The bell rang, signaling the end of the third period. Every teacher instructed their class to gather on the field.
Hearing this, some students were surprised, some were happy, some acted lazy or indifferent, and others just chatted with their desk partners.
"What are we being told to do this time?"
"Dunno."
"I don't wanna go outside, it's too hot."
"Is someone having a sparring match?"
"Maybe."
A few moments later, everyone had gathered on the field. Teacher George stood atop a podium with a small microphone.
"An announcement to all students present: we are holding an important event—an inter-class sparring match to compete for the thrones of the top 10 strongest students. Representing the 3rd-year Wizard class, the Greenflame, Suo Diha...!!!"
The crowd cheered enthusiastically as Suo walked up and stood to the left of Mr. George.
"—and his opponent, a transfer student with quite skilled swordsmanship, Celis Von D'e."
The crowd remained silent, though Hella's voice rang out clearly:
"Whooouuu, Celis!!!"
Hella, Mitha, and Shintia stood watching Celis from the very back row at the edge.
Shintia looked at Hella with an annoyed expression.
"Stop screaming, it won't even reach over there, you know."
Hella stared back at her with a weird look on her face and said, "Nyenyenye."
Celis stood on the right side with a serious, cold expression, staring at Suo.
Suo looked back at him and said confidently,
"Even though you look like you're from the North Pole, nobody is even cheering for you."
"Oh yeah? And here I thought I just had a straight face."
Even so, Celis's heart was beating fast from nervousness. His anxiety was always like this when facing large crowds, because anxiety depends heavily on a person's mental state and thoughts.
Mr. George stepped back from the podium, and Suo stepped up to take his place.
"Sorry for making you all stand in the heat, but I'll only cover the important points—well, at least according to me. First, this sparring match is being held to defend my rank as the 7th out of the 12 strongest people in this school. And this new kid caused trouble with me by kicking me first; naturally, that's what triggered this match—"
Celis muttered softly from the back.
"Such a show-off."
"—Therefore, we all know he's a transfer student brought in by Mr. George. His choice is the best, and his decision is the best. If I lose this match, there will be an update regarding the 12 strongest people in this school, so watch tomorrow morning at 8 AM at Aji Imbut Stadium. That is all."
Hearing that, the crowd cheered in support of Suo. In the front row, Dea was ecstatic and thrilled to see Suo looking so dashing and confident.
"KYAAAA!!!! HONEYYYYY!!!"
Suo waved, then stepped down from the podium, replaced by Celis. Instantly, the atmosphere went dead silent.
Celis looked around. That unpleasant feeling made him lose confidence; he lowered his head, let out a sigh, and then looked back forward with conviction.
"I won't ramble on like before, keeping it short. I thank Mr. George for introducing me to this school. I'll admit it... this school is just a stepping stone for me!"
The students were stunned and furious upon hearing that. Mr. George hadn't expected Celis to pull something like this. Hella, Shintia, and Mitha were all startled at the same time.
"Meaning, I'm just using the strongest people here as my stepping stones to become the strongest!"
Celis ended his speech with a smirk and stepped down from the podium. The students were outraged and furious at what he had said.
Shouts erupted, and chaos broke out.
"What do you mean by that?!"
"Show-off transfer student!"
"Shut your trap!"
"You think you're tough!"
"Talks too much for a transfer student!"
"You think talking like that makes you look cool?!"
"This kid who just popped up yesterday morning is so damn noisy!"
Mr. George returned to the podium and pretended to cough. His voice rang out clearly, instantly silencing the crowd.
Suo chuckled and said, "You've got a lot of nerve talking like that in front of them."
"I thought you were just some love-struck weirdo, turns out you actually respect your opponent. Talking casually to an enemy."
Suo chuckled. "I'm not like that."
The closing speech ended with a final remark from Mr. George: "Tomorrow at 8 AM at Aji Imbut Stadium."
The next day, early morning at 7:12 AM.
Celis, wearing a plain long-sleeved black t-shirt and plain black pants, was in the kitchen, sitting across from Shintia at the dining table.
Shintia felt uncomfortable seeing him dressed in what she thought was way too casual.
"Try wearing proper clothes."
Celis looked confused. "My shirt isn't inside out."
Shintia sighed.
"At least wear something a bit nice, like some armor, or something a bit classy. This looks like you're just going over to a neighbor's house."
Celis ignored her, picked up some tempeh and tofu, and ate them while dipping them into crushed chili sambal. "Delicious."
"Are you listening? You're going to meet a lot of people later, and outsiders from outside the school are going to watch you there too."
Celis replied as he carried away his empty plate.
"I'm a simple person, I don't want any hassle."
Shintia felt slightly annoyed with him.
"Weirdo."
Afterward, the time had finally arrived. Aji Imbut Stadium was crowded with visitors and spectators. The stadium had been renovated, upgraded into a much better venue than before.
However, the field had been transformed; what was previously known as a vast soccer field was now covered in grass, turned into an arena for testing each other's strength.
Shintia, Hella, and Mitha arrived and took their seats. Hella asked Shintia, "Shintia, where's Celis?"
"Didn't see him, he went ahead."
"Is that so?"
Shintia didn't answer, taking a sip of iced tea from a plastic cup instead. Mitha felt nervous having Hella sitting right next to her.
In fact, they hadn't even been properly introduced yet, making Mitha feel awkward around the others.
Right in the middle of the field, a bolt of lightning struck, startling the audience. It turned out the lightning belonged to Mr. George, who used it to teleport effortlessly. Holding a microphone, he spoke:
"Hello everyone, good morning. I didn't expect so many people to show up, almost filling up all the seats in this stadium. Before that, allow me—as the person in charge of this match as well as the referee, George Gerrard—to kick off this exciting event."
A marble-sized green flame flickered in front of the spectators, circled around them, and then returned to the index finger of Suo, who stood on the left side of the field.
George shouted enthusiastically, "Behold the figure of the Greenflame, SUO DIHAAA!!!!!'
The audience burst into loud applause, and Suo waved to the surroundings.
A straight black line appeared on the right side, and a portal opened up. Celis emerged from it, walking casually while holding the Sumitsu sword.
The audience was startled by his arrival.
George shouted loudly, "The transfer student with massive guts and huge ambitions, CELIS VON D'E!!!!!"
Only a portion of the crowd clapped for him, nowhere near as loud as Suo's reception.
Suo shouted loudly, "Are you gay? Copying my black outfit?"
As it happened, Suo was wearing a black turtleneck accented with subtle white stripes, black pants, and tall boots.
In contrast, Celis was just wearing a plain long-sleeved black t-shirt, black pants, and flip-flops.
Celis shot back, "Who would want to copy a show-off like you?"
Suo chuckled. "I'm just kidding."
They stood in their respective positions. Mr. George extended his hand, then pulled it up into the air while shouting, "START!!!!"
Mr. George stepped back out of the field. Suo and Celis smiled at each other.
Suo said to Celis, "Don't disappoint me."
Celis replied with a smirk, "I should be the one saying that."