### Chapter 25: Lunch Break

### Chapter 25: Lunch Break

After finishing his meal, Suye felt only about seventy percent full and realized he had ordered too little. His gaze then drifted toward Holt.

Suye was dumbfounded.

Holt was patting his belly, looking somewhat dejected.

"You... finished?"

"Ah." Holt’s response was incredibly natural.

The trays in front of Holt slowly extended legs and feet, hopped off the table, and walked out of the cafeteria to be collected by the pig goblins.

Suye originally thought Holt wouldn’t be able to finish, but not only did Holt eat faster than him, he also ate cleaner.

"I’ll order some more; I’m still hungry." Suye, fearing the demanding afternoon classes, ordered half the amount he had before.

"Sure, I’ll keep you company." Holt said valiantly, his finger sliding down the menu on the magic book.

In the corner of Suye’s eye, Holt marked one-third.

"Hmm, need to eat less. Being too fat might affect my promotion to apprentice," Holt said as he ordered.

Suye remained silent.

The new food arrived quickly.

"Eats more than a pig!" the pig goblins muttered as they walked away.

Once again, Holt finished first with absolute advantage.

"Haven't eaten this much in a while..." Holt’s face was filled with contentment.

Suye carefully recalled and realized that last year’s Holt seemed to have an even bigger appetite.

Suye had the habit of meditating at noon, usually meditating before eating since it wasn’t effective during digestion.

"Meditation for today is ruined; I’ll meditate during the meditation class this afternoon." Suye thought, feeling a bit drowsy.

Holt stood up and said, "Come on, let’s go see what we can play at the arena."

"Alright." Suye also wanted to experience Plato’s Academy.

Soon, Suye arrived at the arena area and found it already bustling with activity.

Though called an arena, it was essentially a large open space divided into different sections by magical markings.

Suye initially thought everyone would engage in light sports after lunch.

But upon looking around the various sections of the arena, the senior warriors were like beasts—sprinting, throwing discuses, long jumping, javelin throwing, horseback riding, chariot racing, wrestling, boxing...

"People always say Ancient Greece was the land of competitions, where every event, big or small, required a competition, just like how a certain ancient Eastern country turns every festival into a food festival. Now I see it’s true."

Suye was particularly interested in boxing from the Ancient Greek era, so he went to watch the boxing ring.

He discovered that boxing in this era already had the rudiments of later forms, but there were many differences, especially in footwork and defense, which were not yet fully developed.

However, their attacks were extremely fierce.

Suye stood outside the boxing ring of two Black Iron warriors, surrounded by students shouting loudly.

"Faskola, beat that bastard!"

"Harmos, kill him!"

A group of energetic warrior students stood outside the ring, waving their arms and yelling.

What amazed Suye the most was that several mages had tied their magic robes around their waists, baring their chests and shouting alongside the warriors, with equally muscular bodies.

Suye glanced at the new muscles on his own body. Was this... an Ancient Greek tradition?

Neither of the Black Iron warriors used divine power, relying solely on physical strength. Soon, both had swollen faces, bleeding noses, and blood trickling from their mouths, yet they continued fighting fiercely.

Each punch landed with a thud, blood and sweat splattering everywhere.

"Rugged!" Suye marveled inwardly, feeling an itch to join the fight himself.

Fortunately, he suppressed the urge. He was a mage, not a warrior!

All other professions are inferior; only magic is supreme!

"Huh?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Suye noticed Palos watching the boxing match from a distance, standing coldly with a hint of disdain.

Bang!

One person was hit squarely on the chin, rolled his eyes, and passed out.

"Aaah..."

The victor roared, raising his hands high, showing a fierce expression, strutting around the boxing ring like a lion displaying his strength.

"Good job!"

A group of people cheered, rushing forward to lift the victor, tossing him into the air, catching him, and throwing him up again...

"Don’t these beasts worry about spitting out their lunch..."

Suye could not understand these people's madness at all.

"Still, only this way can Athens maintain its strength."

At that moment, someone shouted, "Holt, want to play? Of course, we have to use divine power appropriately."

"I only play with those who don't use divine power." Holt crossed his arms, wearing a silly grin.

"Then what do we play!" The group of black iron warriors rolled their eyes.

"Holt, when are you going to advance to black iron?"

"In a few years." Holt's eyes filled with helplessness, and even his smile faded.

"Poor guy!" The group of black iron warriors and black iron mages shook their heads in resignation.

"That little chick, come up and play." The overzealous senior students turned their heads in unison, staring at Suye like tigers eyeing sheep.

Suye gave them a disdainful glance and turned to walk away.

"Wait until I advance to black iron, then I'll take you down!" Suye shouted.

The senior students responded with friendly laughter.

On the surface, Suye remained calm, but inside, he was seething—these senior students were truly beasts!

Their footwork and defense were relatively poor, but their offense was incredibly fierce. Even the one who just lost could have knocked out Tyson in his prime.

And they hadn't even used divine power yet.

These senior students here were clearly of average skill. The truly formidable ones must be bronze warriors, or perhaps even silver warriors already.

"Now that's interesting!"

Suye felt an even greater urgency to advance.

Instead of excessive studying, Suye used the noon break to explore the important areas of Plato's Academy, gaining a clearer understanding of it.

However, during this time, Suye noticed a few people looking at him strangely, quickly averting their gaze when he glanced back.

"Could they be people I offended before?"

Suye didn't dwell on it too much. Since he had survived last night, it meant he wouldn't be in immediate danger.

Seeing that it was almost time, Suye walked back while pondering his next steps.

"I clearly have three directions: learning magic knowledge, practicing magic skills, and earning money. How should I choose?"

After some thought, Suye hurried back to the classroom, opened his magic book, and started drawing grids, dividing the page into five large sections.

The leftmost column listed "Magic Knowledge," "Practice," and "Earning Money."

The four columns on the right were "Short-term Gain," "Short-term Loss," "Long-term Gain," and "Long-term Loss."

Suye began by analyzing magic knowledge.

Short-term Gain: Grades, good mindset, sense of accomplishment, motivation, satisfaction, recognition from teachers and classmates.

Short-term Loss: Time, fatigue.

Long-term Gain: Extensive knowledge, solid foundation, broader growth potential, possible financial gain, more respect, closer to dreams.

Long-term Loss: Girlfriend?

Suye looked at it and felt it was lacking, so he delved deeper, continuously adding or erasing entries.

After a class period, Suye finally made basic judgments on the three aspects.