478 Chapter 478: Practical Exam Tournamen (1/2)

No sooner had we walked out of earshot of Nirvana's group than Melian grabbed her head with both hands and began shrieking.

”What…what did I just say?!” Perspiration was running down her pale face and she was clearly panicking.

”You said that you and Adrian will be able to defeat them,” I told her with a grin.

”I can't believe I just said all that! What do I do now?!”

”Uh, beat them up during the exam, of course.”

”Why does Sensei sound so happy about this?!”

”Sorry.” I chuckled. ”But thank you.”

I finally understood. Melina's strength stemmed from her determination to fight for others, rather than for herself. I was delighted that she would stand up for me and Adrian. That made me proud as her tutor.

”Yeah, thank you!” Adrian joined in. He raised an arm and flexed it enthusiastically. ”Let's show those girls what we're made of! We'll beat them and prove to everyone that we are not incompetent!”

Melina glared at him. ”Why did you have to go and provoke them, Adrian? Calling them monkeys and making fun of them…”

”But it's true, isn't it? Weren't they screeching like monkeys?”

”Yeah, they were.” Melina couldn't help but giggle at that. Then she held Adrian's hand. ”Thank you, Adrian. I'm grateful to you as well…for standing by my side, and sticking up for me. I must have shown you an unsightly side of myself. I hope to repay the faith you placed in me.” She turned to me. ”And yours too, Sensei. I will demonstrate that your confidence in me is not misplaced.”

”I'll be looking forward to it.” I smiled, and then crouched down to place each hand on their shoulders. ”All right guys. If you find yourself in a losing position, do not give up. Remember what I taught you. No matter how bad the situation seems, you can always turn the tables on your opponent. Lure them into a false sense of security and ensure that their overconfidence is their undoing.”

”We will!” Adrian promised. He then grinned. ”We'll show everyone that your teaching methods are correct, Brother Richard! We'll bring honor to your name! So that when you establish your sect, you can spread your name far and wide!”

”Dude, this is not a cultivation story. I'm not going to found any sect. You're in the wrong genre.” I sighed and shook my head. Beside him, Melina giggled again. Then she looked up and smiled brightly, squeezing both Adrian and my hands in hers.

”Let's do this!” She met my gaze, positive energy flaring up brilliantly in those ruby orbs of hers. ”Please watch me, Sensei! Adrian and I will both do our very best!”

”You can count on me!”

And so they took to the stage while I made my way to the spectator seats. This being a tournament styled practical examination, I wasn't allowed to interfere, so I ended up being given a place high up. I wasn't fond of the distance between my seat and the arena, but I couldn��t complain. Fortunately, I could adjust the view on my lenses to magnify the arena and the participants in it. Wearing glasses was so convenient.

”Oh? So you're here too.”

”Eh?”

I glanced up and caught sight of Miura La Noir. She smiled as she took the seat beside me, her head tilted curiously.

”I did hear that you are the private tutor of a couple of middle school students.” she glanced down at the arena. ”Are they up next?”

”Yeah,” I confirmed, clasping my hands and looking almost as if I was in prayer.

”You look nervous.”

”Well…I am. For them.”

Miura laughed throatily. ”You aren't the one taking the exam, you know? In fact, I heard that you already passed yours.”

I didn't pay any attention to her, and instead glanced upward where a familiar figure sat with several VIPs. Fergus Franklin – Melina's father – was watching from high above, along with his father-in-law and a few other big names. Kureha Franklin was also present, seated near them.

Seemed like the entire Franklin family had shown up to watch.

It wasn't just them. Sacha Stuart and several representatives from the Stuart clan had also turned up, and even Cecilia herself was seated near Sacha and his wife, watching her cousin. I glanced up and exchanged a nod of greeting with them.

”Oh, you seem quite close to the Stuart family too, huh?” Miura remarked. I shrugged noncommittedly. I had no obligation to feed her any information regarding myself or my connections with other people.

”What's this? Are you nervous?” Rossetti Picket also arrived, smiling as she teased me. She took the seat beside Miura. ”I didn't know you were interested in the middle school tournament, Miura.”

”Well…I'm actually interested in someone else.” Miura chuckled, much to Rossetti's puzzlement. The auburn-haired dancer stared at the black mage, then shook her head.

”As cryptic as always.”

We weren't given much time to speak much because there was a blare from the referee's horn, and the participants for this round walked out from the tunnel. Zooming in on the figures with my glasses, I could make out Adrian and Melina, walking in a straight line and proceeding toward the battlefield. The both of them were armed with swords…because that was the only weapon I could teach them. Well, I could teach them archery, but my skills in that were pretty bad, considering I tended to throw a nuke and hoped it blew up everything, including my target.

On the opposite end was Nirvana's team – four of them. Two against four. Not favorable odds at all.

”That makes no sense.” Rossetti frowned as she leaned forward. ”Where's the rest of their teammates? Why is there only two of them?”

”They couldn't get anyone to join them,” I replied coldly as I folded my arms.

”Eh? Wouldn't they be at a glaring disadvantage?”

I glanced at the stage and smirked. The arena was set to simulate an actual battlefield, with a forest of trees on one side, a hill, several ruined structures and a tower in the center. At the opposite ends of the coliseum were smaller hills, a single flag planted in them.

Good. The terrain was favorable for my charges. As long as they made good use of cover, they would be able to nullify the opponent's numerical advantage and carry out hit-and-run tactics. Furthermore, we were familiar with what sort of personality Nirvana possessed, and we could exploit that as well.

”Students.” Teresa Taylor, the headmistress of Saint Teresa Academy, had walked to the podium, an exquisite staff in hand. She smiled as she gazed over the students in the arena, her eyes proud. Evidently she was heartened by the progress they had made throughout the semester. ”Today is the day we see the fruits of your hard work. We will be looking forward to seeing how far you have grown.”