Chapter 99: ICL
ARC 2: SHADOWS OF THE FORGOTTEN ONE
Four months.
That was how long had passed since Lucian returned from the Kharga mission. Four months of training, dungeon runs, classes, and carefully counting every single system credit.
The academy had changed around him. There was a buzz in the hallways. A tension in the lecture halls. Students who used to gossip about relationships and rankings now spoke in hushed, excited tones about one thing.
The International Champions League.
ICL. One of the biggest tournament in the world. Held once every three years at the end of each academy’s first year cycle. 48 major academies from across the globe. The best of the best. Champions, prodigies, clan heirs, monsters.
And in one month, the European All-Star Academy would send its team.
Lucian knew the buzz was justified. He also didn’t care about the hype. What he cared about were the rewards.
But first, he had a more immediate problem.
Thwack.
"Ow— fuck!"
The cane cracked across his shoulders. Lucian stumbled forward, his sword arm dropping. The wooden practice blade slipped from his fingers and clattered against the stone courtyard.
Allistar Flint sat in his rocking chair nearby, legs crossed, cane resting across his lap. His eyes were closed. His expression was serene.
"Come on." His voice was lazy. Disappointed. "You think that handsome face of yours will win you the tournament? Stop being so sloppy."
Lucian rubbed his shoulder. It already hurt from the three previous strikes. "Old man, you haven’t let me leave for the past month."
"Have I?"
"You literally teleport me back every time I try to sneak away."
Allistar’s lips twitched.
"Then stop trying to sneak away and start fixing that third form."
Lucian picked up his practice blade. His shoulders slumped. He’d been stuck on the third form of the Elipse Sword Art for two weeks now. The movement required a specific mana circulation pattern through the wrist and forearm that he just couldn’t nail consistently. One in ten attempts came out clean. The other nine were sloppy.
He swung. The blade moved in a wide horizontal arc. The mana circulation stuttered at the wrist joint. The crescent of light that should have extended from the blade flickered and died.
Thwack.
"Again."
Lucian swung again.
Thwack.
"Again."
This had been his life for thirty days.
"The ICL," Lucian said, trying a different approach as he reset his stance. "What do you know about it?"
Allistar opened one eye. "More than you."
"How do you know so much about it?"
Thwack.
Lucian’s head snapped sideways. The cane had caught him right on the ear. It throbbed.
"Don’t you know not to ask unnecessary questions?"
Lucian scratched his head, wincing. "Fine."
Allistar closed his eye again. He reached for the cup of tea on the small table beside his rocking chair. Brought it to his lips. Sipped.
Then spat it out.
Ptuui.
"What is this?" He stared at the cup with genuine disgust. "Haven’t you still learned how to make tea?"
Lucian walked over and picked up the cup. He took a sip. Swallowed.
"It’s okay."
Allistar looked at him flatly. "How would you know when your tastebuds are almost dead?"
Lucian set the cup down. Fair point.
Allistar leaned back in his rocking chair, the tea forgotten. He stared up at the sky with those closed eyes.
"The ICL rewards are significant," he said. His tone shifted — still lazy, but with an undercurrent of something serious beneath it. "Comprehension opportunities that can ignite stars. Improve your abilities to an entirely different level."
Lucian’s ears perked up.
"There are other rewards too." Allistar waved a hand vaguely. "But those are less important."
Ignite stars. That was exactly what Lucian needed. His Light Palace sat at three stars. His Crimson Origin at one. Every star ignition exponentially improved his spell efficiency, range, power and even help awaken a new spell.
"If you make it to the finals," Allistar continued, his rocking chair creaking slowly, "I might consider teaching you alchemy."
Lucian froze.
Alchemy. The ability to refine pills, elixirs, and compounds using mana and materials. It was a discipline that clans guarded more tightly than cultivation techniques. A single alchemist could produce pills worth fortunes — pills that expanded meridians, purified mana, healed injuries, temporarily boosted stats.
And Lucian had been saving every system credit he had because he couldn’t buy pills from the shop anymore. Not at the rate he needed them. His Transcendent Core demanded resources that made his previous consumption look like a joke.
"I’ll make the finals," Lucian said.
"We’ll see."
The system flickered in his vision.
