Rise of the White Devil

Chapter 72 Genius

Removing the headset from his face, Lucas let out a deep breath.

He recalled back to just when the last calamity died; he managed to quietly say the last sentence in time.

Most would have thought he was whispering something inaudibly, but only if the voidwalkers watched and listened would they tell it wasn't an audible whisper.

'Finally... done with this stupid exam.'

Standing up from the comfortable chair he was in, he stretched his body a little.

His body had gone stiff from being seated in the same position for so long, but apart from that, he felt perfectly fine.

Snapping him out of his thoughts was the sound of someone clapping.

Looking to his right, he saw the teacher who had told him about the exam at the beginning, leaning against the wall with a small smile on his face.

Julius Cordis.

Looking around, he saw that he and Julius were the only ones in the room.

'The others who were with me must have failed or passed by dying to one of the calamities.'

"Congrats are in order, Lucas Nightstar. You have certainly made this entire exam the most fun everyone has had in years."

"Well, I am pleased that everyone enjoyed watching us fight for our lives," Lucas replied.

Julius raised his eyebrows in amusement at hearing Lucas.

"For our lives? Says the one who killed two of the three great calamities with barely any injuries. This entire exam was to test how strong this generation of ours would be, especially your monstrous year, but who would have thought that two of the most unknown would be the strongest?"

"It looks like Princess Sylviette's title of strongest champion will have to be revoked."

Hearing his words, Lucas spoke.

"You belong to the same generation as ours, making you a champion as well, right? So why aren't you called the strongest champion?"

Julius laughed a little before responding.

"Yeah, I have heard you and the princess talking. Thanks to that, everyone now knows that I actually am a half-elf, by the way. But no, I am not called the strongest because I don't specialize in combat. I would rather spend my time creating new spells or exploring ruins lost in time."

"But aren't you still a peak 9-star grandmaster, meaning you could beat her easily?"

"I am sure you know the answer to that question already, Lucas Nightstar."

He was right; Lucas already knew that even though he is a grandmaster and currently one of the strongest champions, it doesn't mean it would stay that way in the future.

Sylviette would probably surpass him.

But not just that, there is always a chance that he could die to a group of masters somehow.

"Besides, I am sure that you might be able to defeat me by some luck if you didn't hold back like you did with the other calamities, or at least that is what my gut tells me."

Lucas raised his eyebrows in surprise.

'So he knows I held back...'

Julius smiled a little more as he saw Lucas's surprised eyes.

'He's joking... he knows I would still lose fighting him unless I got lucky since he must have thousands of spells in his arsenal.'

"It is obvious that you held back. Every time I watched you, I felt like you were more struggling with how you should defeat it while not using your full strength."

"You have some crazy instincts," Lucas said with narrowed eyes at him.

'I understand now why he is called a genius...'

Lucas thought, though ridiculous since he was just as much a genius as Julius.

"Ha! That is no way to speak to your teacher now, is it?" Julius said jokingly as he suddenly extended his right hand out.

"To think we would have two tri-elemental dual wielders joining this year who have the space affinity. The princess of the elven race, two children of the great dukes, the heir of the mysterious Nightstars, the daughter of the strongest guild master, the second hero of humanity.

Certainly, as calling our generation the second golden generation is justified. Your year should be called the golden year with how many monsters are in it."

Lucas merely smiled and shook his hand with his.

"Congratulations on becoming a student in Shield, Lucas Nightstar. I am sure this year will probably be one of the most fun I will have."

********

A week had passed since the exam ended.

In two days, Lucas would have to leave for the academy.

He had spent the last week just relaxing and enjoying his time with Lena and his mom inside the hotel, not even bothering to go outside.

He hadn't seen or spoken with Seraphina or the others from the exam since the death of the final calamity.

He had become one of the most famous people in the world after his performance.

The internet was still going crazy about the entire exam, making edits of the champions and mostly of Lucas, who defeated 2 of the calamities.

There were also some... 'interesing' edits made of him from when he interacted with Sylviette and Seraphina.

He felt weirded out seeing so much attention on him. He wasn't used to all this attention in his previous life, or at least not with his actual face.

He decided not to use the internet for some time.

'Still no sign of contact from the Voidwalkers though... I'm sure it will take a while, or perhaps they are watching my movements for the time being.'

Currently, he was eating some chips while on the bed, watching a show about a female detective having a psychopath who thinks he is the demon king's reincarnation as her partner, and they solve crimes together.

"Using their own kind against them... smart."

He was alone as the others went to explore the city some more before they would leave tomorrow.

He wasn't really interested and used the excuse of resting up, being tired from the exam, which they naturally didn't believe but still accepted.

'I have no rush to explore this city anyways...'

He was being lazy.

As he was enjoying his well-deserved rest and peace, he suddenly heard a voice in his head.

[Father...]

Lucas raised his eyebrows in surprise at suddenly hearing Luna's voice, who should be with Lena and his mother outside.

She sounded like she was hesitating.

[What is it, Luna? Is there any problem?]

[No, everything is fine, but...]

He could hear her being nervous for some reason, so he decided to let her take her time.

'If nothing happened, then why is she even hesitating?'

[Father... can I stay with you at the academy?]

"Huh?"

Lucas was confused and bewildered at hearing her question. He didn't even respond for a few seconds, making her more nervous as she continued.

[I-if it is a problem, then it's fin-]

[Luna... why would you even think that I wasn't planning to let you stay with me?]

Lucas said, cutting her off from finishing what she was about to say.

Hearing what Lucas said, she was surprised.

[E-eh! You mean I wasn't going back home?]

[Do you want to go back home with Lena and Mom?]

Lucas asked her.

[N-no! I want to stay... in the academy with you... Father.]

She raised her voice in the beginning, vehemently denying going back, but her voice then started to get lower and lower, turning into a whisper at the end.

Lucas smiled warmly at hearing her.

[Well then, enjoy yourself with Lena and Mom until they have to go back, and you will stay with me.]

[...Mm.]

"I am glad she at least didn't hold back what she wanted to do..."

Lucas said with a sigh, happy that she wasn't bottling her feelings up.