A black-haired man leaned against the railings, his elbows resting on them as he looked down at the arena where the venue was being set up.
Across the arena, spectators were slowly filling the seats.
Different races, such as humans, demons, elves, and others, had different sections assigned to them.
From time to time, some would look up toward the VIP section high above, or more accurately, above the VIP section, at the black-haired man leaning against the railings.
The different races had contrasting expressions when they saw him.
Many, mainly humans, wore expressions of awe and reverence, their eyes sparkling as if they were seeing the legendary hero they had heard countless stories about manifest before their eyes.
Others, largely demons, had frightened expressions full of terror.
They only took a quick look before averting their gazes, as if daring to look any longer would cause the monster they had heard countless horror stories about to manifest before them and instantly harvest their lives.
The man observing all of it had a calm look.
His long black coat fluttered in the wind.
It seemed Silence was his only company, as if the noise from beneath couldn’t reach him.
Click.
Click.
The sound of her heels meeting the floor shattered that silence.
A blonde-haired beauty walked toward the railings,As she approached, the soft shimmer of her dress caught the light.
The simple, sleeveless dress hugged her upper body comfortably before falling loosely around her legs.
Its modest neckline and relaxed fit gave it a casual elegance, while the lightweight fabric swayed gently with every step.
She stopped beside the man and rested a hand on the railing, looking down alongside him.
Yet, despite the striking woman standing right next to him, the man didn’t seem to have noticed her at all.
Looking at the arena where the man was staring, she spoke in her melodious voice.
“I was really surprised.
I assumed I wouldn’t ever see you here, since I never thought you could ever teach someone, let alone take someone under your wing as a disciple.”
A slight gale passed by the place where they were standing, her blonde hair fluttering and exposing her long, pointed ears, giving away her nature as an elf.
Turning around, her gaze fell upon the man’s side profile a defined jawline and a straight nose.
His chin was slightly narrow.
Messy, layered black hair fell lightly over his forehead.
His eyes looked down, yet his pupils were dilated as if unfocused.
A high collar framed his neck, and the long black coat draped smoothly behind him, giving him a slim, fitted silhouette overall.
There was an expression on his face that was hard to describe, as if he wasn’t thinking about anything yet was thinking about something at the same time.
“Ba-dump, skipped, ba-dump, ba-dump.”
Even though she had seen it many times before, seeing the man’s side profile still made her heart skip a beat.
As an elf, seeing handsome and beautiful elves every day made it pretty ordinary for her not to care about such things.
Yet, somehow…
This guy was just too dang handsome.
The man blinked as his eyes focused, then gave her a side glance.
“You know,” the man spoke casually, “I thought you’d finally learn your lesson and stop assuming things about me, since every time you do, you’re wrong.”
Seeing the cocky grin slowly getting plastered across his stupidly handsome face made her indescribably mad.
It only made the cocky grin on the man’s face grow wider.
She gritted her teeth.
“Thanks for reminding me why I couldn’t stand you.”
“Ohh…
don’t worry.
I remember the times when you couldn’t stand because of me very well.”
His suggestive tone only made his words more annoying.
Gnashing her teeth, she growled,
“That’s not what I meant.”
He turned back towards the arena
“I know.”
His tone was filled with amusement, as if seeing her state made him very happy.
“Why do your looks and personality have to be the opposite?”
“Dunno.
Probably the world is trying to balance itself out?”
“Do you know the mess you caused back in Eldrasil?”
The black-haired man rolled his eyes and snorted.
“If they were a little less xenophobic, then I wouldn’t have to teach them a free lesson on why xenophobia is bad.”
She crossed her arms exhaprarted.
“By the World Tree, why are you like this?
Can’t you be, oh, I don’t know, a little more humble?”
“Please, Del.”
The man shook his head with a shallow smile.
“But it’s quite hard being humble when you’re as great as myself.”
Step, step.
Footsteps interrupted their bantering, and they turned their heads to see an ethereal beauty walking toward them.
She was adorned in a fluffy white dress embroidered with flowers of various colors, its soft fabric swaying gently with each step.
There was an otherworldly charm about her, something that made her seem almost unreal.
Looking closely, they could see four translucent wings extending from her back, gently spreading countless tiny, shimmering particles into the air.
“Wow, what a nostalgic sight,” she exclaimed with a big smile.
“Wow, Lord of Misers, Fairy Luna is here,” a gentle smile spreading across his lips as the black haird man turned fully.
“Nice to see you too, Lord of Slimes.
Or do you go by Paranoid King nowadays?”
Moving toward each other, they gave each other a tight hug.
“Nice to see you here, Kenny,” Lunas lips curled forming a big smile.
Letting go, she gave Del, who was beside him, a light hug too.
“You two were catching up, I see.”
Del wanted to refute, but Ken beat her to it as he explained,
“Ohh, she was just telling me how much she missed me and how life is unbearable without me.”
She was so angry that an ice lance manifested beside her, ready to pierce the annoying guy to death.
Taking Del’s hand in her own, Luna spoke soothingly.
“Oh, come on, Del.
You know the angrier you get, the more fun he’ll make of you.
Calm down and take deep breaths.”
With Luna’s persuasion, Del calmed down a bit and exhaled softly.
“Okay, I’m okay.”
“And you, Ken, can’t you act your age a little?”
“You know I can’t change, Luna.
That’s just who I am,” Ken shrugged with a natural smile.
