Chapter 238 Preparing for the Ancient Labyrinth
"Excuse me, I'd like to pass." Helia spoke as she stood before the tall Seven.
"What purpose do you have here?" Seven asked her with a nonchalant expression on her face.
"I'm here for Leo."
"He is currently busy with Lady Scarlet. Come back at another time."
"Sorry, but I do not have much time to spare. I want to speak with him now." Helia refused to budge.
"Unfortunately, that will not happen." Seven said, her expression turning colder by the second.
Because she was essentially forced to wait outside by Lia, Seven was subconsciously acting petty by doing the same thing to Helia.
"Get out of my way. I will not repeat myself." Helia's expression also turned cold, and the atmosphere around them changed drastically.
"The only ones that can command me are the Scarlet Family and Lady Scarlet. If you want me to move, you'll have to force me."
"Then don't blame me for being rude." Helia suddenly raised her arm and pointed her palm at Seven.
'Flame Burst!"
Boom!
A powerful flame exploded out of Helia's palm, consuming Seven's figure.
However, Helia could feel a sudden cold breeze caress her body, and she subconsciously reacted by jumping backward.
The next moment, spikes made of ice emerged from the ground where Helia had just been standing.
Once the flames from the explosion settled, Seven's figure was revealed again, and she was still standing before the door like a guard, seemingly unaffected by Helia's attack.
'This servant… She's stronger than she appears.' Helia could tell at glance that Seven was a formidable opponent— one that even she might not be able to defeat.
"Since you attacked first, what I do next can only be called self-defense…" Seven spoke in a low voice, and her jewel-like emerald eyes began changing colors and glowed a light blue color, one that resembled the color of ice.
Furthermore, the ground around her quickly became frozen in ice.
However, before she could do anything, the door behind her opened, and Leo's voice resounded, "What are you doing?"
Seven turned around to see Leo and Lia standing behind her.
'How did they…?' Seven wondered how they noticed the commotion outside even though nothing had really happened yet.
Unbeknownst to her, there was a ghost-like spirit that could go through walls and see things, and this ghost noticed the situation outside and reported it to Leo.
"Helia? What are you doing here?" Leo ignored Seven and focused on Helia.
"I… I thought you needed a sparring partner, so I came here… But from the looks of it, you already have one…" Helia spoke as she looked at Lia.
"Lady Scarlet… She attacked me first, so this is self-defense." Seven explained their situation before Lia could even question her.
"That's because she refused to let me see Leo, and she even provoked me to force her to move out of the way." Helia sneered.
"Let's just say that both of you are at fault…" Leo sighed.
He looked at Helia and asked, "Did you come here just to spar with me?"
"Not exactly. I was hoping to join your team for the Labyrinth Examination. You're in one, right? The both of you."
Leo and Lia exchanged looks with each other.
"Actually, we're not in a team…" Leo said after a moment of awkward silence.
"Wait… Seriously? We only have 2 days left to register, you know? Or do you really intend on challenging the Ancient Labyrinth by yourself? That's reckless even for someone of your prowess."
"Do you plan on forming a team?" She then asked.
"I don't know. What about you? Why aren't you in a team yet?" Leo asked her.
"I don't have one yet…" She said in a somewhat shameful manner.
"What happened to the students you teamed with during the Wilderness Training Course?"
"The Labyrinth Examination is nothing like the Wilderness Training Course. I cannot fool around for such an important event. My future depends on it, after all." Helia said.
"Fool around? You were fooling around during the Wilderness Training Course?" Leo raised an eyebrow.
"Not literally fooling around. It's more like I wasn't taking it seriously, hence why I had a weak team. I could afford getting a lower grade for the Wilderness Training Course, but I cannot do so for the Labyrinth Examination, and this year, I want to team up with you, the strongest student— students in our academy. With the three of us working together, I have confidence that we would be able to reach at least 20 floors, perhaps even 30 floors."
After a moment of silence because Leo didn't know how to respond, Helia continued, "Please… The result of this examination is very important to me… I refused every other offer because I wanted to be in your team. I know I am being unreasonable, even a little reckless, but I have no other choice."
"Uhh… Can you give us a moment to talk about it first?" Leo asked.
"Of course. Take as long as you need— at least before the registration ends."
Leo went back inside the training building with Lia and closed the door, giving them some privacy.
"What do you think? Do you want to team up with Helia for the Labyrinth Examination?"
"I will do whatever you decide to do. If you decide to team up with her, I won't refuse."
"Are you sure? You don't have to force yourself, you know."
"It's fine, really. I don't mind it."
Once they— Leo came to a decision, they went back outside to let Helia know of the results.
"I don't mind forming a team with you, but I have one condition." Leo said.
"I will do anything as long as it's within my power."
"While we are inside the Ancient Labyrinth, if I ask you to stay behind, you will do exactly that, no questions asked." Leo said.
"That's it…?" Helia was baffled by how simple his condition was, not could she understand the reason behind it.