Extra Of The Magus Academy

Kellion stood at the center of a small pothole, no doubt caused by him jumping over the tall fence around their compound and literally crashing inside.

His long red hair was unruly, almost spiky as he looked around him, his crimson gaze focusing on the rooms on the ground floor. A large smile formed on his rough, yet handsome face as he folded his arms and raised his voice.

"My name is Kellion! I seek the one famed to be the rising star of the Akashic Magus Academy…"

Ash, who still peeked from behind his blinds, heard this and whispered to himself just as Kellion declared the name of the one he sought.

"... Seth Zephyr!"

Upon hearing this, Ash felt a mix of emotions.

On one hand, he felt overjoyed since Kellion was his perfect way of obtaining the resource he desired most at the moment: Spirit Stones. However, on the other hand, he was concerned.

'This never happened in the novel…' His thoughts trailed. 'Kellion and Seth aren't supposed to meet each other until tomorrow.'

The fact that Kellion was present, despite very little to show that the timeline would have affected this moment, raised a lot of red flags in Ash's mind. In his experience, whenever something like this happened, there was one central cause.

'A Transmigrator.' His mind echoed. 'But who? Kellion? Someone in the Asura Spirit Academy? Or am I overthinking things?'

He had no idea.

'I should just watch for now. Will Seth answer his challenge and come out?'

Ash already knew the answer to that question.

"I'm here."

Seth's voice echoed in the air as he stepped out of his room and walked towards Kellion with a serious expression written all over his handsome face. Once the Asura student saw him, his eyes glowed even brighter and his grin broadened to a monstrous degree.

"You're Seth Zephyr? You're skinnier than I expected."

"And you're everything I've heard… ill mannered and rough, like an untamed animal."

"Hehe! Thanks for the compliment."

"That wasn't a compliment. Now state what you want, you're bothering us."

"Ah… right, right!"

"Yes…?"

"Don't rush me, okay? Hahaha!"

The tension between the two of them rose to an unimaginable degree, and many students began to mimic Ash—opening their blinds just so they could see what was going on. Even a few Intermediate Stage students gave in to their curiosity and peeped.

'What an interesting sight…' Ash smiled, though that wasn't his motivation for observing the interaction between the two.

'The Asura Spirit Academy is rich in Spirit Stones since they have a natural Spirit Spring that literally produces the stuff for them. Spirit Springs are rare, so I thought I'd just use the method later discovered in the novel to recreate the processes that occur in a Spirit Spring and create my Spirit Stones, but… a lot has happened since then.'

For one, the storyline had deviated so far from its original that Ash was no longer motivated to remain obscure in the shadows and quietly gather his strength.

'If I used the method I was initially going for, it would take a very long time, but I would be able to raise the Grade of my Familiar very quietly.' He reasoned. 'In a few years, I would finally end up with a High Grade Familiar… a satisfactory Grade to have before graduation.'

But, things were too different now.

'I currently have no reservations joining the Academy Exchange and gaining access to Spirit Stones, which will drastically shorten the time I'll need to achieve the same results.'

Ash had initially thought he would have to instigate something in order to create an opportunity to obtain the Spirit Stones, but what a strange turn of events!

Kellion had brought an opportunity to his doorstep.

"Fight me, Seth Zephyr!"

Pointing right towards the standing Noble, Kellion made a bloodthirsty grin.

Most people who fell under such a raw, primal gaze would tremble in fear. Some weak-minded ones would even soil themselves from the intensity. However, Seth experienced none of these symptoms.

He remained calm as he glared at Kellion.

"And why would I do that?"

"Because I'm the strongest talent among the Apprentices of the Asura Spirit Academy!" He openly stated. "I'm curious about how I would fare against the strongest talent of this Academy… that's all."

Seth remained silent.

"Come on, don't tell me you're not curious as well… about how you'd fare against me."

News traveled far.

Just the same way the Asura Spirit Academy and all the other schools knew of certain happenings in the Akashic Magus Academy, the latter also received information about their competitors.

