Kendra was the 20th opponent and took Momo over an hour to beat. Their back and forth exchange was awe inspiring, even if Kendra was still obviously wet behind the ears. Kendra definitely earned a few extra sparring partners other than Momo after returning to the stands. This match turned him from a nobody into a reputable freshman.

But after another hour of fighting; Momo finally defeated his 30th adversary, the second fastest reputable freshman and follower of Orochi, Narga.

At last, the next time he appears on this stage, it will be time to put that obnoxious muscle head Harvey in his place!

…

The gauntlet matches continued without pause. As it turned out, after Momo finished his, they began pulling three of the remaining Kings out and split the 5 mile long arena into three separate stages. In about two shifts, every current and available King will have had their turn at the gauntlet matches!

…

Sadly, it’s terribly unfortunate that Noel lost interest by this point, and wanted to leave. However, would Mr. Abrams allow that? Probably not… but technically, he SHOULD be granted permission to wander after school hours.

Before curfew at least. But how can he risk it?

Back in the nurse’s patient’s bedroom, Noel’s visiting classmates were largely entranced by the fighting spectacle performed by the Kings. Harvey and Momo fought with experience rolling off from them, and it was really an eye opener. These two definitely weren’t fawned over for nothing. Rhys was getting ready to leave and in the midst of bidding wild-hair and chihuahua boy farewell. his gaze landed on Noel for a while, complicated emotions running rampant in his mind. Finally, he whispered something to his father. Words never left his mouth, and his lips were blurry – completely indiscernible. ‘This must be a type of magic’, such a thought was easily surmised by Ian and Noel.

Too which, they were right! It’s name is whisper. A fairly easy intermediate level spell that grants magic users protection while conversing. After a few seconds of listening, Mr. Abrams gave his son a long, drawn-out nod, and took the others to the stands while the King departed to prepare for his gauntlet matches. Mr. Abrams bid the two recovering boys farewell - saying that he would be busy for a while and intended to visit them again before the sun fully set.

Rise didn’t care and hand waved them away, imitating Noel’s uncaring gesture which he learned by watching. It was a good method to ‘shoo’ away annoyances. The boy he learned such a gesture from, though? He was looking out the window the entire time. He turned his head with a smile, said ‘farewell’ to the homeroom teacher, and continued to stare outside.

After witnessing that smile, Mr. Abrams couldn’t help but shiver. Such a smile…

it was just like that fool Aeron! This brat must be plotting something again!

Before he left, the cool handsome teacher stopped and stared into space. He sneakily activated his mind ring right there and at the same moment, 2 other mind rings were activated and connected to his.

They belonged to the Ericson siblings.

Mr. Abrams: “Borg, Blair. Can you both hear me?”

Borg: “*Munches* (Yeah. This time I remembered to think the answer instead of speaking it out loud. Damn mental tricks.)

Blair: “(Stop embarrassing yourself, Borg. Don’t drag the Ericson name through the mud! As for you, Houdini. To answer your question, though it really shouldn’t NEED answering; yes, I can hear you.)”

Mr. Abrams: “Can any of you keep an eye out for the Malierano kid? I gotta take care of something for my son. Before the announcer finishes preparing for Rhys’s match contestants and finalizes his opponents.”

Borg: “*Munch – Munch* (Ah, wish I could, Houdini, but I can’t. I’ve gotta head out and guard the Order Alliance Kid from external threats now that I confirmed how useless it is to continuously follow the Chaotic Alliance’s heir. Everybody’s very … tense after the recent attack on campus. Maybe big sis can do the job?)”

Mr. Abrams: “...(So useless.)”

Borg: “*Mun—Cough – Cough!*(I resent that comment! I’m just very busy with my original job!)”

Blair: “(What ‘busy’ job are you undergoing right now, Borg? You’re at the Dome’s roof eating peanuts! Get your ass back to the Superhero buildings and perform your SECURITY duties first, before worrying about this so-called ‘conspiracy’ those two corrupted alliances are ranting and raving about!)”

Borg: “...(Sister Blair, you’re not young anymore. If you keep blowing up like this, you’ll be plagued with wrinkles.)”

*SWOOSH!*

Blair: “(BORG I’LL DEAL WITH YOU LATER! … Just go, Abrams. I’ll handle the young one.)”

Mr. Abrams: “(Thank you very much, Blair. Compared to Borg, you’re much more reliable. I’d rather have my students in your care then his any day of the school year.)”

Blair: “Stop the flattery and just get going. I have other things to do as well, you know. Someone from Al Amin’s group notified me about possible ‘foul play’ at work during his upcoming King’s match later. I have to verify that match’s validity myself.)”

