You are the commander of the Seventh Legion!?"
"Yes, and that's why your spell didn't work... This eagle on my uniform is the Marshal of the Seventh Legion," Hel said.
"You're really telling me all that… ah… okay, then I'll also tell you my secret. I can use time magic," Ken said in a surprised tone.
"Time magic?" Hel asked.
"It's more of a curse than magic… It's also the curse that gave my mother the nickname 'Witch of Curses' or 'Witch of Time.' Of course, it's not at my mother's level—I can only control a few seconds."
"That's still amazing!" Ken said in an excited tone.
Hel smiled and said, "Let's go back to the cafeteria and eat lunch."
Ken nodded. They both went to the cafeteria, where they saw Lillith and Neebi sitting at the same table. They joined them.
Lillith, in a sadistic tone, said, "Why is this nerd sitting here?"
"It looks like Lillith doesn't like Neebi," Ken thought.
They ordered food, and while waiting, Lillith asked, "Where did you two go?"
Ken replied, "I told you, it's a secret!"
"Not that bullsh** again," Lillith scoffed.
Soon, their food arrived, and they started eating. While eating, Ken thought,
"Eagle, tell me about all of your abilities right now."
The Marshal replied,
"Yes, Commander. My ability is a balance of scouting, curses, and power. I can adjust my size—from as big as mountains to as small as an ant. When I was in my prime, I could grow so large that each of my talons rested on separate mountains, and I could crush six of them in a second.
My black feathers carry curses. You can manually change them, but they can only carry curses you have learned. So for now, 'Exhaust' is the only one. I can also change locations using my feathers—you can use them for teleportation, and for scouting.… I have my children."
Ken asked in surprise, "Your children!? You have children?"
The Marshal replied, "Yes. In fact, every Ancient Undead has them, whether they are a captain or a 'Marshal' like me. In my case, I lay eggs of small black eagles with whom I can share my vision. You can also see through their eyes."
"That's amazing! You have so many incredible abilities," Ken said in excitement.
Then he continued, "So where are your children right now?"
The Marshal replied,
"Every Marshal of every Legion has a special space where they keep their Ancient Undead and the Legion's army. It expands as more captains join the Legion. Your father had seven, including me—so six captains."
Ken asked, "Then are those Ancient Undead still in that space?"
The Marshal replied, "Sadly, no. When your father disbanded the Seventh Legion, all contracts with the Ancient Undead were also broken."
Ken, in a determined tone, said, "It's okay. I will get them back."
At that moment, the Marshal saw a glimpse of his old commander in Ken.
Ken continued, "What should I call you? 'Marshal' and 'Eagle' just don't feel right..."
The Marshal replied, "I see… If that's the case, you can call me Valor. At least, that's what your father and the other Ancient Undead used to call me."
Ken smiled. "I see. Then I'll call you Valor. You can call me Ken."
Valor replied in a teasing tone, "Okay, I'll call you 'boy' instead."
Ken was shocked. Before he could respond, Lillith interrupted, "Ken, wake up! Where are you lost in your thoughts? Your plate is empty, so what are you trying to eat?"
"Ah—" Ken realized he had been holding a spoon, trying to eat from an empty plate. Embarrassed, he said, "I think it's time for the next lecture."
He stood up and started walking toward the next class. Hel, Lillith, and Neebi followed him.
The next lecture was on poisons. Like before, Ken, Hel, and Lillith sat together, while Neebi sat in front. This time, the professor was an old man with a long white beard.
"Hello, students. My name is Zach. I will be teaching you about poisons in your first year. The most important thing about poison is resistance. The herbs given to you by the assistants—eat them. After the side effects wear off, fill out this form. That will be all for today."
After hearing him, the students thought:
"Huh? Is that it?"
"Well, let's get it over with then."
"How bad can these herbs be?"
Everyone ate the herbs… and soon, the class turned into chaos.
Students screamed in pain—some had black dots appearing on their skin as a side effect. Neebi fainted. Lillith was vomiting. Hel felt dizzy. Ken's whole body was burning.
After a few hours, the side effects subsided, and students filled out the forms before leaving the classroom. The form mainly asked about the side effects they experienced. It felt more like research than a class. Some students even suspected they were being used as test subjects.
"What the hell is this? I'm not coming back."
"Me neither!"
Hel, Lillith,ken and Neebi left the classroom. It was already time for the next lecture.
Lillith asked, "Do we go to the next lecture? I think it's Spiritual Studies. I'm not taking it."
Hel and Ken said at the same time, "I'm also not taking it."
Neebi asked, "Why? Why aren't you guys taking Spiritual Studies? It's one of the best subjects!"
No one replied. After a while, Ken finally said, "I'm not taking it because I don't like it."
In the end, only Neebi went to class. Lillith headed to the girls' dormitory, while Hel and Ken went to the boys' dormitory.
As soon as they reached their rooms, Hel fell asleep instantly.
"I guess he was tired," Ken thought.
Ken was about to sleep too, but then, maybe out of curiosity, he asked,
"Valor."
"Yes, boy?"
"The space you told me about—the one where the Legion army resides—does it have a name?"
Valor replied, "Yes, it does. It's called the 'Black Hole.'"
Ken's eyes lit up. "Can I enter it?"
Valor paused for a moment before replying, "You can… In fact, I'm also there. What you have is just a copy of me on your clothes—consider it a way for us to communicate."
Ken grinned. "Then open it! I'm coming in right now!"
A black hole appeared in the air. Without hesitation, Ken stepped into it—excited for what lay ahead.