Chapter 40
Celesse couldn''t understand. What kind of wrong could make them torment vin for eight years?
Why did they enve Stomcast for eight years?
She had thought that advancing to Advanced Mage would help vin improve his situation, but
now it seemed not as simple as she had imagined.
...
The next morning, vin carried on as usual, delivering goods with a stone urn. The 10th Arena
was the most urgent, requiring sturdy iron chains.
In the realm of Cobalt Strike, atop fifteen mighty peaks, therey the Arenas, grand battlegrounds
hewn from the hardest bedrock, each spanning over three hundred meters across, and adorned
with an array of training apparatuses. These sacred grounds were reserved for the seasoned
warriors and those directly apprenticed to Senior and Elite Protégés. Intermediate Protégés could
only gaze upon these sites with yearning, while the freshman were not permitted to tread near.
The strict hierarchy of Cobalt Strike was evident in every facet, seemingly harsh but designed to
spur its Protégés to greater heights. If one desired ess to superior resources and
amodations, they had to be earned through strength and valor.
Although vin was but a freshmsn, his role as a servant granted him the rare opportunity to
traverse the Arenas under the guise of making deliveries.
The spacious Arena was alive with the practice of hundreds of Protégés. Explosions of fireballs,
surging waves of earth, a dance of sharp ice spears, and the shing of swords against wild great
axes filled the air. A myriad of Combat Magic roared in battle while hundreds of onlookers cheered
from the sidelines.
"Make haste, you sluggard!" vin had barely reached the summit when an angry shout met him.
"If you''re in such a rush, fetch it yourself. I deliver in the order listed!" vin replied indifferently,
dropping the stone urn with a thunderous crash, drawing the gaze of many.
"How dare you backtalk?" A burly youth marched over, pointing at vin''s nose with fury. "Know
your ce, you''re a servant, tasked with deliveries, not training. If I see you loitering with that urn
again, I''ll shatter it—and you along with it!"
"Mind your own business. You’re out of line," vin retorted, hauling out a thick chain from the urn
and dragging it toward an Arena.
"I''m in no mood for insolence today. Best not provoke me," the youth growled, nting his foot upon
the chain. His name was Gudmund, a recognized senior Protégé within Cobalt Strike. Having just
suffered a humiliating defeat in the Arena, he was looking to vent his frustration on vin.
"Remove your foot," vin said coldly, facing down the provocation he''d known all too well.
"You think you can defy a senior Protégé because you''re a Stage III Novice Mage? Impudent boy,
you''re begging for a beating!" Gudmund sneered, drawing his de and striking with a swift, gusty
force.
"I''m just a Freshman yet I''m already at Stage III, while you, a Senior barely at Stage V - isn''t it
embarrassing?" vin ridiculed mercilessly. Briskly, he wrapped the chains around his arm, pulling
forcefully and managed to yank the long chain from underneath Gudmund''s feet.
"Haha! You were arrogant before, and you''re even more so now. What does it matter if you''re at
Stage III? Without Combat Magic, you''re still a nothing." Gudmund unsheathed his sword with a
ng, shing towards vin, his sword style was fierce and fast, creating gusts of wind as it
moves.
"Gudmund, this is too much!" A young maiden''s voice rang out from afar, disapproving of his
conduct.
"Gudmund, how dare you bully a mere servant, have you no shame?" Others murmured their
discontent, though none stepped forward to intervene.
vin''s expression darkened as he deftly sidestepped the steel de, delivering a swift p across
Gudmund''s face. His palm struck with the force of a hammer, sending Gudmund staggering
backward, blood and teeth scattering as his head snapped back.
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Gudmund reeled back ten paces, and his right cheek was swelling visibly.
The surrounding Protégés inhaled sharply, impressed by vin''s fierce retribution.
"You bastard, I''ll tear you apart!" Gudmund, face and eyes flushed with anger, shook his head
violently and lunged at vin with his de raised.
vin gripped the hefty chain, spinning it through the air with a thunderous crash. The chain,
weighing over three hundred pounds and stretching over ten meters, was wielded with ease,
drawing gasps of amazement from the crowd.
Crackling with arcs of electricity, vin channeled his burgeoning power through his arm into the
chain.
"Damn you, I''ll—" Gudmund''s threat was cut short as the chain, now a whistlingsh, struck his
back with a resounding snap. The blow tore open flesh, spraying blood. Stunned spectators
watched as the robust chain sent Gudmund tumbling down the mountainside, rolling along the rocky
path below.