The participants started to return to their schools. Some schools looked happy while some schools were depressed.
Ace Academy was definitely in the happy camp. Initially, not many people, including Ace Academy professors, believed that our school would win the tournament.
But now, we are the ones taking the trophy!
With bright faces and delight written all over their expressions, anyone can tell that students of Ace Academy were very satisfied with this year’s tournament.
We boarded the bus and were ready to depart.
Then came the hellish period where we had to stay still for hours before reaching the school.
However, unlike before, people inside were chatting excitedly. Seniors were also talking excitedly with each other, mostly about the guilds that had approached them to recruit.
Many students were taking this opportunity to speak with Lisanna. She was the one who had gotten the most in this tournament. All the big guilds came to recruit her with all kinds of promises. Some went as far as to say that in five years they will make sure to ascend her to rank A.
People would also have gone and spoken with Zero if not for Professor Mia who was sitting just next to him. Who can tell what kind of punishment they will receive if they misspoke and got on her wrong side?
Due to this, they refrained from going to Zeros’ side. .
Hiros’ side was very popular with many students talking about what he wants to do in the future. Like joining a guild, raiding the tower, or maybe carrying justice with The Authority.
Well, Zero already knows what he will decide or rather be forced into. Hiro, the main character, gets into all kinds of trouble, revealing mysteries of this world each time and getting closer to the villain behind mass murders and other criminal activities.
That’s why his path eventually became The Authority agent. It was because the information that he needed to track down the villains was with The Authority who wouldn’t reveal it to others.
Lisa, Sylvia, and Zion also help in his quest though they don’t join The Authority. They don’t need to as they get all kinds of support from their parents who are all filthy rich.
However, his main objective was always to find the Demon who attacked his parents though, in the novel, he never was able to. Maybe in the future, he does. Anyway, his objective does not get fulfilled even when he joins The Authority.
Anyway, many students were very interested in knowing Hiro’s goal and what he wants to achieve. Hiro is one of the most talented humans who would gain a high position in the future, and they wanted to make friends with him when they had the chance.
The journey for many students was very exciting though Zero was bored with having to sit in one place.
With time, participants were getting more and more excited. Most of the participants were anticipating the rewards they would receive from the school. They expect at least Rank-B artifacts or at least LVL 4 Art.
They cannot wait for them to get their hands on them.
For people like Lisa and Hiro, this type of reward was not particularly attractive because they had superior artifacts and Art. Lisa, with her background, can easily obtain any artifact she desires, and Hiro, with his system, will provide him with all kinds of artifacts in exchange for points.
******
We traveled relatively the same way as when we went to the Spirit Meadow. The only difference was that the students and professors were more excited because of the trophy.
We arrived at our destination safely.
Students began stepping out of the bus with proud expressions. They were the winners who brought back the trophy for the school.
There were people receiving us at the Ace Academy entrance. They congratulated the participants for their hard work. Their welcome was full of admiration.
They seemed even more excited than us.
One by one, we got off and we were told to gather in the academy’s main hall.
We entered the stage one by one, and the other students and professors applauded and congratulated us.
The participants raised their heads and showed off a little. They seemed to really like this kind of treatment.
Then the Vice-principal appeared and praised us for all our hard work. He started to reiterate the Ace Academy’s great history. In any case, it appears to be an event that was designed to show appreciation to the participants.
This was mainly for showing appreciation to the participants and there were no rewards given. Our vice-principal said we would get the rewards tomorrow and that they would be excellent.
Right after that, I went to my dorm which I had missed for two weeks. After taking a shower, I jump onto my bed.
This trip has taught me a lot of things and how dangerous this world could become. Even with strength, you need connection and resources if you want to provide for your loved ones.
I had resources but not many connections. NightShade was the only guild that I could count on if I fought with Dark Guild.
( I needed to collec…, I mean recruit good talent that could protect my family in the future. )
There were many talents that I could lure into my side at this early stage of the novel. They could turn into a big help if I nurture them well.
I also need to upgrade the power of Shadow genesis and NightShade. Just giving resources to the NightShade was enough for them but for Shadow Genesis, I would also need to give them some strong Art.
Getting Lvl 7 and above Art is impossible, so the best that I can give them is Lvl 6 Art which should be good enough. And I need to collect some strong skills which are compatible with my parents.
As for me, I would soon get my new Art and then I would go and retrieve the item that would really make me invincible. The only problem was that it could take years before I got that item.
Zero thought about many things and sighed!
“It seems like I need to leave the Academy earlier than I thought.”
I had thought about this for a while. I could gradually become strong in this Academy but it seems that staying in this Academy could turn into a problem.
For one, as I said before, the main characters are experts at attracting trouble and everything that they get involved in is linked with the interest of many strong organizations. Just like when I interfered with the tournament which hurt the interest of the Dark Guild.
As a whole, the main character group is relatively safe because of their good backgrounds, but for me, it was different. I had to rely on my own skill and connection.
As a result, I even endangered my parents for a worthless tournament. I had already decided to stay far away from Hiro and the most effective way to do it was to get out of this school.
With the knowledge about this world, I would get more opportunities by exploring the world than staying here. I already got most of the knowledge that an academy can provide.
And secondly, like I previously said to withstand the power of Dark Energy I need an item. The item was called Dragon Heart which is an extremely rare Rank-SS item.
This type of item only appears once a century and whoever eats it will have their veins strengthened, being able to handle all kinds of chaotic mana and also strengthen the body. This was the ideal item that could instantly boost my strength to a whole new level.
With the rarity of the item, I would have normally given up on it if I didn’t already know how to obtain it. I already knew the location of this item but it would take a long time nevertheless. At most three years and at minimum, 1 year.
“3 years…”
It was neither too long nor too short, especially for those of us who could live more than two hundred years. Yet, wasting such a short youth was a foolish choice.
But Zero was determined. The world was not going to wait for him to grow up. He must acquire all the power he can before the major events begin.
One part of him wanted to stay and watch the main characters grow and fight against all kinds of problems. He was even willing to help them if needed.
But even that feeling was inferior to the urgency of obtaining the Dragon Heart.
Moreover, Zero already knows that Hiro and others were strong and they could solve the problems on their own. I mean they were ‘Main Characters’ unlike him who is a mob character.
However, he still has time to think carefully about this. It was not like he had to leave tomorrow. He still has many things to do before he could leave.
He must first provide his allies with resources and strengthen his parents before he can leave without worrying.
He also had to collect lots of resources because he had to stay in a place where resources are scarce for years. That preparation will also take considerable time.
He has at least two months left before he leaves!