Ascension of the Dark Seraph - Chapter 231

Chapter 231: Hectic Day
As soon as he arrived at the main training area near the cave’s mouth, Lucivar’s heart almost leaped out of his chest when hundreds of academy hunters suddenly appeared and surprised him. Countless party poppers exploded at the same time, raining down confetti across the entire space.

Some even used their ether to create an astral writing that said, ‘Congratulations!’.

Lucivar has been approved by the tournament management a couple of days ago.

He was informed by Angel directly who came to the Bastion of Blades in person.

Initially—he thought that he’d be tested by the management first as an academy hunter having five-star Acolyte rank strength is extremely uncommon throughout the years. But there was no test, and Lucivar has his reputation to thank for that.

Closing a blue dungeon grants him swift access to be approved.

It should be the same with Mirel.

“Show them what our academy was made of!” An academy hunter grabbed his hand and exclaimed.

Then, several girls followed, “Lucivar, we’re rooting for you!”

“We already sent a petition to have a day off for your tournament day, we’ll definitely be there!”

“Yeah, no way we’re going to miss that day. We already booked the tickets too”

Lucivar was bombarded with words of encouragement from every single academy hunter—all of them were excited for him, this was already an achievement on its own. Even the professors along with their assistants were present, clapping their hands with a beaming smile.

Though the tournament is a big deal, Lucivar wasn’t expecting this.

He knew that the official list would come out today but this kind of surprise didn’t cross his mind at all.

“Woah…!” Lucivar yelped when the academy hunters grabbed his legs and lifted him up.

He was now riding a sea of people before being tossed around like a trophy.

Being eligible to participate in the South Hues Tournament was not only an honor for the academy but also an honor for the academy hunters. Not to mention, out of the three participants of their academy, two of them were academy hunters.

Such a thing has never happened throughout the academy’s entire history.

Leandra, Nerissa, and Bakar were watching Lucivar being tossed around from the side.

All three of them were holding back their laughter as he was helpless under the sway of the others.

“Hey, put me the fuck down!”

Lucivar shouted but his words were drowned by their cheers.

“This is bullying! Fabio, do something about this!”

He darted his gaze at Fabio who was smirking at him from a safe distance.

“Who the fuck did that? Show yourself! Who the fuck kept grabbing my butt?! This is sexual assault!”

Upon being surprised early in the morning, the rest of the day became a blur.

It didn’t stop at that as the academy also held a congratulatory party for the three participants.

Considering the magnitude of this accomplishment for a second-rate academy like their academy, the day was packed with all kinds of things—that the academy prepared for the three participants. It started with a public announcement in front of every single person inside the academy grounds.

Then came the questions.

How are you feeling about being approved as a participant?

“Nervous, like the previous one,” Caldaros replied, smiling that pliant smile he always wore in public.

“Excited,” Mirel next answered. “I wanted to see how I fare against the geniuses”

“Beats me,” Lucivar shrugged. “But if I have to answer, I’d say as expected”

Who are your sponsors and how do you obtain their support?

“The Valerius Supreme House and the Sunrise Clan,” Caldaros answered, causing almost all students and academy hunters alike to choke. Both of his sponsors are heavy hitters, “I’ve connections with the Sunrise Clan as the previous time while for the supreme house, I guess I could convince them enough with my progress,”

“For me, it’s the Feradith Family,” Mirel mentioned with a shrug. “I impressed them with my power”

“The Trading Union and the Blessed Hand Clan,” Lucivar said, citing his two sponsors.

Since he lost the Feradith Family as they already registered to have Mirel as their champion, Lucivar was forced to pick another one from the pile of offers he had since the Trading Union was already fixed as per the deal.

For the other sponsor, Lucivar decided to go with the Blessed Hand Clan.

Even though it wasn’t the top-three clan in Sunhold City, he picked it anyway.

His reason was simple, it was because the Blessed Hand Clan was a place where healers gathered.

Lucivar knew that his biggest weakness was his lack of a proper healing ability, he has only the Greedy Grasp ability as his option, and even that wasn’t enough to restore him—to full strength. Naturally, to make up for that weakness, he chose the Blessed Hand Clan.

At this moment, the uses of the sponsors were still blurry.

It wasn’t clear as to what the sponsors’ role was during the tournament.

On the website, it only specified that the sponsors could help the participants in the tournament.

From that, Lucivar deduced that the equipment and accessories he would be wearing on the tournament would be supplied by the sponsors—that one should be obvious. Other than that, during the tournament, the sponsors might be allowed to help him in some way but not directly.

It was the most likely case since each participant has their own sponsors.

Had it not been the case, the rule should dictate the academy with participants to have sponsors.

Since that wasn’t the case, Lucivar was quite sure that the sponsors could help mid-tournament.

