It was finally Monday morning, following the calm of Sunday. Skyler, along with the white snake, entered a training dome next to the one Alfanzo and his colleagues were in after finishing his theoretical lectures.
Charles walked beside him.
At the same time, Zack—wearing a hat to somewhat hide his face from the constant stares since his sudden rise to popularity—glared daggers at them as he followed.
They finally stopped in the center of the dome, surrounded by various equipment they could use for training and weapons.
Skyler raised his brow when a familiar face appeared before them—Professor Moore. However, his arm was bandaged, and there was a purplish bruise under his right eye. Not to mention, he was limping. Wow, it seemed he had been beaten up badly. But the question was—by whom?
Moore cleared his throat as the class stared at him as if he had two heads.
"Good to see you again, students..."
He coughed midway, clearly struggling to speak. Skyler stepped forward through the crowd, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
"Professor, you're back. I wanted to thank you for the map—it was incredibly useful in the Battle Royal... Do you happen to have more maps for the higher levels?"
Moore blinked and glanced at the youth, whom he barely recognized. He opened his mouth, only to hiss as a kick landed on his knee from behind. Professor Sinclair, the familiar tall woman with glasses perched on her nose, rolled her eyes solemnly.
"Even if he has more, given what he did before, his punishment won't be light if he shares them with any students. Many are still trapped in the Battle Royal because of him, with no word on when they'll return—and it's all because of Professor Moore."
Sinclair glanced at the students.
"No matter what, Moore is still a capable professor, so he will be teaching you again. But if he does anything wrong again, you're encouraged to report it. If you do, you'll be rewarded with star coins sent to your ID."
Moore clicked his tongue at her words.
He had entered the 41st level of the Battle Royal after sending the kids in. Who would have thought that the moment he emerged, his location would be traced—and that jerk Argon himself would come to beat him up and drag him to the Royal Castle?
The moment the government laid eyes on him, he was stripped of his authority and confined to the academy until all those he had sent into the Battle Royal returned. If even one failed to come back, he would be obligated to personally apologize to their parents and provide full compensation.
That was his punishment.
It felt so unfair—especially since all the students chose to enter the Battle Royal themselves! He just gave them a choice!
The students nodded at Sinclair, eager to tattle at the mere mention of star coins.
Not because they were poor, but because earning star coins in their IDs was difficult.
Sinclair smiled and clapped her hands.
"Alright, now all of you focus on your training. Many of you excel in theory..."
Her gaze lingered on Skyler and Charles. Both were performing exceptionally well in her lectures—not just hers, but all the other professors had also praised their progress, despite the fact that the duo had joined the academy much later than their peers.
"...and practical combat as well, but more training never hurts. So, train hard to one day become the greatest Light in Eldoria. I look forward to seeing your progress."
With that, she turned and left. Professor Moore glared at her back, only to whistle when she glanced back with sharp eyes.
Skyler chuckled at the scene, but his smile faded as his gaze settled on a familiar face standing next to him—Vex, the one who had tried to fight him and Charles on their first day of class. He was one of the students who had refused Professor Moore's offer.
Vex was sneering at Moore, mocking how Professor Sinclair had intimidated him, his minions standing confidently behind him.
Yet, he flinched when Skyler rested a firm hand on his shoulder, a faint smile playing on his lips but never reaching his eyes.
"Hey, it's been a while, hasn't it?"
Vex swallowed and tried to pull away but failed as the grip on his shoulder tightened. He had been avoiding Skyler ever since he became famous, but since they were in the same class, crossing paths was inevitable.
Skyler's smile widened.
"I said, it's been a while, hasn't it?"
Vex panicked as Skyler's calm blue eyes narrowed dangerously. He nearly sagged with relief when Professor Moore regained his composure and clapped his hands to get everyone's attention, shouting loudly.
"All of you! Stop dilly-dallying and start training! First, pair up in twos. You'll battle each other and practice your weapon skills. Make sure not to injure one another. These are friendly spars—I will be correcting your weapon handling mistakes."
Everyone responded in agreement and immediately began forming pairs.
Charles naturally turned to Skyler, but his friend had other plans. Skyler grabbed Vex and dragged him away, patting his back.
"Let's pair up, dear classmate, okay? You have been here longer than me, so that makes you my senior. I could really use some of your senior-level guidance."
Vex's minions tried to step in but quickly backed off when Moore shot them a glare.
Still fuming from being roughed up, Moore was in no mood for nonsense—and yelling at the students was the perfect outlet.
"I said, form pairs of two. Why are you all just crowding around? If Skyler and Vex are paired, then the rest of you pair up among yourselves. Don't waste time. Hurry up."
Vex's minions retreated immediately, all casting glances at their leader. Vex wore a solemn expression as he faced Skyler, fists clenched. Now that it had come to this, he knew he had to confront this prick. Skyler was a 10-star, but Vex was an 11-star—he was confident he could defeat him easily.
With that thought, he drew a deep breath. As each pair of students faced off in the dome, keeping a respectful distance from the others, Vex drew his weapon: a small dagger embedded with a metallic bead.
He snickered at Skyler, but then a sudden unease crept over him as he realized that the latter now stood much taller than him.
"Come at me with everything you've got. And don't cry to your uncle if I beat you."
Skyler blinked at the taunt. Still, inwardly, he knew he would indeed run to his uncle if trouble arose—and why wouldn't he?
With such a powerful uncle, a prince, he would surely use that to his advantage.
He glanced at the snake coiled around his left arm, her head resting on his shoulder.
"Riruru, wait for me at the side."
She nodded, then slipped from his side, gliding silently to the ground behind him.
Skyler glanced at Vex's dagger, shaking his head with a grin spreading across his lips.
"Such an ordinary weapon."
Vex snapped back at him, furious.
"Ordinary? This is a unique, Epic-tier weapon! Can't you feel its power—"
He faltered mid-sentence as Skyler drew his weapon. All eyes instantly shifted to the ash-brown-haired youth—even Charles, who had paired with Zack, turned to watch him.
Their eyes widened. In his hand was a dark scythe pulsing with energy, its curved blade fused with a blue core. The shaft extended into a smaller, reverse-edged lower blade.
Even without knowing its tier, they all knew the weapon was anything but ordinary. The moment the scythe appeared, Moore's eyes locked onto it—his jaw dropped, lips parting in stunned silence. He was too shocked.
Was this the kind of privilege that came with being a royal...? Skyler, a mere student, had casually pulled out a unique, legendary-tier scythe—there was no doubt about it. Moore had seen other royals at the academy, but none of them possessed such a weapon!
'Wow...'
He wanted to take a closer look, but before he could, Skyler had already rushed forward to attack his opponent, who stood frozen in his spot, mesmerized by the dark weapon.
Vex's eyes widened, but fortunately, Skyler slowed down just enough for him to stop the scythe. Vex might have been an 11-star, but with the power Skyler gained from his race, his body was stronger and far more agile.
Skyler chuckled as he caught the panic in his opponent's eyes and struck again—his attack speed increasing with each passing second. So much so that Vex couldn't even tell where the next strike was coming from.
The silent audience could clearly see that Skyler was toying with his opponent.
His precise movements and swift attacks made it obvious he was far superior with his weapon—not just to Vex, but perhaps to all the students. He could've ended the battle easily. Yet, he didn't. He simply continued.
Moore watched the battle, utterly stunned. Alfanzo, having sensed the presence of the powerful weapon and arriving at the dome, was equally shocked. The two only reacted when Vex was thrown back, blood trickling from his mouth as he groaned in pain.
Skyler's eyes twinkled with mirth.
"That was a fun fight, classmate."