Chapter 369: Transfer This Place To Me
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Have you heard? A genius has appeared at the Royal Academy. He obtained a full score in the warrior department assessment.”
“Isn’t there a small number of geniuses who can achieve 100 points every year? What’s the fuss ?”
“Idiot! The one you’re talking about is 100 points; it’s different from the full score. That 100 points can be obtained in the assessment as long as you clear ten or more gold-tier puppets within a minute. However, a full score is different. If you want to achieve a full score, you have to kill all the puppets within the stipulated time! The person who gets 100 points proves that his ability is only 100 points, while the person who gets full marks proves that the difficulty of the test is only worth 100 points.”
“It seems that that person is really powerful. I wonder who he is?”
“He is Master Antonio’s newest disciple. His name is Watson! When I heard that Master Antonio had taken in a disciple, I wondered who had such a bit of luck. Now, it seems that it is not unreasonable for Master Antonio to take in that disciple.”
Two students of the Royal Academy were sitting on the assessment grounds and chatting, waiting for the test to begin. People like them were not uncommon around there.
More than an hour had passed since Watson passed the warrior test. Since Watson had destroyed all the puppets in the warrior test field, those who wanted to pass the warrior test had to wait outside the area. They could only enter the field after the academy’s maintenance staff repaired the puppets.
“Wow, those puppets have been wholly destroyed. Even though there isn’t any damage on the surface, the combat aura has crushed the magic core inside. Furthermore, only the magical core has been destroyed. There isn’t even a single crack on the part that is close to the magical core. That terrifying destructive power and control is really not something a 12 or 13-year old youth can master.”
The teacher in charge of the maintenance was a middle-aged man. He was dressed in greasy clothes and had stubble all over his face. His slightly melancholic eyes sparkled after he sized the puppets on the ground.
“Dean, may I ask if those puppets have been repaired? Some young nobles can’t wait to participate in the assessment.”
At that moment, a few senior students came in front of the middle-aged man and asked about that respectfully.
That middle-aged man was the school’s fourth-year director of education. At the same time, he was also the head of the entire Holy Dragon Kingdom’s engineering department. He specialized in researching magic weapons for the kingdom to expand military supplies. His name was Vincent Wilhelm Theo.
“Let those kids wait. There are about 500 puppets that have been destroyed here. Even if I wanted to repair them, it wouldn’t be so easy! “Those noble brats usually only know how to eat and do nothing. They don’t train hard, but when it comes to the assessment, they are so serious. If it were up to me, those people should ask their parents to hire a family tutor to harm their servants and maids. Don’t go to school.”
“But two of them are from the archdukes’ families, the Campbells and the Saint Laurents. They specifically asked you to complete the repair as soon as possible so as not to waste their time.”
“So the two archdukes’ kids are also here. Then I have to finish the work as soon as possible. Tell the young masters that I only need ten more minutes.”
Upon hearing that there were two people from the archdukes’ families, Theo immediately looked out of the venue and changed his tone. That was because the three archdukes’ families contributed a lot of money to the engineering department every year to provide them with research. In other words, those three great families were the financial backers of the Ministry of Engineering. Of course, if that was all, then as the minister, Theo did not need to be so polite with them.
There was only one reason why he was like that. The two kids from the Campbells and the Saint Laurents were not ordinary family members but members who held high positions in the family.
“Nia Saint Laurent Gehry, you are really annoying. Wherever I go, you follow me like a fan.”
The person who spoke was a youth with a red ponytail and dressed in a gorgeous robe. He was waving a goblet in his hand. The red wine in the goblet spun non-stop, as if it would fly out of the goblet in the next moment but was unable to do so.
It was as if that young man had just walked out of some banquet.
If Watson were still here, he would recognize him because that youth was the youth that previously attracted the Campbell family’s attention.
“Augustus Campbell, I’m not following you. It’s more like you’re blocking my way.”
The person who responded to the red-haired ponytailed youth was a purple-haired girl. Her expression was cold, and as she spoke, the curls that hung on both sides of her head slightly rose. Her hair was several times longer, turning into long steel wires that cut through the air. On top of that, ice shards of varying lengths sealed the youth named Augustus in the middle.
Crack!
Cracks appeared on the ground amidst a series of cracking sounds. Without a doubt, if those hairs were to cut into the young man’s body, they would cut him into pieces of rotten meat.
“Nia, you dare to attack me?”
The young man asked in surprise. He took two steps back and threw out the red wine in the goblet in his hand. The red wine immediately turned into a rising flame that expanded countless times, dyeing the surrounding area red. The fiery red flame condensed into a giant python. It opened its bloody mouth above the young man’s head and burned the young girl’s hair into ashes in one bite.
After doing all that, Augustus stared at Nia with slightly reddened eyes. His eyes were filled with violence. The air he was breathing contained a high temperature, and even the air distorted.
“Come on, Nia, is that all you can do? Let’s have a good fight.”
“Boring! I’m not in the mood to fight with you. I’m here to participate in the assessment.”
Nia did not even look at Augustus. Her cold gaze was only fixed on the puppets that were gradually being repaired in the warrior assessment venue. It was as if she was only interested in those puppets.
