Chapter 1514
Chapter 1514: Section 1515: Promotion Match Chapter 1514: Section 1515: Promotion Match When Angel arrived at Fangling Hall, he found that there were only three people present.
To be exact, two people.
Lyon and Serum, and the extra person was Serum's Book Spirit, Black Classic.
Serum sat perched upon the branch of a tree, leaning against the trunk, engrossed in reading a large, thick-spined book in his hands.
Lyon was sitting cross-legged in the center of the training ground, covered in sweat, panting nonstop. In front of him, a plump woman wielding a rapier seemed to be instructing Lyon. One hand on her glasses and the other swinging the rapier, every muscle in her body was in motion, filled with a graceful beauty.
When Angel pushed the door open and entered, all three looked over with puzzlement.
They all showed varying degrees of caution towards Angel's uninvited entrance, and Lyon even jumped up from the ground, brandishing his sword at Angel.
It was only when Angel removed the Illusion Technique on his face to reveal his true appearance that Lyon finally breathed a sigh of relief, put down his sword, and continued to sit on the ground, panting.
At that moment, Serum leaped down from the tree and scrutinized Angel curiously, “You're back? There's a rumor outside saying that you've advanced, is it true?”
Serum circled around Angel once, unable to perceive the fluctuations in Angel's energy, but subtly feeling that Angel's aura had undergone a significant change compared to when they last met in Sky Mechanical City.
While Serum was sizing him up, the woman who was instructing Lyon in swordsmanship swayed over.
“Respected Mr. Pat… or should I say, Wizard Pat?” The woman's voice was very gentle and full of tenderness, as she cast a flirtatious glance at Angel.
Serum turned to look at her, “Black Classic, stop messing around, switch back to your male form.”
The woman shrugged nonchalantly, her figure shifted, turning into an elegant middle-aged man dressed in a black suit. He was Serum's Book Spirit, Black Classic.
“Black Classic is not wrong, right? You've really advanced?” Serum asked again.
Angel nodded: “Yes, I was quite fortunate to advance.”
Although Serum had already prepared himself having heard the rumors outside, he still felt a bit dazed upon hearing the truth.
Just a few years ago, everyone was on the same level, but now Angel had surpassed him by a whole major barrier and three minor ones.
When Serum came back to his senses from this news, his eyes held an extremely complex look; there was envy and jealousy, a touch of resignation and nostalgia, but also joy and blessings for Angel's advancement.
These mixed emotions eventually combined together, and Serum sighed, “I think, I need some time to calm down.”
Serum, holding the large book, walked to the side in a daze and started to flip through it. Angel noticed that the large book Serum was reading was not Black Classic, but a book of laws from some country, illustrated with scales, a long sword, and a gavel.
However, Serum clearly wasn't absorbing the content, his gaze was scattered, not really focusing on the book pages.
Black Classic bowed lightly from the side, speaking in an elegant tone, “The master is just momentarily shocked, it'll be fine after some time.”
Angel nodded, not wanting to disturb Serum further, and turned his attention to his brother Lyon, who was still panting on the ground.
Compared to Serum's absent-mindedness today, Lyon was doing much better, mainly because he had heard about Angel's situation in the Wilderness of Dreams from Frode a few days ago, so naturally, he was much more able to accept it.
Moreover, since Angel was his brother, Lyon couldn't possibly feel jealous; he was only filled with happiness.
After Angel approached, the first thing Lyon said, revealing his excitement, was: “Now that you're an Official Wizard, does it mean that our Pat Clan can be considered an official Wizard Family?”
After saying this, Lyon himself couldn't help but feel elated.
“Barely,” Angel said earnestly, “But to become a Wizard Family, though having a Transcendent is a mandatory condition, there are many other requirements involved.”
Angel listed various examples, including recruiting members, expanding the clan, perpetuating the lineage, establishing Transcendent systems, cooperating with the Wizard Market, and maintaining superficial peace with other Wizard Families and Witcher Organizations.
“Moreover, a Wizard Family should not merely look at the present, but set sights on the distant future. So, hearing this, are you sure you want to establish a Wizard Family?”
After listening, Lyon felt it all seemed very complicated: “It sounds quite troublesome, and becoming a Wizard Family seems to tie down your footsteps… Let's forget it.”
For Lyon, the prosperity of the family was important, but his only kin was even more crucial.
Angel didn't say much more. Whether to establish a Wizard Family or not was not for him to decide, as the Pat Clan was ruled by Lyon. If Lyon decided to establish a Wizard Family in the future, Angel would not object.
After a brief chat with Lyon, Angel, somewhat curious, asked about the whereabouts of the other people from Fangling Hall.
Where did Nausicaa, Xiliu, and Shan go?
