Warlock Apprentice

The final frenzied scene of Onassis sent shivers down everyone’s spine.

Especially for those who had battled Onassis in the past, the feeling was most profound. Judging by the strength Onassis displayed just now, it would take him but a minute to annihilate them. At the time, their fights with Onassis seemed well-matched, but in hindsight, was Onassis simply pitying them?

Even for Jiebo, universally acknowledged as the strongest apprentice and top-ranked in the potential seed list, after watching this match, he didn’t believe he could defeat that Ocean Troll as effortlessly and leisurely as Onassis did.

Onassis seemed to have entered another realm altogether.

Therefore, everyone could understand Trom’s concession. To exist in the same era as such a contestant might be a blessing, but to compete in the same arena, that was a lamentable matter.

After Trom conceded, the audience remained silent, as if savouring the match, or perhaps indulging in self-pity.

It wasn’t until the narrator spoke that everyone awoke: ”The match has ended, and the new champion of the Rising Star Tournament, from Uto Academy, is the Philosopher! Congratulations to him!”

”Although it’s unfortunate that Phantom Deer didn’t make it to the final step, his performance was undoubtedly splendid. At the same time, congratulations to him for achieving second place in the Rising Star Tournament.”

As the words finished, cheers erupted from the stands. Although the match had an unexpected outcome, it cannot be denied that it brought a great sense of impact to them.

Amid the cheers of the audience, an elegantly dressed gentleman stood at the very back of the Boundless Battle Arena, looking at this turbulent sea with a complicated glint in his eyes.

”Once a Philosopher Scholar, seeing your old friend claim the championship, what do you feel?” A cold female voice came through.

The man, wearing glasses and dressed like an Academy Faction professor, was none other than ”Philosopher Scholar” Suyatutai.

When he saw the face of his visitor, he bowed respectfully, ”Mistress Sangye.”

The newcomer was ”Golden Umbrella” Sangye. She looked Suyatutai up and down with a curious gaze: ”You haven’t answered my question.”

Suyatutai fell silent for a moment: ”No particular feelings. He is not me, and I am not him.”

”Oh? But I recall that when you competed against him last time, he seemed to hold you in high regard,” noted Sangye with a flicker of light in her eyes.

”Onassis has never respected any one person; he only respects philosophy,” Suyatutai said softly.

”Philosophy, you say? I remember that you used to love philosophy as well,” Sangye remarked.

”That was for the trust of Mentor Rabelais; only then did I delve into philosophy. It was different from... Onassis’s original intention.”

”Even if the intentions were different, you are still carrying a philosophy book every day, aren’t you? Why not give it another try?”

Without responding, a melancholic look flickered through Suyatutai’s eyes. He once had a fondness for philosophy, but since he didn’t derive strength from it, he changed his path. Yet, Onassis had proven through his own battles that philosophy does possess power, power enough to tower over his peers. It made Suyatutai’s life seem like a farcical play of mistakes.

Waving her hand, Sangye turned to leave, ”I believe you might already be aware internally. Moreover, now that you have returned to Song of the Deep Sea, it would be best if you no longer referred to Rabelais as ’Mentor’ – unless, that is, you wish to return to Uto Academy?”

Though Sangye’s words were questioning, she did not await an answer from Suyatutai. Her figure vanished outside the arena, leaving Suyatutai alone, head bowed, lost in thought.

No one is likely to understand the feelings of Suyatutai. The same can be said for Trom, who had just stepped down from the Boundless Battle Arena.

Originally, Trom believed he had a strong chance of winning the championship, but the match concluded with such a scene.

However, Trom recognized Onassis’s strength.

He personally experienced the restrictiveness of fighting with an Ocean Troll, which led him to realize just how powerful Onassis was.

If he hadn’t conceded at the end, Onassis estimated that it would have taken only a few seconds for him to end up dismembered like that Ocean Troll.

However, what Trom couldn’t understand was why, being so powerful, Onassis didn’t just show his strength right from the start instead of dragging out the fight.

Trom couldn’t help but steal a glance at Onassis on the other side.

They were now in the medical room, waiting to rest and recover before entering the final event of the New Star competition – the Coronation Ceremony.

Trom’s body, which was riddled with wounds, was being healed by the medical team. People surrounded Onassis too, but from the conversations on that side, it seemed he wasn’t injured at all.

The only thing amiss was Onassis’s mood.

His eyes were still frighteningly red, and the corners of his mouth occasionally lifted into a sinister smile, the kind that could send chills down one’s spine.

This left the physicians examining Onassis completely baffled. However, the medical team was only responsible for healing physical injuries; Onassis’s emotional state was beyond their remit.

Yet, this made Trom feel that something was off.

He always felt that during the final battle with the Ocean Troll, Onassis seemed like a completely different person. What exactly had happened to him?

”What exactly happened to him?” The same question murmured by Farina in a corner of the judging room. She turned her head toward the nearby Hydra. ”Does the Observer know?”

Hydra was silent for a long time before slowly speaking: ”Why do you think something has happened to him? He is still himself.”

”Indeed, he is still himself, but he feels distinctly different. Initially, when I met Onassis, he seemed like an Academy Faction... hmm, a bookworm; but just now, he felt more like a madman,” recalled Farina.

Hydra: ”In my view, he is still himself. Perhaps he feels a bit different, but the essence of who he is hasn’t changed.”

After a pause, Hydra’s head slowly turned to the other side: ”Actually, instead of asking me, you might inquire with the Transcendental Wizard. He may know Onassis better than I do.”

Following Hydra’s remark, Farina looked over at Angel sitting nearby: ”Wizard Pat, what do you think?”

Angel pondered: ”If even the esteemed Observer does not know, how could I possibly know? However, I can offer you a perspective.”

Farina: ”A perspective?”

Angel: ”When Onassis last appeared, he kept muttering a certain phrase over and over.”

Farina nodded; she remembered the words spoken by Onassis.

——All insignificant darkness is hidden within the shadows of light. Even the most beautiful personalities need ugliness for contrast. Only by indulging in darkness and corruption can one savor the beauty of light.

”This sentence comes from an autobiography, ’The Long Day and Night.’ The author is also the protagonist of the book, who recorded his entire life in writing.”

”Generally, autobiographical novels don’t attract much fanfare, but this one is quite special and has caused quite a stir, and it has been adapted into plays in many countries, because the protagonist of this book is quite peculiar.”

”He has a dual personality.”