[Raul PoV]
Days passed, and we kept the incident involving Thomas a closely guarded secret. After regaining consciousness, the victim of Thomas's actions remembered nothing of what had happened to him. He also had no recollection of Thomas inviting him to a secluded alley within the academy area.
It seemed Thomas had done something to him before bringing his victim to the execution site. If I remember correctly, Prince Vlad had given Thomas a bottle of purple liquid.
There are many potions with various effects in the game Path of Destiny. I also plan to commission Olen Mask to brew some once he finishes creating the artifacts I requested according to the target. For now, no complaints have reached the disciplinary committee regarding Thomas's actions. Perhaps it is because he only has two victims so far.
I ordered Eric to constantly monitor Thomas's movements, prevent him if he tried to do anything extreme, and report to me immediately if he was seen speaking with Vlad.
Currently, I am heading to the Student Council building to discuss the club budget allocations for the academy next year. Since I need "hatred" to unlock several of the Profound Codices I possess, I can take advantage of this situation. Upon arriving at the Student Council building, I went straight to the meeting room. It appeared many were already present to discuss the matter.
"Ah, you're here, Raul," Elena said with a smile. "Have a seat; we'll be starting shortly."
I nodded and sat beside Elena. The Disciplinary Committee's task regarding this matter is to accompany the finance department when confronting problematic clubs. That is why I am here—to understand the root of the problem before heading out into the field.
"We are going to discuss the financial reports of the academy clubs," Elena began, opening today's meeting. "The academy has allocated three thousand Gulden for all club activities. Currently, there are ten clubs: Swordmaster, Lancer, Brawler, Wizard, Potioner, Healer, Runer, Warrior, Paladin, and Archer."
Each student can join a club according to their respective fighting styles.
"If divided equally, each club would receive 300 Gulden per year," Elena continued. "However, the academy does not want this. They want clubs with the best graduates to receive a larger budget than others."
I think this is quite reasonable; students must put forth their best effort if they want to be fully facilitated by the academy to develop their skills.
"Of all the clubs, the Swordmaster club currently has the highest number of top graduates," a woman with glasses revealed. If I'm not mistaken... her name is Sarah Volkswagen. "Meanwhile, the lowest is the Lancer club. However, they currently hold the third-largest budget in the academy."
The Lancer club, huh...?
This club consists of students who use spears, staves, or other polearms as weapons for their fighting style. In the game, characters with this Class have their own advantages and disadvantages, depending on how the players utilize them in battle.
"Besides the Lancer Club, graduates from the Paladin and Potioner clubs have also seen a decline in their contributions to the Empire," Sarah added, proceeding to read the declining statistics of graduates accepted into the Knight Orders and prestigious Magic Towers in the Empire.
"So, what should we do about this?" I finally spoke up. "Based on the President's words, the budgets for these three clubs must be reduced for the next academic year, with the excess allocated to more developing clubs."
Hearing my words, everyone present fell silent. Actually, they knew exactly what had to be done. However, this action would certainly trigger conflict with those three clubs. It was only natural that they would protest loudly against the budget cuts under the pretext of injustice.
Nevertheless, the Student Council had no choice but to carry out the mandate from the academy.
"We all know the risks involved," Elena spoke again. "Raul, tomorrow you and a representative from the finance department will confront these three clubs," Elena commanded me.
"Very well, President," I agreed.
"Whatever the method, I hope you can make those three clubs accept this decision without causing a scene."
After the meeting ended, I prepared to leave the room to conduct my first match in the year-end tournament qualifying round. My opponent was a second-year student from the regular class.
"Senior..."
Hearing a voice calling out, I turned around. A woman with a side-ponytail hairstyle stood before me.
"M-my name is Miria de Coruna," she said softly. "Please look forward to our cooperation tomorrow, Senior Raul."
Ah... so she is the one who will be confronting the three problematic clubs with me tomorrow, huh? Was she just naturally shy, or was she actually afraid of me?
"Alright, I look forward to working with you as well, Miria."
If I recall correctly... she is a first-year student who ranked in the overall top 10 of the academy, isn't she? Let me think—the Nature Mana she possesses is Plants and Trees, right?
***
[Alisha PoV]
Leon and I were walking toward the Duel Arena in the academy. Honestly, this place is much more grand and larger than the Silvercast Academy in the Slavic Tsardom. Not only are there more students here, but they also seem more competent with a wider variety of fighting styles.
"Leon, what do you think of Grunbelt Academy so far?"
