Chapter 118: A frog in a well!
Chapter 118: A frog in a well!
With several magician families and the members of the academy standing across the barrier, the tension in the air, to say the least, was too great, enough for many to stand on guard as a fight could break out at any moment.
“Younger brother, do you dare to make a bet?” said the young lord of the Regis Family, Richard Regis, the only son of the sixty-year-old head of the Regis Family and the one most likely to become the next family head.
Although he knew that Richard was talking to him, instructor Leonardo acted as if all he heard was the barking of a dog and brushed it off by looking at the lady of the Charlotte Family.
“You!” Ignored completely by a person who he considered below him, Richard Regis felt rage rising to his chest.
Without sparing as much as a single glance his way, instructor Leonardo looked at Lady Charlotte with an impassive gaze, acting as if he is not at all enamored by her beauty, as he said, “Lady, let’s make a bet. If the student I recommend can salvage better things from this settlement than the one you recommend, then you must compensate him with ten artifacts. If he fails to do so, I will give you ten of my artifacts, including my Aerial Black Castle!”
“What do you say?” A sharp glint twinkled in his eyes as he looked at the mistress of the second strongest magician family.
Lady Charlotte’s lips and eyes thinned into a smile, and she said, “Why wouldn’t I dare. Words are meaningless, though. Let’s sign a magic contract if you have any, first.”
“I proposed the bet because I’ve come prepared!” Instructor Leonardo said as he pulled out a magic contract and a pen with a unique ink containing oath binding power from his spatial device.
Richard Regis bit his lips in anger, anger that aroused because instructor Leonardo, as well as Lady Charlotte, ignored him.
By using that mystical pen, the instructor wrote several sentences on the magic contract. Then, he cut the skin on his thumb before pressing it at the end of the paper, mashing his blood on the whiteness, turning it red.
“Here, you go.” Instructor Leonardo said as he passed the contract to Lady Charlotte.
She grabbed and opened the scroll-like magic contract, reading the clauses in a couple of seconds.
“Pretty simple, indeed.”
The contract stated that each of the losing parties must compensate the winning parties with ten artifacts. That means if there are two losing parties, then the winning parties will get twenty artifacts!
Furthermore, any family can recommend a person or bet on the person recommended by another family. Each family can only bet on one person, though.
“Oliver Charlotte, come forward!” Lady Charlotte said in a commanding voice. A boy with golden eyes and hair of the same color stepped out of the people behind her and walked up to her side.
He dropped to one knee and said, “Yes, Your Highness?”
The boy’s feature outshined the beauty of the towering green mountain. With eyes and hair as bright as the sun itself, he attracted the lusty eyes of the females and the envious gaze of the men.
“You’ll represent the entire Charlotte Family in this bet. Is that alright with you?”
“I will do my best to live up to the expectations of Your Highness.”
“You may stand.”
After she said those words, the golden-haired boy stood back to his feet and looked towards the members of the academy.
Elliot looked at both of them with his godly right eye and found out about their strength, weakness, and many other information.
“Oh, she’s Lisa’s mother, and the golden-haired boy is her cousin. Doesn’t that make us relatives? Should I start calling her my mother-in-law? That might get me in trouble, so I better keep quiet.”
Lady Charlotte was a powerful king of magic while Oliver was at the peak of the channel opening stage. With just a little push, he would enter the magic grandmaster stage. Maybe he is suppressing his advancement to the magic grandmaster stage because of the barrier that doesn’t allow anyone above the channel opening stage to enter the settlement.
While looking at them, Elliot met his gaze and showed him a smile. After all, they were going to be family after a year or so.
“My dear instructor, this is the person I recommend!” Lady Charlotte pointed at Oliver, telling the onlookers that he’s the one she had chosen to bet on.
“Now show us yours.”
Everyone looked towards instructor Leonardo with a gaze that looked forward to seeing his recommendation.
“Elliot, step forward!”
Out of the thirty-odd students behind him, with his head raised and his back straight, Elliot stepped out and walked up to him. When the powerful magician determined that the one who came out was only in the peak magical realm, they wondered what’s he up to.
“I do not hate you or like you. I am a simple man that acts on interest. If a person is worth investing in, then I will give away my entire life-saving. The opposite goes if one isn’t. I didn’t help you that day and failed my duties as a teacher, true. I won’t deny it, but this is how I am. I am not going to deny it. I am, however, sorry, but I won’t change my ways. Whether you like it or not is none of my concerns. What is more important right now is that we can make big bucks. I hope you can let go of the past for now and focus on the present. So are you in or not?”
Instructor Leonardo believed that Elliot has become worthy of his investment, and he wanted to invest all his artifacts in this bet because he that the young man would be able to salvage the highest quality things from the unexplored settlement.
That’s why he even put down his pride and tried to apologize in a not so apoplectic way.
Elliot scoffed at his terrible apology.
“Honestly, you didn’t need to give such a big speech. A single word would’ve been enough.” Elliot said in a calm and low voice so that only he would hear his words.
“You mean?” Instructor Leonardo’s eye
“Bet on me, and I will win it for us!” Elliot’s bright eyes at this moment showed his conviction to trample on the carefully nurtured geniuses of the so-called magician family. It wasn’t because of some kind of foolish reason. He didn’t want to prove himself and his worth to anyone anymore. It was all because of the artifact he will earn once it’s all done.
“Is he the one you’re recommending?” Lady Charlotte asked with a smirk on her face, not knowing who Elliot truly is and what he did several hours ago. Important news sure travel slow, thus unable to understand why the instructor recommended someone as weak as him, weak because she determined him to be only in the magical realm.
This beauty didn’t know that the person who is weak in her eyes, isn’t only the darling of her daughter but also an unrivaled champion.
“Yes, I am betting on him that he will salvage the highest quality things and put the rest of the explorer to shame!” Instructor Leonardo replied in a voice containing not even a sliver of doubt.
“Pufahahahaha!” Young Lord Richard Regis’s crazed laughter rang out, attracting the gaze of everyone in the surrounding areas. “Good one, younger brother! Betting on a brat who is still wet behind the ear, not a qualified magician, and only in the magical realm, it seems like you’ve already given up.”
When the powerful magician digested that the one who came out was only in the peak magical realm, they revealed different expressions. Some of them were unable to understand what’s going on; Some started laughing; Some believed that instructor Leonardo has given up on the bet and was ready to suffer a heavy loss
Instructor Leonardo didn’t give a reply to this self-centered person. He merely pointed at him before saying, “Elliot, do you see that being?”
“Yes, sir! I do!” Elliot nodded his head.
“That’s what we call a frog in the well!”
The members of the academy started laughing as loudly as the elders. Elliot also smiled. He couldn’t help it. The smile came on his face, naturally.