After the match ended, Rey and Lucielle were both ready to leave.

After all, Adrien's match was the last for the day. It was also the end of the Quarter Finals, which meant they were all done for the day. However...

"All the qualified students should pay attention to this announcement, as it is the roster for the upcoming semi-finals!"

The moment Rey and Lucielle heard this, the two of them instantly remained glued on their seats. They also stared at each other in slight surprise.

This was the first time they were announcing the roster during the event itself. It usually came later in the day, after everyone was well-rested. Since the semi-finals and finals were

happening on the same day-that is, the following afternoon-everyone expected the roster to be out much later.

Yet... here they were.

'What if Lucielle and I had left?' Rey wondered to himself, looking at the referee, who still appeared quite shaken after Adrien's match.

He sent his gaze to Rey's direction and had somewhat of a sigh leaking out of his lips.

"The four who qualify to enter the semi-finals are R'ai, Ad'oni, Luc'ia, and Adrien Chase. The Semi-finals will consist of two matches, and those who win will face themselves in the finals."

Rey always knew this moment would come.

This was an Academy filled with Dragon Newts, after all. There was no way any of the students stood a chance against people who had fought and defeated far worse.

However, what he didn't know yet... was the roster.

"Tomorrow, the first match we will be having is Luc'ia versus Adrien Chase... and after that

will come R'ai versus Ad'oni." As soon as this was announced, gasps of shock filled the lips of the audience.

They were clearly worried about one of the two matchups.

"T-that monster is fighting Luc'ia? No way..."

"Maybe... maybe she can actually beat him. She's pretty strong, you know?"

"B-but still... isn't that too much? Why can't they just disqualify that filthy human?"

"W-why...?"

"I'll be rooting for you, Luc'ia!"

There was a lot said by the crowd, but it was obvious that they were on Lucielle's side, and they felt incredibly livid towards the only human who managed to keep himself in a tournament for Dragons.

Lucielle received the heartfelt praise and support of the crowd by waving at everyone. She even gave her classic smile and wink at them, causing many to shriek and blush at her response to their outcry.

She was just that cute, and her energy remained unmatched.

Out of all the qualifiers, Lucielle remained the one who consistently gave a flashy performance whenever she fought.

Her mode of fighting wasn't crude, and neither was it cruel.

It was sophisticated-almost as if she was running an experiment or having fun-and that became her whole appeal. The whimsical nature of her combat, and how she often played with her opponents' abilities before finally defeating them... it was ingenious.

Compared to R'ai and Ad'onis who ended things pretty swiftly, she actually gave the people what they wanted; a show!

And that was why, even as she was confronted with a devilish enemy, they remained on her side.

The audience hoped that 'Luc'ia would surpass their expectations yet again.

'Looks like Lucielle will be facing Adrien. This is bad...'

He already had a feeling this would happen, which was why he stayed behind and made sure to burn Adrien's cruelty into his mind by watching his fight.

'He's the worst matchup for her.'

Lucielle was someone who considered every fight to be a learning place for her. She usually applied her new discoveries in fights, but with Adrien all of that evaporated in an instant.

He was too cruel.

'Plus, I have to make sure Lucielle and I get the attention of the White Dragon Lord. The ideal scenario would have been for the both of us to fight in the Finals.'

It was unfortunate that such a thing had to happen now.

While he was deep in thought, he felt a dangerous gaze rest on him. The moment he traced its cause, he found Adonis staring at him.

'I suppose I should also be concerned about my own match.'

The fact of the matter was that he was stronger than Adonis. Rey already knew that, especially since he could see The Hero's Status Window even now.

But...

'The problem is that I have decided to limit my abilities for the sake of preserving my identity. Adonis has also decided to do that, but...'

The difference between the both of them was that, while Rey resorted to occasional flashy moves and he usually had variations in his attacks, Adonis was always ending his matches very quickly—and with the same move.

He would simply move faster than his opponents and knock them out before they realized it.

This left a lot of room for more display of abilities than Rey.

'In essence, he gets to reveal more cards under the guise that they were his abilities from the start, while I'm mostly limited to the powers that I've already displayed.'

The whole thing hardly seemed fair, but Rey brought it on himself.

'No matter, I'll have to win somehow.' And it wasn't just any kind of victory he was looking for, but a complete knockdown.

'I can't afford to go easy on him, especially since Lucielle is fighting Adrien. Just in case she loses horribly to him, I'll have to make sure Adonis loses even more horribly. That way, the White Dragon Lord would look upon the former a lot more favorably.

'No hard feelings, Adonis.' Rey stared at the Hero, smiling a little to himself. 'You're going to

lose this fight.'

"Hey." A voice suddenly interrupted Rey's thoughts, causing him to turn his head to the person who stood right in front of him.

It was none other than the most infamous student at the moment.

"Adrien..." Rey responded, raising his brows as he smiled at him with slight ferocity.

"Is that how you're supposed to respond to your friend?"

"What do you want?" Rey curtly asked, his voice and gaze telling Adrien to get straight to the point. He and Lucielle were just about to leave, and it was clear the latter wasn't very

comfortable around him.

"Nothing much." He shrugged, but his smile told otherwise.

He grinned widely, both hands in his pockets, as he casually made his next statement.

"I just heard that the Western Continent will be bombarded with quite the number of forces from the Dragon Army."

Rey's brow was raised slightly as he heard this, remaining skeptical of what Adrien was telling him, while also regulating his emotions at the same time.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Don't play dumb, Rey..." As he said this, he sat on an empty seat beside Rey. To make himself comfortable, he even placed his hands on the heads of the chairs beside him, hence wrapping

one of his arms around Rey.

"It means the Dragons are planning a full-scale assault on the United Human Alliance."

Rey maintained his calm face.

"Apparently, the Empire has encountered too many losses, and they consider this to be some

sort of easy victory for them.: Adrien added.

In essence, the grace that the humans had been experiencing was coming to an end.

Still, Rey didn't seem bothered at all.

"It doesn't matter what the Dragons do.: He replied calmly. "They'll lose."

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Thanks for reading!

Happy New Month! I hope this spells a season of epic adventures for all of us.