Rise of the Crusader
Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Meeting Serena

“Raphael Queen, I welcome you to class-z. While I am not your classroom teacher, if you ever need anything, please feel free to come to me.” Metal man said.

Raphael barely heard anything the man said, but he still nodded his head. He then stood in the same area where the other three students assigned to the class-z were.

“Ah-Ahem... That is that, about that. Let’s continue with the exam.” Metal man smiled as he stared at the people around. This year’s freshmen were indeed more astounding than the last.

A few minutes soon passed, and the exam was finally over. It wasn’t much of a surprise that no one could attain Raphael’s score, as it was simply too far away.

After Raphael, the person whose score came next was a crimson-haired teenage boy. If it wasn’t for Raphael’s brilliance, he would have been the one assigned to the class-z as he scored 15000 points.

The crimson-haired boy was displeased, as he believed that the only reason Raphael’s strength surpassed his was because of the one-year age gap between the both of them. If not, there was no way Raphael was stronger than him.

“With that taken care of, I hereby welcome you all to Holy savior academy.” Metal man said.

.....

“The academy...” His words were, however, put on pause as a bulky man appeared. The bulky man bypassed all the students and climbed onto the stage. He then moved closer to metal man and whispered into his ears.

A second later, and a deep frown could be seen on metal man’s face. He and the bulky man kept exchanging words at a low volume, however, judging from the expression on his face, he disliked what they were talking about.

Meanwhile, the instant the bulky man appeared on the stage, Raphael’s hands were clenched into tight fists and his eyes shimmered with killing intent.

The others might not be aware of whom this man is when he wasn’t in his costume, but Raphael knew him. The person standing on the stage, along with metal man, was his uncle, William Queen. And otherwise known as Ximic.

If the student in the academy knew that the person standing in front of them was the world-famous Ximic then they would have all rushed towards him, pleading for an autograph, pictures, or even begging to be his disciple.

Being able to seat comfortably as the fourth most powerful metahuman in the world, William was incredibly powerful. He had a photographic reflex that allowed him to watch anyone physical movements and duplicate them without practice, no matter how unique or complex these movements might be.

“Get it done this instant!” William’s loud voice suddenly rang out. And with that said, he walked away. He didn’t even glance at his nephew, who was in the area, and instead kept a straight face as he left the arena.

Everyone kept staring at the man who was able to put a deep frown on metal man’s face till he finally disappeared, and once that happened they turned their eyes towards metal man.

A minute soon passed, with the frown on metal’s man face still present. He had his hands clenched tightly, showing just how furious he was. The student knew better than to say a word, and so they just continued to stare at him.

“Er-Erhmmm...” After the long silence, metal man suddenly spoke. “I’m afraid, there was an error in the reading of the heavy bag. Raphael Queen, you’re going to be put in Class-Y instead.”

“Jacob Archibald, you will now be assigned into Class Z.” He announced, “Someone else would handle things from here. Goodbye!” With that said, metal man left the arena.

Everyone was deeply dumbfounded by what had just happened. Even a fool would realize that the bulky man who had appeared earlier would have one or two things to do with it.

There was no such error in the heavy bag, and this must have been some power-play behind the scene because there was simply no way that Jacob who scored 15000 points would have been selected to the class Z, and Raphael, who had double that score was placed to the class-Y.

It was no wonder why metal man was upset, the bulky man must have told him to make the change.

Jacob is the crimson-haired teenager whose score came second after Raphael, and when he saw class-Z given to the rightful owner, a sneer appeared on his face. It didn’t matter how talented one was, there was always going to be a difference between those who came from high-ranking families, and middle-class families.

“Fools!” Jacob had an expression full of pride on his face, as the students were all staring at him. They were all wondering what sort of connection he could possess in the academy to make a change that huge.

Raphael, however, shook his head. “I must say, William completely exceeded my expectations.” He muttered, then walked out of the entrance exam arena.

He didn’t even wait for the next instructor to appear on the stage before he left. And unlike last time when Raphael didn’t bring out any gadgets, this time around he brought out a skateboard.

The skateboard was what he needed the most at the moment. It allowed him to interact with urban space, feel the sense of speed as well as balance, and most especially, it was a way for him to express himself.

Raphael didn’t even realize it, but he soon left the academy and was now on the street of Taurus city. He wandered around the city for a few minutes and only then stopped when he got to a coffee shop.

