---
This silence continued for a few breaths. Even Professor Thomas was no exception, as he stared at Ion in genuine shock.
Professor Walter was the strongest person under the four senators of the academy.
He couldn't help but repeat the question to confirm Ion's choice:
"Are you sure this is your choice, Ion? There is still time before the actual test. You can take your time choosing."
Ion replied with a confident smile,
"Yes, this is my choice. I hope you accept it, professor."
The professor stared at Ion for a moment before sighing and yielding to his choice.
"Alright, I will deliver your choice to the dean. Good luck."
Then he turned toward the rest of the students.
"Alright, that's all for today. You may leave, and I hope you don't neglect your training due to some arrogance from the entrance exams. No one knows whose star will shine and rise above the others."
After saying that, he left the classroom. As for the other students, they began leaving in groups or individually.
As Ion was about to leave, his path was suddenly blocked by someone. Ion was surprised when he saw her, as she seemed to have been waiting for him.
It was Eliana Al Valerian, the second princess of the ruling Valerian family.
She had long silver hair tied in a long braid. Her eyes were black, with sharp eyebrows. Her features radiated elegance and nobility. She exuded a royal pressure, and an ingrained arrogance emanated from her very bones.
The other students were surprised when they saw her blocking Ion's path in the hallway. They stopped walking and talking, watching the scene unfold before them. Among the onlookers, you could clearly see some familiar faces—Aria, Arthur, and Eleanor.
Ion looked at Eliana, and his gaze did not waver. The same was true for Eliana.
This continued for a few breaths before Eliana spoke first.
"I heard that you fought my cousin, Cyril."
Her voice was resonant and beautiful, but carried undeniable pride. Her tone resembled an interrogation.
And it seemed that Ion did not like that at all.
The others were also surprised that Ion had indeed fought Cyril, as his name was somewhat well known.
"I don't think someone like you would care about such trivial matters, princess," Ion said, emphasizing the last word with a hint of mockery.
Eliana replied coldly,
"Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't care. However, I heard that in that match, my ancestors were insulted… specifically, they were called dogs. Do you know anything about this, fellow student Ion?"
"Perhaps you should ask your cousin. I heard that someone wanted to sell your ancestors' reputation for just one million crystals," Ion replied indifferently.
The onlookers were shocked by Ion's indifference toward the princess. Yes, within the academy, everyone was supposedly equal—but was that truly the case?
This was the second princess. It was said that her talent was something that would only appear once every ten thousand years on the eastern continent. On the day she was born, the clouds turned into rainbow colors—signifying that the heavens would favor her, and that her path to the peak would be paved before her.
Thus, beyond her status as a princess of the Valerian family, her talent alone made her the focus of everyone's attention. People feared her, and would try anything just to get close to her and leave a good impression.
Yet despite her beauty, status, and talent, Princess Eliana did not look down on others. She treated each person according to their standing, but maintained distance from everyone. At the same time, she possessed that pride and dignity which made people stand far away, only watching without daring to approach—let alone speak to her casually like this.
Eliana responded dismissively, as if it were trivial:
"Really? It seems I'll have to investigate the matter further… Well, I will leave for now, but let me tell you this."
Her eyes turned serious as she said,
"Although I truly hold deep respect for the effort with which you carved your way here, you are extremely arrogant. I hope that your arrogance does not reach my family… otherwise, do not blame me when I put you in your proper place."
The spectators gasped at Eliana's sudden statement. Then they turned to Ion, shocked when they saw him chuckle slightly before saying:
"You call this arrogance? It seems you don't truly understand what arrogance is. You can experience it anytime you want in a fight. I would be delighted to show you what true arrogance is."
After saying that, he did not wait for her reply and began leaving.
The princess also began to leave, leaving the spectators discussing what had just happened.
When she disappeared around the corner, she couldn't help but clench her fists.
"You haven't changed at all… you still belittle me like before. I will make you regret this deeply."
Then she sighed, calmed her restless mind, and continued walking.
---
What people didn't know was that Ion had a past history with Eliana. Even Ion himself was unaware of it.
Three years ago, when the Demon Sea began to rage in one of the eastern regions of the kingdoms under the control of the Astria Empire, the united kingdoms there requested reinforcements.
It so happened that Princess Eliana was sent in disguise as a commander of a battalion to gain experience. Her unit was assigned to a region under the administration of the Kingdom of Olivan.
Thus, the soldiers of Olivan were under the command of the disguised princess—and Ion was one of the soldiers under her command.
However, he constantly underestimated her, disobeyed her orders, and did whatever he wanted without restraint…
The problem was not that—
the problem was that everything he did was correct.
He corrected her mistakes in strategy and in positioning the soldiers. Even the soldiers she had brought from the empire began to admire Ion, to the point that they hesitated to follow her orders if they contradicted Ion's judgment.
He always made her appear childish and incompetent.
Even when she fought him, confident she would win due to her talent, he subdued her within ten moves.
And then…
He even told her that if she behaved obediently, he would take her as his disciple.
That was an unprecedented humiliation for her—the first setback in her life.
From that moment on, she changed. She was no longer a pampered childish princess. Instead, she began working harder than her peers, until her true talent blossomed and she showed the true meaning of genius.
And although part of that was her duty as a princess carrying the hopes of the empire, the greater part of it was to repay the humiliation from Ion Drakis.
---
Time passed quickly. Ion spent the rest of the day resting, and he had already regained his full energy.
Then came the second day—the day scheduled for training Janet and Alice.
Although he had spent the previous day resting, he had not been idle. He went to the library and studied about the elf race in particular, along with some other things that might help him train Janet more thoroughly. Although it didn't help much, he gained a deeper understanding of the elf race.
In the afternoon, he spent an hour at one of the cafés.
Then he left for the meeting place—Arena No. 5.
As he approached, he spotted Janet and Alice, who seemed somewhat nervous…
There was a third person standing beside them.
When Ion recognized that person, and then saw Alice's nervous expression, he couldn't help but cover his face with his hand.
"Alice, you foolish idiot…"
---
Make your comments for supporting to continue the novel.... If you like it