When the path opened, Richard finally saw someone accompanied by quite a number of Royal Academy students— a blond-haired man in a black robe, carrying a massive sword.
His skin was very pale and his body somewhat thin, giving off the impression of a sickly person, yet he was clearly fine, for he could carry such a large sword on his back.
Unlike Gray, who always seemed relaxed and calm, this man was cold, his gaze sharp as though deeply focused.
He didn’t glance left or right, only stared straight ahead.
His popularity in this city was obvious. Many noble girls screamed, calling his name.
But he clearly had no interest in responding to anyone.
He walked straight to his seat, sitting down with his companions, staring directly at Gray, who was across from him. Gray, however, looked busy chatting with his lover, Laura.
Yet after being stared at continuously, he finally turned and looked toward Wren with a faint smile.
It seemed Wren was speaking to Gray through his Sixth Sense.
"You two, step into the arena..." Suddenly a voice echoed from the center of the battlefield.
A bald middle-aged man appeared there, standing as though he had been present all along.
"Hahaha..." It’s finally starting.
The audience immediately grew excited, some even standing up before being forced back into their seats by soldiers, as their bodies blocked the view of people behind them.
Gray and Wren both stepped into the battlefield.
But Richard noticed something odd after they communicated using the Sixth Sense.
Gray’s expression suddenly looked filled with hesitation.
It only became more obvious as he drew closer to Wren, while the latter simply gave him an unfathomable smile.
When they stood about five meters apart, Gray suddenly turned toward the referee, the bald man.
"Referee, I surrender," he said after appearing to think long and hard.
Nearly the entire audience stood up at once.
"What kind of nonsense is this?"
"No one has ever surrendered in a final ! Why is Gray giving up?"
"Gray, I came all this way, spent all my money supporting you, and you dare surrender?"
"At least fight first!"
There was no way the crowd could remain calm hearing a participant surrender.
The result was secondary; what they most wanted to see was a battle between geniuses in the world of magic— an epic clash that was always thrilling to watch.
The referee frowned at him.
"Are you certain?" the referee asked.
Of course, there was no rule forbidding a participant from surrendering. If one chose to yield, their opponent would be declared the winner.
"Yes..." Gray nodded, though his expression was still hesitant.
But his expression was of no consequence to the referee. If he surrendered, then Wren would be the victor.
Now, that man wore a satisfied smile.
Richard glanced toward the nobles’ seating area, looking at Governor Wilder Hall and Victor Moonshadow.
Even they were surprised.
Victor looked at Wilder, as if asking what his son was relying on, but the latter shook his head.
"Very well. The winner is Wren Hall, who will represent the Eight-Star Province, the Nine-Star Province, and the Ten-Star Province in the capital..." the referee announced.
Gray immediately turned away, returning to his seat as disbelief showed on the faces around him— Laura included, her eyes trembling.
"Utterly ridiculous," muttered Sister Lisa beside Richard.
She had been very eager to witness the fight, but this outcome was more than just disappointing.
In the end, the entire audience left the colosseum with blank expressions. Some cursed Gray, especially those who had lost their bets on him.
Richard scratched his head a few times in confusion.
He was disappointed too, thinking he would finally get to compare his own strength against the top geniuses of three provinces.
When he and Sister Lisa returned to Lilith’s house, Lilith had just been about to leave, looking surprised to see them back already.
"So soon? Is it over already?" she asked.
Lisa shook her head and replied, "one of the participants surrendered before the fight even began. It ended far too quickly."
"Ohhh..." Lilith showed a strange expression at hearing that.
"That’s very rare. Perhaps one of them offered something too tempting to refuse," she said.
Lisa seemed to agree.
"There’s nothing we can do about it, but if you’re interested, Lisa, you and Richard can follow me to the capital when the true finals are held. That will be much more exciting," Lilith said.
"Really, you’d take us along?" Lisa looked very interested upon hearing that.
Traveling to the capital was no easy feat. Lisa couldn’t afford it on her own, as the journey was quite expensive. But if Lilith brought them, that would be different.
"It’s still a long way off. Just come see me later," Lilith replied.
"Alright, I’ll be going now. My house isn’t locked," she added.
As the woman stepped out, the crows on her roof suddenly followed her.
To Richard’s shock, she vanished among them, and then they all soared rapidly into the sky.
"Those at higher levels truly are extraordinary," he thought.
"Richard, is there something you want to do?" Sister Lisa asked.
"I’ll just train," Richard replied.
He wasn’t in the mood to do anything else, so he just wanted to cultivate.
Sister Lisa nodded, letting him enter the house first.
"Sister, are you going somewhere?" Richard asked.
"Yes, I want to visit some places that might help me improve my strength. This is especially for a Sky Armor Knight," Lisa answered.
"Okay," Richard said.
He went inside Lilith’s house, entered his room, and locked it before starting to absorb Aether.
As he expected, the amount of Aether in this city was much greater.
They were also much easier to absorb.
Compared to when he trained during the journey, Richard could now gather almost twice as much Aether.
This gave him a strong drive to train nonstop, at least until evening.
Back then on the road, he had gathered nearly twice as much thanks to the Black Heart Soul. Now, he was certain he could gather twice as much simply because of the city’s environment.
By evening, he opened his eyes in delight.
[Aether: 360/10,000 ] +138
[Aether Accumulation: 2360 ]
’I guess I need to stay in this city longer,’ he thought.
Richard was startled to see a crow standing on his window.
What shocked him even more was that the crow had a ring in its beak.
"Richard, the left hand and foot of the Aether Skeleton you wanted are in this ring." Lilith’s voice suddenly echoed from the crow.
The bird then dropped the ring onto Richard’s bed before flying away.
"So fast? It’s not even night yet," Richard muttered in surprise.