“Order for two!” As Raphael walked into the coffee shop, he made his order right away. And when he got a nod from the man behind the counter, he went to sit on one of the chairs in the shop.

The coffee soon arrived at the table, but it wasn’t the man behind the counter who brought it. “You’re late.” Followed by the coffee placed in front of Raphael, a female voice sounded.

Raphael slowly raised his head, and seeing the woman in front of him, a smile appeared on his face. “Ain’t I here already,” He said.

“Where is it?!”

The woman who was in front of Raphael was wearing white and brown coffee attendant clothes. Even though she had a frown on her face, that wasn’t able to cover the beauty which was possessed by this woman.

She had a face that was able to put both the sun and moon to shame, a black long glittering hair that stopped at her waist, and adding to her already gorgeous face was a remarkable figure.

Raphael pointed at the seat in front of him and when she sat, he brought a suitcase out of his interspatial ring, “I have already modified the gun’s weakness, now where is my pay.” Raphael said.

After reading several fantasy novels, Raphael became interested in the so-called legendary interspatial ring, just like anyone else. But unlike others who lacked the knowledge and skills necessary, he possessed it and all that was needed was the items that would be used.

He had to gather all the items required, and as once that was arranged, he began creating the ring. The interspatial ring wasn’t easy to create, but after spending three months on the ring, Raphael’s hard work finally paid off.

When the woman heard Raphael, a smile immediately appeared on her face, “I have it prepared already.” She then waved her hand, and the man behind the counter brought a huge black suitcase to the table.

As soon as the man dropped the suitcase on the table, he went back to his position.

“1 million noxus.” The woman said.

Both parties trusted each other when it came to business because they had been working together for quite a long time. It wasn’t like their relationship was deep, but after creating and modifying all sorts of equipment, the trust was bound to form at some point.

Raphael pushed the suitcase to the woman, and she likewise did the same thing. When both of them got their hands on the suitcase, a different kind of glow appeared on them, most especially Raphael.

With this money, he would be able to purchase more tools, and it was only a matter of time before he would be able to add another gadget to his collection.

Meanwhile, the woman had now kept her suitcase aside. She was now staring at Raphael, “Are you really going to be attending Holy savior academy, after they handed over your spot to someone else.” She said.

“You know, that’s how they all are. They call themselves guardians of the society, but the truth is they are all hypocrites, who use their powers to oppress others.”

“This isn’t the first time that someone with lower background would have his position taken away by those with a higher power. No offense their Raphael, but it is the truth. Jacob only had to phone his father, and the teachers of the academy immediately acted on it.”

Raphael didn’t even bother asking Serena how she knew about what happened in the academy because he already knew this woman wasn’t that plain. Just based on the weapons and gadgets she brought to him, he was certain that she was some high-ranking official or something.

For someone who was able to hand over the imprint of a nuclear bomb for him to access, how hard could it be to figure out what was going on in Holy savior academy.

“It’s fine, lady Serena. If there’s nothing else, I would be taking my leave.” Raphael was about to stand from the chair he was seating when Serena suddenly placed her hand on his.

He quickly pulled his hand back and glared at her. “Hahaha! It’s not like I’m going to eat you.” Serena jested when she saw how Raphael had reacted to her touch. “Why don’t you come work for me full time.”

And in response to Serena, Raphael shook his head. “Lady Serena, I believe this is the seventy-eighth times you would be asking me this, but my answer still remains no,” Raphael said.

A woman like this was nothing but trouble to Raphael. He didn’t want to further any relationship with her, and the reason he worked for her was because of the gadget she brought were always exciting to deal with, and also the money she offered him.

Once he was able to replace a way to make money without having to sell his gadgets, it would be the day he stopped working for this woman.

Serena didn’t seem to be discouraged after hearing Raphael’s response, and instead, she appeared even more enthusiastic. “Come on, Raphael. You can’t really be thinking of going to the academy.” She said.

Then, getting a nod from Raphael, her soft voice rang out. “Okay. I don’t want you to think of it like you will be working for me, but instead, take it for an academy.” When Serena saw Raphael’s eyebrows furrow, she continued, “And it is much better than this hellhole here.”

“My answer remains no!”

Raphael folded his hand across his chest, this could go all day, and his answer would remain no.

Serena bit her lips hard. It was going to be really painful if Raphael joins Holy savior academy. A stern expression immediately appeared on her face, “How about I have the academy pay you.” She said.

