Chapter 36: The Princess’s Intervention

As the announcement faded, countless colossal virtual screens materialized in the sky above the entire arena. Each screen mirrored the image of a participating contestant. From his vantage point in the resting area, Gern gazed up at these ethereal projections, a sense of novelty stirring within him. He had no idea of the underlying principle behind this display, though he could vaguely sense the faint undulations of magic. However, his own grasp of magic was too rudimentary to discern precisely what spell had been cast.

Soon, the surrounding students began their advance into the depths of the forest. Gern’s gaze roamed across the arena before finally settling on Lilia, who had already found new teammates to form a party. The person she was with struck Gern as somewhat familiar. She sported a head of pink hair, wore a pale pink dress, and carried a finely crafted longsword on her back.

‘Damn, how did those two end up teaming up?’

Gern straightened up abruptly, scrutinizing the pink-haired figure on the screen. There was no mistake; it was none other than Miss Sina.

Though he couldn’t fathom how the two had allied, it did nothing to diminish Gern’s enjoyment of the spectator’s drama.

Just then, a group of individuals from the arena floor suddenly made their way towards Gern.

“Well, well, boy, we meet again,” one of them sneered. “I’m a little short on manpower right now. Care to join us for a bit?”

Gern cast a dismissive glance their way, recognizing them as the same troublemakers from before. Naturally, he held no interest in their proposition. Feigning ignorance of their presence, he leisurely returned his attention to the screens.

“Hey! I’m talking to you, kid! Don’t tell me you’re chickening out now? Come on, we’ll help you toughen up.”

As he spoke, the leader moved to lay hands on Gern, only to be stopped by one of his subordinates, who pointed at Gern and interjected.

“Wait a minute, Big Brother, why doesn’t he have a recording stone?”

Reminded by his underling, the leading young man finally noticed that Gern was not equipped with the recording stone required for the competition. This meant Gern wasn’t participating.

The entire group was utterly bewildered. Aside from academy staff, the participating students, and the examiners for the competition, no other unauthorized personnel should have been present. Given Gern’s tattered attire, he clearly couldn’t be any of those. The only plausible explanation was that his qualification to compete had been revoked.

At this realization, the leading young man was the first to burst into an exceedingly ugly laugh.

“Ha! Kid, don’t tell me you were caught rigging the match and the academy disqualified you?”

At his words, everyone present erupted in laughter. Gern observed their antics, finding them somewhat amusing. Yet, he offered no explanation. After all, he was a guaranteed admission, and drawing too much attention to himself wasn’t ideal. Furthermore, his unique circumstances required the utmost secrecy; even Miss Snow had emphasized the importance of keeping his secrets from others.

However, Gern’s inaction only served to embolden their arrogance.

“What’s wrong? Did I hit the nail on the head?”

“Listen, kid, this is Theoviga Academy’s assessment grounds. We don’t welcome cheaters like you.”

“Tch, what a pathetic wretch, daring to scheme against our Princess!”

“Exactly! Get out of here, now!”

As the crowd chattered indignantly, Gern remained unfazed. Instead of anger, he found the individuals before him utterly laughable, like a troupe of clowns.

“So, are you quite finished?”

“My presence here indicates the academy has its own reasons, and it’s certainly not for a bunch of worthless scoundrels like you to criticize or disrupt the order of this event.”

Gern’s words were undeniably blunt, leaving the faces of the contestants standing before him rather grim.

Seeing that he couldn’t out-argue Gern, the leader gritted his teeth and shouted to the surrounding students.

“Brothers, attack with me!”

Immediately, the group surged towards Gern. He frowned, realizing these individuals were truly lawless. Their attire suggested they came from prominent families, likely accustomed to arrogance and bullying. Gern decided to teach them a lesson. The strongest among them were merely at the peak of the Second Rank.

As long as he wasn’t surrounded or forced into a drawn-out war of attrition, his chances of victory were considerable.

‘Heavenly Sun!’

Gern murmured the name silently in his mind, and a faint aura of fire began to swirl around him. The moment Gern’s aura manifested, the onlookers were astonished by his power. Given his unassuming appearance and even his shabby clothes, they had assumed Gern had merely stumbled upon some stroke of luck or cheated his way into selection. To their surprise, the young man before them had already reached the Third Rank. Now, however, they were in too deep to back down.

Even if they recognized Gern’s formidable strength, it was too late to de-escalate the conflict.

“Don’t be afraid, brothers! He’s just one person. We have so many Second Rank fighters here; I refuse to believe we can’t defeat him!”

In truth, a Third Rank individual would indeed struggle against a large group of Second Rank opponents. But the crucial difference was that Gern was no ordinary Third Rank knight. He was a seasoned veteran, possessing combat experience from a previous life. To him, the fighting techniques of these individuals were akin to children playing make-believe.

Gern effortlessly dodged their attacks. Even without employing the Netherworld Steps, his past life’s combat experience granted him agile and graceful footwork. Not a single person among them could land a blow on Gern; in fact, he easily countered their assaults.

From a distance, Lilia, who had been chatting with Sina, sensed the commotion. Turning to look, she caught sight of the unfolding scene.

“Miss Sina, please wait here for a moment. I have something to attend to.”

“Oh? I’ll wait for you here. Hurry back; you won’t get a good score if you’re late.”

“It’s nothing, just a small matter. I’ll be back in a flash.”

With that, Lilia turned and walked towards Gern.

“What in the world are you doing?!”

A furious roar interrupted their skirmish. Upon seeing that the newcomer was their Big Brother’s beloved Princess, the group silently retreated behind the young man.

“Princess…”

The group greeted Lilia in unison, their eyes darting between the young man and Lilia, seemingly awaiting their leader’s instructions.

Upon recognizing the arrival, the young man’s face immediately broke into a faint, respectful smile.

“Princess, we were merely engaged in a friendly sparring match. May I ask what brings you here…?”

“Friendly sparring?”

Lilia looked at the group and let out a cold scoff.

“Outnumbering and ganging up on someone — is that what you call friendly sparring?”

“Uh…”

“Anthony, take your men and leave this instant! Right now! Immediately! Otherwise, I won’t be so polite!”

As she spoke, a subtle aura emanated from Lilia, causing a slight tremor of alarm in the hearts of the group. The Princess’s posture didn’t suggest she was joking. Moreover, she, too, had advanced to a Third Rank Knight. Their group would struggle to fight even one Third Rank Gern.

To face two of them would be unthinkable. And this was the Kingdom’s Princess; anyone daring to lay a hand on her would be committing treason, destined for a prison cell.

The young man, Anthony, shot a venomous glare at Gern before leading his subordinates in a hasty, ignominious retreat.