THE NEXT DAY
"Johnny boy! Get up, it's time for a lesson!" Alexander pushed my door open.
"It's too early, Morgana-" I complained unconsciously.
"Morgana? Who's that?" Alexander locked onto the name and his obsessively curious nature activated.
"I said morning. Drop it." I stretched and got up out of bed to get ready.
"Sure, I can't beat you anyway." Alexander moved on instantly, a suspiciously quick change in mind that didn't fit him.
I ignored it and got ready. When I went to the kitchen for some breakfast, I found he had already turned it into a classroom with a virtual screen in the middle. Lucy, Marc, and his maid, and knight all sat down and faced the board.
"The star student is here, we can start."
I leaned on the counter and watched. He drew a pyramid of names and then explained.
"This is the most important part of the lesson, so memorize it! Can anyone tell me what it is?" Alexander was really excited about playing teacher for some reason.
His maid, kella put her hand up excitedly.
"Yes, my dear?"
"It's the list of Main families and vassals!" She replied.
"Bingo!"
The list was interesting, so I made sure to memorize it:
Solus|Valant
Giernan Falreth Holann
Termi Hernan Jimmel Safan
Galad Hanan Zein Jekel Lumin
Fara Gera Aark Nami Keter Merl
I memorized every single branch name. My branch was the Solus at the top of the pyramid.
"I'll now explain the rankings. The first two are obvious, the two ruling direct lineages of the [Divine Blood]. With no exception, the two at the top have interchangeably ruled the family since its inception, usually in a cyclical manner."
He began one of his usual obsessive rants and I had to memorize every word.
.
.
"Wait, repeat that." I stopped him after hearing something especially interesting.
"The top branches usually only have one male successor, and if multiple male successors were to exist, they would have to fight for the title of true successor in the direct branch."
"No, before that."
"Oh, the Valant family had a scandal where their successor was thought to be a boy at birth and was later on exposed to be a girl. Currently, they have only one male successor, Johan Valant Gray." He repeated.
"That sounds interesting," I didn't know why but the scandal felt like something I should pay attention to.
'There's no way a mistake in gender identification would happen in modern times where technology is in its golden age, I smell a hidden plot and I can sense myself falling into it,'
It seemed every mess had to somehow include me, even though I just sat at home in peace. I got dressed and prepared to leave.
"You're leaving?" Alexander noticed my silent retreat mid-rant.
"I have my final class in magic today," I replied.
"That's what you get from showing off and becoming the top student. Right! Make sure to pass by the tailor and get something nice made, we have a formal ball tomorrow night to welcome the Vassals."
"I'll surprise you."
While walking to the class, I noticed countless new faces, they seemed to recognize me directly and bow slightly in greeting. My pitch-black hair made it hard for me to be mistaken for anyone else.
Still, my ears worked too well. Though they bowed, their tongues whispered the word 'Bastard' every single time.
'It's going to be fun in the Ville for a while,'
.
.
When I stepped into the hall where the final magic class was held, I found a different world entirely.
A battlefield stretched before me, desolate and grim, littered with broken weapons and shattered shields, each a silent testament to a battle long since fought. The sky hung heavy above, dark and brooding as if the sun had abandoned the world entirely.
A cold wind whispered across the bloodstained ground, carrying the scent of iron and death.
'A high-level formation, now wonder the instructor delayed the test.'
Suddenly, without warning, the earth trembled under my feet. The silence shattered as skeletal hands clawed their way from the dirt, and hollow eyes glowed faintly in the gloom.
From every direction, they came—countless undead soldiers, their armor rusted and bodies twisted, dragging themselves from the shadows of the past. The battlefield, once quiet, now teemed with them, rising to fight once more.
"Fight all you want, and try to survive for the next 30 minutes, little monster. Only magic is allowed and the undead will never stop."
"You just had to make it an annoying test, Instructor."
I unleashed my Mana and leaped into the fray. My limits in magic would be tested to the limit by the undead no matter how I decided to fight them. I had thirty minutes to survive this endless wave of undead, and every second felt like an eternity.
As the first skeleton lunged at me, I unleashed my Mana forward, a burst of.[Blood Thunder] erupting from its tip. The creature crumbled to ash, but more took its place. I spun, casting a wide arc of lightning that surged through a line of advancing corpses, their bones clattering as they collapsed to the ground. But it wasn't enough. The earth seemed to vomit up more with every step I took, and I could feel their cold, hollow eyes watching my every move.
'All out!'
I hurled spell after spell—[Blood Thunder] striking, [Gray Winter] freezing, blood magic howling in furious spells—yet they kept coming. Time was slipping away, and I was growing tired. I drew a deep breath and refocused myself, the timing for the test was horrible.
Not long before, I consumed large amounts of Aura for stealth and large amounts of both energies for Prana, so I was far from full capacity.
The cracks in my magic began to show, and my ability to fuel my attacks with Mana decreased with every minute.
When my Mana reached the bottom and I could barely call upon my Blood -Magic, I broke through my limits and progressed further on the path of magic.
[A new magic circle has formed!]
My Mana reserves were rejuvenated and my capacity for higher level magic instantly proved useful.
"Let's have some fun then! [Blood Flame Field]! [Divine Blood Resonance]! [Ocean Of Blood]!"
Only 6 minutes were left and I planned to bring destruction for that exact duration. I cast three 5th-circle blood magic spells in quick succession using the heightened Mana capacity of my [Dragon Heart].
Needless to say, the undead did not survive the giant crimson Mana tree that rained down crystals of condensed crimson over a large area periodically, the blood resonance that buffed magic in a certain area and caused explosions through resonance between blood crystals and the AoE ocean of blood that melted them away.
…