“Omar Noel, even my friend Hiro thinks that you should show your worth before fighting with me. He is ready to test whether you qualify to fight me!”

“- – – – -“

Once again, everyone was baffled by Zero’s words.

“What?”

“That arrogant bastard is not arrogant but a coward!”

“What test? He obviously wants to have Hiro handle the fight!”

“You coward! Come out and fight yourself!”

People once again started to curse at Zero. Not only did Zero mock Omar, but he also went to get help from other students.

They were stunned looking at Zero’s bizarre behavior. One time he acts like the most courageous person and mocks even a person like Omar Noel. And the next thing you know, he is there pushing another student to fight for him.

What a shameless person!

They thought when looking at Zero.

This type of behavior angered the participants and the audience. They assumed Zero to be a person who just knows how to talk big.

“….”

The most stunned person in this situation was Hiro Ernest who was made into a scapegoat by Zero. He didn’t think Zero would push the fight onto him and make it look like he was agreeing with Zero.

He didn’t expect that Zero would take advantage of him like this. But he was still thinking about whether he should fight Omar Noel or not.

Whether Zero took advantage of him or not, was not important. It was more important to figure out the situation and the most effective way to get out of this situation was to beat Omar Noel.

“I am injured after blocking his attack. Could you do me a favor and fight him?”

Zero whispered to Hiro in a really low voice.

Zero was not hurt or anything. He just wanted to give Hiro a reason to fight with Omar Noel.

As for the reason why Zero let Hiro battle him, it was not because he was afraid of Omar Noel as many believed.

He was being cautious because he could detect a stronger mana aura than Omar Noel in the vicinity.

He knew that there was someone stronger than Omar Noel that was observing them. Zero didn’t know whether it was an ally or a foe.

Most of all, in the novel, Omar Noel was the strongest student; however, he also sensed a power greater than Omar Noel.

After Zero finished speaking, Hiro regained his composure.

Zero didn’t appear to be hurt or at least there were no visible injuries. However, Hiro still nodded.

Hiro owes a favor to Zero and he was going to pay him back. Not to mention, he felt that Zero had some kind of plan. He didn’t believe Zero was doing all this just to ruin his own reputation in front of the whole world.

Hiro stepped forward.

Hiro’s action was perceived as equal to Hiro agreeing with what Zero said. It made people angrier.

“Such arrogant students! Ace Academy is just full of themselves!”

“Hiro Ernest, how dare you think you are Lord Omar’s opponent!”

“Does he think that being handsome is equal to power?”

The student hurled, even more, curses at Hiro. They weren’t expecting Hiro to come out and test Omar Noel.

“Hehe… Another first-year thinking he could defeat me. Looks like Ace Academy is full of idiots.”

Omar Noel laughed.

He didn’t think that the person who underestimated him was such a coward. And that the rising talent would be brave enough to come forward and challenge him.

“Omar Noel, fight me! We will know whether you are qualified to compete with Zero after this fight!”

Hiro Ernest shouted.

He played along with Zero’s words and acted like he was some kind of person that needed to be defeated before challenging Zero. In other words, he at the moment very much appeared to be a lackey of Zero.

“Huh? Seriously! Do you all think you stand a chance against me? Humph! Looks like I have been holding back my power too much!”

Omar Noel glared at Hiro angrily.

He didn’t think that what Zero said earlier was true. Fighting Hiro Ernest just to fight with Zero? It was obviously Zero’s plan to avoid fighting him.

Hiro, on the other hand, spoke to him as if he were a small fry that had to be defeated before challenging the big boss. If others didn’t know of Hiro, they might have assumed Hiro was the lackey of Zero.

Omar Noe didn’t intend to follow Zero’s words and end Zero directly.

But Omar Noel was confident that he could instantly end the fight with Hiro. Then he planned to beat the hell out of Zero.

He was excited to beat Hiro in front of the whole world. There was no other student who had achieved more fame than Hiro Ernest. Defeating him would be tantamount to gaining huge fame.

Omar Noel was more than happy to defeat Hiro.

[ “Legend Spear: Dividing Eruption” ]

He used the same move as earlier but this time it was more powerful. He could not wait to defeat Hiro and go and beat Zero. This time he was holding nothing back and came with full power.

” This is the real power of Ace of Arcane Academy!”

“You should all surrender to avoid getting beaten up!”

“All hail Lord Omar!”

The students of Arcane Academy cheered for Omar Noel. They could feel incredible power from Omar Noel’s attack. They didn’t think there was any student who could withstand that attack.

However, Hiro was calm even with such a powerful attack heading in his direction.

[ “System Double Power Activate!” ]

[ “Star Swift” ]

He knew that with his current stats, it was impossible to dodge Omar Noel’s attack. Therefore, he used System double power to increase his stat and then used Star Swift to increase his speed.

With those things added, Hiro’s speed right exceeded the Rank-C stage and reached the Rank-B domain. He appeared as if he disappeared from his current position.

-WHOOSH!

And the next thing you know, Hiro was behind Omar Noel. Omar Noel’s eyes widened as he didn’t expect this kind of speed from Hiro. He was at the moment even faster than Lisanna.

Omar Noel quickly turned around and used his spear to attack behind.

[ “Legend Spear: Dividing Crush” ]

Hiro was also not just standing behind. He was condensing his mana and when Omar made his move, Hiro also unleashed his attack.

[ “Starshatterer Style: Starfall Fracture” ]

-BOOM!

The two powerful attacks collided and the nearby trees and other objects were blown away.

-WHOOSH!

Omar Noel emerged from the dust and stared in Hiros’ direction in shock. He had heard of Hiro before but only thought of his power as nothing more than an exaggeration. Today, he knew that Hiro truly deserved to be called the most talented student.

His hand was vibrating from the earlier confrontation. He expects that even in terms of strength, Hiro would be better than him.

“I didn’t think that you had such power. You have really surprised me. However, even with that kind of power, you can’t win against me!”

Omar Noel quickly made contact with Hiro using his spear. His spear technique was destructive and fast.

-CLANK! -CLANK!

However, Hiro parried all of Omar Noel’s attacks. Hiro also attacked him with his elegant sword technique.

-CLANG! -CLANG!

Students watched the battle in surprise. They didn’t expect that the ever-popular Hiro would be on par with Omar Noel who is the strongest student.

It completely blew their minds as Hiro was just a first-year who had just started his journey to becoming strong.

That same person was fighting as an equal with Omar Noel, a third-year and the strongest student in the tournament.

What can they say about themselves? They would have been dead by now if they had fought with Omar Noel.

They watched the battle silently. They were even scared to hurl curses at Hiro.

The audience in the stadium was excited throughout this confrontation. Lisanna fighting Omar Noel was entertaining and then it was another fight between Hiro Ernest and Omar Noel.

There was no one in the audience who didn’t know those two. While many believed Omar Noel to be stronger, they didn’t underestimate Hiro who is praised as the most talented student in the world.

They continued to stare at the big screen where the battle was being showcased.

Zero also looked at their battle.

“Just show them why you are called the protagonist of this world!”