Chapter 172: Meeting the Ex-Girlfriend Again
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 172: Meeting the Ex-Girlfriend Again
"I surrender! I forfeit!"
Inside the sea of fire, Ruan Fu watched helplessly as her hair curled under the intense heat and the hem of her skirt turned to ash.
After a quick glance at her remaining mana and her spellbook, she made the decisive choice to throw in the towel.
She didn't hesitate for a second. Just seeing such a terrifying spell in this match made the trip worthwhile for her.
As soon as Ruan Fu announced her surrender, the referee rushed forward to intervene. A vacuum zone that blocked the heat enveloped Ruan Fu, protecting her from further damage.
I immediately dispersed the spell's effects. However, the environmental changes brought about by the magic wouldn't vanish just because the spell ended—at least, not for a while.
"Are you alright?"
I walked over to ask out of concern. Seeing her hopping around energetically after deactivating her transformation spell, she seemed fine. That was the beauty of transformation magic: injuries sustained while transformed were weakened to a certain extent once you shifted back.
However, that didn't apply to specific types of damage, such as mental trauma or spell backlash. This kind of backlash wasn't just a strain on one's mental power; it was a reaction from the spell itself. After all, transformation magic was a method intimately tied to one's own physical body.
"I'm... I'm fine. Anyway, thanks for holding back," Ruan Fu said, waving her hands frantically. She signaled for me to stay away while I was still a good distance from her.
If this was considered holding back, she figured it was best not to get too close to someone like me.
As the referee loudly announced my victory, a cheer erupted from the stands. However, it wasn't nearly as thunderous as before. No matter how many times they saw it, a total stomp lacked passion. A match where the opponent surrendered immediately after a single hundred-cost spell was cast—how was that supposed to be exciting?
Still, that didn't mean the audience wasn't buzzing. I was the second contestant, after Tan Han, to clearly possess a hundred-cost spellbook.
By now, however, I was a seasoned veteran. I was no longer the person I was on the first day, easily swayed by the high-octane emotions of the crowd.
I quickly made my way to the backstage lounge. The cheers of the audience were fleeting; if you took them to heart, you were the one who'd look like a fool. The only things that truly belonged to you were the people who remembered you after you left the arena.
Besides, I never forgot my original intention: the Freshman Competition was merely an interlude on my path toward the Transcendent. If I took it too seriously, I'd already lost.
My only lingering desire for this competition was that elusive spellbook that supposedly improved learning efficiency. Surely Teacher Ji Niang wouldn't use such a cheap lie to trick me?
Though, to be fair, she never actually promised it to me.
Now came the tedious wait for the afternoon matches to begin. It was a bit boring, but I still had plenty to do.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the private box reserved for Afuhemi Academy.
"Um, that person just now... her name is Yang Yuehan, right?"
"Is something wrong, Beibei? Do you know her?" Seeing Yao Beijuan's agitated tone, the male elf student beside her stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"No, I don't know her at all... And take your hand off me!" Yao Beijuan slapped his hand away instantly, looking as disgusted as if she were brushing dust off her shoulder.
"Alright then."
Met with such a cold rejection, the male elf's pointed ears drooped, though he didn't voice any frustration.
"The power of that spell just now was quite terrifying. Those restless fire elements almost covered the entire arena."
"Maybe it was just for show? That sea of fire didn't look that powerful. The opponent was just being dramatic, surrendering at that level. If it were me, I'd show them what Elven Archery is all about!"
The chatter in the box wasn't something Ariel, the teacher, could suppress with a simple call for silence. She had already checked the room for surveillance devices or magical eavesdropping; since there were none, she didn't feel the need to be overly strict.
Besides, that was the nature of watching a battle. Everyone had different insights, and discussion was inevitable.
However, her focus remained on Yao Beijuan. Among the group of students she brought, Yao was the center of attention.
When Yao Beijuan's talent awakened, it manifested as a seed—but it was no ordinary seed.
It was the first Luck Seed Afuhemi Academy had discovered since Tan Han.
And now, it wasn't the only one.
After a comprehensive investigation into Yao Beijuan, the academy had found several clues and ultimately designated her as a "Candidate Child of Destiny."
This was because she hadn't obtained the largest portion of Luck gathered during the world-wide College Entrance Exam Ceremony.
Even so, she had a "brilliant" performance during the ceremony—specifically in the most crucial part: the "score."
Her exam score was a massive, outlier-level jump compared to her usual grades. Using this anomaly, the academy had located several other students whose awakened talents were these types of seeds.
After confirmation, they were indeed Luck Seeds that had not yet been nourished by Luck.
This discovery shocked the high-ranking officials of Afuhemi Academy. Naturally, they made an immediate decision.
