[Rank 20 - Bradley Raven]

Emery narrowed his eyes at the name of the person, who took the rank 20 from him just yesterday. To his surprise, the other party had actually reached the magus realm already.

Even though he wasn't sure why the man went directly to his cave instead of issuing an official challenge through the system, out of curiosity Emery still stood up from the lotus position he assumed and made his way towards the cave entrance where the man was.

As he walked out of the cave, Emery was greeted by a fairly young man with long shiny brown hair and well-defined facial features. The other party was currently floating in the air without the use of an orbiter, something that was a given for a magus level individual.

However, what confused Emery the most was not the fact the man was still in the air, but the hostile gaze that for some unknown reason directed at him. After all, he was sure he had no contact with the other party before this.

Fortunately, Emery's confusion was quickly answered by the fiery words the other party spat out as soon as he saw his face.

"You finally showed your face! How dare you not come to the duel!? A mere lower realm acolyte dares to ignore me, an esteemed magus?!"

Emery inwardly heaved a sigh, as he realized what kind of person he would be facing. From the luxurious ornament the other party was wearing and the condescending way of speaking, it was evident without saying much.

Apparently, there were many arrogant young masters in the privileged class - the so-called the very best of the Human Alliance's young talent.

[Test rank - rank 18]

Emery glanced at the man's information and saw his test ranking. Curious about the man's record, he continued to read.

It turned out that Bradley was only ranked 25th in the official rankings, before Emery decided to abandon the duel yesterday and let the man upgraded to rank 20.

However, the fact the man was only ranked 25th before this made Emery think.

It was evident from the results that the cultivation of the magus realm the man possessed did little to help him reach the top 20 ranks. This indicated that either his abilities were too low or the top 20 ranked people were all monsters that could defeat individuals with magus-level cultivation.

Before Emery could think of which guess made the most sense, the man's harsh words echoed through the air again.

"What are you staring at?! Come out from your cave, you coward! Fight me!"

As much as Emery wanted to find out and test his current strength after the breakthrough, he knew it was better not to mess with this kind of person - an emotional young person, who was clearly supported by a strong family.

Therefore, he nodded respectfully and spoke in a polite tone.

"I sincerely apologize for my absence from yesterday's duel. I'd really like to exchange pointers with you and it's a shame I missed the opportunity." Emery then smiled and continued his words, "Unfortunately, I'm currently in the middle of something important, so I apologize once again as I really can't fight with you today."

After saying those words, Emery immediately turned around and walked back to his cave. He completely ignored the man, who was still screaming and spewing out many curses.

"You coward! You're a piece of shit! Come out right this instant!"

Just a few steps into his cave, the privilege bracelet on Emery's hand showed that he received a notification.

[You have been challenged to a duel]

Glancing at his bracelet, Emery's face didn't change when he saw it was the same person again. To be honest, he was not surprised.

The official challenge actually tempted him to fight the man. After all, if he accepted, then the duel between the two of them would be considered legit and the aftermath would most likely not come and bite him back later theoretically.

However, on further thought, Emery decided to not buy the man's offer. If the man wasn't as crazy as he seemed, then he obviously had some sort of agenda he wanted to achieve.

Who would go this far to directly find and challenge someone, who they themselves considered to be of a lesser rank? If that didn't scream a hidden agenda, then Emery didn't know what else.

Emery accessed the privilege bracelet he was wearing and looked for the option he wanted.

"Reject."

[Challenge has been rejected, no change in rank.]

As soon as Emery confirmed his refusal, the swearing that resounded outside the cave grew even louder. A moment after, he suddenly heard a deafening explosion. It turned out that Bradley seemed to have gone so mad and chose to cast a powerful spell that blew up the entrance to Emery's spirit cave.

Unfortunately for that man, his crazy actions had absolutely no effect on the entrance, as it belonged to the academy's protected area and was therefore covered in a strong protective enchantment.

"Come out now, you bastard! You f*cking dare to reject me and let me wait again!?"

The more emotional the man became, the more convinced Emery he should not be bothered with him at all.

However, the man didn't seem to give up and even sent him another challenge.

[You have been challenged to a duel]

Realizing this would not end, Emery heaved a sigh and walked to the entrance. He would confront the man and, hopefully, solve the matter in a peaceful manner.

The freely cast curses stopped when Bradley saw Emery come out again.

"With all due respect, I don't want any trouble with you. So, please go and bother some other person."

The man, however, looked at Emery and said, "One fight and I will leave you alone. I will even give you te-, no, twenty Spirit Foundation Pill if you win. What do you say?"

Instead of being delighted with the completely lucrative offer, Emery's suspicions of the man grew even stronger. Right now, the two of them were basically in the middle of nowhere and the man seemed determined to make trouble with him.

"I am sorry. please Just leave."

Hearing this, Bradley snorted and turned around. Emery just silently watched the man fly off into the distance. Somehow, he had a feeling this wasn't the end of it. Even so, as long as he was inside the spirit cave and also with his [Spatial Gate] spell, Emery was confident the guy could do nothing to him.

Emery was actually a little curious why the man was so obsessed with the idea of fighting him. Therefore, he decided that he would ask Annara or Roran about the man, to see what was up with him.

As the two people Emery considered to be veterans of the privileged class, they should have known a thing or two.

Instead of dwelling about the strange behavior of a completely unknown person, Emery preferred to have some relaxing and happy thoughts after going through the rather arduous task of increasing his cultivation realm.

Throwing Bradley's matter to the back of his mind, he made his way back to his cave.

Walking past the cultivation room he had just used, Emery went deeper into his cave to where his garden of plants and the five little creatures were. To his surprise, the five little creatures had become twice as large as they were originally.

Looking at the five bundles of joy running around in the herb garden, Emery couldn't help but think. 'Wow How did you little boys grow up so fast?! What have you boys been eating?'

"kuu.. kuu.. kaaa"