After stripping my poor victim of his mana, I also took his clothes, his access card to the academy and even his belongings, not to mention his appearance.
The recent fight had made me admit a great respect for him, but I still needed some of his power, every last little drop of mana can be useful and has to be used.
Lucian : "Some of his mana will help me kill the hero, he should be proud"
Thanatos : "You still believe that you have a chance"
Lucian : "Of course"
Thanatos: "You really are delusional"
His mana was absolutly delicious, almost the same amount as mine, it would take me a while to take it all but having stored it in stones I could gradually increase my mana capacities.
I then set out on my way to the academy, knowing very well that tomorrow the complex things would arrive and that I had to act completely well if I wanted it to work.
Thanatos : "You know I can't go inside the academy, you are on your own for now"
Lucian : "Is there a powerful mage ?"
Thanatos : "Yeah and an annoying at that, I don't know if he can see me even if I'm invisible"
Lucian : "He is that powerful"
Thanatos : "Yes so don't use your demonic mana"
It seems that their could be some trouble that I didn't imagine, because I use my mana to cover myself entirely and take an appearance, if he could see that I could be really in a bad spot.
But that's not my problem as of now, because I have a day to resemble Darthos as much as possible (in terms of character and other), by facing him I understood two things.
Lucian: "He is someone who is clearly stronger theoretically than in combat"
Lucian: "Oh yes Thanatos is gone, I'm talking on my own ... well we'll see, if I avoid people I'll be fine"
The reasoning was not complicated, taking a commoner has several advantages, no families (in the capital anyway), no obligations, nothing ...
Knowing that the vast majority of people at the academy are nobles Darthos probably had no relationship with them so I would also be alone but that's good for me.
Lucian : "The less I have to talk the better I am after all"
Lucian : "And it's still can be even worse, if their is some magician teacher, it would be bad"
Ah I am really putting myself in a wolf's den right now and that's not really a good thing, I hope he really has no noble friend and that no teacher can see through my mana.
Or if he potentially has one, it will logically be a relationship of hatred from one to the other, given what he told me about the assassin attacking him, he should not have been so appreciated by the other nobles.
Lucian "Well I atleast didn't see it in his memory"
Lucian : "I just have to hope to be very very very lucky"
Indeed, after Thanatos kindly gave me his memories of the last 24 hours, which gave me an incredible headache, I was able to find out where his room was and therefore head there, by going through his belongings, I found his notes and others.
Lucian : "His room is quite nice"
Lucian : "Their seems to be someone else in the room"
Lucian : "Well it's not my problem for now, let's read"
Those notes confirmed two things, that he was clearly stronger in theory, he got the scholarship for student thanks to his 1st place in theoretical mana.
For a commoner to be admitted to the academy with a scholarship, he must be at least top 3 in one of the subjects of the exam, other than that he had good grades in handling weapons and the rest was pretty much average.
Lucian : "Oh I also found his notes of the program"
In view of the coefficients, in this academy, practice clearly counts more than theory, grades are determined by fights, training ... (arc tournament?), this is probably one of the reasons why he was hated by the nobles, that the hero or another noble can still beat them that's understandable, but that a 3-star commoner with only his understanding of mana as weapons can do it, it's less acceptable.
??? : "Darthos, you're back, well then, how did it go"
From what I could remember, Darthos was going to town to look for artifacts on the black market, I didn't know that such a place existed, or besides that it was so easy to access, I will probably go there one day, for now a lie will suffice.
Darthos (it's Lucian but shhh): "I couldn't access it there are too many guards around"
??? : "Since there have been these murders all over the place, it's really full of guards"
Darthos: "I'll go back later"
??? : "It won't help you for tomorrow's fight"
Darthos: "I'm going to win, don't worry about it"
??? : "They will still try to put you in danger if you go too hard, besides there it is a fire user in front"
If we follow the theoretical teaching, then fire and water cancel each other out quite well and it will be settled either by the amount of mana, things I'm not sure I'll win at, or by melee, which is almost worse as I have to pretend to be Darthos.
I can not develop my fighting style here, not resembling any other it would be doubtful, so I will base myself on the movements that I have seen from Darthos and the opponents who pass before me.
??? : "Okay you seem to have a good plan"
Darthos : "Yeah I figured out something by thinking"
??? : "You are much more confident than before, good luck"
Darthos : "Good luck to you too"
??? : "My opponent is easy compares to yours"
Having nothing else to do but to see what they were doing at the academy, I found Darthos' course books and spent a little time reading them, I then understood something, I had some knowledge in stories and others, but nothing of the level of what is required here.
And again I was only in class 2 so that would not be impossible, class 3 only admits elites, high-ranking nobles, 4 stars and the hero where I am never, like never gonna be.
A very closed circle in which I am not interested for anything other than to observe the hero but I can do that without having to be directly in his class.
??? : "Anyway I am gonna sleep, don't stay up all night"
Darthos : "I dont know if I am gonna fall asleep"
??? : "You know thats not a good idea but you do whatever you want"
Well even if I wanted to I couldn't sleep, the maximum I could do was to close my eyes and just wait the night out but I had pther things to do, so I just read Darthos notes all night.
??? : "Good morning, did you sleep ?"
Lucian : "Yeah, not much, but its enough"
??? : "Atleast you dont look tired"
Even though I was up before him and stayed up after he was asleep he was not suspicious of me as he had no reason to and that I dont look tired at all.
