- What is this brightness coming from you!? So that's what a girl is? I never knew because my sister is nothing but violent! says Gancelot while covering his eyes
- Oi! Gancelot! Do you really want to die? asks Abel with a frightened tone
Someone grabs Gancelto by the back of his shirt and drags him away
- Well, seems like you really are done for. says Noah
- Huh!? What's happening? Why is the brightness going away? says Gancelot.
Gancelot takes his hands off his eyes and notices that he is being dragged away by his sister.
- MASTEEEEEEERRRR! yells Gancelot with his hand reaching out to Noah
- Stop yelling, will you? We are not the only ones here. says Noah
- ABEEELL! yells Gancelot
- Don't worry, Gan!
Gancelot face brightened
- I will pray so that you may survive! says Abel
- YOU IDIOT! yells Gancelot
The twins leave the cafeteria and three people walk up to Abel, Mya, and Noah
- You guys are being too loud, first years. says one of the people
- Sorry about that. says Abel. We will be more careful next time.
- Next time? There won't be a next time.
- What do you mean? asks Abel
- We think it will be better if you don't come back here. says another one
- What!? says Abel. Who do you think you are to make this decision?
The third one walks to the front
- When was the last time we saw each other, Noah? he asks
- What do you want, Anthony Laos? asks Noah
- Come on, you don't have to act like this. says Anthony while sitting down in front of Noah
{Noah}
" He's just like before, isn't he?"
{Bright}
- What are you talking about?
{Noah}
"He's always like this. He always tries to get close to those who have the most chances of being the heir of the ducal family in order to strengthen his position in his family. He really disgusts me."
- What do you want? Noah asks again
- Nothing more than a friendly relationship with you. Let what happened in the past, stay in the past. You know what I am getting at, right?
- Yeah. You want me to forget about all the times you bullied me. Is that what you are trying to say? asks Noah
- You're quick. says Anthony with a smile. In exchange, I'll give you this.
Anthony takes out a pouch, opens it, and takes out a flask containing a dark blue liquid with a grey cork.
-Why does a martial artist have a potion? Not only that but the potion in question is a mana-gathering potion. says Noah
A mana-gathering potion is a potion that has the ability to accelerate a person's mana absorption rate. It's an uncommon type of potion. A low-grade one costs thousands of Nols but a mid-grade one costs millions of Nols.
- You recognize this? If you do that means you also know how much it costs. says Anthony. I got this for 10 million Nols.
He puts it in front of Noah
- With this, you could probably forge at least half of your second mana heart. If not more. Anthony says
{Noah}
" The current purity of my aura is 10%. If I use this I will be able to gather enough energy to purify a good 3% of my aura. If I do that, my aura would be equivalent to one mana heart and half of the other one. It's not a bad deal but what does he want in exchange?"
- This is tempting. says Noah. What do you want in exchange?
- What do I want? hahaha. I don't want anything. All I want is for us to become closer. says Anthony with a smile
Noah smiles
- Sure. Noah answers
- Noah. Are you sure you want to take that? asks Mya with a worried expression
Abel taps on her shoulder. She looks at him and notices that he is smiling
{Mya}
" Why is he smiling? This guy is obviously trying to get closer to Noah because Noah is currently the one with the highest chance to become the heir. These kinds of people are the worst. Noah shouldn't befriend him."
- Fine. says Noah while extending his hand toward Anthony. Let's forget the past and shake hands.
Anthony takes his hands and they shake them
- However, Noah?
- What?
- A person of your standing shouldn't hang around these kinds of people. says Anthony while looking at Abel and Mya. I can understand the second prince and the first princess. I can also accept her since her father received the title of Baron. At least, she is a noble but from what I heard, this one is an orphan. Not only is he a commoner but he is a poor one too.
The two other with him chuckles
- HEHEHEHEHE!
Noah punches the table. When he lifts his fist there is an imprint of his fist on the table.
- You don't need to worry about who I have around me. says Noah. We decided to leave the past in the past but that doesn't mean that we are friends or partners or anything like that. Besides, I, personally prefer strength over status.
- I see. says Anthony. Strength over status, huh? Well! It was nice meeting you again, Noah. I hope that our relationship changes to a friendship but I guess I should be patient for now.
- We'll see. says Noah
Anthony and his friends leave
- Why did you accept this, Noah? asks Mya. I am asking because I know you know what accepting something from a guy like him means.
- I do know. answers Noah while putting the flask in his pocket
- I don't think I will join this squad. says Mya while getting up
- Before you go, I want to know why you are leaving. asks Noah
- Are you serious? asks Mya in disbelief
- I am. answers Noah
- I don't want to get involved in these kinds of things. says Mya. The reason why I wanted to join your squad despite the fact that you are one of the duke's sons is that you seemed like you had no interest in being the next duke.
