"To think The Silent Phantom is here... We must be careful not to do things related to him. Let us focus on what we want to do here then go back as soon as possible." - Mobar suggests to both Vivian and Lisik after what happened to them earlier.
The other two stay silent for a few minutes. They know exactly what Mobar meant since all three of them just barely escaped death. They cannot help but feel frustrated and powerless.
"You will be safe in LMS as long as there is nothing with the students or the professors." - J walks into the meeting hall after Lerin finishes healing everyone.
"Who...? You must be Professor Dylan that everyone has been talking about so far." - Lisik looks at J.
"You are indeed talking to Dylan. Let me properly introduce myself: I am Dylan - a new professor here at LMS. I heard from Headmaster Lerin that there were three Families who came here to meet me. It is an honor to talk to you all." - J bows his head showing respect towards Mobar, Vivian, and Lisik.
"Then let's not waste any more time, Professor Dylan. I called my mother here today to...." - Margaret jumps out and speaks.
"Margaret, let the adults talk. The Families will take care of this conversation from now on." - Vivian orders Margaret to stay behind her back.
"Well, it is just like my daughter said. We came here to look for you, and I will be the first one to ask this: Will you come and work under my Family line?" - Vivian goes straight to the point.
"Slow down you crazy woman! We are here for him as well." - Mobar looks at Vivian with hatred.
The meeting slowly becomes an auction. Each of the three Families tries to get J to their side, and they have no hesitation to show off their unique strengths that come from their own Family line. For the Sovirenka Family, their talents lie in the huge mana pool that can transform a person into an exceptional mage. Vivian is an example as she is one of the well-rounded mages who can use blood as her power. The Variean Family has their strength acknowledged throughout the nation from their expertise in making unique and legendary weapons. Mobar Variean is the current weapon master of the family meaning that he just needs the right materials and tools then he will show people the most powerful weapon ever created. Lastly, the Inafiel Family has almost no opponents within the mid-rank Family when it comes to close-range combat. Lisik is one of the best brawlers in the country. As long as it is a 1 version 1 then she can devastate her opponent easily. Listening to them this entire time makes J think about whether or not he should visit each area sooner than he expected.
"So what do you think, Professor Dylan?" - Lisik asks J.
"Thank you for your interest in me. However, I am afraid that I have to decline all three offers from you." - J humbly rejected all three of them.
"And why is that?" - Lisik keeps on asking.
"First of all, the meeting was interrupted by the Silent Phantom, so I do not think right now is the time for this. Secondly, my goal is LMS. I want to improve LMS with my power and knowledge. I have no intentions of joining other schools or Families if I know that will not bring any benefits to LMS." - J explains.
"Then can you explain why there are rumors saying that you used harsh words on my child here? This girl is strong in every aspect, so I do not see where she is lacking. As her mother, I want to know the reason, and I think you should understand that also." - Vivian looks at J with her power ready to explode at any time.
"Mother..." - Margaret feels extremely nervous as she can feel the tension between her mother and J. At the same time, she sees that J is looking directly at her.
"A rumor is just a rumor, Lady Vivian. She is indeed a talented child compared to other students, but there are rules within the classroom that one must pay attention to. The moment that she breaks it then it is my responsibility to get it fixed. That might turn my image badly, but that is the way I teach. LMS needs great students, but we do not accept students with bad attitudes. Of course, she can leave my class anytime she wants if it is not up to her standards." - J explains again.
"NO! I will keep on joining your class. I will go nowhere, Professor Dylan. I...I.. I am sorry...for my behavior...hic". - Margaret rushes out and starts apologizing. Tears are falling down her face. Everyone is surprised for a few seconds then Vivian has to come and try to calm her down. She has never seen her daughter crying like that before as her pride is even bigger than that of her mother, and yet she is crying at the moment because of a professor.
"Woa look at that Tera. Professor Dylan makes her cry!" - Ariksen talks to Tera.
"I know right?" - Tera laughs.
"Alright alright, let's just stop with the meeting for today. Headmaster Lerin, thank you for letting us talk to him. Professor Dylan, thank you for your time. As the Head of my Family, I will ask for one favor only: if you do not accept our offers then please teach our children to become stronger and better for the country." - Mobar and Lisik look at each other.
".... Ahem, since my daughter insisted on your class. There is no way that a mother like me will take away what she wants. You can keep on with your teaching." - Vivian hesitates for a few seconds, but in the end, she agrees with Mobar and Lisik as well.
