The director and the deans, who had been watching Trey's screen, had also found themselves involuntarily enjoying the sight, though it did not last long. Touching his emblem, the director brought up the final rankings and saw who had taken first place, along with those who followed behind.
— Having won our bet, I hereby confirm stufon Trey as a participant in the Tournament of the Six Academies. Since no one objects, let us move on to the next matter. I have not forgotten those stufons who received assistance from you, deans. I order their expulsion from the academy—the rules of the trial were violated.
Suga Tin shifted his gaze from the screen displaying the third trial to the deans. They merely pressed their lips together and lowered their heads, accepting their fate.
— Good. Remind the Queen of the Light Elves and the King that this is not their childish sandbox, where they may play without consequences.
Having delivered his final orders in a cold voice, Suga Tin left the office.
The deans had no choice but to accept the director's decision. Any objection could incur his wrath, and that was something they wished to avoid at all costs. Suga Tin was a mage gifted with three talents at once: fire, ice, and water. Moreover, he was an S-rank mage, whose strength was acknowledged by both kings and emperors alike.
After standing there for a few more seconds, the deans followed after the director, who was already waiting for the appearance of the stufons at the same arena.
Portals began opening one after another, releasing drowsy stufons. Some of them had not yet checked the results list, so they remained confident in their standings and looked at their rivals with the same old assurance.
Another group, which included the top five strongest, appeared far less relaxed. Their grim gazes were fixed on a single half-elf standing apart from the others, calmly staring at the sky.
Nreu and Heya had awakened just a few minutes before the end of the trial and had immediately decided to check the rankings.
At first, both of them thought there had been some kind of malfunction in their emblems.
But for the same error to appear for both of them?
Impossible.
First place belonged to Trey.
Next came the light elf, whose expression made it obvious he was irritated at losing his lead. Behind him were Nreu and Heya.
None of the three could understand how a single half-elf had managed to surpass them while they had been fighting as a group.
He had help.
But from whom?
The professors? Or perhaps even the deans together with the director?
Nreu was already about to approach Trey when he noticed the appearance of three figures watching them.
The stands remained empty—no one wanted to oversleep for classes or ruin others' impression of them before training had even begun, so the conclusion of the third trial passed in near-total silence.
— Congratulations to all who have passed the third trial. stufons, you are now officially accepted into the academy. You have proven yourselves worthy of standing among us.
The director's voice spread throughout the entire arena, gradually silencing all conversations.
— I suggest we now take a look at who placed where. After that, depending on your ranking in the trial, you will receive rewards from the academy.
As he continued speaking, the director slowly swept his gaze across the stufons, briefly lingering on the top five.
Hearing no objections, he touched his emblem.
A large screen lit up in the center of the arena before everyone, displaying the list of results.
Everyone immediately began searching for their own names.
Some rejoiced upon seeing a high placement. Others looked dejected, disappointed by their rank.
But all of them were united by one thing.
Annoyance toward the one who occupied the first line.
Meanwhile, Trey, as though completely unaware of the stares directed at him, stood with his eyes closed in a relaxed posture. That calmness only irritated the others further.
— Esteemed Director, forgive my boldness, but I believe stufon Trey violated the rules of the trial in order to secure first place.
The sudden voice caused everyone present, including the director and the deans, to turn toward the speaker.
It was Nreu.
His irritation had only grown worse from the fact that Trey continued pretending as though he noticed neither him nor anyone else.
Nreu sincerely believed Trey had somehow deceived the academy's system.
— These are serious accusations, stufon Nreu. Do you have evidence?
The director turned his gaze to Nreu, who stood on the left. Under that gaze, Nreu involuntarily lowered his head.
— No. But I refuse to believe that one pathetic half-elf is capable of surpassing us in talent. Us—the future pillars of empires and kingdoms!
Nreu practically shouted the last words.
He had tried to maintain composure, but Trey's indifferent reaction to his accusation had finally pushed him over the edge.
A tense silence spread through the arena.
— stufon Nreu, for words such as those, I have every right to expel you from the academy, forbid your empire from sending applicants here in the future, and distribute recommendations to other academies not to accept anyone from the Krey Empire.
The director's voice remained cold and even.
He understood perfectly well that the prince had been wounded by defeat at the hands of a half-elf of ignoble birth.
But he had no intention of allowing noble blood supremacy to take root within the walls of his academy.
Many stufons gave barely noticeable nods, agreeing with Nreu's words that Trey did not deserve first place because of suspicions of cheating.
However, what Nreu said next instantly caused even those who had agreed with him mere seconds earlier to turn away.
If the director expelled someone from the academy, that alone was not the worst outcome.
Most empires and kingdoms had more than one prince or princess, so the loss of a single heir was hardly catastrophic.
But if the director prohibited the academy from accepting any representative of that empire or kingdom, the situation changed entirely.
There would be only one option left—enroll in another academy.
The problem was that the director could also approach the other five academies and request that they refuse admission to anyone from the country placed under his ban.
Of course, such a decision would require certain concessions from his academy toward the others, but if they agreed, it could mark the beginning of the end for that nation.
Without access to the academies, the new generation of mages would inevitably begin falling behind neighboring countries, and over time, the state simply would not withstand external pressure.
And if the rulers learned the cause of such a disaster and the name of the one responsible, they would eliminate him without the slightest hesitation, hoping to demonstrate repentance to the academies and offer apologies for the actions of the fool who had provoked such a conflict.
