A large gate stood open with a carriage parked on the stone pavement.
Rush stood there facing his father, looking up at him. Erwin placed his hand on Rush's head.
"Believe. And take care. "
Rush looked at his father, repeating the words in his mind.
Believe.
Erwin got into his carriage and left. Rush watched it until it disappeared and the gates closed.
He turned and walked toward the magic training class.
As soon as he entered the training ground, all eyes turned to him. Rush had noticed it before he even walked in.
Every student who saw him had a look in their eyes. They were all deciding what he was. He knew the reason.
Even though the Academy released its official statement about the Phantom Sleeper's attack which stated: 'A demon attack took place during a training exercise in the Hunter's Willow which led to one casualty. A student named Darius Vale died protecting his squad. The Demon was successfully eliminated. All the students involved are safe, with minor injuries. The incident is still under investigation. '
The rumors told a different story. And with all the first years present, they were bound to spread. Students whispered of it for days because they were unbelievable — two first-years with Verdant core defeating a Greater Demon were unheard of.
Rush scanned the training ground and found them.
His friends — Nia, Slavic, Ethan and Jennifer.
Slavic waved from across the ground.
Rush walked toward them, ignoring the eyes and the whispers both.
"Do you really think he could defeat a Greater Demon with Nia's help?"
"Even if he's a Ryanheart, defeating a Phantom Sleeper at Early Verdant core — impossible. "
He ignored many more comments than these but he couldn't ignore a particular gaze that he felt. It was hot. Fierce. It was Richard's.
He definitely has something to say to me, Rush thought, glancing at Richard from the corner of his eye.
"Yes. And from the looks of it, bad news," Beelzebub said.
"So— what did I miss this week ?"
Rush said looking at Slavic and others.
"Nothing much — magic barrier lessons," Slavic said.
Jennifer spoke before Rush could make a comment.
"Don't worry. I'll help you with that."
Rush looked at her, surprised.
"Thanks. Let's do this after training."
Rosetta arrived a few minutes later — the new mentor for Rush's squad along with Richard's. That meant Rush and Richard had to train together.
She gathered up her squads and began training. Richard didn't say a word the whole time. Neither did Ryanheart.
Richard came to Rush directly and looked into his eyes. Rush didn't waver. He heard a movement beside him.
Nia. Her attention never left Richard.
Rush had the distinct impression that if this stopped being a conversation, she already knew exactly what she would do.
"Ryanheart — I challenge you to a duel."
Dragonean unpinned the button from his collar and threw it at Rush's feet. It meant an official challenge for a duel. Only noble houses observed this custom.
Everyone was looking at them. Among nobles, it was a big deal.
Rush looked at the button with a dragon head carved into it, lying on the ground.
"I refuse."
The students began chattering. Murmurs filled the space around them.
"What?" Richard said, unable to process it."You're refusing a duel."
Among nobles, refusing an official duel meant weakness. Disgrace to the family name.
"Why should I accept? I don't have a reason to."
The crowd went silent. Rosetta had not moved.
She stood several meters away with her arms crossed.
Watching.
Evaluating.
Allowing the confrontation to reach its natural conclusion.
Richard's eyes were fierce.
"I didn't need your help in the Hunter's Willow. I'm capable enough to look after myself."
"So— it's about that."
Rush exhaled slowly.
"I didn't save you because I consider you weak. I did it to save a party member about to be killed."
Richard's expression clearly found it insufficient. He clearly didn't like that.
Rush walked forward. Picked the button. And placed it in Richard's palm.
"I won't owe my life to a Ryanheart," Richard said in low voice only to be heard by Rush. "I hate the guts of it."
It triggered Rush. His eyes shifted. His fingers curled into a fist. But he knew where it was coming from.
Before Rush could reply, a voice echoed.
"Students. Attention here."
Professor Spellworth. Standing at the center of the training ground.
Everyone turned their attention towards the professor. Rush's fingers released from the fist.
Professor continued.
"Six weeks from now the inter-squad trials begin. These trials will determine the five top-performing squads. From those five squads, three competition teams will be formed for the Hexan Crucible."
The room shifted.
Hexan Crucible was well known to every single person of Etherion.
"Hexan Crucible — the annual inter-Academy competition held by joint cooperation between the major Academies of Etherion. The primary event is the Crucible itself — team and individual combat between first-year students from each participating Academy."
It was more than a inter-Academy competition, it was a way for the students to announce themselves to the world. Heroes, Emperors, Royal Generals, Archmages, legendary Hunters and Faction leaders would be present at the Crucible.
Professor Spellworth looked across the assembled students.
"Your performance in the trials determines whether you compete. Your performance in the competition determines how this Academy is represented."
His eyes moved across the students.
"I suggest you train accordingly."
He looked at Alexis. Then at Rosetta. And at all the mentors.
"Mentors will coordinate supplementary training sessions after regular classes. Beginning tomorrow."
Rosetta nodded once.
Spellworth's eyes moved — briefly, specifically — to Rush.
Then to Richard.
Then he turned and walked out.
The training ground broke into conversation immediately — the particular urgent conversation of people who had just received information that reorganized their priorities.
Rush looked at the entrance Spellworth had walked through.
The Hexan Crucible. Other Academies. Competition beyond Etherion's borders.
He filed it.Then turned.
Richard was still standing where he had been.
Not looking at Rush. Looking at the entrance Spellworth had used. His expression had changed — the amber heat of the confrontation still present, but something else there now alongside it.
Rush recognized the look.
He's getting his duel after all, Rush thought.
It was unavoidable to begin with, Beelzebub said.
Rush looked at Richard for a moment.
He didn't look back.
Rush picked up his coat and walked toward the exit.
Behind him — the training ground's conversation, the plans beginning to form, the squads recalibrating around new information.
And somewhere in that noise — Richard Dragonean, standing very still, the amber warmth of his presence radiating outward into the space around him, thinking about something Rush didn't have access to and wasn't going to be given access to.
Not yet.
The tension between them hadn't resolved.
It had simply found a new shape.