《I Just Inherited The Arcane Emperor's Legacy》


 Chapter 1 Work

    ?A half-eaten bun flew across the fruit stand and hit the scrawny boy on the other end. The stand was filled to the brim with different kinds of fruit. It was dawn, and the fruit vendor hadn''t made a sale yet.


    "Get out of here, you prick!" The man who threw the bun shouted at the boy. "Day just started and I already got a beggar. What luck!"


    The boy had been pestering the man for fruit. His request was met with a half-eaten bun to the face. The boy looked at the bun that fell to the ground after hitting his chest. He paused for a moment before smiling and picking it up. He looked at the vendor with a huge grin.


    "Thank you so much, good sir!" The boy bowed and immediately ran off. The vendor looked at the boy running off. He shook his head and got back to his store to start preparing it for customers. He didn''t have the time to worry about others.


    The boy ran out of the street where the market was. He was met with a narrow road that extended both ways. He turned right and ran for a few seconds until he came to a building that said [Mercenary Guild]. He snuck into an alley beside the building and kept running until he came to a line of shacks. He went into one of the smaller ones.


    Inside the shack was barely any furniture. There was one wobbly table and two nkets spread out on the floor. There was also one small cab in a corner. That was it. The walls were made of wood that the richermoners had discarded. The table and nkets were also garbage that people had thrown away.


    One small figure was sleeping in the corner of the room on one of the nkets. It was a young girl. She looked like she was around 9-10 years old, but in reality, she was 12. Her ck, long hair covered up the holes in her rags. She was shivering but didn''t wrap herself in the other nket.


    "Daphne. Get up." The boy gently said.


    The girl, Daphne, opened her eyes. She looked at the boy and immediately got up. She saw the bun in his hands.


    "Where did you get that from, Leo? Did you steal it?" She asked the boy.


    He shook his head. "A fruit vendor gave it to me. He must be new around here. Anyway, take some. You haven''t had food since yesterday."


    He tore out the part of the bun that the vendor had bitten off with his hand. He shoved that part of the bun into his mouth. He then handed the rest of the bun to Daphne. She took it from him and started nibbling on it.


    "I''ll go to the market and see if anyone needs help. If I work today, we should have food for two days at least," he said.


    "I''lle too," Daphne said.


    "No. You stay here. You are too young and frail. You might get hurt," he said, shaking his head.


    Daphne huffed. "You are the same age as me. Just one year older. Also, stop acting like you are my brother. You aren''t. How can I let you do all the work?"


    He smiled. "Well, we wouldn''t be this desperate for food if you hadn''t fallen sick. I had to stay here to take care of you for a week. You still haven''t recovered. Once you recover, you can work."


    Daphne sighed and looked away. "Okay. Bye."


    "Bye. I''ll see you in the evening."


    He left the shack and went back to the marketce. It was a single street with ample space for people to walk. Carriages would fill up the street, but because nobles don''te here, it wouldn''t be a problem. There were vendors set up on each side of the street, shouting to attract their customers. Some of them were offering simple groceries, but most of them were selling equipment and potions to mercenaries. Because the Mercenary Guild was right beside the market, the smaller mercenaries would get their equipment and potions from the stalls instead of the bigger shops.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He went to the first stall that caught his eye. It was a stall that sold swords. He walked to the vendor.


    "Hello. Do you need anyone to do small tasks that you don''t want to do? I can help you clean your stall and swords." He told the vendor.


    "Go somewhere else, kid." The vendor didn''t even bat his eyes.


    He was not discouraged. He went to the next stall and asked again. He was once again met with failure. He kept asking all the stores. He would badger any kind-looking people, but everyone said no.


    He finally arrived at a potions stall.


    "Hello. Do you need anyone to do small work that you don''t want to do? I can do anything you need me to do," he told the vendor. "That I am able to do," he added.


    The vendor was a middle-aged man with a full-grown beard. He looked up and saw Leo. Leo was also dressed in rags and looked like he was 10.


    "How old are you?" He asked him.


    "I am 13 years old. I might look younger, but that''s because I didn''t eat enough as a kid," Leo said while smiling.


    The man winced. He looked around his stall. The stall was clean, and there was nothing for Leo to do. Leo understood this when he looked around himself.


    "It''s okay, I''lle another day," Leo said. He turned around, about to leave, but the man stopped him.


    "What''s your name, boy?" He asked Leo.


    "I am Leo. Nice to meet you, Mr.?" He held his hand out. The man shook it.


    "I am Trevor," the man said.


    "So, do you have any work for me, Mr. Trevor?" He asked.


    Trevor looked at him.


    "As you can see, the stall is very clean. Potion selling is very neat work. So you don''t have any work here." Trevor said.


    Leo''s smile faded.


    "But that changes if you can risk your life."

 Chapter 2 Valkyrs Forest

    ?Leo looked at Trevor with curiosity. "What do you mean?" He asked.


    Trevor sighed and pointed to his potions.


    "I need some herbs to keep making potions. Normally, I would hire adventurers to do this or just buy it from a merchant. But I can''t do that now because I am busy selling the potions. So if you can do it for me, I might even employ you in the future," Trevor exined.


    "So I need to find these herbs for you?" He asked Trevor.


    "Yes. Specifically the Glimmer root. It is the root of a nt that emits a faint glimmering light. The stalk itself is useless, but the root can be used to make healing potions. I will give you 10 Starcoins for every root you can find," Trevor said.


    His eyes gleamed. Each Starcoin could buy him a meal, so 10 Starcoins wouldst him and Daphne two days. He would just have to find 5 Glimmer roots and he would be good for 10 days.


    "Where can I find Glimmer roots?" He asked Trevor.


    "Valkyr''s Forest," Trevor said solemnly.


    Leo''s eyes lost their gleam instantly. Valkyr''s Forest was the forest bordering Solhaven, the city they were in. It was full of dangerous monsters that could rip adults to shreds. Moreover, there were some beasts that could even use magic called magical beasts. He would be food for these beasts instantly.


    Trevor saw this and assured him, "I know it might seem dangerous, and it is. But the Glimmer roots grow on the outskirts of the forest, and there shouldn''t be any magical beasts there. Any beasts should be killed by the city hunters. You would only have a problem if you ventured in too deep."


    He thought about it for a minute. He knew that the money he could get would help him immensely. He looked at Trevor.


    "How many roots do you think I can find?" He asked Trevor.


    "If you are looking for an hour, you should find around 15 roots. They grow around each other," he said.


    "How often do you set up shop here?" He asked Trevor.


    "Very often. Are you going to do it?" Trevor asked him.


    "Yes."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Remember. Go with a target. Don''t be greedy. Don''t risk your life," Trevor warned.


    Leo went back to the shack to prepare for the job. He didn''t have many possessions, but he had one knife to guard against the world. He knew it wouldn''t hurt any beasts, but it was better than nothing.


    He took the knife out of the sole cab in the room. Daphne was still sleeping, so he did it quietly. He didn''t want to tell her what he was going to do because she would worry for his safety. He took his knife and left the shack quickly.


    He then went towards the outskirts of the forest. The shack that Leo and Daphne lived in was in the slums. It was the closest area to the forest. The Mercenary Guild was next to the forest because of its proximity. It made monster subjugations more convenient. He walked to the city walls that stood between the city and Valkyr''s Forest.


    The gates were open because it was day, and there were no guards at the exit. Most of the guards were stationed at the inner wall that guarded the nobles. They didn''t care about themoners enough to station guards there. They only had enough to shut the gate in case a monster breakout urred.


    He walked out of the gate into the outskirts of the forest. Well, almost the outskirts. Thend right outside the city was barren because of the battles fought against previous monster breaks. So he would have to walk a mile to actually reach the outskirts of the forest.


    By the time he got to the forest, it was zing hot. The sun was just starting to dip from the middle of the sky. He took out a bun that he had bought with hisst Starcoin and gobbled it. He wiped his hands free of the crumbs and let out a breath of air.


    "Let''s do this. At least 15." He muttered to himself. He had a satchel strapped to his side to collect the herbs. But the satchel was very old and clearly almost garbage.


    He walked into the forest, giving him shade from the sun. He looked around for glimmering objects. There was a lot of grass that grew pretty tall so it obstructed his line of sight. It was going to be a very painful search.


    After around 5 minutes of aimlessly wandering around, he finally saw a shimmering light in the grass a few feet away. He walked towards it and saw what he was looking for.


    The nt was around half a foot tall, and it exuded a soft light. He took his knife out and started prodding at the soil around it. It was very soft, so he was able to dig out some with his knife. He then gently pulled the nt out. The root was emitting the same light as the stalk. He smiled and put the nt in his bag.


    He looked around to see if there were any nts around the one he found. He tried since Trevor said that Glimmer roots grew around each other. He was right. He saw two Glimmer roots clinging to each other less than 5 yards away. (A/N: Yard = 3 Feet)


    He quickly went to the nts and dug them out. Over the course of the next hour, he found 23 Glimmer roots including the first 3.


    He looked around to see if there were any more when he heard a snarl. He turned around slowly towards the source of the sound. He saw a wolf 10 yards away from him, eyeing him. The wolf had saliva dripping out of its jaw.


    "I am screwed."

 Chapter 3 Cave

    Chapter 3 Cave


    ?Leo knew immediately that it was only a normal wolf. But only is such a deceiving word. He was an undernourished 13-year-old. Even a ''normal wolf'' would rip him to shreds. But he didn''t start running immediately.


    He knew that the wolf would catch up to him in no time. The wolf was standing between the route to the city. The only direction he could run into was the forest, where there were more beasts that could kill him.


    However, the forest also had more trees as it got farther from the city. It would make running difficult for him and even more so for the wolf. He would have a better chance of escaping the wolf if he ran towards the forest. He prepared himself for the decision he made. He tightly grabbed his knife, took a deep breath, and turned around quickly. He then started sprinting with all his might.


    He heard a growl. He knew the wolf was hot in pursuit. He leaped across a tree branch that was in his way and started running into the forest. He kept changing directions instead of a straight line to try and throw the wolf off. However, the wolf was still chasing him.


    He ran until he reached a waterfall. The water was spilling into a hugeke in front of it. He looked back and saw the wolf charging toward him. He was out of breath by then. He had been running for almost five minutes. He sighed and took the only option avable to him.


    He jumped into theke and started swimming towards the waterfall. He knew theke had monsters too, but they wouldn''te to the waterfall because of the ripples it makes. He started swimming toward the waterfall. He looked back at the wolf.


    The wolf was snarling at him, but it hadn''t jumped into theke. It looked in a particr direction in theke and then turned around. He looked at where the wolf was looking and winced. There was a ssh of water there. Something was moving in the water, and it was heading for him.


    He started swimming with all his might to the waterfall. He didn''t have enough time to make it to the other side and he couldn''t go back because the wolf would eat him. Leo pushed the water back with all his might.


    He finally got to the waterfall. He looked back to look at what wasing for him. He saw that it was very close - a few yards away. He looked back at the waterfall and saw something strange. Instead of rocks, he saw darkness beyond the water.


    He immediately dove into the waterfall. He dove through the water andnded on a stone floor. He immediately tried to get away from the waterfall, so heunched himself with whatever strength he had left away from the waterfall. Hended on the stone floor, scratching his arm that he had used as a cushion. He looked back and saw a huge crocodile dive through the waterfall and attempt to bite him.


    It almost reached Leo, but it hit a mysterious, invisible wall that knocked it back. It tried to get across the wall a few more times, but it failed. It red at him for a minute, and then left.


    He saw this happen and couldn''t believe his eyes. He took a huge breath and then just copsed on the stone floor. He had been running for his life and then had to swim from a crocodile. He had been through a lot physically.


    While he wasying down, he thought about what happened. There was a mysterious barrier that stopped the crocodile from crossing the barrier. He immediately knew that the cave he entered had something powerful.


    He got up after 10 minutes of rest. He first went towards the waterfall for some water. He drank some water and washed his face. He also washed the scratch on his arm that had started bleeding lightly. He then took out his knife and looked at the cave. He walked into it.


    The cave was very long. He had to walk for 5 minutes before reaching a stone door. The door had a lot of engravings on it. He pushed the door but it wouldn''t budge. He kept trying to push but it wouldn''t budge.


    Meanwhile, his arm started bleeding again. He wiped his blood off with his hands and then wiped his hands with his shirt. However, some blood was still left on his hands. When he pushed again, the blood smeared into the door.


    He took a step back after failing to push the door. He sighed and turned around, ready to leave, when he heard a low rumbling noise. He looked back and saw that the stone door was moving by itself.


    The engravings that were previously dull like the rest of the stone were now shining in a golden color. The doors slowly opened into a huge open space. He gaped as he entered the opened room.


    asionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 4 Tome

    ?As Leo entered the huge room, the gold engravings slowly died down. The golden light slowly moved out of the doors like a snake. Some of the golden light entered the room through the floor, following him, while the rest converged outside the room on top of the doors. The light settled on some engravings, forming a phrase.


    ________


    Here Lies The Arcane Emperor.


    ________


    He had already entered the room, so he didn''t see this phrase. The gold light behind him split up and covered the walls. The entire room lit up, as the floor and walls were filled with engravings shining in the gold light.


    He was too mesmerized to consider running away. His young mind gave into curiosity and awe. He followed the flowing gold light to the center of the room. His eyes were glued onto the gold lights. He kept walking until he bumped into something.


    He looked in front and saw a pedestal that was the height of his chest. On top of the pedestal was a huge book. The book was opened up, showcasing its golden pages. He tried to lift the book, but it was too heavy. He closed the book to see its cover.


    There was a green emerald on the cover, and obsidian patterns surrounded it. The rest of the book was gold. The entire tome seemed so much more solid than paper- like it was made of silk yet as hard as a diamond. It was veryvishly decorated, indicating what its use was.


    "It''s a tome. A bloody tome." He muttered to himself.


    A tome contained the magic spells and it contained the entire magic knowledge of a magician. They were considered legendary because only powerful mages could make them. Tomes had a little magic power in them to make inheriting the spells easier. They were considered the legacy of ancient families. And only the highest nobles - the royals, even had the chance of having one.


    As he was admiring the book, blood started creeping out of the scratch he had. The blood had gathered at his elbow and eventually dripped onto the book. By the time he had realized it was toote. The blood fell onto the cover, just on top of the emerald.


    "Damn it!" He cursed.


    He took his hands off the tome and lifted his shirt to try to clean the blood off. By the time he lifted his shirt, the blood had tricked onto the emerald. He watched the blood seep into the emerald.


    He left his shirt and touched the book to make sure the blood was gone. He saw the emerald shine brightly. Suddenly, a sh of light brightened up the entire room. He felt a vibration across his chest along with a wrenching pain in his heart. The pain onlysted a split second. However, when it ended he got onto his knees and started panting.


    He took a second to recover and stood up. He looked at the pedestal to see what happened to the book but he couldn''t find it. The pedestal was empty. He suddenly felt a huge pain in his hand.


    He felt like his hand was burning. He looked at his wrist. The part of his wrist that was below his palm had a glowing tattoo burned onto it. It was a book. He recognized it: it was the same book that was on the pedestal. It was now on his wrist.


    He looked around. It was a lot darker than before because the golden light hadpletely disappeared. The only light he saw was in front of the tome. A throne had appeared out of nowhere. He hadn''t seen it when he first came into the room. On top of the throne was a skeleton.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    In front of the throne was a que. He stepped forward to look at the que.


    __________


    Here lies the Arcane Emperor. Pay your respects to your master.


    Only use your knowledge for good.


    Pass down your knowledge to a deserving sessor.


    __________


    He looked at the tome on his wrist. He then looked at the skeleton. The skeleton was resting like a king. He thought for a moment. He was in shock.


    The only exnation for all this was that the owner of the tome had chosen him to be his sessor. He knew that if this was true, it could be the greatest thing that happened to him. But his priority now was the present and getting back alive.


    Leo bowed down to the skeleton.


    "Thank you for this opportunity, sir. I will cherish this opportunity and uphold your values."


    He looked back up to find that the throne was nowhere to be found. Nothing in the room was how it was when he got there. The engravings were nowpletely gone. The throne and the pedestal had disappeared.


    He turned around and saw the waterfall he hade into right in front of him. He looked back at his wrist and saw the tome. The tome was no longer glowing and had faded down to a ck tattoo.


    He realized that his arm was no longer bleeding. He also felt lighter than before. He was full of energy unlike before. He stretched his body and jumped a few times to warm his body up. He took a deep breath and then dived into the waterfall.


    He started swimming towards the shore that he hade out of. He was hoping to swim, but not too quickly as to tire himself out. The run outside was longer than the swim so he would have to be faster then. So he had to be a little slower to preserve his energy.


    However, his ns shattered immediately. He felt a weird tremor near his legs and looked back. He saw the same sight as he did when he entered the cave. The crocodile noticed me and started to chase him. This time it was slightly closer than the previous chase.


    "Why? Why is it still on to me?"

 Chapter 5 Escape

    ?Leo swore in his mind while speeding up. Instead of furiously beating around like a brute, he calmly pushed the water back neatly with great strength. He was trying his best not to waste too much of his stamina. Meanwhile, the crocodile was closing in quickly.


    He saw the shore was closing in. He started putting more power into pushing back the water. He reached the ground. He immediately left the water and scrambled forward. He got away from theke just in time.


    The crocodile dived at him like before, except there was no mysterious barrier helping him this time. However, he had gotten enough space from the crocodile that it missed. He immediately backed up more so that even if the crocodile moved forward it wouldn''t be able to catch him.


    He bolted into the forest. He also had to worry about escaping the forest without dying. He ran towards what he thought was where he came from. He hoped that it was the right way because otherwise, he would be running to his death.


    He ran through the forest and started to feel his stamina drop around 5 minutes into the run. He saw a glimmering nt in the way and smiled. He didn''t stop, but he knew that it was a Glimmer root, which meant he was likely on the right path.


    He kept running. He didn''t skimp on any energy this time. He was truly running for his life. He hoped that he wouldn''t run into the wolf or any other monsters on the way like at theke.


    He saw the trees thinning out in a short while. He kept running until he was no longer in the forest. He dashed out of thest trees of the forest. He was now in the open. The sun was just setting. If he was in the forest any longer, he would have to survive the already dangerous forest in the dark. The nocturnal animals would eat him alive.


    He stopped running after he felt the forest was far enough. He slowed down to a walk, slowly recovering his breath. He made his way to the city.


    "I am never going to go into there again," He promised himself. He forced his body to make it to the city gates. He entered the gates into the safety of the city. He breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly he remembered something.


    "The market might close soon. I have to go!"


    Since the sun was setting, the people at the market usually wrapped up at this time. Throughout the stressful day, he never let go of the satchel that held the Glimmer roots. He had 23 of them, which would give him 230 Star coins. It would give him some time to rest without doing work to figure out what happened to him and the tome.


    With money involved, He suddenly gained a lot of energy. He sprinted to the market. When he got there, he saw that people were starting to pack their stalls up. He ran to where Trevor''s stall had been that morning. Trevor''s stall was still there, and Trevor was sitting there, unbothered that the people around him were packing up.


    He let out a breath of relief. He walked to Trevor with a re. Trevor saw his condition. While there were no visible wounds on him, his rags werepletely unusable, and his face looked incredibly weary.


    "You must have had a hell of a day," Trevor remarked.


    "Almost died," Leo shot back.


    Trevor shook his head. "I told you, didn''t I? You took the risk, and you did it. How many roots could you find?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Leo put the satchel onto the stall. He took out the stalks of Glimmer root. Trevor looked at them.


    "These are good. That''s 23 of them?" Trevor confirmed their authenticity.


    He nodded.


    Trevor reached into his purse and took out 5 coins.


    "230 Star coins. Go buy yourself some better clothes." Trevor handed the coins to Leo.


    He slipped the coins into his pocket.


    "I will. Thanks for the work." Leo thanked him. Normally a day''s work would give him a few Star coins. It was very apparent that he was an orphan so he wouldn''t be paid the right amount. This was the first time he had earned so much money at once. 230 Star coins wouldst him and Daphne an entire month. He could also alternatively buy himself and Daphne a few pairs of clothes while trying to find other work to get him food.


    "This is fine work. Do you want more work?" Trevor asked Leo.


    Leo shook his head. "Not anytime soon. I almost died. It''s too dangerous for me."


    Trevorughed. "I am not surprised. Maybe you could learn an aura training method from a guild and be an Aura Knight. You could earn a lot more that way."


    His smile disappeared. While mages were solely nobles,moners could also be powerful by learning how to use Aura. However, he never had the ess to Aura training methods that others would have at a young age because he was incredibly poor as well as an orphan.


    Normally, the reason people couldn''t be Aura Knights was because of theirck of talent. But he was never even given the chance because he was unlucky. Trevor noticed the change in mood and understood why almost immediately.


    "How about this? Aura Training methods are prettymon. They cost around thousand Star Coins. Good ones are more expensive, but the basic ones should be enough. Save up to that amount and I''ll sell you one. Then you can see if you have the talent to be an Aura Knight. If you be an Aura Knight, you can earn more than a few thousand Star coins." Trevor offered an opportunity to him.


    Leo smiled bitterly. "When I have a thousand Star coins, we can have the discussion again. I''ll see you again if I need another job."

 Chapter 6 Empyrean Magic System

    ?Daphne had woken up when the afternoon was cooling down and the evening was just setting in. She couldn''t see Leo anywhere so she assumed that he had gotten some work at the market. She just waited for him because she was too weak to leave the shack.


    At around sunset, Daphne got a little apprehensive. He never got jobs that required him to stay for long. He would typically get a few Starcoins to clean some equipment or ss vials. Daphne got worried that he wasn''t back yet.


    Around 2 hourster, the door to the shack opened. Leo stepped in. He had a basket in his hand.


    Daphne looked up. Her eyes showed that she was worried the whole time. She saw the remains of his clothes. They were essentially unwearable. Daphne rushed forward towards him. She tightly hugged him.


    "I was worried," she said softly.


    He smiled and hugged her back.


    "I was earning us the best dinner we ever had," he told her. He lifted the basket in his hand.


    Inside the basket was a proper dinner for both of them. There were chicken breasts along with potato fries. Daphne saw this with puzzled eyes. She let go of him.


    "What did you do?" She asked him.


    He told her about the job that Trevor gave him. He didn''t say anything about the wolf or the cave. He didn''t want to make Daphne keep dangerous secrets that could get her killed. After the altered recount of his day, Daphne pouted at him.


    She grabbed his basket and turned away.


    "Don''t do that again. It''s too dangerous," she said while setting up for dinner.


    He smiled. "I hopefully won''t do it anytime soon."


    _________


    After dinner, He spread his nket to get ready to sleep. Daphne was already asleep. She fell asleep because she was still sick and tired. He gazed at his wrist, looking at his tattoo in the darkness. He didn''t know what to do about it. He didn''t know what a tome was supposed to do, and couldn''t go to anyone for guidance. After thinking for a while he gave up and went to sleep.


    The minute he fell asleep, He found himself in a roompletely painted white. It was incredibly bright, and he was sitting on a chair. He looked up and saw a series of scribbles formed by golden light in front of him, floating in the air. He couldn''t understand anything initially.


    All of a sudden he felt a pain in his head. He got a splitting headache. He clung to the chair while squeezing his head into his knees. It took him around ten minutes to recover. His eyes felt weird after he looked up. The scribbles were dancing in his eyes. The scribbles slowly stopped dancing and came to a halt. All of a sudden, he could understand all of the scribbles.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    _______________________


    Empyrean Magic System


    Refuse the magical circles around one''s heart, for they are limiting.


    Instead, condense your magic into stars in your mind. The mind is limitless.


    ________________________


    This was not the only new thing about him. He could also remember something that he had never read - the technique to practice the Empyrean Magic System. He had an entire mage training method in his mind. This was mind-blowing to him.


    The Empyrean System was different from the normal magical system - the Imperial Magic System in two ways. He would be condensing his magic into stars that he would store in his mind. Apparently, normal mages typically store it around their hearts because it is a lot easier. The Empyrean System requires great talent from the mages.


    The other way it differed from the normal system was how strength was defined. The Imperial System defined mages based on how many circles they had formed. 1 was the lowest and 9 was the highest. He knew that the emperor was a 6th circle mage. Before a mage became a 1st circle mage, he would be considered an apprentice mage. This person is someone who can gather mana but did not form a circle yet.


    The Empyrean System based it on how many stars they formed. There were 12 stars that one could form. Each star was as powerful as a circle. However, because mages don''t look at one''s mind pce, they would see the absence of circles around his heart and would think that he didn''t have magic. This would benefit him greatly.


    He thought about how the Empyrean System told him to gather magic. He wanted to try it once. He would have to try and calm his mind to a stillness so that he could sense magic. He took a deep breath. He tried to calm himself. He tried to stop thinking about anything to sense the magic. However, his mind constantly wandered around and he couldn''t do anything about it.


    Eventually, the entire night passed by. He was unable to gather any magic at all. He was very disappointed when he woke up. He was very excited when he thought he would learn magic, but he failed to do anything. He didn''t want to do anything except try to figure out how to gather magic.


    However, Daphne was still sick. So he would have to bring her meals for her. However, since he earned a lot of money the previous day, he wouldn''t have to go to do work for the entire week. He could just bring the meals for the entire day before focusing on magic.


    "What do you want to eat today? What should I bring?" Leo asked Daphne. Daphne had also woken up at the same time as him but kept lying on her sheets.


    She looked at him and said, "Whatever can fill my stomach. We can''t waste too much money on food."


    He smiled. Both of them weren''t familiar with the concept of having so much money at once. They felt they had to conserve as much as possible. When Leo thought about that thought, his smile faded. He knew that if he became a mage, all of that would change. He became more determined to learn magic.

 Chapter 7 Inspiration

    ?Leo got a few buns for breakfast and some rice with chicken for lunch and dinner. He brought it in a basket and put it in one corner of the room. He told Daphne to eat whenever she was hungry, but that he would only join her when he was done training.


    "What are you training for? And what are you doing?" Daphne asked him.


    "I am training my mind to be still," he told her.


    "Why?" Daphne asked.


    He shook his head. "Being mentally strong is very important. It will help you in the real world."


    Daphne knew that he was just avoiding the question, but chose not to pursue it. He resumed his practice. The difference was that his previous practice was in his dream, and this time was during the day.


    He felt that it was even more difficult to keep his mind still because the sun was still out. He kept thinking about what he could be doing instead of trying to be a mage. His mind kept wandering toward how he could make money to survive.


    Eventually, he got fed up. He decided to take a break. He was forcing himself to stay still for over two hours and it wasn''t working. He decided to drink some water and eat before trying again.


    The day went by and he failed to sense magic again. His disappointment in himself increased. Doubts about the authenticity of the tome started emerging. He was also aware of how these new thoughts would make his attempts harder and harder, but he couldn''t do anything about it. His optimism was slowly dying out and he was considering just saving up to buy the aura method from Trevor.


    When he went to sleep, he found himself in the same space he was in the previous night. This time, he sat down and tried to think about nothing, keeping his mind still, but he didn''t put too much effort into it. His mind asionally wandered and he didn''t do anything about it. He had started epting his failure to sense magic and stopped forcing his mind to do something it couldn''t.


    A week passed since his attempts. He stopped spending entire days on practice. He started going to find work during the day and only spent any time sensing magic in the mysterious space in his dreams. He was not seeing any sess.


    He came back to the shack after working at the market. He had cleaned the swords of an equipment maker for 5 Star coins. He was very tired when he entered the shack, so he slumped into the corner.


    Daphne was already there. She was also simrly exhausted since she had also gone out to work. She recovered a few days back and went along with Leo to find work. With her also working, they didn''t have any food concerns.


    "Five Star coins," He showed Daphne what he earned for the day.


    "Same," Daphne said.


    Daphne had already bought food, so he sat down to eat it. Meanwhile, Daphne started to make some conversation.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "So, what happened to your training?" She asked him.


    He looked down at his food. After a week of failure, he was very gloomy.


    "Not very sessful. My mind keeps wandering around and I don''t know what to do." He told her. "Any suggestions?"


    Daphne thought about it for a while and said, "Have you thought about anchoring it?"


    He was intrigued.


    "My mind?" He asked.


    "Yes. Anchoring your mind with an idea. If you think about one idea and focus purely on that, your mind will be filled with that idea alone. Since you are not deviating from the idea, your mind could be called ''still''." Daphne said.


    He thought about what she said and it quickly made sense to him.


    "Daphne," He called her. "You are a genius. A genius. Thank you."


    He quickly wolfed down his meal while trying toe up with a suitable anchor for his mind. Daphne smiled at his appreciation and went back to eating her meal.


    After dinner, both of them went to bed. Daphne was getting ready for work the following day, while He was getting ready to give another go at sensing magic. This was the first time he had any enthusiasm in the matter in the entire week, and it was because he had a n this time.


    He entered the space in his mind the minute his head hit the pillow. Entering this room had started to be easier and easier for him. He immediately sat on the ground. Throughout the previous week, he had experimented with different postures, and the lotus sitting posture was the most natural position for him.


    He had picked out an apt anchor for his mind - magic. He reasoned that since he was trying to sense magic, keeping his mind fixated on magic would be the best option. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.


    He breathed in and out rhythmically while thinking about what he envisioned magic to be. His only encounter with magic to the date was when he encountered the tome. He thought about the tremor he felt in his entire body when the tome chose him. He didn''t think his memory would hold the experience properly, but he was able to remember the exact sensation he had felt that day.


    The sensation slowly became more clear to him. He felt his heart beating more quickly. He became more aware of his body than he thought he could be. He felt the blood rushing through his body and the air in his lungs refreshing him. And then suddenly, he felt a warm sensation, simr to the embrace of the morning sun. He opened his eyes on reflex, finding himself in apletely different world.

 Chapter 8 Mind

    ?The white room waspletely filled with small translucent orbs in the air. They were giving off a light rainbow color. Some of them were touching Leo''s skin, producing a warm fuzzy sensation, as if he was home. He felt propelled to touch one of these orbs in front of him.


    He poked at one of the orbs, and it started floating away because of his force. Now knowing that he could touch them, he decided to try and hold one of them. He grabbed one of the orbs and brought it to his face so he could see it. The orb quickly melted into his hand while he was looking.


    He thought about what he had to do next. He assumed that he was looking at some form of magic. So now he would have to somehow gather that magic in his mind to make a star. So he tried to recollect the technique the tome inserted into his mind.


    "I have to try and call out to the orbs and try to get them to gather around me. And then I have to... absorb them?" He recited out of his mind.


    He guessed that the absorption was the melting of the orbs, so he started ''calling out'' to the orbs. He thought for a while about how to call the orbs and decided to experiment. Since he was dealing with magic, he didn''t know what to do initially. Eventually, he decided to just visualize the magic orbs floating toward him.


    When he opened his eyes, he saw the orbs were closer to him than before and more densely packed. He knew he was going in the right direction. He kept the thought in his mind and soon started noticing that his body was warming up. The orbs were getting absorbed automatically into his body.


    Soon, he became aware of the magic in his body. He was able to move it in his body, but he didn''t know where to store it. He recalled the next step from his memory - storing it in his mind.


    He just decided to direct the power toward his head to see what happens. The power started circting around his brain, and he suddenly felt more aware of what was happening to him. It heightened his senses by a little bit. It was noticeable though.


    However, he didn''t know what mind meant. He didn''t know where to find it. The mind was not the same as the brain, after all. He opened his eyes and let go of control over the magic in his body. He decided to stop meditating anymore because he was starting to grow tired and didn''t know what step to take next. He had absorbed the magic power but didn''t know where to store it.


    He stopped forcing his mind to think about magic and let go. He found himself in the same white room, but the magic orbs were all gone. But there was one new addition to the room. A door. He saw a door on one wall of the room that had appeared. The door was also white, with a golden door handle. It was extremely simple, and the door almost merged into the rest of the wall. It seemed like it was also made of the same material as the wall - pure, solid light.


    He was very intrigued. The mysterious white space was already puzzling to him, but this made him even more curious about what the space was.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He walked towards the door and opened it. He looked back. The door that he walked through had disappeared. However, he was less concerned with what he saw. He was more interested in what he couldn''t.


    "Wow."


    He stepped forward. He was in a field of grass. There was nothing for miles on all sides except grass. He knew it was grass. But the grass was not green in color. In fact, he just knew what was around him, but couldn''t see anything. So he didn''t know what color it was, all he could see was pitch ck.


    But Leo wasn''t bothered about the grass. He was looking up at the sky, It was devoid of any stars like he would normally see. There was no light source, yet he knew exactly what was in his surroundings.


    A thought shed through his mind. He looked up at the sky. What if the sky was what he was supposed to fill up with stars? What if he was currently in his mind? He still had control over the magic in his body. He tried to bring it outside his body.


    The magic came out immediately. But instead of orbs, it came out as a single cloud of rainbow light emitting magic. It was a cloud the size of a basketball, but it lit up the area around him. While it didn''t affect his ability to see, it made the ce more vibrant. The grass that the light was shining on was greenpared to the rest.


    Leo let go of control over the magic cloud. It slowly floated into the sky, and it stopped until it looked minuscule in size to him. The light that it emitted was so low the darkness had covered it up. He only knew his cloud was up in the sky but he could barely see it.


    He didn''t know what to do, so he decided to go back to the white room. But he didn''t know how he was supposed to do that. The door had disappeared when he entered. All of a sudden, a door appeared in front of him. He stepped back initially due to the shock but immediately entered it.


    He found himself back in the white room like normal. The door that led to where he had just visited was still there, right behind him. He looked closer at the white door. It had a golden engraving.


    "Leo"

 Chapter 9 Trouble

    ?Leo touched the engraving on the door. He opened the door again and peered through. He didn''t leave the white room though. He wanted to look at thendscape again. He closed the door after seeing the familiar darkness.


    He didn''t want to jump to conclusions, but he was very confident that he had just essed his mind. This meant that he had finished every step before forming his first star. Of course, he didn''t have enough magic power umted. But he had sensed magic, absorbed it into his body, and gathered it into his mind. He was very pleased with himself.


    He was also tired after that much mental activity. He didn''t feel like doing any more work for the day, so he decided to just rest. He closed his eyes again and felt the white space breaking around him. He didn''t open his eyes for the rest of the night.


    He woke up very early the next day. The sun hadn''t even risen yet. When he woke up, he felt more refreshed than the rest of the week. Even though he was ''sleeping'' throughout the week, he was always in the white space trying to focus his mind. For the first time though, he had properly slept. He got up and stretched a little.


    "Now let''s see if I was dreaming or not," he muttered to himself.


    Daphne was still sleeping, but he wasn''t nning on doing anything loud. He was going to first try and meditate again, and then see if he could gather magic. After all, a dream was differentpared to the real world.


    He sat down in the lotus position and took a deep breath. He started concentrating on the thought of magic. Unlike the first time, he had encountered magic this time. So he knew exactly what to envision when thinking about magic. He didn''t take anywhere close to the time he took the first time to sense magic.


    He opened his eyes and he saw the room had magical orbs floating around. However, the number of orbs was vastly lesspared to the white room. He started calling out to them. They converged toward his body slowly and melted into his body. He smiled, but he didn''t stop after he confirmed his sess. He decided to continue meditating until the morning when he would have to go to work.


    He continued meditating for around three hours. He was able to enter his mind and store all of the magic he had absorbed periodically. While he was in the middle of meditating, he heard a loud thud on his door.


    He snapped to the real world when he heard the thud. Daphne had also woken up to the sound. He heard the thud again.


    "Open up!"


    He went to the door and opened it. On the other side were two men. One of them had a book and a pen. He crossed something out in the book.


    "You guys live here?" The other man asked him. He was wearing ck clothing and a golden chain that dangled out of his neck. The other man was also dressed the same way.


    He nodded.


    "This ce is now under the protection of the cktooth Gang. You will have to pay monthly protection fees from now on to live here," He told him.


    He sized the man up. There was no way he could beat the man up even if there were three of him. On top of that, there were two of them. The only option he had was diplomacy.


    "I am willing to pay the fees. But I won''t be able to pay a lot. I make 5 Star coins a day and spend all of it on food. I am a kid after all." He said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The man sized up Leo and looked inside. He saw Daphne but no one else.


    "Orphans? Figured. So the rate for two people is 400 Star coins each. 800 Star coins to stay. Come up with the number or leave." The man said. He didn''t care about his situation at all.


    He scowled inwards but held it in. He smiled at the man.


    "Is there any way I can pay a portion now and the rest on another day?" Leo asked.


    The manughed. "So you do have the money! How about this? Keep the money and give us the girl. We can sell her for at least a few thousand Star coins. Maybe even more. You can live here for two years if you give her to us."


    He wanted to punch the man but held his hand.


    "You joke sir. I can afford 100 Star coins now. I will try to go to Valkyr''s Forest and try to find some valuable herbs." He said to the man.


    The man looked down at him who was barelying to his chest. He grabbed the coin in his hands and left.


    "I''ll be back in a week." He said while leaving.


    Leo closed the door the minute they left. He looked at Daphne.


    "Sorry, you had to see that." He apologized to Daphne. Meanwhile, Daphne''s eyes had tears threatening to fall out.


    "Don''t go to the forest. You could die. How would you be able toe up with 800 Star coins even if you went once? We can try to go somewhere else." Daphne didn''t want him to go back into the forest.


    He smiled and walked towards her. He hugged her and patted her head.


    "Don''t worry, silly. I''ll be fine. Don''t cry. I''ve done it once and I can do it again." He consoled Daphne. After a while, she calmed down.


    "We should move away from here." She said resolutely.


    He shook his head. "You just wait a week. I will sort everything by then."

 Chapter 10 Body Strengthening Spell

    ?After making the bold promise, Leo left the shack. He went straight to the market to find Trevor. The only way that he could earn that much money was to risk his life and go into Valkyr''s Forest. He went to where Trevor''s stall normally was and saw him sitting there, waiting for customers.


    Trevor saw him walking towards him. He smiled and got up to stretch.


    "So, you havee back. For more work, I presume?" He said to Leo.


    Leo nodded.


    "I need 800 Star coins. Do you know how I can earn that much money?" He asked Trevor.


    Trevor thought for a while and said, "Yes. But the chance of you doing it without dying is zero."


    Leo''s eyes showed no signs of backing down. Trevor sighed.


    "Fine. I don''t need any more Glimmer roots since you got me enough for this week. I already had bought enough forst week from a mercenary. So the only thing you can offer me is an actual herb. Glimmer roots are the most basic herbs. Anything more precious is often guarded by a beast. The herb I am talking about typically only has a normal beast guarding it, but it is still too dangerous for you." Trevor started exining the job.


    "If you go deeper than where you went for the Glimmer root, you will find more precious herbs. Anything colorful and seems magical is what you are probably looking for. I can''t ask you to find a specific one for me, because that is mainly luck. But if you give me any of those special herbs, I can give you 1000 Star coins. Maybe more."


    Leo''s eyes lit up when he heard that. However, he quickly realized that he wouldn''t be able to find anything special like that because he was too weak. He would die instantly if he entered the forest. He needed to somehow get stronger quickly.


    A thought shed through his mind. His eyes lit up again.


    "Thanks for telling me about this. I wille back with one of those herbs for sure. I will see you in a week." He said before leaving. He ran back to the shack with all his strength.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The thought that had shot across his mind was that he could learn some magic. Obviously, he couldn''t cast any strong magic with the minuscule amount of magic that he had. However. he could try to gather enough magic to maybe cast a body-strengthening spell on himself. If he could do that, he would be as strong as a grown man. With his flexible and nimble body, he was more of a threat too.


    The reason this thought even came to his mind was that when he was thinking about ways to survive the forest to get the herbs, he automatically started remembering about the body-strengthening spell. It was like the tome knew that he needed it and sent it to him.


    However, for this to work he would have to devote all his time to gathering magic and practicing the body-strengthening spell. He would have to have no distractions and also devote enough time to go to get the herb.


    "Don''t disturb me at all. I am meditating now, but I have a n to earn the money." He told Daphne before sitting down. He immediately started meditating.


    The next two days passed by very quickly. He had been meditating the entire time. He only took breaks when he was eating. Even when he was ''sleeping'', he kept gathering magic. The small cloud in his mind had now berger. It was the size of a house.


    The magic lit up a decent chunk of the grass in his mind, and it had effects on him. He could think a little more clearly and he felt like he received a brain boost. He realized that the portion of the grass that lit up would add to the strength of his mind. So if he gathered enough magic, he could be smarter. If he made a star, the effects would definitely be more pronounced.


    He knew that he had enough magic. Now he had to start learning how to cast the actual spell. He would have to concentrate on gathering the magic in his body and strengthening it temporarily.


    He focused and tried to move the magic in his mind but nothing happened. He tried it again. After a few tries, when he tried it again, he felt a change. Histest try had created a change in his magic. He could feel the magic in his mind trying to break out of his mind, but because his mind wasn''t focusing enough, it wasn''ting out.


    The reason this spell was what was picked was that learning it was incredibly simple and required no qualifications. Every other spell required the user to be at least a 1 Star Mage. This spell only required the mage to possess magic. This spell was the easiest spell that had anybat value to learn. This was because this spell didn''t require as much of a deeper understanding of magic, unlike other spells.


    Leo willed the magic in his mind toe out. He gently spread it throughout his body. It almost covered his entire body before dispersingpletely. He had lost focus for only a second and the magicpletely dispersed.


    He tried again, and again. Every time, a small error in concentration dispersed all the magic away. The spell was supposed to be the easiest to learn, but he was having some difficulty with it. After barely resting for three days, he was forcing himself to control the magic. With his state of mind, it was miraculous that he was even awake. As he was trying again, a sudden jolt ran through his body. His eyes closed automatically, and he cked out.

 Chapter 11 Plans

    ?When Leo opened his eyes again, he found himself in the corner of the room with a nket draped over him. He immediately got up to look for Daphne. He knew that she was going to be worried and he would have to make sure that she knew nothing was wrong.


    He saw her sitting at the side, looking after him. She noticed that he had woken up.


    "What happened? Why did you suddenly faint?" She asked him.


    He didn''t respond for a second. He thought about what to say. Was he going to keep lying? Probably. He couldn''t implicate her in his problems. But at the same time, he couldn''t lie to Daphne.


    He had met Daphne 6 years ago. He had been an orphan all his life and had roamed the streets of Solhaven with no guardian. He scavenged any food he could find and lived off it. He had found the shack in the slums and saw that it was empty so he started living in it at that time. The shacks were part of a city project to divert homeless people away from the nobles and wealthymoners.


    He had found Daphne when he had gone out to scavenge at the trash of richermoners. She was cuddled up to the side of a garbage bag and was using some rags to keep herself warm. When he found her, she was so afraid of everything around her. He had offered her a temporary ce to stay at his shack and she reluctantly epted.


    As time passed they slowly formed a close bond. Eventually, they decided to stick together and survive. Ever since then, they have been through everything in life together. She was his best friend, and it killed him inside every time he lied to her.


    "I will be very honest with you. There are some things about my current circumstance that I cannot tell you. But at the same time, I cannot lie to you. What should I do?" He was so distraught that he no longer wanted to make Daphne''s decisions for her. He just asked her what to do, because she normally had a better idea than he did.


    "You don''t have to tell me. Just tell me if you are okay now, or not. I trust that you know what you are doing," she said.


    He smiled. "I am fine. And I will make sure that we will have the money. Just give me another day. You can go to work without worrying." He went forward and patted Daphne on her head. "Thanks for trusting me."


    It was the dawn of the previous day, and he had been sleeping for the entire day. He only had four more days left to make enough money. Daphne nodded and left to work. He stayed back to practice his magic. The only reason Daphne wouldn''t see him draw circles in the air like a madman was that she was leaving for work. Otherwise, the only time he would be able to practice would be in the white room during the night.


    He sat down and took a deep breath. He was so exhausted previously, so his hand was shaking constantly the other days. But he had taken such a deep rest that he feltpletely refreshed. He was feeling like he could do it properly if he tried this time.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He gathered his energy and started focusing properly. He slowly spread the magic through his body. The magic nested itself in his muscles and every muscle it touched glowed lightly. The magic eventually reached every part of his body. When he finished, he felt the change. The minute he finished spreading the magic throughout his body, he felt his body be different. He felt a surge of power throughout his body. He got up to see how strong his body was.


    He punched the air a few times lightly. He felt his body was a lot stronger than before. He jumped up and his head almost touched the ceiling of the shack. The shack didn''t have that high of a ceiling, but it was hard for him to touch the top with his head because he was pretty short - only 5'' 1''''.


    Leo smiled. He knew he was ready. The reason he wanted this much preparation was that his ideas were grander than finding just one herb and paying the cktooth gang their protection fees. He wanted to find enough herbs and make enough money to move out of the shackpletely.


    The cktooth Gang demanded 800 Star coins, but he knew that no one in the entiremunity had any money at all. It was just a way for the gang to rob the ce of their money, and even try to sell off the people as ves. Even though very was illegal, if they were sold to nobles, then no one could do anything.


    He knew that a small house outside the slums would cost 2000 Star coins to rent for a month. He would just have to pay one month of rent first, and then he would have a month to figure out how to make the money for the rest of the year. He and Daphne would be able to move out of the shit hole they were in and finally have a decent life. He would be able to have proper meals and a wardrobe that wasn''t full of rags.


    All of this was dependent on him finding the herbs, as well as Trevor giving him work. So Leo wanted to make sure that his rtionship with Trevor stayed strong, and that the spell he learned would be enough.


    _______________________


    A/N: I would greatly appreciatements about the story at any point. I would also appreciate reviews.


    If you like the story, then please consider voting with power stones.


    :) Thanks. Have a great day.

 Chapter 12 First Kill

    ?Leo didn''t go to the forest immediately. He didn''t have any money to prepare any good equipment or anything, but he could use the time to make sure that he perfected the use of his spell. For the rest of the day, he used the spell again and again until Daphne came back. Once she came back, he stopped and got some rest. During the night, instead of practicing, he chose to get some rest because he would need a lot of energy the next day.


    The next day, he left along with Daphne. Unlike before, his satchel wasn''t all torn up. Instead, he got a new satchel, because he would need to carry the herbs carefully. The satchel had three different categories, one for each herb. It was very ambitious, but he needed to do it. The only other thing he had was his knife. The knife was the only purchase he had ever made with his savings that wasn''t food. He had bought it a year ago, and this would be the first time he would use it properly.


    Daphne split up from Leo to look for work, while he went straight to Trevor. He wanted to confirm that Trevor would give him the money.


    Trevor saw himing. He smiled.


    "Are you leaving today?" He asked Leo. He saw the satchel hanging on Leo''s shoulder.


    Leo nodded. "Yes. I wanted to make sure our deal was still on."


    Trevor brought out his hand.


    "Let''s shake on it. I won''t go back at all."


    Leo shook his hand. He then turned around to set out for the forest. Behind him, Trevor shouted a piece of advice.


    "Aim for their eyes. They go down if you can reach their brains."


    While Leo appreciated the advice, he hoped he wouldn''t need it. He walked toward Valkyr''s Forest. He steadied his breath while walking. He was very nervous. This would be the biggest job he had ever done in his life. And the most dangerous as well.


    "Obviously, nothing could go wrong," He muttered to himself. He chuckled at his joke while he was on his way.


    He reached the outskirts of the forest. He decided that he should use the body-strengthening magic immediately. While practicing the previous day, he found out that his body could only hold the spell for two hours. After that, he would need an hour to recover and use the spell again. This was because his body didn''t have enough


    He felt the surge of power in his body. His confidence got bolstered and he went into the forest.


    For the first thirty minutes, he was just walking into the forest. He was walking slightly faster than usual. He was surprised that he hadn''t encountered a single animal yet. He hadn''t even seen a normal hare. He quickly realized why.


    In front of him was a magical herb. It was an orange-colored nt that had embers dripping out of its leaves. It was a simr height to the Glimmer root, but it was a lot brighter. The embers didn''t seem to burn the grass beneath it, so he hoped it wouldn''t burn through his satchel.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He immediately took out his knife. The reason was that he knew the herb had a beast that had imed it as its own. That could be the only reason that no other animal could be seen in the area. His senses got a lot sharper as the adrenaline in his body clicked in.


    He looked around for a predator. The only animal powerful enough to im an entire area would either be a predator or a magical beast. But magical beasts only cared about herbs that were in the Inner Valkyr''s Forest. He was currently in the Outer Forest.


    The previous time, he was in the outskirts, which was barely considered a part of the forest. The only reason he even encountered a wolf was probably that it was just exploring the area and chanced on his scent. But this was the Outer Forest where dangerous animals were a lot moremon. Only Apprentice Aura Knights and above were strong enough to explore the area.


    He quickly found his opponent. It was sleeping in the shade of a tree with the herb in its eyesight. It was a tiger. It probably hadn''t eaten the herb enough because it was hoping that it would mature even more. The longer herbs grew, the more potent their effects became.


    Animals that ate magical herbs had a chance to evolve into Magical Beasts. Their bloodline also yed a part, but magical herbs makes the chance higher. He saw that tiger sleeping and knew that his best shot was a sneak attack.


    He didn''t approach the herb. He didn''t want to walk towards it while facing it in case it woke up. He wanted to surprise it, but in case it failed he would have to still maintain the high ground.


    He went around the herb from the side. He slowly crept towards the tiger. He grabbed his knife tightly as he walked towards the tiger. As he got closer, he moved slower. He wanted to limit the sound he made as much as possible. The minute he got 6 feet close, he knew he couldn''t move without alerting the tiger.


    He took a deep breath. He prepared his body and leaped towards the tiger. He swung the knife into the head of the tiger with as much strength as he could muster. The knife wasn''t sharpened properly, but it still dug into the skull of the tiger. He heard a soft whimper from the tiger, but the tiger couldn''t fight back. It immediately died on the spot.


    He was breathing heavily. The adrenaline in his body had peaked. He stood up straight and looked at his victim. He looked back at the herb. He smiled.


    "One down."


    _______________________


    A/N: I would greatly appreciatements about the story at any point. I would also appreciate reviews.


    If you like the story, then please consider voting with power stones.


    :) Thanks. Have a great day.

 Chapter 13 Battle

    ?A/N: Sorry for the two-day break. I was busy with some other work.


    Enjoy today''s chapter :)


    _______________________


    After killing the tiger, Leo walked toward his prize - the orange-colored herb. When he picked it up, he found that his earlier suspicions were correct. The herb didn''t burn his hand at all. When he ced it in his leather satchel, the satchel waspletely okay.


    He had been using the spell for a total of 45 minutes. He only had a little more than an hour before the spell would wear off. He would have to either finish killing two more animals, get the herbs, and then run out of the forest, or he would have to get himself to a safe ce before the spell wore out and wait out the cooldown time.


    He decided that waiting out the cooldown time was a better idea. But he still wanted to scout the area while walking toward his hiding spot. He paid full attention to the surroundings while walking toward theke. He was going to hide in the cave behind the waterfall. It could fit one personfortably.


    While he was walking, he saw something interesting. In the distance, a herb gave a small shine before fading. He had already found another potential herb. He decided to go closer and take a better look.


    He walked slowly toward the shine. He saw the shine again and it made him more curious.  he peered through the trees to look at the source of the light. Behind the tree was a nt that was periodically emitting light. The source of the light was a low-hanging fruit that was dangling off the nt. In front of the fruit, a snake was coiled up in the grass.


    The snake was bigger than the average snake. It was twice as long as him. The body was also as thick as Leo''s. The snake would be towering over his under-nourished body and crush him. At this point, it had noticed him peering behind the tower. It hissed loudly and stood up.


    The previously coiled snake slowly unraveled its body, revealing its true size. It was 5 meters tall and dwarfed him. It was a few yards away so he walked from behind the trees to face it. While he was doing this, he was calcting how he could escape with the fruit.


    He hadn''t really used any of his stamina to kill the sleeping tiger. So for this battle, he was full of stamina. He grabbed his knife and pointed it toward the snake. He immediately ran around the snake, hoping that it would take more time to move because of itsck of limbs. He was wrong. The snake moved lightning-fast and almost caught up to him.


    He saw the snakeing so close. He jumped up and kicked against one of the branches to jump over the snake. Hended behind it just as it bit the spot where he had jumped out. The snake only found wood in its mouth. It closed its jaw and a piece of the wood from the tree got torn off like it was bread. The snake opened its mouth and the crushed piece of wood dropped out.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    As he saw this, he understood that the scale of the battle was different than what he envisioned it could be. He immediately ran toward the fruit that was behind him and away from the snake. He had lured it toward him and now he put space between it and the fruit. This was the perfect time to steal the fruit. He had nned this out because his main purpose was only to steal the fruit. Trying to kill the monster wouldn''t bring him any profit. He wasn''t going to be able to carry their bodies back to sell them anyways. It was also too dangerous.


    However, he had miscalcted the speed of the snake. He was able to grab the fruit off the nt, but by the time he had thrown it into his satchel and taken a few steps, the snake had lunged forward toward him. He dodged the bite by rolling away. The satchel got away from him when this happened. The snake smacked its tail against him.


    He took the blow and felt a crushing pain in his stomach. During this time, the snake coiled itself around him and squeezed him. The squeezing of his chest snapped him back away from the pain. He immediately used both of his arms to stop the snake from biting him. He had seen what the snake bites could mean. His right hand still had the knife. He then switched to stopping the head with only his left hand. He stabbed the knife deeply into the scales of the snake''s neck.


    The snake stopped trying to bite Leo. It started squeezing him with even more power. It was trying to kill him before he could kill it. He realized that it became a battle of speed. He grabbed the knife with his right hand and dragged it up. The knife sliced the head of the snake and tore its brains. The snake stopped squeezing him and fell down, dead. He immediately got himself out of the snake''s lock hold.


    He immediately grabbed his satchel. He was going to leave immediately after grabbing his knife from the head of the snake, but he saw a shiny stone right next to the butchered head of his victim. He grabbed it. It was an interesting stone that was a little shiny. He just threw it into the satchel and into the same pocket as the fruit. He then quickly started walking towards theke. It would be a 30-minute walk ording to his estimates. He could run, but he wanted to conserve all of his energy.


    The battle took a huge chunk of his stamina, and he had spent 45 minutes there. Now, Leo only had 30 minutes of the spell. During this time, he would have to get to theke and swim toward the waterfall. And the biggest problem was that he would have to face the crocodile.


    _______________________


    A/N: I would greatly appreciatements about the story at any point. I would also appreciate reviews.


    If you like the story, then please consider voting with power stones.


    :) Thanks. Have a great day.

 Chapter 14 Third Herb

    ?After walking for ten minutes, Leo felt he had recovered a decent amount from his fight with the snake. He decided that it was time to start picking up the pace toward theke. He would still need body strengthening to get to the cave quickly. He started jogging towards theke.


    He would also have to ount for the fact that he was only going toward the general direction of theke, but he might be off by a little bit. He would have to start paying attention for the sound of the waterfall while jogging so that he would change his course in the right direction.


    After 10 minutes of jogging, he heard the sound of the waterfall. He could hear the sound of the waternding on the rocks. He stopped jogging and walked toward the sound, calming his body down. He needed to take a minute to catch his breath before diving into theke.


    After catching his breath, he dove into theke. He started swimming toward the waterfall. He stayed alert for the crocodile, but he didn''t see anything throughout the swim. He finally reached the waterfall. He went through the waterfall and entered the small cave behind it.


    Unlike before, the cave was only 7 feet deep. It could fit three peoplefortably though. He went forward to the end of the cave. He sat down, slowly catching his breath. He had two minutes left for the spell to end. He was about to undo the spell himself when he realized something was off.


    He saw a shadow behind the waterfall. He knew immediately what it was before it got any closer. It was the crocodile. He immediately dove away from his current spot. He grabbed the knife that he had set down a second ago.


    A crocodile lunged through the waterfall and dove into the spot where he was sitting at. This time, there wasn''t any barrier that helped him. He immediately jumped onto the back of the crocodile and stabbed its head.


    With the repeated use throughout the day, the knife just chipped when it hit the scales of the crocodile''s head, leaving a scratch. The knife still dug in slightly, breaking some of the scales, but the wound barely did any damage. The crocodile shook him off its back.


    He only had a minute left before the spell would wear off. He jumped onto the wall to leap onto the crocodile''s back again. This time, the crocodile dodged. It then tried to snap Leo in half with its jaws. Leo narrowly dodged it by diving away. He rotated mid-air and used the nearby wall to propel himself into the crocodile.


    He grabbed the neck of the crocodile the minute he got near its back to make sure he didn''t jump too far. He then stabbed his knife with all his strength into the same spot where he had previously tried to stab it. This time, the knife dug into the skull, cutting into its brain. The crocodile struggled for a second beforeying limp on the floor.


    Leo immediately copsed on the floor. He had gone through too much action and adrenaline. he needed to rest. But he also had to get back safely. The spell had worn off seconds after he killed the crocodile. He justy on the floor to rest.


    While he was resting, he needed to look out for any threats. So after a few minutes, he pushed his body onto the stone wall and used it as a backrest. He put himself the furthest away from theke. He patiently started to wait while the time before he could reuse the spell againpleted.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The reason he had to wait to reuse the spell again was that his mind was slowly recovering. Even though he had a ton of magic in his mind that woulde back after being used, it took a toll on his mind to actually perform the magic. He would have to exert and control the magic to do what he wanted it to. The only way to decrease the cooldown would be to build his mind like a muscle.


    As he learned magic and gathered more magic, he would eventually make a star. By forcing his mind to hold that magic, and using the magic to build his mind as well, he was essentially making his mind stronger.


    Leo slowly regained his stamina while his mind was recovering. He knew that he couldn''t actually try and find another herb at this time. He would have to go back very quickly after he recovered because he was very low on stamina. He was very suspicious about how strong the crocodile was. It was as strong as the snake. To avoid any danger, he decided that he would leave immediately.


    After roughly an hour and a half passed, he stood up. He hadpletely recovered. He immediately cast another Body-Strengthening Spell on himself. He then peered out of theke. He didn''t immediately leave the cave. He chose to take a proper look at theke. This confirmed one of his guesses.


    On theke was a lily pad, on top of which was a red lily with water dripping out its petals. It was emitting a shine, so he suspected that it was a valuable herb. Because the crocodile was so strong, he guessed that it had definitely started getting closer to a magical beast. But that would mean that it would need to eat magical herbs.


    That''s why he thought there could be a magical herb nearby. Maybe that was why it was always so violent whenever it saw Leo - it might have thought that he was trying to steal the herb. But now that it was right in front of him, he was going to do that anyway.


    _______________________


    A/N: I would greatly appreciatements about the story at any point. I would also appreciate reviews.


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 Chapter 15 Money

    ?Leo swam toward the herb. He quickly grabbed it and headed towards theke shore. He put the lily into thest section of his bag. He then started heading out of the forest. He didn''t need to run because the monsters in this area of the forest weren''t going to pose a problem to him.


    He was walking faster than normal, so he reached the gate of the city very quickly. He was still drenched froming out of theke, so people avoided him while he walked toward the market. He was very satisfied with his journey into the forest and his haul.


    He walked to Trevor''s stall when he got to the market. He pped the bag onto the stall. He opened it up, showing Trevor the three herbs in the bag.


    Trevor looked at him. He was surprised that Leo had gotten back safely with a magical herb. Typically a person would have to be an apprentice Aura Knight to kill monsters on the verge of transforming into magical beasts.


    He guessed that Leo had been very lucky, but that thought faded as soon as it arrived. Trevor peeked in and saw three herbs instead of one. He immediately took out a pair of gloves. He gently took out the first herb. It was the orange-colored nt that was dripping with embers.


    "This is an Emberre. It is verymon in areas of heat, but it is guarded by Pseudo Magical Beasts. I can give you 1200 Star coins for this," Trevor said while taking out the second herb.


    "This is a Glimmer Fruit. Sometimes, a Glimmer Root can grow a fruit. It isn''t verymon to see one of these either. I can give you 1000 Star coins for this." Trevor listed out the prices he could give for the herbs.


    At this point, Leo was very happy. He now had enough money to afford a month''s rent inside themoner''s district. He would finally start having a decent life.


    Trevor took out thest herb. It was the lily.


    "How did you find a Blood Lily?" Trevor asked him.


    "It was in ake. I swam and got it." Leo gave a very simple answer, omitting a great number of details.


    Trevor shook his head. "Fine, you don''t have to tell me. Blood Lilies are hard to find because they grow in the water. Only 2nd Circle Aura Knights can fight decently well in the water, but Blood Lilies are not very useful for them. So I don''t get a lot of Blood Lilies. For this, I can give you 1700 Star coins. That brings the total to 3900 Star -" Trevor saw the stone that he had thrown in the satchel.


    He brought the stone out. He then looked at Leo. "This is a partially formed beast core. How did you kill a Pseudo Magical Beast at your age?"


    Leo didn''t know that the stone was a beast core. Beast Cores only formed in Magical Beasts and were worth a lot to nobles who could use them to train in magic. He slowly reached out and took the stone from Trevor.


    "Can we ignore the stone? Let''s say I found it on the ground and want to keep it as a souvenir."


    Trevor smiled at his response. "Fine. Here are 3900 Star coins. Pleasure doing business with you. You cane again any time with whatever you find and I will amodate you."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Trevor handed him a wallet. He opened it and saw a few notes in there. His hands were trembling because they have never handled so much money at once.


    "Thank you so much. Do you know where I can go to rent a small house?" He asked Trevor.


    "That is a smart decision, boy. But before that, do you want to buy the Aura Training Method? You have so much money, you could actually do this for me consistently if you be an Aura Knight. If you be a 1st Circle Aura Knight, you could pursue it and make a ton of money." Trevor suggested the idea again.


    He knew that Trevor''s merchant side was also activated along with his kind intentions to help him. He shook his head.


    "Not yet. Maybe another time. Very soon though." He said.


    "Fine. For renting a house, you can just go to a renter''s office in the Commoner''s District. With your outfit, they will not let you in, or think that you stole the money. Just take this token and go to Adira''s Rent Office. She can help you."


    "Thank you. You have helped me a lot till now." He showed his gratitude. He then ran in the opposite direction of his shack. His shack was in the slums. The rest of the city was divided into two districts. They were themoner''s district and the noble''s district.


    The noble''s district formed a small circle around the Magistrate''s Pce at the center of Solhaven. Themoner''s district encircled the noble''s district. Themoner''s district and the noble''s district were divided by a wall that guarded the nobles. There was a distinct difference in wealth between themoners and nobles. Themoners who got rich enough would buy their way into nobility, but they could never be high-ranking nobles.


    Even in themoner''s district, the houses would be worse on the outer side, while the closer they got to the noble''s district, the better they would get. The slums were the worst of all. There was no regtion. He was trying to get a house in the outermost part of themoner''s district. There was no wall separating it from the slums, but it had a few guards patrolling the area and gangs weren''t brave enough to bother people there.


    He walked to the shop that Trevor had suggested. He walked in to make the biggest purchase of his life.


    _______________________


    A/N: I would greatly appreciatements about the story at any point. I would also appreciate reviews.


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    :) Thanks. Have a great day.

 Chapter 16 Surprise

    ?Leo walked into the store. He saw ady at the desk at the end of the store. She saw him walk up to her. She looked at his condition and frowned, but she didn''t say anything. He reached the desk.


    "Hello. I am Leo." He introduced himself.


    "Hello, Leo. I am Adira. How can I help you today?" She responded. Even though she was visibly uninterested in helping Leo, she still treated him like a regr customer.


    "I am looking for a small house in the Commoner''s District to rent. Do you have any houses that I can rent for around 2000 Star coins?" He asked her.


    She was taken aback, but she quickly recovered.


    "Y-yes. We have a few houses around that range. You can get small cottages with two rooms and a living room as well as a kitchen for that price. Of course, it will all be cramped up and the rooms will share a bathroom." She gave him some details.


    He smiled. "That is exactly what I need. Can I rent one of those?"


    Adira looked at him. "You will have to pay the first 2 months of rent in advance or show some proof of ie to rent a house."


    He was shocked. He did not know this piece of information. But he didn''t want to go back and give his money to the cktooth Gang. So he requested Adira for some help.


    "I am sorry, Adira. I don''t have that much money. Currently, I have enough for one month. I came here because Trevor said you can help me." He exined to Adira.


    Her face changed when Trevor''s name got pulled up.


    "Trevor sent you? Do you work for him?" She asked him. She didn''t even ask for any proof that he actually knew Trevor.


    He nodded. "Yes, asionally. I can definitely pay the advance for the three months during the first month. If you want, I can pay the first month the minute you give me a house."


    Adira thought for a second. She looked at him and asked, "Do you want to see the house? Do I need to arrange a tour?"


    He shook his head. "Not at all. I trust you because Trevor said you were trustworthy. Just show me the house, and I can give you the money. As long as you don''t cheat me, I will be a good customer."


    She went back into thought. She nodded her head and stood up.


    "Okay. I can show you the house and give you ownership. Just wait one minute."


    Adira went to the back and got some documents. She ced them on the desk and gave a pen to him.


    "Sign these and you will have a lease."


    He immediately signed the papers. The minute he signed them, she took them back to the back. When she came back, she was ready to take him to his house.


    "Come with me."


    They left the store and walked toward themoner''s district. It wasn''t very far from their current location. It was only 15 minutes to get there. They got there quickly and he saw his new dwelling.


    He entered his new house. It had afy living room and two snug rooms to sleep in. The kitchen was in the back. This wasn''t a lot, but to him it was luxury. He immediately took his wallet out and took out 2000 Star coins in notes. He handed them to Adira.


    Adira took them with a small feeling of astonishment. She was surprised that such a young person was handling so much money and renting a house for himself.


    "Thank you. Is there any proof of my lease?" He asked her.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Yes. Here is the token and the key to the lock." She said and handed him a small ck token as well as a key.


    "Can I go now? Is there anything else to do?" He asked her.


    She shook her head. "You are good to live here. Nothing else. You can pay the advance in 30 days to keep staying here."


    Leo smiled. He immediately ran toward the slums to his shack. He was gleaming because of the good news. By this time the sun had already set. It was dark outside, but themps hung by inns and bars were lighting the way.


    He got to the shack and entered it. He saw Daphne waiting for him like thest time he went into the forest. She saw him enter and stood up. Before she could say anything, he stopped her.


    "Pack everything up. We are leaving this ce." He said to her.


    There wasn''t much to pack up, and it would take 10 minutes at best to do it. But Daphne didn''t do it immediately. She was a little confused.


    "Did you fail? We still have two days, I think. Why are we leaving in the night?" She asked him.


    He smiled. "Just do as I say. I have it figured out."


    Daphne sighed and got up. She folded the nkets and held them up. That was all they had that they could bring with them. The only other possessions were the satchel and whatever was in it.


    "Follow me, now." He said to her.


    She followed him as he asked. They started walking toward themoner''s district. While they were walking, people gave a few weird nces, but no one said anything. Daphne was still confused.


    "Where are we going in the middle of the night? Why are we doing this-"


    They got to their destination. They were in front of a small cottage. The cottage was in a line of simr cottages.


    "We''re here."


    Daphne looked at the cottage.


    "We can''t be here. The owners will call the guards." Daphne was worried.


    "You don''t have to worry about that. This is our new home." Leo said proudly.


    _______________________


    A/N: Sorry for the slow pace. From now, the story progression will start to be more apparent.


    I would greatly appreciatements about the story at any point. I would also appreciate reviews.


    If you like the story, then please consider voting with power stones.


    :) Thanks. Have a great day.

 Chapter 17 Settling In

    ?It took a while to exin their current situation to Daphne. Leo did it as quickly as possible and forced her into the house. He did not want to stay outside too long. Once they both entered the house, they decided who took each room and they settled in. After they settled in, they had their first meal in the house together. He exined to Daphne what she could do for the next week.


    "You don''t have to go to the market for work anymore, because that will be very useless. Instead, you just decide what beds and clothes we need and buy them. In that time, I will earn enough money to buy us an Aura Training method. We can learn aura and be Aura Knights." He said to her.


    She just nodded. She was still very dumbfounded. She couldn''tprehend what was happening.


    The next day came, and Daphne set out to look for furniture and clothes, and other necessities. Leo stayed in to train his magic. He needed to grow stronger so that he could go into the forest again. He needed to make enough money to buy an Aura training method.


    He would have to learn it to maintain a facade. He wouldn''t have to exin how he killed monsters if he could just say that he was an Aura Knight. Daphne could also be one and protect herself.


    He pulled out the Pseudo Beast Core. Beast Cores were useful to both mages because they could absorb the magic in them to train. The Beast Cores could also be used to make potions and other materials that would help with training. Aura Knights could use various herbs to make elixirs that could help them train better instead of potions made from Beast Cores.


    The reason was that Aura waspletely different from magic. It trained the body instead of absorbing magic into the core. The Aura would stay inside the muscles and could extend to the Aura Knight''s sword. The circles that Aura Knights made revolved around the dantian of the person. Meanwhile, magic stayed inside a mage''s heart, or his mind in Leo''s case. Since Mages devoted their time to magic, they typically didn''t spend their time studying aura.


    He held the stone in his hand and started meditating. He could sense the huge cluster of magic inside the stone. It was a lot denser than in the air around him. He started absorbing the magic slowly into his body.


    By the end of the day, the magic in his body had doubled. The magic cloud in his mind was the size of two houses, and its huge mass made it start to cling together. He could feel that the magic started to attract each other, and the cloud was slightly denser than before.


    He got up and went to the living room. Daphne was already waiting there. She was looking very bored as she just sat in the corner, waiting for him. She looked up and saw that he was ready to have a meal.


    "You didn''t have lunch?" She asked.


    "I didn''t. But more importantly, when did youe back?" He asked her.


    "It''s been around four hours. Why?" She answered.


    "Nothing. You must have been bored." He said.


    She shook her head. "I''m used to it. I didn''t have anything to do in the slums as well. I couldn''t exactly go out to make friends there. I just pass time by myself."


    He shook his head.


    "You should quickly learn aura. I am going out tomorrow and I will buy one for you. Did you find the furniture?" He asked her.


    She nodded. "Yes, but even the cheapest will cost a total of 4000 Star coins for everything. We don''t have that much money. I just bought somemps and kitchen utensils. I got you some clothes as well."


    He looked to where she pointed and saw that there were a few pairs of clothes as well as a pair of shoes. He smiled. He would finally be dressed decently.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Very nice. Let''s have lunch!" He shouted.


    "It''s dinner." Daphne shook her head. "You''re such an idiot."


    "It''s dinner for you. For me, it''s the first meal since breakfast. That would make this lunch." He answered with a grin.


    They finished eating quickly and went back to their own rooms. They learned to give each other space over the past years. The next day, Leo set out early in the morning. He was going to the market to meet Trevor. He was going to the forest again. This time, he was going to get only two herbs. He needed the money to buy an Aura Training method as well as a new dagger.


    He needed a better knife that could cut through the bones of stronger beasts. He would eventually start hunting Pseudo Magical Beast. He needed the cores to practice magic. He couldn''t buy them because he would have to exin why he needed them.


    He first went to one of the vendors that sold equipment. They typically sold equipment to Aura Knights, but they might have some knives for Apprentice Aura Knights as well.


    "Do you have any daggers for Apprentice Aura Knights?" He asked the man behind the stall.


    "Yes. They start at 400 Star coins. The best ones are 3000 Star coins." The man said.


    Leo took out 400 Star coins. "Can I have a simple dagger please?"


    The man took the money and handed him a dagger. With this, all of the money that he saved was gone again. He met with Trevor to tell him that he was setting out again before leaving the forest.


    "Trevor, I am going to get some more magical herbs. Do you have any tips?" He asked Trevor.


    "Yes. I heard that the deeper part of the forest was slightly weird from some mercenaries. Don''t stray too far into the forest."


    "Thanks. Also, keep a book of Aura Training ready. I''ll buy it today." He told Trevor before setting out.


    _______________________


    A/N: I would greatly appreciatements about the story at any point. I would also appreciate reviews.


    If you like the story, then please consider voting with power stones.


    :) Thanks. Have a great day.

 Chapter 18 Aura Training Method

    ?Leo went into the forest and came back after four hours. He found two herbs this time and killed a couple of beasts for them. The beasts were both just normal animals so he didn''t have any problem dealing with them. He didn''t go as deep as he went previously because of Trevor''s advice.


    When he came back and gave the herbs to Trevor, he got back 1800 Star coins for them. The nts hadn''t grown enough for them to be considered truly magical. He handed a 1000 Star coin note to Trevor.


    "The Aura Training method?" He asked Trevor.


    Trevor nodded. "This is a very standard training method. Everyone uses this. The only difference is that with richmoner families, you also have techniques to utilize aura better than with just the training method. They should all follow the same principle though. You shouldn''t worry too much."


    He nodded. He took the aura training method from Trevor and left with the rest of his money. He would have to go to the forest again the next week for more money to pay the advance rent for the next few months. He was spending too much money, but he knew that they were all good investments.


    He went back to his house and gave the aura training method to Daphne.


    "This is an aura training method. Start training using this. If you are lucky, then you can gain some aura and defend yourself. I will get you a knife as well when we have enough money for rent and furniture." He told her.


    She nodded. "Thank you. Can Ie with you to the forest if I be an Aura Knight?"


    Leo thought for a minute. "You have to be an actual Aura Knight, not just an Apprentice Knight. Okay?" He gave her a hard goal so that she would take some time before he would have to deal with her.


    Daphne was like his sister, and he didn''t want to put her in danger. She looked at him with determination in her eyes.


    "I will definitely be an Aura Knight as quickly as possible." She said resolutely. He smiled at her.


    "I wish you good luck. Now start practicing. I am also training using the aura method. That was why I sit in my room for long periods of time." He said. He was lying to her, but it was necessary.


    They had a quickte lunch. He went to his room while Daphne went into hers. They already had enough food for dinner, so they wouldn''t have to go out to get any. He didn''t have to worry about dinner and could focus on training.


    Compared to the previous day with the magic stone, his training gave fewer results. His magic power barely grew at all. Leo understood how important Beast Cores and Potions were to train. The only problem was that he would have to kill them himself to use them. This meant that it would be faster for him to train if he kept going to the forest and getting Pseudo Beast Cores instead of just sitting down and training.


    For the rest of the week, his schedule was very simple. He would go out and find herbs to sell to Trevor while trying to look for Pseudo Beast Cores in the animals that he killed. In the rest of the time, he would train his magic. He could also use the white room to train while he was sleeping, so he saw a decent improvement in his magic.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    His luck wasn''t very good while going into the forest this time because he couldn''t find any Cores. However, he found 1 or even 2 herbs sometimes. This all added up to almost 7000 Star coins. Along with his initial 800 Star coins, it was enough for a couch as well as the rent for the next three months.


    He paid off his advance at the office. Adira was very shocked when she saw that he came up with the money that quickly.


    He continued going into the forest every day for the next week as well. This time, he was luckier than before. He found three Pseudo Beast Cores.


    He didn''t tell Trevor about them, because he didn''t need him to identify them. He quickly felt the magic within them. He was saving the cores up without using them because he wanted to take a break from going into the forest.


    For the week after that, he just focussed on absorbing the magic within the cores. Because he wasn''t rushing it, each corested two days. By the end of the week, his magic doubled. While it might seem odd that his magic only doubled, given that he absorbed three Pseudo Beast Cores, it wasn''t considering the current state of his mind.


    The cloud was now incredibly dense, and he could feel the magic influencing his mind heavily. The ins that the cloud lit up were very vibrant. He could see that the grass stretched to a considerable distance - almost a mile away. The cloud itself was the size of a big mansion. His mind itself felt incredibly clear and he felt it was considerably easier killing Pseudo Magical Beasts.


    The next week also passed simr to the second week. He found two Pseudo Beast Cores and a few other herbs that he sold to Trevor. Trevor started to appreciate Leo as a valuable mercenary and started depending on him for herbs more than other mercenaries who charged more.


    With the money that he earned, he was able to buy the furniture for the house as well as a good dagger for himself and Daphne. In all this time, Daphne was still struggling to learn how to train Aura.


    Time passed quickly, and two months shot by.


    _______________________


    A/N: I would greatly appreciatements about the story at any point. I would also appreciate reviews.


    If you like the story, then please consider voting with power stones.


    :) Thanks. Have a great day.

 Chapter 19 Preparation

    ?It was the middle of the night and the cottage was incredibly quiet. Leo was sleeping, but in reality, he was just sitting in his mind. He was just watching the ins that stretched on endlessly. Above him was a huge cloud of magic.


    This cloud was now incredibly dense and huge. It was the size of a football stadium. The cloud was mostly white with colors asionally swirling around. It was emitting huge amounts of light, and the grass for miles and miles was lit up.


    At this point, he had reached a bottleneck. He couldn''t absorb more magic because it was just dispersing away. His mind rejected any more additions to it. He knew what this meant. It meant that he would have to form his first star. The minute he did that, he would be a true mage.


    He didn''t want to do it immediately. He was going to wait till he gathered enough resources. To break through, he would ideally need a real Beast Core that would give him the magic power to force the cloud to condense into a star. Magical Herbs would need to be processed into potions but they could work as well. The best option would be to make a pill with magical herbs and a Beast Core.


    Unfortunately for Leo, none of these were an option to him. The only option for him would be to gather enough Pseudo Beast Cores and squeeze them dry one by one. He would have to make sure that he had enough of them. This was why he had put off his breakthrough for more than a week. He was collecting Pseudo Beast Cores. He had 3 till now, but he wanted to have at least 10.


    He decided to rest for the rest of the night. He was going to go into the forest the next day to find cores. He was no longer looking for herbs. Over the past few months, he had amassed over 50000 Star coins. He didn''t have any use for it, but it would take care of any of his needs.


    The next day, he woke up to get ready to go to the forest. Daphne was waiting for him. She was not going to let him go alone.


    "Can I go with you today?" She asked him. She hadn''t be an Aura Knight yet, but she had gathered a little amount of Aura. She felt she was qualified enough to go into the forest though.


    "No. You have to be a full Aura Knight first." He told her.


    For her to be a 1st Circle Aura Knight, she would have to be able to use aura to enhance her physical abilities. In her current state, she would be in danger in the forest.


    "But you aren''t a real Aura Knight either." She nagged.


    "I am stronger than you are," he said.


    "No, you are not." She said.


    Daphne was unconvinced. She suddenly saw him speed past her. Leo was behind her and out the door before she could evenprehend what happened. He shut the door behind him.


    "Yes, I am." He said while walking. He only muttered it since Daphne couldn''t hear him anyways.


    He walked to the forest. He had a new weapon this time. He had bought a dagger for 30000 Star coins, exhausting a huge chunk of his earnings. It was a dagger that was used by 1st Circle Aura Knights. The market only served a few 1st Circle Aura Knights and mainly Apprentice Aura Knights.


    The dagger was made of steel. It had a sleek body and was incredibly sharp. It rested in a sheath on his hip. Before going to the forest, he went to a restaurant near the city wall. He had developed the habit of having a meal there before heading out.


    This was because mercenaries and adventurers would stop by there. He would be able to hear any rumors about the forest and know if he needed to be more wary than usual. He also started developing an understanding of the city because of this.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He found that very few people were stronger than 1st Circle Aura Knights. 2nd Circle Aura Knights and above were very rich and would buy their weapons in the fancier shops near the center of themoner''s district. They were also a lot more powerful among adventurers in Solhaven. In total there were less than 1000 2nd Circle Aura Knights.


    This was because Solhaven was a smaller city in the Srian Empire. The strongest person in Solhaven was the Magistrate, who was a 4th Circle Mage.


    Leo went into the restaurant. He went to the front.


    "Can I get a small serving of your special?" He asked. He put down a few coins to cover the meal.


    Even though he was incredibly young, he grew a lot in the months since he started to eat healthier. He had grown a couple of inches and stood at 5''5''''. He looked like a 13-year-old, and it wasn''t too weird for a 13-year-old to work.


    He took a table in the corner and sat with his small meal. He started listening to the nearby people who were talking.


    "Did you hear? An entire team of 2nd Circle Mercenaries went into Valkyr''s Inner Forest to look for a Blood Heart for the Magistrate. They were wiped out."


    "Isn''t this the third team?"


    "What a pity."


    "What about the Outer Forest? I heard someone saw a ck Spotted Leopard in there. Isn''t that unusual?"


    "Yes! I thought I was the only one. Did someone else see a Magical Beast in the Outer Forest? The forest is changing."


    Leo was taking in all the information. With each sentence, he was getting warier of the forest. He took a deep breath and got up. He got the information he needed. He still needed to go into the forest, but now he would be very careful.


    _______________________


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 Chapter 20 Magical Beast

    ?Leo walked slowly into the forest. He knew that it was risky going into a forest when there was a chance of encountering a Magical Beast, but he needed more Beast Cores to be a 1 Star Mage. He would enter the true path of mages once he did that. He couldn''t let go of the opportunity.


    He was very confident as well. With his body strengthening, he was stronger than the typical Apprentice Aura Knights. He was essentially as strong as a 1st Circle Aura Knight. However, it typically took more than two Aura Knights to kill a Magical Beast of the same level.


    He walked in, searching for any animal that looked like it was on steroids. For almost two hours, he roamed around. Suddenly, he unsheathed his dagger. He realized that there was no way he wouldn''t encounter at least one dangerous beast in more than an hour. It had been almost two since he had entered the forest.


    The only exnation he had was that the monsters had sensed that a more powerful monster was there and had run away. This would mean that the Magical Beast was in his vicinity. He cursed in his mind while looking around carefully.


    He suddenly started seeing the ground was a little unusualpared to normal. He noticed that the ground had a few blood spots tracing out a trail. He looked around and saw that the trail was leading from the Inner Forest. He bent down and touched the blood. It was still fresh.


    "It must have been the blood." He said to himself. The animals must have smelled it and kept a distance. But the blood means that the animal was injured.


    Leo knew that it was a bad idea to try and find a Magical Beast. But he knew that he wouldn''t rise up in life without some risk. He was nning on killing the injured Magical Beast and taking its Beast Core. With it, he might have a chance of breaking through.


    He walked slowly, using the blood trail as a reference. He kept notice of how long the blood trail went. He didn''t want to get lost. He also didn''t want to get too close to the Magical Beast without preparation. He observed where the blood trail led.


    He noticed that it lead to theke. He deduced that it needed water to drink. He started walking, looking out for the sound of the waterfall. After some time, he saw that the trail ended before reaching theke.


    He smiled. This meant that it was so weak that it couldn''t even reach theke to get water. He grabbed his dagger tightly and slowly walked forward. He looked around for a Magical Beast. He quickly found his target.


    He saw a deer wrapped below a tree. He could see w marks wedged into its body and saw it dripping on the ground near its body. The deer noticed him immediately. It stood up shakily.


    He started walking toward it carefully. A cornered animal was the most dangerous, so he wasn''t incredibly aggressive with his approach. His main concern was that it was a Magical Beast. His best n would be to wait it out. If the blood loss became too high, it would die before getting to him.


    His n was all for naught. The deer started charging toward him. While it did, Leo noticed that its feet turned bright green. The deer suddenly got a lot faster. At this point, he already had his body strengthening on.


    He reacted quickly to the charging deer. He jumped away. By the time hended, he was met with a strong gust of wind that knocked him over. He was dumbfounded by the wind. Where did ite from?<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    While a part of his mind was confused, his instincts kicked in and he rolled away. He dodged just in time. The deer had gotten to where he was and had almost stomped his head into the ground.


    He got back to his feet and immediately created some difference between himself and the deer. He could see the deer was in worse condition than before. He readjusted his n back to waiting for the deer to die by itself.


    He was going to focus on dodging, so he decided to keep his distance from the deer. He also had an idea that would hasten the process.


    The deer quickly got ready for its next attack. It threw another gust of wind at him. He was caught off guard again and flew back. Instead of rolling far to the side this time, he only rolled enough to stay within reach of the deer.


    When the deer stomped again, he wrenched his dagger into its side. he quickly rolled away, leaving the dagger in its body. He quickly dodged another gust of wind. This time he was prepared for the magic.


    He saw the deer try to charge at him one more time, but by the time it closed half of the distance, it fell to the ground. He didn''t approach it immediately. He waited for 2 minutes first. After making sure that it was dead, he went to im his loot.


    He walked up to it and took his dagger out. He then dissected the body of the deer. He had a lot of experience extracting Beast Cores from Pseudo Magical Beasts. The core was normally wedged in its head.


    He took out the core and admired it. It was a lot more shinypared to a Pseudo Beast Core. This was the color of an emerald. He could sell it for more than 30000 Star coins, but he had another use for it.


    _______________________


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 Chapter 21 Breakthrough

    ?Leo stored his prize in his satchel. He then started walking out of the forest immediately. He knew that the forest was no longer safe. If there were now Magical Beasts even in the Outer Valkyr''s Forest, then something big was going to happen. He would need to get stronger to survive.


    He returned to the city safely without any trouble. He immediately went back to his cottage to get ready. He came back and saw that Daphne was still in her room, practicing. He entered his room and set everything up.


    He ced the 3 Pseudo Beast Cores in front of him and took out the 1st Circle Beast Core. The real Beast Core was a lot bigger and shinierpared to the other ones. He took a deep breath and started.


    He first grabbed the Pseudo Beast Cores and squeezed them dry instantly. He went through all of them in less than ten minutes. The magical power that he had absorbed was running through his body.


    He forced the magic to enter his mind. He could feel a huge repulsion from the cloud in his mind and the magic that was entering.


    He used all his power to force the magic he just absorbed to spread out and wrap the entire cloud in a thinyer. He then started squeezing all of the magic together. He also grabbed the 1st Circle Beast Core as a precaution.


    As the magic was slowly fusing with the cloud, Leo absorbed a little magic from the Beast Core to repair the that was squeezing the cloud together. The cloud was visibly shrinking a little.


    The process continued without any hassle for an hour. This was when he felt a huge pressure from the cloud. He knew that he had reached the most important part. The star formation.


    He stopped holding back and absorbed the rest of the magic inside the Beast Core. The Beast Core had a massive amount of magical power, and it instantly filled up his entire body. He brought it into his mind and wrapped it around the to reinforce it.


    He could feel the star starting to condense. A bead of sweat was starting to form on his forehead. Before it could even fully form, a ripple of magic flooded his entire body, evaporating the sweat.


    He opened his eyes. He could sense the differences in his mind. He was standing in his mind, and he could see a star in the sky, shining brightly. He looked around and could see a lot more clearlypared to the dim lighting of the cloud.


    He snapped back to reality. He stood up and could feel changes in his body as well. He felt a little bit stronger. He stretched for a while and looked at the cores. All of them werepletely depleted.


    He sat back down to test his strength. As a 1 Star Mage, he would be able to cast beginner magic like Magic Bullet and Magic Arrow. While this might sound simple, it could damage Magical Beasts from long range. This would make it easier for him to go into the forest and kill beasts without risking his life.


    Spells cast after having stars werepletely differentpared to casting spells cast before forming one. Without a star, he would have to draw a magical circle and say an incantation. This was because it was harder to control magic without a star.


    With the star, the magic circle as well as the incantation could just be done in his mind. All he would have to do is think about casting a spell and as long as he hadn''t pressured his mind into using too much magic, he would be able to cast the spell.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He calmly summoned a magical bullet to his hand. He didn''t shoot it anywhere because it would be destroying his house. So he took his knife out and put it on the ground. He shot the magic bullet into the knife.


    The bullet pierced the knife before flying to the ground. He looked at it again and saw that the bullet had made a hole in the dagger.


    He smiled. He had finally be a proper mage. He suddenly realized something. He would now have to start learning how to use Aura to cover up that he was a mage. He couldn''t let anyone know that he was actually a mage after all.


    He decided that he would start to train his Aura till he became an Aura Knight before going back to only training his magic. He would obviously also train his magic as well.


    The next day, he went back into the forest. He was going to look for an actual opponent to test his magic. He also needed a few Beast Cores to train his magic.


    Before entering the forest, he sat at the inn again, looking out for information. This time, the inn waspletely packed. He could see that the people were talking about what they encountered.


    "Did you hear about the dead 1st Circle Magical Beast in the forest?"


    Leo heard that and immediately realized that he might have been part of the problem.


    "Yes. I heard from a friend. You know what this means right?" One person said. "It means the Outer Forest is going to now have 1st Circle Magical Beasts as well. The only time that happened was 7 years ago."


    Suddenly, Leo realized that the discussion wasn''t about the dead Magical Beast. It was more important than that. It was about the significance of a real Magical Beast entering the forest.


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 Chapter 22 Power

    ?Leo was very careful when he entered the forest. He was also trying his best to get as far away from other mercenaries as well. Normally, he didn''t encounter any of them because the forest was such a huge ce.


    But he was being careful because he was trying to use magic for the first time. He could not let anyone see what he was doing. He was also being careful because he was going to be hunting Magical Beasts.


    He slowly walked into the forest. As he did, he cast a body-strengthening spell on him as a precaution. It would be a good idea to be fast even if he was going to maintain a distance.


    After doing that, he scoured the ground to see if he could see any prominent tracks. He saw a pair of heavy footprints of an animal that had hooves. He could only hope that it was a Magical Beast. He started following the trail.


    As he followed the trail, he realized that it lead into the forest. It wasn''t going into the Inner Forest, but it was as far as he had ever gone.


    He remembered the way back so he wasn''t worried about that. He was worried that he was going after a real Magical Beast. If it was a Beast that was heavy enough to leave prints like the one he had seen, it would definitely be a better option to leave it alone.


    He wanted to leave the ce and go back the way he came from when he heard a sound. He immediately jumped up and grabbed a branch. He climbed up the branch and scoured the ce to find the source of the noise.


    The noise was a loud thump. It was from a huge rhino. The rhino had a huge horn on its head that glowed a light brown. As it thumped its feet, it stared him down. Each thump made the earth shake.


    Leo pointed his hand toward the rhino.


    "Magic Bullet." He shot a magic bullet at the rhino.


    The bullet hit the rhino in its forehead. The bullet left behind a small dent, but it was negligible. The bullet just seemed to make the rhino angry. It lifted its front legs and mmed into the ground.


    The ground quaked. He could see the ripples from the center of the mini-earthquake. The rippled quickly reached the tree that he had climbed on for safety. The tree started shaking, and he realized that it was going to fall down.


    He jumped back from the tree to the ground. He made sure to jump away from the rhino. He looked at the rhino, trying to figure out his best n. He could try to escape, but he wanted to see if he would be able to kill it with his new powers.


    "Magic Bullet!" He tried to hit it again. He figured that the armor would give in eventually. This time the bullet hit the rhino in the forehead again, but in a slightly different ce.


    "Shit."


    He didn''t realize that his uracy also made a difference. The bullet was too fast for the rhino to dodge, but its power and uracy weren''t good enough for it to be a threat.


    The rhino let out a small grunt and started charging toward him. He quickly estimated how long it would take it to get to him. He started firing Magic Bullets at it while running backward away from it.


    The bullets would hit the rhino in the head, but it would never hit the same ce again. This was until one of the bullets hit its eye. It hit the right eye lid and pierced through it. The bullet wasn''t able to reach the brain, but it partially blinded the rhino.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Roar.


    The rhino made a huge sound and started rampaging. Instead of charging at Leo, it started making as much damage to thendscape as possible. The earthquake it was causing made him lose his footing.


    He immediately got up and aimed at the rhino again. It was crying in pain and had just turned back at him to charge at him once more. He fired another time, aiming for the same vicinity as the eye he had just hit.


    He started firing bullets with all his magic power. He kept firing them at the rhino while it was charging toward him. He didn''t even try to run away. He was putting all his attention and focus into aiming for the eye. He concentrated very heavily, making him form sweat on his forehead.


    One of the bullets hit the same spot again, this time piercing the brain. The rhino didn''t even whimper. It just skid to a stop right in front of him. He sighed and sat on the corpse of the rhino to rest.


    "My life is too difficult." He said to himself.


    After taking a short break, he took his knife out to im his loot. He was also trying to take the rhino''s horn to sell to Trevor. As for the core, he could use it for himself.


    Leo cut out the horn and took out the Beast Core from the rhino''s body. After doing this, he returned to the city. He went to visit Trevor.


    Trevor saw himing his way and smiled. It had been a while since he hade by and Trevor needed new materials.


    "How is it going? Did you get me any new herbs?" Trevor asked jovially.


    Leo shook his head. He took out the rhino horn instead.


    "Do you know if this is worth anything?" He asked Trevor.


    Trevor sighed. "I didn''t think this would being this quickly. How did you kill a Magical Beast?"


    _______________________


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 Chapter 23 Thousand Treasures Tower

    ?Leo smiled. He knew that Trevor would be able to recognize that the horn belonged to a 1st Circle Magical Beast. He knew that it would give away his strength, but he wanted to sell it in return for money. He could use the money for a better sword for Daphne.


    "I found a corpse. It had this horn that seemed intriguing, so I cut it out. Was it a 1st Circle Magical Beast?!" He acted shocked, but his acting was deliberately poor. Even though he knew that Trevor knew the truth, he couldn''t give it away. He still had to feign ignorance.


    "Forget it. You don''t need toe to me anymore. With your abilities, you can start looking for real herbs and hunt Magical Beasts very quickly. You will want to go to the Thousand Treasures Tower." Trevor said.


    This got him intrigued. "Thousand Treasure Tower? What is that?" He asked Trevor.


    "It is a powerful force that has multiple towers in cities all over the empire. They have treasures and can buy Beast Cores and Magical Beast corpses as well as any herbs you have. All the adventurers sell their loot to them if they are worth anything." Trevor exined.


    "Really? Where do they get the money?" Leo asked.


    "They are incredibly rich. They have more money than you can ever imagine. The auctions that they hold in the Capital every year deal with more money than this city has seen in the entire decade."


    He took a second to take it in. The amount of money he had saved up until then was already beyond his imagination. Now, he was finding out that there was a power that had so much money they could buy him a million times over.


    "Where is this Tower?" He asked Trevor.


    "If you go into the Commoner''s District and walk to where it meets the Noble''s District, you will see a big tower that is in the middle of the wall. The side that faces the Commoner''s District is the entrance we can ess. But be careful. Everyone there is someone you cannot afford to offend." Trevor said solemnly.


    He nodded. "Onest question. How much is a fair deal for this?" He lifted the horn. He put it back in his satchel since Trevor wasn''t buying it off him.


    "I would say upwards of 15000 Star coins. That is the horn of a Mid-Stage 1st Circle Magical Beast." Trevor said.


    "Mid-Stage?" Leo was confused.


    Trevor smiled. "I think it will be a long time till we meet again after this. Let me give you onest suggestion for a while. Buy the book "Magical Beasts in Valkyr''s Forest" from the Thousand Treasure Tower. It should be about 5000 Star coins. It ispletely worth it."


    "Thank you so much for all your help. I will never forget it." He bowed to Trevor and gave his gratitude.


    He had onlye this far because Trevor had given him work for the first time. That was how he hade across the cave and how he had chanced upon the tome. Coming into contact with Trevor changed his lifepletely.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    After giving his gratitude, he went back to his cottage. He was very tired from going to the forest and he didn''t have the energy to walk all the way to the Noble''s District and also make sure he doesn''t bump into someone. He decided to wait till the next day.


    The next day, he woke up and got ready to go to the Thousand Treasure Tower. He wore the best clothes he had. Before going, he first took out the Beast Core from his satchel and left it in his room. After that, he went to a nice clothing store near his home.


    There, he bought a nice cloak that he could use to hide his face. He felt that he would be treated differently if they saw that he was a kid. He also didn''t want anyone to recognize him in case he got into any trouble.


    After buying the cloak, he went to the edge of the wall where the Noble''s District and Commoner''s District met. He saw a tower as Trevor had described in the distance. He started walking toward it.


    As he was walking, the tower became clearer and clearer. The tower seemed like it had only three floors. But each floor was massive. The windows of the tower were huge arches. The entire tower was made of marble, and when he got to the entrance, the name que was carved in gold. The whole tower screamed extravagance.


    He entered the tower through the entrance on themoners'' side. As he entered, he saw that the first floor was decently popted. He saw a lot of people walking around, looking at the disys.


    He walked up to one of the ss disys and saw a red-colored herb. It was a Blood Lily. But unlike the one that he had found, this was a lotrger and the red was more crimson, like blood.


    He looked around to look for where he could see someone to sell his horn. He finally saw a corner where the que said [Appraisal Counter]. He walked up to it, hoping they would look at his horn.


    As he walked, he noticed that on the other side, there were a lot fewer people, and everyone was going up a set of stairs. The stairs were decorated with a red carpet and the people walking up them were dressed incredibly well.


    He was too busy looking at them that he almost bumped into someone.


    "I''m sorry." He apologized. He looked back and walked steadily to the Appraisal Room.


    _______________________


    A/N: I would greatly appreciatements about the story at any point. I would also appreciate reviews.


    If you like the story, then please consider voting with power stones.


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 Chapter 24 Books

    ?He reached the appraisal room. There was a desk right beside it where a young beautiful woman was sitting. She saw Leo walk to the appraisal room.


    "Hello. Are you here to sell any of your Magical Herbs or Beast Cores?" She asked him.


    He was happy that he was in the right ce. "Yes. I am here to sell a horn from a 1st Circle Magical Beast."


    He didn''t take it out yet.


    "Of course. The appraisal expert is inside." She gestured at him to go into the room.


    He entered the room. Inside the room, an old man was sitting in a chair. There was a table in front of him.


    "Put your items on the table." He said in a low voice. Leoplied with his instructions. He put the horn on the table.


    The man looked at the horn for a few seconds. He didn''t even touch the horn or look closer. He looked back at Leo.


    "17000."


    He only said a number. He took out a ticket and handed it to Leo. Leo took the ticket, trying to process the interaction. The person only looked at the horn for a few seconds. How did he know how much it was worth that quickly?


    It didn''t matter though. The number was in the same ballpark that Trevor gave him so he trusted it. He took the ticket.


    "What do I do with the horn? Where do I give it?" He asked.


    The man looked at Leo like he was looking at an idiot. "Leave it here. Take the slip to the counter." He said.


    Leo took the slip and left the room. He went to the woman at the desk.


    "The person inside gave me this slip." He told her. "Also, why does he seem like he doesn''t like me?"


    "Master me is like that. He is a man of few words." She took the slip. "You can get the money from here with the slip. It''s to give us a number to deposit into your ount. Is this your first time here?" She asked him.


    He nodded.


    "Then I assume that you don''t have an ount with us." She said.


    "ount?" He asked.


    "You can open a bank ount with us. We can just deposit the money there so that you can buy items at the Thousand Treasure Tower using that ount. You won''t need to carry the money with you. You can also use this money at any of our branches and withdraw money at any time." She exined what an ount was to him.


    He gave it a thought and nodded.


    "Yes. How long will it take?"


    She smiled. "It will only take a minute. Can I have your name?" She asked him.


    Leo didn''t speak for a second. He thought a little and said, "Orion."


    She looked at the slip and disappeared to the back. She came back after five minutes with a card in her hand.


    "Here is your card. It contains 16000 Star coins. It takes 1000 Star coins to open the ount." She said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Leo took the card. He was okay with the initiation costs. He needed to buy some items from the tower anyway.


    "Do you know where I can find the books that the Tower sells?" He asked her.


    "Of course. They are in that corner. You just have to browse through and pick a few books. If you go to the sale counter, you just need to give the titles of the books you need and they will give new copies there." She exined to him.


    "Thank you." He said to her.


    He turned away and walked to the books. When he got there, he saw a shelf full of books. All of them were general knowledge rted. He walked around to browse through them. He knew one of the books he wanted, but he was also nning on buying others. He needed to know more about the world, and his position before didn''t help him do that.


    He found a couple of interesting books. He went to the counter. There wasn''t anyone in line. The ce was adequately staffed so there was no waiting time for anything.


    "Hello. Can I purchase a few books?" He asked the person behind the counter. She was also a young woman like before. He realized that many of the people serving the customers were female. He didn''t think too much about it though.


    "Yes, of course. What do you require?" She said.


    Leo started listing out the titles.


    "Could I get [Everything about Magic], [Magical Beasts in Valkyr''s Forest], [The Complete History of Sria], and [Mages against Aura Knights]?"


    She nodded. "Of course, sir. Can I have your card, please?" She asked him for his card. He handed her the card that the person had given him a few minutes ago.


    She inserted the card into a slit in a box on the table. She handed the card back.


    "You have 3000 Star coins left, sir. Is there anything else I can do for you?" She asked.


    "No. Just the books today, thank you." He said. She nodded.


    "I will be back with the books." She said.


    She left to the back. When she left, Leo looked at the box. Somehow, the box just took his card and she was able to tell how much money he had in his ount. He was trying to understand how it worked. He tried to peer at the other side of the box by leaning forward, but he saw the personing back.


    She handed him the books.


    "Pleasee again."


    Leo nodded. "Yes. Thank you."


    He took the books and left the store. He needed to understand more about the world than he thought.


    _______________________


    A/N: I would greatly appreciatements about the story at any point. I would also appreciate reviews.


    If you like the story, then please consider voting with power stones.


    :) Thanks. Have a great day.

 Chapter 25 Reencounter

    ?When he got back to his cottage, Leo holed himself up in his room. For the next two days, he concentrated all of his attention on reading the books. As he kept reading, he realized how less he knew about the world he lived in.


    The city he was in, Solhaven, was only a small city. It was near a major city called Eldridge. Solhaven was managed by a 4th Circle Mage while Eldridge had a 5th Circle Mage. The book didn''t say anything else about the cities.


    The more important information he learned was the differences between Mages and Aura Knights. Apparently, mages had the same power as Aura Knights. While mages used magic power, aura knights used aura. Both of them would be equally powerful if they faced off against each other.


    The only reason mages were considered more important was that magic could impact battles more than aura. Mages could cast spells that changed entire battlefields, unlike Aura Knights. This was why magic was controlled by nobles.


    The most important thing that he learned was that a person could only learn one thing between Aura and Magic. He couldn''t learn both. He was disappointed at first when he saw that in the book, but he realized that he wasn''t a normal mage. He decided to test if that was right or not after reading the rest of the books.


    He spent the bulk of his time reading the book that Trevor rmended to him. This was because he would encounter these beasts in the forest. The book had the weaknesses of the beasts as well as their habits. He could use it to find herbs as well because the ces they lived were where magical herbs typically grew.


    He also found that magical beasts and people had a more delicate power system than just looking at how many circles they had formed. Mages and Aura Knights could be a 1st Circle or 2nd Circle Mage or Aura Knight. But within 1st Circle Mages, they were ssified as Early, Mid, Late, and Peak Stage of that Circle. This was the same with magical beasts.


    After he finished reading the book, he decided to start learning aura. He went to Daphne to take the book from her. At this point, she had already memorized everything in it, so he wasn''t obstructing her practice.


    "Did you reach 1st Circle yet?" He asked Daphne.


    She shook her head.


    "It''s okay. It takes time." He consoled her and went back to his room.


    He opened the book and started reading. The concepts were incredibly simr to what he already knew. The only difference was that he was gathering the aura in his body and eventually consolidating it in his dantian instead magic in his mind. It wasn''t supposed to be too difficult, right?


    He waspletely wrong. He already knew how to gather mana, so he started searching for aura in a simr way. He started searching for it, but he didn''t have any results at all. After two hours of failure, he decided to give it a break and went back to training magic.


    The next day, he went to the inn to prepare to go to the forest. He was trying to earn more money so that he could get books that exined aura better.


    He entered the inn. He went to the front and ordered his usual meal and went to a table to wait for the order. The person who brought the meal to him was a young girl who looked the same age as Leo.


    She was the daughter of the inn''s owner and Leo had seen her numerous time there. Since she was the same age as him, he had talked to her a couple of times as well.


    "Hello, Leo," She said. She put the tray of food down on the table.


    "Hello, Lily. How is your day going?" He asked her.


    "It''s okay. Are you going to the forest again today?" She asked. She was very curious about the forest.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Yes." He answered.


    "Can you tell me about it when you get back? I wish I could go but my parents will never let me." She said.


    Leo smiled. "Of course, I will. Here, the money for the food." He gave her two coins. She took the coins and left. He started eating his food slowly while listening to the conversations around him.


    After a while, he was about to leave the inn, but he saw someone familiar talking to the owner of the inn. He went a little closer to listen to the conversation.


    "We will get the money to you as soon as possible. Please give us more time. The business has been slow because mercenaries stopped going to the forest." The owner said. He was a middle-aged man.


    The person he was talking to was dressed in ck clothing and had a gold chain hanging on his neck. He was the same person who had demanded money from Leo at the slums a while back.


    "All I hear are excuses. The boss said that you might need some incentives. So, if you cannote up with the money, then we will keep your wife till you can." The man said.


    Leo heard these words and his blood started boiling.


    "Sir, please! I will try my best to return the money. Please let my wife go." The owner wailed.


    The man didn''t bother answering and just left the inn. While he was leaving, he noticed Leo.


    "What are you looking at, brat?" He said and shoved him out of the way.


    Leo got incredibly angry and almost cast a magic bullet at him, but stopped himself. If he cast magic in the middle of the inn he would get into a lot of trouble. Moreover, the man hadn''t even recognized him. This meant that he and the owner were not the only victims. That would mean that the cktooth gang was very powerful.


    He looked at the owner who looked like he was dead inside. He walked up to him.


    "Sir, can you tell me a little about the person who just left?" Leo asked him.


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 Chapter 26 Information

    ?The owner looked at Leo. He saw the 13-year-old who came to his chest in height asking about the person who just left. He quickly reset his face and put on a front.


    "You are a kid. You shouldn''t mess with them." He said.


    Leo looked at the owner. He took out a wallet from his pocket. He took out a note and slid it onto the table. It was a 10000 Star coins note.


    The owner looked at the note. He saw the amount of money on the note.


    "What is this?" He asked.


    "How much you owe them. I will pay this much if you tell me everything about them." Leo said.


    What he did was daring. Even though he was rich enough to afford a loss of 10000 Star coins, he was doing more than that. He was going to find trouble with an entire gang. This could put him in a lot of trouble.


    The man looked at Leo with a shocked expression. He recovered quickly.


    "I... I can''t ept this. This is a lot of money. How can I repay this?" He said.


    "You just have to give me everything you know about them. That will be enough." Leo said.


    "Fine," The man sighed. He didn''t want to tell a child about his problems but he needed the money desperately. "The cktooth gang is a new power in the city. Their leader just showed up a year ago and they started expanding. I heard they took over the slums and started stealing money from them as well."


    Leo nodded. He was a victim of this as well.


    "They also lend out that money. They are the only ce where small businesses can find money since Solhaven doesn''t even have a bank. I took out a loan from them to keep the inn going. The interests stacked up and now I can barely pay them back each month. I paid them over three times the amount I borrowed till now." He ranted.


    "Why don''t you just tell the city guards?" Leo asked him.


    He shook his head. "They don''t care at all about crime. The only people who can escape are people with money in the Commoner''s district. The rest have to endure this. Even the adventurers have to bear with it." He said.


    Leo was confused. "Even the adventurers? Aren''t a lot of them 1st Circle Aura Knights?" He asked.


    "The cktooth gang is run by a Late-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight. He is more powerful than any of the adventurers who live in the outer parts of the Commoner''s District. Any of the 2nd Circle Aura Knights who are in the 2nd Circle are in the deeper parts. Also, very few people are actually stronger than him in the city. There are less than ten people who are." He said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "One person is that powerful?" Leo asked.


    "If it was just one person, he wouldn''t have that much influence. The cktooth gang has over 100 members. All of them are at least Apprentice Aura Knights. Half of them reached 1st Circle. They are very dangerous." He said. "I don''t know what you will do with this information, but be careful. Don''t go near them. You don''t want to mess with them at all."


    Leo nodded. "Thank you. I was just asking to keep myself safe. Do you know where they are more likely to be? I will stop walking around that area." He asked a final question.


    "They are in the slums. You will find them very quickly if you walk near there. The slums are very dangerous now." The owner said. He slid the money a little toward Leo. "Are you sure this is how much you will pay me? This is verymon information."


    Leo stopped him. "Don''t worry about it. What you told me was very important."


    While what the owner said might have been less, it gave Leo the information he needed. He understood that there wasn''t too much time till the cktooth gang became a problem for him as well.


    If the gang had formed only 1 year ago and already spread this fast, it meant that they weren''t nning on stopping. They would start entering the Commoner''s District as well. The only ce they wouldn''t hit would be the Noble''s District because of the Magistrate.


    Leo lived on the edge of the Commoner''s District. It wouldn''t be too long before theye knocking on his door again.


    However, even with the information that he received, there wasn''t a lot he could do immediately. He could deal with the Apprentice Aura Knights, but what was he supposed to do with the rest of the cktooth gang?


    Even if he somehow got rid of all the 1st Circle Aura Knights, he would never be able to deal with their leader. The only way he would be able to be would be if he made his 2nd Star. Then he could waltz through and easily deal with the rest of the gang.


    He decided that he now had a goal - to get stronger so that he could deal with the cktooth gang. He would put Aura aside to focus only on Magic. This would meanmitting to going to the forest for Beast Cores as well as practicing heavily.


    While trying to defeat the cktooth gang might seem like an emotional action, it was the most logical thing for him to do at this point.


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 Chapter 27 Party

    ?Leo left the inn to go to the forest. It was convenient that he was nning on going anyway. His n was to get ahold of a few 1st Circle Beast Cores for practice every week and quickly make his 2nd Star.


    On his way to the forest, he saw a gathering near the gate. There were many adventurers there scouting people for their parties.


    "We just need a ranged 1st Circle Aura Knight! We will offer 5000 Star coins for the day."


    "Looking for a tank!"


    He knew that he was an anomaly. He was the only person who ventured into the forest alone. Everyone else entered the forest in parties of 5 or 6 people. That was to ensure that they wouldn''t die if one person messed up.


    He couldn''t join any of these parties yet because it would be limiting him. Even though he could fake being an Aura Knight with a body-strengthening spell, he would have to split the loot with the entire party.


    As a mage, he knew he could kill the magical beasts by himself. So he didn''t bother entering a party for the time. He knew, however, that he might need to enter a party to hunt a 2nd Circle Magical Beast.


    He went into the forest like usual and looked for Magical Beasts. He was so used to this at this point that it was like a habit to him.


    However, for the first time, his routine was disturbed. He heard a scream from a distance. It was the scream of a woman. He immediately ran toward the scream.


    As he got closer, he heard noises of battle. He peered through the trees and saw a party of three battling a bear. It was a ck-Eyed Bear that was a Peak-Stage 1st Circle Magical Beast.


    When he observed closer, he saw that there was a fourth member of the party. She was lying on the side, wounded. Her leg was twisted and she could barely stand. She had a sword by her side.


    He saw that the rest of the people were carrying shields and bows, but none of them were carrying a sword. None of them were able to deal any damage to the bear, and their only damage dealer was wounded.


    "Are you okay now, rice?" One of the archers asked the woman. He was missing a few of his shots, but he seemed more concerned about thedy. With him being distracted and the firepower on the bear decreasing, the bear was able to knock out the person in the shield away from it.


    The bear roared and activated its magic. Its eyes darkened and becamepletely ck. He saw a huge drill made of sand form behind the bear. The drill flew toward the person with the shield.


    Leo saw this as an opportunity since the bear was focused on attacking the party. He took out his dagger. He quickly cast a body-strengthening spell and ran toward the bear. He jumped up andnded on the bear''s back.


    He first cast a magic bullet into the skull of the bear. The bullet prated into the bear''s skull and killed it immediately. Before it fell down, he plunged his dagger into the skull of the dead animal.


    The bear fell to the ground. He looked up to see the state of the people there. The person who the drill was about to hit was on the ground. Leo had killed the bear just in time so the drill dissolved back into sand.


    The female injured from the start was trying to get up. The male who had ignored the battle was trying to help her, but she was ignoring his help. The other archer, a female, was the only one who was walking toward him.


    "Thank you so much for helping us. I don''t know what we would do if you weren''t here." She thanked him. "I am Evelyn. You are...?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Leo," he said. "It''s okay. Anyone would have done the same thing."


    After his attempts to help rice were ignored, the man also walked toward Leo. His attitude wasn''t as friendly as rice''s.


    "Don''t think too much about it. If we didn''t do that much damage, he wouldn''t be able to kill it. He only dealt the final blow. Look at him. He''s a kid." He said.


    Evelyn defended Leo. "Shut up Lucas! If you had done your job properly, then Tobias wouldn''t have gotten pushed back by the bear. You put us in this state."


    She turned to Leo. "I apologize for him. He can be an asshole. But he is right. You look incredibly young."


    Leo smiled sheepishly. "I''m 13," he said.


    By this time, the person who had been wounded at the start had limped toward the rest of the group. Even Tobias, the tank, had recovered. All of them had surrounded Leo.


    He noticed that both Evelyn and rice looked the same. rice introduced herself.


    "Hello, I am rice. I am the leader of this party. I thank you for saving us." She said.


    "I am Tobias. I owe you for that, boy!" The big man who was the tank said.


    "It''s not that big of a deal. If all of you are okay with it though, can I buy the Beast Core from you? I can give you a decent price for it." He said. He was hoping for a discount since he helped in defeating the bear.


    Before Lucas could say anything, rice interrupted him.


    "Yes. The Beast Core is yours. You don''t have to pay anything. Take it as a token of appreciation." She said.


    Lucas immediately rebutted. "No! How can we give this person the core? That is worth 25000 Star coins! It''s our entire day''s work!"


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 Chapter 28 Team Kill

    ?Leo suddenly had an idea.


    "How about this? I can help you guys hunt another Magical Beast and then I will take this Beast Core. Does that sound good?" He suggested.


    rice thought for a moment.


    "That will be risky. We weren''t supposed to meet a Peak-Stage 1st Circle Magical Beast in the first ce. This is only the Outer Forest. If we keep hunting it will be dangerous. Some of us are injured, after all." She said.


    Lucas butted in. "We can do that. We are definitely strong enough, and there is still time before the day ends. We can get back before it gets dark."


    Leo nodded. This was the first time he heard something usefule out of Lucas'' mouth. They would have to leave before the night arrived because he knew it was harder dealing with Magical Beasts in the dark. It would be the same as begging them to kill him.


    He looked at the rest of the party to judge their reaction. They were all a little better than when they had started off. They seemed to be in fighting condition.


    "Okay, we can do that. I will be depending on you, Leo." rice said.


    "I will go ahead and start scouting then," Evelyn said. She immediately jumped onto the tree and vanished into the forest.


    The rest of the party started dissecting the loot. They were skinning the bear down and dismantling its corpse. They quickly took out the Beast Core and neatly skinned the fur. They looked very experienced with it.


    "What are you guys going to do with the fur?" Leo asked them. He thought that the Beast Core was the only valuable item.


    Lucas gave him a gaze of contempt. Tobias exined what they were doing.


    "The fur can be used to make luxury coats for nobles. Since it''s the fur of a 1st Circle Magical Beast, it has some defensive properties as well. It can sell for 5000 to 6000 Star coins."


    Leo nodded. He saw that Lucas had pocketed the Beast Core.


    "If we manage to hunt another Magical Beast, then I''ll hand this over to you. But I doubt you will be useful then," he said to Leo.


    Leo just ignored him and talked to rice instead.


    "How long ago did you guys start being adventurers?" He asked.


    "We started around 5 years ago. We were 18-19 years old then. Now all of us are in our early 20s." rice said. "Also, we are mercenaries. Not adventurers. We are the Red w Mercenary Team. We were just finishing a subjugation mission that the city posted. If we kill a 1st Circle Magical Beast, we can get 2000 Star coins on top of what we normally get by selling the Beast Core."


    "Is the Magical Beast problem that huge that there is a mission by the city?" Leo asked.


    "The situation is bing worse. 1st Circle Magical Beasts are nowing into the Outer Forest. We just saw a Peak-Stage ck-Eyed Bear. It''s only a matter of time before 2nd Circle Magical Beasts leave the Inner Forest too." She said.


    "Do they normally stay in the Inner Forest only?" Leo asked.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Yes. The Inner Forest is a better ce for Magical Herbs to grow. The only time Magical Beasts leave the Inner Forest is when an anomaly urs. We don''t know for sure what it is this time, but thest time it happened, it was a disaster."


    Before Leo could ask anything further, he was interrupted by Evelyn. She hade back from scouting.


    "I found a Green Mantis. It''s a Mid-Stage 1st Circle Magical Beast. It should be an easy kill." She said.


    "Everybody, get ready! Tobias, can you still tank?" rice immediately started giving orders.


    "Yes. I can handle a Mantis." Tobias said.


    "Good. Ranged dealers, keep some distance. Leo, you are with me for close range, right?" She said.


    Leo nodded.


    "Okay. Let''s go then!" She shouted. They all moved toward the direction of the Mantis.


    Leo and rice followed behind Tobias while Evelyn and Lucas stayed back. They reached the Mantis in about 5 minutes.


    The Mantis was resting on the ground of the forest. It seemed like it was tired. It was nested in the back of a tree. It noticed the intruders immediately and got up.


    Tobias lifted his shield and charged toward the Mantis. Leo and rice circled around the Mantis while Lucas and Evelyn bombarded the animal with arrows.


    Leo reached the Mantis before Evelyn did and almost struck it while it was distracted by Tobias. However, before he couldnd the hit, an arrow grazed his cheek. He was able to dodge just in time, but he lost the opportunity to attack it.


    He jumped back before the Mantis could attack him. He was too close to the Mantis, so he immediately ducked in time. The Mantis swiped at him with its arms, almost slicing him into two.


    rice was able to cut off the other arm of the Mantis during this time, taking advantage of the Mantis being distracted by Leo. Leo also sliced off the other arm of the Mantis before it could recover.


    An arrow dug into the eyes of the Mantis. It shrieked in pain. Its legs glowed a bright green. It jumped and tried to kick Leo with them. Tobias got in the way and took the hit with his shield.


    Leo and rice both capitalized on the moment and dug their weapons into the Mantis. The Mantis wailed for a few seconds before falling to the ground.


    _______________________


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 Chapter 29 Favor

    ?After the Mantis died, Leo turned toward Lucas. The arrow that almost killed him was shot by Lucas. Leo walked toward Lucas menacingly. Lucas saw this and took a few steps back in fear.


    He saw how easily Leo had taken out the arms of the Mantis and had seen him kill a Peak-Stage 1st Circle Magical Beast earlier that day. He was afraid that he would be meeting a simr fate.


    Leo reached Lucas. He reached his arm out and held Lucas by his jacket. He opened the jacket and took out the Beast Core that Lucas had put there. He leaned in and whispered.


    "Don''t think I didn''t know that was aimed at me," Leo said to Lucas.


    He turned back. Everyone else was focused on cleaning up their winnings. rice saw Leo waling toward them.


    "We did it! Thank you, Leo." She said.


    Leo nodded.


    "I wasn''t that much of a help. You dealt most of the damage." He said.


    "Don''t be modest. You should join our Mercenary Team. You will be a very useful addition." Evelyn added.


    Leo looked at Lucas cringing at the suggestion.


    "It''s okay. I am used to working alone," he replied.


    "Okay, it''s getting dark. We should go back." Lucas said.


    After packing all the materials into huge bags that they brought, they all set back toward the city. Leo realized they were much more prepared than him when they went into the forest. He would normally decide the previous day whether or not he would go to the forest.


    He realized that now that he was more serious and hunting real monsters, he would also have to prepare properly. rice and Tobias were able to recover quickly because they had Low-Rank Healing Potions. These potions were only 1000 Star coins each, and he could buy them from Trevor.


    He decided that he would look into this when he got back. The walk back was more entertaining for him than normal because he was talking with the rest of the group on the way.


    They reached the city exactly before sunset. When they reached the gate, it was time to part ways.


    "Okay, I guess this is it. It was really nice meeting you, Leo." Tobias said. "If you are ever nning on going to the forest again, think about teaming up with us."


    He left. Lucas also left with him. He didn''t say anything to Leo before leaving, but Leo wasn''t too bothered. Leo knew that Lucas didn''t like him as much.


    It was just Evelyn and rice left with Leo.


    "Once again, thank you so much for helping us. As I said before, we weren''t supposed to be meeting a Peak-Stage 1st Circle Magical Beast. You being there saved my sister''s life," Evelyn said.


    "I was just doing the right thing. Also, you guys were saying about how this has happened before. What do you mean by that?" He asked.


    "6 years ago, the entire city experienced a Beast Wave. I thought you would know about that. You are young, but you must have experienced it like everyone else." She said.


    Suddenly Leo remembered. 6 years ago when he first met Daphne, the whole city was restless. But Leo didn''t care enough because he was just trying to survive.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "We were able to defend against it very wellst time. Maybe that''s why you don''t remember it." rice added.


    A Beast Wave was when Magical Beasts got together and attacked human settlements. This was very rare, but when it happens it turns into a huge war. Many adventurers and mercenaries would die.


    "Why was there a Beast Wave?" He asked them.


    "A Beast Wave only happens when a stronger Magical Beast is born andmands the weaker Magical Beasts to attack the city. Last time, it was only a 3rd Circle Magical Beast. The Magistrate was able to kill it easily, and the entire Beast Wave dispersed quickly." rice said.


    "What about now? Is there going to be another Beast Wave now?" Leo asked.


    rice shook her head.


    "It will take at least another 5 months. The Magical Beasts are onlying to the Outer Forest because the stronger Magical Beasts pushed them out to hog all of the resources in the Inner Forest. The leader will take time to grow stronger and organize a Beast Wave." She said.


    "And we are just letting them do that?" Leo asked.


    "We don''t have a choice. Stronger 2nd Circle Aura Knights are forming Adventurer and Mercenary Teams to hunt down 2nd Circle Magical Beasts. But they can''t go deep into the Inner Forest since they will get massacred if they meet a 3rd Circle Magical Beast. The only person in the entire city who can do anything about it is the Magistrate." She said.


    "The Magistrate will only act if there is an issue that will affect the nobles. Until then, we can only hope that he acts quicker." Evelyn said.


    Leo shook his head. Their lives were worth so much less than nobles'' that it made him angry.


    "Okay, we don''t need to worry about this yet. We can quickly use this as an opportunity to make more money from the city. As a thank you for today, I owe you a favor, Leo." rice said.


    Leo shook her outstretched hand. "Thank you. I actually have a use for that favor." He said.


    "You do?" rice asked.


    "Yes. I need your help to hunt in Valkyr''s Forest." He said.


    "But you said you work alone?" She was puzzled.


    "I need to hunt a 2nd Circle Magical Beast."


    _______________________


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 Chapter 30 Surprise

    ?"A 2nd Circle Magical Beast? Why?" rice asked him. She was very confused about why he wanted to hunt a 2nd Circle Magical Beast.


    Compared to a 1st Circle Magical Beast, a 2nd Circle Magical Beast was a lot stronger. It was also more intelligent and could fight more efficiently. To find one, they would also need to head toward the Inner Forest, which was especially dangerous in the current situation.


    Leo needed to hunt the Magical Beast to secure a 2nd Circle Beast Core. He would need it to break through to be a 2nd Star Mage. He would have just bought it at the Thousand Treasure Tower, but he didn''t want to exin why he needed it to the people there. Since he wasn''t a noble, they might ask him questions he wouldn''t be able to answer.


    "The reward is a lot greater, right? I think we can handle it. Maybe in a month, if we prepare ourselves enough, we can do it." He said.


    rice thought about it. "Yes. In a month, 2nd Circle Magical Beasts might be showing up in the Outer Forest too. Then it will be a little safer to try hunting them. They also have a reward of 10000 Star coins, on top of the normal materials that go for 30-40000 Star coins. But who gets the Beast Core?"


    "I will buy the Beast Core for 40000 Star coins. Is that fair?" He asked. When he was in the Thousand Treasure Tower, he saw a Beast Core for 70000 Star coins. Since he was also helping them hunt the beast, he hoped he could get it for cheaper.


    rice nodded. Evelyn was also on board with the idea. "We can convince Tobias, but Lucas might not being with us," Evelyn said.


    Leo nodded. "That''s okay. We should be fine either way without him. I guess we can meet in a week to discuss more. How should I do that?"


    rice looked around and saw an Inn. It was the same Inn that Leo normally went to before going to the forest.


    "How about we meet there in a week? At around noon?" She suggested.


    Leo saw the familiar inn and nodded. "Yes. That sounds great. I will see you then."


    He left for his cottage. He was currently an Early-Stage 1st Star Mage, but he was confident that he could be a Peak-Stage 1st Star Mage by the end of the month if he concentrated.


    The next day, he left for the marketce. He was going there to meet Trevor. It hadn''t been even a week since he hadst seen him, but he was still excited to see him. In those few days, he felt like he had changed a decent amount.


    When he got there, he saw Trevor stacking up the potions at the counter. Leo felt incredibly dumb for never trying to see what Trevor sold even though he had worked for him for 3 months.


    He walked up to Trevor. Trevor was busy stacking the potions that he didn''t bother looking up at his customer. He just asked what he wanted.


    "Hello, what can I get you." He said without realizing it was Leo. He was turned away from Leo too.


    Seeing this, Leo mustered up a deep voice and said, "What would you rmend?"


    Trevor heard this and got confused. The voice that Leo used was very weird because his young age made it hard to have a deep voice. Also, people who bought potions knew what they wanted. They would never ask for a rmendation. Trevor turned around to see who the customer was while listing out the potions he sold.


    "Well, I guess you can try the Power Poti- Leo!" Trevor turned to see Leo grinning.


    "Hello, Trevor." Leo waved at him. "How are you doing?"


    "I''m good. How about you?" Trevor replied. He sat down in his chair and leaned on the table.


    "I am good," Leo replied.


    "So, I thought I wasn''t going to see you for a while. I don''t think you need work, do you?" Trevor asked him. He thought that since Leo could handle Magical Beasts, he would stoping to him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "It''s not work that I need. It''s potions." He replied.


    "Oh! I never told you about the wonders of the potions I sell. I am so sorry!" Trevor realized he never told Leo about potions.


    "It''s okay. I just realized their importance. So, what do you think I need?" Leo asked.


    Trevor pointed to a transparent bottle with blue liquid.


    "Low-Rank Healing Potions. 1000 each, but 900 for you. You just have to pour them on small cuts and this will heal them." Trevor said.


    "I''ll take them at full price," Leo said. "I owe you that much. What else?"


    Trevor thought about it.


    "The only potions I sell are these and the Power Potion. The Power Potion is a little more expensive. It costs 5000 Star coins, and it gives you a short burst of power. It enhances your aura for a burst of 2 hours, but after using it you can''t use any aura for 12 hours. It''s ast resort." He said.


    Leo thought for a second. "I will take 5 healing potions. I''ll sleep on the Power Potion. Thanks for telling me though." He handed Trevor a note.


    Trevor packed the potions and handed them to him.


    "Be careful. I heard the forest is getting dangerous. Don''t go in too deep." He said.


    Leo nodded. "I won''t."


    When he got back to the house to drop the potions, he was met by Daphne. He had barely seen her ever since he gave her the Aura Training Method. Compared to how she normally was, she looked a lot more energetic and happy.


    "I have something to tell you," Daphne said.


    "Hello to you, Daphne," Leo responded.


    "Guess what happened?" Daphne asked Leo.


    Leo thought about it. What would make Daphne look this happy? It hit him immediately. Daphne saw that he realized and confirmed his theory.


    "I did it! I became a 1st Circle Aura Knight!" She said.


    _______________________


    A/N: I would greatly appreciatements about the story at any point. I would also appreciate reviews.


    If you like the story, then please consider voting with power stones.


    :) Thanks. Have a great day.

 Chapter 31 Snowdrift Arrow

    ?"Congrattions!" Leo stepped forward and hugged Daphne. "This is really good news!"


    After hugging her, he suddenly thought of an idea. He knew that Daphne wouldn''t stop bothering him unless he took her with him to the forest. He would also be able to appreciate the help that she could give to him.


    As he predicted, she immediately raised the conversation about going to the forest.


    "So, I aming with you next time you go out right?" She asked him.


    "Not yet. We have to find you a proper gift to celebrate this. We will get you a proper Aura Knight technique that you can use in the forest." He said.


    He had saved over 150000 Star coins that he could splurge on. Money was earned to be spent after all. He was going to get her a proper technique that she could use at the Thousand Treasure Tower so that she would be able to defend herself in the forest.


    If she got strong fast enough, she would be able to join him on the hunt to hunt down a 2nd Circle Magical Beast. This was all based on ifs, but he trusted Daphne with his back more than any random person he just met.


    "Really? Thank you so much!" Daphne said. "But I don''t need a gift or anything."


    He smiled. "Don''t worry about it. Just get ready, and we''ll head out."


    She got dressed in nice clothes very quickly. They both went to a clothing store first. Leo got Daphne a cloak as well. He didn''t want to attract any attention in the tower because of the number of nobles there.


    "Wear this cloak. It will hide your face so no one will bother us." He said to her. She took the cloak and wore it. He was already in his cloak.


    "Okay. Now we are going to go to the Thousand Treasure Tower." He told her.


    They walked to the Thousand Treasure Tower. When Daphne saw the tower, she gaped in amazement. It looked incrediblyvish from the outside. They entered the tower. When they did, Leo exined to Daphne what he was going to buy her.


    "Daphne, you will now have to pick what style of fighting you want to do. Do you want to fight close range, or do you want to be an archer and give support from far?" He asked her.


    She was stuck. She wasn''t prepared to answer a question like this. "Is there a right answer? Do you need me to pick a particr one?" She asked.


    He shook his head. "You can pick whatever you want. Don''t worry about it and pick what you feel is most natural." He said.


    "Can I be an archer then? I think I should be able to shoot arrows nicely." She said.


    He nodded. "Yes, that is good. So you can start browsing the Aura Techniques they have here to see if anything suits you. Look for manuals that will help you be an archer. These manuals will influence your aura, so be careful."


    All of the information he knew came from thest trip he made here. He didn''t buy himself an Aura Techniques yet because he didn''t be an Aura Knight yet.


    Daphne nodded and hesitantly went toward the section where they sold Aura Techniques. Meanwhile, Leo just browsed through the items they were selling there. He was looking for bows that he could buy for Daphne.


    After around two hours, Daphne came back. She had a book in her hand.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "I think I want this one," she said. She handed the book to Leo. He took the book and nced at its description.


    [Snowdrift Arrow]


    [An arrow that creates arge, explosive burst of snow and ice upon impact, burying the target and damaging them]


    The book had a 1st Circle Aura Technique. Aura Techniques were categorized simrly to spells.


    Spells were categorized based on the minimum power the mage needed to cast them. For example, the Magic Bullet that Leo could cast was typically categorized as a 1st Circle Spell. Obviously, if a 3rd Circle Mage cast the same 1st Circle spell, it would be stronger than what Leo could cast. In Leo''s case, he had Stars instead of Circles. All the spells he could cast were different from other mages.


    In the case of Aura Techniques, a 1st Circle Aura Technique would be able to properly show a 1st Circle Aura Knight''s strength. The technique that she picked seemed to be a proper one. Since it had an element attached to it, it would change the elemental nature of Daphne''s Aura.


    This meant that her attacks would have ice imbibed in them, and freeze her opponents. It would mean that her support would be more effective.


    Meanwhile, Leo had narrowed his search for a bow down to a few bows. With her selection being ice rted, he thought the bow with the aptest materials used was the Froststeel Bow. It used a metal called Froststeel which retained chilliness.


    The bow itself would be 40000 Star coins while the arrows would cost him 10000 Star coins for 30. As for the book itself, it would demolish the rest, having a 100000 Star coin price tag.


    Leo didn''t mind the price tag. He would be able to make money, but he now had a powerful ally who he could trust wholeheartedly.


    He went to the counter and paid for all of the items he needed. Daphne was trembling when she saw the price of the items she wanted.


    "Will I ever pay you back for this?" She asked.


    "Don''t worry. It''s just a gift." He said.


    "But-" She wasn''t able to retort. He interrupted her before she could.


    "No buts. You aplished something worth celebrating. That''s why the gift. Now, don''t ask any more questions." He said.


    _______________________


    A/N: I would greatly appreciatements about the story at any point. I would also appreciate reviews.


    If you like the story, then please consider voting with power stones.


    :) Thanks. Have a great day.

 Chapter 32 Judgement

    ?When they got back, Daphne immediately rushed back into her room to try out her new Aura Technique. She wasn''t going to shoot the arrows, but she could still try to imbibe her aura into them.


    "Don''t stress too hard. Once you think you have the hang of it, we can go to the Forest to practice." Leo said.


    "Yes, got it." She said. She was not nning on listening to him.


    Leo sighed and went back to his room to get rest. This was because the next day, he was going to do some recon work. He was going to go to the slums to look into the matter of the cktooth Gang.


    He didn''t know what to do with them yet and had to form a n. He knew he had to deal with the cktooth Gang, but he didn''t know how. The officials wouldn''t care even if he told them after all.


    He first wanted to find out the deal with the cktooth Gang. If they were truly scum, then he would just kill them.


    Leo might be a teenager, but he wasn''t new to death. Living in the slums, the cktooth Gang wasn''t the first group that he had seen try to exert its power over the slums. Around 3 years ago, there was another gang that tried to do the same thing.