??? : "Okay lets go"
Darthos : "Sure I am ready"
??? : "is it me or you are a little taller than before"
Darthos : "Yeah maybe"
This day came the fight, fortunately I passed in the the last ones which let me observe the fighting styles of humans, a style that I had never tried, it was weird to compare to Vector but not incomprehensible (for those who like to watch boxing, Vector fights like this while the style of humans is more traditional).
Darthos : "Woah I am lucky to not be confronting those people"
??? : "Yeah"
During the whole time of the fight, I clearly saw the large differences that sometimes separates me from the best grades just from this class, so I can't even imagine the hero's companions or even the hero himself.
That being the case, there was a margin of maneuver that only me and Darthos had found, the mastery of mana, the nobles only seeking power, their control of mana is rather to be reviewed.
Darthos: "But it's not undoable"
??? : "You really are believing in yourself today"
Darthos : "I don't know I just feel good"
A good compromise would be to have both, no one has time to practice mastering both, but I do, no need to sleep, no fatigue, nothing, I can train endlessly.
5 years then becomes 10 years, but hey, I see that there is more to it than that, the amount of mana is especially the worst obstacle on my way.
The nobles having nothing to do with mana control, their power makes the only difference, that being even with what I managed to do, if the mana difference is too great then it will make no difference, I will get crushed.
Instructor: "It's the turn of Darthos against Lapeil Sun"
Lapeil : "Finally time to crush an easy oponent"
Darthos : "You wish"
My opponent was a pure fighter, 3 stars who controls fire, and who seems to control it very well, his amount of mana was higher than mine but not by much, it must surely have been thanks to the mana of Darthos.
That being the case, I couldn't use the same technique here, because showing my assets to people I can't kill is very dangerous, what if everyone realizes that you can just not have to put mana all over your blade but just on the surface, well simple, humans will be more powerful, and that's no.
Lapeil: "Well then what are you doing not moving, you are not charging at the nobles as usual, you are not playing tricks on us with your giant water bubble? »
Darthos : "I absolutely don't need that"
Lapeil : "You will regret that"
Ah I see the problem, Darthos was clearly not strong enough before, so during the fights he seems to have used his water sphere to choke people and prevent his enemies from moving.
I understood that this sphere was complicated to manage, when I was there, I could not breathe, move very little and not even see the attacks so its clearly not a bad strategy.
Darthos : "I dont think you really want me to do it anyways"
Instructor : "Hey it's not time to discuss"
Of course it can work in one vs one when all the blows are allowed, but in a war, on a battlefield, it will never be able to give anything, learning and recreating the technique of the sphere will therefore not advance me to anything.
Lapeil: "You don't even move, if you don't do something it's me who would attack"
Darthos : "I am waiting then"
Lapeil : "Get ready, wave of fire"
He did not rush at me as Darthos could have done, he stayed far away, I imagine not to be let me be able to do this sphere, he launched wave after wave of flame attacks, lazy spears, lazy balls ... in all directions, with random strengt, just something not really strong.
Darthos: "Well there is only that among the nobles, the 3 stars are really disappointing"
Lapeil : "Don't insult me it's just an appetiser"
Darthos : "A really unsatisfying appetiser"
The amount of mana is certainly immense, the amount of attack, the speed, the accuracy and the dangerousness of these is impressive, but it ends there, so there is only that in the mana for humans, disappointing.
I did see why the original Dartos was stressed by the possibly of those attack as I saw in pur fight that he was not good at defense, but I am.
Lapeil: "So, you decide to not move, just die under my attacks"
Darthos : "Yeah yeah continue your thing, when you are finished tell me"
The examiner didn't move, he couldn't, the nobles were laughing, the few "friends" of Darthos were scared, and me in all that, just disappointed, humans are just disappointing, the mana, given to each human can do anything and that's what they do with it, to just waste it attacking in every direction, to be content only to increase the amount of mana used.
Lapeil : "Ah finally, your face dissapeared"
Darthos: "Good, you finished playing"
Lapeil : "How are you still good?"
All his attacks had been useless, a simple wall of water, a simple defense that can be found in all the books had been enough, by bending it a little, I had been able to cover all the angles of attacks of my ennemy, it had not required much effort from me, nor moreover a lot of mana.
Here is real mana control, several small walls, everywhere, read the trajectory of attacks, counter them using as little mana as possible and using several defenses at the same time.
Examiner: "Such a control of the water, Darthos has evolved again, his enemy is really out of luck"
Lapeil: "How could you stop all my attacks, with your little walls, it's really nonsense, you must have cheated, what artifact did you use, admit it"
If it had been the real Darthos his complains would have been justified as he really wanted to go fetch an artifact to win this fight, but as for me I really didnt need that.
Examiner: "Lapeil, don't insult your oponent, he is clearly not using an artifact"
Lapeil : "That makes no sense, how a tiny little garbage line, who come from now nowhere can beat me"
Darthos : "It's not my failt that you are bad"
Lapeil : "I know you cheated, just admit it"
Darthos: "It is only you, the nobles who used such filthy means, I will show you in this fight what mastery is, what the power of mana is"
Then my counteroffensive was launched, in which I could not develop all my techniques but I did not need too for all that I would have to do is to beat my opponent.
I really didnt care if what I was going to show them could maybe make them progress somehow, after all their is the magicians and everything else so that concern is really a small thing.
My problem was not people not powerful become somehow a little bit better, no my problem was beating someone really powerful, even though I could not show all my powers (like demonic ones) I will still make a good lesson of that fight.