They also confirmed that this abnormal situation was likely linked to the Abyssal Demon race, though how they had interfered remained unknown.
At that time, every Transcendent Academy was fighting over Tan Han. However, since Tan Han had applied to the Holy Angel Academy on her own, Afuhemi Academy decisively gave up on her. Instead of joining the fray, they followed the Witch Academy's lead and began aggressively recruiting students, specifically targeting those with anomalous exam scores.
This made the current year's recruitment war the most frantic one yet.
Once Tan Han eventually fell into the hands of the Witch Academy, Afuhemi Academy took the initiative to contact the other two Great Academies. They knew the others must have "Candidate Children of Destiny" as well; rather than waiting for them to figure it out, it was better to tell them directly in exchange for a favor.
The Witch Academy, meanwhile, was still basking in the joy of having secured Tan Han so easily, never even considering this possibility.
The other two Transcendent Academies stopped competing for Tan Han. On the surface, they claimed it was because she had already stepped onto the path of a Witch, but in reality, they were swayed by Afuhemi Academy's concept of "Candidate Children of Destiny."
Since the Three Great Academies were naturally closer to each other than to the Witch Academy, the information remained locked down.
However, other Transcendent Academies had similar individuals, and the news couldn't be suppressed forever.
The Three Great Academies only managed to keep the secret for a few days before the Witch Academy noticed something was wrong. After all, the Transcendent Witches of the Witch Academy weren't idiots. Even if their teaching philosophy was laid-back and casual, they wouldn't let others keep them in the dark about something this important.
Since the situation couldn't be stopped, many things were prepared in a great rush.
This tournament, held so soon after the start of the term, was born from that urgency.
The multi-academy exchange competition was a "fair" stage for these Children of Destiny to face off. Furthermore, the academies were eager to see how a non-linear narrative script would unfold.
They knew that by interfering with the script, they were no longer the players standing above the board, but had chosen to enter the game themselves, becoming part of the script. But when interests were at stake, that didn't really matter. Some external force was always needed to keep the script running, and it was better to have their own people involved, wasn't it?
Ariel watched Yao Beijuan's reaction and didn't scold her as she had before.
Previously, she had held Yao Beijuan to higher standards. Now, it was obvious the girl had encountered something very important to her.
"Yao Beijuan, come outside with me for a moment," Ariel said softly.
"Okay."
Yao Beijuan left the boy beside her hanging and followed Ariel out. She was actually quite afraid of this Elf teacher—perhaps it was the natural intimidation a teacher has over a student, or perhaps something else. Since Ariel was also her counselor, Yao Beijuan felt very constrained in her presence.
Once outside, Ariel got straight to the point. Since this concerned Yao Beijuan personally, there was a high probability it would lead to various plot branches, so she took it seriously.
"Yao Beijuan, I noticed you were quite focused on that girl named Yang Yuehan just now. Is there something on your mind?"
"Um... it's nothing much, really."
"Feel free to speak. You don't need to be so afraid of me. I am your teacher; I won't harm you." Ariel tried to make her tone less stern, but it didn't seem very effective.
Still, she wanted to guide Yao Beijuan into opening up. she wanted to see if she was currently standing at a branch in a plot node.
"It's just the name. My old deskmate was also named Yang Yuehan."
"Deskmate?"
Ariel raised an eyebrow. In a script, no coincidence or twist of fate was ever truly strange. If Yao Beijuan said the name was the same as her deskmate's, Ariel had every reason to suspect they were the same person.
She reacted quickly. "In that case, why don't I go with you to see her?"
"Eh? There's no need for that, right? It's too much trouble. And she clearly isn't him, right? It's just the same name." Yao Beijuan instinctively refused.
"But aren't you curious?" Ariel's single sentence made Yao Beijuan hesitate. Ariel added fuel to the fire: "Was your old deskmate a boy? Is that why you think it's not the person you know?"
"He... uh... he was indeed a boy." Yao Beijuan scratched her head, her fingers twisting a lock of her hair in nervous uncertainty.
"Hehe, isn't that even better? I can tell you that the Witch Academy actually accepts boys. However, they turn into girls after enrollment. It's a very common phenomenon there." Ariel's lips curled into a smile. There was definitely a story here. She didn't mind being the elf who pushed the plot forward.
"Eh? Really!" Yao Beijuan's eyes widened in disbelief, her gaze filled with shock and a hint of... excitement and anticipation?
"Of course. Otherwise, why do you think the Witch Academy recruits so many talents regardless of gender, yet you never see a single male there?" Ariel continued to explain.
But Yao Beijuan soon thought of something else. "But with his grades, he shouldn't have been able to get into the Witch Academy..."
