"Ugh!"

Emerson spurted blood, his spiked red scaled skin was covered in his green blood, his green eyes were shaking.

His lanky body was nowhere to be seen, now replaced with the bulging body of a beast, that of the razor lizard.

Neither his vicious teeth nor his claws saved him from taking a beating at Ezra\'s hands.

Emerson had known he\'d lose, he just didn\'t know how much.

He was a shifter, one with a gifted physique that allowed him to twice his siblings in lesser time.

Yet he\'d lost so wholesomely.

He now understood why Ezra wasn\'t looking forward to the duels from the start.

Emerson thought Ezra was just being arrogant, but the moment the fight began he understood the difference.

Like Benedict, his view of the world was shattered.

\'I thought I was pretty strong\'

Emerson snickered.

\'I thought wrong\'

The meaning of strong was being revised in his mind.

Quickly, Emerson was carried to the healing bay.

At this point, the audience didn\'t even know what to say. The reality that one person had defeated the top six was only setting in when they saw only Umeron remaining.

"Oh my. He\'s not really going to win, is he?"

"You\'re still asking after seeing all that?"

"Well…we\'ll see. The number 1 is about to climb the stage"

Umeron climbed onto the stage, rolling his white sleeves to reveal built biceps.

Talking a stance, he looks to the Mr. Milos, "I\'m ready"

"Ready anytime" replied Ezra.

The duel begins, the dome comes up.

"I hope we can still be friends after this" muttered Umeron, while circling Ezra.

"Friend\'s…" Ezra found the word funny, it left a bitter taste in his mouth. "Sure" he replies.

Umeron\'s expression brightens, he hits his fists against each other. "Well then, here I come"

Then…Bom!

He bursts forth, leaving behind a sonic boom.

Ezra furrows his brows, the force generated didn\'t seem enough to cause a sonic boom.

That mattered least when Umeron\'s thick fist was headed for his face.

\'In that case\' Ezra thought, the blood weapons melted. \'I should try out my fist techniques\'

Ezra took a different stance, straightening his fist.

On cue…Umeron\'s fist arrived.

The duel was on.

Surprisingly, the first contact had Ezra pushed back.

Mostly because he\'d restrained himself, and he didn\'t push back that much.

Noticing the difference, Umeron paused for a few seconds. "Are you going easy on me?!"

"Nope. I\'m testing myself"

"Then don\'t blame me for whatever happens"

"Nothing\'s happening"

"Hmph!" Umeron huffed, sending punches once again.

Ezra dodged and landed a kick straight on his chest, sending Umeron back five feet.

"It seems your sound waves only happen if your attacks connect"

Umeron steadied himself, making no comment while his brain whirred.

\'He figured it out already\'

Underneath he was shocked, most don\'t understand how his attacks work, not to talk off figure out weakness.

Ezra made calculations of his own. \'He\'s good. Using sound to augment his attacks, he disorientates his opponents and then causes damage from the inside out.

Then, he recalled someone with the same characteristics in his past life. \'Thunder fist, so this what you looked when you were young\'

The man he knew and the boy in front of him were completely contrasting, maybe a side effect of his doing, or that the antecedent to the drastic change had yet to occur.

\'I think he died in the war of two fronts?\'

It was called the war of two fronts because while fighting foreign enemies, the east side of Niton-which would later become the kingdom of Roosevelt-rebelled and backstabbed the royal army, leaving them no choice but to flee.

\'Hmm, since I\'ve taken the Mithril, that event would either not happen, or they find another motive\'

All the more reason why couldn\'t rest on his laurels yet.

Training was crucial for the next stages.

He\'d already surpassed his former self in strength, a bit earlier than planned, not that he was complaining, but with personal strength in check, he needed strong allies.

More importantly, he needed to brush up on his lacking knowledge of the Kingdom\'s affairs, how would he talk about becoming Emperor if he knew nothing about Nitin.

Then, with Triton having already graduated, he had to start making his mark and building his reputation before the inevitable battle for succession arrived.

Most importantly, the demon worshippers. They were up to something, and it could never be good news for others.

