Capítulo 36: [Bonus chapter]In the Top 30
"It seems we're in the middle of a huge fight" Orpheus said
~Although his perception increased, he's still as slow as ever ~ Andrian shook his head
"Uh… Sir demi-god," a man walked up to Orpheus "We have not come here to fight, but with a humble request. Please, join the West family"
"Oh, shut up, Brad. We arrived first" Gary, the commandant of the North family yelled
"You shut up. Whoever came first doesn't matter here" Brad yelled back
"Which demi-god are they speaking of?" Orpheus whispered to Andrian who was standing beside him
"It's supposedly you, but I want you reject their proposals. Politely" Andrian whispered back
"But I'm not a demi-god" Orpheus protested "Besides, how can I reject a proposal from all of the cardinal families. Only someone retarded would do that"
"Stop! Let us let him chose what he wants by himself" Nate, the bald old man said "He possesses free will, after all"
"It's not like he has much of a choice. It's either he joins one of us or he dies" a man spoke up
"Jason, you are threatening a demi-god that underwent the lightning trial. Do you have a death wish?" Nate said in disbelief
"You think I don't know that? But this is a demi-god in his weakened state. It's not like he would have enough energy to fight half of my army" Jason laughed "If possibly, we could work together to subdue him, we could come to an agreement"
"Sure, but it is who strikes last that will have him" Gary said and Brad nodded his head in agreement
"Whatever you all are planning is none of my business. The South family will not take part in this" Nate said and commanded his army to fall back
"That's what you always do old man! Bottling out all in the name of wisdom!" Jason yelled at the retreating army
"Ahem" Orpheus coughed "What do the esteemed guests of the Cardinal families want with me?"
"It's simple. We want you to join one of us" Brad sneered
"Sorry, not interested" Orpheus said and turned to leave
~You damn idiot! ~ Andrian cursed inwardly
[We said 'politely', not outright rejection]
"It seems you don't value your life. Well, I'll give you another chance" Jason brandished the great sword that had been lying on his back "Join us or… die"
"I don't think those were great options. Therefore, I don't think I can consider'em. Now, if you're done, please leave. I have something very important to discus with my companions" Orpheus said, throwing everyone into shock
<Why do we have such a dumb master?> Andrian shook his head
[Hold on. His demeanor has taken a complete turn. What caused it?]
<If you're asking us, who should we ask?> Aster said
<It seemed his perception and intelligence increased> Aella said
<What do you mean?> Tana asked her
<It's simple. He's playing the part> she said
<How is he… I get it. He can't just agree outright or refuse politely or they wouldn't take him seriously> Andrian nodded his head
<But the problem now is, if he can act the part> Aella said
"I'm now certain that you do not value your life. Die!!" Jason swung his sword horizontally, sending a black crescent sword wave at him
"Jason! Are you trying to kill him? I thought we were just going to beat him till he can no longer resist" Brad yelled
"Relax man. It's our only option. If we can't get him to comply then it's better to kill him before he becomes a future problem for us" Gary said
"I guess you're right"
Meanwhile, Orpheus' companions took their stance in order to intercept the incoming sword wave
"It's futile. That attack can only can only be block by demi-god who have almost entered the mid-level stage. Demi-gods like me!" Jason laughed
"It seems you three are the only demi-gods here. I wonder if your army can block this attack" Orpheus said and waved his hand
"What do you…" Jason stared with wide eyes as the space before Orpheus began to oscillate
All of a sudden, the sword wave disappeared into thin air and reappeared in the middle of the army stationed behind Jason.
"Shit! That was space fluctuation! Everyone, scatter!" Jason yelled at his army. But unfortunately, it was already too late.
The sword wave crashed into the army, reaping countless lives until a little over 40% of the army remained"
"What was that?" Tana's jaw hung open
"I'll explain later. We have to go now" Orpheus said
"You! You will pay for this!!" Jason yelled in anger after seeing the bodies of the men he had spent a lot of resources to raise die like ants. Although the resources were not provided by him, it still hurt to see the men he had raised by himself die before him in that manner.
