Henry followed his gaze.
"tsk, you can talk to them. They were pretty worried about you."
He opened the door, revealing Arthur and Felix behind it, and left.
Felix ran up to Neo with an excited face.
"You defeated Morrigan! I saw the fight! It was awesome! Everyone's going crazy over your battle!"
Arthur came behind Felix.
He stared at Neo awkwardly.
Felix noticed the awkwardness.
He didn't understand the reason for it.
"Congrats for the first rank!
"You might not know it but you are the first Ruler who isn't from Zeus Clan or Poseidon Clan. You've made history!"
Felix was evidently excited.
"What about you two?" Neo asked.
"I'm glad you asked."
"The Zeus Clan members couldn't find us until the end.
"And since, I stole their rank tokens, they had a hard time in the tournament."
Felix's actions in the tournament were more or less as Neo expected.
"Also, guess our ranks?"
"Yup! I'm Rank 2 and Arthur is Rank 3!" Felix laughed. "Though, in my case, Arthur let me have the second rank."
"It wasn't much," Arthur commented.
Neo clicked his tongue.
'Look at him acting humble.'
'I bet he would've attacked me during the last days for the first rank if we were together,' Neo thought.
Arthur noticed Neo staring at him.
He let out an embarrassed smile.
"I don't know if I should be happy or sad. The students are calling us 'The Fraud Triad'."
Seeing him, Arthur explained.
Neo used trickery to defeat Morrigan.
Felix became Rank 2 because Arthur helped him.
Arthur, despite having Kingsley in his name, wasn't from Zeus Clan.
All three of them were frauds.
Hence, the Fraud Triad.
"Heh, let them be. They are just jealous," Felix snorted.
The three ate lunch together.
Arthur and Felix left after it.
"We will come to pick you up tomorrow. Let's go the entrance ceremony together!"
After they left, Neo checked his rewards.
[Mastery: Apprentice]
[Effect: Allows user to breathe in ambient Divine Energy and purify it.]
"Another Tremor-ranked Spell..."
Neo massaged his forehead.
It would've been better if it was a low-ranked Spell.
Tremor-ranked Spells required tremendous time and effort to be learned.
On the other hand, Whisper-ranked and Echo-ranked Spells could be learned effortlessly.
It was easy to raise their masteries.
Moreover, low-ranked Spells would help him learn Divine Energy control.
High-ranked Spells were too complicated to be used regularly as a practice tool for Divine Energy control.
Neo could start his breakthrough any time.
He decided to wait until he received the Starplum fruit.
Consuming the fruit before the breakthrough would increase his gains.
Neo closed his eyes and practiced the Essence Breath Spell.
He took a deep breath.
Small motes of Divine Energy entered his lungs.
From there, he pushed the Divine Energy into the blood vessels.
It was only a tiny amount.
He repeated the cycle.
Late into the night, Henry arrived with dinner.
Henry grumbled the academy wouldn't let him stay over and left after telling Neo good night.
Left alone, Neo resumed the Essence Breath Spell training.
He fell asleep without realizing it.
Felix and Arthur came in the morning to wake him up.
They brought the Academy uniform with them.
Neo's uniform was different.
He wore the black pants, a black shirt, and a black coat.
The tie, also black, had red patterns similar to the coat.
"What is this? Why is it all black?"
The Rulers could decide their uniform color and design.
It was a privilege given to only first ranked students.
"Your brother chose the design. He said it was your favorite color."
The uniform was, strictly speaking, stylish.
Nevertheless, Neo felt embarrassed.
Even with the cast, he wore the uniform easily.
The cloth stretched without ripping itself apart.
Neo, cast on one arm and crutch on another, left with Arthur and Felix.
They walked towards the destination.
The closer they got to the audience hall the more students began to appear.
Most, no, all of them pointed at Neo, Arthur, and Felix.
Neo didn't need to use his Death Affinity to sense their bloodlust and negative intentions.
The top three ranks were revered designations in the Demigod Academy.
Having three 'frauds' as the top three was an insult to the academy as well as the students.
"Oh," Neo spoke. "I forgot to bring the speech."
Before Arthur and Felix could say anything, he waved his hand.
"Let's just go. I'll improvise on the spot."
If it was before, he might've been intimidated.
Giving a speech in front of thousands of students would've made him nervous.
But after dying and facing worse threats, he didn't feel anything.
The hall was massive and it was filled to the brim.
Neo noticed only a single teacher next to the podium.
The old man wore a cap and a knitted sweater while he read a newspaper.
He noticed Neo, stood up, and went to the podium at the stage.
"Quiet," He said into the mike. "The Ruler will give his speech. You lot will receive your rewards after that."
He returned to seat and picked up the newspaper.
It didn't look like he had anything more to say.
Arthur and Felix left.
They sat on the front line seats.
Neo could see some familiar faces there.
Leonora, Lucas, Harrison, and a few more.
Most of the Zeus Clan members were between Rank 20~30.
'They took a big hit.'
Shifting his gaze, he stared at empty space above Leonora's head.
His affinities didn't react.
'So I can't see her spirit.'
Neo scanned the other seats while he approached the podium.
He didn't see Morrigan anywhere.
What he saw was hostility, mockery, and derision in the eyes of most of the students.
He tapped the mic to check if it was working.
"I'll skip the pleasantries."
His eyes landed on Lucas.
"I'm sure most of you know about me from the registration day."
"All of you must've seen my battle with Morrigan di Montaigne and there must be a lot you would want to say."
If they fought Neo, they could defeat him.
If he fought Morrigan again, he would lose.
No one accepted him as the true first rank.
That's what their eyes were saying.
"I don't give a fuck what you think. Shut up and keep your heads down like the loser you are."