Mr. Abrams: “(Blair. Keep this from that foolish brother of his, okay? He might… indulge, himself in the kid’s tendencies. And I have a feeling that kid is about to try something. He had the same devious smile Aeron usually pulls when he goes against his word.)”

Blair: “(Fine. I’ll take note of his movem-”

Aeron: “(You people are too superfluous. I’m never that bad. You guys just tend to...misunderstand my words a tad from time to time. Hehe.)”

Blair: “…!”

Mr. Abrams: “…!(How did you- this channel shouldn’t be tampered with without my knowledge…)”

Aeron: “You were so focused on Borg’s departure that you never noticed the fourth link connected to your telepathy rings. By the way – here’s some advice: The telepathy ring can be quite easily intercepted by somebody with strong enough telepathic capabilities. You gotta try harder to stabilize you connections and practice more~ y’know?)”

Mr. Abrams: “(…Noted.)”

Aeron: “Oh, and Blair. I’ve got a… proposal for you. Interested? I’ll even leave the school if I lose.)”

Mr. Abrams: “!!(Blair, don’t fall for-!)”

*SHHRT!*

*Slice*

Aeron: “Hehe. That takes care of the nosy teacher~”

Mr. Abrams: “Dammit! … he cut the connection.

…

I’ll look into telepathy later. Blair… please think. If he’s willing to bet his stay in school, then the results of this bet can only benefit him no matter what happens. That’s the kind of man that he is!!”

Mr. Abrams shook his head before departing with his students. Meanwhile…

Blair: “Mr. Abrams hung up? Or...(So, tell me the details concerning this… proposal of yours. I’m warning you now, if it sounds fishy, then I’m rejecting the deal no matter what you offer to me.)”

Aeron: “Hahaha~ (Oh Blair, you flatter me. Honestly. I’m only thinking about the time when your kid brother Nathan Ericson attacked my baby bro Ty 3 days ago. To be honest, That was uncalled for, but since little Ty didn’t make a mountain out of a molehill over the matter, I let it go. So how about… you pay up for that matter by granting him one instance of a chance? You know, have a contest with him. Limit your strength, speed, reflexes et cetera… to that boy Nathan’s level? You can certainly keep your experience though. I wouldn’t dare think about depriving you of that little advantage of yours!)”

Blair: “… (If I’m reading in between the lines here, you are suggesting I let him try to get past me...or some equivalent form of skill-related contest? And if I win… you’ll leave school? No questions asked?)”

Aeron: “(Yep, great proposal, isn’t it? And all I ask in return, is that you take it easy for me? He’s… still recovering from his wounds. Besides he’s not a speed type at all, whatsoever.)”

Blair: “(Hmph! Neither is Nathan, but somehow he lost in speed, right? Granted I heard Mr. Abrams intervened somehow)… Haah. (Fine, I’ll consider it. Now begone!)”

*SHHRT!*

Aeron: “...I thank you, Blair. Hehe.”

…

And on Noel’s side, he already started putting his notepad away inside his pocket, and sliding out of bed. Since Noel and Rise were alone, there was only a slight shifting sound that absorbed Rise’s keen senses and attention. He squinted open a single eye, seeing Noel’s box of chocolates being pulled into the kids pocket. A ball immediately flew in his direction right after he turned his face away, releasing an audible *Splooch!* Against his right cheek.

A youthful laughter echoed throughout the room, as Noel began walking towards the doorway.

Noel: “Hey, that’s revenge okay! Haha, if the nurses ask, just say that I’ve gone for a walk.”

Rise: “Where are you REALLY going?”

Noel: “I just said it. Weren’t you listening? Jeez, sometimes I wonder about you.”

Rise: “...Forget it. Leave a note and tell them yourself.”

Noel: “...Ah. There is that option. Oh well. Nothing can be done if you’re too scared to speak up to a couple a’ nurses. I’m tired of sitting around all day. I wanna investigate the school before that busybody teacher, Mr. Abrams comes back. *writes note*”

Rise: “(Sounds fun. I might join him later, if I feel up to it.) okay, whatever. Not my business anyhow. Just don’t forget the time limit. If you’re not back by the time the teacher returns, then I’m gonna sell you out. I won’t be dragged down by you again!”

Noel: “Pfft! Believe whatever you want. Later~”

{As if I’M the one who dragged down the other. Hmph! just because he took out the easier opponent. Hm… I’ll need to be extra careful getting out of this stupid building.

…

Nah, forget it. I’ll just jump out of an empty room’s window. That’s way easier than running around in this silly maze.}

---