"That's if you'll find me. Run!" Orpheus said and the five of them turned and ran towards the forest on the other side of the hill
"No, you don't. Chase them!" Jason ordered as the rest of his army, including that of Brad and Gary, ran after them
…
It seems we arrived late" Mr. Zissis muttered when he and his men arrived at the gruesome scene with dead bodies littered everywhere
"Sir, I can still see some faint tracks they left behind. It seems they went that way" a magus pointed in the direction Orpheus and his group went
"Good. Let's go before it's too late" Mr. Zissis said
…
"What do you mean you failed to acquire the demi-god?" a young man asked the bald old man sitting before him in anger
"Ronald, calm down. Let me tell you the reason I didn't force him. Firstly, he exuded a faint aura of the space element and secondly, four others, releasing the pressure that only a demi-god will release were with him. As ferocious as that of beasts" Nate said "Even I cannot even fancy beating them in a one on one fight, talk more of four on three"
"Hold on. You're saying that he has the space element and four other demi-gods with him?" Ronald asked in shock
"Precisely" Nate nodded
"Hahaha" Ronald laughed loudly "Excellent work, Old Nate. The other families will suffer a tremendous loss. Anyways, did you see their faces?"
"No. they all wore masks. But something baffles me" Nate rubbed his bears "His skin looked incredibly young. Like that of someone who has not been in any battles
"It's normal for some demi-gods to look young. You can go now" Ronald said
"But… never mind. Have a nice day, Ronald" Nate stood up and walked out of the office
"Old Nate never changes. Always thinking too deep" Ronald said with a nice smile before turning back to his table
…
"Orpheus, where are you taking us?" Aella asked while they were sprinting through the forest
"I absolutely don't know" he said and waved his hand, creating a tear in space "Run into it"
Orpheus and the remaining four disappeared into the rift that quickly mended itself after they'd gone
"Where are they?" Gary asked after they had arrived at the spot where Orpheus had disappeared
"Their tracks seemed to have stopped here. And, I'm sensing a faint trace of space energy" Brad said while looking around
"That means they must have gone out of space jammer's range and teleported. It appears that our work ends here" Gary turned around to leave with his army "I'm leaving"
"Yeah, me too. See ya later, Jason" Brad waved and his own army disappeared
"That damn demi-god. Pray to fate that I don't get you" Jason said through clenched teeth "Let's go"
…
"It looks like we arrived late once again" Mr. Zissis said after he arrived at the end of Orpheus' tracks "Huh? Space energy? Interesting"
"Sir, what do we do now" a magus spoke up
"Let's return" Mr. Zissis said with a faint smile on his face
----
In the middle of the forest, a spatial rift appeared and four figures stepped out of it while panting heavily
"Now, where are we?" Aster stared around in confusion
"I don't know, but we should be close to the academy" Orpheus said
"I think we can take off our masks" Andrian said after being sure that where they were was secured
"By the way, who gave you the space element or rather, how did you acquire it?" Tana asked Orpheus while they were walking back to the academy
"He will answer all your questions once we arrive at the dormitory. But for now, he needs to cover himself" Aella looked at Orpheus and abruptly shifted her gaze to somewhere else "He can't enter the academy looking this way"
"Why do I need to… Aarrgh!" Orpheus stared down and screamed like a woman "Why am I half naked?!"
[Don't you remember saying 'Why does fire always attack my clothes?']
"Oh, it was then" Orpheus said "But how do I cover my body? It's not like I'm with any of my spare uniforms here"
"Uhh… Ummm… I don't know. You figure it out" Aella said
"I get it!" Orpheus eyes lit up "One of you would have to give up your coats"
"One of who?" Tana asked
"Um, Andrian and you?" Orpheus said nervously
"Haha, not happening" Tana laughed "Ask Andrian. He's less beautiful than me"
"Ouch" Aster laughed
"Why did you… Urgh, fine. But you will take responsibility for the backlash" Andrian told Orpheus before giving him his coat
[There's no need for that. Andrian can just return to his body]
"Why didn't I think of that?" Orpheus said
"Still a dumb master" Aster shook his head
"It's not like you thought of it though" Tana chuckled
"F*** off" Aster hissed
"We're here" Aella stopped at the exit of the forest while Andrian turned into a black mist and faded into Orpheus' body
…
"Wow. The academy seems so lively today" Orpheus said after they walked into the academy
"What's that?" Aella asked while staring at the large television beside the dueling arena
[It looks like a ranking board of some sort. Ask around]
"Hey," Orpheus called random student "What's going on?"
"Oh, it's the underdog" the student gasped
"Who's the underdog?" Orpheus asked in confusion
"You, of course. Who else would it be?" the student said
"So, I went from late bloomer to underdog in just two days" Orpheus muttered to himself
"Anyways, after your duel with Marios, the academy initiated the ranking system once again with a lot of benefits for the top 10, 5 and 3 rank holders"
"Damn, I should have waited before challenging my trial. I'll probably be among the lowest ranked students" Orpheus cursed
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. You're in the top 30" the student said "Everyone, including gods have been itching to challenge you"
"Hey! It's the underdog!!" another student yelled on sighting Orpheus
"F*** shit, man"
Presentes
-- Presente
recebido Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder