Connor’s plan fell apart faster than the bodies Arthur smashed during the fight. Though he had luckily survived, as the main instigator of this attack, his safety was questionable at best.
“I… I was ordered by Charles to do this.” he told Ana. “A noble, like that guy. We just can’t fight them.” His acting was convincing, especially since he was genuinely terrified of Arthur. Unfortunately, Ana couldn’t care less.
After descending in front of him, she grabbed the teen by the collar and threw him into a nearby tree. Realizing a fight was inevitable, Connor ran mana through his body and went low for a punch to the stomach.
However, to Ana, he was moving in slow motion. She grabbed the high rank 0 mage’s hand and pulled it towards her. While the boy was flying forward, her free hand grabbed his head and slammed it into the ground.
Though dazed, Connor tried to get up only for a kick to send him flying into another tree. A barrage of kicks and punches followed which only stopped once his mana was drained and his face had been drastically remodeled.
“That’s it?” asked Ethan annoyed. “If you don’t kill him, he’ll just bring us more trouble.”
“We can handle it.” answered Ana while shaking the blood off her hands.
Her stance was firm, though she seemed naïve to Ethan. Sure, they got stronger, but there were plenty of strong mages left in Last Heaven.
“This is reckless, but whatever.” If something unexpected happened, they could just run.
“So… shall we call it a day?” asked Arthur from the side. He knew running wouldn’t be possible, especially since the two could now fly.
“If you throw me your ring, sure.” answered Ethan. “But, you can keep the armor and sword. Those are too telling.” A bit of robbery would likely be overlooked, but stealing what seemed to be the family’s heirloom was bound to piss off Arthur’s grandfather.
“If you think this armor and sword are the only cards I'm hiding up my sleeves, you’re greatly mistaken.” warned the teen.
In exchange, Ethan shrugged unconcerned. To make his point, he pulled a stack of papers out of his dimensional ring. There were more than 50 scrolls neatly tied together with a rope.
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Finally, with his free hand, he took out Ana’s knife and held it over the papers.
“If I shove this creepy as hell knife into these scrolls, a mid-rank three thunder will strike you upside the head.” Hearing these words, Arthur was taken aback while Ana winced at her gift’s description. “And, if you think this is all I'm hiding up my sleeves, you’re greatly mistaken.”
The noble boy went silent. He knew the two had ordered 1000 scrolls before going into seclusion. Less than 100 were in his hand meaning he could use this trick several times over.
“How about me and Ana have a one on one.” he proposed. “Winner takes all.”
“Of course.” said Ana with a provoking smile. “At the tournament.”
Despite his murder spree, the girl did not hold a grudge. All her mercy for Connor's gang ran out the moment they tried to kill her.
"Make your choice already." Ethan insisted. "This is getting annoying."
Basically, Arthur could either hand over his dimensional pocket or get his ass beat. Though both options would hurt his pride, one was significantly worse.
“Fine.” In resignation, he threw over the ring. “However, after I beat you on the sand, I’m expecting it back.”
“Certainly.” answered Ana. “Good luck.”
With things finally settled, the teens split up without a fight. While Arthur took out his anger on the few unlucky mages that remained on the mountain, Ethan and Ana began gathering the loot.
There were so many students scattered around them that finding a few dimensional pockets was inevitable.
“Found a necklace!” said Ana. “Think we’ll have enough for the lily?”
“Definitely, as long as Oliver doesn’t screw us over. Though, I doubt it.” Of all people, the merchant boy knew not to let personal feelings get in the way of a deal.
Unfortunately, since most of their opponents were poor, the teens had only gathered 12 dimensional pockets in total. They filled 10 to the brim with resources and used the remaining two for something special.
When they returned to the Academy, Dominic Spencer was nowhere to be seen. His assistants were left alone to deal with the returning students. They checked Ana and Ethan’s tokens before finally letting them in.
“We recommend you wait in the yard.” said one of them. “Until the students whose tokens you’ve captured return, your passing is still questionable.”
“No need for that.” said Ethan casually. Suddenly, his ring and Ana’s bracelet glowed before 6 unconscious mages appeared in a pile.
“They’re all alive and kicking… sort of.” Signs of a severe beating were evident all over their bodies.
“This… This is excessive.” complained one of the teachers. “And, storing mages in dimensional pockets is just…”
“There are no rules against violence or against storing people like baggage.” interrupted Ethan. “And by the way, it was Arthur Hunt who’d reduced them to this state. We only picked them up afterwards.”
Several minutes later, the students woke up and confirmed their story. Once again, the blame fell on Arthur.
Then, more and more mages returned and spread the word about the Hunt progeny’s deeds. By the end of the day, Arthur’s infamy had risen through the roof, and he became the most feared teen in all of Last Heaven.