That would be stupid!

"Now that every one of you has awakened your elemental affinity and can use it on at least a basic level, the elemental manipulation class will now end. Now, you have the choice to either join a specific elemental class suited to your element, or, you can have this block of time as self-study."

A lot of the students who had picked Ms. Turner's course had already moved on to a specific elemental class, but now, everyone had to move on as it was coming to an end.

For me, there was no mist elemental course on Ainu, as it was an incredibly rare derivative element, thus it was hard to make a decision. I could always join the wind manipulation class, but it felt inefficient because of how different the nature of my element was.

Although I could compress the mist to a pretty big degree, it was never enough for it to be used like the wind element, for which it was natural to send out wind blades or blow enemies back with strong gales.

The wind element could be fierce and brutal, while at the same time being soft and gentle, while the mist element didn't have as broad of a nature and, though it could be used incredibly flexibly, it was always unassuming, concealing, and deceiving.

So the decision was fairly simple for me to make, I would use the block of time as a self-study session.

Just as I was about to make my way out of the room, a certain princess once again came to check on me, as she had done multiple times this week already.

"Hey, James. What are you planning on doing? Are you going to pick an elemental class or self-study? And how's your body?"

Sarah had been acting very differently this whole week, no longer being the shy girl she acted like before. It was as if the dungeon dive had triggered something inside of her that made her no longer hesitant in wanting to get to know me.

"Haaa... I'm going to pick the self-study session and my body is fine. Just like it was a couple of hours ago."

It wasn't that I couldn't appreciate her worrying about me, but it was a bit too much when she felt the need to ask me every time she saw me. After a second of pouting, she changed subjects as her face got excited, "Okay... But are you excited for tonight then? It's going to be my first time going to a club! I wonder what it's like!"

I wasn't that excited about it at all, but with Sophie telling me that this was the least I could do for Sarah after she saved my life, it wasn't like I could refuse when they asked me to join them.

So this week had been hard, too hard, especially when the stupid brat of a noble wouldn't leave me alone, continuing to talk about how I would regret angering him and challenging me to duels. It had gone so far that I was now considering accepting his challenge, even though it was a waste of time, just to get to beat him up.

Not wanting to bring Sarah's mood down, I tried my best to at least sound moderately happy about our little trip tonight. "Sure. It's probably going to be... great..."

Once again, her face changed, somehow clearly seeing through my expert acting.

"Stop being such a downer, James! If you don't have anything good to say, just don't say anything!"

A wild dragon appears!

'I just want to go home...'

The big woman quickly came to rescue the princess, not wanting her to feel bad about forcing me to go out with them.

"Don't listen to him, Sarah. You know that he is just bad at showing his feelings. He is actually pretty excited!"

"Is he?"

'Am I?'

"Yea! So let's get going and choose what we are going to wear! We only have four hours before we have to be at the restaurant for our reservation!"

"Un!"

Then they were gone, walking away with both of them looking equally exhilarated while thinking of dressing up.

'How should I spend my time then? I guess I can read about the animal I want to be able to [Materialize] into.'

However, my journey to return to where I belonged was once again interrupted, this time by a familiar red-head, a rare sight as he wasn't accompanied by his loyal lackey.

"James! You have dishonored me too many times now! I..."

"I accept."

"You can't keep de... What did you say?!"

His face looked even stupider than normal, as he realized what I had just done.

Shrugging my shoulders, I told him my demands, "I accept, as long as we do it right now. I'm going out in a couple of hours, after all."

=======

Standing in front of each other, we had already made out way to the training grounds and entered the sparring circle. An unfamiliar teacher was brought as the judge of our duel, as well as protect us in case something happens.

Mike had somehow also managed to gather his little group of bullies, a group that Bellatrix was no longer part of for some reason.

Instead, it was his ever-loyal John and some Der students standing around us.

"Student Mike, name your stakes!"

The teacher didn't want to waste any time, so he initiated the process of the duel.

With a cheeky grin on his face, the silly bully spoke loudly, "If I win, I want James Jackson to promise to join the Denver guild when he graduates from Ainu!"

It was such a preposterous demand, something that just shouldn't be accepted as it was way too extreme for just an ordinary duel.

However...

"Student James, do you accept his stake?"

I readied myself and responded with equal volume, making sure that my response would be heard by all.

"I do not! That would be stupid!"

...

Everything went quiet for a second, with no one being able to understand how I could just openly refuse his demand. As if they believed was natural that I would disregard any sort of logic just to stimulate the testosterone in the air.

"Student James has declined the stake! Student Mike, you have one more chance at putting forth a reasonable stake. If it was to be refused once more, the duel will be nulled and you will not be allowed to challenge each other for the period of a month!"

Mike's face completely warped, clearly showing that he hadn't thought about this possibility at all.

"Shit! Fine! My new demand is that if I win, James has to... has to... declare that I'm better than him!"

'Really?'

It was such a shitty demand, showing off just how bad he was at using his brain during stress.

"Student James! Do you accept the stake?"

I didn't need any time to think about it, there was literally nothing for me to lose, "I accept."

Continuing on, it was my turn to state my demands.

"Student James! Name your stakes!"

"If I win, I want Mike Denver to send me one million USD!"

"Fuck no! No way! How is that fair?!"

The man got exasperated at my ridiculous demand, stomping the ground repeatedly in anger.

The teacher read his reaction as a refusal to accept the terms, so he threw the ball back to my court.

"Student Mike does not accept the stakes. Student James, you have..."

"Then I do not accept the duel!"

Once again the silence descended around us, as no one could believe what I had just said.

Not minding all the open mouths, I turned around, showing that I was just about to get on with my day.

"Wait! Fuck! I accept, okay?! I accept your ridiculous demand!"

'Bingo!'

Rotating back to the infuriated boy, I tried my best to not let a smug smile emerge on my face.

It was just so ridiculously easy to make him budge, knowing that he was probably desperate to prove to everyone that he was more powerful than me.

Even after the dive into the Wolf's Den, he didn't believe that I took down the boss by myself, thinking I had used some elaborate trick to fake it.

So right now, after I finally accepted the duel he had issued almost every day, he didn't want to lose this opportunity to show me my place.

"Student Mike accepts the stakes. Both students have agreed to the terms. The countdown will begin."

We both brought out our weapons, creating a flurry of snickers coming from the crowd as they saw me bring out my farmer's tool. However, I couldn't care less.

Even though it was exhausting to be in the middle of all of these people, the focus I had on making a quick buck easily dominated my anxiety.

My opponent also thought it to be ridiculous, "Pfft! A scythe? Guess a commoner will always be a commoner! You seem to be well suited to use it!"

I just kept a smile on my face, already thinking about all the things I could do with his money.

'Thinking about it, I still have that token to withdraw an artifact from the king... I should probably use it...'

"5,4,3,2,1, fight!"