Immediately Arthur had dealt with him, the system glowed golden with a series of words.

[congratulations on completing the quest!]

Arthur didn't focus on the rewards for now, rather he shifted his attention to glance at the crowd briefly.

With a chuckle he swung his sword and cast Gabriella a cheeky glance before approaching her location and leaving the crowd stunned.

It took a short while for the announcer to recover.

"Winner. Calamity Sovereign."

With 5 victories in a row, although his opponents weren't too strong, Arthur had been placed among some of the most impressive new fighters in the arena.

...

After walking for a few paces he reached Gabriella.

"You did quite well." Gabriella praised with a smile before slowly standing up.

"Let's head back. I just wanted to confirm your strength."

Arthur was silent for a brief instant before nodding. Along the way he glanced at Gabriella curiously before asking,

"You're the clown right? That's why you brought me here so I too can obtain 10 victories in a row."

Gabriella smirked then calmly waved the topic away. "What do you think?"

Arthur was speechless. What was he supposed to think?

He was merely just making some guesses.

In silence the two continued on their way back to the academy.

"Did you call me out just to fight 5 battles?"

Arthur noticed Gabriella was acting strange and he couldn't understand her reason for such behavior.

"I wanted to spend some time with you." Gabriella replied indifferently.

Her words, however, caused Arthur's eyes to widen in surprise, not expecting her to be so bold.

"In that case we haven't spent enough time, right?" Arthur teased with a laugh.

"It's enough for now. I'll come see you some other time." Gabriella replied with a cool gaze.

Arthur wanted to push further but ultimately fell silent and just turned to stare at the beauty, Gabriella.

Gabriella also slowed down her steps before pausing upon noticing Arthur wasn't moving.

She crossed her hands over her chest with a frown before continuing on her way.

Arthur exhaled then increased his pace to match hers.

Soon they arrived at the entrance to the academy's dormitory.

Reaching there, Gabriella waved at Arthur as she turned around and began walking away.

"Take care of yourself. And if you need anything don't hesitate to reach out, I've already put my number in your phone."

"Take care of yourself too." Arthur also waved towards her, feeling some reluctance to let her leave.

He wanted to say something, his eyes filled with reluctance, but ultimately fell silent and didn't interrupt her departure...

No one knew what thoughts were going through Gabriella's mind while she spent time with Arthur or why she did so at all.

The moment Gabriella left, Arthur summoned the Assassin Empress to ensure his safety.

Sneakily he entered into the dormitory before drifting off to sleep once more.

...

Time dragged on and more than a week passed in the blink of an eye.

Just as Arthur returned once more from another trip to the arena with Gabriella his phone buzzed.

Curious, he quickly pulled it out to see who was calling him or had messaged him.

Surprisingly it wasn't Gabriella like he had expected, rather it was... Aella?

Having not seen a message from this cold beauty, Arthur even forgot he gave her his number.

Her message read...

Aella: I took a mission on dungeons exploring. During the period of the mission we're tasked with clearing at least 30 dungeons.

A chance.

Arthur's eyes lit up in excitement.

His strength had been growing at a steady pace and he had been seeking a way to increase that of his summons.

In fact, despite it being just one week, Arthur was already quite bored of the academy.

If it wasn't for the time he usually spent with Gabriella, he would have long since died of boredom.

Aella: are you interested in joining?

Arthur thought for a few seconds before typing a reply.

Since this was a chance for his summons to grow he wouldn't miss it.

"Yes, when's the mission starting?"

Aella: meet me at the academy's gate in 10 minutes.

"Okay," Arthur replied back and received an emoji from her.

With that he hurriedly took his bath and quickly dressed in a blue training gear before leaving.

Arriving at the gate Arthur was met with Aella, however he soon frowned because beside her was Jacob.

Jacob glanced at Arthur then narrowed his eyes.

"Is he the friend you told me we're waiting for?" Jacob turned to the cold Aella and asked with a frown.

Aella nodded before gently explaining, "Arthur is quite an important member of the party, don't underestimate him. Besides, having him is just the same as having two teammates instead of one."

Jacob understood her line of reasoning, but he still didn't like the fact that Arthur was coming with them.

Shrugging, Arthur casually walked to Aella's side.

"Are we waiting for anyone else?"

Aella shook her head then turned to Jacob with an indifferent expression.

"Let's go."

After she finished speaking she began walking away.

Jacob glanced at Arthur before snorting and following along with her.

Arthur also increased his pace to match theirs.

With that the three quickly walked in the direction of the academy gate.

After a few minutes of walking Arthur and the duo crossed through the gate with some checks from the guards.

Then, they passed through the grassland and into the city.

The silence didn't settle well with Arthur, so he opened his mouth to casually chat with Aella.

"Why did you suddenly choose a mission?"

Aella paused briefly in her steps then continued, "Because my points were running low. I also need a huge amount to purchase something important in the store."

"Oh," Arthur nodded at the reasonable thought, then glanced at Jacob through the corner of his eyes before whispering, "Why did you include him? You and I can handle everything ourselves."

"Just to be certain of our safety. He's one of the strongest in our class, and he isn't as bad as you think, you guys just got off on the wrong foot."

"Oh." Arthur said aloud then changed the topic.

Along the way Jacob clicked his tongue constantly, feeling like the third wheel during the mission.

There were even times where he wanted to abort it and leave it for the two, but knowing he would be doing her a favor he ultimately decided not to quit.

Before long, the trio arrived at the city.

They had to pass through the city before finally leaving the academy grounds.

"We should purchase the things we need in the meantime before finally leaving the city," Aella said, turning to both men.

"Alright. I have a few things to buy anyway." Jacob said disinterestedly.

"We'll come back here after three hours to meet up before leaving. Is that okay with everyone?"

"Fine by me," Arthur nodded.

Jacob shrugged then placed his hands into his pocket and casually departed.

Aella gave Arthur a look then walked towards a marketplace.

Left alone, Arthur glanced around at the bustling lively street.

A few meters away there was a loud merchant shouting about information relating to the outside world, so Arthur decided to start from there.

With brisk steps he lightly approached the location.

Atop the shop were written the words, "detailed information about the outside world."

It seemed to be a poster and with the people flocking in and out of the shop Arthur understood that the shop at least held some credibility to it.

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