Watson had disappeared after performing a great battle against the unicorn just a moment ago. As geniuses from the Campbell and the Saint Laurent families, even though they were very curious about Watson, as nobles, they had no choice but to persevere until the last moment of the banquet. The Royal Academy had just announced that the kingdom had produced its first genius in recent years, with a full score, and his name was Watson.
That news caused the noblemen to boil with excitement. Only then did they realize that Watson had used the excuse of being tired to leave with the unicorn. It turned out that he had gone to participate in the Royal Academy’s assessment and had just displayed his skills in front of the emperor. It had only been a short while before he had broken the academy’s record. It was truly remarkable.
Similarly, Augustus and Nia were also boiling with excitement. As the top geniuses of their two families, they were naturally also one of the new students of the Royal Academy. Furthermore, they had obtained a good score of 100 points in the assessment. However, such results were far inferior to a full score.
Regardless of whether it was the prideful Augustus or the cold and indifferent Nia, they were both very young. They were both geniuses, so why were their results inferior to Watson’s?
Thus, the following scene happened.
“Nia, you’re right. I can fight with you anytime, but I only have one chance to break the record! I’m a gentleman. Why don’t you go first? Oh, right! I almost forgot that you’re a mage. Do you plan to complete the warrior department’s assessment?” Augustus rolled his eyes. The high temperature spewing from his mouth gradually subsided, and his eyes returned to normal from their red color.
Nia did not say anything. She only took a few steps forward and arrived at the edge of the mage assessment site.
At that moment, a few students were still testing at the edge of the assessment site. When they saw Nia, they immediately stopped what they were doing. They weakly walked to the side so that Nia could use the site.
“Miss Nia, do you want to participate in the test? You have already achieved 100 points in the test. I wonder if there is still a need for you to take the test?” The teacher who was responsible for recording the results came to Nia’s side and asked curiously.
“Previously, I thought that 100 points were enough. But now, 100 points is no longer enough to satisfy me, so I want to get a full score.”
As Nia spoke, a huge hexagram-shaped snowflake magic array appeared behind her. The magic array flickered with a sky-blue light, and white ice crystals erupted from within, freezing the ground and air into solid ice. A few students who were closer to her, including the academy’s teachers, could not help but step back.
In that huge magic array, two giant palms suddenly stretched outward. Those two palms were made of ice and snow, and they floated beside Nia. They stretched out for a hundred meters, like two shields that were magnified countless times.
“Platinum-tier magic, the blooming of extreme cold hell!”
The voice flew out from her delicate lips. The two huge ice-cold arms flew to the center of the assessment field and collided with each other. The sound of the enormous palms clapping resounded through the sky, causing many people who were preparing to take the test to cover their ears in pain. In the center of the clapping area, a bottomless pit appeared on the ground. The hundreds of puppets in the center were crushed into dust.
The puppets did not have time to escape before a layer of white ice appeared on their bodies. With a cracking sound, they gradually broke into pieces and turned into ice shards on the ground.
With just one strike, Nia killed hundreds of puppets, turning the entire mage assessment venue into a white purgatory. However, Nia turned around and walked out as if nothing had happened.
When she passed by the assessment teacher, she stopped in her tracks. The teacher suddenly shivered. He came to his senses and took out a quill to record Nia’s results in his notebook.
“Nia from the mage department, assessment result—full marks.”
Nia had displayed her prowess. Then, Augustus frowned and revealed an affronted expression. “Have the puppets in the warrior assessment not been repaired yet?”
“Yes, Young Master Augustus. With my hard work, it only took me eight minutes to repair them! I’m Theo, the head of the engineering department. I’m an old friend of your father’s—” Theo wiped the grease and sweat off his forehead. With a smile on his face, he came to Augustus from the assessment site. However, he was interrupted by Augustus before he could finish his words.
“Get out of my way. Don’t delay my participation in the assessment. Why are you talking so much? Platinum-tier fire-element spell, Roaring Ancient Fire Python!”
As he pushed Theo away, Augustus opened his palm toward the assessment site in front of him. A giant ball of flame appeared in front of him. That flame was like a wave, and long fire snakes that were several meters thick crawled out from within it. They shot out like sharp arrows at the puppets that were frantically escaping.
However, under the terrifying heatwave and flames, the escaping puppets had only run a few steps before they were melted. The repaired assessment site was charred once again, and more than 500 puppets were reduced to ruins.
Augustus retracted his hand and looked in Ni Ya’s direction proudly. He realized that Ni Ya was not looking at him and was about to walk to the door. He immediately spat and followed up with dissatisfaction, leaving behind a group of stunned people.
“Augustus from the warrior department, assessment result—full score!” A teacher recorded that result silently.
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“That is already the third full score today. Who would have thought that after Watson, Augustus and Nia would refresh their original results? Is that a challenge to Watson? After all, I heard that Augustus and Nia had tried to recruit Antonio as their teacher, but they were both rejected. Perhaps that is a disguised form of venting their inner dissatisfaction.”