Heya could only pray internally that the director was not quite that bloodthirsty.
She had been warned about Nreu's short temper and excessive impulsiveness, but even she had not imagined he would dare behave this way directly in front of the director.
— I apologize for what I said earlier, but I am still convinced that stufon Trey did not earn first place fairly.
Nreu's voice trembled more with every word.
Fear was gradually overtaking pride.
His legs stopped obeying him, and unable to maintain his balance, he dropped to his knees and bowed his head.
Only now did he fully realize just how dangerous the words he had spoken truly were.
But it was already too late.
— It is good when young people are capable of acknowledging their mistakes.
The director's voice became noticeably calmer.
Shifting his gaze to Trey, Suga Tin studied him for a brief moment.
— stufon Trey, how do you explain your ability to take first place alone?
Silence once again settled over the arena.
All eyes instantly shifted to Trey.
— Thanks to my technique, Director, I was able to defeat monsters stronger than myself.
Trey's calm voice sounded steady and confident.
He looked directly into the director's eyes without showing even a trace of unease.
Suga Tin saw nothing in his gaze except cold composure.
No irritation. No surprise.
That only further fueled the director's curiosity.
— Can you demonstrate this technique for us?
Trey silently nodded.
Closing his eyes, he became motionless.
At first, nothing happened.
But only a second later, the space beside him trembled.
Three figures slowly began to manifest next to him.
The first to appear was an orc.
His massive figure towered over the others. In one hand, he held an enormous shield that completely concealed his body, while in the other rested a broad sword.
Next came two elves.
They looked nearly identical, differing only in their weapons.
One held a curved sword.
The other carried a long staff.
But what drew the most attention was their equipment.
The shield, swords, and staff were bright crimson, as though the metal itself had been soaked in blood.
A chill ran down everyone's spines at the mere sight of them.
And then everyone felt it.
A gaze.
Cold, heavy, and utterly devoid of emotion—a gaze emanating from the three creatures.
Almost all the stufons instinctively stepped back several paces.
An empty space formed around Trey.
Nreu felt cold sweat trickle down his back.
His instincts were screaming at him.
Any one of those three could deal with him effortlessly.
The director, watching the scene unfold, involuntarily parted his lips.
Seeing something like this through a screen was one thing.
Experiencing it in person was something else entirely.
A screen could not convey the aura or pressure of those beings.
Suga Tin felt it in full.
But what troubled him most was something else.
The fourth creature.
The one Trey had not shown.
The director had already formed a theory regarding which talent this technique belonged to.
And he sincerely hoped he was wrong.
Because if he was even partially correct...
A new war might sweep across the world.
— You may dismiss them, stufon Trey. I believe it is now obvious to everyone present that you did not resort to tricks.
Trey dispelled the figures.
The pressure hanging over the arena gradually dissipated.
— stufon Nreu, rise from your knees.
Nreu obeyed.
— As punishment for your distrust toward the academy and your baseless accusations, you are removed from the top ten strongest and reassigned to fifteenth place.
Touching his emblem, the director altered the rankings.
Nreu's name disappeared from the top five.
A moment later, it appeared in the fifteenth slot.
Nreu's fingers slowly curled into fists.
This was public humiliation.
But what wounded him most was something else.
Trey did not even look at him.
As though Nreu did not exist at all.
— Everyone is dismissed except those who made it into the top ten strongest.
The remaining stufons headed toward the exit.
Once the arena had emptied, the director led those who remained behind him.
Soon, they entered an office where the deans were already waiting.
After a brief reward ceremony for those ranked from tenth to fourth, only the top three remained inside.
A light elf.
A human.
A half-elf.
A rather strange group.
— I see no reason to announce your rewards separately.
The director spoke calmly.
— Heya, Lei'Syu, Trey. For your achievements in the third trial and for placing among the top three strongest, you are each awarded ten thousand currency, one year of access to the library up to the sixth floor, as well as a private room in the dormitory reserved for the academy's strongest stufons.
After a brief pause, he continued:
— In addition, each of you will be assigned servants, whom you may choose yourselves.
— Esteemed Director, deans, I would like to decline the servants provided by the academy. My personal maid will be arriving soon.
Silence filled the office.
The director and deans stared at Trey in silence, processing what they had just heard.
A personal maid?
How could a half-elf possibly have a properly trained maid?
— stufon Trey, are you certain your maid will be capable of fulfilling her duties within academy grounds?
The director's voice grew more serious.
— This is not your empire, where a servant may make a mistake and escape consequences. Here, the owner bears full responsibility for all actions of their servant.
— I am certain.
The answer came without hesitation.
— My maid will outshine even those who serve royalty and imperial families. With all due respect.
After saying this, Trey bowed first to the director and the deans, then to Heya and Lei'Syu.
Judging by their expressions, both were barely restraining their irritation.
— Arrogance suits no one, stufon Trey.
The director began speaking, but suddenly fell silent.
His emblem glowed softly with mana.
Someone was attempting to contact him.
Suga Tin touched the emblem, listened to a brief message, after which the corners of his lips slowly lifted.
He turned his gaze back to Trey.
A rare smile appeared on the director's face.
— Well then... It seems we have an opportunity to test your words sooner than I expected.
He leaned back slightly in his chair.
— Let us see just how capable your maid truly is.
At that moment, Suga Tin looked almost like a child promised a fine performance.