AT the halls of the third-year’s teaching building of Guizu Academy, a certain topic had been brewing.


    "Tomorrow will be the start of the two-days finals of the Rookie Carnival. I’m super excited to watch it!"


    "Are you going to watch it live on the venue or are you watching it on the live broadcast?"


    "Are you kidding? Of course, I will watch it live on the venue. I already bought a ticket."


    "Me as well. Where do you think the venue will be this year?"


    "It’s a tournament, so it will definitely be the Floating Coliseum."


    "I think so too. The final contestants this year are all pretty good. Unlikest year where anyone could immediately tell who would win."


    "Who do you think would win?"


    "I have my bet set on Dragnar, the golden dragon. His performance during the prelims was really outstanding. Besides, being a dragon clearly gives him a lot of advantage."


    "I think the yer Razor’s performance was also quite good. I’m quite curious what his race is."


    "That panther beastkin – ck Cat – also showed a good performance during the prelims. His ability to use his race to his advantage was awesome in a way."


    "Speaking of race, there were three yers with a special race who qualified for the final tournament, right?"


    "Yeah, the moon elf, the dark elf, and the chaos gnome."


    "That dark elf, Malekith, his skills were interesting."


    "True but I’m more interested in the other elf – Noctis. Being the new member of Yunyue, there’s a lot of hype around him. And have you heard that notification about him and YUN defeating the Dark Saint? YUN is definitely training him to win."


    "I would really be disappointed if he didn’t live up to the hype he’s getting."


    "Isn’t the chaos gnome also a new member of Yunyue? What was his name again?"


    "I also forgot. I just know that it’s long and funny."


    "Ah, I remember! It’s ’the amazing young master Jin’!"


    "Hahaha! That’s right! Every time I hear it, it still gets me. How could someone pick such a terrible game name?"


    "It’s like a middle school kid who lost patience whileing up with a name and ended up using the craziest name he could think of."


    "Have you heard of a rumor that there’s actually a student in our school that will participate in finals of the Rookie Carnival?"


    "Was there such a rumor? I never heard of it."


    "It’s true. I heard one of my friends from another ss talking about it."


    "Wait- aren’t you just talking about that girl who looks like Vulcan? I’ve also heard rumors that she must be that famous cksmith. Maybe the rumor just got distorted and it turned into that."


    "Or maybe it’s ’the amazing young master Jin’. And he’s actually Luo Jin from the second years."


    All the people who heard thatst part turned to the one who spoke as if he’s crazy.


    "Just don’t let that young master hear you say that. Although Luo Jin has been pretty tamed since the school year started, you know how crazy that guy could be."


    "Yeah, be careful, you might just find yourself hanging on the wall if that young master finds out that you said that."


    "Besides, you really think someone like him would be interested in Arcadia and even name himself such a stupid name?"


    Luo Yan, who was walking on the hall with Yu Jiao and heard thatst part of conversation, used every bit of willpower he had just so he wouldn’t burst outughing.


    Yu Jiao, who noticed this, shook her head helplessly. She could only think that it’s good Luo Jin wasn’t here to hear this. Or else, what they’re saying might juste true.


    It was already lunch time. So, these people talking on the hall was on their way to eat lunch. It’s the same for Luo Yan and Yu Jiao. That’s why they both heard what most people around them were talking about. And it was mostly about the finals of the Rookie Carnival tomorrow.


    "Is it true that there’s a rumor going around about you being Vulcan?" Luo Yan asked in a low voice in case someone heard them.


    Honestly, he hadn’t heard of such a rumor. But considering how Yu Jiao was now not wearing her sses and was even showing her forehead, making everyone see her handsome face clearly, it wouldn’t be too weird if such a rumor indeed existed. Because she looked exactly like her game avatar. The only difference was that one was a male and the other a female.


    "Well," Yu Jiao scratched her cheeks. "Some girls in our ss have been asking me about it but I never gave them a clear answer."


    But even if she didn’t, they were already acting as if she was. Even the boys in their ss were giving him weird looks. It’s not really that much of a hassle since they weren’t harassing her about it. She just wondered how long that wouldst.


    "If someone harassed you about it, just tell me. I’ll help you deal with them," Luo Yan said as if reading what’s on her mind.


    Yu Jiao just smiled and did not answer. How could she trouble Luo Yan with such a simple thing? If she couldn’t even handle something like that, then she might as well just return to her timid self that cowered in the face of everything.


    "I’m actually more curious about the rumor that someone from our school is part of the Rookie Carnival’s finals," she said, changing the topic. She added in a low voice, "Do you think anyone has discovered about you and Luo Jin?"


    Luo Yan didn’t mind that the other no longer wanted to talk about the Vulcan rumor. So, he just followed along and said in an even lower voice, "It’s not only us two actually. There’s another one who’s also a student here."


    As if on cue, they suddenly bumped into a familiar face – Ying Chen.


    Luo Yan only thought, ’speak if the devil and he shall appear’.