Chapter 68: Friends
As the buzzer announced Ain’s victory, he promptly exited the possession state. A disheartened and injured Nox materialized beside him. Being a ghost-attribute spirit pet, its injuries weren’t visible, but their presence was evident, reflecting in Nox's current demeanor.
In reality, they had struggled to maintain the possession state. Nox had already suffered severe injuries from the Radiant Bolt, with power equivalent to Advanced Rank-1. Then, they were hit successively by Blinding Flash and Brilliant Beam.
If Ain hadn’t used Possession right before the Brilliant Beam struck them, the battle would’ve ended at that moment.
After using Possession, Ain’s physique reached the threshold of Beginner Rank-2. Nonetheless, they still sustained severe injuries from the Brilliant Beam. The skill’s power was evident.
A few seconds of silence ensued after the unexpected conclusion before the venue broke out into an uproar. Cheers and shouts instantly drowned the arena.
“We have a winner! Ain Weisman has triumphed over Frans Vaughan in a thrilling battle, securing the ultimate victory in this interclass competition! Let's hear a round of applause!” Teacher Linus' enthusiastic announcement ignited even louder cheers from the watching students.
"…" On the arena, with his ears ringing, Ain gazed at the indistinct figures of the spectators and sighed inwardly. “My senses still haven’t fully returned.”
Blinding Flash thoroughly targeted his senses. Not only was his visual perception weakened, but so was his auditory perception. It was only due to Possession and Nox’s ability to sense life auras that Ain accurately located Frans.
Amidst the cheers, the medics jumped out once again. They quickly separated to attend to both injured parties.
After a quick examination, they were escorted to an attached medical room to receive further treatment. Ain quietly followed along whilst covered in a dense green light. There was a butterfly, about the size of two palms, floating beside him as it constantly healed him.
Back at the arena, Teacher Linus announced another break before the rewards ceremony would commence. As the victor, Ain’s presence was required during such an occasion. They urged the medics to work on the double to heal them.
The medical room was lined with chairs and hospital beds. After consuming the provided healing pills, Ain’s treatment continued. Nox was also beside him, similarly, covered in different glows. Its health was improving visibly as it became more active.
Not far away, Frans’ situation was identical. His broken arm was being healed as another healer cared for the Brilliant Fae beside him. In this match, Frans was the one who received the least amount of damage.
One thing they all shared in common was fatigue, but it was also being washed away.
Soon, Ain’s senses completely recovered. After all, they weren’t severely damaged. They would’ve recovered even without the treatment.
When they were sufficiently healed, the medics left after giving them some advice.
Ain and Frans stood up from the bed simultaneously and their gazes met. Ain didn’t say anything and remained quiet, wondering if he should say something.
But before he could think of something, Frans smiled naturally while saying, “Ain, I expected you to be strong and was even prepared for defeat, but still, I’m completely astonished at your power. As expected of someone who reached Rank-0 on the first day.”
“You’re also very powerful, especially that last attack.” Ain replied sincerely. Frans was the strongest opponent he had ever faced. Even during his trips outside, the encounters with Intermediate Rank-1 Spirit Tamers and Advanced Rank-1 Spirit Beasts didn’t pose as much of a challenge as Frans did.
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To him, all these matches displayed the clear difference between a talented and an untalented spirit tamer.
The combination of a spirit tamer and spirit pet wasn’t a simple one plus one equals two. Although Ain was familiar with this saying, he now personally experienced it.
After chatting for a little bit, Frans thought of something and said, “Ain, I’m sure you know that I’m the one who created the Red Oak Elite group chat.”
Ain nodded, obviously aware of this.
Frans continued, “My obvious purpose is to expand my connections, but even more importantly, it’s to find friends on my journey as a spirit tamer.”
“To me, friends are different from peers. Everyone in the group chat is a peer, but only some are my friends. Although there will be both friends and peers on my journey forward, I hope to see my friends walk alongside me, helping and competing as we grow stronger.”
Reaching this point, Frans paused before saying with a serious expression, “So Ain, will you be my friend?”
