The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound

Chapter 250: Aftermath (1)

The long and arduous university league has finally come to an end.

[University League Rankings]

1. Dolores L Quovadis

2. Merelini Lovegood

3. Bakilaga Juragio

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The noteworthy points were Dolores and Lovegood, who were expected to rank around 3rd place, surprisingly secured the 1st and 2nd positions, respectively. Additionally, the underperformance of Hohenheim, the ace representative of Mage Tower, was a significant issue.

…However, these were not the only significant points.

[University League Rankings]

4. Highbro Le Baskerville

5. Middlebro Le Baskerville

6. Lowbro Le Baskerville

7. Vikir

8. Sinclaire

9. Granola

10. Hohenheim

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The fact that freshmen made it into the top 10, and there were as many as 6 of them, created a major stir. Until now, the perception was that freshmen participated for “experience,” but this incident shattered that notion completely, revealing that they were there to challenge the upperclassmen.

Vikir, part of the team that included Dolores, fought hard and achieved an impressive result by securing a spot within the top 10.

Meanwhile, Granola, accused as the culprit behind Hohenheim’s elimination, faced relentless pursuit from Hohenheim’s followers and ultimately became the first among the team members to be eliminated. (Granola felt quite unjust, but still took pride in taking credit of eliminating Hohenheim.)

Surprisingly, there was a freshman who led the team with individual skills and ranking on the leaderboard.

Sinclaire, a commoner without a prestigious family background, independently achieved the remarkable 8th place, completely unrelated to Vikir.

Considering that her teammates Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, Bianca, and others were outside the top 20 (which, in fact, was still an impressive feat for freshmen!), it was truly a remarkable accomplishment.

Buoyed by this momentum, Colosseo’s 1st and 2nd-year students even defeated 3rd-year students from other schools and earned high rankings.

Dolores also secured the 1st place.

On the other hand, despite being a competition hosted by Mage Tower, students from Mage Tower, excluding the exceptional ace Hohenheim, failed to make it into the top 10.

Even Hohenheim barely managed to secure a spot in the top 10.

However, Hohenheim, who aimed for victory, couldn’t care less about such rankings before his eyes.

Furthermore, in keeping with the tradition of filming the moment of elimination and permanently preserving it in the Hall of Fame, Hohenheim’s final appearance was immortalized in the competition’s honor records.

“The shitter.”

Even after the competition ended, Hohenheim was destined to suffer forever.

* * *

After the first round of the competition, a simple after-party was held at the dormitory.

Due to repairs completed, the Varangian students moved to their own dormitory, and only students from Colosseo Academy gathered for a self-celebratory party.

“For President Dolores, who secured the 1st place in the rankings!”

“For President Dolores!”

“For President Dolores!”

All students raised their glasses in a toast. Amidst the lively atmosphere, Tudor, holding his glass, turned to Vikir beside him.

“Congratulations, my friend! 7th place as a freshman, that’s incredible! It’s amazing to have such a guy among my friends!”

“That’s the 100th time you’ve said that, Tudor.”

Sancho, who was next to them, chuckled and remarked. Then, Figgy, in the front, continued the conversation.

“But Vikir, how do you always end up in the same team as the triplets from Baskerville?”

It was a topic that everyone was curious about. However, Vikir’s response was concise.

“We happened to cooperate during the Rugby match and midterms, and surprisingly, the results were good. Since then, they occasionally asked for assistance.”

Bianca, who overheard, casually commented.

“And being a commoner, you might not feel burdened.”

“Hey, Bianca!”

“Huh? No, I didn’t mean it like that! I meant it might be the case for them. If it sounded bad, I’m sorry, I didn’t intend…”

Although Bianca was slightly flustered by Tudor’s correction, Vikir waved his hand, indicating that it was okay.

“It’s true. High-ranking nobles might feel awkward or uncomfortable with each other.”

Being a commoner wasn’t a flaw, so what did it matter?

But there was another commoner in this group besides Vikir.

Sinclaire, a commoner in her first year, had achieved an outstanding 8th place following Vikir.

“…”

For some reason, a girl who usually chimed in whenever there was a discussion about Vikir seemed unusually quiet today.

If it were her usual self, she would have energetically said something like, “What! Why ignore commoners! You guys are so mean!”, or “Big brother, let’s cheer up together, us commoners are the best!”

So, everyone found it odd.

“Let’s cheer up.”

Vikir was the first to offer words of encouragement.