My loyal servant paused for a moment to think. "I think this place is more suitable for you than our country, which is currently undergoing a disaster."
Ughhh... Remembering the state of my country always makes my heart feel heavy. However, I have done everything in my power so that the Slavic Tsardom can rise again from this dire condition.
"Ah, I just remembered. Leon, didn't you just fight your opponent in the qualifying round yesterday? What do you think of the students here?" I asked him.
Although I believed Leon wouldn't lose to ordinary students, I had seen quite a few talented pupils like Valeria, Princess Elena, and Brian.
"They are nothing, Alisha," Leon replied confidently. "I will prove the strength of northerners like us to them!"
Leon possesses a unique Profound Codex in the form of Anti-Magic. He is a perfect counter for a mage like me. He is a special individual, not to mention he wields the sword Balmung, which can multiply his magical power manifold.
However, it is not impossible for a mage to defeat Leon. Under certain conditions and tactics, I could defeat him even if he neutralizes the magic I cast.
We then arrived inside the duel arena. There were many empty seats. I suppose since it was still the qualifying rounds, the place wouldn't be too crowded yet. The reason Leon and I came here was to watch Raul de Garcia's fight, which was about to take place.
"Ugh... he's unlucky to be facing that man."
"Exactly, why did my good friend have to face him in the first fight!"
I overheard the conversation of several students not far from our seats. Why did they sound so afraid of my fiancé? Isn't his mana aura quite low?
A mage or fighter must master the technique called Mana Sensing to gauge an opponent's capability. However, one can also hide their mana aura if they wish. But I don't think Raul is hiding his aura at all.
Still... I noticed the second-year students were very eager to avoid fighting him, compared to people who looked strong like Valeria, Brian, and Princess Elena. Was there information I didn't know about Raul that made these students fear him?
Shortly after, a second-year student entered the duel arena from the right corner with a rather nervous expression. From the opposite direction, the black-haired student appeared with a flat expression. The fight was about to begin...
I hoped to see the true strength of Raul de Garcia that made these students so terrified of him. But why was he going to fight with his bare hands? Isn't he the type of fighter who uses a sword?
The instructor then stood between the two participants. He gave the signal to start the match.
"Both participants ready?" the instructor asked the two of them.
Raul only nodded, while his opponent answered loudly.
"Alright, the first round of the qualifying match between Raul de Garcia and Vincent Alabama, begin!"
The instructor had started the match, but both still seemed to stand still without making any movement. Raul's opponent looked as if he was thinking about what he would do against the enemy in front of him. What were they doing? Why not attack immediately?
Raul let out a sigh and walked toward his enemy.
"Just surrender if you aren't confident in fighting me," Raul said in a normal tone.
"H-how could I possibly surrender without putting up a fight!" the man exclaimed.
He then took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. The man's legs began to emit light particles, indicating he was activating Acceleration magic. He lunged forward, quickly running toward Raul.
He launched a horizontal slash at the black-haired man, but Raul easily dodged it. He then delivered a barrage of slashes to corner Raul, but not a single one of his attacks landed.
—Bam!
The man's body was sent flying backward, hit by Raul's fist aimed at his face. He then stood back up and activated Temper magic. It appeared he had prepared a stance to attack Raul again. It looked like Raul's opponent was going to unleash a combo attack.
"Waterflow Dance!"
The man dashed toward Raul again. However, the black-haired man remained relaxed and began to dodge all the combo attacks launched by the man.
—Bam!
Raul then kicked his opponent's face until he lost consciousness.
"The match is over! The winner is Raul de Garcia!"
After winning the fight easily, Raul left the battle arena.
"I told you he didn't have a chance against him, didn't I?"
"He was really unlucky! Even though Vincent had practiced so hard for this tournament!"
I again heard the chatter of the students around here.
"Leon, what do you think of that fight?" I asked for his opinion.
"He... could read all of his opponent's attacks," Leon answered earnestly. "His movements were perfect, and he showed absolutely no wasted motion."
I thought so too. It seemed like he already knew where his enemy's attacks would land.
"Leon, could you dodge all of Raul's enemy's combos if you were in his position?"
Leon paused for a moment to think.
"No, Alisha," Leon replied. "I think at most I could dodge five attacks and would have to parry the remaining three."
Raul also didn't seem to use any physical magic at all, in contrast to his enemy who used two physical magics, Acceleration and Temper. Yet, his opponent still could not land an attack despite having a physical advantage from those spells.
"Raul de Garcia... what is your true ability, really?"