Abyssal Awakening

Looking at the crowd of people, she decided to eavesdrop.

"There\'s no way right?"

"Trust me. What the Seniors saw before the Department Head intervened couldn\'t be faked. An outsider actually passed the Hall of Champions but their statue couldn\'t be recorded!"

"Who did she even challenge?"

"They barely got a glance, but it seemed to be someone who uses Ice. Maybe she was challenging Lord Lucas or Lord Andrew but Lady Lyra is not off the table either."

"Lady Lyra? Are you serious? There\'s no way she would\'ve picked her out of all the Champions unless she has a death wish!"

Listening to the whispers being spread amongst the students, Ria couldn\'t help but wonder who had challenged the Hall of Champions. She wasn\'t familiar with the term, but it seemed to be a trial ground of sorts where you could test your might.

\'Could be interesting to take a look at later with Alice. She might enjoy it with all things considered.\'

It would serve as a perfect chance for her to study the fighting styles of the Champions mentioned by the students. After all, Alice was someone who grew faster the stronger her opponent was.

Whether that be the technique that Allura showcased or the sword technique she stole with a glance when she was hunting her third Sigil, Alice was like a blank canvas that absorbed everything in her surroundings.

Leaving the facility, Ria figured that Alice would\'ve looked for her if she had finished her commission. Meaning she was probably still busy.

Asking around for some directions, Ria eventually made it to the Department of Theory. Just as she got off the train, she noticed Alice coming down from the mountain peak. Her movement was sluggish and her shoulders were slumped.

Sensing that something was wrong, Ria rushed over.

"Alice! Are you okay? What happened?" Ria asked with worry. She could see that the corners of Alice\'s eyes were red while her outfit was in tatters.

Looking up, Alice saw Ria and bit her lip.

Tears started to form once more and she collapsed on the floor.

"Ria…" Alice called out, suppressing the tears.

Seeing this, Ria immediately hugged Alice, patting her back.

"What happened? Did someone bully you? Could you not deal with them?" Ria asked. The moment Alice drops a name, she will go to that peak and get revenge for her. How dare they make Alice cry!

"*Sniff* Ria… My flask *hic* My flask got destroyed…" Alice answered with great difficulty as tears streamed down her face.

Pausing for a moment, Ria felt as though her brain had just short-circuited.

"Pardon?"

"My flask… *hic* My treasure, the love of my life… It got torn apart while I was fighting. My flask got killed!!! Now I can\'t carry all my mead with me!!" Alice cried out, showing Ria the part of her jacket that was soaked by the holy water contained within her flask, mead.

Blinking her eyes, Ria understood why Alice was upset. For her, the flask was akin to her lifeblood. It was what kept her going. The mead within gave her fuel for the day. Yet if it got destroyed…

"Who even destroyed it? Did you ask them to pay?"

"I shouldn\'t have gone into that room *hic*… It was not worth it. I got nothing from it and instead got my flask killed. Do you want to visit its grave with me?" Alice asked, wiping away her tears using her sleeves while pointing at the mountain peak.

Hesitating for a moment Ria shook her head but she couldn\'t help but feel pity for Alice.

"Since we\'re earning some money… Do you want to buy a new flask? It won\'t be as good as your old one but it\'s better than nothing." Ria offered. If the flask was more expensive than what they had expected, then she didn\'t mind asking her employer for some extra funds early since they were extremely happy with her performance.

Hearing this, Alice\'s ears twitched as her eyes lit up. Ignoring the pain, she jumped up and landed on her feet.

"Let\'s go buy Sir Bacchus the second!" Alice declared, recovering from her sadness.

"Sir Bacchus... The second?"

"Mnm. Sir Bacchus the first is my flask. Originally, I wanted to keep a collection of Sir Bacchus\' on me at all times so I have multiple sources of mead. But because Sir Bacchus the first died a horrific death, the next flask shall honour it by inheriting its name." Alice clenched her fist as she gave a salute towards where she had buried Sir Bacchus the first.

Still confused by everything, Ria followed up with an awkward salute of her own before the two of them made their way out of the Academy.

