Liam's refusal to bow his head before the statue of Y'tzyar draws a reprimand from one of his juniors.
"Senior, we're supposed to show respect when passing the statue of the God Y'tzyar."
"You're always scolding people," his friend counters. "You know full well that Senior Liam never does it."
Liam quickly responds before they can argue any further.
"I just feel there's no need to do it. Let's go."
Pointless arguments are not something Liam enjoys. The four of them continue walking, accompanied by light conversation.
However, one of the three juniors seems like he wants to say something but hesitates to speak up.
"Senior Liam." He finally gathers the courage to speak.
The others fall silent but keep walking casually, their expressions curious. Liam turns to the hesitant junior, giving him his full attention.
"Are you going straight back to Argoust?"
Liam looks confused. "Why do you ask? Where else would I return to, if not Argoust?"
"Ah, well... I mean, if you had any plans to look for information about... Senior Chryssa..."
The name he mentions brings Liam to a halt. The others stop as well. Liam's expression clearly shifts to something more serious. The junior who brought it up grows increasingly awkward—until his friend cuts in.
"What are you even talking about? After becoming an Amorta, Senior Chryssa is surely in Cranoa by now. There's no way Senior Liam would go looking for her there."
Cranoa is a cold, sprawling region located in the northern part of the continent of Arkha. It is more widely known as the gathering place of the followers of Demanthes, the Dark God who once plunged the people of Arkha into a nightmare that lasted nearly a hundred years.
Amorta is the term for humans who have lost their consciousness and sanity, completely transformed into devoted worshippers of Demanthes. They are recognizable by their pitch-black eyes.
That was what happened to Chryssa—the once cheerful teenage girl who changed, her eyes turning cold, her mind knowing only Demanthes.
Liam can't forget that bitter memory. Losing someone so precious to him.
"Yeah." Liam replies in a low voice to his junior. "I... have thought about finding Chryssa. But Cranoa isn't an easy region to enter. I'm still trying to figure out how."
"That's why, Senior..." the junior who had brought up Chryssa earlier cuts in. "I heard that Senior Damian captured several mage infiltrators from Cranoa."
"Damian?"
"Yeah. Maybe you could ask Senior Damian for help in obtaining information from them."
A suggestion worth considering for Liam.
"Thanks, I'll think about it."
.
A wide field with a festively designed event stage is already bustling with academy students.
Broadly speaking, there are three variations of student uniforms at Verlyn Academy.
The uniform with a white base and tosca-colored accents signifies students from the Kingdom of Karsh.
The uniform with a black base and tosca accents belongs to students from the Kingdom of Argoust.
Meanwhile, uniforms featuring a mix of dark and light tosca shades represent students from the region of Carrion—who make up the majority within the academy.
The event host steps onto the stage, instantly energizing the atmosphere with his flamboyant appearance and loud, enthusiastic voice.
"Students of Verlyn Academy! Welcome to the 77th Battlemage Competition!"
Applause from the audience erupts instantly, filling the air.
"This is one of Verlyn Academy's annual competitions, held to showcase the finest talents among our battlemage students. Who will claim the title of Strongest Battlemage this year?"
A name is immediately shouted by the overly enthusiastic group of students from Argoust.
"ZEFF LOUUU ROAAAN!!"
Liam and his three juniors are stunned by the overwhelming enthusiasm of the Argoust students.
"Impressive! They already know who the winner is before it even starts."
"Isn't that the name of the student who made it to the semifinals last year?"
"That means he's definitely going to be the champion this year."
"Wanna bet? Loser has to shout, 'Duel with Senior Liam!'"
The three cheerful juniors burst into loud laughter again, and Liam smiles along at their playful banter.
But suddenly, a heavy thud shakes the ground—caused by a strong landing from a young man in an Argoust academy uniform, who jumps down from a height and lands right next to Liam's group.
The impact startles the three patrol-uniformed juniors, their hearts skipping a beat, while Liam's attention is immediately drawn to the newcomer.
Zeff Lou Roan arrives, answering the cheers of his classmates calling his name. He's a tall, muscular young man with dark blue hair, sharp eyes, and an intense presence. The force of his landing still lingers, crackling with faint sparks of purple electro-elemental energy around his body.
Liam's gaze lingers on Zeff for quite some time, stunned as he senses something unusual about the young man's presence. For a brief moment, Zeff glances back at Liam. Then, drawn by the cheers of his peers, he turns and walks toward the crowded viewing area.
His arrival is met with loud, enthusiastic greetings from the Argoust students.
Liam's three juniors are stunned, "Whoa, they just shouted his name—and he showed up right after!"
"His elemental aura is incredibly strong," Liam observes. "No wonder he made it to the semifinals last year."
"See, Senior? I told you! And this year, he's definitely going to be the winner!" says the junior who bet on Zeff, striking an overly confident pose.
It sparks a wave of pessimism from the junior standing next to him.
"Ah, I'm backing out of the bet. Now that Senior Liam said that, I'm not so sure my champion's going to win."