    They were called the Thorn Roses. They set up in the slums and collected a toll on merchants passing through the area into the city. They were a lot tamerpared to the cktooth Gang and didn''t bother with themoners in the slums who didn''t have any money.


    One day, some of the members got too drunk and went into the slums. Thinking they had a lot of power, they knocked down a few doors and entered the houses. They thought they were invincible in the area.


    Leo was only a few shacks down the shack where they kicked down the doors of the shacks. He heard some of the shrieks from the females who were living there. The screams were very short-lived.


    Inside one of the shacks was an old degenerate adventurer who just drank all day. However, this adventurer was a 2nd Circle Aura Knight. Leo saw the man kill all of the degenerates who were messing around with the people in the slums.


    After that day, the Thorn Roses disappeared, but the man disappeared as well. But it gave Leo a sense of reality. Leo was going to determine whether the cktooth Gang was just as bad that they deserved death or not.


    The sun set and the entire city dimmed down. He chose this moment to set out to the slums. He didn''t want to go during the day so that he could hide this from Daphne. She didn''t have to know about the cktooth Gang and what he nned to do about them.


    He walked to the slums. The streets were dimly lit by themps hanging down a few Inns and houses. Very few people were actually on the streets. He was wearing his cloak so that no one would be able to recognize him.


    When he reached closer to the slums, he became careful. He cast a body-strengthening spell on himself and slowly crept into the depths of the slums. Because he lived there for more than 7 years, he knew the way in and out perfectly.


    He expected them to be lodged in the same hideout as the Thorn Roses. After they were gone, he visited the ce and knew how to get there without being seen.


    While he was walking toward the hideout, he heard a female shriek.


    "NO!!"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He immediately pulled up the hood of his cloak and went closer to the noise. He was ready to act if there was any danger. He went to the source of the noise. It was a shack. The door was already open and there were two people outside it, guarding the door.


    "PLEASE NO!" Another scream came out of the shack.


    At this point, Leo understood what was going on. There was clearly another person inside the shack that wasn''t supposed to be in there. He now had to make a decision.


    If he took out his dagger and tried to fight the two people outside the door, he would definitely lose the fight. Body Strengthening was only so good. It didn''t make him as strong as a real Aura Knight.


    Also, the person inside was probably stronger than the two people outside. If that person heard themotion and came outside, he would be dead meat.


    The only way he would be able to make an impact would be if he used magic. No one would expect there to be a mage in the slums. After all, only nobles were mages. He could use the element of surprise and kill all of the people there.


    However, if he did that the entire cktooth Gang would know about his existence. They wouldn''t know who he was, but they would know that a mage was after them. They would prepare to meet him.


    He heard a thud from the door.


    "Please let me out! Let my daughter go!" This time, it was a different person screaming. This person sounded a lot older than the first person.


    "me your husband for selling you off." One of the men said.


    "Don''t me me. me yourself. Why did you have to dress pretty when you lived in the slums? Now the good sir likes you, so you should please him." The other man said.


    Leo tightened his fist. He made his decision.


    _______________________


    A/N: I would greatly appreciatements about the story at any point. I would also appreciate reviews.


    If you like the story, then please consider voting with power stones.


    :) Thanks. Have a great day.

 Chapter 33 Dealt

    ?The man who just spoke was the husband that sold off his wife and daughter to the cktooth Gang. He himself was clearly a member of the gang because he was wearing the same outfit as the other members that Leo had seen.


    Leo was incredibly furious at the man''s response. The minute he heard him say that, Leo aimed his hand at him.


    He was in the shadows so they hadn''t even seen him yet. He cast a magic bullet at the man beside the husband. The bullet flew into the man''s forehead and pierced his brain. The man died instantly before he even realized that something was wrong.


    The man slowly slumped to the ground. The husband saw this and knew something was weird. He didn''t notice the blood on the man''s forehead yet.


    "Is something wrong? Are you okay?" He asked. He leaned closer to take a better look. When he did, he saw the hole in his forehead.


    Before he could even react, another bullet hit him in his hips.


    "AHH!" He shouted. "Who are you?!!"


    He turned around and started looking for the person who did this to him. His legs gave out and he dropped to the floor. Another bullet hit his right shoulder. He screamed in response.


    Thismotion made the noise inside the shack go downpletely. The door opened, and a man walked out.


    This man was shirtless and had a huge scar on his chest. He had a scruffy beard and looked incredibly annoyed.


    "What''s the problem? Did you idiots get into a fight?" He asked. He saw that both of them were down on the ground, but he didn''t notice the blood yet.


    "Sir! Get down!" The husband said.


    Before the man could even react, another bullet hit the right leg of the man who just came out.


    Immediately, the man immediately summoned his aura. A translucent shield appeared around him. He started looking around to see where the bullet came from. He was wincing from the pain, but he didn''t make a lot of noise, unlike the husband.


    At this point, Leo walked out into the open. He was wearing a cloak anyway, and the people already knew he was there. He decided to just face them.


    "Who are you?" The man asked. He was very calm.


    Leo looked at him. "I am a person who is not fond of the cktooth Gang." He said.


    "You''re a mage. What business does a mage have in the slums?" The man asked. When he said that, the husband on the ground realized why he couldn''t understand what hit him.


    "What business do you have here?" Leo asked the man back.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The man sighed. "This person lost a bet. He couldn''t repay it. His family is doing him a favor by repaying the debt for him. If you want, you could have asked to join. But now, I don''t think I''ll let you." He said.


    He was limping lightly because of his injured right leg. He was bncing his weight on his left leg and leaning on the door of the shack.


    Leo knew that the shouts would bring people to the area and that he would have to finish whatever he was doing quickly. He pointed his hand at the person and shot another magic bullet.


    The bullet hit the covering around the man and left a small dent, but didn''t pierce through.


    "I am surprised, but you should leave now. You are not getting through the Aura Shield. Out of the entire cktooth Gang, only 3 people have ever cracked it. If you leave now, you can keep your life." The man warned.


    Leo looked at him. "We both know you are stalling." He followed his response with a barrage of magic bullets at the person. The bullets all hit the shield, and slowly formed cracks on it. Eventually, the shield shattered.


    The person tried running away into the shack, but his leg gave out. If he was in perfect condition, then he would have posed a real threat to Leo, but with his leg being hit by the bullet, he was a standing target for Leo. All the bullets that Leo shot hit him in the back and sprayed blood over the door.


    Leo walked toward the door. He saw the husband was trying to crawl away and shot another magic bullet at him. The person didn''t die immediately, but he stopped moving. At this point, he was panting because he had used so much magic at once.


    He searched the clothes of the first person he met and found a pouch. It was filled with coins and a few notes, as well as a badge. He took the pouch of the person who came out of the shack as well. It was a lot heavier than the first one.


    He entered the shack. Inside, he saw a young 17-year-old girl and an older woman both in a corner. They were partially clothed and the remnants of their clothing were seen around the entire shack. He could see the tears streaming down their faces.


    "Who are you?" The older woman asked. Her voice was shaky.


    "That is not what matters," Leo said. He tossed the first pouch that he took. It had around 7-8000 Star coins. "Get out of the city. Use the money and make a better life for yourself. Don''t stay around here."


    He turned around immediately. "There will be peopleing here in a short while so you should hurry up. Get dressed and start running." He said while leaving the shack.


    When he got out, he cast a final bullet on the husband, killing him properly. He looked at the bodies with disgust. He shook his head and left the area.


    _______________________


    A/N: I would greatly appreciatements about the story at any point. I would also appreciate reviews.


    If you like the story, then please consider voting with power stones.


    :) Thanks. Have a great day.

 Chapter 34 Learning

    ?He immediately went back to his house. The trip he made today only made him confirm his expectations of the cktooth Gang. It was better if he just killed all of them.


    He took out the pouch that he took from the stronger of the two. It was a ck pouch with a skull embroidered onto it. The skull was all gold except one tooth which blended into the ck pouch.


    He emptied the contents of the pouch onto his bed. It was a lot of money. He took out the crumpled notes and coins and started counting them all. They totaled 30000 Star coins.


    Other than the money, there was also a token. It was the token representing the person''s position in the cktooth Gang. He held it in his hands for a second before throwing it back into the pouch.


    The token wouldn''t be too useful to him because the cktooth gang wasn''t that huge. He wouldn''t be able to impersonate someone because they would know that he didn''t belong there immediately.


    He put the pouch and all of the money on the side of his bed. He didn''t need any of the money yet, so he was going to save it to buy himself a proper dagger as well. He decided to rest for the night and train the next day.


    A couple of days passed without any trouble. Leo and Daphne both didn''t even step out of their rooms. Since they were a Mage and Aura Knight respectively, they didn''t need as much food as normal people. They still came out to eat, but less often.


    After dedicating all her time to training, Daphne finally saw some minor sess. She was able to make her Aura turn icy and was able to make it stick to an arrowhead for long enough. It was only a few seconds, but it was the longest she was able to do till then.


    After she did that, she immediately went to Leo''s room to tell him about her progress. She knocked on his door.


    "Come in," he said.


    She came in and showed her progress. In her hands was an arrow whose tip was glowing a light blue color.


    "I can hold it for long enough. Can we go to test it?" She asked.


    Leo nodded. "Yes, we can go tomorrow." He was also excited to try hunting with Daphne.


    He went back to training while Daphne went back to her room to try and keep the aura on to the arrow for longer. The rest of the day passed uneventfully.


    The next day, both of them got ready to go to the forest. While they were walking into the forest, Daphne was humming along the way. Leo looked at her optimism and chuckled.


    "Don''t think this is a leisure trip. You have to be careful. The Outer Forest is no longer just Pseudo 1st Circle Magical Beasts. It is filled with real Magical Beasts. You have to be incredibly careful." He warned her.


    She stopped humming and her face turned downcast. She walked a lot less energetically. This wasn''t what he was going for, but he needed to give her a sense of reality.


    He suddenly heard a small noise. He immediately signaled Daphne to get ready.


    "There could be an animal nearby. Aim your bow." He said to her.


    She nocked an arrow to the bow and got ready for Leo''smand. She couldn''t see any animal yet, but she trusted his word. She suddenly saw a movement in the bush and aimed at the source of the movement. She didn''t shoot yet though.


    Slowly, out of the bush, a rabbit wandered out.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Shoot," Leo said.


    Daphne looked at him with shock.


    "But-"


    "Shoot," he said again.


    She looked at the rabbit and winced. She unwillingly released the arrow. The arrow flew toward the rabbit but missed it by a foot. She turned to him. She wasn''t trying to miss but she was happy she did.


    "Sorry, I missed." She said.


    "I knew you were going to miss," he said. He walked up to the arrow in the ground. The rabbit ran away after seeing the arrow.


    "You need practice not only for using aura but for using a bow and arrow as well. It''s not as simple as you would assume," he added.


    Daphne nodded. "Then what should I do?" She asked.


    He walked to a tree. He took out a chalk and drew a few concentric circles on it. He walked away and sat on a rock nearby.


    "Shoot at that. If you miss, you will have to bring back the arrows, so don''t miss," he said.


    She looked at the target. The tree was thicker than a normal trunk, but it didn''t make a difference. It was still a hard target to hit, even if it was stationary. It was also pretty far away.


    She closed the distance between herself and the trunk first. She knew she had to start small to avoid walking a long way to get the arrows back. She nocked the arrow into the bow and started firing arrows.


    At first, she only used a little strength to get the hang of it. She used so less strength that the arrows didn''t even stick to the tree. Eventually, when she felt she wasn''t missing as much, she increased the amount of force she used.


    For the rest of the day, she only shot arrows from a close distance while Leo was sitting at the side, training his magic. They weren''t even in the Outer Forest and only in the outskirts so they weren''t bothered by any animals or adventurers. The entire day passed like this.


    _______________________


    A/N: I would greatly appreciatements about the story at any point. I would also appreciate reviews.


    If you like the story, then please consider voting with power stones.


    :) Thanks. Have a great day.

 Chapter 35 Meeting

    ?Another day passed simrly and the day when Leo was supposed to meet with rice arrived. He decided that he wouldn''t bring Daphne with him yet, but he would tell them about her and see if they were okay with her joining him.


    He still hadn''t decided whether or not she was ready to join him since she had just started using a bow and arrow. He still hadn''t seen her make an impact on even a normal animal, much less a 2nd Circle Magical Beast.


    He got ready and went to the hall. Daphne was waiting there, thinking they would go out to the forest again.


    "We are going to goter, not now. I will be back in around 2 hours. Okay?" He said to her.


    She was confused. "Why? What are you doing?" She asked.


    Leo exined to her his n to hunt a 2nd Circle Magical Beast. She heard this and immediately started questioning him.


    "Why do you want to hunt a 2nd Circle Magical Beast? That has to be the dumbest idea I have heard in my life. You are just a 1st Circle Aura Knight, right?" She asked.


    "Stop pressing me this much. You aren''t even part of the n. I have my needs for the Beast Core. That''s it. Now, I have to go or I will bete," he said. He avoided all of the questions she asked because he didn''t have the answers to them.


    He left the house quickly by giving that excuse and walked to the inn he goes to normally. He was nning on being a little early to check in with the owner.


    When he got there, he saw that there were small amounts of damage around the inn but everyone who was entering the inn was ignoring it. The sign board for the inn was missing half of its board and one of themps was broken.


    He entered the inn and saw the normal casual environment he usually did and decided that the damage was just a few drunk adventurers going overboard. He walked up to the front to talk to the owner.


    Before he even got there, he saw Lily. She saw him and walked toward him.


    "Hi, Leo! How are you?" She asked him.


    "I''m doing good, Lily. How are you? And do you know where your dad is?" He asked her.


    "Why do you want to meet my dad? He''s in the back though. I can call him for you." She said.


    She went to the back and came back with the owner. She went back to her job of serving people drinks. Leo looked at the owner and started talking with him.


    "So, Mr-"


    "Just call me Miller," the owner cut him off. Your money helped me a lot. I was able to get my wife back and now business is a little better so I am able to get by. Thank you so much."


    Leo smiled awkwardly. "It''s nothing. I was going to check with you about what happened, but since you said everything is fine, what is the damage outside?"


    Miller''s smile turned into a frown.


    "That? That is because the cktooth Gang was here. They came in and a lot of them got very drunk. They were angry because one of their squad leaders got killed," he said.


    "Squad Leaders?" Leo asked.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Yes. They only have 6 Squad Leaders, and one of them was killed a few days ago. The entire cktooth Gang became a little edgy because they don''t know who killed them. But rumors are around that it''s a mage. Obviously, it''s just a rumor. What would a mage be doing in the slums of Solhaven?" Miller said.


    "Also, did you have anything to eat yet? Anything you have here is on the house," Miller added.


    Leo was still processing the information. The reason the rumor spread out must be because someone drunk from the cktooth Gang spilled it. That means that they figured out it was a mage. He looked at Miller.


    "Oh, okay," He said. He wasn''t paying a lot of attention because he was deep in thought. As he was walking to get a table, he heard a voice calling him.


    "Leo!"


    He looked up and saw rice and Evelyn near the entrance. He waved at them. He walked to an empty table while they were walking toward him and sat down.


    "Hello, rice. Evelyn." He greeted them.


    "Hello. Did we keep you waiting?" rice asked.


    "No, I had some work here beforehand," he said. "Do you guys want to order anything?"


    They both shook their heads.


    "We already ate. We came just to talk about the hunt. We want to do it." rice said.


    Leo became serious. "Are you sure? This is going to be incredibly dangerous and I want the Beast Core." He said.


    rice nodded. "I was a Late-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight until recently. I passed a minor bottleneck and I am now a Peak-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight. To go to the next level, I have to take an elixir."


    Leo was curious. "Elixir?"


    "Yes," she said. "The Thousand Treasure Tower sells an Aura Gathering Pill for 50000 Star coins. One of them would just help with practice, but if I take two of them consecutively, I can definitely gather enough aura to form my second circle. Right now, I only have 80000 Star coins saved up. I need this hunt to hit that number quicker." She said.


    Leo was confused. He had easily made 150000 Star coins over 3 months. Why was she struggling to save 80000 Star coins? After all, she had been an adventurer for so many years.


    _______________________


    A/N: I would greatly appreciatements about the story at any point. I would also appreciate reviews.


    If you like the story, then please consider voting with power stones.


    :) Thanks. Have a great day.

 Chapter 36 Pill

    ?"Wait. Why do you not know this? Did you break through to be a 1st Circle Aura Knight without even using an Aura Gathering Pill?" Evelyn asked him.


    Leo was confused by the question. Since Daphne had reached the 1st Circle without needing anything, he thought that was the norm. He nodded.


    "Wow, you are incredibly talented. I thought that you were able to be an Aura Knight because you were rich and could afford so many resources. Who would have thought that you are this talented?" rice said.


    Evelyn rified. "Both of us had to use Aura Gathering Pills to reach the stage we are at now. It took us a long time to reach our stages because we had to buy them at every point. With 4 people in our team, after each hunt, we only get 40000 Star coins together. And we only go to the forest once a month."


    Everything started to make sense to him.


    "It was probably just luck. But I have a suggestion. How about I buy the rights for the Beast Core now?" He said. He was trying to divert the topic but also had a really good idea.


    "What do you mean?" rice asked.


    "We still have 3 weeks before we are trying to go to the forest. That means if you breakthrough in the next 3 weeks, we have a higher chance of killing the Magical Beast, right? So all I have to do is give you 20000 Star coins and you can purchase the two pills that you need and try to break through." Leo said.


    rice thought about it for a second.


    "You barely know us. Why would you risk that money like that?" She asked.


    He shrugged. "You guys look trustworthy enough. So what do you say?"


    They looked at each other and nodded.


    "I think we can do it. Do you want a written note? Like a loan agreement?" She asked.


    Leo shook his head. He took his pouch out and took out two crumpled notes. Both of them were from the Squad Leader he had killed, but they didn''t need to know that.


    "Here you go," he handed the notes to them. "I don''t need a note. Just the Beast Core. Everything else is yours. Even the materials."


    rice took the money and quickly put it into her pouch. Leo decided that it was time to talk to them about Daphne.


    "I also have a friend who might join us on the hunt. She is very new to the forest and hasn''t done anything like it before. She just became an Aura Knight and started learning how to use a bow. If she bes good enough, do you think she should join us?" He asked.


    They both nodded.


    "Yes. Ranged Support is always good. Obviously, if she missed her arrows so badly that they hit us instead, then we won''t rmend it. But without Lucas'' arrows, the Magical Beast isn''t as constricted. Another archer is wee," Evelyn said.


    Leo nodded. "Perfect. She isn''t ready yet, but hopefully, she will be by that time. Is there anything else we need to cover?" He asked.


    rice shook her head. "No, I think that''s it. All we need to do now is just meet up a few days before we are nning on going out to the forest and get everything we need for that then. Sounds good?"


    He nodded. "Yes, perfect. Can you put a date on it? It is a while from now, after all." He asked.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Sure. How about, 20th December?" She asked.


    "Yes, that works. I''ll see you then." He shook their hands and waited for them to leave. Once they left, he also got up to leave.


    Lily saw that he was leaving and stopped him.


    "Wait, you didn''t have any food." She said.


    "It''s okay. I''ll get some food sometimeter. You have fun." He said. He stood up and walked out. In his mind, he was making ns.


    If an Aura Training Pill did make it easier to train in Aura, it would be better for him to just buy one for him and Daphne. He would finally test whether he could actually train in Aura or not with that. But to do that, he would have to go back to the forest consistently.


    Now that Daphne was also an Aura Knight, it was harder to justify going to the forest alone. After all, she would need supervision to go to the forest to train. Now that the forest had a lot of Magical Beasts, it was more dangerous.


    But with Daphne present, he wouldn''t be able to use his magic. He could try to cover it up but it would take a lot of effort to do that and it would make it a lot more difficult for him to kill Magical Beasts like that. He would also have to exin what he was doing with the Beast Cores as well.


    He decided that he would try to sneak out, leaving her in the outskirts and quickly killing a beast or two beforeing back that afternoon to see if he could do it consistently. If she got good enough at using her bow, she could give enough help that he wouldn''t have to use his magic that much.


    He reached the house earlier than he had expected. It was still around 12:30, and he had left only an hour ago. He went into the house and saw Daphne walking around, waiting for him. She saw hime in and jumped in excitement.


    "Can we go now?" She asked.


    Leo nodded. "You are too enthusiastic for this." He said.


    "I love the bow. I picked the right weapon for me." She said. "Who are you to deny my happiness? You are some weirdo who thinks it''s a good idea to go after a dangerous Magical Beast for no reason." She retorted.


    "If you knew the shit I pull every day..." he muttered under his breath.


    "What was that?" She asked.


    "Nothing. Let''s go."


    _______________________


    A/N: I would greatly appreciatements about the story at any point. I would also appreciate reviews.


    If you like the story, then please consider voting with power stones.


    :) Thanks. Have a great day.

 Chapter 37 Quick Scoping

    ?When they went to the forest, Leo put Daphne in the same spot where they had practiced earlier. The remnants of the chalk circles were still there but faded away because of the weather.


    He went to the tree and redrew the circles with the chalk. He looked at Daphne.


    "Okay, I am going to practice while you practice your bow. Okay?" He said.


    She nodded. She was standing a little further away than she had the first day. She was making progress, but she was still close enough to the tree that she could only be considered a close-range fighter.


    He walked slowly toward the Outer Forest while she was focused on shooting arrows. She was so engrossed in practice that she didn''t even notice that he went in the wrong direction than he normally did.


    He quickly started running toward the forest. He wanted to finish this as quickly as possible. He needed the Beast Cores to supplement his practice and the money from the extra cores to buy Aura Gathering Pills.


    He found his first target. It was a Firetail Fox. It was just an Early-Stage 1st Circle Magical Beast. At his current power, Leo was a Middle-Stage 1st Star Mage. He could easily kill the Firetail Fox.


    He shot a few magical bullets at it, but the fox dodged the first few. However, the fox got hit before it could try to run away. The number of bullets that he fired was very hard to dodge. It consumed a decent chunk of his magic power, but it was very effective.


    He went forward and took out the Beast Core from the fox. He quickly went to look for his next target. He was nning on taking it slowly. He would only get 2 Beast Cores every day and sell one. Since they would have toe every day to practice, this would umte.


    At this point, he could use an entire 1st Circle Beast Core in a single day for practice, so this would just barely supplement his training.


    He quickly found another target in the distance. It was a Thunderhoof Deer. It was a Middle-Stage 1st Circle Magical Beast, but it was slower and couldn''t dodge his bullets. It was also a lot more powerful and if he got caught in its attacks, he would be in a lot of danger. So he approached it carefully.


    He got noticed very quickly. Unlike the Firetail Fox, the deer charge toward him. Every time its hoofs contacted the ground, there was a thundering sound and sparks emerged. Leo pointed his hand at the deer and started pummeling it with Magic Bullets.


    The bullets took away all of his magic power and he barely had any left. He was exhausted at this point. However, the deer couldn''t take it and he seeded in killing it. All he had to do was take the core and go back as quickly as possible. It had only been 45 minutes since he had left Daphne.


    Normally, he would have to look for an actual Beast that he could kill. It used to be a pseudo Magical Beast for so long. Now, there were no pseudo Magical Beasts at all. He couldn''t even find a normal animal even in the outskirts. The Magical Beastspletely pushed them out of the forest.


    Previously he would spend close to an hour killing just one Magical Beast. Now he was able to get two Beast Cores in 45 minutes. Not only was he growing stronger, but the ease of finding Magical Beasts in the Outer Forest was also getting higher.


    He quickly took the Beast Core and ran toward the Outskirts. It wasn''t only about whether or not she noticed he was gone, it was also about how safe it was leaving her near the forest by herself.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    When he got back, she was perfectly fine and still practicing. She hadn''t even noticed that he was gone. He smiled. This meant he could do this every day without a problem. He put the satchel that had the Beast Cores in front of him and took one out. He put it in his pocket and started training.


    Even though it wasn''t in his hands, it was still close enough to his body that he could absorb the magic in it. He did it because he didn''t want Daphne to think anything about it when she saw a Beast Core in his hands.


    The sun started dipping so it was time to leave. He called out to her.


    "Daphne! Time to leave!"


    She quickly picked her arrows up and they went back to the city.


    "Are we going again tomorrow?" She asked.


    He nodded. She went to her room in joy. Meanwhile, he went to his room to get changed. He put on the cloak and left the house. He was going to the Thousand Treasure Tower.


    He went there and got the Beast Core appraised. It was worth 9000 Starcoins. He was letting go of the Beast Core of the Firetail Fox since it was weaker. He got the money deposited in his ount.


    He looked around the Tower and found the pill that rice and Evelyn were talking about. He saw its effects and smiled. It would be a great item to buy for him and Daphne. He checked its price and quickly left.


    He went back to his house and went back to practicing in the white room in his mind for the rest of the night. He was in a rush to get to his 2nd Star so he didn''t spare any second for anything other than training.


    The next 10 days passed in the exact same manner.


    _______________________


    A/N: I would greatly appreciatements about the story at any point. I would also appreciate reviews.


    If you like the story, then please consider voting with power stones.


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 Chapter 38 Progress

    ?Leo came out of his room with a smile on his face. He had finally be a Late-Stage 1st Star Mage. He knew that he was making progress because it was getting easier and easier to hunt two Magical Beasts every day, but this was progress on paper.


    Also, now that he had sold an extra Magic Core for 10 days, he had gathered enough money to get 2 Aura Gathering Pills.


    He realized that the only reason he was able to kill the Magical Beasts so easily was because he was a mage. Aura Knights would be able to fight against mages on the same footing if it was a one vs one, but mages fared a lot better against Magical Beasts.


    This was because his aim wasn''t based on practice, but concentration. As long as his mind was focused, he wouldn''t miss. Ranged Archers would have to practice a lot more like Daphne was doing.


    He decided that he would give both of the pills to Daphne. She was getting a lot better at shooting arrows from a distance. He just assumed that she was talented. The only thing holding her back was that she was only an Early-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight.


    This would make her a liability in the forest because the Beasts were getting stronger. If she got to a Middle Stage, she would make a bigger impact.


    It was night, but the tower was open all the time so he decided to just get the pills. He was nning on keeping Daphne away from practice the next day and having her use the pill to see the effects. If two pills were enough to get her to the next stage, they werepletely worth it.


    He quickly went to the tower and got the two pills. He got back and decided to sleep for the rest of the night. He needed the rest.


    The next day, he saw Daphne getting ready like usual to go to the forest. He stopped her.


    "Today, you are going to train your aura. I got you an Aura Gathering Pill that will make training a lot faster. Just focus on training aura today," he said. He handed her two boxes, each containing one pill.


    She took the pills and looked at him. "Why would I need this?" She asked.


    "Are you nning oning to hunt the 2nd Circle Magical Beast?" He asked her. She nodded.


    "Then you need to be strong enough. Even if your arrows hit the beast, if they don''t do any damage you are useless. So if you reach Middle Stage by the end of 10 days, then you cane with me for the hunt." He exined.


    She already knew the divisions of power so she understood what he meant. She took the pills begrudgingly and went to her room. Leo went to the forest like usual. Just because she was staying back, didn''t mean that he didn''t have a quota to fulfill.


    He needed to hunt Magical Beasts every day to satisfy his daily training. He couldn''t just skip doing that. He would just check on her once he came back and see if he made the right decision buying two of them or if he got scammed.


    He went to the forest like usual and came back in four hours. Out of that, an hour and a half was spent just walking to and from the forest.


    Unlike normally, he decided to go a little wild since he broke through. He decided to hunt down 5 Magical Beasts because he could. Since he was now a Late-Stage Mage, his hunting was incredibly efficient and simple at this point.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He couldn''t wait to make his 2nd Star. Once he did, he would have ess to a lot more spells. All he could do now was cast a Magic Bullet or a Magic Arrow. While a Magic Arrow was slower and easier to maneuver, a Magic Bullet was harder to defend because it was faster.


    Once he broke through, he would be able to cast real spells with more variety. That would also be when he would have to start practicing those spells to be better at them.


    Daphne was practicing her skill called Snowdrift Arrow. While it was only a 1st Circle Technique, the amount of damage it did was based on how well she could perform the skill. This was called skill proficiency.


    Skill proficiency was divided between Beginner, Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert, and Master. The higher the proficiency, the more power they could show.


    It would get better as time grew. Like Daphne, he would also have to start practicing his spells to show higher power.


    When he got back, he saw that Daphne was still practicing and was in her room. He decided not to disturb her. He went to his room and took out the loot. He had 5 Beast Cores that he could either use or sell. He decided to keep two and sell three.


    If Daphne only used one pill, she would have to stay back the next day as well. If he had an extra core for the next day, he wouldn''t have to go out to hunt.


    Fe finished training after a few hours and was getting ready to go out, but he saw that Daphne hade out. He asked her about her training.


    "Was it useful?" He asked.


    She nodded. "Very. I am very close. If I take the second one tomorrow, I should reach the Middle Stage," she said.


    He smiled. "Good. Then after you reach the Middle Stage, we can start hunting Magical Beasts together. It will give you a little practice before the real deal."


    _______________________


    A/N: I would greatly appreciatements about the story at any point. I would also appreciate reviews.


    If you like the story, then please consider voting with power stones.


    :) Thanks. Have a great day.

 Chapter 39 Preparation

    ?The next day passed quickly and both of them got ready to see the results of their training. Daphne consolidated her increase in strength with the second pill.


    They went to the forest, with Daphne only bringing 10 arrows. All of them were in a quiver on her back. She carried fewer arrows to stay more mobile. Her clothes were also very sleek to allow mobility. Leo brought his dagger with him. He sincerely hoped he wouldn''t have to use his magic.


    His n was that he would only keep the Magical Beast focused on him while pestering it, but he wouldn''t harm it. It would be too risky for him to do that without aura or magic. He was hoping that Daphne''s arrows were going to do enough damage that they would kill it.


    If there were anyplications, then he would use his magic bullets. He would have to do it when he is close enough since the magic bullets are still visible to a normal person. He would have to be so close that his hand would be touching the magic bullets so that they would hit the Magical Beast quickly. This would be faster than the time she takes to even notice there is magic at y.


    As they went into the forest, they slowed down at his signal. He was starting to move carefully while observing for clues. He was looking for any hints of Magical Beasts near them.


    After a while, they found the prey for that day. They found arge hare that had light blue fur instead of white. It was a Frostbite Hare, an Early-Stage Magical Beast. It was a perfect target for them that he wouldn''t even have to interfere.


    Daphne looked at Leo and said, "Don''t interfere. I got this."


    She readied her bow and took out an arrow. Meanwhile, Leo just ran up a tree and sat in that position. He was very safe from the hare and would only interfere if he was needed.


    Meanwhile, she nocked an arrow and aimed it at the hare. The hare had already noticed her and got ready to attack her. She let the arrow fly and it sailed toward the hare at a frightening pace.


    Before it got any closer, the hare leaped forward and started running toward her. An ice shield formed in front of the hare before the arrow could impact it. The arrow hit the shield and shattered it. The speed decreased a lot before it hit the hare.


    The arrow pricked the hare, but it didn''t pierce it. The arrowhead was covered in Daphne''s aura though, and the aura froze the small wound that it created. This frozen area suddenly constricted the rest of the hare''s body a little.


    The hare still kept running toward Daphne. It was 4 feet tall and very frightening as it got closer. Daphne started creating some distance from the hare when she saw the first arrow fail to break the shield easily.


    She nocked another arrow while she was running and aimed it at the hare. She immediately created some distance and used the most amount of strength she could exert to fire the arrow.


    The bunny created another shield like before, and the arrow destroyed it again. This time, the arrow hit it in its leg with enough force to pierce it. The minute the arrow pierced it, it froze the entire leg. The skill that she learned wasing to be very useful.


    The hare stumbled and rolled onto the ground. It quickly recovered, but Daphne had already nocked and fired another arrow down its way before it could react. It created another shield, but the shield came up after the arrow hit it.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The shield crumbled as quickly as it formed while the hare fell down in pain. The arrow had hit it in its torso and had lodged itself deep into its body. Leo chose this time toe down and finish off the hare. He cut up the Beast Core and handed it to her.


    "You have seeded. Your prize." He handed it to her.


    "What is this?" She asked.


    "This is a Beast Core. It sells for a lot of money. But it is hard to acquire because it is so risky to find them. And you have agreed to take on that risk. We do this every day till we have to set out. Okay?" He said.


    She nodded. "Only one Magical Beast a day?" She asked.


    He nodded. "Yes. You pay for yourself now. You don''t need to feel bad about me paying for anything. If you want an Aura Gathering Pill, you will have to hunt down a Magical Beast and sell its core. Okay?"


    She smiled. "Yes. That sounds good."


    She went back with him to the outskirts where she would practice her archery before going back to the house.


    This was their routine for the next 10 days. Just hunting one Magical Beast a day before going back to their own practice. Obviously, Leo would have to sneak off after and hunt his daily quota of two.


    He found out that his consumption of Beast Cores increased slightly after he increased in rank. He started needing 2 more Beast Cores a week overall. So when he sold the leftovers to the tower, he only got 40000 Star coins.


    Since he only had to spend it on his own Aura Gathering Pill in the future, he wasn''t worried. He was nning on taking the pill after he was done with the next few events he had nned out. So he still had a lot of time.


    _______________________


    A/N: If you like the story, then please consider voting with power stones.


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 Chapter 40 Hunt

    ?The 20th of December arrived. Leo got up early that day. They had decided to meet up at the same inn early in the morning so that they could quickly set out to the forest.


    He already confirmed with Daphne and she wasing too. He got up and got ready. He could already hear the sounds from her room so he knew she was up. He got dressed in clothes where his mobility wouldn''t be constricted.


    He got out of the room and waited for her. When she came out, they set out. They got to the inn where Leo normally ate and saw the group waiting there already.


    "Hello, Leo. And this is..." rice greeted them.


    "Hello, rice. This is Daphne," he introduced her to them. rice was with Evelyn and Tobias.


    "Hi, nice to meet you all," Daphne said.


    Tobias expected her young age, but when he saw the two teenagers they were slightly disappointed. Even though he knew Leo could damage a Peak-Stage First Circle Magical Beast, this time it was a 2nd Circle Magical Beast. They couldn''t afford any mistakes and having two kids on the team wasn''t as reassuring.


    But rice still had trust. Her face was all smiles.


    "Also, your early payment was very useful. My sister broke through to the 2nd Circle." Evelyn blurted out.


    Leo smiled. "Congrattions, rice. I am sure that it will be a huge help in today''s mission."


    rice nodded. "Do you have everything that you need? We have the healing potions for all of us but none for you or your friend." She asked.


    Leo nodded. He brought the potions he bought from Trevor that day. He hadn''t needed them till now, but since it was a risky raid he decided to bring them along.


    "Then we should set out now. We can spend a lot of time looking for the right opponent. We need someone without strong armor. Tobias can handle any magical attacks with his shield so we just need to find a beast with fur. That will take time." rice said.


    He nodded. They quickly grabbed a meal from the inn and packed it up before setting out. They walked to the Outer Forest and Evelyn immediately left the group. She would be faster by herself to scout the area. Meanwhile, everyone else just walked slower toward the depths of the Outer Forest.


    Since they would have to be somewhere where Evelyn would know, they were going to a predefined location that she already knew. Since everyone except Leo was hunting for years, they knew their way around the forest. They waited at the decided spot for almost an hour before Evelyn came back.


    "I found the proper prey. It ventured enough into the Outer Forest to be a good target." She said. They all got ready.


    Leo was stretching himself. He was going to have to try his hardest not to use magic. Last time was a very rare asion since no one was paying attention to him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    They quickly started making their way to the beast. Evelyn already told rice the location, so she took Daphne with her using another way. She had already exined to her what she was supposed to do on the way there during the walk. They were going to split up so the Magical Beast wouldn''t run away seeing their numbers.


    They quickly came to contact with the beast. It was a Golden Deer. They were stronger than Thunderhoof Deers because their entire body had lightning coursing through them. The deer immediately noticed them approaching it and warned them with a stomp.


    When they took their weapons out, the deer immediately got ready to battle. Tobias charged to the front and Leo and rice stayed behind him. The Deer stomped its foot and a lighting bolt formed in front of it.


    It stomped again and the bolt charged toward Tobias. While it did this, two arrows flew from different directions toward the deer. Both of the arrows got near the deer but the lightning coursing through the fur suddenlyshed out and hit them, crushing them.


    However, the aura within the arrows exploded. The Snowdrift Arrow exploded into a chilliness which still brought the temperature down, affecting the deer a little. Meanwhile, Evelyn''s ability involved some sort of wind element and hit the deer, pushing it a little.


    The deer took the damage like it was nothing, but it got distracted a little. Leo started charging it from the other directionpared to rice. rice, being a 2nd Circle Aura Knight was supposed to be the vanguard, dealing the most damage.


    Meanwhile, Tobias guarded the bolt with his shield and was knocked back a few steps.


    The deer noticed rice and Leo approaching it and immediately attacked rice. Tobias saw that the deer was focused and quickly recovered. He went to attack the deer along with Leo. The deer created another bolt that rice was forced to dodge.


    Meanwhile, another pair of arrows flew toward the deer. The lightning destroyed it again, but this time Leo and Tobias were there to take advantage of its momentary disruption. Leo dug his dagger into the fur. He was immediately pushed back by the lightning, but his dagger stuck there.


    Tobias rammed the deer with his shield. At this time, rice was able to get her footing back and attack the deer. Her attack was a lot more effective. It shed through the fur and dealt a lot of damage. The lightning coursing through the fur slowly died down. Another pair of arrows at itpletely killed the deer.


    The hunt was incredibly quick, but that was only because rice was a 2nd Circle Aura Knight. If she wasn''t then no one''s attacks were dealing enough damage to it.


    rice being the closest person near the deer immediately cut out the Beast Core and tossed it at Leo. He caught the Core and stored it while Tobias and rice started dismantling the Beast.


    Leo was smiling. The Beast Core was going to be incredibly important in his ns. He had already hit Peak-Stage 1st Star Mage a couple of nights ago by absorbing a lot of Beast Cores. With the Beast Core, he would be able to finally reach the 2nd Star and be strong enough to deal with the cktooth Gang.


    _______________________


    A/N: If you like the story, then please consider voting with power stones.


    :) Thanks. Have a great day.

 Chapter 41 Breakthrough

    ?


    When he got back, Leo immediately went back to his room. He was incredibly excited and would have to calm down before he started training. Before going, he made sure to remind Daphne not to disturb him.


    "I will be training for the rest of the day. You can just go out and have some fun. You earned it." He said.


    She was curious why he wasn''t happy too but didn''t question it. She already saw how they both kept the core while the others only took the materials left, but she guessed there was a previous arrangement. She decided it was better to wait until he exined everything to her at once.


    It was only an hour after noon by the time they came back, so Daphne could go shopping. For the rest of the afternoon, he was nning on just resting and rxing in preparation for what he was nning on doingter that night.


    When he had enough rest, it was already dark and Daphne hade back as well. He just calmed himself down for a long time before finally going into his room to start training.


    Leo started controlling his breathing to get ready for his breakthrough. He could sense the vast amount of magic inside the Beast Core that he had worked hard for and he couldn''t wait to absorb it.


    Once he decided that he was ready, he started the process of breaking through. He had two 1st Circle Beast Cores that he squeezed dry in a few seconds. He noticed that the stars sucked in magical energy a lot easier when he forced the cloud to form into a star.


    After the two 1st Circle Cores were depleted, he took out the 2nd Circle Beast Core and started concentrating deeply. The magic cloud in his head glowed brighter as he started fusing it together. Since it wasn''t his first time, he did it with ease. He knew exactly what to do.


    He also noticed that the cloud was massivepared to the first star, but it was also further away. It looked like it was the same size from the ground, but he knew there was a huge difference in their sizes.


    As the Beast Core''s magic started to deplete, the cloud got smaller and smaller. Eventually, the entire cloud copsed into itself and gave out a burst of magical energy. The entire room glowed for a second before going back to normal.


    Leo opened his eyes with a smile. He knew he seeded. He looked down at his arm and saw the tattoo on his hand shining. For the first time since he got it, it gave him a reaction. He immediately pictured himself entering the white space in his mind to see what happened.


    When he entered the room, alongside the door that led to his mind, he saw another door. The door was the same as the other one, put the engraving on it said ''Training Room''. He opened it and found himself in a simr white room as before.


    However, there was a desk with a single book on top of it. He went closer and picked the book up. It said, "Book of Spells". The book was decoratedvishly in a simr design to the tome.


    He opened the book and started reading it. He recognized the content on the first two pages. It was the Magic Bullet Spell and the Magic Arrow spell that had initially appeared in his mind. He saw the title of the section. It said 1st Star.


    He immediately understood what the book and the training room were for. The book held the spells that he could learn, and the training room was for him to practice the spells. He guessed that the spells he would have to learn would be so hard that he couldn''t automatically learn them. He guessed that magic had limits too.


    He quickly went to the next few pages. He saw that a new section started. It said 2nd Star. He looked forward to the spells he would be able to learn.


    [me Burst]


    [A spell that creates a sudden burst of me, burning enemies in a small area.]<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Along with the description, there was a picture of a human body with a flowing magic power diagram where the magic was moving on the paper. He was astonished and went to the next page.


    [Shadow step]


    [A spell that allows the caster to move quickly and silently through shadows, making them difficult to track and detect.]


    [Elementary Arcane Shield]


    [A spell that creates a protective barrier around the caster, absorbing iing attacks and reducing damage taken.]


    The other spells also had simr diagrams. He touched on one of the diagrams to see if he could feel the fluid motion on the paper. When he did, the room suddenly changed. The room suddenly had a new addition. It was a ck silhouette in front of Leo.


    The silhouette had a glowing magic path that Leo could see. He was essentially seeing through the silhouette''s body. The figure gathered the magic in a specific way and then released it into a shield around it. It was a very simple shield that was made of huge hexagons.


    Leo looked back at the book and saw that he touched the page that held the Elementary Arcane Shield. He kissed his wrist.


    "Thank you for this gift, Mr. Tome. I thank you for it." He thanked the tattoo. He would now be able to learn the spells and even improve his proficiency in them with this room. It would be life-changing.


    When Leo opened his eyes again, he saw the state of the night outside through his window. It had probably hit midnight based on his estimate of time. He suddenly realized that his perception was incredibly high.


    He could sense things even though he couldn''t see them physically. He could sense that Daphne was in the other room and could even feel the aura in her body to some extent. The difference between the 1st Star and the 2nd Star was immense.


    Before, he knew his perception was slightly better. But now, he could see a lot clearly and his mind was working just as fast to keep track of everything around him. The magic was making him very superhuman.


    More importantly, he could sense the energy inside Daphne''s room and could even feel how different it waspared to his own magic. He realized that it was Aura, which was a really good thing.


    Now, with an Aura Gathering Pill, he could also try to be an Aura Knight and make his life a lot simpler.


    He took a deep breath and calmed down. He still had one thing to do before all of that. Before even trying to start training in Aura, he would have to get rid of the cktooth Gang. They probably went back to being active once they felt the mage wouldn''t show up again.


    He just couldn''t allow a threat like them to stay in the city where he knew people would be exploited by them. Moreover, he could definitely crush them with his magic and even earn a lot out of the exchange. He wasn''t going to be doing volunteer work. Everything that they had, he was going to take for himself.

 Chapter 42 Shadow Step

    ?


    Leo was one step closer to his final n. He had just reached 2nd Star, but he was so much more powerful that he could actually face off against the cktooth Gang. The only problem was that he wouldn''t be able to deal with their leader yet.


    So he decided that his focus should stay on perfecting his spells till he felt that he was ready to attack them. The spells he could learn were incredibly useful and he would be able to sneak into their base if he learned them.


    However, he was extremely exhausted from just breaking through that he decided to stave off learning them until the next day. He just packed up the core and went back to sleep.


    The next day, he woke up early. He freshened up and started training. He was no longer nning on going to the forest anymore until he was done with the business that he had. This was partially because he needed to focus on his training, but also because of thetest hunt.


    He found an actual 2nd Circle Magical Beast in the Outer Forest. This meant that the forest was far too dangerous for him to venture into it without a proper n. He decided that he would only go in after he learned all the spells that he needed.


    Before he could start training, Daphne came into his room. She was all ready to go to the forest. He forgot to tell her that they weren''t going that day.


    "Why are you not ready?" She asked him.


    He sighed. "We can''t go anymore. The forest is too dangerous. Just focus on training here. If you really need archery practice, we can do something about that in a month. Okay? Just give me some time." He said.


    She nodded. "Yeah, that works. I just thought since we were going every day."


    She was about to go out but Leo stopped her. "Wait."


    She turned back. "What?"


    "Your money." He said. He threw a pouch toward her. It had around 60000 Star coins in it. It came from selling the Beast Cores of monsters that she helped hunt down.


    "Now get out of my room." He said. He closed his eyes and shut off his ears to ignore herints. He delved into the white space in his mind and started his training.


    The first spell that he chose to learn was the Shadow Step. When he touched the book, the silhouette appeared again.


    The silhouette''s body suddenly gave out light as the magic rushed to its feet. A shadow started forming at the silhouette''s feet. This was the first time he had seen a shadow there. Even his own body didn''t have a shadow. Suddenly, the silhouette vanished for a split second before appearing a few steps away.


    It all happened incredibly quickly, but he was able to catch all of it. The silhouette had merged into the shadow. The shadow itself moved a little before the silhouette reappeared from the shadow. The whole premise was that the magic depended on shadows.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Unfortunately for him, the ce he had selected to practice it was the hardest ce to do so, since there wasn''t a shadow in sight. As he thought that, the room suddenly changed. He was now standing in a very familiar location.


    He was right outside his old shack in the alleyway outside. There were only two sources of light - a smallntern hanging on one of the shacks'' walls, and the moon. The alleyway was filled with shadows. He saw the same silhouette performing the Shadow Step again.


    This time, it was able to travel arger distance in the same time. He quickly readied himself to recreate what it had done. He concentrated and brought the magic to his legs. He realized that the magic was to allow him to sink into the shadow itself.


    His legs slightly dipped into the shadow before his concentration snapped. He rose back to the ground without any effect.


    He knew he was making progress since his legs slightly went into the shadow. The next time, he gathered more magic, and his body almostpletely sunk into the shadow. However, once again he failed topletely immerse himself into the shadow and he rose back to the ground. This was all happening in less than a second.


    He took a deep breath and tried again. He fully dived into the shadows and suddenly found himself in a different world. He had gone into the shadow on the ground, so when he looked up he could see everything above the ground in a murky color. The whole world suddenly felt like it was from a different perspective.


    He tried taking a step forward, but he had to struggle to do that. Every step he took was incredibly hard. It was like he was going through a swamp. He eventually gave up and let go. He rose to the top.


    He looked back and saw that he was a meter away from his original position. When he looked around, he suddenly saw something different. In the sky, embossed into the moon was a gold engraved word. It said, Beginner.


    He looked back and realized what the word meant. Since he had started learning the spell, he was considered a Beginner. That meant that as he got better at using the spell, his proficiency would increase. He was just surprised that it urately depicted his exact state.


    He took a second to take a deep breath and attempted to Shadow Step again. This time, he went into the wall beside him instead of the ground. The difference was that it was a lot easier to slip into the wall.


    When he entered the wall, he suddenly realized that his perception of the world changed. He could only see one direction and couldn''t turn his head in any way. He could only walk forward, or get out of the shadow. He immediately jumped out and realized why he felt that way.


    It was because the wall only let him travel along it while the ground let him travel in two dimensions. He decided to experiment with the spell in the space that he had. He was trying his best to understand the spell because it would be the most useful to him out of the three.


    The smartest move to do when facing an opponent you cannot beat would be to run away. As confident as he was, Leo still had to have a contingency n for when he couldn''t beat the cktooth Gang.


    He was going to run away into the depths of the slums using the Shadow Step and then quickly get away. Once he was in the slums, he knew he could run away easily. Of course, he was hoping it wouldn''t get to that point.


    For the rest of the day, he only practiced that one spell. He quickly started to get the hang of it. In only an hour, he was able to move half as far as the shadow in the same time. He also started getting used to the world in the shadows. However, handling the new perspective and switching out of it constantly was incredibly taxing to his mind. He eventually stopped after another two hours.

 Chapter 43 Proficiency

    ?


    When he looked up, Leo saw how much progress he had made in just a day. His proficiency had gone from Beginner to Intermediate. He was able to move a lot more freely in the shadow but not as much as the shadow.


    After this much progress, he decided to switch up the spell he was going to train. He was very exhausted from training the Shadow Step, so he first took a break. He left the white space and went back to reality.


    It was still bright outside. He had been training for four hours, so it was only noon. He went to the living room to get a snack. He saw that Daphne''s room was closed so he assumed that she was still training.


    After taking a quick breather, he went back into his room. He was going to start learning new spells. He wanted to first gain a preliminary understanding of each one before practicing them as much as he could.


    He went back to the white space and saw that he was back in the white room. The alley was all gone and the table with the book was back. He looked at the two options he had. He just decided to go with the me Burst first. It didn''t matter what the order was, so he picked whichever seemed cooler.


    The silhouette appeared again and demonstrated the spell. The silhouette conjured a ball of fire in its palm. It channeled its magical energy into the fire, causing it to grow and intensify while maintaining its small size. The mes danced and flickered, casting a warm glow across the area that he could feel. It took aim and then hurled the ball of fire in a direction away from him with a flick of its wrist. The motion was so delicate, but the fire traveled several meters beforending on the ground.


    When the ball of firended, it exploded into a shower of mes. The size wasn''t incredibly huge, but it could epass almost five people at once. Leo realized why mages were considered so powerful.


    Aura Knights could definitely do the same damage he did to a Magical Beast, but they couldn''t kill five other Aura Knights at once. He knew that this spell would be crucial for the day he stood against the cktooth Gang.


    After re-watching the motion of the silhouette, he tried to recreate the magic. It was a lot easier than the Shadow Step to aplish, but the scale of his fire was negligiblepared to the demonstration.


    The Shadow Step was harder to learn because it required him to adjust to a new environment. The me Burst was easy to learn but harder to perfect. He could barely create an explosion as the silhouette did.


    He wasn''t discouraged. He still had the entire day ahead of him, after all. He just needed to practice. After a few attempts, he realized that he should also practice his aiming. He was currently throwing the balls away in random directions. If he threw them at targets instead, he would gain some practice.


    The minute he thought about that, the environment changed. He found himself in apletely open spot, surrounded by targets in all directions. They were ranging from a few meters to dozens of meters away. He smiled and resumed his practice.


    For the rest of the day, he only practiced the me Burst. He did it until he got exhausted again. After he did, he took a small break and switched the magic that he was practicing to the Elementary Arcane Shield.


    The Elementary Arcane Shield was exactly what it sounded like. It was a hexagonal shield that defended him from projectiles and magic. The difference was that he would have to face attacks to learn how to use the shield.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The training room read his thoughts and sent in the silhouette to attack him in an open space. Since he was in his mind, even though he couldn''t block the attacks, he didn''t actually get hurt. But it definitely hurt like hell.


    The pain was his best teacher. It forced him to focus more than the other spells. After four hours of practice, his me Burst had reached Intermediate proficiency. In that same amount of time, his Elementary Arcane Shield reached Advanced proficiency.


    This training persisted for the entire week. His main aim was to strongly understand the spells and be able to use them as freely as possible. He needed to know that he could count on the spells to do what they were supposed to. This meant that his practice had to be long. And to his credit, he was putting in those hours.


    He didn''t move out of the house even once. Only Daphne went out to get any groceries that they needed. Neither of them went to the forest after he told her that it was too dangerous. Daphne didn''t go because she was content with his exnation. He didn''t go because he was not satisfied with his mastery over the spells. Even if he knew he could survive in the forest, he didn''t have a necessity to go yet.


    The other two spells also hit advanced proficiency. The proficiency of the Elementary Arcane Shield didn''t budge ording to the room, but he knew he was getting better at it. The skill curve was incredibly steep at the start, but it teaued incredibly quickly.


    He guessed that it was because it was harder to reach Master proficiency because it meant perfection. Mastery was hard because it required a perfect understanding of the spell and how to use the magic.


    At the end of the week, however, he broke his house arrest. It was the 27th of December and the city was covered in a thinyer of snow. The reason he was going out was because he wouldn''t be able to exin to her why he was holed in for that long.


    The new year was approaching and it was generally a happy time of the year. This was not only because the entire city was bustling with celebrations, but because it was considered his and Daphne''s birthday.


    Being an orphan, he didn''t know when his actual birthday was. Neither did Daphne to his knowledge. So he just marked a very memorable day on the calendar as his birthday. This was partly because he didn''t need to remember it, but also because he needed fewer asions to celebrate.


    If he had more reasons to celebrate, he would have to pay for those celebrations. Money was a very new concept to him since it was hard for him to find jobs as a kid. Now that he was in a very stable ce, he needed to start preparing for a proper new year celebration.


    When he finally exited his room, he was greeted by Daphne. He could see the energy that wasing off her. Since she was frequently going to the market, the city''s energy had rubbed off on her. She was also in the holiday spirit.


    "What took you so long toe out?" She asked. "Why are you sulking?"


    Leo smiled and shook his head. "I was just lost in practice. Come on. Let''s go out to eat today."

 Chapter 44 Encounter

    ?


    Leo was dragged by Daphne into the market. They were going to a nice fancy restaurant to eat since they hadn''t eaten outside in a long while. She didn''t know yet that he was going to take her to such a nice ce. She only knew that they were finally going to go outside to eat.


    As they walked through the market, they saw the various tables selling ornaments and trinkets that appealed to children. There were a lot of parents buying them for their kids. Leo looked at her and saw that she was staring at the trinkets too. He shook his head and walked to one of the stalls.


    He saw a few trinkets that were shaped in the form of an egg that was decorated nicely. He started looking for something nice to give to her. Meanwhile, she was confused about why they had stopped.


    "Why did you stop?" She asked him.


    He looked at her and turned back to the stall.


    "Do you have any earrings for my friend here? I don''t know if she will like trinkets." He said to the person managing the stall. It was a middle-aged man with a huge pot belly.


    "Of course. For this beautiful young woman, I would rmend buying her silver earrings. It will shine brightly in her hair." He said. He bent down and pulled up a box. He opened the box and it was filled with a variety of earrings.


    "I don''t need earrings. Especially silver ones? Those are incredibly expensive," Daphne protested. He just ignored her and looked at the selection. After looking at them for two minutes, he finally picked out one pair.


    The earrings were exquisite and elegant. A small emerald adorned them, showcasing a deep green color that sparkled in the light. The emerald was cut in a ssic round shape. The earrings themselves were sleek and had a sophisticated design that entuated the gemstone without overwhelming it.


    "Excellent choice sir. These are 4000 Star coins. But looking at your young age, I can knock that down by 500 Star coins." The man said.


    Leo didn''t even bother haggling with him. He took out the money from his pouch and handed it to the man. He took the earrings and looked at Daphne.


    "Want to try them out?" He asked.


    "I said I didn''t want them," she said. She looked slightly angry, but he could see beneath the facial expressions.


    "Do you need help putting them on?" He asked. She nodded. He looked at the owner.


    "Do you have an ear piercer?" He asked. The owner nodded and quickly handed a sharp needle.


    "I advise you to be careful with that. If you need me, I can pierce the ears for-" Before the owner could even say anything, Leo had already pierced one of the ears. He was very fast with it that she could barely feel anything. He did the same to the other ear and gave the needle back to the man.


    He then put the earrings on her ears. He took a step back to judge them.


    "They look nice. Do you want to eat now?" He asked. She nodded. She was very silent for the rest of the walk, but she had a small smile throughout.


    When they got to the restaurant, she was even more shocked. It was a very nice ce, and she knew the meal would cost almost 1000 Star coins just by looking at the decor of the ce.


    Leo ignored her expression and lead them inside. While they were walking into the entrance, a young girl the same age as him and an old man were walking out. The girl wasining about the food.


    "Grandpa, this ce is so bad! Why did we have toe here?" She was very frustrated.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The old man was very calm. "Calm down, Aurora. You must not disy such vivid emotions in public. You were the one that asked toe with me to work."


    The girl whined and looked away. She saw Leo and Daphne walking into the restaurant.


    "Why can''t I just go alone like them? They don''t have any adults with them." She said.


    Leo heard this loud and clear and smiled at thement. He led Daphne into the restaurant quickly to avoid getting into trouble. He knew that the old man was more than just strong. He was incredibly strong.


    Normally, he could tell if a person had aura or magic after forming his 2nd Star. He knew that Daphne was a Middle-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight just by looking at her. He saw a couple of 2nd Circle Aura Knights in the market.


    Unlike them, the old man had magic. And he had an immense amount of it. When he first noticed it, he realized that the old man was at least a 3rd Circle Mage. This meant that they were nobles. He didn''t want to get into trouble with the nobles. However, his smile did not go unnoticed.


    The old man called out to him. "Young man, could I speak with you."


    Leo stopped in his tracks. He turned around and saw that the old man was speaking to him. He cursed in his mind and walked toward the old man. He stopped Daphne from walking with him.


    The old man scanned him and then Daphne with his eyes and then said, "You have a lot of potential. Thedy is already a 1st Circle Aura Knight, while you are innately so perceptive. You don''t have any aura, but I have a feeling that you are powerful too. Are you from a family I know?" He asked.


    Leo was starting to sweat. "I''m sorry, sir. Do I know you?" He asked.


    The manughed. "Amoner then. Not even a noble and thess is a 1st Circe Aura Knight. Aurora, you should learn from them. I''m sorry to hold you, boy. Aspensation, take this meal as a gift from me." He pointed to a person standing outside toe and whispered a few words to him. Then he turned and walked away with the girl.


    Leo sighed a breath of relief and went back into the restaurant. He was hoping that Daphne did not hear what the man said. He hadpletely read through Leo, except for the magic. Since his magic was in his mind, it hid from a normal sense.


    The person guided him and Daphne to a table and gave them their menus. Daphne asked him about what it was but Leo just said that he mistook him for someone else. After the meal, he got ready to pay. He took the chance when Daphne went to the bathroom to do it, but the man who attended to them declined the payment.


    "No need to pay, sir. The lord already paid for you." He said.


    Leo had to rify now. "The lord?" He asked.


    "Yes. The Lord Magistrate," the man answered.


    Suddenly everything made sense. That was why he had so much magic. It was because he was a 4th Circle Mage. Leo realized that he had lucked out immensely by not having a longer interaction with that person. Thest person he would want to be around would be a noble. He just couldn''t handle the stress.


    Daphne came back and he got up. "Let''s go back."


    "What about the money?" She asked him.


    "I already paid for it," he said. He needed to get away from the public as quickly as possible. He could not handle the stress.

 Chapter 45 Start

    ?


    When he got back, Leo immediately went to his room. He felt so powerless when he saw the Magistrate look through him and Daphne in an instant. He didn''t like that he would have to hide his power every time until he got stronger.


    He was also lucky that he used a different Magic System. Otherwise, he would have had to exin to the Magistrate how he knew magic. It wasn''t illegal for him to tell that he found a tome. Commoners were allowed to learn magic. If they got their hands on the magic.


    However, the nobles control most of the sources of magic that very fewmoners can actually learn magic. If Leo''s tome was made public, on the other hand, he would be dissected and researched. He would be made an eternal ve for the knowledge in the tome. That was how valuable it was.


    The first step in his n to get stronger to avoid all this was starting to get closer. He had practiced all of the spells that he was able to learn to Advanced proficiency. He was as ready as he could to finally confront the cktooth Gang. He only had to guarantee three things.


    The first thing would be to properly establish an alias. He would have to leave a few people alive to spread the news of who it was that attacked the cktooth Gang. He would call himself Orion, a mage from Eldridge. Since it was a major city, it would have so many more nobles that they wouldn''t be able to actually identify him.


    The second thing would be to go when his Shadow Step was easiest to use. That was the night. He would be able to hide in the shadows and attack the members more easily. He would also not have to exin where he was to Daphne.


    Thest and most important consideration would be how he was going to store his loot. He was going to bring a bag to carry all the money and valuables he was going to steal. He had already purchased arge bag for this purpose. He didn''t want to spend time throwing them into his bag.


    After all of these were filled, he moved to the final step. Rest. He practiced each spell once before giving his body and mind some rest. He was going to rest for the next two days and not practice any spells. He would only meditate and gather magic, but even that would be minimal and rest would be prioritized.


    It was the night of the 28th of December. He was nning on attacking on 30th December. He was attacking on the 30th because it was close enough to the New Year that the gang members would bepletely unprepared. They would be too upied with celebrating that they would forget about security. He didn''t want to attack on the night of the 31st since he had to celebrate that night with Daphne.


    He was thinking too much that his head started to hurt. He was over-nning the simple event, but it was because he was being extra careful. He decided to go to sleep and think about it when the time came.


    The 29th disappeared very quickly. He just trained the entire day and slept early that night. It was a very simple day because Daphne didn''t disturb him either. She was leaving him alone since they had gone out the previous day.


    On the 30th, he got ready for the night. He went out to the market to buy a mask for himself. A few stalls were selling them since masks were part of the festive spirit. He bought a mask covering his entire face to avoid showing facial features. He also bought another pair of normal masks for him and Daphne for the actual New Year. After doing that, he returned to the house.


    Once he got back, he just trained for a little bit before idling around. He was just waiting for the sun to set. Daphne was also training since he was holed up in his room. After waiting for a long time, the sun finally set. He immediately stopped idling.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He waited for Daphne toe out for dinner. Once she finished eating and went back to her room, he immediately got ready. He grabbed everything he needed and set out.


    It took him only a few minutes toe to the slums. Once he reached the slums, he slowed his pace. He started to tread slowly. The part of the slums where he had encountered the members of the cktooth Gangst time was very close to their actual base. He first decided to that ce first.


    When he got there, he saw that the damage he had created was still there. The door to the shack was still damaged and he could see bullet holes here and there. He smiled. This time the damage wouldn''t be as small.


    He turned to the direction of the base. He walked toward it in the shadows. As he got closer, he could see the old base of the Thorn Roses. It was a proper mansion that seemed out of ce in the slums. It belonged in the Commoner District in its richest part.


    At this point, Leo knew where in the house the members could be. He was going to use guerri tactics to eliminate as many members as he could as fast as he could. The mansion had two sectors.


    The front of the house that faced the slums was where the bulk of the members were. They were partying in the main hall based on the sounds. There were loud sounds from inside the mansion that helped him figure out what was happening inside.


    The back of the house was where the leader lived. He would be in the back away from danger, but he was the most dangerous element in Leo''s n. First, he approached the front gate which was only a few meters away from the door.


    There were two guards there, guarding the gate. They still hadn''t seen him approaching them yet and were just talking to each other. Both of them were newer recruits, which was why they were stationed in the front instead of enjoying the party inside.


    Leo crept in toward them. As he got closer, he got put up his hood and mask. The only thing left symbolizing him was his short height. He pointed his hand and unleashed two magic bullets.


    The two guards were not even 1st Circle Aura Knights. They didn''t even know what happened before they died. They slowly limped onto the ground without making too much noise. No one inside would know that they were down two men.


    Leo didn''t bother trying to unlock the gate and just used Shadow Step to travel to the other side of the gate. He stopped in front of his first two victims and scanned their bodies. He quickly found and grabbed their pouches and threw them into the bag on his back.


    After doing that he stretched a little before looking at the mansion in front of him. He cracked his neck before going in. He was starting his attack.

 Chapter 46 Havoc I

    ?


    Leo stared at the door. As far as he remembered, the door opened to a hallway that lead to the main hall. That was probably where the bulk of the members were. He opened the door and saw that it was just as he expected it to be.


    He saw a long hallway that lead to a closed door. He knew that the main hall was behind it because there was a lot of noiseing from there. He looked around and saw that there were two staircases leading to the first floor.


    He went up one of them instead of going to the hallway. His n was to first take care of any members that weren''t in the hall to dwindle down the numbers. If he was careful, he would be able to do it without alerting anyone. Then, he would have an easier time dealing with the rest.


    He quickly found his first target. It was a drunk maning out of one of the rooms. He wasn''t surprised to see Leo because he just assumed that it was another member of the cktooth Gang. Leo could sense that the man was a 1st Circle Aura Knight, so he had his defenses up. He was ready to kill him before he made any noise.


    "Wear your uniform. Otherwise, the superiors will reprimand you." He scolded Leo.


    Leo looked at his outfit. He was currently wearing a mask and a cloak. Why did this person think that he was a member?


    "Also, do you want a go at the girl I kept in there? You are going to have to wait your turn. I promised someone else the chance after me." He added. Leo clicked his tongue.


    He threw a magic bullet at the man''s head, immediately killing him. Even though he was a proper 1st Circle Aura Knight, the man was so drunk that he wouldn''t be able to guard it anyway.


    "Trash," he whispered. He immediately grabbed the man''s body and dragged it into the room he came out of. Inside the room was a girl who was so intoxicated that she didn''t even notice the new person who came. She waspletely still on the bed.


    He hid the man under the bed after taking his pouch and throwing it in the bag. Once he did this, he went outside to search for his next target. He was able to scan the region close to him and was able to know where everyone near him was and even how strong they were. This was because of the breakthrough he had.


    He found someone walking to the corner and was going to discover him. Leo immediately Shadow Stepped behind him just as he turned the corner. Leo pointed his hand at the unexpecting person. He hadn''t even realized that someone was behind him. A magic bullet flew into his head, killing him. Leo dragged him to a nearby room where there weren''t any people. After looting him as well, he went to find the next target.


    The bulk of his time was spent dragging them to a room and hiding their bodies. After spending half an hour killing 10 people, he realized that it was inefficient. He knew there were around 150 people in the Gang. He had already taken out 10, so that left 140 people to kill.


    He could assume that there were 100 people in the hall since he could detect around 30-40 people on the first and second floors. So he decided to take a more aggressive resort. He was going to go on a killing spree fast enough that no one would notice that something was wrong.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He saw a few people in the hallway near the room he was in. He immediately left the room and went toward them. When they saw him, they were mildly surprised to see someone who didn''t belong there.


    "Who are you?" One of them asked.


    As he asked the question, the other two people there slumped to the floor. Leo was not taking any chances. He was trying to get it done as quickly as possible. He fired another bullet at the person who was too drunk to realize what was happening to him.


    Leo just picked up their pouches but left their bodies in the hallway. He sensed a few peopleing to the area he was in so he decided to just intercept them beforehand. Why wait? This time, it was a group of 6 people. All of them were 1st Circle Aura Knights, but since they were drunk, they weren''t as effective.


    Also,pared to Leo who was a 2nd Star Mage, they were basically cattle fodder. When he saw them arrive, he threw a me burst at them. mes engulfed the entire bunch and exploded. The mes themselves made a small explosion sound while the victims screamed a little before dying. All of this created a substantial amount of noise.


    It was a lot of noise, but it wasn''t enough to be heard on the ground floor where they were all partying. However, a lot of the people on the first and second floors heard it and started to move toward the area where the screams wereing from.


    Leo was ready for this. He knew that he was going to make this much noise when he switched to me Burst over the Magic Bullet. However, the me Burst would make it easier to deal withrger groups. It also yed a part in the bigger n that he had.


    He sensed the first group of peopleing toward the sound. They were around 7 membersing in a group. They were unaware of what the loud sound was, so they weren''t as wary as they should be. When they crossed the corner, Leo was waiting for them.


    He threw a me Burst at the entire group. One of the members was less drunk than the others, and so he cast a shield around himself. It defended him from the explosion, but the fire was still incredibly hot for him. Leo saw that he was more perceptive and threw another me Burst at him, creating another explosion. This took care of himpletely.


    The sound alerted everyone on the first and second floors, making theme toward it. Leo knew this, but he also knew there was still some time before they arrived. He took this time to see if the money pouches of any of the people survived. To his surprise, all of them did. The pouches were actually fireproof. Since they were all issued by the cktooth Gang, they were all the same pouches.


    Leo readied himself for the next wave of enemies. This time, it was the rest of the people that weren''t in the main hall. He had already taken out 23 members till now. Almost 30 people were approaching him from both directions in the hallway he was in. The charred bodies remained in the hall, giving out a bad smell. The mes from the me Burst were still lingering, refusing to die out.


    Leo threw a me Burst at one of the ends of the hallway. It was seemingly empty and there was no one in sight. Just as itnded, the first group of members arrived. They were greeted by a massive explosion.

 Chapter 47 Havoc II

    ?


    Leo immediately turned to the other side and saw a bunch of membersing in from that side. He could sense 15 people rushing in from there. They had all heard the sound from the earlier me Burst.


    Since the group that wasing in from the other side was not expecting the magic attack, none of them put up any form of a shield, and all of them were directly hit by the me Burst. None of them survived. They were a total of 7 people who got caught up in the attack.


    Thetest me Burst created enough sound for the new group to bepletely on guard. Even though a lot of them were very drunk, they still put up shields when they walked in. When they got there, they didn''t see anyone. All they saw were the leftover burnt corpses.


    Leo had shadow stepped to the other side of the hallway. There were only 8 people left on that side and it would be easier to deal with them than the other 15 people at once. Also, he was on the side that was the closest to the staircase.


    If any of the members needed to go down to warn the rest of the members that they were being attacked, they would have to go through him.


    When he suddenly appeared in front of the group of drunk members, they all instinctively put up Aura Shields. Instead of trying to break through the shields, Leo went behind them using another Shadow Step. Their shields only covered a portion of their bodies and their backs werepletely unprotected.


    He threw a me Burst at them and Shadow Stepped back to the front. He didn''t have a lot of time, but he still had priorities. He was going to loot the pouches of the group he killed initially. The me Burst already did its job with the second group and killed all of them as well.


    Once he got all of their pouches, the 15-member group on the other side of the hallway got close to him. They were spending some time checking what the corpses were and when they realized that they were burnt-up gang members, they got ready to fight.


    However, they were facing Leo, a 2nd Star Mage. They didn''t stand a chance against him and met the same fate as everyone else on the floor. At this point, he had taken out everyone on the 1st and 2nd floors.


    While he was looting the rest of the members, he also kept in mind that he was running out of time. He had made so much noise that the members downstairs had realized that something was going on above them. They stopped making as much noise and he could sense people crowding up the staircase.


    They wereing for him, but he was ready. His n was finally starting toe to fruition. All the me Bursts that he had used had started to collect. The lingering mes didn''t die off at all.


    Some of them caught on to the curtains and some to the clothes of the members. The entire hallway was filled with mes. The mes were also starting to intensify and push out of the hallway. Eventually, they were going to engulf the entire mansion, given enough time.


    He quickly ran into the room where he initially hid the corpse and dragged out the woman on the bed there. She was still intoxicated, but the sudden movement woke her up. He quickly dragged her with him to the window on the side away from the staircase. The window lead to the back of the house where the leader lived.


    He looked down and saw a pool there. He quickly pped the woman,pletely waking her up.


    "Can you swim?" He asked her.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    She nodded lightly. She was swaying lightly. He pped her again, harder this time.


    "Wake up!" He screamed. She sobered up a little to the shout.


    "Yes," she said. Her eyes were more awake.


    "Get ready to swim out!" He shouted. He couldn''t let her go back to her previous state.


    She nodded in agreement. She couldn''tprehend what was going on. All she could feel was the heat from the mes. Leo chucked her out of the window, into the pool. Shended in the pool and reached the bottom quickly.


    She was able to kick onto the ground and swim to the top. She started swimming to the side and got out of the pool. Once she did, shey on the side of the pool and went back to her sleep.


    Meanwhile, Leo had to deal with his new opponents. They were standing on the other end of the hallway, looking at him. They didn''t cross it because of the mes that filled up the hallway. Leo could see almost 20 people there, but he knew there were even more hiding around the corner.


    He smiled and waved. He then jumped out the window andnded in the pool. He wasn''t trying to fight all those members. That would be the most foolish thing to do. His n from the beginning was to just burn down the entire mansion and kill the leader.


    He didn''t have to actually kill every single member of the cktooth Gang. A gang was only its leader. With the head of the pack gone, the rest were just weak 1st Circle Aura Knights who would get their ass handed to them on a tter by any random person in the Commoner''s District. Of course, he would have to dwindle their numbers just enough to make sure they wouldn''t cause problems.


    If there were too many, they would be a worrying variable in the fight against the leader. If he scared them off beforehand, his fight would be a lot easier. The problem was that the leader was a Late-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight. This meant that he would have to be very careful in the fight, or he would lose his life.


    He knew where the leader was, but he didn''t go there yet. The leader was in a part of the mansion that was behind the pool. It was separated from the other part of the mansionpletely and so none of the sound that came from the part where he just created a mess actually carried on there.


    The leader had no idea that his entire gang was being ravaged by a single person. Leo walked back into the main mansion. He saw a person running out toward the ce where the leader was but before he could get there, Leo shot him with a magic bullet.


    He re-entered the mansion to dwindle down their number even more. Now, he changed his tactics. Instead of openly firing me Bursts, he was camping near the door that members would have to go through to get to their leader. It was a door that lead straight out of the hall, so there were a lot of members there.


    At this point, the entire first floor was filled with mes. The members didn''t even try to cross the hallway and hade down to the hall to cross it and get to him. The mes were starting to spill into the second floor and the ground floor. Leo took a deep breath. He was moving to the secondst step in his n.

 Chapter 48 Playing

    ?


    Leo unleashed a massive me Burst at the ceiling of the hall. The explosion brought down the chandelier hanging there to the ground. The ceiling started to rumble and cracks formed where the ceiling used to hang.


    The cracks slowly intensified and the members noticed that. Most of the members jumped away from where Leo while a few moved toward him. A lot of the Apprentice Aura Knights didn''t know what was happening so they stayed in their ce.


    The ceiling came crashing down and the first floor caved into the ground floor. The ceiling was already burning because of the fire from the first floor. The me Burst just hastened the process of its crashing.


    Once the smoke cleared, Leo shot a Magic Bullet at the sole Apprentice Aura Knight there. He was outside the radius of destruction from the beginning but on the wrong side of the chandelier. The man dropped to the floor.


    He looked at the members that were unlucky enough to be on his side of the hall. The other side waspletely blocked off. He looked at the members who were sweating when they saw him. They were facing off a mage that was so clearly stronger than them so they didn''t want to start the fight.


    "Do you want to live?" He asked them.


    They nodded. None of them dared to speak. There were only 5 of them, and all of them were 1st Circle Aura Knights.


    "Then scram. Tell the people on the other side that I will let them go if they leave now," he said. He turned away and left the hall.


    He was hoping to avoid the fightpletely to save his energy. He slowly walked toward the leader''s location. As he got closer, he sensed that there was more than one person there.


    Only one of them had Aura though. It was the leader and three other people in a single room. He guessed that they were servants or some people of that sort. As he got closer, he looked back to make sure that there wasn''t anyone following him.


    His tactic had worked. None of the members stayed there. All of them left through the sides and jumped the gates to leave the mansion. He was now alone with the leader for a solo fight.


    He eventually found himself in front of the room where the leader was. He was waiting for a little bit to organize his thoughts. It would be an incredibly hard fight. He had taken off his bag and made sure that he was in his best condition. He had even cast a body-strengthening spell.


    "I told you guys not to disturb me!" A voice came from the room.


    Leo was startled but quickly recovered. If he could sense people as a 2nd Star Mage, then it would make sense if the leader could as well. He was lucky that the leader only sensed him as a normal gang member and not a mage.


    "Sir! There is a problem in the hall! There was a huge fight!" He shouted through the door.


    "They fight every day. Don''t disturb me about something like this," the leader was annoyed.


    "But sir, many people have serious injuries. Some are even dead!" Leo started cooking up a tall tale. He was doing everything he could to make the leader walk to the door. Since the leader was not expecting an attack, he could sneak attack him when he opened the door. It would give him a very good advantage.


    "If it''s not as serious as you said, then you are going to be paying for it," the voice grumbled. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Leo could sense that the leader had gotten out of his bed and was walking toward the door. He took a couple of steps back and aimed his hand at the door. The door slowly creaked open. A middle-aged man with a beard dressed in all-ck clothing walked out. He had a sword in its harness in his right hand. His hair was very disheveled.


    "Who started the figh-"


    A me Burst flew toward the leader. The man instinctively blocked the me Burst with his left hand. The ball of fire sted into the left hand before the leader could even muster any aura. Leo immediately took a few steps back and waited for the smoke to clear out.


    The leader immediately circted aura through his body and repelled all the mes clinging to his body. He roared.


    "Who attacked me?!"


    His left arm waspletely blown away. His right hand was still holding on to the sword sheath. His eyes were red from the pain, but his roar was more from the anger. He bit the sword sheath with his teeth and pulled out the sword.


    Another me Burst flew toward the leader. The leader countered it very easily with a slice of his sword. The ball of fire was cleanly split into two halves that flew in separate directions before hitting the walls.


    Leo slowly started backing away to the open area with the pool. He wanted to give himself space so that he wouldn''t have to fight a close ranged fighter in a small space.


    "Who are you?" The leader asked again. This time he was calmer. "What is a mage doing in the slums of a small city like Solhaven?"


    Leo thought about whether he wanted to answer the question or not. Suddenly, he realized that they weren''t alone. The room that the leader came out of had three other people. One of them, a woman, hade out and was looking at both of them. She was in earshot of the conversation.


    "I am Orion. I am from Eldridge. I came here because... I was bored." Leo came up with the answer that made the most sense. Mages were more likely than not nobles. Nobles only interfered withmoners when they had some interest in the matter. They didn''t have any morals or anything. Not as far as he knew.


    The leader clenched his teeth. "Is there anything I can do to relieve that boredom? I have many friends who can perhaps apany you for the night." He suggested.


    He just lost his arm to the mage, but he still had to be respectful. If he attacked the mage, he would be attacking a noble. If anything happened to a noble, the magistrate would get involved. For the magistrate, killing him would be as simple as snapping a finger.


    "No. Not really." Leo said. He threw another me Burst at the leader. The leader blocked it again.


    "Sir, I am going to have to defend myself if you keep attacking me!" The leader said. He was starting to get frustrated that he couldn''t do anything.


    Leo took a few steps back. A cornered animal was the most dangerous. He needed to give himself some time to calm the leader down. Leo still held the advantage. The leader was losing his temper and he was down a hand. Also, he had no idea that Leo could Shadow Step behind him at any time.


    He hadn''t yet because he was waiting for the right time. And the right time came very quickly.

 Chapter 49 Battle

    ?


    At this point, the leader was infuriated. He had no other choice but to attack the mage in front of him. He lunged forward toward Leo.


    Leo immediately started retreating to the back. He didn''t want to be caught in the leader''s attack. He was also slowly getting away from the pool and toward the burning mansion. Leo noticed that the woman who was observing them had already fled to the room and the three people in the room were getting away from the mansion. Eventually, he couldn''t sense them since they were too far away.


    As the leader chased Leo, he finally noticed that the mansion behind him was burning. He stopped chasing Leo and came to a standstill, concentrating on the burning mansion. He couldn''t see a soul in sight trying to put out the fire.


    "I am guessing you did this," he said to Leo.


    Leo nodded. The leader didn''t show any reaction at all. He stopped showing his anger and had no emotions on his face.


    "I am a Late-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight, but you already know that. But do you know why I put so much effort into creating this army? Why I made the cktooth Gang?" He asked Leo.


    Leo shrugged. "I don''t know."


    "Of course, you don''t," The leader shook his head. "This was my life''s greatest masterpiece. I was going to finally raid the Valkyr''s Forest. And you ruined it. My n that I was chasing for years was destroyed by a bored mage."


    The leader started chuckling. Meanwhile, Leo was confused. "These many people to raid the Valkyr''s Forest? What is there that you need these many Aura Knights?" He asked curiously.


    The leader was still chuckling. "You would like to know, wouldn''t you? Let me tell you. There is an urban legend that has been passed in Solhaven. A legend that the Valkyr''s Forest holds the inheritance of a great person. A mage named Valkyr."


    For a second, Leo thought that the leader was talking about the tome he received, but he didn''t think that was it. Even though it was likely, he had also heard this urban legend. He knew that the story said what the inheritance was and it wasn''t a tome.


    "You are going after an urban legend?" He provoked the leader a little more to find out more.


    "Yes. And it''s not a legend. This inheritance exists." The leader said.


    "Why are you telling me this? Aren''t you afraid I might steal this inheritance?" Leo asked the leader.


    The leader smiled. "You think you are so powerful. But both you and I know that you are just a kid. A kid that happens to be a 2nd Circle Mage. Let me guess. You broke through a few days ago and wanted to unt your strength so you came to this city. Well, let me tell you a reality. Even if you got me by surprise and took away my arm, you can''t win this fight. And since I told you all this, I will make sure that no one else will know."


    After saying this, the leader swung his sword at Leo. Leo sensed a huge amount of danger from the leader. He instinctively put up an Elementary Arcane Shield. The sword was covered with aura and the aura left the de andunched toward him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The aura hit his shield and shattered it. The force knocked Leo two steps back.


    "You can take a hit. I am surprised you defended that. But how long can you keep doing that?" The leader asked. He swung his de again. It looked very effortless for the leader, but in reality, he was using all his strength in each of the swings.


    Meanwhile, Leo was getting beaten back. Each time, his shield would barely block out most of the force and he was taking a little damage each time. He was going to eventually run out of energy and the damage would umte.


    The leader was also getting tired and Leo knew this. That was why he was waiting. The leader was slowly closing in and Leo let him close the distance. Eventually, the leader came so close that he was 5 meters away from Leo. He lifted his sword to swing at him.


    Leo knew that this was his moment. Every time that he had defended against the sword swing, he used an Elementary Arcane Shield. If he used the same thing this time, he would not be able to defend the swing. Both he and the leader knew that. However, the leader was so used to only attacking the Arcane Shield that he assumed Leo didn''t have a better counter.


    Leo immediately Shadow Stepped behind the leader and attacked him with a me Burst. The leader was so surprised that his target disappeared in front of his eyes. He sensed the attack behind him, but he was slow in turning around. The me Burst hit his back and exploded.


    Leo had purposefully led the leader to believe that he did not know any other spells other than the shield and the me Burst. He had kept the leader unaware that he could dodge every one of those attacks so that he could use it to sneak attack him. And it worked marvelously.


    The leader was left on the floor. He was still clinging on to his life, but he couldn''t move. Leo crouched down at a safe distance from the leader and started to talk to him.


    "Well, if it helps, I''m not a noble. I''m just amoner like you. Except I have morals in my life. I''ll look for the inheritance you told me about. Thanks for the information." Leo said. He got up and looked at the still leader. He pointed his hand at the head of the leader and cast a Magic Bullet.


    The leader had no energy to muster any aura to defend himself. Even if he did, it would be pointless. He was going to die regardless.


    After killing him, Leo grabbed his pouch. He was guessing it would be a lot more important than the members and would have a lot more money. He opened the pouch and saw there wasn''t anything in it.


    He clenched his fist and let go. He realized that the leader didn''t put the money on him, which meant it was somewhere in the mansion. He already burned down the part where the members lived, but the leader''s quarters were very intact.


    Leo looked down at the body and saw something shiny on the leader''s neck. He leaned closer and saw a key hooked to a ne. He immediately grabbed the key and pulled it out of the chain with a strong pull. The key probably unlocked some sort of safe.


    Leo sighed. Now he had to look for the safe in the leader''s quarters. This was going to be a lot of work that he would need to get done in only a few hours. He still had to get back before Daphne woke up.


    He went to the mansion and grabbed the bag that he had set aside on the way. He walked to the room that the leader came out of. He was going to search in the most obvious ce first.

 Chapter 50 Loot

    ?


    Leo entered the room that the leader hade out of. It was a bedroom that had an adjoining bathroom. The room was veryrge and spacious, with arge bed in the middle of it. There weren''t any closets or tables anywhere. There wasn''t anything out of ce and the only attraction was the bed. However, his sense could detect that something was weird about the bed.


    He decided to move the bed to see if there was anything wrong with it. When he tried to do that, he immediately realized that the bed wasn''t as ordinary as it looked. Even though he tried to move the bed, it refused to budge. He tried again, using a lot more force, but the bed didn''t move at all.


    He sighed and activated his body-strengthening magic. He tried to push the bed again and saw that the bed was almost moving, but it still didn''t move away from its spot. He looked out of the window and saw that it was dark outside. He still had a lot of time left so he could try to figure out what was wrong with the bed.


    Or he could just brute force his way out of the ordeal. He cast a me Burst on the bed, blowing it up into smithereens. When he did that, the entire wooden body of the bed flew everywhere, but the base of the bed stayed. It was a metal base that was built into the floor.


    As the fire burned the mattress away, Leo noticed that there was a trap door below the mattress. That was why he couldn''t move the bed. The base of the bed that he was trying to move was part of the floor, so it was held by a lot of metal. He was trying to move the entire floor at the same time. He was supposed to just lift up the mattress to uncover the trap door.


    Either way, he got the job done. He opened the trap door and looked at what was below it. The trapdoor opened to a staircase that led down. This was the first time he had seen this staircase even though he had explored the mansion a few years ago after the Thorn Roses had left it. He was very surprised to see it.


    He went down the staircase quickly to move out of the lingering mes. The mes were going to die out quickly because they didn''t have anything to burn on, but they were currently burning on the wood framework of the bed.


    He went down the staircase and entered a room. It was a study with a desk in the center. There was a shelf with a lot of papers, but Leo was more interested in the book on the desk. It was the ledger of the cktooth Gang.


    He quickly opened it and saw heaps of loan information and payments that the cktooth Gang received. There were so many of them that Leo started to realize just how big the cktooth Gang was. He was surprised that no one did anything about it.


    He went to the final page and saw a number that shocked him. The cktooth Gang had 3 million Starcoins in liquid cash and everything else in the form of loans. He wasn''t going to do anything about the loans, but free money was always wee. He suddenly realized that he would actually have to find the money to keep it.


    He looked around for clues. He had a key, but he needed to find where the key went into. He walked to the other side of the desk and sat on the chair there. He looked around from the chair for possible locations for a safe.


    There was nothing that he could see. Eventually, he looked down at the drawers of the desk. He opened them up to see if there was anything in them. The first one that he tried to open didn''t open. He looked closer and saw that it was locked. The keyhole to the lock was a simr silhouette to the key he had.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He put the key in the keyhole and unlocked the drawer. When he opened it, he found a single ring there. He felt so frustrated that he wanted to punch the desk into smithereens. He took a deep breath and calmed his teenage mind down.


    He picked the ring up. It was a gold ring and had nice engravings on the inside of it. The minute he picked up the ring, the tattoo of the tome on his hand glowed for a second through the clothes. It was very brief, and when it ended, Leo suddenly found the information about the ring in his mind.


    The ring wasn''t a normal piece of jewelry. It was a dimensional ring. It could hold objects within it without weighing anything. The items would be stored in another dimension. Dimensional rings are crafted by mages that were at least at the 5th Circle. They would go for several tens of millions of Starcoins based on how much they can store.


    Leo pricked his finger and poured a drop of blood on the ring. That was how he was supposed to im ownership of the ring. When he did that, he slipped it on and could suddenly sense the insides of the ring.


    Inside the ring was a multitude of cash and various other objects. The total space was a cube with a side of 10 meters. It was a lot of space, which meant that the ring was very expensive.


    All the cash that was mentioned in the ledger was in the ring. He could see multiple notes, and when he counted them all out, they added up to a little more than the 3 million Starcoins. He tried taking them out of the dimensional ring, and they were neatly stacked up in his hand.


    He smiled. He quickly took out the pouches that he had from the bag. He emptied them out one by one and slowly put all the money there into the dimensional ring. The ring would be incredibly useful to him and help him when he would go hunting in the forest. He would also not have to carry a pouch anymore.


    When he finished transferring all the money to the ring, he started going through the other items in the ring. They were just a few papers that showed the recruitment levels of the cktooth Gang that looked very boring. One piece of paper that did stand out was an old parchment rolled up neatly.


    He took the parchment out of the ring and looked at what it was. It was very frail and he felt like it would tear if he used too much force to open it. He unfurled the parchment to reveal a map. He looked to see what the map was for. When he found it, everything the leader said made sense.


    The map was the reason why the leader believed that the Valkyr''s Forest lead to an inheritance. The map showed the way to where the so-called inheritance of Valkyr was located. It marked the spot in the center of Valkyr''s Forest. It was a treasure map.

 Chapter 51 New Year

    ?


    Leo nced at the treasure map before putting it back into the ring. He wished he could go immediately and find whatever the map was leading to, but he couldn''t. Valkyr''s Forest was dangerous because the Inner Forest was filled with 2nd Circle Magical Beasts.


    That was only the Inner Forest. The center of the forest would definitely have a 3rd Circle Magical Beast. And this wasn''t even considering the recent change in Valkyr''s Forest. If there was indeed a Beast Wave that would happen in the near future, there were chances that the Magical Beast could be a 4th Circle Magical Beast.


    Once he had everything sorted, he got up and went to the pool. It had been 3 hours since he hade to the mansion, and the destruction he had caused was tremendous. Half of the mansion was burnt down and the cktooth Gang waspletely gone.


    After making sure that the fire wasn''t going to spread anywhere else, he left the ce to go back to his house. He got back and quickly went to sleep. He would have a long day the next day and wanted to be in his best condition for it.


    He woke up the next day to a loud knock on his door.


    "Come in!" He said. He slowly got up from his bed while Daphne entered the room.


    "Why are you still sleeping? We should go to the festival today!" She said excitedly.


    The festival was an annual New Year''s celebration that the city had. He had been to the ones before and they were fun as long as you had a little money to y some of the games there. He had always saved up enough to y them the years before this, but now he didn''t have that problem.


    "I''ll get ready. Don''t worry." He said. He yawned while getting up to get ready. "You go outside. I"ll be out in 30 minutes.


    He quickly got ready and they both set out to the festival. It was early in the morning, but they were nning on spending the entire day there. The day went by incredibly quickly, and the night approached.


    As it did, the streets started to get bright withmps and colorful lights. Everyone was enjoying their time. Leo and Daphne were also having a fun time. Eventually, the crowd started clearing out and they all went back to their homes. Both of them also went back.


    When they got back, they were exhausted. Before she could go back to her room, Leo stopped Daphne.


    "Wait," he called her. She turned back.


    "What?" She asked him.


    "Happy birthday," he said. He didn''t have any gift in his hands, but he wanted to wish her.


    She smiled. She leaped into him and hugged him. "Happy birthday to you too!" She said.


    She was only turning 13 while he was now 14 years old. They were still incredibly young, but they had always been that. Every year that went by, they got more mature and more stable.


    "Okay, now we should sleep. We''ll see if we can go do anything tomorrow." Leo said. He didn''t have anything nned, but it was the New Year. He was going to start off with some fun and then go back to training.


    The next day, the two of them went to get lunch at a nice restaurant. After that, they went back to their house and the celebrations died off. Daphne went back to her room while Leo left the house again.


    He was going to the Thousand Treasure Tower. He had gotten so much money and so he had to use a lot of it. He was only nning on buying one item for the day and saving the rest for ater day.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    When he got there, he went to buy the Aura Gathering Pill. He was finally going to start learning how to use Aura. Ever since he became a 2nd Star Mage, he was able to see the aura that Aura Knights use. He was able to detect it and understand its flow.


    He hoped that this experience would trante to actually gathering aura and being able to use it. If he could do that, then he would no longer have to hide his magic as much and use Aura instead.


    He bought 5 Aura Gathering Pills. The money came solely from the money he raided from the members he killed. They had a decent amount of money themselves since it included normal gang members as well as higher-level members.


    He stayed even after purchasing the pills to browse through any interesting materials. He looked at the items that were on disy and he realized that there wasn''t anything on that floor for mages.


    Everything there was for Aura Knights. He realized that he would have to go to the floor above for items that would actually help him, but he couldn''t do that since the qualifications to enter the first floor were that he had to be a 2nd Circle Aura Knight or be a noble.


    He decided to leave and go back to his house. When he reached the house, he didn''t start training immediately. He wasn''t in a hurry to be an Aura Knight yet. Instead, he went out to the inn that he normally went to.


    This was because he needed information. The entirety of the previous day, he had spent time with Daphne. That was why he didn''t know what information about the cktooth Gang actually spread out.


    He needed to know out of curiosity and because of his own involvement. When he got to the inn, he could hear a lively noise from the inside. When he entered, he saw that the adventurers and mercenaries were all partying.


    He was curious and went to the front. He saw the owner was incredibly busy serving a lot of beer to the customers. He saw Leo and stopped his work.


    "Hello, Leo! How are you?" Miller greeted him enthusiastically.


    "Hello, Miller. I''m doing good. How about you? Why is the inn this lively today?" Leo asked him.


    "Oh, this? I gave everyone here a free beer on the house. Today is the New Year. And we started this year with such wonderful news!" He said.


    Leo could already guess where this was going, but he still had to ask.


    "What happened?"


    Miller smiled widely. "A Mage from Eldridge came and wiped out the cktooth Gang. Now, I don''t have any more debts left. All thanks to that noble person. I would give them a big kiss if I could see them."


    Leo cringed inside but kept a smile on the outside. "That is such good news! Good for you. But why would a magee to Solhaven?" He asked.


    "I don''t know. Now that you''ve mentioned it, I never actually though about that. Why was he here?" Miller went deep into thought.


    "Okay, I''ll see you around!" Leo waved and left the inn. He didn''t get any food because he did everything he wanted to.


    All he wanted to do was nt the thought of why the mage was there. Once Miller asked the adventurers, someone would start making rumors. Eventually, there would be enough rumors about the mage that everyone would think this person definitely existed.

 Chapter 52 Aura

    ?


    Leo got back to his house and finally got some time to train. He had a busy week for the past few days and now he was ready to do what he had been trying to do for almost a month. He was finally ready to train his Aura.


    He quickly got ready to start his training. He was going to hole himself up in his room until he at least detected aura. He first decided to wait on the Aura Gathering Pill and just try gathering aura by himself.


    He closed his eyes and focused his mind, attempting to sense the aura that surrounded him for a second time. He was eager to experience it for himself. Unlike magic, which was so natural to him, aura was different.


    Magic was the power that let him harness the elements of nature. That was why it seemed like it was a part of nature. He felt it was more abundant in the forest and less abundant in the city.


    On the contrary, the books that taught him aura said that it was the energy that flowed through all living beings. It was the power that let a person harness their own power to the fullest capabilities.


    When he sensed magic, he had seen colorful particles that represented the various elements of nature. However, the aura that he had sensed in Daphne and other Aura Knights was different. It was an energy stream that flowed around their entire body and originated from their dantian.


    He tried to look for this mysterious energy once more. When he did, he could see the magic that surrounded him, but this magic was so bright that he couldn''t see any aura. This was the main reason he wasn''t able to train in aura. His affinity with magic was proving to be his downfall.


    He took a deep breath and decided to take one of the Aura Gathering Pills. When he did, he suddenly realized why the pill was so effective. It didn''t help in sensing aura. The pill itself had Aura hiding in it. When he took the pill, he immediately sensed a stream of aura flowing out from the pill and entering his body.


    He quickly tried controlling the stream of aura. The minute he tried to force it into his dantian, the cool stream of aura suddenly changed its nature. It turned into a hot zing force that started to burn his insides.


    He quickly let go of control over the aura and the burning sensation stopped. He quickly decided to just keep the aura inside his body by circting it around his body while thinking about what to do to the aura.


    So instead of forcing the aura into his dantian, he just circted the aura throughout his body, letting his muscles soak in the cool, pleasant sensation of the aura. As he did that, he slowly fell into a trance. He stopped trying to think about trying to control it and just let it flow through his body.


    As he did that, he felt he was getting more and more attuned to the energy. As time passed, the flow of energy started to slow down. Eventually, he could feel that the aura had lost all of its previous wild nature.


    He tried controlling it again and guided it into his dantian. This time, the aura listened to him and slowly entered his dantian. The aura congregated at the center and he could finally take a breath.


    He let out a breath of air that was filled with stress and tension. He was very worried when he felt the burning sensation in his body, but his quick thinking saved him from too much pain.


    He opened his eyes and saw that a lot of time had passed. When he had fallen into the trance, he hadpletely lost his sense of time. The sun had already started rising, which meant that he was training for almost 8 hours.


    He got up to take a quick refresher. He walked around a little before sitting back on his bed. He had made a lot of progress in the 8 hours that he had trained. He had sensed aura, which was the first and most important step in training in aura.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    After taking an hour-long break, he went back to training. During the break, he went outside to grab some food and saw Daphne. Since he saw her once, she wouldn''t bother him for several hours. He quickly sat on the bed and grabbed another pill from his dimensional ring.


    Before eating it, he tried sensing the aura again without the help of the pill. He was hoping that since he had aura in his body, it would be easier to sense it. He was wrong. When he tried sensing aura again, he was once again overpowered by the magic in the air.


    He sighed and popped the pill into his mouth. It was the only way he could actually train in Aura for now, but at least it worked. He started circting the aura around his body again, letting it soak into his muscles.


    By the end of the day, he had gone through another pill. He only had two pills left. However, the progress he had made was enormous. He had reached the Peak-Stage of the Apprentice Aura Knight. The only thing left for him to do was form his first Aura Circle.


    However, he wanted to be careful when doing this. He realized very quickly that the amount of aura he had in his body wasn''t normal. He was only an Apprentice Aura Knight, but the amount of aura he had was the same as Daphne.


    Daphne was a Middle-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight. The difference between her and an Apprentice Aura Knight was supposed to be unsurmountable. However, he had taken 3 Aura Gathering Pills without forming his 1st Circle.


    This meant that his body needed more aura to break through. He didn''t want to start breaking through until he bought a few more Aura Gathering Pills and see if there were any better pills that might help him break through.


    Before doing any of that, he wanted to test if the amount of aura also meant that he could do the same things that Daphne could do without having a circle.


    The next day, he went to the Thousand Treasure Tower to answer all these questions he had. However, when he got there, he saw that there were a lot more people there than normal. The ce was entirely packed.


    He moved closer to the tower to see what the issue was. As he got closer to the crowd near the entrance, he saw what was different. There was a huge board above the entrance.


    It was only a temporary board, but it was extravagantly decorated. On it, were a few dates.


    [Annual Treasure Auction]


    [7th January, 8th January]


    It was the information pertaining to an auction that was being held there. Normally, that wouldn''t mean anything to Leo, but now he had enough money to buy something he could actually use there. He would also be able to experience an auction. He quickly went to the front to get more information. While he was trying to squeeze through, he saw a familiar figure.

 Chapter 53 Details

    ?


    In the distance, he saw the girl who was with the Magistrate going into the tower. He quickly scoured the ce to look for the Magistrate. He didn''t want to stay near a person who could see through him that easily.


    When he scanned the area, he realized that there wasn''t anyone stronger than a 2nd Circle Mage or Aura Knight in the area. He breathed out a sigh of relief. The strongest person there was a Peak-Stage 2nd Circle Mage that was right beside the girl.


    He guessed that the mage was her guard while the Magistrate was away. This meant that the girl was someone he could not afford to offend. After waiting for a while, he walked into the tower. Since the girl probably went to the first floor, he would be fine on the ground floor.


    He entered and went straight to the purchasing counter to ask for some information.


    "Hello, how can I help you?" The receptionist asked him.


    "Hi, can you give me information about the auction?" Leo asked her.


    "Yes, of course. Can I have your card, please?" She asked him. He handed it to her, and she took it to the back. She came back and handed it to him before talking again.


    "The auction is on the 7th and 8th of January. Are you here for someone, or..." She asked him. Looking at his young age and appearance, she assumed he was running an errand for someone.


    "I''m asking for myself," he said. He didn''t mind that she was assuming. He expected it.


    "Oh. You need to show that you can pay for all the purchases that you have made, so only ounts with more than 1 million Starcoins are allowed to participate in auctions. Anyone who does can request a free copy of the items appearing on the auction." She said. "Unfortunately, you only have 3 thousand Starcoins in your ount, so you aren''t eligible to participate."


    "So if I put in a million Starcoins, can I participate?" He asked. She nodded.


    He took the card and went to the counter where he normally deposited cash into his card. He had done it numerous times and was experienced in it. He took out a pouch that he had on him to mask the use of the dimensional ring.


    He pulled out the money from the pouch and deposited a million Starcoins in his ount. He took his card back and went to the same person.


    "Hi, I deposited some money. Can you please check and see if it''s enough?" He asked her.


    She took the card with a begrudging look and checked the bnce on it. When she did, she was so shocked that she almost dropped the card. She handed the card back to him with shaky hands.


    "Yes, sir. You have enough money to participate in the auction. Do you want to hear the next steps to participate?" She asked with a more subdued tone of voice.


    "Yes, please." He said with a huge grin.


    "I can have you registered for the auction, so you cane in on the day of the auction and proceed to the auction hall. You are in the General Buyer Section. You can collect your paddle on the day of if you show your card there." She informed him.


    He nodded. "Thank you for your help," he said. "Can I get the items that appear on the auction?"


    "Of course," she said. She quickly scrambled to the back and brought a nicely decorated book. She handed it to him and he left.


    The reason she became so respectful was because a million Starcoins was a lot of money. Only the wealthymoners and the nobles could have them. This typically meant having a 2nd Circle Person as a member of the family. And a 2nd Circle member was essentially a Powerhouse in a small city like Solhaven. There were around a thousand of them in a city of 70000 people.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Leo was more special because he was so young and had this much money. It meant that he was part of a huge family. Even though he said he wasn''t there on behalf of someone, she assumed he was from a big family.


    Meanwhile, Leo was facing his own set of problems. He was just walking out when he encountered the girl who was with the Magistrate. She had alsoe down the stairs at the same time that he was leaving the tower. He didn''t know why she was using themoner''s entrance.


    Aurora saw him and recognized him from a few days ago. Unfortunately for him, she approached him. The person guarding her also approached him with her.


    The girl had light blonde hair and green eyes. She was an apprentice mage based on what he sensed from her. She looked the same age as him, so he assumed she was. She was dressed in a very fancy coat and she looked like she was in charge. Her demeanor showed that she was a noble.


    The person next to her was a young man in his twenties. He was dressed in a military uniform with a crest pinned to his chest. Based on the gazes of contempt he gave themoners who passed by, Leo guessed he was a noble.


    "You. What''s your name again?" She asked Leo.


    "Me? I''m Leo. What''s your name?" He asked her. He tried to be polite, but his use ofnguage quickly showed the difference between the two.


    "Lady Aurora, why are we wasting your precious time like this? Is this boy an eyesore to you? We can have him removed." The man said.


    Even though he could, Leo stopped himself from blowing up the mage in front of him. He was angry that the person thought he was that expendable, but that was just how nobles were.


    "No. My grandfather liked this boy. I thought it would be interesting to actually converse with him," she said. She had a more formal tone of voice than thest time he saw her. It was probably because she was with a different person.


    ''"As for you, I''m Aurora. Nice to meet you," she said. She didn''t curtsy, but she took his hand and shook it. Leo could immediately see the person behind her was getting angry at this.


    "I''m sure that you have more important things to do. Why waste your time on me?" He asked her.


    She frowned a little. "What are you implying? Are you implying that I cannot dictate how I use my time?" She asked him.


    "No, of course not. I was just..." he trailed off. He didn''t want to trap himself. He was trying his best to decrease the interaction he was having with her.


    She looked back and saw that her guard was getting impatient. She smiled at this.


    "Mr. Redback. I don''t want to keep you waiting here. How about I have a meal with my friend here while you take care of any business you have?" She said to him.


    The man became flustered. "I can''t do that Lady Aurora. The Lord Magistrate assigned me to protect you from-"


    "There aren''t any threats that I will face. I can handle myself." She said.


    While this conversation was happening, Leo internally killed himself a few times. Why did he have the worst luck possible?

 Chapter 54 Academy

    ?


    Leo suddenly found himself walking with the granddaughter of the most powerful noble in Solhaven into the Noble District. He had hoped that the man would be able to convince her to not eat with him, but she was too strong-willed for that.


    "So, are you a mage?" He asked her. He didn''t want the entire ordeal to be filled with dreadful silence.


    "Yes. I am an apprentice mage. My Grandfather said that you were an Aura Knight with a weird aura." She said.


    Leo shook his head. "No, I''m just a normal Aura Knight. I am not even a 1st Circle Aura Knight like my friend. She was there the other day," he said.


    Aurora smiled. "I want to meet her too. It''s hard making friends my age because the kids in the Noble District are very arrogant."


    They quickly reached the gate that separated the Noble District from the Commoner''s District. A guard was at the gate and inspecting the people who were going in. There was a line full of workers who worked inside.


    Aurora skipped the entire line and walked, so he just followed her. When she came close to the guard, the guard bowed to her.


    "Good day, Lady Aurora. Is this your servant?" He asked.


    Aurora shook her head. "He''s my friend." She kept walking and Leo followed her.


    "Am I also supposed to call you Lady Aurora?" He asked.


    She shook her head. "I don''t like formalities like that. So, when did you start training in Aura?"


    "I started a wee- a year ago. I''m very slow at progressing." He almost gave away that he had only be an Aura Knight a few days ago. He quickly corrected himself. "What about you? When does a mage start training?"


    "I started when I was 10 years old. I go to the Royal Academy in the Capital. It''s been 4 years and I didn''t even form my first Magic Circle. Compared to me, the people there are so much more talented." She sighed.


    "The Royal Academy? What''s that?" Leo asked. He was very intrigued by it.


    "It''s the best ce to learn aura or magic. Only the most talented mages and aura knights go there. Even if you are a noble, you still have to pass a test to study there. It has the best teachers and the headmaster is a 6th Circle Mage." She started talking about the academy with fervor. She was very excited about the ce.


    "Are you here on a break, then?" He asked her. She nodded.


    They went into a restaurant close to the gate and quickly got some food. While they were eating, they continued talking.


    "Yes. I came for the New Year. I go back in a few days. I don''t have any friends when Ie here normally, so I wanted to make new ones." She said.


    Leo nodded. "I agree with you. I don''t have a lot of friends my age either. It''s hard to find friends without going to an academy."


    Aurora was shocked. "You guys aren''t in any academy? Then did you learn to be Aura Knights by yourself? Isn''t there an Academy in Solhaven? I thinkmoners are also allowed to join it. There should be an Aura Knight division there."


    Leo shook his head. He knew that the academy existed, but they only took in students who could pay. Until a few months ago, he couldn''t even afford to live in a proper house. Tuition for academies was in the hundreds of thousands of Starcoins each year.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "We couldn''t afford it. Academies are for rich people and nobles. Not everyone can attend." He said.


    "You and your friend should try to join the Royal Academy, then. They let new students in every year around August. You can try to apply. Since you are amoner, it will be harder, but your friend can definitely get in. I know less than ten people in my grade that reached the Middle-Stage of a 1st Circle. She will easily get in. Best of all, the academy ispletely free formoners." She said.


    Leo was blown away by this information. He didn''t think that it would be this amazing of an opportunity.


    "Thanks for telling me. I will check it out in August." He said.


    They kept talking until Leo realized that he had to go.


    "Well, it was very fun meeting you. Who knows, maybe I''ll see you at the Royal Academy." He said.


    She smiled. Throughout the entire conversation, hernguage and posture became more rxed. "Of course, I am looking forward to it. It was very nice meeting you. I will consider you as one of my friends." She said.


    Both of them stood up. She didn''t bother paying the bill and no one asked about it, so he assumed that there was a running tab. They bid farewell to each other and Leo walked out of the gate.


    As he was walking, he thought about the academy. It was such a good opportunity that he wanted to try it. Unfortunately for him, he would never actually attend the ce. He knew that a powerful mage might detect that he had magic far too easily.


    He couldn''t risk it at all. However, that wasn''t the case for Daphne. She was only 13 and she already became a 1st Circle Aura Knight. She would have a bright future if she went to the Royal Academy.


    He was going to convince her that it was the best option for her. That was the best thing he could do. Traveling to the Capital wasn''t that hard. There were multiple caravans that left each week. It would cost less than 10000 Starcoins to go there. If it didn''t work out, he could juste back.


    When he got back, he took out the book that contained all the objects that were up for auction from the dimensional ring. He started browsing through them to see if he could use anything.


    As he was doing that, he thought about what he should actually focus on. He knew that he was primarily a mage. He innately liked magic more than aura. But, he would always have to train his aura to mask where his strength came from.


    From his earlier training, he realized that he could only train aura if he used pills to supplement his training. So to train in aura, he would be a money-swallowing hole. He would constantly need to buy pills. He also noticed that the efficiency of the pills was going down after each pill that he took by just a little. It wouldn''t make a difference for the first dozen pills, but he expected to see a difference after that.


    As he was thinking, he suddenly stopped at an item that he knew was going to be perfect for him.


    [Swift Ascension Pill]


    [Helps in breaking through to 1st Circle Aura Knight. Improves chance of forming the first circle by 30%]


    Below the information was a diagram of the pill. It was a light blue pill that had partial clouds on it. Below that was the starting price.


    [500,000 Starcoins]


    Now he knew why he had to show that he had at least 1 million Starcoins.

 Chapter 55 Auction I

    The days passed quickly. Leo tried breaking through organically over these days but he could never surpass the limit by himself. He simply could not draw in the aura by himself and the aura from the pills wasn''t helping him actually make the circle. He didn''t know how it helped rice with her breakthrough, but his body was different.


    The only way he could think about to breakthrough was to buy the Swift Ascension Pill at the auction. So when the day of the auction came, he was very excited. He had bought himself better clothes to wear so that he wouldn''t seem out of ce there.


    He told Daphne he was going out for work and went to the auction. While he was wearing nice clothes, he also had avish cloak he bought for 10000 Starcoins that covered his face. He didn''t want to be seen by anyone powerful who might also want the pill.


    After getting ready, he set out to the auction hall. When he got there, he saw that the tower was closed. Since the auction was their biggest priority at the time, they didn''t even bother opening the tower to the general public.


    Outside the tower was a small crowd of people trying to get inside the auction hall. There were maybe a couple of hundred people there. It was right before the auction hall inside the tower opened, so he assumed that these were all of the participating people.


    As he walked forward, he saw that he recognized one of the people there. It was the mage that was guarding Aurora. She wasn''t with him, so he assumed that she went back to the academy.


    He quickly pulled up the cloak to hide his face. There was more than one person doing it, so he didn''t look too out of ce. He slowly went along with the crowd to the entrance. When he got there, he showed his card and entered the tower. He was given a paddle with the number 44 on it. He took it with him into the auction.


    Inside the tower, everyone was led to the first floor. For the first time, he would see the floor. He had never been and wanted to see what the noble experience was like. When he got there, he saw that the ce waspletely repurposed into an auction hall. There was a podium on a stage on one side and a huge seating arrangement facing it.


    Leo walked toward the general admission seating and picked a seat in the corner. He had the book that contained information about every product in his hand. He was nning on reading it while the auction was going on to understand how much each product was worth and why it was worth that much.


    The auctionmenced very shortly after everyone entered the hall. He was one of thest ones to enter, so he didn''t have to wait for long. An old person came to the stage. This was someone that he recognized. It was the same person who appraised his Beast Cores. He was the person who was overseeing the auction.


    "Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen. I am going to cut to the chase. We have some amazing products here today. We will start the first session of today now!" He said.


    As he said that, two beautiful girls brought in the first object that was up for auction. It was a beast core. However, unlike the normal beast cores that Leo normally saw, this one was filled with so much magical energy that he knew it was extremely powerful.


    "The first item for auction is the Beast Core of a 4th Circle Magical Beast! This beast core is from the Shadowfang Wolf, an Early-Stage 4th Circle Magical Beast. It was subdued by a group of adventurers from Eldridge City. The bidding starts at 3 million Starcoins."


    Leo shook his head. He knew that the core was out of his budget instantly. He was curious as to how much it would actually sell since it was the first item.


    "3 Million." Someone''s paddle went up instantly. The auctioneer announced the bid and looked for a raise in the price.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "3.1," another person raised their paddle. The bids starteding in. Meanwhile Leo was reading his book to learn about the item.


    The Beast Core was not supposed to be consumed directly. It was the most inefficient way to use the magic in the core. The more efficient way to use that magic was by condensing it into a potion. Mages who could do that were called alchemists.


    The Shadowfang Wolf''s Beast Core could be used to make a potion called the Shadowmeld Elixir. Not only did it enhance the mage''s magical strength by a little, but it also increased their ability to manipte shadows. This meant that if Leo took that potion, his proficiency in using the Shadow Step would most probably jump a level or even two.


    That level meant a lot of difference when you were jumping from Advanced to Master proficiency. The power of the spell would double. And this increase was only for a 2nd Circle Spell. For higher-level mages, the increase would be so much power that it would be more than worth a million Starcoins.


    The price quickly went to 7 million Starcoins and stopped. While the potion itself would be worth in the tens of millions of Starcoins, just the Beast Core couldn''t hit that price. The person who bought it would have to find an alchemist and hope that they can make the elixir for them. This was a long process that would take a lot of money and required connections.


    Leo saw that the person who bought the core was in the VIP section which made sense. He sighed. Even though he could use the core and the potion, he wouldn''t be able to afford even the normal core, much less hire an alchemist.


    "Sold, for 7,300,000 Starcoins to the man in VIP Box 3! We will now move to the next item."


    The two assistants quickly moved the item away from the stage and brought in a new item. This was also a beast core. Leo also noticed that the assistants were actually Apprentice Aura Knights, exining their speed in moving the items. This just showed the power of the Thousand Treasure Tower.


    They had the best products in the city and they hired Aura Knights to simply bring it onto the stage.


    The new Beast Core was only from a 3rd Circle Magical Beast. He guessed that the first item was only that rare because it was the first item. He looked at the book and saw that the starting price of each item was slowly going down.


    He sighed in relief. He was afraid that he wouldn''t even be able to buy the item he came for if they were all in the range of the first product.


    "This is the core of an Emberhorn Stag. It is a Late-Stage 3rd Circle Magical Beast. Let the bidding start at 2 million Starcoins!"


    The auctioneer tried to boost the item but Leo tuned it out. He wasn''t too interested in it since that wasn''t what he came for.

 Chapter 56 Auction II

    ?


    The core sold for 3 million Starcoins. The items after also sold for simr numbers. Nothing breached the 5 million mark apart from the first item. Still, the numbers were so astronomical.


    In the first session alone, he could count that there were 10 items that all sold for more than 2 million Starcoins.


    Time passed and the auction proceeded smoothly. The item that he hade for wasn''t going to be presented in the first session, so by the time the break came, he hadn''t bought anything at all.


    "Everyone, this marks the first session of the auction. We will reconvene after an hour." The old man said. Out of everyone there, he looked like he needed the break the most.


    When he said that, everyone got up from their seats to start talking to each other. There were attendantsing into the room with snacks for all the people there. Leo didn''t want to miss the action so he decided to participate in the conversations around him.


    "Hello, I am Victor Whitewind, from the Whitewind Family." One of the men was introducing himself to thedy that was sitting near them. She was also enthusiastic in her response.


    "I am Lyra Silvermoon. It''s a pleasure to meet you." She said. Before Leo could even start talking, he realized that the conversation was out of his world. They were nobles socializing with each other while he didn''t even have ast name. He decided not to participate in the discussion and went back to his seat.


    As he sat down, someone came and sat beside him. He was a simr age to him. He had brown hair and was wearing a cloak like Leo. He started talking to him.


    "Hi, I am Max!" He said.


    Leo smiled. He knew instantly that the person beside him wasn''t a noble. He was definitely amoner like him.


    "I am Leo," he introduced himself.


    "You look very young. Are you here with someone?" Max asked him.


    He shook his head. "No, I''m alone. What about you?"


    Max pointed to one of the corners where there were a few people talking among themselves. There was a person who looked like an adult version of Max there. He had the same brown hair and was talking to some nobles.


    "That''s my dad. He came here to make connections. Are you buying something?" He asked.


    Leo nodded. "Yes, I am trying to buy a pill. It shoulde up in the next session. Are you not buying anything?"


    "Nope," he said. "Everything here is for mages. There are only a few items for Aura Knights that I can''t even use. They are either for rich families or powerful Aura Knights. I am neither."


    Leo smiled. He was one of the persons buying the pill that would help him be an Aura Knight. As they were talking, the discussion of academies came up.


    "Oh, I am in the Solhaven Academy for Aura Knights. I am nning on going to Eldridge once I break through to be a Middle-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight. Then I can join one of the academies there. It might take me a year or two." Max said. "I never saw you there. Do you go somewhere else?"


    Leo shook his head. "No, I am not in an academy yet. I am going to think about it next year when the admission cycle starts."


    While they were talking, the auctioneer came back to the podium.


    "I hope you enjoyed the break. We are now resuming the auction." He said.


    Max quickly went back to his seat while Leo took his book out and started observing the auction. The items in the second session were a lot less expensive than the ones in the first session and he could see that more people in the general admission categories were bidding for them. None of them even crossed a million Starcoins.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Eventually, the item that Leo hade for appeared on the podium. The auctioneer announced the item.


    "The next item is the Swift Ascension Pill. This pill will help your child break through into the first circle to be a real Aura Knight! Bidding starts at 500,000 Starcoins!" The auctioneer tried to hype the pill up but it wasn''t useful. No one was interested in the item.


    Leo raised his paddle after a few seconds to be the first bidder.


    "500,000 from the gentlemen here with number 44! Do I hear a 510,000?"


    After a short pause, someone else raised their paddle. Leo winced. He was hoping that no one else would bid on the pill. But now that someone else waspeting with him, he would have to pay more.


    He raised his paddle quickly before the auctioneer could even say anything.


    "520 from 44!"


    The other person also raised their paddle. The price slowly started rising. From the initial 500,000 Starcoins, it went to 800,000 before slowing down. Leo was persistent in his bidding because the pill was so important to him.


    Once the price reached, 900,000 the other bidder backed down.


    "900,000 Starcoins going once!" The auctioneer announced.


    "Going twice! Going thrice! Sold to the gentlemen with paddle 44!"


    Leo smiled. He hoped that the purchase would show results. For any other person, 900,000 Starcoins would be enough to groom a dozen 1st Circle Aura Knights. But this was important to Leo because he had to show that he was an Aura Knight himself. He could easily earn all that money back as a mage anyway.


    Pleased with himself, he sat back for the rest of the auction. He didn''t find anything else interesting so he just kept track of the cost of each item. The session quickly ended and it went into a second break.


    Leo saw that Max was leaving with his father, so he checked what was left in the items for the day. He saw that all of them were items for mages that all started at 1 million Starcoins. He smiled bitterly but chose to stay.


    For the rest of the day, he did not notice any product that screamed out to him like the 4th Circle Beast Core. The day was veryckluster. The third session was thest session for the day, so he went back home after it.


    The next day, after thinking hard, he decided to go for the second day of the auction. He knew that thest product would be the most expensive one, but he didn''t know what it was. It was masked by the book and he would have to appear in person to see what it was.


    So he got ready and went to the auction again. He was very interested in seeing what thest item would be and how much it would sell for. When he got there, he saw that Max was also there. He saw Leo and walked toward him.


    "Hi, Leo!" Max said.


    Leo nodded. "Hello, Max. How are you doing?"


    Max was with his father, so he also joined the discussion.


    "Who are you talking to, Max? Did you make a new friend?" He asked.


    "Yes, this is Leo! Leo -" Max paused. He didn''t know Leo''sst name and it was courtesy to introduce thest name too. He didn''t know that Leo didn''t even have ast name.

 Chapter 57 Auction III

    ?


    "It''s just Leo. I don''t have ast name," Leo said.


    Max turned toward him with a shocked face. He had no idea that Leo was not from a prominent family. He expected everyone participating in the auction to be from a rich family, even if they weremoners.


    Meanwhile, Max''s father was very interested in Leo. He was interested in the young boy who was able to amass 1 million Starcoins without being from a family with a family name. It would mean he was an orphan, so it was incredibly difficult to actually achieve that feat.


    Leo stopped their trains of thought. "You are?" He asked Max''s father.


    "Oh, I am Ian Somerhald. I am Max''s father. I manage the Somerhald Chamber of Commerce. We operate in Solhaven but our goodse from Eldridge." Ian said.


    "I wish I could talk more, but the auction is starting soon," Leo said. He quickly went into the auction hall. He was interested in seeing what kind of items were going to appear in the auction that day.


    He went to the same seat he sat in the previous day and waited for the auction to start. The old auctioneer entered quickly and started the first session of the day. Like the first and third sessions, they started with boring items that only mages could buy.


    As Leo was getting bored, the auctioneer announced something that made Leo pay attention.


    "This next item is a mysterious seed that our adventurers uncovered in an ancient vige. The seed was regarded as an heirloom and stored in an antique box made of gold and diamonds. We don''t know the exact name of this seed nor what it will sprout, but we know it will give birth to a magical nt! The bidding starts at 1 million Starcoins!" He said.


    If it was just a normal seed that gave a magical tree, Leo wouldn''t be as interested. This wasn''t the first magical seed in this auction. There were two of them that went for 2 million each. However, the reason that Leo was paying attention was because of the tattoo of the tome on his wrist.


    The minute the attendants brought the seed onto the stage, he started feeling the tome react to the seed. It started bing warm as if telling him to somehow get his hands on the seed.


    He knew one thing that worked in his life - trust the tome. So now he needed to get his hands on the seed. He raised his pallet.


    "I see 1 million! Do I see 1.1 million? 1.1 million!" The auctioneer started calling out the bids.


    Fortunately for Leo, even though a lot of people were intrigued by the seed, they weren''t putting too much money to buy it. Normally, magical trees went for upwards of 2 million for even the most basic ones. But that was because they were guaranteed to get a tree that gave magical fruits and herbs consistently.


    The problem with this seed was that the environment to grow the seed and the fruit it would produce werepletely unknown. There was no guarantee that a tree would actually grow from the seed, and even if it somehow did, no one knew what kind of fruit woulde out.


    The bidding came to a halt at 1.5 million Starcoins with Leo as the winner. With this, his bank ount was basically demolished, but he got what he wanted. He smiled happily, pleased with his purchases.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He sat back for the rest of the auction, just observing. At each break, he would talk to Max and then go back to the auction after. Time passed and the time came to unveil the final item for auction.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen, we have had a fabulous two days here at the Thousand Treasure Tower. Today, we are going to see an item that has never appeared here at Solhaven. This item will definitely be incredibly useful for anyone. Our final item for auction is..."


    As the auctioneer announced the item''s information, the attendants brought in a small cage that was veiled by a cloth. They set it on the stage and were ready to take the cloth off when the item was announced.


    "A Purple Moon Wolf Cub!" He shouted as loud as his old voice would. The auction hall immediately went berserk. As berserk as a crowd full of nobles could at least. Everyone started talking among themselves while the auctioneer talked about the cub.


    "A Purple Moon Wolf typically bes a 3rd Circle Magical Beast when it reaches adulthood. There is a very small chance that it might even be a 4th Circle Magical Beast. This cub will take only 5 years to reach adolescence and 7 years for adulthood. This cub was found in our very own Valkyr''s Woods. The bidding starts at 15 million Starcoins." He said.


    Leo immediately looked toward the VIP boxes. He could sense from the previous day that there were a lot of powerful people there. He could sense 4 3rd Circle Mages there, all from different noble families. He realized what a potential Magical Beast that was in the 3rd Circle meant immediately.


    It would upset the power bnce and one family would be more powerful than everyone else. Except for the magistrate, but the magistrate was always supposed to be neutral.


    The other thing that this meant which was more imminent to him was where the cub came from. If a potential 3rd Circle Magical Beast came from Valkyr''s Woods, that meant that the parent or parents of the cub were still there. Since they were probably adult wolves, they were at least 3rd Circle Magical Beasts.


    He knew that the city was going to experience a Beast Wave in a few months. His experience in the forest showed signs of it. But if the leader of the Beast Wave suddenly lost their child to the settlement they were going to attack anyway, the only possible oue would be that the timeline would be changedpletely.


    Now he was going to have to prepare for an attack that could happen anytime. He no longer had any chance to goof around and slowly experiment. He was going to increase his strength as quickly as possible.


    As he was talking, the first bid came up. He recognized the person. It was the person who was guarding Aurora. The bid didn''t stay for long as someone else immediately raised their pallet.


    In a few minutes, the price went from 15 million to 25 million Starcoins. Leo saw this happen and smiled. He didn''t think that a beast cub could be worth this much. The next highest item in the entire auction was the first one which went for 7 million Starcoins.


    As he was thinking that, he heard a voicee from the VIP rooms. Till now, he didn''t hear or see anything happen in the four VIP rooms that had 3rd Circle Mages. Only the other rooms acted on any items. But now he heard one of them speak instead of raise their pallets. The voice was very clear even though it was soft. The entire auction hall could hear it.


    "Why waste time? 50 million Starcoins."

 Chapter 58 Items

    ?


    Everyone quieted down. No one in the general section had close to enough money to afford 50 million Starcoins. They weren''t going to be able topete with the people in the VIP boxes.


    Moreover, they knew exactly who it was in the box. They knew that since the voice was so clear throughout the hall, it was a sound transmission technique that 3rd Circle Mages could execute.


    "Stop scaring away the juniors. If they can''t y with you, I will. 55 million." Another voice came from the box right beside.


    "60 million," ady from the third VIP box pitched in.


    The auctioneer let the voices bid among themselves without trying to announce the bids. He didn''t want to involve himself in the mages that could easily outpower him.


    Leo watched as the price quickly shot up. When it hit 92 million Starcoins, the bidding stopped. The person with thest bid was also the person who started the bidding with 50 million. One of the other people in the VIP boxesmented.


    "The Silvershade family will definitely see a huge hole in their finances after this purchase. How will you feed the cub?"


    Even though a lot of the audience members were thinking that none of them dared to voice it out like him. Meanwhile, Leo was concentrating on how the Silvershade family was the one who bought the cub. It was better to know who he should avoid in the future.


    "That marks the end of this auction! Everyone who has made a purchase can im their items anytime in the next week. If they fail to im and pay for their items, there will be a penalty of 1 million Starcoins exacted from your Treasure Tower ount. Thank you, and have a great day!"


    Leo got up from his seat at the same time as everyone else. He had all of his money with him in his dimensional ring so he did not have to wait to go get the money. Some people would have to quickly liquify their assets to pay for their purchases. The Silvershade family was definitely one of them. There was no way they had 90 million Starcoins lying around to use.


    Leo went downstairs to see if there was a huge line. There wasn''t. He was right in that no one carried their money to the auction. The people who did have dimensional rings made huge purchases so they wouldn''t have all that money in there.


    He quickly went to the counter and showed his paddle number.


    "Paddle Number 44. You made two purchases, totaling 2.4 million Starcoins. With a 5% processing fee, your totales to 2.5 million Starcoins." The receptionist said.


    "Can you also give me 5 Aura Gathering Pills?" He asked her. She nodded.


    He took out the money from his dimensional ring and handed it to her.


    "Take the rest from my ount," he said. She nodded and went to the back.


    She came back with the two items and the pills.


    "These items are both safe to put in the dimensional ring, sir," She said. He nodded and headed back.


    The reason she said that was because living things weren''t going to survive inside the dimensional ring.He ced the items inside and headed back to his house. He bought the pills for Daphne since they no longer affected him. He would have to see after his breakthrough, but until then he would give them to her.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He needed her to get stronger too for the Beast Wave. Once he reached the house, he talked to Daphne first.


    "Where did you go?" She asked him. He showed her the pills.


    "I went to buy some pills for you," he said. She was surprised.


    "Why? I thought I was going to buy my own from now on," she asked him.


    He started exining to her about the Beast Wave. He didn''t tell her that he went to the auction because he would have to exin where he got the money for what he bought. He would also have to hide what he bought and all of that would be too much work.


    He just told her about how there was going to be a Beast Wave and that they would have to be ready to face an enormous number of beasts pouring out of the forest.


    She took a moment to process this information.


    "So do we just have to get stronger?" She asked. He nodded. She would already fare better than defenseless people who didn''t know how to use aura.


    The problem with aura was that even though everyone had ess to it, none of them had the talent to learn it. Daphne was lucky that she was very talented in learning aura by herself in such a short time frame.


    "Fine, what about you?" She asked.


    "I am also going to get stronger. I have my own pills," he said. He handed the pills over to her and left. He told her all she needed to know. Now it was in her hands.


    He went to his room and took out everything he bought. He was going to see what each item is and prepare before using everything.


    The first thing he took out was the seed. The moment he took it out, he could feel his tome react again. He touched it for the first time. He brought it closer to take a better look at it. The seed initially appeared as a small, obsidian-like orb.


    However, when he touched it, it shined for a second and changed to be an orb with a mesmerizing, ever-shifting pattern of intricate silver runes etched across its surface. It emanated an aura of ancient energy. He was able to sense that the seed had a small amount of innate magic in it. There wasn''t much, but it was deeply concentrated into a small dot.


    He didn''t know if the people who sold the seed knew about this transformation or if it was just unique to him. If it was unique, then it was probable because of his tome which was also the reason he bought the seed in the first ce.


    When he held it in his hand, the seed pulsed with a gentle, ethereal light, casting intricate shadows that dance with ancient symbols. Its touch evoked a profound sensation in him. He felt that he could suddenly connect to the natural world a lot better than before and that if he trained his magic at that moment, he would be able to train twice as fast.


    As he held it for a few seconds, the tome on his wrist started shining like the seed. It was as if it was beckoning the seed to it. He didn''t offer it immediately because he still wanted to look at it. His eyes were glued to the moving runes that seemed like they spelled something out.


    He didn''t understand at first but still stared at it. As time passed, he suddenly realized that something changed. He didn''t notice at first, but he was starting to lose magic in his body. The magic was slowly being drained by the seed in his hands.

 Chapter 59 Elderwood

    ?


    He quickly tried to drop the seed back to the ground, but it stayed attached to his fingers. He didn''t know what to do, but he didn''t panic yet since the rate at which his magic was being drained was fairly slow.


    He looked at the glowing tattoo and then the glowing orb. He put the seed on the tattoo to see if there would be a reaction. Suddenly, the tattoo shined for a second and absorbed the seed. His 1.5 million purchase was nowhere to be seen.


    He thought for a minute about what happened to the seed. Then he felt his magic flow was a little different than normal. He realized that his magic was still being absorbed, only the magic was still staying in his mind.


    He immediately entered his mind to see what the problem was. He entered the field to see if there was anything causing the change. He saw the two stars were remaining constant, but the third cloud was swirling around one particr location.


    There was a thin line that connected the cloud to the ground and the magic was slowly entering the ground. He walked to that location to see what it was. When he got there, he saw the seed that he had bought.


    It was lodged into the ground like it had been nted there. The difference was that there was a crack in the seed. From the crack, a small sapling was slowly emerging. As it started to emerge, the rate at which the magic was being absorbed from him increased.


    He was initially tensed when he saw this happen, but he decided to let it happen. It wasn''t affecting any of his stars and he could always just gather more magic when he needed to. He wanted to see what the sapling would do to his mind.


    His mind was very boring before this. It was just endless fields that were illuminated by the stars in the sky. But with this sapling, he realized that it could be more than that. Moreover, the seed was initially an object from the real world. He realized that he could bring objects from the real world into his mind. This meant that his mind itself was like a dimensional ring. He just didn''t know how to use it.


    After a while, the sapling grew to half his height and stopped. The connection between it and the cloud disappeared, but there was barely any magic left in that anyway. The sapling sucked away all of his gains after his breakthrough to the 2nd Star. He was now just an Early-Stage 2nd Star Mage when he used to be very close to breaking through to the Middle-Stage.


    The sapling had 5 leaves that had patterns simr to the pattern on the seed. He decided to take a closer look at the leaf. They were obsidian-colored leaves with the same silver runes dancing on the surface. He touched one of the leaves and could feel the soft leaf with his fingers. He tried to pluck the leaf and it easily came out.


    He took a closer look for a few minutes and decided to go back to the physical world after making sure that there was no more problem with his magic being absorbed by the sapling.


    When he got back, to his surprise the leaf he had plucked was in his hands. It was giving him the same mysterious feeling and he felt that with the leaf he could practice a lot more easier. Also, he could magically understand one of the runes etched on it.


    [Elderwood]


    He didn''t know why he suddenly knew what the rune meant, but he guessed that it was because of the tome. He realized that the seed was the seed of an Elderwood Tree, but he didn''t know what that was.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He decided to think about itter and tried to start training with the leaf in his hands instead of a normal Beast Core. Normally he would absorb the magic in the Beast Core with suboptimal efficiency, but the leaf wasn''t like that.


    The leaf made it a lot easier for him to attract magic to himself. He could normally sense the magic very easily, but there wasn''t any magic density in the roompared to Beast Cores. However, the leaf itself attracted a tremendous amount of magic,parable to the 2nd Circle Beast Core.


    Moreover, because it was not polluted like the Beast Core''s magic, he could easily absorb all of it without any problem. It was so simple that he decided to keep training for the rest of the day. He only stopped when he realized that the effect was gone.


    When he opened his eyes, he saw that the leaf had crumbled to dust, but he wasn''t bothered. The amount of magic he had umted in that one session was enough topensate for all the magic that the Elderwood seed had sucked from him.


