"Fuck.. those bastards.. picking up on us juniors. Hmph.." Once at some distance, Ben barked at the unfairness they suffered at the hands of their upperclassmen. 

"Well technically they didn't hurt us, so I guess everything is fine." Aron replied, not taking the group they met too seriously. "Yup.. I was wishing for things to escalate.. since they were the one provoking us, I bet authorities can't fault us for kicking their asses hahaha.."

"Heyy.. tone it down buddy." Ben panicked because unlike him, Chris could not care any less about being heard. "Although ignorance is bliss, please don't take me down with you." 

"Haha.. why are you so scared, brother? You don't believe in me?" Chris was quite excited since he could finally face Aron in an actual fight. In a jovial mood, he put his arm around Ben's shoulders, ignoring his protests.

"You won't be able to hide your identity for long, you know that right?" Seeing her brother tease Ben ahead of them, Christina turned to Aron. "I know. Still, I hope it doesn't come to light too soon." 

Christina noticed his extremely dark pupils dilate, mesmerizing her for an instant. Rapidly shaking her head, she cleared her throat. "I hope you are ready." 

"Hm? Ready for what?" Aron asked, scratching his head in puzzlement. Christina narrowed her eyes, a sense of competition rising in her chest. "To face me." 

"Ahem.. you don't mean to.." Aron didn't need to ask, because Christina's expression told him all. Did she want to fight against him this badly? He couldn't linger on the question for long because the alley they were traveling through all this while, had given way to a massive stadium-like structure.

The building was not much different than the one he had seen last time, only multiple times larger than that. There were more than ten people already on in the dueling arena. 

Spells were being cast left, right, and center, presenting nothing short of a stupefying scene. Compared to the entrance, there was a lot of buzz around this place. 

Groups of students were cheering loudly for their friends and acquaintances. For the next minute, Aron and the twins stood there in one corner, taking in the grand sight at their own pace. 

"Just look at their faces.. haha.. they truly have stepped into the Arena for the first time." Away from the group, Tina stood to one side with her gang. The one commenting was another girl beside her. 

Not aware that they were new to Academy itself, it was truly an inconceivable matter for Tina's band that someone like these guys existed, who had never stepped into Radiance Arena for the entire year. 

"What do you say, Tina? Should I give our friends a little intro hehe.." "Yeah.. I bet they belong to the Alchemy department. Only those guys can stay away from dueling and still make a lot of credit points." 

"Hmm.. if they are from the Alchemy department, should we really antagonize them?" "What's that? They are clearly fresher brats... You think we can't even mess with them?" 

Tina patiently heard all the arguments coming from the members of her group. "Selah, you go and teach these guys a lesson. Remember not to harm them, they are just kids after all." 

"Haha.. boss.. you are too late. We already sent a challenger, I guess." The girl Tina referred to as Selah chuckled lightly, pointing her finger in the direction of a boy that had walked up to the group of newbies.

"Mark..! This idiot..!" Remaining too focused on Aron and the twins, Tina failed the notice that one among their gang had already left them. Regrettably, it was the same boy who had that small tussle with Aron. 

"Don't worry, boss. I will go. We just need to make sure Mark doesn't go overboard." Selah had taken a single step when Tina held her back. "Huh.. No. You don't need to save the boy. Rather you got to save Mark. He is going to lose." 

"Hann?" At first, Selah thought Tina was messing around. But there was no semblance of humor in her expressions. It was like their boss was being serious about it.

"That was but a fluke, boss. It can't be.." On one hand, she didn't want to believe Mark can lose to a brat still wet behind his ears, on the other, Tina was rarely wrong in her judgments. 

"Believe me. There is a reason I wanted to send you and not him to evaluate them." Selah had nothing to say after that. With a hesitant nod, she made her way to the stage. 

On the other side, Chris had assumed himself to be the one who was challenged by the condescending boy from Tina's group. "Hahaha.. Yes, let's go. I am ready." He laughed out loud. 

"Hey Ben! Take us up there, man." Standing next to them, Ben felt like pulling on his hair in frustration. How come both these boys as disaster magnets?

"Not you. I want to duel this guy." Flames had covered Chris's arms just from the excitement. The other boy's words felt like someone splashed water on the fire. "Come on, man..!" 

"Oi.. I am talking to you. Follow me if you got the guts to face me in the Arena." The third terminal sported a massive ground where many students can duel at once. "If you don't feel motivated enough, I will put my rank on the line. You got nothing to lose." 

Certain that Aron can never drop his offer, Mark grinned delightfully and walked away. "He is luring you with his rank, Aron. Don't fall for it. These second years are all too vicious." Ben immediately warned. 

"Hm.. so are you telling me, if I win, I can gain his rank?" Ben almost felt his knees go weak. This boy.. he was seriously considering it. "Are you stupid? You aren't even registered with the Arena, you dimwit..!!" 

