Strutting down the extensive light blue corridors of the Zakira Academy was a fully refreshed Darcel and Aniela. Slight grins adorned their faces as they walked with a confident stride.
After waking up from their admittedly fun cultivating session, the two did take the time to relax in each other's hands before leaving their rooms. Small moments like those fuel them for the rest of the day.
This time during their session, neither of the two decided to breakthrough. Before doing this, they want to fully train the Elemental Room offered here at the Academy.
It never hurts to have an even more stable foundation than what they already have. Plus, with the amount of suspicion already on them, the duo didn't want more prying eyes.
Although, once again, while walking, the prying eyes of students and teachers couldn't help themselves. Just yesterday, the confirmed words of the Mission Elder spread like wildfire.
To achieve a result like them despite their level, there just has to be something up about the duo! However, compared to their first disruption, the initiate level students were more reluctant to get in their way.
No matter how they did it, those two truly did kill Perfect Order goblins. Messing with them, without even knowing the full extent of their prowess, wouldn't be wise now.
Though this mystery about their prowess wasn't seen in a positive light. Still, no matter what light they were in, Darcel and Aniela cared little about it. Using their good memories, they soon made it to a large vast building.
Above the entrance of this building did symbols spelled out, 'Weapon Pavilion.' Students were bustling in and out of place, all carrying a variety of weapons.
"I wonder what will suit us…" Aniela thought out loud as she and Darcel entered the Weapon Pavilion. Once taking one foot in, immediately, they notice how bigger it was on the inside.
Guessing it, Darcel and Aniela reckon this place could fit hundreds of people at the same time. Even with the already present dozens of youths here, the Pavilion was still pretty spacious.
Rows of shelves in varying sizes filled this place, and on the shelves were, of course, Mortal Spirit Weapons. For the Qi Formation Sea realm and under, anyone can use these types of weapons.
The only difference in these weapons was the tier they were put in. A weapon's weight and design will increase from low tier to high tier, making it a bit tricky to find a suitable weapon for a cultivator.
Glancing around the Pavilion, Darcel and Aniela saw many varied types of weapons, ranging from blunt weapons to bows just for one example. Any sort of weapon they could think of, this Pavilion had it.
Darcel observed to see which one would be suitable for them for now, until he felt a tug on his sleeve. Looking down at Aniela, he saw a bright sparkle in her eyes as her attention was on two specific swords.
"We have to check these out, Darcy!" Hearing her tone of voice, Darcel knew she wouldn't take no for an answer anyways.
Shrugging his shoulder, he didn't mind much since he trusts Aniela's judgment anyways.
"Lead the way then."
Swiftly the duo walked up to a pair of purple color rapiers. The design on the sword's handle was sleek and elegant, being made to perfectly fit in someone's hands.
Its overall size was just about three centimeters wide and the tip of the sword held this glaring purple shine. Blades like these are used for precise, fast strikes, cutting straight into a foe's defenses.
And with how fast she and Darcel was, Aniela thought this would be perfect for them! This weapon's tier was high tier, meaning it would be far heavier to carry, though.
At least, the weight would've mattered for average Qi Formation Sea youths. Effortlessly Aniela picked up the rapier from its shelf, wielding it in her hand like it was a twig.
"Try it, Darcy. For our speed, this more than suits us!" Aniela told him while doing casual swings with her sword. Seamlessly her grip on this weapon was perfect, and it complemented her arm strength.
Seeing Aniela so easily pick up this sword, Darcel took his own test run of it. Putting only a little strength in his arm, he easily picked up the sword, wielding it like it had no weight.
Despite these two seamlessly having no problem holding the blades, unknown to them, these rapiers actually weighed at least twenty pounds! And there was one significant shocking thing, not even the duo realized.
They weren't even using Profound Qi to lift up the swords! No matter the weight, if one uses Qi, they can make almost any item weightless. The cost obviously being having to expand your Qi just to lift your weapon.
This troublesome issue meant little for Darcel and Aniela, however. Similarly, swinging the sword like Aniela, Darcel also got accustomed to the speed to casually toss around the blade.
The rapier felt natural to use and offered little to no resistance when swinging it. In combat situations, this can also give him and Aniela a reach while also being able to go in for a quick kill.
"I didn't expect for airhead intuition to come into play even while choosing weapons." Darcel jested to Aniela, already having his mind made up on the rapier.
"Underestimating me again? One day, you'll finally understand the power of my intuition!" Aniela boldly said with a challenging smirk. Her mind was similarly made upon getting this rapier.