    He was very tempted to keep plucking the rest of the leaves from the nt and keep training, but he wanted to check some other things first. He wanted to see to what extent he could use his mind as a dimensional ring.


    He picked up the book with all the auction items and entered his mind first. When he did, he saw that his hand was empty. The book stayed in the real world. He went back and picked up another object - amp. He didn''t see any sess.


    He tried picking up something more magical the next time. He picked up a 1st Circle Beast Core that he had left from his training sessions. It was still there because it had been a while since he had used Beast Cores to train. This time, the core was able to enter his mind with him.


    However, the core seemed very ethereal. It seemed like it was going to break in a few seconds. He moved his arm just a little, and the Beast Core disintegrated. The dust from the core still had hints of magic to it though. The dustnded on the sapling that was right in front of him.


    The dust settled on top of the leaves of the nt. When it touched the leaves, they suddenly glowed and absorbed the Beast Core dust. He saw the nt grow another centimeter but stopped after that.


    The magic in a 1st Circle Beast Core was barely anythingpared to all the magic it sucked from him. It made sense that it couldn''t grow from just that. Based on what he saw though, he realized something that would change how he trained.


    His mind would only let something with magic enter. However, even those objects would just be reduced to the magic in them and wouldn''t stay as physical objects. The nt was an anomaly that he would have to look into more.


    He could stop using Beast Cores from then and only use them to feed the nt instead of using his own magic. And if there were more leaves that grew out, he could start using those leaves to train than Beast Cores. This would help him grow stronger faster than just sticking to Beast Cores.

 Chapter 60 Aura Knight

    ?


    He took the entire day to figure out how the nt worked. After getting back to his original condition, he got ready to open the second item he bought.


    The first item more than lived up to its price. The amount of help it would give him in the future when training was not measurable by money. He wouldn''t need to buy any pills from the Thousand Treasure Tower masking his identity to train his magic.


    He was nning on doing that because of how hard it was getting to use Beast Cores. Now he could just use the Beast Cores to feed his nt.


    He now had to see if the Swift Ascension Pill was actually worth the price. It would be as long as he got to the 1st Circle. He prepared himself to take the pill.


    The first thing he did was shut off himself from magic and started circting the aura in his body. He did this to get his mind and body more ustomed to aura than magic because of how often he uses thetter. He did this for an hour to get the hang of it.


    Once he finished circting the aura around his body, he took the item out. It was an exquisite box made of wood. He opened the box to reveal the sky-blue pill with clouds etched onto it. The box emanated a sweet fragrance when he opened it. The fragrance itself had hints of aura that agitated the aura in his body and made it circte faster.


    He smiled and took the pill in one go. He immediately prepared himself to form the circle. He didn''t know what a circle was supposed to be initially, so he peeked into what Daphne''s aura looked like beforehand. He wasn''t strong enough to see every detail in her body - he would have to be at least a 5th Star Mage to do that - but he could see where the majority of the aura was and how it circted.


    Hebined this with the instructions in the aura manual he bought. The manual told him to congregate all the aura into his dantian and then form the circle. He knew from experience that the aura would be a little wild in the start so he started circting it.


    The pill dissolved instantly into his mouth when he took it and the aura within it surged into his body. The aura that entered his body from the Swift Ascension Pill was a lot more dense and malleablepared to the aura from the Aura Gathering Pill. It was less wild and became tame very quickly.


    He guided the aura to his dantian after he circted it around a few times. Once all of the aura settled there, he started forming the circle.


    Forming the circle was drawing a circle with aura around the dantian that would make the flow of aura a lot easier and allow him to store more aura. The way the circle aplished this was by using runes to expand the dantian. So for the circle to be effective, he would have to draw the runes in the circle properly.


    He failed previously because the aura he had was too wild for him to control. If he ever tried to control the aura while still maintaining control over the magic, it would fail. He could let go of the magic if he wanted to, but he would then not be able to distinguish between the two separate entities of aura and magic. So he would treat magic and aura the same if he let go of control.


    However, the aura in the pill was so gentle that he was able to form the circle easily. He guided the aura into the formation that he saw in the book and let it sit. He slowly drew the runes on the corners of the circle carefully. Once the circle finished, it glowed lightly and shrunk to encircle the dantian. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    After it wrapped itself around the dantian, it solidified. Leo let go and took a deep breath. He had seeded in forming a circle. He was now a 1st Circle Aura Knight. It was a lot easier than he thought because of the pill and he was happy it was like that. Now he wouldn''t have a problem until he had to break through next.


    But that was not in the near future. Now that he had finished breaking through, he had only two more things to do. He checked outside to see what time it was. The sun was still up, so he got out of the house. He walked to the Thousand Treasure Tower. He was going to buy an Aura Technique. Daphne was still in her room training, so he didn''t bother disturbing her.


    Even though he was officially a 1st Circle Aura Knight, he had no technique to use like Daphne. If he got a fire-based technique or a shadow-based one, he could mask his use of magic. It would also help him in the future when he was battling if he had a shadow technique.


    He got to the tower and went to browse through the techniques that he thought would help him. He looked through all the descriptions of the techniques that were slightly more expensive and finally settled on two techniques. He still had to pick between both of them.


    [Scorching Fury Thrust]


    [A de that radiates fiery heat as it strikes with swift precision. Upon impact, a burst of scorching fire engulfs the target, leaving them scorched and defeated.]


    [Twilight Veil sh]


    [A de that cuts through with swift grace, leaving an afterimage of darkness. It disorients and blinds foes, inflicting both physical and metaphysical damage.]


    After thinking for a while, he decided to go with the Twilight Veil sh. Either way, the technique wouldn''t do any damagepared to his mage techniques. It would be better to have a technique that supported him by confusing his opponent than a technique that produced a worse version of what he already could do.


    He took the book to the counter and bought it. He still had 450,000 Starcoins left from his original loot from the cktooth Gang. He bought another 3 Aura Gathering Pills that cost 150,000 Starcoins along with the Aura Technique that cost 300,000 Starcoins. With this, he waspletely out of money to even buy Aura Gathering Pills. He would have to hunt Magical Beasts again to start gathering money.


    He took the book with him back home. On the way, he nned out his routine for the next few days. The second thing on his agenda was solidifying his ability as an Aura Knight. Optimally, he would be a Late-Stage Aura Knight and learn how to use his Aura Technique with Advanced proficiency.


    There would be setbacks in the future if he progressed that quickly in aura - he would be weaker than other Aura Knights if solely aura was beingpared. However, he didn''t mind that. Aura to him was only a facade. After he believed that his aura was strong enough, he would focus on training in magic. He was, after all, a mage first.

 Chapter 61 Training I

    ?


    His urgency to train in magic was not just because of the iing Beast Wave. He would be fine in the wave even if it happened as it is. He could even run away from the city with Daphne. They could leave everything they had at Solhaven because they didn''t have anything to care about.


    Even if they stayed, both of them were 1st Circle Aura Knights. As long as they stayed inside the city, they would be able to fight off the stray Magical Beasts that managed to enter the city. But Leo wasn''t nning on staying in the safety of the city.


    The entire city would be in lockdown with the strongest mages in it fighting the strongest Magical Beasts in Valkyr''s Woods. This meant that the center of the forest would bepletely free. He would be able to easily enter and see if there was indeed an inheritance left behind by a mage or not.


    To do that, he would have to prepare to face any stray beasts. There shouldn''t be any 4th Circle Beasts, but there was a chance that there was a 3rd Circle Beast there, considering that the outer forest now had 2nd Circle Magical Beasts regrly appearing there.


    To start all of this, he would have to first train his aura technique. He sighed and immediately started. He knew that he would only train his aura to be shadow natured for the first two or three days.


    He needed to actually face off against real Magical Beasts to showcase the true power of an aura technique, so he was going to go to the forest after those two days. He pulled out the manual for the Twilight Veil sh. It was a sword technique that harnesses the power of shadows.


    When the technique was initiated, an aura of darkness would envelop the de, making it shimmer with a faint bluish hue akin to the twilight sky. With swift and precise movements, the swordsman would then unleash a series of shes that cut through the air with an eerie grace.


    As the de arced through the target, a veil of shadow would trail behind it, momentarily obscuring the surroundings in an ethereal darkness. Upon impact, the Twilight Veil sh would release a burst of suppressed energy, causing an illusionary wave of twilight shadows to ripple through the air. It leaves behind an afterimage of darkness, momentarily blinding and disorienting the opponent. The technique not only inflicts physical damage but also disrupts the enemy''s senses, making it harder for them to counter or evade subsequent attacks.


    The hardest part about learning the technique was making his aura be imbibed with the power of shadows and darkness. To Leo, this was the easiest part because of his proficiency with the shadow step. He already experienced the shadows himself. Since he knew how the shadows interacted and how they felt, it was just a matter of turning his aura to be more inclined toward that.


    He thought about the shadows that were under his feet and circted his aura. He then tried to coat his dagger with that aura. His attempt to coat the sword with aura failed miserably, but the aura had a hint of shadows.


    He shook his head and tried coating the dagger with aura again. He forgot that for him, controlling the aura to coat his weapon was harder than imbibing it with an element. He spent the next few hours just training to coat his dagger with his aura. After the first ten tries, he started to get the hang of it.


    As time passes, he started getting better at it. Once he got used to that, he started trying to introduce the shadow element to it as well. The manual told him that he was supposed to do that first, but he wasn''t too bothered about that aspect.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    In just one hour, he was able to coat his dagger with a shadow aura. He smiled, pleased with his progress. He decided to take a break from training in aura for the rest of the day and went to train magic for a few hours before resting for the night.


    The next morning, he woke up early and started with some aura training. He took an Aura Gathering Pill to see if it still had an effect on him. He felt the aura and circted it around his body. It was still the same amount of aura, but he realized thatpared to the aura he needed to be a Peak-Stage Apprentice Aura Knight, he needed a lot more to be a 2nd Circle Aura Knight.


    For the former, he took 3 pills, but for thetter, he expected he needed at least 30 pills. Those pills would only help him be a Peak-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight. He expected that he would need another pill like the Swift Ascension Pill to form his second circle too. This meant that he would need to somehow get his hands on 1 million Starcoins to buy the rest of the pills he needed to reach the Late-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight like he wanted to.


    The only good thing that he got from the entire realization was that he was a lot faster at absorbing the pills. He used to take 8 hours to circte the aura in the pill till it became tame. Now he only took 3 hours. He still needed a break before taking them. If he took them consecutively, he would be exhausted.


    He decided to only take one pill before going to train his Twilight Veil sh. He still hadn''t started training the main part of the technique. He still wanted to train his ability to readily coat his dagger with the aura quickly. He also wanted to increase how much shadow element he was imbibing into the dagger.


    For two hours, he practiced coating the weapon and for the next three, he practiced doing that with elemental aura. After doing that again for another 5 hours, he finally felt that he was ready enough to face the forest.


    Compared to Daphne entering for the first time, Leo already had experience fighting Magical Beasts. He also had the power of a 2nd Star Mage which made him invincible against any 1st Circle Magical Beast.


    There wasn''t any universe where he would be getting hurt in the process of hunting the Magical Beast. Along with that, with the Beast Cores, he could also nourish the Elderwood nt in his mind. If he didn''t, then his n to train his magic would be halted.


    So the trip to the forest would be better if it was as early as possible. It would help him practice freely without him worrying about damaging the house as well. He paid rent on time to the person, but he didn''t want to deal with any damages even if he could afford it.


    He trained his magic for a few hours in the night before going to sleep. He restedpletely and woke up early the next day too. He thought about it a little bit and decided not to take Daphne with him to the forest. He packed up and set out.

 Chapter 62 Training II

    ?


    The reason he didn''t want to bring Daphne was that the possibility that he would encounter a 2nd Circle Magical Beast was fairly high. Since he was going to venture into the forest, it would be better if he was alone so that he could use his mage powers. With Daphne, he would be handicapped since he would be limited to using his aura which he wasn''t used to.


    He walked to the forest. On the way, he dropped by the inn again to see if there were any changes. With the cktooth Gang gone for only ten days, he didn''t expect much change. But to his surprise, the outside waspletely cleaned up.


    The damage that the cktooth Gang members had made initially was all gone and the decorations had increased. It seemed that with the loan cleared, Miller didn''t have to pay exorbitant amounts of money as interest. With that money being left over, he could use it for the inn unlike before.


    Leo entered the inn and saw that the customers were a lot more lively than before. There were more people there as well. He immediately saw Miller at the counter, taking the money from the customers. He looked a lot brighter than before. He smiled and took a table in the corner and pulled up his cloak. He didn''te here to talk to them, but it was nice to know they were in a good ce.


    He listened in to the conversations while sipping on a non-alcoholic beer. After an hour, he paid for his drink and left the inn. He learned that the forest was more restless than he expected. The entirety of the Outer Forest was infested with 1st Circle and 2nd Circle Magical Beasts.


    The only reason no one showed fear was that they trusted the magistrate who took care of the problem the previous time too. Apparently, the reason he acted so slowly was that he was only appointed after the problem started.


    He prepared himself for the influx of Magical Beasts and walked to the forest. Since he now had aura, he no longer needed Body Strengthening Magic. No matter how strong he was, it wouldn''t be giving him more physical strength than actual aura. With aura, he would be twice as strong as with just Body Strengthening Magic. There was also the fact that he had more aura than normal Aura Knights. This also let him reduce his dependency on magic.


    As he was walking to the forest, he practiced coating his de with aura. As he got closer to the forest, he started putting more attention to his surroundings. This was the first time he wasing back to the forest after he broke through to be a 2nd Star Mage. He was now armed with his improved senses and would be able to sense any close by Magical Beasts.


    As he got closer to the Outer Forest, he sensed Pseudo-1st Circle Magical Beasts in the outskirts. He ignored them and walked into the Outer Forest. He got his dagger ready and looked for his initial prey.


    He found a victim very quickly. It was a Flickertail Snake, a weak Early-Stage 1st Circle Magical Beast. It noticed Leo walking towards it and started fleeing away instead of attacking him. It was on the bottom of the food chain and was more ustomed to running instead of fighting back.


    Leo didn''t want to let his prey go so easily and Shadow Stepped to stop the snake. He quickly got in front of it and shed it with his de that was coated with the aura. Unlike what it was supposed to do, the de only barely left behind a trail of darkness and struck the snake.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The de struck it and injured it heavily, but it didn''t release a burst of energy. He wasn''t able to transfer his aura in time to do that. The snake was pushed back and he tried shing it again. It resulted in the same sh that didn''t give any burst.


    He sighed and went to the dead snake and took out the Beast Core. Then he went to his next victim. He was going to keep practicing his sh on live targets since he wouldn''t be wasting time. Instead of wasting his aura on a tree, he could kill Magical Beasts and gain Beast Cores in the process.


    For the rest of the day, he only looked for weak 1st Circle Magical Beasts that he could easily kill with his aura. He avoided any monsters stronger than that because he didn''t want to spend his time on them. By the end of the day, he was able to kill 8 Magical Beasts before deciding that it was time to head back. In total, he obtained 9 1st Circle Beast Cores.


    He also made some progress with his Twilight Veil sh. From making no explosion at contact, he started to make a minor eruption of aura once his dagger contacted the Magical Beast. It didn''t deal a lot of damage, but it was good progress.


    He went back home and immediately checked to see if the Beast Cores would have any effect on the nt. He took all of them into his mind and threw them onto his nt. They crumbled into dust and covered the nt. The nt absorbed all of the dust and grew almost 10 centimeters. With that growth, he could see that a leaf was threatening to sprout, but it would still take more cores for the nt to grow another leaf.


    However, it still meant that the nt would keep growing leaves. The new leaf was growing in the same ce as the one he plucked out though, so he would need to make the nt grow more if he wanted to see whether it could grow more than 5 leaves.


    After watering his tree with Beast Cores, he went back to practicing magic. Even though he was sure that the nt would grow more leaves, he didn''t start using the leaves yet. He wanted to use them only after he was done with training in aura. He was nning on focusing solely on magic for a period of time.


    This meant that he would gather enough Beast Cores and grow enough leaves so that he could spend an entire week just training his magic continuously. He was also very doubtful about his timeline. He thought that the Beast Wave would happen in less than a month. But at the rate at which he saw the expansion in the forest, it might take longer.


    He wasn''t sure if that was a good thing though. That meant that the Magical Beast in charge was not just a 3rd Circle Purple Moon Wolf but something stronger. This would be dangerous for Solhaven. However, that also meant that his original estimate of two months would be more apt and he would have enough time to grow stronger.


    This didn''t mean that he was decreasing his training intensity. He had to be prepared for either of his predictions. He went to sleep for just 3 hours after finishing his magic training and got up the next day to go to the forest. He couldn''t afford time for something as mundane as sleep.

 Chapter 63 Training III

    ?


    He went back to the forest the next day. He upgraded from just weak Magical Beasts to Early-Stage Magical Beasts as well. He didn''t want to go against any Middle-Stage Magical Beasts with his aura yet because he knew he wouldn''t be able to do much.


    He spent most of the day using his Twilight Veil sh against them. Hemonly paired that with the Shadow Step to get to his opponent quickly without it noticing so his proficiency in that was improving as well. He didn''t realize it because he wasn''t practicing it in the training room in his mind space, but it was growing little by little.


    At the end of the day, he had hunted 10 Magical Beasts. Before going, however, he stayed back for onest hunt. He was going to hunt a 2nd Circle Magical Beast.


    He needed an abundance of Aura Gathering Pills to reach the Late-Stage of 1st Circle Aura Knight. However, he was out of money with his previous purchase. With all of his Beast Cores going to feed his Elderwood nt, he needed to hunt a 2nd Circle Magical Beast to buy an Aura Gathering Pill every day.


    He had 4 left, but he needed to n for the future when he was going to take them together to break through in one training session. So he looked for an Early-Stage Magical Beast to hunt in the Outer Forest. Since it was only the Outer Forest, most of the 2nd Circle Magical Beasts there were not stronger than that. He found his target very quickly.


    It was an Early-Stage 2nd Circle Frostmane Panther. He wasn''t too worried about dealing with it because he was not alone and could use magic. He had been training his magic for long enough. With the recovered magic from the Elderwood leaf as well as his daily training, he was almost a Middle-Stage 2nd Star Mage. He would need to do more than train normally to cross that barrier, but it meant he was stronger than a normal Early-Stage 2nd Circle Magical Beast.


    He started confusing the panther early on by popping around it using his Shadow Step. Since it was darker as it reached the end of the evening, it was easier to execute the Shadow Step. He easily got behind it and cast a me Burst. In less than 5 minutes, he was able to kill the panther. He was also surprised by how easily he could kill the panther.


    He took the Beast Core from its corpse and went back to Solhaven. He had his cloak with him so he could mask his face on the way back. He went straight to the Thousand Treasure Tower to sell his Beast Core. After he got 80,000 Starcoins for it, he went back to his house without actually buying the pill. He was going to buy all of them at once.


    It was still around 8 PM when he got back, so he took an Aura Gathering Pill to increase his aura first. Once he did that, he then switched to training his magic. Even though he was close to crossing to the next minor stage, he refused to take a leaf from the nt yet. He wanted to stick to his n.


    This schedule persisted for the rest of that week. By the end of it, he was finally done with training his Twilight Veil sh. He had reached what he expected to be around Intermediate proficiency with the technique. Since it was not magic and aura instead, he was slower at learning the technique. His monstrous talent in magic didn''t trante to aura.


    Along with his Twilight Veil sh, his Shadow Step also ranked up. He was now at Expert Proficiency at the Shadow Step, which meant that it was almost like a second nature to him. Almost. He could travel through the shadow world like he was swimming at this point. There was still room for improvement that he recognized.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The only reason he realized that he had reached expert proficiency was because he felt that it was easier to travel through the shadow world so he checked the training room in his mind space to see if there was any progress. As he expected, there was.


    Other than that, he also reached the Middle-Stage of the 1st Circle Aura Knight. He had been taking one pill a day till he ran out. Once he ran out, he started hunting two 2nd Circle Magical Beasts a day for two days. With all that money he bought 15 pills.


    He bought the first 8 pills when he ran out of pills and used half of them that day too. He used the other half the next day and that brought him to the next minor stage. He still had 7 left, which would not be enough to take him to the Late-Stage, but it would bring him very close. He would only need between 2-4 pills more to reach that stage.


    Compared to him, Daphne was already in the Peak-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight. She was only taking one pill every two dayspared to him who was trying to take 20 in the span of one week. She wasn''t taking them as much as him not only because she didn''t have as many, but because it was bad to take those many.


    Because Leo''s body was weird, he was able to take those many pills without exploding. If it was anyone else, they wouldn''t be able to take that much aura as a 1st Circle Aura Knight. Leo talked to Daphne to ask if she needed anything else before she attempted to break through to the 2nd Circle, but she didn''t ask for anything.


    She was nning on consolidating her breakthrough for an entire month before nning her breakthrough to the 2nd Circle. There was still a lot of time for that. She was not in a rush.


    Leo decided that he needed to break through to the Late-Stage quickly to focus on his magic training, so he decided to go to the Thousand Treasure Tower to sell all the jewels and gold that he had in his dimensional ring. he only took out a few that totaled 300,000 Starcoins. With that money, he bought 6 more pills and got ready to train.


    With 13 pills with him, he started taking them one by one for the next three days. He spaced them out properly so that he wouldn''t explode either, so it took that long. He reached the Late-Stage of the 1st Circle Aura Knight like he wanted to with 3 pills left. He gave them to Daphne in case she needed them to consolidate her foundation and finally did thatst thing he had left - water his tree.


    He had been saving the Beast Cores for the entire week, which meant he had around 50 1st Circle Beast Cores that would probably be so much nourishment to the nt that he would be able to see it grow a lot. He didn''t do it immediately though. He was nning on going to the forest onest time to hunt a few 2nd Circle Magical Beasts to use their Beast Cores too. He was now preparing for his short one week istion training.


    asionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 64 Training IV

    ?


    (A/N: Check Auxiliary Chapters for announcement)


    The next morning, he got up early again to go to the forest. He walked to the forest without any dagger because he wasn''t nning on using his aura techniques. He was going to only hunt 2nd Circle Magical Beasts, so he was going to use his magic. He prepared himself a cloak to hide his identity in case someone saw him.


    He was now very used to looking for Magical Beasts in the forest since they were all in the Outer Forest. They weren''t in packs either which was a plus. Larger groups of Magical Beasts typically had stronger 3rd Circle Magical Beasts at the helm.


    He got to the forest and found his first target quickly and headed toward it silently. It was an Emberfang Wolf. He got ready to fight it.


    His routine with every 2nd Circle Magical Beast was basically bombarding it with me Bursts and dodging any of its attacks with Shadow Step. In case he faced an animal that could attack him with ranged attacks, he would use his shield to block those attacks. The Emberfang Wolf was an animal that would attack him at close range, so he would employ the first tactic.


    It took him a few rounds of me bursts topletely deal with the wolf. Since it was also a fire-element Magical Beast, his attacks did slightly less damage. He took the core and went to his next prey.


    The entire day was mostly him resting from his fights. He would finish his fights and look for his next opponent slowly. He stayed in the forest for around 6 hours before heading back. He was able to hunt 7 magical beasts in that time, giving him a total of 8 Beast Cores.


    He was pleased with his progress and went back quickly to his house. He wanted to see how much all the Beast Cores he had would impact the nt. He got back and shut himself in his room. He took out all the Beast Cores and put them on his bed.


    He had a total of around 50 1st Circle Beast Cores and 8 2nd Circle Beast Cores, so his bed was filled with those. He grabbed 2 of the 1st Circle ones with his hands and went into his mind. He threw them to the nt and got out to repeat the process.


    It was very boring to take them one by one, so he started taking as many as he could fit with his hands. He piled them by using his arms as a basket and took around 7-8 at once. In 2 minutes, all the 1st Circle Beast Cores disappeared. The nt grew only 10 cm with all those cores. But he was still okay with that.


    This was because the nt finally started growing new leaves. The first leaf regrew where he plucked it after 5 cores. The next one took some time since a branch started growing out. The branch sprouted 2 more leaves after 20 cores. The rest of the cores gave the nt another branch with a single leaf. Now the nt had 8 leaves. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Now it was time for the 2nd Circle Beast Cores. He only took one to start with. He wanted to see how that would survive in his mind. When he brought it into his mind, unlike the 1st Circle Beast Core, the one in his hand seemed more solid. It was just a little bit since it also crumbled after a few seconds, but it stayed solid for a little longer.


    He threw it to the tree and saw that the one core gave the nt an entire leaf at the newest branch. It also started the growth of a new branch, but notpletely. This was because the amount of magic in a 2nd Circle Beast Core was more than 10 times that of a 1st Circle one, especially because the 1st Circle Beast Cores were from very weak Magical Beasts.


    He smiled and went back to get the rest of the beast cores. He threw all of them at the nt and saw what happened. The nt didn''t grow at all, but three new branches grew out and each branch now had three leaves. In total, the nt had 20 leaves. This was more than enough for him to train for a full week.


    He was only unsure about whether it was enough for him to break through to the 3rd Circle. He knew that it was more than enough to create 10 stars like the 2nd star he made, but as he made new stars, each star required more magic. They were also further away from the grass. He guessed that he could, but he didn''t want to assume. It was still far away anyway. First, he had to reach the Peak-Stage.


    He plucked the same leaf he plucked the first time and started his training. He already brought in enough food tost him the entire training session. He brought in 15 grain balls that were able to stay without spoiling for months. They tasted bad, but he only needed to take one to reach the bare minimum amount of nutrition he needed. As a mage, magic itself gave him the energy he needed to go through the day and meals became unnecessary. Having aura also helped.


    He took the leaf into his and sat on his now-cleared-up bed. He sat in afortable position and started meditating. The leaf started glowing and he started gathering magic. He quickly went into a trance because he needed to concentrate deeply to gather the dense magic that was around him.


    With aura, the problem was that he needed rest after each pill that he took. This was because he needed to circte the aura to tame it and then gather it in his dantian. It exhausted his body. He didn''t have that problem with training magic. To him, magic was his nature. He could easily take any amount of it within reasonable amounts and absorb it without needing to tame the energy. This was only possible because the magic quickly epted him as its new owner.


    This made it very easy to train in magic. This also meant that he didn''t actually need any breaks. As long as his focus remained, he could train for as long as he wanted. When he started, he could only maintain that concentration for a few hours. But as he became stronger and trained for longer, the time he could maintain his concentration increased too. He could maintain his meditation for more than a day without any problem.


    He could also freely take out the leaves which were only in his mind with ease. So this meant that he could go on training magic for an entire day without a break. He could go on until he felt hungry. He could thene out for a single grain ball after that and recover for an hour before resuming. He didn''t even need sleep because the magic was rejuvenating his body. He only nned on staying in for a week, but two weeks shot by just like that.


    asionally missing content, please report errors in time.

 Chapter 65 Flame Barrage

    ?


    Leo opened his eyes. He had gone through all of the leaves that the nt had in this time. The nt was nowpletely bare and looked like it was going to die, but he had made so much progress that he thought it was worth it.


    In the two weeks, he had sessfully gotten to the Peak-Stage of the 2nd Circle. All he needed to do was break through to the 3rd Circle. This would also make him one of the most powerful people in Solhaven. Obviously, all of this was because of the tome, but he still felt a great sense of pride because of this. Especially because he was only a 14-year-old orphan.


    He stretched a little and went out of his room for the first time. He expelled all the dirt on his body by releasing magic from all of his pores just a little. It was a little trick he learned once he gained decent control over the magic. He decided to check up on Daphne for the first time.


    He got close to her door and immediately sensed that she was in their training. She was still in the Peak-Stage of the 1st Circle so he guessed that she was still consolidating her base. That was what he was nning on doing too for the entirety of the next two weeks.


    All of the magic he had absorbed sat in the magic cloud in his mind, but he wanted to make it more stable before starting to break through. He was hoping to do this by actually using his magic in battle against Magical Beasts.


    Before doing that though, he felt a need to check his proficiency levels in the training room and improve on them a little. He wanted to increase his proficiency for the Beast Wave since his Shadow Step would be the most useful skill to master if he wanted to stay sneaky.


    When he entered the room and opened the book, however, he saw a change. Earlier he could only train in 3 spells. He didn''t find that odd since it would be hard to master many skills if he had to divide his time among all of them. But now he suddenly had ess to one more skill.


    [me Barrage]


    [Unleashes a rapid session of fireballs toward targets. Upon impact, the fireballs explode, engulfing enemies in scorching mes.]


    This was essentially a more advanced version of me Burst. It was exactly like that, except it was multiple of them at the same time. This meant that he could attack multiple enemies at the same time. This might not help him in the trip to the center of the forest, but if he was fighting against the Beast Wave it would be a very powerful spell.


    He touched it to see what the spell looked like. He saw the demonstration the silhouette gave him. The silhouette split the magic stream right in its palm and made 5 balls of concentrated fire at the same time. It then sent all of them forward at the same time. All of themnded on the ground around 30 meters away and exploded into a huge explosion. All of the explosions were next to each other so theybined in effect.


    He smiled and was eager to try it. The environment quickly changed into something suitable to learn the spell. It was the same room as the one for him to learn me Burst. He quickly tried splitting the magic stream the same way as the silhouette.


    When he did try to do that initially, he failed. He lost control of the magic and it quickly merged back into a single stream. He realized that he had to start with only two streams instead of 5 like the silhouette. This was a lot easier and he seeded fairly quickly.


    His proficiency in the me Burst tranted quickly to the me Barrage. He started off with Novice proficiency but it became Intermediate proficiency very quickly. It took him only a few hours to reach that stage. After doing that, he decided to stop. He waspletely exhausted after training for an hour. He needed to take a break to continue.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    While the spell was very powerful, it was also very taxing. The amount of magic he needed to use almost quadrupled even when he only made two other balls of fire. However, he realized that another way to use the spell was to fling the balls at the same target instead of spreading them out.


    When he did that, the target was met with a st that was so much more powerful than before and concentrated too. The spell was more useful to him like that, but it would remain ast resort because of how much magic he would have to use for that.


    After resting and recovering his magic quickly, he went back to practicing his other spells. He mainly focussed on the Shadow Step even though that was his strongest spell. There was always room for improvement and he wanted to be very good at it.


    Now that he was a Peak-Stage 2nd Circle Mage, all of his spells got a lot stronger than before. He was able to exert almost three times as much powerpared to before. This meant that he could stay in the shadow world for longer - almost a minute before being forced out.


    The shadow world wasn''t invincible. He wasn''tpletely hidden when he was there. If someone was strong enough, they would be able to detect him. However, because they never expected the shadows to have a person in them, they wouldn''t be on guard.


    He would be safe near an Aura Knight, even a 4th Circle one. However, if he did that near a 3rd Circle Mage or higher, he would be caught. This was because mages had higher levels of perception than Aura Knights.


    After practicing his Shadow Step for a little while, he decided it was time for him to finally go out and face off against Magical Beasts. He was cooped up in his house for far too long. It was already a month since the year had started and he had been in his house more than he had been out of it. He was starting to seem like a shut-in.


    The next day, he got out to go to the forest. Before going, he first went to the inn again. It had been two weeks so he wanted to hear about any changes in the situation in the forest. He walked to the inn he normally went to and walked in.


    Immediately, he noticed a differencepared to thest time he entered. There were fewer people than normal and they were also less lively. He didn''t have his cloak on yet so he decided to meet up with Miller to talk to him.


    Miller was serving customers like normal. He saw Leo when he turned around. His eyes brightened immediately when he saw him.


    "Leo! I am so d to see you. I haven''t seen you for so long that I feared the worst had happened." He said.


    Immediately Leo realized how bad the situation was.

 Chapter 66 Situation

    ?


    "What do you mean?" Leo asked Miller. He wanted to know exactly how bad the outbreak had gotten.


    "The Outer Forest ispletely filled with 2nd Circle Magical Beasts. There are 1st Circle Magical Beasts wandering around the outskirts too. None of themoners who don''t have aura are leaving the city premises. We don''t have any ie left." He said. "As for the adventurers, they have no choice but to take the risk and enter the forest. A lot of them were unfortunate and met 2nd Circle Magical Beasts. A lot of them were able to escape, but some weren''t as lucky."


    Leo shook his head. "Does this mean that the Beast Wave is near?" He asked him.


    Miller nodded his head. "Very close by. It will be here in a week ording to some of the more experienced adventurers. The city already increased the rewards for hunting 2nd Circle Magical Beasts and also prohibited any Aura Knights from leaving the city."


    Leo was puzzled by that. "Can they do that? How can they force us to stay?"


    "This is an emergency. They will conscript all the Aura Knights. The only way to escape the conscription is to show that you have hunted 10 2nd Circle Magical Beasts, but who can really do that here in Solhaven?"


    Leo shook his head, acting like he was agreeing with him. Miller didn''t know that the kid in front of him was one of those people.


    "You don''t have to worry. The conscription only affects people above 15 years old. Kids like you aren''t going to be fighting the war. That would be inhumane," Miller said. Leo sighed.


    If he was forced to fight the Beast Wave, he would miss the best chance to raid the Center of the forest. This was because after fighting the wave, all of the mages would flock there to loot what the Magical Beasts have hoarded for those years. They clearly haven''t found the inheritance yet, but if they did this time, then he would miss out on it.


    "So don''t head out to the forest any time soon. Stay in the city. As long as you stay alive, there are more opportunities to make money," Miller added before going back to his job. Leo shook his head and headed out.


    He got the information he needed. He would have to fasten his pace. He hoped that he had more time, but he didn''t. He would have to attempt to break through quickly after consolidating his current level.


    He walked to the forest while nning what he was going to do. He was nning on solely hunting 2nd Circle Magical Beasts. He wasn''t nning on showing them for proof or anything. He only needed the cores to feed his nt. It was almost withered and he had to revive it.


    He also needed to see how much his power increased with his consecutive breakthroughs. While he thought this, he already reached the forest. It used to take him 2 hours but now it was just 30 minutes because his physical capabilities increased a lot.


    He didn''t even have to head deep into the Outer Forest to find a 2nd Circle Magical Beast. He find one immediately after he entered the forest. He realized what Miller was saying. If they already got pushed out this much, eventually they would all get pushed out of the forest. He was curious about what kind of resources were hiding in the Inner Forest for the stronger Magical Beasts to push out the 2nd Circle Magical Beasts like this.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He found an Ironshell Bison guarding a herb and walked to it. It was only an Early-Stage 2nd Circle Magical Beast while he was a Peak-Stage 2nd Star Mage. Even if the Bison had a very tough shell on its back that made its defense hard to crack, he was not worried in the slightest.


    He cast a me Burst at the Bison. The sphere flew toward the bison quickly. It noticed Leo very quickly and saw the attacking its way. It quickly turned its shell toward Leo and tried to defend the me Burst with the shell.


    The sphere contacted the shell and burst into a huge explosion. The force shattered the shell instantly and killed the Bison without giving it any chance to fight back. Leo smiled. He knew he was stronger but now he confirmed it. He was eager to see what another breakthrough would do to him.


    He quickly took the Beast Core and went on to the next Magical Beast. This was going to be more fun since he barely had to exert himself while fighting.


    He left in just 4 hours since he gathered enough cores. He got a total of 10 Beast Cores. At this point, he was actually frightened by the number of Magical Beasts that were in the 2nd Circle. There were only around 1000 2nd Circle Aura Knights in Solhaven. But by his estimates, there were at least 3000 Magical Beasts that were in the 2nd Circle. There were also 3rd Circle Beasts as well. He was now worried about how Solhaven would fare against the Beast Wave.


    He got back to his house and saw that Daphne was still training. Ever since he told her about the Beast Wave, she holed herself up in her room more than him and focused on getting stronger. Leo didn''t know it, but she was doing it just so that she could be less of a burden to him and be able to help him during the Beast Wave.


    He went to his room and fed the tree the ten Beast Cores that he got. It instantly recovered from all the damage he did to it. All 20 leaves grew back. He realized was easier to grow back leaves that he had plucked off than grow new ones.


    He didn''t use any of the leaves and just trained normally to consolidate his magic for the rest of the day. He woke up the next day to repeat what he did. At the end of the second day, the tree grew another 10 cm. There was also a new change in the tree.


    A new branch grew, but at the end of the branch, along with a leaf, a flower started to form. He was very excited to see this change. He was expecting that the flower would be more effective than the leaf, so he wanted to see it bloom.


    The next day he stayed for twice as long to hunt twice as many beasts to gather more Beast Cores and make the fruit bloom. But even twenty Beast Cores didn''t do anything to the bud. It only barely started to open up. He would need more Beast Cores.


    For the next 4 days, he brought in twenty Beast Cores each day and fed the nt with them. Finally, at the end of thest day, the flower finally bloomed. The rest of the nt didn''t even change. It was only that one flower that took more than 100 2nd Circle Beast Cores to bloom.


    However, the blooming of the flower was such a magical sight that it captivated himpletely.

 Chapter 67 Flower

    ?


    The bud swelled as if pulsating with life and energy from within. Its outeryers, once a deep shade of emerald green, began to unfurl, revealing delicateyers of vibrant petals or leaves. The unfolding process was akin to a dance orchestrated by nature itself.


    As the bud continued to bloom, its true essence was revealed. Petals unfurled with a gentle, yet purposeful, precision, exposing intricate patterns, vivid colors, and mesmerizing textures. Each petal or leaf exuded an ethereal glow, as if imbued with the very essence of magic. The air became infused with a subtle, sweet fragrance, carrying hints of ancient wisdom and serenity.


    He didn''t even know that his sense of smell could be activated in his mind, but the flower was so magical that it managed to achieve it. He felt reluctant to pluck the flower that adorned his mind. It was the most beautiful thing in the deste ins there. It was also the result of a week of hard work.


    The flower might look so beautiful, but to grow it he had to kill 100 Magical Beasts. He also needed the flower to break through. After going to the forest every day for thest week, he noticed that the behavior of the beasts was changing.


    On thest day, he had to spend a lot of time to find the beasts. All of them suddenly went back into the Inner Forest. This mysterious phenomenon could only mean that the Beast Wave was now imminent.


    Before starting his breakthrough, he went outside to Daphne''s room. She was still inside her room, but he had no choice but to disturb her. He knocked on her room.


    She heard the knock and quickly came to answer the door.


    "Yes?" She asked him.


    "How is your training going?" He asked her.


    "It''s fine. I can try to break through at any time," She said. "Why?"


    "Don''t wait then. Do it. The Beast Wave might start soon," Leo said seriously.


    She was surprised. "How do you know?" She asked him.


    Leo faltered a second. "I... I went to the forest. I saw that the beasts retreated back to the Inner Forest. I''m not sure if that means a beast wave, but better safe than sorry." He said.


    "Why did you go to the forest? It''s dangerous there!" She scolded him. He smiled sheepishly. This was why he never told her before going to the forest. Thank god she didn''t know about his other trips.


    "It was only once. Don''t worry about it. But breakthrough now. I''m not near that point yet, but I will try to reach it, " he said.


    "You aren''t? Didn''t you start training before me?" She asked him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He nodded. "It means you are more talented than me," he said.


    She took the answer and left back to her room. He also went to his room to prepare for his breakthrough. He couldn''t tell her that he wasn''t mainly training in aura, so he just said that he wasn''t as talented to exin how he was not as strong as her. Either way, he was still progressing faster than a normal person.


    Even looking at Daphne, she was able to reach the stage she was in now in around 4 months. Compare that to someone like rice who had trained for a few years to reach the stage she was at. Of course, this was because she didn''t have ess to as many pills as both of them, but still, she was not as talented as them.


    As for Leo, he was just an anomaly. His body let him take those many pills without a problem, so he was able to quickly reach that stage.


    He went to his room and entered his mind. One trick he learned was that he didn''t actually have to bring any of the leaves outside to train. Since the magic was entering his mind anyways, he just needed to hold the leaf inside the mind and it would still attract the magic to his body. He would also be able to absorb the magic quicker that way since he didn''t have to circte the magic that much that way.


    He took a deep breath and plucked the flower. It was a very painful experience for him, but he needed to do it. Once the flower left the nt, he immediately felt a rush of magic. All the magic around him suddenly charged into him. They were attracted by the flower he had.


    He quickly absorbed all that magic and started forming his third star. The third star was a lot more difficult to form because of the massive size of the star. The star itself was going to be ten times as big as the second one, so the cloud was currently 1000 times asrge. This size made it very hard for him to control the magic in the cloud.


    He started squeezing the magic and used the magic he obtained using the flower to startpressing the cloud. It was a lot easier with the abundance of magic the flower gave him. Compared to a 3rd Circle Beast Core that he saw at the auction, this flower gave him 5 times more magic.


    He felt the star was starting topress. It quickly reached a tenth of its original size. Now it became a lot harder for him topress, but he still put his energy into doing it. After another 30 minutes, it reached another fifth of its size. He only needed topress it by half, and he would finishpressing it.


    That was easier than said. It was harder topress thatst bit than the entire cloud into its current state. He took an entire hour to sessfully finish bringing the cloud to a hundredth of its size.


    After that, he wrapped the cloud with his magic and started forming the star. It quickly copsed into itself and let out a st of magic. The magic vibrations left his body and shook the entire house. It was so strong that it also affected the entire neighborhood. He was now a proper 3rd Star Mage. He had sessfully be one of the top ten most powerful people in Solhaven.


    Leo wasn''t aware of what he just did and kept absorbing the rest of the magic in the flower. He knew he couldn''t waste it and started forming the fourth cloud as well. He was going to use that magicter to consolidate his breakthrough and learn the new spells he would have ess to.


    Compared to before the breakthrough, he had a lot more control over magic after he reached the 3rd Star. He could absorb the magic a lot quicker, so the flower was more effective. This also meant that the flower would crumble more quickly, but it would save him time. He wasn''t nning on keeping the magic anyway.


    He was nning on letting the nt absorb the entirety of the fourth cloud to replenish the flower. After all, the only reason he had broke through was because of the nt. He was going to treat it very nicely as a gift. He was going to grow it like his baby.

 Chapter 68 New Skills

    ?


    In the center of Solhaven stood a tower the same size as the Thousand Treasure Tower. This was the tower of the Magistrate. On the topmost floor was a nice office where an old man was sitting in a fancy chair. He was the magistrate of Solhaven. He wasn''t doing anything, just resting in the chair. Beside him was a desk with a few stacks of documents that were piled up.


    Suddenly, his eyes flew open and he got up from his chair. He looked in the direction of themoner''s district. He could feel the magic vibrations from this distance, which meant that something big happened.


    He immediately thought about the possibilities. He ruled out the Beast Wave since there would be a hugemotion. It was a magical disturbance, so it couldn''t be any of themoners. It wasn''t involving any Aura Knight at all based on theck of aura.


    This left two things. It was either a fight between mages, or a mage had broken through. Both of them were highly unlikely though. This was because the disturbance came from themoner''s district.


    None of the mages were going to fight in the Commoner''s district because they had an image to uphold. As for a breakthrough, the only way that would create those many magical ripples would be if the breakthrough was to the 3rd Circle.


    This would be a huge help to him for the Beast Wave, but he knew every single person in Solhaven who was close to that breakthrough. None of them would need to break through in themoner''s district.


    He decided to check it out himself. He leaped out of the window toward the disturbance. As he flew to the source, the ripple slowly started fading away. By the time he reached the edge of themoner''s district, he could no longer pinpoint where the source was from.


    He tried to search the area with his senses, but he couldn''t find anyone with magic in their body. This meant that he was wrong about any of his conclusions, or that the person already left without being seen by him.


    As he was thinking that, Leo was in the Shadow Realm. He had sensed the magical energy from the magistrate immediately when he came near themoner''s district and instinctively fled into the shadow world. He could normally only stay there for a minute, but he hoped that the breakthrough would help him stay for longer.


    He didn''t even need to hope. The magistrate left immediately. He couldn''t stay in themoner''s district for long. He had to go back to prepare for the Beast Wave.


    Leo came out of the Shadow World and breathed a sigh of relief. He didn''t want to deal with the Magistrate of all people. He went back to training his magic and used up the rest of the flower. It only took him 4 hours for that, when he thought he would take the entire day.


    He then started a connection between the cloud and the nt and started channeling his magic into the nt. The nt greedily absorbed the magic like a sponge and he saw that a new bud was starting to form. He smiled and left his mind, letting it do its thing. He went to the training room to see what new skills he could learn.


    He wasn''t disappointed. There were four new pages that he could now ess. He quickly checked them out.


    [Soul Fire Burst]


    [Hurlspressed energy, creating an explosive burst of searing heat and destructive energy. The soul fire engulfs enemies, reducing them to smoldering remnants and scorching the surroundings]


    [Shadowbind Bolt]


    [Conjures a bolt of dark energy that streaks through the air leaving behind a trail of wispy shadows. Upon impact, the Shadowbind Bolt releases a burst of shadowy tendrils that surge outward, ensnaring the target. These tendrils wrap around the enemy, binding them tightly and restricting their movements. The dark energy exerts a subtle pressure, draining the strength and agility of the ensnared foe.]


    [Intermediate Arcane Shield]<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    [Forms a resilient barrier of arcane energy around the caster. It enhances natural defenses, repelling physical and magical attacks with a shimmering, pulsating aura. This shield withstands powerful strikes and offers extended protection.]


    [Sound Transmission]


    [Allows one to project their voice to a single person or an entire room.]


    Out of all the skills, the only ''new'' one was the Shadowbind bolt. The Soul Fire Burst was an improvement to the me Burst. The Intermediate Arcane Shield was an improvement to the Elementary Arcane Shield. And the Sound Transmission wasn''t even a real skill. It was an auxiliary skill that he would be able to achieve using a trick of controlling magic.


    However, he was okay with that. The skills he received were more than enough. They would be very helpful. The Soul Fire Burst would help him deal more damage and the shield would also be helpful in blocking attacks. Most importantly though, the Shadowbind bolt would help him restrict his enemies'' movements. This would be a huge help to him.


    He immediately started training his skills. He started off with the Soul me Burst because he had a lot of experience with the me Burst and the me Barrage. He quickly observed the silhouette''s motion and set up the training room to practice.


    By the end of the day, he reached Novice proficiency in that skill. It was a lot harder to learn it than a 2nd Circle Skill, which meant that he couldn''t just spend a week mastering all of those skills. He would have to put in a few months to actually train them properly and tone the skills in battle.


    He decided to stave off the rest of the skills for the next day and went out to see what Daphne was up to. He didn''t even have to ask her if her breakthrough was sessful because he already knew everything that was going on in the house with his improved senses. He knew that she broke through immediately when she seeded because of it.


    He still had to go talk to her since he would have to exin why he knew if he didn''t. So he just went to the living room where she was sitting and talked to her. He had a smile on his face since he expected the answer.


    "Did you seed?" He asked her.


    "No," she said with a gloomy voice.


    "No?" He asked, surprised. He didn''t expect that answer.


    "Yes, I didn''t seed. What about you? Did you be any stronger?" She asked him.


    He shook his head. He was still confused about why she was lying to him. He knew for a fact that she was a 2nd Circle Aura Knight, so why was she hiding it? After a second of thought, he decided to stop pursuing it since she might have her reasons. After all, he always hid that he was a mage.


    "It''s okay. I think we are ready enough for the Beast Wave. We just have to be prepared for any circumstance. Thank god we aren''t being conscripted." He said.


    She nodded. "We aren''t going to be conscripted? That''s good."

 Chapter 69 Good Bye

    ?


    "Okay, I am going to check outside to see what the situation is there, and then I wille back," Leo said. She nodded.


    He went out and started racking his brain. He had been avoiding her which might have made her this distant to him, but it didn''t exin why she was very unresponsive to him. Normally she was very cheerful, but she seemed very gloomy today.


    He went to the inn like he normally did and checked the situation out. When he got there, the inn was almost deserted. There was nobody there. He walked in and saw Miller cleaning up the inn as if he was closing up. Miller saw him and smiled.


    "Hello Leo, did you hear? The city is now under lockdown. We are now preparing for the Beast Wave," Miller said.


    Leo sighed. He had expected this, but now what Miller said confirmed it.


    "I just wanted to know. Thanks, Miller," Leo said. He turned back.


    "Stay home!" Miller shouted behind him, but Leo just nodded. He wasn''t nning on following those instructions. He went back home and saw Daphne waiting there. To his surprise, she had a bag in her hand with all of her stuff packed up in it.


    "What''s wrong?" He asked her. "Why are you all packed up as if you are going somewhere?"


    "I''m leaving. I recovered my memories, Leo." Daphne said.


    Leo took in the information. When he met her, she didn''t know her name or anything about herself. But now she was saying that she recovered all of her memories. This was definitely because she broke into the 2nd Circle. That was the only thing that changed.


    He smiled. "That''s great news! Are you going to your family?" He asked her.


    She nodded. "Yes. But it means that some things change. From now on, I don''t know you. You don''t know me. Daphne is gone. I am Anna Whitmore. I am a noble from the capital. We are from different worlds..."


    As she was talking, her voice was slightly breaking, but she kept going. Leo realized that it was painful for her, but she was forcing herself to cut ties with him.


    "Are you a noble?" He asked her. She nodded.


    "You don''t have to leave. You know that right?" He said.


    She shook her head. "I am a direct descendant. Once I reach a certain age, my bloodline will allow my family to use an artifact to find me. At that time, they will definitely kill you if they found out that you didn''t let me leave."


    "What age is that?" He asked her.


    "14." She said.


    He sighed. "Well, this doesn''t have to be goodbye. We can still meet up after you go back to your family. Maybe I wille to visit you wherever you are going," he said.


    "The Whitmore Family is a Duke family. We aren''t allowed to associate withmoners. They will kill you if they find out about you," She said.


    He sighed. "Fine. I will be strong enough to be untouchable, and then I wille to visit you. Okay?"


    She smiled a little. She was starting to cry but Leo''s words cheered her up. "Okay. Promise?"


    He nodded. "Promise. How are you going to go?"


    "I already found a merchant who is leaving the city to go to the Capital. I am nning on going there with them." She said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He nodded. He took out a few jewels from his ring and handed them to her. She was shocked by his actions.


    "How do you have a-"


    "We all have our secrets," he cut her off. "Keep the jewels. They wille in handy. And also, join the Royal Academy. I will see if I can join it and I will visit you there. No matter how strong your family is, they won''t be able to make the academy bend its rules and stop you from seeing my face."


    She nodded.


    "Stay safe, Daphne. To me, you will always be Daphne. I wish you a safe journey." He said. She started crying and walked forward to hug him tightly. After a minute, she moved back and took her bag. She walked out of the door.


    As she walked out, Leo called out.


    "And congrattions on your breakthrough!"


    Daphne''s eyes widened. By the time she looked back, the door was already closed. She didn''t know how he had found out that she had broken through. She purposefully didn''t tell him because she thought he would feel bad.


    He had started almost an entire month before she did and was still behind her. She was afraid that he would feel demotivated if he found out that she was already stronger than him. But clearly, he already knew for some reason.


    She walked to the ce where the merchant was supposed to be waiting. When she got there, she saw that the merchant was waiting for her. The minute he saw her, he weed her.


    "Hello, Miss! How are you? Do you want water or anything?" He asked her.


    What Daphne didn''t know was that the merchant was already visited by a guest just before she got there.


    Leo wore a mask and a cloak and got to the merchant quickly before Daphne could. He gave him a nice warning about how if even a hair fell from Daphne''s body, the merchant would face a dangerous death. He disappeared into the shadows immediately after.


    He then proceeded to show his 3rd Circle Mage skill in the form of a sound transmission right after Daphne showed up.


    "Remember. Even if a single hair is harmed, you are responsible for that." He said.


    The merchant was scared shitless after that. He knew that only 3rd Circle Mages could achieve Sound Transmission. This meant that the girl had a personal bodyguard who was in the 3rd Circle. He couldn''t afford to offend this person at all.


    He didn''t want to know why a noble was using him to go to the capital. It must be something quirky that nobles do. He just had to make sure nothing happened to the girl. As he was walking to the caravan, he felt something in his pocket. He brought it out and saw a big jewel that he knew he didn''t put there.


    "Thank you, Lord Mage." He muttered under his breath.


    Leo heard that and smiled. He knew that this would guarantee her safe passage to the capital. He went back to his house after.


    Meanwhile, Daphne was confused about why she was being treated so nicely. Just an hour back, she was being treated like just another customer. But now he treated her like a noble. She didn''t mind the treatment though.


    She was still upset that she had to leave the ce that she lived in for so long. Solhaven might be a ce of poverty to her, but it had so many fond memories. Especially because of Leo. She had lost her memories and would have starved if not for him. She was very sad that she had to leave him, but she had no choice.


    The Whitmore family wasn''t just a normal noble family, after all.

 Chapter 70 Empty

    ?


    Leo walked back to the house. When he entered it, the house just seemed empty. Daphne hadn''t taken a lot of stuff with her, but now that the house only housed one upant, it felt very hollow. By leaving, she took away the life from the house with her.


    Even though he hadn''t talked with her a lot while she was there, just knowing that she was there was enough for him. But now that she was gone, he didn''t know what to do all of a sudden. After sitting on the couch for a while, he realized what his new goal was.


    He would just have to be strong enough to ignore the strength of the family that Daphne belonged to. So what if it was a Duke family? He had a tome. If the Whitmore family had an 8th Circle Mage, he would be a 9th Star Mage.


    After deciding his goal he stood up. With Daphne gone, he no longer had to hide his moves. No one was there to inspect each of his actions. He took out a cloak from his dimensional ring and wore it. He took out his mask and put it on his face.


    He didn''t walk out of the front door. Instead, he Shadow Stepped out to the street quickly and started making his way to the gate. He was sticking to the shade that the houses offered. Since he was going very quickly and constantly going to the Shadow World and back, no one noticed the blur that was racing through the streets.


    When he got to the gates, he saw that for the first time, they were properly staffed. There were a lot of guards on the walls and they were looking forward at the forest, waiting for the Beast Wave.


    He thought for a minute and realized that he couldn''t actually leave the city yet. Since it was daylight, there weren''t any shadows. So he just waited at the edge of the gate till nightfall. It was already close to the evening, so he didn''t have to wait for long.


    After just an hour, the sky started to darken. He noticed that the guards were also changing shifts at this point. He took his opportunity to cross the gate. He Shadow Stepped along the wall to get to the top and then to the bottom. He quickly went back into the Shadow World and raced to the forest.


    "Is that a person?" One of the guards asked. He pointed at the distance, but by that time Leo had already gone into the shadows.


    "You''re just tired. Don''t worry about it. Why would there be a person going into the forest now? That''s suicide," another guard said.


    He was right. The Beast Wave hadn''t even started yet and Leo was already going into the forest. There was a proper reason behind it though.


    He was nning on camping at the waterfall in the Outer Forest till the Beast Wave started. The wave itself was only going tost a single day. If itsted any longer, then the Magical Beasts would likely retreat back into the forest. The leading Magical Beast would be smart enough to recognize that.


    So that meant that he couldn''t waste time trying to get to the forest. Also, it would be harder to go into the forest by crossing all of the Magical Beastspared to already being in the forest when the Beast Wave began.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    So he quickly made his way to the waterfall. This time, he was able to quickly swim to the space behind the waterfall without fighting any monsters. None of the Magical Beasts noticed that they had an intruder hiding in their forest because they weren''t patrolling like a normal human army would.


    He settled into the small space and started practicing. He was still paying attention to his surroundings. He decided to practice his 3rd Circle Spells during this time. He hoped that the Beast Wave would start the next day, but he was prepared to stay there for an entire week if required. All the food he needed was in his dimensional ring.


    The entire night passed while he practiced his Shadowbind Bolt. He achieved novice mastery in the spell, which meant he could still use it in battle. Even with novice proficiency, the spell would be very effective. Since he had a lot of experience with shadows, it was easy to learn the spell.


    When the morning came, he tried to see if there was any change. He got out of the waterfall and started to look for where all the Magical Beasts were congregated. He ventured slowly into the forest.


    As he got closer to the Inner Forest, he heard a howl. He changed his course to the howl and slowly made his way. As he got closer, he heard a lot of noise made by a lot of animals being fit into a tight space. He got onto a tree and checked out what was happening.


    Around 200 meters away, he saw a Purple Moon Wolf howling on a big boulder. There was an army of 2nd Circle Magical Beasts below the boulder. There were around 500 Magical Beasts. Instantly, Leo realized that even though there was a 3rd Circle Magical Beast right in front of him, it wasn''t the strongest being in the forest.


    He knew for a fact that there were a lot more than just 500 Magical Beasts in the forest. So this meant that there were divisions in the Magical Beast army. The only way a 3rd Circle Beast was being treated as only the leader of a minor part of the whole force was if there was a stronger Beast at its helm. So there was a 4th Circle Magical Beast organizing the entire Beast Wave.


    He observed for a little more time before going back to his hiding spot. Even though the wolf looked like it was ready to attack, none of the beasts showed any hints of moving anywhere. They were probably going to move the next day. So he still had time. He went back to his hiding spot.


    As he got back, he connected two key pieces of information. The Purple Moon Wolf had to be the parent of the Purple Moon Wolf cub that was just sold in the auction. This was why it looked so impatient and angry. He was happy he didn''t have to face off that angry wolf.


    He trained in Shadowbind Bolt again for the rest of the day while maintaining his perception of the real world. He didn''t find anything out of the ordinary happening for the rest of the day. Once night fell, he went out to see if the situation changed any bit.


    He went back to the same ce he found the Purple Moon Wolf and its army the first time. When he got there, he found them still in the same ce. They were waiting like disciplined children. This made Leo worry. He knew their soldiers weren''t this disciplined. They should learn from the Magical Beasts.


    He quickly went back to the waterfall. His gut told him that the night was going to be hisst piece of waiting.

 Chapter 71 Beast Wave

    ?


    The next morning, he opened his eyes to a huge noise. He heard a multitude of roars from different Magical Beasts. It was like a war cry. His expression became solemn. The Beast Wave had started.


    He quickly left the waterfall to observe what was happening. He saw a huge trail of dust in the distance. All the Magical Beasts were charging toward Solhaven. The noise they were making was frightening him.


    Meanwhile, at the gates of Solhaven, one of the guards felt the ground shaking. He looked up at the forest and saw some movement from the forest. The forest was not exactly right beside them, and the elevation allowed him to see everything in there even though there were trees. Even the Outer Forest was within sight.


    He saw the massive dust cloud and the Magical Beasts charging toward them. He panicked and shouted out his observation.


    "The Beast Wave is here!"


    Everyone in earshot heard his shout and looked at the forest in the distance. They confirmed his words with their eyes. One of the guards quickly ran to a nearby bell and picked up the stick. He then hit the gong with all his strength once. A ring resounded throughout the city. He hit it another time. The ring added to the echoes of the first sound. He hit it a final time with the rest of his strength.


    The people in the homes heard the three bell rings and became solemn. Three bells signified an attack. This meant that the Beast Wave had started. They couldn''t even do anything. They would just have to wait.


    All of the Aura Knights in the Commoner''s District were already on the walls and on the fields, ready to fight. However, not all of the mages were doing that. Unlike Aura Knights, the conscription didn''t affect any of the nobles. They could even leave the city if they wanted. All of the nobles who were afraid had already left the city an entire week ago along with their family fortunes. They would return after the Beast Wave after everything was safe.


    The only nobles who had stayed were nobles who were so deeply rooted in Solhaven that they had to guard their interests by defending the city. At the center of the wall, the magistrate stood in silence, observing the distant Beast Wave. Beside him were five mages, all in the 3rd Circle.


    "Can you see the leader?" One of the mages asked. This was the same mage that bought the Purple Moon Wolf cub. He was the mage from the Silvershade family.


    The Magistrate nodded. His expression was very solemn.


    "There are 8 3rd Circle Magical Beasts and 3587 2nd Circle Magical Beasts. There are over 10000 1st Circle Magical Beasts," he said.


    "Last time there were only a tenth of these numbers. Why are there so many now?" The mage asked.


    "The leader is a 4th Circle Magical Beast," he said.


    All of the mages turned to him with a shocked expression. They weren''t expecting the Valkyr''s Woods to be hiding a 4th Circle Magical Beast.


    "Be prepared for a very gruesome battle. I expect you all to take care of all the 3rd Circle Magical Beasts. I can take a few 2nd Circle Magical Beasts and 1st Circle Magical Beasts out of the equation before their leader steps up," he said. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He pulled out a staff from his dimensional ring. It was a long wooden staff with a blue crystal embedded at its top. He mmed the staff to the wall and a light beacon emerged from the staff and shot up to the sky.


    Everyone saw the beacon and got ready. Everyone on the wall was ranged Aura Knights who could use a bow and arrow. Everyone who used close-range weapons was on the ground at the base of the wall.


    The Magical Beasts were charging at them, so they closed the gap between the forest and the city very quickly. They were within visible distance within ten minutes and would be at the gate in another ten.


    Everyone got ready. It was a lot of the people''s first Beast Wave. Even for the veterans, this was very stressful. The previous Beast Wave wasn''t nearly as big as this one. They were preparing for the chance that they wouldn''t be able to return back home.


    The Beasts quickly got to the gate and started slowing down. The magistrate raised his staff and cast the first spell.


    "Icy Rain!"


    An array of arrows made of ice formed above the magistrate. He pointed his staff at the Magical Beasts and all of the arrows flew toward them. The arrows spread out quickly and lodged themselves into the 1st Circle Magical Beasts that were at the forefront of the wave. Since they were a lot weaker than him, the arrows instantly killed them.


    The mages beside him also started acting. They also cast spells that targeted the 1st Circle Magical Beasts. Quickly, ayer of bodies formed around 300 meters away from the wall. The iing Magical Beasts had to climb the bodies and cross them to get to them reducing their momentum greatly.


    When they got closer, they quickly fell into a trench that was just after the newly formed wall of corpses. The Aura Knights had dug up the trench a week before in preparation for the Beast Wave. The trench only didn''t cover the route to the forest so it didn''t affect people who normally used that route. They only dug up that part the previous night.


    Once ayer of Magical Beasts fell into the trench, the Aura Knights closest to them lit up torches and threw them into the trenches.


    Once the torches contacted the Magical Beasts and the fire reached the bottom of the trench, it created an explosion. At the bottom of the trench was a special oil that was prepared for the Beast Wave. It would explode with great power if it was touched by fire and was perfect to defend sieges and Beast Waves.


    However, it would only kill 1st Circle Magical Beasts. 2nd Circle Magical Beasts woulde out with heavy injuries while any stronger beasts woulde out unharmed. However, these two rounds of attacks took care of half the entire 1st Circle Magical Beasts and around 500 2nd Circle Magical Beasts who were unlucky enough to get caught up in the spells of the 3rd Circle Mages and the Magistrate.


    Once the beasts got closer, the rest of the mages got into action along with the ranged Aura Knights. There were around 30 2nd Circle Mages and 100 1st Circle Mages who were alongside 2500 Ranged Aura Knights. Together they started a barrage of attacks on the iing Magical Beasts.


    A huge number of arrows flew at the Magical Beasts who were trying to get past the trench. The mages were only attacking the Magical Beasts who got past the trenches because their magic didn''t allow them to attack further than that yet. They could only attack targets who were within 300 meters away. Even that was so far away that it would decrease their spell''s strength, but their spells could impact more Magical Beasts at once so it didn''t matter.

 Chapter 72 Battle

    ?


    In just a few minutes, the fire from the trenches was extinguished. There were quite a few Magical Beasts that could use the water element among the Beast Wave. After the fire went and the trenches were filled up with the corpses of the Magical Beasts that fell into the trenches, the rest of the Magical Beasts walked over those corpses to cross over to the other side.


    They started charging into the Aura Knights who were ready for them. The mages were trying their best to avoid hitting the Aura Knights along with the Magical Beasts, so they couldn''t attack any of the Magical Beasts that were close to the wall.


    The Aura Knights were ready for the iing Magical Beasts. The majority of the people in the front were 2nd Circle Veterans who quickly took care of the Magical Beasts. The 1st Circle Aura Knights were still trying their best to adjust to the situation. Looking at these many Magical Beasts made a lot of the people lose their calm and start panicking.


    At this point, the big figures finally started to move. The 3rd Circle Magical Beasts that were in the back and sending the weaker Magical Beasts to test the waters finally started to move forward. 4 of them moved first along with a lot of the 2nd Circle Magical Beasts.


    They unleashed magic simr to the 3rd Circle Mages and hurled it at the Aura Knights defending the base of the gate. The Magistrate mmed his staff to the ground and blocked the iing magic with a huge shield. After this, he took in a deep breath. Blocking just one 3rd Circle Spell would be very easy for him, but he had to block 4 at the same time.


    Even though he blocked the brunt of the spells, one of them still managed to get past the shield that he had cast. It was weakened a lot by the shield but once it hit the Aura Knights, it injured a lot of them. The people who weren''t affected quickly moved to that part to cover for the injured. Meanwhile, the 3rd Circle Mages flew out to meet the 3rd Circle Magical Beasts in battle.


    "When''s thest time we did this?" One of the mages talked to the other mages while they flew toward the wave. He took out his staff from his dimensional ring like the magistrate. His staff didn''t have a crystal as big as the magistrate, but it was still a staff. The other mages also took out their staffs.


    "Was it during the Hundred Year War?" The sole female mage said. "Also, I will take care of the Dark Snow Leopard."


    "It was so long ago. I will take the Steel Back Gori." Another of the mages said.


    They quickly divvied up the other two Magical Beasts. The Silvershade mage stayed at the back to assist anyone who needed help. The magistrate looked in the distance where a lion stood on top of a huge boulder, observing the battlefield.


    He couldn''t act as long as the lion didn''t. They were both the strongest people on the field and would have to check each other.


    The female mage who was fighting the Dark Snow Leopard quickly cast a Meteor at the leopard. The meteor flew to the leopard, which dodged it nimbly. The meteor hit the surrounding 2nd Circle Magical Beasts and killed them on the spot.


    The leopard closed in toward the mage, but she quickly flew back. The leopard cast magic at her in response. She deflected the iing Ice shards that the leopard flung at her. Since she was using fire magic, she had an upper hand on the leopard which used Ice attacks.


    Meanwhile, the other mages were also doing very well in their battles. They had picked Magical Beasts that were weak against the element they were best at. However, before they could finish their battles, the rest of the 3rd Circle Magical Beasts suddenly entered the battle too. The mages quickly retreated. They knew they wouldn''t be able to take all 8 of the Magical Beasts at once.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The magistrate frowned. He held his staff high up in the air and then pointed it at one of the Magical Beasts that just entered the battlefield - a Crimsonscale Serpent. A huge meteor made of ice formed and flew to the serpent. It crushed the serpent who couldn''t dodge in time.


    The mages looked back at the magistrate with a look of relief. With one of the Magical Beasts gone, they would have an easier time dealing with the others.


    On the ground, rice was having a breakdown. She was somehow still alive and was killing the Magical Beasts that got to her, but every time she looked up she saw a scale of battle that she could never reach. She was still effective at cutting down the 1st Circle Magical Beasts and the mages took care of most of the 2nd Circle Magical Beasts before they got to her.


    She looked up to where Evelyn was and saw that she was focused on firing away all the arrows she could at the iing Magical Beasts. Lucas was just a few meters away and was very unhelpful. He was not managing to deal a lot of damage, but it was better if he was there than if he was not.


    She saw an iing 2nd Circle Magical Beast and got ready. She took a deep breath and circle around the tank in front of her to attack the beast from the side.


    Back in the air, once the magistrate took care of one of the 3rd Circle Magical Beasts, the mages gathered together and attacked all of the Magical Beasts at once. They were using their spells inbination. Even though they were all from different families, they all knew how to work with each other very well.


    The Silvershade mage was in the back chanting an incantation. He was preparing a huge spell to use and was gathering power for that. Meanwhile, the rest of the mages were defending him from the barrage of attacks from the Magical Beasts who realized what he was doing.


    He almost finished the incantation and got ready to cast the magic. He waved his staff, ready to cast the magic.


    At this point, a loud roar echoed through the battlefield. Everyone suddenly stopped. The Silvershade mage coughed up blood because he was interrupted in the middle of casting magic. The other mages quickly retreated back and grabbed him along with them.


    Everyone on the ground was trembling with fear once they heard the roar. Their innate instinct kicked in and it was telling them to run away as far as possible. The roar seemingly paused allbat.


    From the distance, the lion leaped forward. With only a few leaps it made its way to the center of the battlefield. It had golden fur that glistened in the sun and bright purple eyes that shone clearly for everyone to see.


    It roared again and all the Magical Beasts bowed to the lion. It was very clear that the lion in front of them was their king.

 Chapter 73 Sneaking

    ?


    Away from the battlefield, Leo was slowly going into the forest. He heard the sounds of battle from time to time and knew that this was his cue to go into the forest as quickly as he could. However, he had to be careful since it would be his first time venturing into the Inner Forest and the Core Forest.


    He made his way into the depths of the forest. On the way, he didn''t see any Magical Beasts. The entire forest waspletely deserted. He smiled at this. He was right in assuming that this was the best time to try and find the inheritance.


    He took out his map and took a closer look at it. He saw that the mark was at the center of the entire forest. He put it back and entered the Inner Forest.


    The minute he entered the Inner Forest, he realized the difference immediately. The amount of Magical Energy in the air was a lot more than in the Outer Forest. It was a much better environment for him to train and also a better environment for Magical Herbs to grow. This was why the stronger Magical Beasts upied this area - they could monopolize these herbs for their own growth.


    He saw a multitude of herbs that he was tempted to grab on the way but he resisted this urge. He hade for one thing and wanted to see it through. He quickly sped past the Inner Forest. Compared to the Outer Forest which took him two hours to cross, the Inner Forest only took him 10 minutes. This meant that the radius of the Outer Forest was almost 50 km while the Inner Forest''s was only around 5 based on his speed.


    With that enormous size for a forest, he was not surprised that there were those many 1st Circle Magical Beasts in the Outer Forest, but he was surprised that the 2nd Circle Magical Beasts co-existed in the smaller Inner Forest.


    He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind as he finally entered the Core Forest of the Valkyr''s Woods. As he entered, he was very careful. He knew that the Core part would be even smaller than the Inner Forest and he would have to consider the chance that a Magical Animal was still staying in the Core to guard any cubs or precious herbs.


    The moment he entered, he saw that the Core Forest was essentially another waterfall that was right beside a cave. The cave was on a cliff that was beside the waterfall. It would be the perfect ce for a home because the scenery was amazing. The cave overlooked the water falling onto theke.


    He Shadow Stepped to the cave and quickly sensed around to see if there were any Magical Beasts around him. He didn''t find any in his initial search. He peeked into the cave and saw an interesting sight.


    There was a lot of gold glimmering at the end of the cave. Along with the gold were several skeletons which were still dressed invish clothes. He sneaked into the cave and walked forward. The cave was very empty save for the loot at the end.


    There was a small pile of jewelry and human skeletons. Other than that, there wasn''t anything special. He moved closer and saw that the skeletons had rings on their fingers. He recognized the rings immediately. They were dimensional rings like the one he had.


    He quickly grabbed the rings from all the skeletons and threw them into his own. He didn''t have time to check what was in them. He could do thatter. He found a total of three rings so that itself made the trip worth it.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Other than the dimensional rings, the only thing that stood out to him was a huge fruit that sat along with the gold and jewels. There weren''t any other precious herbs other than the fruit, but the fruit itself contained a huge amount of Magical Energy that made him want to eat it on the spot. He decided to wait on that till he could get the fruit appraised and put it into his dimensional ring.


    He took out the map from his dimensional ring and checked it again. He was supposedly in the cave that seemed like the center of the forest, so he was supposed to find the inheritance there. He looked closer and realized that some of the drawings were ces he recognized. There was a waterfall right beside the marked spot, but the spot was to the left of the waterfall while the cave was to the right.


    He smiled at his observation and exited the cave. He left the cave and looked at the waterfall again. Unfortunately, he didn''t find any cave-like structure beside the waterfall. There were only rocks. He shook his head. He didn''t know what to do.


    Just as he was thinking, he heard a loud roar in the distance that startled him. He looked for the source of the roar and realized that it hade from the battlefield. He sighed with relief. He was happy he didn''t have to fight against a Beast like that. He would definitely die if he was going up against a Magical Beast that made him feel fear even though it was dozens of kilometers away.


    He got down from the cave and went to a tree that looked over the waterfall. He stared at the waterfall for an entire ten minutes, thinking about what his course of action was. The first thing he thought was that he could st open the cliff to the left with his me Barrage. This would definitely yield results if there was truly an inheritance waiting for him.


    However, he quickly discarded the idea because of how much energy it would consume and how much noise it would make. If a nearby 3rd Circle Magical Beast heard the noise and realized that the forest had an intruder, his weakened self that used all his Magical Energy to st open a cliff would be killed easily.


    After that idea was discarded, he kept thinking. Suddenly, an idea urred to him. He had already tried this idea before but had left it because it didn''t work, but he realized that it might work again.


    The first thing he had done once he got down from the cave was scan beyond the waterfall to see if there was anything hiding behind the water. He did it instinctively because that was where he found the tome. However, because he couldn''t sense anything, he left that idea.


    However, he realized that the tome had a magical barrier guarding it and the space it was in. If Valkyr also put up a magical barrier, he wouldn''t be able to detect that space because he was far weaker than Valkyr. Even if the barrier weakened over the years, it wouldn''t be able to bridge the gap. There was also a definite chance that Valkyr put up a barrier since no one found the inheritance in all those years.


    He decided to test his idea and immediately jumped into theke.

 Chapter 74 Valkyrs Deception

    ?


    Leo swam toward the waterfall with high expectations. He reached the waterfall quickly and crossed it. He prayed that behind the waterfall was the inheritance and not just the cliff.


    His prayer had been answered. As he crossed the waterfall, he entered a space behind the waterfall. There was an entire cave the same size as the one outside the waterfall. He sighed. What was it with mages and them choosing to hide their inheritances behind waterfalls?


    He climbed onto the stone ground and walked forward. He pulled up the map and saw that the inheritance was supposed to be to his left based on the position of the waterfall he entered through.


    He looked and saw that there was somece to keep walking. He kept walking until he reached the wall. He looked down at the map and saw that the map told him to keep walking. He didn''t know what to do, so he just pushed the wall to see if there was a false door or anything of the sort.


    When he did, he almost fell over to the other side. The wall of the cave was just an illusion thatpletely fooled him. He quickly realized that he wouldn''t be able to get past this ce without making sure how magic influenced the environment around him. He realized that the wall was just made of magic and nothing else.


    He stepped over the wall and took a step forward. He quickly reached a simr cave that was identical to the one he had seen when he entered. However, the difference was that there was a chest at the end of this one. He walked slowly toward the chest, keeping an eye out for any potentialst-minute traps.


    Thankfully, there weren''t any. He stood in front of the chest and looked at it. It looked just like an ordinary chest. It was made out of wood and had iron borders that were rustedpletely. However, he knew that it was a deceiving appearance. The amount of magic it contained was definitely atypical of a rusted chest.


    He took a deep breath and opened the chest. He pushed open the lid and the appearance that he saw faded away. It was reced by a gold chest that wasid with jewels. He didn''t trust that appearance as well, but he didn''t care about it. He was more concerned about the book that sat in the chest.


    He knew immediately that it wasn''t a tome. He would have recognized it based on its appearance and the amount of magic it had. Also, there were a few words stered on top of the book which wasn''t what tomes did. But he wasn''t disappointed. In fact, he was very pleased with what the book was.


    The book was a spell book. It contained the details on how to train on a particr spell. The spell itself was the reason why Leo was happy.


    [Valkyr''s Deception]


    He opened the book and the description was exactly what he had expected.


    [Use magic to make objects seem likepletely different objects, deceiving even mages. Change your own appearance using this spell.]


    It was a very vague description that was a lot more informal than he was used to. But it conveyed what the spell was going to do. He would be able to disguise himself properly using that spell. That was such a useful spell to have, especially if he was going to use his mage powers any time.


    He put the book in his dimensional ring and looked around if there was anything else to take. After making sure that he had taken everything, he exited the cave and was about to go out of the waterfall. However, he stopped in his tracks when he heard a noise.


    He quickly extended his senses and saw that he was no longer alone in the core forest. There was another visitor who had the same idea as him. The visitor had gone up into the cave that Leo had raided initially.


    Leo quickly started brainstorming ideas. The person who had appeared was a mage like him, but he was stronger. He was a Peak-Stage 3rd Circle Mage while Leo was just a person who had freshly made his 3rd Star. He didn''t even properly learn the spells that made him a proper 3rd Star Mage.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He noticed that the waterfall still had the magic that kept his senses from discovering the ce, so he decided to stay there, hoping that the other visitor wouldn''t as well. He decided to wait out the other person and hope that he would leave early after seeing that there was nothing of value at the cave.


    He had the option of running out immediately and trying to escape faster than the other person, but that was very risky and he would be discovered immediately.


    Ten minutes passed and the person who entered the cave came out. Leo knew immediately that the person was frustrated because he heard a loud roar from him.


    "AHHH! WHO TOOK THE RADIANT APPLE??!!"


    Leo smiled awkwardly. Now he knew he would have to wait out the person. If the person saw him, he would know instantly who the culprit was. On the bright side, he knew what the fruit was. Now he just had to search up what the Radiant Apple was.


    Leo hoped that the person would leave but he stayed there for almost 30 minutes. He was starting to lose hope because the battle would end and the Magical Beasts would get back to the Core Forest. Either them or the mages who won the battle.


    Just as Leo was giving up, he heard a snarl. He immediately expanded his senses and realized that a new entity entered the Core Forest. It wasn''t just a normal Magical Beast, it was a 4th Circle Magical Beast.


    The Magical Beast saw the mage that was loitering outside and snarled. To Leo''s surprise, he heard a different voice from outside the waterfall.


    "What are you doing here, human? Have youe to steal our treasures while the battle is going on? Coward!"


    Leo was taken aback. He knew that the only other being out there was the Magical Beast, which meant that the Magical Beast was capable of speech. He knew that Magical Beasts got smarter as they got stronger, but he didn''t expect them to be able to speak in the humannguage.


    "What are you doing here? Have you also abandoned your war? I see that you freshly broke through and haven''t yet be a proper 4th Circle Magical Beast. If we do fight, you would lose." The person said.


    The Magical Beast snarled. Suddenly, he heard a shout.


    "You coward! You stole the Radiant Apple!" The Beast roared.


    "That wasn''t me you dumb mutt! Do you think I would stay here if I had stolen it? I would have long left the ce," the mage said.


    "Stop trying to lie your way out of this, human! I caught you red-handed! I will kill you!" The Beast shouted.


    Meanwhile, the real culprit was hiding behind the waterfall praying that the two outside would kill each other so he could go home.

 Chapter 75 Viscount

    ?


    The Magical Beast outside was a lioness with golden fur and purple eyes. It was like the female version of the lion that was fighting on the battlefield. The mage on the other hand wore a bright red cloak with fancy inscriptions drawn on it.


    The lioness roared and started attacking the mage with rage. The mage expected that the lioness would act like that and quickly flew into the air to dodge the lioness'' attacks. The lioness wasn''t helpless when the mage flew into the air.


    It unleashed a magic of its own. It formed a purple shard that was the same size as it andunched it at the mage. The mage quickly created a shield in front of him to defend the shard but it wasn''t helpful. The thorn shattered his defenses and threw him back.


    He quickly recovered and hit the lioness with a taste of his magic. He used fire magic, symbolic of his red cloak. He started gathering sr energy from the sun into a concentrated orb of searing light. He then released the orb which burst forth, unleashing a blinding radiance that illuminated the surroundings and scattered rays of intense heat. Some of the rays hit the lioness, inflicting great pain on it.


    In anger, the lioness started creating more shards andunched them at the mage. Compared to the mage, the lioness'' attacks were a lot less sophisticated, but they contained a lot of raw power. They were also just as effective as the mage''s attacks.


    These attacks went back and forth for half an hour. At this point, both of them became extremely exhausted. Leo knew this but he still wanted to wait the fight out. At this point, he could definitelye out and end both of them with his strength, but he didn''t need to. At least one of them was going to do that for him.


    He was right. The mage realized he had to end the fight before losing all his energy. He knew he had less magical energy than the Magical Beast and he was also exerting himself by flying in the air. So he decided to pull out his trump card.


    He took a deep breath and started channeling his energy. Instantly, his hands became engulfed in flickering mes, radiating a searing heat that engulfed the immediate vicinity. With a forceful motion, the mage thrust his hands forward, unleashing a concentrated st of fire toward the lioness.


    "Inferno Nova!" The mage shouted.


    The spell manifested as a brilliant orb of swirling mes, crackling and pulsating with an intense, primal energy. It hurtled toward the lioness, leaving behind a trail of scorch marks and billowing smoke.


    Upon contact, the Inferno Nova erupted in a cataclysmic explosion, enveloping the area in a tempest of zing mes. The searing inferno incinerated anything in its path, reducing the trees and the grass to charred remnants and engulfing adversaries in an all-consuming congration.


    Leo was in the waterfall but even he felt the effects of the spell. The heat evaporated the water in front of him for a few seconds before the rest of the water in the river above filled the gap. He wasn''t concerned that his presence was now apparent to the people outside. He was more interested in what the final oue was.


    The mage waspletely exhausted after he cast the spell. He had used the rest of his magic to cast it. The oue was good, though. After the fire slowly died out and the smoke cleared away, the body of the lioness became visible. The mage saw the unmoving body and sighed with relief.


    He slowlynded on the ground and walked to the body. He was still frustrated that he had to fight the Magical Beast instead of finding the Radiant Apple and leaving immediately.


    Leo saw that the Magical Energy of the Magical Beast could no longer be detected and realized that it was finally time for him toe out. He slowly exited the waterfall. The minute he did, the mage quickly realized that he was not alone.


    The mage jumped back and tried to fly into the air, but he didn''t have any magic left. He looked at Leo with hate in his eyes.


    "You, boy! Who are you?" The mage asked Leo.


    Leo shrugged. "Isn''t it good manners to introduce yourself first?" <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The mage gritted his teeth. "You cheeky shit! I am a Viscount. I am the Viscount of Verdantia. Name yourself."


    "What did I do to you, Mr. Viscount?" Leo asked. "Why are you so angry at me?"


    "You are the one who stole the Radiant Apple, aren''t you? You somehow got here before me and stole the fruit, making me battle the Purple-Eyed Golden Lion because of it." The viscount said.


    "So you already know who I am," Leo said. "Why did you ask me, then?"


    "Hand over the fruit," he said.


    Leo shook his head. "I stole it first. So it''s mine."


    "Hah! Do you think you have an option here? I can sense that you are just a 1st Circle Aura Knight. On the other hand, I am a Peak-Stage 3rd Circle Mage. You are a punymoner who has to do what I tell you to. Now hand over the fruit!" He said.


    Leo realized that the mage could see that he was an Aura Knight but not that he was a mage. This meant that the mage didn''t know that he was a 3rd Circle Mage. In his mind, he thought Leo couldn''t hurt him at all.


    "I refuse. What will you do?" Leo asked him.


    "Well, I wanted to do this the easy way, but I since I was going to kill you anyway, I will look for it after I do that." The mage said.


    He used the little magic strength he had to form a small meteor that would normally tten a 1st Circle Magical Beast and flung it at Leo. Leo smiled as the meteor flew and crashed into him. The mage''s expression immediately changed.


    He looked behind him and saw that Leo was standing there. Leo had used his Shadow Step to get behind the mage before he got hit by the meteor. The mage was confused about how he was able to do that.


    "How did you use aura to do that? Did you teleport?" The mage asked. He was very curious about how Leo had dodged his attack. He was also worried since he was low on magic and might run out of it before he could deal with Leo.


    "You have an awful lot of questions, don''t you? But what makes you think I will answer someone who just showed that they wanted to kill me." Leo said.


    "I won''t kill you anymore. Just hand me the fruit and tell me how you did what you did and I will... I will give you money. You are just amoner, right? You need the money. I will give you 10000 Starcoins if you tell me how you did it." The mage said.


    Leo gave the mage a very disgusted look. "Wow. For a Viscount, you are incredibly poor. Maybe I need to give you money."

 Chapter 76 Disturbance

    ?


    The mage got furious. "Shut upmoner! How dare you speak to me like that?"


    Leo smiled. "Do you want to know how I did that? Well, the answer is... I am secretly a mage."


    The viscount frowned at the answer. He thought that it was an obvious lie considering how he could see the aura in the boy''s body. However, his expression changed instantly when he saw a fireball forming at his hand.


    As a mage, he could see that the fireball was forming because of magic and could see that the spell was at least a 2nd Circle Spell. Normally, it wouldn''t be a problem for him to handle a spell like that. But now that he didn''t have any magic left, he would die even to a spell that weak.


    "What is this?" He asked. "How are you able to do that? Having magic and aura at the same time is... impossible."


    Leounched the me Burst at the mage without any mercy. He wasn''t nning on letting a person who was ready to kill him live. He knew that the noble was going to kill him anyway, so he should expect that the same could be done to him.


    The me Burst exploded in the face of the mage who was too weak to dodge or block it. The explosion was so powerful that it blew off his head. Leo gagged at the sight of the headless body but he couldn''t waste too much time.


    He walked forward and took the dimensional ring of the mage. He then looked at the body of the Purple-Eyed Golden Lion and decided not to waste it. He stored the entire body in the dimensional ring because it was very valuable. A 4th Circle Magical Beast was very rare. He saw a core of a 4th Circle Magical Beast go for 7 million Starcoins. That was twice his worth.


    After taking away the body and the dimensional ring, he decided to leave the body of the mage there. One of the greatest advantages he had was that everyone who saw him initially detected the aura he had, so even if they saw hime out of the forest, they would only see that he was a 1st Circle Aura Knight.


    He started walking to the Outer Forest. He was a little careful so that he wouldn''t lose his way. Since he was very deep in the forest, he would get lost if he wasn''t careful.


    ____


    Meanwhile, the battle at Solhaven became very heated up after the lion entered the battlefield. The mages all backed away while the Magical Beasts became filled with vigor and attacked without any concern for their lives.


    The magistrate watched this happen and frowned. He held his staff tightly and jumped from the edge of the wall. He flew into the air and pointed his staff at the iing Magical Beasts.


    "Frost Nova Surge!"


    He released a concentrated wave of freezing cold that rapidly expanded outward, enveloping the area in a shimmering dome of ice and frost. As the spell took effect, a surge of chilling air radiated from the caster, forming intricate ice crystals that danced through the atmosphere. In an instant, the crystals shattered, releasing a cascade of icy shards that shot outwards with tremendous speed and force.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Upon impact, the shards embedded themselves into the Magical Beasts, freezing their bodies and encasing anything in their path in ayer of frost. The sudden drop in temperature causes an immediate shock to the Magical Beasts, slowing down their movements.


    The lion roared after it watched this and said, "Do you think you are the only one who can attack my army?"


    It channeled bolts of crackling electricity that streaked through the air with unparalleled speed and precision. As the power of the bolts increased, the atmosphere crackled with electrifying energy. With amanding gesture, the lion unleashed multiple lightning bolts in rapid session.


    These bolts of pure electrical force arced and weaved through the air, guided by the lion. Each bolt sought out a 3rd Circle Mage with uncanny uracy, delivering devastating strikes that electrified the surroundings. The impact was explosive, apanied by thunderous cracks that reverberate through the area.


    The 3rd Circle Mages were all sent flying to the wall. The attack injured all of them greatly. The initially injured Silvershade Mage was so heavily injured that he couldn''t even fly anymore. He was coughing blood so much that it was clear that he could no longer participate in the fight.


    The other 3rd Circle Mages were only lightly injured, so they could keep fighting. However, now they were at a huge disadvantage. The one attack from the Purple-Eyed Golden Lion tipped the scales greatly.


    The magistrate was looking at the lion carefully. He knew that no matter how much the entire army fought and how hard they tried, they would not be able to impact the battle until the 4th Circle Magical Beast in front of him was dealt with.


    This was the power of a 4th Circle Powerhouse. Anyone weaker than them would be like ants and they could affect any battle greatly. If he was able to take care of the lion, then the Beast Wave was essentially taken care of.


    However, it wasn''t as simple as it seemed. He knew that the Purple-Eyed Golden Lion was not the only 4th Circle Magical Beast in Valkyr''s Forest. Based on the reports he received, the lion was able to find a Radiant Apple. The consort of the lion was back in the forest, guarding the apple.


    This was a problem for two reasons. If he spent all his energy fighting the lion, he could quickly finish the fight and even take care of the rest of the Magical Beasts. However, if the lioness suddenly interfered, then he would not be able to handle two Magical Beasts at the same time.


    Also, if the lioness took the Radiant Apple by any chance, then any chances of victory were as good as gone. The Radiant Apple was a fruit that guaranteed an increase in power for any Magical Beast or mage. It helped them greatly increase the magic they had.


    Right now, the lion was an Early-Stage 4th Circle Magical Beast. If the lion took the Radiant Apple, it would be a Middle-Stage 4th Circle Magical Beast at the very least. He himself was a Middle-Stage 4th Circle Mage. He wouldn''t be able to guarantee victory if that breakthrough had already happened, but it seemed that the lion had saved the fruit forter.


    After thinking for a while, he decided that he had to fight with his all to quickly kill the Magical Beast before the lioness could join the fight. Just as he was thinking that he sensed a very slight disturbance from the distance in the forest.


    There were signs of Magical Energy in the distance. It was almost 50 kilometers away, so that meant it was in the Core Forest. He looked at the lion who was also looking at the source of the disturbance. No one else noticed this disturbance, but both of them did. Both of them knew what the disturbance meant.

 Chapter 77 Finish

    ?


    The magistrate instantly started bombarding the lion with spells as quickly as he could. The lion dodged some and deflected others, but it was concentrating on what was happening in the distance.


    This was because it knew that someone was battling in the Core Forest. The only people who could make disturbances like this were 3rd Circle Mages and Magical Beasts or stronger. The only Magical Beast in the Core Forest was the lioness. This was why the lion was very concerned with what was happening there.


    The Magistrate also knew this. That was why he suddenly started using all his strength on the lion without any worry. If the lioness was busy in battle, then he could take care of the lion without any problem.


    "Frostbite Comet," the Magistrate cast a spell that was the better version of the one he use to kill the 3rd Circle Magical Beast.


    Heunched a radiant sphere of ice toward the lion. Upon impact, it exploded in a burst of freezing energy, unleashing a flurry of razor-sharp ice shards. The surrounding area became engulfed in a frigid tempest, numbing the senses and hampering the movement of the nearby Magical Beasts.


    The lion that was hit directly hit by theet roared in pain. It wasn''t focused entirely on the battle and he paid for hispse in attention. It became enraged and unleashed a spell at the Magistrate. It released a cascading torrent of arcing lightning bolts that cascaded from the lion, seeking to strike the magistrate.


    The Magistrate quickly formed a shield in front of him. The lightning bolts struck the shield and exploded in a beautiful disy of electricity, but didn''t get past it. The Magistrate quickly counter-attacked.


    He unleashed a few ice shards at the lion who dodged them with ease. The lion counter-attacked with a few lightning bolts of its own. The two went back and forth with spells but other than the first hit that injured the lion lightly, none of the other attacks did anything.


    However, because of the first attack, the already weaker lion gained a bigger disadvantage. It lost its energy quicker than the Magistrate. He noticed this and forced out all of its energy for 30 minutes. After that, he decided to end the battle with a spell that it couldn''t defend.


    "Ice Mist," the Magistrate surrounded himself with a mist that shrouded what he was doing from everyone. It was just a smoke screen so it took him a couple of seconds to make it. After that, he prepared himself to cast the strongest spell he could cast.


    "cial Spear."


    A surge of intense cold permeated the surroundings. Frost crystals coalesced, forming a massive spear that glimmered with an ethereal blue glow. The mist wasn''t widespread enough to hide the sheer size and grandeur of the cial Spear thatmanded awe and respect.


    With a forceful gesture, he hurled the cial Spear toward the lion with incredible speed and precision. The spear sliced through the air, leaving a trail of shimmering frost in its wake. Its icy surface crackled and rippled with magical energy, ready to unleash its frozen fury upon impact.


    The cial Spear struck the lion who couldn''t react to the spear, unleashing a cataclysmic release of icy energy. The impact created a shockwave that shattered the immediate surroundings, encasing everything in its path in a dome of frost and ice. All of the nearby Magical Beasts were victims of this. Even a 3rd Circle Magical Beast was unfortunate enough to be caught up in this.


    The lion was impaled by the spear''s freezing tip. The cial Spear''s power further intensified the cold and froze any residual moisture in the area. The resulting ice formations and frozen terrain impeded movement, effectively immobilizing the Magical Beasts.


    The attack took so much of the Magistrate''s power, but it was able to kill the Purple-Eyed Golden Lion. The Magical Beasts saw their leader killed in battle and immediately lost all their coordination.


    Till thest minute, they were acting like an organized army that would have been able to sessfully siege Solhaven. However, after losing their leader the Magical Beasts went back to the brainless savages they normally were. They no longer treated the Magical Beasts as their allies and just retreated back to the forest without any regard for anything except themselves.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The Magistrate slowly floated back to the city wall as he watched the 3rd Circle Magical Beasts also retreat back into the forest. Only one of them remained. It was the Purple Moon Wolf. It howled loudly and charged at the city wall where the Silvershade Mage was resting.


    The nearby mages saw this and immediately put up shields. Normally, they would be enough to deal with the sole 3rd Circle Magical Beast. But they were all injured and the beast was being apanied by 500 2nd Circle Magical Beasts.


    The wolf charged toward the mage with a vengeful look in its eyes. The mage saw this and immediately shouted.


    "If you kill me, I will kill your cub!"


    The shout was heard by the wolf and it immediately halted. The wolf was now just a dozen meters away from the mage. The mage was surrounded by the other 4 mages who were ready for any attack. The Magistrate was watching from above. He didn''t have the energy to interfere.


    The mage quickly took out a pouch from his pocket. This was different from a dimensional ring. It was a luxurious cloth pouch that had incantation embroidered onto it with gold. He reached into the pouch and took out a small object.


    The mages'' eyes widened. The object was moving. It was the Purple Moon Wolf cub that he had bought. They were surprised that the mage would bring out the cub with him to the battle, but they were also surprised by the pouch.


    The pouch was like a dimensional ring, except that it could even carry living organisms. This made it exponentially expensive - as expensive as the cub. Why was he revealing such valuable items here?


    He put the cub to the ground. The cub immediately saw its parent and ran to it. The wolf walked slowly to the cub and picked it up with its teeth. It then turned around and went back to the forest. Its army followed it back.


    With thest 3rd Circle Magical Beast retreating, the entirety of the force was gone. The Beast Wave was sessfully over. However, the mages immediately questioned the injured mage''s actions.


    "You paid a fortune for that Magical Beast Cub! How are you going to recover from this?" Thedy mage asked.


    He smiled. "You guys are not aware of what true nning is. I am sure you all know about the Radiant Apple that is in the Core Forest. The one that we were unable to getst time because of the two Purple-Eyed Golden Lionsst time. Well, I sold that information for 200 million Starcoins."


    The mages immediately turned purple.


    "You dared?!" The Magistrate who was hearing this shouted.


    The Silvershade smiled at the Magistrate. "Guess who I sold it to? Your long-time friend, the Viscount of Verdantia."

 Chapter 78 Power Shift

    ?


    Leo was walking to the Outer Forest when he heard loud noises from the battlefield. He immediately started hurrying up. He was initially nning to walk slowly so that he wouldn''t lose his way, but the loud noises and Magical Vibrations indicated that people stronger than him were fighting.


    If the 4th Circle Powerhouses were fighting, that meant that the battle woulde to an end. Either way, it meant that he had to quickly go back to his hiding spot. He would go back the next day after the effects of the battle had subsided.


    After an hour, he heard a loud sound that let him know that the battle had to be over. Either they won or lost. Either way, it meant that he would have to get to the waterfall a little faster. The battle had finished quicker than he thought. It was only starting to reach sunset, which meant that the Beast Wave onlysted a day.


    Based on what he expected, the number of Magical Beasts was going to be in the tens of thousands. But the battle already ended, which went on to show the true power of 3rd Circle and 4th Circle Mages. The reason he didn''t know how much power he had was that he never properly learned and used his 3rd Star Spells.


    As he was getting closer to the Outer Forest, he felt the presence of multiple Magical Beasts in the distance. He quickly shadow-stepped away from them while trying to keep his direction toward Solhaven. Valkyr''s Forest didn''t solely border Solhaven. It was also next to a city called Verdantia, where the Viscount was from.


    If Leonded there, he would have to exin what he was doing there and that would be a hassle. Compared to that, he could just wait for two days in the forest and go to Solhaven. By that time, adventurers and mercenaries would go to the forest regrly.


    So he kept a reference point and started running while keeping a distance from the Magical Beasts that were flooding the forest.


    As time passed, he realized the sheer size of the horde that was entering the forest all at once. He could sense more than 1000 Magical Beasts all charging back into the forest. The entire bunch waspletely disorganized and it was essentially a stampede. If he got caught up in it, he would definitely not be able to get out.


    As he was sneakily going past the Magical Beast, he sensed multiple energies that were stronger than him. He was curious about what happened outside. Why were there so many 3rd Circle Magical Beasts there? What actually happened outside?


    ____


    Meanwhile, outside the mages all surrounded the Silvershade Mage. The Magistrate jumped down from the wall and confronted him as well.


    "That information was gathered by risking my life. I only shared it with you because I felt it was important to inform the benefits of fighting in this Beast Wave. But since you sold away that privilege, consider that you sold your right to stay at Solhaven." The Magistrate said angrily.


    The Silvershade mage smiled. "The Radiant Apple can let the Viscount of Verdantia break through to the 4th Circle. Then Verdantia will rival Solhaven. I no longer have to stay here."


    The Magistrate frowned. "Fine. But do tell me, how much did you take to buy over?"


    "I am not cheap, Magistrate. It took him 1 Billion Starcoins to make me convert. Next time, I will be seeing you on the other side of the battlefield." The Silvershade mage said.


    One of the mages pointed their staffs at the mage, but the Magistrate stopped him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Don''t. The empire doesn''t allow any battles between mages unless it is in the Ten Year War. Let us save it for then. It isn''t so far away, is it?" He said. "Pack up, Baron Silvershade. You are no longer a part of Solhaven."


    "Thank you for your mercy, magistrate. I will see you-"


    "Don''t call me magistrate anymore, Baron. To you, I am the Viscount of Solhaven." He said. He turned away and looked at the army of Aura Knight looking at the scene that they created.


    "People of Solhaven! You have fought valiantly. To reward your actions, Baron Silvershade here has donated his property. The resulting money from the sale of his properties will be distributed among everyone. Everyone here will bepensated with 100,000 Starcoins. Any family who has seen a death because of today will receive 450000 Starcoins." He announced.


    Everyone heard this and cheered loudly. While this might seem like a huge expense to the city, it was actually viable. The entirety of the Beast Cores left over from the entire Beast Wave would sell for around 400 million Starcoins, while the property of the Silvershade family would be worth around 600 million Starcoins. Together, it would pay for the remuneration of the conscription.


    The mages quickly turned to the Magistrate after. He was in the process of taking a potion from his dimensional ring. While he was downing the potion, the mages were talking frantically.


    "We always beat Verdantia in the Ten Year War and maintained control over the majority of the resources there. But if the Silvershade family leaves us, then we will no longer have the advantage. They will also have a 4th Circle Mage for the first time." He said.


    The Magistrate threw the empty ss vial after he finished drinking its contents. He looked at the mage.


    "I am not worried about the betrayal or the new 4th Circle Mage. I am most worried about the anger of the second 4th Circle Purple-Eyed Golden Lion. If the Viscount managed to steal the Radiant Apple without facing the lion, then its anger will turn toward the city that killed its partner. I have to immediately go there and make sure I talk to it myself and clear the situation." He said.


    "Are youpletely certain you understand what you are going to do? How are you going to negotiate with a Magical Beast? Especially one that justunched a Beast Wave at the city?" The mage asked.


    The Magistrate nodded. "A Beast Wave is a necessary phenomenon. It allows them to decrease the number of Magical Beasts and also allows them to kill humans. It allows the coexistence of the two species without depleting all of the resources. The only reason it was this serious was because of the existence of the Radiant Apple."


    "How did the Radiant Apple change anything?" They asked.


    "The Radiant Apple is the most powerful Magical Fruit the forest has produced in years. It took decades to grow. If the fruit is to be consumed, then that Beast will be able to advance its bloodline. But in the process, it will lose its ability to fight back while it transforms. A single 4th Circle Magical Beast cannot fight back all the Magical Beasts in the forest. That is why they dwindled down the numbers this much." He said.


    "So even the Magical Beasts in the forest do not know about the Radiant Apple?" Thedy mage asked.


    The Magistrate nodded. "Yes. But now it might be gone."

 Chapter 79 Confusion

    ?


    The Magistrate flew up into the air. The potion helped him recover his magic and he could now go to the Forest.


    "I will be back soon. Bring the city back to operational capacity quickly." He said. He flew into the forest after saying that.


    He quickly flew past the Magical Beasts that were fleeing into the Outer and Inner Forests and entered the Core Forest at lightning speed. He moved so quickly that he couldn''t check what was under him in the Outer Forest.


    By the time he had got to the Outer Forest, Leo had already gotten to his favorite hiding spot and started camping there. He didn''t take out his loot yet because he wanted to be back home for that. He was just going to survive for the next two days and then somehow go back.


    He suddenly felt chills in his body as he sensed a powerful figure zoom past him. He sighed with relief when he saw that it didn''t stop. This meant that one of the powerhouses wasing for their loot. He sat back in the tiny ce he had and put his legs in the water. He wasn''t worried about anything happening to him since the 1st Circle Magical Beasts and Pseudo 1st Circle Magical Beasts couldn''t do anything to him.


    Meanwhile, the Magistrate got to the Core Forest and saw a sight that surprised him. When he got there, he felt massive magic energy remnants and a headless corpse. He went forward and took a closer look at the corpse.


    The corpse belonged to the Viscount of Verdantia. He was able to figure it out by the fancy robe that he was wearing. It was an iconic robe that was worth millions of Starcoins. It enhanced fire magic greatly.


    If Leo knew that he missed out on such a valuable item, he would be pissed with himself many times over. But he didn''t know, and ignorance is bliss.


    The Magistrate looked around quickly for the Purple-Eyed Golden Lion. If the Viscount was dead, it meant that the second lion killed him. But he couldn''t find any energy that was stronger than a 3rd Circle Magical Beast around him at all.


    He saw the cave in front of him and leaped to reach it. He looked inside and saw the mountain of treasure. He walked forward and saw the multiple corpses that were missing their dimensional rings. He saw that there weren''t any valuable Magical Herbs there and the Radiant Apple wasn''t there as well.


    At this point, he waspletely confused. The Viscount was dead and the second 4th Circle Magical Beast of the forest was missing. The Radiant Apple was also nowhere to be found. All of this was soplicated that he couldn''t think of any way to exin it.


    He decided to think about itter and went back to Solhaven. He was disappointed that he didn''t have the Radiant Apple, but he was still happy that it wasn''t in the hands of the Viscount of Verdantia. In fact, with him dead the city of Verdantia wouldn''t have anyone close to bing a 4th Circle Mage at all. This essentially guaranteed victory for the Ten Year War.


    The Ten Year War was apetition that was held through out the province they were in every ten years. The major city in the province was Eldridge which oversaw thepetition. Thepetition had the cities use mages and powerful Aura Knights to fight each other. The victors of the war gained ess to more resources.


    It might seem hard to divide resources, but it was still necessary. By winning against the city of Verdantia, Solhaven ced 4th among 8 cities. They gained majority ess to Valkyr''s Woods and any major Magical Herbs that were found there would belong to their city.


    In fact, the Radiant Apple was rightfully theirs. The Viscount of Verdantia wasn''t allowed to steal it. However, they wouldn''t be able to prove the fact that he stole it after he took it and consumed it. That was why Baron Silvershade was very confident in telling them about what he did.


    Along with ess to the forest, they would also get money to manage the city as a reward. This money helped them manage the academy as well as make the lives of citizens better.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He got back to the wall quickly. When he got back in less than an hour, everyone was surprised. They thought he would take longer since he would have to talk with the Magical Beast. However, he was already back.


    "What happened?" One of the mages asked. They had barely started cleaning up the battlefield at this point.


    "The Radiant Apple is gone." The Magistrate said. Everyone turned glum. However, his next few words changed that.


    "The Viscount of Verdantia is dead."


    Everyone''s eyes widened. Even the Aura Knights who were listening in were so deeply involved since they were listening in from the start. They were invested in the drama that was happening.


    "What do you mean?" Everyone asked.


    The Magistrate pulled out the headless corpse of the Viscount of Verdantia and dropped it on the ground. He had stored it beforehand because he could just show it to everyone to boost their morale.


    "He was dead by the time I got there. The second 4th Circle Magical Beast is also missing. We don''t know where the Radiant Apple is for now, but it definitely isn''t with Verdantia." He said.


    This meant that the Silvershade family had officially made the worst possible betrayal ever. They gave up their entire assets in Solhaven for a 1 Billion Starcoin check from the viscount. But because the viscount was dead, the check would bounce and they would be left with no money and in a city that would lose against Solhaven.


    On top of that, they didn''t even have any cash reserves since they used up all of that to buy the Purple Moon Wolf Cub their Baron gave up because he was so scared of dying. Overall, they were no longer going to be a powerhouse like they were in Solhaven.


    "Do you know how many people died and how many are injured?" The Magistrate asked.


    One of the guards came forward.


    "Yes, Lord Magistrate. We had a total of 6000 1st Circle Aura Knights and 1000 2nd Circle Aura Knights. Out of them, 1487 1st Circle Aura Knights and 126 2nd Circle Aura Knights met their ends. We have around 5000 injured and 2000 among them are fatal. They might not be able to fight as they did before. As for the mages, there weren''t any deaths." He said.


    "Thank you. We will distribute thepensation in a week. We will set up ces to distribute the mary rewards. You will have to bring some proof to im your money, so we will distribute tokens to everyone present. We will give tokens to the dead''s family when they are presented with the news. My condolences to all the families who lost someone today. A respectful funeral will be conducted in a week for all these warriors! Citizens of Solhaven! We have sessfully defended this Beast Wave!" The Magistrate started talking emotionally and suddenly roared, stirring up the emotions of everyone present.

 Chapter 80 Rewarded

    ?


    Leo opened his eyes and looked straight. The water that was falling in front of him looked mesmerizing. He immediately pointed his hand at the water and cast a Shadowbind Bolt. The bolt raced forward across the water and hit a Magical Beast that was on the other side.


    It was a crocodile that was trying to sneak up on him. To its misfortune, it picked Leo of all people. He had seen iting almost 5 minutes ago. He was amused at how it had been creeping in slowly and patiently.


    The bolt had wrapped the crocodile uppletely and was draining it of its strength. He walked out of the fountain and stepped on the crocodile who was floating in the water, trying to break free. However, since the tendrils were so strong, it couldn''t move and was still enough for him to stand on top of it.


    He stretched his arms and yawned. After yawning, he leaped from the crocodile andnded on a lily pad a few meters away. Normally, the lily pad wouldpletely sink, but he was using his Magical Energy to strengthen it and keep it afloat.


    He took another leap andnded on the bank of the river. He released the magic on the crocodile and started walking away. He didn''t feel like killing it because he was in a good mood. He had been cooped up in the waterfall for two days and three nights, so now that he was finally out he could go back home.


    He expelled the dust that umted on his body and leisurely walked to the Outskirts of the forest. He was enjoying nature along the way and maintaining a slow pace. If anyone looked, they would say that he was at a park and not a dangerous forest with Magical Beasts.


    He eventually made it out of the forest and walked to the front gate. They just let him go without asking him anything. This was partly due to the high traffic. They didn''t have the time to care about everyone who entered and left the ce. This was also because of is young age. A young kid like him was probably just out to make some money. Nobody expected him to cause so many events that kept all the mages of the city stumped.


    He walked to his house andy on his bed. After an hour, he stood up and took out everything that he looted. Heid it on his bed. He had 4 dimensional rings, one Radiant Fruit, one spell book, and one 4th Circle Magical Beast corpse. Any one of these items would be worth tens of millions of Starcoins and would only belong in the Noble District.


    One of those items would even start a war between Noble Families. The Radiant Apple was so sought after that people would kill to obtain it. The dimensional rings were each worth more than 10 million Starcoins. And the 4th Circle Magical Beast Corpse along with the Beast Core would also sell for over 10 million Starcoins. Surprisingly, that was the item that was worth the least.


    Most importantly, he had the legacy of the mage called Valkyr. He had a spell that would be so helpful to him that it couldn''t even be defined with money.


    He first took out the dimensional rings to check what was inside each of them. He wasn''t expecting much but wanted to see if there was anything. As he expected, there was only money and nothing else. However,bining the money in all the three rings he got from the cave, he had a total of 7 million Starcoins. This meant that he could go on purchasing sprees if he wanted to.


    Based on how many resources he needed to get to the Late-Stage of Aura Knight he was in now, he would definitely need that money. Along with that, there was also thest ring that belonged to the Viscount.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    This ring was adorned a little more than usual. He looked inside it and was shocked by what he saw. The Viscount had 10 million Starcoins and a staff. Leo immediately took out the staff and was amazed by it. The minute he held it, he felt that his magic was more powerful. This was a tool that would increase his magic power greatly.


    However, he would have to be careful when using it. If people saw it and realized that it belonged to the Viscount, they would find out that he was the one who killed him. The staff was incredibly shy, so there was a high chance that would happen.


    There wasn''t anything else in there, but just that made the ring worth more than the other ones. After that, he took out the Beast Core of the 4th Circle Purple-Eyed Golden Lion. The minute he took it out, he could sense the Magical Energy that was emanating from it.


    The only time he had seen it was at the auction, but this time he was holding it with his bare hands. He was tempted to start absorbing it instantly, but he stopped himself. He had a better n for it.


    He went into the mind and held the Beast Core in his hands. For the second time, he felt an object was solid inside his mind. The Beast Core was so solid and didn''t budge even if he shook it with vigor. However, he noticed that after a minute passed, the Beast Core had a small chip the size of a finger nail.


    The core itself was the size of both of his fists put together, so the chip was negligible. But the chip was turned into dust and fell onto the nt. This minuscule amount had as much of an effect on the tree as 5 1st Circle Magical Beasts. He looked at the Beast Core with awe.


    However, he didn''t know what he had to do. Was he going to stay there for the entire time, waiting for it to chip away? That would take his entire day. It seemed like it would take several hours and he was filled with excitement to look at the rest of what he had looted.


    So he decided to put the Beast Core at the root of the nt and see what happened. The Beast Core stayed there and didn''t move. He went back to reality and saw that the Beast Core wasn''t there with him. He went back to check if it was still there and saw that it was.


    He smiled. To test something, he picked the Beast Core again and went back to reality. He saw that the core was in his hands. This meant that he could actually store objects in his mind. He put the core back at the base of the nt and thought a little about this possibility.


    It wasn''t as useful as it seemed, since he already had a dimensional ring doing that. Also, he would only be able to do that with extremely rare objects that contained great amounts of magic. Otherwise, his mind would crumble the object to dust. He put the thought aside and went back to the unboxing.

 Chapter 81 Disbanded

    ?


    Leo took out the spell book and finally took a look at it. It was a book that embodied the spell that was contained in it. The book looked like it was in tatters, but he wasn''t bothered. Everything that was inside the waterfall was deceiving. He opened the first page and read it.


    [Valkyr''s Deception]


    [Use magic to make objects seem likepletely different objects, deceiving even mages. Change your own appearance using this spell.]


    Along with the initial description that he already knew, there was a longer exnation of the spell.


    [This is a Growth Spell. The power of the spell depends on the mage who uses it. If a 7th Circle Mage uses it, then even an 8th Circle Mage cannot look through the disguise. However, any mage or Aura Knight two levels above the caster can look through the disguise instantly.]


    He looked at the warning and smiled. This would be incredibly helpful for him then. After all, where was he even going to find a 5th Circle Mage? He put the book aside for a while. He was nning on learning it as quickly as possible, but he wanted to first look at the final loot that he gained.


    He took out the Radiant Apple and took a closer look at it. It was a golden apple that shone brightly. However, it only had trace amounts of Magical Energy which was why he was confused. Why were the mage and lion fighting over this fruit that much? He took a closer look and saw that the Magical Energy wasn''t as simple as he thought.


    Even though there was less of it, it was incredibly pure. The energy was very nascent and he would be able to mold it as he pleased. For nascent energy like this, there was an abundant amount of it. If he was taking the fruit at a time like a breakthrough, it would help him a lot.


    He smiled and put the fruit away. He took the book and started reading it. He read it for a while before putting it aside. It was incredibly difficult to understand. He was so used to just looking at the Silhouette in his training room perform the spell for him that he was pampered. He didn''t want to read a book - it was too much work.


    But since he didn''t have a choice, he decided to walk around first before going back to reading the book. He felt like he deserved a break anyway.


    He left the house and walked around the city. He saw the number of people outside wasn''t very high. He realized that a lot of people lost their friends and family in the Beast Wave. He walked to the inn like he always did to go and see a familiar face. He needed that since Daphne was gone.


    He walked into the inn. Compared to a few days ago, there were at least a few people getting drinks. He smiled at this and took a table. He waited for a while and saw that Miller finally got free to get to him. He saw Leo and smiled.


    "How are you doing?" He asked him.


    Leo smiled. "I''m doing fine." He smiled lightly. However, the smile wasn''t genuine. Even though he was trying to substitute Daphne with Miller, it wasn''t the same. He didn''t have anyone to actually share his joy of looting the forest with.


    "That''s great! Actually, I think your friends are here. I''ll tell them that you are here." He said. He quickly went in another direction. Meanwhile, Leo was confused.


    Since when did he have friends? Moreover, why would Miller know them? He looked up and saw Miller was with two people. Leo suddenly realized who the friends were. They were rice and Evelyn.


    "Hello, rice. Evelyn." Leo said. He smiled lightly again. The both of them smiled weakly too.


    "Hello, Leo. How are you doing?" They asked him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "I am fine. I am more concerned for both of you. You were there to experience the battle against the Beast Wave." He said.


    Evelyn was confused for a short second before realizing what he meant. "I forgot that you were too young to be conscripted. Well, we survived. Everyone on our team did, so that is good."


    Leo frowned. "I am sensing a buting ahead."


    rice nodded. "Tobias lost an arm. Without him, we cannot maintain our team. So we disbanded yesterday. We are now thinking about moving away from Solhaven." She said.


    Leo was shocked. "I am so sorry. Where are you guys going to go?" He asked.


    "Eldridge. We all receivedpensation from the city for participating. We will exchange it for Aura Gathering Pills. If Evelyn also breaks through, then we can both join one of the bigger Mercenary Groups at Eldridge." She said. "What about you? Are you staying here? It might be a waste of your talent."


    Leoughed stiffly. He was aware of how the was no longer useful to him. As a 3rd Circle Mage, the only useful thing for him was the stuff he had with him. It wasn''t like he had teachers here. But on the other hand, there wasn''t any incentive for him to leave the city yet. Even if he did go to Eldridge, what was he going to do there?


    "I am going to think about it for a while. I''ll decide in a month or two." He said. "I wish you luck for Eldridge though. It seems like a new start to you."


    They nodded. "Yes. But I must say, you missed a lot of drama at the Beast Wave. Maybe you would have even wanted to be there if you knew what happened there," Evelyn said.


    Leo was very curious. "Why? What happened?"


    Evelyn suddenly became very excited. "It started with this Viscount who stole some fruit in the forest while we were fighting the Beast Wave. He got that information from Baron Silvershade." She started telling him the story.


    Leo was immediately invested. The minute he heard that it was about the Viscount who was in the core forest, he knew who it was about. Since he was also deeply involved in the matter, he wanted to know what actually happened.


    "And so the Magistrate kicked him out of the city. Meanwhile, it turned out that the Viscount was actually killed by someone. And the fruit is also gone. Everyone guessed that it was the same person. But since the Viscount was close to the Magistrate in strength, it means that the person who did all this was a 4th Circle Mage or Aura Knight." She said.


    Leo smiled sheepishly. "Well... this is interesting. So did anyone figure out what happened at the end?"


    She shook her head. Meanwhile, rice stopped her sister from talking further.


    "I''m sorry for her. I think you were bored by the story. We have to leave now, but it was really nice meeting you." She said.


    "Oh of course. It wasn''t boring at all. I wish you good luck in the future. If Ie to Eldridge, I will try to find you guys." Leo bid them goodbye.

 Chapter 82 Plans

    ?


    After meeting the two, he leisurely went back to his house. On the way back, he gave it a deeper thought. What did he want to do for the future?


    He didn''t want to stay in Solhaven for long because it just had bad memories left for him. All he remembered was the amount of grimy work he had to do just to stay alive. At least he had Daphne apanying him to make it worth it, but now she was gone too. With that, there wasn''t anything holding him back in the city.


    Along with that, he needed some friends in his life. Having no social interaction sometimes made his life unbearable. He wanted to actually talk to people his age and make friends that he could enjoy with. He had none of that here at Solhaven.


    He got back to his house andid on his bed. He liked the idea of finally leaving the city he was in and exploring the bigger world outside. He thought about it and decided. He would go to Eldridge and join an Aura Knight Academy there.


    He got up and brought the spell book from his dimensional ring. He had thought enough and had to go back to work. He had a lot to learn before he could even consider leaving the city.


    He had around 5 more months before he had to get to Eldridge. That was when they started the admissions for any Aura Knight or Magic School anywhere in the empire. So he was nning on growing in strength in time. He was only going to focus on training his magic.


    If he was a proper 3rd Circle Mage who could hold his own by the time he got to Eldridge, then he would be able to defend himself in the bigger city of Eldridge. Even though 3rd Circle Mages or Aura Circles wouldn''t be thatmonce, there would be a lot more of them than in Solhaven. In fact, there were more than a hundred times the number as in Solhaven.


    With several dozens of 4th Circle Mages and hundreds of 3rd Circle people that could all see through him, he would have to be careful. If he was trained properly though, he would be able to hide himself. He knew that the stronger the person was, the stronger their perception. A person who was strong enough might be able to see through him and see that he was a mage. It was helpful that his aura automatically made everyone consider that he was not a mage, but if people knew that he was both, then his life would be harder.


    The key to disguising his identity was learning the spell in front of him. He took out the spell book and started reading it. He read through the entire book a single time and then read it again to make sure he understood it properly.


    After doing that, he went to the training room and started practicing the spell. Somewhere in his mind, he hoped that the training room would also somehow provide a silhouette that showed him how to execute the spell he was learning, but that was asking for too much. At least it gave him apletely empty room with a singlerge mirror to practice.


    He realized that the mirror appeared because he innately thought that the spell was solely to disguise himself, but the spell had a lot more functionality than that. It could also be used to disguise objects like the mage did to everything in the cave. As he was thinking that, a table appeared in front of him. On the table was a single object.


    The object was a single chess piece. He walked forward and picked it up. He saw that the piece, a king, was made out of wood. He thought about what the book said.


    The spell was using magic to mask the actual appearance of the object and rece it with another one that fooled the eyes of the person. He wasn''t changing the actual object at all. He was only using magic to trick the person into seeing something else. If that person touched the object, they would quickly feel the real nature and the magic would be dispelled. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    To achieve the level to fool real mages, he would have to use magic subtly so that even people who used magic to see through it wouldn''t be able to notice that magic was used to tamper with the object.


    The issue was that using magic subtly was incredibly difficult. It was what made the spell so hard to learn. He tried it and found out the difficulty level firsthand. The easiest part about learning the spell was masking the object with ayer of magic.


    He quickly changed the king to look like a queen. It was very easy for him because of his mastery of magic. He was very good at controlling it because of how his body weed it. However, after that, he had to try masking the use of magic. That was difficult.


    He knew whether he did a good job by looking at it himself. If he could see through it, he assumed that everyone stronger than him or as strong as him could as well. That would mean that it was a failure.


    He sighed and tried again. Compared to every other spell that he learned, this was the hardest. Even the 3rd Circle Spell was a lot easier to learn than this one. And he hadn''t even gotten past the novice stage for that.


    After the entire day, he made barely any progress. He simply couldn''t figure it out in a single day. He sighed and stopped training in it. He still had other things to do. He decided to train the rest of his spells since he was already in the training room.


    For the rest of the night, he trained in the Shadowbind bolt. He picked that spell because of how much he liked itpared to the Soul Fire Burst. The Soul Fire Burst to him was a less useful spell to learnpared to something that would restrict his enemies'' movements.


    If he could do that, then he was more likely to survive the fight. If he ever faced a stronger opponent, then he would have to be able to run away. The Shadowbind bolt would be enough of an annoyance to his enemies to help him run away.


    Compared to that, the Soul Fire Burst would only help him defeat the enemies that were on the same level as him. It was still important, but he put it on a lower scale than the other spells.


    The entire night passed and he switched over to the next spell - the Intermediate Arcane Shield. Another few hours passed and he switched to the Soul Fire Burst. He kept switching the spells and trained in them without actually taking a rest. He was starting to just dive into training instead of thinking about giving his body a rest.


    As he was doing this, he suddenly realized something. It had been two days since he threw in the Beast Core in his mind. What happened to it?

 Chapter 83 Growth

    ?


    He immediately went to his mind and looked at the nt to see what happened to the core. The core waspletely gone and the nt had grown an entire foot. It grew multiple branches and leaves, looking like a properly fed nt now.


    He smiled. This growth was what he was hoping for because of the core and he got it. The leaves were worth a lot more than any normal 4th Circle Beast Core would sell for. It would elerate his growth a lot more.


    He went back to the world and opened his eyes. Now that he knew that the Beast Core did what it was supposed to do, he went back to practicing. He still had to perfect his techniques and spells. Only then could he increase his power properly.


    He maintained a strict routine that didn''t give him any time to venture outside. He would only rotate the spells and train in them until he could no longer train because he depleted all his magic. When that happened, he would take a leaf and use it to gather magic. Then he would go back.


    Slowly, he got so used to this cycle that he fell into a trance. He didn''t even need food anymore after his breakthrough, so the trance persisted. With no one there to look after him and check on him, he kept going.


    Eventually, two months shot by.


    Leo opened his eyes and a huge wave of fatigue shook him to his core. He took a deep breath and fell back into his bed. He closed his eyes and immediately went to sleep.


    When he opened his eyes, two days had passed. He stood up slowly and started stretching his body. He yawned and looked around. There was ayer of dust on everything around him. Because there wasn''t any activity in the house, the ce was starting to look abandoned.


    He walked into the living room which was in a simr state. He sighed and released his magic all over the house to push the dust away. He was using a simr trick to how he cleaned himself, but this required much more magic. However, now that he was a 3rd Circle Mage, it was easier for him to do it.


    He sat on the couch and looked at the progress he made. All of his spells grew greatly. The progress he had made in the past two months was going to help him greatly.


    The spell that saw the most growth was the Shadowbind Bolt. Its proficiency increased from Novice to Intermediate. It was on the cusp of increasing to Advanced Proficiency. With this increased proficiency, he would be able to easily bind most of the mages and Aura Knights that were around his strength for around 5 seconds.


    This might not seem like a lot, but it was a lot of time for someone as strong as him. If he was attacking a Magical Beast with a team, then binding the beast for 5 seconds would let them get close and deal as much damage they could in 5 seconds without worrying about getting injured. And in 5 seconds they could do a lot. Even his own strongest spell - the Soul Fire Burst would take 4 seconds to cast.


    As for the progress in the Soul Fire Burst, he was able to get it to Intermediate Proficiency. This increased the amount of damage it dead as well as the range. He could now attack enemies more than 50 meters away with his Soul Fire Burst. If it was any other light attack spell, then it would reachrger distances though.


    The final spell, The Intermediate Arcane Shield also reached Intermediate Proficiency. It enhanced his defenses greatly.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    One other improvement to his arsenal was the me Barrage. He had trained that spell as well, bringing it up to Expert Proficiency. The only other 2nd Star Spell that he kept training was the Shadow Step. This was because of how useful the spell was for running away.


    In the Shadow Step, he sessfully finished mastering the spell. His proficiency reached Mastery and he could use the spell with ease. He could Shadow Step 100 meters at a time in a matter of seconds. It used a significant amount of Magical Energy when he did that, but it didn''t matter with his increased capacity.


    Finally, Valkyr''s Deception also had some progress. On paper, it was the least progress out of all the spells. He was only able to barely get it to around Novice Proficiency. He knew this because he put proficiency categories on it himself.


    He would consider it Intermediate Proficiency if he was able to make sure that someone that was the same level as him wouldn''t be able to see through the spell. He wasn''t there yet though. Even someone who was a minor stage or two less than him would be able to know that the object was tampered with.


    However, progress was progress. At least he was able to make the first step to subtly hiding that he was actually using magic to alter the appearance of the object. He also made some progress in changing his own appearance.


    After getting familiar with altering objects, he tried changing the structure of his face and had some sess. The only problem was that if he didn''t have a reference and tried to freestyle the appearance, the oue was monstrous.


    His minor training in increasing his magic capacity was very minor, even though he used the leaves of the Elderwood Tree. He didn''t increase his strength too much, but he was able to consolidate himself into the Early Stage of the 3rd Star. He started forming his fourth cloud too, but there was a long way to go before he even reached the Intermediate Stage.


    However, with the number of leaves he was using, he had cleared almost 60 leaves even though he had only been training in magic once in two days. This was because the speed at which he was able to absorb magic increased by more than 4 times.


    Even though the leaf only attracted magic to it, because he absorbed the magic so quickly, the leaf was drained of energy too, making it wither quickly. He used two leaves every time he trained, making their consumption higher than it was supposed to be.


    With all these improvements, he expected that his total strength doubled at least. Each spell that he used had increased in power by a lot, and if used inbinations, they would be a lot more effective. The Soul Fire Burst would be able to deal twice as much damage as before while the Shadow Step was around 1.5 times faster than when he was only in expert proficiency.


    He decided to go out to the forest and try hunting some Magical Beasts to test out exactly how much he increased in total strength as well as recover some of the leaves that he had used. He could also test newbinations of spells and learn how to use them in battle. He was only nning on attacking 2nd Circle Magical Beasts though.


    He didn''t think it was safe to go after 3rd Circle Magical Beasts yet since he was only an Early Stage 3rd Circle Mage.

 Chapter 84 Goodbye

    ?


    He got to the Outer Forest very quickly. It then took him 45 minutes to get to the Inner Forest. With the Beast Wave over, the Magical Beasts went back to their original habitats. The 2nd Circle Magical Beasts took over the Inner Forest while the 3rd Circle Magical Beasts went into the Core Forest.


    One thing that changed was that the strongest Magical Beasts both died, leaving a gap in power for the 3rd Circle Magical Beasts to fight over. So now all of them were trying to gain control over the Core Forest and gain the magical herbs that grew there.


    Meanwhile, Leo finally found his first target. It was a Late-Stage 2nd Circle Magical Beast, the Green Horned Python. The python saw Leo approach it and hissed loudly. It expanded its body and flung itself toward him.


    He calmly entered the Shadow World and Shadow Stepped to behind the python. He pointed his hand at the python and cast a Shadowbind Bolt. The bolt raced against the grass and hit the python before it could react.


    The python became trapped in the shadow tendrils and didn''t show any signs of being able to escape. The Shadowbind Bolt could hold 3rd Circle enemies for only 5 seconds, but for weaker opponents, it wouldst 2 minutes. For 1st Circle enemies, it wouldst as long as his magic would let itst.


    He stared at the python struggling to get out of the lock he ced it in and decided to just finish the battle. He cast a Soul Fire Burst at the python, sting it into smithereens. He walked forward and picked up the core.


    After the battle where he one-sidedly destroyed the python, he immediately realized what was missing in Solhaven. Competition. He was one of the strongest people in all of Solhaven and so he no longer had anypetition. After all, he couldn''t exactly go to one of the 5 3rd Circle Mages and ask for a duel.


    The only way he would have a good fight now would be if he ventured deep into the Core Forest and looked for the 3rd Circle Magical Beasts there, but that was too dangerous for him. So he decided that it was time for him to leave the city altogether.


    He didn''t bother hunting any more Magical Beasts and went straight to his house. He immediately packed everything up. It barely took him any time because all he had to do was put it in his dimensional rings. As for the furniture, he took them out to the street and left them there. He was close enough to the slums for the people there to find free furniture they could take away.


    He then went to the renting office. He had been there a few months ago to pay rent for an entire year altogether. Now he was going to tell them that he had moved out.


    "Hi, Leo. Are there any problems with your unit?" She asked.


    He shook his head. "No. I''m just informing you that I am moving out." He said.


    "Why? You already paid a year of rent. You have¡­ I think 7 months left." She said.


    "Don''t worry about that. I am moving out of the city. I just wanted to tell you so you don''t have to wonder what happened to me." He said. He immediately left to go to the marketce.


    In the entire city, he knew only a few people. He was just making his rounds, bidding them farewell. He got to the marketce and found who he was looking for in the corner, sitting at his shop like usual.


    "Trevor!" Leo said. He had a smile on his face. It had been far too long since he had talked to him.


    Trevor saw Leo and smiled. "It''s been so long. You changed so much, Leo! You grew taller too."


    Since he was only 14, Leo was still growing up. He had gained a couple of inches of height and gained a few pounds too.


    "You''ve gotten older," Leo remarked. "How have you been?"


    Trevor smiled. "Same old. The business has been stable. Still selling the same potions. What about you?"


    Leo smiled. "I''m doing good. I''m thinking about joining an academy too." He said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Trevor was surprised. "That''s good! Are you going to join the Solhaven Academy?" He asked.


    Leo shook his head. "No, I''m thinking of the one in Eldridge."


    "Oh," Trevor''s face fell. "When are you leaving?"


    "Soon. I came by to say goodbye. You are one of the biggest reasons why I am where I am today, so I wanted to give you a parting gift." Leo said.


    He took out a small pouch. It was the same pouch he had used to carry money with him. He put it in Trevor''s hands and turned away. "Goodbye, Trevor." He said.


    "Good Luck there!" Trevor called after him. After Leo left, he opened up the pouch to see what was in it. The minute he did that, he almost dropped the pouch in shock.


    Inside the pouch were several notes. It was a lot of money. There was a total of 1 million Starcoins inside the pouch. Even though he bought a lot of Magic Herbs and sold potions, his margins weren''t as high. So in a year he only made 300,000-400,000 Starcoins. But in his hands, he had more than what he made in two years. This could help him buy an actual house.


    He looked up to find Leo, but he was already gone. He smiled and looked down. He put the pouch in his pocket and sat back on his chair.


    Meanwhile, Leo walked to the inn where he generally ate at. He saw Miller there and walked to him. Miller saw him walk in and greeted him instantly.


    "Leo! How are you doing?" He said.


    Leo smiled. "I am good. What about you?" He asked.


    "I''m good. Are you here to eat?"


    Leo shook his head. "No. I''m here to tell you that I''m leaving Solhaven. I wanted to say goodbye to you."


    Miller wasn''t shocked. "Well, you had to someday. Solhaven is too small for you. Make us proud out there."


    Leo smiled. "Here''s a gift for all the nice meals you cooked for me." He said. He put a simr pouch to what he gave Trevor.


    "What is this? You helped me already. You gave me so much money then. Compared to that, I don''t need any other gifts." He said.


    "Lily still has to go to an Aura Knight Academy. You know that. Take this for now. It''s not a lot." He pushed the pouch into his hands. Miller started opening it to peek into it but Leo stopped him.


    "It''s rude to look at what the gift is until I leave. Goodbye, Miller." Leo said.


    Miller smiled. "Goodbye, Leo."


    When Leo walked out, Miller opened the pouch to see what he was hiding from him. He had a very simr reaction to Trevor, but it was magnified. Compared to Trevor, Miller made half as much money. All of the money he made was to sustain his family''s necessities. So 1 million Starcoins wouldpletely change his life. As Leo said, it would be able to send Lily to an Aura Knight Academy.

 Chapter 85 Caravan

    ?


    After bidding farewell to the only people he knew in the city, he set out. He was nning on going to the city along with a couple of merchants. He was nning on picking out the merchant when he got to the ce they normally convened at. It was the same ce that Daphne had gone out from, so he was familiar with the location.


    It was very close to the Outer Gate on the other side of the city. It was facing away from Valkyr''s Forest and so it didn''t experience any of the action that the Beast Wave caused. Because it was on the other side of the city, he had to walk for a while to get there. He got to a square that was filled with caravans.


    He walked to the ce where all the merchants were staying and walked up to one of them.


    "Hello, are you going to Eldridge by any chance?" He asked.


    The person shook his head. "No, I''m sorry. But you should go to him. His name is Joshua. His caravan is going to Eldridge today." He pointed at a bearded man in histe thirties.


    Leo walked up to the person and talked to him.


    "Hi, I heard that you are going to Eldridge." He said.


    Joshua nodded. "Yes, I am. You are?"