"Oh.. I almost forgot about that. Guess I can't have his rank then." Aron noticed the boy who introduced himself earlier as Mark, walk up to one of the instructors and point in his direction. 

"Hey.. hey.. you can't be serious? Chris.. stop him, you guys." Ben was literally panicking, sweat pouring down from his head. He could only plead with the twins but they instead seem to be in agreement with Aron on this.

"You think he can't win? Hmph.. kick his ass brother.. he dares refuse my challenge." Chris was in complete support. "Yeah, but don't wear yourself out." 

Aron very well knew the reason behind Christina's warning. "Haha.. it shall be a breeze." He ended up playfully winking at the girl, before walking off in the direction of Mark.

Christina instantly blushed and looked away. "Let's get to the high ground." With her heart beating rapidly, Chris dragged her away, searching for the stairs to witness the match from the viewing gallery.

"Just tell me the rules, Ben. I will handle the rest." Aron had brought Ben along with him. Finding himself incapable of influencing his mind otherwise, Ben can only hope his roommate doesn't get himself bedridden on the very first day of his stay.

"Everything is fair. Only thing is, if you plan to use poison-based attacks, you need to make sure your opponents know about it so that he is not caught off-guard. That lady over there.. she is one of the instructors. Every match will be presided over by someone like her." 

Ben pointed to the female instructor Mark had walked over to her intending to set up a match between them. "Good." Aron was quite satisfied with the setup. If there was a senior looking over them, he can be sure there will be no underhanded techniques involved.

"That's all I wanted to know. You can go back now." With a nod towards Ben, Aron let him go. Others can't tell, but Aron's heartbeats were going crazy right now. Was this excitement of being able to fight? Definitely. 

There was no other way to explain this. From the very first time he had chanced upon these students fighting on the stage, all he had wanted was to join them. It was like their screams, sweat, and blood was evoking a response in him. 

*Badum* *Badum* *Badum* Aron felt his skin shiver as the smile on his face kept getting wider and wider with every step he took. Unbeknownst to him, the students in his proximity had all stepped back making way for him.

"What is happening here?" A few of the weaker students clutched their heads, dropping to their knees. A severe headache made them grovel in pain. *Badum* *Badum* No one knew, but the blood in their arteries had begun responding to Aron's heartbeats. 

"Who is doing this.. Ahhhhhhh.. fuck..!!" It didn't take them much longer to point out the culprit. "Who the hell is he?" Despite having fingers pointed at him, the boy walked on in his trance-like state. 

"Never seen him before." "This bastard.. using magic outside of Arena.. someone call the instructors." Many students called out, but none moved from their place. No one was stupid here. 

They can tell Aron was probably a powerhouse in the Academy. Who would like to get in the bad books of such an individual? Just clearing the way for him was their best choice. 

"Mh.. you are.." The lady instructor can't help but take another look at the boy who had come to stand opposite her. She had a hunch of having seen this guy before. Nevertheless, there were probably tens if not hundreds of faces she comes across every day. 

Thinking till here, her face became rigid. "Make sure you don't cast your spell outside of the perimeters of the arena." Aron didn't know what the woman was talking about. As such he just gave a small nod. "Sure." 

Though a little perturbed by his nonchalant attitude, the lady instructor was not alien to such behavior from students. "You know your opponent is a second year. Do you still want to continue?"

"Yeah." "He wants to stake his rank in this duel. Tell me your rank so I can make this an official duel. If you win, you can have his rank." The woman brought out a board and began scribbling on it, only for Aron to interrupt her.

"That won't be necessary, madam. I am not actually registered with the Arena. So, I would like you to keep this an unofficial duel only." His words shocked both instructors and Mark all the same. 

"Hmm? Then.. do you still want to accept his challenge?" There was nothing for Aron to gain from this fight.  If not for the lure of the rank, why would a weaker party ever accept a challenge?

"I guess you guys are trying to settle some score then." The woman rationalized, retrieving her writing board. "Make sure you don't harm your opponent intentionally. Injuries in the fights are common, but if I ever notice any one of you is trying to harm the other in cold blood.. it would lead to disqualification and there will be consequences." 

Seeing both the boys nod, the woman approached the stage. "Come with me." Aron and his challenger reached up on the stage. The large area was divided into six smaller practice grounds, such that a total of twelve students can participate in duels at once. 

The woman led them over to one such ground. "I want you to declare if you got any spells that fall under the category of poison." "None" Both of them answered simultaneously. "Okay. I am not sure if you read the rules, but I will repeat them anyway." 

"The bout lasts fifteen minutes. If both of you are standing at the end, it shall be considered a draw. Stepping outside this boundary will be counted as a forfeit. Also, you are not allowed to continue once your opponent accepts defeat." 

The woman went on to explain a few more details. Mostly her explanation was directed towards Aron, who was new to this place. "Are you ready..?" The instructor called out, seeing the boys take up their respective corners. "Begin!!"

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