"How are your rooms?" Klaus asked, sitting at a dining table with his two vixens, his sister, and his friends. They were having what could loosely be called breakfast.
In truth, it could have been lunch or even dinner, given the generous portions and variety on the table—nothing remotely resembling a traditional breakfast.
But the academy will provide free food for the next two weeks, and from the look of things, they are being spoiled rotten.
The academy is generous enough. However, that doesn't mean they are going to be spoiled rotten by them.
"My room is better than I expected. Back in the academy in Guan City, the rooms were much smaller, and the amenities weren't up to standard," Danny said, his tone cheerful.
"Same here. I think the academy will be much livelier than we anticipated, especially since even the outer section has such luxurious rooms," Daniel added.
"Indeed. The rooms are much bigger than I imagined. But remember, you might lose access to them if your rankings drop," Klaus said with a smirk. "That said, what are your plans?" He looked at his friends expectantly.
Although they were strong, Klaus knew the competition was equally formidable. He couldn't help but worry.
"I stayed up yesterday researching my opponents," Anna said, breaking the silence. She was ranked 8th, which meant she had a fair share of competitors to bulldoze through.
"From the lineup, only three of them seem like they'll pose a challenge. But I think I can handle them if I play my cards right."
"Oh, do tell. Who are these three?" Klaus asked.
"The first person is the 7th ranker. Her name is Paula Vargas, and she is a legacy from the Southern Union. From what I've learned about her, she has a summoner class.
Little is known about her class, but many say she can command a Tier 2 summoning gate. This means she can summon a dozen Tier 5 monsters, four Tier 6 monsters, and even a Tier 7 monster to aid her.
Reports show she once summoned a Tier 7 True Beast and even formed contracts with a few of her summons. However, those are just rumours. I'd have to face her to know more."
"A summoner, huh? How interesting," Klaus smiled. Suddenly, he felt the urge to challenge her and see what she was made of.
Yuying had told him one of the Paragon Guards had a summoner class. From what he knew, summoners use summoning gates to summon monsters, beasts, demons, and, to a certain extent, even angels to aid them in battle.
Of course, it all depends on their mastery of the class and the tier level of the gate they can command.
A Tier 0 gate can summon up to Tier 2 monsters. A Tier 1 gate can summon up to Tier 4 monsters, and a Tier 2 gate can summon up to Tier 7 monsters. But it all depends on their soul strength, mastery, and luck.
Every summoner has something called a Luck Meter. The higher their Luck Meter, the better their chances of summoning powerful monsters.
In rare cases, summoners can even call forth monsters with True Names. When these names are invoked, the monsters will forever be bound to their summoner."
If she indeed possesses contracted monsters, then she is undeniably powerful. But Anna is not weakling either. In fact, she has grown stronger, though the little ice princess doesn't want to reveal her full power just yet.
"The second person is the 4th ranker. She's from the Ice Union, and like Paula, she's also a legacy. She's a mage with an ice element, like me. But what makes her even stronger is that she has awakened her ice element.
This makes her ice much stronger than mine," Anna said with a small, defeated smile.
"Don't underestimate your ice, Anna," Klaus said, gently rubbing her hands.
The senior had told him that Anna's ice was on the verge of awakening, and from what he knew, she was destined to awaken the 7th-ranked Absolute Ice in the universe.
Unless Ruby possesses an even stronger ice element, she might lose to her.
Anna isn't weak. With Klaus empowering his friends with some of the most formidable techniques and spells imaginable, she would be more than capable of holding her ground.
"The last person is the 3rd ranker, Mason Cole. He's a spearman with the wind element. From what's known, they call him the fastest warrior of the younger generation."
Klaus laughed at Anna's words.
"Continue," he said, though he couldn't suppress his amusement.
The idea that some no-name was branded as the fastest irritated him. In his eyes, not even a Sage could match his speed without him using a movement technique.
But then again, he reminded himself not to underestimate anyone. Considering Mason's position as the third ranker, there might be some truth to his title.
"Well, he is fast and skilled with the spear, so I guess I'll have to up my game if I want a chance," Anna added.
"What about Miguel? How confident are you in defeating him?" Klaus asked.
Miguel was ranked 5th, three places above Anna. From what Klaus had seen and felt during their duel, Miguel had great potential to become a juggernaut.
Of course, Klaus planned to push him toward that stage eventually, but for now, he wouldn't take any steps in that direction. After all, they didn't know each other well enough yet.
In fact, Klaus still harboured a dislike for him. He wouldn't offer assistance until he felt ready to let Miguel taste greatness.
"Miguel is strong, but I feel I can take him on," Anna said confidently.
"That said, I'm not planning to challenge any of them just yet. I'll use the next few days to dig into the resources Sister Ohema gave us and push my core formation forward."
"That's smart. You all should focus on forming your cores," Klaus advised before turning his attention to Hanna.
"Big Sister, you know you'll be the most challenged since you're the second ranker. How do you plan on handling them?" Klaus asked.
"You'll see when the time comes," Hanna replied with a small smile.
She didn't say much, keeping her secrets close. For now, her goal was to impress Klaus before revealing the seal within her soul sea.
Of course, Klaus already knew about the seal, but he wasn't one to pry.
"Whatever." Klaus smiled. "Just make sure none of you drop in rank. In fact, it would be great if you all entered the top ten before becoming Saints."
They nodded in agreement. A few minutes later, breakfast was done, and they left. Klaus, however, had warned them not to speak of the looks and comments from the disciples.
Right now, those disciples were waiting for their big brothers and sisters to descend so they could complain about him.
They had come confident, hoping to crush him, but it seemed they had grossly overestimated themselves.
Klaus was a monster, and every single one of them was terrified of him.