Just then, a loud shout came from the center of the arena.
The arena had already been filled with people, and the stage was set.
A young looking man with dragon horns in a white tuxedo was standing in the middle of the stage with a mic in hand.
He spoke into the mic attracting everyone’s attention.
After all, a dragon in a tuxedo was quite the spectacle on its own.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re here for the 363rd edition of the Prodigies of the Generation competition, where many so-called geniuses from all over Tara will participate to determine who are truly the prodigies of the generation…”
“Do you guys know why that old lizard decided to hold the competition so early this time?” Ken asked.
Putting her hands on the railing, Luna shook her head.
“Not really.
Who knows what he’s thinking?
Anyways, the faster he holds the competition, the faster we can get the prizes.
It’s not like we have to pay for anything.
It’s all free.”
Her face bloomed like a little girl about to get her Christmas present.
“Of course you wouldn’t mind, you miser.
You just want free things.”
Ken sighed.
Who was the one talking about acting their age a little while ago again?
“But you can’t enter the competition, remember?” Ken reminded her.
“OOhohoho, I don’t have to!
My adorable disciple will win them for me!”
Luna looked toward the entrance from where the contestants would come out.
Feeling left out, Del spoke up.
“If we’re talking about winning, my disciple will win this competition for sure.
She worked really hard for this.”
Del said it with the confidence of someone who expected nothing but victory.
“Dream on.”
Ken scoffed.
“My disciple will kick your disciple’s ass.”
The corner of Del’s eye twitched.
“Just like how I kicked yours eleven years ago.”
“Humph.
That was because you surprised me with your stupid tricks, remember?
I won the next time we fought.”
Del snarled while giving him a death glare.
As they continued bantering, the dragon in a tuxedo finally got ready to announce the names of the contestants for the first match.
“And our first contestant is Diana Eldrasyl, the princess of the elves and disciple of Lady Del Eldrasyl.”
From the left entryway, a gorgeous girl with blonde hair in a black-and-white battle uniform walked out.
She had minimal armor on and a crystal sword at her hip.
“And facing her will be our second contestant…”
The dragon in a tuxedo took out a piece of paper.
“Mr.
Ken himself gave me this, as he wanted me to announce his disciple like how it’s written here.”
“Of course, I informed him that it was bending the rules, but he told me and I’m quoting him here ‘If I can bend your princess , then can’t you bend the rules for me?'”
“And for those who didn’t understand, he was referring to a specific position in mat ”
Before he could finish, a portal opened behind him.
A gigantic red dragon hand reached through, grabbed him from behind, and yanked him inside.
The crowd fell into stunned silence as they processed what had just happened.
“Hahaha!”
Del and Luna turned toward the laughing Ken, their mouths agape.
“You de…”
Del muttered, unable to finish the sentence.
Luna, meanwhile, recovered quickly and couldn’t help but smile in amusement.
“Did you really have to teach that young dragon such things?”
“Hey, I didn’t teach him to announce it to everyone.”
Ken defended himself.
“But it is regrettable, though.
It would have been interesting to see the old Izz’s face just now, he’s the one Opend the portal i wonder how annoyed he is right now.”
Ken chuckled in amusement.
“Well, will he be okay, that young dragon i mean?”
Del asked.
“Yeah, he’s a dragon.”
Ken waved his hand unconcernedly.
Just then, another man with curved dragon horns flew over and landed in the arena, continuing the announcement as if nothing had happened.
“Our next contestant…”
“Joshua Ashveil, an otherworlder and disciple of one of the heroes of humanity, ‘Ken Asi Atom.'”
The reaction from the spectators was mixed.
Some cheered, while others booed.
From the right entryway, a young man with black hair in a black hooded combat outfit with sharp white accents walked out.
It was fitted on top and loose below, with reinforced gauntlets and tactical pants.
As both contestants arrived and took their places, Ken proclaimed with a smug expression,
“See?
Isn’t he really handsome, just like me?”
“Wow, he really is handsome,” exclaimed Luna as she looked through a pair of binoculars that had appeared in her hand out of nowhere.
“We’ll see that after he loses,” Del snorted.
“The only thing you’ll see is how he’ll kick your disciple’s ass like I did last time.”
Ken put his hands around his mouth and shouted,
“Hey, Joshua!
Kick her ass!”
Luna exclaimed,
“Ooo, you made him embarrassed.”
Meanwhile, in the arena, listening to Ken’s shouting made Diana’s expression darken, just like her master’s.
Opposite her, Joshua had a helpless look on his face, his cheeks flushed.
Looking at Diana’s dark expression and feeling the murderous chill coursing down his spine, he couldn’t help but say,
“I, um…
would you believe me if I said I don’t really know him?”
Instead of replying, Diana drew her sword.
The chilling silence made it clear that she wasn’t interested in his explanation.
” Ahh I guess not,” Joshua sighed.
Then, he opened his pouch and took out a transparent slime with a Gray core.
Gray mana flashed through his arms, and the slime morphed into a staff in his hands.
Positioning the staff downward, Joshua got ready.
“Ready?” the dragon in a tuxedo asked them both.
They each nodded in response.
The dragon nodded as well.
Then, raising his hand above his head, he brought it down.
“Fight!”
hello my fellow Daydreamers .
if you liked the first chapter u’ll definitely like the rest of the book to so add it to ur library and enjoy the novel.