NOVEL NEXT Chapter 81: Laxus
Hayden had to think quickly but because he had the Lens assisting him, he was able to find a decent answer. It seemed that he read some of these in the library.
After a few moments, Hayden replied.
"The glory of victory would further cement your House's reputation."
Lady Seraphine finally nodded. "That's better… You imply reward without committing to land, gold, or titles. This is important since you can't promise unless you're a Knight that was already at Headmaster Mensa's level."
This continued for quite sometime before the class ended. Although Hayden didn't think too much of this class before, his mind had changed after learning so many things in today's class…
Though he didn't want to be in such complicated situations, he appreciated the fact that he was able to learn what to do if he ended up in such situations.
***
After the class, Hayden was planning to visit the Headmaster's office but before that could happen, there was already a senior student waiting for him.
The student was actually asked by the Headmaster to escort him to the dueling arena instead.
"Thank you, Senior…" Hayden said as he was guided by the senior student he didn't know the name.
"Good luck, Hayden. I heard from the Headmaster that you will be fighting Laxus. Laxus will be participating in the Academy Competition. I heard that if he lost against you, he would pull out from the roster of their Storm Academy." The student said as they walked through the hallway.
"Is that so? I heard he's already 15. I thought he already graduated." Hayden replied as he indeed thought that Laxus wasn't a student of a specific Knight Academy.
Nonetheless, it didn't really matter to him.
Soon, they arrived at the grand dueling arena of Dawnspire Academy. To Hayden's surprise, it was completely lively as students and professors alike filled the stone benches encircling the combat grounds.
"I didn't know our duel was publicized. How did we get so much audience here?" Hayden muttered as he looked at the crowd.
The senior student simply smiled as he realized that Hayden had no idea how important this duel was.
In any case, he just gestured for Hayden to approach the Headmaster as they arrived.
Soon, Hayden walked beside Headmaster Mensa...
Hayden smiled at the Headmaster as he hoped that the retired knight wouldn't notice that he didn't consume the Knight's Heart Elixir.
Thankfully, the Headmaster didn't show any reaction…
"Let's meet your opponent, Hayden. Just stay composed." Mensa said as he looked at the approaching figures.
Captain Rygar Stormcrest was a tall man clad in a navy blue officer's coat lined with the sigil of his house. He looked a bit younger than Mensa but his gray eyes seemed to be filled with vigor even now.
Beside him, Laxus Stormcrest, a fifteen-year-old Squire also looked at him.
'As expected… This is not a normal Personal Squire… This is already at the Knight-Candidate's level. Maybe he was just not taking the trial to pass as a Knight because he wanted to beat me.' Hayden wryly smiled at this thought.
In any case, Laxus was also taller than Hayden. He could also tell that he had a controlled arrogance in his face as he looked at him.
'You're assessing me?' Hayden thought as he did the same. This time, however, it was more covert since he had his Ocularis Lens to do it for him.
In just a few moments, his Lens only noticed him about the sheathed sword in Laxus' possession.
'Stormfang?'
Hayden repeated in his mind as his Lens showed some information about it. It seemed that this Stormfang was supposedly Captain Rygar's original sword… It was quite a known sword after Captain Rygar had made a name for himself in the world of Aura Knights.
In any case, a named weapon such as this has been forged with aura-infused steel.
Of course, Hayden already received a sword from the Headmaster, so he shouldn't be put at a disadvantage in terms of weapons... Though, that might not be important since he brought a different sword.
Unfortunately, after Laxus noticed that he was looking at his sword, his lips curled into a polite, but venomous smile.
He definitely thought that Hayden was impressed with that sword!
'Whatever… I'll just show you all I've got.' Hayden thought as he knew that he would have to use his Ocularis Lens to win this match. There was no point holding back since this wasn't training anymore. He wasn't here to improve his fighting skills but to win this fight!
Then, Laxus spoke to him.
"Ah, the prodigy of Dawnspire…" Laxus said before he gave a shallow, mocking bow. "I've heard so much about you. A nine-year-old Elite Squire? Truly… impressive."
Hayden met his gaze. "And I've heard about you. The boy who killed three bandits before he turned twelve."
Laxus' smile didn't waver, but his eyes darkened. "Then you understand why I couldn't resist meeting you. A friendly duel—to test Dawnspire's rising star."
Headmaster Mensa's voice cut in... "A friendly duel, Captain Rygar?"
Rygar grinned at this, showing all his rotten teeth... "Of course. My squire merely wishes to… exchange pointers with your disciple as I have mentioned before. We are here to learn." His gaze then shifted to Hayden.
"You've done well to train him, Mensa. Though I must admit, I expected someone… older."
The insult was barely veiled at this point.
'So this is really how nobles talk... Hypocrites...' Hayden mused.
In any case, Mensa's expression remained neutral. "Age matters little when skill speaks for itself."
Laxus chuckled. "Then let's hear it speak."
After some time, a Senior Professor stepped forward and talked to Mensa and Rygar. He seemed to be the one facilitating the duel.
Indeed, after a few more words to Hayden, Mensa patted his shoulder a couple of times before leaving the dueling grounds.
Soon, there were only three people on the stage.
"This duel will be conducted under standard knightly rules!" The senior professor announced.
"First to eight clean strikes wins. Aura techniques are permitted, but lethal force is forbidden. Any violation will result in immediate disqualification."