    "I am Leo. I was wondering if I coulde along with you to Eldridge."


    Joshua thought about it. "We have a few spots open, but you might need to pay to tag along." He said.


    Leo nodded. "That isn''t an issue. How much do you think I need to pay?" He asked.


    "I can keep it low because you are just a kid. How about 20000 Starcoins?" He asked.


    Leo nodded. He immediately handed over 20000 Starcoins to him. "How am I supposed to get there? Will I have to walk or ride a horse?"


    Joshua was surprised by the immediate nature of the transaction. As a merchant, he expected a bargain but Leo was very straightforward. "Well, you will be riding a horse. If you can''t then we can put you on the back of someone who can ride one."


    Leo frowned. He liked to have his own space. "I''ve never ridden a horse before. Maybe I can try and see if I get the hang of it. Can you point me to the horse I will use?" He asked Joshua.


    Joshua smiled. "We leave in an hour. You have to be very natural with horse riding if you can learn that quickly. But give it a try." He said and pointed at a ck horse in the nearby stable.


    Leo walked to the stable and went to the horse. The horse hadn''t yet noticed that Leo was beside him and was grazing on the hay in front of it. Leo touched the horse slowly with his hand. The horse flinched slightly and looked at him before turning back. It saw that Leo wasn''t a threat and wasn''t bothered by the touch anymore.


    Meanwhile, Joshua called a couple of his merchant friends and started spectating his efforts.


    "He said he will try to learn how to ride a horse in an hour. I think this will be hrious," Joshua said.


    Leo then jumped up andnded on the back of the horse in a smooth motion. The horse''s back was almost his height but he was able to jump with ease, shocking all the spectators. It was even more surprising because the horse didn''t even have a saddle to use as support.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Leo then leaned forward at the horse and whispered.


    "Here is how it works. You will slowly walk out of the stable while making sure I don''t fall off." He said. His mouth wasn''t next to the horse''s ears, but his magic carried the sound. This was the second time he used sound transmission in real life.


    The horse somehow understood the humannguage. Or maybe it was just following his gestures because it knew that he was much stronger than it. It followed his lead. He gently pulled its head to the side of the exit. It turned to that side and exited the stable.


    Meanwhile, everyone who was watching him was shocked. "Joshua, are you ying with us? This man is so skilled with the horse. He can ride it without any saddle or rope. How do you expect us to believe that he has never ridden a horse before?"


    Joshua''s mouth was open. "I... I don''t know. Maybe he was lying?"


    Leo calmly beckoned the horse to move around the square slowly. While doing this, he was experimenting with new ways to sitfortably on the horse. He was expecting a very long journey and wanted to be able to sit and rest during the entire time.


    After getting the hang of it, he took the horse back to the stable and left it there. He got off and went to Joshua.


    "It was easier than I thought. This means I can ride alone, right?" He asked.


    Joshua nodded. He was just about to ask if Leo had indeed never ridden a horse before, but he just confirmed that he hadn''t.


    Leo went to the side and just leaned all the wall and waited for the caravan to move. He wasn''t the only person who was young there and going along with the caravan. But he was the only one who was standing still without moving. He looked like he had fallen asleep while standing, but he hadn''t.


    A pair of eyes had been watching Leo ever since he walked up to Joshua. They were inspecting his every move and scrutinizing them. When Leo leaned on the wall and stopped moving, the owner of the eyes finally acted. They walked up to Leo silently.


    They got close to him and reached out their hand. Leo on the other hand wasn''t acting at all. It was as if he hadn''t even noticed the person was in front of him.


    "Hi, I''m Madison." The person with the outreached hand said.


    Leo finally opened his eyes. He knew that the person in front of him was offering a handshake, but he wasn''t supposed to know that if he had his eyes closed. That was why he didn''t bother opening them all of a sudden and initiating contact. It would only serve to startle the girl in front of him.


    The girl was a blonde haired green-eyed 5'' 4'''' female. She was pretty slim and was wearing an all-leather outfit. The leather was hardened and would offer a decent amount of protection against normal attacks.


    Leo immediately noticed her simrity to Joshua. Joshua was also blonde, but he just didn''t have green eyes. There were also some features between the two that looked simr. When he looked toward Joshua topare, Madison confirmed his suspicion.


    "It''s rude to look away when someone is talking to you. But yeah, I''m his daughter." She said. "So, what''s your name?" She asked.


    Leo looked at the hand and then up at the girl. She looked the same age as him and seemed pretty jovial.


    Leo smiled and took the hand. "Hi. I''m Leo."

 Chapter 86 Travel

    ?


    Leo talked to Madison for a few minutes before she was called by her father.


    "I''m sorry, my father is calling me. I will see you on the way, then."


    She left to answer his call while Leo went back to his original state. Time passed and it was time to leave for Eldridge.


    "Gather around! We are leaving! Only the Blue Chip Merchants!" Leo heard Joshua''s announcements and stood up. He walked slowly to the center where Joshua was gathering all the members of his caravan.


    The caravan consisted of about twenty people, each with their own carts or horses. The carts were being pulled by two horses at once. Out of the twenty people, ten people seemed to be guards hired by the merchants to guard the merchandise.


    He already knew how strong each of the guards was. Only one of them was a Middle-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight, while everyone else was a 1st Circle Aura Knight. Compared to them, he was a lot stronger, but no one here needed to know that.


    Once everyone gathered, Joshua spoke to all of them.


    "We will now leave. It''s going to be a three-day journey. We will be slowly making our way using our normal routes. Get ready now!" He said that and everyone went to their stations. Everyone seemed to know where they were supposed to be.


    Leo walked over to the same horse he rode an hour ago and was about to mount it. Before could, Joshua saw this and stopped him.


    "Wait. Before you mount a horse, you are supposed to put a saddle on it." He said. He took a saddle on the side and mounted it on the horse''s back.


    "Now it''s easier to get on it and sit snugly."


    Leo was shocked. He didn''t know that a saddle was an important thing in horse riding. He was grateful for Joshua''s help, but he felt embarrassed for not knowing something so basic. He mounted the horse and felt awkward sitting on the saddle.


    Meanwhile, Joshua mounted his own horse. "Follow me, but be slow. Don''t try to race the horse this early."


    Leo followed his lead and beckoned the horse forward. With the ropes this time, he didn''t have to lean forward and nudge the horse with his hands. The horse started walking forward behind Joshua.


    The entire caravan slowly exited the city and proceeded to get onto a long road that headed toward Eldridge. Leo saw that the horse started following the crowd so he decided to stop caring about what was going around him and just started training his spells in his mind space.


    Time passed and after 3 hours, he finally saw Madison again. She was on a horse too and was making her way toward him. He opened his eyes and looked in her direction.


    Madison saw that he was sleeping and was a little doubtful about whether or not to approach him, but she saw that he just woke up and went to him.


    "You shouldn''t sleep on the road. We are going to stop in the night to camp. You can sleep then," Madison said.


    Leo smiled. He wasn''t sleeping but that was what it probably looked like to the people looking at him.


    "I can manage. But isn''t camping at night dangerous?" He asked.


    "It''s the only way. The alternative is travelling in the night which is just as dangerous. It''s even more risky because the visibility is pretty low. We have guards who will make sure nothing can happen to us, anyway." She said.


    "What if a Magical Beast passes through?" He asked.


    She immediately replied, "Then I will take care of it. I might not seem like it, but I''m an Apprentice Aura Knight." She said.


    Leo smiled. He already knew it but didn''t say anything.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Also, the problem isn''t Magical Beasts. There aren''t any Magical Beasts on the way that attack humans. The issue is that the road is filled with bandits. We have to guard against them." She added.


    Leo frowned. He didn''t particrly like fighting humans because he didn''t like killing humans, but if he was required to he wouldn''t hesitate.


    He had his dagger under the clothes he wore and would take it out to defend himself if he had to. He couldn''t use magic though. That was only ast resort.


    "So, since you are training in Aura, are you going to join an Aura Academy?" He asked her.


    She nodded. "Yes. My father said that if I reach the 1st Circle by August, I can apply to the academy."


    "Do they only take 1st Circle Aura Knights?" He asked.


    She nodded. "The Eldridge Aura Academy is very good. It''s one of the best ten academies in Sira!"


    Leo was surprised. He didn''t think that the academy was that famous. He only expected it to be better than Solhaven''s one.


    They kept talking until the sun started to set When the sun was getting close to disappearing on the horizon, Madison left to get to her father. Meanwhile, Leo just observed what the caravan was going to do to prepare themselves to sleep.


    Before the sun setpletely, the group stopped when they reached a clearing. It seemed like the clearing was artificially made to ount for caravan stops like the one they made. It was exactly a single day of travel away. He guessed that they had proper timelines because they were good merchants.


    The guards and the merchants quickly got to work. They opened up one of the carts and took out the tent equipment in it. They quickly set up tents and fires and even started cooking food. Leo watched all of this with amazement.


    In two hours, the tents were up and everyone was sitting around the huge fire. Most of them were eating food out of a bowl. One of them saw that Leo didn''t have anything so they offered him some food.


    "Oh no, I''m good." He declined their offer.


    "I saw you the entire day. You didn''t have a single morsel of food." The person offering said.


    Leo smiled awkwardly. "It''s really okay. I''m not hungry." He said.


    In reality, he stopped feeling hunger altogether because his body just needed magic to supplement him. Food was only a guilty pleasure if he wanted to reward his senses.


    "Fine. If you are hungry, you can have some. The pot is right there." He pointed at a pot beside the fire.


    Leo nodded. "Thank you for offering though."


    "Not a problem."


    Once everyone was done eating, they all went to their tents. Only a group of five people stayed outside, guarding the tents and looking out for any potential enemies. But even they were pretty sleepy and weren''t paying too much attention around them.


    Leo wasn''t bothered by this. He didn''t care about it because he would know if there was actually an attacking. He wasn''t nning on sleeping anyway.


    He went to his horse and saw that it was sleeping on the ground. It was pretty exhausted from the entire day of traveling. He pet it a little and then sat down beside it. He then leaned onto its back. He closed his eyes and waited for the sun to rise.

 Chapter 87 Bandits

    ?


    Everyone woke up early the next day. They were packing up the tents. Madison saw Leo resting on the ground next to the horse and quickly rushed to him.


    "Leo! What are you doing? I thought you were in a tent. Why did you just sleep outside?" She asked.


    He smiled. "I don''t mind at all. I actually prefer the breeze." He said.


    Madison didn''t know how to refute that. At this time, the caravan members sessfully packed everything up. They were all ready to leave. Joshua called everyone to the remnants of the fire they lit the previous night.


    "Okay, we are going to count everyone to make sure we have everyone we started with." He said.


    He quickly counted the numbers and made sure they added up. After that, he quickly sent everyone to their positions and started moving again. The caravan began its second day of travel.


    The second day was a little interesting because they were also carrying remnants of the food they cooked the previous day. When the sun reached its highest point and it was noon, they distributed the food around and ate it while still traveling.


    Leo was very impressed by the efficiency of the caravan. Merchant groups were truly different in this regard.


    As they traveled through the day, he still had the same interesting conversation with Madison about what her life was like. The rest of the day passed very quickly and night fell. They did the same thing as the previous day. This was going to be thest night of travel since they were supposed to reach the city before nightfall the next day. He was happy since he was getting closer to the city.


    Leo did the same thing that he did the previous night and rested by leaning onto the horse. He was prepared to just train the entire night. However, he noticed something that made him frown. He opened his eyes and looked into the distance.


    Around a kilometer away, a group of bandits were slowly approaching the camping merchants. They had noticed the fire from a distance and were waiting for it to go off before approaching it.


    Leo looked around and saw a stone the size of a fingernail on the ground. He picked it up and waited. He waited for the bandits to get closer. Eventually, they all got to 50 meters away from the camp.


    He flicked the stone with all his power at one of the Apprentice Aura Knights among the bandits. The group had a single 2nd Circle Aura Knight and a dozen 1st Circle Aura Knights. The rest of them were just Apprentice Aura Knights that didn''t pose a threat.


    However, the difference was that they were attacking when no one expected them to. However, the stone dug deep into the abdomen of the bandit that Leo picked, causing him to make a loud noise. It was very short and the bandit controlled himself before he could make any more noise, but that was enough.


    The patrolling guards heard the noise and immediately woke up from their previous half-awake state. They quickly shouted, waking everyone up.


    "ENEMIES!" They shouted. Everyone reacted immediately. Leo saw one of the tents fly open and all the guards in it took out weapons and quickly surrounded the tents, looking out for enemies.


    Everyone else reacted a little slower, but it was fast enough before the bandits got there. Meanwhile, the person who made the sound was having a very bad time.


    The leader of the bandits was looking at him furiously.


    "What happened?" He asked with a voice that was trying its best to suppress his rage.


    The bandit moved his hands and showed his new wound. There was a stone embedded into his abdomen causing it to bleed heavily. The wound might seem small, but it was definitely strong. If it wasn''t controlled, the bleeding would kill him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The leader of the bandits immediately became serious. He looked at the cause of the pain and knew that it wasn''t an ident. Someone was able to aim the stone at the bandit and fling it with such force that it was able to hurt him this much.


    He stood up and slowly approached the caravan.


    "You guys caught us!" The leader said while approaching them with his hands up. "Haha. This is very awkward."


    The head guard stepped forward. "Yes, it is. How about you guys retreat and we won''t engage you at all."


    The leader chuckled. "I wish that''s how the world works, but I have to feed my brothers here. So how about we reach apromise? I can leave if¡­ if we receive just 100000 Starcoins."


    The guard chuckled. "How about we give you a sword into your guts?"


    The bandit frowned. "The only reason I am being so polite is because of the master who discovered us. Otherwise, we don''t settle so low." He said. He looked around for a person who looked pretty strong, but the only person who seemed like the leader was the 2nd Circle Aura Knight in front of him.


    "And I don''t seem to find that person. You know what? Brothers! Come forward!" The leader shouted.


    All the bandits surrounding them stood up. They numbered almost 50 people. Even though most of them were only Apprentice Aura Knights or even just normal people, they outnumbered the caravan by more than double.


    "As you can see, I have a lot of brothers. How about another 0? I only need 1 million Starcoins to let you guys leave safely." He said.


    The head guard frowned. He saw that they were vastly overnumbered. He had a total of 9 1st Circle Aura Knights under him, all over the Middle Stage. But they would only be able to take care of the 1st Circle and 2nd Circle Aura Knights. The overwhelming number of bandits was a huge problem to take care of though.


    But it was his job to try. He was hired to make sure that they could take care of situations like these.


    "I am sorry, but I cannot ept that offer. We are going to have to fight." He said. He pulled out his weapon.


    Leo, who was on the side shook his head. He took out his dagger and quickly disappeared into the shadows. He wasn''t using magic though. He didn''t even need to. Against the Apprentice Aura Knights and 1st Circle Aura Knights, his aura was more than enough to deal with them.


    Meanwhile, everyone got ready for battle. The bandits looked menacing with their huge des out.


    "Are you sure your boss isn''t ready for some discussion?" The leader of the bandits asked.


    Joshua who was already listening to the conversation shook his head. He didn''t have 1 million Starcoins and couldn''t take a loss that huge.


    "Fine. We don''t have a choice then. Brothers! The usual! Keep any interesting goods alive!" He shouted.


    All the bandits roared loudly and charged at the caravan. The people who were inside the encirclement of the guards were scared by the shouts. They were very unfamiliar with the situation they faced. The normal bandit groups that attacked them were only 10-20 peoplerge.

 Chapter 88 Slaughter

    ?


    As they were cowering behind the guards, the bandits started charging toward the caravan. The bandits'' leader led the charge and charged at the strongest guard of them all.


    He knew that if the other bandits faced him, they would only be ughtered. Sure that would give him time to kill everyone else, but a bandit group without members wasn''t very useful.


    The 1st Circle Aura Knight Bandits were also very aggressive while the other bandits followed their lead with a little hesitation. They weren''t as strong, so they weren''t confident in a proper battle.


    While they started charging at the caravan, a shadow swooshed past the bandits who were in the back. They were the weakest of the lot and didn''t even notice that something was happening behind them. The action in the front was distracting them.


    A bandit who had started to charge from the back fell to the ground with a soft thud. Someone looked back to see if they heard something odd. They too suddenly fell to the ground. The shadow was incredibly quick and switched from bandit to bandit at lightning speed.


    The 1st Circle Aura Knights had already started shing des with the guards, so they didn''t even realize what was happening behind their backs. By the time the bandits who had hesitated reached the caravan in the center, over ten members had fallen.


    Leo quickly jumped to the nearest Apprentice Aura Knight he could find and precisely shed his dagger. He was using the Twilight Veil sh, so the only remnant of him was masked by the darkness. It was perfect that they were being attacked during the night because they couldn''t see Leo at all.


    The guards were very surprised that they were holding out. They thought that they would be quickly overwhelmed by the number of bandits crowding them, but it felt like they weren''t as many bandits as they thought.


    As they kept holding out and actively defending, it became easier and easier to hold back the bandits. It was like the number of bandits was magically decreasing.


    After taking care of the outer circle of bandits, Leo had already moved to the bandits that were attacking the guards. He was thinning out the bandits who were actively attacking the guards. At this point, someone finally noticed something was wrong.


    One of the 1st Circle Aura Knight Bandits quickly retreated because the support he was getting from the bandits who were supposed to be attacking along with him had decreased a lot. He was ready to shout at them and go for a second round, but what he saw shocked him.


    There were three banditsying on the ground with huge gashes on their backs. He quickly looked around and saw multiple bodies spread out in the bushes that they were just in before attacking the camp.


    "Boss! Somethings wro-"


    Before the sentence even finished, he dropped to the floor. A shadow breezed across him and moved to the next set of bandits. Meanwhile, the guard who had all the pressure lifted off him quickly killed the four Apprentice Aura Knights who were attacking him and quickly went to help the other guards.


    He attacked the Apprentice Aura Knights attacking the guard closest to him from the back, dispatching them with ease. Meanwhile, Leo was going to help the head guard.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The Leader of the Bandits heard the shout from his underling but couldn''t properly understand what was being said. He only knew that he had been called. But if he shifted his attention during battle, it would be the end of him. So he kept concentrating on the battle.


    He was attacking the head guard with 3 of the 1st Circle Aura Knight Bandits. They were the strongest bandits among his group, so they were able to hold against the head guard even though the bandits were technically weaker than him.


    In reality, the leader of the bandits was only an Early-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight. Realistically there was no way he could actually beat the head guard. However, the n was to hold him off until they got to the center and got some hostages.


    However, his n was disrupted by a factor he didn''t expect. He heard a thud right beside him and shot an eye in that direction to catch a glimpse of what happened.


    He saw one of the bandits who were supposed to be helping him pressure the head guardy on the ground with blood guzzling out of his chest. He immediately looked back at the guard in time to defend a sh. The head guard was able to take the chance when the leader wasn''t paying attention and pushed him away.


    In this time he quickly attacked one of the 1st Circle Aura Knights that was attacking him. The bandit fell in a single attack because of the force that he put into the sh. Meanwhile, the other 3rd Circle Aura Knight also fell mysteriously to the ground.


    The entire camp was shrouded by darkness so the leader was infuriated that he had no idea what was going on. He was now facing the head guard alone and knew there was no way he was going to win. He turned away to run, but the head guard quickly blocked his exit route.


    Meanwhile, Leo found his next target. Everyone else was struggling to see in the low light that the moon offered, but he could sense his target and know exactly how strong each person was. With his sneakiness added to the equation, he was essentially the perfect assassin.


    He slowed his speed down significantly after he helped the head guard. This was because the number of 1st Circle Aura Knights had decreased by half by this point. The only people left facing the 9 Aura Knight guards were 5 1st Circle Aura Knights and 13 Apprentice Aura Knights. There wasn''t anyone left after the battle.


    None of the guards had even been injured properly because of how quickly Leo had dealt with the situation.


    Meanwhile, the onlookers were having the most unbelievable sight of their lives. They saw almost 50 people surround them and then watched all of them drop one by one like flies. Since they weren''t engaged in the battle, they could see everything clearly.


    They even saw the 1st Circle Aura Knights fall to the floor as a shadow blurred past them. Since it was dark, they couldn''t distinguish who the shadow was. However, they saw the shadow reach the head guard and the leader of the bandits. Then they saw the sudden shift in the battle between the two because of the defeat of the three 1st Circle Aura Knights.


    Finally, they saw how the guards easily cleared the rest of the bandits with ease while the head guard subdued the leader of the bandits. He kept him alive to let Joshua decide his fate. He brought the bandit to the center of the caravan while the rest of the guard also brought the surviving bandits who surrendered.


    After watching their leader start fleeing, many of the bandits chose to flee, but Leo caught them before they could. When they saw the bandits running away fall to the ground, the rest of them surrendered.

 Chapter 89 Surprise

    ?


    Everyone saw with surprise as the guard brought the bandit to Joshua. The minute he got near him, the leader of the bandits started cursing him out loud.


    "I knew it! I knew you had a master, but you hid him! You sneaky bastard!" The leader started shouting.


    The head guard smacked him with his foot to shut him up. None of the people understood what he was talking about.


    "What is he saying? What master?" Joshua asked the head guard.


    "Well, to be honest, we weren''t supposed to win this battle. They had arge number of people and would be able to swarm our guards. But for some reason that didn''t happen. We found a lot of bodies across a 50-meter radius of this ce. We think that they were killed before they even got to us." He said.


    "On top of that, a lot of the 1st Circle Aura Knights were killed mysteriously. The people who were attacking me alongside their leader weren''t killed by any of the guards nor me, yet they mysteriously fell to the ground helping me greatly."


    Just as he was saying this, Leo walked back to the camp after catching thest bandit who tried to run away. He saw that everyone was gathered together and walked to join them.


    The minute he entered the camp, everyone''s eyes turned to him. None of the members in the encirclement remembered him being with them during the battle. No one knew where he went during the entire time.


    Their eyes turned to the dagger in his hands that was drenched in blood. Leo saw this and looked down at his weapon which was dripping blood on the ground. He quickly leaned down and grabbed the shirt of one of the bandits on the floor and wiped his dagger.


    He then walked slowly toward everyone who was still looking at him. After a minute of awkward silence, he decided to break it by asking a question.


    "Is anything.... wrong?" Leo asked.


    Joshua took a huge breath. "Leo, right?"


    He nodded.


    "Were you the one who helped us during the battle?"Joshua asked.


    Leo shrugged. "I helped a little. But the head guard did most of the work. He was the one who caught the leader of the bandits."


    Leo didn''t want to take any of the credit. He wanted the head guard to get it because he was kind to him from the start of the trip. He was the one who offered Leo the food on the first night.


    The head guard shook his head. "Well, I''ll be damned. If such a young man is this strong then the next generation will truly out shadow us."


    Everyone suddenly crowded around Leo, the person who changed the course of the battle. He was quickly overwhelmed by this. He didn''t think they would be this grateful to him for just getting rid of the smaller bandits.


    What he didn''tprehend was exactly what everyone there was feeling. Since he knew nothing would happen to him, he didn''t feel any fear. But everyone else here thought that they were going to die.


    He somehow escaped thanks to the help of Joshua. "Stop crowding him. We still have to rest to start our journey tomorrow. Go get rest." He told everyone.


    Everyone tried to do that, but with dead bodies everywhere they didn''t get an ounce of sleep. Everyone was restless.


    While everyone was stuck in their tents, the guards were cleaning up the bodies and managing their new prisoners. They had chained them with ropes which seemed like they weren''t going to be enough to imprison Aura Knights but did the job. They were a special kind of rope.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Leo didn''t need any rest so he decided to help them clean up the scene. They piled the bodies up to light up a fire. They didn''t start the fire yet since it was still the night. The smoke would make it difficult to breathe and the fire would attract unnecessary visitors.


    The clean-up only took two hours. After that, most of the guards got some rest while only two stayed awake to stay guard. It wasn''t that they were beingx. They just needed the energy to guard the caravan during the day as well.


    Leo was leaning on his horse. Surprisingly, none of the horses were hurt or scared during the entire affair. They stayed in their corner without any problem.


    The rest of the night passed peacefully. But since their rest was disturbed, they were all very tired when they started traveling again. When they did, Madison immediately went to Leo to ask him about what happened.


    "You never told me that you were an Aura Knight!" She said. She was very shocked that he hadn''t told her yet.


    Leo smiled. "You never asked." He said in response.


    "Well... I told you that I was trying to be one. And I also said that I was trying to join an Aura Knight Academy. You were supposed to share that about yourself." She said.


    "Okay. I''m a 1st Circle Aura Knight. I am nning on joining the Eldridge Aura Knight Academy." He said.


    "No, dummy. I meant about yourself. You don''t have to replicate what I said." Madison said.


    Leo chuckled. "But I do want to join the academy." He said.


    Madison was shocked. "But... you have to be 15 years old or younger to join the academy. You are already a 1st Circle Aura Knight who can beat so many Aura Knights." She was stuttering in shock.


    "I''m 14 though," he answered.


    "My father''s workers said that you killed Middle-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knights with a single attack. If you are already a Middle-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight, then how are you this young?" She asked. She started doubting herself.


    Even though he couldn''t read her mind, he could read her expression. He knew that she was doubting herself. He decided to console her.


    "You don''t have to worry. As long as you practice, you can easily get to where I am. For the past 6 months, I trained for more than 10 hours every day." Leo said.


    His sentence was a beautiful lie filled with truths. He had indeed spent more than 10 hours every day practicing for thest 6 months. Heck. For thest two months, he hadn''t spared a minute for rest. But very less of that was actually toward Aura training.


    And also, he failed to mention that he also only started training Aura a couple of months ago and that he only trained for a couple of weeks. These omissions made the lie more believable though. Madison bought it.


    "Okay. Then what should I do to reach the stage where you are at now?" She asked him.


    He thought for a while and remembered how she said she was going to train for the next few months. He decided to give her some inspiration.


    "If you practice your aura for 5 hours and your aura techniques for 5 hours a day, then you can reach my current level in 3 months. But if you spend more time than that, while giving yourself enough rest, then you can even cross me." He said.

 Chapter 90 Entering

    ?


    After listening to him, Madison was determined to be a proper 1st Circle Aura Knight by the time the admissions for the Eldridge Aura Knight Academy started so that she could get in.


    They kept talking for a little bit more before she went back to her father. After half a day passed, Leo could see that the forest around them was starting to clear out. He started looking for the city in expectation.


    After another thirty minutes of traveling, they finally left the woods and got to a huge expanse of farm fields. There was nothing but fields around them for miles. Leo realized why there were so many fields. They were to nt crops to feed the city. The fields for Solhaven were away from the forest.


    They kept traveling along a road that was paved through fields. After another two hours, Leo finally saw a hint of the city.


    In the distance, he could make out a set of buildings that rose to a huge height. The walls were also massive, but the buildings rose to more than double their height. It all looked tiny from the distance, but he knew instantly that the city was massive.


    As they got closer, Leo started to see exactly how massive the city was. The walls were more than double the height of the ones at Solhaven. The buildings were huge. However, all of the buildings were at the core of the city. The buildings in the Outer city were also big though. Some of them were even bigger than the tallest tower in Solhaven.


    They got to the gate where there were a lot of people trying to go in and out of the city.


    Leo immediately noticed how there were a huge number of 2nd Circle Aura Knights surrounding him. They weremonce here, asmon as 1st Circle Aura Knights in Solhaven. He even saw a lot of mages traveling through the gate, which surprised him.


    He didn''t think nobles would be traveling by foot alongsidemoners here, but it seemed that low-ranking nobles weren''t given as much attention as in Solhaven.


    They quickly got to the checkpoint they had to pass to go through.


    "How many people?" The guard asked.


    The merchant replied quickly. "23." He had included Leo.


    "Is everyone part of the merchant group?" The guard asked. He was looking at a set of papers that the merchant had handed him.


    Joshua stepped in. "No, sir. This boy is from Solhaven. Can we have him registered?" He asked.


    The guard nodded. "That will be 10000 Starcoins." He said.


    Leo was internally shocked by the amount, but hew as prepared to pay it. Just as he was bringing out the money, Joshua stopped him. He took out a note and handed it to the guard. The guard then looked at Leo.


    "Name?" He asked.


    "Leo." He replied.


    "Full name?" The guard asked. He was slightly irritated for asking a second time.


    "It''s just Leo. I don''t have ast name." Leo replied.


    The guard''s expression softened. "Oh. Age?"


    "14."


    "Purpose?" He asked.


    "Aura Knight Academy," Leo said.


    The guard was surprised. He looked up at Leo and then turned to Joshua.


    "I didn''t think Merchant groups sponsored candidates for Aura Knight Academies." He remarked.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Joshua shook his head. "We don''t. Our only job was bringing him here. He paid for that too," he said. The guard was even more surprised.


    "Well, you must have saved a ton of money if you can pay for an Aura Knight Academy, kid. Especially the one we have here. Wee to Eldridge."


    He said and handed a metal card that had a stamp on it. His name was engraved onto the card with a metal pen along with his age. There was also a date which showed that his card was issued in the year 127. Leo took the card and put it in his pocket.


    "Thank you. I hope you have a good day." He said and walked along with Joshua.


    Joshua was filled with questions but chose not to ask him. The thing about not having ast name meant that he was an orphan since birth and was still an orphan. Otherwise, he would have adopted someone''sst name.


    How had an orphan be this strong by himself? It meant that Leo was incredibly talented. Joshua knew that he had to form a good rtionship with him. It would help him greatly in the future if he knew such a talented person.


    "Do you have any ce to stay, Leo?" Joshua asked.


    Leo shook his head.


    "You are wee to stay at our headquarters. We can offer at least that much since you helped us during the trip," he offered to Leo.


    Leo shook his head. "I appreciate the offer, but I already have a n. I am going to stay at an inn for now. I will take my leave now." He said.


    Before leaving, he turned to Madison. "I''ll see you at the Eldridge Aura Knight Academy then, Madison. Train hard."


    Madison nodded vigorously. Leo quickly left the ce before he had to talk to anyone else. He wanted to first set up his stay in the city. And since it was getting dark, he wanted to get an inn quickly.


    After that, he was going to look into renting a ce to stay for the next few months before trying to apply to the academy. So he started it all by searching for a good inn.


    This was incredibly easy for him because he just needed to look for a concentration of people making noise. That was what lively inns looked like, and lively inns generally offered better stays than others.


    He quickly found an inn matching the category. It was very close to him, so he walked to it. He was initially following the noise, but when he was in an eyeshot of the inn, he was able to locate it more urately.


    He entered the inn slowly and looked around. There were a lot of huge men and strong women sipping beers while talking happily among themselves. They noticed Leo enter and ignored him immediately.


    He wasn''t bothered by this though. He walked to the front where there was a person managing the desk there.


    "Hi! Can I help you?" The girl asked. She looked like she was only a couple of years older than him.


    "Yes, I''m looking for a room to stay for tonight." He said. "Do you have any avable?"


    The girl looked at the book on the desk and ruffled through the pages. While doing that she frowned when she got to the end.


    "I''m sorry. The only empty room we have is a premium suite. Everything else is booked. Can I suggest any other inn?" She asked.


    "No, I''ll just take the premium suite. How much is it?" He asked.


    The girl sized him up and looked at him weirdly. She profiled him into a category that wouldn''t be able to afford the room in a million years, so she thought he was joking.


    "The room is 10000 Starcoins, sir. Do you really want it?"


    Leo smiled and put down a note. "I''ll take it for two days. Thanks."

 Chapter 91 Mercenary Guild

    The shocked girl looked at the bills and saw that they were each 10000 Starcoins. She didn''t think he would be able to afford the rooms because he was a kid who was alone.


    She took the bills and quickly gave him a room key. She then called for a waiter and told him to direct Leo to his room immediately. Since 20000 Starcoins were a lot of money, he would have to be treated like an important guest.


    The waiter quickly put down the tray he had and walked to Leo.


    "Sir, is there any luggage I have to bring for you?" He asked.


    Leo shook his head. "No, you can just take me to the room." He said.


    The waiter nodded and quickly directed him to the back of the inn. The ground floor was a restaurant, and there were a set of stairs in the back leading to the rooms. Leo and the waiter climbed up the stairs and got to the first floor.


    The floor was a narrow corridor with rooms on each side. Leo assumed that those were the normal rooms because he was led up another set of stairs. In total, there were five floors to the inn including the ground floor. His room was on the topmost floor.


    The waiter opened the room and Leo saw the inside. The room was a luxurious haven of opulence and elegance. Adorned with rich tapestries depicting noble life, the polished wood paneling and intricate carvings created a grand atmosphere. The centerpiece was a dark, ornately carved four-poster bed, dressed in sumptuous silk or velvet drapes and plush feather bedding.


    There was a seating area withfortable chairs and a small table offering rxation. Beside the chairs was a writing desk with quill pens that showcased literary pursuits. The room boasted a beautifully carved firece, arge mirror reflecting the space, and an armoire for belongings.


    The en-suite bathroom featured a prominent copper or brass bathtub and a basin with a decorative pitcher and bowl. Towels and robes hung nearby. It looked like a room fit for nobles.


    The waiter left immediately after he entered the room so he was by himself. He quickly closed the door and sat on the bed. He satfortably and started training. He didn''t really have any need to use such an expensive room, but he could afford it so he didn''t care.


    The time he would have to spend to find another ce with a room avable would be worth more than the twenty thousand Starcoins. After settling on the bed, his training filled the rest of his evening. He trained till the sun rose.


    Once the sun rose, he got up. He had a n to spend the few months he had before admissions for the Aura Academies started. Since it was only early April, he had an entire four months before he would try to apply for the academy. He couldn''t just be jobless for all of that time.


    It would hurt his mental health as well as make his joints stiff. Even if he perfected his mastery of the spells, it would be pointless if he didn''t know how to use them. So when he got out of bed in the morning after the sun rose, the first thing was go to the front desk to as for directions.


    "Hi, do you know where the nearest Mercenary Guild is?" He asked the boy manning the desk.


    The boy looked up and saw Leo. He didn''t know who he was, but he was still polite. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Yes. If you exit through our main entrance, you are going to have to take a right. Then walk till you reach the main street. Then take the right. If you keep walking for around five minutes, you will see a huge white building. That''s the Mercenary Guild." The boy said.


    Leo nodded. He tossed a coin as a tip since the boy was very precise with his directions. When he left, the boy checked the coin to see what it was. It was 500 Starcoins. 500 Starcoins for telling the directions to a famous building. The boy quickly realized that Leo was probably one of the guests that were staying at the premium suites.


    Meanwhile, Leo quickly found the building that he was looking for. Unlike in Solhaven, there was no way that he could use magic in Eldridge. He could feel multiple 3rd Circle Aura Knights and even mages around the area and knew that if he did he would be caught easily.


    So he stuck to just using aura for the moment until he got stronger. He felt that once he perfected the Valkyr''s Deception and reached the 4th Star, he would be fine. But he knew that he wasn''t close to either. For now, he would have to focus on making money.


    There was one main reason for him to make a lot of money. And that was that he needed a lot of money to buy enough pills to supplement his aura training. He knew that he couldn''t advance without the help of pills, and if he was going to attend an Aura Knight Academy, he would have to show some improvement from time to time.


    Leo looked at the Mercenary Guild. The building stood tall and imposing, a symbol of strength and opportunity in the bustling city. Its exterior was crafted from pristine white stone, giving it an aura of purity and authority. The architecture exuded a sense of grandeur, with intricate carvings and ornate details adorning the front, showcasing the guild''s rich history and significance.


    As he approached the entrance, massive wooden doors, adorned with polished silver handles, stood wide open, inviting him inside. The entrance hall was vast and spacious, its high ceilings adorned with elegant chandeliers that cast a warm glow over the marble floors below. The air was thick with anticipation, the bustling atmosphere resonating with the energy of numerous individuals seeking work or searching for skilled mercenaries to hire.


    To the left of the entrance, arge reception desk stood manned by guild employees d in polished uniforms, their friendly smiles weing all who entered. The reception area served as the nerve center of the guild, with rows of meticulously organized paperwork, job postings, and notice boards disying thetest missions and contracts.


    Further into the building, abyrinth of corridors branched out, leading to various rooms. Leo was able to see that the corridors were lined with portraits and ques but he couldn''t see who they were representing.


    When he looked at the center of the entire building, he saw something that screamedvishness. The heart of the mercenary guild building was the central courtyard. Bathed in natural light streaming through a ss roof, it was a vibrant space bustling with activity. He saw multiple mercenaries gathered there talking to each other.


    He took a deep breath and walked to one of the reception desks. He talked to the pretty woman managing the desk.


    "Hello, how can I help you?" She asked.


    Leo looked around and saw many mercenaries with their teams looking for missions. The most important feature that he noticed among them was that they all had a smile on their face. He turned back to the receptionist.


    "I''d like to be a mercenary."

 Chapter 92 Ranks

    ?


    The receptionist nodded.


    "Of course. You can be a registered mercenary immediately. However, you will be ced as an Iron Adventurer," she said.


    Leo was confused. "Iron?" He asked.


    The receptionist patiently exined what that meant. "Your rank as a mercenary represents what missions you can take. It typically represents how strong you are, but to raise in ranks you have toplete missions. Iron is the most basic rank and everyone starts out like that. To raise to the next rank, you will have toplete ten missions in your current rank. However, from the Gold rank, you will need to take abat test to advance to the next rank." She said.


    Leo nodded. It made a lot of sense. It would weed out the people who thought they were strong because they were in name Aura Knights but didn''t know how to fight.


    "What are the various ranks?" He asked.


    "We have Iron, Steel, Bronze, Silver, Gold, tinum, and Rainbow. After that, you are assigned a name." She said.


    "A name?" He asked.


    "Named Adventurers are the strongest adventurers in all of Sria. They are 6th Circle Aura Knights and above. There are less than 10 of them in the entire empire."


    Leo sucked in a cold breath of air. That was very far away for him. 6th Circle Powerhouses were essentially gods to him. The strongest person he knew was the Magistrate of Solhaven and he was only a 4th Circle Mage. But there was an Aura Knight who was stronger than him. That showed that maybemoners weren''t as weak as they seemed to be.


    "Would you like to register now?" She asked.


    He nodded. "Yes, of course. Is there any way to fast-track my way to a higher tier?" He asked.


    She shook her head. "No. The only way to do it is toplete the missions. However, if you can show that you are strong enough to be a Gold Adventurer at once, then you can request abat test. However, that takes time to create." She said.


    Leo immediately shook his head. He didn''t know how the power differed between each rank, but he was pretty sure that 1st Circle Aura Knights wouldn''t be Gold Adventurers.


    "No, that''s okay." He said.


    "Then you can just fill out this application and give it back once you are done. It takes 1000 Starcoins to fill it out. Before you do, I am required to tell you that the guild takes a 10%mission on what you earn. We also take a 10% tax from it on behalf of the city." She said.


    Leo was surprised at how much he would have to forfeit, but he was okay with it. He would still earn a decent amount of money. He took the pen and the form from the receptionist and quickly filled out the form.


    There were only a few categories in it, one being name and the other being age. Both of them didn''t require any proof, so it was easy to just write them in. After that, he took out the money from his pouch and handed everything to thedy.


    The pouch was just for him to hide that he had a dimensional ring. It was pretty normal for someone in the 3rd Circle to have one, but he wasn''t one yet so he didn''t want to attract any attention.


    Thedy looked at the form and made sure everything was right. After that, she put the form in a small pile beside her.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "You cane back in a week to formally collect your card. Until then, you will have to wait to do any missions. I am sorry for the inconvenience." She said.


    Leo was bummed out that he couldn''t do anything till then, so he decided to go out to finish the second thing on his agenda.


    He went to an alley on the side. It was very easy to find a secluded alley like this one. It was pretty dark because the sun was still pretty low and the mercenary guild building blocked a huge chunk of the sun''s light. He took out a cloak from his dimensional ring. He put it on and quickly used Valkyr''s Deception.


    The cloak turned into avish ck cloak with slight gold outlines. He also changed his face. He had practiced a lot and finally came up with an original appearance. It took him so many days to perfect this since he would need it to lookpletely normal and different from him, but he was able to do it.


    Previously, he had ck hair and blue eyes. His entire face used to be very structured with chiseled cheekbones and a straight nose. His perfect olive skin didn''t have any blemishes.


    He changed his hair to blonde while keeping the cheekbones and nose. He changes his blue eyes to brown and elerated his growth a lot. After that, he no longer looked like a young boy. Instead, he looked like a young man aged 25.


    He walked out of the alley and he immediately realized that he went a little overboard with his appearance. He was used to a normal amount of attention because of his handsome face, but his ragged clothes never properlyplimented that.


    Now that he was wearing a luxurious cloak that hid his normal clothes, he looked like an actual aristocrat. His golden hair shone in the morning sun while his light brown eyes were mesmerizing to the onlookers.


    The most important difference between his real appearance and this one was the false air of maturity. With his older looked, he looked like a real adult. Everyone treated a 14-year-old like a kid, so they only dismissed him as a pretty-looking boy. After all, what else would they feel toward a kid?


    But his new appearance drew the eyes of manydies who saw much more than that. They saw a very handsome man in front of them. Leo walked into the guild and saw a simr reaction. The majority of the people managing the desks at the reception were women. All of them were staring at him when he entered.


    He went to the same receptionist he had gone to before and asked her the same question. But she had fallen into a daze ever since he had entered the guild.


    "Hi, can I register to be a Mercenary?" He asked her.


    Unlike the first time, thedy took a little more time to respond. She took a couple of seconds to snap out of her daze and became interested in the conversation. She lightly leaned forward and asked him.


    "Yes of course. Would you like me to walk you through the process?" She asked him.


    "I think I am very familiar with it. Is there anything I have to do other than fill out a form?" He asked her.


    She shook her head. "No, you are very knowledgeable. That is all you need." She kept her front facing him while gracefully bending down to reach out to the form he needed to fill out. She handed both of them to him. While he was answering, she asked him softly.


    "What''s your name?"


    Leo smiled. "I''m Orion. Orion Velmonte."

 Chapter 93 Apartment

    ?


    Leo walked out of the guild, pleased with himself. He had decided to create an alias for himself so that he could progress faster through the ranks. If he used his mage powers, he would be able to reach higher than if he only used his aura powers.


    However, Leo was only an Aura Knight. He decided to create a persona to embody his magic. He had alreadye up with the name a year ago when he fought the cktooth Gang anyway.


    After submitting his application, he left back to the alley and changed his appearance. After doing that, instead of leaving through the same entrance to the alley, he left from the back because of the people who saw him enter.


    He went back to the inn and then saw the same boy that gave him the directions in the morning. He went to him and asked for another set of directions.


    "Hello," Leo started asking him. Before he could, the boy quickly bowed.


    "Hello, sir. What can I do for you."


    Leo paused and smiled at the gesture. Then he said, "Do you know where the nearest rent office is? I want to rent a ce for around 6 months." He said.


    "Of course, sir. All you need to do is go the same way to the main street. But this time, you will want to take a left. After that, you will want to take a right when you see the La ta Inn. It''s a massive building for richmoners. The building is also white like the Mercenary Guild, so it will be very recognizable. From there you just have to go straight till you find a building that says the Hagerstown Rent Office." He said.


    Leo smiled. The boy gave even more clear directions after the initial tip. He took out another coin and put it on the table.


    "For your effort." He said while walking out. The boy smiled gleefully and took the coin. Meanwhile, Leo left the inn to go to the rent office. This was the final thing on his agenda.


    He waspletely okay with staying in the inn for 10000 Starcoins a night. But his money wasn''t. He would run out of money in the four months he stayed there if he was thatvish. And he needed all that money. So he was nning on renting a house for the few months he was going to be there.


    The one thing that was going to be easy for him was sustaining himself in the house. Since his necessities went down a lot, he didn''t really need to buy anything for the house. He didn''t even need a bed in reality, but that was the one purchase he was willing to make. But everything else was not a requirement.


    He didn''t really need food, so groceries and cooking utensils were not needed. As for living room furniture, he was very sure he wouldn''t have guests.


    He got to the rental office pretty quickly. The office was a lot better built than the one in Solhaven. It was a three-story building made out of brick and was painted nicely. He walked inside and saw a huge desk manned by a receptionist.


    "Do you know where I can go to rent properties?" He asked the receptionist.


    She pointed to the stairs. He looked and saw a sign that said that rental properties were on the first floor. He was curious about what the other floors were for while walking upstairs to the first floor. He reached the floor and saw there were three desks, each manned by a person.


    He went to the closest one and asked about the rental properties.


    "Hi, I am here to look for a rental property to rent for the next 4 months," Leo said.


    The person looked up from his desk and looked at Leo. Then he said, "We don''t lease for 4 months. Our lease periods are 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years. After that, you will be required to renew the lease at the updated rent value." He said.


    Leo nodded. "Then do you have anything for 6 months for a single person?" He asked.


    "Of course, sir. Do you have any budget restrictions?" The man asked.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Leo shrugged. "Give me every price point that you have." He asked.


    The person nodded. "Starting at the lowest, we have a dorm room for two people shared with a stranger or one of your friends if you bring them. That is at 4000 Starcoins per person." He said. "This dorm is on the edge of Eldridge, located conveniently close to the Eldridge Forest if you are a mercenary or adventurer."


    Leo shook his head. "Have anything higher?" He asked.


    "Yes. The next price point is a single dorm room in that same dorm for 7000 Starcoins." He said.


    He was also showing pictures of the dorm that was being rmended to him, but Leo was not very interested in them.


    The man saw Leo''sck of interest and went to a higher-end property.


    "This is a one-bedroom apartment in the Cumbend Apartments right near the market. It is around 20000 Starcoins." He said. This was a much better ce with a proper hall and kitchen and had a lot more space. But Leo wasn''t interested in this either.


    "I want something like this, but near the Eldridge Forest," He asked.


    The person put away the pictures he spread around his desk and thought for a while before bringing out a new set of pictures. The one on the top was a picture of a decent-sized apartment.


    "This is the Easton Tower. It is right beside the Eldridge Forest and is even close to the exit gate. There are apartments for a single person there, and you can get one for 30000 Starcoins." He said.


    Leo looked at the pictures and frowned. The problem was that the ce was a lot nicer than the one before but priced at a simr price point. That made this a very suspicious deal.


    "Why is it so low?" He asked.


    "It used to be a part of the Eldridge Academy, but it was sold after an incident happened in it." The person confessed quickly.


    "What incident?" Leo asked.


    "The building used to house students at the Eldridge Aura Knight Academy. However, one day something mysterious happened, and a student was killed in their room. There was a magic formation drawn in their room with their blood but the formation was not recognizable by any of the mages in the city. After that, multiple incidents like that happened in that dorm so they sold the building."


    Leo''s frown deepened. He didn''t like that he was being offered a ce in such an apartment. The man saw this and immediately consoled him.


    "But there weren''t any incidents like that anymore. The building was sold five years ago and there weren''t any incidents like that again. But the history makes the price very low." He said.


    Leo calmed down. Apart from the mysterious story, everything about the apartment was perfect for him. The location was very good and the cost was also decent.


    "I''ll take it."

 Chapter 94 Destruction

    ?


    After signing the lease, he left the rental office. He didn''t bother checking the apartment in person because he didn''t care too much about the logistics about it. He trusted that he would get an apartment in his hands.


    Even if it was a shitty one, he would consider it as a bad investment. But he was toozy to physically go and check the apartment. He was confident that there was no way it would be worse than the slums he grew up in any way.


    By the time he finished all of this, it was already noon. He decided to go back to his room in the inn and train for the rest of the day before going to move into the apartment the next day. He quickly got to the inn and went to his room. Once he got into the room, he sat on his bed and started training his magic.


    _____________________________


    Meanwhile, in Solhaven, an old man was towering above the entire city looking over it. There was another person besides the old man. It was a young girl, the age of 13. She was clinging to the man''s hand and was magically floating alongside him.


    The man had white hair and a short white beard. He was dressed in a purple robe with golden engravings. It was a regal shield adorned with intricate symbols and designs. At the center, a majestic white rose, representing purity and nobility, bloomed proudly against a backdrop of golden leaves. Above the rose, a golden crown sat royally.


    The girl had long ck hair that reached her waist. Her entire body was very slim, but it was slim because of malnourishment rather than gics. However, she seemed to be recovering, since her face and arms were not as skinny as someone with no food would look like. Her purple eyes were filled with worry.


    "Is it this ce?" He asked. He looked at the girl beside him.


    "Grandfather, this ce saved me. I was going to die and I survived thanks to the people here. Please don''t do any-"


    "So it was this ce?" He asked.


    The girl looked away.


    "Anna. I am very disappointed that you have started to care about lives like these that do not matter. I was nning on making you a mage, but now I am forced to let you be just an Aura Knight. Do you not want to make them pay for that?" He asked softly.


    She shook her head. He sighed. "Well, we are going to change that. It won''t be hard, it will just take some time. For now, look at what punishment the people who made your life so much less than royalty will face." He said.


    She tried to look away, but her face wouldn''t move. Her will seemed powerless. The man lifted his arm and a huge sphere started to form above him.


    The sphere was starting to be sorge that people on the ground were starting to notice it. The person in the Magistrate Tower noticed as well. He immediately flew out to see what the cause of this was.


    He quickly flew to the center of the problem and saw the girl along with the old man. He noticed the crest on the robe immediately and bowed down.


    "This Viscount greets Duke Whitmore. Can I be of any help?" He asked. He didn''t dare ask about the massive ice meteor that was floating above them.


    The old man looked at the Magistrate.


    "4th Circle? Are you the Magistrate of this city?" He asked.


    "Yes, Your Grace." The Magistrate answered.


    "You may rise." He said.


    The Magistrate rose from his kneeling position. It was a very interesting sight since all of this was happening in mid-air. He looked up and noticed the girl beside the old man. He immediately recognized her.


    "You are-" He started speaking but saw that she was shaking her head. Unfortunately, the Duke already noticed this.


    "So you know my granddaughter. How is it that you are acquainted?" He asked.


    The Magistrate immediately felt an intense pressure weighing him down, threatening to pummel him to the ground. He had no choice but to answer.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "I saw her and another young boy going to a very good restaurant once. I noticed that she was already a 1st Circle Aura Knight at such a young age and that the young man had a very rare constitution. Imended them for their achievement and paid for their meal." He said.


    The pressure on him immediately disappeared. However, the meteor above all of them still persisted.


    "Interesting. So who is this young man?" He asked the girl.


    The girl shook her head. "I won''t tell you," she softly said.


    "What?" The duke asked with a slightly irritated voice.


    "I won''t tell you!" She said louder.


    "Fine." He said. Suddenly, the meteor started dropping onto the city. The girl''s eyes widened.


    "Wait!"


    The meteor stopped in mid-air.


    "So he''s here?" He asked. He didn''t bother waiting for her answer and looked at the Magistrate.


    "What constitution did he have?" The duke asked.


    The Magistrate immediately answered, "He had the Aura Pill Constitution."


    The duke was very surprised. "There are no current geniuses in the empire with that constitution. It is indeed a very rare constitution. Why did you not recruit him?" He asked.


    The Magistrate sighed. "He was too young. He was only 13 or 14 when I saw him."


    The Duke shook his head. "This generation is too soft. You will not be able to prosper. It is such a loss to the nation that he will have to die."


    Both the Magistrate and the girl looked with shock as the meteor started dropping again.


    "You can''t do this! There are so many innocent people there!" The girl started screaming.


    "Stop shouting, Anna. You are not to disgrace our image." The duke said.


    "My name is Daphne! Not Anna! If you don''t stop, I will leave the Whitmore Family!" She kept shouting.


    The duke didn''t pay her heed. "If you do that, what will you achieve? There are countless people trying to be where you are. I am trying to groom you to be the perfect sessor to the family and you are worried about the lives ofmoners. This is a lesson that you have to learn."


    The people on the ground were looking up at the sky, their eyes glued to the meteor that was threatening to fall on them. For the first minute, everyone was confused. No one believed what they saw.


    After that, they saw the meteor bing bigger, and suddenly, panic ensued. Everyone started running out of the city as fast as they could. None of this would really make a difference because of the size of the meteor though.


    And then the meteor started falling. As it got closer, people started realizing exactly how huge the meteor was. It was the size of the entire city. It was a little bigger actually. A lot of the people kept running, but the smart people epted their fate.


    The meteor crashed, creating a huge shockwave that ttened the entirendscape around the city. The city itself no longer existed. All that was left in its ce was an ice meteor.

 Chapter 95 Vent

    ?


    Leo opened his eyes and got out of bed. He went down to the inn to leave for the rental office. He was going to see the apartment he was going to be leasing. As he went down, he saw that everyone was very vividly talking about a subject.


    As he was leaving the inn, he overheard what it was they were talking about.


    "How could they get away with something like that?"


    "I know! That was tens of thousands of lives! Gone!"


    "But the emperor favors the Whitmore family among all of the dukes anyway. There is nothing that can actually be done. Apparently, the duke himself did this."


    Leo was immediately intrigued when he heard the name, Whitmore. The reason was because of Daphne. She was in reality, a Whitmore. He immediately went to the group that was carrying on this conversation and asked them what they were talking about.


    "Hello, I couldn''t help but overhear what you were talking about. Could you exin what happened?" He politely asked.


    "You don''t know? Everyone only found outst night, so you must have slept early. Duke Whitmore visited a city that is managed by Eldridge. It''s one of those smaller cities. What was it? Soonheaven?"


    "Solhaven?" Leo asked.


    "Yes. That one."


    Leo''s eyes immediately narrowed. "What happened then?"


    They shook their head. "A tragedy. The duke destroyed the entire city, killing everyone in it. Only a single person survived. The Magistrate of the city was kneeling on the ground at the entrance of the city. People say that he was mourning for all the deaths." He said.


    Leo shuddered. He knew exactly why this happened. It was because Daphne was forced to live as amoner in Solhaven and the Whitmore Family couldn''t bear that. He didn''t expect that nobles would care so much, but the evidence showed it.


    He clenched his fist while thanking them for the information. He left the door with anger. He was angry because the people he knew there were now dead. Trevor, the person who had given him that one small opportunity that made him who he was today, was gone.


    Miller and his daughter were gone. Maybe even rice and Evelyn and their team too. And in a way, he was the cause for all of it. If he didn''t let Daphne be an Aura Knight, she wouldn''t realize that she was a Whitmore. They wouldn''t have found out. And the 70000 people there would have been alive.


    He was the cause of their deaths. His anger turned to regret. He started ming himself and felt intense emotions. It had been a long time since he had felt emotions like these. Thest time was when he had failed to get any work for an entire week as a kid and he and Daphne had to starve.


    As his emotions peaked, he decided that he needed to find a way to relieve his emotions. The best way to do that to him was to project that anger onto something. He didn''t want to do anything to a human, so he decided to go to the Eldridge Forest.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He walked slowly into the forest and walked straight into it. He didn''t try to wander around to look for an easy opponent. He had his cloak on and was walking straight into the forest until he found an opponent.


    On the way, a 1st Circle Thunderhoof Deer was crossing the path. Before it could finish crossing, a Shadowbind Bolt mmed it, making it fall to the ground. Itpletely trapped it onto the ground and didn''t let it leave.


    As the spell slowly absorbed the deer''s energy, Leo walked to it and killed it with a single blow. He kept walking forward without stopping to collect the Beast Core. As he kept walking, he saw an entire pack of wolves gathered in his sight of view. He altered his path to meet them face-on.


    By the time they noticed him, they were faced with a huge barrage of me Bursts that exploded, killing all of them. He still kept walking forward.


    He spent a total of 3 hours killing 34 1st Circle Magical Beasts and 16 2nd Circle Magical Beasts before encountering the first 3rd Circle Magical Beast. At this point, almost three fourths of his magic was depleted, but he didn''t seem to care.


    He was there to simply vent his emotions. He immediatelyunched all the spells he knew at the 3rd Circle Stone-Faced Monkey. The animal was surprised at the barrage of spells like the mage had no concern for running out of magic.


    It quickly defended itself but was unable to take the unexpected swarm of spells. Before it could even try dodging, the spell all made its effect and exploded in a loud fashion. The monkey was sted back.


    It quickly got back up, only to face another me Barrage. This injured it so heavily that it could not get back up again. On the other side, Leo was breathing heavily. With this, he had finally almost run out of magic. He was breathing heavily while slowly recovering the lost magic.


    His venting spree had finally gotten him to gain his cool. He took a deep breath. He didn''t bother actually killing the Stone-Faced Monkey because he knew another Magical Beast out there would do the job.


    As he walked back, he didn''t encounter any Magical Beast on the way. There was a very clear path in front of him. This was because he had burned away all the trees in his path. He walked down a smooth path and got to the gate.


    By the time he got back, it was in thete afternoon. On the way back, he had taken time to think about what happened. He was only a small reason why the people were dead. But he realized that the reason why he even thought like that was because he never tried to me the person who actually killed the people.


    Who did the Duke think he was? God? Leo made a resolve to be strong enough to actually make the person who did this answer. Even if Daphne was rted to him, it wouldn''t matter.


    With a clear goal in his mind, he went to the rental office. He was only changing his goals, not his process. With clear-cut goals, his reason to enter the Aura Knight Academy increased. This was because every Aura Knight Academy was also bordered by a Magic Academy.


    They shared the same campus. This was because some nobles chose to be Aura Knights whilemoners could also try to be mages. The only problem was that there were a total of 10 spots open every year formoners to be mages and they were all awarded to only the most talentedmoners.


    But that wouldn''t affect him. He wasn''t going to try to join the Magic Academy. The only reason that mattered to him was that they were on the same campus. This was because they would have a library filled with knowledge pertaining to magic. This meant he would be able to learn much more magic than with just his tome.

 Chapter 96 Moving In

    ?


    He went to the rental office and walked up to the first floor. He went to the same desk and talked to the person he initially talked to the previous day. After getting a key and a paper to show his lease, he left to find his new apartment.


    It wasn''t hard finding directions to the apartment. He only had to ask for directions to the Eldridge Academy and had to find his way from there.


    One interesting thing was that even though the entire city was lit up by the sun, the entirety of the academy was covered in fog. At least to the outside. Leo was able to see a magic formation that masked the appearance of the academy. He would be able to see through forcefully, but he didn''t have an incentive to.


    He climbed his way to the 8th floor where his new apartment was. He realized that one of the other reasons why it was not as expensive was because he would have to climb the stairs all the way up 8 floors.


    But the view was worth it. Because he was an Aura Knight, he didn''t even mind the climb. Once he walked into his apartment, he felt that his money got its worth. Even though the ce was only the same size as his old house in Solhaven, it was better in every way.


    The wood flooring was a little better and the room was bigger. The sole room was the same size as the two rooms in Solhaven together. As for the hall and kitchen, they were modest but that was okay for him.


    He quickly took a look and left. He was going back to the inn to check out of his room. He had to return the key. He walked there quickly and then walked back to the apartment.


    It was a long process but he wasn''t in a hurry. Once he got back to his apartment, he sat down on the ground and started thinking. He only had a few things left to do for the rest of the four months.


    And that was mainly to train in magic and magic spells and make enough money to sustain his expenditures. He was nning on spending the next few days training in magic before going to the Mercenary Guild and starting his missions.


    He got up from his spot and went down again. This time, he was going to buy a bed for his house. He was going to order it to his room. He had seen the option in a few stores in Solhaven where the store would bring the bed all the way to the house for an extra fee.


    Leo walked down to the stores around him and browsed them until he found a good furniture store. He walked in and quickly purchased a bed before giving them his address. Once that was all done, he went back to his apartment and finally started training.


    The next day, the people from the furniture store delivered his bed. The mattress on the bed was incredibly firm, which was his preference. Since he trained his magic on the bed, he preferred having a surface that was firm to sit on instead of something that was too soft and would make him toofortable.


    After the setup of his entire apartment was done, he decided it was time to train his magic. Since no one would disturb him for the next few days, he took out the leaves from his nt. Since he had left it alone for a while, it was in the same state as before.


    The flower was still intact while there were multiple branches that werepletely barren because he had used those leaves to train at Solhaven.


    He had a n to make it better though. Since he was going to enter the forest regrly, he would be able to find Magical Beasts that would be able to replenish the nt.


    After taking a leaf from the nt, he slowly started absorbing the magic around him. After getting used to the magic in the new ce, he quickened his pace and started absorbing the magic quicker. Time passed and he stayed in his position. He was just waiting for enough time to go by so that he could finally start working as a mercenary.


    Finally, a week went by and he finally opened his eyes. He got up from his bed and left his apartment. He walked to the mercenary guild and entered it. He went to the same desk that he had gone to before, but it was manned by a different receptionist.


    "Hello, I registered to be a mercenary a week ago. Do you know if my card is ready?" He asked her.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "If you want to check whether your card is ready or not, then you can go to the counter where they give out cards. It''s right there." She pointed to a side of the reception hall where another person was sitting next to a pile of cards. The cards were neatly stocked horizontally and in a drawer that made it very easy to search through them.


    "Thanks," he said and walked to that counter. He asked the same question.


    "What is your name?" The man behind the counter asked.


    "My name is Leo," he said.


    The man looked and went through the stack until he found a card. He picked it up and looked at Leo.


    "What''s your date of birth?" He asked.


    "1st January," Leo answered.


    "Year?"


    "113," he said. He realized that they were making sure that it was actually him by asking him questions that only he would know.


    "Here''s your card. You can browse through the missions there and then finish any of them. Before starting a mission, you have to go and register at the counter that you are iming the mission so that too many people don''t do one mission." The man said.


    "Also, once you are donepleting the mission, you have to show proof. The proof that you are required to show is on the missions, so you just have to bring them and someone will inspect them. Once everything is confirmed, your information will automatically be updated. If you finish 10 missions, then you will be moved up to the next rank. You will have to apply for a new card then."


    Leo nodded. "Thank you for the information." He took the card and walked away.


    The card was very sleek and made of metal. It wasn''t as heavy as the Thousand Treasure Tower card though, which made it seem a little less premium.


    He walked to the missions and browsed through them. He was only looking at the Iron missions since that was all he could do. After looking at them, he left the guild.


    After a few minutes, another person entered the guild, drawing a lot of attention to himself. He had golden hair and bright brown eyes. He walked to the counter where they issued the cards without any hesitation like he knew exactly what he was doing. The man at the counter looked up at the person.


    "Hello, can I have my card? My name is Orion."

 Chapter 97 Mercenary

    ?


    He immediately walked away from the counter after receiving his card and walked to the mission center. Without any hesitation, he quickly grabbed three mission papers from the dashboard and took them to one of the desks to get them registered.


    He handed his card and the three Iron Rank missions and requested the person behind the counter to get it registered. The person quickly registered the missions and the man took them with him out of the building.


    After exiting the building, Leo breathed out a sigh. He didn''t like spending a lot of time using the spell since there were chances he could get caught. After all, if there were any 4th Circle Aura Knights, they might be able to see through himpletely.


    The only way he would be able to ease himself would be if he sessfully mastered the spell, but that was taking a lot of time. But to his credit, by spending so much time training the spell, he was starting to near Intermediate Proficiency.


    He looked at his mission cards and smiled. All of them were gathering missions that required him to submit herbs for the guild. He would be getting paid 100 Starcoins for each herb.


    He walked into the guild again, this time with his original appearance. He went and took another two missions. He forgot to take them the first time. These were also gathering missions like the first three he took.


    Out of all the Iron Rank missions, only three weren''t gathering missions. Those three were group missions in which at least 5 members had to participate. He wasn''t interested in missions like that at his level though.


    He put the papers that had the missions into his dimensional ring and made his way to the Eldridge Forest. This time, he was not going to venture far into the forest. He was going to stay in the perimeter where he would actually find low-ranking Magical Herbs like the ones he was supposed to find.


    For the rest of the day, he only spent his time trying to find the Magical Herbs he had chosen. Even though there were a total of 5 variants he had to find, they were all spread out. However, it was incredibly easy for him because he had his abnormal senses.


    He was able to find 10 of each item by the end of the day. He put them each in one separate bag and divided them into his dimensional ring. He first took out thest two and went into the Mercenary Guild.


    He always went in as himself because he would be able to notice if there were any strong Aura Knights or mages around him. He wouldn''t be able to control whether they would enter after he did, but he would be able to see if they were already in the guild.


    For the first time, he went beyond the entrance of the guild and went to one of the rooms inside to get his herbs checked. The process only took a few seconds after which he got his money and his card updated. He was now only 8 missions from being upgraded to the next rank.


    He left the guild and came back as Orion and submitted those herbs as well. After getting the money, he left the building and went back to his apartment. He earned a total of 4000 Starcoins from the missions, which wasn''t a lot.


    He would make that if he killed a single 2nd Circle Magical Beast. But he trusted the process. The only reason he wasn''t making money like he normally did was because he was only an Iron Rank Mercenary. If he upgraded to the next rank, then he would eventually get better-paying missions.


    What he didn''t know was how hard it was for someone to finish 5 missions like that in a single day. Unlike him, no Aura Knight had that level of perception as a 3rd Circle Aura Knight. This meant that normal people who just became mercenaries and opted for this mission would actually take a couple of days to finish just one of those missions. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    So people would only get 500-600 Starcoins as an Iron Rank Mercenary in a single day. He was just an anomaly. He didn''t know this and kept taking 4-5 missions a day. By the end of the week, he was done with the requirements to move to the next rank.


    He went into the Mercenary Guild and to the desk where he registered to be a mercenary and asked about the upgrade.


    "Hi, how do I upgrade to be a Steel Mercenary?" He asked.


    The person pointed to another counter which was for upgrading his rank. He sighed an walked over there. The ce had too many ces for too many things. There was a desk for registering, getting a card, getting a mission, getting paid, and upgrading his rank. It was going to take some time to get used to.


    He went to the desk and handed his card. "Hi, can I upgrade my rank? I finished 10 missions in the Iron Rank." Leo asked thedy behind the desk.


    "Of course. Let me just check to make sure that you are eligible for an upgrade." She said. She took the card and put it in an artifact beside her.


    She quickly turned to him and smiled. "You are eligible for an upgrade. You just need toe back in two days with this card and you can exchange it for the new one."


    Leo smiled and took the card. "Thank you."


    He repeated the process with his other identity and then went back to his apartment. For the first few times, it was fun changing identities. But it quickly became annoying. But he was expecting it to onlyst for the first one or two months. After that, he wouldn''t need to go using his real identity.


    This was because the missions would eventually be harder than what a 1st Circle Aura Knight could handle. That''s what Orion wouldplete. If there were indeed any problems with his identity, he could just discard it at any time.


    That was the main reason why he wanted an alternate identity. It would bring all the suspicion toward a non-existent person that he could hide at any time. He was only nning on using this identity for the next few months until his entrance into the academy.


    Two days passed and he collected his Steel Rank Mercenary Cards. The difference between the cards was that the Steel Card had a little bit of decoration added to it. He also had to pay the same fee asst time to collect the cards.


    The only difference was that he had to pay after he got the cards instead of before. He guessed that it was because he was now considered a part of the guild and hence more trustworthy.


    He grabbed the cards and took a few missions from the Steel Mission board and walked away. This time, the missions were not just gathering missions. They were a mix of hunting missions in the pile as well. But that was only better for him.

 Chapter 98 Advancing

    ?


    Out of all the missions, hunting missions were the easiest for him. Especially among Steel Rank missions where he would just have to bring Beast Cores of Pseudo 1st Circle Magical Beasts. It would take him a couple of seconds to kill Magical Beasts that weren''t 2nd Circle yet.


    Missions like those just made it easy for him to advance. However, he didn''t try to run through the missions as he did the first time. Since they were for stronger people, as a 1st Circle Aura Knight he acted his strength.


    Instead of taking 3 missions every day, he only took 1 per person. He took an entire 10 days to finish his missions. He quickly upgraded to the Bronze Rank and kept doing this process.


    Quickly a month passed since he became a Mercenary. At this time he had finished upgrading to the Silver Rank as a mercenary.


    When he reached the Silver Rank, he decided to stop ranking up his original Mercenary Rank. This was because the missions at the Silver Rank were on the level of a 2nd Circle Aura Knight. So only Orion was epting missions.


    Along with his upgraded rank, he also achieved one major aplishment. He finally increased his proficiency in Valkyr''s Deception and reached Intermediate Proficiency. This meant that people in the 3rd Circle wouldn''t be able to see that they were seeing an illusion made out of magic.


    The problem was that this didn''t include Late-Stage 3rd Circle Mages or 4th Circle Mages yet because he was still only an Early-Stage 3rd Circle Mage. But progress was progress.


    After reaching the Silver Rank, he could finally take missions that weren''t nd like gathering or hunting Magical Beasts. He could finally go on escort missions or protection missions. There were even some special missions where a particr client hires a person to do tasks.


    The one that Leo was most interested in doing was a protection request by a vige. There weren''t a lot of missions that were task-oriented in the Silver Rank, so he wanted to pick one of them.


    The domain of Eldridge had 6 cities and hundreds of small viges. These small viges would need to request the help of mercenaries to take care of Magical Beasts or Bandits.


    The mission he was looking at was a request for a mercenary to help them defeat the leader of a bandit group that consistently piged their resources. They were specifically requesting a Silver Rank Mercenary, so he guessed that the bandits also had a person who was of simr strength.


    The thing that blew him away was that themission was 90000 Starcoins. This wasn''t that high to him, but it was the highestmission he would earn from any of the missions. He decided to take the mission just to check it out.


    The problem with the mission was that it would take him an entire 2 days to travel to the vige and another 2 to travel back. If he took an entire day to take care of the bandits, he would have to spend 5 days on the mission.


    The requirements to be a Gold Rank Mercenary weren''t just 10 missions but 20. This would mean he would have to spend 3 months to be a Gold Rank Mercenary. This was too much time.


    He decided that after taking that mission, he would stick to normal hunting missions no matter how low they paid. Out of all the missions, hunting missions paid around 6000-7000 Starcoins, the least of them all. Gathering missions gave around 15000-20000 Starcoins. Only special missions paid more than 50000 Starcoins, but they required a lot ofmitment.


    He realized it was for people who had been stuck in the Silver Rank for a long time and wouldn''t be able toplete Gold Rank Missions even if they tried. At that point, it would be better to justplete Silver Rank Missions that paid more money.


    He picked up the mission and got it registered. He then asked them how he was supposed to get to his mission. They gave him directions to an area for merchants leaving for different cities. He went there and asked about the vige.


    One merchant told him that there was a caravan that was leaving for a different city, but the vige was on the way. The caravan was apparently leaving the next morning.


    He thanked them and went to his apartment to train till the next day. He was nning on leaving the next day for the vige with the caravan. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The next morning, he got up and went to the same ce and saw that it was still as bustling as the previous day. It was the effect that the city had. Because of the number of people, it was a cash cow for merchants.


    He went and asked around for the merchant who was going to the city and finally found him. He went up to him.


    "Hello, I heard that you are going to Phoenix Greens?" He asked the merchant.


    The merchant turned around. He had arge beard that was red in color. His belly was sticking out a little from his shirt.


    "Yes, we are. Are you interested in joining us?" He asked.


    Leo smiled. "You read my mind."


    "You look like a capable person, so I am assuming you are an Aura Knight. But even then, I cannot offer you a free seat." He said.


    Leo shrugged. He was being treated a lot more like an adult because he was currently in the disguise of Orion. Since he was going to perform an actual mission, he would have to show that Orion was the one finishing the mission. Otherwise, if someone knew that it was Orion who was supposed to be there and saw Leo instead, the two identities would be linked together.


    "I am okay with that. How much are you thinking?" He asked.


    "Only the price of riding the horse. 1000 Starcoins." The merchant said.


    Leo nodded. "I am okay with that."


    "We leave in 20 minutes. It was good that you came early. Otherwise, you would have missed us. Do you know how to ride a horse?" He asked Leo.


    Leo nodded.


    "Then you can just take one from the stable there," he said while pointing at a stable. "Get ready to join my group. It is the Marigold Flower Merchant Group."


    Leo walked to the stable and picked out a horse. He threw on a saddle he found nearby onto the horse and climbed onto it. He took the horse to where the caravan was. Everyone seemed ready to leave and were only waiting for the sun to rise.


    After 10 minutes, Leo saw the sun starting to peek out. He wasn''t the only one. A lot of the merchants saw this and started leaving the area. The Marigold Flower Group was one of them.


    All these people congregated in a line of caravans leaving the city. It took them almost thirty minutes to actually leave the city because of the amount of traffic the massive numbers caused.


    Leo didn''t mind it. He was excited to finally start exploring the world outside of Eldridge and Solhaven. He was also going to be doing what he considered an interesting mission, so it waspletely fine even if he had to wait an hour doing nothing for that.

 Chapter 99 Mission

    ?


    The trip to the vige was incrediblyckluster. He was just training the entire time. Since he was maintaining his Valkyr''s Deception the whole time, it was incredibly good training for him. He was slowly running out of magic though, since it was a very hard spell.


    However, he managed to maintain it until he had to leave the group. They weren''t actually going to drop him off at the vige. They reached a road that forked two ways on the second day of traveling.


    That was where they split up. Leo would have to walk the rest of the way while the caravan would go ahead to Phoenix Greens. Phoenix Greens was a city that wasn''t even in the domain of Eldridge, so they were going to travel for another week before they reached their destination.


    Leo walked slowly along the empty road for a while until he could no longer see the caravan. The minute they disappeared, he stopped the spell immediately. He instantly felt a burden on his body disappear and felt refreshed. He sat down and took a huge breath.


    There wasn''t anyone there to see this, so he was okay with just resting until he recovered all of his magic. He only needed the rest because he was supposed tost a full day. Once he defeated the bandit, he could leave at his own pace.


    After an, he felt he recovered enough of his magic and cast the spell again. He started walking to the vige. On the way, he saw a couple of boards that showed him the directions. He kept walking for two hours and finally started seeing a glimpse of the vige.


    He walked to the entrance and looked at the entire settlement. It was a small vige nestled within a picturesque valley, surrounded by lush green meadows and rolling hills. Its quaint streets were lined with charming cottages, featuring thatched roofs and sturdy stone walls. The vige center was bustling with a lively marketce, where colorful stalls disyed a variety of handcrafted goods.


    In the distance, he could see a magnificent stone-built townhouse with a towering spire standing proudly at the heart of the vige, while narrow cobblestone paths winded their way through themunity. The entire ce was incredibly small though. Compared to actual cities, it was a lot smaller and had fewer than a thousand people.


    He walked into the vige and walked to the townhouse at the center. It only took him ten minutes to finish the walk. He went into the townhouse and looked inside. Polished marble floors lead to well-appointed offices, each adorned with mahogany desks and high-backed chairs. It had expansive windows that allowed natural light to flood in, illuminating the grandeur of the space. A central atrium served as a meeting point, with a towering staircase ascending to upper levels.


    He walked in and immediately found a reception desk. He walked there and waited for the receptionist to look up. When she did, she immediately smiled.


    "Hi, are you new here?" She asked.


    Leo nodded. "Yes, but how do you know?"


    She smiled. "It''s a small town. And I would know if someone handsome like you was in this town." She said.


    Leo''s dense mind ignored the flirting and just thanked her for thepliment. "Thanks. Do you know who I can go to see for this mission?" He asked her.


    She looked at the mission in his hands. She asked to take a look at it. Once she did, her smile faded away.


    "Are you the mercenary who is here to take care of the bandits?" She asked.


    He nodded. She stood up. "Please, follow me. I will take you to the vige head."


    He followed her up the stairs to the top where there were only a couple of rooms. They went into one of the rooms which had a small waiting area. There was another door that lead to the office of the vige chief. The receptionist knocked lightly on the door.


    "Come in," a low voice came from inside.


    She entered the room and whispered something. Unfortunately for her, whispering wasn''t very effective to contain information with Leo.


    "Don''t you think he''s such a good target?" She asked the vige chief.


    "First call him in. I will see," he said softly.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The receptionist walked out of the room and then smiled at Leo. "He is ready to see you."


    Leo nodded. "Thank you, what was your name again?"


    "I am Lia. What about you?" She asked.


    "Orion. Thanks, Lia." He said and walked into the room. He was immediately met by the vige chief.


    The chief was tiny. He was maybe 4 feet tall and was sitting on the chair with his legs not reaching the ground. He spoke with a high-pitched voice.


    "Nice to meet you. I am Chief Boban. I am the chief of this beautiful vige, Bhunan. I was also the one who put up the request for a mercenary." He started with an introduction.


    "I am Orion. Nice to meet you." He said.


    Boban nodded. "I will cut straight to the chase. We offered 90000 Starcoins and you are here. If you bring us the head of the bandit, then the money we deposited with the Adventurer Guild is yours. Any information you need about the bandit that we have will be avable to you." He said.


    Leo frowned. He already knew that something was being hidden from him, but now he didn''t know what it was because they chose not to tell him.


    "So, is this a single bandit? I thought it was a bandit group." He asked.


    "We only want you to kill one of them. He goes by the name Sakkar. He''s the leader of the bandits. ording to what we know, he''s a Middle-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight." Boban said.


    Leo still felt a heavy uneasiness in the back of his mind. He would normally be able to deal with a 2nd Circle Aura Knight in seconds. But for some reason, he couldn''t wrap his mind around what Lia said.


    "Is there anyone except me attacking the bandits?" He asked.


    "Unfortunately, we cannot give you any help. But if you want anything else, you can ask Lia. She has all the documents about the bandits. Anything you need for preparations to take down the bandit can be provided to you if we have the capabilities for that. Other than that, do you have any questions?" He asked.


    Leo shook his head. While he was leaving, he thought about the vige chief. Even though the chief looked harmless, he was a 1st Circle Aura Knight. He was giving him so much information, but why was he not helping in the hunt? Why was Leo supposed to do this on his own?


    He went down and saw Lia sitting there. He went up to her.


    "The chief said that you had all the documents about the bandits. Can I have them?" He asked.


    She nodded. She quickly took out a stack of documents and stacked them on the desk. There were almost a hundred papers.


    "Wow, you must know a lot about this bandit then." He said.


    "We do. We know everything about him. We were just never able to catch him." She said.

 Chapter 100 Caught

    ?


    He picked up the documents with his hands while asking her, "Do you know where I can stay the night? I will go tomorrow to check out the bandits."


    She nodded. "If you go out and keep walking, you will see the Hamshire Inn to your right in a couple of minutes. They should have rooms avable," she said.


    Leo smiled and then walked out of the town hall. He immediately lost his smile once he exited the building. He walked to the inn. He entered and saw an old man polishing sses at the bar. There wasn''t any other desk to check in for a room.


    "Do you know where I can find a room?" He asked.


    The old man looked at Leo and smiled. "Are you new here?"


    Leo nodded.


    "We have a vacancy for you. I''ll get you checked in. What are you here for, by the way?" The old man asked.


    "I''m a mercenary. I came to deal with the bandits problem this vige has." Leo said.


    "Thank god. It''s time that someone acted on that," he said. "We have a room on the first floor. Here are the keys. Since you are doing us a service, it''s free of charge."


    Leo smiled. "I don''t mind paying for my room." He said. He was starting to like the old man.


    "Then just buy a drink once youe down," the old man said. He handed Leo a key. "It will be to your immediate right once you climb the stairs."


    Leo took the key and went to the room. The minute he went into his room, he quickly took a look at the papers that he got from Lia. They had aplete detailed report about the bandit, including how many people were actually in the bandit group and their strength levels.


    ording to the report, the bandit group had 10 1st Circle Aura Knights and 20 Apprentice Aura Knights. There were another 20 normal bandits too. It also contained the activities they did, including smuggling drugs and trafficking people.


    If the report was right, then the bandits would be easy to deal with. It even told him where the leader would be at a certain time of the day. All of this just made the entire mission more and more weird for him. Why was everything this easy?


    What made the entire vige more suspicious was that there were barely any people on the streets. Even the houses were half empty. He thought that the vige would have around 1000 people, but he could only sense that half of them were in the vige. Half the houses were empty. Even the inn that supposedly had a vacancy waspletely empty.


    Did that mean the bandits somehow trafficked half the vige? Because that seemed impossible. The vige would go to the city they were under for help if they were in such a dire state.


    He decided to put his suspicions on hold. He felt that it wasn''t asplicated as it seemed. He must just be tripping because of the long journey.


    He decided to look into it the next day. He would go to the ce where the bandit supposedly would be the next morning and check it out. Until then, he was going to just recover his magic and watch out for his surroundings.


    Since he was now in a room, he didn''t need to maintain Valkyr''s Deception. He was also not going to check out the bandit with his disguise on. He was going to go as himself to see if there was anything suspicious. If they saw a 25-year-old, they would be more on guard.


    Either way, if they were truly bandits, then he wouldn''t leave them alive to tell the story of how they saw a 15-year-old instead of the actual Mercenary who was supposed to be there.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The next morning, he got out of bed early in the morning. He walked downstairs and saw the old man still polishing sses.


    "Did you not get any sleep?" The man asked Leo.


    "I could ask the same about you. Why are you up so early?" Leo asked the man.


    "I have to look after the ce. Where are you headed to?" He asked Leo.


    "Just a stroll," he answered.


    He walked out of the inn with his disguise on. The minute he left the vige, he removed his disguise and walked to the ce where the bandits'' stronghold was. The sun was just starting to rise. He heard a cooing sound signifying that followed by a bunch of birds flying out. The birds were all flying in the same direction as he was going, so he guessed there was something more interesting to the birds there than just the bandits.


    He wasn''t nning on going all the way to the stronghold. He was just going along the road to see if he would encounter the bandits on the way. He walked for 20 minutes and got close to the stronghold before something happened. As he was walking, he quickly noticed something weird.


    In the distance, he could sense multiple people suddenly appearing out of nowhere. He realized that the path was entirely rigged and that the bandits hadpletely surrounded him. It was as if they were waiting for him and had surrounded him only when he left.


    Leo was going to prepare to kill everyone who surrounded him but suddenly chose not to. Everything started to make sense to him. When he left the inn, the innkeeper had seen him leave. He had seen the birds fly toward the stronghold.


    All this added to the fact that the bandits knew that he was going to be there. The only thing that changed was that he was here as Leo, not as Orion. This meant that they would be surprised to see a kid instead of the mercenary.


    He wanted to check out what was going on. The entire vige was nowpletely suspicious to him and his curiosity made him want to purposefully get caught to figure out what it was.


    The bandits quickly closed in while he walked normally like nothing was wrong. The bandits kept following him until he got close enough to the stronghold. He was immediately surrounded by a group of ten bandits, all in the 1st Circle.


    He immediately started acting like he was panicking. He took out the dagger he had started threateningly pointing it at the bandits.


    "Who are you all?! I won''t let you take my money!" Leo shouted.


    "Who is this kid?" One of the bandits asked.


    "I don''t know. Wasn''t there supposed to be a proper Mercenary?" Another bandit asked.


    "Let''s just ask the boss. We can take the kid for now. He seems good enough to sell," they said.


    Leo knew what was going to happen, but he acred scared when a huge iron was thrown at him. He was genuinely trapped once the fell on him though. He was a mage, after all. He didn''t have the physical strength to break out of the by himself. He could blow himself out though, but that would defeat the purpose of getting caught on purpose.


    "Take him inside."

 Chapter 101 Cellar

    ?


    A metal rod mmed Leo on his head and he cked out. When he opened his eyes, his hands and feet were both chained with metal handcuffs.


    He looked around without panicking and saw that there were multiple people around him. He wasn''t the only one in his current situation. All the people around him were simrly chained.


    They were all in a dimly lit cer. Chains hung from the cold stone walls, binding everyone to the walls. Dampness permeated the air, mingling with the stifled sounds of the captives. Everyone had cloth tightly bounding their mouths. The flickering light of a singlentern cast eerie shadows, illuminating the rusted bars of a small window.


    He saw that everyone there had a lot of fear in their eyes. They had no idea about what wasing for them. Meanwhile, he was still calm because he could still use his Magic.


    He tried controlling it a little and found that it was only a little harder to control it because he was a little light-headed from the blow to his head. Otherwise, he was fine.


    When he sensed around, he noticed that there were two guards outside the cer, making sure that nothing happened. Leo realized that he didn''t have anything to do for a while, so he closed his eyes and started to passively monitor everything around him.


    After an hour or so passed, someone came into the cer. Leo opened his eyes and saw that it was one of the guards. He brought in another person with him. Leo''s eyes narrowed when he saw who the person was. It was the bandit he was supposed to hunt.


    The man had a strong build and stood at an impressive height. His deep-set eyes were a striking shade of blue,plemented by a well-defined jawline. His hair, neatly styled, fell in dark waves. Dressed in a tailored suit, he exuded an aura of sophistication and power. He looked nothing like the picture that he was presented, nor like a bandit at all.


    The man looked around the cer. There were a total of 83 people in the cer. Almost all of them were women, with only 7 males. He went around and picked out and pointed at one person among 10 as he walked along the walls. He finally arrived at Leo. He pointed at him as well and moved on.


    In total, 10 people were selected - 3 men and 7 women. All of them were incredibly young, though Leo was the youngest among all of them. The rest were all around 18-19 years old. But only Leo showed very little fear.


    The guards stepped forward and unchained them, making them fall to the ground. When the first person fell to the ground, the man in the tailored suit frowned.


    "These are the most valuable goods here. Don''t let them be damaged. Our customers don''t like damaged goods. Make sure they are properly cleaned and brought to me. If I find out that you damaged my goods in any way, you will have to bear the costs," he said in a low threatening voice.


    Leo and the other two men were dragged by one of the guards while the women were taken away by the other guard. Leo found himself taken to a room with a lot of suits and an adjoining bathroom. The guard unlocked his handcuffs along with the other two men.


    "Get yourself cleaned up and then dressed. The women might be prized goods, but you aren''t worth as much. I''m allowed to make you behave. So don''t make my work harder." The guard said that and walked out.


    Leo looked and saw that the two people weren''t going to be moving any time soon, so he went to the bathroom first. It was pretty clean for what he expected. There were a few buckets of water, so quickly took a bath and came out.


    He saw that they were still staying still in a corner and decided to make them snap out of it.


    "If you don''t do what they say, then you are going to go through a little pain and will be forced to do it anyway. Why do you want to make your life harder for yourself?" He asked them.


    They saw a young boy telling them to ept their reality and decided it was time to give up. The emotions in their eyes died and they went into the bathroom to quickly get ready. Meanwhile, since Leo was the first person out, he could pick between all the suits there.


    He picked out a nice navy suit that was almost his size and wore it. The navyplemented his blue eyes and went well with his olive skin. He sat on the side, waiting for the others toe out. At this time the guard came in to make sure that everything was proceeding smoothly.


    He saw Leo ready and sitting in the corner.


    "Good job getting ready. Out of all the people, I thought you would be the hardest to convince. Tell them to hurry up. I am on a schedule." He said and went back out.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Leo didn''t bother and just sat there, waiting for the other men toe out. they came out after a minute and started getting dressed.


    "What are your names?" Leo asked. He was bored and wanted to try to pass the time.


    "I am Oliver," the taller of the two answered.


    "I''m Brock," the other one said.


    Both of them were simr to each other in appearance. They were both slightly feminine and had very fair skin. It seemed like the man was looking for a certain type while selecting people. Leo looked at his own hand. Why was he selected? Did he look that feminine?


    "What about you? What is your name?" Brock asked him.


    "I''m Leo," he said.


    "I have never seen you around the vige before. Did you move recently?" He asked.


    Leo shook his head. "I don''t live there. I''m just visiting as a tourist." He said.


    Brock shook his head. "I am sorry for you then. You didn''t deserve this fate at such a young age," he said.


    Leo was surprised. "So you know what is going to happen to us?" He asked.


    Brock nodded. "Yes. We are-"


    Before he could finish talking, the guard opened the door and saw that all of them were ready.


    "Good. Get out now. We have to take you all to the bosses first." The guard said.


    Leo smiled faintly. It was so subtle that no one noticed it. Leo was happy that he was finally going to understand what was happening.


    They were brought out of the room and made to stand in a single file outside. Across the room was another door that had another guard standing outside it. He also opened the door and peeked in.


    He shouted into the door, "Get out now! Come out!"


    A girl slowly walked out of the door. She was followed by 6 others. They were the girls who the man had selected along with the men. The girls were all clothed in pretty dresses and had simple jewelry on.


    "Okay, now follow us." The guard said.


    Leo rubbed his hands in excitement.

 Chapter 102 Nobles

    ?


    Leo followed the guards deep into the stronghold. As they were walking, they walked past a cer very simr to the one Leo was chained in. He peeked into it and saw that the people there werepletely silent even though all of them were alive.


    They were all too weak and afraid to make a single sound. The cer had a total of 74 people in it, which meant it was also probably stripped out of its best candidates like his cer.


    As they walked more, Leo started discovering that the number of Aura Knights was increasing. The number of cers they crossed also increased one by one. Each of the cers were manned by two guards each.


    Till now, the only Aura Knights near them were the two guards. Each of them was 1st Circle Aura Knights. That was why they were confident in controlling all ten of the people that their boss picked out. The only miscalction they made was Leo. Since they didn''t have an actual mage or a 3rd Circle Aura Knight, there wasn''t anyone to sense the aura in Leo''s body.


    They just assumed he was a normal boy and didn''t ount for the small chance that he was an Aura Knight. Of course, this was not even the biggest problem they were going to face, since he was also a 3rd Star Mage.


    As they got closer to their destination, Leo''s expression turned sour. He had sensed a total of 30 1st Circle Aura Knights and 4 2nd Circle Aura Knights. The information that Lia had given him waspletely wrong. This further deepened his distrust of them.


    They finally reached a door where the guards stopped all of them. One of them opened the doors slowly, while the other guard talked to the captured people.


    "Everyone inside decides whether or not you are worth keeping alive. So behave carefully." He told them.


    He then moved out for them to walk inside. Leo waited for the others to enter before entering after them. He looked at the inside of the room and saw that it waspletely different from the ce where they came from.


    He came from a ce that looked like a dungeon. It was poorly lit and very musty. However, the inside of the room was very different from that. It was very well-lit and had incrediblyvish furniture.


    There were a few sofas to the side with people sitting on them, facing the people. The rest of the room had a few cabs and decorative tes. The walls were properly painted and there was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling.


    Leo looked up at the people who were eyeing the people standing in front of them like they were looking at objects. He immediately recognized one of them. Sitting on the couch to the right was a short person who had a very recognizable face. It was Chief Boban.


    It finally made sense to him. The Chief and the entire vige were weird from the start. He expected the innkeeper to be the one to tell the bandits that he was leaving and the chief had fed him with information that lead to him being trapped. But what Leo couldn''t wrap his head around was why.


    Why would the chief go through the trouble of capturing a person he didn''t even know? And why were they imprisoning so many people at once? He could count at least 3 cells on the way to the current room, which meant there were at least 300 people being imprisoned in the entire stronghold. What could they achieve by doing that?


    Boban clicked his tongue. "Where is the mercenary?" He asked.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The guard stepped forward. "He never showed up. When they went to capture him, we found this boy instead." They said.


    Boban frowned. "You useless pieces of garbage. The mercenary was a Silver Rank Mercenary. That means he was a 2nd Circle Aura Knight. Imagine a 2nd Circle Aura Knight with incredibly good looks? How much would he sell for? He wouldn''t even be sold at a fixed price. They would hold an auction for such a nice product! He could have made us millions!" Boba started shouting and his anger intensified as he kept rambling.


    The man in the suit stopped him. "That''s okay. We can still catch the Mercenary. For now, the boy will work just fine. He looks very good too. The youngerdies might find him interesting. The only issue is he is too young, but there are definitely people with that preference." He said.


    Boban calmed down. He looked at the confused face of Leo andughed. "You are right. Look at his clueless face. Someone exin to him what is happening to him."


    He stood up and turned away. He started walking to the door that was opposite the door where Leo and everyone came from. As he was leaving, he said, "The goods are fine. I will go and invite our guests in to inspect them in person."


    Meanwhile, the man in the suit also got up. He looked at Oliver who was beside Leo. The re he gave made Oliver shake in fear. "Exin to your friend what all of you got stuck in."


    He also left the room behind Boban.


    Oliver leaned in and whispered to Leo, "We are being sold. The people buying us are most likely nobles who want ves they want to use. We will probably serve them for the rest of our lives. At least me and Brock have it easy. We are only going to be butlers or gardeners. The girls will be maids at the mercy of their masters. And you are also going to be at the mercy of the person who chose to buy you. But you should be in a better position than them."


    Leo''s expression immediately darkened when he heard that. He was never fond of nobles, but he bore their existence. After hearing what happened to Solhaven, however, he grew a huge hate toward them. The minute he found out the whole thing was a scheme to let nobles buy ves, he lost all interest in yfully finding out what was happening.


    Buying and selling ves were technically illegal. Even nobles weren''t allowed to do it, but no one would stop them if they did. After all, the only person above the nobles was the emperor. And the emperor always put the nobles above themoners.


    Now that Leo found out everything that was happening, he was prepared to break free and leave the ce, but he stopped in his tracks. He could sense a group of individuals walking toward them. Among them, importantly, were two mages. Each of them was only a 2nd Circle Mage, but they were mages nheless.


    Leo clenched his hands. This meant that he was going to be seeing nobles in person. He would be seeing the faces of the people who engaged in this depraved act. As he thought that, the people finally got close to them.


    The door to the room they were in slowly opened. A group of 8 people walked in, led by Chief Boban and the man in the suit.

 Chapter 103 Trouble

    ?


    The group of 8 entered the room. Three of them were women while the other three were male. All of them were dressed very neatly. Boban was being very friendly with them.


    "As you can see, we only offer you the highest products before they are put up for auction. That is one of the benefits you will receive when you work with us." Boban said.


    They were maintaining their distance from him and only lightly acknowledged hisment. They all came close to the people who were put up for viewing like artifacts at a museum. They were inspecting each person one by one.


    Everyone except Leo was standingpletely still out of fear that the nobles would do something to them if they misbehaved. Meanwhile, Leo was trying his best to control himself from spinning out of control. If he did, then he would have to deal with all the mages while not harming any innocent bystander.


    They eventually came to Leo. When they did, the two mages, one male and the other female, both suddenly backed away. Leo realized why they were on guard all of a sudden. He was unchained and also an Aura Knight.


    The others didn''t notice it because they were not that much stronger than him. But now that there were mages who had a lot higher perception, they saw through himpletely. He immediately jumped back from them and leaped at the guard behind him.


    He quickly grabbed the guard''s de before he could react and used his Twilight Veil sh, cutting down the guard. He then ran out of the door on the other side.


    Meanwhile, the nobles who jumped back were looking at Boban with extremely furious faces.


    "What practices do you follow? How did you not know that the person you could use aura?! Moreover, it was a Late-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight. If we didn''t notice, then we would be dead!" They shouted.


    Boban''s face turned purple.


    "I am so sorry, Lord and Lady. I will fix this. I will make sure his head is before you in an hour." He said and turned to the man in the suit, ready to bark an order, when one of thedies other than the mages spoke up.


    "I want him alive." She said.


    The others looked at her. Boban was confused. "Why, Lady Fairmount? He is, after all, just a crafty boy?"


    His tone turned even more respectful with her than with the mages. For some reason, he feared thedy more than the other nobles there.


    "He is very pleasing to the eye. And on top of that, such a young boy is a 1st Circle Aura Knight. It would be a very addition to my collection." She said.


    Boban nodded. "Of course, Lady."


    He turned back to the man in the suit.


    "Alive, then. In an hour." He said.


    The man nodded and left the room from the same side that Leo did. The time that they took to discuss this was 2 minutes. At this time, Leo had gotten enough of a head start. He hadpletely escaped from the room and was essentially just creating enough of a distance from it.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    As the man left the room, the rest of the people who were in the line with Leo were quivering. Out of all of them, Oliver and Brock had the most severe reaction. They didn''t think the young boy was an actual Aura Knight. Deep inside, they hoped that at least he would be able to escape.


    After keeping the nobles settled into the couches, he said, "The other products are also here for your enjoyment. You can keep inspecting them. I will also go to make sure that the person is caught without fail."


    He quickly left the room and started running. He quickly caught up with the man in the suit who was barking orders to the nearby guards.


    "Mobilize everyone! I want him caught in 30 minutes. Surround the entire Stronghold and don''t let a single person leave." He shouted.


    One of the guards quickly ran to a room that had a staircase to go to the top of the building. He ran to the top, crossing 2 stories, and finally reached the tower. The stronghold was essentially a small fort with a basement, ground, and first floor. The first floor was only to defend against attacks, with outposts to look out for attackers.


    The first floor waspletely open and was also elevated because it was the walls of the fort. At each corner of the fort, there was a bell in a small tower-like structure. The guard quickly reached the bell and quickly rang it. He rang it twice, signaling a certain code to all of the people in the fort.


    Everyone who heard the bell immediately became alert. A quarter of the bandits in the fort left their posts and ran up the staircases to popte the top of the walls. Another quarter immediately ran out of the fort to cover the perimeter around the fort.


    The remaining half started searching the rest of the fort aimlessly, looking out for any suspicious activities. They were mainly waiting for further orders from their superiors.


    Leo heard the bells and smiled. He knew they were going to start looking for him, but he wasn''t worried. He felt that he was pretty safe, considering that he was back in the room with the suits.


    He had gone back there because he needed to be alone for what he was going to do next. He waited near the door for someone to search the room, but it was going to take some time before they got there. He was hoping the time would be enough to lure away all the guards away from the fort.


    With the number of guards being only around 100, and only half of them in the fort searching for him, it would be easy to deal with them. But he didn''t care about the small fries. He wanted to take out the man in charge.


    Meanwhile, Boban and the man in the suit were describing Leo''s appearance to the guards so that they would ry the information to the other guards. After giving this information, Boban and the man split up to make the search more effective.


    The man in the suit was drenched in sweat. He sounded very angry as he walked to where the cers were. He didn''t like that he had to do this work at all.


    "Why did that fat ass have to give that amazing idea of trying to sell a 2nd Circle Aura Knight? We were doing fine without his suggestions! But no, he had to make us capture that person. If we didn''t try that, then none of this would have happened."


    He kicked one of the buckets nearby, sending it flying. Suddenly, he frowned. He looked around and saw that there weren''t any guards near him.


    This was suspicious because, with the alert on, all the guards were supposed to be at their posts, looking out for suspicious people. But the area with the cers, the most important area, waspletely void of people.


    As he was looking around, he heard a voice. "So, you don''t like the short dude either?"

 Chapter 104 Kill

    ?


    The man turned around immediately and punched with all of his strength, but his punch met nothing but air. There wasn''t anyone there.


    "I''m here," the voice came from behind his back.


    He swung his arm around, but it once again failed to hit the source of the voice.


    "Okay, I''ll stop ying around," Leo said. He came out of the corner and waved at the man in the suit.


    The man was confused. "How? You were right beside me. How did you suddenly get there?" He asked.


    Leo smiled. "Like this," he said. He disappeared into the ground and a shadow jotted forward. The shadow disappeared behind him. The man turned around and saw Leo standing there, right in front of him.


    He took a few steps back in fear. "You... you are a mage! How? They said that you were an Aura Knight." He said.


    Leo smiled. "Why can''t I be both?" He asked.


    "You... You can''t. Everyone knows that an Aura Knight cannot be a Mage." The man said. He was seeing his entire knowledge base shattering in front of his eyes.


    "Well, that isn''t the biggest concern to you now, is it? You should be more concerned about being near a mage who you tried to sell off as a ve to a bunch of nobles." Leo said calmly.


    The man realized how hard he had screwed up. He turned around, ready to run away, but a dark bolt hit him in the back. The bolt erupted into shadow tendrils and bound him tightly.


    Leo walked forward toward him and pointed his hand at him.


    "Maybe, in your next life, you will make better decisions," Leo said. Heunched a me Burst at the man, burning him to a crisp.


    The reason Leo was here and not in the room was because he finally sensed the aura of a 2nd Circle Aura Knight. His n was to first take out the Aura Knights in charge and then see what he would do about the mages after.


    After he had sensed the man near him, he quickly took out the guards near the both of them and finished off the man as well. The only part which bummed him out was that he wouldn''t be able toplete his mission because the bandit''s body was now unrecognizable.


    He left the area immediately after he finished his business and went to look for the other person of authority. He was looking for the person who happened to bring him all the way to the vige and then kidnap him to make him a ve. At this point, he had admiration for the n that Chief Boban had made.


    He found Boba very quickly. Boban was also looking around for Leo, but he was looking on the other side of the fort. He had the other two 2nd Circle Aura Knights along with him. Leo smiled. Now that he saw that Boban was separated from the mages, he could y with him all he wanted.


    On the other side of the fort, Boban was barking orders to everyone he could see, but he himself was barely moving from his ce. The guards to each of his sides were the only 2nd Circle Aura Knights other than the man in the tailored suit, but they were weaker than him.


    Even though he was an Aura Knight himself, he didn''t do any of the work. As he was slowly walking back toward the room where the nobles were, he saw that the guards who he had given orders to on the way were all gone. None of them were in their posts and keeping an eye out for Leo.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He walked forward a little faster and checked in the corners to see if they were cking off, but they weren''t there. As he was checking, a silent shadow swooped behind him and left in a second. By the time he turned around, the shadow had swooped in a second time and had disappeared.


    "Where is everyone? What happened to them?" He looked to his right and asked the guards that were supposed to be behind him. To his surprise, the guards were nowhere to be seen. He turned aroundpletely to check again and saw that they had magically disappeared.


    Right at this time, Leo walked out from the corner. Boban saw him and clenched his strength. "You idiots disappeared at the wrong time!" He muttered under his breath and started running toward Leo.


    Leo watched as the short and fat person in front of him hriously attempted to run and catch him. While the sight was hrious, he had to admit that Boban was pretty fast for his dimensions.


    As he got closer, Leo smiled and walked right into the wall beside him. Boban skidded to a stop and walked to the wall. He touched it to see if it was really a solid object. As he did that, he found that his hand passed through the wall.


    Somethingtched onto his hand and pulled him to the other side of the wall. He sucked in a breath of air as he flew from one side of the wall to the other side. Hended on his back when he stopped falling.


    He got up and saw that he was in a room that was very familiar to him. He realized where he was all of a sudden. It was a part of the fortress that opened up into a room. However, as far as he remembered, there wasn''t supposed to be a wall to close the room. Especially not an illusionary wall.


    As he got back up, he saw Leo in front of him. He immediately took two steps back from him.


    "You! What did you do? Where did that walle from?" He asked.


    Leo clicked his tongue.


    "You and your friend are both filled with questions. You don''t even let the other person talk." He said.


    Boban snarled and took out a de from his waist. He looked at Leo and said, "Fine. I''ll just force you to tell me. Do you think just because you reached the 1st Circle, it makes you invincible among all 1st Circle Aura Knights? I will show you that it was a bad mistake to appear in front of me."


    Leo nodded. "I do. In fact, I think I''m pretty good with 2nd Circle Aura Knight too."


    Boban ignored him and rushed to sh him down with his de. As he did, Leo blocked the de with his dagger. The dagger deflected the de away from him.


    Boban was very surprised when he saw this happen. But he tried to maintain his offense. He kept shing at Leo using his incredibly basic Aura Technique. But Leo wasn''t budging anywhere. He kept deflecting every one of the swings.


    Finally, Boban took a step back and cursed. "Why is nothing working? This kid is way too lucky!"


    Leo smiled. He asked him,"I''m very curious why you thought you were stronger than me from the start. Has it never urred to you that there was a chance that I am a 2nd Circle Aura Knight?"

 Chapter 105 Dealt

    ?


    Bobanughed it off. "Surely, the mages would have told me. They also mentioned that you are only a 1st Circle Aura Knight."


    Leo smiled and said, "Yes, they would have told you. But there are things that even they don''t know about me. For example, did you know that I was a mage?"


    Bobanughed harder. "I thought you were smart to hide your Aura till it was time to run away, but you are just delusional." He got closer.


    As he got closer, he saw Leo''s appearance change. Suddenly, his expression changed. Instead of Leo in front of him, he saw Orion.


    "Hello, Chief Boban. How are you?" He asked with a smile on his face.


    Boban immediately took a couple of steps back with fear. "You... you are a mage! How did the mages not find out?" He asked.


    "Personally, I think it''s a skill issue. Your mages aren''t really that strong." He said.


    Boban suddenly smiled. "Wait. If you are really a mage, why didn''t you act then? Why did you run out? And you also used aura back there. This isn''t possible." He said.


    Leo shot a Shadowbind bolt at Boban, binding him in his current ce. "Actually, it is. Now, I am not advertising to everyone that I am a mage, so I am going to need to get rid of the evidence. Namely, you."


    He shed with his dagger, cleanly killing Chief Boban. After doing that, he didn''t change his appearance back and kept walking to the room that he had run away from.


    He got there pretty quickly and could see that the nobles were restlessly moving around. Only one person was sitting calmly on the sofa.


    "It has already been an hour, and neither of them are back. I think we should leave," one of thedies said.


    The person sitting calmly on the sofa shook her head. "No. I need the boy to show off to my friends. I don''t like being boring. We will wait till hees here," she said.


    As she said that, two bolts streaked past the frightened teenagers standing in a single file and hit the two mages in the room. The mages were immediately bound up in shadow tendrils.


    Leo walked into the room. He looked at the people on the side. "Leave," he said.


    They immediately ran away. They didn''t know if he was a good person or a bad person, but they followed his orders. Meanwhile, the nobles there became incredibly angry.


    "Who are you? Do you know how many families your family will have to face if you do not take down your restraints?" One of the men said.


    Leo smiled. "Do you know how illegal it is to buy ves?" He asked them.


    They all became bbergasted. Eventually, thedy on the sofa stood up.


    "I am the 7th daughter of the Marquis of Fairmount. I am sure you would like to consider that the Fairmount Family is an opponent you would rather not face." She said.


    "I don''t think they particrly care if they lose one of their 20 children. Sure, they would find it demeaning that someone did this to them, but who would they tell it to? Who would actually dare to say that the body of... whatever your name is, was found in a vige inhabited bymoners?" He asked.


    He was starting to feel anger rush through his veins. Ever since he entered the room, he felt the arrogance the nobles had and wanted to crush it to the ground. The thought of nobles brought up the thought of Solhaven, only furthering his emotions. He realized what it was doing to him, and decided to end it.


    "I apologize, I must have been too harsh on all of you." He said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The nobles breathed out a sigh of relief. Their expressions contorted to his next words.


    "I will make your deaths painless."


    Leo unleashed a barrage of me Bursts,pletely destroying the room. In just a few seconds, all 6 of the nobles died. He walked forward and checked if anyone of them had dimensional rings, but only found them on thedy from the Marquis Family.


    He took it off and checked what was in it. He didn''t want to risk there being some magic spell that could track the dimensional rings. Since he already had a lot of dimensional rings, he decided to pour the contents of the ring into his own.


    Thedy only had a bunch of money in her ring, so he just took it with a smile and put the ring back on her finger. After that, he decided to move forward, using the other exit of the room. He wanted to see if there was anything the nobles left that he could use to get back.


    He walked straight until he reached an exit. The exit led to a ground that had a stone path that lead to the building. There was a stable on the side and three carriages parked there. There were a few horses in the stable too.


    He walked toward them and was ready to take one of the horses and leave, but he stopped. He could sense that there was someone in one of the carriages. He walked to where the person was and saw that it was the mostvishly decorated carriage.


    He quickly unmasked his appearance to make himself less frightening. He opened the carriage door and saw a bed to the right. The bed had beige sheets and looked incredibly soft. It looked incredibly inviting, except for the cage that sat in front of the bed.


    The cage was filling up a third of the space inside the carriage. Inside it was a boy that looked like he was Leo''s age. He had a little aura in his body, but it didn''t help him enough. He looked incredibly weary and exhausted.


    The boy was asleep, but when Leo opened the door, the boy could hear it and stirred awake. The boy noticed that the light was shining into the carriage and immediately stood upright.


    "Hello, Lady Fairmount. You look exceptionally beautiful today." He said. His eyes were half closed, and his tone was incredibly fearful.


    "You don''t have to worry. I''m not Lady Fairmount." Leo said.


    The boy looked at Leo with surprise. He had expected that it was going to be thedy that opened the carriage to get into it.


    "Well, this is the carriage of Lady Fairmount, so you should quickly get away. If she sees you, you will be punished." He said.


    "What''s your name?" Leo asked the boy.


    "I am Marcus." He said.


    Leoughed it off. "What''s the worst that can happen if I intrude into the Lady''s carriage, Marcus? A fewshes?" He asked.


    The boy''s expression turned sunken. "You can be like me." He said gloomily.


    Leo noticed the shift in mood and startedughing. "Well, that''s history. Want to get out of here?" He asked Marcus.


    Marcus was confused. "I''m a ve. If they find out that I escaped, they will track me down and kill me. They cannot let the word of me being their ve spread out to the world." He said.


    Leo''s smile faded. "Well, I was just saying. Because you will have a hard time anyway since yourdy just died and all."

 Chapter 106 Company

    ?


    Marcus'' eyes widened.


    "What did you say?!" He asked.


    Leo nodded in response to that. He waved his hands, shing through the cage. His aura could easily cut through it. He then took a step back from the carriage and pointed toward the fort.


    Marcus slowly got out of the cage. He got down from the carriage and looked at where Leo was pointing at. He saw the burning fort. His expression changed from shock to happiness.


    "Hahahaha! You bitch! You finally died! I''m free!" He startedughing loudly. Afterughing for a little, he turned to Leo.


    "Do you know who it is that killed her?" He asked him.


    Leo shook his head. "Why didn''t you ask if it was me?" He asked.


    Marcus shook his head. "You just used Aura. Based on the strength of the sh, you are a 1st Circle Aura Knight. Maybe a 2nd Circle one, but that''s pushing it. She had 2 2nd Circle Mages along with her. There is no way you could have killed her," he said.


    Leo was impressed. He already knew that Marcus was an Aura Knight. But unlike himself, Marcus was only a Middle-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight. That was why he was surprised that he couldpletely see through the strength that Leo had disyed.


    "Don''t be too surprised. You aren''t the only genius. I was going to be attending my city''s Aura Knight Academy on a full schrship if I wasn''t being an idiot. I took a dumb Mercenary Mission and somehow got caught by a few ve traders. Then the bitch bought me. After that, my entire life disappeared." He said.


    "Nice. It was some mage who killed him. I''m not sure who though." He said.


    Marcus nodded. "Well, thanks for getting me out though. I would have been able to, but your timing gives me a head start. Now I have to make a run for it." He said.


    "Why do you have to run?" He asked.


    "If that girl''s family finds me, they will ask me questions. And they won''t be asking politely. I''d rather not stay in in sight." He said.


    "Why don''t youe to Eldridge? It''s a huge city so they will find it hard to find you there. And that''s if they search for you specifically in the huge city." Leo asked him.


    Marcus thought about it. After thinking for a minute, he nodded." Yes, but I am going to need your help for the first week till I get back my Mercenary Card. After that, I can pay you back too." He said.


    Leo nodded. "What''s your age?" He asked.


    Marcus sighed. "I''m 15. But I''ll turn 16 in half a year." He said with a little regret.


    "You won''t be able to join the Aura Academy next year then. Why don''t you try to join the one at Eldridge this season?" Leo asked him.


    Marcus shook his head. "I can''t afford it. It will probably cost me around half a million Starcoins." He said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Leo offered a suggestion. "I can pay for the first year. After that, you''re on your own though."


    Marcus looked at Leo with shock. "Are you a noble in disguise? How do you have that much money?" He asked.


    "Don''t ask so many questions to someone who is helping you." He said in response.


    Marcus nodded. "Yes, I''ll take your deal. I will pay you back quickly, I promise."


    "Fine then, we have to run now. I want to quickly get out of here and go back to Eldridge. I was nning on taking the horses here." Leo said.


    Marcus nodded. They quickly took a horse from the stable, took the saddle, and mounted it onto the horse. They got onto the horse and then rode away from the front.


    As they were riding forward, Leo realized that he hadn''t dealt with all of the bandits. There were a few of them in the front, and both of them were going to encounter them in a few seconds at the speed they were going at.


    Leo looked to his side and saw that Marcus was warming his fists. He had also noticed the bandits. Unlike normal Aura Knights that he had encountered, Leo noticed that Marcus had an incredibly good perception. This made him doubt something.


    Was perception something that people were born with, and not something that was based on whether they trained in magic or aura? It would make sense. Even Daphne had a better perception that the other Aura Knights that he had seen.


    Maybe nobles were blessedpared tomoners. But Leo didn''t want to ept that. He decided to get to the bottom of it when he was actually capable of figuring out the answer to that.


    As his brain thought about all this, they got to where the bandits were. Marcus halted his horse and jumped off onto one of the bandits. As he was flying through the air, he pulled his fist back.


    When he got close enough to the bandit, he released his fist with incredible energy. His fist had a yellow aura surrounding it. When it contacted the surprised bandit, it released a thunderous explosion, releasing a few lightning sparks.


    Leo, on the other hand, didn''t even get off his horse. He just held onto the horse with his left hand and bent to his right. As he was closing on the bandit, he shed with his dagger at him, leaving behind a shadowy trail.


    The two immediately dealt with two bandits in a few seconds. After killing the bandit, Marcus jumped back onto his horse and made it speed up to catch up to Leo who was speeding away. He caught up in half a minute, but at this point, they came across another set of bandits. This time, there were more of them.


    Leo sighed and was ready for the second round. Marcus, on the other hand, was very excited. He leaped from his horse and bashed in the face of the nearest bandit. The bandit dropped to the ground while Marcus looked around for his next target.


    Leo saw that he was taking care of the brunt of the work, so he just stayed back, letting him have his fun. He was clearly venting from being imprisoned for a long time and needed to release his energy by doing something that pumped up his adrenaline.


    In a few minutes, the 6 bandits that were separating them and the end of the forest were dead. Leo was rtively clean from the entire incident even though he had done a lot during the day. This was not because he was very neat when he did the shit that he did. It was mainly because he used magic to get rid of the dirt.


    On the other hand, Marcus had blood sttered on his face and clothes. Some of it touched his blonde hair, making him look like a real-life demon. When they both got back onto their horse, Leo asked him. "How long were you imprisoned for? You looked like you had a lot of pent-up feelings."


    Marcus shook his head. "A long time. And having that sicko in front of me made it worse."

 Chapter 107 Back To Eldridge

    ?


    Leo and Marcus quickly crossed the forest and finally got to the main road that would lead to any major city. The bandits on the wall had noticed the people escaping into the distance, but they couldn''t really do anything.


    The guards on the top of the wall were all confused because of the explosion in the fort. On top of that, they couldn''t find anyone of authority on the entire floor. Their bosses weren''ting up to give them any orders.


    They couldn''t go down to the ground floor though, because they were supposed to stay at their posts. The only thing they could do was ring the bell to inform the rest of the guards that they found the person everyone was looking for.


    As for the guards inside the fort, they had a new set of problems. Someone unlocked the cuffs of everyone that was supposed to be imprisoned. All of the 300 people had sessfully swamped those guards and imprisoned them instead.


    The guards on the top of the fort were not aware of what was happening below and were very unsuspecting when the mob came to their floor. By the time Leo and Marcus got to the crossroads where Leo had split into the vige road, the fort waspletely taken down by the imprisoned people.


    Leo and Marcus happily took the left and got onto the road that lead to Eldridge. Unlike the caravan, it was only going to take them a day to finish the journey. After all, they didn''t need to go slow like the caravan and could just sprint through the entire journey. They would be moving five times as fast as the caravan.


    When they left the stronghold, it was still early into the afternoon. By the time the sun started to set, they had already gotten to the city.


    Leo and Marcus got off the horses and set them free before entering the city. Like Leo, Marcus also had to get registered.


    "Name?" The guard asked him.


    "Marcus Bright," He said.


    "Age?"


    "15," Marcus said.


    "Purpose?"


    Marcus thought for a while. While he was thinking, Leo answered for him. "Aura Knight Academy."


    The guard stamped the card and handed it to Marcus. He wasn''t as chatty as the first guard that Leo had encountered.


    "Wee to Eldridge. Next!" He said.


    Marcus and Leo walked to Leo''s apartment. Since they wereing from the side that was away from the forest, it was a considerable walk. While Leo was okay, Marcus was weary from the journey there.


    He was already weak since he had been imprisoned for a long time. On top of that, he had expended a great amount of energy while fighting the bandits that he didn''t need to. So he was almost ready to pass out if he saw a bed.


    Leo realized that his apartment wasn''t going to be enough for the both of them immediately. While they were walking, he thought about what he could do. Since his apartment only had a single room, the only thing he could do was either put another bed in there to share the room or get a new apartment.


    He thought about it for a while before asking Marcus. His opinion would decide what he would do. Even though he was leaning against a roommate, he couldn''t help it if Marcus needed it. Compared to a random stranger, he liked Marcus more anyway.


    Perhaps it was because he pitied him, or maybe it was because he saw that Marcus had a lot of talent and was more useful to have as a friend.


    "My apartment only has a single room. What are your thought about sharing a room?" Leo asked.


    Marcus shook his head. "Don''t worry. As long as you give me a little space in your hall, I can adjust. I don''t even need a pillow." He said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Leo realized why he liked Marcus more than a normal person. Both of them were a little simr in the ways they lived for a long time. Leo had to grow up in a shack, stuck in that tiny space that he had to share with Daphne.


    Meanwhile, Marcus had to stay confined in a small space too. Both of them were very grateful for even having a roof on top of their heads instead of feeling entitled to live a certain way. This was what made them alike.


    "You can take my bed for today. We can split the room after. Once you get your mercenary card, you can pay your half of the rent." Leo said.


    Marcus nodded. "Yes, boss. Sounds good."


    Leo shook his head. "Don''t call me boss. I''m younger than you." He said.


    Marcusughed. "Where is it written that you have to be older than someone to be their boss? Since you got me free, you''re my boss." He said.


    Leo smiled. "Fine."


    They reached the apartment. They walked to the 8th floor with the speed of a snail. Marcus was incredibly exhausted and looked like he was going to fall down at any moment. Leo opened the door to his ce and Marcus fell inside.


    Leo caught him as he was falling. He lifted him up and took him to the bedroom. He threw him onto the bed and turned back. The minute he hit the bed, Marcus fell asleep. Leo, on the other hand, left the apartment to go get another bed.


    When he got back, he saw that Marcus was still asleep. He realized that Marcus needed something to recover his energy, so he decided to go get something for him.


    When he walked out, he remembered something. Since he was in a major city, the ce was supposed to have a Thousand Treasure Tower. He realized that if he went there, he would be able to find everything he needed there.


    Maybe he would even find a few pills that could help him increase his aura efficiently. His priority was still finding something for Marcus.


    Leo walked around, unaware of where to go. He finally decided to ask someone for directions.


    "Hello, sir. Do you know where the Thousand Treasure Tower is?" He asked.


    The person looked at him with a weird expression. "Is that supposed to be a joke?" The person asked.


    "No? I''m just asking you for directions," Leo responded.


    The person shook his head in disbelief. "Look behind you," he said.


    Leo looked back and saw the normal shops he saw while he was walking down the road. He didn''t expect the tower to be on the main street of themoner''s district anyway, so he didn''t know what he was supposed to look for.


    "Am I supposed to look for something particr, sir?" He asked.


    The person took a step forward and pointed to the distant building behind the row of buildings that were in front of him. The buildings in front of him were already 3 stories tall and blocked his view of most of the buildings behind them. Only a few were visible.


    One of them was a white building that rose high above the ground, seeming to be 20 stories tall. It towered above all the buildings near it.


    "You are basically blind if you don''t find it at this point," the person said and walked away.

 Chapter 108 Recovery

    ?


    Leo walked with awe to the huge tower. He was not expecting that one of the biggest buildings in the entire city would be a ce to buy goods. But then again, the Thousand Treasure Tower was supposed to be the biggest chamber ofmerce in the entire empire.


    He crossed the streets and got to the massive building where the building sat. It had expansive windows that showed the people outside the treasures it held. Of course, none of the treasures that were visible to him were in his reach. All of the treasures he could see were likely to be treasures reserved solely for nobles.


    This stark difference between the Thousand Treasure Tower in Solhaven and Eldridge showcased the difference between the cities themselves. It was the sheer size of the city and the number of people inhabiting it.


    Solhaven was rtively small and only had 70000 people inhabiting it. Out of them, there were around 1000 nobles. Most of them weren''t even proper nobles. A lot of them were descendants of Bars who barely qualified as nobles.


    Bars were descendants of Barons who didn''t contribute at all to the empire for multiple generations. There were a lot of them throughout the empire. Out of all the ranks of nobility, only Viscounts and people with higher ranks possessed any amount ofnd, while Barons were richer than the Bars.


    However, they still had ess to magic, unlikemoners. And in Eldridge, there were over 30000 Nobles. Of course, the number of people directly holding the titles was a lot lesser than that - about 1000 of them. And of those, only 20 were Barons. There weren''t any Viscounts in the entire city, since they would be presented with a smaller city for themselves.


    But 30000 people would theoretically be able to enter the higher floors of the Thousand Treasure Tower which was usually reserved for the mages. Even then, it was not useful to showcase their treasures to the 6 million people living in Eldridge.


    However, they would continue to do so because they want to showcase their wealth. Leo had a desire to one day visit the upper floors, but there was time for that. For now, he had a goal in his mind.


    He entered the tower and quickly went to where the pills for Aura Knight training were. he quickly browsed through the pills quickly and picked something out.


    [Aura Recovery Pill]


    [Allows you to quickly recover Aura]


    [20,000 Starcoins]


    It was not that expensive. It would be able to help Marcus recover quickly since his aura would be the best to recover first. With his exhausted body, if his aura came back first, then he would be able to let his muscles recover quicker.


    Leo had also taken a peek at the other pills there. He was surprised to see the item he bought at the auction at Solhaven listed there as a normal product.


    [Swift Ascension Pill]


    [Helps in breaking through to 1st Circle Aura Knight. Improves chance of forming the first circle by 30%]


    [1.3 Million Starcoins]


    Leo chuckled a little when he saw the price. Even though he wouldn''t have to wait till an auction to purchase the pill, he would still have to pay a lot more than what he paid initially to acquire the pill. He preferred the auction method more.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Even though the Swift Ascension Pill was marked at a higher price, the Aura Gathering Pill was actually cheaper than normal. Instead of 50000 Starcoins, it was priced at 45000 Starcoins.


    Since there were a lot more Aura Knights, it made sense that they had a reason to buy or make the pills in bulk. That would bring their costs down.


    Leo didn''t bother buying the pills yet though. He wasn''t nning on training in Aura till he reached the academy. He just paid for the single pill and went back to the apartment.


    When he got there, he found Marcus still passed out on the bed. He went to him and woke him up.


    "Marcus. Wake up," Leo gently nudged him.


    Marcus opened his eyes at the sound of his name. Even though he seemed to be in a deep sleep, he was able to react immediately when he heard his name.


    When he woke up, he saw Leo standing there. Leo didn''tment on how Marcus was able to wake up immediately. He just handed him the pill.


    "Take this. It should help you recover faster," he said and walked away.


    Marcus was unaware of exactly how much the pill cost but decided to take it anyway. He swallowed the pill and found a stream of aura arising from the pill. It wasn''t arge stream, definitely not enough for him to train.


    But it was enough to circte throughout his entire body a single time. He quickly circted it to every part of his body and let his muscles soak in the aura for the first time in ages. When he did that, he felt rejuvenated.


    He had a very limited amount of aura when he exited captivity and used it all to fight the bandits. Now that he had taken the pill though, he was almost at 60% of his peak aura capacity. The pill wasn''t enough for him topletely recover his aura, but it gave him a good starting position.


    After taking the pill, he felt good enough that he started to practice instead of going back to sleep. He started gathering aura into his body and get back to his peak performance.


    Leo noticed the pace at which he was training and was incredibly shocked. He realized that Marcus was almost as talented as Daphne. While Daphne had broken into the 2nd Circle in just a year of training in aura, Marcus was only at the 1st Circle despite being younger and probably starting sooner.


    However, Marcus had also been in a position where he wouldn''t be able to train in aura for a long time, so that could be a reason why he wasn''t as strong as he could be. Looking at the speed at which he was gathering aura without aid, he realized that Marcus would be able to reach the 2nd Circle if he had the help of pills.


    However, he decided not to buy him aura pills. There was a limit to how much he could help Marcus. At this point, he had given him a ce to stay and a pill that cost 20,000 Starcoins. For the next 3 months, he would owe Leo 15,000 Starcoins each month as well as the cost of the pill.


    And on top of that, Leo was also going to sponsor him for the Aura Knight Academy, so that was another 500,000 Starcoins that Marcus would want to earn. If Leo started paying for too many things, Marcus wouldn''t be able to take the guilt of freeloading.


    After a month or so, Marcus would be able to earn the pills by himself, anyway. 1st Circle Missions paid 6-7000 Starcoins each. If Marcus finished 10 of those missions each month, he would be able to pay for his own Aura Gathering Pill in two months.

 Chapter 109 Coincidence

    ?


    While Marcus was busy recovering, Leo decided to go to the Mercenary Guild to start epting missions. Obviously, he was still going to ept the missions as Orion. However, he would have to be a little more careful when he was around Marcus to make sure that his double identity wouldn''t be revealed to him.


    As Leo went to the Guild, he thought about something that he hadn''t considered. How was he supposed to get rid of the mission he was currently doing? Since there was no way to actuallyplete the mission with the issuer dead, he didn''t know what he was going to do.


    Luckily for him, they had a system in ce for that. When he got to the guild, he asked someone and they told him that he could void the mission that he had epted. He would just be fined a small amount for doing that.


    Normally, Leo would have argued about the fee since he couldn''t even help but give up on the mission, but he didn''t want to be the one trying to exin to them that there was an entire scandal around the mission.


    If he did tell them that, it would implicate him in the ordeal and that would make his efforts to hide his existence in the entire fort useless.


    He went to the mission counter and got his normal missions registered and took out the mission that he had taken thatnded him into the mess. The missions he took this time were simple hunting missions. He no longer wanted to do anythingplicated. He was going to keep it low until he got into the academy.


    He couldn''t deal with something that would blow out of proportion like this one again. If he somehownded a mission that had this much drama again, he might not be able to handle it as easily as this one.


    After taking the missions he went back to the alley beside the guild and quickly changed back into his normal appearance. He exited the alley and turned right like he normally did to go back to his apartment.


    When he did, he encountered someone he knew in the wildest of coincidences. In front of him were twodies that he was acquainted with.


    "Leo?" Evelyn said doubtfully.


    Leo looked up and saw Evelyn and rice. His mouth formed a smile.


    "Evelyn! rice!" He said. He walked to them enthusiastically.


    In his mind, the two had died in the incident that happened in Solhaven. After all, they were only supposed to leave after Evelyn became a 2nd Circle Aura Knight.


    "I am so happy to see you here," he said. "I feared the worst when I heard about what happened to Solhaven."


    rice''s expression turned grim. "Us too. You said you were going to stay in Solhaven, so I was very afraid that something happened to you. How is Daphne?" She asked.


    Leo''s smile faded lightly before he pulled it back up. "She''s doing fine. She went to visit her family." He said.


    "Family? I thought you were-" Before Evelyn could say anything, Leo interrupted her.


    "She found them. It''s a crazy story, but they live in the capital. She found them through the keepsakes they left her. But that aside, how is Eldridge? Did you guys join the mercenary group like you guys said you would?" He asked.


    Evelyn and rice nodded. "Yes. It''s very fun! They are a lot more friendly than I could have imagined. I think you should visit them with us once. We are on our way there from the Mercenary Guild," Evelyn said.


    Leo winced. "I don''t think it will be polite of me to just drop into your group like that. Where do they even meet?" He asked.


    Evelyn giggled. "They don''t meet anywhere. Mercenary groups have their own manors that all the group members stay at. We all pay our dues to stay in the group, and in return, weplete missions together and get cheap housing. It''s the best deal."


    He nodded. "That does sound like an incredible deal."


    rice sighed. "I wish I could rmend you to the group, but you wouldn''t be able to join it." <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Leo shook his head. "No, that''s okay. I wasn''t nning on joining a Mercenary Group anyway. I prefer going solo."


    She then said, "That''s okay though. You should still be allowed to visit. They won''t say no to a kid anyway. You areing with us now."


    He tried to resist it for a while but realized that it was pointless. He decided to cave in and went with them to the manor.


    They walked to the edge of the city that was near the forest. He realized that the manor that the sisters lived in was incredibly close to his own apartment. They walked along the road and soon came across a huge line of manors.


    The manors all looked incredibly huge, so Leo asked them, "How many people are actually in a Mercenary Group? How can you afford these ces?"


    "We have 127 people in our group. So we can easily afford the ce if we all pay 10000 Starcoins in monthly dues." She said.


    Leo thought about it. Both the sisters were now 2nd Circle Aura Knights. So they were essentially Silver Rank Mercenaries. If they both earned 100000 Starcoins a month each, they would have a substantial amount remaining even after they paid dues.


    Renting an apartment wasn''t that much more expensive than the dues, but the Mercenary Group also came with a close-knitmunity with trustworthy teammates. Leo felt happy for the sisters for finding their group.


    They walked along the manors till they stopped at a gate. The entire manor had a wall surrounding it. On the side of the gate was a que showing the name of the group.


    "Iron Roses," Leo read out. He immediately felt that the name was incredibly feminine. But he decided not to pay it heed. If the group leader was a female, it would make sense if she named her group that way. There wasn''t anything wrong with it.


    Evelyn quickly went to the gate and knocked. After a little waiting, someone opened the gate. It was another girl. She looked at Evelyn and then looked behind her. She saw rice and Leo.


    "You have a guest?" The girl asked.


    They nodded. "Can you ask if he is allowed? We dragged him along till here." She asked.


    "Yes, but they might say no." The girl said.


    "Tell them he''s just a kid. He''s only..." She turned to Leo. "How old are you again?" She asked him.


    "14." He replied.


    "He''s only 14." She said.


    The girl sighed and walked back in. Meanwhile, rice apologized to Leo. "Sorry for the dy. They are pretty strict about guests."


    Leo was unbothered. "It''s okay. We can wait." He said.


    After 10 minutes, the gate opened again. The same girl came back. "They said yes."


    Evelyn and rice both smiled widely. They dragged Leo into the manor. The minute he entered the manor, he realized what he walked into. He looked at the sisters.


    "rice. When you said they wouldn''t ept me, was it because I was only a 1st Circle Aura Knight? Or was it because I''m a male?" He asked.

 Chapter 110 Reunion

    ?


    rice and Evelynughed sheepishly. They had failed to mention to Leo that the Mercenary Group was an all-woman group. That was why they had to go through the wait to get permission for Leo, a male, toe in.


    Leo shook his head in disbelief. He realized there wasn''t anything that changed so he just toured the manor along with the two sisters.


    The architecture of the manor was incredible. There wererge open spaces where he saw people train their skills. A lot of people were sparring with each other which was more optimal than just training by themselves. As he walked through the ce, he felt a lot of stares prickling his skin.


    They quickly got to the manor. They entered the manor and walked into it. Inside, the entrance was massive. It immediately opened up into two grand staircases while there were two hallways on the ground floor both leading to living spaces.


    They first walked to the hallway on the ground floor that led to the left of the hall. As he was walking, he heard a familiar voice.


    "Leo!"


    He looked in the direction of the voice and his eyes widened. A tear started to form in the corner of his eye but it quickly vanished. The person on the other side of the hallway was a girl the same age as him.


    "Lily?" He asked.


    Lily ran through the hallway and hugged him tightly. Leo reciprocated the hug.


    "I am so happy to see you. How are you here?" He asked her. "Is Miller here too?"


    His question immediately hit a nerve. She turned gloomy all of a sudden. Meanwhile, rice and Evelyn caught up to them.


    "You know Lily too?" Evelyn asked Leo.


    Leo nodded. "I knew her dad very well. But I thought that they would still be in Solhaven when the incident happened."


    rice shook her head. "We both went back to Solhaven to visit a month ago. It was right before it happened. When we went, Miller pushed Lily toe with us to visit. He wanted her to experience the life of an Aura Knight before she could enter the academy at Solhaven. He even tried to send her to Eldridge. He gave us a pouch to pay for the fees if she was able to get into the academy here."


    Evelyn continued the story, "So we took her with us and were nning to teach her aura. The Mercenary Group let her stay here and she started learning aura. She was on track to even try to get into the Eldridge Aura Knight Academy. But then we heard about the news. Her parents, unfortunately... were still in Solhaven."


    Leo sighed. He rubbed Lily''s head. "It''s okay. Trust me. They would be happy that you made it."


    Lily hugged Leo harder. "Dad wants to thank you for the pouch. He told me to do it if I saw you at Eldridge."


    Leo smiled. After a minute, he let go. When he did, Evelyn asked him. "What pouch?"


    Lily answered for him, "The pouch that Dad gave you. Leo was the one who gave it to help with my academy tuition."


    rice and Evelyn were shocked. They didn''t know where Miller would have gotten the amount of money in the pouch from, but now they knew.


    As they were talking, someone came into the hallway. She didn''t have a very pleased expression on her face.


