Chapter 317 - Officially Recognized By The Whole Academy

"Forget it. It already happened anyways. *sigh*" Lawrend sighed.

Elena slumped down her shoulders in sadness.

"So, will they just leave?" Lawrend asked and glanced at the audience around them.

"What do you want them to do?" Verkoli asked.

"Nothing. I'm just surprised that so many people wanted to watch our little duel," Lawrend replied.

"That's a given. You may not understand it, but they were curious about you. You suddenly became a celebrity overnight that they wanted to judge you with their very own eyes," Verkoli explained.

"I see. Well then, do we have to return to the academy?" Lawrend asked.

"The two of you need to, but the other students don't have to. I'll hold a meeting," Verkoli replied.

"Should I tell them, Sir Purple Thunder?" Galak asked.

"Inform them that all the students are dismissed for today, and summon the instructors to the grounds of the campus," Verkoli replied.

"I understand, sir," Galak replied, and he flew up into the air and informed the instructors.

"Sorry for the wait. The duel has concluded with Lawrend's victory. Starting today, no one can judge our judgment. He'll be the first Prime Student of the academy since a century," Galak shouted.

"Woooooo!"

"A Prime Student!? I heard that the last Prime Student was the king. This is exciting!"

"What's a Prime Student?"

"A Prime Student is the best student in the academy that fulfills certain criteria. First, they have to be very young. Second, they have to possess great talent. Third, they have to be an Arch Mage."

"Wait… Doesn't that mean…"

"Holy sh*t! I just realized! No way, right!?"

Exclaims of shock sounded through the crowd. They were shocked that Lawrend was already an Arch Mage.

"I know what all of you are thinking. Yes. We believe that Lawrend is already an Arch Mage. His current power is equal to that of an Arch Mage," Galak said with a slight smile on his face.

"WHOOAAAAAA!!"

The audience was shocked beyond disbelief. They didn't exactly know how powerful an Arch Mage spell was, so they were clueless. Only the Arch Mages in the crowd had a slight idea, but they didn't dare to believe it.

"The kingdom will rise soon! We'll conquer the kingdom at the north and expand!" a patriotic person shouted from the audience. He wasn't a student but a citizen of the capital city.

"Sir Purple Thunder Grand Mage is this really true!?" the representative of the Flame Department shouted.

The Flame Department had always been the leading department even when Verkoli became a Grand Mage. It was a huge blow to his ego that the Lightning Department managed to procure a Prime Student.

"You saw what you saw. There's no denying it. That's the power of an Arch Mage. It's not borderline or an illusion," Verkoli calmly replied.

The representative's name was Juen Maja. He always took pride in his department to the point that he felt a sense of superiority to the instructors of the other departments.

"Don't all of the departments have to agree before he becomes a Prime Student? Why did you announce it early?" Juen asked.

"The Dean and I had already decided yesterday, and both of us can make that decision," Verkoli explained.

"That's… unfair," Juen said with his head downcast.

"If you can find a Fire Mage student better than Lawrend, I'll concede his position to that student," Verkoli replied.

"I'm sorry for bothering you," Juen said before he turned around and left.

"What was that about?" Elena asked with displeasure on her face.

"Master, do you want me to take care of him?" Aezel asked. She walked towards them earlier, and she had been standing there silently.

"No need. You can't kill an instructor of the academy," Lawrend replied.

"Lawrend, she's a Lightning Mage too, isn't she?" Verkoli asked.

"Yes, she is." Lawrend nodded his head.

"I knew it. I can feel her power. It's almost as powerful as mine, even…" Verkoli said.

He squinted his eyes and stared at Aezel.

"I serve my master. My master is not your enemy. Thus, I'm not your enemy," Aezel said to him. She realized what he was doing.

"Huh."

Verkoli understood what she implied in her words. Basically, if he made an enemy of Lawrend, she would become his enemy.

"Lawrend, where did you exactly come from?" Verkoli asked.

"Lanika City. Galak already asked that to me before," Lawrend replied with a puzzled look on his face.

"I doubt that. For now, I'll believe your words. I hope you don't mean harm to our kingdom," Verkoli replied solemnly.

"Don't worry. This kingdom is my kingdom too," Lawrend replied.

"Good." Verkoli smiled in satisfaction.

What he didn't realize was that Lawrend's words had a double meaning. It's his kingdom because he was born here, and it 'will' be his kingdom in the future. The deadline was less than three weeks from now.

The audience around them started leaving. The coachmen of the carriages started getting busy and carrying the audience back inside the city. Some opted to just walk as it wasn't that far.

As for the students of the Lightning Department, they lined up and entered into carriages that would take them to the entrance of the academy.

"Let's go. We can reach there faster if we fly," Verkoli said.

"Huh? We can fly in the capital city? Isn't it forbidden?" Lawrend asked in surprise.

"I'll be escorting all of us. There's no problem," Verkoli replied.

All of the instructors gathered behind Verkoli and flew into the air together with Lawrend and his maids.

They flew to the capital city in a V-shaped formation. The guards stationed at the walls of the city were about to intercept them when they saw who was leading the group. Immediately, they stopped looking and continued what they were doing.

The V-shaped formation was very obvious as there were a lot of instructors from the Lightning Department. The onlookers on the city looked up and observed them in curiosity.

Several minutes later, they returned inside the Undrasil Mage Academy.