"Shouldn't have been able to get in?" Ariel quickly caught the keyword. If his usual grades were poor but he managed to enter the Witch Academy after the exam, then that person was also a potential Child of Destiny!
Now she definitely had to go see.
"Why don't we go find out?" Ariel proactively suggested, leading the way without a hint of reluctance.
A volunteer senior sister outside quickly came over to ask what was happening. After learning the situation, she took on the role of a guide and led them to the contestants' lounge area.
"Wait! No one except contestants is allowed in the lounge area!" They were soon stopped by the volunteers on duty.
"Hello, we are the leading teachers from Afuhemi Academy, and this is our freshman representative. We just want to meet a certain contestant. Could you make an exception?" Ariel asked politely.
"No. My duty is to ensure the contestants aren't disturbed while they rest."
"Her morning match is already over. I don't think our visit will affect her too much. Or, if we can't go in, could you please tell her that someone is looking for her?"
"This... I'll go try, but if she's unwilling, then that's that." After a moment of hesitation, the senior sister decided to accept the suggestion, as it wasn't unreasonable.
She asked who they were looking for before heading inside.
The senior sister was a bit surprised, though. They were looking for Yang Yuehan! It seemed the other academies were very interested in the Witch Academy's genius.
* * *
In the lounge, I was currently studying the state of my spellbook. I had used the Elemental Spirit's Blessing again on the field. Although the opponent surrendered before I could do much, I had still gathered a lot of data that I couldn't get in the lab.
For instance, I saw what the spell looked like at full power and its effective range. Currently, covering the entire designated arena was easy, but the damage distribution was a bit underwhelming.
Of course, that was just the "Sea of Fire" ability shown by this fire spirit. It was a good area-of-effect tool, but a bit lackluster for single-target damage.
I had to admit, this spirit's attack methods weren't particularly helpful to me. This gave me a new direction for modifying the spellbook.
I needed to increase the elemental spirit's efficiency in utilizing elements!
The way the summoned spirit wielded elements was far too wasteful!
It should be precise and elegant!
I wondered if I could nest a spellbook within a spellbook. Since this Blessing spellbook was so much more complex than the Fireball Spell one, maybe I could add an internal structure represented by runes?
I'd have to ask Teacher Ji Niang if this wild idea was feasible. If not, I wouldn't waste my time.
But just as I was about to continue, there was a knock on my door.
Usually, no one knocked on these doors unless it was another contestant. Could it be Ruan Fu?
Unlikely.
When I opened the door, I found the senior sister who guarded the lounge area.
The same one who asked for my contact info but never introduced herself—the one whose name I still didn't know!
"Senior sister, is something wrong?" I asked curiously. Given the circumstances, she wouldn't come looking for me for no reason. If she did, I'd just delete her contact info to keep her from causing trouble.
"Oh, it's like this. Didn't the academy send out a notice that students and teachers from other Transcendent Academies would be coming for an exchange?"
"I know. What about it?" I tilted my head.
"Just now, someone came looking for you. Or rather, some elves. It's a teacher from Afuhemi Academy and one of her students," the senior sister explained.
"A teacher from Afuhemi Academy? Why is she looking for me? I have nothing to do with them." I frowned.
"I'm not sure, but they asked for you by name. Do you want to go see them? They're waiting outside."
"They're still waiting? Fine, I'll go take a look." I straightened my clothes and smoothed out a few wrinkles. I wanted to see who was bothering me, especially someone from Afuhemi.
The mere mention of Afuhemi Academy sparked a strange flicker of irritation in my heart. Perhaps it was because that academy always reminded me of my ex-girlfriend.
"Thanks. I'll lead the way," the senior sister said brightly, relieved that I was being cooperative.
As I followed her out, I soon spotted two figures in the distance who looked completely out of place in the arena.
They had blonde or pale-gold hair, tall statures, and an air of haughty elegance. Most notably, their prominent pointed ears made their identity as elves unmistakable.
But when I saw the elf standing behind the one who was clearly the teacher, I felt like I'd been struck by lightning.
Even though she had become an elf, how could I ever forget that face?
Yao Beijuan?
What was she doing here?
Was she doing so well at Afuhemi Academy that they brought her along for the exchange?
The moment I saw her, I felt as if a thousand alpacas were stampeding through my mind, prompting me to curse instinctively.
"Fuck."
There was no sentimentality, no regret, and no joy of reunion. Perhaps from the moment we started dating, it had all been an act—she was in it for the fun, and I was just trying to end my two-lifetime streak of being single.
Afterward, we had parted ways without a word, going our separate paths.
Meeting again now, I was no longer the boy I had been.