Kai was training hard, doing one-handed push-ups. He had been training ever since Enrico entered the dungeon. Yesterday, the girls tried to get close to ask something, but he answered before they were kicked out by Elaris, who had been there since yesterday.
'The president seems to be asleep.'
Sitting in a rocking chair she had brought herself, she slept calmly rocking back and forth. He knew Elaris wasn't there just to make sure the girls' punishments were enforced—she was also there because she wanted to see what level Enrico would reach once he came out of the storage.
"I want to see his level too, since I need to get stronger to protect my friends. Seeing how strong the person I want to catch up to is would be great motivation."
And to make things worse, he had heard two pieces of news an hour ago that Elaris got from the vice president of the council when she brought her some food.
"It seems Miss Lira reached circle three."
"Wait, is that serious?"
"That's right. She notified the administration after succeeding—it looks like she wants to send a message to someone."
When Kai overheard their conversation, he gripped his sword tightly. Lira had declared herself Enrico's rival, which made getting a rematch even harder since now there were three people competing against him—and to make things worse, she was stronger than Kai himself.
"Miss, I also have a second piece of news to inform you."
"What would that be?"
"Princess Elowyn defeated rank four and took that position."
Standing up, Elaris was surprised, and so was Kai. If she managed to defeat him, then she had reached a new level. Elowyn had gone away during the week to train with her father, so they didn't know what had happened, but apparently, it had been great for strengthening her power.
"That means there's been a change among the fifteen chosen—the first one to occur."
"Well, if Mr. Roberto puts in the effort, he might regain that position."
"You're right, and I hope that happens."
Elowyn was a difficult person to deal with, and to be honest, she hadn't planned to let Elowyn participate in the Thrones of Runes unless the person she chose was truly stubborn and insisted on taking her.
"Hey, I only didn't want to bring her because she's hard to deal with, but it seems that princess will come anyway."
Those two pieces of news affected him a bit—seeing others moving ahead while he stayed still. Sighing, he stood up and woke Elaris since it was time for her to go to sleep. Yesterday, he had permission from Virelle after she found out Enrico was training something, but Elaris didn't have the same permission.
"President, it's better to go. It's curfew time."
"…Already? But I still don't know what level he's reached now."
"I'm sorry, President, but those are the rules."
"So what? I'm the Student Council President, so I can stay."
Hearing the storage door open, Enrico came out wearing the same tattered clothes he'd used months ago before switching to his dungeon outfit. The dungeon had vanished—but not because it was completed; it was shut down, and the portal could only be reopened if Enrico entered again. He did that so no one would accidentally go inside.
'Now they're free to cause their chaos… just don't break the vases. If they do, they're dead.'
"Enrico, did you manage to complete your training?"
"What level did you reach during this time? I'm really curious."
Seeing Kai and Elaris approach, Enrico made the fire cancer mark on his back disappear immediately. He had almost forgotten about it for a moment—during those two months, when his clothes were destroyed, literally everyone saw it. But he hadn't needed to worry since they didn't know what it was; they just assumed it was something like the marks on his hand from the contracts with Lunaris and the captured Dark Elves. Luckily, he could make those marks vanish.
"You want to know my level? Well—"
"You really reached circle three. I truly chose the right disciple."
Virelle, with a slightly happy expression, looked at Enrico, catching the three by surprise with her sudden appearance and words. Enrico knew exactly how she found out so quickly that he had evolved.
"Your mana-sensing ability really is impressive, teacher."
"I know it is… your mana has increased a lot, so that can only mean you've reached circle three, right?"
"Yes, I did."
Both Elaris and Kai felt the same kind of emotion—they were surprised but also somewhat expecting it to happen. Lira, who was watching the interaction through a magical ki sphere, raised her arms with a wildly happy smile.
"I really chose right, hehehehe. I can't wait for our battle."
Back with Enrico, he received congratulations filled with genuine happiness, though with a bit of envy in their eyes for him having evolved first—and that was exactly what he wanted them to feel.
"What's wrong, are you jealous?"
"It's not exactly jealousy, it's just that…"
"Haha, come on, don't be cowards—if you feel that way, then use it to try to surpass me."
Seeing the challenge in Enrico's eyes, the two were filled with determination. Elaris turned to Virelle, bowing to ask something.
"Professor Virelle, please, I'd like to give my rank to Enrico. You must have seen that his level is higher than mine now."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yes, I am… but of course, I'll try to take that rank back in the future."
With determined eyes, Elaris looked directly at Virelle, who nodded after seeing her resolve, saying she would report it to the director. Turning to Enrico, her small smile returned as she raised her hand and placed it on his shoulder.
"Congratulations, Enrico. You've even exceeded my expectations—and with that, you're the third to reach circle three in the class."
"Wait, I'm not the second? If I'm not, then who is?"
"Lira Xuefeng."
"Damn it."