outside the grand hall had turned into such a chaotic yet festive situation. There were thousands of people gathered outside of the hall trying to get into the arena.
As he walked towards the familiar arena, Emery realized that some of the crowds recognized him, as he heard shouts containing his name or aiming at him.
"That's Emery! The Savage Acolyte!"
"I am rooting for you, kid! Good luck!"
"Aaa.. he's more handsome up close"
"Woof woof! I came to see the wolf transformation!! Don't disappoint me!"
As his eyes scanned the sea of people before him, Emery realized there were more guests from outside the academy, who had come to watch the Magus Games. The reason he thought of that was because there were many people wearing different attires that weren't commonly seen in the academy.
Much to his surprise, the first familiar and friendly face Emery saw was actually Silva. The white-haired girl immediately said something to Emery the moment her eyes landed on him. "Hey Superstar... Don't you think they are really your fans now… you will see that none of them will remember your name next month. No, maybe even less…"
"Hi Silva. Nice to see you too." Emery answered with a grin on his face, decisively ignoring Silva's sour remark.
After a while, Silva decided to put her clenched fist down and sighed. "Aah, whatever! Just focus on the game later, alright?! Don't think about anything else. And also, if you happen to face me. Remember. I don't give any mercy."
"Ah, yes. Thank you for the kind reminder, Silva."Emery said, while holding back his chuckle.
"Huh! Go then, go to your friend over there." Silva said, pointing her finger in a certain direction. "I have something else to do."
"Alright then. Good luck for you too, Silva." Emery said with a smile.
Silva, who was about to walk away, swiftly turned her body around when she heard that, "I don't need your luck. Keep it to yourself you will definitely need it more than me." She then turned around and disappeared among the sea of people.
As soon as Silva's figure was gone, Emery noticed his two friends, Thrax and Chumo, had been waiting for him in the distance. The moment Emery appeared in front of them, Chumo immediately opened his mouth, "You have reached rank 7, didn't you Emery? Congratulations!"
"I still can't believe I used to think you were the weakest among us..." added Thrax.
Chumo approached Emery and patted his shoulder a few times, "I wish you the best my friend. Make us proud!"
Emery was all smiley when he heard the two words spoken out by his friends. But his confidence was instantly gone when Klea approached the trio.
"Emery!!! There you are?!!"
The exotic beauty jumped towards Emery with a mischievous grin. "You look very different, Emery. Very, very …" Klea delayed her words, as Emery could see she was staring at him, scanning him from top to bottom, which made Emery a little bit uncomfortable.
Klea approached near and touched Emer's arm "Wow i just realised your arm turned more manly than before.. This muscle...hmm" Klea unconsciously starts to compare it with Thrax arm. "Not much different than yours Thrax.." Klea grin to them both. She then stares toward Chumo which instantly makes him hide behind Emery's back.
Selectively ignoring Klea's usual teasing moment, Thrax continued his words, "Emery, we have not seen each other for 10 days. Hence, I really wish to have a spar with you soon."
Upon hearing that, Emery swiftly shifted his gaze away from Klea to Thrax, "Yes of course, Thrax. We can do a spar after the game."
Thrax smiled when he received Emery's confirmation, clenching his fist and raising it to the air, Thrax said, "I have to warn you, Emery, we will soon catch up to you. In fact, during the last 10 days, this boy here has really impressed Lord Izta with his archery." Thrax said, pointing at Chumo. "As a result, Lord Izta has agreed to impart his archery legacy to Chumo."
"That sounds really impressive, Chumo! Congratulations!" Emery exclaimed, shocked yet happy by the unexpected surprise.
"Damn it! This sucks! Everyone is getting stronger, then I shouldn't lose either!"
Klea let out a small chuckle, as she found Thrax's competitive spirit to be entertaining. After chatting for a while, Emery didn't catch the shadow of his other friend, causing him to wonder what had happened with him. Unable to contain his curiosity anymore, Emery decided to ask, "Where is Julian? Is he not with you guys?"
Upon hearing the question, as if it was a forbidden one, the three except Emery suddenly turned quiet. Seeing the strange reaction from his friends, Emery thought there must be something wrong, "Why did you guys turn quiet? Did something bad happen to Julian?"
The expression on Thrax's face quickly became annoyed, "Yes! Something bad will happen to him!... By me!"
Looking at Thrax's unexpected outburst and the others' reactions, it appeared Emery missed something during his 10 days of training. When Emery was about to ask what happened during the time they separated, a familiar voice was heard from the distance, causing the four teenagers to turn their heads over.
"Hey!! You boys talking about me? Hahaha! You Thracian can't do anything to me even if you wanted to!" Julian said, making his way over to the group.
"Huh, traitor!!" Thrax hissed, as he became a bit emotional, but Chumo quickly held him down.
Seeing Chumo holding Thrax from attacking Julian, Emery became even more confused, "What happened, Julian?"
Instead of answering Emery's question, Julian waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about that Thracian, Emery. I am fine.."
Klea stepped forward and sneered at Julian, something Emery wouldn't expect coming from her, "Last week, this friend of us suddenly walked out of Lord Izta and joined the Harlight Family. Yeah, the one that has a connection with that bastard Roran."
Emery was shocked when he heard that. He swiftly approached Julian and asked, "Is that true?"
Julian quickly grabbed Emery's shoulder and said, "Let's go into the arena. Alright?"
Emery didn't budge, as his eyes indicated he wanted an explanation right now. Seeing that, Julian shook his head and could only say, "I will tell you later. Let's go into the arena first. The time is near."
Julian then swiftly walked towards the arena. Emery realized he could only follow this friend of his, as he waited for the explanation. As the group walked up the stairs, Julian started to explain, "Emery, trust me. I have thought a lot about this matter before deciding to do this. They can give me something that Lord Izta can't. And actually, Lord Izta agreed with my decision."
"Lord Izta did?" Emery asked, which answered with a nod from Julian.
"Of course. Why else do I dare to do this and bring wrath to that great Thracian?!" Julian purposely raised his voice to exclusively annoy Thrax.
Julian glanced at Klea and looked at Emery, "You two should really just focus on the game. If any of you manage to successfully enter the privileged class, then it will be easier for the remaining of us. We will talk more after the game, alright Emery? Klea?"
At the top of the stairs, the group went their separate ways, as only Emery and Klea would be participating in the game. While the two of them walked down the path to the center of the arena, Klea asked, "Are you nervous, Emery?"
Upon hearing that, Emery turned his head to the side and noticed Klea wasn't looking at him, "Surprisingly, I'm not. Not really. Are you?"
"A little bit actually." Klea said, as she stopped her steps and stared at Emery. She closely scrutinized him and smiled.
"What is it?" Emery asked confused, as he didn't know why Klea was smiling looking at him.
Klea chuckled, "Remember the first time I met you? At that time, I already knew you would become a great person."
Emery was startled with Klea's unexpected words. While Emery was in daze, Klea quickly held Emery's hanging arm and jumped in to kiss his cheek.
Emery was obviously startled, he then saw Klea's embarrassed face.
"That...That's for good luck… Thank me later." Klea said, as she ran towards the center of the arena, leaving a speechless Emery behind. Klea moved so fast Emery couldn't see her expression at all.
The final game was about to begin.