Admittedly, they could try out other weapons. But holding this rapier felt the most natural to them. Moreover, the other types of weapons frankly didn't interest the duo on first glances as much as these raipers did.
Nodding to each other, the two traveled over to the Pavilion counter, overseer by a good looking woman. She wore the light blue uniform and had eyes like a hawk, surveying every little student that came in here.
Although now, her eyes met with the deep black ones of Darcel and Aniela. Instantly when seeing them, did her mood drop some. A bit of disdain entered her eyes as she recognized these two.
The rowdy troublemakers with this mysterious prowess no one can figure out. After word got out about the duo completing the goblin mission, one rumor had carried the most weight out of all of them.
If no one knows their real prowess, yet they still managed to kill Perfect Order goblins despite being massively lower level. Then they must obviously use insidious dark powers or cheats!
Because of the timing of their breakthrough to the Middle Order stage and the previous rumor about their entrance fight...this rumor didn't seem far off. Otherwise, what other lead anyone else had to go on?
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Giel most certainly refused to believe those two could be anything close to a genius. In his mind, this rumor he caused undoubtedly had to be the truth. Alas, neither Darcel nor Aniela knew anything about this rumor.
Walking up the counter, Darcel ignored that slight disdain in this woman's eyes, asking her, "How much for these rapiers?"
"Hopefully it's not too much! Darcel and I are kind of on a tight budget." Aniela spoke up next and, at the same time, willed some of her soul into her voice.
Compared to Darcel's harsh and uncaring voice. Aniela's voice caused sweet sensations to run through the Weapon Pavilion Elder brain. It was soft, pleasant, having an enigmatic charm to it.
Even if she held no goodwill towards the duo, Aniela's heavenly voice did make her relent a bit. Without changing her expression, she looked over the two purple rapiers, telling the two,
"These are eight orange crystals each."
Not a bad price at all...at least it wasn't for Darcel and Aniela. Both of their spatial rings flashed as the duo fished out the crystals to pay. The only issue in their minds while paying was this disdaining issue.
Ever since they first arrived to take the test here, they had been underestimated every step of the way. Whether it's their appearance or realm, nobody treats them seriously at first.
Moreover, the disdain still continues even after showing off little by little on what they can really do. It was becoming a bit annoying in all honesty for the duo.
But very soon will this all change. Flashing eight orange crystals on their hands, the duo paid for the rapiers and turned around without another word. This Elder certainly wasn't a talkative one.
Although there was a particular bias, she had against the two.
Storing the rapiers inside of their spatial rings, the duo continued to walk out of the Pavilion. And on their way did they notice the subtle contempt glances thrown at them.
Frankly, Darcel and Aniela like it this way when no one tries to talk to them. They weren't here to make friends, nor did they intend to have a clean status here.
All they needed was strength. And with strength, they'll surpass everyone in this City and soon leave this little province. On the outside of here, they still have a whole planet to eventually explore,
The duo trekked towards their second destination of the day with clear motivations, after making out the Weapon Pavilion…
….
This time the building they came across held a similar extensive design to the Weapon Pavilion. But the symbols above its entrance reads, 'Martial Technique Pavilion.'
Taking a step inside, the interior also varied from the Weapon Pavilion. It still was incredibly spacious, housing dozens of students and can probably house hundreds of people.
But the critical difference was what lay on the shelves. All sorts of jade scrolls, books, or jade tablets occupied the shelves. Furthermore, the shelves had a clear division of columns.
Some were under Zakira fire arts, Zakira water arts, Zakira sword arts, and so on. Under each Martial skill was a symbol depicting whether these Mortal skills were low to high tier.
Each tier of a Martial Skill has varying qualifications that put them there. It's either a skill that requires extreme control, a lot of Qi, or high comprehension abilities.
Ignoring looks directed at them, Aniela said to Darcel, "Clear as day, we have to choose a fire skill. But the question is, low, middle, or high tier?"
"Let's go with...middle tier. Anything used by us might as well be a high tier anyways." The two began walking around the fire skill section of the Pavilion, observing the many jade scrolls there.
And after a bit, their eyes came upon one specific Martial skill. It was a medium length jade scroll, and under it, it read, 'Mortal Rank, middle tier, Fiery Slice.'
"Fiery Slice? This...this could actually go great with our rapiers! A Fiery Slice splitting from our blades will be an absolute kill!" Aniela commented while reading the basic description of this skill
The skill requires extreme control over the Element of Fire and accurate precision. Something of which both Darcel and Aniela have! It was almost like this skill was made for them.
