"Huh? Another fusion?!"
Alan's spirits suddenly brightened!
Bone-piercing Force and Explosive Palm are both martial arts.
Combined, they would surely create an even more powerful fighting technique!
Based on his experience fusing the "Phantom Step," it's likely a Tier 2 technique!
A Tier 2 technique, surely powerful!
Alan grew increasingly excited the more he thought about it.
Unfortunately, he didn't have even a shred of potential right now.
He had no choice but to put the fusion technique aside and focus on perfecting the Explosive Palm.
After training ended that day, Alan showered in the gym's bathroom.
Just as he was about to head to the cafeteria for lunch, a red ball of light suddenly appeared before him.
Inside the ball of light, a faint image of a griffin, wings spread, was visible.
This was Feilin's "Secret Seal."
Of the young men who arrived at the Warlock Academy on the same ship, two formed the closest friendship with Allen.
One was the frail, gifted young man Angel.
The other was the chubby little Felin, who had awakened his griffin bloodline.
The three studied under different instructors.
The first two spells they learned were "Mystic Mark" and "Telepathy."
So they exchanged "Mystic Mark" to facilitate communication.
Over the past six months, Allen and Felin have corresponded frequently.
The withdrawn Angel hadn't been heard from for a long time.
Until a few days ago, Angel suddenly became the subject of explosive news.
So much so that he garnered the attention of the entire school and became the hottest topic of the moment!
In fact, Allen had already noticed this while on the ship.
Angel was the most talented of all the apprentices.
At the time, Angel was only a novice apprentice, but his spellcasting skills were so exceptional that even senior apprentices, including Allen, were awed by their incompetence.
In fact, Angel's talent was so terrifying that it far exceeded his imagination!
They all enrolled together.
But they started from different perspectives.
Allen and Feilin were both senior apprentices.
It took them over half a year, expending countless magical stones, to finally break through and become a Level 1 Warlock.
This advancement speed was considered exceptionally fast.
Angel, who was at the same time as him, had no money to purchase magical stones. He started as a novice apprentice and, in just six months, crossed two thresholds.
From novice apprentice to Level 1 Warlock!
This advancement speed set a new record in the history of the South Island Federation Warlock Academy!
As soon as the news spread, it immediately caused a sensation.
Angel, a rare commoner genius, was enthusiastically courted by all the major families.
After a period of open and covert strife,
Dean Randolph emerged victorious.
He took Angel under his wing as his personal disciple!
He also introduced his beloved granddaughter, Pamela, the "genius girl" of the Elemental Branch, to Angel.
These two geniuses, both of exceptional pedigree and talent, were destined to be a couple.
If nothing unexpected happened,
When Angel came of age, he would marry into the Randolph family, becoming the son-in-law of the eldest daughter, Pamela.
He would contribute his extraordinary genes to the continued existence of the Randolph family line.
For a gifted young man from a commoner background, this was the best possible future imaginable.
To celebrate, the dean's warlock family held a banquet to celebrate.
Angel was also allowed to invite his friends to the banquet as an exception.
Of the companions on the ship, only three received Angel's invitation:
Alan, Felin, and Duke.
Duke's pedigree and qualifications were impressive, and he was highly regarded by his mentor, having just been promoted to a First-Class Warlock last month.
Sadly, compared to Angel's dazzling talent, Duke's achievements pale in comparison.
The letter Felin had just sent to Allen was full of complaints about Duke.
"Duke, that guy, is so disrespectful!"
"I wanted to invite him to the banquet with us."
"Guess what?"
"He said he threw Angel's invitation in the trash and didn't want to go at all!"
Felin felt Duke was being rude; after all, they had fought side by side on the ship.
Alan, on the other hand, found Duke's refusal unsurprising.
This young man, with the blood of the White Dragon, was arrogant and narrow-minded, and he hated seeing others surpass him.
Angel had invited him to the banquet.
Perhaps Duke would have thought Angel was showing off, provoking him, and embarrassing him! He didn't want to see Angel's meteoric rise to fame.
His refusal to attend the banquet was understandable.
Alan and Felin weren't as competitive as Duke.
Besides, they had a good relationship with Angel, so of course they wanted to show their support to their old friend.
After a brief exchange of letters, Alan and Felin reminded each other to bring flowers and gifts.
They met at the agreed location.
They both wore formal attire, looking respectable. Allen praised Felin for looking even more handsome and gaining weight.
It seemed the food at the Warcraft branch was good.
Felin, standing 1.75 meters tall, complained bitterly to Allen, saying he was secretly growing taller behind his back!
As they walked and chatted, they soon arrived at the Randolph family's magnificent manor and entered with their invitation.
The result was...
They left with high hopes.
They returned disappointed!
They stayed at the manor for less than an hour, not even having dinner, before returning angrily.
When they reached a deserted spot, the chubby little Felin spat fiercely.
"Bah! You look down on me!"
Allen glanced back at him.
He wanted to comfort his indignant friend, but he didn't know where to begin. In the end, he could only sigh.
At tonight's banquet.
Allen and Felin felt the cruel stark contrast between the classes.
The guests invited to the banquet were almost all children of noble families.
They were either princes or daughters of wealthy families.
The word "almost" was because two outliers had sneaked into the party: Allen and Felin.
Alan knew that his humble origins meant he was looked down upon by those arrogant children of the aristocratic families, but he didn't mind.
After all, he had lived through a lifetime and had faced plenty of cold stares in his past.
He simply treated it with a normal attitude.
But Felin was different.
A fourteen-year-old boy, full of vigor and vitality.
Besides, Felin was also from a family of sorcerers.
Although his family was smaller and weaker, they still belonged to the same class. So initially, he thought he was qualified to socialize with those young men and women, seizing the opportunity to expand his network.
To be fair,
Felin was a boy with considerable social talent.
At the banquet, he was a force to be reckoned with, a force to be reckoned with.
For a while, he even overshadowed Angel, becoming the center of attention.
Angel wasn't jealous of his popularity.
He even told Allen that he envied Felin's eloquence and sense of humor, which allowed him to thrive in such situations.
He himself wasn't up to the task.
He had a certain degree of social anxiety.
When surrounded by people, he became too nervous to speak.
However, the problem was that Felin was just too social!
Pamela's best friend, a young lady from a water elemental family, greatly appreciated the fat boy's witty remarks.
It seemed as if he was interested in further developing his friendship.
Thus, he asked Felin which family he came from and which noble bloodline he possessed.
Felin honestly replied that he was from Griffin Island and had awakened the Griffin bloodline.
The banquet hall, once buzzing with cheers, suddenly fell silent!