Two hours flew by in a snap for the students in Balreth Academy.

The first set of classes was over for them, and everyone was filling into the hallways. As most students were walking, a curious air was hanging over them.

A current hot topic was now making waves into the hallway as students walked by each other.

"I still can't believe there's a duel on the first day and against a Kane Zara no less."

"And seriously, who does that Asher kid think he is, some kind of miracle worker?"

"Frankly, I'm really curious to see how Kane Zara will humiliate him on stage."

During and now after class, the topic of Asher and Zara's duel was still on most students' minds. It really was bewildering for them to even think about.

Trying to face off against Kane Gang members isn't daring or brave in their opinions. They just felt it was ultimately foolish and a terrible mistake that'll be too late to regret when they're already on stage.

Furthermore, barely anybody heard of this Asher kid before today.

Asher truly was just mixed in with the sea of students who awakened on Ceremony day. Even as he got Lightning powers, it wasn't much noting at all.

And for his pre-Ceremony days, nobody really cared about minor scuffles that weren't Spirit Tier students going against each other.

Still, no matter how predictable this duel was going to end up as, numerous students were heading over to the dueling field.

Entertainment was still entertainment, and most students know when Kane Zara fights, it's almost always a spectacle. Mainly a spectacle in how badly Kane Zara destroys her opponents, but nonetheless exciting to see.

Over at one of the vast open courtyards of Balreth Academy is where the students were filling in to see the duel.

This enormous courtyard is the dueling arena for Balreth Academy and it held the size to hold over thousands of people.

Even as hundreds of students quickly filled into the dueling arena, this place still had massive open spaces of land so everyone could have their own space.

The students had all gathered around on one side of an enormous metallic stage arena.

This metallic stage arena was built from rare, exotic materials, giving it a near-impenetrable structure. The metallic stage also had a luxurious glossy shine about it that made it even pleasant to gaze upon.

On the metallic stage were two people.

One was a middle-aged staff wearing the standard Balreth Academy uniform. He naturally exuded a powerful aura like all other staff in Balreth Academy.

Next to him was a cute tomboyish woman who was dawning a superior confident expression. This was, of course, Kane Gang Zara.

As the hundreds of students filled in the dueling arena, Zara stood relaxed in an arrogant stance. Her posture radiated pure confidence as if she had already won the duel.

"There she is. Always so sure of herself."

"Can't blame her. She can crush nearly all of us here."

"Wonder what kind of show she'll put on for this duel."

By her enhanced ears, Zara heard numerous revere comments about her. And she absolutely basked in it all. Even if Asher was nothing but a bug to her, Zara did quite enjoy hearing lower students talk in awe about her.

With Zara on stage, that only left one other person to show up. That unknown Asher kid who's daringly stupid enough to accept this duel.

While the students waited, they couldn't help but think Asher might even bail out of the duel. Although, if he were to bail out of the duel now, it would be even more humiliating and damaging than fighting Kane Zara.

Either way, all students here were ready to see a tragedy in the making.

It may appear as cruel to some that the students here are finding entertainment in Asher's supposed downfall. But really, they all know he brought this on himself as he could've simply rejected the duel.

And now everyone was curious to see the consequences of being overly confident.

….

The person that everyone was wondering would simply be a no-show was currently slowly walking through a tunnel that led to an empty side of the dueling arena.

With how slow Asher was walking, it seemed like he was mentally preparing himself for the fight ahead.

But actually, Asher was trying to see if he could cultivate more Spirit Mana. He's been doing it ever since class ended.

Almost immediately when they were let out, Asher found a secluded route to walk on to get to the dueling arena.

He didn't want to be bothered as every bit of cultivation can only make his victory more assured than it already is. However, Asher found little success attempting cultivation while walking.

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It was far more complex than he expected. Because Asher simply couldn't remain rooted to one spot, he also had to focus on where he was going and not crash into any walls.

He wasn't at a state where he can put his mind on autopilot and let his body walk on its own.

But even though he couldn't make any noticeable progress while walking, Asher did feel his focus control become just a little more finite.

And after only a minute of slow walking, Asher had reached the entrance of the tunnel.

Right as he was about to leave the tunnel, Yuki suddenly spoke to him.

'Alright, Asher, in just this short time, you've made some pretty good progress. Destroying that boyish bitch will be even more of a breeze. Oh! And remembers what that little girl Elsa told you when fighting.'

'Using my Magical Power from the start, right. And I don't intend on holding back this time.'

Asher took a slight breath, clearing away any Spirit Mana from his mental scape space. He put his focus entirely on this battle.

Feeling entirely assured of the duel, Asher calmly strolls out of the tunnel and into the dueling arena. His eyes were met with the immediate sight of the large metallic stage arena.

Some swirl of appraisal gathered in Asher's eyes just from the sheer size alone.

Asher looked towards the middle-aged staff, who only kept up an indifferent look.

