The weapons I forge are absolutely flawless.

The Blue Lions, led by Dimily, easily achieved victory.

Now that the Black Eagles and Golden Deer have grown strong enough, they naturally want to get their revenge.

All three are future leaders of the continent of Fódora. Such an opportunity to appear side by side at the same Griffin Feast is one that will never come again in this lifetime.

If leading one's subordinates to victory not only boosts national morale, but also represents a significant intangible political asset.

This battle of griffins has already subtly become the focus of attention across the entire continent.

"...At that time, all countries will send their top officials to the academy to observe the ceremony, and the final outcome will be a matter of national pride. In preparation for this battle, the three major universities have already begun to build momentum," Bartonvina explained.

“I understand what you’re saying, but what does this have to do with me?” Wiener asked, puzzled. “The competition between the three academic classes has nothing to do with us first-year students, does it?”

"How could there not be? Besides the grand finale, the Griffin Battle, there will also be individual arena battles divided by grade. Each round you advance not only earns you rewards from the school but also gives you exposure in front of so many important figures. So everyone is racking their brains to improve their competitiveness," Baal replied.

With less than half a month left before the start of the Griffin War, it will be quite difficult to make further breakthroughs in martial arts and battle aura.

As a result, they will naturally focus their attention on weapons and equipment.

"It's all about cramming for love at the last minute."

Now Viner finally understood why the other students were looking at her with such eager eyes.

“After all, nobody wants to miss this opportunity,” Barr remarked.

"That includes you, right?" Wiener countered.

“Indeed.” Baal smiled slightly. “You offered to forge weapons for me so early on, I can’t let you get away this time.”

"Well... it's not impossible." Viner scratched his head and smiled wryly. "I'm mainly curious about something. There should be quite a few blacksmiths available in the academy, so why are they all targeting me?"

"There's no time. The second and third-year alchemy students have been requisitioned by the three major academic departments and can't spare any time. Among the first-year students, you're generally considered to be the most skilled," Baal said matter-of-factly.

Although Viner is nominally affiliated with the Fighting Academy, who would really treat him as an ordinary Fighting Academy student?

With Felix's reputation as a living example, coupled with the Dean's personal endorsement at the commendation ceremony, anyone who still thinks that Vener is just an ordinary blacksmith is the biggest fool of all.

"You flatter me," Viner said with a light wave of his hand, shamelessly adding, "Even if you include all three grades, no one else can surpass me in forging skills."

Baal: "......"

“However, let me be clear from the start,” Viner said, changing the subject, “my forging schedule is quite tight, and I can’t spend too much time customizing it for you.”

“I understand,” Baal nodded. “Even if you wanted to tailor-make a set of equipment for me, I couldn’t afford the price.”

He already owed Wiener a favor, and if this matter hadn't been so important, he wouldn't have dared to keep asking Wiener for the weapon.

“That’s good. What’s your current axe-wielding skill level? What kind of axe do you want? Send it to me, and I’ll get it ready for you this week,” Vena said, patting Baal on the shoulder.

“Okay, I’ll send it to you later.” Barr gave Vina a grateful look.

During the conversation, Professor Hannemann had already entered the classroom, and the classroom instantly fell silent.

"In this pre-war battle against the Griffin, all first-year students will participate, including the Magic Academy and the Alchemy Academy. No one should take any chances."

After the lecture, Professor Hannemann reminded everyone again.

“Professor Hannemann, this competition format is completely unfair to our Magic Academy,” someone immediately raised their hand and complained.

Upon hearing this, Professor Hannemann slowly turned to the student who had spoken, looking at him with a deep gaze.

"You say it's unfair, right? Then I'd like to ask you, Dobunk, what were you doing when the academy organized the Magic Academy and the Alchemy Academy to work together on improving the alchemical golems?"

Although St. Freya Academy encourages students to develop in different fields, it is essentially a military academy, with everything based on practical combat.

Only after fulfilling one's duties can one be qualified to conduct research that interests them.

If you can't even complete the most basic things, then there's no point in talking about anything else.

This can be seen from the research topics assigned to the three institutes.

Even if students from the combat academy don't achieve an immediate breakthrough in rank after experiencing actual combat, they can still greatly improve their fighting spirit and experience.

The Demon Academy and the Alchemy Institute researched how to use various external objects to compensate for their weaknesses.

Considering the issue that spellcasters cannot replenish their spell slots if they complete the entire competition in one day, the academy has granted special permission for students from the Magic Academy and Alchemy Academy to bring magic puppets and alchemical golems to participate in the competition.

"I..." Dobunk's expression changed slightly, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time.

He thought, "Since there are always slackers, why can't I be one of them?" and stubbornly coasted through for half a month after being assigned to a group.

Although the other members of the group did not receive recognition from the college, they gained valuable knowledge and experience from the discussion, but Dobunk gained nothing.

"In this individual competition, more than winning or losing, we hope that every participant can verify what they have learned and understand, and hone their character and skills."

"You entered this academy carrying the honor of your families; do not let the family crest be tarnished by your own negligence," Hannemann said earnestly, hoping to awaken some of the students.

Upon hearing this, in addition to Dobonk, many other students from the Magic Academy also lowered their heads.

The Fighting Academy values ​​strength above all else. Even a reclusive guy like Sigurd earned the respect of others through his almost harsh training regimen.

The Alchemy Institute is like an ivory tower; the students who can step into its gates all have their own clear goals and do not need to be urged.

Only the Demon Academy seemed like an anomaly.

Some students easily gain admission to universities by virtue of their prominent family backgrounds, thus occupying a large amount of educational resources, yet they lack the motivation to improve themselves.