    "Quickly take your guest to your room, or leave. Don''t make the hallways cramped." She said.


    Evelyn immediately snapped back. "Get your stinky breath out of here. No one wants you here either." She said.


    "Do you want to fight?" The girl asked.


    Evelyn was about to ept the fight, but Leo stopped her. "I don''t think that''s a smart option. Maybe let''s just go to your room." He said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The girl sneered. "Listen to the boy. Who is he anyway? Your boy toy from d?"


    Leo immediately got irritated. "You don''t need to fight a useless 1st Circle Aura Knight who probably doesn''t know what an Aura Technique is anyway." He said to Evelyn while being loud enough that the girl could hear him.


    He knew that she was only a Middle-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight which was prettymon in the manor. He found very quickly that the entire manor had around 50 each of 1st Circle and 2nd Circle Aura Knights. As for 3rd Circle Aura Knights, there were 3 of them in the entire manor that he could sense.


    Evelyn and rice would both be able to easily defeat the girl. In her defense, she looked like she was 2 years younger than Evelyn.


    "Shut up kid. Adults are talking here. What can a kid like you who looks like he just became a teenager add that is useful?" She snapped back. She was very irritated when a kid like Leomented on her strength.


    Leoughed. "It''s funny that''sing from someone who can''t beat a kid." He said.


    The girl immediately started fuming. Meanwhile, the four of them were walking away to the room that Evelyn and rice stayed at. They left the hallway, leaving the girl angry.


    They got to the room where Evelyn and rice stayed. It was a cozy double for both of them. It had two beds and an adjoining bathroom. He admired it for a while before deciding to leave.


    "I appreciate you guys inviting me here. I''ll leave now. I''ll try toe again to visit. Or you cane to my apartment." He said.


    They nodded. "Thanks foring here." They all left together to drop Leo off at the gate.


    As they were walking, Leo realized something was off. He looked around and saw the girl he had seen in the hallway training in the courtyard in front of the manor. She was staring at the group. She saw that they were leaving and started to walk up to them.


    "Keep walking. You don''t want to engage with her. She feels she is entitled because she is the daughter of one of the leaders, but otherwise, she is useless. Let''s just ignore her." rice whispered to Leo.


    However, before they could leave the manor, the girl blocked their way.


    "Are you trying to run away? After makingments like the ones you made, you have to learn to match your words." She said.


    rice stepped up. "Seems like the sort of thing you would do, ke. Only you would think of challenging someone 5 years younger than you. How about you spar with me?" She said.


    At this point, everyone training in the courtyard listened to the conversation. Leo looked around and saw the audience and then turned to the girl called ke.


    "So, what is in it for me?" He asked.


    ke was confused. "What do you mean?"


    "Why am I supposed to fight you? I don''t find anything beneficial to me if I beat you." He said.


    ke''s mouth twitched. He was mocking her with every sentence. "Sounds like something someone scared would say." She said.


    Leo sighed. "Looks like you have nothing useful for me, so I''ll leave." He said.


    He turned around, ready to leave. He suddenly turned around and caught a wooden sword that flew his way. His eyes narrowed.


    "Looks like your guardian came," he whispered.

 Chapter 111 Fight

    ?


    He clicked his tongue and looked at the source of the throw. It was a young woman looking about 30 in the distance. She was standing on the balcony of the manor that was almost 50 meters away.


    Leo knew she was a 3rd Circle Aura Knight immediately. He flung the wooden sword a little and then threw it again. Instead of throwing it at the woman who threw it at him, he threw it at the girl who was taunting him constantly.


    The wooden sword flew with great speed toward the girl. She couldn''t even react and stared nkly at the person who dared to throw the sword at him in the middle of her home turf. The sword raced against the wind and flew past her head, missing it by an inch. The wind it brought with it made her wind blow.


    The sword pinned itself into the gate that was behind ke. He looked back in the distance and smirked.


    "You''re not the only one who knows how to throw a sword." He shouted.


    The woman jumped from the balcony andnded on the ground. She walked toward the gate where Leo and the rest of the people were. When she got near them she stopped and talked to Leo.


    "You have a lot of balls doing that to my daughter in front of me," she said.


    Leo smirked. "I wasn''t the one who started it."


    The woman looked at ke who was still angry. Then she looked at him and asked, "So, you refuse to fight my daughter in a fair fight?"


    He shrugged. "I would hardly call it a fair fight, but yeah. What''s my incentive?" He asked.


    The woman took an item out of thin air. Leo''s eyes widened. This was the first time he saw amoner use a dimensional ring.


    "This is your incentive. An Aura Gathering Pill worth 45000 Starcoins." She showed him a pill box.


    He thought about it for a second and nodded. "Fine."


    ke, on the other hand, protested. "What about if I win? What will you give me?" She asked.


    Leo looked at the woman with a look of apathy. He asked her, "Do I really have to bet something? I''m winning anyway." He said.


    "This arrogance isn''t what wins fights. It''s experience. And I have more than twice what you have," ke said.


    The woman shook her head. "He doesn''t need to bet anything. ke, just fight." She said.


    At this point, everyone was looking at the both of them with a lot of anticipation. They were going to see a fight that had so much drama and it was a lot more interesting than the normal spars they saw.


    Lily, who was in the back, was incredibly worried. She asked rice and Evelyn to intervene.


    "Why are we doing this? Leo will get hurt. Why are you letting him fight an Aura Knight? ke is a Middle-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight," Lily said.


    rice was confused. She asked Lily, "Did you not know that Leo was an Aura Knight?" She asked her.


    Lily looked at rice with confusion. "He was? I remember he would go to Valkyr''s Forest to finish a few small jobs like gathering herbs just around 8 months ago."


    Evelyn and rice were shocked in turn. They had known for a fact that Leo was a 1st Circle Aura Knight 4 months ago. If he had only started training 4 months before that, that would mean that he was a monstrous genius.


    Meanwhile, Leo walked past ke and pulled out the wooden sword that was lodged into the gate. The sword was incredibly damaged and had a chipped de, but Leo didn''t care.


    "Where do we need to battle?" He asked.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    ke walked to the nearest open space in the courtyard. Leo followed her. Meanwhile, the woman watched this happen calmly. One of the other mercenaries who looked the same age as her walked toward her. She started talking with her.


    "Why are you doing this? You practically bullied the boy into battling your daughter. I never thought you were this overprotective of your daughter." She said.


    The woman scoffed. "Overprotective? You call this overprotective?" She said.


    The mercenary was confused. "Yes? Didn''t you make them battle because your daughter didn''t like the boy disrespecting her?" She asked.


    The woman shook her head. "ke has be incredibly unruly. I could never contain it because I was gone all the time and by the time I realized, she became like this. Someone has to teach her a lesson, and the boy came by himself to do that for me." She said.


    The mercenary was still confused. "How is a 14-year-old going to make a difference?"


    The woman pointed to the arena. "ke has the habit of underestimating people greatly. Watch and see why that is such a bad habit."


    They watched as ke and Leo stood across from each other. ke looked at Leo with dislike. Leo simply showed apathy.


    "Start!" The woman said.


    ke immediately rushed toward Leo and swung her sword down at him. He pulled his wooden sword up and parried the blow with a single hand. He didn''t budge a single inch from the blow.


    She was immediately shocked by the result. She pulled her sword back and swung again. This time she tried swinging sideways, trying to hit his torso.


    Leo dropped the sword into his left hand and blocked the sword quickly. He looked at her and asked, "Is that all you got?"


    She backed a little and then started gathering aura. Everyone realized that it was going to be dangerous, but the woman stopped anyone from interfering.


    ke gathered a red aura to her de, making the nearby surroundings warm. Leo still looked unbothered. Sheunched herself forward and swung her de down.


    Leo stepped forward and suddenly sidestepped. He glided through the ground and managed to appear behind her in the blink of an eye. He switched the sword from his left to his right hand and swung it, leaving behind a trail of darkness. The sword quickly reached the back of ke''s neck, but didn''t make contact.


    The wooden sword stopped a centimeter away from her neck before losing all of its aura. Leo then tapped her neck lightly.


    "You lost," he said. He looked at the woman. She threw the pill box in her hands at him. He caught it with his left hand.


    "Thanks. You should teach her not to pick fights with kids," he said. He walked to the gate where rice and Evelyn were waiting. Lily had her mouth wide open in shock.


    She didn''t believe that Leo was so powerful that he would so easily be able to deal with ke. Meanwhile, Leo bid his farewell to rice and Evelyn. He then turned to Lily and threw the pillbox at her.


    "Next time I see you, you have to be an Aura Knight. Okay?" He told her.


    She nodded.


    "Fine, I''m leaving. I''ll see you around."


    He said and walked out of the manor. The minute he left, everyone who watched the fight swarmed rice and Evelyn to ask them who he was. ke, on the other hand, looked incredibly disappointed with herself.

 Chapter 112 Strangers

    ?


    While ke looked like she lost her way in life, her mother walked towards her.


    "Do you know why I made you fight him?" She asked ke.


    ke shook her head. "Did you know I was going to lose?" She asked.


    The woman nodded. "He''s a Late-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight." She said. "There wasn''t any way you would have posed a threat to him."


    ke was surprised. "That''s why I lost so easily. Otherwise I would have-"


    "You lost to a 14-year-old kid, ke. And all I hear are excuses. You are 19 years old and all you amount to is this. The only thing I hear about you is how you just bully people based on your position as my daughter. You don''t practice half as much as everyone here and pass your time spending my money. I am ashamed to call you my daughter."


    ke took a step back at the stern tone of her mother. "I..."


    "From now on, I want this to be a wake-up call to you. This is the real world, where even people younger than you with fewer resources can crush you. If you don''t pull yourself together, not everyone stops their des at your neck like the boy just did," she warned. She left immediately after.


    Meanwhile, rice and Evelyn were exining how they knew Leo to all the curious mercenaries around them.


    Leo was on the way to his house and sneezed. He didn''t know why he was feeling a chill, but he ignored it because it passed quickly. He got to his apartment and saw that Marcus was finally outside.


    Marcus looked a lot different than he did when he was rescued. Now that his entire body was filled with aura and he was rejuvenated, he looked a lot more healthy. It was like he gained 10 kilos of weight.


    Previously, he looked like a beggar that was simply dressed nicely. But after freshening up and saturating his muscles with aura, he looked like a proper teen. His brown hair even seemed brighter than normal.


    "Are you better?" Leo asked. Marcus nodded.


    "Yes, I am. Thanks for asking. I have to say, thank you for letting me crash at your ce. I''ll quickly get my Mercenary Card and start getting to work." He said.


    Leo nodded. "Yeah, don''t worry too much. I don''t have an urgency to collect your money. I don''t need it as much as you think." He said.


    Marcus still seemed in a rush, so he decided to help him out. "Fine, the mercenary guild building isn''t that far from here. It''s a 30-minute walk if you go down the street that hits the main street. Just take a right there."


    Leo gave him directions and let him go to the guild. After Marcus left, Leo also left to go to the forest. He was nning on finishing his missions as a Silver Rank.


    He quickly went to the forest and hunted a few Magical Beasts. He hunted a huge number of Magical Beasts and used their cores to replenish his Elder Wood Tree and only left a single one toplete his mission for the day. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He went back to the Mercenary Guild andpleted his mission beforeing back to the apartment. When he got there, the second bed had already got there. The room had been separated into two by Marcus and his bed was to the left.


    Leo went to his bed and sat on it. He then started training. He couldn''t afford to waste his time like he did that day by visiting Evelyn and rice. He enjoyed meeting them, but every day he wasn''t a 4th Circle Mage, the riskier it was for him to wander in the city.


    The stronger he was, the easier it would be for him to disguise himself when he went to the Mercenary Guild for missions. There was the off chance that he would meet a 4th Circle Aura Knight, and the best way to make sure that his disguise wouldn''t be revealed was to grow stronger or increase his proficiency in Valkyr''s Deception.


    Meanwhile, Marcus was simrly working while making sure every minute of his day counted. For the first 7 days when he didn''t have a Mercenary Card, he trained in aura the entire time. Leo noticed that the amount of progress he was making was monstrous.


    He wasn''t breaking through in days or anything, but at the progress he was making, he was going to catch up with Leo by the time three months pass by. This wasn''t even considering what would happen when he started using Aura Gathering Pills.


    Of course, nothing would ever get close to what would happen when Leo starts binge-eating pills like they are candy. If he did that, he would break through easily, but he would need time to consolidate his breakthrough every time he did that.


    That wasn''t the case with magic though. During this time, his schedule was a lot more packed than Marcus who only trained in Aura. He would go hunting Magical Beasts andplete 3 missions each week while using the rest of the Beast Cores on his tree.


    As for the remaining time, he divided it between increasing his magic and training his spells. He was making progress in all of them, but because he divided his time between all of them, they were all growing slowly.


    After Marcus got his Mercenary Card, he started spending more of his time trying to speed his way through the ranks. He was trying his best to get to the Bronze Rank so he could finish the missions that were worth his time and paid more.


    Leo, on the other hand, had his schedule incredibly constant for the rest of the two weeks after Marcus got his Mercenary Card. He was incredibly concentrated in his training each time, so he saw incredible gains. These gains made Leo start to like the current way how things went.


    He also liked how when he saw Marcus train hard, he was also motivated to do the same. He liked having Marcus as his roommate. Marcus also felt the same way about Leo. When he saw Leo meditate on his bed all the time, he was also motivated to train in aura with as much intensity.


    However, one thing that never changed was how much Marcus know about his life. Marcus knew that Leo went outside somewhere for just as much time as he did, but he knew nothing else.


    He didn''t even know that Leo was going into the forest to hunt Magical Beasts. While this was information that didn''t reveal anything about himself, Leo preferred not to talk about himself at all.


    To Marcus, Leo was an incredibly mysterious person who happened to be very generous. The only thing he knew about him was that Leo was also going to try to attend the academy that he was trying to attend.


    Other than that, he didn''t even know where Leo was from.


    Like that, they remained strangers that happened to be great friends. Two weeks shed by as they maintained this status quo. After those two weeks, things finally started to change.

 Chapter 113 Rank Up

    ?


    Leo finally became a Gold Rank mercenary after finishing ten Silver Rank missions. He realized that ranking up was fairly easy, but no one abused it because the missions became increasingly hard when they ranked up.


    When he checked out the missions in the Gold Rank, he finally saw that there was some difficulty associated with them. For the first time, he would have to put real effort into the missions.


    This was because the missions now involved dealing with 3rd Circle Magical Beasts. However, with the increase in his strength, it wouldn''t pose any danger to him.


    Along with his increase in Mercenary Rank, he had one major breakthrough. He was able to be a Middle-Stage 3rd Star Mage. This itself increased his strength by 40%. He was also incredibly close to increasing his proficiency in Valkyr''s Deception from Intermediate to Advanced Proficiency.


    Once he reached Advanced Proficiency, his spell would fool even mages an entire major level above him. This meant that Middle-Stage 4th Circle Mages wouldn''t be able to detect that there was someone tricking them with that spell.


    Right now, only people in the 3rd Circle or below would be fooled, but that was working for him till now. As for Aura Knights, most of them would be fooled even if they were 4th Circle with his new breakthrough. Only Middle-Stage 4th Circle Aura Knights or higher would be able to see through him even if he was still at Intermediate Proficiency.


    He already had his new card with him and had also taken a new mission toplete. He was ready to keep breezing through the next two months with ease.


    On the other hand, Marcus had also made progress. His increase wasn''t as huge as the one Leo had, but it still greatly impacted his strength. He had grown closer to breaking through to the Late Stage of the 1st Circle while his proficiency in his aura technique also grew.


    Unlike Leo, Marcus used his own fists as his weapons. It was incredibly rare and Leo had never seen someone other than Marcus do that. Most people tended to use weapons. Marcus used an Aura Technique that imbibed his fist with lightning energy and fist techniques that prioritized speed.


    Marcus had also be a Steel Rank Mercenary in this time. It took him a single week to do it, and now that he was a Steel Rank Mercenary, he could quickly move up to the Bronze Rank as long as he sped through the hunting missions.


    Now that he was a Gold Rank Mercenary, Leo decided to change how he was hunting monsters. This was because he was now lodged deep into the Eldridge Forest to find any 3rd Circle Magical Beasts.


    If he went on a killing spree and identally encountered a 4th Circle Magical Beast, he would be in a lot of trouble. So he decided that he would only kill two Magical Beasts every time he went into the Forest.


    This was more than enough for his daily consumption. Especially if he went every day. Each 3rd Circle Beast Core would give the nt enough energy to make 15 leaves, and he only used around a dozen of them each night he trained.


    The other change that happened when he became a Gold Mercenary was how much money he started to make with each mission. Each mission he took offered at least 200,000 Starcoins. And those were on the lower end.


    He could offer Beast Cores of 3rd Circle Magical Beasts for more than 500,000 Starcoins. Magical Herbs on that level went for more than 700,000 Starcoins, but they were a lot harder to find.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    As for the special missions he was offered, they paid incredible amounts of money. Escort missions paid at least 1 million Starcoins. Other missions went up to 2-3 million Starcoins.


    However, these missions would allst a week at least, so he wasn''t nning tomit to any of them. He was going to continue doing normal missions like the ones he did every day for the rest of the two months he had.


    The next two months he would have was mainly for him to grow in power. The more his magic grew, the easier of a time he would have to hide himself in the academy. After all, if he was nning on going into the Magic Library in the academy, he would need the best possible disguise.


    He was almost there too. He didn''t expect there to be anyone stronger than a 4th Circle Mage in the academy. So as long as he broke through once or increased his proficiency, he was fine. But that was still hard to do if he spent his time doing missions outside Eldridge.


    He didn''t even really need the money. He had around 25 million Starcoins left in his dimensional rings. He had gained almost 10 million from the daughter of the Marquis family, so it went on to say how rich they were.


    If even an insignificant child of the family had a dimensional ring and that much money, how much money did the real family have? He was interested in finding out when he was free. For now, he could dedicate his time to training in Magic.


    Meanwhile, Marcus had simr ns for the future. He was trying his best to increase his strength but for different reasons. Marcus wanted to grow stronger so that he could startpleting Silver missions. Even though he wasn''t a Bronze Rank Mercenary yet, it was only a matter of time before he became one.


    After he did, he would take a week or two at best to upgrade to the next rank. But once he became a Silver Rank, he wouldn''t be able to finish any missions unless he was stronger.


    He didn''t have to be a 2nd Circle Aura Knight. In his mind, he would be strong enough to deal with an Early-Stage 2nd Circle Magical Beast even as a Late-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight. But he wasn''t there yet because he needed more resources to reach that stage.


    He had earned a total of 28,000 Starcoins even though he used a lot of his timepleting the missions. This was because it was hard to earn a lot of money as an Iron Rank and Steel Rank Mercenary.


    But once he became a Bronze Rank Mercenary, he would be able to earn almost 50000 Starcoins if hepleted a mission every day. Since he was a little stronger than the typical Aura Knight, he was nning on finishing three missions a day before going back to training.


    If he went ording to that pace, he would be able to have 100000 Starcoins left by the end of the next month, enough for two Aura Gathering Pills. Once took those pills, he was very sure that he would be able to break through to the Late Stage and startpleting the Silver Rank missions.


    If he earned enough money using that, he could also try to upgrade his aura technique to something better and look like a better candidate for the Aura Knight Academy.

 Chapter 114 Information

    ?


    One thing that remained a constant for the two months was the uncertainty that Leo and Marcus had about how admissions were going to work for the Aura Knight Academy. Neither of them had any idea of what to do once the time came.


    However, both of them were definitely strong enough to be admitted into the academy. This was even more true after the two months passed and the date for when the admissions started came near.


    Marcus, who was a Middle-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight hadpleted missions at lightning speed to get upgraded to the Bronze Rank. When he was upgraded, he started finishing 3 missions as he thought about doing the minute he got his card.


    In the span of two weeks, he was able to umte enough money to pay back Leo for the rent and the pill. On top of that, he was also able to save 45000 Starcoins, so he immediately bought an Aura Gathering Pill.


    The singr pill was enough to make a huge difference. It was enough to help him break through to the Late-Stage of the 1st Circle. At this point, he was already a Silver Rank Mercenary because of the volume of the missions he had been doing, but he was just waiting to be strong enough to actually take up those missions.


    After bing a Late-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight, he started doing Silver Rank Missions, making 1000-2000 Starcoins more than what he used to in a day. It wasn''t as much of an improvement because he could only take up one mission a day unlike with Bronze Rank Missions.


    However, by finishing Silver Rank Mission instead, he started to get stronger and gain more battle experience. He started toplete the missions with ease. At the end of the month, he got a second Aura Gathering Pill which brought him to the Peak Stage of the 1st Circle.


    This basically let him cruise through the entirety of the time while he finished Silver Rank missions. He had saved a total of 100000 Starcoins by the end of this period, enough to pay a small amount of the tuition that Leo was going to cover.


    As for Leo, he didn''t have as much of a leap in strength as Marcus. However, he was able to increase his proficiency in one skill, and that was enough for him. He was able to bring Valkyr''s Deception to Advanced proficiency, prepping himpletely for the academy.


    With this, he would be able to trick even 4th Circle Mages as long as they weren''t in the Late Stage or Peak Stage. He was not worried about what would happen to him at all when he got to the academy.


    Another thing that he learned that was mildly useful was a new spell. When he broke through to the Middle-Stage, a new spell appeared in the spell book he had. It was the spell that let him fly.


    [Fly]


    [Use mana to fly through the air]


    It was an incredibly easy spell to learn, like the sound transmission spell. However, for him to have great mobility in the air and fight freely, he would have to use a lot more magic. And for his movements to be smooth, he would need more practice.


    Apart from that, he didn''t have a lot of changes. His magic didn''t increase substantially. Neither did his proficiency in his normal skills. But he was still strong enough for the academy.


    After the two months were over, he decided to finally go out to find out exactly how he was supposed to register for the academy. For that, he decided to go to the ce where he actually knew someone.


    He decided to go to the manor of the Iron Roses Mercenary Group. He was going to ask Evelyn or rice since they stayed in Eldridge for longer and probably roamed the streets unlike him.


    When he got to the gate, he knocked and waited. A girl came and saw Leo there. She immediately got on guard.


    "What are you here for?" She asked.


    "I know someone here. Can you tell Evelyn or rice that Leo is here?" He asked the girl politely.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "How do you know them?" She asked.


    Leo shrugged. "We are from the same city? We met a few months ago and did a mission together. I already came here once with them." He said.


    The girl sighed and went inside. She came back in 10 minutes. She was apanied by rice. rice walked outside and talked to Leo.


    "Hello, Leo. It''s been a long time. Did you have some reason for looking for me?" She asked him.


    He smiled. "Hello, rice. It has. I called you here for some help in getting information. If I want to know where to register for the academy, where can I get that information?" He asked her.


    rice wasn''t surprised when he said he wanted to go to the academy. Even though the academy at Eldridge was incredibly selective, Leo was already a 1st Circle Aura Knight at a young age. He was definitely going to get into the academy.


    "Oh, I can just tell you. We looked into the process for Lily. All you have to do is go to the academy on the day when registration starts and apply. There will be a long line, so you need to wait there. Once you apply, they will test you and if you are good enough to pass the initial round, you can go to the actual selection process." She said.


    He nodded. "That sounds great. Do you know when the registration date is?" He asked.


    She nodded. "Yup. It''s on the 1st of August. So you have three days before it starts."


    "Thanks a lot for that, rice. Also, is Lily doing good?" He asked


    She nodded. "Yes, she is getting better. She is still very quiet and is putting all of her time into training. She is trying her best to forget about her parents."


    He shook his head. "So, do you think she can enter the academy by next year?" He asked her.


    She nodded. "Yes, she is making good progress. I think she can enter the 1st Circle Aura Knight by next year too. If she doesn''t though, then it will be hard for her to make it." She said.


    "Tell her that she can use some of the money I gave her for Aura Gathering Pills. That will help her. Thanks a lot for the information." He said.


    "Not a problem. By the way, drop by more. You are very famous around here. The girl didn''t know you because she was new, but the other mercenaries all know who you are." She said.


    He was confused. "Really? Why?"


    "Because of what you did to ke. You changed herpletely. She started focusing entirely on training ever since losing to you. People are saying that if they lose to you, they would also gain enlightenment like her." She said.


    He shook his head. "Stop joking around. I don''t fight just anyone. And not everyone who fights me ends up getting enlightened."


    That was true. After all, most of the people who fought Leo ended up dead.

 Chapter 115 Ready

    ?


    He went back to the apartment to share the information he found with Marcus.


    "Marcus, keep your schedule for the next few days free," Leo said. "The registration for the academy starts on 1st August."


    Marcus was incredibly grateful that Leo got that information for him. Otherwise, he didn''t even know who to ask to find out about it. He was only starting to interact with new people around him, but it was still hard to make friends that weren''t the same age as him.


    "Thanks for the information," he said.


    Leo waved his hand. "Don''t mention it."


    The three days passed in a sh. Leo and Marcus both spent their time training while not doing anything strenuous. Neither of them wanted to be in anything other than their top condition.


    After the three-day wait was over, they both left the apartment to go to the academy. They guessed that the academy was where the check was going to be held.


    When Leo was walking down the stairs in his apartment, he noticed that the fog covering the academy wasn''t as big as it used to be. Parts of it were uncovered, revealing some of the academy to the rest of the world.


    He saw massive buildings that rose to heights that almost reached his own apartment. There were a lot of massive grounds to train in and massive magic formations engraved onto the ground. He realized that the academy was hiding a lot from the public.


    He went down the apartment stairs and quickly caught up to Marcus. The both of them left the apartment and went to the entrance of the academy. The minute they left the apartment, they realized the ce waspletely swarmed with people.


    There were more than ten thousand people in front of the academy, and that spilled out to the front of the academy. All of them were packed outside the academy, without anyone entering inside yet.


    Leo realized that he would have to squeeze through the crowd to get to the front, and there was a huge chance that he would separate from Marcus. He could try and squeeze into the crowd with him, but that would slow him down.


    He looked at Marcus. "Each man for himself. I''m sorry." He left to go into the crowd. Meanwhile, Marcus chased after him.


    "Wait. I don''t have the money to pay for tuition yet." He said. He didn''t know if he was required to pay the money immediately or afterward. He didn''t want to separate from Leo for that reason.


    In a few minutes, Leo got to the front of the crowd. He realized that the majority of the crowd was parents. They were there to drop their kids off and make sure that they got in.


    Leo waited for a while. An hour passed before someone came out of the academy. It was an old mage who was floating in the air. He felt that it was odd for a mage toe out for the entrance of an Aura Knight Academy, but he decided to ignore it. They were both the same academy anyway.


    He realized that the effect of the mage was incrediblyrge. Everyone quieted down when they saw someone appear in the air. Leo furrowed his brows in envy. The old man was only a 3rd Circle Mage like Leo was. He also wanted a reaction filled with a reverence like the one the mage got.


    Once everyone quieted down, the mage started speaking.


    "Everyone! These are the admission requirements for this academy! If you do not meet any of them, please leave." He said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He took out a piece of paper and started reading out of it.


    "First, the applicant has to be 15 years old, or younger. We have a magical tool here to check your age, so you will be caught if you try to lie." He said.


    "Second, regardless of your age, you are required to possess some amount of aura. Otherwise, you are not allowed to apply." When he said these two requirements, around 500 people left. They were probably people hoping that the requirements changed or were loosened.


    "Finally, all 1st Circle Aura Knights automatically pass on to the next round of selection if they pass the first two requirements. The aura level of every other candidate will be required as well. We have a total of 1000 seats avable for the second round. We will take the remainder of the 1000 seats from the top candidates based on their aura level. These are the candidates who are not 1st Circle Aura Knights yet."


    When he said that, a lot of the people there smiled. Simply by being Aura Knight already, they had skipped a lot of the hassle.


    "Everyone who is already a 1st Circle Aura Knight will line up to my left. Everyone else will line up to my right." He said.


    With this statement, the crowd immediately parted into two extremely unequal halves. Leo looked to the left and saw that there were only 1000 people left, with more than half of them being parents. He was surprised at this sight.


    There were only 300 15-year-olds who were in the 1st Circle. After thinking about it, he realized that it made sense. Even rice and Evelyn took a lot of time to get to the stage they were. It was simply too hard to train when they were young because they never had the need so they wouldn''t concentrate.


    Talent was also another factor. Putting both of them together, very few would actually train hard to be an Aura Knight. Thest factor was resources. If the person had ess to proper resources like the ones he took to break through, they would easily make the cut.


    He walked to the back of the line that had grownrge. When he did, he felt someone approach him. Their hands pped his shoulders.


    "Don''t leave me like that," Marcus said. "I was actually scared I would get kicked out because I couldn''t pay for this." He said.


    Leoughed. "Okay, don''t worry. You probably only have to pay the entrance fee for today. I don''t think you need to pay your tuition on the day of registering."


    Marcus nodded. They waited in line for their turn. At the start of the line, there was a table with a glowing orb. The old man was sitting there, observing everything. Alongside him was another person in the back.


    While the old man sat right at the table, the other person was sitting with his legs outstretched 3 meters away from the table. His eyes were closed and he seemed unbothered by what was happening before him.


    On the other side, there was everyone else. Almost 9000 people were waiting in the line. because all those people wouldn''t fit in a single line, they split up into 9 separate lines that walked into 9 tables.


    The old man shook his head at the sight. "Too many people. I don''t know why theye here with so many hopes when they know they will fail," he said.


    "Easy for you to say, Baron Mopart. You are a noble, so you wouldn''t understand." The man behind him said.

 Chapter 116 Registered

    ?


    Baron Mopart turned around to look at the man who said this. He seemed slightly bothered by thement.


    "They should learn to judge their strength is all I''m saying. If they only barely sensed any aura, why would they think they would get into one of the most prestigious academies in the empire?" He asked.


    The man smiled. "You say that with such confidence, but how many of the world''s best Aura Knights did this academy produce? And how much did the academy itself contribute to that process?"


    He frowned. "I prefer not to have this discussion in front of our applicants. Perhaps we can discuss thister in our personal time, Mr. Grimshaw."


    "Please, Baron. Call me Asher. You have the authority to do so," Asher said with a smile on his face. He felt pleased that he talked down the academy in front of the people in the line who were listening in.


    The Baron looked forward. "Put your hands on the crystal ball and wait." He said.


    The first applicant, a girl, did that. She put her hands on the ball and waited. The ball shined and turned green.


    "Good, you pass." He said. He handed the girl a piece of paper out of thin air. "Fill out this form and give it to the person behind me. Next."


    The girl went to another desk beside her and quickly filled out the form with one of the pens there. The only thing she had to fill was her name and age. She did that and handed it to the man.


    He pointed behind him. "You just have to stand here and wait till everyone is done."


    The girl obediently did as she was told.


    An hour passed by, and half the line went by. The next candidate was a girl with silver hair. She was wearing expensive clothes and had purple eyes. She stood with arrogance in front of the mage. Asher opened his eyes immediately when it was her turn to be tested.


    "Put your hands on the ball." He said. She did and the ball turned green. He looked up.


    "You pass-" The Baron''s eyes widened. "You are a 2nd Circle Aura Knight? Commendable!" He praised an applicant for the first time. Fill out this form and hand it to the man behind me."


    She took the form and moved gracefully out of the line. She was apanied by a well-dressed man who looked like he was 20 years old. She handed the form to him and waited as he filled the form out for her. Meanwhile, she joined the rest of the line.


    After filling out the form and handing it to Asher, the man quickly ran to the side of the girl. He pulled out a seat and an umbre to give her shade from the sun. After doing that, he left. Asher looked at this with a frown but didn''t say anything.


    The line slowly moved. As time passed, Leo and Marcus finally came to the front. Leo put his hands on the crystal ball.


    "You pass. Fill out the form and hand it to the person behind me." The old man said. The same happened with Marcus.


    As they were filling out the form in front of the man, the man asked them a question.


    "Boy, I have a question." He asked Leo.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Leo looked at him. "Yes?" He asked. His eyes widened the minute he saw the person.


    Out of everyone Leo knew, no one had a higher amount of aura than him. The only people who would ever have more aura than him were 3rd Circle Aura Knights. For the first time, he was sensing so much aura from a person that it made the amount of mana he had to seem minuscule.


    Leo knew immediately that the person in front of him was a 4th Circle Aura Knight at the very least.


    "Well, out of everyone here, you seem to have the most interesting aura. How often do you use your aura in battle?" He asked.


    Leo was confused. "Sorry? What do you mean?" He asked.


    Asher exined. "Well, you can train in aura and aura techniques in your house and master them. That is one way to go about things. But unless you use your aura techniques in battle, your aura won''t start to be an elemental aura."


    He pointed to the people standing in line and said, "Generally, these kids will only get to that stage after learning about this here at the academy. They start going into the forest and hunting Magical Beasts. But you seem like you have been doing that regrly."


    Leo nodded. "I''m a mercenary too. I go to the forest toplete missions." He said.


    Asher was surprised. He looked behind Leo and saw Marcus. "Is that your friend?" He asked. Leo nodded.


    "Then I assume he is also a Mercenary." He said.


    Leo nodded in response. Asher waved his hands. "Thanks for giving me that answer. You both are pretty talented too, to reach the Late-Stage of the 1st Circle without too much guidance." He said. "You can go stand in line."


    Leo waited for Marcus and walked to the end of the long line. On the way, they saw the anomaly which was the silver-haired girl. Marcus was confused when he saw this. He leaned to Leo and whispered, "Why does she get that treatment?"


    Leo whispered back, "She''s a 2nd Circle Aura Knight. Probably a noble or something." He said.


    The girl who was resting opened her eyes and looked at Leo, the person who was able to see through her rank instantly. Leo noticed her stare and looked away. He dragged Marcus with him to the end of the line.


    Leo and Marcus were among thest people in the line. So after they finished, it only took 15 more minutes before all the candidates were done with their process. Out of the entire line, only 3 people turned out to be unqualified.


    Two of them had lied about their age, while the other person had lied about how she was a 1st Circle Aura Knight. She didn''t know that mages could check the power level of people with a single nce. She only saw how he looked at the candidates once and thought she could fool him.


    After having all of the candidates lined up, the baron stood up. He talked while walking to the center.


    "So, all 359 of you have moved on to the next level. But be careful. Just because you are stronger than the people on the other side, it doesn''t mean you have an advantage for the next few tests." He said. His voice reached the candidates without any problem even though it was pretty windy.


    Asher stood up at this time. "So, you made it past the first step. Congrattions. I think all of you should be fine for the next round. There will be another set of examiners who will test you inside. It will take the mages on the other side around 30 minutes to get the candidates from there and all of you will take the tests together." He said.

 Chapter 117 Tests

    ?


    Leo waited for a little while before there was finally activity from the other side. The mages there were announcing names of a list they had.


    He watched as a lot of people left with disappointment while everyone else had a lot of joy on their faces. Even though they only got past the first stage of the screening, they felt that it was worth celebrating.


    He looked at the people on his side; most of them seemed enthusiastic while a select few seemed unbothered even though they got past one of the stages. He kept a mental note of all these people because they were also the strongest among everyone. They were very sure that they would pass all the tests.


    "Okay, now you will enter the academy. My name is Asher, and I will be one of the examiners for the tests inside. However, you will only encounter me after you pass the initial test. Stay close to me so you don''t get lost." Asher said. He walked into therge gate that lead into the academy. Till now, they were in an open space outside the academy.


    The gates to the academy were huge and showed off the wealth behind the academy. But Leo didn''t need that to convince him. Just by looking at the person in front of him, he knew he was in the right ce.


    The two groups merged quickly and followed Asher into the academy. The minute they entered, they saw that their path forward was surrounded by fog. Only the path was well-lit and visible.


    They walked for five minutes before reaching their destination. It was another training ground, but it was structured very weirdly. They were standing in front of a 100 meters long and 300 meters wide space. The interesting aspect of it was that it had a step that elevated the ground every 10 meters.


    The entire space was made out of a white-colored stone and was clearly different from the ground around it. Including the first step to get onto the stone tform, there were a total of ten steps.


    "I will leave you to the examiners for this round," he said. He immediately disappeared in a sh. Everyone thought that he teleported, but Leo knew he had just moved so fast that they couldn''t see him when he left. He looked around and saw their next examiners.


    He saw two 4th Circle Aura Knights in front of the entire group. Both of them weredies. He was surprised that he had already encountered three 4th Circle Aura Knights already. But he knew that Asher was a lot stronger than both the examiners.


    "I am Maria. Your examiner for this round. I am with Lisa. Both of us are teachers at the Eldridge Aura Knight Academy. We will be testing how good your body is for training aura today." She said.


    Leo was confused. He looked at the ground and felt a weird sensation from it. He looked closer and saw some faint engravings. He quickly realized that there was a magic formation on it. He was intrigued.


    He didn''t know how to use magic formations but had seen a few of them. Most of the ones he encountered were in the academy, but the ones he encountered outside were the ones at Solhaven. One was the formation hiding the tome of the Arcane Emperor, while the other was hiding Valkyr''s Deception.


    "We will divide all of you into four groups. Each group will go one by one. You have to walk toward thest step. The further you go, the better it is for you. Based on the steps you cross and how far you got, you will make it to the next test." She said.


    She then pointed to the people at the front. All of them happened to be the people who were not 1st Circle Aura Knights yet because they were enthusiastic and were in front of all the 1st Circle Aura Knights.


    "Start walking forward. When I say stop, the rest will wait," she said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    People started walking to the start of the ground in front of them. As soon as around a quarter of the people walked to the start, she stopped the people from joining them. She then looked at the people in front of her.


    "You have ten minutes to walk to the end. Be careful when you take your first step. You will understand what makes this test special." She said.


    They all collectively took their first steps. All of them had the thought that they would make it to the end pretty quickly. The minute they took their first step, they realized that their assumption was false.


    When they stepped onto the ground, the magic formation that was engraved onto the tform activated. Leo who was looking at them saw that the formation was gathering a lot of magic toward the tform. He realized that the magic was activating the formation.


    The people started experiencing what the tform had to offer. They felt that their bodies were suddenly being weighed down. They felt some sort of external force that pushed them down, making it a hassle to walk up to the next step. But they knew it wasn''t impossible.


    While a lot of the candidates were struggling to walk up to the next step, a few of them made it to the second level. But after that, no one was able to move. Only one person walked a little further and was able to walk all the way to the end of the second step. But she wasn''t able to take the final step.


    Maria sighed. She shook her head and looked at the next batch. At this point, some of the Aura Knights had mixed into the crowd. The next 250 people who were taking the test were still mostly Apprentice Aura Knights, but around 30 of them were 1st Circle Aura Knights.


    She looked at the people trying to walk forward. After ten minutes passed and nothing changed with the first batch, she released some aura and the formation was deactivated. The pressure weighing down on the people disappeared and they immediately felt a wave of relief.


    "You can leave the ground now. Only the people on the 2nd tform can stay." She said.


    This eliminated around 200 people from the first group. Less than 50 people were left. Leo was curious to experience what the others had experienced. But he decided to wait till the end to see what everyone else was doing.


    "Now, the second batch can start." She said. Everyone walked forward.


    There was immediately a stark difference between the people who were 1st Circle Aura Knights and the people who weren''t. Almost all of the Aura Knights were able to make it to the 2nd Level immediately and zoomed past the rest of the Apprentice Aura Knights.


    The sole 1st Circle Aura Knight who was stuck on the initial level was struggling to walk forward. Other than him and a few other candidates, the rest of the people were able to make it at least 7 meters in.


    As for the 1st Circle Aura Knights, most of them got to 8 or 9 meters into the 2nd Level. Four of them were even able to step up to the 3rd Step.

 Chapter 118 Pressure

    ?


    The four people who were able to make it to the 3rd step were all Middle-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knights. There was some corrtion between the aura level of the candidates and how far they were able to get, but it wasn''t the only reason they were doing better.


    Some Middle-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knights were still stuck on the second level and couldn''t move up. There was a difference between those two people. Another thing to consider was that the test was to see how good their body was to train aura.


    So it made sense that people who got further were better than others when looking at their aura level. The main thing that Leo noticed was that everyone was using their aura from the second level onward, so he figured that it was also a reason why 1st Circle Aura Knights had an advantage.


    The second batch ended with around 70 candidates left. Leo figured that the reason the 1st Circle Aura Knight didn''t even get past the first stage was that he forced his way into the 1st Circle using pills.


    Leo was suddenly doubtful about whether or not he was going to fare well in the test. What if he faced the same fate because his entire aura level was achieved using pills?


    Leo stayed back as the third round of candidates stepped forward. Almost all the Apprentice Aura Knights went on this round, leaving just 4 or 5 for thest round. Along with them, there were around 80 1st Circle Aura Knights.


    At the end of the round, most of them passed while 5 didn''t. In total, there were 100 people from the third round who qualified for the next test. However, no one ever got close to getting to the 4th step.


    Leo looked at Marcus who was waiting with him to go onto the tform. Unlike him who was nervous, Marcus was excited. After all, Marcus knew he was talented in using aura. He was very sure that he would get by the first level.


    The remaining 250 people stepped forward.


    "You can start," Maria said. The entire time, only she talked while her partner didn''t say a word. Leo looked at the tform in front of him and took a deep breath. He looked around and saw that everyone had already started, so he decided to go for it.


    The minute he got onto the tform, he realized why everyone was struggling. He was bombarded with pressure that forced him to the ground. His body, however, held on pretty well.


    Leo''s mouth curved into a smile. He knew that he wasn''t going to fall in the first level, at least. He looked around and saw Marcus speed through the first level onto the next one. He decided to walk along with him.


    As he walked forward, the pressure increased little by little. Even though he was able to recognize the changes in pressure thanks to his perception, his body didn''t care about it. The pressure didn''t seem to affect him greatly, so Leo thought he would be able to at least get to the second level.


    The minute he went to the second level, the pressure on him doubled. He quickly released ayer of aura from his body to see if it would help. He only needed a small amount of aura to do this, and it helped a lot.


    Everyone around him was also using their aura to shield themselves too, but they were using too much aura at once. He didn''t need to use as much aura because he felt that the pressure wasn''t too much. Marcus was also in a simr state and was breezing through the second level. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Leo stayed to the back and slowly walked forward while a few people got to the third level in a minute. He saw Marcus and the silver-haired girl both walk in front of everybody. He slowly got to the third level and walked up the tform.


    When he got onto the 3rd level, he realized that the test wasn''t as hard as it looked. It was not that hard once he got onto the 3rd level, so he walked forward.


    Once Marcus got onto the 3rd level, he looked around to see who was with him. He saw the silver-haired girl keeping up with him and three others behind him. Everybody else was on the second level. He saw Leo just get onto the 3rd level and saw him closing in slowly.


    He looked back forward and saw that the girl had walked ahead while he was looking back. He gritted his teeth and walked forward. Even though it was starting to be hard to walk forward, hispetitive spirit made him ze through the pressure.


    He didn''t want to lose to the girl. If he beat a 2nd Circle Aura Knight, it would validate him greatly. He walked forward and got to the step to the 4th level. He saw that the girl was struggling to take a single step forward and was breathing heavily.


    He took a deep breath and stepped forward to the next level. The pressure on his body increased greatly as he got his second foot onto the ground. He started panting heavily and looked forward. The girl was only two steps away from him, but those two steps were incredibly difficult to take.


    He tried to take the first step and almost copsed onto the ground. He decided to wait a minute to recover his breath before trying again.


    The two examiners watching this were incredibly surprised. Maria, who was watching in her chair quickly noted down what she was seeing on a piece of paper. On the other hand, the second examiner, Lisa, was watching quietly like she did the entire time.


    They didn''t expect such a result to happen at thest minute. Till now, not a single person had taken more than a few steps into the 3rd level. The maximum that the previous batches had gotten to was 4 meters into the 3rd level. But now, 2 people had reached the 4th level.


    They were both only hoping for a couple of candidates to reach as far as 7 or 8 meters into the third level, so this exceeded their expectations.


    The silver-haired girl who was in the front was unable to move forward. She knew that she was very close to her limit. But she didn''t want to stop where she was. She knew that she was so much better than everyone else there, and her current position would be enough.


    But the one boy who also made it to the 3rd level as fast as she made her feel like she couldn''t stop. She didn''t want to just qualify for the next round. She was the only 2nd Circle Aura Knight there. She wanted to be the best candidate to qualify. She


    She looked behind her and saw that Marcus had alreadye to the 4th level. He was still 2 meters away from her, so she had time. She decided to rest for a while before attempting to take another step.


    After a minute passed, Marcus decided he rested enough. He released his aura and took arge step forward.

 Chapter 119 Second Test

    Marcus took three steps in session. He almost caught up to the girl, but taking those many steps at once pushed him down to one knee. He could barely get up. Once he got up though, he consolidated his position and was ready to take another step forward to match the girl.


    The girl looked back and saw that Marcus had almost caught up to him. She decided to immediately take another step forward without any rest. She took a step forward and felt a huge burden on her body, but she kept going.


    She took another step forward and suddenly realized that she had pushed herself too far. She was pushed back by the pressure and was falling to the ground.


    A pair of hands caught her body while she was falling down. The hands gently dropped her to the ground.


    "You should be more careful," a calm voice said from behind her.


    She looked back and saw a handsome boy with flowing ck hair. His striking blue eyes seemed to look into her.


    Leo smiled and looked at Marcus. "How''s it going?" He asked.


    Marcus smiled bitterly. He was struggling to maintain his body under the pressure, but Leo seemed to be perfectly fine. He wasn''t even breaking a sweat. At this point, the examiners stopped the exam.


    "We are done. Everyone who is on the 1st level can leave." They said. They immediately walked to the three people who managed to make it to the 4th level.


    Out of everyone, Leo had taken the most time to get there, but he was in the best condition by a mile. Even though he wasn''t fast, he clearly could go further if he wanted to. He just chose to stroll through the tform without any hurry, so he ended up in the same position as the other two.


    "It is incrediblymendable that the three of you made it this far. We have very high expectations for you," Maria said. Lisa just nodded.


    "Thanks," Marcus smiled widely.


    "You can go to the next stage. Asher will handle that stage for you," she said.


    The girl who was on the ground got up from her state. She looked at Leo and nodded. "Thanks for helping me," she said meekly. She then scurried away without any trace of the arrogant look she had when she first walked into the ce.


    Leo and Marcus also walked behind her. They rejoined the group of people who got past the first test. In total, there were 462 people who got to the next round, with more than 300 of them being 1st Circle Aura Knights.


    Leo realized that he and Marcus were among 10 Late-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knights. Everyone else was weaker than them. He was surprised that the level of the supposed famous academy only attracted this much talent.


    They walked along with the group that followed Maria to the second test. When they got to the test area, Leo looked around for the examiner. He quickly found where he was. Asher was sitting on a tree, observing the group.


    When Leo looked at Asher, he locked eyes with him. Asher immediately knew that Leo had found him within seconds of them reaching the testing area. Leo cursed in his mind and looked away. He forgot that he wasn''t supposed to have that good perception as a 1st Circle Aura Knight.


    Asher was sitting on the tree, observing the new candidates for the academy with curiosity. He wanted to see if there were any interesting people like the ones he saw a couple of hours ago. When he looked at the particr candidate, he saw that he was already looking at him.


    Asher was surprised that the kid had already found him among all of the surroundings. Even 3rd Circle Aura Knights didn''t have that level of observation, but a 1st Circle Aura Knight could do it in seconds.


    He decided to reveal himself after thinking about it for a second. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Thank you, Maria. I will take it from here." He said.


    He looked at everyone. "I will be conducting your next test, and overseeing your final test along with the other examiners."


    Everyone looked prepared for what they were supposed to do, but they couldn''t expect what it was going to be. The ce they were at was some sort of area forpeting. There were multiple stone arenas around the ce, each 20 meters by 20 meters.


    He looked at the group and said, "Form a line."


    It took them 5 minutes to neatly adjust themselves into a line. After they did, he gave them further instructions.


    "You will now perform any one of your aura techniques in front of me," he said. "If it is not at a sufficient mastery, then you won''t pass this round."


    He seemed pretty serious when he said this, so Leo was surprised. He didn''t think they would judge how good they were at executing aura techniques just to enter the academy. Wasn''t that what was supposed to be taught to them after they got into the academy?


    He saw the first person in the line walk to the arena. They looked at Asher and said, "But I don''t have my weapon with me."


    Asher said, "You are not allowed to use weapons. Execute your technique without a weapon."


    The clueless person attempted to use his aura technique, but it failed. He normally used a sword, but without the sword, he didn''t know what to do with the aura. He couldn''t improvise in time for this. He couldn''t even coat his hand with aura since he had never tried it.


    Asher looked unimpressed. "Next," he said.


    The next person came onto the stage and tried to use her aura technique, but she also failed. As did the person after that. A total of 20 people failed before someone was able to use their technique without a weapon.


    They simply coated their own hand with aura and released it as a sh.


    "Good. You pass," he said.


    Time went by and out of hundreds of people, only dozens seemed to make the cut. By the time it was Leo''s turn, 300 people had attempted to finish the task, and only 46 of them managed to pass. Almost all of the Apprentice Aura Knights automatically failed because none of them knew how to use any Aura Techniques.


    While this seemed unfair to them since most Aura Techniques were for 1st Circle Aura Knights or above, there were Aura Techniques that they could learn. They just chose not to learn them and thus failed the test.


    There was a single Apprentice Aura Knight who did know how to use an Aura Technique. She even knew how to execute it without a weapon, so she was able to pass the test.


    As for Leo, he wasn''t worried. He knew that he had enough control over his aura that he could use it without a sword. He had even done it a few times before. He got ready to show his aura technique to Asher, but he stopped him.


    "Wait. For you, it''s different. You have to use a Bow and Arrow," Asher said.

 Chapter 120 Resources

    ?


    Leo was momentarily confused before he finally understood what the test was about. It was about adapting.


    Asher knew that no one had ever tried to use their aura techniques without their weapons, so he was seeing how well they could modify their techniques on the spot. This would show exactly how much of a grasp they had on their technique, but also how well they could control their aura.


    "I don''t have a -" Before Leo could say that, Asher took out a Bow from his dimensional ring and threw it at Leo. Leo caught the bow and waited for an arrow. The arrow came after he looked up.


    He caught the arrow and thought for a while. After figuring out what to do, he imbibed his aura into the arrow and got ready to shoot the arrow. He aimed it away from the crowd toward one of the empty arenas and let go of the arrow.


    The arrow flew quickly and raced to the furthest arena. As it sped through the air, it left a streak of shadowy aura behind it, making it hard to know exactly where the arrow was. It looked like a long line of darkness.


    Asher nodded at this and flung his hand, releasing a little bit of aura. This aura instantaneously destroyed the arrow in mid-air, making its remnants fall to the ground.


    "You pass. Next," He said.


    Marcus was immediately after Leo. He got ready to show off his fist technique. If he didn''t have to use any weapons, then he would be able to breeze through the test since that was how he normally fought.


    However, Asher somehow knew that Marcus used a fist technique, so he threw a wooden sword at him. The swordnded on the ground at his feet.


    "You have to use a sword," he said.


    Marcus sighed and picked up the sword and tried to imbibe his energy into it as he would to his fist. Once he did, he didn''t know how to swing it. So he raised his arm with the sword high into the air and chopped down like he would chop normally with his fist.


    When he released the aura, there was a minor explosion in front of him. Leo noticed that the explosion didn''t do anything to the arenas, which meant that they were made out of strong materials.


    "You pass. Next," Asher said.


    Everyone else went on smoothly with their test. Only he and Marcus were forced to use weapons, both for different reasons. After everyone was done, Asher walked to the group that passed. In total, there were 67 people who passed.


    "You all are now moving on to the final test. This should be the easiest test out of all of them and isn''t going to impact whether or not you will enter the academy. It will only determine the number of resources you will receive once you start studying here," he said.


    Leo was confused. Since everyone paid the same amount of money, why was there a discrepancy in what each person received?


    "I see that some of you think this is unfair. The money that you pay for is solely for your education. It is for what we, the teachers give you - guidance. As for the resources, thates from the empire itself. We receive a set amount of resources to distribute to the students," Asher said.


    "Since these are limited, we reserve them for the most talented students. This is also going to promote some friendlypetition and push everyone to work harder."


    Leo frowned when he heard this. When did the empire be so generous tomoners?<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "How do you determine whether a person is talented or not?" One of the students in the front asked.


    "Well, you will see. That is what the third test will achieve." He said.


    Everyone waited to see what they were supposed to do. He walked to the people and took out a bunch of colored toothpicks. He handed them out one by one to everyone there. At the end of the process, everyone had one out of 4 colors.


    Leo looked at Marcus and saw that he had a different color than him. He had blue while Marcus had green. He looked around for the silver-haired girl. When he found her, he saw that her toothpick was red. He realized what the test could be, but waited to confirm his suspicion.


    "Everyone with the yellow toothpick. Come forward." He said.


    Around 20 people walked forward. He then picked one person and pointed at the nearest arena. He did the same with another person and sent him to the same arena.


    After he picked out the first two, he did that with the entire set of people. In total, ten arenas were upied by two people each.


    "Now, you will all spar with each other. I and my colleagues will ensure that no one will get hurt. However, you will use wooden weapons throughout this spar."


    Leo smiled. His guess was right. They were going to make everyone fight each other and rank them based on their strength. He expected this based on the colors of the toothpicks. Since he, Marcus, and the girl all had different toothpicks, they wouldn''t be in the same groups.


    On top of that, each matchup was based on how strong each person was. The whole affair was incredibly well-calcted because it was properly seeded. Asher had somehow ranked everyone''s strength roughly based on their aura levels and their disy of aura techniques and created a bracket that would let the strongest peoplee out on top.


    He was amazed by this feat. He would have taken at least 20 minutes toe up with a proper solution like that.


    As he was thinking that, a shadow jumped from one of the trees andnded behind the group. Leo''s head darted to look at the person who hadnded behind them. It was a youngdy with long ck hair d in a pitch-ck outfit. She walked toward the arenas after shended.


    He didn''t realize that there were other people around him other than Maria and Lisa who were there from the start. The both of them had been observing from the side.


    He was very surprised that he couldn''t detect the girl, but quickly realized why. She had as much aura as Asher. He was incredibly surprised that the Aura Knight Academy had 4 4th Circle Aura Knights take their examinations. All of Solhaven didn''t even have a 3rd Circle one.


    He had severely underestimated the academy as well as Eldridge. There were more powerful people than he had thought there.


    As he was thinking that, Asher was giving each of the candidates a weapon of their choice. He seemed to have an unlimited number of weapons in his dimensional ring. After five minutes, everyone was armed with a weapon and was ready to face their opponents.


    Thedy in the ck outfit got to the arena and stood beside Asher. Asher introduced her.


    "This is Selena, one of your teachers in the academy. She will also oversee thispetition and make sure no one gets hurt. Now that that''s out of the way, you can start fighting."

 Chapter 121 Fights

    ?


    Everyone was initially unsure of what to do. They just stared at each other till the other person made the first move. Eventually, one girl decided to make the first move.


    She moved toward her opponent and shed her sword down. The boy she was facing parried the sword with his own. He moved back and waited for the next move. She kept pushing forward and shed her sword again.


    The boy quickly dodged it and started to push back. Instead of just swinging down, he used his aura technique. He imbibed his wooden sword with a me aura and swung at the girl.


    The girl also used her own aura technique and was able to defend it, but she was still knocked back by the explosion it created. The boy used this momentary shock to the girl and quickly swooped in to swing again.


    The girl tried to block the sword with her own, but the second swing knocked her back. She was going to fall to the ground with great force, but a shadow swooped in at that point.


    The shadow was Selena. She caught the girl and brought her back to her feet. Asher announced the first victor.


    "Okay, one duel is done," he said.


    After they saw the first person rush in, the other people also started taking the initiative. They started using their own aura techniques. Some had bows and started shooting arrows, while others had maces and swung down at their opponents.


    It was very tricky to fight the people with bows because they would have to dodge the arrows. One of the arrows almost hit a boy before it was knocked away by Asher with his aura. The fight stopped there after the arrow was deflected away.


    After a couple of minutes, all the fights werepleted. The remaining 10 were kept aside while the next color was picked out. This time, it was green. They all went onto the arenas based on what Asher said.


    Leo looked at Marcus'' opponent and sighed. He knew that since it was seeded, he would get an easy opponent, but it felt incredibly pitiful. Marcus was facing an Apprentice Aura Knight while he was a Late-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight.


    When everyone got their weapons and the fight started, his fight was the first to finish. He released a punch the minute the fight started and his aura raced across the air and reached the boy who couldn''t even react.


    Marcus came in and blocked the attack before it would hit the boy. He apologetically smiled at the boy before leaving the stage. Everyone was awestruck at how quickly the fight finished.


    Even the people in the other arenas knew what happened because they were looking around. They all thanked Asher for not putting them against him.


    After a couple of minutes, that set of fights ended as well. This group only had 16 people, so it ended with 8 people left.


    The red group had a very simr ending with the girl finishing her fight as quickly as Marcus. She had an ever bigger advantage since she was a 2nd Circle Aura Knight.


    After them, it was finally Leo''s turn. He stretched his muscles and got ready to be assigned an arena. He wanted to see if he would be paired with an unfortunate Apprentice Aura Knight like the others.


    Asher pointed at the people in the group one by one until he got to Leo. He skipped over Leo and went to the next candidate. Leo was confused and looked around. When all the candidates got onto the stage, he was the only one left on the ground.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Your group has an odd number of students, so you automatically move to the next round," Asher said.


    Leo blew a sigh of disappointment. Meanwhile, everyone else looked at him with jealousy. They felt that it was unfair that he was able to move on to the next round without fighting, but they didn''tin. After all, their instructor was the one in control. They weren''t even students yet, so they weren''t going to anger the person in control.


    Once the round finished, he called back the first group. They had almost twenty minutes of rest since their fight. It took this much time because everyone had to be handed weapons for their rounds.


    It also took time to get the people on the stages to fight. People had to get off and then the new set of people had to get on. Since no one seemed to be in a hurry, they took their time.


    Now that they were well rested, they were ready for their fight. Asher picked the new bracket out of the 10 people. Once the fights were over, he did the same with the next group. Marcus was matched with a 1st Circle Aura Knight this time.


    "You won''t be defeating me that easy as you did with the Apprentice Aura Knight," the girl he was matched up with said. "I practiced a long time for this."


    She got her sword ready and looked at him who didn''t have any weapon.


    "You don''t have a weapon?" She asked.


    He shook his head. "I fight with my fists."


    She smiled. "Then don''t me me when you lose because of that."


    She immediately rushed forward and shed at him with her sword. She sliced horizontally since he wouldn''t be able to dodge it. He shouldn''t be able to block it either, since he didn''t have a weapon.


    Her approachpletely underestimated exactly what he was capable of. He filled his fists with aura and caught the de with his palm. Maria on the side was ready to move forward, but she seemed to know that he was going to be able to defend the attack.


    Once Marcus safely caught the de with his left hand, he punched the girl with his right hand. Before the punchnded, Maria stepped into the arena and stopped it with her own hand. The punch created an explosion, but Maria''s aura contained it and stopped it from harming the girl.


    He came out as the victor in less than 15 seconds. The girl was shocked that her sword was blocked by his bare hands. She left the arena with a shocked face while Marcus had a smile on his.


    After the green group finished their fights, the red group got on. The silver-haired girl had an easier time than Marcus. She just shed her own sword at the boy facing her. The sword shattered the wooden sword but didn''t do anything to the boy. After destroying the sword, her sword stopped two inches away from his face.


    Her control over the aura and her face was very evident based on the result. There wasn''t any loud explosion like any of the other aura techniques that the people generally used. The boy didn''t try to continue the fight after. He knew the gap between him and his opponent.


    Other than her, another person also finished his fight quickly. He was a Late-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight. After the red group was done with their fight, it was the blue group''s turn. Leo got up, excited to see who he was matched up against.

 Chapter 122 Breezing Through

    ?


    Asher assigned the fights and they all got onto the arenas. Leo was matched up with a skinny boy with a bow. He looked incredibly rxed when he was facing Leo.


    "So, your luck ends here," the boy said.


    Leo looked confused. "Why do you say that?" He asked.


    The boyughed. "Because you are facing me. I am a Middle-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight," he said. "On the other hand, you just got through the first round because you were lucky enough that you didn''t fight anyone."


    Leo realized that he had been the only one to realize that it was matched based on skill level. He guessed that it was because he was the only one there who could easily see through the people''s aura levels.


    Leo looked at Asher. He didn''t have a weapon yet. Asher walked to him and said, "So, what weapon do you want."


    "Dagger," he said. Asher pulled out a wooden dagger from his ring and handed it to him. Then he walked back to his position in the middle of all of the arenas.


    "Okay, now start!"


    Leo''s opponent immediately nocked an arrow to his bow and aimed it at Leo. He imbibed it with aura and shot it at Leo.


    He watched as the arrow got close to him and moved his head lightly, letting the arrow fly past him. As he did that, his opponent already nocked his second arrow. Leo wasn''t bothered that he was getting bombarded with arrows and took a step forward.


    The second arrow flew toward Leo but he dodged again by rotating his body. The arrow flew past him while he got closer to his opponent. Now that he was getting closer, he was an easier target to hit.


    The next arrow came faster than before, but Leo was still able to dodge it with ease. Till now, 20 seconds had passed and none of the boy''s attacks had connected. At this point, Leo was only two meters away from him.


    The boy took a few steps back to create some space while nocking another arrow. Leo didn''t let him release the arrow. He moved forward with a burst of speed that the boy didn''t expect. Leo sliced the bow with his dagger.


    His aura technique cleanly sliced the bow into two, giving him victory. The boy quickly realized how mistaken he was. He had been utterly defeated. His arrows were dodged so easily even though Leo looked like he was taking a stroll in the park.


    "Don''t underestimate people," Leo said. He turned away and left the stage. After a minute the other fights also finished. Since the fights would end before anyone got seriously injured, all of the finished after one or two blows. It wasn''t going to be the most urate representation, but as far as Leo guessed that wasn''t even necessary.


    In all of Marcus'' and the silver-haired girl''s group, both of them woulde out on top no matter what happened. He had that confidence based on the demonstrations of the aura techniques that he had seen and the aura levels of the people.


    After this round ended, it was finally time for the groups to start getting clubbed. Because there were only 4 or 5 people left in each group, it was more efficient to have two groups on the stages at the same time.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The yellow and red groups went ahead first, while the green and blue groups waited. Leo suspected that the reason the red group went first instead of the green group was also rted to the seed system.


    The difference between the fights in this round was that they were closer and longer than before. This was because everyone was at least a Middle-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight. Half of them were Late-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knights.


    Since they were all more powerful and well-versed in aura techniques, they were able to defend and attack properly, making it more of a proper fight. The fights started to take longer,sting 3-4 minutes.


    However, the silver-haired girl was still able to defeat her opponent way too easily. She was faced against an unfortunate Middle-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight who couldn''t even defend her initial attacks. The difference between a 2nd Circle and a 1st Circle Aura Knight was incredibly difficult to close.


    One lucky Late-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight skipped his match because there were an odd number of people. After they were done with their rounds, it was Leo''s turn.


    He was matched up with a Middle-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight likest time. So was Marcus. Both of them finished their matches with ease, moving on to the next round.


    After these rounds were over, it was finally only 9 people left. Everyone left was a Late-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight. Leo was very interested to see how the matches would go on.


    "So, we are down to two people from each group, except the yellow group. But I''ll get to them in a while. For now, we are going to reduce this number to 4 people in total. These 4 people will be the only ones out of all of you to receive the extra resources from the empire," he said.


    Everyone who lost their match felt incredibly disappointed. They were hoping that more people could get resources, but they wouldn''t have that chance. Meanwhile, the people who still hadn''t lost felt a little bit of excitement.


    Leo and the silver-haired girl were the only unfazed candidates. Leo knew that no matter how much the empire spent in total, the amount of resources that would actually reach him wouldn''t be able to match how much he would be able to spend himself.


    The silver-haired girl was clearly rich, so she was probably in the same category as him. However, everyone else weremoners who couldn''t spend like Leo. To them, the resources that the empire could give them would be very valuable and could make or break their Aura Knight training.


    Somewhere inside, Leo felt like he should give away his spot to the next person since he didn''t really need it as much. But another part of him wanted to give himself the advantage along with his own money. After all, these could be resources that he wouldn''t find easily.


    As he was looking around, he saw that everyone around him started to have a hunger in their eyes for the spots. Asher wasn''t done talking yet though.


    "But this doesn''t mean these 4 slots are fixed. When all of you are admitted into the academy, there will be a ranking. It will contain the 100 strongest New Students who are going to receive these resources. You will be given chances to challenge the people on this ranking to take their spot." He said.


    Leo felt less guilty after he heard that. If the people truly wanted the resources, they would put in the extra effort and challenge someone for that spot. Of course, they would be disadvantaged since they would be facing someone with more resources than them, but at least they had a chance to change their status.


    More importantly, he wanted to get onto the ranking. Leo stretched a little and got ready to get onto the student rankings.

 Chapter 123 Annoying

    ?


    "Okay, so you can all rest for a while. In that time, we will register everyone as students and send everyone back." Asher said.


    Everyone got into a line and he took out the papers that they gave in the start. He quickly ruffled through them all and magically pulled out papers one by one. They were the papers corresponding to the candidates.


    He took out 67 papers corresponding to everyone and took out a new set of sheets. It had a bunch of areas to fill out.


    "So, you just need to fill out these new forms. They are basically waivers that you can fill out. If you need parental permission, then you can bring them in tomorrow." He said and handed them out to everyone.


    Leo looked at the form. The only things on it that he could really fill were how much of a schrship he needed and the waiver. The other fields were about guardians, but since he didn''t have any he left it empty.


    He handed his sheet to Asher. Asher looked at it.


    "Your name? It doesn''t have ast name," Asher said and handed the sheets back.


    Leo shook his head. "I don''t have ast name," he said.


    "Oh," Asher took the sheet with a dumbfounded expression. He never expected one of the most talented persons in the entire batch of students to be an orphan. How was he able to get this far without any guardians?


    Meanwhile, Marcus who was listening in was also shocked. He never really knew anything about Leo, so this information was shocking. He thought that Leo was just the son of a rich family who was living independently with that money. Otherwise, where would he get that much money to pay for two people''s tuition?


    Everyone around was also listening in and felt bad for him. The only person who didn''t show any expression was the silver-haired girl. She didn''t understand what was going on. She looked at one of the girls beside her and leaned in.


    "What does that mean?" She whispered.


    The girl was confused. "Not having ast name?" She asked the silver-haired girl.


    The silver-haired girl nodded. "Yes."


    "It means he doesn''t have parents. He''s an orphan," she answered.


    "Oh."


    Meanwhile, Leo gave his sheets to Asher and went to one of the stages to sit on them. He leaned back andid down on the stage, waiting for everyone to be done.


    Once everyone was done, Maria rounded up the people who weren''t in the final round and took them to the entrance. At this point, the sun was going to set in another hour or two. They had been there since the sun had risen. The process had taken an entire day.


    Once most of the people had left, Asher looked at all of them.


    "Okay, so this is how it is going to work. Every color can have one person left. So everyone can pick a stage and start fighting. As for the yellow group, I will figure this out." He said.


    Everyone took a stage and looked at their opponent. The silver-haired girl was faced with a well-dressed boy. He had brown hair and looked very confident.


    "Hello, Lady Eldridge. I am sure you recognize me," he said to her. Leo, who was listening in on the conversations around him heard this and was surprised.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Lady Eldridge meant that the girl was a daughter of the Eldridge Family, the family that essentially had the entire city under its rule. It would be a Marquis family. But why would a person from that family be an Aura Knight?


    "I don''t think I am deserving of that title. I am, after all, only a descendant of the branch family." She said politely. "However, I don''t think I recognize you. Could you introduce yourself again?"


    The boy frowned. "That is unfortunate. I am Miller Grenwich. I am from a Baron family. I met you at the annual g at the Eldridge Manor," he said.


    "I am Lyra Eldridge. I apologize again for not recognizing you. I hope we have a proper duel," she said. She pointed her sword at him.


    He grasped his own sword tightly and leaped forward.


    "Forgive me if I hurt you, but I need to get onto that ranking," he said.


    He shed down at Lyra, but she quickly sidestepped and countered. The boy blocked her counter, but the aura in her de pushed him back. She quickly pressed forward, trying to increase her advantage.


    As this was happening, Leo was facing his own opponent. His opponent was arge bulky boy with red hair. He looked very apologetic when he was facing Leo.


    "I''m very sorry about your parents. I feel bad that I am battling you for these resources," he said.


    Leo smiled. "Don''t worry about it. I didn''t even know them. What''s your name?" He asked.


    "I''m Raul," he said.


    "Well, I''m Leo. As for feeling bad, don''t. If you don''t put in your all, you will regret it," Leo gave him some advice.


    Raul nodded. "Thanks. I hope we have a good fight, Leo."


    He lifted his sword. Unlike everyone else, his weapon wasn''t a typical sword. It was a heavy sword 1.5 meters tall and incredibly wide. He slowly came toward Leo and swung his sword at him.


    Leo jumped up toward Raul. Raul had swung the sword diagonally. When the sword didn''t make any contact with him and struck the ground, it created an explosion of rocks that Leo evaded by jumping toward him.


    Leonded on top of the hilt of the heavy sword. He jumped up again andnded on the other side. The force with which he jumped almost made Raul let go of the sword. Leo turned back and faced him, waiting for him to charge at him again.


    This time, Raul charged while swinging his sword like a berserker. Leo shook his head and slid down, evading the sword while getting to Raul''s feet. He kicked his feet, making him lose bnce.


    Raul fell to the ground, while Leo quickly moved out of the way to not get caught in the fall. He thought the fight was over then, but Raul got up. Leo looked around for the person taking care of the fight. He saw Lisa make no moves, so he guessed that the fight was still going on.


    Since these were thest fights, they were letting them fight more seriously and get urate results. Leo stretched his hands and spun his dagger in his right hand. He was going to get a little more serious.


    On Marcus'' side, he was having his own problem. He was up against a very annoying archer. She had been bombarding him with arrows that exploded while not letting him get close to her.


    Every time he had an arrowe his way, he would have to punch it or dodge it. She would use this time she created to move away from him. But it didn''t mean she had a huge advantage. She was still not making any real damage since his aura would protect him from the explosions the arrows created.

 Chapter 124 Win

    ?


    As time passed, the girl started to run out of aura and the frequency with which she shot arrows at him started to decrease. He was also running out of aura, but now that he got a chance to close in, he took it.


    He ran in and started closing the distance between him and the girl. As he got closer, she started to panic and didn''t know what to do. She kept firing arrows at him while trying to figure out what to do.


    Before she even realized it, he had gotten incredibly close to her. He punched at her, almost hitting her before Selena stepped in and blocked his attack. He rxed his hand and took a step back.


    He was happy that he had finished the battle. It was incredibly hard because he was on the defensive end for the majority of the battle. He looked at the girl and nodded.


    "You were very hard to beat," he said.


    She smiled. "I wasn''t going to win. Your attacks are too powerful. If I was using a close-range weapon, then I would have lost a lot faster," she said.


    On the other stages, Leo and Lyra were having a lot easier time with their opponents.


    Being a 2nd Circle Aura Knight, Lyra was able to easily defend all of Miller''s attacks. Whenever she did, she would counter-attack only a little bit and pull back when she pressed him too much. It was like she was purposefully giving him a chance toe back.


    However, after 3 minutes, he was starting to feel his aura depleting. He had only half his reserves left. On the other hand, Lyra who had only defended the attacks most of the time, had well over 80% of her aura.


    When she noticed that his attacks had started to lose their ferocity, she decided to change to the offensive. She imbibed her aura into her sword and swung at Miller.


    Miller defended it, thinking it would be easy to parry. However, this time her sword cleanly sliced through the sword. He took a step back in astonishment as the top of his sword went flying away.


    After his sword was out of his hand, he knew he lost. His expression turned bitter but he quickly changed it to a smile when he looked at Lyra.


    "It seems that I am not a match for a daughter of the Eldridge Family," he said.


    "It was a good match. You were a good opponent," she said in response.


    They both stepped off the stage. Once she was off the stage, she observed Leo''s fight. Her fight took her a total of 7 minutes to end, but Leo and Raul were still fighting.


    The problem with the fight between Leo and Raul was that Raul would get back up no matter how many times he fell to the ground. And if Leo attacked him with his Twilight Veil sh, Raul would use his Aura technique to defend it.


    Raul had two aura techniques. One was a simple attack, while the other was an aura armor that protected his entire body from any attacks.


    Leo knew that there were only two ways to win against Raul. One was to destroy the armor with brute force. The other was to whittle away at Raul''s energy and aura.


    The first option was a lot harder for Leo than he had expected. Raul''s defense was incredibly sturdy and hard to break with just his aura. But the second way to beat him was easier for him.


    Leo had 6-7 times as much Aura as Raul did. On top of that, Raul''s attacks were incredibly slowpared to Leo and he could dodge them pretty easily. However, the only problem was that ying cat and mouse was a very long process.


    So by the time Lyra and Marcus finished their fights, Leo''s fight hadn''t reached its end. They watched as. Leo kept jumping from one end to the other while Raul chased him and missed all his attacks.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    5 more minutes passed and Raul finally showed signs of his fatigue affecting him. His body slowed down even more and he started to take breaks to recover.


    Leo, on the other hand, didn''t show any signs of slowing down. He wasn''t even breathing hard because he hadn''t used as much Aura as Raul. When he saw that his opponent had finally slowed down, Leo started to attack him again.


    He used his Twilight Veil sh which started to form cracks in the aura armor that Raul had. At this point, Raul was still holding on, but he was reaching his limit. Leo saw this, but he respected the persistence and kept attacking.


    Before he couldnd another blow, however, he noticed a figure entering the arena. Asher had entered the stage to stop the fight. Leo realized this the minute he moved toward them, so he stopped his attack midway.


    He took a step back from Raul while Asher came in between the two.


    "The fight is over. Leo is the winner," he said.


    Raul was going to protest, but he took a look at Leo. Leo was almost in perfect condition while he was sweating and panting hard. If the fightsted another minute, he was going to faint. No matter how much he persisted, there wasn''t a way that he was going to win the fight.


    "As I said, you will have a chance to get onto the rankingter. For now, don''t push your body too much," Asher said.


    Leo handed Asher back his weapon and walked to Marcus. When he reached him, Marcus made ament about the fight.


    "Why did you take that long?" He asked.


    Leo pointed at his opponent. "Ask him. I don''t know how he had the energy to rush at me for more than 10 straight minutes," he said. "He''s a beast."


    Marcus raised his eyebrows in astonishment. "He did look strong, but I never saw himnd any of his attacks so I don''t really know."


    "One attack can level you. I don''t know how the arena can survive that," he said.


    Once the fight was over and Raul got down from the tform, Asher came onto the stage.


    "So, there''s only one group left. And that''s the yellow group. What we decided was that the three people would draw straws. The one who drew the marked straw was going to advance. We already finished drawing the straws and the first fight ended. Now all that is left is the final fight and we can all go back home." He said.


    A girl and a boy entered the stage. One of them had a bow while the other had a long spear in her hands. The spear''s length was a meter and a half, making it as tall as the girl.


    Leo was immediately intrigued by the weapon choice. It was very hard to find aura techniques for unconventional weapons, so most people tended to go for swords or bows.


    This was the first time he had seen someone use a spear, so he wanted to see how the fight would turn out.


    "Fight," Asher said.

 Chapter 125 Price

    ?


    A swift arrow surged through the air, shimmering with icy energy. The spear-wielding knight dodged, countering with a lightning-charged thrust. The sh of ice and lightning resonated, each aura battling for dominance.


    Another arrow flew, encased in frost, aiming to bind the opponent. The spear-wielder evaded, retaliating with a swirling spiral of lightning. The bow was encased in aura and was used to defend and then counterattack. It was a very interesting use of the bow.


    The spear expert parried, aiming to disrupt with lightning strikes. After that attack failed, thebatants paused momentarily, their determination unwavering. After they paused for a minute, they resumed with full power.


    After two more rounds that didn''t reach an end, the bow-wielding girl knew that she had to end it fast before she ran out of aura.


    She unleashed a final, concentrated arrow infused with chilling frost. The arrow soared towards the spear-wielder, who deflected it with a precise lightning-infused strike. In a split second, the spear closed the distance, thrusting towards the bow-wielder''s chest.


    With lightning-fast reflexes, Selena got onto the stage and stopped the deadly blow. Thebatants stood facing each other, panting, their weapons by their sides.


    "So, we are done here," Asher said. "We have all 4 students who will get onto the New Student Ranking."


    Everyone got off the stage and stood in a line facing Asher. He talked to the 9 students who were left.


    "So, you all are the strongest people out of everyone who tried to join the academy today. But that doesn''t mean that it will remain that way forever. When you enter the academy, you will need to work hard and strive to grow stronger." He said.


    "For now, you will go back to your houses. You have all provided us with your addresses, so you will be sent a card to represent your identity to your houses. You can only enter the academy with that card. The academy is in session from 1st September, so you wille here on that day. Enjoy the next 1 month."


    Leo groaned inside when he heard this. He didn''t want to wait for another month before joining the academy, but he clearly didn''t have a choice. On the other hand, Marcus had his own concerns.


    "How much is tuition to attend here?" He asked.


    "Well, the first year is going to be 900,000 Starcoins to attend. The second year here will cost 1.3 million Starcoins while thest year will be 2 million Starcoins," he said.


    Marcus took a gulp and looked at Leo. Both of them were assuming that tuition was only 500,000 Starcoins, but this was almost twice that. Leo saw his nervous look and smiled.


    He nodded lightly to show that there wasn''t any problem with the prices. Marcus saw this nod and smiled gratefully.


    "If there aren''t any other questions, then you can all leave now," Asher said.


    Leo and Marcus were thest people to turn around to walk out. They weren''t in any hurry to get out since there wasn''t really anyone waiting for them. Everyone else had their parents waiting for them so they wanted to go quickly.


    As they were walking slowly, they saw that two people were waiting for them outside. This confused both of them.


    One of the people who was waiting immediately confronted them when they left the gates of the academy. It was Miller.


    "Hello, I am Miller Grenwich. I am from the Baron family of Grenwich. I wanted to talk to you about how you are funding your academic pursuits." He said.


    Leo raised an eyebrow at the boy''s words. They were far too diplomatic for someone his age.


    "I overheard information that lead me to believe that you might need financial assistance for tuition. I would like to offer to sponsor both of you on behalf of my family," he said. He seemed proud of his offer.


    Marcus immediately asked him, "What does sponsoring mean?" <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "It means that we will pay for your tuition and also support you in your training. In return, you can directly work for the Grenwich family once you are out of the academy."


    Leo frowned. He knew that this was attractive to other candidates, but it would be far too restrictive for him. He would have to work for another family no matter what once he left the school.


    He didn''t bother wasting his time listening to the entire proposal. There was really no way he was going to ept it from the beginning. After all, he already had enough money for all three of the years. On top of that, why would he want to go work for a Baron family who didn''t even have a mage stronger than him?


    On the other hand, Marcus was having some doubts. In his mind, he didn''t want to take the offer that seemed restrictive. But this would let him pay for his tuition instead of asking Leo to pay for it. He didn''t know if Leo''s offer would still stand after this offer was up.


    Leo''s next words rified this question for him.


    "We won''t need your assistance. Thank you for the offer." Leo said this and walked forward. Marcus followed him while Miller frowned.


    He was incredibly confident that he would get at least one of the boys to agree to be sponsored. Especially since one of them was an orphan. So why did they say no?


    His mind ran through all the possibilities. Were they already being sponsored by another family? That could be the reason.


    As Miller was thinking about these reasons, the second person waiting for the two stopped them. It was Lyra.


    "Hello, I am Lyra Eldridge," she introduced herself to the two.


    Marcus nodded. "Marcus Bright," he said.


    "Leo," Leo said.


    "I am here to talk about-"


    "If it''s about sponsoring us, then we already made it clear to the person behind us. We are not interested. Even if that happens to be someone from a prominent family like yours," Leo said.


    Lyra was taken aback. Her eyes showed a hint of disappointment, but she hid it quickly.


    "Well, you aren''t wrong. I was going to mention it. I also wanted to ask you a question. I am a 2nd Circle Aura Knight and I could only make it to the 4th Step with great difficulty. How were you able to get there without looking as tired or under pressure?" She asked.


    Leo looked at her for a minute, thinking about what to say. He never really expected that question from her, so he didn''t prepare a rehearsed answer.


    "I guess... I guess I have strong bones?" He said.


    Lyra was unimpressed with that answer. "What do you mean by that? Did you train from an early age? Or were you born with a blessed physique" She asked.


    He shook his head. "You are stressing too much about how someone else was able to beat you. There are two things wrong with that. What worked for me definitely won''t work for you. And the only thing that will remain constant in your life will be yourself. Don''t try to concentrate too much on chasing after people other than yourself."


    He left her with these words and left.

 Chapter 126 Train

    ?


    When they got back to their apartment, Leo and Marcus both immediately started embarking on what they thought was the best course of action for the next month.


    Marcus left to go to the Mercenary Guild to start epting more missions. He was starting to earn the money he would need to pay Leo back. He now had to pay Leo 900,000 Starcoins. This wasn''t even considering what would happen if he decided to add interest to that.


    While he was going to concentrate on finishing missions, he knew he would also have to increase his strength. There was absolutely no way that he would be able to make enough money to pay Leo back as a 1st Circle Aura Knight.


    As a Silver Rank Mercenary, he could make 5-6000 Starcoins a day if he finished a single mission a day. That came to 150,000 Starcoins a month. If he did that every day though, he would need 6 months to finish paying that off.


    But if he broke through once or twice, his strength would take a big leap and he would be able to earn twice or thrice what he normally earned.


    As a 2nd Circle Aura Knight, he would be able to take two or three missions a day and then bring that frequency down when they reached the academy.


    While Marcus was worrying about his financial problems, Leo left to go to the Thousand Treasure Tower to spend enough money that it would pay for their tuition for all three years.


    Leo was incredibly interested in the New Student Ranking. He wanted to be stronger so that he wouldn''t have to worry about being knocked off those rankings.


    What he learned through the fights he had been in at the academy was that he wasn''t invincible when he was only fighting with aura. He had been very nonchnt in all of his fights because he knew that they couldn''t really pose a threat to him when he was using his magic.


    However, when he fought Raul with his incredible defense, he found how useless his aura techniques were against a skilled Aura Knight. So his n was to quickly reach the 2nd Circle and upgrade to a better aura technique.


    There wasn''t any harm in learning how to use an aura technique. If he ever ran out of magic, he could switch to aura if it was at a simr level of strength.


    He got to the tower and went in to buy what he needed. He quickly went to the Aura Gathering Pills. He took a look at the price and decided to buy 10 pills to properly reach the Peak-Stage of the 1st Circle.


    However, while he was buying the pills, he saw something that caught his eye.


    [Luminary Essence Brew]


    [Aids an Aura Knight to break through to the next level. It gives Apprentice Aura Knights an 80% boost to their sess rate and 1st Circle Aura Knights a 30% boost to their sess rate.]


    [8.3 Million Starcoins]


    It was a ss bottle with purple liquid inside it. He was very intrigued by it and was very tempted to buy it. He thought about it.


    He would need two days to break through to the Peak Stage. After that, he would only need a day to consolidate that since it wasn''t a major change in his state. So he could try and breakthrough at that point.


    The only problem with this though, was that the price of the bottle was 8.3 million Starcoins. If he took that much money to break through to the 2nd Circle, then how much money would he need to get to the 3rd Circle or 4th Circle?


    He decided to think about the future costs in the future. He went to the counter to buy his pills and also bought the Luminary Essence Brew. After all, who would want to waste time toe back?


    After taking his items, he put them in his dimensional ring and left to go to his apartment.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    When he got back, he found Marcus there. Marcus was training seriously, so he didn''t disturb him. At this point, it waspletely dark outside, so Leo decided to train like Marcus.


    He took out an Aura Gathering Pill and plopped it into his mouth. He felt the increase in his aura and quickly started circting it around his body. It had been a while since he hadst done it, so he did it slowly.


    After a while, he started to get the hang of it. After the effect of the Aura Gathering Pill started to dissipate, he took another one. This time, he was able to more efficiently circte his aura.


    Time passed quickly. When he opened his eyes, it was already the afternoon. Marcus was already gone, so Leo guessed he went to go to the forest. He got up and stretched.


    In his short training session, he had finished a total of 3 Aura Gathering Pills. He was nning on taking a small break before going ahead with the rest of his pills.


    His vision of a break was training in magic instead of aura. He trained in his magic until Marcus came back.


    Marcus came back after sunset. He looked incredibly weary which was very unusual. He wouldn''t be this exhausted after he finished his missions. Leo normally left Marcus to his own, respecting his privacy. But he decided to inquire about what happened.


    "What happened? You look very tired," Leo asked him.


    Marcus plopped himself onto the bed.


    "What do I do if I somehow offended this Mercenary Group?" He asked Leo.


    Leo frowned.


    "What do you mean?" He asked.


    Marcus sighed. "I was just finishing my missions like normal when someone approached me. Apparently, he saw how I was finishing my missions and invited me to join his Mercenary Group. The problem is, I didn''t want to."


    Leo was curious."Why?"


    Marcus exined. "Well, this group was very suspicious from the start. The man kept pestering me, so I asked him about the details. Apparently, I have to hand them 40% of what I make. On top of that, I have to give them a monthly fee. I said no immediately, but he said I didn''t have a choice but to join them."


    He kept ranting. "I didn''t mind them and kept ignoring the man. I realized what they meant when I entered the forest. When I tried to hunt any Magical Beasts, they started interfering with my hunts. They would swoop in and kill the Magical Beast that I was battling and would take away my loot since they killed it. I ended up finishing zero missions today. I can''t sustain this if the same happens every day."


    Leo consoled him. "It won''t happen tomorrow. The forest is huge. The only reason they could follow you was that they saw you at the Mercenary Guild. You go to the forest directly from the apartment tomorrow and tell me if the same thing happens. If it persists, then I''ll handle it."


    Marcus nodded. "What are you going to do?" He asked.


    Leo shook his head. "You don''t need to worry about it."

 Chapter 127 Resolving

    ?


    Leo went back to training. He took a pill and started training his aura while Marcus rested for the night. The next morning, Marcus left directly for the forest.


    Leo quickly ran through three more pills before reaching a bottleneck. He could no longer gather any more aura, which meant that he was now very close to making his 2nd Circle.


    Instead of immediately trying to do that, he started consolidating his aura. He didn''t take any pills and only circted the aura in his body for 2 hours. After that, he got very ustomed to the new aura that had gotten into his body.


    He stretched a little and thought about what he was going to do. Was he supposed to start breaking through, or was he supposed to wait and get more pills or elixirs that could increase his sess?


    Just one pill was enough thest time he broke through, but he wasn''t sure it would be the same this time. Last time he had a very tame amount of aura, but now it was different.


    He had more than 5 times as much aura as a normal 1st Circle Aura Knight would have. He wasn''t sure why his body demanded this much aura. This made his breakthroughs a moreplicated process.


    With this much aura, the safer decision would be to wait and buy another pill that would supplement his breakthrough.


    As he was thinking this, the door to the apartment opened. Marcus walked in looking extremely frustrated.


    "They were there again! I don''t know what to do!" He said with an exasperated voice.


    "Fine, tell me the name of the group," Leo said.


    "The Crown Band," Marcus said. "I seriously don''t know how they get away with this. Aren''t there anyws about this?"


    Leo smiled. "Don''t worry. I will take care of this. For now, you should stay home and train for the next few days. Don''t worry about the money. Okay?" He told Marcus.


    Marcus nodded. Leo left the apartment.


    The minute he left the apartment, he went to the Mercenary Guild. On the way, he put on a disguise. He changed his face to the face of the leader of the cktooth Gang since it was a familiar face. He put on a cloak and entered the guild.


    When he got into the building, he went to the courtyard where people could be seen forming parties to finish missions. He went to one of the people and asked them a question.


    "Hi, do you know where I can find Mercenary Groups here?" He asked.


    The man he asked looked at him and said, "Yeah sure. What group are you looking for?"


    "The Crown Band," Leo said.


    The man''s expression changed. "Are you sure? Do you really want to associate with them? They have a reputation for being very sketchy. I heard they pick newbies and steal their magical beasts until he agrees to join their group. They also do everything that happens to be inside the lines ofws that are immoral."


    Leo nodded. "Those are exactly who I am looking for."


    The man frowned. "Fine. They are probably in the corner of the recruiting office for Mercenary Groups."


    Leo thanked the man and headed to the recruiting office. It was one of the rooms that was beyond the courtyard. He found it quickly and looked for the Crown Band. He found it in a shady corner like the man had said.


    The recruiting office was a bunch of groups setting up tables to showcase their groups to other mercenaries. He even saw the Iron Roses have a table there. But while everyone else had at least three people at their tables, Crown Band only had one. And even he was half-asleep. He clearly showed no interest in any of the peopleing into the office.


    Leo walked up to the table.


    "Hi, I''d like to join the Crown Band," he said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The man slowly woke up and said, "What?" He yawned while waiting for Leo to repeat himself.


    "I would like to join the Crown Band," Leo repeated.


    "Wait, what? Really?" The man asked. "Sure. What''s your name?" He asked.


    "My name is Sirius," Leo said.


    "Sounds good. So you just need to officially register with us with your mercenary card. Can you give it?" He asked.


    Leo shook his head. "I don''t have it on me for now. But I have the money for the monthly fee. Here it is," he said.


    He handed 10000 Starcoins to the man.


    "You are very fast. I like it. So you can just take this and go to the group''s manor. It is in the samene as all the prominent Mercenary Groups. Just tell them that Zack sent you." The man said and handed him a small pin. It was a crown.


    "So you are Zack?" Leo asked.


    Zack nodded.


    "Fine. Thanks a lot," he said and left the room.


    The minute he left, Zack broke into a chuckle and went back to being half asleep on his chair. He had somehow made 10000 Starcoins doing absolutely nothing.


    Leo left the guild and walked to the group''s manor. He was very surprised that the ce even had a manor, but he hoped that it was what he expected.


    He knew that the 10000 Starcoins he had spent were gone. The reason he spent it was that he would have easy ess to the manor and also needed to know where the manor was going to be.


    Leo wasn''t that nice. He wasn''t dropping by to say hi and then requesting them to stop harassing newbies. He was nning on teaching them a lesson.


    He was going to rob the Crown Band of all their money. He expected that the group would have a single 3rd Circle Aura Knight at best, but he wanted to go in and make sure that was the case. Even if they had more, what would they be able to do about him?


    He had the ultimate disguising spell that would fool any 3rd Circle Aura Knight. With that, and his shadow steps, he could go in and out without getting into any fights.


    Leo walked down the road and walked to the Iron Roses'' manor. Since the manor he was supposed to go to was on the same road, he just crossed their manor and went along the road.


    After walking for 10 minutes, he realized that the manors were getting a lot smaller and dirtier. By the time he finally reached his destination, he found himself in a very sketchy area. The manor was barely a mansion that could house 40 people. It was even smaller than the cktooth Gang''s base in Solhaven.


    There wasn''t any courtyard or any space apart from the wooden mansion. The walls had peeling paint and the windows were cracked. He would have thought that the ce was abandoned if he didn''t sense the people inside the building.


    He took a deep breath and knocked on the gate. He waited for a minute but nothing happened so he knocked again. Someone finally answered.


    "What do you want?" He asked Leo.


    "Zack sent me. I''m a new member. My name is Sirius," he said.

 Chapter 128 Steal

    ?


    "Zack? The person at the recruiting office?" The man asked.


    He nodded. He took out the pin that Zack gave him and showed it to the man at the gate. The man took the pin from Leo and observed it carefully. After he confirmed its authenticity he opened the gate entirely.


    "Come in. I''ll show you to the boss," he said.


    Leo walked inside while observing his surroundings. He breathed a sigh of relief when he entered the manor. There weren''t any 3rd Circle Aura Knights at all. The group wasn''t big enough to have Aura Knights on that level.


    He walked confidently with the man guiding him and quickly reached a door. The door led to a small office on the ground floor. The man knocked on the door.


    "Come in," a scruffy voice came from the inside.


    The man opened the door and gestured to Leo. He left after Leo entered the office.


    The man inside the office was sitting at his desk with a few books open in front of him. There was a small name que showing his name - Roy Leroy.


    "So, why are you here?" Roy asked.


    Leo smiled. "I am here to earn some money, Mr. Leroy."


    "Well, you came to the right ce. Just make sure to register with the mercenary group at the guild to make your payments to us more smooth. If you have any questions, then just ask one of the members. You can leave now," Roy said.


    "Well, I do have a question," Leo said.


    Roy looked up. "What is it?" He asked.


    "Where is all your money?" Leo asked.


    Roy frowned. "What did you say?"


    "Where''s the money? Do you keep all of it in your dimensional ring or is there a secret vault somewhere here?" Leo asked.


    The table shook lightly when Roy banged on it. He stood up, rising to a menacing height of 6'' 3". Leo didn''t flinch and stared him in the eyes.


    "You have a lot of guts to ask me that question. Do you have the strength to match that up? No. What was a 1st Circle Aura Knight like you hoping to achieve by pissing me off?"


    Leo smiled. "I don''t know why people assume so much."


    Roy punched Leo, but his fist met nothing and went straight down to hit the back of the table. He stumbled forward because he didn''t expect to contact nothing. When his fist hit the table, it created an explosion, smashing the table to bits.


    He looked to the side and saw Leo standing to the side, leaning on the wall.


    "How? You were right here," he said. He immediately lunged toward Leo, but Leo sank into the wall behind him and appeared from the wall behind him.


    The boss quickly took out a sword from his dimensional ring and swung it at Leo behind him. Leo didn''t have any time to Shadow Step, so he put up an Intermediate Arcane Shield,pletely deflecting the blow.


    "You... you are a mage!" Roy shouted.


    "Yes, genius. Took you long enough to figure that out," Leo said and fired a Shadowbind bolt at him.


    The bolt hit the boss straight in his chest and wrapped him in shadow tendrils. He started struggling to try and get himself out of the tendrils, but Leo used more magic to keep him in ce.


    He walked forward and controlled the tendrils to keep the arms away from the body and lock them in ce. He then walked to Roy''s left arm and took out the dimensional ring on the index finger.


    "Is this what you use to store all of the money you made?" He asked Roy.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Roy lunged at Leo but the tendrils held him back. Leo quickly checked the dimensional ring and found almost 10 million Starcoins lying in it. He was very surprised.


    "Wow, there''s a lot of money in this. I''ll take this for now. Next time I see you, I don''t want you to be doing the stuff you do now with this ce," Leo said.


    He quickly took a step back. Roy broke free out of the shadow tendrils and roared loudly. He charged at Leo, but Leo quickly shadow-stepped out of the room.


    He broke the door and burst out to look for him but didn''t find anyone. He roared loudly.


    "Evan!"


    The person at the gate ran back into the mansion. He had heard some sounds but didn''t know what was going on inside. But now that his name was being called, he had to hurry. He knew better than to make his boss angry.


    When he got into the mansion, he saw that the decorations were destroyed and his boss was standing in the hallway, fuming.


    Roy had destroyed the rundown chandeliers around him in anger when he couldn''t find Leo. He looked up and saw Evan standing there.


    "Who was the person you brought to me?" He asked Evan.


    "He was someone Zack sent. He even had the Crown Band pin, so I let him in. Zack will probably know who he is. Why? Is there anything wrong?" Evan asked.


    Roy looked at Evan. "Is something wrong? No. I destroyed these chandeliers because nothing is wrong. That door behind me is demolished because nothing is wrong. Bunch of idiots. You guys brought a mage to my doorstep! I was robbed in my own house!" He shouted. His anger was starting to increase again.


    Evan started backing away. "I will bring Zack to you immediately, sir."


    He ran out of the mansion and left the gate unmanned. He rushed to go to the Mercenary Guild. When he got there, he rushed to the recruitment office. He saw Zack at the table for the Crown Band.


    He walked to the table and saw Zack sleeping with his head on the table. He smacked Zack''s head hard, waking him up.


    "Who was that?!" Zack shouted, drawing attention to himself. Everyone looked at Zack for a second before going back to their own affairs.


    Zack looked up and saw Evan standing there.


    "Evan? Aren''t you on gate duty today? If Roy finds out that you are cking, then he will punish you." He said.


    Evanughed. "You sure seem pretty concerned about me. You should be more concerned about yourself," he said.


    Zack smiled proudly. "Nope. I got the group a free member today. He just magically appeared and said that he wanted to join our guild. He even gave me the monthly fee without even properly registering with the Mercenary Guild. I''m telling you, I was way too lucky today. I think the boss will enjoy the story."


    "Was the person you are talking about called Sirius?" Evan asked.


    Zack nodded. "Did he alreadye to the manor?" He asked.


    Evan nodded. "Yes. That''s why I came. The boss wants to talk to you about him. So you shoulde with me now."


    Zack was confused. "Now? I''m in the middle of my shift, though."


    "Your shift isn''t that important now. The boss wants you back at the manor." Evan said.


    "Fine. But tell me why. Am I in trouble?" He asked.


    "Oh yes. You are in a lot of trouble, Zack."

 Chapter 129 Anger

    ?


    They got to the manor and found their boss sitting in more damage than Evan had seen before he left. Roy looked up and saw that they arrived. He stood up.


    "So, Zack. Who was the friend who visited us?" He asked him.


    Zack stuttered while answering. "He- He was someone at the Mercenary Guild. He came to- to register with us for- for no reason. I thought it was a free member so- so I sent him here."


    "Do you have any idea what the person did to me?" He asked.


    Evan interjected at this point. "But sir, you are a really powerful person. On top of that, the group has more than 300 people that we constantly milk. Surely we can recover whatever you lost in a year at best."


    "Recover what we lost," Roy repeated. "Do you have any idea what I lost?!"


    His roar made the both of them take a couple of steps away from him.


    "I lost my one chance to be a 5th Circle Aura Knight! Do you think I care about the money in that dimensional ring?!"


    Far away from the mansions, Leo stepped out from a wall. He stretched a little and let out a chuckle while transforming back to his normal appearance. That was the easiest steal in his life. It only took him a few seconds to escape from the manor.


    He decided to check the ring again, properly this time since he was interrupted thest time. As he was checking the dimensional ring, he found something interesting. There was another item apart from the money. It was apass.


    He took thepass out and stared at it. For some reason, he felt it wasn''t as simple as it looked. Thepass was made out of wood and didn''t have a ss encasing protecting its needle. The needle seemed to point in a single direction. Normally, he wouldn''t have wasted his time on something that looked so mundane, but this item gave a very simr feeling to him.


    When Leo looked in that direction, he only saw the sun close to setting in that direction. Thepass wasn''t even pointing north. He threw thepass back in his ring.


    "A brokenpass? Why was it in his ring?" He thought to himself. He didn''t throw it away because he wanted to inspect it closer. Thepass had a weird sense to it that Leo couldn''t figure out.


    When he got back to his apartment, he saw Marcus training. Marcus noticed that Leo hade back and immediately went to him to ask about what happened.


    "Are you okay? Did anything happen?" He asked.


    Leo shook his head. "I don''t know if what I did is going to help you, but it solves your trouble to some extent. You don''t have to go to do Mercenary work for this month." He said.


    Marcus was confused. "What do you mean? How do I earn money if I don''t go to finish missions?" He asked.


    Leo took out 200,000 Starcoins and put them on the bed. "This is thepensation that I got out of them. But they might still try to get revenge on you so don''t venture out into the forest. You won''t have to worry once you enter the academy anyway. Just focus on training for this month." He said.


    "They gave youpensation? What did you say to them?" Marcus asked. He still couldn''t understand Leo''s rambles.


    "Marcus, do you want to know how, or do you want the money? Consider the matter as resolved and focus on training. It''s bad if you have to go to work every day anyway." Leo said.


    Marcus sighed. "Fine. Thanks for taking care of this for me."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He took the money and started training on his bed. Meanwhile, Leo left the apartment. He was going to the Thousand Treasure Tower.


    He was going there to look for a second elixir or pill that could help him break through. He needed it to make sure he would seed. If he failed, then he would have to buy more anyway.


    When he got to the tower, he had a very clear target. He immediately went to the ces where they put pills for Aura Knights and started searching for the right one.


    As he was searching for one, he noticed that he was the only one in the entire section. He shrugged. There weren''t really a lot ofmoners who could afford to splurge on pills. Especially not at the section that Leo was looking at.


    Only nobles could afford the costs that the pills disyed. Each pill was more than 5 million Starcoins.


    He quickly found what he thought was the best pill for him.


    [Aura Luminary Pill]


    [Aids an Aura Knight to break through to the next level. It gives Apprentice Aura Knights a 90% boost to their sess rate and 1st Circle Aura Knights a 20% boost to their sess rate.]


    [6 Millions Starcoins]


    It was less expensive but the effect it gave him was also low. He bought the pill and went back to his apartment.


    He was incredibly grateful to Marcus for telling him about the Crown Band Mercenary Group. He was only okay with stealing when it was from people who stole their wealth, and Marcus found someone like that for him.


    Now he gained 10 million Starcoins that kept him from going back to being broke. Just to break through, he had spent 14 million Starcoins. If not for the money he stole, he would have lost more than half his money. But now, he still had 20 million Starcoins left.


    He got back to the apartment and got everything ready. He wanted to create the optimal environment for his breakthrough. After making his bed, he waited.


    As much as he appreciated Marcus'' presence, having no one near him was Leo''s optimal environment. He couldn''t have that anymore now that they were roommates, but he could still wait till Marcus went to sleep.


    Unlike Leo, Marcus still needed rest so he slept throughout the night. So that period would leave Leo alone to concentrate.


    5 hours after sunset, Marcus went to bed. Leo immediately got ready. He didn''t know exactly how long it was going to take him, so he was going to start as quickly as possible.


    He took out the pill and the elixir. He stared at both of them, uncertain of how to take them. Was he supposed to take one of them first, and then wait for the effect to subside before taking the next one?


    He rejected that idea since that wouldn''t bebining both effects. He decided to take the risk and take both the pills at once. He guessed his body could take the effect since it could handle more than one Aura Gathering Pill at once.


    He had tried it once when he was taking the pills to be a Peak-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight. If it worked then, it had to work now right?


    He took a deep breath. First, he swallowed the Aura Essence Pill. After that, he immediately gulped down the Luminary Essence Brew. He immediately felt a burning sensation in his stomach.

 Chapter 130 Treasure

    ?


    When he took the essence brew, the pill had already dissolved into aura. The essence brew quickly reached his stomach and transformed into aura as well. Together, the two produced a huge amount of aura in his stomach that was starting to burst out.


    He quickly circted it around his body. When he did that, the burning sensation disappeared. The aura was also a lot more tame than the aura in Aura Gathering Pills, so it was easy to control.


    After he circted the aura around his body several times, he started to bring the aura to his dantian. After a minute, all the aura had settled in his dantian,bining with the rest of the aura there.


    The minute all the aura had settled, he started drawing the second circle around his dantian. This was the part where he needed the utmost concentration. This was also where he had the biggest advantagepared to typical Aura Knights.


    Unlike the normal Aura Knight, Leo was a mage. He had built an ability to concentrate and focus no matter what happened around him thanks to his mind being strengthened by the magic.


    He started drawing the runes that made up the circle. The second circle was a little bigger than the 1st circle that he drew, so he needed to draw for longer. It took him an entire hour to finish drawing it. Once the circle finished, it glowed lightly and shrunk to encircle the dantian. After it wrapped itself around the dantian, it solidified.


    He opened his eyes and let out a sigh of relief. He had seeded in his breakthrough. He had sessfully be a 2nd Circle Aura Knight. After finishing his breakthrough, he now decided to focus on the next few things he wanted to finish before joining the academy.


    The first thing he wanted to check was how well an Aura Gathering Pill would help him. He took out a pill and swallowed it. The pill immediately dissolved into aura. He quickly circted the aura throughout his body with ease and brought it into his dantian in seconds.


    He sighed. Even though the pill gave him aura that he could easily absorb, it was no longer sustainable to use. He expected that he needed at least 300 pills only to reach the Middle Stage of the 2nd Circle. He could no longer use Aura Gathering Pills.


    Now that he had be a 2nd Circle Aura Knight, the simple manual that he had used to learn aura was now useless to him. He would have to buy a manual that taught him how to form his third circle and the circles after that.


    This manual was going to be a lot more expensive than 1000 Starcoins, but that was because it wasn''t mass-produced like the one he had. This was not as important to buy since there was a huge chance that the academy had this manual.


    The other thing he wanted to do was buy an Aura Technique for himself, but the academy probably had a collection of those as well. So anything that he was nning on doing regarding aura was put to the end of his list.


    The only things left were training in magic and increasing his proficiency in Valkyr''s Descent. But one thing added to that - thepass. He wanted to find out what it was out of curiosity.


    He took it out again because he had nothing better to do. He was nning on waiting till the aura in his body settled down before training in magic. When he took out thepass, he felt something weird happen in his body.


    The aura in his body lurched forward into the hand that made contact with thepass. It was very momentary, but Leo caught this. When the aura entered thepass, itpletely changed its appearance.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The wooden frame stayed, but a number of runes on its surface started glowing. The needle in the center started spinning around. After some time, the needle stopped spinning.


    Leo left for the balcony and looked at where the needle pointed. It was still pointing west. He sighed and looked at the runes. He was able to understand the runes thanks to the knowledge the tome imparted him.


    "When the sun sets and the blood moon rises, find my treasure."


    Leo thought about it. The blood moon was a phenomenon that was very rare. It happened every 5 years, and the most recent one was more than 4 years ago. He remembered seeing it at Solhaven.


    There were still around 5 months left before the blood moon rose, so he had time. He finally figured out what thepass was with this. It was essentially a map. It was going to guide him to the treasure.


    The only thing he had to be careful of was whether or not there was only onepass. If there were multiple people trying to find this treasure, then he would have to prepare for a battle.


    He put thepass back in his ring and went back to his bed. He stared outside through the window. He was now a little bit stronger, but it didn''t really trante to his final strength. Every time he made any progress in aura, he was reminded that aura was not his main aspect.


    He was a mage. He had to focus on training to be a mage. His natural inclination was toward magic, not aura. So for the rest of the month, he decided to only train in magic. He had made enough progress in aura for a long time.


    He knew that as a 2nd Circle Aura Knight, he already held a huge advantage over all the iing students. So even if he didn''t make any progress for the rest of the year, he was still going to be fine.


    He sat crisscrossed on his bed and started practicing his magic. He entered his mind and plucked out leaves to practice. He realized that the tree had so many leaves that he wouldn''t even have to replenish them for a while.


    Obviously, he would feed it some magic cores once he got his hands on them, but for now, he would focus on just training his magic and his spells. He knew the tree could handle a month''s worth of training from experience.


    Morning came and Marcus woke up to see that Leo was already training. He looked at the 200,000 Starcoins on the bed and decided to make the most use of it. He went to the Thousand Treasure Tower to buy Aura Gathering Pills.


    Now that he had ess to these pills, he was nning on breaking through to the 2nd Circle by the end of the month. If he could do that before he reached the academy, then he could easily maintain his rank in the New Student Rankings.


    He entered the tower and took 5 pills to buy and went to the counter. He bought them with the cash that Leo gave him as well as the money that he had left from his own savings. After this purchase, he was essentially broke, but it was worth it. He rushed to the apartment and started training.

 Chapter 131 Academy

    ?


    The month passed in a sh and it was time for them to go to the academy. They had already received their cards five days before.


    They took the cards and made their way to the academy. When they reached the entrance on the 1st of September, they were greeted by a confusing sight.


    There were around 1000 people in the entire yard in front of the academy. Both of them distinctively remembered only 67 people had passed all the tests, but there were almost 1000 people in the yard.


    Leo quickly scanned the entire area and realized that almost everyone was a 1st Circle Aura Knight. They weren''t the same people who had taken the test alongside them.


    All of them were strong enough to get past all of the rounds. There were also multiple 2nd Circle Aura Knights among these people.


    After around 30 minutes of waiting, someone finally came out of the gate. It was Asher.


    "Hello, students of the Eldridge Aura Knight Academy. If you are here, then you have chosen to attend the academy. You will be given one of the best educations in the entire empire here! You will receive a formal wee inside!" He said.


    Even though his voice reached everyone, it was very clear that he wasn''t shouting. Leo guessed that it was a simr technique to what mages did.


    Everyone followed him inside the academy. For the first time, Leo could see all of the academy in its full glory.


    He could see massive buildings made out of marble on the sides of the huge walking paths that lead to the heart of the academy. In the center, there was a huge building that they were walking to.


    It was a magnificent structure of elegant spires and arched windows. Its gleaming ss domes reflected the sunlight, casting a kaleidoscope of colors across the surroundingndscape.


    As they were walking to the building, Leo noticed the arenas that they had used to conduct the tests for entering the academy. They were still 5 minutes away from the main building, which showed how vast the academy was. It took them 20 minutes to walk from the entrance to the main building.


    When they got to the main building, everyone marveled at the building. As they entered, they realized that they weren''t alone.


    The inside of the building was arge hall below a ss dome. There was a podium on one end and seats filling up the rest of the hall. There was another set of students inside the building, already seated.


    Leo frowned when he saw them. All of the students sitting there were mages. That meant they were majorly nobles.


    There was an old person on the podium, waiting for the students. He spoke, drawing attention to himself.


    "I see that the Aura Knight students have joined us. Please, take a seat," he said.


    Leo''s eyes widened when he looked at the old man. He was emitting a faint bit of magic, but for some reason, Leo wasn''t able to sense exactly how much magic he had. There was some sort of power that was shielding the man''s body from being seen through.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He immediately looked to the side to see if there was something wrong with his own perception, but he could still see through everyone else like normal. This was including the 4th Circle Mages standing to the side behind the old man. So why was he unable to see through him?


    Leo came to the conclusion that the old man was stronger than a 4th Circle Mage, which made him the strongest person he had ever seen.


    As he was thinking that, Marcus pulled him into a seat. Leo was standing in a stupor and Marcus snapped him out of it.


    "What''s wrong?" Marcus asked him.


    Leo shook his head. "Nothing."


    "Wee to Eldridge Academy! All of you here are the first-year students of our academy. You will hopefully spend the next three years together. We are an academy with a long history of providing amazing education, but you all aren''t interested when I talk about boring things like that. So I wille straight to what I expect from all of you." He started speaking in a slow voice.


    "You will all need to work hard to be powerful Aura Knights and Mages. Out of everyone here, only 200 students will be receiving the resources provided by the empire to academies. This will be decided by the New Student Rankings. This ranking will include both Mages and Aura Knights. For now, there is already a ranking based on your results in each test you took when you entered the academy."


    Everyone was listening intently. When they heard that Mages and Aura Knights were being clubbed together, themoners were slightly discouraged. This meant they were being pitted against nobles, which was very dangerous. Leo was more interested in seeing what his own ranking was. Was he even on the final ranking?


    "Now, the rankings will change every month based on challenges. You can challenge someone on the ranking by using a challenge. You can buy this ''challenge'' from the academy''s point shop. This shop will not use Starcoins, but a special currency unique to the academy called points." The man exined.


    "You can earn these points by staying in the rankings as well as finishing missions provided to you by the academy. You can find these missions in our Mission Hall. You will be properlypensated for these missions through points.


    Now, don''t think these points are useless. These points can also be used to rent Aura Techniques and Spells as well as training manuals. You can even buy magical herbs and pills. The points are just as valuable as Starcoins, but you can only earn them inside the academy."


    Everything he said was very appealing to themoners and mages equally, except for the challenges. The point system decreased the advantage that rich people entering the academy had.


    However, the problem with the challenges was that very few people were going to be able to challenge the mages without fearing that something would happen to them. This was basically advantageous to the nobles.


    "And finally, to make sure that the academy is giving an equal chance to everyone, this academy does not consider your status outside these walls when you are in it. Whether you are a noble or amoner, if you make a mistake, you will be punished."


    Leo raised his eyes at those words. These words helped solve the problem that the challenges raised. Since the old man was a mage, he was expecting a noble that didn''t really care aboutmoners. But the man''s words were pretty revolutionary. It essentially gave themoners the courage to get onto the rankings.


    "But with all the serious things aside, I will now tell you what I hope from you. These are the best times of your lives - your youth. Enjoy it. Make friends. Don''t try to consider whether a person is worth being your friend. Make memories thatst in the years that you stay here. It''s just as important to enjoy your life as it is to train to be stronger." He said.

 Chapter 132 Tuition

    ?


    When he said those words, he gave a slight pause. The entire hall was quiet, making the words seem more powerful. He noticed the reaction and broke the silence.


    "And with that, I''ve taken too much of your time. I will now let you explore the academy that will be your home for the next few years." He said and stepped down from the podium.


    Leo looked to the side where the mage students were sitting. Some of them had a neutral expression while most of them were split between a disgusted face and a pondering one. The man''s words made a lot of them rethink what they were going to do at the academy while the others stubbornly stuck to what they knew.


    The teachers in charge of each set of students quickly rounded up the students to take them out of the hall. Asher took some time to round up the 1000 students in the Aura Knight division. The mage teacher had a far easier time since there were only around 500 students in the Mage division.


    Once the mage students left the hall, the Aura Knight students all broke into whispers with the students around them, adding to Asher''s problems while rounding them up.


    "Isn''t that odd? Making the magespete with the Aura Knights?" Marcus asked Leo.


    Leo shook his head. "No. The empire would obviously prefer to give the resources to the nobles instead of themoners. The system in this academy actually makes it better for us since they are helping us challenge even the nobles in the rankings." He said.


    Marcus sighed. "Yes, but who are we to beat them? They are probably powerful mages," he said.


    Leo shook his head with a smile. "Not really. Even the strongest among them is only a 2nd Circle Mage. In reality, if the rankings were established now, the strongest mage would probably ce 5th at best. The Aura Knights are a lot more powerful than the mages here." He said.


    Marcus was confused. The people around them were also listening in while Leo continued.


    "The strongest mages don''te to Eldridge to learn magic. The best mages would go to the best academy - The Royal Academy. That would help them form better connections and give them ess to better teachers.


    On the other hand, Eldridge is better for Aura Knights because we have so many of us that we cannot hope topete to go to the Royal Academy. That is why the talent for Aura Knights is better spread than for mages.


    The only reason the mages areing to 5th ce is because of the resources they have. If we have the same resources, the Aura Knights would take at least the first 20 spots without a doubt." He said.


    His exnation drew a lot of eyes toward him. All the students around him were listening to him, while Asher was also looking at him. In the distance, the old man who had stepped down from his podium had also heard the exnation and was looking at Leo with intrigue.


    Out of the students looking at him were Miller and Lyra. While Miller had a look of contempt, Lyra looked at him with surprise. Neither of them thought that he would break down the strength difference between the two that urately.


    Leo quickly realized the number of eyes looking at him and shied away. He started walking out of the hall faster to get away from the eyes. Marcus chased after him.


    "That was incredible. But how did you know how strong the mages were?" He asked Leo.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Leo shook his head. "Don''t ask me now. I''ll tell youter."


    Asher quickly got the rest of the students out of the hall and was about to leave, but he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.


    "Do you know who the boy is?" The person who stopped him asked. Asher looked behind him and saw the old man who gave the speech.


    "Yes, Head Master. He''s one of the candidates on the first day. Apparently, he got to the 4th step with ease." He said. "He was also a 1st Circle Aura Knight just a month ago. I am surprised that he was able to be a 2nd Circle Aura Knight within this time since he didn''t seem like a Peak-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight to me.


    "Curious," the Head Master said. "Do you know if he''s a noble or amoner?"


    "He''s an orphan, Head Master," Asher responded. "He''s truly a talent that we can groom. It''s not just him. The entire batch of students this time seems to be the most talented batch I have ever seen. They will be crucial if Eldridge wants to seed in the Phoenix Trials. If not this year, they will be ready by next year."


    The Head Master sighed. "Last year, we had 3 2nd Circle Aura Knights on our opening day. Today, we had 14. It''s promising, but also worrying. When there is an influx of talent, that means something big is going to happen." He said.


    Asher nodded. "I agree, sir. Thest time something like this happened was before my time, so I wouldn''t bepletely informed about it, but you will definitely know."


    The Head Master sighed. "Yes, I would. Well, take care of the children. Train them well. Make sure they be strong." He said.


    Asher nodded. He left the hall and came to be greeted by 1000 students who all had way too much energy. He sighed.


    "Okay, so from here on you can explore the academy by yourself. But before you go, I will exin how dorms and tuition will work. So the card that was mailed to you is registered to you and will be the most important thing to you. When you go to any hall, that card is your identification. Without that, we won''t be able to tell who you are.


    Before you can ess your dorm, you will have to pay the tuition to attend here. To do that, you can go to the office of finances, which is in the same building as the office of resident life. The building is very adequately staffed for the first month of the academy, so you won''t have to worry about long lines. Once you pay the money to attend here, you can go to your dorm.


    Now this doesn''t mean you need to wait till you paid the money to attend college. If required, you can request ate payment of tuition and gain ess to your dorm. You will receive a 1-month extension. You can receive your dorm once you gain the extension or pay your tuition.


    This needs to be done within the first week of college. After that, if you haven''t done either, then your card will lose its ess to the academy, and you will no longer be considered an attending student.


    If you cannot pay your tuition today, then you can pay itter, but you need to go back to your home to sleep. So I suggest that you find the office of finances. It''s a very hard building to miss, so have fun." He said.


    His announcement bummed everyone out. The excitement died down the minute responsibility was involved.

 Chapter 133 Halls

    ?


    Leo and Marcus were unbothered. Since they had an entire week to figure out paying for tuition, they could take their time. Everyone else didn''t live as close to the academy as they did.


    On top of that, there were a considerable number of people there who hade from ces outside the city and didn''t have a ce to stay, so they would need the dorms immediately.


    So a majority of the students went along as a group to the Office of Finances. A small group remained that wanted to leisurely tour the academy.


    Leo and Marcus quickly walked around the campus, trying to get a sense of where everything in the academy was. Till now, they didn''t even know what exactly they were going to learn at the academy.


    All they knew was that the academy was going to help them be stronger, but not how. They were hoping they would find out as the days went past.


    They walked around and found familiar sights. They found the ce where they went through the first test. They saw that the steps were deserted and wanted to try them but decided not to since they didn''t know how to start the formation.


    They explored the rest of the campus, looking at the various buildings. They found the mission hall. It was a huge building made out of marble like the rest of the buildings. Leo was starting to notice a theme - all the buildings were made out of marble.


    The Mission Hall itself was a huge building that opened up into a hall that was simr to the main building that they hade out of. It could easily amodate 500-600 students at once while giving them enough ce to move aroundfortably. If they didn''t worry about the space, then more than 4000 students would fit in the hall.


    Leo and Marcus were able to enter the Mission Hall because there wasn''t a door separating the building from outside, but the entire hall was barren. There wasn''t anyone inside the hall and the walls werepletely empty.


    He was curious about how the missions would be disyed and how he would have to take them, but he guessed that it would be very simr to the process at the Mercenary Guild.


    After visiting the Mission Hall, they found the Points Shop. Both of them were expecting something that was a lot smaller than the Mission Hall since they thought it mainly existed for the sake of selling challenges.


    The building shattered all their expectations. It was a three-floor building, standing as tall as the Thousand Treasure Tower in Solhaven. Both of them wanted to enter it but saw that the entrance was closed. They sulked and moved on to the other buildings.


    The ces where they were supposed to have their sses were very interesting. Since they had more than 1000 students, it would take a great amount of resources and idiocy to make a building that catered to that.


    Instead, the academy had a building that was a lecture hall that opened up into a training hall. The building was essentially split into two parts. The entrance would lead to the massive lecture hall that could seat 200 students at once.


    The entrance to this building was open, so Leo and Marcus entered it. They noticed that they weren''t alone when they entered the lecture hall. There were two other pairs of students and a person who was there by herself.


    Leo let out a chuckle when he saw the people in the lecture hall. Marcus leaned into him and asked, "What''s funny?"


    Leo shook his head. "Nothing."


    He walked to the girl who was there by herself and sitting in one of the chairs.


    "How are you, Lyra?" He asked her.


    She looked to her back and saw Leo. She immediately stood up.


    "I''m doing good. How about you, Leo?" She asked him while tucking her hair behind her ear with one hand.


    "It''s going fine. How was the month of vacation?" He asked her.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "I just trained the entire time. What about you?" She asked him back.


    He shrugged. "Same. So I see that you are also exploring the academy too. Do you want to join us?" He asked and pointed to Marcus.


    She didn''t say anything for a couple of seconds before reluctantly nodding. "Yes, that sounds good."


    She stood up from her seat. The other people in the lecture hall were not paying too much attention to this interaction. They were getting ready to go to the second part of the building.


    The lecture hall had a stage with a podium at one end of the room on the opposite end of the entrance. On both corners of that wall were hallways that lead beyond the lecture hall into the second part of the building - the training hall.


    By the time Lyra got up from her seat, Marcus had caught up to them.


    "So, are you also nning on seeing the training hall?" Leo asked Lyra.


    She nodded. "Yes."


    "Sounds good."


    Leo lead the way to the training hall. He chose to take the hallway on the left. They walked past the lecture hall into an open ce that had a lot more windows. They were now in a vast space with multiple practice dummies.


    There were around 200 dummies, which showed that the entire batch would most likely be divided into at least 5 groups to make sure everyone would have a dummy to practice on.


    They went to one of the dummies to see how strong the material used to make them was. Marcus tapped it lightly and saw that it was made out of wood. He was immediately skeptical of the durability but decided to test it anyway.


    He punched the dummy without using any aura. He punched one of the arms of the dummy, sending it rotating around itself, making the arm on the other side swing at Marcus. He immediately defended it with his elbow with an expression of surprise.


    He didn''t know that punching the dummy would make it move. He hadn''t put enough effort into observing it properly. He decided to hit it harder, using aura this time. He didn''t use too much and hit it with another punch.


    This time, the arm came swinging harder, but Marcus could still block it with his hand. He smiled and swung at the arm that he blocked, bringing the other hand to his unguarded right side.


    He quickly moved his right hand, blocking the arm while sending it quickly to the other side, bringing the other arm to his left side. His smile kept widening as he increased the amount of aura he was using with each punch.


    Eventually, he was punching the arms with all his strength, making them swing around with so much speed that it wasn''t visible to the naked eye. After two punches, the arms were so fast that he couldn''t block it in time.


    When he was hit by the dummy, he took a few steps back in pain.


    "That''s why you shouldn''t push yourself too much," Leo said. He stopped the dummy from spinning around.


    "Should we get going?" He asked Marcus and Lyra.

 Chapter 134 Wars

    ?


    Both Leo and Lyra didn''t want to test the dummies after what they saw happen to Marcus. They knew that the dummy would hold pretty well even if they used their entire strength and that was all they needed to know.


    They walked out of the building and kept walking along the roads. Meanwhile, Marcus started talking to Lyra.


    "So, how is life as a noble, Lyra?" He asked her.


    She was slightly taken aback by the question but answered it quickly.


    "Life as a noble has its own level of difficulties. We have to deal with other noble families while maintaining our contributions to the empire. And we have to deal with the politics our elders are embroidered in." She said.


    "Contributions to the empire?" Marcus asked.


    "To stay as a noble, we have to make contributions to the empire or your territory. At a higher level like Viscounts and Marquises, they will have to show that their territories are giving the empire enough in taxes. As for Barons and Bars, the only way they can show their contributions is through the war," She said.


    Both Leo and Marcus were now intrigued. "War?" He asked.


    "Well, while only the emperor can hand out the titles of Marquises and Dukes, Dukes and Marquises can hand down titles of Viscounts, Barons, and Bars. To be a Baron or Bar, you just need to perform well in the 100-Year War."


    She looked at the expressions that Leo and Marcus had and exined what the 100-Year War was.


    "Every 100 years, the different territories all battle each other in apetition. I don''t know what is very important about thepetition, but I know that every family cares about it immensely. If you can do well in thatpetition, then the Marquis family or Duke family that benefited will bestow a rank upon you. This is the only way you can rise as a noble. You can even be a Viscount like this." She said.


    Leo and Marcus both showed expressions of surprise. As they were talking, they crossed a few more academic buildings and reached the dorms.


    The dorms were exactly like the apartment that Marcus and Leo were living in, except it looked newer and more renovated. The minute they got close to the dorms, they saw that the walkways were starting to have people filling them up.


    They saw that the Office of Finances was right next to the dorms. There were arge number of students inside the office, all paying their tuition. The people who were done with that went to the Office of Resident Life which was right next to the Office of Finances to get their dorm assignments.


    "Well, I will leave you here. It was very enjoyable walking with the both of you till here, but I have a few matters to attend to," Lyra said.


    Leo smiled. "Thanks for joining us. I''ll see you around."


    Marcus nodded. "Bye, Lyra."


    When she left the both of them looked at each other. "What do you want to do?" Marcus asked Leo.


    He shrugged. "I don''t really see anything else we can do. We can try to explore more of the campus, but everything is closed. Till now we only looked at half of the academy though. So we can save everything else for the rest of the month?"


    Marcus nodded. "Then should we just try to get our dorm assignment?" He asked.


    Leo nodded. They went into the Office of Finances. The line there wasn''t as horrible as they expected. There were only around 300 students left in the building. Everyone else seemed to be done with their payment.


    They had only roamed around for two hours and over 600 students were done with their payment. If that was the case, then the line would probably clear in a short while. They weren''t the only ones who stayed for that reason.


    Even though more than 200 of the students there were from Eldridge itself they wanted to finish the payment and get their dorm on the first day. Since it didn''t seem too difficult to finish that work, a lot of the people stayed.


    Time passed and they remained at the tail of the line. It got shorter though, and they started to see the line getting to the end after 30 minutes of waiting. When they got closer, they realized why it wasn''t taking that long for the line to move.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    In total, there were 20 people all handling the peopleing in. Since it was the first day, they had put so many people to handle the bulk of the students. They reached the end of the line after another 10 minutes.


    When they reached the end, there was a person who assigned them each a table.


    "We''re together," Leo said.


    The man who assigned them said, "Okay. Then you can both go to the same table."


    They both went and stood in another line in front of the table assigned to them, but this line was incredibly short. There were only two people in front of them.


    After another 10 minutes, they reached the counter to finally pay their tuition.


    "Can I have your card, please?" The man at the counter asked.


    Both of them handed him the card that the academy gave to them.


    "900,000 Starcoins each. How would you like to pay for it? You can pay it upfront, after a month, or in two installments." He said,


    Leo said, "Upfront."


    He took out the money from his dimensional ring and handed it to the man. No one flinched at this. The man had already seen so many people pull out dimensional rings since there were a lot of nobles that paid for their tuition. As for Marcus, he expected Leo to be incredibly rich if he was sponsoring his education.


    The man checked the money to make sure it added up. Once the payment was done, he handed them their cards.


    "Your payment is done. You can now go to the Office of Resident Life to get your dorm allotment. It will only take a short while. The waiting time there is nothingpared to what you just went through," he said.


    "Thanks," Marcus said. They took back their cards and left the office.


    After they left, they went to the Office of Resident Life and saw that the man was not lying. There was barely anyone left in the office. Most of them had finished getting their dorm assignments.


    They went into the office and saw that there were only 5 tablespared to 20 in the other office. They went to one of the empty counters to get their allotment.


    When they got there, they realized why it was so empty.


    "Hi, we came here for our dorm allotment," Marcus said.


    "Sure. Can I have your card please?" The girl at the table asked.


    They gave her their cards and got back two keys in less than a minute.


    "Here are your keys. Your allotments are Daisy 32, and Daisy 56. These dorms will all be right next to each other. If you want a reallocation, then you will have to request that. Other than that, you are set." She said.


    They took back their cards with astonishment. Compared to paying their fees, getting their allotment took seconds.

 Chapter 135 New Student Ranking

    ?


    They found their dorms without spending too much time. The dorms were all conveniently close to the Office of Resident Life. They found the Daisy dorm and entered it. They saw the long flight of stairs and sighed.


    Once they climbed 3 flights of stairs, Leo parted ways with Marcus. Marcus wasn''t going to live too far away from him, but they were still going to be in different dorms. Leo was considering moving dorms but decided to think about it only after looking at his dorm first.


    He walked to his dorm and took out his key. He was about to unlock the padlock, but it was already unlocked when he got there. He opened the door slowly and walked inside.


    Theyout of the dorm was the exact same as the apartment he had, except that there were two rooms instead of one. One of the rooms'' doors was wide open while the other one was closed. He walked into the open room and looked inside. He picked that room because the other room had another student inside.


    The room had a single bed and a desk. The bed had a stack of bedding on top of it and a pillow. There was a closet to a corner as well. On top of his desk, there was a letter.


    He first made his bed and then took the letter and opened it while sitting on his bed. The contents of the letter were what Leo was going to be doing at the academy.


    It was his schedule. He didn''t know what it was based on, but he guessed it was based on what day he was registered into the academy. It was either that, orpletely random.


    He put the letter to the side. ording to it, he didn''t really have anything to do for another day. The sses were going to start on 3rd September in the morning. He would have to be at the Fermont Academic Building at 10 AM.


    He wouldn''t have to worry about telling the time since there was a bell in the area of the dorms that would ring every hour to tell the time. It wouldn''t ring in the night though.


    After sorting that out, he put everything aside and started training. He didn''t have anything better to do. Even the person in the other room was training.


    Time passed in a sh and it was the 3rd of September. He hadn''t gone out a single time to see what was happening in the academy and came out for the first time in the morning.


    When he came out of his dorm and onto the walkways, he realized that the entire academy seemed a little more lively than he had expected. He quickly realized why.


    When he looked around, he saw a huge number of 2nd Circle Aura Knights around him. But he knew that the entirety of the newly admitted students didn''t have more than 15 2nd Circle Aura Knights. But he could count more than 20 during a 5-minute walk.


    The only exnation was that they weren''t first years. They were his seniors.


    It was still 8 AM when he got out of his dorm, so he decided to check out something he was nning on doing a couple of days ago. Normally, he would have lost his way around the campus, but the letter that gave him his schedule also had a map of the entire academy.


    He now knew exactly where his sses were, and also where he was nning on going. He walked to the main hall where the old man had given a speech to the iing students and walked into the hall.


    Inside the hall were two stone bs behind the stage that he had ignored the first time he had been there. This time, the hall waspletely empty without even the stage and podium. The only thing present were the stone bs on the huge walls.


    The stone bs weren''t empty. There was a golden fluid magic that had shaped itself to formprehensible words on the stone b. The golden words were very bright and easily visible.


    Each stone b had a list of names and a title. The first b was what Leo was interested in.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    [New Student Ranking]


    Leo walked up to it and saw that his guess was right. The ranking was incredibly detailed. It had the names in order of the ranking. It not only disyed the name but also the aura or magic level of the student.


    Based on that, he could see that there weren''t a lot of 2nd Circle Mages - only two. They were in 5th and 8th ce on the rankings. Other than them, everyone else in the top 15 was 2nd Circle Aura Knights. He looked at the ranking looking for himself around the 20th ce but couldn''t find his name.


    He frowned and looked lower but still couldn''t find his name. He went all the way down and saw that his name wasn''t on the list at all. He had evene across Middle-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knights and he wasn''t there. His suspicion peaked when he couldn''t find Marcus'' name either.


    He suddenly realized something and looked at the top of the ranking for once. He hadpletely skipped that since he was a Late-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight when he took the tests.


    But he was in the 4th ce in the ranking. Written beside his name was his aura level - Early-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight.


    He quickly looked below his own ranking and found Marcus. 13th Rank and an Early-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight.


    He chuckled. He knew that Marcus had broken through to the 2nd Circle, but never thought that it would reflect this quickly onto the rankings. Neither did he expect that his breakthrough would affect his ranking.


    This meant that Asher probably saw his aura level when he went to the first day of the academy and adjusted the ranking based on that.


    He wasn''t disappointed that he was only 4th. He was actually happy that he wasn''t in the top 3. Those would be the most famous students and the people would pay the most attention to those students.


    Now that he was in the top 10, he expected something simr to that treatment as well, but if he was only 4th, he could skip the challenges that would mostly go toward higher ranks. He would also be able to receive the most valuable resources if he was that high up in the rankings.


    But at this point, he was also curious about who was considered stronger than him on the ranking. He looked at it again.


    [3. Donovan ckthorn, Middle-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight]


    [2. Seraphina Nightshade, Middle-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight]


    [1. Magnus White, Middle-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight]


    His nose wrinkled a little when he saw those names. Two out of the three names sounded incredibly close to noble names. He didn''t like it when nobles were on the ranking because people would be afraid to challenge them. But it wasn''t too much of a problem since they looked like they deserved their ranking anyway.


    After looking at the New Student Ranking, he looked to the side.

 Chapter 136 First Class

    ?


    On the side was another stone b. This b was a little wider than the New Student Ranking. He looked at the top.


