The Useless Prince Is A Gangster
Chapter 162. Three Months After

Chapter 162: 162. Three Months After

After three months of intense training, with the election tournament’s first rounds just days away, the Academy’s arena grounds buzzed with anticipation.

With the exception of a few spectators, the stands, which are typically crowded with enthusiastic fans, were almost empty.

Professors Vaelm and Avoor leaned against the low railing, staring at the lone figure below. With her staff resting against the arena wall, Rin Valarune stretches with fluid precision.

Avoor’s voice was dry as he raised a doubtful eyebrow, his tall frame crowned with fiery orange hair. "Is our time truly worth this girl?"

"She played a key role in the hunting cage incident," Vaelm said, adjusting his glasses. "Like Leonhardt, she might be a diamond in the making."

Avoor crossed his arms and scoffed. "I’ve seen her in the gold section, talent or not. It’s difficult to impress me."

Their joking was interrupted by a clear, assured voice. "Dismissing my disciple already?" Professor Isolde came over, her eyes glimmering with playful challenge, her blue hair glistening in the sunlight. She joined them at the railing and looked proudly at Rin. "Instead of doubting her, I invited you to be envious of my find."

Avoor narrowed his eyes and spoke in a doubtful tone. "What gives you such confidence in her?"

Isolde had a serene smile with a hint of assurance. "She is not like any other student I have taught. Today, she is going to show her full potential."

"Anyway, who’s her sparring partner?" Vaelm asked, looking through his glasses.

As a new figure entered the arena, Isolde’s grin widened and she looked toward it. The professors’ jaws dropped as they froze. Glistening in his gold brooch, Lucian Caulem enters. He twirled his sword between his palms, its blade flashing with a deadly sheen, and stretched arms casually.

Vaelm’s voice became tense. Isolde", Lucian is among the best in the Academy. Do you think Valarune can manage him?"

Isolde’s voice remained steady and her confidence unwavering. "See and learn."

Velmera sat with Mori, Annalena, and Joel in the empty stands, their bronze brooches gleaming in the light as they yelled encouragement for Rin and Lucian, their voices echoing throughout the deserted arena. Erin Dranemount, on the other side, was leaning against the railing, her violet eyes and gold brooch glinting as she looked at Rin with a mixture of quiet admiration and curiosity.

Rin held out her hand, the bright azure surface of her staff flaring as it whipped into her grasp with a gentle hum. Her voice was warm as she turned to Lucian, her pink eyes burning with determination. "Lucian, I appreciate you being my sparring partner."

Lucian’s gray eyes glowed mischievously as he gave a roguish smile. "Anything to win your forgiveness on my brother, Senior Rin."

Rin’s cheeks flushed, a pout flickering as she tightened her grip on the staff, but her focus sharpened. Isolde’s voice echoed from the stands, clear and commanding. "Get ready!"

"I’m already ready," Leo muttered, his crimson eyes fixed on the huge monster, its ugly shape towering like a nightmare made of twisted nature.

Leo stood ready in a forest clearing, deep in a forbidden area, his katana glowing with crackling flames that threw dancing shadows.

Leo stood poised in a clearing of the forest, he’s in restricted area, his katana ablaze with crackling flames that cast flickering shadows.

[Creature Identified!]

[Harvest Mantis, Rank: A]

Elynn’s interface pinged in his vision.

This enormous praying mantis, with its six spiked claws gleaming with peril, is composed of tangled vines and jagged thorns. The air was filled with sweet, dizzying pollen from its head, which was topped with poisonous flowers.

The mantis challenged Leo with a loud, bone-shaking screech, its thorny arms trembling.

It lunged, its enormous body defying gravity, in a blur of terrifying speed. In an attempt to split Leo in two, two front claws slashed in a deadly arc.

The ground exploded in a spray of dirt and splintered roots where he had stood, thorns burying deep like spears as he dodged aside.

A volley of thorn projectiles erupted from its spiny back as it spun, its segmented body unnaturally fluid.

Leo twisted, his katana flashing in fiery arcs, deflecting the thorns with metallic clangs, sparks flying. But their relentless barrage forced him back, boots skidding through leaves, the forest floor crunching beneath him.

The mantis surged forward, its claws snapping like guillotines, each swing shredding saplings and carving deep scars into the earth.

Pollen thickened the air, its hypnotic pull gnawing at Leo’s focus, threatening to dull his senses. His grin widened, crimson eyes blazing. "Not today," he growled, unleashing a pulse of aura that erupted in a fiery shockwave, he growled, releasing a burst of aura that exploded in a fiery wave, burning the pollen in a hot flash, his katana’s flames roaring brighter, sizzling the air.

Enraged, the mantis screeched, its claws slashing for his chest. Leo’s smirk flickered as he summoned Shadow Tendrils, dark wisps weaving through the air with ghostly precision, slipping past the mantis’s claws to rake its vine-woven limbs.

The creature recoiled, its screeches piercing as the tendrils tore gashes in its thorny hide, green sap oozing like blood.

But it was far from defeated. Its flower-crowned head tilted, venomous spores bursting in a choking cloud. Leo’s eyes narrowed, shifting tactics.

[Skill Activated: Frost Veil]

A swirling mist of ice enveloped him, freezing the spores mid-air, their crystalline forms shattering into glittering shards that tinkled like broken glass on the forest floor.

"Time to end this," Leo muttered, his voice low and resolute. With Shadow Step, he vanished in a blur, reappearing above the mantis, katana raised. He plunged the blade through its flower-crowned head, mana surging through the steel.

Ice erupted from the strike, crackling as it encased the mantis’s thorny shell in a brittle frost. Then he switched to fire, burning the creature from within. The mantis unleashed a final, guttural screech, its body collapsing into a smoldering heap of ash and frost, crumbling into the forest floor like a fallen titan.

A rustle snapped Leo’s attention to the bushes. A white panther, sleek and deadly, burst from the undergrowth, amber eyes locked on him, claws gleaming.

Leo’s smirk widened, fearless, as Nimbus, in panther form, exploded from the shadows. The two beasts collided mid-air, a whirlwind of snarls and slashing claws, tumbling through the leaves in a primal clash.

They sprang apart, landing with coiled grace, fangs bared, muscles rippling, their low growls reverberating through the forest.

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