The time I spend shuttling between dances and tea parties each week is even longer than the time I spend quietly studying in the library.

Hannemann was heartbroken to see them fall into such a state of depravity.

Chapter 258 Sigurd is unable to defend himself

"bell!!!"

The melodious school bell rang as scheduled.

After Professor Hannemann left the classroom, Wiener also packed his things and prepared to leave through the back door.

Many students saw that Wiener wanted to leave and realized that if they didn't hurry, they would never have another chance, so they surged forward like a tide.

“Vina, do you have a moment? I’d like to discuss a commission with you.” The student closest to the door stopped Viner.

"Get out of here, stop with all this beating around the bush!" A student pushed his way through the crowd, shoving the former aside, and shouted directly, "Vina, could you please forge a weapon for me?"

"Me too! I'd also like you to help me forge weapons!"

"Yeah, we're all classmates, let's just do each other a favor!"

As if worried that Venere might slip away in the blink of an eye, the originally spacious gate was suddenly packed with people.

Seeing that escape was impossible, Vena had no choice but to raise her hands and shout, "Quiet down, can you listen to me for a moment?"

The students at the very front quieted down immediately, but some students continued to push and shove as they tried to get in.

Seeing this, Wiener didn't rush to speak.

"Stop pushing! Quiet down, everyone can hear you!"

Some people realized that Wiener wouldn't speak unless they quieted down, so they took the initiative to maintain order.

The classroom finally quieted down.

Having achieved her goal, Wiener slowly spoke, "Dear students, I understand how you feel. However, I also hope you can be understanding of me."

“I, Vina, am not a three-headed, six-armed being. Weapons can only be forged one at a time. If so many people come to me with commissions, I can’t handle them all even if I don’t eat or drink.”

"Furthermore, the individual battles in the Griffin Wars are divided into grade groups, so your competitors are all around you. If I forge weapons for all of you, it will be the same as not forging any at all. It would just be a waste of credits."

Wiener's theory of weapon relativity convinced a group of students, while some who were already on the periphery and unable to get in quietly dispersed.

But some people still refused to give up: "Why not just make it for me? I want the weapon and the armor."

The set of equipment that Mikazuki possessed, which combined offense and defense, had long been the object of envy.

These words immediately caused a ripple in the crowd, with someone promptly making a sarcastic remark.

"Hey, have you no shame?"

"If you're not satisfied, then do it yourself. The highest bidder wins."

"Hehe, custom-made equipment from me is quite expensive, young man. I'm worried you might not have enough credits," Viner said with a faint smile.

"...Approximately how much?"

Upon hearing what Wiener said, the arrogant student who wanted everything suddenly felt a little guilty, worried that Wiener would ask for an exorbitant amount.

“You can ask Sigurd about that. If I offer you a lower price than Sigurd, he probably won’t be too happy,” Viner shrugged.

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes turned to Sigurd.

As soon as they saw the other party about to leave through the main entrance, both the student who had asked about the price earlier and the student who had made sarcastic remarks later swarmed around them.

On the contrary, the person in question, Venus, found herself in an empty space.

This is exactly the effect Wiener hoped to achieve.

"hehe."

Seeing Sigurd surrounded, Viner smiled slightly and then left the classroom.

"Sigurd, I heard you also asked Venere to forge equipment for you, is that right?"

"How many credits would it take to have Wiener custom-make a complete set of equipment?"

"How effective is the equipment that Wiener crafted?"

The students watching asked a barrage of questions.

"What a mess."

This was the first time Sigurd, who always had a stern face and projected an image of being unapproachable, had been surrounded by people like this.

But then he thought, isn't this a golden opportunity to suppress Wiener?

He then said, "Yes, that's true, but he's asking for five thousand credits."

Sigurd intended to expose Viña's outrageous demands and ruin his reputation, but the message was misinterpreted by others.

“That’s expensive. No wonder Wiener told us to ask Sigurd. He must be worried that we wouldn’t believe the price he quoted.

"Sigurd is amazing, he actually managed to earn so many credits."

"If it's Mikazuki's equipment, 5,000 credits doesn't seem too expensive?"

"It's a pity I don't have that many credits, otherwise I would definitely want to experience it."

No, I didn't—

Even though Sigurd had realized something was wrong, how could he explain it all by himself?

“We understand, we understand. Sigurd wants to keep this a secret weapon.”

"Sigurd is already hard to beat, and with the equipment crafted by Wiener, isn't winning the individual competition a sure thing?"

"It's hard to say. After all, Felix's equipment was also forged by Viner, so its quality is probably no worse than Sigurd's."

"I can't even imagine the scene where the battle for the championship and the runner-up position turns into a battle of contradictions."

Knowing they had no chance, the students left one after another, just as they had inexplicably surrounded them.

Given Sigurd's personality, and the impossibility of truly lowering himself to explain to each person individually, he could only leave indignantly.

-----------------

With the competition approaching, many more students are spending their time in the library after school.

Many freshmen from the Magic Academy, who hadn't been to the library much in the first month of the semester, also came early to reserve seats.

Whether it's a genuine change or a last-minute attempt to improve, it's still a positive change.

"I just saw that Sigurd's face turned green with anger."

After checking the books in, Lisette headed towards the lounge.

"Is it my fault?" Viner grinned, feigning ignorance.

“Otherwise?” Listy was amused by Vena’s expression. “Given Sigurd’s personality, making him lower himself to deny and explain one by one would probably be more painful than killing him.”

“He could have chosen to publish a statement in the newspaper,” Wiener suggested as a solution.

“No,” Listy shook her head. “Sylvan is a member of the Blue Lions class, and Sigurd would never bow down to his opponent for help.”

"Too proud to suffer for it," Wiener commented.