797 Premature Celebrations
'This… this is it!'
As Adonis heard the words that the White Dragon Lord uttered, he couldn't help but smile widely as his eyes bulged in shock.
'If I do well in the Inter-Class Exchange and get her attention, that means I won't have to wait until I get into the 3rd Stage. I can achieve my mission faster than I expected!'
Each Dragon Lord had their domains in respective parts of the Empire, but they also had tons of business in the Capital, which meant that Adonis would be taken to the Capital on at least a few occasions if he was to become the disciple of a Lord.
'This is perfect!' A bead of sweat fell from his face as he intensely stared at the Dragon Lord before him.
'All I have to do is win! Thankfully, I'm up against Newts, so it shouldn't be too difficult.'
The only person he could consider giving him some trouble would be Rey, but even if Rey won… as long as Adonis was among the top three, he didn't really care for anything else.
In essence, as long as he played his cards right and didn't fool around, this was pretty much guaranteed for him.
'Alright then… let's do this!'
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Rey couldn't believe his ears.
'This is the perfect opportunity, isn't it?' He thought to himself as he looked at the White Dragon Lord with wide, nearly adoring eyes.
'If Adrien, Lucielle, and I impress the White Dragon Lord, we'll be able to accomplish our mission faster than I expected.'
From what he could see, there were no real challenges among the other students.
Well, except for Adonis.
'If he ends up fighting me, I'll have to show no mercy and beat him before he gets the chance to get any attention on himself. Adrien should also be thinking the same thing, which means Lucielle is our only weak link.'
Yes, Lucielle was a lot stronger than before… but there was no way she could beat Adonis—especially if he wanted a piece of the cake that the White Dragon Lord was offering.
'Which means I'll have to sabotage him one way or the other.'
Rey didn't care about the means. This was too good an opportunity to pass up, so if Adonis ended up facing Lucielle, he would have to find a way to make sure he lost.
'I'm sorry in advance, man… but this is too important!'
As soon as he finished making up his mind, Rey turned his head a little to the left and looked to his side—past his fellow classmates—and to the row where the Class 2-A students sat.
There, he saw his target.
The boy had polished black hair, bright blue eyes, and wore his uniform in the neatest manner possible—a model student in every sense of the word.
There was one major problem, though.
He was not a Dragon.
There were no horns on his head, no wings clinging to his back, and no tail to be found.
This individual who sat among the strongest of Stage 2 was not a Dragon, but belonged to the race that they despised and hated most—Human.
'Adrien Chase…' Rey's thoughts trailed as he found the boy staring straight to the stage, grinning from ear to ear.
There was amusement and also discernment in that smile of his.
'... Looks like we're on the same page.'
Still, though, it was impossible not to notice the slight commotion that was going on around Adrien.
None of his classmates sat near him, and they all gave him terrible looks—all of which was to be expected, considering the kind of Race he belonged to.
He was the only one in the entire Auditorium who wasn't a Dragon.
'Everyone is trying their best to hide their discomfort at the fact that he's human, but they're failing miserably at it.' Rey smiled.
He had noticed this the moment he first spotted Adrien, as soon as he entered the Auditorium, and even wondered what the White Dragon Lord's reaction would be to the presence of a human tainting the purity of the Dragon Students she seemed so proud of.
Much to his surprise, she didn't say or do anything about it.
'I think I get it now…' There wasn't any other possible explanation than the one Rey had been suspecting for some time now.
'It's because of his backer… a Dragon Lord.'
Mere Dragon Newts wouldn't want to get into trouble with a Dragon Lord, which was probably why they were trying so hard not to show their disgust towards him—though all of that was in vain.
Rather than bully him, they all simply ostracized him. As a result, they couldn't particularly be held accountable for anything regarding him, since they simply refused to associate with one that they deemed inferior.
'It's not just his Class too. Even the students from my Stage, and the Third Stage are looking at him strangely.' Rey could bet that they would have torn him limb from limb if he wasn't affiliated with a Dragon Lord, just from the look in their eyes.
'I guess this just goes to show how important it is to have the backing of a Lord.'
It was all the more reason why Adrien, Lucielle, and himself had to impress the White Dragon Lord above all else.
'I hear she only takes in females, but that won't matter if Adrien and I decimate the competition. Lucielle should also be able to hold her own.' Rey didn't want to be overconfident about the whole thing, so he decided to do some research after the Grand Assembly was over.
And by research, he meant asking his newfound friends more questions about the Inter-Class Exchange and the White Dragon Lord.
"I suppose this is as good a time as any to reveal the location for your long-awaited Excursion. I promise… it's a place none of you have ever been to before." As the White Dragon Lord spoke, everyone held their breaths and waited.
"You'll all be going to The Southern Continent."
'H-huh…?!' Rey's eyes widened the moment he heard this.
He was immensely shocked.
'That's where Ater, Belle, and Justin are, isn't it? This can't be a coincidence, right…?'