“3 million noxus!” Before Raphael even spoke, she called out the amount. “Okay, 5 million noxus.” Unlike holy savior academy, Serena knew what Raphael was worth, and even if it meant taking the money out of her account, she was more than willing to do it.

As long as she can have Raphael, nothing else mattered.

However, Raphael still kept a straight face when he heard Serena. But that expression only lasted for a few seconds as Serena made an offer that made his eyes twitch. “Don’t you want to save your mother?”

“If you join my academy, not only will we be providing you with any equipment and tools you need to create any gadget, we will help treat your mom.” Said Serena.

And judging from the look he had on his face when he heard her words, Serena knew that she had him where she wanted.

Raphael clenched his hand into a tight fist. There was absolutely no way he could reject something like that. He could see the victorious smile Serena had on her face, and a second after, he spoke, “Fine, I will join the academy.”

Raphael didn’t doubt Serena because of what he had seen her pull off during the past years that they have been working together.

“But, I also want a monthly payment of ten million noxus.”

“Consider it done! Wait, what!!!!!!!” Serena was overly excited when Raphael accepted to join the academy. She immediately agreed to his demand without thinking about it, so when it occurred to her that he wanted that amount, and she agreed to it, her body shook.

Raphael, however, smiled. “We have to get going then, as two weeks have passed since the academy resumed.” With a sneer on her face, Serena spoke.

“Not yet! There’s something I must take care of.” Raphael looked outside out of the window as he spoke to Serena. “I will be back.” After gently placing Gus on the table, he walked out of the coffee shop.

Standing a few meters away from him was Jacob, along with two middle-aged men donned in all-black suits. They maintained a distance with him, not too far and not too near either, but they still gave the impression that Jacob was under their protection.

Raphael stared at Jacob, who was talking to a brunette lady, with a neutral expression on his face. He then took off the black gloves he had on and began walking toward Jacob.

With only a few seconds left for Raphael to appear before Jacob, his loud voice rang out. “Everyone, look, it’s the ultra man.”

It was barely even up to a minute after Raphael’s voice sounded, and the city was surging out with people. Those who were indoors came rushing out of their houses, and the people in the street gathered around.

The city was completely crowded as everyone wanted to see the greatest hero and the strongest metahuman in the world.

Even Jacob and his bodyguards were staring at the sky. It was during that brief moment that Raphael appeared in front of him. With a demonic smile on his face, he slammed his palm at Jacob’s chest.

The impact of the attack had Jacob stumbling several steps backward. He raised his head, trying to figure out who had just attacked him, but there were just so many people around.

Soon after, his hands and legs began to tremble. He was about to call out to his bodyguard, when he found himself unable to speak, as his heart began to beat at a disorganized pace.

“Pfffffttttt!!!”

Jacob spat out a mouthful amount of blood. He stumbled to the ground with his hand gripping his chest tightly, as blood oozed from his eyes, nose, and mouth.

“There is no Ultraman here! Someone must have pranked us all.” After staring at the sky for a few seconds and not seeing anyone, the people on the street figured that Ultraman wasn’t around. With a disappointed look on their faces, they left the area.

.....

Meanwhile, it was also during the moment when the area cleared up that the guards saw Jacob on the ground. His clothes were dyed in blood, and his breathing had become very rough.

“Young master!” Panic and fear were written all over their faces as they saw the state which Jacob was in. And without any delay, they picked him up from the ground and ran right away.

If anything was to happen to Jacob, his father would stop at nothing and ensure that he unleashes his fury onto the world.

In the street of Taurus city, a lanky build teenager with a blue owl on his shoulder could be seen walking side by side with a dark-haired woman. Throughout the whole time, the woman kept staring at him with a rather confused look on her face.

After not being able to hold the silence in anymore, Serena suddenly spoke, “I completely underestimated you. Your power is something else, there’s no way the kid would survive that.” She said.

“But why do I get the feeling that this is not the first time you are killing someone?”

“Because it’s not!” Raphael replied. “I only kill when it’s necessary, and he had it coming. With people like that around, the world can never become a better place.” Raphael muttered.

There was a minute of silence after he spoke, as Serena’s eyes twitched when she heard him. “You do know that the leaf is of insignificance, what matters is getting rid of the root,” Serena said.

This time around, Raphael said nothing, but that same demonic grin that appeared on his face earlier could be seen on him again.

Serena kept staring at him, until they reached a turning in the city, “The academy is this way.” She said and before Raphael could even react, she immediately held his hand and made a turn, which had both of them vanish from the city.