    [Student Ranking]


    It was the ranking for all of the students inside the academy. The range of the students on this ranking was a lot more differentpared to the New Student Ranking. Everyone was so much stronger.


    He looked through the entire ranking and was shocked by how strong the students were. He realized that he had grossly underestimated the academy. Out of all of the students on the ranking, there were 5 3rd Circle Aura Knights. He never thought there would be people who would be able to get to the 3rd Circle by themselves.


    Even he was only able to get to the 3rd Star because he was aided by the tome. On top of that, he had the Elderwood Tree. If not for those, he would not be remotely close to how strong he was.


    [5. Isabe Rhine, Early-Stage 3rd Circle Aura Knight, 3rd Year]


    [4. Lucius Ravenspire, Early-Stage 3rd Circle Aura Knight, 3rd Year]


    [3. Elysia Still, Early-Stage 3rd Circle Aura Knight, 3rd Year]


    [2. Nathaniel Moon, Middle-Stage 3rd Circle Aura Knight, 3rd Year]


    [1. Ss Wilson, Middle-Stage 3rd Circle Aura Knight, 3rd Year]


    There were two people who were potentially as strong as him. He shook his head in astonishment. The academy had truly talented people.


    After looking at the top, he looked all the way to the bottom. He wanted to see the requirement to stay on the ranking after his first year and still obtain resources. Even the person on the bottom was a Middle-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight.


    He looked at this and wanted to think about it for a while but left to go to his ss. He wanted to walk to his ss leisurely while being on time but he had already spent 45 minutes to get to the hall and look at the rankings.


    He left the building and walked along the path to go to the building he was supposed to be in. The Fermont Academic Building was one of the buildings that he had seen on the way to the dorms. It was only a 15-minute walk from where he was if he walked slowly.


    He got to the hall with an entire hour to spare before his ss would start.


    He walked into the hall and saw the exact same setup as the one that he and Marcus had gone into. He walked along the chairs, looking for a good seat for himself. He was nning on reserving a seat for Marcus as well.


    It wouldn''t be a problem since he was the first person in the hall. There was only one other person other than him in the hall, and that was the instructor. The teacher for this ss was someone that he knew ¨C Maria.


    She walked to Leo when she saw hime in.


    "Leo, right?" She asked him. He nodded.


    "You are one of the students that we are keeping our eye on. You have a lot of potential. If you need any help from us, don''t hesitate to ask." She said.


    He smiled. "Thanks a lot. But, if you don''t mind me asking, why do you care if I seed or not? I mean, if it''s your passion as a teacher, I can understand, but is there another reason?" He asked her.


    She sighed. "You will know in all due time. Maybe in a few months, or even longer based on how strong you are. It won''t concern you until you are strong enough. So you don''t have to worry about it. Just be strong, and you will find out." She said.


    He frowned inwards because of how vague and useless the answer was but kept a smile on his face.


    "Of course."


    She then said, "So, why are you up so early? There''s an entire hour before ss starts."


    He shrugged. "I don''t sleep that much. I was also up to see the New Student Rankings. I just came from there."


    "Oh, then you must have seen your own ranking. Congrattions on that!" She said.


    "Thank you. I was going to ask someone, but now that I found you, I''ll just ask you. How is resource distribution to those ranks going to work? Would I have to collect it somewhere? And when does it even start?"


    Sheughed at these questions. "You don''t worry. I will go through all of that in the ss today. Just take a seat and wait for it to start."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He nodded and picked a seat somewhere in the middle of the hall. He then paid his head back and closed his eyes. He started training since he had nothing better to do.


    After 30 minutes, people finally started toe into the hall. The first person he recognized was Lyra. She was one of the earliest students in the hall after Leo. She saw Leo sitting in the middle. Leo waved at her and she waved back and walked toward him.


    When she got to where he was, she asked, "Is this seat free?"


    He nodded. "Please, have a seat."


    While they were waiting for the hall to slowly fill up, Leo asked her about the rankings.


    "So, I looked at the rankings today. Congrattions on your rank." He said. Lyra was the 7th ranked person in the rankings.


    Lyra blushed a little before maintaining herposure. "Thank you. But you did a lot better than me. I am not even surprised that you are that strong."


    Leo waved off thepliment. "It was just luck. So, are you excited about today''s ss?"


    She nodded. "Yes. How about you?"


    He nodded back. "I am."


    As they were talking, a person sat next to Leo. It was Marcus.


    "Where were you yesterday? You went incognito?" He asked Leo.


    "I was training. There wasn''t really anything better to do," he said. "What did you do?"


    Marcus sighed. "Nothing, really. I just tried to explore the academy, but nothing was open. I went back to my dorm after a couple of hours of doing nothing."


    Leo chuckled. At this point, he realized that he recognized someone passing by. He called out to that person.


    "Madison," he said.


    Madison was walking down the hall to go and sit in the front when she heard someone call her name. She was initially confused since she didn''t know anyone in the academy, but when she saw who it was, her confusion changed to excitement.


    "Leo! You made it into the academy!" She said.


    She walked toward the group while maintaining an expression of surprise. She wasing from the side where Lyra was sitting.


    "Marcus and Lyra, this is Madison. She is a friend," he introduced her.


    She waved to everyone. "Hi, I am Madison."


    Lyra greeted her first. "Hello, Madison. I am Lyra. Pleased to make you an acquaintance," she said formally.


    Madison instinctively curtsied a little when she heard the greeting. Before she could even show her embarrassment, Marcus spoke.


    "I''m Marcus." He said.


    "You can grab a seat," Leo said.


    Madison looked at where she was standing and took a seat beside Lyra. She was going to speak again, but she was interrupted by Maria.


    "We will now start ss."

 Chapter 137 Pills

    ?


    When the ss started, everyone became quiet. They didn''t want to be the first ones to make the instructor angry.


    "It''s very nice to see you all after the tests. I hope you had a good break beforeing here. To start us off, I will first give you information about the academy that will help you be stronger. Please pay attention to this because what I am saying will aid you greatly in training." She said.


    Everyone quickly started paying attention.


    "So, to start everything, I will talk about the New Student Ranking. That is something that you all have probably checked in the two days you have been here. If you haven''t already, then please do. Your position in the ranking will decide what resources will be given to you.


    The 51st to 100th positions in the rankings will be given 5 Aura Gathering Pills each and 1000 points. 21st to 50th positions will be given 5 Aura Gathering Pills, 1 Aura Essence Pill, and 5000 points."


    The minute the Aura Essence Pill was mentioned, everyone around Leo had a surprised expression on their faces. Leo looked around and saw these expressions with confusion. He didn''t know what the Aura Essence Pill was, so he didn''t know the significance of the pill.


    "As for the 11th to 20th ranks, they will receive 3 Aura Essence Pills, 5 Aura Gathering Pills, and 10000 points. The 6th to 10th ranks will receive 5 Aura Essence Pills and 20000 points. As for the 1st to 5th ranks, you will get 5 Aura Essence Pills, a Body Tempering Pill, and 50000 points," she continued. She looked at Leo''s group for a second when she said that before looking away. After all, there were 3 rankers out of the first fifteen ces in that group.


    Everyone sucked in the air. Leo was starting to get curious at this point. He didn''t know what any of the pills he was going to receive was.


    "I only included aura-rted pills, but if you happened to be a mage in those rankings, then you would receive pills that would help you as a mage, Now, I am sure all of you want to receive these benefits.


    These people can receive these benefits twice every year. They will receive their first round of benefits this week, and the rest in 6 months. But if you steal their spot, then you can receive those benefits instead of them.


    The way to do that is to purchase a challenge. Each challenge is 5000 points. The only way to earn these points is to get them through the ranking or earn them in missions. You canplete these missions in the Mission Hall.


    But to be stronger and finish more rewarding missions, you will want to listen to what I''m saying."


    She took a breath of air before continuing.


    "The first training area is something that you are all familiar with ¨C the Gravity Steps. It exerts a pressure on your body and requires you to use rotate aura to advance forward. This will help you increase your aura cirction as well as temper your body. Each use of the Gravity Steps will cost 1000 points.


    Along with that, another valuable resource that we have is the Trial Tower. This is a tower where you can fight against illusions of monsters that will let you urately test your strength without worry about any injuries. This will also cost 1000 points for every use.


    And finally, don''t forget that you can get pills at the points shop. You can trade for valuable pills like the Aura Gathering Pill and the Aura Essence Pill as well." She said.


    Everyone made a mental note of all this information.


    "Okay, now that''s all the details that you need to know, I will now start the first ss. Since we were talking about the pills that you can receive, I will talk about how pills can be used to increase your strength."


    She finally started the ss after giving them all the information they needed to know about the academy.


    "So, to start, we will consider the Aura Gathering Pill." She said and took out an Aura Gathering Pill from her dimensional ring.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "This Aura Gathering Pill draws a set amount of aura into it that enters the body once you take it. You can take this pill and increase your aura by a small amount. But the natural question that arises is how many of these can you take? If you take them endlessly, shouldn''t you be able to infinitely increase your aura?" She posed a question to the students. None of them seemed to know the answer.


    "The answer is that you cannot take more than 3 of these pills in single month. In fact, it is rmended not to take more than 2 a month for a normal Aura Knight. Do any of you know why?" She answered her own question while posing another one.


    Lyra lifted her hand.


    "Yes?" Maria asked her.


    "Impurities?" Lyra answered with a little doubt.


    Maria nodded. "Yes, partly. Impurities. Each pill has impurities that the body takes time to get rid of. But the other part is that the body simply cannot handle too much aura from pills. It is only designed to take aura from nature. If you feed the body too many pills, the aura from those pills will wreck it."


    When she said that, someone lifted their hands. She pointed at them. "Yes?"


    "Then why is the academy giving these many pills to the students?" The student asked.


    She chuckled. "That is an excellent question. In the end, the pills will be helping you greatly in your progress. Also, I took the case of the Aura Gathering Pill. But what about the Aura Essence Pill? The Aura Essence Pill is a pill that is a level above the Aura Gathering Pill.


    The aura within the Aura Essence Pill is a lot more in tune with the aura you can find in nature. It still isn''t the same. But it is closer than an Aura Gathering Pill. Along with that, the Aura Essence Pill has lower impurities. You can take 3 or even 4 Aura Essence Pills in a single month.


    Does that answer your question?" She asked the student.


    The student nodded.


    Maria went on. "And for the final part of this lecture. Pills in conjunction. What happens when we use two pills together, whether they are the same pill or different pills.


    When you use two of the same pills at the same time, their effect is doubled, but the chance of a bacsh is also doubled. The impurities will be entering your body at once and the aura will be circting through your body in that time. You will have to deal with all of this at once.


    But when you take two different pills, then the situation bes moreplicated. The Aura Gathering Pill with the Aura Essence Pill will be less harsh than two Aura Gathering Pills since the Aura Essence Pill will tame the aura of the Aura Gathering Pill."


    She looked around for questions but no one had any.


    "That''s it for today. You can look at your schedule for your next ss," she said.


    Everyone stood up and started leaving the hall, but Leo didn''t. He remained seated, pondering about what he just heard.

 Chapter 138 Missions

    ?


    As the people slowly emptied the room, Leo got up and walked to the stage where Maria was watching everyone leave. She saw him walking toward her.


    "Is there anything you want, Leo?" She asked him.


    He nodded. "I have a couple of questions I wanted to ask you," he said.


    "Sure, what is it?" She asked him.


    "Well, you said that a person simply cannot take too many pills at once and that it is too dangerous after a point. Is there no exception to that?" He asked her.


    She smiled when she heard the question. "That''s a good question. Well, there''s an exception to almost every rule. It has been recorded in history that there is a rare body constitution that can take as many pills as the body is provided.


    The reason that it can take as many pills is that it can automatically disperse the impurities that normally umte when taking pills. It can take a great amount of aura from these pills because the constitution requires a huge amount of aura to break through to future levels.


    The name of this constitution is the Pill Body. Based on whether the person is a Mage or an Aura Knight, we call them Magic Pill Bodies or Aura Pill Bodies."


    Everything that she said seemed incredibly simr to what he had experienced. He needed a huge amount of aura to break through but he could take as many pills as he wanted. The thing he was curious to test after this was if it was the same with magic pills.


    "Another question I had was, what are the Aura Essence and Body Tempering Pills?" He asked her.


    She chuckled at the question. "I didn''t realize that some people wouldn''t know what they are. The Aura Essence Pill is a pill with a purer aura than the Aura Gathering Pill. It also has 10 times more aura. But it is also 20 times as expensive.


    As for the Body Tempering Pill, it isn''t a pill solely for Aura Knights. It''s a pill that can clean the impurities in a body as well as strengthen it. It is incredibly valuable and hard to find."


    He nodded. "Thanks!"


    He turned around after he got the answers to his questions and left the hall. Outside, the people he was sitting with were all waiting for him.


    "What were you doing?" Marcus asked him.


    He shook his head. "Nothing. So what next?" He asked.


    They all didn''t have anything in mind.


    "How about we check out the Trial Tower?" Marcus suggested.


    Madison looked down. "I don''t have any points," she said.


    "Then we can check out the Mission Hall," Lyra said. "We will need to go there anyway."


    They all agreed with her and left for the Mission Hall. When they got to the Mission Hall, they saw that it was not empty like on the first day. It was full of students who were trying to finish missions.


    They entered the mission hall. There were missions on every wall. They picked a wall and went to it. When they got closer, they saw missions being disyed on papers stuck on the wall.


    They saw that the students were simply taking the paper and getting it registered at the desks in the back of the hall. Leo and Marcus realized that it was the same system as the one in the Mercenary Guild.


    They quickly went to see what the missions were and smiled when they got to the wall. All the missions were very much like the missions they normally did. They were monster subjugations missions and gathering missions.


    This was going to be very good for Leo because he would be leaving the forest for that. He could just use his magic to make it easier to finish the missions.


    They each took out a paper and looked back to find that the two girls werepletely confused.


    "Do you know how this works?" Madison asked.


    Marcus immediately started exining to her. "Yup. So all you have to do is look through the missions here and pick one. But be careful. You want to pick a mission that you can easily finish. Like this one. It''s a mission to find a Fire-Attributed Early-Stage 2nd Circle Beast Core. It gives 700 points for that."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Madison nodded. "So are we going to take a 1st Circle Magical Beast and subdue it together?" She asked.


    Everyone around her looked at her with a weird expression. Leo realized that she was unaware of exactly how strong everyone was.


    "No. Each one of us is going to take a mission, and we will allplete it at our own pace," he said in a calm tone.


    She was confused. "But that''s a 2nd Circle Magical Beast. How will youplete that mission?" She asked Marcus.


    "I''m a 2nd Circle Aura Knight. It should be pretty easy, actually." He said.


    Madison looked at Lyra.


    "I''m also a 2nd Circle Aura Knight," she said.


    She then looked at Leo. He nodded too. Her face became sullen.


    "Does that mean all of you have ranks?" She asked them. All of them nodded.


    "So do you think I should try and find another group to finish the missions?" She asked.


    Leo shook his head. "No. You are an Early-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight. That means you have the capability to handle an Early-Stage 1st Circle Magical Beast by yourself. If you try to split the points with someone else, you will be left with nothing." He said.


    He walked forward and scanned the entire wall. He quickly found a suitable mission.


    "Here. Just bring back an Early-Stage 1st Circle Beast Core and you can finish this mission," he said.


    She reluctantly took the mission while Lyra chose her own mission. Once everyone picked out a mission, Leo also pulled out a paper. Unlike the other two, he took out a mission that required him to face a Middle-Stage 2nd Circle Magical Beast.


    The other two looked at him with apetitive nce but didn''t switch their missions. They didn''t want to test their limits as much.


    After they each picked out a mission, they went to get it registered. When they did, they just had to show their student card to show their identity.


    Once they were done with that, the only thing left to do was to go out and finish the missions.


    "So I guess we split ways here," Leo said. "I will see you all at the next lecture."


    He quickly left, leaving Madison with Marcus and Lyra. None of them knew what to do.


    "Do you also want to leave to do your missions?" Madison asked.


    Marcus looked at how scared she was at finishing the mission by herself and sighed. "If you want, you can finish your mission with me. I can make sure you don''t get hurt," he said.


    Madison''s eyes shined. "Really?" She asked.


    Marcus nodded. At this point, Lyra pitched in.


    "I can also join you. I don''t think I have anything else to do," she said.


    Madison''s mouth morphed into a huge smile.


    "Thank you so much!"


    While the three were having a bonding moment, Leo was busy going to the Points Shop.

 Chapter 139 Library

    ?


    He went to the Point Shop and saw that it wasn''t nearly as full as the Mission Hall. Since it was just the start of the year, no one had any points to use.


    He walked inside and went to one of the counters without hesitation. He wanted to see if he got his points or not. When he went there and checked with the people there, he was surprised.


    Not only did he have his points, but they also gave him the 5 Aura Essence Pills and Body Tempering Pills. Since Maria never told them how to avail their pills, he assumed that they would be sent to his dorm or he would be told at ater date.


    Once he had his pills, he checked the price of the Aura Gathering Pills and the Aura Essence Pills. The Aura Gathering Pill was 4000 Points each, while the Aura Essence Pill was 70000 points.


    He was nning on checking it out once he went to the Thousand Treasure Tower. He was nning a trip since he would need a lot of pills to break through to the next aura level. At this point, he realized that he had an Aura Pill body, so he could freely take the pills without any worry.


    Other than that, he was also concerned about how he was supposed to grow in magic. He was slowly bing stronger, but he wanted to reach the Late-Stage as quickly as possible. If he broke through to the 4th Star before the Blood Moon, then he would be strong enough to leave the academy and look for the treasure thepass would point to.


    After looking at the pills, he decided to take a look at the Aura Techniques. When he did, he was only shown a card-size piece of paper.


    "What is this?" He asked the girl behind the counter.


    "This is a Library Pass. It costs 2000 points for a Level 1 Library Pass. That slip will give you 2 hours of ess to the 1st floor of the library. A Level 2 Pass will give ess to both the 1st and 2nd floors. As a 1st year, you can only buy a Level 1 or Level 2 Library Pass. The Level 2 Library Pass costs 7000 points." She said.


    He realized that this was what he hade to the academy for. The library was where all the information in the academy would be. He could learn so much more about magic if he went to the library.


    "Can I have a Level 2 Pass please?" He asked.


    She looked at him with surprise. The only people with 7000 points were in the top 20 ranks. She took his card and finished the transaction. When she finished it, she saw how many points were left on the card. Her eyes widened.


    The person in front of her was in the top 5 ranks of the New Students.


    "Thanks," Leo said and grabbed his card and Pass. He immediately left to find the library.


    Finding the library was a lot easier than he expected. He knew its general location because of the map, but its structure was what made it easy to spot. The library was the biggest building in the entire academy.


    Its exterior was crafted from polished stone and had intricate carvings. Towering columns supported the entrance, adorned with ornate arches and delicate scrollwork. The entrance was marked by a massive wooden door, embellished with decorative metalwork. Tall windows lined the walls, allowing natural light to filter in. The library''s roof was a masterpiece of craftsmanship, featuring elegant spires and a central dome, highlighting the building in the entire academy.


    The whole building seemed to be 8 stories tall, but in reality, there were only 5 stories to it. When he entered the library, he realized why. The ceilings were incredibly high, giving the entire floor a very spacious environment.


    There wasn''t a single book on the ground floor. There were only multiple staircases that lead to the floors above. He noticed that each staircase was only connected to a single other floor. Each staircase had a person sitting in front of it.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He normally would have thought theyout waspletely idiotic since it only had a single person guarding the immense amount of information inside the library, but the existence of a single person made it work.


    In the corner of the hall was a big desk. There wasn''t anything on the desk except for the feet of the man behind it. He was sitting on a veryfortable chair and resting with his feet on the desk.


    Leo knew that the man was a 4th Circle Mage, which meant that he was the person looking after the entire library. That was good for Leo, in a way, since his Valkyr''s Deception would work on everyone in the library.


    He went to the floor that led to the first floor first and was about to go up before he was stopped by the person at the base.


    "You will need to show your Library Pass," The man at the bottom said. Leo realized that he was a student based on his aura level and age. He was probably beingpensated with points instead of Starcoins for the job too.


    Leo took out his Library Pass and showed it to the man. He took it into his hands and tore it lightly. He took out a pen and book and noted the time that Leo was entering. There was conveniently a huge clock on one of the walls.


    "Can I have your card, please?" He asked.


    Leo handed it to him. He then said, "You will be automatically deducted the price of a second pass if you cross your time limit. If you wish to go to the 2nd floor, then you can do so freely."


    Leo nodded and was about to take his card but the man dodged his grab.


    "You will get your card back once you are back," he said.


    Leo frowned. He didn''t think it would be this hard to just get into a library. He went up the flight of stairs to the first floor. He wasn''t slow since the clock was ticking.


    When he got to the first floor, he realized why the building looked so huge from the outside. The ce was enormous. It made sense that there were only three more floors for the building.


    The floor was made of gray wood, with carpets adorning it. On top of the wooden floors were rows upon rows of towering bookshelves that stretched toward the ceiling. Their wooden frames wereden with books and scrolls.


    Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, casting gentle rays of illumination on reading tables scattered throughout the space. There were a spare number of people sitting at the desks, but they were engrossed in reading the books that they had chosen.


    Leo immediately rushed to check what was on the bookshelves. He ran through the titles of the books, trying to understand what was in the library.


    He quickly realized that the floor mainly had information for people just starting on their path. There were books that mainly catered to 1st Circle Aura Knights and Mages.


    But that didn''t mean that the knowledge within them was useless to him. In fact, it was exactly what he was looking for.

 Chapter 140 Lessons

    ?


    The library didn''t differentiate between Aura Knights and Mages. So he could freely ess all the books there and learn as much as he wanted to.


    If he spent some time understanding magic and aura before trying to grow stronger, then he felt it would be better for him. Unlike traditional mages, he never had a formal education that put him on the right track.


    The only problem with that was that he would have to spend a lot of points and time to do that. He had already blown so many points on the pass that he was currently using.


    After browsing through a few bookshelves, he started to get a sense of the ce and where things were in the ce. But he couldn''t afford to spend too much time since he wanted to check out the second floor.


    He ran out of the first floor and went to the ground floor. He ran to the staircase that led to the second floor. He showed the person his pass and quickly went up the stairs.


    He got up and saw a very simryout to what he saw on the first floor. He spent the next hour exploring the library and looking at the titles. Once he was done with all that, he left because he didn''t want to be overcharged for doing nothing.


    He had spent 7000 points on the one pass just to explore the library and judge whether it was useful. His verdict was that it was worth it. It could even be worth more than the entire 900000 Starcoins that he had spent to enter the academy.


    Once he got out of the 2nd floor, he took his card from the man and asked a question before leaving.


    "Do I have to get the passes from the Point Shop every time beforeing here?" He asked.


    The student shook his head. "No, it''s just there for people who want to buy them for other people. It''s generally for gifting purposes. You can just give your card here and pay before you enter the library. If you pay here, it''s better since you will be paying per minute instead of per 2 hours. It''s also cheaper than paying for a pass."


    Leo realized how dumb it was to be paying for every two hours. At the same time, it was very interesting that people with more points could just buy it for other people. That would mean that students could theoretically pay real money to these students to get them to buy Library Passes for them.


    At this point, he was considering that as an option if he ran out of points, but pushed it to the back of his head. He could afford at least 20 hours in the library with the points he had. If he spent 2 hours a day, that wouldst 10 days.


    After deciding what he was going to do, he left the library. He went back to the Mission Hall.


    Because he was with people he knew, he was very tame when he took his mission. He was not nning on going all the way to finish just a single mission. He was nning on finishing around 5 of them and just waiting 5 days before giving them to get the points.


    He could spend the time wasted going to the forest on training instead. Once he took the missions he made his way to the forest.


    While Leo was spending his time in the library, the people he made acquainted with each other were having an interesting day.


    When Marcus and Lyra offered to take Madison with them to the forest, she was overjoyed. But when she realized what it meant she was starting to regret it.


    Compared to both of them, she had a lot less stamina. She was starting to fall behind on the way to the forest itself. She was exhausted by the time they entered the forest.


    Once they entered the forest, she got ready to hunt the monster and got two weird looks from Marcus and Lyra.


    "What?" She asked.


    Lyra looked at Marcus, asking him to answer.


    "Well, you are getting ready to fight," he said.


    She nodded. "Yes."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "But you don''t have anything to fight. What are you getting ready for?" He asked.


    She stuttered. "Well... normally my dad''s guards bring the magical beast to where I am so I can fight it," she said.


    Lyra let loose a chuckle. Madison immediately protested with a blush.


    "You are a noble. There''s no way that you know how to do this," she said.


    Lyra smiled. "Because I am a noble, I am trained in the best ways to hunt Magical Beasts. That means that I am aware of how to track Magical Beasts and know when to retreat as well." She said.


    Madison turned apologetic. "Sorry, I snapped. I was just very let down because I was feeling too odd in the group. Can you tell me what to do?" She asked.


    Lyra nodded her head. "That''s a good attitude. Now, what you want to do is get rid of your sword and look around. Look for traces of a Magical Beast. Since this is the outermost forest, it is most likely only 1st Circle Magical Beasts." She said.


    Madison nodded and looked around. She couldn''t find anything immediately striking. She kept looking but didn''t see anything. Lyra guided her from the back.


    "If you don''t see anything, move forward into the forest. The deeper you go, the more likely you will find a Magical Beast." She said.


    Madison followed her lead and slowly walked forward but still didn''t see anything.


    "Am I supposed to look for something?" She asked.


    "Tracks in the mud. Broken branches. Dung. All of these are remnants of Magical Beasts," he said. "Animal tracks are the mostmon out of all of these."


    She nodded and looked down. She immediately saw a range of animal prints.


    "There''s a lot of them. What does that mean?" She asked.


    "It means there''s a chance that there is a beast nearby. You just have to find it," Lyra said.


    She looked around and had her hand on her sword, ready to attack. After venturing forward a few yards and staying there for a few minutes, she finally spotted movement.


    She immediately lunged toward it, but a hand held her cor, stopping her from moving forward.


    "Lesson 1 was learning how to find a Magical Beast. Lesson 2 is judging whether or not you can stand a chance against it." Marcus said. He released the cor and she stumbled forward.


    Behind the trees, a leopard slowly came out to look at who was entering the forest. It was a me Leaf Leopard, a Late-Stage 1st Circle Magical Beast. It would have shredded Madison in seconds.


    Lyra and Marcus released a little of their aura, scaring it off immediately. Meanwhile, Madison was dejected. She had worked so hard to find a Magical Beast only to find out that it was too strong for her.


    "So, how long will it take me to actually find a Magical Beast I can fight?" She asked.


    Marcus sighed. "At your current state? I think it''s better if you don''t find one at all."

 Chapter 141 Hunt

    ?


    After an hour of struggling, Madison finally found a Magical Beast that she could fight. She was incredibly weary at this point but took out her sword and got ready to fight. She was against a Thunderhoof Deer, which wasn''t incredibly aggressive.


    She wasn''t as useless at fighting as she was at the other aspects. She put up a decent fight against the deer, but she still started to get on the losing end.


    Marcus noticed this but didn''t do anything. Madison used her sword to defend one of the lightning strikes of the deer but got pushed back. The deer then charged at her when she was trying to get up.


    At this point, Lyra jumped into the fight and defended Madison before she got hit. Madison used this time to get up. When she did, Lyra took a step back, letting Madison resume the fight.


    Madison was slightly confused.


    "Why am I still fighting? I know I will lose," she said.


    Marcus gave an exasperated sigh. "You know that we will make sure you won''t get hurt. So why are you afraid to keep fighting? This is perfect for you to get some experience fighting a Magical Beast that you found."


    Madison realized that she was given a very rare chance to increase her skills. She quickly imbibed her sword with aura and charged at the Thunderhoof Deer.


    At this point, her fighting style changed, and she became incredibly aggressive while attacking. Till then, she was only defending the attacks because she was afraid of getting hurt. Now that she was on the offensive, the deer had to defend her attacks.


    This time, since her mindset changed, she was able to push the deer to the corner. It even tried to run away but she quickly ended the fight before it could get away. When she was able to sessfully kill the Magical Beast, she became very excited.


    "Good job. You just have to repeat those steps if you want to hunt more beasts. We have to now finish out own hunts," Marcus said.


    Madison was conflicted. "Do I have toe with-"


    Lyra immediately shook her head. "No. We will venture deep into the forest and it will be more dangerous if you are there," she said.


    Madison agreed with that. "Thank you so much for helping me finish my hunt. I will definitely find a way to thank you when we get back to the academy," she said. She turned around to go back to the way we came from.


    Marcus looked at Lyra. "Is it safe for her to go by herself?" He asked.


    She nodded. "There won''t be any dangerous Magical Beasts on the way because we are still on the outskirts. Are you nning on joining me for the hunt?" She asked him.


    He nodded. "That will probably be more effective, right?" He asked.


    "Sounds good. What Beast Core do you have to hunt?" She asked him.


    "Fire-Attributed Early-Stage 2nd Circle Beast Core," he said. "You?"


    "I have to bring an Earth-Attribute Beast Core," she said.


    "We can finish them one by one. It will be faster then. What element is your Aura Technique?" He asked her.


    "Mine is a Light element technique," she said.


    "Mine is a Lightning element fist technique. We can figure out how to coordinate our attacks when we find a Magical Beast," he said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Even though they were nning on hunting their own beasts, they decided to team up since they lost a lot of time helping out Madison. Compared to Madison who didn''t have any experience hunting by herself, both of them were good at it.


    They didn''t need to go alone since they were already strong at fighting. They were only finishing the missions because they needed the points. It would make sense to try and finish it quickly at that point.


    They ventured deeper into the forest. At this point, it had already been more than 2 and a half hours since they came to the forest. It took them an hour to get to the forest and another hour and a half for Madison to hunt a single Magical Beast.


    While they were walking to the forest, they saw a figure speed past them in the sky. They ignored it since it was just a mage entering the forest. It wasn''t going to affect them.


    The figure in the sky was Leo. He was flying to the forest because he didn''t want to waste any time. He saw that Madison was leaving the two while he was flying.


    "Why are they together? And why are they still here?" He thought to himself. He was definitely going to ask them about it since it wouldn''t take that long for them to hunt a beast.


    As he was thinking that, he quickly reached the part of the forest that had 2nd Circle Magical Beasts. Since Marcus and Lyra were also heading to the deeper parts of the forest, he decided to go to another part which took him a couple more minutes.


    Once hended, he quickly killed 5 Magical Beasts in the span of ten minutes. He was incredibly efficient since he was a 3rd Star Mage in the middle of 2nd Circle Magical Beasts. It was basically a massacre.


    Once he took the cores, he left immediately. He was in and out of the forest in less than 30 minutes. By the time Marcus and Lyra even reached the part of the forest where there were any 2nd Circle Magical Beasts, he was long gone.


    Lyra and Marcus started walking cautiously when they got deeper into the forest. They had their guards up. When they saw the first hint of a movement, they quickly armed themselves.


    She took out a sword from her dimensional ring while he just coated his fists with aura. Both of them didn''t need to carry their weapons so it was easier for them to travel in the forest.


    A leopard slowly walked out from behind the trees. It was a Lightning Cloud Leopard, an Early-Stage 2nd Circle Magical Beast.


    It was closer to Lyrapared to Marcus. It thought that Lyra was the weaker of the two and decided to attack Marcus first. It leaped towards him, ignoring Lyra. She immediately noticed that she was given a free hit and closed the distance between her and the leopard.


    By the time it reached Marcus, Lyra thrust her sword into the Leopard. It roared in pain as its face was met with another punch. The punch created an explosion in its face, sting it away from Marcus.


    When itnded on the ground, it tried to get up, but the wounds inflicted on it were so heavy that it couldn''t. It barely got up before Marcus punched it again,pletely killing it.


    He looked at Lyra who had her sword. "Do you normally take out the Beast Core, or does someone else do it for you?" He asked.


    "There is typically an attendant to do it for me," she said.


    He sighed. "Are you sure you want me to do it or do you want to try?" He asked her.


    "Go ahead. There should be nothing wrong with you doing it," she said.


    "Okay," he said. He covered his fists with aura.


    She was confused. She thought he would take out a dagger. But instead, she watched him punch into the leopard''s head and fish out its Beast Core.

 Chapter 142 Grind

    ?


    She reeled in disgust when she saw the blood of the leopard stter on his clothes. He wiped the Beast Core onto the fur of the leopard to clean it before tossing it at Lyra.


    She quickly took a step back to dodge the core. She didn''t want to even touch it. He shook his head when he saw this.


    "I guess I expected this reaction. You''re too noble for this," he said.


    She retorted, "It''s not my status that finds this act disgusting. You just punched the leopard''s skull like a brute instead of easily taking out the core with a knife."


    "Well, I can''t really bring back the corpse because it''s too heavy. It''s easier if I just grab the core anyway. If I try to preserve the body and try to bring it, then I would have to carry it. It would be a better idea to just hunt another Magical Beast instead. On top of that, I never even learned how to cleanly cut out a Beast Core because-" he stopped talking.


    "Because?" Lyra asked. She was curious about why he stopped talking.


    "Because... I never had a good teacher," he said after a pause.


    Lyra knew he wasn''t telling her the full story. The gap he took to give an answer gave that away. But she didn''t press it since it wasn''t her ce.


    "So, now we have to find an actual Fire-Elemental Magical Beast. I guess Earth works too," he said.


    The beast they killed was a Lightning-type beast. It wouldn''t finish their quest, so they would have to keep hunting. But they still got their hands on a core that they could use to finish a missionter. They would just take a Lightning Magical Beast hunting mission and submit the Beast Core. That was generally what Marcus did for his Mercenary Quests.


    Lyra nodded. Both of them looked around for a while before finding their next target. They quickly got ready to mercilessly ughter it.


    As they were hunting Magical Beasts, Leo was busy trying to focus. For the first time in a while, he was having trouble focusing while training. It wasn''t something serious - it was just that something else was upying his mind.


    He was feeling a strong desire to let go of training and just spend all his time in the library. If he did spend all of his points, there wouldn''t really be a lot of time he could spend - a day at best. But he still wanted to do it.


    His mind was yearning for the knowledge it could acquire in the library. He spent an entire hour struggling to free his mind of that desire but he failed. In the end, he gave in to it. It was only a day that he was nning on spending eventually anyway.


    He got up from his bed and left to go to the library. On the way, he saw that the door to the other room was open. The room was empty. He turned his head around because he wasn''t too interested in his roommate. It was going to be someone he would meet eventually.


    He walked to the library, calming his mind on the way. It would be useless if his mind was restless when he ended up going to the library. He would still need to concentrate on reading to make sure he wasn''t wasting any time.


    When he got there, he gave his card to the students at the bottom of the first floor.


    "Can I go to the first floor, please?" He asked.


    The student nodded. She put his card to the side and marked down the time.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "You have a total of 43000 points," she said.


    He nodded.


    "You can use the library for a total of 86 hours. Please keep this in mind before deciding when to exit the library," she said.


    "Got it. Thanks," he said.


    "You can enter now." She said. He was amused that the girl thought he was going to spend more time in the library than 86 hours. That meant that people had done it before. But that was only secondary to him. His mind was focused on the books that he hade for.


    He walked into the library with a look of excitement. When he entered the first floor, he first took a look around. He saw that there weren''t a lot of people around. Since it was the first floor that contained information pertaining to 1st Circle Mages and Aura Knights, only 1st years used it.


    But since the year only started, there wasn''t any one in the library at all. No one had the points to spare for the library. So he had the entire floor to himself.


    He quickly walked to the magic section and picked out a book. The book he was most interested was the one with the most copies - The fundamentals of magic.


    He held it with one hand while looking through the entire section. He saw a few more books that looked interesting that he recognized from thest time he had been there. He quickly grabbed them until he had a five book stack.


    Once he had the books, he walked to one of the windows that had a desk beside it. The light from the windows was shining on the desk while it kept clear from the seats. It wasn''t going to fall on his face and disturb him.


    He stacked his books on the desk and sat on the chair. He picked up the book he wanted to read the most. It was the book he picked out first. Once he gotfy in his seat, he started reading.


    It was a beautiful scene to watch, but there weren''t any readers. In the beautiful, yet empty library, there was a single person sitting on a chair. His face was illuminated by the sunshineing in from the window beside him, showing his handsome face and striking blue eyes that were intently looking at the book.


    As he ruffled through the pages, his facial expressions didn''t change. But his eyes showed the true extent of what he was feeling. They showed great amounts of confusion that quickly changed to that of understanding.


    He quickly finished the book he was reading and set it down. He only took an hour to finish reading the book. He didn''t rest and picked up the next book. He opened the book and started ruffling through the pages.


    He didn''t show any signs of care for the time. He waspletely engrossed in reading the book in his eyes. Once the second book finished, he took out the third. After that, the fourth. And when the fifth was over, he finally got up.


    He put the books back in their ce and looked for a new set of books. He quickly realized that there was only a limited amount of information in the entire library. Most of the books were spell books since that was what most of the students wanted.


    However, there was still a considerable amount of theory that would keep him satisfied for at least the next 100 hours. He took out another set of books and went back to his spot.

 Chapter 143 Similar People

    ?


    There were hundreds of books in the library that all told Leo what the author thought about magic. In the end, that was what books were.


    They were just what the author felt was right. The only thing that made it believable was the credibility of the author. In the case of books about magic, this credibility came from magic power.


    All the books that Leo was reading were copies of journals of 7th Circle and 8th Circle Mages. These were only reproductions, but the knowledge was priceless to Leo. As he read book after book, he started to see some simrities between what each book told.


    As he started making concrete connections between the books he was reading, he started reading with a stronger fervor. He had long gone into a trance as he devoured the wordsing out of the books. As the time passed, his reading speed increased instead of decreasing.


    Before he even knew it, an entire day passed. He had finished 27 books in this time. His eyes were even starting to show signs of redness from reading too many books. He was unbothered by the state of his eyes and kept reading.


    After his 50th book, he finally put the book to his side without getting up. He closed his eyes and started thinking. He had spent a little more than 40 hours inside the library. After a couple of minuted, he opened his eyes and went back to his routine.


    Time passed and three days passed since he had entered the library. He put his book aside and let out a yawn for the first time in a long while. He had finished reading a total of 98 books in this time.


    After 98 books, he felt he gained a proper understanding of what the current magic world perceived magic as. To gain aplete understanding, he had to read these many books. When he saw the same information repeat in so many books and read the exnations for each, it served as a way for him to properly understand the content.


    At the end, he looked at all themonalities and pieced together a model of what he felt was a good exnation of magic to him.


    Magic was essentially a power that let people connect with nature itself. The stronger you were, the deeper of a connection you had with nature. This was what allowed strong mages to use more power.


    At the end of the day, it was only borrowed power. Magic only allowed a mage to borrow power from nature. But ording to all the books, that was not the only power that magic had.


    One of the effects that magic had on the body was an increased perception. This was something Leo knew himself, so he wasn''t surprised. Another effect was an increase in lifespan.


    Mages could live for a long time. Even 4th Circle Mages could live for 200 years at the least. After that, each increase in power gave the mages a 30 year increase in lifespan.


    And finally, Leo learned about the different uses of magic. He had been under the assumption that magic was only used to cast spells that harmed people, but he was only thinking that because that was what he saw the most.


    Magic was what people used to make pills. Magic could be used to make weapons as well. There was magic that bound itself to blood and made people stronger. There was also magic that could be used to curse people.


    The applications that he found out were immense. Most of these applications required the mage to be at least in the 4th Circle, so the entry barrier was pretty high. It also meant that the people who could actually use it in the territory he was in were pretty low.


    He got up and stretched. He put the books back in their ce and slowly walked out of the library. As he was walking out, he noticed that there was another person walking into the library.


    Leo saw the person was looking as excited as he was when he first entered the library. He smiled at the person entering and said, "Have fun inside. There''s a lot of good books."


    The other student wasn''t expecting the conversation from Leo but showed a positive reaction.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Thanks. I''m in a rush now, so I can''t speak. But I really appreciate it," he said.


    Leo waved as he walked out of the floor and down the stairs. He went to the desk to get his card back.


    "You were inside for 74 hours and 26 minutes. Thates to 37216 points." There was another student at the desk. He was probably a newer student so he gaped at the length of Leo''s stay in the library.


    "Is thatmon?" He leaned in and asked Leo. "I''m just a first-year so I don''t know."


    Leo shrugged. "I wouldn''t know either. I am a first-year too."


    Leo walked back to his dorm, leaving the student stunned. He had seen a first-year blow 37000 points in a library when he didn''t even have 500.


    When Leo got back to the dorm, he immediately copsed onto the nearby chair in the living room. He didn''t even have the energy to go to his own room. He closed his eyes and immediately went into a nap.


    He opened his eyes again after 4 hours. He got up and stretched. As he was doing that, he noticed a presence near the door. The door slowly creaked open as a person walked in.


    "You?" A voice sounded.


    The person on the other side of the living room was the same person that Leo had seen at the library. It was his mysterious roommate all along.


    "What a surprise," Leo said. "I never thought that that would be our first meeting as roommates. I''m Leo."


    The boy smiled widely. "I''m Rnd Ironheart. I am incredibly happy to find out that my roommate is a person who enjoys pursuing knowledge like me," he said.


    Leo reciprocated his feelings. "Me too. But what makes you think I only went there for knowledge and not for an Aura Technique?" He asked.


    "You weary state. You would have spent an hour or less if you went for an Aura Technique or a Magic Spell. You would only need to memorize it ande back. But looking at your exhausted eyes, I would bet you spent at least a dozen hours in there. My question is, where did you get the points for that this early in the year." He asked Leo.


    Leo sheepishly said, "I had a rank. I used most of my points at this point."


    Rnd gave a thumbs up. "That''s an exceptional use of your points. If you ever run out, tell me. I can get you Library Passes for a good price. Not too many though. Points are still hard to get."


    Leo was confused by those words. Buying Library Passes with Starcoins? That was something only- At this point, Leo realized something. He had forgotten to check the aura level of Rnd. But when he did, he didn''t find anything. That was because Rnd wasn''t an Aura Knight. He was a mage. He was a noble.

 Chapter 144 More Pills

    "You do know that I am amoner, right?" Leo asked. He wanted to see if Rnd''s attitude was going to change if he found out about that fact.


    Rnd shrugged. "Not really, but does that matter?" He asked.


    Leo smiled and shook his head. "Not really," he said. "So, what did you go there to find out?"


    "Pills," Rnd said with a gleaming expression. "I have a dream to be one of the best pill mages in the world. I want to make the best pills that everyone wants to buy."


    Leo nodded. "That sounds good. So, it was fun meeting you. I have to go back to training now," he said.


    He went back to his room andid on his bed. He was about to start training before he realized that he needed to check his schedule. It had been so many days since he went to the ss, so there was probably another one of them.


    He took his schedule out from this dimensional ring and checked it. He had another ss the next day. He sighed with relief since he didn''t miss any sses yet.


    His schedule in the school was very rxed. He only had sses on the first and fifth days of the week. But he had spent so much time in the library that it was already Thursday night. He would need to attend the ss the next day but also make sure he didn''t miss the ss after that.


    If he skipped the sses on the very first week, it would set a very bad precedent for him. He was already paying a lot of money and the information seemed very useful.


    After reading all those books, Leo felt that his understanding of magic increased greatly. He felt that if he trained, he would have better results because of it. He quickly started meditating and absorbing magic without any aid.


    He was right. The absorption of magic increased by almost half. His training speed increased a lot. He quickly took out a leaf and started training.


    The entire night passed in a sh by the time he opened his eyes. He made a considerable amount of progress during this time. He felt that the Late Stage of the 3rd Star was within sight.


    He got up and got ready to go to ss. He quickly threw on a pair of good clothes and left his dorm. He left the dorm with only 30 minutes left to get to ss. He walked to the building without any worry though.


    By the time he got to the building, there were only ten minutes before ss was going to start. He walked inside and scanned the building for empty seats. He quickly found the group he was sitting with on the first day.


    There was an empty seat beside Marcus. He made his way there.


    "Is the seat free?" He asked Marcus.


    Marcus looked at Leo and looked relieved. "Oh, thank god you''re here. I was worried when I didn''t see you for a long time. Yeah, the seats open." He said.


    "Was I gone for that long? I was only busy for- oh. Yes, I was gone for a while," Leo said. He realized that he never told them that he was going to the library.


    "What happened? Did you have some trouble with a Magical Beast?" Lyra asked.


    "If there is, you can join us while hunting. We''ve been going together for the past few days for the missions," Marcus said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Marcus shook his head. "No, there wasn''t any difficulty there. I just spent my time in the library," Leo said. "But I am going to ask, what do you mean hunt together?" He asked Marcus.


    Madison interjected at this point.


    "They helped me hunt my first monster and then went to go to the deeper parts of the forest to hunt stronger Magical Beasts for their missions. After the first day, they''ve been doing it regrly. They did it for the past three days too," she said.


    "That sounds good. I still prefer hunting alone, but I appreciate the offer," he said to Marcus. Marcus looked dejected while Lyra showed a slightly relieved expression. Leo guessed that it was because she didn''t want more people sharing the few Beast Cores.


    "Well, what did you do at the library? There''s no way you spent all three days there," Marcus said with a low tone.


    "Actually, I did. I spent all three days in the library. I only got out yesterday evening," Leo replied.


    Lyra was shocked. She immediately asked him a question. "But that means you spent 72 hours worth of points. Do you have any points left?"


    He sheepishly smiled. "Nope. I used around 45000 points on the library. It was worth it though. I would rmend it to you."


    Before anyone could say anything, the ss started. It was Maria taking their ss.


    "So,st time we talked about pills. Today we are still going to talk about pills, but the different pills that you can encounter. Today is less about theory and more about learning what could help you in the future," she started.


    Leo immediately started paying attention. He was right about attending ss. It was incredibly useful.


    "The first thing you want to know about is the Aura Gathering Pill and the Aura Essence Pill. I already went over them in thest ss. The next pill is very useful to a lot of you who are trying to break through to the 2nd Circle," she said.


    Leo''s expression dulled a little when he heard that. The first pill would be useless to him since he was already a 2nd Circle Aura Knight.


    "The pill I am talking about is the Aura Luminary Pill. It can aid an Aura Knight to break through to the next level. It gives you a 20% boost to their sess rate. The way it does this is by giving you a good amount of aura that is very pure that you can easily use to form your circle. However, the problem with it is that it is incredibly expensive. It can cost 6 million Starcoins," she said.


    Leo cringed inwards. He was a user of the pill to break through. Her next wordsforted him.


    "There is a lesser number of impurities that umte when you use a pill to break through, but you would need to spend a little longer to allow the circle to properly solidify. Wait for 2 months before trying to break through to the next minor level. This is typically not a problem since training in the 2nd Circle is harder than at the 1st level." She said.


    This was useful information to everyone, but Leo knew his body was a special case. So he ignored this information.


    "As for the next pill, it is something that can help you increase your proficiency in your Aura Technique. It is called the Aura Fighting Pill, and it gives you a boost in the elemental nature of your aura. It will allow you to experience your Aura Technique with a more elemental aura which will help you immensely while training." She said.


    This was when Leo started paying attention. These pills seemed to be useful to him.

 Chapter 145 Provocation

    ?


    "As for this pill, it possesses a unique property that allows for a temporary enhancement of your Aura Technique," Maria exined, her voice filled with caution. "It grants you a momentary boost, making it particrly useful in battle. However, it''s crucial to remember that this pill should only be used once every six months at best, especially if you n on using it multiple times."


    She paused, surveying the attentive faces before her, ensuring they understood the gravity of her words. "Your body may not be adequately prepared to handle the Elemental Aura it''s not trained for," she warned, emphasizing the potential risks.


    "As for the next pill, it is more tame. It is also considered a necessity by many Aura Knights. It is the Aura Recovery Pill. This is a pill that has grades. Oh, I never exined grades to you. Let me tell you that first.


    Each pill''s potency can be quickly judged by the grade of the pill. For example, the Aura Gathering Pill is a 1st Grade Pill, which means it is mainly for 1st Circle Aura Knight. But that doesn''t mean only they should use it. It means the effect isn''t as great for people higher than that level.


    As for a 2nd Grade, there is the Aura Essence Pill as well as the Aura Luminary Pill. The Aura Fighting Pill is a 3rd Grade Pill, so it is mainly for people in the 3rd Circle. But there are a lot of pills that can be multiple grades.


    The Aura Fighting Pill is a 3rd Grade Pill, but if it is made with better materials, then it would be a higher-grade pill. And the Aura Recovery Pill is a pill like this. It can range from the 1st Grade all the way to the 9th Grade. But you won''t have to concern yourself with mythical pills like those," she said.


    She took a look at the clock in the room and decided it was time to wrap up.


    "So you know that you can use an Aura Gathering Pill to reach the Peak-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight. You can use an Aura Luminary Pill to cross that bottleneck. And you can use an Aura Essence Pill to reach the Peak Stage of the 2nd Circle.


    To recover your aura after a match, there is the Aura Recovery Pill. And to increase your proficiency in Aura Techniques, there is the Aura Fighting Pill. Thest pill you would need to know about would be that you can use to break through to the 3rd Circle." She said.


    Leo''s interest was piqued. He was very interested in it since he was definitely going to buy more than one of that pill.


    "The pill is the Essence Refiner Pill. It can increase your chances of a breakthrough by 10%, but it has a lot of impurities. You cannot take another pill for a month and you will need to stay at that level for 5 months before trying to break through to the next minor level. And that is all you need to know about pils," Maria ended her lecture.


    "Any questions?" She asked. She looked around and saw no hands were getting up. She then said, "Good. ss is dismissed."


    Leo and every one next to him all quickly left the building. They then thought about what they wanted to do again.


    "Do we have enough points to go to any of the training grounds?" Marcus asked everyone.


    Madison and Leo shook their heads while the others nodded. While Leo had only 5000 points left, the others hadn''t used any of their points from the rankings. As for Madison, she only had a pitiful 400 points from hunting 5 1st Circle Magical Beasts over the four days.


    "So we can''t do that today as well. Should we just try to attempt that after a month?" Lyra asked everyone. Everyone agreed except Leo.


    "Don''t let me not having points stop you. You guys can check it out while I gather the points to attempt it. If you stop increasing your strength just because you want to wait for others, then you will be left behind." He scolded Lyra.


    "But-" Marcus was going to defend her but a re from Leo scared him off. Even though he had never been in a fight with Leo, he had epted him as a figure of authority for some reason.


    "Fine. We will check it out. What will you guys do?" She asked him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He looked at Madison."I will go hunt," she said.


    "I will just train in my dorm," Leo said.


    Everyone quickly dispersed. Leo went back to his room. He quickly got onto his bed and started training his magic. He didn''t want to waste any time. He was going to only spend at most half of his time on training aura. Everything else had to go for training his magic.


    He took out a leaf and started gathering magic. He was so deeply engrossed that he never noticed that someone had entered his room. He only realized that when he felt a tap on his shoulder.


    He opened his eyes and was ready to cast a spell in a second the minute he felt the touch. He had also gotten ready to get away but didn''t when he realized who the person was. It was just Rnd.


    "Is there something I can help you with?" He asked Rnd.


    Rnd nodded. "Yes. So, I need the help of someone to fight a battle for me," he said.


    Leo was confused. "Sorry?"


    "So, I got into a fight with another mage about something dumb. I was just defending someone in my ss but-" He was interrupted by Leo.


    "Details, Rnd. Take a deep breath and just include details. You are too stressed," he said to Rnd. Rnd was sweating and clearly stressed about the incident. Leo calmed him down first.


    He took a deep breath and slowly collected himself. After a minute, he started from the top.


    "So, I was in my ss for mages. I was just sitting with one of my friends. We were listening to the lecture until the ss turned into a practical one. So we went to showcase our skills. However, my friend didn''t do well in the practical.


    It''s not even his fault. He is amoner and only got into the academy because his aptitude for magic was immense. But he doesn''t know any magic yet. Since he couldn''t perform any of the basic spells, one of the nobles started mocking him. The noble''s name is Victoria Evernight," Rnd exined.


    "I didn''t like this and went over when she used a spell on themoner. It was immediately blocked by our instructor, but she was only left with a warning. She quickly went back to verbally assaulting him when I confronted her. And that is where I made a mistake," he said.


    Leo nodded. "Mistake? It sounds perfectly righteous of you. How is it a mistake?" He asked.


    "Well, I said that she was a failure in magic for having topare herself with amoner who only started to learn magic," he said.


    Leo''s mouth curved into a smile.

 Chapter 146 Hurry

    ?


    "Stopughing. Because I essentially called her talentless in front of the entire ss, she challenged me to a duel. A duel means that we have to assign someone to fight for us or fight ourselves. That''s why I need your help."


    "I have one question," Leo said. "Actually two. But the first one is more important."


    Rnd nodded.


    "Why can''t you fight yourself?" He asked.


    Rnd almost started crying. "It''s because I didn''t know that she was that strong. I never bothered to check the New Student Ranking. Apparently, she is ranked 76th on the ranking. We only have around 30 people on the ranking out of 500 people, and she happened to be one of them." He said.


    "Okay, make that four questions. So you said you never checked the New Student Ranking. So what made youe to me?" He asked.


    Rnd immediately shook his head. "Oh no. I didn''t mean for you to fight for me. That''s too dangerous. Since you were an Aura Knight, I was hoping you know someone who was stronger than her so he can beat her in the duel," he said.


    Leo maintained a serious expression when he heard that statement and continued speaking. "Now my third question. What is the reason for even fighting? Can''t you just forfeit?" He asked.


    Rnd shook his head. "A duel is honor bound. To make both participate wholeheartedly, each party has to bet something of equal value. She betnd in the city worth 1 million Starcoins, so I have to match that bet. I will lose that money if I lose," he said.


    "Continuation of the third question - would you give the money that you won to the person who won the battle for you?" Leo asked.


    Rnd nodded. "As long as I don''t lose any money," he said.


    "I''ll do it," Leo said.


    Rnd raised his eyebrows. "You?"


    "I meant that I will make sure that someone stronger than the 76th rank on the New Student Ranking will fight for you. Is that good?" He asked Rnd.


    Rnd nodded. "Thank you so much. I will owe you so much," he said.


    "Oh, you have no idea how valuable your proposal is. You are essentially hiring someone for 1 million Starcoins. You can get a lot for that. I will make sure you get what the money is worth," he said. "But now, for my final question. When is this fight?" He asked Rnd.


    Rnd looked away with embarrassment. "Tomorrow," he whispered. "At sunrise."


    "Tomorrow? You were working with very little time, Rnd. If you didn''t have me as a roommate, I think you would have been in a big predicament," he said. "I''ll get it done. What is the location of this fight?"


    The reason it was very less time was that it was already evening. He had probablye to Leo after he went to his other acquaintances and they were unhelpful.


    "The arenas of the academy. You can rent one of them for 100 points," Rnd said.


    "I''ll get your fighter to the arena on time," Leo said. "You just take some rest and calm yourself down. I will make sure that everything is perfect."


    "Thank you so much for helping me, Leo. I will remember this for a long time," Rnd said.


    He went back to his dorm while Leo smiled to himself. He had the opportunity to make 1 million Starcoins. As he was getting ready to go back to his training, he heard a knock on the main door to the dorm.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He sighed and got up to get the door. When he opened the door, he found Marcus there.


    "Why are you here?" Leo asked him.


    "You have no idea what I just found out. Apparently, there is a fight between two nobles tomorrow. I was going to tell you so that we can go together," Marcus said.


    Leo burst into a smile. "You know about this fight?" He asked Marcus.


    "Are you kidding? The entire first year knows about it. Themoner mages told their friends who spread it all over the campus. Do you know about it too?" Marcus said.


    Leo nodded. "I am going to the fight. I already was going to go since my roommate is going to drag me there. Do you want to join us?" He asked Marcus.


    "Yes. I''m bringing Lyra too. Madison, if she joins us." He said. "Is that also okay with you?"


    Leo shrugged. "Whatever works. I''m sure we''ll be in for a treat." He said. "Come to my dorm by 5 and we will leave together."


    Marcus nodded and left. Meanwhile, Leo went back to his room. At this point, he lost the concentration to train in magic. He was just curious about how the next day was going to turn out.


    The reason he had said okay to it was because of two things. One was the money. He wasn''t going to say no to that chance. But the other thing was why the fight started. He didn''t like people who looked down onmoners. He wanted to show the nobles who were truly on top of the ranking.


    He got on his bed and decided to just wait till the next day. He closed his eyes and decided to just train his Aura Technique till the next day.


    The night passed slowly as Leoy on his bed, thoughts swirling in his mind. He couldn''t shake off the anticipation building within him, fueled by the uing duel between the nobles and the opportunity to prove that talent surpassed birthright. Despite his determination to train his Aura Technique, his mind kept drifting to the events that would unfold the next day.


    As Leo closed his eyes, his senses heightened, and he focused on channeling his aura. The room filled with a gentle hum as his body synchronized with the energy around him. Leo delved deeper into his training, honing his concentration and control.


    An aura swirled around him. It had a hint of the shadow element, making it hard to track in the darkness. He only swirled the aura around himself but didn''t use it to attack anything. He wasn''t nning on damaging his room while training.


    Minutes turned into hours and hepletely lost track of time. He was woken up from his trance by a knock on the door. He opened his eyes.


    "Come in," he said.


    The door opened and Rnd walked inside. "It''s 4:30. Can we leave now?" He asked Leo.


    Leo shook his head. "I have a friend joining us at 5. We can leave then. Sunrise is at 6, so we will still have plenty of time," he said.


    Rnd nodded. "That works. Once again, I am very grateful to you for doing this, Leo." He showed his gratitude.


    "Don''t sweat it. We will be there in time with your fighter." Leo promised.


    Rnd left the room but Leo didn''t go back to training. There were only 30 minutes left before Marcus was going to show up, so he didn''t bother going back to training. After twenty minutes, he heard a knock on his door.


    "Finally," Leo said to himself as he got up.

 Chapter 147 Arena

    ?


    He walked to the door and opened it. On the other side, he saw Marcus, Lyra, and Madison. All of them seemed very excited.


    "Are you ready to go?" Marcus asked.


    "Give me a minute. I will go and bring my roommate," Leo said. He walked to Rnd''s room and knocked. The door opened in a few seconds and Rnd''s head peeked out to see who it was.


    "Are you ready to leave?" Leo asked him. Rnd quickly opened the door and stepped out. He was properly dressed and ready to leave.


    "My friends came, so we can leave now," Leo said. Rnd nodded. He didn''t have any of the energy that the people outside had. When he came to the door, Leo introduced him to everyone.


    "Rnd. This is Marcus, Lyra, and Madison. Everyone, this is my roommate," Leo said. "Let''s not waste any time and leave."


    He recognized that Rnd was getting stressed since they weren''t there yet. They left the dorm and walked out toward the arenas. It was only a fifteen-minute walk, so they were going to be there without any problem.


    As they were walking, Rnd asked Leo a question.


    "So, why are there so many of your friends?" He asked.


    "So, I''m not sure you are aware of how famous this fight is going to be," Leo said, pointing to the surroundings.


    It was early in the morning and the sun wasn''t up yet. The only source of light was themps in the corners of the streets. At a time like this, the streets would normally be empty. However, there were groups of students pouring out of the dorms.


    There were almost 300 students outside. All of them seemed to be heading in the same direction as their group.


    "Many of these people are here to watch the duel you made happen. So in a way, you are a celebrity," he said.


    They made their way to the arenas and found even more people there. They were swarming the entire area, giving no one space to move. The only way to go to the actual arena stages was to leap over the entire crowd.


    Leo looked at Marcus and the rest of the group and said, "You wait here. Me and Rnd have to go to the stage."


    Before they could ask him what he meant, he and Rnd leaped onto one of the stages. Everyone looked at the people who were clearly cutting the line to get the best seats to watch the fight. One of them protested.


    "Who do you think you are?! We''ve been waiting for an hour for this fight," he shouted.


    People around him agreed with the statement. They were about to protest along with him, but someone stopped them.


    "Do you not know who that is? That''s one of the nobles fighting!" Another student shouted. Everyone suddenly looked at the two. They lost their anger and cheered instead.


    Leo shook his head and sat on the arena stage. It was still only 5 and there was time before the sun would rise. They would still have to wait for their opponent.


    Rnd sat beside him trying to avoid all the gazes pointed their way.


    "Do you know when your friend is going toe to the stage? Or is it one of your friends that we came with?" He asked Leo.


    Leo patted Rnd''s shoulder.


    "Don''t worry. I have this all figured out," he said.


    Time passed and the first rays of dawn peeked through the buildings. As the ce lit up, Rnd saw someone he recognized.


    "She''s here," Rnd said while getting up. Leo got up and started stretching.


    Another pair of students jumped up onto the stage. Both of them were girls. Both were wearing luxurious robes and had staffs in their hands. Their red robes were standing out in the sea of people around them.


    The shorter of the two walked forward. "My sister was right. She said you were going to bring a representative to fight for you. It was the right move for me to do that too," she said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Rnd looked around and only saw Leo. He quickly tried to deny it.


    "No, he''s not my-" He was about to say that Leo wasn''t his representative but Leo stopped him.


    "So you brought your older sister to fight someone in your year? Rnd was right. You are pretty much a coward," he said.


    The conversation between them was audible to the entire crowd watching them and they all started to get excited when they heard the remarks made at each other. Just as the noise was starting to get incredibly loud, a loud shout resounded throughout the entire arena stages.


    "SILENCE!" The shout silenced the entire crowd of almost 500 students.


    The shout came from a mage in the sky. He was the same person who was in charge of the admissions for the Aura Knight Academy.


    "Since the participants registered to use the arena, I came here to make sure that no one would get hurt. But all I see is an uncivilized audience. I will let you all stay but do not make noise like unruly thugs," he said with a calmer voice.


    He then looked at the stage with the four people.


    "Only the people fighting should remain on the stage," he said.


    Rnd looked at Leo. "Where''s the person?" He asked.


    Leo pointed at himself. "That would be me. I''m fighting for you," he said.


    Rnd''s expression turned ghastly. "But- but you said you would bring someone stronger than-"


    "You never checked the New Student Ranking, did you? Go check it out once you''re free. I''m not as weak as you think," he said.


    "Faster," the old man said.


    Rnd scurried off the stage. The only people left on the stage were Leo and the girl who looked very simr to the other girl who talked to Rnd.


    "Introduce yourselves to me. I will need to recover the fight for Academy records," he said.


    The girl spoke first.


    "I am Melissa Evernight, a 2nd Year Mage student," she said.


    When she said that, everyone had an expression of displeasure. Most of the students there were Aura Knights, and they didn''t like that a 2nd Year Mage was the chosen representative to fight a 1st Year. They hoped that Rnd had also chosen someone older, but Leo looked incredibly young.


    "Are you ranked?" He asked.


    She shook her head. He then turned to Leo.


    "What about you, boy?" He asked.


    "I am Leo. First Year," Leo said.


    Everyone shook their heads. They thought the fight was over before it even started. The boy already looked incredibly young. How would he face a chance against a 2nd Year student in the academy?


    The old man didn''t show any such expression. "Rank?" He asked.


    At this point, everyone thought it was standard for him to ask that question so they didn''t think anything of it. But Melissa was different. She knew that the mage would be able to see the aura level of the boy. If he asked that question, that meant there was a chance the boy would pose a small threat to her.


    Leo''s mouth curved into a smile. "New Student Ranking. Ranked 4th."

 Chapter 148 Fight

    ?


    Everyone was about to erupt with surprise but the Baron Mopart''s presence stopped them. No one thought that the boy was one of the strongest Aura Knights all of the entire first-year students. The people with the biggest expressions were the three people nearest to the stage.


    Rnd''s mouth was open with shock. He had only gone to Leo as ast resort since he didn''t know him that well. He thought that Leo was going to just find a ssmate to do the fighting.


    He was surprised that Leo had even agreed in the first ce. But now he was finding out that his roommate was this powerful. But he was still skeptical. Leo was facing a 2nd Year mage who was definitely a 2nd Circle Mage.


    Meanwhile, both sisters were surprised that the boy was ranked 4th. Victoria was shocked because she was only ranked 76th while the person she had picked a fight with somehow knew the 4th Ranked person.


    As for Melissa, she was now starting to get serious. She thought that it would be easy to win since the boy her sister picked a fight with would only find a subpar student or fight himself.


    If it was her own batch, the 4th rank would still be a 1st Circle Aura Knight, but she heard that the new students had more than 10 2nd Circle Aura Knights. She was an Early-Stage 2nd Circle Mage herself, so she would need to be very serious in her fight or she would lose.


    "Start the fight," the Baron Mopart said.


    Leo immediately pulled out his dagger and closed the gap between him and Melissa. She hurriedly hurled a fireball at him. He didn''t bother dodging the fireball and just sliced through it with his aura.


    When the students saw this, they were awestruck. As Aura Knights, they were used to being told that mages were superior to them. But they were seeing an Aura Knight face a chance to a Mage older than him.


    Melissa saw how he dealt with the spell and frowned. She was going back to increase the gap between them while preparing another spell. The stage was a 30-meter square, and Leo had already covered 10 of those meters. There was only 15 meters between the two of them.


    She quickly cast another spell that made half of the arena ze with mes. It cut off the path for Leo to reach her.


    When Rnd saw the mes, his worry increased. At this point, he was starting to feel regret for asking Leo. There was a chance that he would get hurt and that was all his fault. Madison was also worried for Leo, but Lyra and Marcus both watched without any signs of panic. They both knew that Leo would be fine.


    Melissa was able to create space between her and Leo. As he was trying to close the space, she counterattacked. She flung a Magic Bullet at him.


    The bullet flew past Leo, missing him by an inch. She frowned and threw a couple more bullets but none of them made contact with him. This was even though his vision was being obstructed by the zing mes.


    She was confused. How was she missing her bullets? There was no way he was dodging them. She decided to try attacking him with spells that wouldn''t miss. She was about to cast the same spell that engulfed half the arena with mes - an Inferno. But she noticed that Leo wasn''t in the same ce anymore.


    He had already found a gap in the mes that shielded her from him. She hurriedly stopped her spell and cast a me wall instead. The wall started to encircle her and rose to a tall 5 meters. She prepared a barrage of Fireballs to fling at him since he couldn''t reach her.


    However, to her surprise, Leo jumped when he got near the me wall. He jumped so high that he was able topletely jumped over the wall. As he wasnding, she panicked and released a string of fireballs at him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He coated his dagger with aura and sliced through each fireball with ease and finally got near her.


    "So, are you done running?" He asked her.


    In the entire fight, Leo clearly had the upper hand. The reason was that Leo had more than just his aura. If it was just him as an Aura Knight versus Melissa, it would be a very even fight. Both of them were in the Early Stage of the 2nd Circle.


    But Leo had the perception of a 3rd Star Mage. He was able to see what his opponent was doing before it even had an effect. He was able to detect the changes in magic and see that a spell was being cast his way.


    This made it impossible for any of her attacks to harm him. He easily got close to her and got ready to finish the fight. She also knew that if he got close enough to her, she would lose her fight. But as a 2nd Year student, she could not afford to lose to her junior.


    She would also lose thend that her sister put on the line for the fight. All of these thoughts swirled through her head. She opened her dimensional ring and took out a box.


    Leo saw the box and frowned. It looked a lot like a pill box. He looked up at the sky where he saw the Baron. He was also observing this development and had a frown on his face. However, he didn''t act. Even though he didn''t like how she was trying to win, he supported her intentions.


    He didn''t want to see a 2nd Year Noble student lose to amoner 1st Year. Especially if the year had just started. So he chose not to do anything even though it was wrong.


    Melissa opened the box and took out a pill. Leo realized what she was trying to do. She was trying to take a pill that could enhance her abilities. He quickly ran forward to stop her, but she had already taken the pill.


    He sliced at her with his dagger and was about to make contact with her, but an explosion blew him away.


    Everyone was watching with suspense as they waited for the smoke to clear up. After a few seconds, the smoke started to fade away and they could see what had happened.


    Leo had gotten up pretty quickly even after the explosion. He had sensed it beforehand and was barely able to cover himself with aura to protect himself. He still felt the impact on his body.


    On the other side of the arena was Melissa. She had her staff in her hands and was preparing a huge spell. She cast it the minute the smoke cleared.


    The spell she was trying to cast was the same spell she had cast the first time to create space between her and Leo. However, the spell seemed a lot different this time. Leo knew there was a difference in power.


    He prepared himself as she cast the spell. A huge explosion covered the entire stage in mes.

 Chapter 149 End

    ?


    The minute she cast the spell, she dropped to her knees and started panting. The pill she had taken was the Magic Release Pill. It let a mage use all their magic at once, but they wouldn''t be able to fight anymore after that.


    But there wasn''t supposed to be a need to fight after that. The power of the spell she cast was on par with Middle-Stage 2nd Circle Mages. There was no way that she lost the fight after that.


    The mes slowly died out and a figure was standing on the opposite side of the arena. Her eyes widened when she saw this. How did he even guard an attack like that?


    Leo coughed a little because of the smoke as he walked forward. He didn''t expect to face power like that but managed to survive because he had moved to the edge of the stage in time. He had also found weak spots in the explosion that didn''t hit him with as much power. He was able to defend it with the aura he had.


    He walked to the girl and sighed. He pointed his dagger at her and looked up. The mage came down to the ground andnded near Melissa.


    "The duel is over. Everyone, disperse," he said.


    Everyone listened to him but started talking to each other about what they just saw. The 1st year had sessfully won against a senior. This was the most interesting thing that they had witnessed in the entire first week of the academy.


    Rnd was blown away. He thought he was losing the money for sure, but somehow Leo had won. He would no longer need to buynd worth 1 million Starcoins and give it to Victoria. He looked at her and saw that she had a shocked expression as well.


    Victoria couldn''tprehend what happened. She knew exactly what her sister did. She took a Magic Release Pill and still lost. To a 1st Year student too. And now she would need to give Rnd thend that she put on stake. She was starting to regret doing all of this.


    Why did the duel even happen? Because she was looking down on amoner. And now amoner beat her sister in a duel in front of half of the 1st year students.


    Leo walked to Victoria as she was thinking this. She looked up and saw him in front of her.


    "I was made aware that something was at stake for this duel. I hope that my friend will receive it by the end of the week," he said before turning away.


    He walked out of the stage, leaving the sisters with the Baron. Rnd chased after Leo.


    "Leo!" He shouted.


    Leo turned back and saw him. Rnd caught up to him.


    "That was amazing! But why did you never tell me your rank?" He asked.


    Leo smiled. "I wanted to look at your expression."


    Rnd shook his head. "Well, I was shocked. Did you ask her about thend? It''s yours, just saying."


    "Yeah. Can you take thend from her? Can you also do me a favor and sell it as well? If I just get money, that will help," he said.


    Rnd nodded. "Anything. You helped me a lot with this. I will remember your help," he said. As he was saying this, Marcus and Lyra came with Madison behind them.


    "That was amazing!" Madison said.


    Leo looked back and saw the old man looking at him with a re that told him to get lost.


    "We can talk on the way. I think we need to leave," he said. By this point, the rest of the audience had already left. They all had things to do and couldn''t stay there forever.


    As they were walking back to the dorms, they talked about the fight.


    "I didn''t know that you could defend spells with aura. The way you cut through the fireballs with your dagger was amazing," Rnd said. Both he and Madison were very impressed by the fight.


    As for Lyra and Marcus, they were impressed for different reasons.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "How were you able to defend thest st?" Lyra asked.


    Leo said without hesitation, "Luck."


    He then turned to them.


    "I am going to have to leave you here. I need to go back to training. I''ll see you in ss," he said and left them. He didn''t even give Rnd time toe with him, leaving the four by themselves.


    "Does he do that often?" Rnd asked.


    Everyone nodded.


    "He''s always training," Marcus said.


    "I will also do that. I will see you all at ss," Lyra left as well. At this point, everyone else dispersed.


    Leo got back to his dorm and immediately started training. He had spent a fair share of his time on the fight and got his rush of adrenaline. He was still a kid at heart and wanted to enjoy a good fight. But now that it was over he needed to get his priorities sorted.


    As he was back to training, the entire academy was getting to know about the fight. It wasn''t the fight itself that managed to attract everyone''s attention. It was who fought it that did.


    People quickly found out that an orphan in his 1st Year was able to defeat a noble in her 2nd Year. First, it was the students. After them, it was the teachers.


    Asher was sitting in his office and looking at a few papers. He didn''t have any work and was just looking at a couple of lesson papers to revise before his next ss. As he was doing that, someone knocked on his door.


    "Come in," he said. The door opened and Maria walked in.


    "Yes? Do you need something?" He asked her.


    "How many people can go to the Phoenix Trials?" She asked him.


    He frowned. "Why do you want to know that now? But the answer is 15. 5 of them are reserve students who won''t actually participate," he said.


    "Well, I think we can send some of the 1st years as reserves," she said.


    Asher chuckled. "I thought about that very thing. The top 3 ranks are in my ss for that very reason. They could all possibly reach the Late Stage of the 2nd Circle in just their first year here. I am thinking of taking them regardless of their aura level just for the experience," he said.


    Maria shook her head. "I''m not asking you for them. I''m thinking of one of my students - Leo."


    "Oh, him. He caught my eye too, but he isn''t enough to not take a 2nd Year. He would still need to grow a little. He is already a 2nd Circle which is good, but that doesn''t mean hisbat power is at that level yet. The only reason he is ranked that high is because the others are also students who recently advanced to the 2nd Circle." Asher exined.


    "He defeated a 2nd Circle Mage in a duel. A 2nd Year Mage." Maria said.


    Asher''s eyes widened.


    "Really?"


    She nodded.


    "Then I will consider him. But he would need to be at least a Middle-Stage," he said. "This batch is truly frightening."

 Chapter 150 Fame

    ?


    By the time Leo stepped out of his dorm, his name became famous throughout the academy. Everyone started to pay attention to all the people in the New Student Ranking even more keenly.


    If even the 4th ranked person was strong enough to beat a senior, then they might even be strong enough to get on the Student Rankings.


    As Leo walked to his ss, he saw that there were a couple of stares thrown his way. He learned to ignore it quickly and got to ss. This time, there was a different person at the podium. It was Selena.


    He found his group and sat next to them. He sat in silence, waiting for the ss to start. After a couple of minutes, the ss finally started.


    "Today, we are going to be looking at Aura Techniques. For this, we will be using the other side of the hall. We will be experimenting with aura techniques so that you can learn to pick the right one," she said softly. "Everyone, stand up and follow me."


    For the first time, they were going to be using the part of the building that had the training dummies. They quickly walked through the corridors and got to the other side.


    "Everyone, pick a dummy. And look to the front," she said.


    She walked to an elevated stage facing all of the students. There were two training dummies on the two ends of the stage. She had her sword out. Once everyone got to their positions, she started talking.


    Leo''s group took training dummies beside each other so that they would still be next to each other. But everyone was still paying attention.


    "There are four types of aura techniques. Offensive Aura Techniques, Defensive Aura Techniques, Movement Aura Techniques, and Special Aura Techniques."


    She said this and swung her sword. The sword released a visible sword sh that moved in the air before hitting one of the training dummies on the stage. The sh became an explosion once it hit the dummy.


    "That was an offensive aura technique like a lot of you guessed. There are two types of offensive techniques. Concentrated and Explosive. Among them, concentrated techniques are better. The technique I used was an Explosive aura technique. As for a concentrated technique, here is an example."


    She said that and swung her sword again. A simr sword sh was released from her sword and hit the dummy. Instead of creating an explosion, it created a gash inside the dummy. The explosion before couldn''t do anything to the dummy but the second sh was able to cut through it.


    "The reason these techniques are better is that they condense the aura and attack one spot with the entire power the aura holds. On the other hand, explosive techniques disperse the power throughout the area and are dealing less power at one point.


    However, there are fewer Concentrated Offensive Aura Techniques and it is harder to get ahold of those at a higher stage. For the 2nd and 3rd Circle, we have Concentrated Offensive Aura Techniques in our library. After that, it will be incredibly difficult to find thempared to Explosive Offensive Aura Techniques," she said.


    Leo immediately looked at Lyra. Her technique was a concentrated offensive technique based on what he saw at the tests to get into the academy. It made sense since she was a noble and might have known this beforehand. Even his was also a concentrated technique but he could artificially make explosions because of his control over his aura.


    "Now, the second type of technique is a Defensive Aura Technique. These are ways to coat your body with ayer of protection made of aura. They are crucial in any fight since you would need to be able to defend against attacks. There isn''t any separation based on how they coat your body, so you can just find any suitable one in the library.


    The other type of technique is a Movement Technique which also doesn''t have any separate categories inside. These techniques allow you to move quicker and more efficiently in battle. You can also use them to move quickly to your destination. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    These three types of techniques constitute the holy trinity for Aura Knights. Each one of these techniques is incredibly important. Without them, you will be severely disadvantaged in fights. You will need to learn an Aura Technique of your level for each category."


    She said. She then proceeded to call a person onto the stage.


    "Now, I will demonstrate the techniques I talked about. You, attack me with aura," she said.


    The girl she called up to the stage was nervous. She sliced at Selena with her hands and a little aura. Selena shook her hand and caught the hand before it even reach her.


    "I need someone who can attack me without hesitation. Anyone else?" She asked and looked around the room. Her eyesnded on Leo''s group.


    "You," she pointed at one of them. It was Lyra. She silently walked to the stage while the other girl got off it.


    "Attack me," Selena said.


    Lyra took out a sword from her dimensional ring and attacked Selena with her Aura Technique. Everyone saw a purple trail as the sword was about to sh through Selena.


    Selena seemingly did nothing as the sword almost hit her, but the sword hit an invisible barrier and bounced off. The hit caused a ripple in this invisible barrier, allowing the students to see it. It was ayer of aura a few inches away from the skin.


    "That was a defensive technique. Attack me again," she said.


    Lyra struck again, but this time the sword simply passed through the space like it was cutting through thin air. Selena who had been there a second ago was not in that spot anymore. She was nowhere in front of Lyra at all.


    "That was a movement technique. Thanks for helping me demonstrate this. You can go now," she said to Lyra. Lyra quietly left the stage.


    "And now, for thest type of aura technique- the special techniques. These are abel for techniques that don''t fall under the normal three categories. A prime example is healing techniques.


    Healing Aura Techniques can be used to heal your own aura and body quickly. But it isn''t any of the three techniques I told you about. Another example is Sensory Aura Techniques. They can be used to sense what is in your surroundings. They are very rare, but they exist. They can only be put into this one category.


    Now, this whole category is incredibly broad, so there are a lot of techniques that I cannot teach you about in one ss. We will go through the rest in our next ss. After that, I will also tell you exactly how to choose your next Aura Technique. For now, the ss is done." She said and walked down the stage.


    She never bothered asking students for questions once the ss was over. But no one really had any since the ss was very straightforward.


    As for Leo, he was starting to look forward to the next ss. He had never picked out a new aura technique once he got to the 2nd Circle and the ss would help him do that.

 Chapter 151 Ultimatum

    ?


    After ss was over, he went to the Mission Hall. He wanted to deposit the cores he had to finish a few missions and get some points.


    He wanted to get his hands on enough points to go to the library for Aura Techniques and also test out the training spots at the academy. He had enough for thetter, but he would be left with no points once he did that.


    He also didn''t have to deal with telling everyone that he was leaving since they were used to it at this point. They started to expect him to leave immediately after the sses.


    He got his cores deposited and immediately went to the forest. He killed 10 2nd Circle Magical Beasts and got back.


    One thing the fame did for him was that it gave him a reputation. He would be able to use it to make doing many missions in a week seem normal for him. So he could do 10 missions a week instead of only 5. This would mean he would have to go out for a little longer, but it waspletely worth it considering that it gave him a lot of points.


    Once he was done with hunting, Leo returned to his room and found sce in seclusion. He closed himself off from the outside world as usual, immersing himself in his thoughts and training. The days blended together as he devoted himself to honing his skills, determined to reach new heights in his aura maniption.


    As the sun rose and set, marking the passage of time, Leo kept training his magic, his primary focus. He could feel the subtle shifts in his magic, the growing strength, and precision with each passing day. It was a slow and arduous process, but he was willing to put in the effort to achieve greatness.


    Friday arrived, and Leo made his way to his ss. The familiar faces greeted him, and he took his seat among his peers. He patiently waited for the ss to begin, his mind calm and focused. He reviewed the previous lessons in his head, mentally preparing himself for whaty ahead.


    Selena walked into the room with amanding presence. The ss fell into a hushed silence as they awaited her lecture.


    "So, I said that we were going to look at a few Aura Techniques, so we will do that today. I will just be talking so we won''t need the training dummies. But listen closely to properly understand what techniques I am mentioning." She started her lecture by going directly to the point.


    "The most important point you have to keep in mind is what element your aura technique is using. That is incredibly important. It is best to specialize in a single element. It is harder for your aura to be dual or triple-natured.


    So you want to pick an aura technique that is using your element. Once you figure that out, you will want to pick the smaller things you notice in a technique. The first thing is what it prioritizes the most.


    A technique could put speed above power, and that might not suit your fighting style. It could also use a higher amount of aura to gain better results which is optimal if you are a person blessed with higher levels of aura. You want to consider these things if you are thinking about training in that technique."


    She looked around to make sure that everyone got what she was saying. After making sure there were no confused faces, she kept going.


    "Another important factor you want to keep in mind is how hard the technique is to master. An aura technique could take a few weeks to master and be mediocre. But imagine you are facing a person who picked a very profound technique that would take years to master.


    What would happen if you fought a month after you both started learning that technique? You would win now but lose a few monthster. You want to decide based on what the trade-off is. Keep these in mind when selecting your aura technique once you break through to the next level. That is it for this lecture," she said.


    Everyone got up to get ready to leave. Even Leo got up. He got the information he needed. He was going straight to the library to pick out the aura techniques he wanted.


    The reason he was in a hurry was that he wanted to simplify his life as much as possible. It was already pretty simple now. He was only going to ss, hunting monsters and training. But there were the asional trips to the library he wanted to avoid.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Once he got his aura techniques, he was going to bring them to Intermediate Proficiency. Once he was at that level, he would rest and focus only on magic. Until then, he would need to divide his attention.


    He first went to the mission hall. He needed to deposit the cores and get enough points so that he wouldn''t run out while he was inside the library. Since he needed to go to the second floor, he would need more points.


    Once he gave the cores, he was up to 18000 points. If the price for the second floor was half the price of a library pass, then he would be able to inside for a little more than 5 hours. It would be more than enough for him to pick out the three aura techniques he needed and memorize them.


    Once he was done giving the cores in the mission hall, he walked out. As he was walking out, he saw Madison walk in. She quickly noticed him and walked to him.


    "Hello, Madison," he greeted her.


    "Hi Leo," she said. "Are youing from finishing a mission?"


    He nodded. "A few. Are youing in for the same?"


    "Yes. I have a question if you don''t mind." She said.


    "Go ahead," he said.


    "Well, why do you never hang out with us? I thought it was that you were in a hurry the first few times but you never stay around. We think it''s something wrong with us," she said.


    "Oh. I never thought you guys felt like that. Could you tell them it''s nothing like that?" He requested her.


    "So it''s not?" She asked him.


    "Of course not," he assured her. "It''s just that I am prioritizing my training so much. I am just going back to my room and training. I still enjoy being with you guys but I simply can''t find the time."


    Madison turned glum. "Is there a reason or-"


    Before she could ask that question, Leo cut her off. "There''s a line Madison. I am sorry I have to be the one to tell you. But don''t pry too much. Everyone has something they have that is too personal to touch. I have mine and I don''t feelfortable sharing. Just tell everyone that I don''t hate them. I just can''t spend time with them because I need to train."


    He didn''t want to give them an ultimatum, but he had his priorities. If he wanted to do what he wanted to, he would need to focus on training. He wasn''t just trying to be a big shot - he was trying to take down one of the biggest families in the entire empire.

 Chapter 152 Technique Selection

    ?


    After he talked to her, Leo left the Mission Hall. He knew that time was of the essence, and he wasted no moment in getting to the library. With a resolute stride, he left the bustling building behind and made his way toward it.


    The grand entrance of the library loomed before him. Leo pushed open the heavy doors, stepping into the hallowed halls of academia. The scent of old books and the soft whispers of studious patrons enveloped him.


    He quickly arrived at the counter in front of the staircase leading to the second floor. The student at the desk nced up and met his gaze with a weing smile.


    "Good afternoon," the student greeted him. "How may I assist you today?"


    "I''m trying to go to the 2nd Floor," he replied.


    "Can I have your card, please?" She held out her hand.


    He gave it to her and got a response.


    "You can stay inside the library for 5 hours. Please keep that in mind," she said.


    "Thanks," he said. He wasted no time in going up the stairs.


    The minute he got to the second floor, he navigated the library''s vast collection with precision and purpose. He quickly got to where he wanted to be. It was the section of the library with Aura Techniques.


    As he walked to the section with the books he wanted, he noticed that the floor had a considerable number of peoplepared to the first floor when he had been there. He guessed it was because 2nd-year students had a higher number of points to splurge.


    As he perused the selection, his eyes widened with wonder at the sheer breadth and depth of the library''s offerings. There were books on aura techniques for every possible person regardless of the weapon. He used the dagger so he looked for techniques that would help him there.


    With each carefully chosen book ced in his hands, Leo felt a surge of anticipation. He knew that these books had the potential to give him the perfect aura technique. He found a secluded corner of the library, a haven where he could immerse himself in the books he found.


    As he settled into afortable chair, surrounded by the scent of aged parchment and the gentle hush of pages turning, Leo started reading. His fingers traced the words on the pages, his mind absorbing the techniques contained within.


    After an hour, he put the books back in their ce except one. It was the aura technique he had chosen.


    [Obsidian de]


    [The user materializes solid constructs of shadow energy in the form of sharp des. They wield these shadow des with deadly precision and finesse, delivering swift and precise strikes to their enemies. The des can slice through armor and defenses, leaving lingering wounds that drain the target''s aura energy over time.]


    There were two reasons why he picked this technique. The first reason was that he would no longer have to depend on his de at all to fight with aura. He could just construct his own des with aura.


    The second reason was what the tradeoff was. Since he would need to construct a de from scratch with aura, it would use a lot of aura if he wanted to have multiple des. On top of that, he would need more aura to throw the des at opponents without allowing the aura to dissipate.


    This heavy aura expenditure would make the aura technique essentially unusable for any normal 2nd Circle Aura Knight. However, that wasn''t the case for him. He had more than 4-5 times the amount of aura that normal people had. He could easily take advantage of the power the technique offered while not worrying too much about the aura expenditure.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    After he looked at the book and memorized itpletely, he went to the next section. He only had 3 and a half hours left to find 2 more aura techniques for himself.


    He found the next one in only 30 minutes.


    [Shadow Barrier]


    [The user can create arge, dome-shaped shield made of swirling shadows. The shield epasses a small area, providing protection not only to the user but also to nearby allies. The Shadow Barrier absorbs and disperses iing attacks, ensuring the safety of those within its boundaries]


    He picked this one because it also used slightly more aura than normal for a better shield. He put the book to the side and went to look for thest one.


    This time, he was looking for a movement technique. But he quickly got to a hurdle. It was incredibly hard for him to find a movement technique that used the shadow element.


    He was very surprised when he saw that but realized why. Even while looking for the other techniques he noticed that there were a lot fewer techniques that used shadows than other ones. He noticed there were other elements that were also rare.


    He saw very few techniques that used light or dark elements.


    But after searching for a while, he finally found a suitable technique. It was the only shadow-attributed movement technique he could find in the entire library.


    [Shadow Trail]


    [This technique leaves behind a fleeting shadow trail as the user moves, momentarily preserving their image in the form of a shadowy afterimage. The trail confuses opponents and disrupts their tracking, making it harder for them to anticipate the user''s next move. It can be utilized strategically to create illusions and mislead adversaries.]


    The technique was very simr to the Shadow Step, so he wasn''t too worried about learning it. He would need to spend the least amount of time on that technique.


    Once he got the three techniques, he got ready to leave. Before leaving, he made sure to properly memorize each technique. He didn''t like that he couldn''t take it along with him, but it also kept the book inside the library at all times. He wouldn''t need to worry about it being somewhere else if he came back to refer to it again.


    After carefully reviewing the aura techniques he had learned, he left the library. As he made his way back to his dorm, the academy seemed to blur around him, his mind consumed by thoughts of the aura techniques. He went straight to his room so that he could start training.


    Upon reaching his room, he closed the door behind him, shutting out the outside world to focus solely on his training. Since he had the aura techniques fresh in his mind, he started with that.


    He wanted to train in the defensive technique first since he would need it more. It would have helped him immensely in the fight against Melissa. He could have used a real aura technique to defend the st instead of just coating his body with aura.


    Positioning himself in the center of his room, Leo took a deep breath, steadying his mind and body. Leo began to channel his aura, feeling it flow through his veins like a pulsating current. With each breath, he visualized a shield of darkness materializing around him, forming a protective barrier against any iing attacks.


    He didn''t seed in his first attempt, but he tried without any signs of losing the ze in his eyes. He was already prepared for it to be a very long night.

 Chapter 153 Gravity Steps

    ?


    Failure after failure didn''t deter Leo from his relentless pursuit of mastery. Each setback served only to fuel his determination, pushing him to his limits and beyond. With unwavering resilience, he pressed on, undeterred by the roadblocks that stood in his path.


    Every attempt to master the defensive aura technique seemed to fall short, but he refused to let frustration consume him. Instead, he embraced each failure as a valuable lesson, a stepping stone toward sess. And it finally came.


    In a moment of synchronization, Leo''s mind, body, and aura aligned, culminating in a working execution of the defensive technique. The shield of shadow energy materialized around him. It was nowhere near perfect and had taken him four days, but it was progress that he was very proud of.


    A sense of confidence enveloped him after he achieved a Beginner Proficiency in the Shadow Barrier. He relished in the satisfaction of conquering one technique and eagerly set his sights on his next challenge¡ªthe Obsidian de technique.


    Between his rigorous training sessions, Leo still attended his sses. It was, after all, information he had paid a lot of money for. He also went out to hunt his weekly quota of magical beasts once in a while.


    Time passed and a month passed by since he started attending the academy. In this month, he had achieved a lot more than he expected.


    His primary achievement was getting all his aura techniques to Novice Proficiency. It wasn''t a lot but it was a big leappared to using his outdated Twilight Veil sh that could only harm 2nd Circle Aura Knights because of the amount of aura he puts into his technique.


    Compared to that, the Obsidian de technique was more than twice as powerful and would be enough for him to defeat Melissa in a few seconds.


    He also made a little progress in his magic as well. He was inching closer to breaking through to the Late Stage of the 3rd Star. He was still pretty far, but the gap was closing. Along with that, he had also gotten all his spells to at least Advanced Proficiency. The Shadowbind Bolt was brought up to Expert Proficiency.


    He had also amassed a total of 20000 points from his weekly hunts since he wasn''t using any of them at the library.


    In this month, his rtionship with the people he was with also blossomed. After his talk with Madison, she seemingly matured and became more serious. Lyra and Marcus already knew about the boundaries they had and so respected them.


    As they all attended ss together and asionally hung out, they became more than just ssmates. They became a close-knit group of friends. Albeit a very odd group. It was seemingly an elite group with 3 out of the top 15 people yet there was also a person who barely got into the academy.


    However, it wasn''t that Madison was weak. She had grown a huge amount in the month since she got into the academy. She spent her time growing herself as an Aura Knight while growing her proficiency in her Aura Technique. She had gotten a lot better at hunting Magical Beasts out of necessity. This led to her having saved up 6000 points.


    As for Marcus and Lyra, both of them left Leo in the dust with their progress. Both of them used the pills they got from the rankings to get to the Middle Stage of the 2nd Circle. Lyra chose not to challenge him since she knew him, but she sessfully beat the 5th Ranked Mage, bringing her a rank up.


    Marcus climbed even more ranks,ing all the way to the 6th rank. He had also picked out a suitable Aura technique for himself from the library. As for points, both already had a lot from their rankings.


    So after this month together, they all had enough points to finally attempt to try any of the resources that the academy offered. They made sure that Leo wasing with them too.


    They had also decided on a date and time so that everybody would be there without any problem. Leo was also okay with it since he wanted to see what the training areas offered.


    On the day they had decided to show up, Leo woke up early to dedicate his entire day to the endeavor. Even though he got to the first ce they decided on very early, he found Marcus, Lyra, and Madison already waiting, their faces filled with enthusiasm.


    "You guys are here very early," he said.


    "We were excited that you finally joined us," Madison said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Marcus nodded. "Yeah. So, do you want a run-through of how this works?" he asked Leo.


    Leo nodded. They were currently at the Gravity Steps, the ce they had their first test. He looked at Marcus and Lyra and found both of them looking at him with a passionate nce. They had been frequenting this ce together while he was busy training by himself.


    After that much practice, they were sure that they could finally beat Leo at the Gravity Steps. The first time they tried the gravity steps, they werepletely exhausted while Leo strolled through the steps like they were nothing. This time, they wanted to beat him and show that they had grown a lot.


    "So, is it like the test?" Leo asked.


    Lyra nodded. "You just need to give your card and deduct 1000 points to start. It is good for one attempt at the Gravity Steps, so don''t waste it," she said.


    He nodded. Meanwhile, Madison asked a question.


    "Was it useful to you at all?"


    Both Marcus and Lyra nodded. "It helps temper your body and make it easier for your aura to flow. It is actually a lot more useful than Maria said it would be," Marcus said.


    "Okay, you have me convinced. Should we start?" Leo asked them.


    Madison looked around and saw the eager faces of her friends and nodded. Compared to them, she would need to use her points a lot more conservatively. She couldn''t earn the points as quickly as them.


    But since they said that it would be helpful to her, she listened to them. Their advice had only helped her till now.


    "Yes," she said.


    All four of them walked to the counter to the side to start. As they were walking, Leo suddenly wondered about something.


    "Wait. If this trains our physical body, do Mages use this?" He asked.


    Everyone was nk. They never bothered to find out since they weren''t mages. Leo only got the question because he secretly was one.


    The man at the counter answered the question for them.


    "Not as often as Aura Knights. This was built for both mages and aura knights, but the only mages whoe here are the stronger ones. I have only seen mages who were rankede here and no one below that.


    It''s because the number of mages that realize the importance of a good body is very few." He said with a sigh.


    Leo raised his eyebrow at the exnation. If it was a normal student giving the exnation, he would have been skeptical. But the man at the counter was a Peak-Stage 3rd Circle Mage.

 Chapter 154 Competition

    ?


    "Thanks for telling us that," Marcus said quickly and turned to Leo. "Can we start now?"


    Leo chuckled. "Fine. What''s the hurry?" He said as he handed the man behind the counter his card. Everyone else did that while they were talking.


    "Nothing. Me and Lyra thought we could make it apetition again and see who can go the farthest," Marcus replied. As he said that, they got their cards back.


    Madison immediately knew that she was not part of thispetition. She remembered that she could only get to the first step and not even cross 5 meters. Her goal was only to get to the 2nd step, notpete with her monstrous friends.


    "Apetition? Why?" Leo asked while he started walking to the bottom of the gravity steps.


    "Let''s just start. It will be apetition anyway," Lyra said.


    He sighed and went to the start of the Gravity Steps. Everyone else joined his side and waited.


    "You can just go," Marcus said. "We can start whenever. We already gave our cards and paid the points."


    "Oh," Leo said and took the first step. He felt the same sensation he felt the first time. It felt a little easier to walk forwardpared to the first time he tried it.


    The minute he took the first step, the others joined him. Marcus and Lyra immediately zoomed past everyone and rushed to be the first ones to hit the furthest distance that they could. As for him and Madison, they were stuck at the start.


    Madison immediately felt the pressure attack her and took deep breaths to keep herself in control. After a dozen seconds, she got used to the pressure. She started taking steps forward. She started to increase her speed until she finally got to the first step. She stopped right before she took the step.


    "What are you waiting for?" A voice asked her.


    She turned to the side and saw Leo beside her. Unlike her who was slightly red from the pressure, Leo was standing like it waspletely normal. She wasn''t surprised that he was not feeling any pressure.


    The reason she was red was not because the gravity steps were too hard. It would only get to that level once she got onto the first step. But her anxiousness was what increased the stress in her. She was afraid she wouldn''t be able to get past what she got to the first time, which would mean she didn''t have any real progress at the academy.


    Leo saw her struggle toe up with an answer. He took a step forward and turned back to face her. He was now on the first step, so he was looking at her with an elevation.


    "You are thinking too much. I don''t know what you are thinking about, but it''s definitely not helping you. The trick is to pick a person and just aim to follow the person until you cross him," he said.


    Madison shook her head. "Who do I pick? All of you can smoke me in seconds," she said.


    Leo shrugged. "Do you remember how many applicants you beat to get into the academy? You don''t hear themining that you are too strong. They will continue their life without being pushed down by their feelings of inferiority," he said. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He took another step back. "Your problem is that you areparing yourself with other people too much. Do you see us do that? No. We only want to go stronger than ourselves."


    "But you said to walk behind a person till I cross him," she retorted.


    "When I said pick a person to chase, that''s not aparison. That''s a goal. Pick who you want to reach and surpass. That''s in your hands. But if you stay there without making any moves, you are essentially wasting your own time." Leo said this and turned around.


    This conversation left himpletely in the dust. Marcus and Lyra had already gotten the fourth step and were slowly taking steps forward. They had slowed down considerably once they got to that step.


    Leo expected them to do a lot betterpared to the previous time. Marcus was only a Late-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight while Lyra had only broken through to the 2nd Circle. But this time they were a lot stronger.


    He stretched a little while he walked forward. He was now closing the distance between them likest time.


    Marcus was at the forefront of the race this time. He looked back and saw Lyra 2 meters behind him. He looked to the back and saw that Leo had stopped talking to Madison and was walking toward them. He gestured to Lyra to look back.


    She looked back and saw Leo leisurely walk toward them. By this time, he had already gotten to the 2nd Step and was closing into the third. She turned back and forcefully took another step. She was now 5 meters into the 4th step. However, the pressure forced her to take a small break.


    Marcus reciprocated her step with another, keeping him 2 meters ahead of her. The recoil of this step was more than what Lyra was facing. Marcus took a few deep breaths as he circted aura around his body to help it stay up without falling down.


    As they were struggling to walk forward, Leo was admiring how helpful the steps actually were. He didn''t notice it the first time, but it was helping his body out just a little. It might be useful if he went to a higher level.


    He was walking forward at a normal pace and went up a step into the 3rd level. As he was walking forward, he sensed something odd. He could sense a 2nd Circle Mage in the vicinity.


    He looked in that direction and saw a young man dressed in avish blue robe. He was talking with the man behind the counter casually.


    Leo was curious about who the mage was because of the words of the man. If the only mages that came to the gravity steps were on the rankings, then the mage that he was looking at could also be in the ranking. His strength seemed apt as well. The boy was a Middle-Stage 2nd Circle Mage.


    As he was thinking that the boy was done paying for the steps and started climbing. He wasn''t wasting his time like Leo and walked forward with great speed. His walk seemed graceful too, but Leo knew why it was like that. He was using movement magic to help him walk faster.


    Leo was curious about how far the boy would go as a mage. Since he was at the same power level as Lyra and Marcus, he wanted to see if he would match them or even cross them. Leo didn''t speed up since he wanted to remain behind and observe them.


    The boy quickly got to where Leo was and shot him a look of contempt before walking forward. He seemed to intently look at a single person. Leo also realized this.


    The boy was looking at Lyra ever since he had gotten onto the Gravity Steps.

 Chapter 155 Cousin

    ?


    Leo sighed and started increasing his speed. He didn''t want to see any trouble and was going to stop it if anything happened. Even though he was not strong enough as an Aura Knight to fight the mage, he would be more helpful since he could withstand the pressure of the 4th step a lot more than Marcus or Lyra.


    Meanwhile, Marcus was looking back this entire time as he was resting. He saw that Leo had paused for a small while before continuing. He saw who Leo had looked at and saw the boy walk toward them pretty quickly.


    Lyra saw him look back and was curious to see what he was seeing. She turned back to see if Leo had already reached them. She expected him to take a little longer based on the speed he was walking in from the start.


    By this time, the mage had already reached the fourth step. He was standing in the line of sight between her and Leo. She saw who it was and widened her eyes.


    She instinctively took a step back, into the deeper part of the 4th step. She immediately fell to the ground because of the pressure that it put on her. Marcus immediately gave up his lead and went to help her. He got to her and was about to help her up.


    But just as he was giving her a hand, the mage spoke.


    "Don''t touch her with your filthy hands," he said.


    Marcus frowned and looked up. "And who are you to say that?" He said while bending down to lift her up. He didn''t have any intentions of listening to someone he had never seen before in his life.


    As he was giving her a hand, Lyra whispered. "Don''t. It will get you into trouble. I''ll get up by myself."


    She refused his help and got up by herself. When she got up, she faced the mage.


    "I could have helped you there, dear cousin," the boy said.


    "I don''t need your help," Lyra said.


    "Are you sure? If you came to us before you got stuck training as an Aura Knight, you could have be a mage. Then you wouldn''t need to be surrounded by the heaps and heaps ofmoners," he said and shuddered while looking at Marcus.


    "I don''t mind it," Lyra said.


    "So you have already degraded to that level? I am so disappointed," he said.


    "You never told me you had a cousin here, Lyra. Could you introduce him to me?" Leo''s voice came from behind the boy. He walked onto the fourth step and past the boy.


    "Who is this clown?" The boy asked Lyra. Lyrapletely ignored him and talked to Leo.


    "He is from the main Eldridge family. His name is Remus Eldridge," she said.


    Leo opened his eyes, showing surprise. "Wait. I know that name. I recognize it from the Student Rankings. Are you ranked?" He looked at Remus.


    At this point, Remus was annoyed that Lyra had ignored him to talk to someone who appeared out of nowhere.


    "Yes. 97th. It''s more than you can ever dream of," he said with annoyance.


    Leo chuckled. "Isn''t it funny? Someone from a family that owns the entire city, and all they can amount to is the 97th Rank. How is he not disowned yet?"


    Marcus and Lyra let out a giggle while Remus'' temper reached its limit.


    "Who is this, Lyra? Since when did you hang out with idiots? I would have hoped you at least had smart people around you," He shook his hand in disappointment.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "You say that, but all I hear are wordsing from the least talented person here," he said.


    Remus stopped talking and looked at him with a stern re. "Do you think you can match the weight of those words?" He asked Leo.


    "Yes. I can. What are you? A Middle-Stage 2nd Circle Mage in his 2nd year. On the other hand, everyone here is a 2nd Circle Aura Knight in just our first year," Leo said.


    "Don''t put an Aura Knight at the same level as a Mage. I am strong enough to beat you at your own game?" Remus pointed to the steps ahead.


    Leo let out a chuckle. "You want to see who goes further on these steps?" He asked.


    Lyra tried to stop this. "Leo, leave it. He isn''t as weak as you-"


    "Lyra. Stop warning yourmoner boyfriend. It''s disgusting," Remus said. He then looked at Leo. "Yes. That is exactly what I am saying. Do you have the guts to do it?" He asked.


    Leo smiled. He took out a box from his dimensional ring. "Sure. But let''s spice it up. I want to make a bet. I will bet one Aura Essence Pill against one of yours," he said.


    "We only get Magic Essence Pills," Remus said. "But I will take that bet. I will win anyway," he said.


    "A Magic Essence Pill works too. My pill against yours," Leo said. "Don''t go back on your word."


    Remus frowned and sped forward. "Don''t think you are winning." He said while he sped forward.


    Leo stayed back as he went past them. He looked at Lyra.


    "So, what''s the story?" He asked.


    Marcus finally spoke. "You should probably go beat him first. We can talkter once this thing is over."


    Leo looked at Lyra. "You shouldn''t have provoked him. Even though he is just a Middle-Stage 2nd Circle Mage, he is still a year older than us. He is more experienced and stronger. There is a reason that 1st years have never been able to get onto the Student Rankings ever. Look now, he is already on the 5th Step," she said.


    Leo chuckled. "You have too less faith in me. Why do you think I am dumb enough to provoke him if I can''t back my words."


    He turned around and started walking leisurely after Remus.


    "But I won''t let you go after this. You need to tell me the story," he said as he walked forward.


    There were two spectators to the whole ordeal. One was Madison. She couldn''t really hear anything, but she could see that there was something like a fight going on. She wanted to go and make sure everything was okay, but it was happening all the way at the 4th level. She was still on the 1st step.


    The other person watching this intently was the man who managed the Gravity Steps. He was watching seriously because of the boy who picked a fight with Remus Eldridge. The reason he was so interested in the Aura Knight was because of how he managed to get to the 4th Step.


    Lyra and Marcus were already very talented for getting to the 4th Step as New Students. But they had struggled to get there. Every step they took after that was pushing their bodies to the limit.


    On the other hand, Leo was walking like he was taking a stroll in the park. It was one thing to do in the 1st and 2nd steps, but aplete thing in the higher levels. And Leo was doing it in the 4th level. As a first year.

 Chapter 156 Difference

    ?


    Remus looked back. At this point, he had already gotten to the 5th Step so he had slowed down his speed a lot. The 5th Step had always been his limit and he had never been able to traverse more than a few steps. But he knew there was no way that a first-year could ever hope to reach him, even if he was an Aura Knight.


    When he looked back, however, he saw Leo just finish talking with Lyra and then start walking toward him. He turned back in annoyance. His opponent wasn''t taking the entire ordeal seriously at all.


    He took four steps forward and stopped. This was his limit. He turned around, sat down and waited. He was waiting for Leo to fail so that he could win the bet.


    Leo smiled when he saw Remus sit down. He kept walking forward without showing any signs of being under pressure. As he was walking slowly, he got to the end of the 4th level in a minute. He was only a step away from the 5th Step.


    He took the step and suddenly felt what everyone else had been feeling. He felt a real pressure on his body. It was very bearable, but it was a lot more than the 4th level.


    When he got all the way to the 5th Step, Remus was starting to worry. He thought that Leo was just faking his calm expression and it would all go away when he tried to get onto the 5th Step. He thought the fiasco would end when Leo failed to move up. But Leo had done it and was keeping on going.


    Everyone seeing them was watching with boggles minds. Lyra and Marcus didn''t think that Leo could surpass them this much. They had struggled so much to get to where they were while he had gotten to the 5th step without any effort.


    As for the mage at the counter, he waspletely blown away. Somehow a 1st Year was able to reach the 5th Step. It had never happened in his 7 years at the Academy. Even among the 2nd Years, only the strongest 200 people would be able to do that.


    Remus got up, praying in his mind that Leo would not be able to reach him. However, his prayers weren''t answered as Leo crossed him.


    Leo looked back at Remus just as he crossed him and smirked. He didn''t stop and kept going. He walked all the way to the end of the 5th step and stopped right before the 6th step. At this point, he had left Remus in the dust, with 7 meters between them.


    He turned around to face Remus and then sat down on the elevated 6th Step. He leaned back and tauntingly looked at his opponent.


    Remus clenched his fist. At this point, Leo was just mocking him, but there was nothing he could do. He tried to take another step forward, but he fell to the ground. He looked up and saw Leo looked rxed while he was sitting.


    He wanted to do something but decided not to. He took out a pill box from his dimensional ring and put it on the ground. He then slowly got up. It took him a while to do it but he was able to without any help. He then walked back to the start of the Gravity Steps.


    As he was walking there, he stopped where Lyra was sitting. At this point, Marcus and Lyra had moved down to the 3rd Step so that it would be easier for them to hold on while looking at Leo and Remus.


    "Don''t be so happy that your friend there was able to beat me. If he even thinks that he has a shot ating close to me, then I dare him to challenge me. He will realize the difference between us," he said.


    Marcus immediately retorted. "Tough words from someone who lost," he said.


    Remus looked at Marcus with a look of disdain. He looked back at Lyra. "And teach them the difference between them and us. Well, me. You clearly already joined them." he said and walked down the steps.


    Leo heard everything that Remus had said. He thought about it for a while and decided what he wanted to do.


    "Hey, Remus!" He shouted.


    Remus looked back when he heard Leo''s shout.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "I''ll do it! I''ll beat you at your own game! I''ll challenge you!" he shouted again.


    Remus frowned. He didn''t think that Leo could hear him from that far and that he would actually agree to fight him. Since when did 1st years have that much fearlessness?


    But he wasn''tpletely sure things would go his way either. He thought that he would definitely win against Leo in the Gravity Steps, but that didn''t happen as he thought. So even if he hadplete confidence when he could beat him in a fight, things might go differently.


    He gritted his teeth in frustration as he walked out of the area.


    Leo got up from his spot and walked to where Lyra and Marcus were. As he was walking to them, he picked up the pill box on the ground. They both were looking at him with shock. He got to where they were and then smiled.


    "I did good, right?" He asked.


    Lyra sighed. "You should learn not to pick fights. This is the second time you will be fighting a noble. Do you not have any concerns?" She asked him.


    Leo''s smile faded. "A noble''s power is only a deterrent for someone who has something to lose. It''s time they learn that there are people even they shouldn''t provoke," he said.


    "Do you think you are a big shot? Now how do you n to beat him? He is a Middle-Stage 2nd Circle Mage! What about you? Forget you, even we can''t beat him as Middle-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knights. The difference in experience between us is huge!" Lyra said angrily.


    "And what about it? Is he invincible if he is a mage?" He asked her.


    "You are impossible. You will learn exactly what I am talking about when you face him off yourself," she said and got up. She was also getting ready to leave.


    Marcus quickly tried to cool down the heated atmosphere.


    "Why are we trying to fight? It''s a good thing that Leo beat the arrogant prick, right?" He asked Lyra.


    "Yes, but why did he have to pick a fight with a noble?" She asked Marcus. "At least you have to tell him that it is not smart to-"


    "Why?" Marcus asked. "Why is it wrong for amoner to face off against a noble?"


    He had tried to stop the argument but now he decided to side with Leo. He particrly hated nobles a lot more than Leo because of his history with them. He only tolerated Lyra because she didn''t seem like the nobles he had encountered, but now he was seeing some resemnce.


    "You can''t possibly agree with him here, Marcus," Lyra said to him.


    "But I am going to. What is wrong with him picking a fight with someone who wanted it? Is there some rule thatmoners can''t fight nobles?" Marcus asked.

 Chapter 157 Argue

    ?


    "Yes! There is. Nobles don''t like having duels withmoners because they don''t like beingpared to them on the same stage as equals," she said with a raised voice.


    "Oh. So does that apply to us as well? Would you ever actually fight us, then?" He asked Lyra.


    "That''s not what I meant. I wasn''t talking about us. I was talking about him and-" Lyra was about to exin herself but Marcus stopped her.


    "You talked enough, Lyra. And here I thought that you were different," he said. "I think I need to go back." Marcus walked down the steps to leave the area.


    Lyra turned to Leo with an apologetic face.


    "You know that that wasn''t what I meant," she said.


    Leo shook his head. "This was bound to happen eventually. With the differences we had, the group we had was not going to work. I am surprised it evensted," he said.


    "What are you trying to say?" She asked him.


    "You are a noble. And as you said, we can''t share the same stage." He said.


    "That''s not what I meant and you know it," she answered back.


    "It might not be what you meant, but it is reality. For me and Marcus in particr, we will always maintain some bias against nobles. And Marcus will always hate nobles more than me. Today''s argument wasn''t the problem. Give him some space, and then apologize," he said.


    "Why would he hate-" Lyra was about to ask but Leo cut her off.


    "I don''t know what you were taught as a noble, but your lot isn''t very righteous. They do very infuriating things to us that we have to bear. So our hate is justified. I have to go too, so leave it for today," Leo said and walked away.


    Lyra tried to chase after him but stopped after she thought about it. She didn''t really have the right to stop them after berating them for trying to be on the same level as a noble.


    As Leo was walking, he saw Madison. She had seen everything but had no clue of what was going on since she couldn''t hear it. All she saw was them arguing and the scene with Remus before that.


    "Do you know what-"


    "Ask Lyra," Leo said while walking back. He didn''t stop for her and was leaving the area.


    As he was leaving, he heard a voice.


    "Stop, boy. I want to talk with you," the voice said. There wasn''t anyone behind him, but he knew who the voice belonged to. Leo looked at the counter where the mage was sitting.


    "Yes?" He asked as he walked toward the counter.


    "I couldn''t help but notice what happened. I am truly surprised at how talented you are. How were you able to go all the way to the 6th Step as just an Early-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight?" He asked.


    Leo shrugged. "It just happened. Also, I never actually got to the 6th Step. I just sat on it," he said.


    "Actually, as long as you touch it, it counts as you reaching it. And since you did, you have sessfully broken a record," he said.


    "Record?" Leo asked.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "We have a running record of the furthest students have gone from each year. For the 1st Year students, the record was set 17 years ago. A girl reached 5 meters in the 5th Step. You sessfully crossed that. So you will be receiving a reward," he said.


    "A reward for this? What is it?" Leo asked.


    "Well, it is just a point reward, but it is worth it. You will receive 100000 points for breaking this record," he said.


    "Thanks. Do I need to give my card for that?" He asked. He showed a very apathetic expression in the discussion that surprised the man.


    "Well, not really. I am curious as to why you are not happy about this," he asked. "If it''s about your fight with Remus, then you don''t have to worry. Nothing will happen even if you lose," he said.


    "No, it''s just a few troubles I have with my friends. It''s nothing. Thanks for telling me about the record. I need to go now," he said and left for his dorm.


    As he was walking, he thought about what was going to happen to the group. With the argument, it was pointless trying to meet together for at least a week. Marcus would need at least that long to cool down.


    He also thought about the fight. He knew that it would be very hard for him to defeat Remus in his current state. But there was something he could do to change that. And that was to break through to the next stage.


    It would be incredibly easy for him to do that since he could just shove a bunch of pills inside his mouth and call it a day. The only hard part was to buy the pills. But he had 20 million Starcoins he saved just for this purpose.


    Each Aura Essence Pill was going to be around a million Starcoins. And he would need enough of them to match 300 Aura Gathering Pills.


    After thinking about it, he decided to go to buy as many Aura Essence Pills as he could. Each pill would have 10 times as much aura as an Aura Gathering Pill, so as long as they were less than 10 times as expensive, he would buy them. Otherwise, the Aura Gathering Pills were a better idea for him.


    He remembered that Maria said it was 20 times as expensive, but he hoped his memory was failing him. He walked directly out of the academy without even going to his dorm. He would take the pills and then go to his dorm.


    After contemting his decision, Leo stepped out of the academy grounds and onto the bustling streets of the city. The sun bathed the surroundings in warm rays, casting a golden glow on the vibrant buildings and bustling crowds. He made his way toward the Thousand Treasure Tower.


    He stepped into the tower and navigated through it to find himself where the pills were. He looked around, looking for the Aura Essence Pill. He found the Aura Gathering Pill at its standard price of 45000 Starcoins and the pill he was looking for right beside it.


    [Aura Essence Pill]


    [A pill that can greatly improve the training efforts of an Aura Knight.]


    [800,000 Starcoins]


    He sighed in disappointment. He was hoping that it would be better value than an Aura Gathering Pill, but that was not the case. Now he would have to take the Aura Gathering Pills instead since that was the only way he would get enough aura to be able to break through.


    He went to one of the purchasing counters.


    "Excuse me," Leo spoke, catching the attention of the woman behind the desk. "I''m interested in buying some Aura Gathering Pills."


    The woman looked up and saw Leo. "Of course. How many are you thinking of buying today?" She asked him.


    He took a second to consider how much money had and how much he could afford.


    "400," he said.

 Chapter 158 Mass Consumption

    ?


    "I''m sorry. I think I misheard you," the woman said. "Did you say 400?"


    Leo nodded. "Yes, I did. 400 Aura Gathering Pills, please," he said.


    "I feel that I am obligated to tell you this since you are very young. It is not advisable to take a lot of pills at once. I don''t think you can take more than 10 pills a month without some side effects. Taking 400 is dangerous to your body," she warned him.


    "I am aware of this. Thanks for looking out for me, though," he said. He took out the money needed to buy all those Aura Gathering Pills. It was 18 million Starcoins.


    She shook her head and went to the back to get the pills. They were nested in 4 big boxes. She set them on the table and pushed the boxes toward him. He put them all in his dimensional ring.


    "Please be mindful of not consuming too many pills," she warned again as he left.


    Leo chose to disregard her advice. He had confidence in his ability to take as many pills as possible because of the absence of any noticeable side effects from his previous pill consumption. Ignoring the cautionary words, he left the Thousand Treasure Tower.


    Leo walked through the city street back to his dorm. He wanted to start training as soon as possible. He had to go through so many pills and didn''t know how long that would take.


    He crossed the gates of the academy and got back to his dorm. As he entered his room, he closed the door behind him. When he entered his room he paused for a second to cool his mind down. Once he was in the best state to train, he got onto his bed and sat in afortable position.


    He took out one of the pillboxes and set it in front of him. He opened it to reveal an array of shimmering Aura Gathering Pills. He took out one of the pills delicately and popped it into his mouth.


    The pill melted in his mouth and the aura within it flowed into his body. He quickly started circting the aura in his body until it settled down. He then brought it into his dantian. It took him around 45 minutes to do that.


    He waited for around 10 minutes to give his body a little rest before repeating the process. He took out another Aura Gathering Pill and popped it into his mouth.


    The process was incredibly familiar to him. He had done it every time he wanted to increase his aura level. The difference was that it took longer to process the effects of an Aura Gathering Pill thest time he did this. Now he could take more pills at the same time.


    He decided not to stop the flow and just kept going. He was only going to stop once he was done with all his pills.


    Two days passed by in a sh. Leo was still stuck in his room, training, even though his ss was that day. He had already prepared himself to skip all his sses to train. However, he never mentioned that he was skipping his sses to any of his friends.


    Inside the academic building where they had their ss, Marcus was sitting in his usual spot while Lyra was in hers. Normally, there would be Leo in between the two. But he was missing. There was an empty seat between them.


    Madison was sitting beside Lyra and could see that there was a lot of tension between Lyra and Marcus that she had never noticed. She leaned to Lyra.


    "Is it still not resolved?" She asked.


    She had already asked Lyra about the details of what happened on the day they went to the Gravity Steps. Lyra hadn''t told her a lot because her mood was soured because of the fight. She just told that she and Marcus had a fight. Madison had no idea how deep the fight was.


    Marcus wasn''t even making eye contact with the two even once. He was just looking forward to the stage where their instructor was talking. It was Maria that day.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Maria had also noticed the gap between Lyra and Marcus. She frowned a little when she saw this.


    She had great expectations for Leo. In her opinion, he was the greatest talent in the ss even though both Marcus and Lyra had surpassed him in aura level. This was because they would not be able to match his level of experience in fighting or the physical body that he showed in the gravity steps.


    That was why she only rmended him to Asher to be taken to the Phoenix Trials. However, now she was seeing that he was skipping ss. She hoped that it was so that he was training but she thought that it was doubtful. In the end, he was still a teenager. No teenager was that diligent.


    She sighed in disappointment. If Leo kept skipping sses and wasn''t disciplined with himself, then he could say goodbye to the opportunity he could get. She was going to have a word with him when she saw him.


    As she kept lecturing, Marcus and Lyra still didn''t look at each other even once. The minute she finished talking, Marcus got up to leave.


    Lyra got up to run after him, but she was too slow. She lost him in the crowd of students who were also eager to leave the building. By the time she got out of the building, he was nowhere to be found. Madison came out a second after Lyra.


    "Did he already leave? Why is he this childish?" She asked.


    Lyra shook her head but didn''t say anything. She went back to her dorm, hoping to see him in their next ss.


    Their next ss was only 3 dayster. Lyra woke up early to get to ss before everyone else. She got ready and walked down. As she was walking to the ss, she noticed that Marcus was also up early. He was also going to ss earlier than everyone else.


    She ran to go catch him before he ran away. When she got near him, Marcus realized that someone was running toward him and looked back to see who it was.


    "Marcus," Lyra said when she caught up to him. "Don''t run away now. I just want to talk."


    He turned back around and walked forward in the path he was going in.


    "What do you want to say?" He asked in a dull tone.


    "I''m sorry about what I said. You misunderstood a lot of what I said," she started talking. "I wasn''t saying that you can''t be on the same level as a noble. I was just telling Leo not to provoke them."


    Lyra stopped talking and waited for a response. Marcus stayed silent as he walked to the building. After a long pause, Lyra had to break the silence.


    "Well, say something," Lyra said.


    Marcus turned his head slightly to look at Lyra.


    "Lyra, I have a question. I''ll tell you what I think once you answer that," he said in response.

 Chapter 159 Resolved

    ?


    "Yes. I will answer it," she said.


    He took a deep breath.


    "Me and Leo, and even Madison. We are allmoners. Are you talking to us because we are worthwhile investments or because we are your friends?" He asked.


    Lyra took a shaky breath. "I am not even going to ask why you got such a suspicious question. To me, all of you are good friends. I didn''t think I would be making friends like you when I came here, but I don''t regret it." She said.


    "Fine. I''ll tell you what I think about your apology then. The reason I got mad wasn''t what you said. It''s what you signify. You are a noble and they aren''t the best kind of people," he said.


    Lyra nodded. "I know. But not all nobles are like that. Eldridge is one of the best cities formoners because of that. We treatmoners very well."


    Marcus let out augh. "That doesn''t help me. There are a lot of nobles and that makes me suspicious. And I will... I will never be able to trust a noble''s words ever." Hisugh died down as he said in a regretful tone.


    "Did something happen to you?" She asked him.


    Marcus shook his head. "It''s nothing. Don''t worry. I''m sorry for overreacting. Do you know why Leo didn''te to ssst time?" He changed the topic.


    She saw this but went with it. "I don''t know. I thought you would since you are closer to him than me."


    He shook his head. "No, I don''t. We''ll ask him today if he shows up," he said.


    They got to ss an entire 30 minutes before the ss started. They sat in their normal seats, still leaving a seat for Leo. As they were waiting, Marcus remembered something.


    "So who was the Remus person? Why was he so snobby?" He asked Lyra.


    Lyra sighed. "He is from the main family. So I am part of a branch family. My great-grandfather was the brother of the current head of the Eldridge Family. But because he was not talented in magic, he had to be an Aura Knight.


    They forced him to split from the main family since he wasn''t even as powerful. He could only be a 3rd Circle Aura Knight. His brother gave him the title of a Baron after he became the head, but until then we were considered fallen nobles.


    So my entire family is only a family of Aura Knights because none of us have talent in magic. But we still meet the main family once in a while. The current head is more epting of us than the previous head. Especially after my great-grandfather died.


    Remus is the head''s great-grandson. He is a mage, so he naturally feels some superioritypared to my family. But we still have met a few times and so we know each other. The reason he is so snobbish is because he is in the line to be the Marquis," Lyra exined.


    After she finished her exnation, Marcus empathized with her a little while staying in silence. Around twenty minutes after they came, Madison entered the lecture hall and sat beside Lyra. She saw that the situation between the two wasn''t as serious and sighed in relief. They all waited for Leo.


    After ten minutes, the lecture started but Leo was nowhere to be seen. They looked around to see if he sat somewhere else but he wasn''t in the lecture hall. They became glum when they saw this.


    Lyra med herself a little for this. She thought he didn''te because he didn''t want to be with the group that was divided because of the fight. Marcus thought the same thing.


    Meanwhile, Maria was very disappointed that Leo hadn''t shown up yet. At this point, she was starting to give up on Leo. There were still two other great candidates to rece him. Both Lyra and Marcus could easily be able topete if they were trained just a little more.


    After the lecture, she was about to talk to both of them. Before they were getting up to leave, she said something softly.


    "The both of you should wait. I want to talk to you," she said lightly. Only Lyra and Marcus heard her in the entire hall. They looked at each other with confused expressions.


    As everyone was leaving the building, they stayed in their seats.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Are you noting?" Madison asked.


    "You go ahead. We wille after some time," Marcus said.


    She nodded and left. They waited till the lecture hall waspletely empty. Once it was empty, Maria walked to them.


    "Well, the first thing I want to say to you is that you should tell your friend toe to the sses. If he can''t take this seriously, then he won''t be able to be a sessful Aura Knight," she said.


    Marcus shook his head. "I don''t know why he isn''ting, but he is definitely taking it seriously. When I lived with him, he was always training. I am sure he is training right now," Marcus said resolutely. He seemed very confident in his statement which made Maria doubt her assumption about Leo.


    "Okay, then. If you see him, tell him toe to ss. The second thing I want to talk about is the Phoenix Trials."


    When she said this, Lyra''s eyes widened.


    "Are we being considered?" She asked. She saw Maria nod a little.


    "As first-years? That has never happened before!" Lyra eximed.


    "It isn''t confirmed. It will only happen if you can be ranked before the selections happen. We are deciding to take 1st Years as the reserved to the Phoenix Trials, so you will need to be at least ranked to qualify. And I mean ranked in the Student Rankings," she said.


    Marcus was confused.


    "What are the Phoenix Trials?" He asked.


    "I''ll let your friend exin. Also tell this to your other friend, Leo. I want to give you just as much of a chance to seed as the students in the other instructor''s sses. So please work hard. That was all I wanted to say," she said.


    "By when do we have to get onto the rankings?" Lyra asked.


    Maria paused. "4 months. If you can get onto the rankings by January, then you will be strongly considered," she said.


    "Thanks," Lyra said and dragged Marcus with her out of the lecture hall while showing an excited side to her that he had never seen.


    "What is this thing? Why are you this excited?" Marcus asked.


    Lyra shook her head. "I will tell you. First, we have to tell Leo. He cannot be missing out on this. Don''t we know where he lives?" She asked him.


    Marcus sighed. "We do, but that would be invading his private space too much. I don''t think it''s the right thing to go to his dorm to ask him."


    Lyra frowned. "Then he needs to get out quicker. If he misses this, he will fall behind us way too much."


    "So what is this thing??" Marcus couldn''t take it anymore and asked with a raised tone. "You freaked out ever since you heard it."


    Lyra took a deep breath to calm down. "Sorry, it''s just a big deal to me. I''ll tell you now."

 Chapter 160 Challenge

    ?


    On the other side of the campus, at a different time, something more interesting was happening.


    Leo''s eyes flew open. His mouth curved up into a smile as he marveled at his progress. He had finally gone through all the pills at his disposal. There were four empty cases of pills lying on his bed.


    If anyone saw this sight, they would be afraid that he was a lunatic addicted to pills. In a way, he was. This training session proved to him that his body could truly tolerate as many pills as possible. He put the pillboxes away. He didn''t want anyone to see them if they came into his room without him knowing.


    After doing that, he got up and punched the air. The punch pushed the air around him forward and shook the objects in his room. The shaking stopped after a few seconds. He wasn''t surprised that he could do this. It was a perk that came with his breakthrough.


    He was now a Middle-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight. It was a phenomenal increase in strength for him. The small breakthrough almost made him twice as strong.


    This was because he increased the quantity and quality of his aura by a lot. The Aura Techniques he would disy would be more powerful and wouldst longer.


    He had gotten to the Middle Stage just 250 pills in, but he wanted to keep going. He could also go out to buy a few more pills but chose not to do that. If he broke through to the Middle-Stage 2nd Circle this quickly, he would only bebeled as a genius.


    But if he broke through 2 levels very quickly, there would be a little more suspicion. He wanted to avoid too much suspicion if he could. He already had enough strength at his current stage.


    He had a lot more aura than he was supposed to have and would be able to use his Aura Technique which was essentially overpowered with it. He was very confident that he wouldn''t have a problem with his fight at all.


    He walked out of his room and saw Rnd sitting on the couch outside. When Rnd saw Leoe out, he immediately stood up to talk to him.


    "Are you okay? I didn''t see youe out for almost 2 weeks!" Rnd said.


    It was true. Since Leo had started training, he had been stuck inside the room for 12 days. The only reason he wasn''t taking longer was because he was periodically taking two pills at once.


    "I''m good. I was just training. Did anything happen in this time?" He asked.


    "Yes. I was going to my sses and Marcus and Lyra saw me. They were looking for you and said it''s incredibly important. They were even thinking about justing to the room but I said I would tell you that they wanted to see you," he said.


    Leo nodded. "Thanks for telling me. I will go find them," he said.


    "They said they would mostly be at the Gravity Steps to train," he said.


    "Yeah, I''ll find them. Don''t worry," Leo said as he stepped outside the room. He walked down the stairs and exited the building with no intention of going to the Gravity Steps.


    He was nning on going there eventually, but not yet. He was going to the point shop first.


    He walked down the streets while getting a couple of stares. He was still partially famous because of his duel against the 2nd Year Student. But he wasn''tpletely famous.


    The most famous among the entire academy was a list of ten people. Leo was unaware of this, but it was an unofficial list that circted among the students that update every month. There was even a group of students that dedicated themselves to updating this list. Leo was only 9th on this list.


    He got to the points shop and went to the counter to buy something.


    "Hello, how can I help you?" Thedy at the counter asked when she saw hime to her.


    "I''d like to purchase a challenge," he said.


    "Of course. Are you a New Student?" She asked.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    He nodded.


    "Then challenges are going to cost 5000 points. Can I have your card?" She asked.


    He gave it to her. When she checked his card, her expression changed.


    "Sir, there is a slight problem with your challenge," She told him.


    "Why?" He asked with a frown.


    "Well, if you are going to challenge someone inside the New Student Ranking, then it would cost you 5000 points. But all the ranks above you are also on the Student Rankings so that ranking takes precedence. You would need to buy a normal challenge which costs 10000 points," she said.


    He sighed in relief. "Oh, that was what I wanted to do anyway. I wasn''t challenging someone inside the New Students Ranking," he said.


    The girl shook her head in disbelief. The new students in this batch were a lot more monstrous than she had thought.


    "Then, who would you like to challenge?" She asked him.


    "Well, do I have to tell you now?" He asked. He already knew who he wanted to challenge but was surprised that his challenge was restricted to only a single person.


    "Yes. If you give us a name, then we will issue them a challenge. They have a month to ept or they will risk forfeiting their rank. If they get defeated in the process, then the challenge is transferred to the person who reced them. They will also have to ept the challenge within the month that it was issued," she said.


    Leo was very surprised at how detailed the rules were. They were very well formed and were taking into consideration every aspect that he could think of.


    "Okay, I would like to challenge the... 97th ranked person?" he said in a guessing tone. He wasn''tpletely sure which rank he was.


    "So you would like to challenge... Seraphina Nightshade?" She checked the name and asked him.


    He shook his head. "No, I wanted to challenge someone named Remus Eldridge. I thought he was 97th on the ranking," he said.


    The expression of the woman that had be normal changed again to shock.


    "Are you sure? He moved up a lot of ranks just a week ago. He is now the 89th Ranked student. He is also a Middle-Stage 2nd Circle Mage," she said.


    He nodded. "Yes, I am sure. How will I find out that the challenge was epted?" He asked her.


    She sighed and gave him his card back.


    "I deducted the points for the challenge. You will find out by a letter delivered to your dorm. It will be sent three days before the fight," she said.


    He smiled. "Thank you so much. You were a great help," he said.


    He walked out of the points shop with a satisfied smile. He had finished what he hade for. Now he could go to the Gravity Steps to where Marcus and Lyra were.


    He walked through the streets to get there. It wasn''t far and the walk was only 5 minutes.

 Chapter 161 Scolded

    ?


    He walked into the Gravity Steps and saw the familiar sight of Marcus and Lyrapetitively trying to reach the furthest they could in the stairs.


    He walked to the counter to pay for his own attempt. Once he was done paying, he took his card and went to start his attempt. As he was approaching the two, they didn''t even realize that there was someone behind them.


    Lyra and Marcus were both trying their best to take an extra step to get ahead of each other. At this point, they were both only a meter away from each other. So they were concentrating solely on trying to get a little further.


    Lyra looked forward at Marcus who was ahead of her. She gritted her teeth and was about to take another step, but a voice distracted her.


    "I heard from a little bird that you were looking for me," the voice said.


    She swung her hand to hit the person behind her in reflex, but the person caught the hand.


    "I am hurt. Is that how you are greeting me?" He asked.


    She turned back and saw Leo.


    "Leo!" She shouted in surprise. She suddenly became angry. "Where were you?! Do you know how worried we were?"


    Marcus looked back and saw Leo talking to Lyra. He stopped everything he was doing and took a couple of steps back.


    "Leo, are you good? Why were you gone for so long?" He asked.


    Leo couldn''t understand their worry.


    "What is the problem? I was only gone for two weeks. I was just training. Did something happen?" He asked them.


    They nodded their heads. Lyra told him what it was.


    "Well, you know Maria? Our instructor. She gave us an opportunity that you were supposed to have. She told us to tell you that you can get it too," She said.


    He chuckled. "That is very vague," he said. "What is this opportunity?"


    Marcus shook his head.


    "No. First, you need toe with us to meet Maria. She told us toe to the office once we found you," he said.


