"How much did he hear?"
Thanks to the new situation, I managed to recover more easily, and now none of the discomfort I felt before was visible.
"Are you okay?" Mr. George asked, his expression a mix of shock and curiosity.
"Yes, everything is fine. Mr. Michael said you wanted to see me?"
Mr. George seemed to scan me with his eyes, but his posture remained unchanged—his hands clasped behind his back, his stance slightly bent forward.
"Regarding your actions during the previous joint lesson between the Knights and Scouts groups," Mr. George began, walking toward his desk. I followed him.
"You accumulated 73 points, which guarantees you first place among all the other students…"
"Will this result be displayed somewhere?" I interrupted before he could finish, realizing the importance of this information.
If my name appears as the top scorer in the Knights group, it will automatically be linked to my name in the Scouts list. From there, it wouldn't be difficult to identify me. The only way such a high number of points could have been obtained for a scout was through the people in Astrel's group, who consistently accumulate points under his orders. That connection could lead to consequences I definitely want to avoid.
Mr. George shot me a displeased look for interrupting but continued nonetheless.
"—but you earned most of these points from allies on your own side. Because of this, I have to cancel them. Additionally, you will be prohibited from joining either of the two armies. Instead, you will take on the role of a spy, whose capture will become another win condition. The person who manages to capture you will receive an additional 20 points, on top of the 11 you still have in your possession."
Fuhhh.
Feeling more relaxed after hearing my new assignment, I noticed Mr. George seemed slightly puzzled by my reaction.
"If they capture you, you will be suspended from all lectures and classes for two days and to move on to the next semester you need at least 50 points."
This is bad. It won't be hard to accumulate points again, but absences can consume too much extra time.
"Is everything clear?" Mr. George asked in an imposing tone.
"Yes."
"Then you're free to go."
And I headed for the exit.
On opposite sides of the ring stood Elysia and me, preparing for our duel, with Mr. Ronald positioned in the middle.
"Start."
The moment the signal was given, Elysia lunged at me. Her speed was impressive, but it didn't pose any discomfort for me. I could clearly see how she shifted her center of gravity and aimed her fist straight at me.
I deflected her attack with the outside of my left forearm, while my right fist shot toward her abdomen.
Elysia redirected my punch with her left hand, guiding it downward. My left hand reached for her shoulder, pulling her toward the ground as I aimed a knee strike at her.
She blocked my attack, shielding her chest with her arms, but the impact still created distance between us.
"Okay, Kail, now let's get serious."
As soon as Elysia spoke, her fists became surrounded by the element of Light. Compared to the rest of us, she had been able to control her element at a decent level even before we began close-combat training. People with a Lux constitution start training in element control much earlier so as not to fall far behind.
Once a person forms a constitution tied to a specific element, in addition to developing their ManaVentis, certain abilities related to that element become more effective.
With a Ventus constitution, I gained enhanced speed. Nero developed exceptional body flexibility and Astrel, having a unique constitution, possesses both an enhanced power from the Ignis constitution and the durability from the Terra constitution. Elysia, on the other hand, with her complete-body constitution, only gained the ability to form ManaVentis using Light mana. However, this limitation was compensated by the element's ability to neutralize others.
Of course, this didn't mean that the moment Elysia activated her element, others became useless. We still gained enhancements to our attacks. However, when our attacks made contact with Light, our elemental effects were nullified, leaving only the raw power of our strikes.
And since I still couldn't use my element at will the way Elysia could, the situation wasn't exactly in my favor.
I can't lose the initiative now.
I launched the first attack, and we entered an intense exchange of blows. In our initial clash, I had been superior, gaining dominance due to my speed. But now, that advantage was no longer enough. Even though Light didn't provide significant boosts to power, speed, or durability, it still amplified all three to some extent.
At the moment, the situation was in Elysia's favor, but not to the point where I was completely overwhelmed—at least, not until I found the right tempo and managed to activate the wind element. With that, she was forced to contend with a relentless barrage of swift, powerful attacks from all directions. Her own offense was momentarily disrupted, leaving her unable to follow through with a continuous series of strikes.
From that point on, the tide of our battle began to shift in my favor. Even though the wind element dissipated each time it came into contact with Elysia's, as long as I maintained a constant rhythm, I could reactivate it instantly.
The final attack came from my left foot, sending Elysia crashing into the ring's wall. As she fell to the ground, my victory was declared.
"You held your own well today. If I had lost focus for even a moment, I definitely wouldn't have won," I told Elysia, extending a hand to help her up.
"Thank you, Kail," she replied in her usual strict tone, accepting my hand to rise.
We stepped down from the ring, Where was Liam and Nero, they had their duel earlier and were watching ours. For the first time, Liam managed to defeat Nero, thanks to learning how to activate his element anytime he wanted.
With this new ability and his aggressive attack style, he gained an early advantage and made full use of it.
"Good duel," Nero said, tossing water bottles to both of them.
"Unfortunately, Elysia, you still haven't managed to break your losing streak today," Liam commented with a disappointed expression.
"Mr. Leafblade, I can't help but point out that your situation hasn't changed significantly either, despite your win today," Elysia retorted.
"Correct. Even with this victory, your fifteen-match losing streak remains intact," Nero confirmed.
