At the same time, in Nevis, the Sky City.
Inside the Orthodox School's guildhall.
"Gallo..."
A member of the school hurried in from outside.
Several people signaled with their eyes, stopping him.
The member suddenly realized something and hastily shut his mouth, looking farther into the room.
There, in a corner seat, sat Gallo, his brows tightly knitted and his expression dark. He had not spoken for a long time.
"Is Gallo all right?"
The member left the room, called over another colleague, and asked in a low voice.
"He's been sitting there in a daze ever since he heard the news. He still hasn't recovered."
"Ah, well..."
They had certainly been having a run of bad luck lately.
Not only had they suffered a crushing defeat in their competition over Arcana, but their rival had also received a Morningstar Award nomination.
Beyond shock and anger, what they felt most was probably resentment.
After all, Gallo had only barely earned a Morningstar Award nomination last year on the strength of his past achievements.
That had been for the Orthodox School's modernization of runes. Though a considerable achievement, it likely could not compare with Roland's work on Seris in terms of originality or potential for development.
Over the next few years, as Roland's reputation, prestige, and contributions continued to grow, the calls for him to receive the Morningstar Award would only become louder. He might even win it in his twenties or early thirties.
Almost every one of those years, he would take up a place in the rankings and keep Gallo firmly pinned beneath him!
"The Morningstar Award's ranking system is garbage!"
"Exactly! The Arcane Star Award is much fairer!"
"Actually... isn't the Arcane Star Award much the same?
"It only seems to have a higher win rate because fewer