    He dragged Leo out of the steps while Lyra followed them. Meanwhile Leo just helplessly went along with it. After all, he was the one who had gone incognito without telling them.


    "I just got to the steps. That''s a 1000 points I won''t get back," he moaned with disappointment.


    "You have more important things to think about," Lyra said from the back.


    The group of three walked quickly to a huge building that was beside the academic buildings. Leo had noticed it before but never knew what it was for.


    They entered the building and immediately took the stairs to get to the 2nd floor. They saw a corridor in front of them with a line of rooms to the left and right. Marcus walked in the front while Leo followed him.


    They quickly reached a room that had Maria''s name engraved on it. Marcus knocked on the door.


    "Come in," her voice came from the inside. Marcus walked in first.


    Maria was sitting on her chair looking at a few papers on her desk. She looked up to see Marcus.


    "Is there any problem, Marcus?" She asked him.


    He shook his head. "We found Leo. We brought him," he said. He looked back at where Lyra was standing and beckoned her to bring him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Leo was standing at the side of the door so Maria couldn''t see him clearly. Lyra took his hand and brought him into the room.


    He just retorted at Marcus'' words. "What do you mean found me? I was training, not lost in a forest," he said.


    Maria''s eyes showed a lot of disappointment.


    "Leo, I had a lot of expectations for you. I thought you had the potential to be great. But you can''t achieve that potential if you keep skipping ss and taking it casually. You have to put in the effo-"


    She was talking with a very disappointed tone but stopped when she noticed something about him.


    "You broke through to the Middle-Stage?" She asked him.


    He nodded. "Yes. Just today, actually."


    Lyra showed her surprise. "You were actually doing something in this time?" She asked him.


    "Yes, obviously. What else would I have done for the past 2 weeks?" He asked her.


    The only person who didn''t show any surprise was Marcus. He was also the only one who expected Leo to be training for the entire duration of his disappearance. Even Lyra slowly transitioned to thinking that he had just left the academy to have fun.


    "This changes everything. You have a very good chance of making it. Did Lyra exin everything to you?" Maria asked Leo.


    "Nope. At this point, I basically understand nothing," he said.


    "Fine. Then I will exin it myself. You are being given the chance to go to the Phoenix Trials as a reserve member," she said.


    "Phoenix Trials?" He asked.


    She nodded. "The Phoenix Trials is apetition held between the best 1000 academies inside the Srian Empire. It is held within a separate space and the candidates can find out about how it is conducted only after entering that space. They are also forbidden to tell anyone.


    But the reason this is so important is because it gives you the opportunity to be strong. Everyone whoes back from the Phoenix Trials is considered one of the best geniuses in the Empire.


    You will be seeing famous geniuses from every academy attend this. They are allpeting to be called the strongest person in the young generation. And they are rewarded for this." She said.


    "So the strongest people from the young generation will go topete for the title of the strongest. And they are rewarded in the process," Leo said.


    "Yes. The rewards are priceless. This is why you will see even Duke''s heirs and even princes in thispetition. Just being in the top 100 is a feat. This will also bring great prestige to your academy. If you perform well, the academy is also rewarded along with you." She exined.


    "This all sounds great and interesting. But you said reserve member," he said. "What does that mean?" He asked.


    "It means you can participate only if you go through another screening there. You will have to pass a few tests before being allowed topete there. We are among the 10 best Aura Knight Academies inside the empire, but we are just allowed 10 spots.


    There are some academies that are only allowed reserve spots that will have topete for their position. In total, there will be 900 people who are alreadypeting. 1000 people are reserve members who are going to fight for the remaining 100 spots. You will be one of them," she said.


    "Is there anything else I should know about this?" He asked.


    She nodded. "While this is a very very good opportunity, there is a chance that you could die. You will have to take that into consideration. You also have to be 17 years old or under, but that shouldn''t be an issue for you," she said.


    He nodded. "One final question. Where exactly is this held?" He asked.


    "The Capital," she said.

 Chapter 162 Accepted

    ?


    "I''ll do it," he said the minute she said that.


    Maria was surprised. That was what took to convince him? He was badgering her with questions but it was the location that convinced him. This made her curious about what Leo wanted in the capital, but she knew she couldn''t ask him.


    Meanwhile, Leo clenched his fists hard with excitement. If he went to the capital, he could try to find Daphne. Of course, he would have to be incredibly careful since she was now someone belonging to a duke''s family.


    But he wanted to see her and this was a good chance to do that. Once he epted the offer he wanted to go out.


    "Is everything done?" He asked.


    Maria shook her head.


    "Well, this is only a chance for you to get into the reserve team. To prove that you are qualified, you need to get onto the ranking," she said.


    "Student Ranking?" He asked. She nodded in response.


    "There are already three students who have done this. The top 3 ranks of the New Student Ranking are all also on the Student Rankings. Other than them, all the members of the top 20 were made aware of this opportunity.


    Everyone will bepeting for the 5 reserve spots that we have to offer. So you will need to do your best to grow strong and get to the ranking as quickly as possible," she said.


    Lyra and Marcus were both shocked when they heard this. Neither of them knew about how there were first-year students in the Student Ranking. But Leo didn''t show any surprise.


    "I know. I heard from the person at the point shop," he said.


    Maria narrowed her eyes. "Why did they tell you? Did you... did you already challenge one of them?" She asked him.


    He shook his head, making her a little disappointed. She thought he was already confident enough to attempt to challenge someone in the Student Ranking.


    "I challenged someone else. Remus Eldridge," he said.


    Lyra''s eyes widened. "Are you joking? Why did you do that?" She asked him.


    Marcus, on the other hand, had a smile on his face.


    "I can''t wait to see his expression when hees for the fight. It will be hrious. And since he is ranked 97th, it will fulfill your requirement," he said.


    Leo shook his head again. "He isn''t ranked 97th. He''s ranked 89th."


    Maria''s jaw almost dropped. She was starting to doubt how sensible her best candidate for the Phoenix Trials was.


    She wasn''t the only one who had that expression. People on the other side of the academy were also thinking that.


    Remus walked into his dorm after his ss and was nning on going to his room to train, but his roommate stopped him.


    "You got a letter," he said to Remus.


    "Ignore it. I have to train. I am in a bad mood for fan mail," he said. He had defeated three people after climbing to the 89th Rank and had gotten him a reputation among the second-years. He thought the letter was something rted to that.


    "It isn''t from a fan. It''s from the point shop. Another idiot probably challenged you," his roommate said.


    Remus frowned and took the letter. As he opened hemented, "Those fools will never learn. Maybe they will after I beat them to-" <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    When he looked at the letter and read it carefully, he stopped talking. He clenched his fist and crumpled the letter into a ball.


    "Wow. Did someone from the ranking challenge you?" His roommate asked him.


    "No. It was a first-year student. A dumb first-year student challenged me. I will show him exactly what the gap between us is," he said.


    "Isn''t that funny? I will be sure to tell everyone that you are taking the challenge to teach him a lesson," his roommate responded.


    What Remus didn''t know was that his roommate had a very loose mouth. And he had never told his roommate not to tell anyone about the challenge. So within a day half of the campus found out about the fight and had a very biased view of how the fight was going to end.


    When Leo went to his first ss in a while, a lot of eyes were staring at him. He didn''t know why it was like that.


    "Do you know why everyone is looking at me?" He asked Marcus as the ss was about to start.


    Marcus nodded. "Apparently everyone knows about your duel with Remus. Madison told me," he said.


    Before Leo could ask another question the ss already started. He waited for the ss to end before going to Madison.


    "Hey, Madison. Do you know why everyone is staring at me? Marcus said it''s because they know about my fight," he asked her.


    She nodded. "Yeah, I know. You moved from the 9th most famous person to the 3rd most famous because of what you did. I''m supporting you in the duel by the way," she said.


    Leo was amused by the way she worded her sentence. "There''s a ranking of the most famous students of the Eldridge Academy and you were on it ever since you defeated the 2nd Year Mage. You peaked at then but slowly slid down when you didn''t do anything after.


    But know that you have a fight uing, you shot up. Especially because you are a 1st Year Student attempting to be that highly ranked," she exined.


    Leo nodded in understanding. "Well, that is very interesting," he said. "Who are the other ranked famous students?" He asked.


    Madison listed them out.


    "Well, on top we have the strongest student in the academy - Ss Wilson. Below him is the pretty Elysia Still. She is considered the prettiest student in the entire academy. And then there is you. Because of you, Remus Eldridge became the 4th most famous student," she said.


    "That''s funny. Well, thanks for telling me all this. I have to leave," he said.


    As he was walking away, Madison said something.


    "Well, good luck on your fight," she said.


    Leo paused. "I don''t know when the fight is. He still has to ept the challenge," he said.


    She chuckled. "Do you not know? He already epted the fight. There was even a date so that everyone could see him beat you," she said.


    Leo sheepishly smiled. "Well, I never knew about the date. I will need to go check again to make sure," he said. "Also, don''t be so about him beating me. You wouldn''t know how strong I am," he said to her.


    He said this and left. He was very relieved that he had the talk with Madison. Otherwise, he wouldn''t even know when his fight was going to be. And he needed to attend the fight.


    At this point, the fight was no longer about the quarrel he had with Remus. It was about getting his reserve spot so that he could get to the capital. That was always going to be more important to him than a small quarrel he had with a random noble.


    If Remus knew what Leo was thinking, he would choke with anger. Remus was the heir to a Marquis and Leo was considering him as a random noble.

 Chapter 163 Arena

    ?


    Leo quickly went back to his dorm. He had to check if he got a letter telling him about the challenge. He walked back to his dorm ignoring the stares pointed his way.


    When he got back to his room, he saw that there was a letter on the doorstep. He picked it up and went inside. He opened it up to see who it was from. When he saw that it was from the point shop, he knew what the letter was.


    He opened it up to see what was written in it.


    [Challenge epted]


    [Your Challenge was epted by Remus Eldridge. Your fight will be conducted on 17th September at 10 AM. Please be at the fight 1 hour before. If you are not at the fight at the starting time, you will be forfeiting your challenge and cannot challenge another person for 1 month.]


    Three dayster, a third of the school was crowding the arenas. All of them were roaring with excitement just to watch a single fight.


    Their reasoning was very sound. All the first-year students there wanted to see someone in their year defeat someone on the ranking. The previous three times it happened, they had been there to see it happen.


    The second-year students were there to hope that Remus would save their honor. Till now, four of the students in their year had already lost to the new students, and three of them were on the ranking too.


    As for the third-year students, they didn''t care about the oue. They were just there for the interesting fight they could see. Any fight that was a challenge would be interesting and would attract a lot of viewers.


    The viewers had got to their spot early in the morning even though the fight would only start a few hourster. They just sat down and trained until the time got closer to the fight.


    They only stood up once they saw the first contender arrive. It was Remus who arrived first.


    He gracefully jumped above the crowd andnded on one of the stages. He looked around and smiled. He waved his hand and attracted a lot of cheers from the second-year students.


    Just as he was doing that, another person jumped onto the stage. It was Leo. He was also just as graceful with his jump. He didn''t even need to wave - the entire crowd erupted when they saw him.


    "Silence," a sound silenced the entire crowd. Everyone looked up and saw a mage standing in the air.


    Leo didn''t recognize this person. Since he wasn''t in the mage division, he didn''t know any of the mages other than the ones he had already encountered in the academy.


    This mage was a young female in a light pink robe. She didn''t look as displeased looking at Leo as the Baron who officiated his previous match.


    "So, this is a challenge. The winner will take the 89th rank. If the defender loses, his rank will be pushed down by a single spot," she said. "Introduce yourselves."


    "I am Remus Eldridge. 89th Rank, Student Ranking," he said.


    "Leo, 4th Rank in the New Student Ranking," Leo said.


    "Are both partied ready?" She asked.


    Remus took out his staff while Leo stayed there without doing anything. Both of them nodded their heads.


    "The fight will begin," she said.


    Remus looked at Leo who didn''t even have his weapon. He frowned at this.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Are you too poor to afford a weapon? Or are you toocent?" He asked.


    As Remus was saying that, a ck dagger that seemed very ethereal barely missed his head and flew past him.


    "I don''t need physical daggers," Leo said.


    Remus mmed his staff onto the ground. "Radiant Burst!"


    His staff released a concentrated burst of brilliant light across the entire stage that spread throughout the arena. All the students shielded their eyes in defense, as did Leo. Remus smiled at this and quickly cast another spell.


    "Brilliant Lance!" Remus shouted. He conjured a spear of pure light and hurled it at Leo. Leo''s eyes were blinded by the initial spell that Remus had cast and couldn''t see where the next spell wasing from.


    Yet he somehow moved out of the way right before the spear was going to hit him. The spear lodged itself into the ground of the stage and slowly faded away. By this time, Leo''s eyes had recovered and he could open them.


    Remus was very displeased that the fight hadn''t ended instantly but didn''t lose his calm.


    "Prismatic Beam!"


    A prism made out of light formed in front of Remus. Leo was mesmerized at the sight of the prism. He expected what was going to happen but watched it without moving because he wanted to see it so much.


    Remus then pointed his staff at the prism, releasing a beam of light at it. The beam of light entered the prism before splitting up into 3 different beams. Each beam had a faint color that was distinct. All of the beams were approaching the direction where Leo was standing.


    One of the beams was heading for him while the other two were attacking his surroundings which took out some of his escape routes.


    "Shadow Barrier."


    A dome-shaped barrier made out of shadows formed around him. The dome was sorge that it was able to absorb two of the beams that Remus hadunched. It was also clouding Remus'' sight of where Leo was.


    Remus waved his hand and the prism in the air tilted itself just a little bit. He released another beam and it split up once again. This time, all three of the beams that came from the prism hit the dome.


    Even after 5 hits, the dome stood without showing any signs of breaking. But he didn''t panic because of this. He was actually proud of himself for making Leo hole himself inside a shield.


    The shield would force Leo to use too much Aura. By the time he realized that and came out, Remus would be ready with another onught of attacks. The difference in experience was apparent from the start when he pushed Leo to the defensive.


    The surrounding audience also felt this difference. Some of the first-year students in the back were slowly going back to their dorms. They felt disappointed by the fight because they still hadn''t seen Leo fight back.


    Lyra, Marcus, and Madison were also watching the fight from a very close ce. They had watched the fight up till then without missing anything. Both Lyra and Madison were starting to lose confidence that he had a chance of fighting back.


    The second-year students were all excited and thought the fight was essentially over. They were cheering as the dome stayed still. Only Marcus and the third-year students showed no expressions. They didn''t think that the fight was over.


    A de flew out from the dome. The de had a weird aura to it like the one that almost hit Marcus before. It was leaving behind a trail of shadowy energy. The de wasunched into the prism. It shattered the light prism before flying off the stage.


    All the cheers died down as the fight resumed itself.

 Chapter 164 Permission

    ?


    After the Shadow de hit the prism, Leo immediately jumped out. He formed two Shadow des and flung them at Remus.


    Remus didn''t expect that Leo was going to counter-attack but he reacted in time. He formed a barrier around him to defend against the des. He quickly tried to form a counter before Leo gained momentum and pushed him to a counter.


    But to his shock, his barrier shattered when the first de hit it. He quickly moved out of the way before the second de could hit him. This caused him to lose focus and stop the spell in the middle.


    Before he could start casting another spell, another set of des was flying toward him. This time it was three des.


    Instead of forming a barrier, he jumped back.


    "Brilliant Lance!"


    A Lance shot forward toward the des. He was able to deflect two of the des with just onence but the other one was stilling his way. It swerved toward him so it was clearly being controlled by Leo.


    He rolled away from the de before it could hit him. He looked up to see where Leo was but could only see a shadowy blur. He looked around and saw a trail of shadows but Leo was nowhere to be found. The trail was leading to behind him so he looked back.


    "You lose," a voice came from behind him.


    He felt a cold sensation near his neck. He nced down and saw a shadow de hovering near his neck, threatening to cut him.


    "The victor is Leo! Stop fighting," the female mage said. "Your rank will be updated shortly after."


    She said this and flew away. Meanwhile, Leo let go of the shadow de as it dissolved into the air. He got up and turned around, ready to leave.


    "You were a very tough opponent to beat. But your arrogance that you are better just because you are a noble is what will defeat you," he whispered lightly before leaving. Only Remus could hear this as the crowd cheered deafeningly.


    There were slightly fewer first-year students than in the beginning, but they cheered so loudly that no one noticed the difference. The second-year students started to leave with disappointment.


    Meanwhile, Lyra and Marcus who were both watching the fight had apetitive spirit ze inside them. Out of the two, Lyra cared more about the fight.


    She had seen an Aura Knight beat a mage from the main family. This fight told her that she could be just as great as the people from the main family even though she was an Aura Knight. She decided tomit herself to training as much as possible to quickly surpass them.


    As for Marcus, he also wanted to beat a mage like Leo did. He was still feeling very happy for Leo since he had cleared the requirement to go to the Phoenix Trials. Compared to the other students who had just barely gotten onto the ranking, Leo had properly defeated the 89th Ranked person.


    Leo quickly left the arena before anyone could ask him about the fight. All that was left of him was a shadowy afterimage.


    He got back to his dorm with a relieved expression. Now that he was on the ranking, he could go to the capital for the Phoenix Trials.


    Suddenly, his expression changed. He quickly rushed out of his dorm even though he just got there and scrambled to the building where he met Maria three days ago. He got to her office within 5 minutes and knocked on her door.


    "Come in," her voice came from inside.


    He walked in and saw her with another person. It was Asher.


    "Leo. We were just talking about you," Maria said. "I was telling Asher that you and your friends are just as capable to go to the Phoenix Trials."


    Leo nodded. "I appreciate it. I just had a question. When are the Phoenix Trials?" He asked her.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "They are held in the middle of March," she said.


    He sighed in relief. The reason he asked the question was that the Blood Moon would ur on the second Sunday of January. If the dates shed, then he would be forced to pick between the Phoenix Trials and the treasure he had, and he knew he would have to let go of the treasure.


    He still didn''t know for sure that thepass would activate on the day of the Blood Moon, but it was better for him if he had some free time to experiment with it.


    "Why do you ask?" Asher asked him.


    Leo looked at him. "Well, I might need a month for myself in the month of January," he said.


    Asherughed. "Are you joking?" He asked Leo.


    "No, I am very serious. I will need to leave the academy for a month somewhere around the middle of January," Leo said.


    Asher turned to Maria. "I liked the boy, I really did. But if he does things like this, then we can''t take the risk to send him. We don''t even know if he is qualified to be sent to the trials and he is already asking for a break," he said to her. He then turned to Leo.


    "Why do you even need a month anyway?" He asked him.


    Leo shook his head. "I am afraid it is something I would rather not say," he said.


    "Fine. I am sorry, but you are no longer qualified to go to the Phoenix Trials unless you give up on this break. We can''t take the risk to send someone who won''t dedicate enough of their time toward aura training," Asher said.


    Leo started to panic. He wanted the treasure that thepass offered, but the Phoenix Trials were higher on his priority list. He needed to convince Asher that he could do both or he would need to give up on his potential opportunity.


    Meanwhile, Maria tried to defend Leo.


    "I am sure he is a good student and needs this for a good reason. Didn''t we decide that if a first-year student can enter the ranking then they can be a reserve student?" She asked Asher.


    Asher nodded. "I did say that. But what makes you think he can even make it to the ranking? He might be a Middle-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight, but that''s not enough. You need the mental fortitude to ignore everything and focus on training," he said.


    "But I already got onto the ranking," Leo said.


    Asher looked at Leo. "I meant the Student Ranking, not the New Student Ranking."


    Leo nodded. "Yes. I just finished by duel today with a person on the Student Ranking," he said in response.


    Maria''s eyes widened. "Did you win in that fight?" She asked him.


    Asher went into contemtion. After thinking about it for a minute, he changed his mind.


    "If you are already on the ranking, then I could consider it. But do you promise to keep training your aura even during the break?" He asked Leo.


    Leo nodded. "That will be a very high priority to me," he said. It was a lie but Asher didn''t need to know that.


    "By the way, what rank are you?" Asher asked.

 Chapter 165 Cycle

    ?


    "89th," Leo said. "Thanks for giving me permission. I will definitely use it well."


    He quickly left the room. The reason he had asked for permission for something that was going to happen more than 3 months away was because he had things he needed to do in this one month.


    The treasure was not a sure thing for him. It was only one of the things he was going to check out at that time. The other thing that he wanted to do which was more important for him was to train in magic. He would need to be a lot stronger if he was going to go to the Capital.


    He went back to his dorm after meeting with Maria. He got on his bed and sat down in contemtion. He wanted to know what he was supposed to do for the next few months which led to the month he would have as a break.


    It was a lot of time that he was not going to dedicate to Aura at all. The only thing he was going to train in was going to be magic. At the end of it, he would try to do something regarding his aura with a few pills. As long as he broke through to the Late Stage of the 2nd Circle, he would be fine in the Phoenix Trials.


    As he was thinking, he remembered an item he had that he hadn''t used yet. He took out a box from his dimensional ring and set it in front of him. He opened it to reveal a shiny pill inside the box.


    It was a colorful pill that looked very much like the aura essence pill. The difference was that it was a lot more colorful. It was the Magic Essence Pill that he had gotten from Remus when he defeated him at the Gravity Steps. He had never tried the pill.


    Leo picked up the pill with excitement. It was going to be his first time trying out a pill meant for magicians. He wished that he could buy magic pills like he could buy aura pills, but he knew that it would be a lot more suspicious to do that.


    After all, only nobles were mages. If they found out that he wasn''t a noble, they would start asking questions about who he was. Those were questions he didn''t want to answer.


    He put the pill in his mouth and waited to see the effects. Was he really missing out?


    The pill melted in his mouth and a small amount of magic started flowing in his body. He quickly circted the magic and brought it into his mind. He opened his eyes after it was done. His face showed his disappointment.


    Compared to the Aura Essence Pill, the leaves of the Elderwood Tree in his mind were a better training resource. They would give him a lot more magic and they were free, unlike the pills. He sighed and took out a leaf.


    Even if the pill was useless, he didn''t care too much about it. It was a pill that he got for free anyway. He just needed to use the leaves to keep training and then replenish the leaves.


    After freeing his mind from the disappointment of the pill, he got back to the optimal state for training. He sat in afortable position and started training. He started off with a single leaf, but that leaf turned into two. Two became three, and he eventually spent the rest of the day training.


    He wanted to keep going, but the next day was the day of his ss. He got up and got ready to attend it. He needed to stay in Maria''s good books before leaving so that he would still go to the Phoenix Trials.


    He walked out of his dorm to go to his ss and warranted a lot of stares. He thought he had gotten used to it before when his challenge was made public, but it was somehow even more hardcore after he won.


    He got to the ss and sat in his usual spot. When he got there, Marcus and Lyra were both missing. Only Madison was sitting there.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Where are they?" He asked her.


    "Training. They said they also needed to get ready to challenge a senior," she said in response. "Are you fine?"


    Leo was confused. "I am fine. Why are you asking?" He asked her.


    "Well..." She looked around and saw all the students looking at Leo even though the ss was going to start in 5 minutes.


    "Oh, that," Leo said when he saw her look at the stares. "I will get used to it. Why is it this bad though?" He asked her.


    "You jumped to the second most famous person in the academy. And it''s mainly because every single first-year knows you. So if you are inside a ss filled with first-years, then it makes sense that everyone is staring at you," she said.


    "Well, I have to ignore it if I want toe to ss," he said.


    After the ss, he went to plete a few missions'' in the forest. He needed to give an excuse to Madison to go to the forest.


    After his reward for doing nothing, he had no more need for points. He had already gotten an Aura Technique and more than enough points to go to the library to look for information about magic or aura if he needed to. If 100,000 points weren''t enough for that, then it meant he was spending too much time in the library.


    The only reason he went to the forest was to hunt Magical Beasts for their Beast Cores. He was going to use their Beast Cores to nourish his nt. He had been using it for so long without feeding it properly and needed to do that.


    He was also nning on using it a lot for the next few months so he was preparing for that. But instead of hunting 2nd Circle Magical Beasts, he decided to hunt 3rd Circle Magical Beasts. He knew he had the power to do that. 3rd Circle Beast Cores were 10 times more potent than the 2nd Circle Beast Cores he would get.


    And if he wanted to kill 30 Magical Beasts at once, it would make him spend too much time. He would also need to take out the Beast Core from each of those beasts. He just killed three 3rd Circle Magical Beasts and took their cores. After that, he got back to his dorm and went back to training.


    The trainingsted till the next ss. He went to the ss and the forest after. He hunted down three 3rd Circle Magical Beasts again and came back to his dorm.


    This cycle persisted. All he was doing was going to ss, hunting Magical Beasts, and training. His friends had all gotten used to the absurd routine because they thought it was preparation for the Phoenix Trial. In a way, it was.


    Days became weeks. And weeks became months. The first time this routine stopped was two months after it started.

 Chapter 166 Leaving

    ?


    Leo looked at the tree in his mind with a little pity. The tree was now taller than him by half a meter. It used to have two bright flowers adorning it, but one of them was missing.


    He had used the flower just a day before. He didn''t regret using it though. It helped him finally break through to the Late-Stage of the 3rd Star. It was so potent that he had been able toe a lot closer to the Peak-Stage than he had expected.


    In less than a month, he would be a Peak-Stage 3rd Star Mage. He smiled at this thought before taking a leaf from the tree. Even though he had achieved some sess in his training, it didn''t give him an excuse to stop. He went back to training.


    Another month passed by and he finally reached the Peak-Stage of the 3rd Star. He would no longer be able to train like normal since he couldn''t break through inside the academy.


    Thest time he had broken through to the 3rd Star, he had almost gotten caught by the Magistrate in Solhaven. And that was when he was at the far end of the Commoner''s district right next to the slums.


    If he made that same mistake in the Academy with so many mages, it would be begging to get caught. It was also time for the blood moon to rise.


    Thest time the blood moon had risen was almost 5 years ago, so he wasn''t exactly sure what day it was. He only knew it was sometime in the current month. He would need to look out for the moon and he would rather do it outside the academy.


    If thepass truly reacted to it, then he could leave immediately instead of worrying about how to do that when he was inside the academy. He walked out of his dorm and walked to the building where his ss was.


    He had a ss that day which was good for him. He was nning on telling his friends that he was leaving so that they wouldn''t worry about him. They still didn''t know about it, unlike the instructors.


    "Wait for me outside. I will be out in a second," he told them. They were confused since he had never made them wait for him. They normally just left when he stayed back to talk to the professor.


    He went to the front to go talk to Maria as they walked out of the hall. She knew what he hade for before he even said anything.


    "Do you really have to go? Is there really a reason for you to risk not being here?" She asked him.


    He nodded. Even if he wasn''t going to find a treasure he didn''t know existed, he still had to go out of the academy to break through to the 4th Circle. If he didn''t, then he would be forced to train in aura instead.


    He still preferred magic to aura since he was a mage first. So taking that away from him would be hard.


    "I need to go for a month," he said.


    She sighed. "Fine. But I will warn you about how this will work. We will leave for the capital on 1st March. If you are not here, we will take someone else. Do you understand?" She asked him.


    "Yes, it is perfectly clear to me," he said. "Thank you so much for giving me this chance," he said.


    "Also, be careful. The Blood Moon will be in a few days," she said.


    Leo was interested in her warning. "Why do I need to be careful? I thought it was just a day that the moon was a different color," he asked her.


    She shook her head. "It is not as simple as you think. The Blood Moon will cause all Magical Beasts to feel restless and more aggressive. You will want to stay away from forests to avoid them. If you do encounter one, then run away," she said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Thanks for your warning," he said and left the hall.


    After getting out of the building, he looked around for his friends. He found them pretty quickly because of his perception and walked to them.


    "Why did you want us to wait?" Marcus asked him.


    "So, I never told you guys this, but I am taking a short break from the academy. I am going outside for a while," he said to them.


    Madison nodded. "That sounds fine. I went back home for the weekend," she said.


    Leo shook his head. "I didn''t mean for a weekend. I am leaving for around a month," he said.


    Lyra and Marcus both reacted strongly. "What are you saying? An entire month?" Marcus eximed.


    Madison was confused at why they were reacting so strongly. "Why is it that bad? I know that a month is excessive, but he must have his reasons," she said.


    "It is for him. If the instructors think that he iscent and decide to exclude him from the Phoenix Trials, then he would be missing out on so much experience," she said.


    "Did you talk to Maria about it?" Marcus asked.


    Leo nodded. "I already got permission a few months ago. I knew I was making this trip so I made sure to tell them. I just need to get back here by the time we leave for the capital and I should be fine," he said.


    "But will you be training at this time?" Lyra asked him. "You have a very small chance of achieving anything if you are still a Middle-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight by the time we get there. All the strong applicants are at least in the Late Stage," she said.


    "You don''t have to worry. By the time I get back, I will be stronger. I just wanted to tell you guys before leaving," he said.


    Marcus smiled. "Thanks for telling us. Have a great break. Don''t forget to practice. If you ck, then I will cross you the next time I see you," he said.


    "I will see you guys in a month, then," Leo said.


    After bidding his farewell to his friends, he finally set to the academy gate. He had already talked to Rnd before leaving. After all, it was his roommate. He had even taken the 1 million Starcoins that he won from him before leaving.


    Now, all that was left was to leave the academy. He walked to the academy gates and went outside. He turned around to see the ce he had spent thest 4 months in. He didn''t have a lot of emotional attachment to the ce itself, but he still knew he would miss it a little.


    The academy gave him some predictability in his life. And it gave him good friends that he knew he would miss as well. He turned around and looked at the long road leading to the city. He took the step forward to the journey he signed up for. Even if he knew that it meant giving up the ability to know what he would be doing the next morning.

 Chapter 167 Preparation

    ?


    The first thing that Leo did when he reached a distance far enough from the academy was sneak into an alley. After making sure no one was watching him, he changed his appearance and clothes. He was now Orion instead of Leo.


    After doing that, he walked to one of the inns and took a table there. He sat to the side and ordered a simple meal. After doing that, he just listened in to the information that the people around him were giving.


    With his senses, he could easily hear everything happening inside the inn. He just sat in silence focusing on what everyone else was saying.


    "Did you hear? The emperor finally punished the Whitmore Family for what they did," someone said.


    As he was listening to what everyone was saying, something caught his attention. He quickly focused on the person who said it.


    "Really? I thought they would be able to get away with it."


    "They basically did. The punishment is that the Duke has to step down and hand his title to his heir. But that was going to happen anyway. It was only a matter of time. How is that any punishment at all?" Another person exined.


    "The emperor only punished them because he had to. Otherwise, the people would riot. At this point, who would even remember an incident that happened in our district? It was one small city out of tens in one district. There are almost 30 districts like that. People will forget about this in another few months," the person who started the discussion added.


    As the discussion went forward, Leo clenched his fists. He was getting angry but chose not to direct it toward the people talking. They were, after all, just drunk mercenaries talking about what someone else did.


    Leo released his fists and got up. What he heard soured his mood and he didn''t feel like staying at the inn. He hadn''t heard any information that was useful to him anyway. He walked out of the inn in a soured mood.


    As he was walking through the streets toward the Thousand Treasure Tower, someone bumped into him.


    "Watch it!" A voice came but Leo ignored it. He wasn''t even at fault. It was the person that was walking without looking at the road. They were talking to the person beside them instead.


    "Hey! I''m talking to you!" The voice came again.


    He looked back at the two people, One of them was quiet while the other was looking at him with anger. Both of them were girls that seemed to be a year older than them.


    The one looking at him with anger had ck hair and was wearing a red robe, while the other had blue hair and was dressed in ck.


    "Do you not know to watch where you''re going?" She asked loudly. The people around them noticed the disturbance but ignored it.


    "Yes. Do you have a problem with that? Maybe it will help you if you learn how to walk with your head facing the road instead of your friend," he said. He didn''t talk as loud as her, but his snarky tone had the same aggressiveness.


    He was already in a bad mood and having trouble for him in the middle of the street wasn''t helping that.


    "..." The ck-haired girl was about to erupt but herpanion stopped her.


    "We should just go," the quiet girl said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Don''t just leave him like that, Elysia. He should know that it''s his fault! Who knows if he even bumped into us on purpose?" She said. She turned to him, about to shout.


    When she talked to her friend, the gears inside Leo''s mind started turning. He recognized the name from somewhere, but he couldn''t ce it properly. He was visibly in a daze.


    "I am talking to you! Oh, how retarded is this? I can''t even understand why someone with so little attention span is doing on the road!" She shouted at him. Meanwhile, Leo finally realized where the name was from.


    He looked at the people in front of him and looked properly. He realized that one of them was an Early-Stage 3rd Circle Aura Knight while the other was a Late-Stage 2nd Circle Mage. And both of them looked like they were around 16 or 17 years old.


    That meant both of them were likely attending an academy. With their talent, they were definitely in the Eldridge Academy. And he had first seen the name, Elysia in the Student Ranking. It was the name of the then 3rd Rank. He had also heard the name from Madison when she talked about the poprity ranking.


    "I can''t help but notice that you aren''t saying anything," Leo said to Elysia.


    She looked at him with her piercing eyes.


    "I think we should just stop here," she said.


    "I agree. I will go on my way," Leo said and started walking away.


    "I am not done yet!" The hot-tempered girl shouted. She was about to keep cursing him, but Elysia stopped her.


    "Don''t waste your energy," she said.


    Meanwhile, Leo was walking away from them with a smile on his face. The reason he asked Elysia about what she was thinking about was that he wanted to know how she would react to the fight with him.


    It wouldn''t matter to him since he was now Orion and they wouldn''t even recognize him. But he would meet her as Leo when they would go to the Phoenix Trials.


    If she was the 3rd Rank in the Student Ranking, then she would definitely be one of the candidates going along with him. He wanted to see how she was going to control the fight.


    The final oue would make no difference except fill his curiosity. And the oue was that Elysia was someone who thought before talking, while the other one was just hot-tempered. And looking at them, he could easily tell that Elysia was amoner while the other one was a noble.


    He found out a little about how the second-year students behaved, and that was enough for him. He walked down the road toward the Thousand Treasure Tower.


    He was only a dozen meters away from it, so the two had probably gone to it as well. The Thousand Treasure Tower and the forest were the two major locations that students went to when they exited the academy. So he actually expected them to go there.


    He walked into the tower with the hope that he would find items that were going to help him during his next month. No matter what would happen, he was nning on leaving Eldridge for the month, so he wanted to buy anything useful for him to help him.

 Chapter 168 Stronghold

    ?


    Note: If you''re not reading this on Webnovel, you''re in the wrong ce. To read ahead, read on Webnovel.


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    Leo walked out of the tower with disappointment. He had spent almost an hour but didn''t find anything useful for him.


    The issue for him was that he couldn''t buy any magic-rted products without going to the upper floors. But once he did that, they would ask him to show that he was qualified to go there. He apparently had to be a noble to even look at the products there.


    He obviously couldn''t show that so he decided to just leave. This was the reason why he could never buy any products rted to magic. After failing to do that, he decided he couldn''t do anything useful in the city anymore. It was time to leave.


    A major reason why he wanted to leave had to do with the number of 4th Circle and 5th Circle Mages in the city. All of them would be able to detect any small magic fluctuations happening in the city.


    Now that Leo was in the Peak-Stage of the 3rd Star, he was nning on breaking through to the next level. To help him, he had the Radiant Apple that he had obtained in the Valkyr''s Forest. He had saved it for so long for this reason. He could use it to easily break through to the 4th Star if what he heard about it was correct.


    He already knew where to go for the time being. He wanted to find a ce that he could use to break through without being interrupted. That meant he had to find a ce that was isted from both Magical Beasts and humans alike.


    He knew two ces like that. One was Eldridge. After what happened to it, it would bepletely deserted. And because it was a city, the Magical Beasts wouldn''t be able to enter it either. But he didn''t want to go somewhere that would influence his emotions that much. It would be very unhelpful if he was trying to break through.


    The alternative was to go to the Stronghold he had rescued Marcus from. It was the ce that he had torched down several months ago. If he had burned it down, only ruins would be left of it. The vigers definitely had no interest in being anywhere near that ce.


    He decided to go there until the blood moon. He could train there for as long as he wanted. If the blood moon didn''t affect thepass, he would stay there to train.


    He walked out of the gate from the city and into the path outside. He remembered the route from his previous journey very well so he just had to follow it. The only difference was that he had to keep up with the pace of the caravan the previous time.


    If he was going by himself, then he was faster than horses too. The reason was that he wasn''t nning on traveling on the ground.


    The minute he left the city gates, he slowly lifted himself into the air. He gained height until he was at the same height as the city gates. He looked in the direction that he wanted to go and shot himself in that direction.


    A blur shot through the skies over the forest toward the direction of the vige. The people on the ground looked at the blur with eyes full of envy. Some had gazes of admiration. All of them wanted to be as strong as the blur themselves.


    On a horse, he was able to get to Eldridge from the stronghold in around 10 hours. But it took him only 4 hours to get there by himself. He passed the vige with so much speed that the people living there thought it was just a bird. No one had observed that keenly.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Hended on the same entrance that he had escaped out of.


    It was the most damaged part of the entire stronghold. The entire entrance had copsed into itself, blocking off entry into the stronghold from there. He looked around at the barren ground. The fire had spread to the garden as well. He was surprised that it hadn''t spread into a forest fire.


    He walked down the walkway to the blocked-off entrance. He pointed his hand at it and shot a series of Shadow des that sliced through the debris. He walked forward and pushed a wave of magic forward. It pushed the pieces of debris into the stronghold, giving him a narrow point of entry.


    He walked in while covering himself in a Shadow Barrier to shield himself from any debris falling down. If he pushed part of the debris forward, he knew that the unsupported ceiling could copse on him.


    He quickly walked past the unstable entrance and took a few steps inside. Just as he properly got inside the ce, the entrance copsed into itself, closing off his exit. He wasn''t worried at all since he could create the exit at any time.


    He also knew that there was another exit somewhere, along with ess to the floor above where he would be able to directly fly out. He walked deep into the stronghold, trying to find ces that weren''t as destroyed by the fire.


    It was very dark inside, but he didn''t need the light to see with his incredible perception. He walked to the room where he had killed the nobles. He saw that there were still remnants of his manughter.


    All the corpses along with their dimensional rings were still in the same location. Leo was very surprised when he saw this. He thought that the family would try to find the people once they found that they were missing. Clearly, they had either ignored the disappearances or are still looking for them.


    He knew it wouldn''t be a problem for him unless the person who got into the fray was the Marquis himself. Based on what he understood, a person had to at least be a certain power level to be a noble.


    For Marquises, the minimum power level would be the 5th Circle. A powerhouse at that level would be able to level him to the ground in a few seconds. Of course, his breaking through would change that.


    It would go from a few seconds to a dozen seconds. But the change was that Leo would be able to hide from 5th Circle Mages. With Valkyr''s Deception, he could fool anyone an entire level above him. So he would be able to trick Early-Stage 5th Circle Mages as a 4th Star Mage.


    He walked past the bodies to the area where they used to store the ves. There wasn''t any trace of living people in the stronghold, but he could still see the remnants of what used to happen. He could see the blood stters on the cell walls as he walked past them.


    He finally got to an area where he could sit without worrying about space. He had a huge open room where he could fit two of his current rooms. He took out a chair from his dimensional ring and set it on the ground.


    He waspletely prepared for the trip with the furniture from his old house. He sat on the chair and got ready to start.

 Chapter 169 Upgrade

    ?


    Note: If you''re not reading this on Webnovel, you''re in the wrong ce. To read ahead, read on Webnovel.


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    He let go of the disguise that he had been maintaining. It was very draining for him to maintain a disguise as well as fly through the air for around 4 hours. When he stopped using Valkyr''s Deception, it lifted a huge load off him.


    He took a deep breath and gathered magic into his body slowly. He circted the magic around his body a few times before bringing them to his mind. The magic dissipated without joining the giant cloud of magic in his mind.


    The cloud loomed over the entire mind like a giant. It very minimally lit a 500-mile stretch of grass. In the middle of it was his Elderwood Tree.


    For the next hour, he kept gathering magic into his body and letting it go. The reason he was doing this was to recover the magic in his body that he had used to fly all the way to the stronghold. He would only do anything important once his body was in its best condition.


    After recoveringpletely, he took out the most important object that would aid his breakthrough - the radiant apple.


    The apple was 5 times as big as a normal apple and was shining in a golden light. The golden skin of the apple portrayed it as a divine fruit that would be able to help him do anything. He could no longer control his temptation and bit into the apple.


    He didn''t n on waiting to settle in to start training. He wasn''t here for a vacation. He quickly got into what he came for.


    The minute he bit into it, he could feel his body draining the magic out of the apple. The magic quickly started rampaging through his body. However, he quickly brought it into his own control, taking only a few seconds to do that.


    Eventually, he felt that he had gotten all the Magical Energy in the fruit with a single bite. He took another bite to see if there was any more magical energy left inside the apple.


    After confirming that there wasn''t anything left, he brought the magic to his mind. He quickly started breaking through without wasting a minute. He started condensing the star in his mind.


    As the number of stars increased, it was getting harder and harder for him to cross the level by himself. He was so used to doing it at a smaller level that he needed some time to understand the difference in levels.


    The 4th Star was incredibly hugepared to the third one. As a star, it was ten times asrge, so it was a thousand times asrge as a cloud. That meant it was 100,000 times asrge as his first Star.


    Because of their massive size, the stars weren''t evenpeting with each other. They each upied a different height in his mind space. All of them collectively attributed to his strength.


    The advantage of forming those stars was that he was very familiar with the process. He continued condensing it by applying as much pressure as he could. As he got it topress more and more, it was getting harder and harder to do it.


    Around three hourster, he finally reached the final point. He forced himself to finish condensing it and put all his strength into it. The cloud suddenly copsed into itself. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The previous cloud turned into a thousandth of its size. It was only for a split second. After that, the magic ballooned to ten times its size to form an actual star. This released a massive amount of energy that shook the entire stronghold.


    As it did that, it shined brightly, illuminating the inside of the strongholdpletely. Because he was indoors, no one was able to see the power of the illumination. Along with that, the tattoo on his wrist glowed very brightly.


    However, he wasn''t able to pay attention to that. He was more focused on what he had done to his training space.


    The entire structure was already shaky because of the levels being carved into the underground. After the fire, it made it worse. The final nail in the coffin was the force that he released. It was so great that the ceiling came down, falling.


    A huge chunk of the ceiling around 20 meters big crashed onto where Leo was standing. It raised all the dust in the area. The dust started to clear out, revealing his state.


    The ceiling chunk had broken into two. Both pieces were resting on the sides of his Shadow Barrier. He released the aura with some force, pushing it away. He could perceive that the loss of the ceiling was something he had to be a little concerned for you.


    He knew that the entire stronghold was very close topletely copsing because of his breakthrough. It was something he wanted to avoid. He rushed to the closest flight of stairs. He climbed the stairs until he got to the top.


    He got to the roof of the entire stronghold just as it started crumbling. Before it wouldpletely copse and bring him down with it, he jumped up and flew into the air. He looked down and saw the entire structure copse. It waspletely done for.


    He sighed in regret since he left his chair inside the ce. He didn''t have any time to retrieve his items. He underestimated how much damage he had done to it when he left. His breakthrough didn''t help it. But it was useful for him. He quickly admired his new upgrade.


    He slowlynded on the ground and went to his mind to look at the new star. He entered the ins and looked up at the fourth star. It was incredibly bright, lighting up a lot of area. He looked in the distance and saw that the distance it lit up was still in the hundreds of miles.


    But there was a difference that he could observe. The grass on the ground was no longer the only thing that naturally urred there. Along with the grass, there were asional flowers blooming around the ins.


    He bent down and touched one of the flowers. They were purple Asters. He plucked it to take a closer look. When the flower left the ground, it dissolved into dust and flew away. He frowned, unaware of what this meant.


    He was now unsure about what the new star brought to him, and how he would need to change his training. He decided to see what else was different.


    Before he could do that, however, he was forced to go back to the real world. He opened his eyes and looked in the distance. His ted expression turned into a frown. In the distance, there was a person speeding toward him in the air.


    Leo quickly made sure his disguise was perfect and got ready to deal with the person who arrived. A youngdy flew around 10 meters away from him. She faced him with a staff in his eyes.


    He quickly noticed that her hands had a dimensional ring that he recognized. It had the same design that was on the ring that the dead body inside had. When he realized that, he could guess who the person was.

 Chapter 170 Tricked

    ?


    Note: If you''re not reading this on Webnovel, you''re in the wrong ce. To read ahead, read on Webnovel.


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    The woman slowlynded on the ground and walked toward him. She was around 20 years old and was wearing a brown mage robe that matched her staff.


    "Name yourself," she said to him in amanding tone.


    He frowned at her tone. "And who are you to ask me that?" He responded.


    "I am Elise Fairmount, the third daughter of the Marquis of Fairmount. I am here with a Marquis Order to question anyone in rtion to the incident that happened in the area around this Stronghold." She said.


    He immediately regretted breaking through at the stronghold. The person in front of him was an Early-Stage 3rd Circle Mage. She was not nearly as powerful as him, but she could have sensed the magical fluctuations his breakthrough generated.


    It wasn''t like he was very quiet when he advanced. He had made so much of a disturbance that the entire stronghold behind him copsed.


    He ran through the two options he had. The first one would be to kill the person in front of him. But he didn''t want to do that for two reasons. One was that he wasn''t sure thedy was as deserving of being killed as her sister. And the second was that it would bring up a bigger issue that could implicate the vige right beside them.


    The second would be to deny anything she said and maintain a false story. Since she was a mage, she would be able to tell that he was an Aura Knight anyway. He decided to keep it that way.


    "I am Orion, a mercenary," he said. He decided to show a respectful tone once she introduced herself to get on her good side. He sneaked his hands to the back and quickly hid his dimensional ring with Valkyr''s Deception.


    "And what are you doing here?" She asked him.


    "I heard that there were bandits that used to be here but abandoned the ce. I wanted toe and check it out to see if there was any loot that I could find. But the whole ce crashed when I tried to get in," he said with a regretful tone.


    "Where did youe from?" She asked him.


    "I came from the city of Eldridge directly to this ce. I was nning on leaving after I finished my business here," he said.


    Elise looked at him with disgust. "Are you sure that is all you are here for?" She asked him.


    "That is all, Lady Fairmount," he said.


    She paused for a minute and looked at his face. He looked very calm which was a little unnerving since she was so superior to him. She couldn''t understand how he was maintaining hisposure.


    "What were you doing 4 months ago?" She asked him.


    "Completing a few missions back in Eldridge," he said. "Is there any problem, Lady Fairmount?" He questioned her.


    "Are you questioning me,moner?" She got angry when he asked her a question.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Of course now, Lady. I was just inquiring whether there was a problem with me trying to enter the stronghold," he said.


    "Yes, there is. I find it very suspicious that you are here in this abandoned area this much time after it was burned down. Who told you that the stronghold was abandoned?" She asked him.


    "No one. They were just talking between themselves in an inn while I was listening in. It must be why I didn''t know that it had been so long since it was abandoned and I didn''t know," he responded.


    For some reason, she couldn''t help but feel that the man in front of her was not being honest. She felt it was odd that a 2nd Circle Aura Knight would be here when he could earn money by himself. But the problem was she didn''t trust her opinion.


    She was only 26 years old and wasn''t trained as much in detective work. She was very surprised when her father assigned her to the disappearance of her sister. She quickly found out what her sister had been up to through her servants and got to the ce she was in now.


    But she had only gotten to the fort to find out that it had just copsedpletely. And a 2nd Circle Aura Knight was there as the only witness. She asked questions that she thought would reveal whether or not he was guilty, but she was unable to read his expressions properly.


    She quickly realized why she was assigned to the case instead of any proper detective. Her father considered neither her nor her sister as important to spend any time or resources on the case. That was why she was sent instead of a 4th Circle Mage or the City Commander who was good at work like this.


    She figured this out but wanted to still show that she could do a good job. But looking at the current situation, she decided to give up on the whole case.


    "Fine. You can go," she said to him.


    "Thank you," he said to her and walked away. He walked through the path that led toward Eldridge. He was nning to walk away from the stronghold as quickly as possible to get out of her sight.


    The moment he got out of her sight, he lifted himself from the ground with his magic. He stopped walking like before and started to fly through the air. His speed was a lot higher than before as he reached the vige. Hepletely ignored the vige and instead went around it.


    In a few minutes, he reached the crossroads that led to Eldridge. Instead of taking that route, he chose to go to Phoenix Greens instead. At this point, he decided that he could just fly higher than stick close to the ground. He lifted himself up high into the air and shot himself along the path that led to the city.


    At this point, Elise noticed the sh in the distance and frowned.


    "What is a 3rd Circle Mage doing here? It might even be a stronger mage," she thought to herself.


    Suddenly, a few gears turned in her mind. How did Orion get there?


    He said that he hade all the way from Eldridge and was nning on going back. But she didn''t notice a single horse with the man. She saw him walk along his path without any form of baggage. So how was he traveling a distance that huge?


    She quickly lifted herself into the air and scanned the area. As shebed through the area to look for him, Leo was hundreds of miles away smoothly cruising to Phoenix Greens.


    When she couldn''t find him anywhere in her sight, she was confused. How was a 2nd Circle Aura Knight so fast that she couldn''t even find him?


    Suddenly, she realized what just happened. Orion had left and a few minutester, she saw a mage shoot away with great speed. What if they were rted? If that was the case, then it would make sense that he was nowhere to be found.


    He had definitely escaped in the time that she took to realize that something was wrong.

 Chapter 171 Inn

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    Note: If you''re not reading this on Webnovel, you''re in the wrong ce. To read ahead, read on Webnovel.


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    "NO!" She cursed loudly. How could she have forgotten something like that? She should have asked him that question while he was still there.


    She had lost the best lead she could have possibly gotten. Now she would have to exin what she did to her father.


    But she at least had something substantial to say. If a mage was involved in all of this, then a noble was involved in the disappearance. If there was a team of a mage and an aura knight, then it was possible that the noble family had purposefully sent them to get rid of the evidence.


    That meant that there was a noble family that had purposefully done this to go against the Fairmount Family. She had to tell her father about this. But first, she would need to go through the ruins to look for clues.


    As Elise was overthinking what Leo just did, he happily cruised through the air. After an hour of flying, he saw a city in the distance. He adjusted his path and flew toward it.


    Hended before he got close to the city and took out his disguise. He didn''t need to have a disguise to enter a city so far from Eldridge. He was only nning on getting an inn anyway.


    The only reason he had chosen to go to Phoenix Greens instead of Eldridge was because it was a smaller city. Now that he was a 4th Star Mage, he would be able to escape from other 4th Circle Mages. He couldn''t put on a fight yet because he would need to learn 4th Star spells for that.


    For the next few days, he only wanted to do one thing - consolidate this 4th Star and learn his new spells. To do both, he would need a quiet ce in an inn, so it didn''t matter which city he chose.


    He walked into the city with ease. Unlike Eldridge, the guards in front of the city walls didn''t care about who was entering it. When he walked into the city, he noticed the difference between it and the other cities he had been to.


    Compared to Eldridge and theck of poverty there, Solhaven had a lot more areas of the city as slums. However, there was still a limit to those slums. They barely spilled over even to themoner''s district.


    But in the city that he hade to, he realized there wasn''t amoner''s district. There were the slums and the noble district. There was nothing in between.


    He found a decent-looking inn and walked in. The people looked at the kid who entered and smiled. They were all burly men twice his size. He walked to the counter and talked to the attendant here.


    "I would like to get a room for a week," he said.


    The boy at the counter looked at Leo. He was also as young as Leo and decided to give him some advice. He leaned in and beckoned him forward.


    "Are you sure you want to stay here?" He asked Leo.


    Leo nodded. "Is there something wrong with that?" He asked.


    The boy shook his head. "I just thought you would find it a little difficult because of your size," he said.


    "What do you mean-" Before Leo could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a man who had been inside the inn before he came in.


    "I would like one of your suites," the man said.


    "I''m sorry, but I have to take the mister''s room first. He was here before you," the boy said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Don''t worry. You can just add it to a single bill. I''m sure he won''t mind paying for me," the man said. He turned to Leo and asked, "Will you?"


    Leo frowned at the man before turning to the boy at the counter.


    "You are right. There are too many assholes here," he said audibly in front of the man. He then turned to the person trying to make him spend his money. "I will spend my money. But you would have to enjoy the room without your arm."


    The man became angrier as the people behind them were amused."The boy has balls," one personmented.


    "Are you even looking at me? I will tten-" The man pointed his right hand at Leo. Before he could even finish the sentence, the arm was broken.


    "AAHHH!" The man screamed in pain. "What did you do to me? I feel so much pain," he shouted. In a tiny fraction of a second, Leo had struck the bone of the man''s right arm, breaking it.


    "Just a small listen," Leo said. "You might be a 1st Circle Aura Knight and think that''s enough. Remember that there are people stronger than that."


    The city was smaller than Solhaven, which meant it was very differentpared to Eldridge. If in Eldridge, a 4th Circle Aura Knight would be considered one of the strongest people, a 2nd Circle person would be at the peak of Phoenix Green.


    Leo released his aura to show everyone exactly how strong he was. All the people who were trying to watch a good show suddenly turned back to their tables in fear. They all acted like none of them knew the man who walked up to Leo.


    "Now, can I have my room?" He asked the boy at the counter. The boy was the only person who wasn''t an Aura Knight and didn''t feel any of the aura that Leo had disyed, so he was confused about why everyone suddenly became quiet.


    But he was surprised at what happened to the man in front of him. He hadn''t seen any movement but the huge man was howling in pain.


    "Yes, of course," he said. "Do you want to see what rooms we have?"


    Leo nodded.


    "Well, the best room we have is a suite for 3000 Starcoins a day. The normal room is 300 Starcoins a day. The elite room is 1000 Starcoins a night," the boy said.


    "I''ll take the suite," Leo said. He was about to take out the money but the boy stopped him.


    "You can payter," he said.


    Leo smiled. "Thanks. What is the room number?" He asked.


    "It is the second room on your left when you get to the top floor. Room number 4," the boy said.


    Leo nodded and grabbed the keys. As he was making his way to the stairs, he made eye contact with the people in the inn, warning them not to do anything stupid. After making that very clear, he walked to the stairs.


    He climbed the stairs and got to the top floor. He took a lest and found his room. He walked inside and looked around. The room was incredibly in but it was maintained properly. Even though he was in the slums, the inn had made sure that at least the most expensive room was proper.


    He got onto the bed and went straight to what he came for. The first thing on his list was consolidating his base, so he started with that. He took in a deep breath and started gathering the magic around his body.

 Chapter 172 Changes

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    Note: If you''re not reading this on Webnovel, you''re in the wrong ce. To read ahead, read on Webnovel.


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    He coughed up a little blood when he started circting his magic. He had kept all of the pain inside his body all this time, but having to leave the stronghold immediately after he broke through gave him a little problem with his magic.


    It needed to flow through his body to release the energy that was bottled up inside the star. The explosion it released took away most of that energy, but a little remained. He kept it bottled inside and was nning on releasing itter, but he encountered the woman from the Fairmount Family.


    After spending the next few hours without circting the magic and even using it like normal, his body had taken a huge toll. He continued circting the magic since it was the only thing that could help him.


    When he did this, he realized that he hadn''t used all of the energy inside the Radiant Apple. He still had a substantial amount to use. He started circting that energy around his body a single time before letting it settle in his mind.


    After he did that, a new cloud formed inside his mind. He also used some of the magic to make his star more stable. Since he had to escape immediately after breaking through, he didn''t get a chance to do this.


    Because of this extra magical energy, he could easily form a new cloud. After spending a little more time releasing the pent-up energy inside the rest of the magic, he was able to bring it back to his mind easily. Any of the excess was absorbed by the newly formed cloud.


    After this, he opened his eyes with an expression of relief. He had gotten past the hurdle he had and now decided to go through the good things that happened to him.


    Once he opened his eyes, he realized how much the difference between someone in the 3rd Circle and the 4th Circle was after his breakthrough. In his case, after breaking through to the 4th Star, his strength grew by five times.


    His perception covered half of the entire city he was in. It was a very small city, but it was still covering a very substantial area. He could see everything that was happening in the area covering his perception which would give him the ability to see anythinging toward him very quickly.


    But he was more interested in the spells that were going to be added to his arsenal. He quickly went to check what spells were added to the book. He entered the white room and realized something was differentpared to before.


    He saw a new room that was added. He walked up to the room first and looked at it.


    "Room of Records"


    He pushed open the door and walked forward. The room waspletely empty and he was surrounded by white space on every side. He waited for something to happen for a while before realizing that nothing was going to.


    He went back outside the room with a confused expression. It was the first time he had seen a new room that served no purpose to him. But he trusted the tome.


    He decided to go to the other room and leave the Room of Records as it was withoutining. He entered the training room to look at his second favorite book - The Book of Spells.


    He walked to the pedestal it was sitting on and picked it up. He eagerly opened the book and turned the pages to look at what was new. The pages turned past the previous spells that he had already learned beforending on the new set of spells - the 4th Star Spells.


    When he saw these spells that were now avable to him, they made him smile with satisfaction. They were all so many times more powerful than what he was using before.


    [Fire Nova]


    [Creates a massive eruption of intense mes that radiate outward in a wave-like fashion from the caster, engulfing everything in its path.]


    When he touched the page, the environment around him changed, and he found himself in a wend. There weren''t any trees and there was water everywhere. Leo was a little confused since the area would make it harder for a fire element spell to be effective.


    A familiar silhouette appeared and started demonstrating the spell. It initiated the spell, making the air crackle with anticipation, and the surroundings grow unnaturally warm. A surge of magical energy gathered around it, forming a swirling vortex of fiery hues.


    When the energy reaches its peak, the silhouette unleashed the Fire Nova with a forceful motion, causing the vortex of mes to explode outward. The mes surged forward, expanding rapidly in all directions, transforming the wend around it into a zing inferno.


    The effect was instant and arge area with a radius of 100 meters around the silhouette was pulverized. Even the water instantly evaporated. Leo realized exactly how powerful the spells were with the demonstration.


    After that, he quickly looked at the other spells and they didn''t disappoint him.


    [Shadow Veil]


    [Conjures a veil of darkness, granting the caster enhanced stealth and the ability to move undetected in shadows.]<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    When he touched that page, the demonstration for it started. He found himself in the familiar slums in Solhaven. The silhouette appeared again and demonstrated the spell for him.


    When it used the spell, it summoned shadows that seemed to deepen and stretch, coalescing around the silhouette like a living entity. The shadows seemed to solidify after that, forming a veil that enveloped it. This veil then blended with the surrounding darkness.


    It shrouded itself in this cloak of darkness, making itselfpletely invisible to the naked eye. He realized that the spell made the caster be hidden by the shadows. When the silhouette appeared again, it was behind him.


    He was very impressed by the spell because it was the most functional out of all of the spells. He looked at the other spells and saw that the third spell was something he was somewhat familiar with.


    [Arcane Barrage]


    [Unleashes a barrage of arcane projectiles that home in on targets, striking with magical force.]


    The reason he felt he knew this spell was because he had artificially created a version of this. He had previously used the Magic Bullet multiple times in a row to unleash multiple bullets at his enemies.


    This was so long ago though, and he knew the power wouldn''t even be close to the power of this spell. After all, a 1st Star Spell was the most basic spell possible.


    The demonstration for this was the simplest till now. He found himself in a white room with a lot of targets. It was a room he was familiar with since he had used it before to practice.


    The silhouette appeared and initiated the spell, channeling its magic. A series of arcane sigils and symbols materialize in front of it, hovering in the air with an ethereal glow. These symbols pulsated with arcane energy.


    It then made a motion with its hands that made the sigils produce a number of shimmering bolts made of simr arcane energy in front of them. It then waved its hands toward the targets in front of it, releasing a barrage of bolts.


    These bolts surged forth, streaking through the air with incredible speed and precision. Each bolt carried the raw force of arcane power and struck the targets.


    Upon impact, the bolts of arcane energy exploded, unleashing a concussive force that rippled outward that could cause damage to the surrounding area. The sheer intensity of the explosion could leave opponents reeling from the devastating impact.


    After looking at that, he turned the pages of the book to reveal thest spell. He wanted to see what was going to be thest spell and if it was going to match the spells he had seen till then.


    [Advanced Arcane Shield]


    [A spell that creates a protective barrier around the caster, absorbing iing attacks and reducing damage taken.]


    He smiled when he saw this one. It was the most predictable spell that he expected to appear. It was a spell he saw appear every time he went to the next level. When he touched it, the familiar silhouette appeared.


    "Onest time, please," Leo whispered to it even though it was probably not even listening to him.


    The silhouette started the motion and cast the spell. Intricate patterns of arcane symbols and sigils materialized in the air, glowing with a vibrant aura of magical energy.


    A radiant barrier manifests around the silhouette. The shield appeared as a translucent, shimmering dome of pure magical energy, stretching outward to form a protective barrier. It gleamed with an iridescent glow.


    He waited to see if there were any attacks that were going to showcase its strength but didn''t see anything. He decided to test it himself and released a me barrage that impacted the silhouette''s shield.


    It created an explosion that clouded his vision with smoke. But with his perception, he knew that the shield waspletely intact and his attack hadn''t done anything to it. It wasn''t anything special since he was only using a 3rd Circle Magic, but it was stillforting to know that the shield also seemed like a very powerful magic.


    He took a deep breath as he took all of this in. He now had four spells that were all very powerful that he had to master. Since they were all so impactful, he expected that it would take him a lot of time to master them.


    So he decided to start immediately, focusing on what he already knew. He was going to pick the Shadow Veil since he had learned so many shadow-based spells and Aura Techniques. It also made him think about the spells he received.


    He noticed that there was a pattern with the spells that were avable to him. All of them were either of the shadow attribute, the fire attribute or had no attribute. It seemed to say something about the person who created the tome. Just as he thought that he felt his wrist hurt.


    He looked down and saw his tattoo glow.

 Chapter 173 Record I

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    Note: If you''re not reading this on Webnovel, you''re in the wrong ce. To read ahead, read on Webnovel.


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    He walked out of the room that he was in back to the white space. He immediately noticed that there was a ssh of color in the in white room.


    The white door of the Room of Records was glowing in a bright gold color. He walked toward it, mesmerized by the color. His hands hovered over the door''s handle as he thought about what could be inside the room.


    Thest time he had felt his tattoo glow was when he encountered the Elderwood seed. And that seed was his greatest treasure that got him to the level he was at now. He didn''t expect something of physical value beyond the door, but he hoped to encounter something that was as useful to him as his tree.


    He opened the door and walked inside. The minute he stepped into the room, he noticed that the room wasn''t white as it was previously. Instead, its walls and ceiling were stered in a golden glow that was almost blinding.


    The minute the doors behind him closed, the room shed with a bright light. He instinctively closed his eyes to shield them from the light. For some reason, he couldn''t even see anything with his perception. When he opened his eyes again, he realized that he was in apletely different location.


    He found himself on top of a mountain, high up in the air. Below him were the clouds that the mountain towered over. The sun was illuminating the peak of the mountain. He thought he was alone based on what he could see with his perception. When he looked up, though, he realized that he was wrong.


    A mile away from the mountain, a single person stood with his back toward Leo. The person was facing three others.


    The three were wearing luxurious robes and had magic staffs, so Leo could guess that they were mages. One of them looked incredibly old and was dressed in a white and gold robe, while the other two were young females. They were both in green robes with gold ents.


    "So, you havee to face me, Arcane Emperor," the old man said.


    Leo''s expression turned into surprise and then realization. He understood why the room he entered was called the room of records. It was the room that held the records of the Arcane Emperor.


    He observed closely to see exactly what his predecessor looked like. From the back, Leo could only see his ck hair.


    "Are you surprised that I am facing you?" The Arcane Emperor said. "You are a person that I have to fight. It was inevitable."


    The old man shook his head. "I disagree. The offer for you to join me is still open. But if you disagree now, I am afraid I have to fight you with all my strength."


    Leo waited for the Arcane Emperor to say something with anticipation. Based on his voice, Leo could guess that he was not nearly as old as the other mage.


    "I am afraid I cannot do that. We will always defer in our fundamental beliefs," he said.


    "You have too much righteousness. I don''t know if you inherited the quality from your blood or grew it, but it will be your downfall. You need to know when to take a step back." The old man said.


    "Who are the people behind you?"


    The old man looked behind at the two young women behind him. They both looked very young - about 25 ad 27 respectively - and simr to each other. Both of them seemed to be confused about what was happening there. Just like Leo, they had no idea about what was going on.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "These girls? They are my new disciples. They were going to be your reward if you chose to join me. They are sisters and are considered very attractive in their entire empire. But since you aren''t nning on epting my offer, they can only be sacrifices for my newest spell," the old man said.


    When he said that the expression of the women changed. They both tried to leave the area, but the old man moved before them. He closed his right fist and the women froze in their ce, unable to move. Meanwhile, the Arcane Emperor didn''t show any change in his demeanor.


    "You haven''t changed your ways at all. You deserve the nickname that your victims give you. You are a Scheming Ghost," the Arcane Emperor said.


    The old man frowned. "You can call me all you want. I will tolerate it. But that nickname is something that degrades me. And I am surprised that you are able to maintain yourposure. I heard from my previous disciple that you were a lot more hot-tempered when he met you," he said.


    "That was over ten years ago. A lot has changed since then. But I do request you not to implicate the girls. This is a fight between the two of us." The Arcane Emperor said.


    "Aries, can I call you that? Why do we need to fight? We can both go our own ways and not interfere with what each other does," the Scheming Ghost said.


    Aries, the Arcane Emperor, shook his head. "You are trying to establish an empire that enves every human that you think is unworthy of magic. I can never let that happen. Prepare for the fight, Jared," Aries said.


    Jared pointed his staff toward Aries and calmly said, "I was never afraid of you."


    Aries pulled out staff from his own dimensional ring. "Should we begin?"


    Leo looked expectantly at the fight. He was hoping that the fight would be as magnificent as the backstory that was leading to it. He didn''t expect that the Arcane Emperor would be facing someone who was trying to establish a more authoritative regime than the current state of Sria.


    He could also see that the two girls who couldn''t move were shaking with fear. To them, the fight decided their fate. The fight between the two finally started at this moment.


    "I will start. Blood Wave," Jared waved his hand, forming a huge wave of blood like magic. The magic itself seemed to be red in color while having a viscous feeling that only came with blood.


    It was a sea of red that formed above the clouds. Even though there wasn''t even any object to be a reference forparison, Leo could understand exactly how big the effects of the spell were.


    With another wave of his hand, the entire wave of blood came crashing onto Aries. He reacted quickly to the iing attack.


    "Eternal Sanctuary," he said.


    A huge pair of wings formed behind him and covered him by closing around his body. The crashing waves hit the translucent feathers before dissipating. Once the attack was over, Aries released his sanctuary.


    When the attack was blocked by the sanctuary, Jared felt the least bit worried. When the sanctuary was released, he prepared his next attack to throw Aries'' way.


    "Blood Spear," Jared said.


    A massive spear made out of blood formed behind him. The spear pointed itself at Aries and waited for his signal. When Jared waved his hands, the spearunched itself at him, aiming for his head.

 Chapter 174 Record II

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    Note: If you''re not reading this on Webnovel, you''re in the wrong ce. To read ahead, read on Webnovel.


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    Aries quickly rotated his body, allowing the spear to fly past him. When he did that, Leo was able to see his predecessor''s face for the first time.


    Aries was a very handsome mage who didn''t look a day over 30. His features were very angled like Leo''s. Aries even had bright blue eyes like him. The simrity between the two was uncanny.


    Leo wasn''t blind. He realized that there was a very obvious simrity between the two, but he passed it off as a coincidence.


    As he was thinking about the simrity between the two of them, Aries finally attacked Jared.


    "Sr Nova," he said.


    It started off in the same way that Leo''s Fire Nova did. Aries gathered a bunch of mes in his hand, ready to release it at once. But it wasn''t as simple as a 4th Star Spell. The mes in Aries''s hands were white in color and the heat from them could be felt by Leo who was standing on the peak of the mountain.


    He released the mes, creating a tremendous explosion. A vortex of white mes expanded out in the blink of an eye but stopped when they reached 100 meters away from him. After that, theypressed back into his hands.


    He let go of control over the mes and an explosion engulfed the area around him. It created a sphere of white mes around him. The radius of the mes was only 100 meters so it didn''t include the girls that were helplessly watching the fight.


    The heat and shockwaves from the nova reached Leo and pushed him back a little. He recovered his footing and looked back at the fight. He wanted to see if the Scheming Ghost could survive a st this powerful.


    As the mes were about to die out, a figure jumped out of the ball of mes. It was Jared. He pointed his staff at Aries.


    "Blood Domain!"


    Leo immediately felt his body press to the ground. He felt a huge pressure pressing him down but he forced his head up to keep watching the fight.


    The effect of the spell was that the entire area was filled with magic that felt like blood. It made it hard for him to move and the magic suppressed him. Since the magic already had an owner, he didn''t like it like he normally liked magic.


    Aries seemed unbothered by the spell''s effects.


    "Shadow Domain."


    A darkness spread out from his feet and covered the same area that the Blood Domain covered. It cancelled out the effects of the Blood Domain on Leo so he was able to stand properly again.


    After the spells canceled out each other, Jared and Aries stood facing each other. Neither of them made a move for an entire minute. After that, Jared coughed out a little blood. He wiped it with his robe and looked at Aries with an angry expression.


    "You have forced me to employ this move. You should be proud of yourself for making me go this far," Jared said.


    "Eternal Blood mes!"


    He pointed his staff at his own arm and then pointed at Aries. Suddenly the left arm of Jared exploded, sttering a little blood and flesh around him. No one was close enough to be hit by it, but everyone was confused by the decision.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Only Aries seemed to know what was happening. He also prepared a measure for this. But he had less time to do so since the spell that Jared had cast was alreadying toward him.


    From his staff, a blood-red meunched itself toward Aries. As it got closer to him, it got bigger and bigger. When it got near Aries, it had grown to a size of 100 meters big. It was going to engulf all of his body at once.


    "Fire Cataclysm," Aries calmly chanted. As he said those words, the mes engulfed him. The women who were watching with hope that he would win fell into despair. Jared smiled when his spell finally seemed to overwhelm his opponent.


    Just as everyone was thinking that the battle was over, an explosion radiated from inside the red mes. They sted the mes out of the way and expanded out without any regard for who was in the way.


    A thin barrier formed around the two women who couldn''t move a split second after the explosion had started. The st expanded out in seconds, covering dozens of kilometers in a matter of seconds.


    Leo felt the explosion head-on, feeling a huge amount of heat and a shockwave that should have killed him. But he stayed in his ce as the explosion expanded past him. He stayed inside the explosion, observing what was happening around him.


    5 minutes passed and the explosion died down. Aries looked at the former location where Jared was standing. He shook his head.


    "I know you are trying to hide. It won''t work," he said.


    The space distorted a little before the battered body of Jared came out of it. He almost dropped out of the sky to the ground because he had no energy left.


    "You are a lot more powerful than you look," Jared said.


    Aries nodded. "Yes. And you are as sneaky as ever. Don''t worry. I won''t leave you alone in the afterlife. I will personally hunt down your favorite disciple to let them apany you," he said.


    "Ha! That useless person. He imed you were an 8th Circle Mage. If I knew you weren''t one, then I wouldn''t be dumb enough to even take this fight," Jared said.


    "How did you reach the stage you are at now? You were supposed to be an 8th Circle Mage," Aries said.


    Jaredughed. "Why do you think I sacrificed those many cities? The blood I obtained was used to make my 9th circle. I tried to make my 10th circle like that too, but it wasn''t sessful. I wish I got to that stage so that I could kill you today," he said.


    "I will take those as yourst words," Aries said. He swiped his hands at Jared, slicing his body in half with magic.


    The minute that happened, Leo found himself back inside the white room. It no longer shined gold like before, but he didn''t realize it. His eyes were closed shut as he reyed the scene he had watched in his mind.


    The battle between giants like that was so important to him for one reason. It gave him a first-hand experience of how extremely strong mages handled elements and used them in their spells.


    In the case of Aries, he had only used me and shadow elements. Jared only used the blood element. Clearly, they were picking a single or two elements to be the best at.


    By watching the Shadow Domain spell up close, Leo could interact with Shadow Element magic that was several levels higher than him. The same with the Fire Cataclysm. The two magic spells gave Leo a very valuable experience. it changed his understanding of the two elements.


    Once he reyed the scene two times in his head, he immediately started to practice his magic spells. By using his newfound concepts in elements, he knew that his efficiency in training spells would double at the least.

 Chapter 175 Blood Moon

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    Note: If you''re not reading this on Webnovel, you''re in the wrong ce. To read ahead, read on Webnovel.


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    Leo let out a breath of air and opened his eyes. He had been training in his magic spells continually for the past 36 hours. The only spell that was being trained was the Shadow Veil.


    He was even nning on going on, but he stopped because something happened in the outside world. Just as he opened his eyes the sun started to set. As it did, the air became a little heavy. It wasn''t as huge of a difference to affect someone of his strength, but the people outside noticed.


    When the people on the streets noticed that their movements were a little sluggish, they started to scramble back to their houses. As the sun went down, it became harder and harder to breathe. The minute itpletely set, the people left on the streets almost copsed onto the ground. They kept crawling in the direction they needed to go in.


    Leo looked out of the window and noticed this. His expression became somber but stayed in his room. The people were still safe since they would be in the safety of the city. His attention was on the rattling of his dimensional ring.


    He opened the ring and took out the source of the disturbance. His mouth curved into a grin when he saw what it was. It was thepass. When he held it in his hands, it glowed brightly. The glow dimmed, revealing the runes etched on the wooden frame.


    The needle of thepass spun erratically before slowing down. He waited for it toe to a halt. Once it did, he looked in that direction. It was no longer pointing west like before. This time it was south.


    He put thepass back in his dimensional ring and stretched his arms. A wave of his hand cast the magic to disguise himself After that, he walked out of his room and to the counter below.


    When he got down, he noticed that the person on the counter was barely standing up. She was taking the support of the desk in front of her to keep standing. He shook his head while taking out a note from his dimensional ring. The note was pped onto the desk. The girl looked up to see who it was.


    "This should cover my stay," Leo said before turning around to leave.


    The girl looked at the note and gaped. It was 50000 Starcoins. She looked up to call him to return the change, but he was nowhere to be seen.


    The minute he left the inn, he shot himself up into the sky. No one was there to witness the blur that shot across the city. Except for one person.


    An unfortunate woman just arrived at Phoenix Greens in search of a certain blonde-haired man. It was Elise Fairmount.


    She had first gone to her own city, the city of Fairmount, to inform her father about the case. It took her only 4 hours to get there. She had entered the hall where her father conducted business to report what happened.


    _______


    She walked up the long hall and stood in front of her father. He looked up from the documents he had in his hand. He waved his hand, silencing the people who were sitting in two rows on each side of the hall.


    "What do you want? I thought I assigned you to a case?" He said.


    "Yes, Marquis Fairmount. I havee to report my progress to you. My dear sister has been murdered," she said.


    Her words caused a few whispers in the back end of the hall, while the people in the front showed no change in their expression. The people in the middle had no idea who she was even talking about, so they were confused.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Who was it?" Marquis Fairmount asked.


    Elise''s expression turned grim.


    "I don''t know, lord. I tried to find out who it was and encountered a 2nd Circle Aura Knight who was snooping around that location. He imed he was from Eldridge. I questioned him but didn''t realize that his presence was unnatural.


    I let him go but tried to get him back to further question him. However, he disappeared in this short time. I suspect that there was a mage involved in his escape, as I saw one mage flee the scene shortly after. I couldn''t chase after them because they were a lot faster than me," she said, hoping it would be enough to satisfy her father.


    She was looking down while talking because she was too scared to meet his eyes.


    "Elise," her father softly said. She looked up with hope, only to meet his cold eyes. "I am disappointed that you came to me after you have failed me this badly. How were you able toe back after letting a mere 2nd Circle Aura Knight escape under your nose?"


    His words pierced into her like swords.


    "You will go to Eldridge to request them to look for this individual. And if you don''t find him there, you will go to every city in the vicinity of where your sister died," the Marquis said. "Do you understand?"


    She nodded. "Yes, Marquis Fairmount." She turned around and walked out of the hall. As she was walking, the people behind her resumed their conversation. One of the people near the Marquis asked him about the case.


    "Marquis, who is it that is dead?" The closest person to the Marquis'' right asked him.


    "It isn''t someone important. Just my 13th Daughter. She would only have been married off to a Baron or a Viscount''s second son. Her aptitude in magic or aura was also subpar.


    This is only to see who dared to attack someone belonging to the Fairmount family. Of course, if the person is someone of notable status then it isn''t even worth pursuing." he said in response.


    Elise who was in earshot of the conversation smiled bitterly. She was assigned such a case that wasn''t even important in her father''s eyes but she had no choice but to do what he told her.


    ________


    She had used the authority associated with herst name to request the Marquis of Eldridge for permission to conduct her investigation. After that, she had asked every guard in the city if they admitted a blonde-haired person into the city.


    With blonde being a slightly rare hair color, the guards were easily able to recall if there was anyone with that peculiar hair type. Unfortunately for her, there wasn''t anyone who had entered the city.


    So she embarked on a trip back to the location where she met Leo. On the way there, she saw a few boards that were directed to Phoenix Greens. She changed her destination to Phoenix Greens.


    However, her luck was so horrible that the night she had chosen to go to the city over the forests with Magical Beasts happened to be the night of the Blood Moon.


    She had to escape the multiple Magical Beasts that attacked her the minute they saw her. By the time she got to the city, she was exhausted. Thankfully, she was a 3rd Circle Mage, or she would have been affected by the changes due to the Blood Moon.

 Chapter 176 Greendove

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    Note: If you''re not reading this on Webnovel, you''re in the wrong ce. To read ahead, read on Webnovel.


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    When she got to the city, she was prepared to rest in the city before looking for the Aura Knight. Since she was the daughter of the Fairmount Family in a city that fell under their preview, she would be offered the best amodation inside the city.


    Just as she was about to make her way to the center of the city, she noticed a blur fly past her. She knew based on the speed of the blur that she wouldn''t be able to catch up to it. She almost broke down when she thought about how the blur could have been who she was looking for.


    But she calmed herself. Who knew if it was the same person? It could have been the Magistrate of the city or another mage in the 3rd Circle. She hoped for the best as she walked into the city. She kept a mental note of the direction that the mage went in incase she needed it.


    Completely unaware of what was happening in Phoenix Greens, Leo sped past the forests below him in the direction thepass pointed him in. He noticed that the Magical Beasts in the forest were behaving very aggressively and getting into fights with each other.


    None of them could do anything to him though, so he wasn''t too worried. Just as he thought that he sensed something approaching him at a very high speed. He changed his course, missing the projectile that was thrown at him.


    He looked at what it was and was shocked at his finding. It was a massive tree that had been freshly uprooted. He turned back to see who or what threw the tree and saw a huge ape. It was a 3rd Circle Magical Beast.


    It beat its chest vigorously and roared at him. He looked around and saw a few more beasts following its example, getting ready to throw projectiles at him. Before they could throw the objects, a rain of fire poured down on them.


    The Magical Beasts were all killed instantly. Leo was about to go down to collect the Beast Cores, but he stopped himself. Even though he had just massacred the beasts effortlessly, he noticed that a new set of Magical Beasts were approaching his direction.


    Even though he was high up in the air, some of the 3rd Circle Magical Beasts would have enough reach to hit him with their magic and strength. And because of the effects of the blood moon, they were all very aggressive and were not going to stop regardless of whether they were going to die or not.


    After weighing his options, he flew away from the Magical Beasts without picking a fight. He would normally wee the Magical Beasts since he needed Beast Cores. However, he was in a time crunch.


    Thepass said, "When the sun sets and the blood moon rises, find my treasure."


    Thepass activated once the blood moon rose, and he didn''t know if it would stay activated once it went back down. He couldn''t risk wasting time if his window of opportunity was solely the time the moon was up.


    He rose higher up into the sky and went on his way, ignoring all the attacksing his way.


    In Phoenix Greens, a different problem was brewing. Elise walked to the ce where the noble''s district separated itself from themoner''s district. As she got there, she was stopped by the guards.


    "Name yourself," a male guard said. Since it was a very small city, they knew most of the nobles that left and entered the noble''s district.


    She looked at him with disgust. She whipped out a medallion and kept walking. The guard noticed the emblem on the medallion and backed away. He kneeled and apologized for hisment.


    "I apologize for myment, Lady. I will immediately inform the Viscount of your presence." He said. After his apology, he scampered off to the center as Elise walked quickly behind him. She wanted to fly past everyone, but she knew that she had to show the grace associated with her name.


    After 5 minutes, she got to the heart of the city. It was a huge tower that showed off the wealth of its owner. Unlike themoner''s districts and the poverty it showed, every building in the noble''s district was incrediblyvish.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The gigantic tower was also very well made and had luxurious designs carved onto it. The designs didn''t impress her though, since she grew up in a city that was far more wealthier than a small city like Phoenix Greens could hope to be.


    She entered the tower and was immediately greeted by a stout man.


    "Wee, Lady Fairmount. I am Viscount Greendove, the Magistrate of this small city. I am delighted that you chose to visit my humble abode. Seeing that it is the Blood Moon, can I interest you in our best lodging so that you can rest?" The viscount himself came to greet her.


    Even before the guard coulde, he knew she had arrived. The Viscount was a 4th Circle Mage and had the perception to know who was entering the noble''s district.


    "I am afraid not. I am here because of some official work that I have on behalf of the Fairmount family. I will need to immediately question all of the guards that oversee the entry into the city," she said.


    The Viscount''s expression changed. "Of course, Lady Fairmount. They will be here immediately."


    He turned to the guard who had run all the way to the tower to inform him of Elise''s arrival.


    "Get those guards within 15 minutes," he said.


    The guard''s face paled and he immediately ran to the gate. Since he was a 2nd Circle Aura Knight, it only took him 3 minutes. He shouted to his colleagues to help him.


    "Quick! Get every guard who guards the entry into the city. The Viscount demanded that they should be at the tower within 10 minutes!"


    Half an hourter, a line of guards stood outside the tower, waiting for their lord''s orders. The Viscount and Elise exited the tower when they sensed the guards were at the tower.


    "This is Lady Fairmount. You will aid her in any way possible!" He ordered the guards. "Lady Fairmount?" He turned to Elise and asked her to speak.


    She took a step forward. "Who here saw a blonde-haired man enter the city?" She asked.


    After a minute of silence, a hand slowly raised into the air. Elise looked at the hand with a mix of delight and dread.


    "Speak," she told the guard.


    "Around 2 days ago, a person came to the city. He was blonde like you said, but I don''t remember anything else about him," he said.


    Her heart sank. The day the man arrived at the city was the same day that she had seen him at the stronghold. It meant that he had been in Phoenix Greens for the past two days.


    But now that a person had left the city, she could no longer be sure that he was still there. She turned to the Viscount.


    "I need you to lock down the city. No one should be allowed to leave."

 Chapter 177 Temple

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    Note: If you''re not reading this on Webnovel, you''re in the wrong ce. To read ahead, read on Webnovel.


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    The viscount''s expression turned bitter.


    "For how long, Lady Fairmount?" He asked her.


    She looked at him with anger. "For however long it takes to find him."


    "But the economic impact on my city would be catastrophic if we restrain exit from the city for-"


    "Are you questioning the scope of a Marquis'' authority, Viscount Greendove?" She asked him before he could finish his sentence.


    "No, Lady Fairmount. It will be done," he said and turned to the side of one of the nearby guards. "Convey the orders to themander of the city. Make sure no one leaves."


    "I will need you to apany me since I need to leave the city," Elise said once he gave his orders.


    The Viscount was confused. "Are we leaving the city now?" He asked, perplexed by her decision.


    "Yes. We will chase someone who left the city. If we don''t find that person in 24 hours, we wille back to inspect everyone in the city," she said.


    "But the blood moon?" He asked her and waited for an answer. However, his question was met with a stare that made him give up on making her change her mind.


    "Should we leave immediately?" He asked her.


    She nodded. "Yes. I remember the direction the mage went in, so we will chase them in that direction till we notice something suspicious."


    They lifted themselves into the air and shot through the air in the direction that Leo had flown in.


    Meanwhile, Leo had been flying for almost an hour but had seen no change to thepass. He kept going but kept a note of what was happening to the environment. As he was flying in the direction that thepass pointed him in, the evidence of human settlement in the forest was going down.


    The roads that led to the forest were morphing into muddy paths. There were no longer any more signs that represented where he was, and the Magical Beasts that he was encountering were bing stronger.


    At one point, he noticed that there was a 5th Circle Magical Beast in the distance. He made sure that he kept a very safe distance from it while thinking about how safe his gamble was. He would be furious if the treasure was not worth the trouble.


    Two more hours passed as he flew past the forests. He felt that he was getting close to where he needed to be. This was because the pressure the blood moon was bearing on him had increased. Normally he was unaffected, but he was starting to feel a slight amount of difort because of it.


    He suddenly swerved from his path. He looked back and saw the projection of a scorpion''s tail. The tail was so enormous that it could reach him who was 500 meters in the air. He looked at the source of the projection and saw a massive scorpion that was 50 meters long.


    He kept going in the direction he was supposed to, increasing the distance between him and the scorpion. His mind started racing when he saw it since it was a being that could easily crush him.


    The scorpion was a Golden Ink Scorpion, a 5th Circle Magical Beast. If it truly wanted to go after him, he knew he wouldn''t be able to escape. Fortunately for him, the beast quickly changed its sight to the nearest Magical Beast when it missed its first attack.


    He looked up at the Blood Moon that was shining down with a newfound fear. Exactly how powerful were its effects on the Magical Beasts? Where did it get the power to change the behavior of the Beasts?


    After another hour, his dimensional ring showed some moment. He took it out and saw thepass shining. After noticing this change, he slowed down while staying in the air, waiting for the glow to disappear.


    Instead of the glow disappearing, however, it intensified. Thepass started to heat up and started to emit more light. Leo didn''t know what to do since he couldn''t hide the light. He looked around to see if there were any Magical Beasts that were going to approach him because of it.


    His guess was right. A high number of Magical Beasts noticed the bright light in the dim light that the Blood Moon provided and started to make their way toward it. He didn''t know if he was supposed to stay where he was or leave for his own safety.


    He tried putting thepass inside his dimensional ring, but the ring couldn''t ept it for some unknown reason. At this point, thepass vibrated intensely and escaped his hand. He was a little careless and wasn''t anticipating any movement from it.


    The glow stopped and it instead became a bright beacon of light that shot into the sky. The light seemed to be attracted to the Blood Moon since it seemingly merged into it. At this point, the ground started to rumble.


    Leo looked back down, his attention shifting away from the light at the top to where the light met the ground. At that spot, he saw the ground part to make way for an object that was rising. The instant that the object exited the ground, a wave of energy shot out from it.


    He immediately created a shield around himself and braced for impact, but it never came. He opened his eyes and saw that he was surrounded by a huge barrier that had a red hue to it.


    He looked below and no longer saw any Magical Beasts in the vicinity. All of them were pushed away by the barrier and weren''t able to reenter. The only other time that he had seen a barrier like this was the time he got his tome.


    This made him optimistic about what the reward for his recklessness could be. Would it be on the same level as his tome? That seemed unlikely since even that event had an impossible chance of urring. Two impossibly rare opportunities being presented to the same person would be... impossible.


    The object slowly unearthed itself, revealing a little of its structure to Leo. He was able to make out that it was some form of a building based on the top which looked like a roof. The building was made entirely of stone, but it seemed to be a lot more resilient since it showed no signs of damage.


    After another ten minutes, the buildingpletely emerged out of the ground, showing its full glory to Leo. It was a 100-meter-tall building that almost looked like a temple.


    It stood on a tform that was essible from the front of the building. He descended to the ground to take a better look. The ceiling was supported by four rows of massive columns, one for each side.


    Each column had borate carvings that seemed to represent scenes of battle. He would have been interested in looking closer, but his attention was drawn by the massive statue that stood in front of the temple.


    He took a few steps forward to take a closer look. The carvings were incredibly intricate, making the statue look like a real person. The only giveaways were the size of the statue and theck of color.

 Chapter 178 Blood God

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    Note: If you''re not reading this on Webnovel, you''re in the wrong ce. To read ahead, read on Webnovel.


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    It was the statue of a regal-looking middle-aged man with an imposing demeanor. His eyes seemed to look down on everyone around him. He had a halberd in his right hand that was raised in the air. Leo looked down and noticed that there was a name que for the person.


    "Blood God"


    He walked past the statue after taking a close look. The name intrigued him, but it didn''t tell him much. He had never heard the title Blood God just as he had never heard the title of the Arcane Emperor.


    Even though both might have been formidable experts, their names weren''t able to withstand the test of time. The title was still very formidable sounding though, so it could be an indicator of the person''s strength.


    Before trying to enter the temple, he went back into the air to thepass that was still emitting light. He grabbed it out of the straight line of light that started from the top of the structure and went to the blood moon.


    When he took away thepass, the beacon of light disappeared. Since the temple-like structure was already on the ground, there was no problem even though the light disappeared.


    Leo walked up the stairs to the temple. He looked into it through the gaps in the columns but couldn''t see anything. Even his perception couldn''t detect what was past the columns. The only way he would know was if he ventured forward.


    Aftering this far, he wasn''t nning on stopping. He entered the temple to see what was inside it. The minute he stepped past the pirs, his vision disappeared and he found himself in darkness.


    A drop of water sshed onto the ground, telling him that there was something inside the structure he had entered. He just had no idea what it was. He held out hispass to see if there would be any effect.


    There was. Thepass lit up when he gathered some aura in his hand and let that enter it. The light was very dim, but it allowed him to see a little. When the darkness disappeared, he noticed that his perception also increased.


    He looked at the sole source of the sound - the dripping water. When he did, his expression changed. It wasn''t water that was dripping; it was blood.


    The source of the blood was something high up on the ceiling that was too far for the light to reach, so he couldn''t properly see it. He didn''t know if he was supposed to keep walking forward.


    "Come forward," Leo heard a whisper beckon him. The sound came from in front of him. He took a deep breath and walked in that direction. He took a few steps forward and heard another whisper.


    "Don''t go there. Come here," this whisper said. It was a different voicepared to the previous one.


    Leo stopped in his tracks because he knew something was fishy. Why were there two voices telling him to go in different directions? Just as he thought that a third voice sounded.


    "Come here," it said. This was behind him.


    He calmed his mind and tried to just focus on hearing the voices. Since his other senses weren''t as useful to him, he was hoping that he would figure out something if he listened properly.


    For the next five minutes, the three voices were all telling him toe in their particr direction. He didn''t budge from his current position at all. Finally, one of the voices snapped.


    "Come here!" It shouted. The voice still came like a whisper, but it showed a menacing tone.


    Leo swiped toward the voice with his hand, casting a spell. It was the Soul Fire Burst. The fire shot toward the direction of the menacing voice and continued going forward. After a few seconds, it hit something and created an explosion.


    "AHH!" The same voice screamed out. "Save me!"


    Leo could now see the source of the voice in the front where he cast the Soul Fire Burst. The fire had illuminated the area around where it impacted the target.


    He saw a disfigured body chained to the wall at the near end. It was ady that was dressed in rags.


    "Come to me! Save me!" She shouted. The spell had hit her face, burning it. The mes were still lingering on the skin. Leo stayed in his position, waiting for the mes to die out on their own. When they did, he got a better look at her.


    Her face was disfigured as her body, making her look very unappealing. The disfiguration didn''t have anything to do with the spell he cast, though. There were no burn marks on her face at all. The marks on her face were gashed formed by a de.


    She opened her eyes to look at him. Her mouth curved into a sneer.


    "You are just as crazy as us, aren''t you? That''s why you didn''t help a poor old woman like me. What do you want for you to help me? Name your wish, and I will grant it to you," she said.


    "Ignore her," one of the other voices whispered in his ear. "She is just an ugly woman that is unappealing to your eyes. Come to me. I will be pleasing to the eyes."


    The expression on the woman''s face contorted, making her face look even more hideous.


    "Don''t listen to that vixen. She has nothing to offer to you. I can give you strength. Isn''t that why you are here? For strength?" She asked him.


    Her words intrigued him for the first time. She noticed the change in his expression and knew she struck the right chord.


    "I can give you the best training method you want. Aren''t you an Aura Knight? I have the best Aura Knight manuals that you can find in the entire continent!" She shouted.


    "Don''t listen to her," the third voice sounded in his ear. "I can give you what you truly need. I can give you pills that can help you cross levels in the span of a week. You need pills to form circles, not manuals."


    "I can give you wealth. All the gold you would need to live happily. Why do you want to be an Aura Knight when you can live like a king? I can teach you to control anyone with wealth. Come to me," the second voice tried to convince him toe her way.


    All these voices only managed to convince Leo of two things. One was that all of them had things that Leo needed. The other was that they wanted something from him, and it involved him getting close to them.


    From what he saw, his spells seemed to have no impact on the person who offered him the Aura Knight Manuals, so she was very dangerous to him. He expected something simr with the other two as well, so he decided to pick the one who seemed to be the least threatening.


    He took a step to his right where the second voice wasing from. It was the direction of the woman who had offered him wealth.

 Chapter 179 Possession

    ?


    Note: If you''re not reading this on Webnovel, you''re in the wrong ce. To read ahead, read on Webnovel.


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    He walked in the direction of the voice that offered him wealth, increasing the volume of the shouts.


    "Don''t go! Come to me! Please!" The angry shouts of the disfigured woman changed to pleads. She started begging him not to go to the other woman.


    "Come to me, I can give you all you need in the world. Any one of my pills will give you endless wealth. You don''t need her at all," the third voice said.


    "Come. I will show you what wealth means," the second voice said.


    He kept walking without paying any heed to the voices. He walked till he reached a distance close enough that the light being emitted by thepass alone let him see the woman.


    She was also chained to the wall, but her entire body was so much differentpared to the previous woman. This woman was incredibly beautiful. Her body was ravishing and her face was wless. In the real world, she would be able to make any man do anything for her.


    "So you came to me. All men desire wealth. Free me and I will teach you how to acquire this wealth," she said.


    "Free you?" He asked.


    "You have the power to free me. All you need to do ise close and touch the chains with your hand. If you release your aura into the chains, then you will destroy them," she said.


    Leo knew that the woman''s words weren''tpletely true, but he didn''t mind taking the risk. Based on his perception, the woman didn''t have any aura or magic at all, so he thought she was harmless to him.


    He took a step forward and almost touched the chains. Before doing that, he stopped and looked into the woman''s eyes.


    "What is the guarantee that you will give me wealth?" He asked her.


    She smiled. "Tell me. What do you want?" She asked him. "I can''t give you anything physically, but I have valuable information that no one else will have."


    "Tell me, then. What treasures can I find in Sria?" He asked.


    The woman''s expression changed. "Sria? What is Sria? Is it a new city?" She asked him.


    "Sria, the empire. How are you not aware of-" Leo was talking but something struck his mind. He quickly took a step back.


    "Who are you," he asked her. He realized that his mind had been muddled ever since he had entered the temple. He felt greed toward the promises offered by the women that he forgot how dangerous it would be if he was careless. He feltpelled to take risks that he normally would never take.


    "What do you mean?" She asked him.


    "I thought my question was very simple. Who are you?" He asked again.


    "I am the 13th princess of the Viran Empire," she said. "My name is Nefrati Viran. But if you asked the question, that means you must havee back to your senses. So I have no choice but to try and take over from this distance."


    Leo was confused. Suddenly, the chains that were binding Nefrati shot toward him. He didn''t know how they magically did that, but he was in no position to think about that. He was in a very precarious position.


    The chains were approaching him slowly, so he caught them with his hand. Even though he stopped them from hitting him, he knew it wasn''t over. Even is the chains did hit him, they would barely graze him, so the attack wasn''t achieving anything. So why did she attack him? What happened to him next answered the question.


    The aura in his body stopped moving when the chain touched him. He tried to let go but the chain seemed to be stuck to him. He looked up and realized that the things binding the woman to the wall weren''t the chains.


    They were a separate set of shackles binding her hand and feet. The chain itself wasn''t even made of metal. It seemed to be solid but didn''t feel like it.


    "Do you like my restraint? I made it after years of being bound here. I can finally use it," she said.


    "What is this?" Leo asked her.


    "These are restraints that will take away your ability to use aura. If your aura is gone, then I can easily take your body and use it till I find a better one," she said.


    "Take my body?" Leo was shocked.


    "You will see what I mean," she said. A white light emitted from her body and an orb shot out of her forehead. It shot into Leo''s head. Because he was so close and couldn''t see it in advance, he wasn''t able to stop it.


    The orb entered his forehead but nothing happened immediately. He was confused about what was happening. He only knew something was up when he realized that there was a change in his body.


    Something was happening in his mind. He quickly went to his mind, finding Nefrati there. She was looking up at the stars that were in his mind.


    The orb was the soul form of Nefrati. She had entered the body of Leo and was nning on taking over, but she failed because of the additions to the mind that she wasn''t prepared for. She looked at him when she saw him enter the mind alongside her.


    She immediately attacked him with her hand. Her hand was filled with aura and was about to hit him. However, before she couldnd her hit, she found herself a dozen meters away from him.


    She was confused. How was he able to escape her grasp? She looked up and saw that he was in front of her again. Her stomach contracted as his fist hit it, throwing her across the ins.


    "You... you aren''t an Aura Knight," she stuttered a little but Leo could understand her clearly.


    "I am not. I am surprised that you assumed I was. But if you can get into my mind, then it would make sense that you can see through my aura level," Leo said.


    "What is the energy that is in your mind? How is it able to shield itself from my chain? And how are you able to defend yourself from being taken over by my mind?" She asked distraught.


    "I have no words for someone who was trying to take over my mind," he said and walked toward her. He was nning on crushing the soul so that he could go back to the real world.


    "Wait! Don''t kill me! Aren''t you here for the inheritance of the Blood God? I can show you where the inheritance is," she said.


    He chuckled while shaking his head. "And what makes you think I would listen to you? You already tried to fool me once," he said.


    "This is different. I can give you a guarantee. I can make sure that you will be unharmed by anything I do. Is that fine?" She said.


    "A guarantee?" He asked her.


    "Yes. We can create a contract that says that if you let me go, then I will give you the information about the inheritance of the Blood God," she said.

 Chapter 180 Deal

    ?


    Note: If you''re not reading this on Webnovel, you''re in the wrong ce. To read ahead, read on Webnovel.


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    "And this contract would really stop you from attacking me?" He asked her.


    She released some of her aura and it formed a page in front of her. It was glowing lightly as it floated in the air. She bit her thumb and smeared the page.


    He looked at the page and saw that there was some blood on the page. He was surprised. How was she able to hurt herself to get her own blood in his mind? He didn''t know how that worked. Meanwhile, Nefrati exined what she was doing.


    "This is called a blood contract. It forces someone to honor it. I wanted to give you an example, so I made this one. It says that I will stand still while you p yourself once," she said.


    Leo raised an eyebrow while she scrambled to exin herself.


    "If I made myself do it, then you won''t know if the contract truly forces someone to do something. That''s why I wanted to let you experience it for yourself," she said. The page floated toward him.


    "And you chose for me to p myself?" He asked.


    "Name a better thing to do. Nothing else entered my mind," she said in response. He didn''t say anything and grabbed the page out of the air to look at it.


    As she said, there were a couple of words strung on the page. They were the same characters that consisted of thenguage he used in Sria, so he was able to read it easily.


    After making sure that those were the only things on the contract, he bit his finger like the woman. When he smeared the paper with his finger, a simr bloody mark appeared on it. The glow emitting from the paper intensified as the blood was absorbed by the paper.


    His hand moved like a whip and pped his own face the minute the paper absorbed the blood. Once he did that, the paper dissolved into dust.


    "Do you believe me now?" She asked him. He nodded.


    "So will you please help me escape in exchange for the information?" She asked him.


    "No," he said while shaking his head.


    She was confused. "But you said -"


    "You wanted me to spare you in exchange for the information. If you want me to help you escape, then it will be apletely different thing," he said.


    "What do you want, then?" She asked him.


    "I want you to obey all of mymands for the next 10 years," he said.


    "All of yourmands? What do you mean?" She asked him.


    "Any information that you have that I might need will be told to me. If I ask you something you will answer truthfully. If I need to learn new magic, then you will help me find it," he said.


    "Magic?" She asked with a puzzled expression.


    "That is beside the point. Those are my conditions," he said.


    She thought for a while. She was essentially going to be his ve for the next 10 years. Leo was surprised she was even considering it. He thought that she would have a huge ego that wouldn''t let her do that.


    "And you will let me go after 10 years?" She asked him.


    He nodded.


    "I will do it," she said without skipping a beat. She seemed so happy as if she was benefiting from the deal. She quickly went to making the contract, leaving Leo confused. Did he make a mistake in his conditions? Were they this lucrative?


    She put up the contract in front of him. He scanned it and found that there weren''t any problems with it. They both signed it. This time, the document split into two, staying inside his mind.


    "One copy for each of us," She said. "But I won''t need mine."


    "Why?" He asked her.


    "Because I am going to stay in your mind anyway. I wouldn''t need a copy since I can ess the one in your mind," she answered.


    "But I was going to help you escape. Why aren''t you going to go back to your real body?" He asked her.


    She smiled bitterly.


    "I can''t. Even if I went back to my own body, you can''t help me escape. Especially not with your strength. You''re only a 2nd Circle Aura Knight. There is no way that you can destroy the locks that bind me. So I will need to leave my body and most of my aura behind," she said.


    Leo was surprised. His curiosity took over.


    "Why are you chained in the first ce? Why are all of you chained?" He asked her.


    "Because of greed. We all opposed the Blood God at one point and were imprisoned here after that. For me, it was because I tried to steal his treasures. For the others, it was because they killed his subordinates. I''m not sure about their stories," she said.


    "Treasure?"


    She sighed. "I will tell you. It''s how I found out about the location of this ce. There were rumors of the Blood God having this temple, so I decided to pay it a visit. While I was here, I started to have a little greed.


    The temple used to have one sword stabbed into the center by the Blood God himself. I came just to steal that one sword. However, I came on the wrong day and was caught by the Blood God. Ever since then, I have been stuck here," she narrated.


    "How many years was that?" Leo asked.


    "Maybe 600. Could be more, or could be less. My track of time went away after going through more than 50 Blood Moons," she said.


    He sucked in some air. He didn''t think she would be this old.


    "How are you alive then?" He asked.


    "He made it to that we could live eternally. He gave us the hope to somehow escape. But many chose to die after the first 100 years. More than a dozen people used to be bounded here. The number is now three." She said.


    Leo nodded. He quickly changed the topic. He had a lot of questions to ask and his curiosity couldn''t wait at all. He was aware that there was the real world to get back to but he didn''t care.


    "What about the voices? All of you were trying to lure me in with voices. You talked about wealth. They talked about aura manuals and pills. What was all of that?" He asked.


    "Empty words. All of us do have manuals, and we can all help you find wealth. I am sure there could be pill forms you can learn from the old one. But none of them are items you can''t obtain by yourself from your master," she said.


    He chuckled. "Master?" He asked.


    "The person in your n that trained you to be this strong. You look very young and you are already a 2nd Circle Aura Knight. That is considerable progress," she said.


    "Well, thanks but I don''t have a master. So I don''t really have any of these techniques," he said.


    She was shocked. "Are you saying that you came to this stage by yourself? It makes sense. Your aura circle is a very crude piece of work. No self-respecting Aura Knight would let their disciple make this circle," she destroyed the progress that he made with a few statements.

 Chapter 181 Leaving

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    Note: If you''re not reading this on Webnovel, you''re in the wrong ce. To read ahead, read on Webnovel.


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    "So can you help me with aura?" He asked.


    She nodded in response.


    "How strong are you exactly?" He asked her.


    "I was an 8th Circle Aura Knight."


    Leo was shocked. He didn''t think that Nefrati would be that powerful. If she was able to break through her bonds, then wouldn''t she be considered the strongest person in the entire Empire?


    "You want to leave the temple quickly. If the Blood Moon sets, the temple will go down and you won''t be able to leave for another 5 years. We will be able to survive because of our curse, but you will die," she warned him.


    Leo shook back to reality. He opened his eyes and saw the limp body of Nefrati on the wall. After snapping to reality, he looked around for the exit. Because it waspletely dark around him, he thought about the steps he took and was about to try and trace them.


    "Don''t retrace your steps. Your senses are confounded when you enter the temple. Just walk as I tell you," he heard Nefrati''s voice in his mind directing him.


    Even though the voice appeared directly in his mind, he wasn''t too shocked. After all, she was still in his mind and it wouldn''t be hard tomunicate with him directly from there. Since she also wanted him to escape from there, her words were very trustworthy.


    The steps he took made the first sound in the temple after so long. They triggered the other two voices.


    "So you took over the boy? You scheming wench! It was supposed to be me!" The first voice said.


    "Take me with you. You know that I can be very helpful to you. If I can be with you then I can make you more powerful. Finding a body outside will be so simple. All you have to do is-"


    As she was talking, Leo interrupted them. "She is not in control. So save your begging. I have no need for someone who is trying to take over my body," he said.


    "Don''t go to them. They are stronger than me. Both of them are 9th Circle Aura Knights. While I was captured for trying to steal from the Blood God, they were locked up because they massacred his country," she said.


    "So I''m lucky I got the lesser evil, then," Leo sarcastically said to himself.


    "What are you saying? I am not evil at all," Nefrati defended herself.


    "Don''t think I would forget that you tried to take over my body to escape. In my eyes, you are just as dangerous as the other two. And even if you have this contract, I will still be careful around you. I definitely don''t need more danger in my life, so I won''t be trying to take the other two. Even if that means giving up more information," he said.


    She seemed impressed. "I didn''t think you could reason that well inside the temple," she said.


    "What do you mean?" He asked.


    "The temple makes you lose your logic. After some time, you will start to make riskier decisions. By the end of the day, someone like you should have lost all rationale in this ce. But I think the power that you have is helping you." She exined. "Turn right."


    As he was talking to her, he was navigating to the exit of the temple. Even though the other two were begging him to turn back, he ignored their pleas.


    "Also, I was nning on returning your body back to you. I was just going to get out and create a body for myself," she said.


    "Sure," Leo replied. He was concentrating on finding his way out of the temple.


    "So, what is Sria?" She asked him.


    "Sria is an empire. The empire that this temple is located in. Well, I think it is more urate to call it a prison though," he said.


    "An empire. Then you must have tons of masters stronger than me to guide you. They might find me, so quickly release me once you leave the temple," she said.


    He chuckled at her response. "You don''t have to worry. I don''t think there are any 8th Circle Aura Knights at all in the entire empire. As for mages, there are probably very few of them as well," he said.


    "Mages. Is that what you call people who use that unfamiliar power you are using?" She asked him.


    He nodded. "Yes. What I use is magic. Because I use magic, I am a mage. But I am surprised that you don''t know what magic is. Since you are a noble, I actually thought you were a mage," he said.


    "Turn left," she said. "Why does being a noble have anything to do with power?"


    "Well, in the empire, magic is very hard to find. You normally cannot find ways to learn magic unless you are a mage. That was why mostmoners had to be Aura Knights," he said.


    Sheughed at his statement. "How is your empire still functional? Are you a noble too? If you are, then you are in a very dangerous position. If the citizens of the empire are being controlled, then it is only a matter of time before they will revolt," she said.


    "I''m not a noble," he replied to her statement. "And revolting is impossible. The nobles are far more powerful than themoners. I have never heard of anymoner crossing the 6th Circle as an Aura Knight."


    "Think clearly. You seem like you are twenty years old. If you are already a 2nd Circle Aura Knight in these twenty years, then you can easily be a 6th Circle Aura Knight after 30-40 years of training hard. And after that, you just need to spend another ten years to break through.


    At this conservative estimate, you are bing a 7th Circle Aura Knight. So why would there not be another 7th Circle Aura Knight? The only way would be that they are hiding themselves, or they were killed." She put his mind to work.


    What if the reason that themoners were so weak was that the strong and talented ones were being killed? But that would be hard since if even one of them escaped and told the masses, he would know.


    The other alternative was that they were all hiding themselves. If they were doing that, wouldn''t that mean they could all be forming a group that could potentially be trying to overthrow the empire?


    "Turn left. You need to hurry up. I don''t know when you came, but you might not have a perfect sense of how fast time is passing inside this ce. Save the thinking till after we exit," she said.


    "Why am I still walking in the first ce? From outside, the building looked like it was only 200 meters long," Leo asked her.


    "Don''t ask me about this ce affecting you. I am in a worse position than you. The only reason I can look ahead is because I am stronger and have a better perception," she said. At this point, she sounded a little weary.


    "Fine." As he said that, he lifted himself from the ground.

 Chapter 182 People

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    Note: If you''re not reading this on Webnovel, you''re in the wrong ce. To read ahead, read on Webnovel.


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    "When can a mage learn how to fly?" She asked him.


    "The 3rd Circle," he replied as he shot forward. With the increase in speed, Nefrati had to give directions faster.


    "Take a left," she said. "That must mean that magic uses the elements more than aura. Only 4th Circle Aura Knights can float in the air. And they can''t fly like you are until the 5th Circle," she said.


    He nodded at her words while flying in the direction she pointed him in. After the left he took, there weren''t any more turns he needed to take. In the distance, he saw a faint red hue in the distance.


    "Is that-" Leo was about to say but Nefrati interrupted him.


    "Yes, that is it. You almost exited the temple. But be careful. There is someone beyond the temple. If they are your friends, then that is fine, but I doubt it since they didn''te in with you," she said.


    He quickly stopped in his tracks. The exit was right in front of him - only a few meters away - but he didn''t leave yet. His mind was more focused on why there were people outside. The temple was in the middle of nowhere.


    Even for him to get there, he had to travel for hours to the middle of this ce. On top of that, there were multiple dangerous Magical Beasts on the way. To cross them, the people outside would have to be at least as strong as him.


    "Thanks for the heads up," he said while taking a step forward. Even if he was not sure about who it was outside, he couldn''t dy his exit. If the temple would sink down as she said, then it would be better to face what was outside.


    When he exited the building, he was greeted by the familiar blood moon. The red hue from the moon wasn''t as prominent as the hue from the barrier surrounding the temple. Outside the barrier were two people in the air. Both of them were pushing off the nearby Magical Beasts.


    The two people were Elise and Viscount Greendove. Neither of them thought that they would end up where they were, but it happened.


    Viscount Greendove thought they would turn back after the first hour of the search since looking for someone who flew away was the most retarded thing he had heard. However, thedy from the Fairmount family was annoyingly persistent. She didn''t seem to give up and forced him to keep going forward with her.


    The next two hours were the most regretful hours in his life. Magical Beasts were trying to pluck them out of the air without rest. The Viscount expected this because it was the blood moon and tried to use this as an excuse to turn back.


    However, they saw a bright beacon of light shine at this point. Elise saw this light and became very excited, forcing the Viscount to follow her to the light. The light disappeared after a while, but they remembered the location.


    When they got there, however, they found themselves stuck outside the barrier. They couldn''t enter if they wanted to and Elise wouldn''t let them leave. They stayed there for the next 4 hours in the air, starting to feel depleted of magic.


    "Lady Fairmount, if we stay here in the air for any longer, we will no longer have the necessary magic to get back. It won''t be a problem for me, but I worry for you," he warned her.


    He didn''t have any problems at all. Being a 4th Circle mage, he would be able to get back to his city without any problem. Escaping the Magical Beasts wasn''t going to be hard either. The issue was that Elise was with him.


    If he left behind the daughter of the Fairmount Family inside the forest, he would definitely suffer a fate worse than death at the hands of the Marquis. This was why he didn''t particrly wee the visit of the Lady.


    Once again, just as he spoke those words, a person exited the temple.


    "That is him!" Elise shouted when she saw the person who left the temple.


    Leo was still in his disguise, so he was in the same appearance that he had used to meet Elise. Since he didn''t expect to see her in the middle of the forest, he didn''t use a different disguise.


    The Viscount looked down at the person on the ground and saw a 20-year-old man.


    "Him? Lady, I advise you to be cautious. There might be someone else near us," he warned her.


    She was confused. "Why?" She asked him.


    "The man is a 2nd Circle Aura Knight. There is no way that he was able to get here by himself. Especially since it is the red moon. All the Magical Beasts are agitated and would attack him the minute they saw him. He wouldn''t be able to escape, especially not in such a good condition," he exined.


    Meanwhile, Leo sighed when he saw who it was. It was Elise Fairmount along with another mage. He didn''t recognize the second person but knew that he was a 4th Circle Mage. It was probably one of her noble friends or guardians. The only reason he wasn''t worried was thatpared to the two, he was in a better state.


    Since he was inside the temple, he didn''t worry about the Magical Beasts. Based on how the two were fighting off the Magical Beasts, he expected that they had been doing that ever since they got there. They also had to stay in the air.


    While that wouldn''t impact the 4th Circle mage as much, it would to some extent. As for the 3rd Circle mage, she would be useless in the fight. So he could either escape or even fight them.


    In the sky, the moon was very close to setting. It was barely clinging to the edge of the sky. When he saw it, he breathed out a sigh of relief. If he got stuck inside the temple for just a little longer, he might not have had enough time to get out.


    As he expected, after 5 minutes the blood moon disappeared from the sky. The sun started to rise, lighting up the forest. It no longer looked ghastly like before in the red hue and looked more weing.


    The Magical Beasts also calmed down and stopped attacking as aggressively as before. When they realized the power of the people in the sky, a lot of them actually backed away.


    A loud rumbling noise attracted their attention again. The huge temple that Leo was standing on started to sink down. He leaped forward,nding on the ground. Behind him, the temple quickly dropped to below the ground.


    When itpletely sunk down, the dirt closed the gaps andpletely covered any trace of there being a huge structure in the middle of the forest. With the temple gone, the barrier between Leo and Elise and the Viscount also disappeared.


    Both of them realized this and they slowly descended toward where Leo was. Because of their presence, the Magical Beasts didn''t approach the two yet.

 Chapter 183 Hostage

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    Note: If you''re not reading this on Webnovel, you''re in the wrong ce. To read ahead, read on Webnovel.


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    "So, we meet again. You will being with me," Elise said.


    "Is this someone you know?" Nefrati asked him. She was watching the scene y out with amusement.


    He ignored her and shook his head. "I''m sorry, Lady Fairmount, but why do I need to do that?" He asked her.


    "Why? You are involved with my sister''s murder. I will present you to my father and make sure that he will acknowledge my skills as an investigator," she said.


    "A person of the Fairmount family died?" Greendove was surprised.


    "It''s information that will not get out at all. Isn''t that right?" Elise turned to him and asked. He nodded in response while feeling horrible inside. Why was it him that was stuck with the intolerable woman?


    Leo showed the same shock. "How could this happen? I will make sure to assist you in any way possible, but I don''t think I cane with you. If there is anything else I can do, please tell me," he said.


    "Don''t show your shock now. You acted very wellst time, but I won''t let you get away this time. You will being with us," she said.


    "Huh, are you sure about that? What if I run into the forest? I might be lucky and escape without encountering a single Magical Beast," he said. "I outran you once. How hard is a second time?"


    Elise took out her staff. "Last time you were able to escape somehow with the help of your magepanion. But he is not by your side now and will probably be too afraid to interfere now. On the other hand, I am with Viscount Greendove, a 4th Circle Mage," she said arrogantly.


    As she was saying this, the shadow that was cast by Leo was slowly changing. It seemed to elongate, stretching toward the two. Both of them didn''t realize that the shadow itself was moving.


    "I think you misunderstood something," Leo said slowly, adding suspense to his tone. "I don''t have any magepanion to help me escape."


    "Stop trying to fool me. How would you be able to escape by flying away if you are not with another mage?" Elise asked him.


    "Like this."


    The shadow erged at once, allowing him to drop into it. Before either of the two reacted to this, Leo was behind her with a shadow de to her neck.


    "I don''t think either of you considered that I could be a mage myself," he said.


    "That is- that is impossible," Greendove was shocked. He didn''t think he would witness someone use both aura and magic.


    "The circles of magic and aura would conflict with each other, making your body burst! No one has ever been able to do this," he kept trying to understand the situation. "Are you using some sort of magic to make your magic seem like aura? Or are you using a treasure that mimics aura?"


    The de pressed to Elise''s neck.


    "I don''t think you understand the position that you are in. I am the one in control, so I will be asking the question," Leo assertively said.


    As his de was pressing to her neck, Nefrati''s voice sounded in his head.


    "Don''t kill her. At least, not yet," she said.


    Leo was confused.


    "Why?" He thought in his mind. Since he wanted to ry his thoughts to her, she was able to hear them.


    "You said you wanted to find the Blood God''s temple, right? But the problem is that the Blood Moon passed. The only way you can activate the main temple is to wait till the blood moon, or offer a worthy sacrifice," she said.


    "And this sacrifice is worthy? She is pretty weak. Wouldn''t the stronger mage be a better person," he asked. The fact that the useless Elise would be considered a good sacrifice blew his mind.


    "No. It has nothing to do with power. The reason he is useless is because his blood is not that special. As for the girl, she has a very faint amount of a royal bloodline, which means her blood will be barely enough for you to activate the temple," she said.


    He was confused by her words. So what if the Fairmount family had a royal bloodline? He didn''t even know what a bloodline was. It wouldn''t really matter to him unless he got some background information.


    "You don''t need to ask. I can tell that you have no idea about what bloodlines are. I''ll tell youter. Focus on making sure you have the girl as a hostage and get rid of the other person. He seems as strong as you, so you will be at a disadvantage," she said by reading his expression.


    "Thanks for the heads up," he said and snapped back to reality. Their conversation was over in seconds since it was happening in his mind and didn''t need any physical talking. Both of them were so strong that they could process the speed of the conversation easily.


    Meanwhile, the Viscount was filled with tension. He had no idea what to do. How was he supposed to expect that the girl would be a hostage? After thinking for a while, he took out his dimensional ring.


    "Wait. I know that you are someone who is strong, so I have a deal for you. Here is my dimensional ring. It has 20 million Starcoins worth of stuff. If you let the Lady go, the ring is yours," he offered to Leo.


    When Elise heard that, she instinctively tried to cover her own dimensional ring. She took it off and quickly held it in her hand. Unfortunately for her, Leo was able to watch all this. He reached for her hand and grabbed the ring from her.


    The ring was very simr to what the other daughter of the Fairmount family had, and it probably had just as much money in it.


    "Well, this is the dimensional ring of someone from the Fairmount family. I wonder how much it has," he said loudly while quickly taking a peek into it. What he saw surprised him.


    "30 Million Starcoins?! Wow, you are very rich!" He eximed whileplimenting Elise. Her face was red with the anger of losing her dimensional ring. She wanted to do something about it, but she was afraid of the Shadow de hovering in front of her neck.


    No matter how strong she was, the de would slice through her neck. If she tried to use magic, her speed wouldn''t match something that close to her body. So she resorted to something she was good at - threats.


    "I am thedy of the Fairmount Family! How dare you try to hurt me. If you don''t leave me, my father will hunt you down till you die a horrible death. If you know what is better for you, then-" While she was talking, he interrupted her.


    "I am not really concerned about what your status is since I already knew who you were. And let''s be honest, no matter what happens your father will try to kill me. So why would your threat impact me at all?" He asked her.

 Chapter 184 Taunt

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    Note: If you''re not reading this on Webnovel, you''re in the wrong ce. To read ahead, read on Webnovel.


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    He then turned to the Viscount. "And as for your offer, clearly, I don''t have a need for your ring. But I appreciate it," Leo said to the Viscount. In response, he sighed.


    "Well, I really didn''t want it toe to this. But you offered me no choice," he said with a glum tone. He clearly had something to do but didn''t like that he had to choose that option. Both Leo and Elise were confused. Did he have some trick under his sleeve that he hadn''t disyed yet?


    A metal spike came flying toward Leo and Elise. Leo grabbed Elise and dove out of the way. He then looked at the Viscount in surprise.


    "So you gave up on trying to defend the girl?" He asked him.


    "Yes. If you are nning on keeping her as a shield, then I can''t help it," Greendove said.


    "How dare you! If my father hears about this-" Elise was interrupted before she could finish her sentence again.


    "No one cares, you prick! I wouldn''t mind killing you myself at all because of how high and mighty you act. Do you think I am your ve? Ever since I weed you into my city, you have been making me do everything you want.


    You made me fly this far into the forest in the blood moon! How stupid can you be? This is the perfect time to get rid of someone as useless as you," he said in response. Both Leo and Elise were shocked that they couldn''t find the words to react.


    "As for you, I can kill you without a problem too. If you were truly strong, then you would have attacked us the minute you saw us. If you need to take a hostage, then you are definitely weak. If you spare me the trouble, then I will give you a painless death," he said to Leo.


    "What will you tell to her father?" Leo asked with curiosity.


    "I can tell him that you killed her. I didn''t be the Viscount of a city like mine by ying by the rules. I can even use the money that you and the girl have," he said. After looking at her a little closer, he added a few words to his previousment.


    "And maybe the girl can stay alive for a little while after I am done with you," he said while licking his lips.


    Leo felt a little disgust when he saw that but lost it when he thought about who it was directed toward. It was one disgusting person trying to attack another. He didn''t care about what would happen to either.


    "So, I guess I don''t have a choice but to fight either," he said while throwing Elise to the side. She was very surprised that he let go of her.


    The moment she got free, she scrambled to her feet and tried to fly into the air. However, a Soul Fire Burst flew toward her. She scrambled to create a barrier which she managed to do just in time before being impacted by the spell.


    When it hit the barrier, it created a huge explosion, shattering it. The remnant force hit her like a truck, knocking her out. Her body fell to the ground.


    "I told you to keep her alive," Nefrati said.


    "She is. Barely. She won''t move now," he said in response. Opposite to him, Greendove was infuriated by his actions.


    "It''s one thing that you don''t want to die easily. But why did you have to damage my toys?!" He roared while unleashing another metal spike at him. A barrier formed around him, but it was immediately destroyed by the spike.


    "He is stronger than you," Nefrati noted.


    "No one asked," Leo muttered while thinking about what he could do. The only spells that he could think of that could hurt Greendove were the 4th Star Spells. But he had very little mastery over them.


    The main spell he had been practicing was the Shadow Veil and he got Beginner Proficiency in it because of his practice. But that was it. As for the other spells, he hadn''t even started learning them.


    The only spells that he could use to attack his opponent were the 3rd and 2nd Star Spells he had. The Soul Fire Burst was at Expert Proficiency after practicing it here and there in his free time. The other spells he had were also at the same level.


    The only way a lower spell would impact the Viscount would be if he magically increased the proficiency of the Soul Fire Burst topletely master it. Then it would deal damage proportional to his own magic level.


    As he was thinking that, a set of spikes came flying his way. He dodged both of them with his Shadow Step. A spike came flying toward him the minute he exited the shadows. Greendove was also very experienced with battling and had already figured out how the spell worked.


    "I''m not surprised that you figured out how my spell works. But instead of focusing on me, try thinking about the girl who''s trying to escape," he pointed to Elise who was trying to fly into the air.


    She recovered from the previous spell and tried to make another run for it. The pain only made it harder to maintain her concentration though. As she almost shot away from the two, a ck bolt hit her in the back.


    The minute it hit her, it transformed into shadow tendrils that surrounded her and started absorbing her magic. She struggled to break free but couldn''t because of herck of energy. With the Shadowbind Bolt siphoning her magic away, she started falling to the ground, unable to use her spells.


    Greendove frowned at this sight and moved his arm, making a gust that seeming lifted Elise and ced her beside him.


    "Stop trying to y tricks with my toys," he said to Leo. Turning to Elise, he kicked her in her chin.


    "As for you, I know that you want to run away, but give up on it. You should stay still for now, or you will suffer more. If you think death is the worst option, then you haven''t thought this through. With someone like you, I could hand you to my soldiers as a prize. When they are done with you, you will realize why you shouldn''t anger me," he said.


    "Wow. You are sick. Why am I not surprised those are the wordsing from a noble?" Leo said in response to those words.


    "You aren''t one? I wouldn''t expect a noble to have tricks like you anyway," Greendove said in response.


    "Big wordsing from a lecher like you," Leomented.


    As he said that, a huge sword started forming behind his opponent.


    "Oh, so that struck a nerve? Being called a pervert? Well, would it piss you off more if I said that I don''t think you can really beat me," Leo kept taunting him.


    "That''s a smart move. Trying to throw him off by instigating his emotions. But for that to work, you need to have a counter to use at the right moment," Nefrati said.


    "Ah, I forgot about that part."

 Chapter 185 Hide

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    Leo cast a Soul Fire Burst at Greendove. It impacted him and resulted in a huge explosion, but it didn''t damage him at all. The shield that he hadpletely negated all the damage.


    "So, you have to figure out something else," Nefrati said.


    Leo shook his head in response. "This is my only option. This one spell is my strongest spell. I didn''t learn the other spells that could actually damage him," he said.


    "So that means you don''t have any way of defeating him and escaping?" She asked him.


    Greendove started to approach him while bombarding him with spells. Thanks to his perception and footwork, he was able to dodge most of them while deflecting the others. Even if he didn''tpletely deflect them, his shield took care of the rest of the work.


    "I have a n," he said. As they were fighting, Leo was leaning to the right, slowly tilting the direction he was facing his opponent.


    As they rotated in a circle while they got closer to each other, Greendove realized something was wrong. He looked behind him and saw that Elise was no longer directly behind him. She was at an equal distance between the two.


    "Don''t!" He roared as Leo Shadow Stepped to her. He chopped her neck, knocking her out. After that, he picked her up and then looked at Greendove.


    "You gain nothing by killing her! I will still hunt you down whether you have a hostage or not," he threatened Leo.


    Leo shrugged the warning off. "I don''t think you understand something here. Why would I try to do something I know doesn''t work? I''m not trying to take her as a hostage. I just wanted to get away from you," he said.


    As he said that, he flew up to the sky with Elise in his arms. Both she and Greendove were confused. How would he hope to fly faster than a 4th Circle Mage?


    "I thought you were smart, boy! Based on the power you showed, you are a 3rd Circle mage at best. How would you fly faster than me?" He said as he rose to the sky.


    What confused him was that Leo wasn''t stopping at the normal height that mages normally flew at. He kept going higher all the way to the clouds before shooting forward.


    Greendove smirked. The weaker the mage, the more they would struggle at higher altitudes. It was very apparent to him that the boy was very inexperienced. As he flew to that height, he saw a projectile shooting away from him at a rapid speed.


    He chased after the projectile. Based on what he could see, it seemed to be the boy and the girl. The chase onlysted a few seconds though. Even though he caught up to the object flying away, he realized that he was chasing the wrong thing.


    He thought he was after Leo and Elise, but in reality, he was just chasing a piece of wood that he thought was two people for some reason. He quickly went back to the area he had fought Leo in, but couldn''t find any trace of the two.


    "How... how can this be? That is impossible. I had a clear sight of them," he muttered to himself.


    After looking around, he couldn''t find them. His confusion turned to frustration.


    "ARGHH! How could I let them slip away!!!" He roared into the sky, scaring the nearby Magical Beasts.


    Meanwhile, Leo was holding the unconscious noble while staring at the scene ying out in front of him. Unknown to Greendove, Leo didn''t move a single inch from his position. He was still in the sky, observing.


    What he did was use a magic spell that was very helpful - Valkyr''s Deception. He had disguised himself and Elise as clouds and hid in the sky. After that, he took out a piece of wood from his dimensional ring and made it seem like he and Elise.


    The problem with shooting it away from him was that it would quickly get too far away from him and would lose the magic effects. However, in that small time, he had expertly hidden from Greendove so he couldn''t find Leo even if he looked as hard as he could.


    After all, who would think that someone was hiding in the clouds? After staying there for another 10 minutes, Greendove left. He was currently in the middle of a forest with a lot of Magical Beasts. It would be far too dangerous for him to stay any longer.


    He rushed back to his city which was currently in lockdown. Now that he had lost the girl and the boy, he would need to deal with the aftermath. Putting aside lifting the lockdown in his city, he would also have to figure out an excuse to tell to the Marquis.


    If the Marquis understood the problem that he was facing and was made aware of who Leo was, then he could get by. After all, he had information that was unheard of in the entire empire - a person who could use both magic and aura.


    Getting back was easier than going to the temple. Even though there were many Magical Beasts on the way that were stronger than him, they didn''t do anything unprovoked. They had the intelligence to ignore minor beings like him.


    He got back and entered the city with a tensed look. When he entered alone, the city guard who saw him enter asked him about it.


    "Sir, what happened to Lady Fairmou-"


    Before he could finish the question, a metal spike pierced the guard''s head. Blood sttered into the street as he walked into the city. As he was walking, he turned his head to the other guard there.


    This guard was very afraid of what the Viscount would do to him. He just witnessed him kill hispanion.


    "Are you distancing yourself from me like I am a filthy beggar?!" Greendove shouted in anger. He was projecting his tension as anger onto his subordinates.


    "No, Viscount Greendove. Is there anything I can do for you?" The guard asked.


    "Lift the lockdown. I want every merchant trying to leave the city happy. Apologize to them about the inconvenience and tell them that it was the order of the Marquis," Greendove said.


    "Yes, Viscount. Is there anything else?" He asked.


    "And send a letter to the Marquis- actually, don''t. I will go myself. Put themander in charge of the city. I will be going to Fairmount to meet with the Marquis. When Ie back, the city should be running without a hitch," he said.


    "Yes," the guard said. He was cursing in his mind about how the Viscount was managing his city. In some aspects, he was a very good lord, but his trashy attitude towardmoners made him destroy the city.


    He scurried away into the depths of the city to where the guards were stationed. Themander was normally resting in his own quarters until there was a time that he was needed. While he was informing themander, the Viscount flew out of the city to go to Fairmount and meet the Marquis in person.

 Chapter 186 Altering

    ?


    Meanwhile, Leo stopped hiding when Greendove got far enough away from them.


    "How does that work? He didn''t even notice your presence?" Nefrati asked, shocked at what happened.


    "That''s the power of magic. It will only work on mages who are below the Middle Stage of the 5th Circle though. I still have to improve my mastery of it. But now that we escaped, can we focus on the real issues? Where is the actual temple of the Blood God?" He asked her.


    "Fine. How did you find the prison that we were in just now?" She asked him.


    He took out thepass that guided him to the temple. Nefrati took a look at it and gave herments.


    "So, you just have to alter it and it will lead you to the temple," she said.


    Leo''s expression soured. "Ah, I should have done that beforehand. I don''t know why I haven''t tried that yet, genius." He jabbed at her.


    "Fine, I can do it for you. But you need to hand me control over your body," she said.


    "Control over my body? How would I do that?" He asked her.


    "Just don''t fight back when I''m doing what I''m doing. The minute you put up any form of resistance, it will fail," she said. "It might even destroy thepass if you do it in the middle of me altering it."


    Leo slowly descended to the ground and put the girl on the ground. He noticed that she was stirring and about to wake up so he kicked her to knock her out again.


    "You have to be more careful with her. She is your only sacrifice," Nefrati said.


    "Actually, this woman has at least 11 more sisters and a bunch of brothers. I just need to find one of them and sacrifice them," he said.


    "How are you able to sacrifice a person so easily? I thought that you would be a little..."


    "Hesitant?" Leo finished her sentence for her. "Trash like this doesn''t really deserve to live. But on the other hand, you don''t have the right toment either. It''s not like I was the one who proposed the idea in the first ce."


    "Fine. Just give me control. Keep in mind what I said before," she said.


    "Fine," Leo said and freed his mind.


    The minute he did that, he felt like someone was muffling him with a pillow. His control over his body was slowly disappearing and he could no longer make it do things. Even though he could fight back, he chose not to.


    After a few seconds, he felt a weird sensation as if he was drifting off into a void. His senses all disappeared except for one small connection that he could still feel. It was like an anchor that he refused to let go of.


    Nefrati sessfully gained control of his body, but she immediately felt her soul starting to hurt. She had clearly done it before, but what happened then was a first for her. She had never heard of a body fighting back without the owner''s soul present.


    The left arm of the body was burning her with so much pain and she could barely walk. When she looked down at the arm, she saw a glowing tattoo. What was that? There was intense pressure that suffocated her, making it hard for her to breathe.


    She had no idea of what to do since she could barely control the body at all. She tried to resist, but it didn''t help her. After a minute of feeling helpless, she decided to give control of the body back to Leo.


    Leo was in the nk area feeling nothing when the connection he had to his body suddenly pulled him back to the real world. He opened his eyes and found himself on the ground. His left hand was feeling the after-effects of the previous burn and was stinging.


    "What is wrong with your body?! I tried to take control but it refused and fought back. I almost died there," Nefrati shouted.


    He shrugged. "I don''t know. So I am guessing you weren''t able to alter thepass?" He asked her.


    "No, I didn''t. I don''t know what to do now," she said.