And then his eyes fell on Zara. He saw Zara's eyes briefly widened in mild surprise before her expression quickly morphed into a savage, cruel one.

Asher was undisturbed by her attempts of intimidation. He boldly jumped right onto the metallic stage, facing about six feet away from Zara. When he had landed, an immediate uproar rumbled through the dueling arena.

"Oh, my lord! This kid really did come!"

"He must have a bloated ego. Look at him now, not even an ounce of worry on his face."

"Man, Kane Zara is going to kick his ass hard."

Within the sea of students, there were two faces Asher would recognize.

It was both Reese and Kylee, and neither of them was all too happy seeing Asher on stage. Reese kept silent as his eyes intently focused on the stage, ready to keep track of every detail of the upcoming fight.

Kylee, though, had a more reactive reaction towards Asher's appearance. She began gripping her small fist while continually shaking her head.

"I just don't get it how you're not more worried, Reese. I mean, I know Asher is stubborn and headstrong. But immediately doing something like this just when the year started? I just-"

Kylee's worried-filled speech abruptly stopped when she felt a warm hand grace her shoulder. She looked over at Reese, who was still keeping his serious, focused expression.

"Look, now there's he here; there's nothing we can do about it. Even if we could've found him before this, he still would appear on stage. Asher never backs down. We just gotta have faith in his confidence, alright?"

Kylee took her eyes off from Reese to glare at Zara. She should've felt fear whenever staring at her.

But right now? Kylee felt a rising surge of anger overpower the fear.

Her eyes turned into a hardened glare as she practically spat out, "No matter what, I don't like this."

At another section of the massive dueling field, there was a far more secluded spot.

Quite literally, only four people accompany this spot of the field.

But these four people all carried unfathomable status and power that puts them far above the ordinary student.

Two of them were handsome young men. They both exuded a noble high-class elegance and carried a suffocating air of pride around them.

Their status around Balreth Academy is unbreakable and every single person, whether it was a student or staff, knows who they are.

They both were Leon and Chase, the Genius students on Balreth Ranking List!

And their position on the Balreth Ranking List wasn't low at all; they both were near the top ten of the whole Academy!

Compared to even students from the dominating Kane Gang, there wasn't a single person in that gang that could ever hope to match Leon and Chase.

This incredible status and fame also hold true for the other two Genius students there. Their positions were even higher than Leon and Chase on the Balreth Ranking List.

The other two Genius students were two beautiful young women.

One had a soft, gentle face that exuded a soothing, lovely charm. While the other had a suffocating beauty that made it nearly impossible to look at her directly in the eyes.

The soft, gentle face girl was named Daisy. And the suffocating beauty was Elsa of all people.

The four of them watched Asher and Zara face off against each other with varying amounts of curious thoughts about the upcoming duel.

Leon had a causal smirk as he began to speak. "To think we would get such high entertainment immediately when the year starts. So….who's everyone betting on?"

Chase had a similar smirk that spelled out his amusement for the upcoming duel. "Is that supposed to be a rhetorical question? It's pretty obvious who we're all betting on."

"Who knows." Leon gave a casual shrug before turning his attention to Daisy and Elsa. "Maybe you two have a different opinion?"

Daisy kept a gentle smile as she told them, "I don't like to look down on people. But, I do think Zara will win because of her experience."

She had then turned her gaze on Elsa, still curious as to why she would ever show up here. "Your thoughts Tierl?" Elsa only gave a brief look at Dasy before turning her attention back on stage.

The other Genius students thought she had no caring beliefs about this duel with how impassive and indifferent she's being. Although that begs the question of why Elsa would come to a duel like this.

There have been numerous duels in the past, and yet Elsa had never shown to a single one.

It was a curious thought, but none of the other Genius students can say Elsa's actions were ever predictable.

"I shall wait and see before making any lasting judgment." Elsa had surprisingly spoken to them but cut off any follow-up conversation after.

Leon and Chase simply shrugged at each other while Daisy kept up her small smile. As they turned their attention back on stage, Leon was saying,

"Well, I just hope this kid has at least something to make the duel slightly interesting."

"I mean, just look how bloated his ego is. I'm sure this guy has some fun tricks to show off." Chase followed up with his own remark, also hoping to be greatly entertained.

….

Back on the metallic stage, Asher and Zara were still locking gazes.

Neither of them took their eyes off from each other for even a second.

Arrogance filled Zara's bones as she began to say, "You know, Asher, I can tell why you're so damn confident. Come now, do you really think your wins against Devon, Mack, and Dylan mean shit? Well, let me tell-"

"Sir. I am betting 100 Green Spirit Coins for this duel." Asher swiftly cut of Zara, turning his attention solely on the middle-aged staff.

The middle-aged staff nodded to Asher, also ignoring Zara's spiel. He had then turned his gaze on Zara, asking her,

"And? What will you be betting."

Zarar didn't respond immediately. Her gaze turned fierce as she boreholes into Asher's skull, intending to make this duel an actual hell for him.