Buze regained his composure and cursed himself under his breath.
Damn it, as a descendant of the great Kritov family, how could he show fear in front of a commoner?
He had to prove himself and reclaim his dignity with his own hands!
Taking a deep breath, Buze pointed at Grinya in front of everyone.
"Grinya Loran, I challenge you!"
"Fine."
"Don't try to run away anymore, even if you... wait, what did you just say?"
Buze thought he had misheard.
Why had she agreed so readily?
Could there be... a trap?
Lu Xun looked at the time-limited quest that had just popped up in his mission list and accepted it without hesitation.
Resources delivered right to his door—he'd be a fool not to take them.
Buze didn't know what his opponent was planning, but this was exactly what he wanted.
Having reached level 5, he possessed absolute confidence in defeating Grinya.
"Fine! We'll go to the academy's training grounds right now to settle this."
Buze regained his confidence, standing tall and proud as he walked toward the academy gates.
However, Grinya didn't move; she stood like a cold statue, her feet seemingly glued to the ground.
"There is no need for that much trouble."
That cool, pleasant voice reached Buze's ears, but it sounded incredibly piercing to him.
He stopped and slowly turned around, staring fixedly at Grinya with eyes he believed to be authoritative.
"What do you mean?"
Grinya also turned around, looking at him with a lazy tone.
"My point is, let's settle it right here. It'll be quick anyway."
The atmosphere suddenly froze, and everyone stared blankly at Buze, seeing him clenching his fists tightly, his eyes filled with a murderous glint.
"This is already the third time you've insulted me!" Buze squeezed the words through his gritted teeth.
"Is that so?" Lu Xun scratched his head.
Was his memory failing him?
He only remembered this being the second time he had met this NPC; where did the third come from?
Maybe it was a system text error, but whatever, it wasn't important.
The onlookers whispered among themselves as they watched this tense scene.
"This girl's tongue is as sharp as ever. She publicly humiliated Buze this morning, and now she's doing it again this afternoon."
"Strange, why are they suddenly fighting at the academy gates? Didn't they agree to go to the training grounds?"
"I don't know, but look at her aura compared to this morning; it's completely different, like she's a different person."
Buze ignored the surrounding noise; in his bloodshot eyes, there was only Grinya.
She was his enemy, and he would defeat her at all costs!
He unsheathed the sword at his waist, a shimmering star circling it and radiating a white light.
The long sword then carried a sharp, crimson flame, forming an astonishing fire tornado that surged toward Grinya!
"That is..." a knowledgeable passerby cried out in alarm, "a Life Star! That's a Life Star skill! Heavens, Buze actually awakened a Life Star!"
"No way, Buze awakened a Life Star this quickly?"
"Is this the heritage of the Kritov family? Truly terrifying!"
"Take this! My Blazing Fire Tornado!" Buze shouted excitedly, as if he could already see his victory.
A mere commoner couldn't possibly understand the terror of a Life Star skill.
This was the true power of a mage!
Under the scorching light of the flames, he tried to find panic and fear on Grinya's face so that his wounded soul could be healed.
But he was disappointed; all he saw was Grinya's beautiful face, which remained as calm as a still lake even under the firelight.
"How noisy..."
She gave a silent sigh.
Buze froze, the excitement on his face vanishing instantly.
Next, he saw a star radiating purple light floating around Grinya.
A purple-quality Life Star?!
Buze's face was filled with utter horror.
As the young master of the Kritov family, he understood deeply what a purple-quality Life Star represented.
That was a Life Star only an archmage who had surpassed level 40 was qualified to awaken!
How could an apprentice mage awaken a purple-quality Life Star without their mind collapsing from the whispers of the gods?!
He watched helplessly as the light from the purple Life Star completely suppressed his white Life Star.
Grinya's figure suddenly vanished like a phantom, and his Blazing Fire Tornado struck nothing but empty air.
By the time he snapped back to reality, the space around him was already enveloped by a dense web of sword intent.
Air-Piercing Sword Dance!
He saw it; Grinya's body had transformed into sword intent, perfectly dodging his attack while simultaneously surrounding him with hundreds of strikes.
His attacks were useless against her!
Buze felt an overwhelming sense of powerlessness.
Subsequently, the hundreds of sword strikes converged on him, shredding his clothes and slicing his flesh, as pain signals flared from every part of his body.
He endured the agonizing pain, using his sword to prop himself up so he wouldn't fall.
A noble must not fall.
He told himself this.
All the sword intent converged once more, and finally, Grinya's figure appeared behind Buze, standing tall like a victor.
"You lost." Grinya didn't even give him a glance as the wooden sword in her hand vanished into thin air. She took a step forward, crossing the academy gates.
As Grinya's words trailed off, Buze could no longer hold on, and his body slumped powerlessly to the ground.
"Master Buze!"
Someone in the crowd hurriedly rushed to support him.
Everyone watched with complex expressions as Grinya's silhouette drifted further away.
She had defeated Buze with such ease, without a single ripple of effort.
Even Buze, who possessed a Life Star skill, hadn't lasted a single move against her!
This year's batch of freshmen actually contained such a terrifying genius.
Buze's eyes were full of resentment, but he could only watch Grinya's back as she left, as if she were leaving him far behind in the dust.
"I swear, I, Buze Kritov... will definitely defeat you!"
"Just you wait, Grinya Loran!"
Buze's unwilling roar echoed at the academy gates for a long time.
...
【You have defeated "The Return of Buze," gaining 100 Source Crystals, 150 Prestige, and 1 Mid-tier Experience Potion.】
Lu Xun glanced at his inventory with satisfaction.
Although the Source Crystals from this quest weren't much, the Prestige was quite high, and there was even an extra gain—a green-quality Mid-tier Experience Potion.
The experience points it provided were ten times that of a Junior Experience Potion!
This was a total win!
It was a pity such a powerful item wasn't available in the shop; perhaps it would only be for sale after upgrading the shop.
He really hoped this game would offer more quests like this.
The difficulty was incredibly low, yet the rewards were generous.
It was basically a welfare gift from the game developers!
He hoped that the next time he saw that little fat guy, he could bring him some more little surprises.
Rate on N.U.