"Losers weren't given the right to speak - right Kail!" Liam immediately turned to me, seeking an ally against Elysia and Nero.
"Generally, I'm on their side, so... you're on your own," I replied.
"Traitor! You two are just abnormal! I can understand why Nero always wins, but you? How are you doing so well? Your main weapon is a bow! Why are you so good at close combat?!" Liam's frustration was evident, etched across his face and expressed in every possible and impossible way.
"I have no idea," I replied with a shrug.
"As far as I can see, no one has any serious injuries?" Mr. Ronald asked as he approached us from the ring
"Yes, everything seems fine," Nero answered.
"Great. Then that's enough for today. But next time, your duels will not be 1v1, but 2v2. As usual, after a duel, switch partners to start getting used to working in sync with someone else."
"Understood, sir," we responded in unison.
The time spent in the aether concentration chamber has become one of the most enjoyable parts of my day. Compared to me, however, others don't have it so easy. It's not uncommon for people to lose consciousness upon exiting, or to experience dizziness and a persistent feeling of nausea.
So far, no one has switched to a chamber with a higher aether concentration except for Lia as far as I know. As for me, these sessions feel wonderful, a truly pleasant experience for my body. Nero experiences slight discomfort, while Liam still can't associate the aether accumulation chamber with anything positive.
After leaving the chamber, I headed to my room, where I finished off the last of the supplies I had previously purchased. Since I won't have access to money anytime soon.
The problem is that, as far as I know, there's no way to earn money. The only other source besides other students comes from certain rewards offered by the teachers, and even that is only available starting in the second year.
"I need to find a source of money."
The volume of material covered in theoretical lessons has started to increase, and I've also hit a wall in my progress with bow techniques. My current limit is six Wind Slash blades. Also I truly need to learn how to use the element on my own initiative. The only area where I still see a clear path for improvement is the movement technique I practice with Mr. Michael.
"And then there's the spy role..."
It might be better if I can operate alone. The real question is whether the spy's identity will be announced at the beginning. If not, I'll have carte blanche—points will come straight to my arrows of their own accord.
For now, though, I still have three days before that becomes relevant—two of which must be spent with the Tanks group.
I need to:
Find a source of money/food.
Be able to activate the element at any time.
Take advantage of the lessons with Mr. Michael.
Make the most of the aether concentration chamber.
To accumulate at least 50 points in the lessons for Knights.
For now, these must be the general difficulties.
I lay down on the bed after my shower, already ready to fall asleep.
Buzz
When I checked the clock, I saw that the notification was from Lia.
Lia | What are you doing?|
Kail | Nothing, I was already thinking about sleeping.|
Lia | Do you want to go outside for a bit?|
Kail | Okay, should I come to your dorm?|
Lia | I'm already in front of your dorm.|
Strange… maybe something happened.
Lia was always stubborn and direct about what she wanted, but this was unusually straightforward. Still, I didn't overthink it. I grabbed some comfortable clothes that were within reach and headed for the exit.
As I stepped outside the building, I saw her standing there, looking at the hologram on her clock. Her expression was gloomier than usual, irritation evident in the way her eyes lingered on the display. Yet, none of this diminished how striking she was. Her silver hair shimmered under the moonlight, capturing more attention than anything around her.
"Hello," I greeted as I opened the front door and walked toward her.
At the same moment, she looked up from the hologram, her hands shifting behind her back. A small smile appeared on her face, but it looked tired—forced.
"Hello."
Her voice was so quiet it was almost imperceptible.
I was caught off guard, intrigued by the situation. Lia wasn't the type to smile out of politeness. If something bothered her, she made sure everyone knew it—regardless of who was responsible. But tonight, for the first time, she spoke softly, as if the words barely had the strength to leave her lips.
I took a step closer. "Did something happen?"
She didn't answer. Instead, she took my hand and started pulling me forward.
"Lia?"
I felt a little strange about the situation, but she didn't seem uncomfortable. So I let her lead me.
Her hand was smaller than mine—delicate and a little cold—but it felt natural, not at all unpleasant, even as she continued to pull me along at a slow pace.
"Don't you want to talk?"
She simply shook her head.
"Do you want me to tell you what I did today?"
This time, she nodded.
So, I started talking, telling her about my day—from the lesson with Liam and his brother to Nero and Liam's duel, and finally, my own match against Elysia. She listened in silence, reacting only subtly to some of my words.
We walked for a while along the academy sidewalks, hand in hand. Tonight wasn't cold, even though the temperature had dropped considerably in recent days. The only sound between us was my voice. The moon drifted in and out of the clouds, and the sky was filled with stars.
Little by little, I noticed that we were approaching the edge of the academy's territory. This was confirmed by the looming walls that enclosed the grounds. We had drifted away from the sidewalk, heading directly toward them.
The path we had taken wasn't entirely flat; the last stretch had begun to slope upward. Now that we had left the paved walkway behind, the incline was steeper, though not enough to make walking uncomfortable.
Suddenly, Lia stopped just a few meters from the wall and turned her back to it. I followed her lead and turned as well, taking in the view before me—a vast expanse of academy buildings, training tents, sports fields, and even the distant forest, divided into its various sections.
Without a word, Lia lowered herself to the ground. I sat down beside her.
And then, for only the second time that night, I heard her voice.
"Dad died."