The whispers spread wildly throughout the hall the moment Freya’s words settled.

The entire hall erupted into noise.

The candidates, the Highlines, the Lowlines, the guards, and even the servants standing quietly at the edges of the hall had stunned looks on their faces.

"She really surrendered..."

Elder Portia gasped as she slowly stood up from her seat.

Her aged eyes were filled with both shock and confusion while she stared toward the stage.

"This has to be a joke, right?"

Elder Fredrick suddenly rose from his chair and pointed toward the platform in disbelief.

"First, some no-name Lowline boy defeats Felix, which already sounds suspicious enough to make me believe he cheated, and now this?"

His voice rose louder.

He looked toward the other Elders searching for agreement, but most of them only narrowed their eyes at him.

Only Elder Branthwaite seemed to partially agree.

"So, you mean..."

Elder Paul slowly raised a brow.

"A Lowline child managed to cheat in front of all of us without anyone noticing?"

He folded his arms afterward.

The accusation sounded ridiculous even to him.

Fredrick immediately took half a step backward awkwardly toward his chair.

"Astraea, don’t you also think something feels strange?"

He quickly tried dragging her into the discussion.

Astraea sat lazily with one leg crossed over the other.

Truthfully...

Even she found Vera’s loss unpleasant.

No matter what happened...

She still would never truly acknowledge Veda.

Not even once.

Her eyes shifted toward the arguing Elders, then toward her father, who was clearly waiting for her agreement.

But Astraea simply ignored all of them and looked back toward the stage instead.

At that moment...

Raymond stepped onto the damaged platform again.

The overlapping voices around the hall continued noisily, with some people arguing, while some praised Veda.

Others still looked confused.

Raymond’s gaze slowly moved toward Vera, who still rested calmly on the ground, then toward Veda, whose body looked ready to collapse at any second.

I honestly don’t know about this...

Raymond thought quietly to himself.

But somehow...

His eyes landed on Vera again.

She stared back at him with the same bored expression she always carried.

Yet...

There was a clear meaning hidden behind those plain eyes.

Announce it already.

Raymond sighed internally.

I really cannot read her intentions at all...

"WINNER!"

His loud voice exploded throughout the hall.

Immediately...

The members of Veda’s group all shot up from their seats with tightened fists.

"VEDA ASHENLOCKE!"

The moment Raymond shouted the name...

The entire atmosphere exploded.

"AHHHHHHH!"

Cheers erupted instantly from Veda’s side.

Veda himself slowly raised one shaking hand upward with the last bit of strength remaining inside him.

But...

The next second...

His legs finally gave out with his vision blurred and his body tilted sideways.

"Got you."

Nickolas suddenly flashed beside him and caught him before he could collapse completely.

"Young Lord."

He grinned brightly despite the sweat covering his own face.

"SIR VEDA!"

Linda, Mariam, and Tracy rushed toward him almost instantly.

"Wait... wait..."

Nickolas quickly waved one hand trying to stop them, but Linda directly kicked him away.

Bang!

Nickolas rolled sideways with wide eyes.

Then the three girls immediately hugged Veda tightly as all of them crashed onto the floor together.

"Argh!"

Veda spat blood while laughing weakly.

"Youuuu!"

Linda pointed at him angrily while tears formed in her eyes.

"Why did you fight like such an idiot? If this was a real death match, you could’ve died! Fool! Idiot! Stupid!"

She repeatedly hit his chest while shouting.

"Argh... Linda... you’re hitting my injuries..."

Veda nearly cried from pain, yet his face still carried a happy smile.

"Hey! What was that kick for?!"

Nickolas protested loudly from the side, while the remaining members of the group all rushed onto the platform.

"Sir Veda!"

Bobby immediately knelt beside him.

Completely forgetting the nurses were already approaching...

He hurriedly pulled several herbs out of his space bag and instantly performed first-aid Alchemy.

Soft green light glowed from his palms as he treated Veda’s wounds to reduce the bleeding.

The rest of the group surrounded Veda while cheering loudly.

At the same time...

Nina, Zack, Gena, and several members of Vera’s group also rushed toward the stage.

"Lady Vera!"

Nina’s voice came out filled with panic.

It was only the second time she had ever seen Vera lose and she was very worried towards how Vera would react.

But...

The moment they reached her...

Nina froze.

"My Lady...?"