- Do you not like my father? asks Noah
- That is not what I am saying. says Mya
- Then what are you saying? asks Noah
Mya sits back down
- I don't like people like Anthony Laos is what I am saying. says Mya
- That's good. I don't like him either. says Noah. Just so that there is no misunderstanding, let me clarify something.
- What? asks Mya
Noah gets closer to her and whispers in her ear
- I am not interested in becoming the heir to the Arcadios duchy. says Noah in her ear
- HUH!? Then why did you accept the potion? she asks
- Did you already forget, Mya? asks Abel with a smirk. Boss accepted the potion in exchange for letting go of the past and forgiving Anthony for his past actions.
- In other words, you got a mid-grade mana-gathering potion that values millions of Nols for free?! says Mya
- Exactly. says Noah
The door of the cafeteria opens and a beat-up Gancelot and a refreshed Juliana enter
- That felt good. says Juliana
- Gan, did you not even try to fight back? asks Abel
- What are you talking about!? I tried my best but she's way too strong! says Gancelot in a muffled tone because of his swollen cheeks
{Noah}
" Now that I think of it, I wonder just how strong is Juliana. I have never seen her fight with all she has against an opponent."
- We should go now. says Juliana. I've seen other students from our grade going to the training grounds.
- Yeah. Let's go. says Noah
[5 minutes later in the first year training grounds]
The group enters but when they do everybody is already present including the teachers
- You guys are late. says Turo. Minus 10 points for all of you except Abel and Gancelot who are injured.
- You don't need to be so harsh, Turo. says, Andre. They were probably stuck since they were at the main cafeteria with two injured people.
- The main cafeteria? whispers a student
- They must be rich in points. whispers another student
- Jealousy really is something hard to deal with, isn't it Noah? says, Mya
- It really is. he answers
- ENOUGH, YOU TWO. Turo yells at Noah and Mya. Do you think this is the time to provoke your fellow classmate? And all the rest of you! Instead of whispering every time Noah is somewhere train harder so that he is the one who will have to whisper when you are around him. Whispering, hating and jealousy won't make you any stronger! Training will!
The whispering in the class stops. Noah raises his hands
- What is it, Noah? asks Turo
- I personally think that no matter what they do, nobody here will ever surpass me once I surpass them. says Noah with a smirk
{Hugh}
" This kid! Isn't he basically saying that he will even surpass us, the teachers and that when he does we will never be able to catch up to him!?"
- Noah, I admit that you are strong but what you just said is extremely rude to everybody currently present. says Andre
- That's perfect! says Noah. How about we fight, Andre?
Andre points at himself
- You want to fight me? asks Andre
Noah nods in agreement
- That's what I said. says Noah. There isn't anybody that can spar with me here except for the teachers.
- I understand your point but I can't fight a student. says Andre with an uncomfortable smile
- In exchange, I will accept one favor of yours no matter what it is, when it is, or where it is. says Noah
{Noah}
" Can't say no to that, can you?"
{Andre}
" This is perfect! With this, the whole problem of how getting to study is body is solved."
- Ok, I will do it. says Andre
- ANDRE! yells Durmon and Hugh
- What are you thinking, Andre? asks Turo
- If we are being honest, one favor from him is worth getting a cut in my pay or even getting suspended for a few weeks. says Andre
{Durmon}
" Andre is right. Compared to the punishment that he will get for sparing against a student, a favor that can be collected in the future from this child is worth much more."
{Lyria}
" Damn it! If that were me, I also would have accepted. If only it was me!"
{Hugh}
" Up until now, Andre has always shown his displease toward Noah but as soon as he heard that Noah would owe him a favor, he jumped on the occasion. Seems like he got lucky today."
{Turo}
" This kid is crazy. Andre is a magician with four hearts, in other words, a Gold rank magician while he is only an Iron-rank magician. It's true that no other students in this class match him but that doesn't mean that he is a match to a teacher."
Turo puts his hand on Andre's shoulder
- Don't go too hard on him. You know how geniuses are, right? says Turo
- Don't worry. I never had any intention to fight him seriously. says Andre with a smile
{Noah}
" I really don't like the fact that they are treating me like some kind of weakling."
{Bright}
- "That's what you are." is what my brother would have said. says Bright while chuckling
{Noah}
" That's not funny."
- Before we fight, I have something to do. says Noah
The teachers look at him with intrigue
- What is it, Noah? asks Turo
Noah takes out the mana-gathering potion from his pocket
- I'll take this and forge my second heart. says Noah