Free Web NovelChapter 188: Chapter 188 - Leaving The Arena
For several long seconds, nobody said anything.
The staff member gently guided the blond woman away into the arena corridors while the elderly church woman leaned down in front of Lucienne.
Theo glanced at Elise, only to find her just as surprised as he was.
"I have some guesses as to what she was talking about," she muttered quietly. "But this reaction..."
Nodding slowly, Theo couldn’t help but stare at the scene for a moment longer.
The elderly church woman finally straightened and placed a hand on Lucienne’s shoulder. freёwebnovel.com
As they began turning to the exit, Lucienne paused.
She glanced back, locking eyes with Theo. After a moment, she nodded once, then turned back around.
Theo didn’t even get time to nod back.
And before he could think much of it, a booming voice echoed throughout the arena.
"The match has concluded!" fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
"For the first time since the tournament began," the announcer continued, his voice echoing through the stadium, "the reigning champion has been defeated!"
The entire arena remained silent for a moment.
Theo smiled slightly, hearing boos spread out throughout the crowd.
But, much to his surprise, faint applause and cheers began ringing out all around him.
’Oh?’
Students all around began rising from their seats while applauding, slowly drowning out the boos.
A genuine smile slowly spread across his face.
’That’s unexpected.’
If anything, after defeating the crowd favorite, he’d expected the exact opposite.
Though he could very clearly see a large number of people who hated him, knowing there were people who didn’t was a nice feeling to have.
"We should leave now," Elise said, patting his shoulder once. "I still have a lot to explain to you today. Besides, I think you’ll be far more interested in the reward waiting for you."
Theo glanced at her in surprise.
’’What? A reward?’’
Elise’s faint smile widened ever so slightly.
’’You don’t think you deserve one?’’
His mouth fell open slightly.
After a moment, he couldn’t help but chuckle faintly.
’’I guess I do.’’
Elise remained silent, only nodding once.
Though the faint smile on her face was far more important to Theo.
The two of them turned and began walking toward the exit, leaving the shattered battlefield behind.
Behind them, the announcer’s voice continued echoing through the stadium.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please give another round of applause to both finalists for an unforgettable battle!"
The applause immediately grew louder, though it was clear much of it came from people chanting Lucienne’s name.
Just as they entered the corridors, one final sentence entered Theo’s ears.
"We’ll just have to see if Theo maintains his spot as rank number one, or if Lucienne or anyone else challenges him tomorrow!"
His brows rose slightly.
’Right,’ he thought, smiling. ’I’ll only get those rewards tomorrow.’
He slowly put his arms behind his head, closing his eyes as he walked.
’This battle was a lot of fun. I can barely believe how much I’ve improved too.’
Not only had he started using all three elements better, he’d even fused his water and lightning elements into a combination attack!
His eyes flickered open.
’Why did that even go so easily?’ he thought, brows furrowing. ’Shouldn’t that have cost me a lot more mana?’
He couldn’t help but glance at his hand for a moment.
The last attack hadn’t been a learned spell at all, which, in theory, should’ve cost him buckets of mana.
Yet, during the match, he could feel that it was possible.
’Have to look into that later,’ he thought, nodding once. ’Might have something to do with my three affinities.’
The walk through the corridor was silent.
Only the faintest muffled noises came through, combined with their footsteps on the marble floors.
Just before they reached the end of the corridor, Theo glanced at Elise, another question on his mind.
"Do you think a lot of people will challenge me tomorrow?"
Elise didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye before replying.
"After what you displayed? Most people with common sense wouldn’t."
"But there are several special elements the university wishes to introduce tomorrow, so you can never say never."
Theo raised an eyebrow.
"Special elements, huh."
’I’ve been having too many interactions with special situations,’ he thought. ’Even Lucienne’s spell...’
Elise noticed his expression and smiled faintly.
’’We’ll go over everything once we’re somewhere private.’’
Theo’s eyes widened slightly.
"Alright."
They turned around the corner, entering a hall with several students inside.
She didn’t say a word as they walked past all of them.
As they reached outside and she spotted the massive amount of students pouring out of the arena, she held Theo back for a moment.
WHOOSH!
A large, swirling white portal opened up behind them.
’What?’
Before Theo could react, a large, snow-white owl waddled out.
Several gasps echoed around them as students jumped back in fright.
The owl simply lowered itself in front of Elise and, without hesitation, she walked up using its wing as a staircase.
"Come on," she said, glancing down at Theo.
Theo snapped out of his daze and nodded immediately.
A shudder went through his body as he touched the ice-cold feathers.
They felt surprisingly soft beneath his hand, despite the freezing temperature radiating from them.
Theo climbed onto the owl’s broad back and took a seat behind Elise.
The moment he settled down, the massive creature turned its head slightly, its golden eyes briefly studying him before looking forward again.
Then, with a powerful flap of its wings, it pushed off the ground.
WHOOSH!
The gust nearly knocked several nearby students off balance as the owl soared into the sky.
Below them, the arena rapidly shrank.
Thousands of people poured from the exits, while maintenance teams continued rushing toward the battlefield to repair the extensive damage.
Theo looked down one last time before turning his attention to the horizon.
"So," he said, "where are we going?"
Elise remained silent for a few moments.
"To my estate."
Then the owl sped forward.
Theo wanted to blink and even respond, but both his eyelids and his mouth were being pulled back by the wind, making it hard to do so.
’This feels like the Daily Descents all over again!’
As the system popped into his mind, a transparent window suddenly appeared in front of him.
He nearly lost his grip on the bird’s feathers.
[System Upgrade Completion: 02:44:12]