“Uh, um… Yeah. Fighting! Fighting!”

Only then did Sinclaire seem to regain her composure, shaking her fists in encouragement.

Everyone was still a bit puzzled today.

“With that, the first round is over. The second round will involve only those who ranked within the top 10 in the first round.”

Figgy informed everyone about the upcoming schedule for the remaining competitions.

The Survival Tournament after the first round has concluded. Those who have been selected as the top 10 will receive separate individual quests for the second round.

Completing these “quests” will eventually earn them the coveted artifact, which is managed collaboratively by Colosseo, Mage Tower, Varangian, and Temisquira.

Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, and Bianca explained the rules and format of the second round for Vikir and Sinclaire, who made it to the second round.

“The second round is about adapting to the Apprentice System.”

Everyone nodded in agreement at Figgy’s explanation. The 10 survivors from the first round will go outside the school to visit more advanced practical groups. These practical groups refer to the Empire’s seven great clans and the Royal Family. Since academy students are likely to work there after graduation, gaining practical experience in advance is encouraged.

In other words, the 10 survivors will each go to different clans such as: ‘The Iron Blooded Sword Clan Baskerville,’ ‘Magic Clan Morg,’ ‘Faithful Clan Quovadis,’ ‘Divine Archer Family Usher House,’ ‘Solar Spear Clan Donquixote,’ ‘The Ruthless Poison Clan Reviadon,’ ‘Industrial clan Bourgeois,’ and the Royal Family to perform quests assigned by each of these families. Upon successfully completing the quests and obtaining a certification stating that it was genuinely helpful, bearing the family’s seal, their tasks will be completed.

The quests varied in content and difficulty, ranging from primitive tasks like hunting dangerous high-level monsters or gathering specific items to more abstract quests such as solving the poverty issue in a particular area, providing answers to profound philosophical problems, or devising political systems or diplomatic methods.

“If a student performing the quest is already affiliated with that family, it’s customary to avoid that family. It’s not an absolute rule, but still.”

Everyone nodded in agreement with Figgy’s words. For example, Dolores, who secured 1st place, cannot perform the quest of the Quovadis Clan due to the potential objectivity controversy.

Figgy continued, “Vikir and Sinclaire are not affiliated with any family, so it doesn’t matter. In that case, it’s better to choose an easier quest. Each of the seven major families has quests of varying difficulty.”

For example, the quest from the QuoVadis Clan is generally rated as three and a half stars (★★★☆), indicating a moderate difficulty level.

However, the quest from ‘Morg’ is generally rated as four and a half stars (★★★★☆), indicating a higher level of difficulty.

Finally, the friends began a heated debate on which family’s quest would be most advantageous.

“I think it might be better to avoid Morg Clan’s quest. I heard it became extremely challenging there since the recent change in the head of the dark faction.”

“I personally like the quest from the Donquixote Clan. If you’re into the sea and adventure, it’s perfect!”

“In your family, they might give you tasks like ‘pioneering uninhabited islands.'”

“Looking back at the quests from previous tournaments, the quest from Industrial Clan Bourgeois’ was the most manageable during the second round.”

“Yeah, choosing Bourgeois Clan’s quest seems like a good idea.”

“Hmm, but the competition might be fierce, don’t you think?”

At that moment, Sinclaire shyly raised her hand.

“Um, I already have a family in mind.”

This statement caught everyone’s attention. Sinclaire rarely expressed her opinions so confidently.

“I’m personally considering taking the quest from either the Royal Family or ‘Quovadis Clan.”

Her words puzzled her friends.

“Why go for the Royal Family or Quovadis?”

Bianca asked, tilting her head in confusion. In response, Sinclair smiled gracefully and replied,

“…The reason is.”

While everyone’s gaze was fixed on Sinclaire, quietly, Vikir stood up.

Avoiding the crowded area, Vikir made his way to a quiet terrace.

“The second-round quest.”

Now, with only the final hurdle left, he could enter the treasure vault jointly managed by the four universities and obtain the artifact.

Seventh supreme demon, Decarabia.

Finally, he would have the chance to eliminate another one of the Ten Corpses.

As Vikir sat alone by the railing, contemplating the tasks ahead, a calm and rhythmic voice called out his name.

“Vikir.”

Away from the noisy party, the ghostly curtains were drawn back, revealing a face.

Dolores.

The winner of the first round in the university league had sought out Vikir.

Quite discreetly.