" The Academy will properly investigate the case. The wrong will definitely be punished. ", The headmaster said calmly as he turned his head towards the file on the desk.

The Director didn"t reply and just gave Max a hostile look before leaving the cabin along with the four students.

…

Max looked at the Headmaster waiting for him to speak. But the silence in the room made him nervous and sweat started to slide down his forehead.

At this moment the Headmaster finally raised his head and brought his hands together and leaned back on his chair.

" Mr. Edwinson, do you really like seeing me? How much time has it been and you are here again.", the headmaster finally said with a smile.

Even though the man in front of him was smiling, it didn"t seem so in Max"s eyes.

"Um...I…", Max was having trouble finding his words in nervousness.

" Look at this ", the headmaster said as he turned the screen of his Laptop towards Max.

Seeing the footage Max almost cursed in front of the headmaster. It was the recording of his fight from yesterday.

" You are strong. Beating five people at once without batting an eye. ", Headmaster spoke calmly with a smile.

On the other hand, Max felt dizzy. He had lost too much water due to sweating in nervousness.

" It was self-defense. ", Max gritted his teeth and spoke in a single breath.

" I know about it. But sadly the person who recorded this footage didn"t record it from the very beginning. So, we don"t know who started it. ", Headmaster said.

" But…", Max"s brows narrowed. He really felt helpless. 

"What the h.e.l.l was that person doing! ", He cursed in his mind.

" But luckily it does tell that you were being ganged up on. ", Headmaster said and Max"s face brightened up a bit and he sighed in relief.

" But.." The headmaster continued speaking and slowly the smile on his face faded.

" It still doesn"t give you the right to beat someone to that extent. It is very clear from the footage who was the dominant side. Hence, you and all the students involved will be suspended from the Academy for a week"

Hearing the headmaster, Max felt his head go numb. He really didn"t expect it. Only if he hadn"t lost himself for a moment.

No, it wasn"t his fault. It was that b.a.s.t.a.r.d"s fault to begin with. If he knew beforehand that something like this would have happened. He would have made sure to break two more of his ribs.

"Sigh!"

Max released a sigh of helplessness as his face became dull. He then bowed a bit and  prepared to leave the cabin when the headmaster spoke once again.

" I am not done yet. ", 

Hearing him, Max stopped in his tracks and turned around towards the headmaster.

" Take it. ", Headmaster said as he took out a white envelope from the drawer and placed it on his desk.

Max looked at it in confusion. But still moved forward and took the envelope.

" It"s from the Dwarf. ", the headmaster said with a laugh.

" Hm!.. It"s from Mr. Stark. ", Max asked as a smile plastered in his face.

" Yes, it"s from him. I just talked to him yesterday. He really is proud of his disciple. He even said that " My Disciple would get Arcane the first place in the All-Academy Compet.i.tion" "

Hearing him, the smile on Max"s face faded and his lips twitched. But, since Mr. Stark had already shown so much confidence in him, he couldn"t let his face down. So he could only reply with.

" Yes, I will give my all to win the compet.i.tion. " 

The headmaster nodded his head with a smile. He knew that it wasn"t possible. But still if the student couldn"t even show some resolve, they would have lost even before the compet.i.tion began.

" Good! You have a week for yourself. Use it wisely. You may leave now. ", the headmaster said as he turned his head towards his files.

As Max left the room, the Headmasters phone rang. Seeing the caller ID which spelled " Dwarf " a smile appeared on the headmaster"s face and he picked the call.

Headmaster : I was just talking to your student..and now you called. Don"t tell me Dwarfs have psychic abilities.

Stark : One of these days, I will definitely bring my hammer down on your face.

Headmaster : Ha..Ha.. 

Stark : So what did you do? 

Headmaster : Since you already had asked for a week of leave for your disciple, I just suspended him for a week. It will also help when that guy raises some issues in the Board meeting.

Stark : Yes, you are right, Director John is ambitious. He has been eyeing your position all along. And he has got another matter to raise against you.

Headmaster : But why are you sending him away for a week?

Stark : The video you send me. You should have noticed it too. Something was wrong with Max"s behavior. I think it"s because of the incident that happened recently. I think it would be better for him to stay away from the Academy and focus on blacksmithing for a while.

Headmaster : I still don"t understand. Why don"t you train him yourself? You can even ask the Elders of your house to step in. They definitely won"t refuse since that boy is the wielder of that hammer.

Stark : Thinks aren"t as simple as they look. I feel that something is going on. I just don"t have concrete evidence yet. I don"t want to take any chance and risk the boys life by exposing his ident.i.ty.

Headmaster : Fine, do what you wish. I will be hanging now. I have got work to do.

….

On the other hand, Max quietly left the room. His face had several lines as he walked out of the room. He was gritting his teeth and holding himself from cursing at the notification window in front of him.

« Quest : Win the All-Academy Compet.i.tion »

« A Quest has been issued to encourage the Host to achieve his goal of Winning the All-Academy Compet.i.tion »

« Rewards : • 500000 FP

                     •Equipment x2

                    •Special Skill

                    •5★ Weapon     

                     • Upgrade Cards x8    »

The Rewards for the Quest were plentiful. But this wasn"t the reason for Max"s worries. The reason for his worries was the penalty.

Even though it was a single line, it shook him to the core.

« Penalty : 50% permanent decrease in stats »

He immediately walked out of the Headmasters office and made a dash towards the grounds. With his stats increasing the « Sprint Skill » had enhanced considerably too. Within a few seconds, he was already standing on the field.

" Ahhhhhh!!! "

Max screamed with all his might and then fell flat on his back.

He was lucky that there wasn"t anyone in the field as it was the time for the first cla.s.s.

After lying down a bit for a moment, Max suddenly realised something and immediately opened the Chatbox and began typing.

« Coward Cat : Everyone do not say anything about winning the All-Academy Compet.i.tion or else we will be doomed. Today, I….

…..

….

….. So, do not say it at any cost. » 

Max typed and informed everyone about all the things which occurred today. He was afraid that if something like this happened with others, then it would be a die and die situation. 

No matter who won, they would be the one to lose in the end.

« Average Man : Why did you accept such a quest?

« Bahamut : Yes.. It"s serious. We can"t afford anything like that. »

« Coward Cat : It"s like I had an option with it. »

« Average Man : What do you mean? »

« Bahamut : You just needed to refuse it. As long as it ain"t a Mission series Quest. You can refuse it. »

Max felt that something was wrong. So he immediately called upon the system.

" System, give me an explanation. Why don"t I have an option to refuse? "

« Reporting to Host, the System does have an option to refuse the Quest. But the option to refuse had been disabled by the Administrator. »

Max frowned at this revelation and asked, " Who"s the Administrator? "

« It"s the G.o.d of Architecture, whom Host had received the system from »

" F*ck, I knew it. D*mn you old geezer. ", Max shouted in anger.

…..

« Coward Cat : Sorry guys, but it looks like I don"t have the freedom to refuse the Quests. »

« Average Man : What!!! »

But at this moment, a message appeared in the Chatbox.

« I am Mr. Cool : Guys, I found something really important. »

« Bahamut : Where are you? Why didn"t you respond to my messages yesterday? »

« Average Man : Are you all right? »

« I am Mr. Cool : I am currently in the Hospital. »

« Coward Cat : What happened? »

« I am Mr. Cool : I took care of the Quest. But that"s not important. The situation is worse than we thought it to be. I found a link. There is a traitor in one of the Twelve n.o.ble Houses. »