With how much Sebastian was catching their trials, they were hasty in their actions, meaning something was moving them in urgency.

Ezra took that as a note to also proceed with his plans urgently.

So while he battled Umeron, his mind was counting the next steps to take.

He needed a force of his own, Black Jaws was of his creation, but apart from the top few, no one knew of his involvement.

Placing faith on such things was very dangerous.

Then, he had to study how best to use his affinities, that was the easiest way to increase his combat capabilities,  because it didn\'t seem like he was going to make a breakthrough anytime soon.

The fist fights went on for a while as Ezra tested Umeron\'s tenacity and the practical use of Infinite forms.

Ten minutes later, Umeron willingly surrenders, exhausted from the fight.

Like so, Ezra claimed the Seventh, Sixth, Fifth, Fourth, Third, and First crests.

You had guidelines for duelling.

You can\'t challenge those weaker than you.

Two, depending on rank, a space was given for duel winners to rest.

For the top spots, it was a week. The winners of duels in the top three hundred were allowed rest for a week, in a state where others could not duel them.

The duration got shorter the lower one is.

That was it.

Done for the day, Ezra helps Umeron up and they both walk off the arena.

Reaching the edge, someone called out.

"Hey!"

Ezra turned to see a purple haired girl in a uniform of black and gold like his with a long but thin sword strapped to her side.

"Yes?" He wondered what the problem was.

"Why didn\'t you challenge me?" She asked.

Ezra had to pause, take another look before realizing that she was the number two.

He and Umeron exchanged glances, both wondering what to make of the awkward situation. "I didn\'t duel you because I saw no need to"

The audience burst into murmurs.

"Oh! He doesn\'t even put her in his eyes" one whispered.

"Damn, now I\'ve seen it all"

"He\'s actually looking down on her, this has to be a first"

The girl quivered, embarrassed about the whole thing.

"You\'re looking down on me" she said coldly, drawing her Katana, "I challenge you to a duel"

Ezra looked at Mr. Milos. "Can I reject it?"

"Yes you can"

"Rejected then"

The duel was cancelled.

"Why did you reject it?!" She asked, perplexed.

He waved his hand in a lazy manner, while getting off the arena. "I deem it a waste of time and energy, I\'ve already achieved my aim, so excuse me"

The girl blinked, comprehending the situation.

Now, she stood on the arena with her sword unsheathed, but her opponent ignored her, she couldn\'t imagine how stupid she must look, posing like a idiot.

So, in a bid to save face, she sheathes her blade in a neat fashion and slowly walks off.

\'A duel with me is a waste of time and energy?! How arrogant!\'

She was so irked she walked to the dorm murmuring all the way.

Meanwhile, once Ezra got off the arena.

He gave one to Roxanne and Velora.

"With this, you\'ll easily secure resources. Anyone that challenges you challenges me, so just send them my way"

They smiled, touched by his gratitude and gave a bow before heading off.

He looks to Johan, Ashton and Theron.

"You three will by roommates"

He lightly taps Umeron on the head. "You as well"

"Huh??? Why would I-

"Else I\'ll torment you for the rest of days in the academy. You\'ll either be a friend or nothing at all, chose wisely"

Ezra said it so easily Umeron got chills.

"Alright, I\'ll be your roommate"

Ezra patted him. "Yes, that\'s a very good choice"

"I\'ll have Benedict and Emerson join us once they\'ve recovered"

The four simply nodded.

"Now, let\'s go to the new room"

—-----------

Elsewhere…

"How? Just how?!"

Gwendolyn held her forehead while sipping a glass of one of the best wines as  frustration, fear and anxiety rotated on her head.

The news of the failed assassination had just reached her.

With just that, all wasn\'t bad.

She\'d made sure that the assassin\'s trail would never lead to her.

But the royal army was on the case when the Emperor found out about it.

She simply sipped her wine.

What was done was done.

She didn\'t know how much evidence was left behind nor how the assassination had possibly failed.

She hoped her preparations were enough, and more importantly, she needed to clean out loose ends.

So the moment her personal maid came in to take away the glass of wine, Gwendolyn stabbed her, staring right into her eyes as she muttered, "I\'m sorry"