After his defeat, Dylan was treated at the clinic. After the beautiful teacher and magician used healing magic, he changed into a new uniform and left the clinic.
He headed to the hotel where his parents were staying. When Anelia saw her son approaching, she ran and hugged him tightly.
"Mother, I'm fine." You don't have to worry," said Dylan, hugging his mother and then letting her go so he could walk over to his father. "Father, I did it."
"I'm proud of you. Here, this will help you at the Academy," said Demian, handing his son a magical storage ring.
Dylan was curious to know what the ring contained, but he restrained himself to act humbly. After dinner with his parents, they informed him that they would be returning to the viscountcy.
...
At night.
Lying in his bed, Dylan threw the magic ring into the air and then caught it.
"20,000 gold coins and a mid-level magic staff." Not bad, thought Dylan, who had already checked the contents of the ring.
Only the final fights of the tournament remain, which will be in a few days. The fact that Alger and Zia participated as promising fighters made things easier for me. Dylan placed the ring on the index finger of his right hand and lay down to sleep.
...
The next morning.
Dylan was reading some papers that Evon had brought him.
"Alger Cremore was an orphan; he showed great talent, which is considered a blessing from heaven. After Marquis Dileriant heard about a child who, at a young age, worked with adventurers hunting magical beasts and going to low-level dungeons, he decided to adopt him and educate him to increase his family's prestige. Although the adoption was ultimately replaced by a guardianship arrangement, because the marquis has a daughter whose talent is average and he has considered marrying her to Alger."
Dylan placed the papers on the desk.
Evon, who had been standing, was very frightened, and when he felt Dylan's gaze, he clarified excitedly:
"Dylan, this is only preliminary research. I will investigate further."
Dylan just smiled, burned the papers with magic, having already read the important parts.
"I haven't said anything," Dylan said.
Evon felt his stomach growl, then remembered that Dylan had asked him for some quality liquor.
"Soon, soon I'll get the quality liquor," Evon added.
"You may leave," Dylan instructed him.
Evon didn't even dare to feel indignant, because he was afraid Dylan would notice and torture him on the spot.
...
The hours passed, and as dusk approached, Miriam entered Dylan's room.
Dylan was lying on the bed at that moment.
Miriam looked around the comfortable, spacious room and walked over to the chair near the desk.
"The finalists are Zia Distanian and Alger Cremore." They won with relative ease," said Miriam, who had been sent by Dylan to observe the tournament.
"It was almost obvious. That Alger is not weak at all for his age, although if I compare him to myself, I could kill him without any problems if it weren't for the Academy's rules. I think he will be strong in the future. On the other hand, Zia was facing a mid-level noble, since the rest of the students chosen as promising candidates during the written exam did not participate in the tournament. If that noble tried to beat her, he is a big fool. From a political point of view, beating Zia is equivalent to challenging a high-ranking noble," Dylan stared at the ceiling above him as he continued to think about how to spend the next few days.
...
The tournament passed, and since there were magicians and warriors in the kingdom's capital whose power was not insignificant, who belonged to guilds or were in the service of nobles, Dylan preferred not to perform good deeds so as not to be too obvious.
In the end, the tournament was won by Alger Cremore, who strove to defeat Zia Distanian.
Alger's victory in the tournament, combined with his ranking in the written exams, earned him the position of representative for the first-year students.
In a lavish and impressive ceremony, both Alger and Zia were rewarded for their achievements.
The rest of the Promises were given four magic rings by servants from the Academy. Each student with the title of Promise could choose the ring they wanted.
...
At the entrance to Dylan's room.
Dylan saw the elegantly dressed servant holding a gold tray with four rings on it.
Dylan thanked him and took the ring with the 50,000 gold coins. He didn't even look at the contents of the other rings because, with his level of power, the rest of the prizes would be useless to him.
...
"I did it, now I have a considerable amount of gold coins. If I consider what I got in the past from selling the things I took from the mansion of those nobles who abandoned their city and its inhabitants, my current fortune amounts to more than 400,000 gold coins. I think that with the amount of money I currently have, I can buy some top-quality slaves and enjoy the pleasures; in the end, it's not my fault that slavery exists in this world," Dylan laughed and sat down as he store the ring with the gold coins in the ring his father had given him.
Dylan lay down on the edge of his bed.
"Now, I just have to get through the incident at the end of the year, and the rest of my years at the Academy will be easy. I remember that the protagonist barely survived.
I haven't seen that student named Andrew Discant. I think he was one of the ones who caused the bloody incident. It would be best not to go near him, or I'll interrupt his plans and who knows what hell might break loose," Dylan concluded.
Dylan rested for the rest of the day. In the afternoon, he went out to train a little.
...
A few days later, when the number of magicians and warriors in the city had decreased after the tournament ended.
At nightfall, Dylan put on his hood and tattered robe and went out to visit the most disadvantaged areas of the city.