As such, Seth already knew about Kellion even before they met.

He was the real deal.

"Or… don't tell me you're scared." Kellion taunted. "If that's the case, then—"

"Fine."

Seth's calm tone cut through the Asura boy's words like a flaming blade—swift and precise.

"Hehe! That's the spirit!" Kellion took a step closer to Seth, and the latter took a step towards the former as well.

Neither of them were backing down.

Then—

"Hold it!" Ash suddenly entered the fray.

He stood at their middle, halting them right as they were to begin their fight. Beads of sweat formed on his face as he alternated glances between the two, swiftly returning his slightly anxious expression to a calmer one.

"Per the rules of the Academy, students are not allowed to engage in violent activities on otherwise safe grounds. This is to discourage spontaneous battles, bullying, and any other harmful activities that will negatively impact the growth of students, and…" Ash went on to narrate an entire paragraph of the Academy's rules.

This stunned both Seth and Kellion—who lost track of what was being said after the first sentence.

"Bottom line is that you can't fight here! It's not allowed."

The moment he heard this, Seth felt a tinge of disappointment, but quickly withdrew his fighting spirit and sighed.

"Is that really the case, brother?"

"Yeah."

"How unfortunate…" Seth sighed once more. "I really wanted to fight him."

"So? We can still battle! Come on… right here and now, let's do it! Don't mind what the nerd says… even if he's your brother!" Kellion hardly gave Ash any attention and kept his focus on Seth.

"I won't break the rules…"

"C'mon!"

Ash smiled as he saw this back and forth, choosing once again to step in uninvited.

"You can still fight, actually… but it has to be turned into a duel."

"A Duel?" Seth and Kellion asked at the same time.

"Yes! And a Duel requires stakes." Ash's smile broadened. "So, how about it? Create conditions for each other upon victory or loss."

The two boys stared at each other, slowly realizing what they were getting into was growing more serious than they expected. However, they couldn't back down now.

In fact, Ash wouldn't let them back down now.

"Kellion… if you lose, you should offer 5 Spirit Stones as compensation. I believe it's similar to how Duels are done in your Academy."

"W-well, yes, but—"

"And Seth… if you lose, you have to bow down to Kellion and call him the strongest."

"W-what? But—"

"I mean… you're confident that you can win, right? What's there to fear?"

Upon hearing this, Seth steeled himself and retracted his hesitation. However, strangely enough, Kellion was showing even more hesitation with the terms now spelled out.

"We may trade with Spirit Stones in the Asura Spirit Academy, but we students aren't allowed to give our Spirit Stones to outsiders… so…"

"You'll only give out the stones if you lose." Ash said. "If you're so worried, does that mean you already know you'll lose? I guess you really know that Seth is stronger than you are."

"W-what? Stronger than me? No way!"

"Then… take the deal or walk away." Ash's smile vanished and he spoke in a sterner tone. "It's that simple."

This instantly put Kellion on the spot where he had to make a choice.

And he had to make it fast.

'If he could think about things a little more, he'd realize that he could just offer something else rather than Spirit Stones for the duel, but due to the pressure I've put on him, and his own sensibilities already accustomed to Spirit Stones being used for Duels, he isn't able to see through the illusion I've created.' Ash smiled internally.

It wasn't just Kellion he was manipulating like this.

Seth was also in his trap.

'Due to his need to get my attention and prove himself to me, Seth won't back down from this fight. Plus, he's indeed confident in his abilities, so it was easier having him on board."

Both sides were being played by Ash, someone with no stakes in this fight at all.

"F-fine! Let's do it!" Kellion shouted. "I'll be the winner anyway.

"Not if I have anything to say about that."

Seth took a combative stance, and so did Kellion. Ash saw this as his cue to leave, swiftly creating distance between himself and the two boys.

He took his place in the shadows and watch the battle unfold with a dark smile on his face.

'And let the fight begin…'