The mist cleared up, showing Zane standing, looking at his hands beneath his feet the ground was completely destroyed.
"This Freshman is dangerous. How did he get his hands on that skill?" Students started discussing.
"As I expected, he is more than just a monster," Leon said while standing up, his eyes wide open.
"How about we finish this?" Zane said while looking at Eveline, Leon, and Elena.
"Nope. We are fine. We don’t want to die yet!" Leon said while jumping down from the stage.
"Huh, is he crazy? Who would want to fight a monster like that?"Some students started to whisper to each other.
"Interesting. This year we have a group of strong brats . Let’s recruit them into our guild ," a man wearing gold armor sitting near the V.I.P. room ordered.
"Don’t you think you are too quick? And are you forgetting you are not the only adventure guild here?" another one who was wearing black armor said.
"Why are you guys so boring?" a woman wearing light green armor said.
"So, which one are you going to recruit? You know you can’t take them all, right?" a man wearing light white armor said while fixing his gaze upon Zane.
"You’ve already started making discussions and ordering us around, Jacob!" the man who was wearing gold armor said, an angry expression on his face.
"Do you have any issue with that? After all, your guild has enough tough fighters, yet you’re still trying to get more," Jacob said while grinding his teeth.
"Don’t you think this is not a place where we can fight?" the woman with the green studs said nicely.
"Shut up, Praise!" Jacob and Vade shouted at Praise, who was sitting in the middle of them.
"You are fighting, but how are you guys going to recruit that guy? As you can see how strong he is, he is not going to be easy to recruit ," the man with the black armor asked.
"You are right, Gram. It’s not going to be easy even Princess Sofia said so," Jade said and sighed.
"That’s easy. That guy is not looking for fame or the spotlight, so we can just offer him a position that allows him to operate in the shadows, that’s all," Jacob said while looking at Zane.
"Well, it’s not going to be easy since Princess Freya put in a lot of effort to make him fight according to what Praise said."
"Recruiting that guy will be a waste of time," a little girl’s voice echoed from behind them.
"And why is that?" Jacob asked while turning to see who it was.
"That guy is not looking to join a faction or a guild unless you have something that benefits him in the future ," the woman said.
"And who are you?" Jade asked.
"I am Maria, Princess Sofia’s guard," Maria said.
"Maria? As in Maria the dark Assassin?" Jacob asked.
"What brings someone like you here?" Praise asked.
"None of your business. And don’t even try using your dirty tricks on Prince Zane, or you will die," Maria said as she stood up and left.
"So what Sofia said was true Zane’s growth can be compared to father’s," Freya thought while coming down from the V.I.P. room and heading down to where Zane and the others were.
Zane then put away his sword and started to go where Eveline, Leon, and Elena were standing . As he walked past Freya, he whispered in her ear:
"I don’t know why you did this, but you better not try it again."
He then walked away.
"It seems I really pissed him off," Freya said and smiled.
"Zane!" Maria called out at the entrance as people were leaving the arena.
"Maria, what are you doing here?" Zane asked while shaking her hand.
"Ooh, hey Leon, do you know who that girl talking to Zane is?" Eveline asked while pointing at Maria.
"Ooh, that woman is Maria. She is Princess Sofia’s guard," Leon replied.
"What is their relationship?" Eveline asked, her gaze set on Maria who was laughing with Zane.
"I don’t know," Leon said.
"There is no need to be worked up about . She has been guarding Zane since he was about eight years old," Freya interjected, approaching them.
"So what brings you here, Maria? And where is Sister Sofia?" Zane asked, looking around.
"She is on a mission," Maria replied.
"On a mission? What mission?" Zane asked.
"To catch those guys who have been capturing dragons," Maria replied as she walked out of the arena with Zane by her side.
"So those guys are still causing trouble," Zane said.
Meanwhile, Eveline was walking fast to catch up with them.
"So this is why you left that quickly," Eveline asked, pushing both of them aside.
"Eveline, when did you get here?" Zane asked with a smile.
"Ooh, is that what you should be saying?" Eveline asked while grabbing Zane’s shoulder.
"Zane, who is this?" Maria asked while pointing at Eveline.
"Oh, she is my fiancée, Eveline," Zane said while gently removing Eveline’s hand and holding it.
"Nice to meet you. I am Maria, Princess Sofia’s guard," Maria said while bowing politely.
"Ooh, I see. So how about we continue your conversation?" Eveline said and started walking between them.
"So, Prince Zane, a few weeks ago before Sofia left, she sent me here. But since I didn’t see you in the competition so I waited for you, she said if you don’t see her in the Continental competition you have to come and find her in the Ice Mountain," Maria explained.
"Huh! Why would she say that?" Zane stopped walking and asked.
"I don’t know, but according to what I heard from Grace, who left with her, high-ranking demons have entered the kingdom and destroyed the city near the border," Maria said while looking down.
"I see," he said and started walking again.
"Zane, are these the same ones you fought in Demon Mountain?" Eveline asked.
"They must be in the same group, but the one I fought had not yet fused with its power so I don’t know how strong they really are ," Zane replied, his face turning pale.
"So what are you going to do?" Eveline asked.
"It’s simple. Zane has to become stronger," Freya interjected as she caught up to them.Elena and Leon were off to the side.
"Princess Freya, I don’t know what you are up to, but don’t try any dirty tricks or else you will regret it," Zane said, fixing his gaze on Freya.
"What do you mean? Is it about the fight? Sorry if I went too far," Freya said, tilting her head to the right.
Everyone standing there just looked at Freya as she smiled.
"Fine. I did that to see how strong you are, and also to try to recruit you to help Arthur ascend the throne," she explained while sitting on a small bench near a yellow flower garden.
"Huh? You guys are already recruiting each other for the throne?" Leon asked, his eyes wide.
"Yeah. Everyone knows Arthur is loved by the people in the kingdom, but being loved does not mean he can become the King," Freya explained, looking at Leon.
"What do you mean? And what if I want to campaign too, or if Zane wants to?" Leon asked.
"Well, if it’s you, you will never become King with your personality—and you can never win against the First Prince," Maria explained.
"That’s true," Freya agreed.
"What’s wrong with my personality?" Leon asked.
"Who would want a person who likes to play with other people’s lives to be a king?" Freya asked.
"Fine. So you want to go against my elder brother? Are you guys crazy? You know that guy is crazier than me," Leon said.
"That’s why we are recruiting Zane and the others," Freya said.
"What kind of person is he?" Zane asked.
Everyone kept quiet for a few moments, looking at each other.
"He is the kind of man who takes whatever he wants by force," Freya broke the silence.
"Like what?" Zane asked.
"For example, he once killed an entire village just so he could catch one person."
"Wait, is he even human?" Zane asked, his eyes wide in shock.
"There was once a rumor of him making a deal with the Devil," Freya said.
"Huh? So he is a demon?" Zane suggested.
"Those are two different things, Zane," Eveline said, putting her hand on her forehead.
"Yeah, demons come from the Underworld, while Devils are from the Abyss," Freya explained.
"What’s the difference? Don’t they look the same and act the same?" Zane said, looking at Frey and Eveline .
"They are different in how they act and how they use their power. And Devils are way stronger than demons, according to what I read!" Freya said.
"If that’s so, he is really strong," Zane said and started walking.
They then continued walking and spent the afternoon together before separating. Zane went to their tower, Freya went back to the Palace, and Maria headed to the Ice Mountain where Sofia was.