The Arcadia System

Chapter 235 – Festival Of The Black Sun

Hours went by quickly. 

Reve was finally done with the last class for the day. He had almost forgotten the feeling. His bones were weary. They creaked as he walked towards his room. 

Getting to the door, he was surprised to see a familiar face. 

"My my, Silas, it is good to see you again," smiled Reve. 

He opened the door, allowing Silas to come in, but the latter simply lunged at him for a hug. 

'Damn, what is this embarrassing situation?' internally screamed Reve. 

He was lucky that no one saw him or else, his reputation as a cold student would be tarnished. 

Silas beamed, "It's been a long time, Reve."

"Don't be dramatic. It has only been two months. Your face seems to have aged a bit. You have had quite the wonderful experience," wondered Reve. 

If before Silas looked like a man that had given up on life, now he looked sharper. 

There was something indescribable about him. 

Silas attempted to say something. He closed his mouth quickly before words could escape his lips. 

Reve smiled, "You don't have to tell me. I understand."

It was probably something too private. 

Reve sat on his bed and spoke, "I'm tired. To think the first day of resumption would be so weary."

"My Enchantment teacher seems to have it against us. She is conducting multiple tests throughout this semester, supposedly there will be one test every week."

"Since I took enchantment as an elective, my teacher wouldn't be that serious. I don't know. My enchantment class is tomorrow. However, my Arcane teacher is even more horrifying. He has given us an unsurmountable task to complete before the end of the semester," lamented Reve.

"What is it?"

"I have to evolve a spell an intermediate spell. That is, I have to upgrade a spell to either advanced rank or grand rank."

Silas laughed, "Hahaha, I wouldn't want to be in your position."

Reve pouted, "Laugh all you can. You should head to your room to study for your test this week."

The two of them threw jabs at each other. 

After another round of mocking, they felt tired from laughing and settled down. 

Silas said, "There is actually a reason why the classes are becoming tenser."

"Oh, really?" 

"Yes. It is surprising that you are not aware of this."

"Stop gloating and just tell me," quipped Reve. 

"The Festival of the Black Sun is upon us. The teachers are trying to prepare us for the upcoming event."

"The upcoming event?"

"Damn, were you holed up in your room throughout the holiday?"

Reve twitched his mouth, "What is wrong with that? Meanwhile, you seem to have become gutsier!"

Facing the glare that Reve sent his way, Silas remembered that he probably shouldn't tick Reve off or he might end up planted in the wall. 

"During the festival, the people of Narva gather around one place. The capital, Silverbrook. There, the king arranges the biggest event. He demands that the various academies display the effect they have had on the younger generation. They would participate in any game of his choice."

"However, this event is not one-sided. The winners of the event gain the favor of the royal family. Not only that, they are gifted treasures from the palace treasury."

Reve muttered, "Hmmm….I think I understand where you are going. Let me guess, the academies can only send a limited number of representatives?"

"Yes."

"So, these tests that our teachers have for us are some sort of filtering means? They want to find the students worthy to represent us."

"Yes. You have figured it out."

"What I don't understand is how the selection process is detailed? We are first-year students. We shouldn't be the face of the academy. I reckon second-year students aren't also qualified."

Silas yawned, "That would be the case if the king was specific on what he meant by 'younger generation'. Usually, NIRA sends a lot of third-years, an adequate amount of second-year, and a handful of first-years. So, fear not, we wouldn't be the face of the academy."

"I see…." Reve went into deep thoughts that were unknown to Silas. 

Attempting to read him, Silas questioned, "Are you planning on representing the academy? You are very popular among the closed circle of teachers, so that is possible. Nevertheless, it would be tough to guarantee a position for yourself. There are a lot of wonderful students in our session. Although you are one of the best, it will all depend on the quota given to the teachers."

"Hmmmm…..what kind of rewards can we expect from the royal family?" asked Reve. 

Far from what Silas thought, if he wanted to be added to the list of representatives, he would. 

Heck, he could even do better than most third-years, not to talk of the second-years. 

Just how many third-year mages were third-circle arcanists or the equivalent to that?

Moreover, he would soon advance to the fourth-rank and attain the same power level as most teachers. 

Silas still underestimated him. 

Unlike most mages, Reve was capable of bringing out the full power of his rank. 

"I'm only familiar with the prizes for the last event. That was the only one I attended. Let's see, among the various rewards, the biggest ones were Skyfall Reaper, Challenger's Chakram, Solarsong, and the Vial of Truth."

Listening to Silas, Reve was surprised, "What are those?"

"You don't know?"

"…Yes. Am I supposed to know?"

"Hahaha, they are famous weapons wielded by legendary figures. Most of them were excavated from the Hollow Woods."

Reve ruminated, 'I bet his definition of "legendary figure" is different from mine. I'm only interested in learning about people that shaped the timeline of Arcadia.'

'Nonetheless, this is rather embarrassing. I don't know anything about weapons. I am not aware of the rankings of items.'

Reve followed a strange code, "The mightier the foe, the mightier the spell."

If he found himself in a pinch, he would just spam a destructive range of spells. 

That was why he was in a disadvantageous situation right now. 

His range of skills couldn't protect him. 

In essence, he had mostly attack and defense skills.. His auxiliary and speed skills were not adequate.