336 Give up
"I really won, huh?" Vin said to himself as he left the waiting room.
No one approached Vin; they all maintained their distance. However, Vin was used to this treatment from his fellow classmates and other students.
After all, he was the only one in the entire academy who ran a research club focused solely on studying herbs and making medicines.
He explored the effects of different combinations and crafted items that had new functionalities.
His work was unconventional, but Vin didn't mind. Even if no one joined his club, he enjoyed what he was doing.
'Why did he give me all that advice?' Vin wondered on his way to the dorms.
He had met Eric the other day, the very same Eric Herod who was a ranker. Eric was famous in the third year as the Duel Committee President, but he had resigned at the start of the year.
Vin hadn't interacted with Eric much, except occasionally due to class arrangements.
'Well, if he's looking for favors, he's asking the wrong guy,' Vin thought as he made his way back.
'I'm just a disappointment,' Vin said with a faint smile on his face.
He had long accepted the fact that he didn't have the qualities to become the heir of the Hargrave Family.
In the Hargrave Family, the strongest ruled. And even though he tried for a long time, there were abilities he just couldn't master.
Hard work could only take him so far, and even if he gave his best, others would surpass him in less time.
Vin was the only son of the head of the Hargrave Family, and he was expected to take over the family legacy in the future.
But everything changed when his talents were unveiled. As a mage with a low mana pool, Vin knew that even with the vast resources of the Hargrave Family behind him, he would never be the strongest.
"I am just someone who ran away from all that pressure," Vin said to himself.
He didn't enjoy fighting. Instead, he found solace in his research, reading books, and crafting new potions. He much preferred that over battling monsters and becoming one himself.
But the Hargrave Family didn't accept his inclinations easily.
As he headed towards the Third Year VIP Dorms, Vin noticed some youngsters in the Third Year section.
He narrowed his eyes. Their silver hair and bright yellow-
amber eyes drew attention, and he wondered why they were there.
'Those must be the Grandus Twins,' Vin recognized them instantly.
Although he wasn't the designated heir, he had been educated as one from a young age. He remembered that Silvus Grandus had two grandchildren, twins to be exact.
Seeing them at the World Academy was a surprise, but he assumed they had gained permission to attend.
"Well, not my problem," Vin said as he continued towards the dorm."Why don't we head to the Tournament Arena now?" suggested the third-year student accompanying the twins.
"But I wanted to explore more," Jennifer protested.
"I really want to see it, Jen," Jacob countered.
The third-year student accompanying them was a relative of the elders assigned to guard the twins. Their duty was to both protect the twins within the World Academy and give them a tour.
Jen pondered for a moment. She was keen on exploring the World Academy further, but seeing Jacob's eagerness to watch the tournament, she decided to relent.
"Alright, let's go," Jen said, turning to the third-year students behind them.
"Please, follow us," one of them replied politely as they set off towards the arena.
'I wonder where he is...' Jen mused.
She recalled spotting a young boy at the Mage Association with distinctive crimson red eyes, but she hadn't had the chance to meet him. While Jacob was solely interested in the tournament, Jen had another motive. She wanted to meet Lucas Greville, the son of Ivar Greville.
Being a mage herself and having been tutored by Silvus from a young age, she had inherited his unique Silver Mana. Silvus had painstakingly trained her over the years, ensuring she harnessed it effectively.
Her intrigue about Lucas deepened after she overheard the elders discussing the future of the Greville Family.
"I've heard rumors that Ivar Greville's son is a mage. Can you imagine? A mage with the Greville bloodline would be immensely powerful," one elder remarked to another.
'I will see from myself,' Jen thought but she instantly got distracted as saw a big building towards the East.
"What is that?" Jen asked immediately.
"Ah, that's the Great Library," One of the Third Years answered.
"Do you want to go there later?" He asked.
"NO! I will not touch books for a whole month," Jen immediately shouted making the guy awkward.
'Does she hates studying?' He thought.
"Okay," He awkwardly replied as Jen looked at the other direction immediately.
She refused to look in that direction entirely as if denying any possibility of going near that place.
They went towards the Arena, and they purchased a VIP Section Ticket, for the Grandus Twins, to watch the match from.
It was possible to watch the tournament privately, but a lot of GP was needed to buy those tickets.
But the VIP Section they were given, was coincidentally near the First Year Ranker's VIP Section.
The Third Years chose to avoid the Third Year and Fourth Year sections, to avoid any troubles.
But as they were going towards their Section, the door to one of the VIP Rooms opened, and someone stepped out of the room.
The two 12 years old got surprised as they noticed a pair of Crimson Red Eyes, looking down at them. And emotionless gaze, made them a bit scared.
'Silvus Grandus's grandchildren huh,' Asher thought as he looked at the twins.
But immediately the two Third Years appeared in front of the twins to created a barrier between the kids and Asher.Among all people they could have encountered, they had to meet Asher Greville who was the most unpredictable person in the whole World Academy.
Asher looked at them and at first they were nervous but both of them were C+ Rank Hunters.
Asher just turned his head, and left the hallway going around them.
"Who was that guy?" Jacob asked as he confirmed that the scary guy and was long gone.
"Oh, he is the Heir of the Greville Family, Asher Greville," One of them replied.
"Come on, let's go," One of them said brightly.
But this encounter scared the two twins as they have never have seen someone looking at them this way.
There were a lot of times people look at them with eyes full of Envy, or respect, or even fear but this was the first time for them they had encountered someone like Asher.
'Grandpa was right, he is a bad guy,' Jen thought as she slightly turned her head to confirm that Asher was gone.
'Hmmph, when I get powerful I will show them what I can do,' Jen told herself.
As they reached the room, they looked at the Grand Scene of the Stage other side of the Arena and the Center part where Farnus, Silvus and Alfred were sitting.
"Jen! Look there!" Jacob grabbed Jen's arms and pointed at the Center of the Arena.
"Look Grandpa is sitting there," He said as Jen looked up and she could see Silvus sitting with two old mens.
"Oh, the one in the Center is our Principal, Farnus Calmort," The Third Year told them.
"And the one of the right of him, is Sir Alfred Raven, the Family Head of Raven Family," He added.
"It seems the next match is about to start," The other third year said.
"Isn't that the guy we saw at the Kalvas Gala," Jacob pointed at the Stage.
"Oh, the one with White hair," Jen looked down and saw Kevin Whiteheart standing on the stage.
"Oh, Kevin Whiteheart, he is Rank 2 in the First Year, and he is quite strong as well," The Third Year told them.
"Who is the first then?" Jacob asked.
"The Rank 1 is Asher Greville, the guy we met in the Hallway," The other Third Year replied.
Jen looked at Kevin and she remembered her mother showing him Kevin and others from a distance.
It was after all the commotion had taken place, so she didn't see anybody other than them.
"So, he is that guy," Jen looked at Kevin.
"What a show off," Jen just sat down on her seat.
The third years were surprised by their reaction, but Jacob didn't say anything so they just thought that the twins might have met Kevin somewhere.
Jen just remembered the time they were leaving, and their parents urged them to follow them to meet a few of the guests at the Kalvas Gala.
And she remembered meeting Elena Rothschild and Kevin Whiteheart that were attracting a lot of attention from others while they were leaving.
Jen didn't attend a lot of Social Parties, so her first impression of Kevin was person that liked a lot of attention, due to the way they were interacting with other guests.
Jen and Jacob were given a lot of attention in Mage Association, so having that attention taken from her didn't make her too happy.
Silvus also played a role in Jen's view of Kevin.
Silvus already told them that the people from Elite Families always covered their intention behind a smile, so she needed to be wary of such people.