Naturally, Alice had countless eyes turn towards her due to the current state of her outfit but they ignored it.

"So… You still haven\'t told me what happened? What did you even fight for you to be injured to this extent?" Ria asked as the two of them handed back their visitor passes.

Both of them have gotten other forms of identification for entry and the visitor pass was no longer needed.

"Went to a room called Hall of Champions and fought Lyra the Blade Dancer. You should give it a go too. Almost f*cking died to her." Alice admitted as Lyra was truly on another level. Had she not learned and Modified Allura\'s skill, it was probably impossible to win the fight without some kind of sacrifice other than the energy held within that arrow.

Which only made her wonder what kind of beast that was and what were the golden chains that sealed it back into her flames.

"Wait… holy sh*t, really?" Ria froze in surprise. Not at the fact that Alice was the person in the rumours who challenged the Hall of Champions but rather the fact that she almost died to Lyra!

"Yeah. Her ice froze me in place and I had to forcefully tear myself from it to avoid her attacks. Even my flames were pushed back. You know how hard that is to achieve?"

Nodding her head, Ria regretted not being able to see the fight with her own eyes as she would\'ve been able to learn something from it.

"So I\'m guessing the earthquake was caused by you then." Ria asked as Alice shrugged.

"Yes and no. I decided to do something a little funky and conducted a ritual. Turns out I summoned a massive f*ck off dragon beast thing that ate the last attack before disappearing. Was it the best move I could\'ve chosen? Probably not. But it was damn effective."

"Pft ahaha, next time you should let me know when you do something fun like this. I would love to see it with front-row seats." Ria laughed.

"I mean it\'s not impossible. Seems like if we join the Department of Combat it should be available to us. Though I didn\'t ask much about it but I\'m sure it\'ll be fine."

Agreeing with Alice, Ria wished the exams would arrive sooner so that they could enrol. Not only that, she wished Luke was here as well. She wanted to see his reaction towards her achievements and capabilities.

\'He\'s always been composed with a few exceptions. If he saw what Alice can do… Would it break his composure?\' Ria wondered to herself. If she could find the limit of his composure, then she could plan on ways to surprise him in the future.

Chuckling to herself, the two made their way to the shopping district in order to find Sir Bacchus the second.

Meanwhile, after recovering from his initial excitement, Garret had calmed down and focused on his duties as the Department Head.

Namely to report the incident to the principal and make adjustments to the exams. After all, one of their exam takers was now someone who had passed the Hall of Champions.

Thinking about a meeting with the principal, Garret couldn\'t help but scratch his hair and sigh.

If it was possible, he would keep the interactions to a minimum as she freaks him out. Even though he\'s called the Mad Demon by the students, he was helpless before her.

It wasn\'t that she was aggressive but rather unfathomable. The way she conducted herself, the way she talked, and her choices confused him at times. It was hard for him to understand the principal as a person.

But despite his thoughts towards her, there was one thing that would never change.

His respect towards her.

After all, one sentence could be used to summarise the principal.

Beneath the realm of Lords, she is invincible.

Even though there were many who have six Sigils imprinted onto their body, their powers differed greatly.

Contemplating on how he should approach the principal regarding this report, he paced back and forth before mustering up some courage.

If he struggled to do it alone, he\'ll drag others into it!

A grin appeared on his face as he went to look for Xinbei and Elara.

"There\'s no need for you to drag others in, Garret. I already saw what happened when the Hall failed to record her strength." A voice appeared behind him, causing him to jolt in surprise.

\'Why is everything freaking me out today?! First is that gal and her dragon thing and now the principal!\' Garret shouted in his mind while turning around to face the principal.

"Then I suppose I don\'t need to say anything." Garret forced a smile.

"Possibly. I need you to do something else for me. I need to make some adjustments to the exams and my hands are a little tied up at the moment." She smiled while Garret nodded and listened to her instructions.

With Garret leaving to complete the task she gave him, the principal made her way out of the room.

A mysterious smile surfaced on her face as she hummed to herself.