After Augustus and Nia left, some students gathered to discuss the situation in a low voice. Some of them came to Theo’s side and asked awkwardly, “Master Theo, what should we do now?”
“What else can we do? Fix it.”
Theo stomped his feet angrily and walked down the examination field while cursing. “Young people nowadays really don’t know how to be polite. They don’t even reply to their elders! I told you that we should let those noble children stay at home and hire some private tutors for them to learn the noble etiquette properly.”
He had spent a lot of effort to repair the more than five hundred puppets that Watson had broken. Then, not only did he have to fix the warrior assessment site, but he also had to repair the mage assessment site as well. Furthermore, it was different from Watson’s test. The young man had only broken the core of the puppet. He even had to redo all the puppets. He did not know if he would be able to rest for half a day.
With a solemn mood, Theo cultivated for more than three hours before he crawled out of the pit, panting. At that moment, he saw a young girl with long yellow hair walking toward him with a broken sword at her waist. Everyone was astonished.
Although that young girl was gorgeous, her face carried a travel-like aura. It was as if she had traveled a great distance to come here. She bowed to her surroundings amidst the crowd’s exclamations.
“It’s the swordmistress!”
“She has returned from the City of Steel!”
“Isn’t she 20 years old this year? Why is she here to participate in the assessment?”
The young lady drew her broken sword and walked toward the warrior assessment grounds.
It was as if countless sword shadows flashed past in front of her, yet it was also as if there was only one sword shadow. In the warrior assessment grounds that had just been repaired, the puppets were destroyed once again. It was not just the puppets in that area, but the puppets in the other three assessment zones were also cut open by an invisible force.
“Christina Frederick from the current Sword Saint’s family, assessment result—full score!”
The teacher trembled as he recorded the young woman’s result. The girl seemed to be very calm about all that. She bowed again, turned around, and left silently.
The whole place was shocked by that scene. It was utterly silent until a student’s voice sounded in Theo’s ears.
“Master Theo, now all the assessment sites have been damaged. What should we do?”
“What should we do? You only know how to ask me what to do. How would I know? It’s not enough for me to repair the puppets once a day, and I still have to fix them repeatedly. If that goes on, I’ll die of exhaustion sooner or later. Go and find the other teachers in the academy. I won’t do it anymore. ”
Theo was furious. As he spoke, he ignored the few students who were obstructing him and walked out. At the same time, he raised his head and looked at the yellow-haired young lady who had disappeared into the academy, muttering to himself.
“I’ve seen four students with full marks today. What’s going on with the Royal Academy this year? Aren’t the new students too strong? Even the swordmistress has come here. Is that the Sword Saint’s intention? With so many evildoers around, it looks like the school will become very lively in the future.”
….
“There are so many people in the tavern—as expected for a place where the Severed Fingers Gang would gather. It’s really lively.”
Watson stood in the royal city, not far from the city gate. In a remote tavern in a narrow alley, he compared the information in his mind.
There was a half-broken plaque in the tavern with the words, Three-legged Cat, written on it. One could vaguely see a group of half-naked men holding beer brewed from whole wheat, knocking against each other’s mugs. They drank until their faces were red. What was strange was that those people were more or less missing a piece of their fingers.
“Three-legged Cat? What a strange name! According to the information given by Elven, among the ten leaders of the Severed Fingers, the person codenamed Left Ring Finger is in charge of most of the wine business in the kingdom, and one of his subordinates is the owner of that bar.”
Previously, in the floating city, Watson had obtained information about the other nine leaders of the Severed Fingers from Elven. He needed to take over the Severed Fingers Gang.
Having made up his mind, Watson tidied his clothes, kicked open the wooden door with his foot, and walked into the tavern.
“Huh?”
The burly men who had been drinking earlier all stopped their actions and revealed vigilant expressions. When they saw that the person was a 12 or 13-year-old boy, the vigilance in their eyes slightly weakened, and many of them laughed out loud.
“Why is a child here? Is he lost?”
“Judging from the child’s clothes, he should be an aristocrat. Maybe he’s not lost but attracted to the women in the tavern.”
The men held their wine glasses and extended their rough hands toward the maids holding their wine. The women were dressed like bunnies, and they screamed when the men touched them.
“I’m here to look for the boss. Which one of you is the boss here?”
Watson did not care about their crazy words. The corners of his mouth curled upward, revealing a tender smile as he asked that question.
“I’m the boss here, Kid. Why are you looking for me?”
A man holding a cane quickly walked out from the depths of the tavern. When he saw that man, Watson knew why that tavern was called Three-legged Cat. The boss looked like a fat Garfield cat, and the boss’ right foot was a prosthetic made of high-quality metal.
“Nothing, I just want to talk business with the boss.”
“Oh? What do you want to talk about? If you want to talk about milk and cribs, I can’t agree to it.” The tavern owner’s words made the drunkards burst into laughter again.
“I don’t want to talk about that. I want to sell a batch of wine in the kingdom, but I lack a suitable venue, so I hope you can transfer the tavern to me for free.”
Watson’s smile was still the same, but there was a hint of fearlessness in it.
