All the groups had been decided, and the luxurious boxes began revealing the participants' names one by one. Enrico discovered that he had been placed in Group F.
[So this is your group... It looks difficult.]
'Another day of bad luck. I'm already used to it.'
Group F
Shengtian Academy: Liang Xuanwu — Rank 2. Ryuuen Academy: Sakura Himari — Rank 3. Della Corona Academy: Franchesco Giovanni — Rank 5. Astrong Academy: Enrico Solcren Ferreira — Rank 5. Astrong Academy: Lira Xuefeng — Rank 2. Sentinel Academy: Nicholas — Rank 4.
At least two of the participants in that group were expected to advance to the inter-academy battle: Liang and Lira. This made the competition considerably more difficult for Enrico, as both were opponents he would need to take seriously.
'I hope the important characters manage to advance...'
[It seems that reincarnated boy is an orphan.]
'So his name is Nicholas... Taking that into consideration, there are four people who seem important in this group.'
[It's literally a group of death. This must be a shame for you. I'm even sad about it.]
It was easy to detect the amusement in the System's words, as she seemed to be enjoying the situation and taking the opportunity to tease Enrico. However, he wasn't the only one who would face difficulties. Elaris had also ended up in the same group as Victoria, which practically made her defeat inevitable.
'She might have gotten stronger, just like the others, but Victoria's level is still above hers.'
To make matters worse, Hao had apparently trained Victoria more seriously than in the original story, contributing to the improvement of her abilities. She was still far from reaching her full potential, but she had already improved considerably compared to what Enrico knew from the original story.
'Elaris will probably lose, but she can still qualify if she finishes in second place and gets a good score. For now, it's better to worry about myself.'
With all the groups formed, Sofia rose from the luxurious chair she was sitting in.
"With that, everything has been decided. You may go and rest for today. Tomorrow, we will have the first round."
Sofia turned toward the stands and bid farewell to the audience with a wave of her hand before leaving the venue. As soon as she walked away, the students around them finally seemed able to breathe more easily.
Enrico turned around and found Elaris approaching. Her expression showed some nervousness as she thought about the opponents she would have to face.
"It seems we'll have difficulties in our matches."
Enrico nodded calmly.
"I'll find a way to advance, and I hope you do the same."
"If you say so..."
Elaris shook her head with a small smile. Then, Enrico noticed Roberto, who seemed quite relieved to discover that most of the members of his group ranked fifth at their respective academies. This meant that, at least in theory, he had been quite lucky.
'Lucky bastard.'
[I completely agree.]
"Enrico, I hope you surprise me in our battle."
The voice came from behind him, causing Enrico to instinctively activate his senses to their fullest.
Lira Xuefeng had approached without him noticing her arrival. That girl was dangerous, and not just because of her power. Her personality concealed something that demanded caution, especially when someone caught her interest.
[Great. The crazy girl has arrived.]
Enrico maintained his neutral expression while feeling the urge to sigh.
"I'm surprised you know my name."
"How could I not? The teachers and the director praise you quite a lot."
She was right. Practically all the teachers at Astrong seemed to see great potential in him, with the exception of a few nobles connected to the royal family who held grudges against the Solcrens because of his father, Matteo.
"If he's Uncle Matteo's son, of course he would be recognized."
Another boy's voice interrupted the conversation.
Matteo Nero approached Enrico, carefully observing his appearance before letting out a brief sigh. Then, he formed a small smile and extended his hand to greet him.
"It was difficult to recognize you at the academy, cousin."
Enrico also extended his hand and greeted him politely.
"It's been a long time, Matteo."
"You can call me Nero. I don't feel like I deserve to be called that after that defeat."
The Neros were one of the two branches of the Solcren family that had managed to establish their own political power within Vesparello. Both had different surnames because Enrico's father's brothers had adopted the names of their respective wives.
Unlike Matteo, those two brothers weren't as obsessed with increasing the Solcren family's power. Because of this, they had been persuaded relatively easily to accept arranged marriages with other families.
'I can understand why he admires Matteo so much, but this is still a nuisance.'
His father's younger brother had always shown enormous respect for his older brother. His admiration was so great that he gave his own son the same name as Matteo, telling him countless stories about his strength. Nero himself had also come to admire Matteo after being saved by him.
"Sorry for not talking to you when I visited your academy. I was busy dealing with those friends of yours."
"Dealing with them? You lost completely."
Nero crossed his arms with a dissatisfied expression.
"... Next time, things will be different."
In the original story, the two had spoken no more than three times. To be honest, Nero hadn't even shown any interest in knowing whether Enrico actually existed. However, things had changed. Now that the Solcren family itself was beginning to recognize Enrico's worth, Nero had also started paying attention to him.
"Anyway, if I'd known they were your friends, I would've been friendlier."
"I don't think they would've been friendly after seeing what you did."
Nero's eyes shifted to the left.
"Now that you mention it, I don't think so either. See you tomorrow, cousin. I hope to see your new level."
Nero said his goodbyes and left.
At least, it seemed that the characters' development was happening earlier than in the original story. It was different from what happened with Lan and Deymon, whose development took much longer to progress.
Beside him, Elaris had a curious expression as she watched the interaction between the two.
"Isn't he the boy who caused trouble that day? Was he your cousin?"
"Yes. We simply didn't talk much."
"Really? He seemed quite excited while talking to you."
"That's because I'm stronger now."
Elaris nodded before beginning to leave as well. A personal guard had appeared to pick her up and take her to her room.
'That guard must be at Circle Eight. Being the elven princess really makes a difference.'
"It seems I've been forgotten."
Upon hearing those words, Enrico felt a shiver run through his body and realized that Lira was still there, looking slightly displeased.
Being forgotten wasn't pleasant, especially when it involved Astrong's second-ranked student.
"Sorry about that. We were interrupted so suddenly that I lost track of time."
"Then don't lose track of time next time."
'As always, she's very bossy.'
Despite maintaining her neutral expression, Lira couldn't completely hide the displeasure in her eyes at having been interrupted by Nero's arrival.
Enrico had been lucky. Although she was crazy, her self-control was far greater than anyone might imagine.
Lira walked past him without looking back, leaving him with a few final words that made Enrico sigh.
"Like I said, I hope you're a worthy opponent."
'To be honest, I don't want to be a worthy opponent for you.'
That girl could keep her madness under control for now, but that would probably only last until she found a rival who truly caught her interest.
'With the others, she'll still hold back. But when she finds someone she considers a rival, she'll let her madness show. I need to be careful.'
[Good luck with that.]