Free Web NovelChapter 167: Chapter 167 - Arena Challenges
One by one, each of them stepped off the convoy onto the campus grounds.
Theo glanced behind him at the entrance, seeing several hundred people protesting loudly.
’’Yo!’’
A familiar voice rang out, snapping him out of his thoughts.
As he turned around, Owen appeared.
He was running over, waving with a large grin on his face.
’Ah,’ Theo thought, smiling. ’He’s safe.’
For a moment, he’d worried about what would happen with Owen outside.
Especially knowing his temper...
But it seemed like those worries had all been for nothing.
Lyra immediately stepped forward and hugged him tightly.
As she let go, Owen glanced at Theo and Iris.
’’How are you all doing?’’
Theo let out a faint chuckle.
’’Good,’’ he said. ’’How was your parent-teacher conference?’’
Hearing those words, Owen’s expression immediately darkened. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
He gritted his teeth together.
’’Don’t you ever say those words again. It was pure—’’
Theo’s eyes widened slightly.
A very familiar instructor appeared behind Owen with a smile.
’’Pure what?’’
Owen froze, his mouth still open.
Before he could even utter another excuse, Adrian’s hand clamped down onto his head from above.
’’Looks like you enjoyed your training so much you want more, huh.’’
The instructor’s grin widened immensely.
’’Well, who am I to deny that?’’
’’No...’’ Owen shouted once.
Adrian waved at Theo and the others once, then jumped up high into the sky.
Owen’s body fluttered behind him, kicking and punching the arm that held his head.
The others remained silent for a moment, completely stunned.
’’Was that... your friend?’’ Jim muttered behind them.
Theo nodded slowly.
Jim swallowed hard.
’’Why in god’s name would he choose Adrian as his instructor?’’
For a moment, it fell silent again.
Then Theo turned to him and raised his shoulders.
’’I think it was... because he found it easy?’’
Jim let out a whistle, shaking his head.
Clearly, he was fully aware of the terror Adrian was while teaching.
After a moment, Theo couldn’t help but narrow his eyes slightly though.
’’Where did your group go?’’ he asked, finding the girls from before nowhere to be seen.
Jim snapped out of his daze and scratched his chin embarrassed.
’’Yeah, that’s the thing,’’ he said. ’’I don’t have that group anymore...’’
’’Seems like they really couldn’t stand me putting down my pride.’’
Lyra snorted immediately.
’’That’s honestly kinda hilarious.’’
Theo and Iris also couldn’t help but chuckle lightly.
Jim’s face turned slightly red from pure embarrassment.
Each of them could clearly see that he hadn’t been in situations like this very often.
After a moment of hesitating, Jim scratched his chin again.
’’So... uh...’’ he started, his voice barely above a whisper. ’’Would it be alright if I followed you guys around for a while?’’
Theo blinked once.
Honestly, he hadn’t expected that question at all.
’’Uh,’’ he muttered, glancing at the others.
Seeing both Iris and Lyra look back at him without any complaints, he turned back to Jim again.
’’Sure,’’ he said casually. ’’I don’t really mind.’’
Jim visibly relaxed, letting out a deep breath.
’’Thanks a lot.’’
Theo just waved him off, his attention already on his phone.
A mail from Westridge University had entered his inbox.
’’Dear pre-admission students,’’ it started.
’’The competition will continue exactly as planned.’’
’’Now that students are present on the university grounds, the response time for challenges will be shortened as well.’’
’’You have two hours instead of a full day now.’’
Theo couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows slightly.
With everything that was going on, he hadn’t expected this in the slightest.
’I guess it also serves as a decent distraction,’ he thought, nodding slowly.
But then his attention fell on the final few lines.
’’As many of you know, each student from the freshman year, whether pre-admission or regular, needs to be present in the arena on the final day.’’
’’The number one student will have to face any challenges from the top 10 and all regular students to defend his title there.’’
’’Naturally, the first-place student who defends his title successfully this time will gain additional rewards as well.’’
And that marked the end of the mail.
Theo let out a quiet breath as he processed the information.
’More challenges,’ he thought. ’But also more rewards.’
How interesting was that?
It wouldn’t be bad at all if he could actually get some additional tools or cultivation resources.
Theo glanced up at the others.
’’I’m going to quickly dump my stuff,’’ he said. ’’Then I’ll be at the arena.’’
The others only got a second to nod.
Then Theo dashed off toward the buildings in the distance.
Only one thing was on his mind.
’This opportunity,’ he thought. ’I won’t decline it.’
Fifteen minutes later, Theo already found himself outside the dormitory building again.
Without wasting a second, he went straight for the massive arena in the distance.
By the time he reached the arena, some other students had already arrived too.
Theo joined them, quickly lining up in front of the arena clerk.
’’I’d like to challenge number 144,’’ a young man said.
’’That is ten spots above your current ranking,’’ the arena clerk replied politely. ’’Are you sure you wis—’’
’’Yeah, yeah, whatever,’’ he waved him off. ’’Just do it quickly.’’
Theo quietly watched the scene unfold.
Not a single person in line looked surprised by it either.
Clearly, many students had come up with a single idea.
By challenging those who were busy moving in, they could freely jump up the ladder without actually fighting.
But Theo didn’t care about any of that.
’It really doesn’t matter to me whether they’re here or not,’ he thought. ’I’ll continue challenging people until I fight or reach the top ten.’
The line slowly moved forward.
Quite literally every single student moved to the side, as no one was here to accept the challenge yet.
By the time it was finally Theo’s turn, the store clerk’s expression had turned bored.
’’Name ple—’’
’’Theo Lane,’’ he quickly responded. ’’Can I see what rank I am now?’’
The store clerk’s face lit up slightly, clearly remembering him.
But as he pulled up Theo’s records, he couldn’t help but look slightly saddened.
’’Your rank has dropped all the way to 164,’’ he said. ’’Five consecutive failures to show up.’’
Theo nodded slowly, having expected that.
’’That’s fine, then I’d like to challenge number 154.’’
The store clerk typed in the request, a small smile on his face.
Then he gestured at one of the young men on the side.
’’The one you’ll be fighting is right there.’’
Theo’s eyes lit up as a smile appeared on his face.
’’Now isn’t that convenient. I don’t even have to wait.’’
