Madeline quietly jogged through the Academy grounds while humming to herself.
She had heard a lot about the Dark Moon Academy from her father, but experiencing it firsthand was something she had been looking forward to for so long.
Now that she was seeing it with her own eyes, she couldn’t hide her excitement.
’So I’ll really be studying here for three years!’
Madeline could feel the adrenaline rushing through her body.
’I know that the time of day changes based on our schedule. When it is bright and sunny, it is time for classes. Once it is evening period, classes are over for the day and we can do all sorts of things with our time. Once it’s dark, it means curfew is close at hand, and once the stars start to vanish, it means we ought to return to our dormitories. Once only the moon is out, we should sleep in order to prepare for the next day.’
After memorizing all of this information to heart, she began to quote her father in her thoughts, humming unintelligible words while gliding through the open fields.
However, it wasn’t long until she paused.
Madeline noticed a commotion a small distance from her, with students more than thirty gathering around one person.
’Isn’t that...?’
Her golden brown eyes widened once she saw the person they shrouded.
It was that boy!
The young man who sat next to her during Orientation.
’He’s the one who caused a scene when e queued and changed his Sub-Integration to 5 Percent.’
Madeline’s eyes quickly shone as she changed direction and strode towards the group. Before she reached her destination, a fight suddenly broke out.
It started with one person, but multiple students suddenly assaulted the same person.
They were all charging at Lazarus.
’Oh no! I should stop them!’ Madeline increased her pace, but quickly found her actions unnecessary. ’Eh? He’s actually taking them all by himself!’
It was an unbelievable sight.
This single, scrawny-looking boy, was fighting a mob all on his own, displaying skills that defied her expectations. Even though Madeline had been trained in the art of combat by her private tutor, she would find it difficult to replicate most of these moves.
The way Lazarus moved was like water.
His motion was art.
It stunned her, to the point where she unconsciously stopped moving when she was only a few meters from the commotion.
Her hand was slightly raised. It touched her chest as she quietly watched in a daze.
She felt her pounding heart.
It caused her body to slightly shudder as the reflection of Lazarus shone in her wide open eyes.
"A-amazing..."
Within a few minutes, however, Lazarus stopped fighting and broke out of the encirclement.
Before she realized it, he was right next to her.
"Like what you see?" His voice suddenly pierced her ears, causing her to nearly jump in shock while her shrill voice filled the air.
"E-eh?!"
"Relax, I’m just messing with you." Lazarus chuckled, his fearless smile quickly dispelling the awkwardness that she felt. She was about to sigh in relief when she noticed how pale he had gotten and how strained his breathing became.
It didn’t take Madeline very long to realize that he had hit his limits.
As for the students that Lazarus faced, many of them had already fallen, but a noticeable sum could still stand.
They all had painful expressions on their faces, but they were a threat regardless.
’Can he take all of them on? Should I help him?’ Madeline thought to herself before closing her eyes and shaking her head. ’What are you doing, Maddie? Remember what dad said! I can’t jump into every fight I see. Even if one party seems to be in the right, I can’t be entirely sure until I investigate the issue properly!’
It was better to be safe than sorry.
Having this reminder in her head, she controlled her impulse to charged headfirst into the danger and ask questions later.
"You don’t have to look so conflicted," Lazarus suddenly spoke, causing her to snap out of her daze yet again. "I don’t plan on involving you any more than this. Your presence alone is a deterrence to these people. See?"
Just as Lazarus said, all the students began to shrink back despite their clearly enraged expressions.
Once they saw Lazarus casually speaking to this girl, who was in Class A, they couldn’t contain their fright and had to restrain themselves. Even if they wanted to avenge Zurbluris for the words that Lazarus uttered, they couldn’t afford to offend another great talent.
As for Zurbluris, after seeing that the students were unable to make a move, he finally stepped forward.
With a sigh, he spoke, "Stay out of this, Madeline."
’Eh? But I’m not involved!’ Maddie was a little stunned by the accusation. However, she quickly understood what was happening when Lazarus suddenly snickered and responded.
"Why should she stay out of it when you aren’t?"
Zurbluris frowned.
His mind was in a flurry of thoughts, most of which stemmed from rage.
’This Lazarus doesn’t know what is good for him. He is simply too arrogant...’ Zurbluris recalled when he first called him and how he was ignored. ’I was even going to apologize for my misunderstanding earlier and offer him a high position among my organized group, yet he blew me off and even insulted my parents!’
This was unacceptable!
If Zurbluris let him off after this, then what would happen to his reputation?
The Zurbluris Family was one of the strongest in the Academy Kingdom Wisteria, and even throughout the world, it was top-rate.
How could he disgrace his family by letting such an insult slide?
’Still...’ After letting the anger rise within him for some time, Zurbluris finally let his thoughts cool off as he calmly assessed the situation.
’Madeline is also from a distinguished family. Although her household isn’t as grand as mine, she has 7 Percent Integration, one step lower than mine, and she is incredibly talented. I can’t afford to overstep just because of this small matter.’
He also considered the overall situation and felt it was inappropriate.
For one, Lazarus possessed incredible combat ability.
He also knew that Madeline’s family emphasized physical abilities above all else, since they were a Martial Historian Household.
In that case, someone like Zurbluris, who belonged to a Literary Historian Household, was no match for their strength. As for the other students under his control, they were too weak to fight the two of them combined.
Even if they weren’t too weak, they wouldn’t dare offend Madeline.
Not unless Zurbluris took frontal charge.
This created a weird stalemate that prevented Zurbluris from attacking even if he wanted to.
’But...’ A fierce smirk formed on his face as he glared at the two. ’That doesn’t mean I’m just going to let such an insult slide.’
"Fighting in such a crude manner is beneath me. Since we are both Squires, why don’t we do battle as Historians?"
Such an announcement struck everyone present with shock.
"You mean—?" Madeline gasped, glancing at Lazarus for a moment before returning her gaze to the grinning Zurbluris.
"Indeed," He nodded while raising both hands, as though he expecting a hug. "We are all Historians, aren’t we? Surely, we should all be willing and able to use Historical Projections when we wish to resolve conflicts."
’This guy...’
Madeline still wasn’t aware what caused this conflict, but she was almost entirely certain that the fault belonged to Zurbluris.
After all, he was so shameless that he was requesting a Historical Projection battle.
’Zurbluris belongs to a top-tier family. It is a Literary household that places heavy emphasis on consuming knowledge and developing mental skills. Even though we haven’t begun classes, I’m sure this guy has a few Historical Projections he can summon from Rank 1.’
Compared to Lazarus and his poor background, it was clear who held the advantage if they were to use Historical Projections to fight.
"Don’t listen to him, he’s trying to strip you of your advantage."
Despite Madeline saying this, Lazarus shrugged while whispering, "I know. But there’s no need to fear."
He took a confident step forward and casually stared at Zurbluris, who was clearly maintaining his amiable personality with much difficulty.
"Fine," Lazarus openly agreed. "Let’s fight with Historical Projections."