Even Zack adjusted his glasses awkwardly while his ears turned red.

Because Vera was smiling.

Not her usual amused smile, not a smirk, not the sarcastic smile she used when teasing people.

It was simply...

Soft.

A pleasant and calm smile rested on her face naturally.

For a brief second, the members of her group became stunned like they were love struck in their heart.

"You are sooo beautiful even when you lose..."

Nina accidentally blurted out while covering her blushing face.

Gena’s eyes sparkled with admiration.

Just seeing that expression alone made all their earlier worries disappear.

"Of course, I am."

Vera replied flatly and immediately...

Her face returned to its usual unreadable look again.

The group stared blankly afterward.

She’s so cool and cute when she’s in her normal look.

All of them thought the exact same thing.

Soon, the nurses finally arrived beside Vera and Veda.

They carefully placed Vera onto the stretcher while the nurses quickly checked the injuries around her arms and waist.

Even though her expression remained calm like always, the explosion of her rifle did cause some damage to her arms, while blood slowly stained parts of her black clothes.

Nickolas and one of the Highline boys carried Veda on their shoulders from both sides while following behind the nurses.

Veda’s body looked miserable.

His clothes were torn badly, several bullet wounds still bled lightly and his hand that had blocked Vera’s attacks trembled from exhaustion.

Yet...

The idiot was still smiling.

The nurses who surrounded him looked honestly surprised after seeing the condition of his injuries already stabilized.

Their eyes naturally shifted toward Bobby, the boy they saw healing him.

The herbs used to perform the first-aid Alchemy to stop the blood loss.

Everything had been done cleanly despite Bobby clearly panicking earlier.

One of the older nurses even nodded approvingly toward him.

That single nod alone nearly made Bobby’s entire day brighter.

His chest puffed proudly afterward.

Meanwhile...

As Vera’s group followed their nurses toward the recovery tent...

They eventually met up with Veda’s group along the hallway leading into the large recovery section built inside the hall itself.

The atmosphere between both groups immediately became noisy again.

"Too bad..."

Linda suddenly spoke loudly on purpose. Her smug eyes instantly moved toward Zack.

"The lead didn’t last very long."

A satisfied smile spread across her face afterward.

Zack looked back at her with annoyance.

"You people only got lucky because Sir Veda became a Meister Rank."

Daniella immediately fired back without hesitation.

"That’s Young Lord to you."

Tracy raised her index and middle finger pointing dramatically at them while grinning mischievously.

"Don’t worry. Sir Veda might’ve won this round, but in the future, my Lady will definitely surpass him. She might even go beyond the rank of Alchemist Scholar."

Nina spoke with pure confidence shining inside her eyes.

"And who knows... maybe even the Mythical Rank."

Her tone carried absolute faith.

"Sir Veda will obviously reach it first!"

Linda and Tracy instantly shot back together.

"Didn’t you just call him Young Lord a moment ago?"

Zack narrowed his eyes with a smug smile.

The two girls immediately froze for half a second, they clearly felt the sting behind his words.

"That was just a slip of the tongue!"

They hissed back defensively.

The two groups continued arguing nonstop while walking side by side toward the recovery tent.

Some glared, some mocked each other, some even started dragging older arguments back into the conversation again.

Ezra quietly watched the entire scene from behind.

A strange warm feeling slowly appeared inside his chest without warning.

The loud arguments, the bragging.

The way both groups competed while still caring about each other underneath everything.

It reminded him of something.

One of the memories from his previous life surfaced naturally inside his mind.

The image of his platoon arguing with another platoon after finishing a training course exercise.

Both sides were shouting about whose leader performed better.

Whose strategy was smarter, whose team deserved more praise.

At that time...

The atmosphere had also been noisy like this, for a brief second...

A faint smile unknowingly appeared on Ezra’s face.

He himself didn’t even notice it immediately.

The crowd on the second floor still stared toward the recovery area and damaged, stage with complicated expressions.

"Seriously..."

One adult Highline noble slowly muttered in disbelief. The man himself was already a Binder Rank Alchemist.

Yet...

Even he still looked shocked.

"A thirteen-year-old reaching Meister Rank..."

He exhaled slowly afterward.

"That’s honestly unbelievable."

His eyes remained fixed toward Veda’s disappearing figure with amazement still visible on his face.

A lot of the Highlines and Lowlines seated in that section slowly nodded in agreement after hearing those words.