"Then, we'll go with this one," Darcel said while picking up the scroll. They didn't need to go for something that was stronger and waste a lot of Qi. As long as it suits them, then it's all they need.
With surprisingly little interruptions, the duo neared the Pavilion Elder, who was a decently attractive man.
His expression held a natural bored one though his eyes did become a bit curious seeing the duo walk up to him.
Even more so, he got curious when his eyes darted to the youths at the back of the duo. And seeing their lineup, the Pavilion Elder knew a short little scene was about to play out.
The students inside the Pavilion also notice the upcoming exciting scene. Now, two Middle-level students had shown up here!
"Well, well, well? If it isn't the insidious cheaters of the Zakira Academy!" A familiar annoying voice forced Darcel and Aniela to stop. Oh great, it was the voice of the small-minded Giel…
His tone when speaking was loud and bold, immediately more causing attraction around them. The duo turned around forcefully since it'll be impossible to ignore him if he gets in their path.
With Giel was Gorga and another handsome youth the two never saw before. This youth wore the same blue color uniform as Giel had a charming face and long brown hair.
Taking only a single glance at this newcomer, Darcel tiredly said to them, "And if isn't the annoying gnats. Coming here to make another bet with us?"
Being reminded of their previous loss nearly made Giel swell up with rage. Of course, he was still pissed about losing face, his crystals, and his damn assassin since he still hasn't shown up yet!
But Giel manage to keep it cool as he evenly said to the duo,
"Do I need to make another bet with cheaters who can't rely on their own personal strength? I mean...after all, you only need to make sure the goblins' death was caused by you. The ring doesn't solely rely on personal strength. Unless…you have a way to prove me wrong?"
"Heh, hahahaha!! What kind methods would cheaters even have if they're put out in the open!"
"Maybe they'll try to pull another fast one…"
Nearly if not all students there went on board with the duo being dirty cheaters. This theory was a far easier pill to swallow since no one saw them fight.
Gorga smugly smiled, hoping to see some panic in the duo while the third boy simply looked down on the two.
However, Aniela's next words stun everyone to silence.
"Fine, fine! If you really want to see our dirty tricks, then we challenge you to a duel! Darcel will face you, Giel, and I'll face your little friend! You better not refuse if you don't want all of your crystals plus our rewards!"
A duel...a genuine duel between Qi Formation Sea youths and Nascent Core youths? They really want to fight someone vastly superior to them? All students had realized then...this...is just too funny!
"Pffft-Hahahaha!! They really want to fight Middle-level students?!"
"They must've gotten brain damage when cheating, hahahaha!!"
The uproar of jeers and laughs were directed towards the duo way, yet neither of them changed their expressions.
"Heh! Giel, do you really want to accept their challenge?!" Gorga boldly spoke while crossing glances with his brother. He was waiting just for this moment, actually.
Giel traded glances with his friend as his smile turn cold and vicious.
"Really, there's no rule that prevents lower-ranked students from fighting higher ranks. And truthfully, this simply wouldn't be worth our times...but if you're offering all of your stuff, then I guess my brother needs the ultimate compensation. Plus, we'll get to truly expose you two. Heh! Alright! Name the day of the duel!"
For their first real stepping stones, Darcel and Aniela had been decided Giel would be it. And since he's offering himself on a gold platter, then they'll gladly take him!
What gave them this sudden and wild idea was their senses. Just barely, they could tell for a single moment, a familiar person was watching this event.
"Two days from now, we'll meet at the middle-level combat stage. And please come at your best to expose us." Darcel said as he fished out six orange crystals from his ring and tossed them at the Pavilion Elder counter.
Accurately the orange crystals landed on the counter. For what he was purchasing, the Elder knew the skill only cost six orange crystals.
Accepting the crystals, the Elder usually wouldn't care about petty youth squabbles, but this one did get him a bit interested.
"You better not disappoint us with your methods!" Aniela chided with a bright smile. Seemingly these two didn't even look anxious, but the students chalk it up to false bravado.
Briskly Darcel and Aniela walked past Giel's group. Nobody tried to stop them from leaving the Pavilion. Only extreme scorn swirled in the students' eyes watching them go.
Only on Darcel and Aniela's face did they crack a huge smile. That same deep hidden presence for sure saw all of that, and when the day of the duel came, Darcel was sure they would have the ultimate insurance...