"Who did you bet on, anyway?"
"The son of Duke Lavrel from Karsh."
His two friends exclaim in unison, "Tseryo Lavrel? He's competing too??"
Liam, now intrigued, asks, "Is he strong as well?"
"We once escorted his expedition party to the Outlands. When the houls attacked, Tseryo Lavrel took down a bunch of them all by himself."
"I think his abilities are evenly matched with Zeff Lou Roan."
Liam tries to recall the student they're talking about.
"Has he participated in the competition before?"
"Never. That's why I was surprised he joined this year's competition. I thought a noble like him wouldn't want to be a public spectacle in the arena."
"Whoa, it's gonna be epic if Tseryo Lavrel faces Zeff Lou Roan in the finals. I hope, they're signed up in different groups."
"We have to watch all the way to the finals, even if it means skipping patrol duty!"
"Ahem!" Liam quickly responds with a warning tone. "I haven't officially resigned from the academy yet, so I'm still your senior in the patrol team."
The three juniors flinch, realizing they've let something slip in front of the wrong person. "S-sorry, Senior! We just got a little too excited!"
Liam keeps a stern expression on his face, but inside, he's quietly amused by his juniors' panicked reactions.
Tseryo Lavrel, the young man the three patrol juniors had been talking about, is at that moment standing on the second-floor balcony of a building overlooking the event stage.
His light gray, thick hair is neatly styled—befitting a nobleman's son. His gaze is calm and expressionless as he looks off into the distance—more precisely, toward the group of Argoust students still showering Zeff with praise.
Several Karsh students standing near Tseryo wear sour expressions as they watch the unity and enthusiasm of the Argoust students.
"Huh, those Argoust people are so arrogant! Just because Zeff Lou Roan got lucky and made it to the semifinals last year."
"Our young master Lavrel is just as impressive. Just wait—once Zeff Lou Roan gets thrown out of the arena, they'll all quiet down. Isn't that right, young master?"
The presence of the famed duke's son commands deep respect from the Karsh students, to the point that they're willing to shower the young master with flattery.
But none of their praise leaves any impression on Tseryo. His gaze begins to show signs of boredom.
Even so, his tone remains calm and polite in response.
"Only a formidable battlemage can reach the semifinals. I wouldn't be so arrogant as to say I could easily throw Zeff Lou Roan out of the arena."
The sweet-talking students around Tseryo let out awkward laughs, feeling subtly chastised.
"Ahaha... we just wanted to show our support for you, Young Master."
"Well then, thank you."
Tseryo gives a formal smile and continues walking alone, leaving the group of Karsh students behind. Though he finds them distasteful, no emotion shows on his face. He keeps it all in with ease.
The host is still enthusiastically delivering competition-related information on stage, but nothing he says interests Tseryo anymore. That is, until the voices of two girls chatting below finally catch the young nobleman's attention.
A blonde-haired girl and a soft green-haired girl—Vichella Arleith and Jacelin Lurca. Both wear the Karsh academy uniform. Though the color is the same, Jacelin's uniform has a slightly different design, indicating her from the alchemy department, while Vichel is a battlemage student.
Liam and his patrol juniors, who are currently heading somewhere else, happen to pass right beside Vichel and Jacelin on their way.
While chatting casually with his companions, Liam glances briefly to the side—just out of habit—and unintentionally catches sight of Vichel.
His golden eyes are instantly drawn to the girl.
A surge of unexplainable emotion echoes in his heart.
Though his feet continue moving alongside the three juniors, Liam no longer speaks—a silent trance overtakes him as his gaze remains fixed on Vichel's face. Time seems to slow, every detail of the girl's beauty etched vividly into his sight. The way she smiles as she chats with her friend—it's all he can see.
All of it continues to fill Liam's enchanted heart even more.
Like a phenomenon of love at first sight, Liam's eyes gaze upon a beautiful sight he has no desire to look away from.
Until,
THUD!
The hard collision with a streetlamp pole finally snapped Liam back to reality—reminding him just how painful it is to walk straight into a metal post because he wasn't watching where he was going.
"Aagh!" he groans, trying to muffle the sound as quickly as possible.
"Senior? How did you…?" Worried yet trying to stifle their laughter, the three juniors quickly rush to check on their senior's condition.
Liam grimaces in pain, holding the spot on his head where he bumped it. The three juniors are still puzzled, wondering how their usually sharp senior could possibly space out so much that he walked straight into a lamp post.
The loud thud of the collision reaches Vichel and Jacelin as well, drawing their attention toward the source of the noise—toward Liam and his companions. But from where the girls are standing, they can only see the backs of the group, leaving them unaware of who exactly had caused the commotion.
"He ran into a lamp post? Where were his eyes while walking?" Jacelin remarked with a soft, sarcastic laugh.
Meanwhile, from the second-floor balcony, everything that happened to Liam is clearly visible to Tseryo. His usually calm and emotionless expression shifts, showing a trace of scorn as he watches Liam continue walking with the three juniors.
"Why did he stare at Vichel?"