"I’m already this old and still stuck at Binder Rank."

Another adult noble laughed bitterly afterward, though the admiration on his face couldn’t be hidden.

He rubbed his forehead helplessly.

"And don’t forget..."

A female Highline noble Alchemist leaned forward slightly while speaking.

"Lady Vera is still only Binder Rank too, yet she pushed Sir Veda that far even after he became a Meister Rank."

Her eyes remained fixed on the damaged platform below.

"That battle was insane."

"The Trial of Steel truly is something terrifying."

Another voice sounded loudly nearby.

"All those children reached Novice Rank and above at this age."

The Lowline who spoke suddenly laughed proudly afterward.

"Long live Ashenlocke and our new future!"

He raised his fist high into the air.

Immediately...

More voices joined in afterward.

"Long live Ashenlocke!"

"Praise the younger generation!"

"The future of the family is secure!"

The cheers spread rapidly throughout the hall and the atmosphere became loud and lively again.

Even some of the guards standing at the edges of the hall looked pleased while watching the younger generation.

At the row where the other children of the Family Head sat...

A young lady with long black hair folded her arms while quietly staring toward the stage.

"I hate to admit it..."

She narrowed her eyes slightly.

"But they really are strong."

The white-haired young man rested his cheek lazily against his palm while looking thoughtful.

"But honestly..."

His curious eyes shifted toward Veda’s recovery area.

"Who would’ve thought Vera’s so-called useless twin would actually grow this far?"

He exhaled softly afterward.

"I really want to know how he managed to reach Meister Rank with talent like that."

His elbows rested on his lap while he stared ahead with genuine curiosity.

"Well..."

He turned hopefully toward his older brother and two sisters.

"Things should get more interesting from here onward, right?"

But...

None of them answered him. They completely ignored him.

The white-haired young man blinked awkwardly afterward.

"Tch... cold people."

He clicked his tongue quietly and leaned back into his chair.

The cheering around the hall still continued loudly while several maids and servants quickly moved onto the damaged platform to begin cleaning everything.

Broken stone pieces were scattered everywhere.

Large cracks spread across the platform from Veda’s strength and Vera’s repeated gunfire.

Bloodstains covered different sections of the stage.

Destroyed metal fragments from the exploded weapons still remained lodged into parts of the floor and walls.

The maids carefully cleaned each area while maintenance Alchemists repaired the shattered platform little by little.

The process took a while because of how heavily damaged the stage had become.

Eventually...

After a long minute passed...

The platform finally returned to normal again.

Freya stepped back onto the stage afterward with a satisfied smile resting on her face, even though the outcome of the battle surprised her...

She still found the fight extremely enjoyable.

"Any challengers next?"

She looked toward the remaining candidates calmly.

At the recovery side...

Both Veda’s and Vera’s groups quietly watched from their positions while their leaders received treatment.

But...

No one stepped forward.

Which honestly was expected.

The battle everyone truly anticipated had already happened so there wasn’t any need for another challenge.

"Hey Bale..."

Keith suddenly whispered beside him playfully.

"Why don’t I challenge you?"

A lazy chuckle escaped his mouth.

Bale, who still felt relieved seeing both his brother and sister alive despite their injuries, slowly turned toward Keith with narrowed eyes.

In his mind...Part of him still felt shaken after watching the fight, but more than anything...

He felt proud.

Proud that both of them had fought without holding back.

Even if he hated seeing them injured that badly.

"Just shut up."

Fay immediately punched Keith on the head.

"Ouch!" Keith instantly held his head painfully. "Why do you keep hitting me?"

He turned toward her while pouting like a child.

Fay stared suspiciously at him.

"I seriously don’t understand why you suddenly became this energetic today."

"Hehe... Hehe..."

Keith only laughed quietly.

"Do you really think I would miss a fight that, interesting?"

He stretched lazily afterward before sinking deeper into his chair again.

"Well..."

His sleepy eyes slowly started closing again.

"Now that it’s over..." He yawned lightly. "I should go back to sleep."

Bale, Fay, and the others could only stare at him helplessly.

A few more minutes quietly passed.

Still...

Nobody stepped onto the stage.

Freya finally nodded afterward, clearly okay with the silence.

"Since no one else is stepping forward..."

She smiled calmly.

"The Tenth Trial has officially come to an end."