Chapter 53

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“I’ll bring you to the medical center for treatment.”

“I think I have the flu.”

“I’ll look for magic medicine.”

“I have a phobia of blood.”

“Then why were you fine when you helped Hutton up?”

“I…”

“One Black Iron Medal!”

“This…” Su Ye hesitated.

The three other people from the fifth table looked at Su Ye in disbelief.

“How about a Bronze Medal?” Su Ye asked.

“A Black Iron Medal plus a session at the Door of Mirrors every month for a year, provided that you win. I’ll leave immediately if you don’t agree.

“Deal!”

Su Ye stood up decisively and walked outside with his spellbook in hand.

The three people looked at each other. They knew why Niedern came to look for Su Ye.

“This is insane…” Rolon muttered to himself.

Laker stood up in a hurry and said, “Teacher Niedern, even though Su Ye is gifted in magic, he doesn’t have enough experience. If he recklessly enters the competition, what would happen if he were to be severely injured?”

Su Ye glanced at Laker. His heart grew warm. It looked like even though Laker was focused solely on his studies, he was still a very kind person.

Niedern let out a cold grunt and said, “If you could have advanced to the level of apprentice earlier, would the Plato Academy have to choose a two-day-old mage?”

Su Ye glanced angrily toward Niedern. What two-day-old mage? Why did he put it in such an awful manner? Would it kill him to not degrade me for a day?

Laker’s face turned red.

Su Ye looked back and said, “Thank you, Laker. Don’t worry. I’ll surrender immediately if I encounter any danger. Teacher Niedern doesn’t care about being embarrassed anyway, what is there for me to be afraid of?”

Laker nodded in frustration and said, “Be careful. There are no decent nobles out there!”

He deliberately shot a look toward Rolon after he said that.

Su Ye felt that he would be absorbed into the conflict between the two top students if he was not careful and sneaked away in a hurry. Niedern naturally followed behind.

Palos knitted her brows and left unhappily.

There were only the first and second-place students left in the large classroom.

Rolon let out a cold smile, his expression sinister. He grabbed his battle spear and bronze sword, then slowly walked out of the classroom.

Laker suddenly shouted in frustration, “Su Ye still doesn’t know who’s a friend and who’s an enemy! Do you see yourself as a student of the Plato Academy or a student of the Noble Academy!”

Rolon didn’t stop walking. He said as he walked, “What has that got to do with you?”

Laker couldn’t help but say, “If you are our friend, then I can disregard the fact that your family went to meet the teachers so that you could get extra marks! But I will not tolerate that if you are our enemy!”

Rolon was furious. He turned around fiercely and pointed the spear in his right hand toward Laker. He raised his head high and said with disdain, “If you do not have any proof, then that just now was slander! You cannot bear the price of slandering a noble, even if you are the second-best student of the Plato Academy!”

“Remember, the Plato Academy is not a place for you nobles to do whatever you please!” Laker shouted.

“Nor is it a ladder for you peasants to reach for the skies.” Rolon turned around and walked out the door.

The nobles in Greece referred to themselves as “aristocrats” and the non-nobles as “peasants.”

Laker glared at Rolon with his red eyes. His face had turned pale. He slammed his hand on the table a long time later and walked toward the arena with his spellbook.

Su Ye and Niedern’s shadow extended behind them under the setting sun.

Niedern’s red hair, dyed by the setting sun, looked like crimson evening, but Su Ye thought that it looked like dangerous flames.

“Teacher, let’s arrive at a deal. After this is over, let me study peacefully at the academy for five years, alright?” Su Ye asked.

“No.”

“Can’t you be more indirect?” Su Ye asked.

“Not really,” Niedern said.

Su Ye’s face became neutral. He said sometime later, “Is your reason for sending me to this contest between Mage Apprentices to train me, or is it for the Plato Academy?”

Niedern said, “Neither. The main reason is to deal a blow to you. I have a nagging feeling that you will become arrogant in the future.”

“But that’s a matter for the future.” Su Ye could not follow Niedern’s logic.

“So we have to strike while you are young.”

“I have already been called the Third Fool for an entire semester,” Su Ye said.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“It is even easier for a fool to become conceited now that you have become intelligent.” Niedern’s tone was incredibly serious.

Su Ye nearly told Niedern that he was a lunatic, but he stuck with his principle of being respectful to teachers and only said it in his heart.

Su Ye knew that Niedern had high hopes for him and intended to hone him. Furthermore, there was the allure of the Black Iron Medal and the Door of Mirrors. So while he voiced his disdain, he did not feel any repulsion in his heart.

He had everything to gain if he won and had an excuse to study harder if he lost. He was not put at a disadvantage.

“I vaguely remember that there are no frills to the contest between Mage Apprentices. It is a practical three-versus-three battle, right?”

“We have to win two out of three battles, but the undefeated person can stay on and fight till they lose,” Niedern said.

“Are there no other powerful Mage Apprentices in school? I don’t believe it,” Su Ye said.

“The good ones have all advanced to the black iron level. Only the weak ones have remained at the level of apprentice,” Niedern replied.

“That sounds logical. Though I still believe that some are more powerful than me!” Su Ye rebutted.

“I had no intention of letting you enter this contest, but I knew from the moment you tried to strangle me to death with the Magic Rope that you would be our only hope of winning the apprentice contest,” Niedern said.

Su Ye did not know if Niedern was lying or not. He asked, “So the other Mage Apprentices honestly regard the Magic Rope as a tool to tie things up?”

Niedern nodded and said, “That’s why I said that you have a talent for harming people.”

“A great teacher produces great disciples,” Su Ye said back.

Niedern disregarded Su Ye’s sarcasm and continued, “They have grasped more spells than you, but they will either be lightly injured or strangled to death by your Magic Rope if they battle you. The level of completion of your Magic Array for the Magic Rope surpasses every Mage Apprentice and Black Iron Mage in the academy. This makes the speed at which you release your Magic Rope at faster than theirs. That is the main reason why I chose you.”

“How strong are my opponents?” Su Ye asked.

“Two geniuses, one about average. The first person they are sending out could have advanced to black iron a long time ago, but he had been suppressing his powers for this year’s contest. He will advance to black iron in front of everyone the moment he emerges victorious in this contest,” Niedern said.

“So the other party… They’re obviously trying to humiliate the Plato Academy?”

Niedern said, “It can’t really count as humiliation. After all, Aristotle and the other three went a little overboard back then. The other party is only exacting revenge.”

“So we have to deal with the trouble Aristotle made?” Su Ye had a slight temper.

“This is tradition. Aristotle was actually helping Master Plato and Teacher Thucydides clean their… clean the mess they created in the past. Master Plato had helped Master Socrates do that too.” Niedern stole a glance at an area deep within the academy after he spoke.

Su Ye felt that there was something wrong with what Niedern’s words. He said, “Let’s return to the matter at hand. Give me a detailed overview of the three opponents.”

“The first one’s name is Andre, a bona fide genius in terms of magic. He is the descendant of a heroic family. However, his experiences are rather unique. He trained hard when he was young with the hopes of becoming a hero. The process was bitter. He was unable to advance to become a Warrior Apprentice no matter how hard he tried and was humiliated within his family. But the outcome was surprising. He turned to study magic and advanced to become a Mage Apprentice in just ten days. This is the fifth month since he advanced to become a Mage Apprentice,” Niedern narrated.

“Which means to say that he only spent four to five months advancing to the level of Black Iron Mage?”

“That’s right.”

“Powerful,” Su Ye said.