My mind blanked temporarily at the announcement.

"The demonstration will be between the top two cadets of the year. It'll be a fight that will demonstrate the general skill level of our top cadets and something that will be viewed by the top executives of the fifteen guilds."

From how he spoke, he was making it seem as though it was something important. It probably was, but...

".....Is it compulsory?"

I blurted out all of a sudden.

The gazes of everyone in the classroom fell on me.

"Compulsory?"

Professor Hollowe looked at me with a strange look. He seemed to be getting an idea of what I was about to say next.

"Well, I wouldn't say it's compulsory. Howev"

"I forfeit."

"....."

The classroom turned silent.

Feeling everyone's gazes, I shrugged. What? Did they really expect me to accept this absurd request?

Firstly, I could fight Leon whenever I wanted. He was my knight.

Secondly, I was still not up to par with him. Simply put, I didn't have the confidence to beat him.

Since I was also not gaining anything from this, I didn't see the need to accept this.

"Wait, Julien. Don't act rashly. Let me finish speaking."

"....."

I leaned back in my seat and allowed him to speak.

Nonetheless, my mind was pretty firm.

I wasn't going to accept the offer. And if they were to force me to take it, then I'd just forfeit.

"Eh, so..."

The Professor massaged his forehead. Most probably, he was feeling a headache. I did feel a little sorry for him, but I was currently feeling a greater headache.

"...This is a great opportunity for you to enter a Guild's good graces. Not only will it be beneficial for you in the coming draft, but it will also help convince them to give you a great contract in your rookie year."

"And?"

"If you do this, you'll be able to increase your draft stock which in turn will get you a better deal for the future. This is a lot of money we're talking about."

"I see..."

Even more of a reason why I had to reject this offer.

If I were to lose, which was extremely likely, my stock would drastically fall and the reputation that I had built up until now would crumble.

All my hard work.

Gone.

Just like that.

'Fuck that.'

"Still no."

"....."

Professor Hollowe stood in silence while staring at me. He seemed to be trying to gauge my real intention, but I didn't budge.

"I'll ask again. Can you think about this carefully? There's a chance you might get on the bad sides of the guilds and"

"I'll just join the Magic Tower, then."

There was no rule that said that I needed to join a Guild.

In fact, was it possible to create a Guild?

'Hmm, maybe not. Guilds exist, to begin with, because they have control over a Mirror Crack.'

There weren't many Mirror Cracks to begin with.

If I wanted to create a Guild then I needed an unclaimed Mirror Crack, and...

'.....'

My thoughts stopped there.

It took several seconds for them to come back.

When they did, I felt my heart race.

Could it be possible...?

"Alright, I won't force you."

Professor Hollowe's voice broke me out of my thoughts.

In the end, with a sigh, he turned his head to look at someone else.

"Aoife, how about you?"

Ranked third, Aoife was the next one in line.

"...."

She didn't answer immediately. Rather, she turned her head to look at me. Her golden pupils locked onto me for the briefest of moments before looking away.

"I'm also not interested."

Her cold voice echoed within the classroom.

".....Ask someone else."

"You too...?"

Professor Hollowe massaged his head again. It looked like he was seriously feeling the headache.

Not that he didn't understand Aoife's choice.

I could understand why too.

.....She had nothing to gain from the demonstration. The Guilds. What did it matter to her? She was already familiar with most of the heads. Not only that, she was also from the Megrail family.

She had access to her own private Mirror Crack.

Aoife had no need to impress them.

"Evelyn?"

".....I can."

Finally, someone agreed and the Professor finally relaxed as he quietly murmured, 'Thank god,' to himself.

The selection ended there.

Exhausted, the Professor looked around the classroom before pointing at the papers.

"Choose the Guild that you want to join for the experience and hand back the sheet by tomorrow. I'll go and inform that facility about the matchup."

Before leaving, he threw one glance in my direction before shaking his head.

As he left, his back looked rather lonely. Like that of a man who says 'I'm home honey' to a honey jar.

I felt a little bad, but there was nothing for me to gain and so much to lose.

That being said,

'.....Is it possible?'

My mind couldn't help but continue to wander back to the thought that I previously had.

Realistically speaking, it wasn't possible.

I had a higher chance of receiving the dragon bone. Even so, my mind couldn't help but lean towards that possibility.

It was nuts.

I was nuts.

"Haaa...."

Letting out a long breath, I leaned my head back.

"...Doesn't hurt to ask."

***

How long will you stay there? It's been over a week already, Inquisitor.

"Uh, yeah, give me a second..."

Moving a couple of files around the large table of his temporary office, Hollowe opened up a drawer and stuffed the documents in. Then, relaxing his upper lip, a pencil fell on the desk with a small, 'Tack'.

"You were saying....?"

.....

There was a brief silence before the voice finally returned.

When are you returning? You've been at Haven for over a week. Your investigation shouldn't take you so long. We need you here.

"Ah, that..."

Hollowe looked around before scratching the side of his face.

With a bitter smile, he flicked the pencil on the table.

