"What do we do, boss?" Berg asked in a low voice, looking at the angry crowd.
Dean turned his head to look at Barnes, but Barnes just closed his eyes and ignored him.
"We're screwed!" Dean was full of regret.
They hadn't expected Victor's defense to be that weak, blown to pieces just like that.
"Victor, where are you?" Erica shouted through tears.
"I'm here..." Victor's voice suddenly came from the crowd.
In a blink, everyone's eyes shifted to that spot.
It was a corner of the banquet hall. Victor sat in a gilded chair, holding a wine glass.
"How is that possible?" People looked at each other, not understanding why Victor was over there.
"Victor, you didn't die?" Dean asked in disbelief.
He couldn't understand how Victor had dodged the power of their combined skill.
"Huh? Why would I be dead?" Victor looked at Dean, confused by his words.
To be honest, their combined skill was very strong. In raw strength, it really reached Level 5.
But the wind-up was too long. The instant they started casting, Victor used "Phantom Trail."
Then, like a ghost, he slipped past their attack and quietly moved to a hidden spot.
"Time to head back." Victor snapped his fingers and vanished on the spot.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of everyone again.
"Victor, are you really Victor?" Kane walked up and squeezed his shoulder. It was a real person.
"I'm real." Victor nodded with a smile, guessing why everyone was so shocked.
Dean rubbed his eyes in disbelief. After a long moment, he asked in a low voice, "Victor, how did you dodge our skill?"
Victor thought for a moment, then answered seriously, "In pure power, your combined skill did reach Level 5."
He paused, a little regretful. "But it's a pity the casting speed is too slow. That part still falls short."
Although their combined skill was fast, that was only relative.
For Victor, who had the Level 5 teleport skill Phantom Trail, that speed was nothing.
"Listening to you talk makes it sound like you know everything," Newman said, unconvinced.
"Yeah, do you really understand Level 5 skills?" Berg chimed in.
They had spent a lot of effort creating this combined skill and believed its power was huge.
Now not only did it fail to hurt Victor, he even mocked them. The three were naturally unhappy.
"Level 5 skills? I know a little," Victor said with a slight smile at the corners of his mouth.
He vanished without warning, and by the time the three reacted, Victor was already standing behind them.
"If I wanted to kill you, I could've pulled a dagger in that moment," Victor said calmly from behind them.
"How is that possible?" Dean's body trembled. "What skill is that?"
Victor shrugged. "It's what you called a Level 5 skill."
"Level 5..." Dean froze, then stared at Victor in shock.
The people around them looked at each other, replaying Victor's words in their heads.
He had said that teleport he just used was a Level 5 skill.
Just then, Kane's even voice sounded. "Victor isn't wrong. If I'm not mistaken, the skill you used was Phantom Trail."
Victor looked at Kane in surprise. He hadn't expected him to know the name.
Kane cleared his throat and sighed. "Twenty years ago, when I was studying at the Knights' Order in the Federation's capital, I met a Knight."
He paused, full of admiration. "He was only an ordinary Knight, but through effort he pushed the basic skill Dash to Level 5--that's what you're using now as 'Phantom Trail.'"
"Wait..." Kane suddenly realized something and spoke with a slight tremor. "He took twenty years. And you... you took less than ten days?"
Victor lowered his head and said evenly, "Just luck, Mr. Kane."
Silence. A dead, heavy silence.
Everyone was lost in shock, not knowing what to say.
After a while, the outsider Barnes was the first to break it.
With tears in his eyes, he looked at Victor with pure admiration. "Genius! You are a true genius!"
"You flatter me. It was just luck," Victor said, shaking his head with modesty.
He had shown a bit of his strength today, not to show off.
It was because this banquet made him shift his thinking a little.
Before, he didn't know how strong the geniuses of the world were, so he didn't dare show his talent.
But today he saw that even a not-so-top academy like Arctic Wind Academy could easily find four or five young students who already had Level 3 skills.
Across the whole Federation, there are countless more geniuses.
And the facts proved Victor was right.
After Victor showed he had a Level 5 skill, people were shocked, but they didn't think he had some impossible, break-the-rules talent.
After Barnes finished, Erica was the first to break the silence. "Victor, you're amazing!"
She looked at him with wide eyes, like she was staring at a star she adored.
After a long silence, Dean finally stepped forward. With his head down, he said in a low voice, "A bet is a bet. We lost to you. I apologize to Miss Erica and Miss Audrey."
Seeing their leader admit fault, Berg and Newman didn't dare push back. They bowed their heads and admitted they were wrong.
Seeing the three students from Arctic Wind Academy admit fault, Chris smiled and smoothed things over. "Alright, everyone, let's disperse. It's a small matter, not worth more attention."
Since the city lord had spoken, the crowd could only leave.
Seeing Victor was fine, Elena let out a long breath and slipped away quietly.
The man in black walked beside her, holding his face. "Saintess, I didn't see clearly just now—was Victor badly hurt?"
Elena shot him a look like he was an idiot and said nothing.
Thinking she was too upset, the man in black hurried to comfort her. "Saintess, don't be sad. The young need lessons. Victor has good talent. After this trial, he'll surely improve."
"Then you're wrong." Elena shook her head with a smile and murmured, "He's a true genius. A genius doesn't need setbacks."
On the other side, Chris pulled Victor to the main table of the banquet and insisted he sit.
After all, Victor had helped Chris save a lot of face today and kept his daughter from being humiliated.
"Audrey!" Audrey's mother sat at the table, eyes locked on Victor, and whispered to Audrey beside her, "You didn't tell me he had a Level 5 skill."
Audrey frowned. She couldn't figure it out either.
A few days ago, when she saw Victor, his teleport skill was still pretty average.
But now, after just a few days, he already had a very strong Level 5 teleport skill.
"Victor, can you step out for a moment?" Halfway through the banquet, Kane appeared at Victor's side and whispered in his ear.
"Alright." Trusting Kane, Victor stood up at once and followed him to a quiet spot.
Kane looked around, made sure no one was there, then took out a cigarette and lit up.
"Mr. Kane, I remember this place doesn't allow smoking," Victor reminded him softly.
"I know, but I'm under a lot of pressure right now." Kane put down the cigarette, took a deep breath, and looked troubled.
"Oh? Did you run into a problem?" Victor asked, curious.
Kane was the vice leader of the Holy Knights' Order. It was rare to see something that stressed him out.
"Yes. A very big problem, and only you can help me solve it." Kane looked at Victor seriously and spoke in a firm tone.
"Only me?" Victor pointed at himself in surprise.
There were plenty of masters in the Holy Knights' Order. They shouldn't need help from an outsider like him.
Kane took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Do you know the Red Rebels?"