As he entered the room, Raymond noticed the girl sweating and avoiding eye contact while the blonde continued to glare at him, and the Muslim guy remained indifferent. Closing the door behind him, Raymond sat down and began, "First and foremost, I want to apologize for the trouble I caused earlier. It was never my intention to waste our time."
He settled into the chair and continued, "Next, I need to talk to you," he gestured toward the blonde, "I've lost most of my memories from when I was 9 to 14 years old. Please understand that I'm not seeking your sympathy; I don't even remember who you are. So, if I offended you during that time, I genuinely apologize. But I won't forget the first impression you set. My weapons are my only friends, you see."
The blonde let out a sigh. "I can never forgive you. Just don't speak to me too often. And..." He turned away, "I apologize for your katana as well."
Raymond smiled back and shifted his attention to the Muslim guy. "I know how much Allah means to the middle eastern people, so I won't expect you to forgive me. But I hope you can in one of these days."
The guy didn't even look at Raymond but raised his hands with closed eyes. "Allah forgives those who repent. We both were angry, so let's forget about it."
Then, Raymond locked eyes with the girl, who seemed less reserved now, and said, "To make up for wasting your time with my nonsense, I have some useful information I obtained from a teacher..." They leaned in closer, maintaining silence. "The second phase will be a tournament."
The three teammates looked at each other and burst into laughter.
"You're hilarious!"
Raymond noticed a poster beside the girl that read: [The second phase will be a team fight tournament that commences after a week], and he couldn't help but sweat a little. "Haha, I was just trying to lighten the mood... yeah."
'I don't get how low the humor bar is of these nobles.'
***
At the bulletin board displaying the names of student candidates, three boys and five girls gathered around. A girl wearing a sword badge smiled as she looked at 'Raymond' on the board. "So, my stepbrother is joining too. I can't wait."
Raymond's four-person team headed towards a stone platform, where an armory displayed an array of wooden melee weapons. A moment after they arrived, the girl introduced herself, "I'm Layla, you're Ray, that religious guy is Khaled, and this blonde is Blake."
Rather than the names, Raymond was more focused on his nickname.
"We need a strategy that utilizes all our abilities until this week's end. Khaled's Bloodline allows him to transform into an orc. Blake has Dice of Fate which you'll understand after one fight. And I have Divine Light, enabling me to heal any wound or status effect. Among us, only Ray doesn't have Fuel-dependant abilities right now."
Raymond raised his hand and said, "A short version, please."
"I heal, Khaled is a tank that attacks, Blake is a random card, and you don't need to spend 'Fuel' to use your Detection while we do."
Raymond contemplated for a second while absorbing all the information and made a conclusion. "Thank you. So, my role is to assist Khaled or protect you, right?"
The girl nodded and replied, "Blake will protect me at most times, but if the situation arises, I will count on you."
Raymond smiled back at her and realized, "Wow, this is the fastest role allocation I've ever experienced."
They spent hours sitting together while Raymond imparted general tactics that were only effective for those capable of disregarding their injuries. Additionally, he provided Khaled with basic combat techniques suitable for giant people.
Throughout the intense day of training, Raymond formed a particularly strong bond with Khaled, as if they had been close friends for years. At 8 pm, they enjoyed a hearty dinner, after which Raymond retreated to the library. As he perused the bookshelves, the woody aroma of the books relaxed his tense shoulders, a welcome rest from the long day's events.
'I made up with them pretty quickly. But, today was the first time I became so weak. I must hammer my mind into shape for the next battle.'
However, something grabbed his focus; the library held an intriguing phenomenon—an uncanny silence despite numerous people walking around, including Raymond himself. He cleared his throat, and the sound resonated, confirming that the silence was limited to the floor alone.
'This would be the perfect place for assassination.'
After ten more minutes of searching, he stumbled upon a weathered book titled Guide to Aura and the Origin of the World. Though its pages were tattered and held together with threads, Raymond chose to extract it from the shelf. With anticipation, he turned to the first page.
"Fuel is the energy required to use a Bloodline, which also shows a person's power level. It is uncommonly known as Aura. And the people who control the Aura inside their body are called Aura manipulators. These individuals need pure energies to grow stronger, which has almost gone extinct due to constant war and bloodshed."
The contents on the next page had been tampered with, as were the subsequent ones he turned to. Each page revealed nothing of value. As he scanned through the entire book, he found no helpful information. Only a brief line on one of the final pages caught his attention, "To amass aura in this blood-stained world, one must seek..."
He closed the book and said, "So even the best library in the world has no alternate method.."
Disappointed by his lack of knowledge acquisition, Raymond sighed with a facepalm and departed from the library, vowing never to return to that depressing place again.
'I reached the peak of the red stage after absorbing the pure energy from my father's necklace. Though father's katana has helped me kill orange tiers, I need to sharpen my other skills for the future.'
Raymond opened the door once again and peered inside. Layla and Blake were engrossed in a game of chess, while Khaled had already succumbed to sleep. It was only at this moment that Raymond pondered, 'Having a girl in a group of boys could lead to unforeseen circumstances, but they haven't separated her. Are they so confident they can intervene within seconds if anything were to happen? Allowing weapons too... Is it mere negligence?... No point dwelling on it.'
His gaze shifted to the chessboard, where Layla found herself in an extremely precarious position. She lacked control over the center, possessed a weak pawn structure, and faced a triple fork targeting her king, queen, and rook. Staring at the board, she uttered, "Draw?" while extending her hand for a handshake. Blake exhaled and took a sip of water. "It's been five minutes. Give up. We need rest for tomorrow's training."
Raymond firmly shut the door behind him, its resounding thud echoing in the air, but Layla and Blake were still unaware of him. He retraced his steps toward the majestic cliff leading to the rainbow forest. Drawn to its commanding presence, he stood at its edge and peered downward, to behold a breathtaking sight: a cascading waterfall, its crystal-clear waters dancing beneath his vantage point. "Strong mind makes a strong body."
He took his clothes off, revealing dozens of scars and well-built muscles. The cross scar on his left chest was deeper and ampler than other small ones. He swung his hand back and jumped high in the sky like a phoenix and dived while spinning like a dragon. 'Black dragon sword style, third form: Disguised phoenix's judgment.'
"If my sword techniques become dull, I would rather die," he said and went to the foot of the waterfall to meditate.
'I need to prime my mind for the upcoming events. If I flinch or look back, the King or Duke Rosesaint will find out about me.'
He sat there without moving till 2 AM to get some sleep.