High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 921: Chapter 269: Four Spots

January 1, New Year’s Day.

Night, 9:05 PM.

Jiuyou Academy, dormitory for men, Room 403.

The desk was covered with snacks such as popcorn chicken, potato grids, fries, and puffs, as well as a variety of beverages including Green Bee and Amber Light. In addition to that, the ceiling was adorned with temporary garlands and streamers pulled together by the sprites, interspersed with several colorful balloons painted with ghostly faces.

All the members of the Absolution Knight Group, including Monk Shi Yuan, who had been out of sight for a long time, gathered in this not very spacious room, discussing something fervently.

The topic was only one, the Arcana list announced tonight.

Or more specifically, the impact of the new Arcana list on the Absolution Knight Group.

”I have a very reliable source of information,” said Xin Fat Man, who was a journalist for the campus newspaper and had first-hand news, becoming the host of tonight’s meeting.

He held a small flowerpot in one hand, the Speaker Flowers inside it crazily shaking their heads under his spray of saliva.

In his other hand, he swung a rolled-up copy of the campus newspaper, looking around with a smug expression, slightly raising his voice: ”This year, a total of twenty-two people have dropped out of the 2008 Arcana list, including two from the Great Arcana and twenty from the Small Arcana... that is to say, there are also twenty-two new entries to the Arcana list.”

Everyone quietly stared at the Fat Man, eyes twinkling with joy and excitement.

Before the meeting started, everyone had vaguely heard some news, but it was not yet confirmed.

”In this list!” the Fat Man shouted, swinging the newspaper in his hand downward forcefully: ”Our Absolution Knight Group holds four of these twenty-two slots!”

”Wow!”

The dorm erupted in a wave of enthusiastic applause and cheers, buzzing Zheng Qing’s ears.

A slight smile squeezed onto his face as he nodded continuously, thanking his companions warmly, though deep down, he did not feel the slightest bit happy.

Just like the Fat Man had said to him earlier, he also didn’t think he qualified to be on the Great Arcana list. With merit not matching his position, it was inevitable that he felt uneasy and restless.

In the center of the dormitory, Xin Fat Man tossed the newspaper back onto the desk with his right hand and transferred the Speaker Flower pot to his right hand, then loudly announced, ”Starry Sky sequence, Attendant, Lin Guo!”

The little warlock from Alpha Academy screamed, raising his little fists and vigorously waving them in mid-air. His face was full of pride and joy.

The sprites promptly presented the little warlock with garlands while stuffing his hands with various delicious snacks.

”Swords, sequence nine, Blue Bird!”

”Phew~” Dylan whistled, half-emerging from his coffin, patting Blue Bird on the shoulder: ”Truly unsurprising!”

The handsome swordsman in a blue robe silently nodded, yet he did not show much delight.

His complexion was somewhat pale.

Ever since his defeat before the Wild Demon swarm in the last freshmen competition, Blue Bird had become increasingly reticent. According to Dylan, who was from the same academy, because of his reckless fighting style, even second-year students or even more senior veterans at Starry Sky Academy were unwilling to face Blue Bird in an unrestricted arena.

”Scepter, sequence seven, Doctor Xiao!”

Xiao Xiao lay sprawled on his desk, using his notebook as a pillow. At the sound of the words, he lifted his arm and raised the feather pen in his hand to indicate he was listening.

Once again, the dormitory erupted into a lively cheer and applause but quickly fell silent.

Everyone was listening for the last name.

Xin Fat Man took a breath, made a dance-like turn of his arms, gave an exaggerated bow in Zheng Qing’s direction, and announced loudly, ”And, from the Arcana list, the Great Arcana Sequence, code ’World’... student Zheng Qing!”

”Wow!”

Instead of more vigorous applause, a satisfied, long sigh filled the dormitory. It was the type of sigh released only after curiosity had been fully satisfied.

”Even though I was mentally prepared, hearing this news is still a bit frightening,” Xiao Xiao removed his glasses and cleaned the lenses with a fine cloth, talking to himself.

”I always felt that Brother Qing was meant to get the position of the Knight of Wands,” Zhang Ji Xin, holding Fat Cat Tuan Tuan, muttered while stroking the cat’s fur with his thick fingers, ”I remember a period when he liked to fiddle with a Knight of Wands tarot card wherever he went...”

Zheng Qing, who had been hanging his head in a daze, suddenly felt his face heat up at Zhang Ji Xin’s words.

”Those amulets Elena gave us to suppress nightmares weren’t because he had any special thoughts or preferences for the Knight of Wands,” Xin Fat Man, acting as the host, smoothly picked up on Elder Zhang Da’s words, clearing up his confusion while also keeping the mood from sinking:

”Enough chit-chat... Now, would the 2009 Great Arcana Sequence ’World’, recipient of the Merlin Medal, publicly funded student of Jiuyou Academy, Captain of the Absolution Knights, and Leader of the Absolution Hunting Team, student Zheng Qing, please deliver a speech and express his thoughts!”

Upon hearing Xin Fat Man’s enumeration of titles and terms, the attendees burst out laughing and began clapping even more merrily.

Zheng Qing scratched his head; Xin Fat Man hadn’t mentioned anything about this bit.

He looked around, and the dormitory quickly quieted down again, with everyone eagerly fixing their gaze on him, curious about what he was going to say.

Zheng Qing stood up, his face full of distress.

”I don’t even know why,” he spread his hands as he first addressed the question on everyone’s mind, ”I know you are all curious why the magic wand listed me in the Great Arcana... Truthfully, I am even more curious.”

”Let’s talk about something else,” Xiao Xiao interjected, interrupting Zheng Qing’s defense, ”As for the specific reasons, we just need to pay attention to the public opinion over the next few days, and we’ll definitely uncover something... For now, as the Captain of the Absolution Knights, you should discuss the impact of securing four Arcana slots on the club, and your plans for further development.”

Zheng Qing touched his nose, skeptical about Doctor Xiao’s statement.

How could the gossip-prone media know anything about a matter not even the concerned party understood?

But it wasn’t the time for such arguments.

What Xiao Xiao just said made a lot of sense.

With that thought, Zheng Qing cleared his throat and immediately began according to the pre-arranged script, ”This announcement of the Arcana list greatly benefits our club, and it also greatly aids our Hunting Team’s application to become an officially registered Hunting Team.”

”Therefore, first of all, I suggest awarding each Arcana member a jade coin to encourage them... Apart from the surplus from opening a shop before, there’s some balance left in the club’s funds.”

Upon hearing he planned to reward himself with jade coins, a wave of hisses rose in the dormitory, but that didn’t stop everyone from unanimously raising their arms to pass the suggestion.

Zheng Qing’s face lit up with a brilliant smile as he began ticking off his fingers, analyzing other impacts and plans.