"I think I might need more time."

More time?

"Yeah, I still need more time. There's not much that I managed to find in the past week considering that I was out of the Academy, however, if you give me more time, I feel like I'll be able to find something."

...How sure are you of that?

The voice spoke after a brief moment of silence.

Hollowe didn't answer immediately.

Instead, his gaze hovered over a small picture frame on his desk. Besides the small lamp that dimly lit the surroundings, it was the only piece of decoration on his desk.

Staring at the picture, Hollowe's eyes changed slightly.

Then, recalling everything that he knew, he leaned back on his chair before answering.

"About ninety percent."

Ninety percent?

"Ninety percent."

Hollowe flatly repeated.

***

".....You want to talk about your reward?"

"Yes."

I sat on the opposite end of Delilah. The moment class ended, I headed for her office. Being her assistant, it took me no time for me to reach her office as no one obstructed my path.

"Didn't I say that we're still discussing it?

"I know."

"Then...?"

I rummaged through my pocket before sliding it over the desk.

"..."

Delilah's gaze alternated between 'it' and me.

"..."

The silence continued.

I slid it further closer to her.

"..."

She didn't budge.

The bar did.

"..."

And then,

Placing her hand over it, she leaned back on her chair.

"Are you trying to bribe me?"

Crinkle~

"I wouldn't dare."

".....It's good that you... munch... know. I'm not someone that would... munch... be bribed so easily."

"I understand."

"To bribe... munch... someone like me, you'd need far more than... munch"

I slid another one over.

"....."

Delilah's lips pursed.

Crinkle~

"...What do you want?"

There we go.

"It's nothing much, to be honest."

It was my turn to lean back on my chair. Well, in all honesty, there was no way I could bribe her.

This was just me lightening up the mood before making my request.

Staring at her, I hesitated for a moment before speaking,

"Regarding the reward, is it possible for me to request something?"

"Um?"

Delilah blinked her eyes and brought the bar away from her face.

"You want to request something?"

"Yes, is that possible?"

"....."

Her inky black eyes locked on me and her back straightened. Putting the bar down, she dabbed her finger over the empty wrapper of the previous bar before subtly placing it in her mouth.

"What do you want to request?"

"Well..."

I scratched the tip of my nose.

I sort of already knew the answer to my request but I still asked.

"The Mirror Crack in Ellnor. Can I have the rights over it?"

"....."

As expected. The moment I revealed my request, Delilah's eyes widened. It was the first time that I had seen such a reaction from her and it took a moment for me to snap out of it.

When I did, her face still hadn't changed.

"You, do you have any idea how big your request is?"

"...I do."

While the Mirror Dimension was dangerous, it was also a land filled with opportunities. The monsters inside. Not only did some drop bones which could go for an absurd amount of money, but their skin and regular bones also sold for a lot of money.

Simply put, it was a gold mine.

Further adding to that, the Mirror Crack needed to be contained.

One needed enough strength to prevent it from expanding.

In the short term, what I was asking was simply impossible. I understood that, but it wasn't as though I didn't think it through.

"I'm not asking for it to be handed fully to me. I understand that it's impossible given my current strength. However, I'd like the chance to be considered as one of the candidates for the Crack."

Within the absurdity of my request, I didn't feel like the possibility of my request being accepted was zero.

The reason for this was simple,

'Atlas Megrail.'

Such a person existed.

...What if I were to use him to get this opportunity?

Perhaps, create an outpost of some sort for the Inverted Sky. Not only would that enable me to become closer to the organization, but it would also serve to help them monitor them better.

As if realizing something, Delilah remained quiet.

"....."

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Her slender fingers drummed over the wooden desk.

Then, closing her eyes, she nodded her head.

"You'll most likely be rejected, but I'll let them know."

"...That's all I ask for."

I stood up from my seat and nodded.

Then, placing another bar on the table under her gaze, I left the room.

"Haaa..."

The moment I did, I felt a huge weight lift over my shoulders.

The chances of my request getting rejected were high, however, if I were to present my cards correctly, then the possibility wasn't non-existent.

'I just need to convince him.'

Atlas.

"Hmm, it's already dark?"

Coming out of the building, I looked at the sky. It was dark, and the moon hung in the sky, blessing the campus with its faint glow.

The surroundings were quiet and serene. A rare occurrence in the busy and loud campus streets.

In such a calm environment, I headed back to the dorms.

I was tired and needed to catch up on my sleep.

"Huam. I'll study a little before heading off to bed."

At least one hour.

It was always a good idea to study right before going to sleep since it was proven that studying before bed helped the brain learn new things.

Nothing heavy, but mostly look through of lecture material.

"....I wonder if she's doing it."

I had also taught Kiera to do this. She seemed pretty excited about her score.

I had been watching.

"Hm?"

Just as I arrived at the dorms, I stopped and raised my head.

A figure sat on the stairs that led to the building.

Holding onto a wooden sword, I recognized the figure "....."

immediately.

It was Leon.

".....That duel you rejected. Want to have it privately?"