Because of that, the Blessed Hand Clan would be extremely helpful.

“As for how I get them to be my sponsors, I lead an assault team to take down a blue dungeon,” Lucivar continued—with a nonchalant tone as that should be obvious. “And also, my confidence also played a big part in convincing them,”

For about an hour or so, the three were going back and forth answering the questions.

Finally, the last question was thrown.

Lastly, what are your aims for the tournament?

“I’ll aim to be high enough to not disappoint the academy,” Caldaros answered.

Upon hearing this, the students and academy hunters nodded in understanding.

It was already an achievement enough for the academy to have three participants so the academy doesn’t have an unreasonable expectation—for them. Coupled with the fact that Caldaros didn’t even reach the top three in his previous South Hues Tournament, his answer was predictable.

Mirel thought for a second before answering, “Top three, of course. I’m aiming for the top three”

Once again, the crowd clapped as this was to be expected.

From their eyes, Mirel was Caldaros before he was defeated once in the tournament—hopeful.

Just then, all eyes turned to Lucivar who would be the last one to answer.

For a fleeting second, there was only silence.

Everyone was looking at Lucivar, their breaths stuck in their throats as they waited for his answer.

Knowing how much Lucivar has become a sensation lately, starting from taking down the blue dungeon, his scandal with the Feradith Family, and now being a participant in the South Hues Tournament, it was apparent that he was the most promising of them all.

Added to the air of confidence around him, it would be weird for them to not think that.

“The winner,” He finally opened his mouth and whispered to the mic. “I’m aiming to be the winner”

Silence.

Upon registering what Lucivar actually said, the students and academy hunters alike clapped their hands to acknowledge his answer. But behind their polite reaction, there was clear doubt. Not one of them was bold enough to believe Lucivar was going to win the South Hues Tournament.

If it was last year’s tournament then he might have a chance.

But this year? When all geniuses across the city and beyond participated? No chance. It’s impossible.

Being a participant is one thing and being the winner is an entirely different thing.

Lucivar, however, doesn’t care what they think

He had expected them all to dismiss him, to not take him seriously, but then his eyes landed on a few figures in the crowd—ones who actually took him seriously, who understood that he was aiming to win. Among them were Elira, Thalia, and the others.

All of them have faith in him and for some annoying reason, that made him feel a bit better.

All of them have faith without knowing what he actually meant.

From the side, Clara was looking at Lucivar with her arms crossed.

“What made you think giving him your blessing would do our academy any good?” She asked.

On her side, Professor Aeldric smiled acutely.

He knew that Clara didn’t like Lucivar for an obvious reason, that he came from outside, probably a slave city. She wasn’t fond of the idea of having the academy being represented by him and it shows clearly on her face and tone.

“I saw potential in him so I’d say why not?” Professor Aeldric answered.

Clicking her tongue, Clara turned her gaze to Professor Victor who was a bit further away.

“I wasn’t going to give him my blessing,” Professor Victor said, crossing his arms as he stared ahead at the supposed Lucivar who seemed to be stealing the spotlight lately. “I gave him an impossible task for a new first-year. I thought he’d realized that he’s not cut for it and abandon the mission, but he closed the blue dungeon instead”

“I have no other choice. I can’t go back on my words,” He continued with a shrug.

Clara sighed and massaged her forehead.

Moments later, after several more attempts to uncover how the three participants had grown so powerful so quickly in front of everyone, the day concluded with a dinner in the auditorium building. It was a small and modest banquet held to celebrate the three participants.

Lucivar was exhausted, sleepy, and hungry.

It has been a long day and he was given no time to be alone.

He hadn’t gotten the time to think of a way to get the last push he needed to reach the Chrysalis rank.

As he was grabbing a dessert, he sensed someone approaching him from behind.

Not even needing to glance back, he already knew that it was Ravenna—her scent was hard to ignore.

His senses were always attuned to her sweet scent, he couldn’t help it.

“What is your plan for participating in the tournament?” She suddenly asked, also taking a dessert—for herself. “As far as I know, you’re not the type to seek validation from people—and be in the spotlight. So, what gives?”

Upon hearing this, Lucivar remained focused on his dessert, “It just happened”

“Right, you’re keeping secrets from me?” Ravenna shot back, she didn’t fall to his excuse at all.

Instead of answering, Lucivar remained silent.

He couldn’t tell Ravenna about his deal with Professor Aeldric since that might reach Tobias.

“Sigh…” Ravenna shook her head and turned away. “Here I thought I was going to be kind and tell you something about Caldaros since we’re partners now. Whatever, I’ll just keep this crucial information to myself”

“Fine, I’ll tell you,” Lucivar buckled instantly. “Get your ass back here,”