"As far as I know, this banquet was held for them." Audrey noticed Victor's interest and began to explain.
"Which academy's teachers and students deserve such a big show?" Victor asked.
"I know—Arctic Wind Academy from Underground City 754. The school focuses on wind-type skills training," Erica said, not to be outdone, and started explaining to Victor too.
"Arctic Wind Academy?" Victor repeated the name. He felt like he had heard of this academy before.
He remembered that before he awakened, he had planned to apply to this academy.
Arctic Wind Academy specialized in wind-type skills. In size, it couldn't compare with some universities.
But within the Federation, it was still one of the top schools and was favored by many.
"Alright, Victor, we should talk about something else—like who you're going to dance with?" Erica asked, looking at Victor seriously.
"I…" Victor gritted his teeth, stood up, and said apologetically, "I'm going to the bathroom."
With that, he turned and left, fleeing toward the restroom.
After a moment, Victor carefully walked out of the restroom.
Just as he was about to go back to his seat, he saw Erica and Audrey still where he had been sitting.
But this time they were surrounded by people—even Lord Chris was among them.
Victor pushed his way into the crowd and grabbed someone at random. "Sir, what happened here?" he asked.
The man looked at Victor and began to explain in a low voice.
Soon, Victor understood what had happened.
Because Victor had left, Erica and Audrey felt a bit upset and sat together drinking.
At that moment, a few students from Arctic Wind Academy came over to invite them to dance.
They were coldly refused, and the students felt embarrassed, so they muttered a few insults under their breath.
Erica heard it. With her hot temper, she smashed her wine glass into one student's head.
So the two sides faced off over this.
It should have been a small matter, but with everyone watching, both sides felt awkward.
The teachers from Arctic Wind Academy refused to apologize. After all, their own student got hit—apologizing would be too shameful.
Chris also refused to apologize. His daughter was insulted—why should he say sorry?
So the two sides were deadlocked, and the issue dragged on.
"How about this, Lord Chris?" Barnes, a white-haired teacher from Arctic Wind Academy, coughed lightly and smiled. "Since this is a dispute between young people, let's solve it the young way."
"How do we solve it?" Chris asked in a deep voice.
Barnes pointed at his students. "Let the youths compete—best of three. Losers apologize to the winners. How about it?"
Chris thought for a moment. He had invited many young talents from the Underground to this banquet.
The other side had only a few students. No matter how you looked at it, his side had the advantage.
"Alright, let's do that," Chris nodded.
"Excellent. Berg, you go first," Barnes said happily, pointing at a blue-haired young man.
"Robinson, you're up," Chris said to a tall, sturdy man beside him, offering encouragement.
Everyone stepped back in tacit agreement to make space for Berg and Robinson to fight.
Victor watched with interest.
He could use this chance to see how strong his peers were.
Berg's class was Windborn, living by the wind.
Robinson's class was Swordsman, roaming the land with a single blade.
Both were Level 10—pretty even on paper.
Just when everyone thought they would stalemate, something shocking happened.
Less than three seconds after Robinson drew his sword, Berg blasted him down with a single tornado, leaving him unable to get up.
"How is that possible!" Everyone stared at Berg in shock, not understanding how he did it.
"It's the Level 3 skill Whirling Gale," Kane said gravely from beside Chris.
"Level 3 skill!" At Kane's words, the crowd traded looks.
"No wonder it's Arctic Wind Academy. A Level 10 Awakened already has a Level 3 skill," people murmured in awe.
"Next—Newman!" Berg waved and called over a thin young man.
"Lord Chris, let me," Odin raised his hand, full of confidence.
"Alright, Odin," Chris said, patting his shoulder with clear approval.
Odin strode forward and looked at the skinny opponent with open disdain.
Odin was already Level 10 now, while this Newman was only Level 9.
"Please advise," Newman bowed slightly, then took the initiative to attack.
"Undead, appear!" Odin didn't dare slack off. He summoned undead on the spot and sent them charging at Newman.
In a flash, two undead lunged at Newman like hungry wolves.
But he showed no fear. He murmured a short chant, then turned into a gust of wind and appeared beside Odin.
"How is that possible!" Odin was shocked. He tried to defend, but Newman had already drawn a dagger and pressed it to his throat.
"I surrender! I surrender!" Odin shouted in panic.
"Haha, Lord Chris, looks like you've lost," Barnes clapped and said with a smile.
"This…" Chris clenched his fists. He hadn't expected to lose so badly.
"Let me," Victor took a deep breath and stepped forward.
"Victor, the match is already lost. There's no point," Chris shook his head bitterly.
"Mr. Barnes, I want you to give me a chance," Victor said calmly, looking at Barnes.
"What kind of chance?" Barnes asked.
"One versus three. If I win, count it as our win. If I lose, I'll pay you with a chosen-type skill book."
"A chosen-type skill book!" Barnes's eyes lit up—that was a valuable item.
Especially for an academy specializing in wind skills, it was a rare treasure.
"Alright, I accept." Barnes turned to his students and ordered, "Dean, Newman, Berg—you three together."
"Victor!" Chris stepped up and whispered, "You don't have to do this…"
The crowd started buzzing, most of them mocking Victor under their breath.
"Look at this kid—who does he think he is?"
"Isn't he Victor? The waste who awakened that mediocre Knight class."
"So it's him? He still doesn't know his place—he's going to embarrass himself."
"Victor," Erica walked over slowly and whispered, "this is my mess. You don't need to gamble a skill book for me."
"No. If I hadn't run off, maybe they wouldn't have come for you," Victor shook his head. He knew he shared some of the blame for what happened earlier.
"Can we start now?" Dean, white-haired and hands behind his back, asked coldly.
"Hold on." Victor waved a hand and finished assigning his sixty stat points.
He added ten each to Strength and Agility, and twenty each to Constitution and Spirit.
"Alright, let's begin." Victor drew his longsword, staring at the three with a serious look.
"Foolish kid." A mocking smile showed on Barnes's face.
Dean was Level 13, Berg Level 10, and Newman Level 9—but the three trained and fought together, moving in perfect sync.
United, the three could even defeat a Mid-tier Awakened.
Soon, Dean took the lead, sending two wind blades stabbing toward Victor.
Victor instantly used Phantom Trail, his body slipping away like a ghost to dodge the strike.
"We're not done yet!" Berg and Newman came from left and right, swinging wind blades at Victor.
Facing the two, Victor didn't dodge—he pushed Phantom Light Godfist straight at them.
Two punches landed, and the pair were blown back in an instant.
"What a powerful fist art!" As the captain, Dean could see Victor's strength.
"When did he learn a move like that?" Kane stared at Victor in shock.
In his memory, Victor's awakened skill was clearly Dash.
"Number Three, do you think Victor can win?" In the crowd, Elena asked a man in black.
"Saintess, given your connection to him, I can't comment," the man in black said coolly.
"I order you to speak," Elena said in a low voice.
"Impossible." The man in black shook his head without hesitation.
As if afraid to displease the saintess, he hurried to explain: "I've fought those three before. They command a very strong combined skill. Its power… is roughly at Level 5 strength!"