Ain’s expression remained constant as he contemplated for a couple seconds. Then he extended his hand toward Frans and replied, “Sure.”
“Great!” Frans smiled once again and firmly shook Ain’s hand.
On the side, Nox and the Brilliant Fish eavesdropped on the conversation.
When Nox saw Ain’s handshake with Frans, Nox pondered for a second before extending a Phantom Claw towards the Brilliant Fae, mimicking its spirit tamer’s actions.
The Brilliant Fae almost scrambled for cover when it saw the familiar white claw that injured it earlier. It glanced at Frans with some hesitation before wearily using its white horn to tap Nox’s claw, expressing their friendship.
Observing their spirit pet’s interaction, Frans laughed out loud while Ain smiled.
At this moment, one of the medics returned with two new sets of uniforms before handing them off to the pair.
“Change into these quickly and return to the arena. The rewards ceremony will begin soon.” The medic said before exiting the room once again.
The two looked down and finally saw their miserable uniforms, especially Ain, who looked worse than a beggar.
“I’ll go change in the shower.” Frans said and immediately left to change. Ain nodded and began to change his clothes as well. Since he had the opportunity, he cleaned his face at a nearby sink and tied his hair once again.
He thought back to Frans’ speech before he finally asked to be friends and compared it to Hugo’s casual way of becoming friends without realization.
“It probably has something to do with his upbringing,” Ain mused for a second. For Frans, who hailed from an elite family, the concept of friendship likely bore greater significance.
A few minutes later, Frans returned, having changed into the new uniform, looking no different from before the match.
As they made their way out, Frans spoke up, “Since we both practice martial arts, how about we meet up for a spar? I haven’t found any worthy opponents recently.”
“Sure, I’ve also been wanting to spar using martial arts.” Ain readily agreed. He had similar thoughts.
“We can meet up at my house. I’ll let you know of a good time.” Frans happily responded and the two returned to the side of the arena.
Upon their arrival, the rewards ceremony finally commenced. It was called the rewards ceremony, but that was just a formal name. The rewards wouldn’t really be provided here, but rather, had to be claimed the next day. The actual highlight was the reward presented by the principal.
All the participating students stood in the arena once again. The ones who ranked within the top one hundred stood at the front, while the top ten took another step forward.
After offering her praise and congratulations to the students, Teacher Linus invited Vice Principal Salvian to take over.
Vice Principal Salvian similarly praised the students and motivated them to continue working hard. After concluding his ten-minute-long speech, he finally invited Principal Green to offer a few words and personally reward the victor, Ain.
Principal Green’s expression was neutral as he walked onto the arena. The students bowed and greeted him with respect. Not only was he the principal, but he was also a powerful spirit tamer. They couldn’t neglect their respect for him.
With steady footsteps, Principal Green arrived in front of Ain and looked into his eyes. He brought his hand up from his side, and something magically appeared in it midway, surprising some of the students who saw this.
What was sitting in the palm of his hand was a bright purple fruit, bearing resemblance to a pineapple. There were puffy, white, cloud-like patterns surrounding the fruit, giving it a mysterious and noble aura. This was the Purple Cloud Fruit that was highly sought after in the city.
Principal Green handed the Purple Cloud Fruit to Ain amidst everyone’s envious gazes. “Good job, continue working hard.”
Ain received the spirit fruit with two hands and thanked Principal Green for the generous reward.
After offering a few simple words, Principal Green glanced at the rest of the students on the arena and said, “Today is only the first of such competitions. You all have to work hard and improve. Only then will you have the opportunity to receive better rewards.”
His voice wasn’t loud, but it resounded in the entire venue, allowing all the students to hear it clearly. A round of applause broke out soon after, drawing the curtains on Red Oak Spirit Academy’s first interclass competition.
Soon, under the setting sun, the venue was slowly vacated as the students and teachers alike left the academy.
Ain greeted Hugo and Teacher Turner briefly before heading home as well. The Purple Cloud Fruit was held to his side within a special bag prepared by the academy.