Nicholas Von Coney.
A third grade student.
Prince Robert's most loyal follower and thug.
He was a peak rank 6 in his second grade and was significantly weaker than Telor. But after fawning over that bastard, he managed to advance and made some good progress.
He should've graduated decades ago. But he failed the graduation test every time.
If Telor was the oldest sudent, then Nicholas was the second oldest.
Maybe because Telor reminded him of his own failures or maybe to shift the spotlight, Nicholas held great hostility toward Telor.
If the duel between Robert and Telor was the breaking point of Telor to take his own life, then the constant bullying of Robert was the build up that led to that situation.
Nicholas was instrumental in this bullying and perhaps even the reason Robert targetted him so much.
Varian held no sympathies for Telor. He wasn't looking to 'avenge' any humiliation or grieveneces.
But for his own mission, he had to 'craft' a story of the 'New Telor' so that everyone could accept his increase in strength.
It's okay if others suspected him of using some secret methods to increase his strength. Pills, herbs, elixirs.
Investigations would start but by the time they came to any meaningful conclusion, the competition would've long ended and he'd have fled.
What he must ensure, however, was that no one suspected him of being an imposter.
How to do that effectively?
Immerse people emotionally in a live-story.
'Revenge of the bullied boy: Counter attack after being crushed and humiliated.'
The discussions would shift to people supporting or opposing him.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtIf he really took action against people who wronged 'Telor', then everyone would see it as him 'avenging' himself. There would be little doubts regarding his identity.
So when Varian reached the third floor and faced the scar-faced, green-skinned goblin-like man, he decided to say the words in advance. "Nicholas, I apologize for what's going to happen to you."
"Huh?" Nicholas raised a brow in confusion before he sneered. "What's going to happen to me?"
Varian raised his fist and his eyes glowed with a dark red light. "I'm going to beat the sh*t out of you."
Boom!
There were private rooms on each floor for the students to use for duels. This one was specifically booked by Nicholas to beat up Telor. But he didn't expect to be attacked first.
"You worm! Did you forget your place already?"
The door wasn't closed and his voice reverberated across the entire floor. Students quickly flocked to see the situation.
"Holy fuck, they are fighting!"
Nicholas easily dodged Varian's punch and kicked him in the chest.
With a thud, Varian crashed against the wall and slid down. Coughing out a mouthful of blood, he quickly got up and jumped at Nicholas with bloodshot eyes.
"You bastard! I'll crush you today!"
"You damn weakling! How dare you?!"
Nicholas summoned his natal treasure. A pink flower that spat out poisonous gas.
The room was filled in pink in a blink and Varian's punching posture collapsed as he collapsed onto his knees.
Coughing out blood, he looked up with begruding eyes, as if he couldn't accept his defeat.
Nicholas saw the burning hatred in his eyes. And so did all the students that gathered.
They thought things would change because Telor was acting up. But he quickly got crushed.
"This is your place, bastard. Under my feet!" Nicholas kicked Varian's left shoulder and with a pop, his arm nearly broke off.
"Arghh!" Varian immersed himself in the role and groaned in pain but he didn't show any signs of surrendering. "I-I will definitely…definitely crush you!"
"Hahaha! Like this?"
Nicholas fist smashed his face and blood splattered on the floor.
"Or like this?"
His ribs snapped with the kick and Varian bent down, retching uncontrollably.
And the beating continued.
Even though no one had any favorable view of Telor Xon, it's the crowd's nature to support the underdog.
As he continued to get severe injuries, the crowd's mood shifted and they hoped that Telor would rather faint than than beg for mercy.
'Right, this is the moment.'
"I will tear your limbs today and make you crawl in the garden." Nicholas stretched his hand to grab Varian's shoulder, ready to tear off his arm.
Varian's eyes shone with a green and red light for a moment. And then, a brilliant light exploded.
The next moment, Nicholas found himself crashing to the floor.
"W-What?"
It wasn't just him that was confused. The crowd also widened their eyes as they saw 'Telor' slowly stand up.
A brilliant red and green light glowed in his hand. The light coming from it quickly enveloped him and at a rate visible to naked eye, his injuries began to heal.
"What's that?"
"What does he have in his hand?"
"Elixir? No! It's just some light, but how?"
When the light cleared, a brilliant red blade with a black handle materialized in his hand.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmRequiem.
Like the other two, it's also soul-linked and hence a perfect substitute for a 'natal treasure'.
It's easy to distinguish a natal treasure beacuse it carried the aura of its owner far beyond a normal treasure.
"Natal treasure?"
"No way! Did he awaken in the face of an overwhelming enemy?"
"T-That's just like a fairy tale!"
"Talent…talent really increases after awakening some natal treasures. Maybe Telor would grow really strong."
The crowd were surprised at first and then fascinated. Natal treasures were mostly awakened during childhood. The late bloomers were very, very rare. So, they were full of anticipation towards this rare sight.
"H-He really did it?"
On the other hand, Prince Samatv couldn't believe his eyes.
Even though the red pill he gave Telor had some chance of awakening the natal treasure, it shouldn't be this fast.
'I should observe him for a while and analyze what's special about him.'
Varian noticed Samatv's presence, away from the crowd and gave him a light nod with a grateful smile.
'Is he thanking me? Oh fuck!'
Some of the crowd's attention shifted to him. There were doubts in the eyes of the students.
Varian rubbed the handle of the sword and swung it down at Nicholas. "Who's crying now?"
A few hours later, the whole campus knew about Telor's revenge.
He made Nicholas crawl out of the arena on his two hands.
"Robert! I'll crush you in the competition. Wash your neck and wait!"
The crowd went crazy with anticipation.