╔═════════════════════╗
║ ◈ CHAIN QUEST GENERATED ◈ ║
║ INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ║
║ □ Make it to the team of 15 ║
║ Reward: +500 SC ║
║ □ Make it to the Round of 32 ║
║ Reward: +2,000 SC ║
║ □ Make it to the Round of 16 ║
║ Reward: +3,000 SC ║
║ □ Make it to the Quarter Finals ║
║ Reward: Light Burst Evolution ║
║ □ Make it to the Semi Finals ║
║ Reward: +5,000 SC ║
║ 10 Mid-Grade Mana Stones ║
║ □ Make it to the Finals ║
║ Reward: +10,000 SC ║
║ Bloodline Seal: -3% ║
╚═════════════════════╝
Lucian’s eyes scanned the rewards. No penalties. The Light Burst evolution was interesting — that spell was still at Novice level, barely used. An evolution could change that.
Then another notification flashed.
╔═════════════════════╗
║ ◈ ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE ◈ ║
║ Win the International Champions League ║
║ Reward: ║
║ ├─ Vial of Arcane Ascension ║
║ │ (Can evolve the grade of any single ability by one tier) ║
║ ├─ +20,000 SC ║
║ └─ Key to D-Rank Dungeon ║
║ Penalty: -40,000 SC ║
║ └─ Thrown into C-Rank Dungeon (Solo. No exit until cleared)
╚═════════════════════╝
Lucian stared at the penalty.
"Come on," he muttered under his breath. "It was just a thought and you had to add a penalty."
A C-Rank dungeon. Solo. He was Early Core Realm. C-Rank dungeons were designed for Grand Core Realm parties. Even with his Transcendent Core and bloodline abilities, that was essentially a death sentence.
He sighed.
But the rewards. The Vial of Arcane Ascension. A single vial that could evolve any ability by one tier. If he used it on his Light Control — A-Rank — it would jump to S-Rank. The implications were massive. S-Rank Light Control meant spells that could level city blocks. It meant his Light Palace would receive a fundamental upgrade that comprehension alone might take years to achieve.
And the 20,000 SC. Combined with the chain quest rewards, he’d have enough to complete the hidden quest.
Lucian checked his current credits.
╔═════════════════════╗
║ SYSTEM CREDITS: 68,000 SC ║
║ HIDDEN QUEST PROGRESS: ║
║ 68,000 / 100,000 SC ║
║ Time Remaining: ~120 days ║
╚═══════════════════════════╝
He’d gotten here through dungeon runs with Ryan over the past four months — hitting every F-Rank and E-Rank dungeon they could get permits for. With it, he was able to get quest to get more credits. But access was drying up. The mission board had fewer and fewer dungeon listings nowadays. The academy was hoarding dungeon access for ICL preparation, limiting what regular students could attempt.
He still needed 32,000 credits. The hidden quest had roughly four months left. But if he performed well in the ICL — which was only one month away — he could close that gap entirely.
Chain quest rewards: 500 + 2,000 + 3,000 + 5,000 + 10,000 = 20,500 SC.
Win bonus: 20,000 SC.
Total potential: 40,500 SC.
More than enough.
But this was a team tournament. 48 academies. The best young fighters of their generation on the planet. He couldn’t carry it alone. He’d need the team to perform well enough to reach the later stages, and then he’d need to personally perform well enough to win.
No penalty for the chain quest stages though. Just the final win objective.
That was something.
As for the Knights of the Horizon, Hassan hadn’t made a single move in four months. No attacks. No base discoveries. No new intelligence. It was like he’d vanished off the face of the earth. Miss Solstice had gone quiet on the matter too, which meant either they were handling it internally or they’d hit a dead end.
Lucian suspected the latter.
But that was a problem for later. Right now, he had a cane-wielding blind man to appease and a sword form to fix.
He picked up the practice blade.
Lucian adjusted his grip. Closed his eyes. Focused on the mana circulation pattern — through the shoulder, down the forearm, into the wrist, out through the palm, along the blade.
He swung.
The crescent of light extended from the blade. Clean. Stable. Three meters of glowing arc that cut through the air with a soft whoosh.
Allistar cracked one eye open.
"Again."
Lucian swung again. Clean.
"Again."
Clean.
"Again."
Lucian grinned.
Thwack.
"Stop grinning and keep swinging.