"Thank you for coming to our school today. I will take you back to your room to rest for the night, and please do not worry too much as Professor Dylan is a very good teacher. Sometimes he surprises me as well." - Lerin smiles while looking at J.
"Then can we ask for a little bit more? The annual school event is about to start, so can we ask if our children will be properly trained before that event happens?" - Lisik suddenly stands up.
"Finally, they spilled out the reason." - J talks to himself.
"The event is registered for the top students from each other to participate only. I get that you want to get in, but with their power, at the moment I do not think they are ready for it. This is important to us as well since it can determine our reputation in the country and in front of the Royal Palace." - Lerin speaks.
"Why do they want the kids to take part in this? With the current third and fourth-year students then it should be enough?" - J analyzes the situation.
"Because Families are on the line as well. Every year the Families must give their children this opportunity to improve themselves as well as solidify our reputation in the Families rank. You must also understand this, Headmaster Lerin." - Mobar continues.
It turns out that although the heads of the Families are strong, their children really are not. Other Families took part in the event several years ago and got their ranks improved, but the Sovirenka, Variean, and Inafiel still stand in the same spots. The event is a way to prove to people that the Family is still strong and useful to the country. Families without future generations will go down in ranks and return to common people. Tera, Ariksen, and Margaret are now students of LMS so they can have chances to take part in the event as long as they are well trained.
"But..." - Lerin cannot deny that fact, but she cannot accept it either.
"They can get into that event." - J calmly speaks.
"REALLY? You think they can?" - The three Families look surprised.
"To be honest, I can train them for that event and Headmaster Lerin can verify their power later on to confirm. Right now, they are talented students but they still need to learn more about their power in general. When they are finished with their training, I believe that they will be fully ready for it." - J talks.
"Professor Dylan, now is not the time to speak mindlessly. This is a serious event we are talking about here." - Lerin changes her tone.
"And I am dead serious as well, Headmaster." - J is also serious about this.
"Then we will leave our children in your hands. The Families cannot have their hands involved in the training for the event. Therefore, we can only support the children from afar." - Lisik speaks up.
"However, instead of taking an offer from one of you then I will ask for information about something that I am interested in these days. That will be my offer for taking care of these three right now." - J smiles and looks at Margaret, Ariksen, and Tera.
"And what information do you need?" - Vivian asks back.
"I will tell you after the event. Right now, I just need your confirmation. I will guarantee that what I ask you all will not hurt your Families in any way." - J explains.
"....Hmmm...Fine, as long as it is not involved with our Families then that much is possible for us three." - All three Families agree.
"Thank you for understanding, and I hope to see you all again at the event." - J asks to go back to his office first.
...
"I still cannot believe that we had a face-off against The Silent Phantom." - Mobar sighs after J leaves.
"I am proud of my power, but in front of him, my power is absolutely nothing. I have to train myself harder to get my power to a higher level." - Vivian looks at her hand while recalling back her encounter with J.
"Haha you are the strongest in your Family right now. What else is there to train? It is just that The Silent Phantom is on another level compared to us. You cannot compare yourself to the person with an unknown rank in terms of magic user." - Lisik laughs at Vivian.
Currently, the country has a ranking system where they put the information of the strongest person for the public to know. The top 10 strongest magic user belongs to several Major Families. J's previous opponent - Mokir - is in the current top 6 of the country. J is not even on the list since his information is completely hidden, but everyone knows him pretty well due to his assassination mission. Several Families tried to catch him before, but they all ended up dying or simply could not catch up to his power. J's power comes from his perfect understanding of his target. Once he receives enough information then the mission will be executed right away.
"The Flame Family, Smoke Family, etc. all fought The Silent Phantom before as he killed someone within their Family line, and they failed miserably. I do not know for sure about his power, but his understanding of the Families is ridiculously detailed. I know that we just witnessed his strength earlier, but there is no guarantee that what he showed is the only power he possesses. If we are lucky enough to receive his help somehow then it will be a life-changing moment for us." - Lisik speaks her mind while Mobar and Vivian stay silent as they also agree with her. However, asking a phantom for a deal is almost an impossible task to do.
....
"With only three mid-rank Families, I can see why this is important to them and Lerin. If the school fails to win this event then fewer students will join the school in the future, which will also hurt the mission. I just need to make sure that they are getting ready before the event. Right now, let's get to the Library to look for more information." - J thinks about the entire situation while heading towards the Library of Time.
Episode 9 - End