The battle between Gaius and Marcus ended up in a draw.
Many were surprised by this outcome, having expected that Marcus would win since he was a magician. However, Alex knew better.
Gaius wasn’t an ordinary barbarian. He was a genius of the barbarian race and had learned how to wield an aura as early as his first year in the academy.
Marcus’ spells were certainly powerful, but they were useless as long as Gaius could evade and tank them with his own body with the help of his aura.
The two of them were in the middle stages of Rank 3, making them true powerhouses in their own right.
In comparison, Alex’s master, Cairo, was on the cusp of breaking through into a Rank 4 Demon Slayer.
The Catkin’s reason for traveling around the Kingdom of Avalon was related to this. He believed that gaining more experience while honing his swordsmanship could help with his progress.
Alex firmly believed that the next time they met, his master would be a step closer to becoming a Heaven’s Sword.
As his thoughts drifted to his master, the crowd started dispersing since the amazing battle between Gaius and Marcus had already ended.
Several of the students were heading to the cafeterias to eat, so Alex decided to follow suit.
But just like how there were separate dormitories for the noble students and scholars, they also had their respective cafeterias.
In the cafeteria for scholarship students, food was served in a buffet.
Although the food was undoubtedly good, they were dishes easily found in the taverns and stalls lining the streets of the City of Harmonia.
The cafeteria for the nobility, on the other hand, was more refined, more spacious, and more luxurious.
All the food served there was of the highest quality. The noble students could even enjoy exotic dishes from neighboring kingdoms!
Alex knew all this, but he didn’t really care.
For him, food was food.
During his time on earth, he had eaten unhealthy food, like instant noodles, nearly every day. Compared to that, the buffet food was more delicious and varied.
When he arrived at the cafeteria, he saw Lavinia, Nessia, Charles, and Phoebe sharing a table together.
They didn’t notice Alex right away since they were busy chatting with each other.
The young man hurriedly filled his and Dim Dim’s plates before joining his friends.
Just as he was about to reach their table, Chuck called out to him.
"Alex! Over here!" Chuck waved in his direction. "I’m the only one eating at this table. Come and join me."
Alex pretended that Chuck was speaking an ancient language he couldn’t understand and promptly sat down beside Charles.
The last thing he wanted was to have his food suddenly turn to charcoal! He wouldn’t put it past Chuck to play with other people’s food.
Just as Alex thought that he had managed to escape, Chuck stood up and walked to their table with a smile.
"Hello, everyone, I am Alex’s roommate, Chuck No Rizz," Chuck introduced himself. "May I join your table? It’s very lonely over there."
"You can join us," Charles replied.
He had always been a kind person, so he didn’t hesitate to agree to Chuck’s request.
"You’re a good guy!" Chuck exclaimed as he sat beside Alex. "Can we be friends?"
"Why not?" Charles smiled. "My name is Charles Lambert. You can call me Charles."
"Good!" Chuck reached out to shake Charles’ hand. "From now on, you are my second best friend in the academy!"
"... Second best friend?" Charles blinked.
"Yes." Chuck nodded. "I made Alex my first best friend so... Owwww!"
After hearing that the handsome teen had made Alex his first best friend, Charles accidentally gripped Chuck’s hand harder, making the latter cry out in pain.
"I’m sorry!" Charles hurriedly apologized. "I didn’t know what came over me. Are you hurt?"
"Kuh... Calm down, my right hand," Chuck murmured as he grabbed his right hand with his left hand. "It is not time for the dragon to awaken. We must wait for the right moment and offer some sacrifices to make you descend on this world."
"..." Alex facepalmed. He had forgotten that aside from being a troublemaker, his roommate was also suffering from a rather severe case of eighth-grade syndrome.
Seeing Charles staring blankly at Chuck, Alex lightly coughed.
"Ignore him," Alex said. "He’s going through a... phase."
Chuck gasped. "Phase? You dare insult the awakening of the Eternal Flame of my right hand?! It has a name, you know?"
Charles blinked again, unsure if he and Chuck were speaking the same language. He could understand Chuck’s words individually, but together, they made little sense. "I’m afraid to ask, but... what’s its name?"
Chuck narrowed his eyes, then whispered ominously, "Crimson Wrath, the Devourer of Souls. I usually seal the powers in my right hand, but sometimes it just goes out of control and starts to devour the souls around me."
While chewing thoughtfully on a meatball, Alex looked at Chuck, then at Charles, then at Chuck again. ’This is either the start of a very deep friendship... or a very weird sitcom. I just hope that Chuck will not be a bad influence on Charles.’
Dim Dim looked at this scene with amusement as it continued to eat silently.
It could tell that Chuck was a good person despite his... eccentricities.
"You know, I’ve been meaning to ask, but what’s this thing?" Chuck pointed at Dim Dim. "Is it a monster?"
"No," Alex replied. "Dim Dim is a Nature Spirit."
"Oh! This is the third time I’m seeing a nature spirit." Chuck looked at Dim Dim with great interest. "It looks so cute and seems super dependable!"
"Ahem~" Dim Dim raised its body proudly as if affirming the teenage boy’s words.
"What is your name, little one?" Chuck inquired.
"Dim Dim," the Dim Sum God replied.
"Nice to meet you, Dim Dim."
"Do you have any special abilities?" Chuck asked.
"Oh! You can summon delicious food to eat. Amazing! I’ve never seen a Nature Spirit that can do that."
Alex watched the two and smiled faintly. In a way, Dim Dim and Chuck had many things in common.
Both of them were innocent in their own way and liked to see the world in a positive light.
’I hope they will be good friends,’ Alex thought. ’Maybe Chuck had been a troublemaker because he was lonely.’
Since he hadn’t played Chuck’s character before, he had no idea what he was truly like.
Alex only knew of Chuck as a troublemaker since he often made some kind of trouble within the academy.
Regardless of what route a player took, as long as they were inside Frieden Academy, Chuck would always appear in their scenario.
Just as everyone was eating, a group of people entered the cafeteria.
All of them were wearing uniforms, and the person leading them had an emblem decorated with a golden lion on his left chest.
’I smell trouble,’ Alex thought. ’That is the emblem of the Elite Class.’
Within the academy, students were also given Ranks.
Those who possessed the emblem of the Golden Lions were the "Elites" of the academy, and only those who possessed great talent, great wealth, and great connections had them.
The scholarship students didn’t possess any emblems yet. They would only receive an emblem if they accomplished a great feat or if they were scouted by the division heads of the academy. Each division had its own emblem.
For example, the emblem of the Alchemist Division was a flame inside a potion bottle.
However, it was left to the academy’s discretion as to who among the students was worthy to wear an emblem on their uniforms, signifying them as elites of their respective fields.
"All of you, don’t do anything," Alex said in a volume that only his friends could hear. "We don’t want trouble, right?"
Alex’s friends all nodded their heads in agreement.
However, there was one person who had become surprisingly quiet when the group of people appeared.
It was none other than Chuck, who had lowered his head. It was as if he was doing his best to avoid being recognised by someone within that elite group. Unfortunately, they were now walking toward him.