“Nausicaa went to participate in the promotion contest, while Xiliu and Shan both went to watch the competition. To be precise, Xiliu fell asleep, and Shan had Ganke carry her on his back to the site to watch.”
The promotion contest is different from the qualification contest.
To kick off the promotion contest, it's required that Nausicaa accumulate 100 points from battles beyond the 30th floor of the Infinite Battle Tower.
The previous qualification contests can be regarded as preliminary rounds. The promotion contest is the key competition to advance from the preliminary to the secondary round.
Once Nausicaa successfully defeats her opponent, it means she has been promoted. It also signifies that Nausicaa has acquired the qualification of a new star.
And having the qualification of a new star also means that Nausicaa is eligible to enter the Endless Corridor!
So many Apprentices come to Sky Mechanical City to participate in the New Star Contest. 99% of them are not aiming for the final championship of the contest because they know their place and are very clear that only those with genius-level potential can claim the crown. What they're after, in fact, is the qualification of a new star.
Upon hearing this, Angel couldn't help but ask: “When does the competition start?”
At this moment, Serum, who had been “calmly” standing by, seemed to have truly calmed down. He approached Angel and answered the question for Lyon: “The competition has already started. According to our calculations, it should now be nearing its end. If Wizard Pat… cough cough, if you want to go, it's probably too late.”
Angel: “You can just call me by my name.”
Serum: “That won't do. It's a matter of rules.”
“If you mind the issue of calling names, it would make me very sad,” Angel feigned grievance.
In the Wizards' Realm, indeed there are rules that prioritize strength, but among close friends, the issue of titles is not a big deal. Just like Sanders and Nis. Although Nis is still a first-level Wizard, he often calls Sanders by his name and even uses some playful nicknames.
Of course, this is only between friends who have grown up as equals. They wouldn't mind the way they address each other. Even a slight sense of alienation, or if there was a difference in seniority before, any change in how one is addressed after the relationship improves could be seen as offensive. For example, Sanders and Reinmut have a great relationship, but Sanders never oversteps.
Serum hesitated for a moment: “But…”
“Or, you can just call me by my name when we're in private,” Angel said, and without waiting for Serum to refuse, he directly moved on to the next question: “Since it's such an important competition for Nausicaa, why didn't you guys go?”
This time, it wasn't Serum who answered. Lyon scratched his head awkwardly and said, “Because of me.”
As it happened, Lyon would soon have a very crucial competition that would determine whether he could advance from the first level of the Sky Tower to the second.
Nausicaa was going to participate in the promotion contest, so Serum volunteered to stay behind, having the Black Classic conduct an urgent analysis of the competition and to give Lyon his final training.
Angel suddenly realized: “I see. Since it's my brother's most critical competition, then I will also go and watch later?”
Lyon: “…How come I suddenly feel the pressure has increased.”
Since Lyon was about to compete, it wasn't good for Angel to continue the deep conversation with him. He had the Black Classic give Lyon his final tips, and then he began to ask Serum about their participation in the New Star Contest.
As Serum recounted, what surprised Angel was that Serum, compared to Nausicaa, had already taken part in the promotion contest and had succeeded in advancing, obtaining the qualification of a new star.
As for his reasoning, Serum explained: “Nausicaa needed to train Lyon, so her competition schedule has been more sparse than before. Otherwise, she would have been promoted before me.”
Shan hadn't yet reached the 30th floor, so she couldn't accumulate points. Looking at the time, Shan was unlikely to obtain the new star qualification.
As for Xiliu, Serum mentioned her and shook his head with a sigh: “Speaking of strength, Xiliu is arguably the strongest among us, but she only has 13 points so far.”
There's no need for Serum to elaborate; Angel could guess the reason: Xiliu fell asleep during her matches.
The pills that keep Xiliu awake were only prepared in small quantities. Xiliu intended to use them at crucial moments, so she didn't take them for regular matches, which led to her repeatedly losing due to falling asleep.
Whether Xiliu can earn her promotion spot depends on whether she can avoid falling asleep in the upcoming matches.
Then, Serum talked about Lyon's competition.
Lyon's competition was rather boring because those mingling on the first level of the Sky Tower all had similar strengths to Lyon, with a weaker understanding of the Transcendent, and they mostly still used mundane techniques.
Although the competition wasn't very exciting, as someone with a Bloodline talent and wearing the Beginner's Suit refined by Angel, even if Lyon lost a match, he wasn't hurt. Therefore, he gave his all in every match, using all his power and skill to perform at one hundred percent.
The gains from an all-out battle were great for Lyon, especially the insights from the matches he conceded while wearing the Beginner's Suit.
In comparison, Lyon's gains in these days could be said to be the greatest.