322: Power

Power

In the Faculty Building of World Academy, Xander was looking at the reports he had received.

Because Farnus was absent, Xander assumed the responsibility of overseeing World Academy. However, Farnus had not granted him the complete authority.

Before departing, Farnus made certain to communicate his plans and the tasks that were to be executed. At the moment, Xander was addressing one of them.

Suddenly, his phone rang. On the other end was his younger brother, the current head of the Demarcus Family.

"Did you get the information?" Xander inquired as a holographic image of the Demarcus head appeared.

"Not much. There's no explanation for why that man's body was found there," the Demarcus head replied.

"What is the World Association saying?" Xander asked, glancing at the report.

"The investigation was conducted, but there's no data following his disappearance shortly after he was expelled from World Academy," said the Demarcus head.

"Why are you involved in this?" He asked but Xander remained silent.

"Don't overthink it," Xander remarked, steering the conversation elsewhere.

Without tangible evidence and personal verification, Xander wasn't going to make any decisions.

There were many things Xander found suspicious but the appearance of Zephyr, messed most of his conclusions. 

Even now, the Demarcus head could sense that Xander was deep in thought, yet he respected his elder brother's discretion.

"By the way, is Venessa doing well?" he asked.

"She's doing more than well," Xander affirmed.

"That's good to hear," the Demarcus head responded with a smile.

The call disconnected. Xander put the report aside and leaned back into his chair, his eyes looking at the ceiling.

"Something doesn't make sense," Xander muttered.

"Well, there's more than one thing to worry about," Xander said as he looked at the particular matter he was personally handling.

The prize up for grabs was something that would cause waves both inside and outside the World Academy.

It had already been announced that there would be some changes to the End Year Tournament for the first three years. This included the match between the Student Council and the Blood Faction.

However, there was no further elaboration, as the End Year Tournament was a significant event that many people eagerly anticipated.

Elite Families, the three Associations, and the major guilds would attend to see and scout the talents.

The fact that this tournament was broadcasted to the entire world posed several problems for Xander.

Not only did he need to maintain the image of the World Academy by ensuring the students behaved appropriately during the tournament, but there was also a major concern related to this tournament.

It was none other than Alyssa, and the fact that her ranking could create trouble was something Xander didn't want.

The End Year Tournament was a very important event for all students. This was their chance to make a significant leap in rankings. Among the Top Rankers, the prize was substantial.

The access to the Trail's Ground for the Top 5 was an alluring reward, and the End Year Tournament was the only way Top Rankers could change their ranking.

Rankers were not allowed to challenge for their ranks unless a majority of Rankers approved.

This specific rule was introduced because of the significant number of Elite Family students in the First Year.

While the World Academy promoted competitiveness, they didn't want to ignite animosity among students who might one day sit on the High Council.

This rule made the rankings in the First Year stagnant. Elena and Eva couldn't challenge anyone since there wasn't a majority among the Rankers.

At the Rankers Dorm,

Damian was waiting for Amelia and Asher.

While waiting, he spent his time sitting in the lobby. The doors of the Lobby opened as he saw Kevin entering as well.

'Seems like he's coming from training,' Damian thought, noticing the equipment Kevin wore.

It wasn't hard to guess that Kevin had likely been dueling with Senior Year students to gain experience with Raelyn's assistance.

It was after the incident in which Elena injured Kevin during the spar, and he didn't wanted to make Elena uncomfortable by asking her for a spar again.

So he started sparring with Senior Year Students Raelyn chose from the Student Council.

Kevin saw Damian, who sat casually on one of the sofas. Their eyes met for a moment.

Just by watching their eyes, it was obvious that they disliked each other.

Kevin turned his face as he didn't want to start anything, but Damian's smirk irritated him.

Despite knowing each other for years, Damian and Kevin didn't mesh well.

At first, Kevin didn't mind Damian's presence as he always considered himself stronger, but Damian's presence became bigger due to Asher.

And the feeling of dislike was mutual, and the reason was obvious.

At first, Kevin wanted to become friends with Amelia, but Damian was the biggest issue.

Not a single time would he find the two of them separated, and even while Amelia was in their group, Damian would still be together with Amelia.

For Kevin, Damian was nothing but a thorn that he didn't like around him.

But the situation now had completely changed.

At first, Amelia wanted to maintain a neutral attitude towards Elena, Eva, and Kevin because they belonged to three elite families.

She didn't like the idea of creating unnecessary animosity with other Elite Families, but all this changed when Damian argued with Kevin, and Kevin mocked the Greville Family.

At that moment, the remaining friendship they had built over the previous year broke completely.

When she heard the friends she had spent time studying mocking her family, she completely changed her opinion about them.

'Looking back, everything went wrong because of this bastard and that guy,' Kevin thought as he frowned.

But despite his irritations, he avoided confrontations with Damian and went straight to his room.

A rule prohibited students from using mana or fighting with each other when the End Year Tournament was near.

It also included the Student Council.

It was to ensure that the Tournament's fairness could be maintained, and anyone who broke this rule was removed from the Tournament.

Not participating in the Tournament meant that you would be placed last despite your efforts in the whole year.

It was the last thing any student wanted, and none wanted to create a situation that could potentially lead to a fight.

And this was the reason that Kevin ignored Damian's smirk.2

"He didn't take the bait," Damian smiled as he looked back.

"That's too bad," Damian said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Hmm, how long would it take them to return?" Damian said as he noticed the time.

He had received a message from Amelia that they had already left the Mage Association, so he was waiting for them to return as he was free.

At a distant place in the deserts of Fashia,

"Are you sure that the tracker is pointing there?" Kai asked as he looked at the endless Desert in front of him.

"Ask Tom if you think I am wrong," Dane replied, wiping the sweat from his face.

Both were traveling in the extreme heat of the hottest region of Fashia for hours and in front of them there was an endless desert.

<Maintain the current speed; the tracking rune on those Mana Crystals won't work from a long distance

Both of them heard Tom's instruction and were doing well for now, but the occasional monsters in the Desert didn't make their life easier.

Also, the fact that the Signal would only appear for a split second and take minutes before it appeared made the journey even longer.

"I still don't see anything. Where the hell are they taking those Mana Crystals?" Dane said as he looked ahead.

But all he could see was the endless Desert.

If not for the fact that they would get the Signal every few minutes, it was almost impossible for someone to track something in these conditions.

"Probably a hidden facility," Kai replied.

"Well, we just need to confirm the location, so let's finish this mission fast," Dane replied as he remembered the content of the mission that Asher gave them.

And Asher only told them to confirm the location and do nothing about it.

At first, Dane and Kai were confused, but they agreed quickly.

After all, they were being paid well for a simple tracking mission, and the risk they had to take was not even close to what they faced during their previous mission.

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