    "Do you not know the way there from your memories?" He asked her.


    "Thest time I was there was when I got caught. All I know is that it is close to here, not where it was. I was teleported here by the Blood God. Also, even if I did know, that was 100s of years ago. How would I be able to remember? Especially when thendscape changed so much?" She asked him.


    "I don''t know. Perks associated with being someone as strong as you are?" He said while thinking of ideas.


    "An 8th Circle Aura Knight is verymon. They aren''t as powerful and omnipotent as you think. Your empire is just very underdeveloped," she said.


    "Fine. What about other ways? Do you think you could just control my hands to use them to alter thepass? If the entire body is too much for you to handle, then just my right hand shouldn''t be a problem, right?" He suggested.


    "To be clear, I could take over the body of a 7th Circle Aura Knight within seconds. It isn''t that I can''t handle it. Your body is just weird. But the idea that you gave was very good. We can definitely try it. If your soul is still in control of most of the body, then it might work and I might not be treated like an invader," she said.


    "So how does it work?" He asked her.


    "Well, the first thing is that you need to listen to every word I say. If I say that I need your aura, I need your aura. I won''t be able to circte aura outside the arm that I am controlling," she said. "Other than that, we will be fine."


    "Let''s do it," he said.


    He let go of her body again, this time staying in control of most of his body. He only felt his right arm slowly slipping away from his senses. After a few seconds, he could no longer feel his right arm.


    The arm came up, almost pping him, but his left arm caught it.


    "Don''t do anything stupid," he said to Nefrati.


    "Sorry. I had to try it," she said. "Fine, we should start now. Give me all the aura in your body."


    "All of it?" Leo asked with surprise.


    "Yes, all of it. You are just a 2nd Circle Aura Knight, so obviously I would need all of it to alter thepass. If you were at least a 4th Circle Aura Knight, then it would have been so much easier," she said.


    "I don''t know what era you came from, but it sounds scary. The aura levels you are saying are normal just don''t make sense to me," he said while circting all the aura in his body.


    After a while, all of it seemed to congregate right outside his right arm, ready to go in. He was still keeping it moving in that area in case his arm couldn''t take the concentration of the aura.

 Chapter 187 Recover

    ?


    "The amount of aura you have is unnaturallyrge. Even some 3rd Circles do not have that high of an aura amount. How is your body able to contain it?" She asked him.


    "I have the Aura Pill Body, I think," Leo replied. "Did you have those in your time?"


    "Yes, but none of them had as much aura. Release it," she said.


    He let go of the aura, allowing it to enter the arm. The minute it did, he watched it expertly flow around to enter his fingertips. While he couldn''t really control his hand or feel it, he could still observe the flow of the aura that was considered his.


    Compared to him, it was very clear that Nefrati was leagues better at controlling aura. It wasn''t surprising, considering that she used to be an 8th Circle Aura Knight. The aura entered thepass, creating some changes in it.


    It glowed and the needle started to spin. The runes that were inscribed onto thepass were slowly being altered by her one by one. Each rune was only changed a little, after which she moved to the next one.


    After she went through all the runes, the aura in his body waspletely depleted. At that point, she let go of the control over his hand.


    "I''m guessing it worked?" He asked with a hopeful tone. His question did not get any response.


    "Are you okay?" He asked.


    "Yes," a faint voice appeared in his mind. Nefrati was incredibly tired from controlling his hand to change thepass. "I just need a little time to recover my energy."


    As she said that, Leo noticed that the solitude that he had been enjoying was starting to be attacked. Magical Beasts were creeping in from each side, trying to approach him.


    "Fine. I''ll use thepass to get to the location. Until then, you should rest," he said while rising into the air. He was holding the dangling body of Elise with his left hand. She had yet to wake up from thetest blow to her body, but he expected that she would pretty soon. Previously, she had taken very little time to wake up from the attacks.


    "Okay. I just need an hour," she said. "If you have any aura, it would help."


    In response, he took out a few Aura Gathering pills he had lying around. It was a very small number - only 5. But it was going to be enough to get himself a substantial amount of aura that Nefrati could use.


    When he swallowed the pills and was about to circte the aura from them like normal. However, the aura from the pills directly went to his mind as if there was a ma attracting it. He had never experienced something like this since his magic normally shed with the aura.


    The ma attracting the aura was Nefrati. She nourished her soul with the aura that wasing into her mind, sucking all of it before it could even react to the magic. By doing this, she was recovering from the exhaustion her soul went through to possess his body.


    After a few minutes, she finished the absorption.


    "I need more," she said. "Give me another one."


    He swallowed another pill as she said while staying in the air. He didn''t want to fly while taking the aura pills since he didn''t know how using too much magic would make the aura behave. Even now, it was the first time that he had used both aura and magic at the same time.


    After another few minutes, her voice asked for more. In total, the five pills he had left were depleted in less than 30 minutes. When she was done, she seemed even more energetic than before. Previously, she was just curious, but now she seemed full of spirit too.


    "Well! I needed that!" She eximed.


    "Wow, you were that exhausted?" He asked.


    "Do you know how hard it was to do nothing for the duration of my being imprisoned? The chains stopped me from circting aura. I had to use the aura just in my hands to try and transfer my soul to you," she said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Fine. So are youpletely, recovered?" He asked her.


    "Yes. So we can now be going to the actual temple," she said. "It should be pretty close, but we need to have the exact location for the blood sacrifice to work."


    "You need to do that again. I don''t know how it works," he said.


    "I know. For now, we need to make sure that she is still alive. The sacrifice needs to be alive at the time of being sacrificed." She told him.


    "Please don''t tell me she has to be willing to be sacrificed as well," Leo groaned.


    "No, that would be impossible. No one would be willingly sacrificed. Every human would have some selfish desire to live. But anyway, as long as she is alive, even just hanging by a thread, it will be enough," she said.


    "That should work. I''ll just get to the temple for now and then we will figure out everything else there," he said.


    He took a look at the modifiedpass. It was no longer pointing at the former prison but in another direction. Before leaving, he took a look at the ground.


    A soul fire burst sted the ground, creating a huge explosion that rattled the nearby Magical Beasts.


    "What was that for?" Nefrati asked with curiosity.


    As the explosion cleared out, it revealed the scorched ground that was charred ck. It was very different from the nearby grass and would be easily distinguished. The signs of the previous battle were very faint, but this one was unmissable.


    "I need toe back here while going back to where I came from. To do that, I need a marker that points here. This is the easiest one," he said.


    "Interesting. That is a good idea," she said. Meanwhile, he shot through the air toward the direction he needed to go.


    After 10 minutes of flying, he saw thepass suddenly rotate the needle all of a second. He halted and smiled, knowing that he had reached his destination. Backtracking a few steps, he kept flying until thepass just turned around again.


    "I''m here. But you said it was close. I''ve been flying for almost 10 minutes. I think I covered 25 kilometers in this time," he said.


    "That is a very small distance. Even I can teleport through that distance," she said.


    "You can teleport?" He asked with curiosity.


    "Yes. Aura Knights can try to teleport at the 7th Circle. Since I was an 8th Circle Aura Knight, I practiced a lot more than them," she said.


    "How long do you guys live for?" He asked her.


    "As an 8th Circle Aura Knight? At least 400 years. I haven''t heard of anyone dying of old age though, everyone dies because they were in a fight, or because they failed to break through and suffered a bacsh," she said.


    Leo was surprised at this. 8th Circle mages typically only survived for 30 years ording to one of the books he read at the Eldridge Academy.

 Chapter 188 Bloodlines

    ?


    There was either something wrong with magic, or it was just something that aura had over it. But it wasn''t going to affect him since that was a problem that he couldn''t see in the near future. 100 years was already a lot to him. He hadn''t even expected to survive more than 15 since he had been in the slums.


    "Now that you are all recovered and we are free, can you answer the question I had before?" He asked her after remembering the discussion they had during the fight. "What are bloodlines?"


    "I was waiting for you to ask me that question. Seeing that you don''t know what they are, I doubt that your empire properly trains their Aura Knights properly," she said.


    "What do you mean?" He asked.


    "Well, to understand bloodlines, we have to take a step back. Everybody has certain affinities with nature. Elemental affinities. That means that I could be better at handling Water Elemental Aura Techniquespared to something like Light," she started exining to him.


    "So we can rank people based on these affinities. In my time, we could use Aura Treasures to measure those affinities. We defined the affinity as Low, Medium, High, and Peak. I had a Peak-Level affinity with the Soul Element.


    As for you, based on what I felt from your aura, you have a Peak-Affinity with the Shadow Element. Both the Shadow and the Soul Elements are very rarepared to the natural ones of Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, Lightning, and Metal."


    "So I am talented?" He asked her.


    "Yes, very. The reason why you need to know your affinity is to pick the right aura techniques to train in. If you picked the wrong element, then you would never be able to be as strong as you should have been.


    Now this is where bloodlinese in. Anything above Medium Affinity is considered very talented. Less than 1% of Aura Knights have High-Affinity to their element. As for Peak, less than 10 people are seen every generation with that level of talent. Anyway, these affinities that you have weren''t natural. At least, most of the time they aren''t.


    They are most likely inherited. If a person who was naturally born with a High-Affinity toward an Element reached the 9th Circle, then their blood turns special. Their descendants also inherit that affinity. That is how we judge bloodlines," she said.


    "So that means that bloodlines can help you use elements better?" He asked.


    "It sounds simple, but think about what the elements are. Elements are parts of nature that Aura Knights are channeling. There are countless of them, but only 6 are prominent. Every other element is more likely than not a product of inheritance.


    So even bloodlines are judged based on the element they grant as well as the affinity. She has a faint amount of a Royal Bloodline. A Royal Bloodline grants the person a High-Affinity to a rare element. But since her blood is very impure, she has a Medium-Affinity at best.


    Below the Royal Bloodline is the Duke Bloodline. It gives a High-Affinity to amon element. These elements are typically weaker than rare elements, so they are valued a little less. Above these Bloodlines are Emperor Bloodlines. I belonged to the Emperor Bloodline.


    You might belong to one too since you have a Peak-Affinity to the Shadow Element. Which means that you might be a very important person in your world," she said.


    Heughed at her statement. "That''s funny. I am an orphan so I don''t even know where I got the bloodline from," he said.


    "It might not be funny. If you have a Peak-Affinity to any element, training will be a breeze. You will easily get to the 8th Circle. Even the 9th. The reason is that the only person who can give birth to an Emperor Bloodline is an 11th Circle Aura Knight," she said.


    "An Aura Knight can go beyond the 9th Circle?" He asked her with surprise.


    "Of course. The limits that I know of are the 12th Circle, but that level is only heard of in legend. Anyone who reached that level disappeared long ago and were only rumored to reach that stage. For example, the Blood God was rumored to have reached the 12th Circle, but the only way to know is to go into the temple and look for proof," she said.


    "Wait. If the Blood God was a 12th Circle Aura Knight, then he also disappeared, right? Then who was it that imprisoned you?" He asked her.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Well, the remnant power of him was enough. I was being very greedy and that just transported me into the prison," she said.


    "What?" He asked with confusion.


    "I will exin when we get inside the temple. You will understand better there too. Now that you know what bloodlines are, can we start sacrificing this one?" She asked him.


    "Yes. What do I do?" He asked her.


    "Well, the first thing you need to do is get down from the air and ce her on the ground."


    He followed her instructions.


    "Then, cut her finger to let it start dripping some blood," she said. "And gather that blood with your aura."


    "How?" He asked her.


    "Just give me control of your hand," she said.


    She took over his right hand and did what she needed. The finger of the unconscious noble was in Leo''s right hand when it got cut by Nefrati. She then controlled the aura to contain the blood without letting it spill anywhere. Even though there was a very minimal amount of aura left in his body, it seemed to be enough for her.


    After a liter of blood was slowly siphoned away, she sealed the cut with a little bit of aura. Then she spread the blood around the girl in a circle, as if she was drawing an Aura Circle with blood. The circle had runes just like the ones that he had around his aura circle.


    When she was finished, Leo realized that it was almost that. Almost an Aura Circle. It looked a little different because of the runes between the two concentric circles. How was this supposed to activate the temple, though? Would he need to do something?


    "Now, I need to give you a warning. When I activate the circle, something will happen. Do not panic. Nothing will hurt you until I tell you that it will hurt you. Until then, stay calm," she said.


    "Fine," he acknowledged her warning.


    Just as they were about to finish, Elise woke up. She immediately noticed that something was wrong because she was very dizzy and couldn''t see properly.


    "What is wrong?" She asked herself as she looked around. The world around her was spinning, but she could make out a figure in front of her.


    "Who are you? Did my father send you? Take me out of here. And also get rid of the two men that were with me. Both of them are-"


    "Start. Ignore her words," She was rambling on but Leo didn''t want to waste time.


    "Fine. Get ready," Nefrati said as she controlled the aura to draw thest rune.

 Chapter 189 Temple Room

    ?


    The minute the rune waspleted, a huge wave of energy was emitted from the body. The body burst in front of him, the blood exploding into the air. The blood congregated into a single drop before dropping onto the ground.


    The ground greedily absorbed the blood immediately, leaving no trace of it. The ground waspletely free of any traces that there was a sacrifice. It left him doubting whether he seeded or not.


    "Did it work?" He asked Nefrati.


    "Yes," she replied.


    "But I don''t see-"


    As he was talking, the ground opened as a blood hand reached out and grabbed him. It enclosed him inside, cutting off all his senses. The ground closed up when the hand went back into the ground. The forest didn''t show any signs of Leo and Elise being there.


    Meanwhile, Leo was going through a rollercoaster-like experience. He could feel his body being taken somewhere. But with his senses closed off by the blood hand, he could not understand where.


    "Stay calm, and don''t move when yound," Nefrati warned him.


    As she said that, Leo noticed that the hand was opening up. However, he was being dropped onto the ground, which meant he had to regain his footing while staying still once he stuck hisnding.


    To avoid all of that, he immediately activated his magic to start flying. However, when he did that, it failed, causing him tond on his butt.


    "Ow!" He felt the pain in his buttocks which took the brunt of the fall.


    "I told you to be careful when yound," she said.


    "I was being careful. I tried to fly but my magic didn''t activate. I don''t know why," he said.


    "Don''t worry. The trials you will face are only based on your current level. Since you are a 2nd Circle Aura Knight, it will be adjusted for that level," she said.


    Since hended, he hadn''t taken a proper look at the room he was in at all. He finally took a proper look and realized where he was.


    The ce he had been dropped into was a huge hall. It was a 100-meter-long hall with a ceiling as tall. It was very decently lit by the torches aligned along the wall. The hall was narrow, being only 15 meters wide, making it a very weird structure that made it seem like the goal was to walk forward in a straight line.


    He was standing in front of a single square tile that was 10 meters long. A rune was carved onto the tile. In front of that tile was an array of simr tiles, all leading forward before diverging to different points. At each point was a pedestal. On top of the pedestal was a chest. The chests were decorated with jewels, giving him a strong hunch that there was something valuable in them.


    When he saw this, his eyes glowed. This was why he hade - for the treasure. This would help him be strong since it was something left by a rumored 12th Circle Aura Knight. If he even got to one of the chests


    To get to each pedestal, he would have to cross the weird tiles with runes. However, he knew it wasn''t as simple as that. On top of that, Nefrati had told him to stay still when he entered the ce. He needed to know why before trying to get to the chests.


    "So, why did you tell me to stop?" He asked her.


    "What you see is a form of a test created by the Blood God. By now, I think the test has adapted to your power level. But it will still be hard. I won''t be much of a help apart from telling you the rules. So I will now exin how this works. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The tiles you see in front of you are considered blocks. You need to cross these blocks to get to each treasure. The nearest treasure that you see is the worst, while the furthest is the best. But each tile represents a challenge that you need to cross to get to a treasure." She exined to him.


    "A challenge?" He asked her.


    "Yes. See the rune in front of you? It means arrow. When you step onto the tile, you will be bombarded with an arrow trap," she said.


    "So that means you will be very helpful to me," he said.


    "No. There are very few runes that I am aware of. I recognized this one solely because it is one of the runes that I encountered when I was here," she said.


    Leo smiled even though she would be unhelpful as if he had a backup n. Meanwhile, she gave him more advice.


    "Also. The rule in this hall is that you are only allowed to take two treasures. Once you do, the tiles will disappear and you can proceed to the next area. You can either proceed forward or back away and leave the temple. The one thing you are not supposed to do is to try and steal another one of the treasures and try to run away," she said.


    "You sound very particr about it," he noticed.


    "That was what got me caught and imprisoned. I thought I would be fast enough in escaping. Once I grabbed the nearest treasure, I tried to teleport but I was too slow. The price of that was hundreds of years in imprisonment," she said.


    "Oh! So that''s what you did!" Leo realized. "I mean, if he is offering you free treasures and you try to abuse it like that, it wouldn''t be unjustified if he did that to you."


    "Forget about that. For now, focus on the tiles in front of you. Some of them might be traps, while others will make you face an opponent. I won''t know which is which so you have to be prepared for anything. And to make your route have the least amount of redundancy, pick out the treasures you want to take," she said.


    Leo pointed at the two treasures in his line of sight. Both of them seemed to be right next to each other, making them the easiest two to pick once he would get there. However, Nefrati scolded him when she saw this.


    "I meant something achievable. You picked the furthest two from you. Those are the hardest treasures to obtain," she said.


    While the pedestals were in his line of sight, they were on the other end of the hall. He had purposefully picked them though.


    "And what makes you think I can''t handle it?" He asked her.


    "You will see. The first tile is only a taste. As you take more steps forward and closer to the treasures, the tiles get more challenging. The further you get from the starting tile, the harder the challenge. And you won''t even be able to predict what the challenge will be," she berated him.


    His smile made her realize that he had something up his sleeve.


    "What is it?" She asked him.


    "What is what?" Leo replied with a question.


    "What n do you have to get out of this one?"

 Chapter 190 Tiles

    ?


    "Well, the part where you said that I wouldn''t be able to know which challenge the tile will pose might be a little incorrect. Actually, very incorrect," he replied.


    "Even my generation lost the meaning of these runes. How will someone from such a backward empire be able to understand them?" Nefrati was shocked that he could understand the runes. Based on everything she knew about Leo, the impression she had was very far from this.


    Since he didn''t even have a master being this talented and wasn''t a noble either, she assumed he was incredibly poor. Being incredibly poor, he wouldn''t have any ess to any resources. How was he supposed to learn something as rare as runes in a backward empire in those conditions?


    "Well, I wouldn''t call my empire backward. I think we just lost some techniques because of the power of time. Anyway, I can read the runes so I know what''sing," he said.


    In reality, the only reason he could read the runes was because of the tome. When he first got the tome, it gave him an incredible amount of knowledge. Along with themonnguage that he spoke in Sria, he also learned how to read runes. Of course, it took a toll on his mind since thenguage was very close to nature.


    Reading runes wasn''t as easy as reading themonnguage, but it wasn''t hard for him considering the mental strength that his magic developed. With it, understanding the runes on the tiles would be easy.


    "Okay. But that doesn''t change how hard it is going to be. You need to be careful if you are attempting those. Even I just tried for the 4th and 6th furthest treasures." She said.


    In total, there were 12 treasures. There were 5 lined up on each side and two in the front. He took a deep breath and started to go toward his goal.


    When he took the first step, an arrow flew toward him. It was fairly slow so he caught it with his hand. When he caught it, the arrows dissolved into blood.


    "This doesn''t seem as hard," hemented.


    Just as he said that two more arrows came from different directions. He quickly caught them and left them once they lost their momentum. He realized there was a pattern. As soon as the two arrows were set down, three came flying his way.


    The ce wasn''t giving him a rest, so the only way to escape it would either be to retreat or move forward. He took a few steps while dodging the arrows. If he had his magic, it would save him a lot of time. However, things didn''t always go his way.


    As he was walking forward, the number of arrows shooting toward him was increasing. He was not as concerned because of the strength behind the arrows. They didn''t seem to be able to harm him. If he put up a Shadow Dome, it would counter all of the arrows.


    Of course, it would also render him immobile and it would be pointless to do that. After half a minute, he got to the other side of the tile. In front of him were nine more tiles before the treasures would be in his grasp.


    The 9th tile would be beside both the treasures, so he wouldn''t have any more obstacles once he took care of that. Since the first tile was incredibly easy, he moved on to the next one with a lot of optimism.


    Meanwhile, Nefrati wasining about the absurdity of how easy the trial seemed. When she took it, the arrow trial was dozens of levels higher. There were countless arrows bombarding her with some of them having poison on their tips. All of them were out to kill her.


    For Leo, on the other hand, there were 10 arrowsing at once at thest minute, all of them so weak they wouldn''t even do anything to him if they did hit him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    However, she realized why this was the case. It had to do with his absurd amount of aura and the aura techniques he was using. Combining that with his Peak-Affinity with the Shadow Attribute, he was a lot stronger than her when she was a 2nd Circle Aura Knight.


    But that wasn''t that high of a bar to clear. She was not an Aura Knight that specialized in head-to-head fights. Her specialty was in providing support. A betterparison would be the other geniuses of her time, but Leo would still be able to match them. The sad part was that he didn''t even focus on aura. He was a mage.


    As Nefrati was thinking about how he was too strongpared to a typical 2nd Circle Aura Knight, he crossed the tile to move on to the next one. As he did, he formed Shadow des by his side.


    "Why are you preparing so early? What is this tile?" She asked him.


    "The rune means guardian," he responded. "I want to see what wille out. I know it can''t be a real person since it has probably been years since people came here," he said.


    "Who even makes sure this ce has enough treasures?" He had a question that puzzled him.


    "Ha. You have no idea how many treasures the Blood God amassed. 12th Circle Aura Knights are rumored to live for a thousand years. Forget a thousand years. Even in a hundred years, someone that powerful can gather more treasures than an empire with a thousand years of history," she said.


    "If an empire had a rich history, how would it not have a single 12th Circle Aura Knight in a thousand years?" Leo cheekily replied as blood started to rise from the tile in front of him.


    "I don''t think you understand how rare 12th Circle Aura Knights are. They live in legends. There is a single 11th Circle Aura Knight in 500 years. And someone at that level wouldn''t be tied to a single empire. They would only pass on their treasure to their disciple.


    The only logical reason why the Blood God erected this temple is because he needed a sessor. That was what we theorized, but no one ever reached that status. At least, not in my time." She said.


    "Sounds like a good opportunity to me," Leo replied.


    Nefratiughed at this. "Keep dreaming. I don''t know what you think you are, but you would need Peak-Affinity with the Blood Element, one of the rarest elements, to be considered by him. And focus on the fight. You need all the attention you can spare."


    In the time they were chatting, the guardian he was supposed to fight had formed. It was a silhouette who was an entire foot taller than him, donnedpletely in armor. Unlike thepletely ck silhouette he encountered in his training room, this one was blood red.


    It had a spear in its hand and a small wrist shield on the other. There was a helmet covering its face, but he had a faint feeling that it had eyes staring him down.


    "I know. It won''t be an easy fight," he said.

 Chapter 191 Guardian

    191 Guardian


    Looking at the guardian in front of him, Leo took a step back. The silhouette was very menacing and a lot stronger than he expected. Based on the aura he could sense in it, it was at the level of a Middle Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight like him.


    He wasn''t worried though. It was just that the intimidating appearance of the silhouette that towered over him, as well as the thick bloody aura made him take the fight seriously.


    "The only thing I can help you with is tell you about the aura. Be very careful about it. Blood element aura is considered very dangerous because it has a tendency to suck away the blood of its opponents. The minute you are wounded, you gain a huge disadvantage." Nefrati warned him.


    "Thanks," he said while charging toward the 7-foot guardian. Compared to it, he was only 5'' 7". It was a decent height to be at for a 15-year-old, but it made him look like a dwarf next to his opponent. At least he grew up from his previous malnourished self. If he was still 5'' 1", he wouldn''t even be able to reach the face of the guardian.


    Even though it was seemingly reckless that he was charging toward the guardian, it was actually a better move for him. After all, offense was the best defense. If he tried to stay back and defend the attacks that were going to be thrown at him, there would be a higher chance that he would let one slip through and wound him.


    One of the Shadow des beside him was flung toward the guardian, who deflected it with its wrist shield. Leo clicked his tongue at that. The shield was going to be very annoying during the fight.


    Since it was apact wrist shield, it would give the silhouette an easy way to block the attacks while not hindering its movements.


    After the first de was blocked, he unleashed the rest of them while forming new ones with his aura. He kept his control over the blocked de since he couldn''t let it dissipate. The most important aspect of the battle was that he would need to maintain the five des that he had started with.


    If he had to create new ones, it would mean a higher aura consumption. For a single fight, it wouldn''t matter at all. However, he still had 8 more tiles after the one he was on. If he spent all his aura on the first real tile, he wouldn''t even get to the closest treasure. It would be pointless that he even came to the temple.


    When the other four des all swerved toward the guardian from different directions, it unleashed its own aura techniques. A blood-red barrier was formed around parts of its body. Its precision was perfect, deflecting the des without needing to form an entire barrier.


    Leo watched this with a frown. It was going to be harder than he thought. As he was thinking, a spear came shooting toward him. The silhouette had closed the gap between him and tried to attack him.


    "Shadow Trail," he dodged the attack while getting to its side. Finally, he noticed the difference between him and the silhouette - speed. It was a lot slower than him. As it turned around, he quickly used the Shadow Trail again to get behind it.


    Summoning one of the Shadow des, he hurled it at its back.


    "Obsidian de!"


    The de sliced through the armor, lodging itself into the body of the guardian. He was about to throw another one at it, but it turned around, attacking him with its spear.


    While its turning speed was slow, its hands were fast. The spear leaped toward him the minute itpletely turned, forcing him to dodge it immediately. However, he had the upper hand in the exchange, since he finally damaged it.


    The one aspect of the Obsidian de that he never got to use was finally helping him. Once the de was lodged into the body of the enemy, or even made a small wound, it would steal away the aura of the wounded person.


    Now that the de impacted the guardian, it would slowly build into arger advantage for him. As he made space, the silhouette released its aura, dissolving the de. He was now left with the four des hovering around him.


    The spear came swinging down, making him jump up. When he did that, he put himself in a position where he couldn''t dodge another attack. Even though the spear was below him, the guardian''s left arm was free. A punch was shooting toward him and he couldn''t dodge it.


    "ng!"


    One of his des deflected the punch as hended on top of the spear. He jumped again,nding on top of its head. With a quick maneuver, he got behind it and then went between its legs to get back to its front.


    Meanwhile, it thought he would stay behind him and swung its spear to the opposite side. It hit the ground leaving its back free to Leo. Another Obsidian de pierced into the guardian''s back, this time going even deeper. He had chosen to focus his attacks on its back since the armor was already pierced.


    At this point, the damage he had been doing to it was catching up. The movements of the silhouette were slowing down and its attacks had less power between them. But he still had to employ his movement techniques. Any attacks that he tried while facing it were easily blocked by its wrist guard.


    After a minute of whittling away its energy, the guardian dropped to its knees. The des had sucked away a major part of its aura, while the damage he did to it also contributed. When its knees touched the ground, they immediately melted into blood.


    The entire silhouette dissolved into a pool of blood and was absorbed by the ground, going back the same way it came.


    "That is a creepy way to make a guardian. Do all blood aura techniques use aura like this? It doesn''t even look like aura anymore. It just looks like blood," heined.


    "That is what reaching the pinnacle means. The aura seems to be the element itself. You won''t even be able to differentiate," Nefrati said. "Good fight, though. You seem very good at it, despite being slightly unpolished. If you have the right training, I think you will be on top of your generation in no time."


    He smiled at herpliment. "Thanks. So now I just have to go forward," he said.


    As he was about to move forward, Nefrati stopped him.


    "Stop. You don''t have to go that quickly. Since you properly cleared this tile, you can stay on this tile without a problem. You can use it to rest while preparing for the next one," she said.


    "What do you mean properly? Did I not finish the previous tile too?" He asked.


    "No, you didn''t. You left half way in the middle. Well, no one stays for long in the traps anyway, but it doesn''t count as a tile that you have cleared." She exined.

 Chapter 192 Obstacle

    ?


    "Fine. I''ll just stay here for a while then," he said and sat down. For the next few minutes, he calmed his body down and tried to recover the aura he spent. However, for some reason the aura he spent wasn''ting back. It seemed like the temple was blocking that from happening.


    "Why can''t I recover my aura?" He asked her.


    "Oh, I meant to recover your stamina. Spent aura doesn''te back in the temple. The only way you can get past that loophole would be to use pills or treasures, but I think I used up all of yours," she said.


    Hey on the floor with a disappointed expression. He didn''t really expect there to be any time to recover his aura so he was very conservative with it, but she gave him hope. Now that he knew he couldn''t recover, he didn''t know what else to do.


    He sighed while getting up. "Fine, then there isn''t really a point in me wasting my time here. Might as well get past the tiles," he said.


    Before he walked onto the next tile, he took a look at what it said.


    [Obstacle]


    Confused, he stepped onto the tile, thinking about what it could have possibly meant. Would it be another fight? Obstacles could mean a lot of things, from objects to humans.


    "What did it say?" Nefrati asked him.


    "Obstacle. Do you know what that means?" He asked her.


    "Yes, I do. It means you are very unlucky," she said. "But maybe better now thanter."


    As she said that, a huge wall shot up above him, going all the way to the ceiling. It was very thick, taking up a third of the tile, blocking off his entry into the tile in front of him.


    "So what do I do now?" He asked her.


    "An obstacle means that you have to take a detour. You will have to walk around the wall to get to where you are. It''s better at an earlier stage than when you get deeper. At least you don''t have to go through more hard tiles," she said. As she said that, he got an idea.


    "Wait. Can''t I just sprint through all the tiles to get the treasures I want?" He asked her. She immediately shot down the idea.


    "If you do that, you will die immediately. Not only will you be risking getting hit by multiple dangerous traps, but all the tiles that have guardians will also be activated when you enter them. All these guardians will face you at once, which means you will be minced meat in seconds," she said. "So the only option is for you to walk around the wall."


    "Are you sure?" He asked her.


    "Yes, I am sure. Everything I say is a product of my own experience here. If you want to find out yourself, be my guest," she said angrily.


    He sighed and took a step forward. Kicking the wall lightly, heined.


    "I hate you, dumb wall."


    As he kicked the wall, he realized that the material that made the wall wasn''t metal as it looked. It was just limestone.


    "Wait. What if I break the wall?" He asked her.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    She scoffed. "Are you joking? Forget what would happen to you when the wall falls on you, how will you even break it?" She asked him.


    He created a long shadow de that was as thin as paper and shot it at the wall. It pierced through without a problem. He then swung his arm, making the de slice through the wall like it was tofu.


    "..." Nefrati was speechless as the wall was cut into two parts. Once it was cut, it started falling toward Leo.


    He just walked a few steps forward to let the part of the wall that was still erect and cast a Shadow Dome around himself, waiting for the impact. The wall slowly fell toward him, umting speed, until it crashed loudly.


    When it crashed, the end of the fallen wall still stood on the edge of the standing leftover wall, creating a triangr gap. Leo was wedged in his gap, but he didn''t intend to stay there for long.


    A pair of shadow des sliced through the wall again, breaking it off just in front of him. The majority of the wallpletely crashed to the ground, while a small part was left, resting on the Shadow Dome. He dispelled the dome and retreated back, letting that part of the wall fall down naturally.


    Once this was done, the path in front of him was almost without any obstacles. There was only a wall that was 6 feet tall. At this point, it was more of a fence. He easily jumped over it and looked forward at the next tile.


    "..." Nefrati still couldn''t talk as she saw what he did. She never thought that this was a way to get past the wall. The previous time she had been there, she forced herself to go to a worse treasure because the wall would make her take a longer and more dangerous route.


    Meanwhile, he walked to the next tile as if he did something perfectly normal. He only used a fourth of the aura he had used while fighting the guardian, so this was the better choice by miles.


    As he stepped on the next tile, the entire tile changed. All of a sudden, his foot started to sink into the ground as if it turned into a swamp. However, he was prepared for this and coated his foot with aura. The minute it started to sink, he jumped up.


    However, since the ground sank when he jumped, he got a very small amount of height. This was enough for him to summon a Shadow de right underneath his feet. He jumped using the de as the ground, leaping into the air.


    The first de sunk into the ground when he jumped onto it. He tried to summon it back, but the groundpletely absorbed it, forcing him to make a new one. When the new one was made, he jumped using it, getting to the next tile.


    The minute he got onto the next tile, he jumped into the air again.


    "What is this one?" Nefrati asked.


    "Last one was swamp. This one says hole. Don''t know what it means, but I don''t want to find out," he said.


    As he said that, the tile crumbled, revealing an endless abyss filled with darkness. He employed the same technique asst time to jump across the huge hole. When he looked down, he couldn''t even see the bottom which scared him.


    As soon as he got to the next tile, he copsed onto the ground. The swamp wasn''t that much of a problem since he expected it, but the immediate urrence of the hole was unexpected. Once he saw that, he had to prepare for it on the spot since he wouldn''t have time to think on the ground.


    "So why are you resting now? What does this tile say?" She asked him.


    "Oh, this one? It says guardian, so I''m fine," he said.


    "You''re fine AFTER you defeat the guardian, not before it!"

 Chapter 193 Second Guardian

    193 Second Guardian


    As she said that, he suddenly rolled on the ground away from where he was sitting. A spear mmed down onto the spot he was just in. Leo looked up and saw that the guardian he was facing had already formed and was ready to fight him.


    "I thought I had a second likest time," he exined his thought process while quickly summoning a new set of Obsidian des.


    His life would have been a lot easier if he could use magic, but something seemed to suppress it. If he got rid of the suppression, he would be able to breeze through the tests like they were nothing.


    As he wasining about the suppression, the spear came swinging at him again. He jumped up while taking a better look at his opponent.


    It looked like the exact same guardian that he had just faced, but a couple of inches shorter. It also seemed a little stronger and faster. This meant he could try to employ the same tactics he had used before, but it would definitely be a harder and longer process.


    As his opponent brought the spear back to its body, preparing for its next attack. He quickly rushed toward it with the three Shadow des he was able to form. This time, he was nning on keeping the aura consumption even lower, since he already had experience fighting the guardian before.


    The first de swung at it but was deflected by its wrist shield. Once it was deflected, it bounced a few inches away but it still lingered in the area because of Leo''s control. He was prepared for this and immediately sent the other two des at it from different directions.


    The guard quickly moved its spear with its right arm and its left arm with the wrist shield to block the iing attacks. When they started moving, he sent the third de that was still hovering there to quickly pierce through the aura.


    With both of its arms being used to block the first two des, the third de went through without any hindrance. It stabbed into the armor, hoping to break through, but it only barely broke it and grazed the silhouette.


    Leo frowned, realizing that the armor of the guardian was also a lot stronger than before, but at least he was able to damage it. Now that the first cut was made, it would give him a little advantage.


    He recalled the de immediately after it made the cut. In his previous fight, he learned that it was pointless to keep the de lodged inside the body, so he would rather just use it to recreate the same attack.


    He summoned the des back to him and took a few steps back, judging how his opponent would react to the damage he caused. Unlike a normal person that would change their attacks and mindset once they got injured, the guardian was inanimate and didn''t care at all.


    It charged toward him again, even after its chest was grazed. That was what made it a harder opponent than normal humans - it disregarded the possibility of death. It made his fight harder because he would always have to be more careful than it.


    The entire sequence repeated itself again in the same way as before, and the de lodged itself deeper than before. However, this time the guardian had expected this. While the de was stuck in its chest, it swung the spear at him while he was in its reach.


    He saw the spearing for him and instinctively formed a Shadow Barrier. The spear broke the barrier, losing most of its energy, and hit him in his left arm. The blow knocked him to the side, almost breaking his arm.


    Quickly getting up, he summoned an extra de. The previous one had been disintegrated by the guardian. He made the mistake of expecting it to act like a brainless machine. Now that it was learning from his attacks, he needed to change his strategy each time he attacked it.


    The problem was that most of the damage he dealt was to the chest. If he changed the location, then it wouldn''t help him as much and would lengthen the time he would need to fight it. As he was thinking heavily, the guardian rushed toward him.


    "Shadow Trail."


    He quickly dodged the iing spear and then jumped into the air. He evaded an iing punch by the guardian and grabbed its arm while in the air. Using it as support, hended on the ground and then swung himself over it using it as an anchor.


    After that, he dug all three of his des into the back of the guardian. It quickly turned around to attack him, only to find out that he had disappeared again. In the time it had taken to turn around, Leo had gone around it in the other direction and got to its back.


    He mmed his palm which was filled with aura into one of the lodged des, pushing it into the back. The depletely came out of the other side of the guardian, stopping it in its tracks.


    Taking a few steps back, he watched the guardian unravel back into blood. After his opponent was defeated, he sighed and got back onto the ground.


    "Now I need some rest," he said with a breath of relief.


    "Actually, you need to change your course. It''s okay if you want one of the best treasures, but maybe try to get a smaller one first. It might help you a little and you can use that in the next few steps forward," she said.


    He shook his head resolutely. "That sounds like a good idea, but I can do it. I was just conserving my energy which was the only reason why I had such a hard time. This is already my 6th tile. I only have four more to go and I will be there. I can easily do it," he said.


    It was true. Even though he had crossed more than half the path, he had only used a fourth of his aura. Unfortunately for him, he only had half of his full capacity left. After he used most of the aura he had to alter thepass, he couldn''tpletely recover all his aura.


    The pills would have helped, but Nefrati took away most of that aura. So he couldn''t really get back to his full strength before entering the temple.


    As he was sitting down, he massaged his arm. His left arm took a very heavy blow from the spear, almost breaking it. He was happy the damage wasn''t too severe, but he had to circte a little aura to it to let it recover.


    He stayed in his position for the next hour, just circting the aura in that area. If he tried to proceed without taking care of the injury first, it would be inviting trouble. Not only would he be disadvantaged, but if anything hit his arm it would break.


    After an hour, he felt that his arm was back to normal. He got up and took a look at the next tile.

 Chapter 194 Aptitide

    ?


    The rune that was inscribed onto the tile confused him.


    "Aptitude?" He said with a confused expression.


    "Ah, so you get this as well. Don''t worry. It''s going to be easy for you. The problem you will face will be the next tile. It will decide whether or not you can try to get thest two treasures or not," Nefratimented.


    "So you know this test?" He asked her.


    "Yes. I had to take this test at this exact tile. I failed the tile after that, so I couldn''t even try to get to thest few treasures," she said.


    "So what is on it?" He asked her.


    "It tests how much aptitude you have to train in the Blood Element. It isn''t going to be high for you, but you just need a Medium to pass," she said.


    "But I don''t have a blood aptitude. I use the shadow element," he said.


    "Yes, but you have Peak Aptitude in that. Anyone with a Peak Aptitude with any element automatically has a Medium Aptitude with every other element. And before you say anything about how that seems unfair, I will exin why.


    To have the highest aptitude means to be very close to an element of nature, which means you are very close to nature itself. That means you are also close to the other elements, but just not as close as the element you are training in.


    It doesn''t really matter for you, since you will only be training in the Shadow Element just like I will stay with the element I have." She exined.


    "So how will they test it?" He asked her.


    "Just enter the tile. It''s harmless," she said.


    He followed her instructions and walked forward onto the tile. When he stepped onto the tile, the rune glowed lightly. The glow disappeared after a second, followed by a pedestal emerging from the ground.


    The pedestal was made of a white stone with engravings on it. It rose to his height before stopping. On the pedestal was a transparent crystal ball.


    Along with the pedestal, four walls rose along with it, covering the tile he was standing on. Once the walls werepletely up, they reached the ceiling, blocking any escape. He wanted to see if he could break through, but Nefrati stopped him.


    "Don''t worry about them. They will disappear, regardless of whether you pass the test or not. Just walk forward and put your palm on the ball. Insert your aura into it and wait for a color to emerge. Based on the color that you have, you can know what aptitude you have," she said.


    As she said, he went forward and touched the orb. The minute he did, all the aura in his body started moving while the magic shrunk into his mind.


    Till then, his magic was just stationary in his body. He couldn''t use it to cast new magic, but he couldn''t move it either. But now that it moved back into his mind automatically, the magic he had cast on himself disappeared too.


    Now that the Valkyr''s Deception was gone, his true appearance was shown. Till then, Nefrati assumed that he was a 20-year-old as his appearance showed. In his mind, she only saw a silhouette of Leo and not his true image. For the first time, she saw him in his true form - a teenager.


    "You... you are a kid?" She asked him with shock.


    "Yes. Why is that surprising?" He asked her.


    "As a kid, you reached the 2nd Circle. Why did you think that I was not surprised? With this talent, you will easily reach the 9th Circle. And here I was, thinking that you were ate bloomer," she said.


    He wanted to reply to her, but the orb in front of him was starting to change color. A white cloud started to form inside the orb. The aura inside his body surged forward and entered it.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    The minute it did, the cloud started to change colors. First, it changed to red before slowly moving to yellow. After that, it slowly changed to a green color.


    "Red means no aptitude. Yellow is low and green is medium. It means the test should be over and you should pass," Nefrati said when she saw the color.


    As she was saying that, the green color slowly became a bright blue. When it did, Nefrati was surprised.


    "Wow! It seems that you have a High Aptitude for the Blood Element. That is very good. You could try to practice a Blood Element if you have the time and it would be worth it," shemented.


    As she said that, the color changed from blue to violet. It settled there so he lifted his hand.


    "You were saying," he asked Nefrati. He wasn''t paying too much attention to what she was saying before.


    "How are you human?" Shemented. "This shouldn''t even be allowed! How do you have a Peak Aptitude for more than one element? On top of that, it had to be two rare elements. And the Blood Element? That is one of the strongest elements to exist!" Sheined.


    "I have Peak Aptitude for the Blood Element?" He questioned her with surprise. As he said that, the pedestal slowly sank to the bottom. The four walls also sank to the ground, leaving the next tile open for him.


    "Yes, you do. So you should try to gain a proper manual here. If you get your hands on a good manual, then you can try to train in the blood element instead of the shadow element. It will be a shame though," shemented.


    "Why?" He asked her.


    "Well, you will be wasting your aptitude with the shadow element," she said. "You will need to change the aura techniques and the aura manual you are using. That''s for sure. The circles you have formed are incredibly rudimentary.


    As for the aura techniques, they are way too wasteful. They might work for you, but any random technique you find here will be far more helpful," she said.


    "Well, I can switch to the Blood Element, but it won''t stop me from using the Shadow element. I can still use shadow magic," he said.


    Nefrati let out a sigh. "And then there''s that! How can you even train in aura and another power at the same time and still reach this stage?" She asked him.


    "I don''t see the problem. There are so many people just a year older than me in the 2nd Circle. A lot of them are in my stage, and that''s just in the city that I am in," he said.


    "Don''t try to y tricks on me. I learned exactly how much your empire values Aura Knights. If Aura Knights are considered worthless, then there is no way that there are those many talented people training in it." Shemented.


    "What do you mean?" He asked her.


    "You said you are amoner, right?" She asked him.


    He nodded.


    "Do you like the nobles that restrict the magic knowledge like you said?" She asked another question.


    "No," he replied.


    "Exactly. So what would you do to them when you be strong?" She asked him.

 Chapter 195 Threads

    195 Threads


    "Are you trying to find out my life goals?" He asked her.


    "No, I''m trying to prove a point. The answer is probably something along the lines of going against them without affecting yourself. But if there was a movement against them, would you join it?" She asked.


    He nodded. "Yes, I would."


    "Now take the people you said that are as powerful as you said. You seem to be a 15-year-old, so take a 16-year-old 2nd Circle Aura Knight. Someone like that would easily reach the 7th or 8th Circle at the end of the century.


    They would reach the 6th Circle within another 30 years, that''s for sure. Now take just the people in your city like that. If there are ten people as talented, that is 10 6th Circle Aura Knights in a single city. But you said there aren''t more than 10 6th Circle Aura Knights in the entire empire.


    What does that mean? I already told you this - there are definitely Aura Knights out there hiding. But this means that there is a higher chance that your empire itself is doing something to the Aura Knights.


    Otherwise, all the talented children would have grown up and overthrown your empire by now. This is just food for your thought and might be a little exaggerated, but I was raised to think like this. I am, after all, a princess." She gave him her thorough analysis of the situation based on what she learned.


    Compared to her, Leo was clueless about how the inner workings of an empire would work. To him, all that existed were the nobles and themoners. Even if nobles could do whatever they wanted, his mind still didn''t imagine how bad things could be.


    "Okay, forget about that. That isn''t your main concern right now. Don''t you want to get past the next tile?" She asked him.


    He nodded and walked forward until he was a step away from the next one. Looking at the rune engraved onto the tile, he thought a little.


    "Puzzle," he said. "What is that supposed to mean?"


    "It''s the same thing I had to encounter. I am sorry, but this is a challenge that I can''t help you in. I also failed this one," she said.


    "Even you did?" He said with surprise.


    "Yes. Why do you think I didn''t get the best two treasures? This tile was why. Fortunately, even if you fail you can turn to the left to go for a worse treasure. They are the second best anyway, so they will also be good," she said.


    "I will definitely pass it," he said while walking forward.


    When he entered the tile, another set of walls surrounded him, enclosing him in the space again. A huge hourss also appeared and hovered in the air. It was still not turned over since the space wasn''tpletely set up.


    On the walls, intricate blood-red patterns started creeping up from the ground. Along with the wall, even the ground started to be covered in those patterns. At odd positions, glyphs the size of a hand appeared.


    Once the patternspletely covered up the walls and the ground, a pedestal rose from the ground. He walked toward it to see what was on it.


    On the t surface of the pedestal were 17 glyphs. They were engraved onto the stone and shone in a low red glow. He thought about what they were representing while trying to understand what the test was about. After not understanding it for a while, he asked Nefrati.


    "I thought you would ask me. But don''t worry, I will exin it to you," she said proudly.


    "Stop acting like you are a saint and just tell me," he said with an irritated expression. Not figuring out the puzzle made him a little angry.


    "Don''t be angry that you didn''t know what the puzzle was. Even I know because I was already told about this test beforehand," she said. "The way this works is to connect every glyph with their respective receptacle."


    "Connecting to the receptacle? What does that mean?" He asked her.


    "Receptacle means the endpoint. Take the first glyph. It''s in front of you, but do you think it''s also engraved somewhere else?" She asked him.


    He nodded. "Yes, behind me," he pointed to one of the weird glyphs engraved onto the walls.


    "Good. That is your receptacle. You need to connect the glyph on the pedestal to the one behind you. And do that for all of the glyphs before the timer runs out," she said.


    He looked up and saw the huge hourss had turned, starting the timer.


    "Don''t worry about the time and try to get ustomed to the connections first. Rather than finishing in time, you should be more concerned about finishing while keeping all the connections alive," she said.


    "What do you mean?" He asked her. "And how do I connect a glyph to a receptacle?"


    "Just pick the first glyph," she said.


    He did as she said and touched the first glyph he had seen with his right arm. When he did, he saw a tiny drop of blood slowly exit the top of his finger without even leaving a cut. The dropnded on the first glyph, making it shine more than before.


    The shine brightened while Leo felt a little bit of his aura get sucked away by the pedestal. With that, he gained a little control over a thread-like object. The thread was formed at the first glyph and was flowing in the air.


    He used his aura to control the thread, watching it move around a little. Bymanding it to move forward, he was able to even stretch the thread forward. After a minute of moving it around and getting the hang of controlling it, he made it go around him to his back. With a little bit of maneuvering, the thread contacted the other glyph behind him.


    When it did, both the glyphs glowed in gold, and the thread sank to the ground to be a line in the pattern. However, the line seemed to make the already existing pattern a little chaotic, but he didn''t pay it too much mind.


    "Is that how it''s done?" He asked Nefrati.


    "I forgot that you had a Peak-Affinity with the Blood Element," she said. "And yes, what you just did is perfect."


    "Well, I wouldn''t say it was too hard, but I think I can get past this tile," he said to her.


    She agreed with him. "I didn''t think it would be this easy for you to control the threads. Last time it took me ten minutes to get the hang of controlling them and another few hours to try and connect all of them. And even then, I wasn''t able to finish connecting all the threads," she said.


    "But aren''t there only 17 threads? 16 now," he said.


    "Yes, for you. For me, it was more than 200 threads with a higher time limit. Because I didn''t finish my task in time, I wasn''t granted entry into the final two tiles. You, on the other hand, have a good chance," she said.

 Chapter 196 Beast

    ?


    "Now hurry up. You have a time limit. If you don''t finish it in time, you won''t be able to get past this tile at all. You don''t get second chances," She hurried him up.


    He quickly went to the next glyph on the pedestal surface. The total time he had was just 30 minutes, and he had already spent 5 minutes talking to Nefrati. On the bright side, he figured out how the trial worked and knew how to control the blood threads from each glyph.


    When he touched the next glyph, another drop of blood emerged from his finger. It seemed like every single one would require a drop of blood. This time, he immediately started to direct it toward the receptacle glyph.


    Because of his decent perception, he knew exactly where each thread had to go. When the thread reached its destination, it transformed into a line on the ground and wall like before.


    Twenty minutester, all 17 of the glyphs were connected to their respective duplicates. The minute thest thread sunk into the ground, the whole area glowed brightly. The pedestal sunk to the ground and the blood patterns sank to the ground, but the lines remained.


    The walls also sank to the ground along with the pedestal, but he wasn''t focused on that. He was looking at the lines he had drew. He wasn''t paying attention to the pattern they were creating, but now that there wasn''t anything else to look at, he noticed there was a distinct object the lines measured out to.


    It was a rune that was made out of these lines. It said a simple word - Pass. He didn''t realize what that meant, or if it was useful information. The lines glowed a bright red for a couple of seconds before sinking into the ground like the rest of the tile.


    He sat down, taking a deep breath. What he had done wasn''t too strenuous for him, but he wanted to get himself ready for the next task. After taking a five-minute break, he stood up to go to the 9th tile.


    He only had two more tiles to go and he would reach the two treasures. This excited him, but Nefrati''s warning kept him focused. If the tiles would give harder challenges the further he went, it meant that thest two tiles would be giving the hardest tests of them all.


    He wasn''t nning on wasting aura, but he wasn''t going to be as frugal with it as before either. This was a ce where he could die, so he would rather be careful than try to conserve his aura.


    "What''s the tile you are up against?" Nefrati asked him.


    "Beast," he replied. "I have a guess of what it might be, but do you know anything?"


    "I haven''te across this tile, so I don''t know what you will face exactly. But I can make a good guess that I am sure you already have," she replied.


    He nodded and took a step forward. The minute he took the step, he knew that he was going to be facing off against something strong.


    With that step, a wave of blood rose from the ground, forming a figure in front of Leo. The aura emanating from the beast wasn''t that of a Middle Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight but that of a Late Stage. This would be his first time trying to face off against someone that was stronger than him.


    The figure in front of himpletely formed, revealing the structure of a wolf. It looked a lot like the wolf that chased him down in Valkyr''s Forest the first time he went. It had the same shape but was red all over.


    It immediately sprung at him, making him take a few steps to dodge it. He quickly released a few Shadow des to help him defend against the attacks. Even though it missed, it didn''t lose any of its ferocity.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    It quickly changed its direction and leaped at him again. He dodged again by rolling away from it and then quickly ran to the center to get away from it and give himself enough space.


    At that point, he was getting cornered to the edge of the tile. One was already hard enough for him. If he identally ventured into another one and activated it, he would have to deal with them along with the wolf. That would be suicide.


    Once he got to the center of the tile, he got his des near him and stared down the wolf. It was looking at him keenly while charging at him again. This time, instead of charging, he hurled two of the des next to him at it. After this, he still had two next to him.


    The wolf jumped and swung both of its ws, deflecting the two des that were rapidly approaching it. Leo expected this and quickly sent the other two after the wolf once it used both of its ws.


    He thought this would work since it did against both the guardians he had gone against previously. However, to his astonishment, the wolf bit the first de with its teeth,pletely stopping it in its tracks. After that, it swung the de in its jaw at the iing one, shattering both of them.


    It opened its mouth, letting the remnants of his des disintegrate into aura. After that, it lunged toward him. Still in surprise that his attack failed, he rolled away from the wolf and started to maintain a distance.


    He was running around the stage they were fighting in, avoiding confrontation as much as possible. When it got too close to him, he would summon a new batch of des to throw at it.


    The Obsidian des which were normally a trusty technique for him were not doing anything to the wolf at all. He could only use them to slow it down and give him a little time to run away from it. The battle was not going his way at all.


    At this point, Nefrati spoke to him.


    "What are you doing?" She asked him.


    "Running away?" He responded to her.


    "Are you dumb?!" She shouted back at him. "You are being given the best opportunity to take the best Aura Treasures avable to you in the entire world, and you are squandering it by running away from your opponent! Do you know what you are doing?"


    He smiled helplessly. "I don''t think you understand. Did you not see how my attacks are essentially useless? I''m trying to keep my life intact at this point. Forget the treasure boxes," he said.


    As he said that, the wolf finally got so close to him that he had to erect a Shadow Dome to keep it from directly hitting him.


    The first w strike from the wolf created a small crack in the dome. The wolf took a second to understand what was happening and bit at the barrier in front of it. Another crack formed, this one bigger than the previous one. Inside, Leo was trying his best to figure out what to do.


    "Okay. I know that you don''t have the best training, so I''ll help you out. Listen to what I say, and you will win this fight," Nefrati said.

 Chapter 197 New Approach

    197 New Approach


    "What will you say that will help me?" He asked her as the crack on the Shadow Dome erged.


    "Your aura is more than strong enough to beat the beast. The problem is the aura technique. It doesn''t use the full potential of your aura, so you aren''t as powerful as you are supposed to be. Based on what I''ve seen, I can help you improve it," she said.


    "What?" Leo asked with shock.


    "I know this might be surprising to hear, but the technique you have is just garbage. There is no efficiency and it doesn''t even give power. It''s made just to make infinite copies of a weak de as long as you have enough aura," she exined to him.


    He already knew it was very aura hungry as a technique, but he didn''t think it could be stronger.


    "What can you do in the few seconds we have?" He asked her.


    "Not a lot. All I can do is give you tips to just make it a little stronger so that it will be helpful to you," she said.


    Just as she said that the dome finally broke open. Leo immediately took a few steps to the side to dodge the iing attack. Once the barrier shattered, the wolf leaped at the center of the dome, missing him by inches.


    "Now attack it with your normal Shadow de," Nefrati said.


    "I was going to do that anyway," he said as he quickly formed the de and threw it at the beast. The de broke into the wolf''s hide, making it jump back a little. It got rid of the de by hitting it away with its w. The de had barely grazed the body, but it still affected it and drained a little energy. Meanwhile, Nefrati was giving him further instructions.


    "Now make a new de, but using the same aura, make it smaller," she said.


    "You meanpress the aura?" He asked her.


    "Yes. Exactly that," she said.


    He did as she told and created a de like that. The problem with it was that it was a lot heavier and harder to control. He told her what he faced and sheughed.


    "You are trying so hard to control it when that isn''t the goal of a de like this. When a de is made for power, it should only focus on power. If you want speed, focus on speed. Now make a de that is the same size as this one, but with a lot less aura," she said.


    He did as she told him and got a second de that was the same size as thepressed one. Now he had two des, one that was very powerful and one that probably wouldn''t even break the wolf''s skin.


    But what he realized was that the second de was a lot easier to control. He could maneuver it unlike before and make it go faster too. This meant it had a lot more applications.


    "So why I made you do this is-"


    "I know. The second one is a decoy. This is brilliant! How have I never thought of this?" He shouted while throwing the first de at the wolf.


    It shot forward with a lot of speed, surprising it so much that it couldn''t even block it. However, even though the de was fast initially, it slowed down. While its paws were too slow to w it out of the air, the speed decreased so much that it could try to bite the de.


    When it tried to do that, the de suddenly flew back a little faster than it hade and the wolf missed its bite. It looked up and saw the de still within its range. It tried to w it out but missed again. The one de seemed untouchable to it.


    However, the de was not doing any damage to it. So after missing it a few times, it ignored it and just went toward Leo. By this time, Leo had four des surrounding him. When it started charging toward him, all the des save for one shot toward it.


    It stopped its charge and pounded the ground. Immediately, the aura around it solidified and became a blood w. The w, which was 2 meters tall, mmed down onto the iing weapons. All three of them swerved out of the way and went past the beast.


    They all turned around and shot for it again, it turned around and knocked two of the des out of the way. The other two des shot toward its head, forcing it to defend against them with its ws.


    The des hit the ws and were knocked back like they were toys. This momentarily confused the wolf but it turned around since it got rid of the four des. However, as it turned around, a de pierced through the back of its neck and came out of the other side.


    While it was busy dealing with the des, Leo had sent the most powerful one that he had kept beside him. Since it was a lot slower than the others, he wanted the wolf to bepletely upied with the first three.


    Since its back was turned to him, it didn''t even realize that there was another deing its way. In its mind, all of them were equally powerful, so it paid more attention to the decoys.


    Once the de pierced the neck, the wolf slowly slumped to the ground before dissolving into aura. Leo also slumped to the ground and released his control over the des. They all dissolved into aura as he started to recover his breath.


    With this fight, he only had a fourth of his aura capacity left. He was also a little tired from his previous fights and was now considering what to do after this one.


    "Good fight. You learned how to do it a lot quicker than I thought," Nefratimented.


    "Thanks for giving me the idea. It helped me a lot," Leo replied. "But I don''t know if it will be enough for the next fight."


    "It won''t," she said. "If you go in as you were in this fight, you will probably win, but at the cost of a limb. I''m sure that is not what you are intending to do, am I right?"


    "Yes, I want all my limbs intact," he replied.


    "The only way to do that is to get a strategy for the next fight," she said.


    "Why are you so sure that the next tile will be a fight?" Leo asked.


    "Well, what is it? You know how to read it," she responded. He looked at the tile across him and saw what was written on it.


    "Knight," he read out.


    "Like I thought. So the goal will be to finish the fight as quickly as possible even if it means using all of your aura. That means you need to have a good strategy," she said.


    "And you know the best one for me?" He asked skeptically.


    "I have years of experiencepared to you who is going by instinct. It went well for you because you are pretty talented, but my way will be better."

 Chapter 198 Knight

    ?


    "So, what''s the approach?" He asked her. Even though he was pretty confident in his abilities, what she said was right. There was no way he would evene close to matching her knowledge and experience.


    "The first thing you need to learn is that you can ONLY have des that you have customized. So you either have des that are heavy or those that are light. There is no in-between. Any other de that you make will not be of any help to you," she said. "For this strategy, you will need five des. Just make them beforehand and go in."


    He started creating them as she said. The only reason he was trusting her was that she wouldn''t let him die. If he died, then she died with him. So she needed him to get out as much as he did.


    "Three light des first," she said.


    After those were done, he was about to make the same heavy des as before but she stopped him.


    "Not both of them. First only make the first de. You need to use a tenth of your aura capacity for this," she said.


    "A tenth of all the aura I have?" He asked her.


    "No. A tenth of everything you can normally store. So a little less than half the aura you have left."


    He was surprised. "Isn''t that a lot?" He asked her.


    "That''s the only way you will win. This is thest tile, so if you aren''t prepared for this, then don''t take the step. Go for something easier. This is yourst chance to turn back."


    Leo looked back. He hade a long way to the tenth step. To back down now would be wasting all of his effort and he wasn''t nning on doing that. His eyes turned to the two chests right next to the ends of thest tile.


    They were his motivation. If they were truly better treasures than everything else, then he would try for them. So what if he needed to risk his life? He only got to where he was by taking risks like those.


    "No. I can''t turn back. I''ll go forward," he said while making the de.


    After squeezing the aura into a single de, he waited for the next step.


    "Now, go into the tile and wait for your opponent to appear. Based on that, I will tell you how much aura to use for your next de," she said.


    Taking a deep breath, he stepped onto the tile. The minute he did, a strong aura started to converge in front of him. The minute it did, he realized exactly how hard thest tile was going to be.


    Previously, he was against a wolf on the level of a Late Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight. But now he was against a Peak Stage one. Blood rose from the ground and quickly converged to form a figure.


    It was a knight like the rune said. Unlike the guardians, the knight was normal-sized. It was still bigger than Leo, but not so big that he could pull off what he did to the guardians. The figure ispletely formed, showing off its full power.


    It was a 6-foot knight, with very light armor. However, the armor seemed full of aura and was definitely going to be a lot harder to crack than any of the guardians'' ones. It had a sword in its hand but no wrist guard like before.


    It was a two-handed sword, which was the one thing that made him relieved. Whether it was a one-handed or two-handed sword, he would not be able to take a hit. So the slower two-handed sword would be a better weapon to face.


    "Half your aura," Nefrati said.


    "What?" He asked confused.


    "You need to use half the aura that you have left to create a heavy sword."


    He quickly tried to create it but had to stop since the knight started attacking him. Unlike everyone he face before, the knight didn''t charge at him. Instead, it pointed its hand at him and shot bullets made out of aura.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    In a hurry, he put up a Shadow Dome while creating the de.


    "You didn''t need to create a dome, but since you did, I will exin the n to you," Nefrati said.


    While listening to her, he created the fifth Obsidian de. Just after it was done, the barrier cracked.


    "Got it?" She asked him as he dodged out of the way. He nodded while running along the edge of the tiles. Three of his swords flew toward the knight, ready to pester it.


    "Don''t let them get hit by the sword. If they do, they will immediately disperse," she warned him.


    He shot the swords toward the knight, forcing it to stop throwing aura bullets at him. It took out his sword and shed at the first sword that came its way.


    It missed because of the speed of the sword. All three of them swerved around it and started circling it. The knight looked at the swords for a second before ignoring them and turning its attention back to Leo.


    Now that it had its sword held in its hand, it started walking toward him.


    "Well, that didn''t work. I thought it would stay on the swords," he said to Nefrati.


    "This is an almost-sentient being. It learned quickly that the swords aren''t a threat to it. That was also the purpose of the first three des you sent," she said.


    "What?" Leo said. He only knew what to do, not why he was doing it.


    "It will now be differentiating between what is worth defending and what isn''t," she said. "Now send in the other two at it."


    At this point, it was only two meters away from him. He hurriedly shot the other two des at it.


    "Aim for the center of the body with all five des. Don''t miss. Every sword has to be going from a different angle," she said.


    He did as she said and the swords all rushed toward the knight. It noticed the attack and only focused on one of the swords. The sword with the most amount of aura.


    It held its own sword and blocked the hit from that one, releasing a wave of aura when it did. The Shadow de knocked the sword back, forcing the knight to take a step back with it.


    Meanwhile, every other de hit the knight right in the middle of its chest. The three light ones were useless and shattered upon hitting the armor. However, the heavy de pierced through,ing out from the other side of the body.


    The knight tried to take a step forward, but it copsed onto one knee before getting near Leo.


    "So I''m guessing that the sword had just enough aura to pierce through the armor?" He asked Nefrati.


    "Yes. Don''t worry about the calctions. You will get there in a few decades," she said.


    "Thanks."


    "Don''t think too much. For me, you getting strong is very important. Otherwise, I will be in trouble."


    "Now that we''re done, it''s time for the chests," Leo said with excitement.

 Chapter 199 Next

    199 Next


    He was exhausted and his body would copse at any point, but his mind was still focused on the two chests in front of him. After all, he spent so much time and effort in crossing the long line of challenges.


    After doing all of that, it was expected that he would focus so much on the prize. He staggered to the end and got to the first pedestal. His eyes were full of anticipation as he opened the chest.


    He got the lid open and looked inside. There was a tiny golden box inside the chest. Leo immediately had a suspicion of what it was. The box was the same size as the pillboxes he used to buy.


    For a second, he had a little disappointment. How helpful would a pill be to him? He could always substitute that with an infinite amount of Aura Gathering Pills. Nefrati seemed to sense this from Leo and assured him.


    "Don''t doubt what the Blood God has prepared for you. It will be a very useful item that will help you greatly," she said.


    "We''ll see about that," he said. With a delicate motion, he opened the box, revealing a blood-red pill inside. The minute he opened the box, the stench of blood permeated the hall. He wrinkled his nose but his eyes showed delight.


    The amount of aura he could sense inside the pill was astronomical. It was more than anything he had ever seen before. If he took it, he felt that he would have enough aura to break through to the 3rd Circle directly.


    Of course, that was not what he was nning to do. And Nefrati made sure of it.


    "Don''t even think about using that pill yet. If the Blood God was willing to gift this pill to you, then it means you have to save it," she said.


    "What do you mean?"


    "The pill there has so much aura that is full of the blood element. If a person training in the blood element took it, it would be a lot more useful than if you did, because they wouldn''t need to convert the aura to their respective element. However, if he gave it to you, it means he will try to make you train in the blood element," she said.


    "So you are saying that the Blood God wants me to shift my aura to the blood element?"


    "No. He will definitely test you still. You will need to keep going forward and pass future trials before being considered. This is, after all, the ce for his inheritance. He is looking for a sessor, so he will consider every aspect."


    He didn''t even bother asking her how she knew so much about the temple. She was a lot more knowledgable than him and she had already been there. There wasn''t a point in him asking. Instead, he went to the next chest.


    Now that he had looked at one of them, he had to see if the other was as good. And if he could actually use it immediately. With the pill being of no immediate use, hopefully, there was something that could help him recover.


    The chest was opened and his eyes scanned its content.


    Inside the chest was a fragment of some object made of ruby. He knew it was a fragment because it was properly carved into a square but the top edge seemed broken off. It had an interesting aura to it that made him realize it wasn''t normal at all. While it was a treasure, he didn''t know its use so he threw it into his dimensional ring.


    Just as he took the ruby piece out of the second chest, the entire hall changed. It was suddenly breathable and he could feel the aura creep into his body.


    It was going to be very hard for him to survive there without any aura. If he had to get into another fight, then he was done for. So his being able to recover his aura was a godsend.


    "Wait. I can try to recover my aura now!" He said with excitement. Immediately taking a seated position, he started recovering the aura he had used up. Meanwhile, the sealed wall in front of him was changing its shape.


    A huge door was starting to form on the wall. Once it formedpletely, it slowly opened to show the room beyond. Leo was too engrossed in recovering his aura that he hadn''t paid attention to his surroundings.


    After an entire aura, he felt that he hadpletely recovered. When he opened his eyes, he realized that the ce had changed. The runes on the tiles werepletely gone but the chests were still sitting there.


    "I understand where you got your greed from. But how would someone know that they are only allowed two treasures?" He asked Nefrati. Even he felt like grabbing a couple of the treasures since there wasn''t anything stopping him from doing it.


    "There was supposed to be a board in the start that had this information along with the rules of the test, but I think someone knocked it down. They probably took it down when they failed the tests inside."


    He shook his head in disgust. "Selfish bastards," he cursed them. If he didn''t have Nefrati guiding him, he would have long been dead in the ce.


    The door in front of him was inviting him inside and he waspletely recovered, so he started walking toward it. As he was walking, he got a warning from her.


    "From here on, I will be useless. I never crossed this door, so I don''t know what is beyond that point. You might be facing off against a monster for all I know," she said.


    "I know, but it''s a risk I am willing to take," he said as he walked into the door.


    The minute he walked out of the hall, a huge burden was released from him. He immediately noticed the difference because he could feel his magic flowing.


    "I can use my magic again!" He said, surprised. Because it was suppressed in the previous room, he thought it would stay that way in the entire temple. Lucky for him, that wasn''t the case.


    "What does that mean? How strong are you as a mage?" Nefrati asked. She didn''t know exactly how strong he or the mages he fought against previously were.


    "Well, I could easily beat a Peak-Stage 3rd Circle Aura Knight, but a 4th Circle Aura Knight is a no-go. My spells would do no damage, but they won''t be able to catch me if I need to escape," he said.


    "So you are almost at the level of a 4th Circle person?!"


    She was already feeling envious of his talent before, but now she didn''t even have those feelings. Leo was no longer talented - he was a monster. More so than anyone she had ever seen in her entire life.


    "Yes, so it should help me in this temple," he said.


    The room he had entered was full of fog and it started to clear out little by little when he entered the room. However, the fog did nothing to hide what was in the room from Leo.

 Chapter 200 Talent

    200 Talent


    He still waited for the fog to disperse, though. Once it did, it revealed the true size of the hall. Unlike the one before, this one could be considered tiny. It was a 20-meter by 20-meter room with a simr ceiling. It wasn''t tiny by itself, but theparison made it seem that way.


    The walls were in and had no decorations at all. There wasn''t anything in the entire room, save for the pedestal in the center. This pedestal was something that he had already encountered before. It was the aptitude testing ball that he had crossed in the 7th tile in the previous hall.


    "Isn''t that the-" As he was asking her, Nefrati confirmed his observation.


    "Yes, it is. But it is a little different. That isn''t just an aptitude test. It will also test the quality of your blood."


    Leo figured that it was there for a single reason - to make sure he was talented enough. Previously, the only requirement for him to pass was that he had Medium Aptitude in the Blood Element.


    For this, however, it would definitely be higher. This was most likely to screen any candidates before giving them any further tests. He guessed that the reason his blood needed to be tested as well was because he was working with the Blood Element.


    He walked to the crystal while keeping a lookout for anything odd. Thankfully, there wasn''t anything weird like that. Nothing happened to him by the time he got to the pedestal.


    Without hesitation, he put his hand on the ball. He would either pass or fail and nothing would change the oue. So he felt no pressure during the test. The orb released a little bit of aura that pricked his finger, causing a drop of blood to fall on it.


    Once the blood touched the orb, a cloud started to form inside. The cloud quickly turned a bright red and started changing colors. It changed to yellow and green before turning blue and then violet. But even after changing to violet like before, it kept changing color.


    After violet, it turned pitch ck. The ck color filled the entire orb. Along with that, it created cracks all over it.


    He took his hand off it with surprise. This was supposed to be a normal aptitude test, so why was the orb cracking? The cracks kept spreading until the orb shattered into pieces.


    With a nce at the remnants, Leo realized there was something inside the orb that he didn''t notice. The orb was initially transparent, so he would know if something was inside. Yet this object magically appeared after it broke.


    The object inside the orb was a piece of ruby that seemed to look like the piece that he got from the first hall. He took out the previous piece and then took the ruby he just found and put them together.


    It was a perfect match. The minute the two were next to each other, they clicked into shape and melded together. They formed a bigger piece that still seemed iplete. But now he was starting to make something off it. It seemed to form a rectangr box.


    Now that he had two pieces, he also noticed that there was something engraved onto the gem. He didn''t know what it was and expected to find out once he found more pieces.


    "Okay, so you passed this one," Nefrati said. "Do you think you can go to the next test?"


    He looked ahead and saw a door leading to the next test.


    "I don''t know. Wasn''t this too easy?" He asked her.


    "That means the next one won''t be. Do you have what it takes?"


    "Yes," he said while walking into the door. Since he didn''t use any energy in this test, he didn''t need to rest at all. The door was wide open and he walked through it.


    The minute his foot walked through the door, he felt like his soul was sucked out of his body. His eyes suddenly lost their vision and his other senses disappeared too. The only times he felt this sensation was when he was controlled by Nefrati and when he entered the temple for the first time.


    After a few seconds of feeling nothing, he slowly regained his senses. First, it was his sense of touch. He could feel the wind blowing on his face. His finger reached out and could feel his face which seemed to calm him. He also felt weird because of what he was standing on.


    It seemed to be a soft squishy surface that was very uneven. He couldn''t seem to ce the feeling to anything he experienced, but since it wasn''t sucking him to the ground he didn''t care.


    Then his hearing came back. He immediately felt out of ce because of what he heard. There were shouts from a lot of people that made him confused. He thought he was supposed to be the only person inside the temple. Why were there other people there?


    As the shouts melded together, his sight finally came back. What he saw almost made him puke. He was surrounded by a sea of blood, being in the middle of a battlefield. The weird sensation he felt while walking was because he was standing on a corpse.


    In his right hand, there was a giant spear, and in his left hand, a head. He immediately let go of the head with a shudder. When he did, he noticed that his arm seemed a little differentpared to normal.


    His hands were a lotrger than they used to be and coarse too. Unlike his hands which were rough from working, these hands were rough from the blisters of using a weapon. As he looked at the rest of his body, he noticed that there were absolutely no simrities between it and his normal appearance.


    The clothing he was wearing had changed and every part of his body was bigger. It was like he had gone into another person''s body. The thought seemed so reasonable that he looked around for any evidence that it was indeed the case.


    He quickly found a pool of blood on the ground. With the sun shining on it, it cast a reflection on everything looking at it. He quickly rushed to it and looked at his face.


    While the reflection itself was a little blurry andpletely red in color, he found out what he needed to know. He wasn''t in his own body. The body he was in seemed to belong to a warrior of some sort and he was currently on a battlefield.


    "Are you with me, Nefrati?" He murmured, hoping that she would say something. After no response, he realized that he waspletely alone in the ce he was brought to. Neither was Nefrati responding nor was his magic working. The only way to survive the ce would then be to use the aura he felt in his body.


    He channeled the aura in his body and quickly realized a thing - the body he was in was very strong. More so than he could ever imagine. He had expected the aura level to be at the same level as him when he entered, but it was very far from it.

 Chapter 201 Battlefield

    Chapter 201 Battlefield


    "Commander! Your orders, my liege?" A man came running from the side and asked Leo. He turned to his side to see a kneeling man.


    "My orders?" He asked, curious about what they were.


    "The enemy has surrendered. Do we ughter them as usual?" The man asked him.


    "No- Yes. Of course, we do. I will be joining you," Leo said. The minute he said that he cupped his hand over his mouth with disbelief. He had no intention of saying those words, but they came out without his control.


    "We are honored to have you join us," he replied and went a certain way. Leo followed the man.


    The minute the man arrived, Leo lost control over the body. He couldn''t control where he was going or what he was saying. The previous interaction was not him but someone else saying those words for him.


    The man led Leo out of the corpse toward an army. There were thousands of soldiers, all Aura Knights, in a group that shouted when they saw him approach them.


    "Blood God! Blood God! Blood God!"


    Leo realized what position he was in. He was currently in the body of the blood god. But what he couldn''t understand was what he was supposed to do. What was the trial about?


    He turned to the person on his side who was looking at him with reverence.


    "We are ready to begin, my liege," his aide said. At this point, Leo still had control over his body, so he decided to get acquainted with the situation.


    "Exin the situation to me," he said to the person beside him.


    "We already killed two-thirds of the Wheeler Kingdom''s army. The rest are people who have either surrendered or people who have run away."


    His mouth suddenly felt unpleasant when he heard this. Why were they going to kill people who have surrendered? If they already won the war, then it should bepletely over, right? As he was thinking this, he lost control over his body again.


    "Kill!" He shouted while lifting his spear.


    The army roared loudly and thumped their own equipment onto the ground three times. Each time they did it, the ground shook three miles out. The sounds were thunderous, creating fear in the people trying to run.


    Beyond the army was a canyon where the people trying to run away were. Those who surrendered were kneeling in neat rows while there were a spare few who were running for their lives in the distance.


    After the three thumps, the entire army turned around and took a step forward. They shouted loudly as they took that step.


    "Hup!"


    When they took the step, the people who had surrendered jerked back in fear. All the soldiers had eyes that screamed for blood. Looking at their captors approach them with the killing intent they disyed openly made the prisoners regret not running away like the others.


    The soldiers took another step forward and shouted. It seemed like they were purposefully leaving a small gap between each step to give their captives time to think about running. But the fear they generated voided that. Everyone on their knees felt their legs be weak when they saw the disy of power.


    After a few more steps, the soldiers reached the first row of prisoners. They didn''t seem like they were stopping anytime soon but the prisoners were still trembling, unable to move. Leo watched as they took another step forward.


    This time, they held their spears in their hands and pierced forward while walking forward. All of them pierced through the heads of the persons in front of them, sttering the remnants of their brains all over the people behind them.


    Leo wanted to look away, but he didn''t have control over his own body. He just watched as the soldiers under his control were going forward, ughtering the helpless people. When the first row of captives was killed, the rest realized what was happening.


    Most of them stood up and were about to run while a spare few didn''t. Those people epted their fate. When people started to run, the army no longer walked forward so slowly. Their superior who was standing in the front shouted loudly.


    "Charge!"


    They all ran forward toward the fleeing enemies with passion. The people who had given up were killed on the way as they chased the Wheeler Kingdom Soldiers. Leo couldn''tprehend what was happening.


    The amount of blood spilling was the most he had seen in his entire life. He had killed people before, but never as grotesque and on a massive scale like this. This was filling his mind full of pictures he wouldn''t be able to unsee. After all, inside he was just a 15-year-old kid.


    They charged forward while his subordinate talked to him.


    "So, my liege, when are we nning on facing the Bandit King?" He asked Leo.


    He was about to reply with a question asking about who that was, but his body acted on its own again.


    "We will attack them as sunrise, Dmitri. Prepare the reserve troops. They will be the vanguard for this attack," he said.


    "But sire, the current army is full of morale. They will do amazing and might feel bad that they are being put to the back," Dmitri said.


    "No. These soldiers are drunk on victory. They will becent, careless, and tired from today''s battle. As for the reserve troops, they will know about this victory. And they will want to prove themselves to be just as useful. Keep the reserves in the front."


    "Of course, my liege. May I ask why you aren''t joining your men?" Dmitri asked him just as Leo got back control over the body. He quickly thought of a good answer.


    "I don''t wish to waste my energy on already dead men. I will lead the battle tomorrow."


    As soon as he said that, he partially regretted his answer. Now he would have to participate in the battle. But then again, he would over the body.


    What he hated the most was losing control over the body. Not probably have to partake anyway. If he didn''t say that and tried to stay behind the front lines, then he would most likely lose control over the body.


    What he hated the most was losing control over the body. Not being able to do anything except observe was scary, and he didn''t like it more than he didn''t like the needless ughter. That was justified because it was war.


    "Then I will take you to your quarters, my liege," Dmitri said and lead the way. He rose to the air and Leo''s body did as well. He finally understood what Nefrati meant when she said flying with aura.


    Until now, he hadn''t used aura so he only knew that the body he was in had a lot of it. A huge amount of it. But now he was finally feeling its effects.


    With magic, he could fly as well, but it was apletely different experience. This was because his magic was more powerful than his aura, and it could easily use the elements. However, it had limitations.


    The flying was not meant to be used in battle, since maneuvering was very difficult. But flying with aura was as natural to him as walking on the ground. He felt he could do just as much and move as freely.


    On top of that, the aura was a lot more powerful. ording to what he felt, he had 8 circles around his dantian. He was an 8th Circle Aura Knight!


    When he realized this a while back, he thought he was dreaming. Then he realized he was. That was when he realized that he was supposed to start figuring out what to do and break out of a daze. He had tried to ask a few questions to Dmitri for that reason.


    The goal right now for him was to understand what he was supposed to be doing to pass the trial he was in. The only way he could do that, for the time being, would be to follow his aide.


    The only thing going in his way was unfortunately the temporary loss of control. Every time he was about to do something that would definitely disturb the natural order of events, he seemed to be losing control and it would correct his responses. It was an easy way to get a little understanding of the situation.


    They floated slowly over the ground, allowing Leo to get a better view of the world he was in.


    It was a massive area without any signs of greenery. There were a few hills and that was it. The rest was a desert. Near the ce he had first possessed the body, there was a campsite. It was gigantic and could easily amodate more than 10000 people.


    This was to be expected though, since just the people he had seen numbered a little over 6000. If there were reserve troops as well, then they would all have to be staying somewhere.


    What piqued his curiosity was why there was a war in the first ce. The scale of this war was far beyond his imagination. All the soldiers he had seen were at the bare minimum, a 4th Circle Aura Knight. There were more than a thousand 5th Circle Aura Knights and around 50 6th Circle ones.


    Even the people who had surrendered were Aura Knights of a simr level. So what made this war happen in the first ce? Why were such powerful people fighting each other? What could possibly be at stake?

 Chapter 202 Bandit King

    Chapter 202 Bandit King


    Leo was led toward therge settlement. At the heart of the innumerable white tents was a bright red one. It was vastly different from the rest so Leo knew immediately that it was where he was headed.


    They slowly descended onto the ground, allowing Leo to regain control of the body. Dmitri opened the cloth tent to let him pass through. Inside was arger area than he had expected.


    The tent looked two meters in diameter when he saw it outside, but the situation was vastly different inside. There was arge area with ten meters of space in front of him. Apart from that, there seemed to be a door that led to more rooms behind the space that he was in.


    A round table stood at the center of the room he was in. Dmitri walked past him to the other end of the table and pulled out a chair there. It was the most decorated chair of them all, seemingly made out of a blood-red crystal.


    He walked to the chair and sat on it. Dmitri pulled out the chair to his side but didn''t sit down yet. Instead, he took out a few pieces of paper from something that resembles a dimensional ring and set them on the table.


    Leo took a look at them. They seemed to be a map of the area he was in. Dmitri immediately started exining what he was supposed to do.


    "Here is a map of the battlefield as it stands now. The Bandit King''s camp is here. He is joined by the Heart Alliance of the Spade and Fire Kingdoms. Together, they will have an army of 300,000 soldiers," he said while pointing to an area on the map.


    The area being shown was highlighted in red and the vast section before it was in yellow. Apart from the Bandit King, there were two other red areas marked there.


    "So these are other kingdoms we have to fight?" Leo asked Dmitri.


    "Yes. For now, we are putting our focus on the Bandit King because of yourmand."


    He thought about what this meant. There were four factions on the battlefield, five with the fallen Wheeler Kingdom. That was at least five powers that were fighting against each other and Leo had absolutely no idea why. The only way he could know is if he asked, but he was worried that it would make him lose control over the body again.


    Every time he asked a question about why things were happening, it would give away his identity. After all, the Blood God would normally know what was happening. So by trying to ask that question, his body would take over and steer the conversation away from that question.


    "So we are going to be facing the Heart Alliance and the Bandit King here?" Leo asked instead.


    "Yes. However, we will need to figure out a method to draw them out."


    "First, are we certain that our army can take such a huge army?" He asked doubtfully.


    "Surely we can. Every soldier here has been trained in the blood aura arts personally by you. There is no other army in the entire world that can stop our force!"


    "Fine. If we are sure of our victory, we can try to draw them out," Leo said with a sigh. He looked at the area the enemies were in. There wasn''t any way to hide people as they were in a desert, so ambushing them would be impossible. As he was thinking that, he noticed an area that was out of ce.


    "That area, what is it? Why is there such an advantageous position?" He asked Dmitri. The ce he was pointing to was a ravine leading funneling out to an open space.


    "Yes, if an army is brought to that area, then it would make it exceptionally easy to ughter them. However, how would we bring them there?"


    Leo pointed to the camp of the Bandit King and then traced the path to the camp they were in. The ravine was the shortest path while the other paths would take far more time.


    "What if they wanted to ambush our camp, and we ambush them here? They would take this path to cross to our camp."


    "They are currently unaware of our ns to attack them. The only way they would possibly know is if we have a traitor. And there is no way that we have a-"


    "Say we do. Then what would we need to lure them inside?" Leo asked.


    Dmitri thought for a second beforeing up with a solution.


    "The best way I can think of would be an illusion. We can have a hundred of our soldiers try to attack the camp. This will ensure that the traitor''s words are perceived as the truth. This set of soldiers will escape through the alternate path that is too long and join an illusion we set up beforehand.


    The illusion will consist of two-thirds of our force, giving them enough incentive to try and attack our force from the ravine. But the only way this will properly work is if the traitor exists and the king believes them."


    "So, are you ready to betray me, Dmitri?"


    ___________


    While flying to the camp of the Bandit King, Dmitri thought about the discussion he had with the Blood God.


    "Sire, surely you can''t expect me to be the one to-"


    "Who else will have the guts to betray me? I am the Blood God. Would anyone in the army dare to even think about turning against me? The only way to ensure they believe the traitor is if they are powerful enough to not ignore."


    Dmitri thought about it and realized this was the only way the n would work.


    "But why this n? We can face them head-on like every other time and destroy them!" He said.


    "I refuse to believe that it is going to be less efficient than this. With a n like this, we will not have as many casualties and we will trim down a huge chunk of the forces. We can''t fight a war treating each battle as the sole battle to fight."


    ______________


    His lord was right. This n could make the fight a lot easier. At the same time, what they were trying to do now was a lot more risky. It would endanger his life immensely, but he was willing to do it for his lord.


    After an hour of flying, he reached his destination. The minute he neared the camp, he saw activity responding to his appearance.


    At the camp itself, there were a few guards stationed at the entrance. One of them noticed the iing person flying through the air. She immediately took out a horn and blew it to signal the appearance of an enemy.


    Immediately, guards swarmed out of their tents to the borders of the campsite, each taking their respective ces. In the heart of the camp was a tent simr to the Blood God''s camp. However, this tent was gold in color.


    Inside, four people were sitting at a table, discussing what to do. The seats they were sitting on were all different colors, except two seats which were both red.

 Chapter 203 Arrived

    ?


    "The Blood God already took out the Wheeler Kingdom. Now there are only four factions left. Him, our alliance, the Gloves, and the Elementals. What do you propose to do?" The person on the gold chair said.


    He was a middle-aged man in a golden robe with avishly decorated sword beside him. The rings he wore screamed out his wealth. Beside him, ady voiced her opinion. She was sitting on a purple chair.


    "The Blood God needs to be gone. He is the greatest threat to us. We should try to get others to agree with us. If either the Gloves or the Elementals join us, our victory is guaranteed," she said.


    Opposite her were the two people in red chairs. It was a male-female duo. The female spoke first.


    "Then what? Once we defeat the Blood God, the others will turn against us immediately."


    "Then we turn against them first. We can do it the minute victory is in sight. No need to wait till we actually kill the Blood God," the person on the gold chair said.


    "Bandit King, I think we shouldn''t bring outside powers. We can take him on by ourselves. They have less than 15000 soldiers. What can they do against us?" The male on the red chair said.


    "Fire King, you are very cautious yet you omit the most important information. The Blood God is not alone. His aide, the Death Bringer, is also an 8th Circle Aura Knight. The only 8th Circle Aura Knights here are the Bandit King and you." Thedy beside the Bandit King said.


    As they were talking, someone burst into the tent.


    "Lords and Ladies! I am profusely apologetic for my intrusion, but your presence is vital. We have an intruder!" The guard said.


    They all got up with surprise. Who was brave enough to invade their camp? Alone too. They all made their way outside the tent and immediately sensed a powerful energy.


    All of them got out their weapons and became wary. The guard who brought them was shocked that his superiors were so wary of the person. To him, it was just a moderately powerful person.


    The group of five made their way to the entrance of the tent where the intruder was standing. To be fast, they flew through the camp. When they got there, they watched the scene unfold in front of them.


    "Once again, Imand you to name yourself. Otherwise, you will be killed!" Themanding officer at the entrance was shouting. The warriors were all baffled by what was happening.


    The person had notplied for the past five minutes so a round of attacks had already gone through. However, the man waspletely unharmed after 10000 soldiers had all attacked him. Of course, all the guards were just 1st Circle Aura Knights.


    The more powerful ones were stationed deeper in the camp. However, 10000 people was not a joke. The aura produced by those many people would kill a 5th Circle Aura Knight. That made the intruder at least a 6th or even 7th Circle Aura Knight.


    At this point, the Bandit King stopped the fiasco.


    "Stop attacking!" He shouted. Everyone froze in their positions and turned back. They saw the Bandit King, the leader of their camp in front of them.


    "We greet the Bandit King!" They all shouted. Then they noticed the other three as well.


    "We greet the Spade Queen! We greet the Fire King! We greet the Fire Queen!" They all shouted.


    They all ignored the chants and slowly descended in front of the person. The intruder was Dmitri. He had expected the situation and hadn''t acted in aggression to keep his impression clean.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "What is the famed Death Bringer doing at our camp?" The Bandit King asked.


    "You are very lucky, Bandit King. I bring you a proposition that will benefit you greatly." Dmitri said.


    "And what is this proposition?" The Spade Queen asked with curiosity.


    "I am willing to join your forces and help you defeat the Blood God," he said.


    "Haha! That is the funniest thing I''ve heard. What made you think we will believe you? The Death Bringer, the Blood God''s most loyalpanion, ready to betray him?" The Bandit King scoffed.


    Dmitri frowned. "I think it is more apt for us to have this conversation inside," he said.


    "Of course. We will escort you to the camp. But you will need to wait for a chair to be brought for you," The Spade Queen said.


    The Fire King and Fire Queen both seemed very skeptical about this. However, neither of them voiced their opinion because they were still safe. Even if he acted up, there were two 8th Circle Aura Knights and countless soldiers to defeat him.


    And if that happened, it meant he wasn''t truly a traitor and that they would be defeating one of the two pirs of the Blood God''s army.


    The group went back to the tent, with Dmitri in the center of the group. He didn''t have a weapon in his hand but that didn''t mean he couldn''t get one quickly. However, it showed his sincerity.


    After a minute of flying, they got to the tent. They descended onto the ground and entered, revealing their setup. The Bandit King waved his hand and the maps on the table immediately disappeared.


    However, in the short time that it took to do that Dmitri had already seen those ns. He smiled faintly while waiting for the others to take a seat.


    Before sitting down, the Bandit King beckoned the guard to bring a chair. For the next two minutes, the entire room was silent, waiting for the chair toe. Neither of the parties wanted to break the silence.


    Dmitri didn''t want to talk to them as if he was their subordinate, while the others didn''t want to anger him by talking to him while he was standing. They might be in a position of power, but they would still face losses if they ended up in an all-out brawl.


    After a while, the chair came. Once the chair was set along the other four, he took a seat. The guard who brought immediately ran out of the tent in fear. The aura that Dmitri was emanating was very intimidating to anyone weaker than him. Even the Spade Queen and the Fire Queen were feeling this intimidation.


    "So, we will get straight to the point. We don''t believe that you are willing to betray the Blood God unless you give us the reason why," the Bandit King said.


    Dmitri smiled. This was the question he thought would blow his cover when the n was made. However, he was sent with the answer already framed. His smile turned a little more sadistic.


    "I want to kill people. That is why I need to betray the Blood God," he said. The minute he said that his calm andposed appearance vanished, revealing the sadistic face of a lunatic.


    This made the weaker of the four want to move away from him, but they quickly let go of their fear. The Fire King and the Bandit King both had serious expressions on their faces.

 Chapter 204 Traitor

    ?


    "Don''t worry. I do not mean that I want to kill you as well. All I am saying is that my ability to kill is being restricted by the Blood God above me. With him gone, I can freely kill anyone I want," he said.


    "How has the Blood God impacted your ability to kill at all? You are his most trusted person and he will give you anything you want," the Fire King said.


    "I didn''t think I needed to exin how the Blood Element works to you. With each person we kill, we hone our elemental power. Why wouldn''t he be stopping me from killing too much? Every time he stops me and kills people for himself. He deprives me of that pleasure and also stifles my growth, giving me just enough to stay strong and useful."


    As he said that, he judged the reactions of the people around him. This was the only way that the n would work - depict himself as a psychotic person being bounded by the Blood God. It was clearly working.


    Even though everyone had a somber expression and was ready to fight him, none of them seemed to think he was lying to them.


    "What do you propose to do to him? How do we beat the Blood God?" The Spade Queen asked. She was very on board with the idea.


    "Their army will be stationed to attack us in a few days. There will probably be a reconnaissance team to gather some information. That will lead to their army."


    "And we go to attack their army in broad daylight in the middle of the Battle Field?" The Fire Queen asked.


    "No. That is just a decoy. The entire army might still be there, but the true force will still be in the main camp. They will leave one dayter than the army through the ravine to get here and pincer us."


    "What true force?" She asked.


    "The elites. Maybe twenty men in total, but the best of the best. The strongest of them all who can easily wipe out half your army. Especially if they are ambushing you and all of you are busy thinking about the decoy army," he said.


    "So what should we do about this true force? There is no point in trying to wait at the ravine. Someone of that power will be able to detect an ambush from miles away." The Fire King said. "The only way we would be able to stay hidden is if we also send only the best of us."


    "No. I am telling you to attack their camp, abandoning your current one. Take your entire army and defeat the Blood God. If you defeat him, then you won the war. Meanwhile, the Gloves and the Elementals are closer to each other so they will soon be in battle against each other," Dmitri said.


    The Bandit King snickered. "I am very interested in this proposal, except that I am afraid of one thing. What is the guarantee that you are on our side? The minute you leave for the Blood God''s side, you will be in a position to pick a side. You can pick whoever wins and act like this moment never happened," he said.


    "I can''t do that. By now, the Blood God will be aware of my disappearance, and my deduction, my betrayal. I will be staying along with you to ambush the Blood God. That is the guarantee that I will be on your side."


    This seemed to seal the deal. If he was staying with them instead of going back to the side of the Blood God, he was willingly keeping himself in danger of being surrounded by unknown powers. This meant it was less likely that he was lying.


    "Then let us talk terms. What do you want for your betrayal?" The Fire King asked.


    "The Blood God''s shrine. I will take his ce as the Blood God and join you as a fourth power in your alliance. In your battles against the other two factions, I will be invaluable."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "We agree," The Bandit King said. "The soldier will take you to your quarters to rest. If you need anything, you cane here."


    Dmitri got up just as a guard entered the tent. He followed the guard outside while the people inside continued their discussion.


    "How do we trust him?" The Fire Queen asked. "This is making it far too easy to win against the Famed Blood God. It makes me question the true loyalty of the Death Bringer."


    "The reason he is betraying the Blood God is reasonable. I understand that he turned to our side. If he gains the Blood Shrine, then he will be a 9th Circle Aura Knight without anypetition. He is doing this for his own benefit," the Bandit King said.


    "And we will just let him be a 9th Circle Aura Knight? Isn''t that too dangerous for us?" The Spade Queen asked him.


    "No. The Fire Kingdom has a 9th Circle Aura Knight, as do the other factions. However, it''s not like we will let him get out of here alive. Who would be willing to let the Blood Shrine fall into his hands that easily? In the short time that the two catapulted into fame, they took down so many kingdoms and amassed enviable fortunes. We will take those for ourselves," the Fire King said.


    They all smiled at the statement.


    __________


    Back at the camp, Leo was wracking his mind. What he learned from his conversation with Dmitri made him rethink whether he wanted to use the Blood Aura or not.


    When he shot the psycho idea, he had no idea that the quality of Blood Aura made the idea stronger. When he saw Dmitri expand on the idea and talk about how it madeplete sense since he wanted to go on a killing spree, it made him scared.


    Killing people made him stronger? He would be absorbing the remnant aura in the blood of the people at his de. He would never be okay with killing people to get stronger. Especially people who didn''t deserve it.


    On the other side of it was the battlefield. At this stage, there wasn''t anyone who deserved or didn''t deserve death. It was war and killing was natural at this stage. What would be ethical here? In this particr instance, Blood Aura was okay to him.


    However, what about outside? The minute he exited the ce he was in and had to make the choice, there wouldn''t be a battlefield like this.


    In the outside world, there were only a few people he would be willing to kill. And that was the people who knowinglymitted sins. This was evident in all the people he killed.


    The cktooth Gang, the bandits, and the nobles. All of them were people who had shown that they were morally corrupted and didn''t deserve to live. Except for those kinds of people, he refused to kill anyone.


    That was what he believed in, and that was what he had promised to the Arcane Emperor. So he would need to decide if the Blood Element was still worth it to him.

 Chapter 205 Thousand Year War

    ?


    There was another thing that he needed to find out. Now that Dmitri was gone, Leo left the camp and walked around the camp. He was looking for where the soldiers were.


    Optimally, it would help Leo if he had a disguise. With a way to disguise himself, he could talk to normal soldiers without revealing his real identity as the Blood God. But he could only wish since he had no idea how to use the aura in his body.


    Even though he could control it, he had no knowledge of the aura techniques needed to showcase its power. As if the body was listening to him, his aura rippled outside. His outer appearance changed into that of a normal person while the power he was emanating also decreased.


    Before, just the pressure from the aura seeping out of his body would have suppressed anyone below the 7th Circle. However, now with the disguise, people would have no idea of his true power. They would think he was a 4th Circle Aura Knight.


    While he wasn''t sure how strong the people he could deceive with his disguise could be, it was definitely enough for the weak 4th and 5th Circle Aura Knights he was nning on talking with.


    Once he had his disguise, he could easily walk through the camp without any problem. He quickly found his way to the center of information - the training ground.


    The training ground was a huge area with numerous people entering and exiting. It was the only ce in the entire camp that had so many soldiers in a single ce. He easily waltzed into the training ground without looking out of ce at all.


    There were a few scarecrows to practice techniques on while the rest of the open space was being used to conduct mock fights. There were around fifty fights happening at once while the rest of the soldiers were just watching.


    To the sides of the training area were multiple benches where the people waiting to fight or those who finished fighting were seated. Leo joined them and sat next to a lone warrior.


    "Hello, I am Leo," he introduced himself. The man looked at him with a curious expression on his face.


    "The name''s Edward. I am assuming that you came here to request a spar," Edward said.


    "No, no. I was just here to converse. Maybe find out things from someone who looks like he knows a lot," Leo quickly said. He didn''t want the other person to think that he was there to fight. That would make it meaninglessly long for him.


    "Oh, what do you want to know, then?" Edward asked. The description of him wasn''t wrong. His grey hair and old appearance made him look wise.


    "Well, for starters, when did you join the Blood God''s army?"


    Edward let out a big sigh. "Boy, is that a story. I was part of the ves going to the Fire Kingdom after my home kingdom had been defeated. There were around a thousand ves in that shipment.


    The Blood God Army took out the ve traders and freed us all. At that time, the Blood God was still very young and was personally overseeing these acts. He saw my potential and offered me a ce among his ranks.


    That was ten years ago. In those ten years, I learned the Blood Arts and grew a circle. Once I became a 4th Circle Aura Knight, I became eligible to register for this army."


    "Wow, then you must be a veteran," Leo eximed.


    "Stop mounting me on a pedestal, boy. You are just as strong as me and definitely have more potential. Is that all you were curious about?"


    "No. I was also thinking about why we are fighting this war at all," Leo said. The minute he said that Edward chuckled.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "Why am I not surprised that young chips like you have no clue about what is going on? Did you register to join the army the minute it was offered to you without bothering to know what you were going to do?


    Well, I can''t me you. Half the people here are just here to kill in the name of the Blood God. You at least realized that the war we are fighting is a lot more significant than simply killing.


    The war we are fighting is a traditional war between every kingdom and empire on the continent. It is known as the Thousand Year War," Edward said.


    "The Thousand Year War," Leo whispered to himself. He heard the name somewhere, or at least, something simr.


    "Yes. The war is also called the Resource war because of what it is fought for. Since it happens roughly every millennium, it is also called the Thousand Year War."


    "Every millennium? Why does it happen every thousand years? And why is it spaced out that much?"


    "That boils down to a single word - resources. And that doesn''t just mean money, mind you. It starts small - from herbs and gold and starts bing bigger. Mines, forests, and territories. People. Everything on the continent is a resource and resources are contested over.


    The differences between kingdoms erupt into minor battles. Minor battles slowly umte enmity and be major battles. Countless major battles like those force the entire continent to start a war.


    The winner takes everything. Simple as that. Except that there were 20 powers when this started. Now we are left with 4. That talks about the brutality of the war. When this war is over, the Blood God will be able to rule the entire continent without opposition until a kingdom revolts against his rule.


    One kingdom will be two and after the passing of the founding emperor several hundred yearster, the empire will break back into small kingdoms fighting for resources. This is a cycle that we have seen for years."


    Leo''s eyes narrowed. "You seem to know a lot for a simple soldier," he said.


    "Ah, I can only assume how you think I got my hands on this knowledge. Let me save you the trouble. I used to be a prince of the fallen kingdom of Nashals. They taught me knowledge that all royals around the continent know.


    I only share it with you to let you know the cause for which you are dying. Now, excuse me. If you aren''t battling me, I will find someone who will," Edward got up and vanished into the pool of soldiers trying to be the next ones fighting.


    Leo tried to digest what he learned. Not just because it gave him a little information about the world he was in, but because it also represented the phase Sria was in.


    As far as he knew, Sria was the only Empire and there was no power opposing it. The current king wasn''t as powerful, which meant that he wasn''t the founding emperor. That could only mean that it was inevitable for the empire to split.


    At least ording to what Edward had said, it would happen eventually. And the split would bring wars with it.


    His thought process was interrupted by a loud thumping drum and an apanying shout that resounded throughout the camp.


    "They are back!"

 Chapter 206 Set Up

    ?


    Everyone stopped what they were doing while Leo''s perception picked up why there was the noise. They were celebrating the return of the soldiers who had finished the battle against the Wheeler Kingdom.


    While they were all rushing out, Leo stayed back. He went to the tent at the center while getting rid of his disguise. Now that he knew all the information he needed, he was going to set the scene for the y he made.


    From what he understood, the most likely way to get out of the position he was in was to either die or win the war. Obviously, winning the war would likely be better for him.


    As he got to the center of the army, he rose to the air. In the distance, a huge army was being led toward the camp by three men on beasts. These were gigantic horses that emitted the aura of a 6th Circle Aura Knight.


    He patiently waited till all the soldiers got into the camp and settled in. This took two hours since they were filled with the excitement of winning a battle. The minute the sound seemed to dwindle, Leomanded his troops.


    "Generals! Assemble!"


    Hismand reached the people it needed to, prompting them to move immediately. They all flew toward him. The people he was calling were the three 7th Circle Aura Knights in the Blood God Army. These were the generals that managed the army in his and Dmitri''s absence.


    By the time they got to the tent, he was already inside, waiting for them to enter. They walked into the tent and immediately kneeled.


    "We greet the Blood God. What do youmand us to do?"


    He looked at them with a little bit of nervousness. After readying himself and preparing what to say, he started speaking.


    "Gather a hundred men and create an illusion array. This illusion should show our entire army in its ce with the aura and the power. I need the hundred men group to carry this illusion array to a particr location," he started exining his n to them.


    To make it clear, he whipped out the maps that Dmitri left him to show exactly where the illusion was to be ced.


    "And what of us?" One of them asked.


    "We will all be hiding some of us on the top of the ravine, waiting to ambush the iing army," he said.


    They all nodded. None of them asked for anything other than their orders. Unlike Dmitri who questioned what his n was, they were following whatevermands he gave them.


    Within an hour, a team of a hundred men departed along with the illusion. It wasn''t yet activated so they were traveling very quickly. All of them were 5th Circle Aura Knights as well, which meant they could fly.


    Once that part was finished, Leo had to figure out the next step. cing the soldiers at their positions without being caught.


    If the n worked perfectly, then the entire army would make its way toward Leo and he would ambush and kill them. The problem was that the entire army included the 7th and 8th Circle Aura Knights thatmanded them.


    They would sniff out the ambush from miles away. The solution to this was presented to him by Dmitry before he left - another array.


    They could hide a small team of elites using an array who would ambush the army. Then the small team would lure the entire army through the ravine to the other side. There would be another array at the exit of the canyon.


    This array would hide the presence of the army waiting for the Bandit King on the other side. This would be far easier than trying to hide the entire army on top of the ravines. It would also cause more casualties since anyone who could fly would be able to deal with the people on the top.


    The initial ambush would solely exist to slightly damage and shock the enemy while luring them to the other end.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    However, this would still require him to dedicate a force for that purpose. He was nning for this force to be everyone who was in the 6th Circle or higher. This kept the number of people manageable and protectable.


    As his orders were going through to the entire camp, something different was happening in the other camp.


    "So you are only taking half the army with you?" Dmitri asked the Bandit King.


    "Yes. We decided to leave half the army here and ambush the Blood God with the other half," he said.


    "And why are you choosing this route?"


    "In a ravine like that, the size of the army would be pointless. And with you on our side, we will be able to deal with the Blood God anyway. Why would we need the entire army?" The Bandit King said.


    "To minimize your risks. If either army is attacked while it is iplete, it will be harder to defend."


    "That is our problem to solve. We only hope that you will y your part in controlling the Blood God and helping us kill him," the Spade Queen interjected.


    "The people who will go with the army that will be attacking the Blood God are me, you, and the Spade Queen," the Bandit King said. "We will also have another 7th Circle Aura Knight with us. She is one of the generals."


    Inside, Dmitri was very happy with the oue. This perfectly split the army into two, giving them an easy way to defeat the first half.


    If they were only facing a single 8th Circle and two 7th Circle Aura Knights, the battle was over before it even started. The tables would turn the minute Dmitri turned back to his real master''s side.


    "Also, another thing I forgot to mention is that we will not immediately enter the ravine," the Spade Queen said.


    Dmitri looked up with a hint of confusion.


    "We will be waiting for our soldiers to spot the army of the Blood God first. Only then will we set into the ravine. You cannot me us for being so cautious, Death Bringer." The Fire King said.


    "I am assuming you willmunicate through a set of one-way crystals."


    They nodded at his assumption. Even though this was a little different from what was optimal, it was still going properly.


    A set of one-way crystals was amunication device that functioned using two crystals. It allowed a person holding the transmission crystal tomunicate with another person holding the receiving crystal.


    The ws of this were that it only allowedmunication in one direction and that it was incredibly difficult to produce. Two-way crystals didn''t even exist and the Bandit King couldn''t afford a second set of one-way crystals.


    "I see the problems that you face," he said while turning his smile a little more sadistic. "But if thises in the way of killing the Blood God, then I will not spare any of you. I am risking my life by turning against him."


    His words pushed the weaker 7th Circle Aura Knights away from him again. They were scared of him and didn''t want to be anywhere near him.

 Chapter 207 Spotted

    ?


    The next day, the small team that Leo sent made their way to the spot that he hadmanded them to reach. Once they got to that point, they set up the array.


    In a few seconds, the empty space was filled up by an entire army. Loud noises resounded through the battlefield, letting anyone nearby know that there was a force there.


    Around a hundred miles away from that spot, the army of the Bandit King also departed. Dmitri and the Bandit King were in the middle while the Spade Queen was in the back. With them were 150000 soldiers.


    The sea of soldiers was making their way to the entrance of the gorge that would lead to the Blood God. The spirits of the soldiers were very high since they had won a battle just a few days ago.


    "How hard do you think dealing with the Blood God will be with just the two of us?" The Bandit King asked Dmitri.


    "It is foolish to attack him without your full strength. But you are in luck. He only has two 7th Circle Aura Knights under him. The third died in the previous battle. This was covered up by the army to let people think they are stronger than they actually are.


    If the two 7th Circle Aura Knights here can take for of them, then both of us will be able to attack the Blood God by ourselves without any interruption. I am a Middle-Stage 8th Circle Aura Knight like you. So is the Blood God."


    "Then why were you always suppressed by him if you are as strong as him?"


    "Do not think that we are on the same level as him. He is definitely strong enough to defeat me by himself if I don''t have any support. The years of killing people made him exceptionally strong," Dmitri said while frowning. He was trying to give as less information about his superior as possible, but the questioning made him feel ufortable.


    "I only hope you won''t be having second thoughts while facing your oldpanion," the Bandit King said to Dmitri while smiling.


    His remark was met with a cold emotionless stare. The sadism before was gone and the face of an emotionless killer emerged.


    "We should get ready to enter the gorge," he responded.


    "Not yet. We need to have confirmation that the army of the Blood God is there. Who knows if his ns changed once he found out that you are no longer on his side?"


    Back at the camp of the Heart Alliance, the Fire King and Fire Queen were resting in themander''s tent. Both of them were seemingly unconcerned about the future battle.


    "Are you sure that we won''t be hurt by refusing to participate?" The Fire Queen asked her husband.


    "Yes, I am sure. It is too risky to do this. I think that the betrayal of the Death Bringer is incredibly suspicious and well-timed. But this is also good for us."


    "How so?"


    "If the two parties take care of themselves, then we will be on top. I already had a few talks with the Elementals before."


    "Why haven''t we joined them from the start? The Elementals are kingdoms like us that we had a good rtionship with for years. We don''t have as many disputes on resources since we only have eyes on a single element. Why did we need to join the Bandit King and his mistress?" The Fire Queen asked with a frown.


    "Because I need to be on the winning side. We don''t want to face the Bandit King - he is far more powerful than you think. The reason he is called that and not the king of the Maldine Kingdom he rules is because of the fortune he amassed.


    The treasures he stole are what make him more powerful than me. The only person who can single-handedly take him on is the Blood God. That is why we decided to target him first. However, once both of those are wiped out, then I can join the elementals and show them what I did for them," he said.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    As he was talking, the tent opened and a guard came in with a sweaty expression.


    "I greet the Respected Fire King and Queen," he kneeled and waited for them to respond.


    "You may rise. What do you have for us?" The Fire Queen asked him.


    "I am here to report that the reconnaissance team of the Blood God was spotted a few miles from the camp. They just crossed the mountain hiding their appearance. They noticed that they were in our line of sight so they backed away, but a guard with good eyes caught that short glimpse," he said.


    "Are you sure it is them?"


    "We sent out a few scouts in that direction to find out. They have the fastest and stealthiest Aura Beasts so they won''t be caught. We will be getting confirmation within 3 hours," he said.


    "How long since the previous army left?" She turned to her husband and asked him.


    "Just over an hour. They will still take two hours to get there, so we have time. We can wait till we get confirmation from them," he said.


    "Come back once you have confirmation whether or not the army is them," she said to the guard.


    "Of course. Thank you for gracing my presence," he said and left the tent.


    "What if it isn''t them?" The Fire Queen asked him. "It is a very short time frame and they shouldn''t be able to get there in such little time."


    "The difference between us and them is that every one of their soldiers is considered an elite. The minimum requirement to be a foot soldier is to be a 4th Circle Aura Knight. It isn''t surprising that they were able to get there.


    Surprisingly, they stuck with their original n. That means that the Blood God might have nned for an all-out brawl. And if it isn''t them, we will tackle the problem then," he said.


    Two hourster, the army finally reached the entrance to the gorge. When they got there, they looked at the area they were going to cross.


    It was an extremely narrow opening fitting 20 men at once. So they started re-ordering themselves into files of fifteen. As they were doing that, Dmitri and the Bandit King were having a conversation about the ravine.


    "The walls seem to be 3500 meters tall. Since the mountain is too steep on the other side and a cliff on this one, we will have to pass through the gorge as you said," he sighed.


    "Fine, I will just let the soldiers rest while you sulk away in your ownpany."


    He went out and allowed the soldiers to rest on the ground. The wait was very long - around 10 hours ording to his estimate. After all, there was so much ground for the other army to cover as well.


    And on top of that, their scouts needed to spot the army too. This would be hard to finish in under 10 hours. Two hours passed in a sh when his leisureliness was interrupted by the buzzing of his receiving crystal.


    "They are here as told. Proceed."

 Chapter 208 Landed

    ?


    "Perfect, we can go now," the Bandit King said to himself. He flew to the top and shouted his orders.


    "Heart Alliance Army! Make your way into the ravine!"


    As they started marching forward, he flew back to the center where Dmitri was. They were previously upying a carriage that was on the back of two Aura Beasts. Now that they were leaving, he decided to get back in.


    The reason was that he didn''t want to let Dmitri off his sight. He was still slightly suspicious that something could happen but didn''t know exactly what it would be. Once he was in, they set off along with the rest of the army.


    Almost fifteen miles away, Leo was standing on the top of the mountain, looking down. He seemed to be very nervous and there was a good reason why.


    It wasn''t the n - he had confidence in that. It was his ability to execute it once it was his turn to perform. Till now, he was just using his head and assigning roles to everyone, but he hadn''t yet battled a person.


    Even if he was an 8th Circle Aura Knight, he didn''t know how to use the aura at all. The best he could do was circte the aura and release it as an inefficient shield.


    The one thing he was counting on was his ability to adapt. Ever since noticing the body automatically disguise itself, he was able to do that himself very quickly. He was just essing the body''s muscle memory once he started using the aura technique.


    But it was far more difficult to experiment like that once he was in a real battle. He could only hope that he woulde out victorious now that he had the upper hand in battle.


    They stationed the soldiers in their respective positions several hours ago. Outside the ravine, the entire army was waiting for the enemies. With the narrow exit bottlenecking the Bandit King''s, army, it would make them chickens for ughter by the Blood God''s army.


    As for him and the other elites, they were at different locations within the path to the exit. Leo was with two of the 7th Circle Aura Knights ready to face the army as soon as it appeared while the others were a mile toward the exit.


    The n was to let the armypletely cross Leo. Once that happened, he would ambush them along with the 7th Circle Aura Knights. Since he was still a lot stronger than the typical soldier, and he had the support of his generals, he would be able to wreak enough havoc to force out the stronger generals toward him.


    The army would also move away from him while the stronger people woulde toward him. If the army crossed the second group, they would keep pushing the army out of the ravine while attacking from the top.


    This would work as long as Leo could deal with the stronger generals. He was hoping Dmitri was safe since the n needed that as well.


    After another few hours, Leo finally saw some movement. The Bandit King''s army had finally moved which meant that he had to get ready. They were a lot slower than he expected but that was probably because they weren''t in a hurry.


    They only had to get to where he was before the day ended. It had only been 12 hours since the day started and their current speed would let them do that.


    As the enormous army passed along and Leo realized exactly how huge the scale was. The army stretched to almost 2 miles and all of them were marching with very good coordination. Every step they took made the ground shake which woke him up.


    He held his breath in suspense while waiting for them to pass. He felt that even he as an 8th Circle Aura Knight wouldn''t be able to get out safely if he was dropped in the center of such a big army.


    In the center of the army, there were two Aura Beasts carrying a carriage. Within the carriage were two people who had huge auras that he couldn''t ignore. The power emanating from them was significantly stronger than the rest of the entire army.


    However, this only made him smile. He knew immediately that one of them was Dmitri. After spending so much time with him, he got a good sense of what felt like his aura and what didn''t. And now that he knew his strongest supporter was still alive, the tension he had was relieved a little.


    Since one of them was Dmitri, so he assumed the other one was a higher-up in the alliance. Other than them both, there were two other strong people. But both of those were not as strong as Dmitri and could easily be taken care of by his generals.


    As the army passed, he waited patiently. Eventually, the entire army passed him, leaving their back exposed to him and the two people with him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Once that happened, he stood up. He hadn''t deactivated the array yet since it would alert the strong people in the army, but it was only a matter of time before he needed to. It helped that he was very far from the strong ones and that they would need some time to get to where he was.


    This was barring one 7th Circle Aura Knight that was in the back. He saw her and immediately decided to target her first. It would be a good idea to pick off the stronger people first.


    Once he exined his n to the other two, they all jumped. The minute they exited the array that was hiding them, every person who was in the 7th Circle or above was alerted.


    In the carriage, both Dmitri and the Bandit King stood up at once. Both of them felt the aura from the rear of the army that rmed them.


    "It is the Blood God. He is here," Dmitri said first. Inside, he felt a little tensed that a fight would break out immediately. This was bound to happen - the Bandit King finding out that his betrayal wasn''t real. However, his idea was to deny it till he couldn''t anymore.


    He could try to remain next to the Bandit King to join the fight whenever required. But to remain next to him, Dmitri would need to maintain that he hated the Blood God. But now that he was there with them when Dmitri said that he would be at the camp, his loyalty would definitely be questioned.


    "Why is he here? You said that he would be at the camp still," the Bandit King was furious that things were not as nned.


    "Are you asking why the Blood God isn''t doing exactly what I told you? If he knows I betrayed him, then he was bound to change his ns. Anyway, we can both take him on. Why are you so afraid?" Dmitri said without showing any care that the Blood God was there. He changed his previously alerted expression to show that he was still a psychotic killer.


    As he said that, the Bandit King realized something.


    "The Spade Queen! She is near him!" He shouted and burst out of the carriage. Dmitri followed behind him with a smile on his face.


    As for Leo and his generals, they dropped down very quickly. All of them knew that they were running a dangerous race. They had very less time before they would getpany which would make the fight more difficult.


    As Leo dropped down, his hand moved by itself and summoned a spear from the ring on his finger. He had found out about the ring once Dmitri used it and had put away the spear before leaving the tent.


    With his spear, he floated to the ground andnded without making a ton of noise. However, it didn''t matter that he made no noise since most of the people who mattered knew he was there.


    Just as hended, his head nked for a quarter of a second. The aura in his body quickly gathered in his right arm which had the spear. It left his hand and entered the spear.


    He quickly regained control and saw the spear brimming with aura. Without knowing what to do, he looked at his subordinates. The minute theynded, they both pulled out their weapons and started charging a gigantic attack.


    Both of them created a huge dragon each with the aura from their body. The dragon was blood red in color and loomed over the Heart Alliance. They looked back to realize that they weren''t alone.


    In front of them were three men who were definitely from the Blood God''s army. They were only a few feet away from them, but for some reason, none of them could move. Their bodies no longer listened to them once the dragons started forming.


    While the two were still charging their attack, someone shot up from the army. It was the 7th Circle Aura Knight there. She sensed the massive auras and immediately got there to prevent any damage to her soldiers.


    "How dare you attack us!" She shouted andnded in front of the soldiers to guard them. However, her expression changed when she saw who it was in front of her.


    It was two 7th Circle Aura Knights and an 8th Circle Aura Knight. It wasn''t just some regr general either; rather, it was the Blood God himself. As she realized this, Leo lost control of his body again.

 Chapter 209 Anger

    The previous time he lost control, he cked out for a split second. But this time, he waspletely aware of what was happening.


    The aura in his body started boiling along with his blood. They quickly circted around his body while also seeping out. Strands of blood-red aura rose into the air to form a gigantic spear. His hand rose and his own spear flew into the air.


    This spear joined the massive one above his head while the aura kept making that onerger. In two seconds, the weapon wasplete. It was a 20-meter-long spear that emitted a bloody aura that made the Spade Queen shudder.


    She backed away instantly and tried to run away. There was no way she would be able to face the Blood God by herself.


    As she was flying away from him, he flicked his arm. The spear flew at her with incredible speed, homing toward her with every intention to kill. She looked back only to find that the spear was right in front of her.


    The tongue of the de tore through the soft armor she was wearing like it was butter and tore through her skin. As it did that, the aura around it exploded outward and entered her body.


    The remaining spear dug out of her back and kept flying forward, dragging her body with it. Once it was past half the army, the spear curved to the left and lodged itself onto the sides of the mountains.


    All the soldiers could see one of theirmanders stered to the walls of the mountains, as could the Bandit King. He had rushed outside just in time to see this happen. The discussion he had with Dmitri only made himte.


    He rushed to the body as the spear dug itself out of the body. As it did that, the blood and aura from her body seemed to be pulled out by it and converged into a small orb. With the orb, the spear flew back to Leo.


    The Bandit King seemed unconcerned about the spear and rushed to catch her body before it fell to the ground. Once he caught her, he took a look at the body in his hands.


    The limp body had no hints of warmth left in it. The lifeless face was pale, drained of all its blood. The Spade Queen''s eyes were still open, showing her expression of horror from seeing the Blood God and her mouth was slightly open from the shock.


    He closed his eyes and turned away, unable to look at her. His right hand moved to close her eyes. Once he set her body down carefully on the ground, he faced the direction the spear flew in. His eyes contained a deep hatred in them.


    Back at the rear end of the army, the two generals were wreaking havoc. Their two dragons were unleashed upon their enemies once they fully umted their power. That single attack wiped out 2000 soldiers, clearing out the path for them to walk forward.


    Leo stepped forward onto the corpses and held out his hand. His spear rushed forward and slid into it while the orb was caught by his left. He took a momentary nce at the orb before consuming it.


    The minute he did, the aura inside burst into a frenzy inside his body. It was full of power and seemed uncontroble for a second, but his aura quickly subdued it and forcefully brought it into his dantian.


    Of course, all of this was being done by the body itself while Leo had a front-row ticket with the experience of every sense. He could not only see but also feel what was happening. He thought it was nothing bad when he just saw the spear kill the woman, but once that happened, something changed.


    After killing the woman and getting the spear and orb back, he realized something was wrong. The orb filled with blood aura seemed very weird. The energy inside it almost seemed as if it was squirming like it was alive. Other than that, it looked like a normal aura pill and he wouldn''t have paid it any mind if he didn''t know its source.


    He realized what was wrong once his body consumed the orb. The aura inside was still someone else''s. In fact, it wasn''t just aura. There also seemed to be another kind of energy that he didn''t yet fully understand.


    Consuming it made him stronger, but it made an emotion in him feel a little out of control. The minute he made the new aura his, the urge to kill more people grew inside him.


    As he walked through the corpses, his hand was held out. The aura and blood inside them flew out as well. This was split into three parts - one for him and the other two for the people who actually did the killing.


    When he took this aura, the urge intensified. He suddenly felt like killing more people. If he was given back control over the body, he wouldn''t stop even if he could. His mind was starting to be blinded a little by the artificial urge that the orbs created.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    Suddenly, he heard a huge roar. In the distance, there was a man approaching him while deeply bellowing. He seemed very upset to see Leo.


    "Blood God! Watch me kill you!" He shouted. Right behind him, Dmitri was flying toward him too.


    They both got to where Leo was just as he regained control over his body. Leo turned to the two generals.


    "Get to the other 7th Circle Aura Knights here and help the other general finish them off. I will take care of this man," he said.


    As he turned back, he noticed that the person he was facing was ready to kill him. It was the Bandit King, but he didn''t know that yet. The Bandit King took out a golden bell from his ring. The bell immediately expanded into a huge structure that towered over him, threatening to crush him.


    The bell with a 20-meter diameter dropped onto him, crushing the edges of the nearby mountainsides as it did. He became trapped inside the bell while still being in control of his body.


    The pper inside the bell automatically moved to hit the inner wall, creating a loud sound. The shock waves from the impact tried to push him away, but he quickly put up ayer of aura around himself to defend against the force.


    As this happened, the Bandit King roared and tried to pull out another treasure. While the bell stopped the Blood God from escaping, it wouldn''t be able to harm a man of that caliber. He lifted the bell, revealing the Blood God who was shielding himself from the sound waves. The minute the bell was lifted, the Bandit King readied himself to throw an emerald harpoon at him.


    However, a sword shing his way made him dodge in the air, making him unable to aim the harpoon in time. He looked at the origin of the sh, only to find Dmitri.


    "Death Bringer! What does this mean?" He roared in anger.


    Dmitri smiled andnded beside Leo.


    "As the Fire King said, I am the Blood God''s most trusted aid. Why would anyone in their right mind believe that I betrayed him?" He turned to Leo. "I am certain that you are unharmed, but I ampelled to ask. Are you okay, my liege?"


    "I am fine, Dmitri. Your support is appreciated," Leo said. He was enjoying the control he got back over his body, but now he had to figure out how to attack the enemy.


    The only attack he could try to attempt was the blood spear that he previously threw at thedy previously. It wasn''t a bad option since it killed the 7th Circle Aura Knight in a single attack. He also had Dmitri''s support so it wouldn''t be very hard to kill the enemy.


    "Why do you seem so upset? I just killed one of your underlings. If what Dmitri said was right about your army, then it should be the Spade Queen that I killed. Why would that make you behave this violently?" Leo asked with curiosity.


    The Bandit King didn''t respond to the statement, but his body showed a lot. His face was shaking with anger and it seemed to take all of his strength to control himself from impulsively attacking the two.


    "When the Fire King and the Fire Queen learn of your betrayal, you will be hunted throughout thends, Death Bringer. As will you, Blood God! The Spade Queen''s father is a Peak-Stage 8th Circle Aura Knight, while my kingdom has an 8th Circle Aura Knight as well. The minute you set foot out of this battlefield, you are dead meat!"


    Dmitriughed. "They will learn of our scheme and might choose to flee. What difference does that make though? We were aware that the Fire Kingdom had a 9th Circle Aura Knight. So do all the kingdoms in the Elementals. But that doesn''t change our ambitions. Once we kill all of you, both of us will be able to get to that stage.


    As for why he is that angry, I believe it is because he is in a personal rtionship with the Spade Queen. It seems to be illicit since the Spade Queen is betrothed to another one of the Spade Kingdom," he said.


    "Well, that is not our concern. Let us finish off this person and move to the army. Having that many people to kill makes me excited," Leo said while having a perverted smile.

 Chapter 210 Mutual Destruction

    ?


    The Bandit King didn''t say anything to the remark and showed his anger with his actions. He took out another weapon from his ring while Dmitri and Leo got ready to fight him. As he did that, his army was being razed to the ground by the small force that Leo brought with him.


    Once Leo told the two generals to go to help the third one, they set out to find him immediately. By the time they got to the other end of the two-mile line, they realized that he didn''t need any help.


    Just as they arrived, the general took down the 7th Circle Aura Knight belonging to the Heart Alliance. The general was pinned to the ground with his own sword wrenched into his chest. Once his aura and blood were stripped from him, his lifeless body was left lying on the ground.


    The third general of the Blood God''s army had more than 50 people with him to help him take down the other 7th Circle Aura Knight, so he was done fairly quickly. Once that was over, their work was cut out for them. There were no longer any 7th Circle Aura Knights or stronger left apart from the Bandit King.


    As for him, he was being taken care of by theirmander and the Blood God, so they didn''t have to worry about him. They only needed to care about bringing the army to the army waiting for it.


    So they set back to the back of the army. Once they left, the soldiers in the front immediately started running in the only direction avable to them. Their minds were filled with panic and dread about what was about to happen to them.


    They had all heard horror stories about the Blood God on the battlefield, but this was worse than that. Even though they were one of the strongest powers on the continent, they were helplessmbs for ughter.


    Even if they wanted to, they couldn''t harm the 6th Circle Aura Knights. They would be toyed with. So they chose to flee toward the Blood God''s camp and try to run away once they exited the ravine.


    The generals and the team got to the back of the army which seemed to be slowly drifting away from the battle between Leo and the Blood God. There was a huge distance that was covered in corpses that seemed to create a sense of safety for them.


    That was why they weren''t running away as fast. However, this changed once the elites of the Blood God army got to them. The many 6th Circle Aura Knights in the army noticed them and immediately rose to the top of the ravine to fight them in the air. If the fight came to the ground, it would only end in meaningless deaths on their side.


    However, they couldn''t even hold a candle to the might of the Blood God''s soldiers. The 7th Circle Aura Knights wiped out the first dozen Heart Alliance generals that headed their way in a matter of seconds.


    After watching their colleagues'' bodies being severed before they could even react, the rest of the 6th Circle Aura Knights reconsidered their options. They realized that the best option was to no longer fight them and flee instead.


    There wasn''t any hope of winning the battle anyway. The one chance they had of killing them would be to sacrifice their 140000-strong army to whittle away their energy. But that was not feasible since none of the soldiers would stay to fight those monsters.


    The remaining 100 generals all flew to the top of the ravine, hoping to fly to the top and climb out of the ravine. However, the Blood God Army seemed to have predicted this and quickly chased them to stop them from running.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    No one seemed to care about the chaos that they created on the ground. With them gone, the order that the army used to have was all gone and a stampede ensued. Everyone who could fly lifted themselves up into the air and flew in the direction of the exit without bothering to care about who was in front of them.


    The rest ran forward, pushing the people in the way. Many people fell down and this created a tumble effect which pulled thousands of soldiers to the ground. No one paid any mind to these fallen soldiers and ran over them, killing them in the hundreds.


    As this was happening, Leo and Dmitri were battling with the Bandit King. Every single weapon that he brought out from his ring was seemingly useless against thebination of the two.


    It started off with the sword he had. It was the Holy Bloom Sword of the Bloom Kingdom that was made two hundred years ago by a master craftsman. It was supposed to be able to make any attack it touched magically transform into petals.


    However, the attacks that were sent his way were so fast that he simply couldn''t match their speed. He seemed to be able to block all of Leo''s attacks, but Dmitri always got to him.


    When that didn''t work, he switched to the Kali Fan, a powerful weapon that could blow both of them away. However, they set up a barrier around themselves that both of them gave aura to, making it too powerful to be blown away by the weapon.


    After a few more unsessful weapons, he realized that it wasn''t working as he hoped it would. The weapons pushed the two into a defensive but failed to do any damage to them. They were able to sessfully fend off every attack.


    The only way they could possibly be defeated is if he risked his life in the process. So he took out a small orb from his ring and got ready to use it. The minute he took it out, Dmitri''s expression changed. Leo sensed the huge amount of aura within it but didn''t know what exactly it did.


    "Are you ready to kill yourself? No 8th Circle Aura Knight can possibly control the Great Lightning Eruption Bead," he said to the Bandit King.


    "I was ready to die the minute I realized who I was facing. If I can bring you down, then I will be happy with that. I will be the one who brought down the great Blood God, even if it means killing myself," he said.


    The Great Lightning Eruption Bead was definitely a treasure that would result in a huge explosion. As Leo realized this, his control over his body was gone again. He sighed inward as the body moved on its own to counter what his enemy was doing. As the Bandit King was activating the orb in his hand, both he and Dmitri were taking countermeasures in their own way.


    Dmitriunched himself toward the orb to try and stop its activation. He attacked with his sword and shed at the orb. However, his attack was dodged easily and he was kicked away. Because he was so focused on the orb itself, he couldn''t dodge the attacking his way.


    "You cannot stop this, Death Bringer. I will prevai-"

 Chapter 211 Kill

    ?


    As he was about to activate the orb, he looked at what the Blood God had nned for him. Just as he did, his eyes opened wide with shock.


    In front of him, an array of thin needles flew toward him with great speed. He tried to activate the orb in a hurry, but the needles reached him before that. They drilled through his body, leaving hundreds of tiny holes in them.


    After a second, blood started to seep out of the holes and stained his golden robe. He coughed a mouthful of blood and looked down. As he understood his current condition, he slowly started falling down.


    He tried to muster the aura to activate the Great Lightning Eruption Bead but he simply couldn''t. His body no longer moved any part and his consciousness slowly faded as well. Before hepletely fell to the ground, he could see the face of the person who killed him - the Blood God.


    Once the body fell to the ground, the blood and aura inside it seeped out into an orb like before. Dmitri recovered from being kicked deep into the wall of the mountain and got out. He seemed slightly injured but not too much. As he limped toward where Leo was, he noticed the orb in his hands.


    Leo looked at him and saw that he seemed a little interested in it.


    "Do you want it? It is a good gift considering this happened because of you," Leo said.


    "I can''t ept this, my liege. You killed the man. It is only right that you use it and not me."


    Leo ignored his words and tossed the orb at Dmitri. Without looking back, he walked forward. In front of him, there was the fleeing army that had gotten a mile away while they were fighting. There was a general waiting for him to be ready to get a report.


    The general quickly flew to him and bowed. "I greet the Blood God! The Bandit King stood no chance against you," he said.


    Leo regained control over the body at this point and asked what the status of the battle was.


    "Where are our forces?"


    "The elites are all heading back after taking care of the fleeing Aura Knights. As for the people below the 6th Circle, none of them are strong enough to fly at an altitude high enough to cross you. All of them are still fleeing toward our army. The faster Aura Knights should be encountering them by now."


    "How many people have escaped?"


    "None, so far, my liege. We have sessfully taken care of all the generals who tried to flee by air. We assume that no one escaped from this side and the army can take care of the people exiting the ravine," the general said.


    "Good. Now, I want to take care of the army in person. Let''s go," Leo said. His mouth unknowingly curved into a small smile as he flew toward the fleeing army. The general flew right behind him while Dmitri quickly took in the orb.


    Leo was unconcerned about whether his subordinate was right next to him or not. At this stage, the battle was essentially over. Only the weak soldiers were left.


    Within a few seconds, he was hovering over the back of the army. They were all concerned about running forward that they didn''t know they had a huge threat looming behind their backs. The horde of soldiers was pushing forward with no regard for the people in the front.


    It was tamepared to the sight a few minutes ago but it still showed the dysfunctional state of their army. As they were running, they heard a chant.


    "I see the exit!" A soldier in the far front shouted.


    His shout was not audible to anyone in the back except for Leo. However, the people in the front repeated it once they heard him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    "There is an exit nearby!"


    Half a minuteter, the entire army was full of hope now that the exit was in sight. As they were filled with the optimism of escaping, a gigantic spear pummeled through the hundreds of soldiers in the back.


    The aura wave it brought along with it dragged the corpses in its direction. The spear seemed to have no intention of slowing down and kept rushing forward. It only stopped after running through more than 3000 men.


    When someone looked back to see what the aura behind them was, they saw a wave of corpses being hurled at them.


    "Brace!"


    The thousands of corpses flew at the soldiers, pushing them forward with so much force that they couldn''t stop themselves. More than 2000 soldiers fell down because of this.


    Leo stepped on top of the wall of corpses and walked forward. As he took the next step, he noticed that the ground below him was moving. He looked down and saw that the body he was stepping on was still alive.


    His leg instinctively pressed down, killing the body instantly. He raised his hand the blood and aura within the corpses started to rise up. Itpiled into arge orb in his hand which he consumed without any hesitation.


    When he did, he felt the familiar sensation of the rush of aura. His eye gained a faint hint of a red hue which seemed negligible. Along with that, he also got the previous urge to kill more people.


    "Run! It''s the Blood God!" The people who saw this screamed. Everyone started running faster than before which he ignored. He was concentrated on the pile he was standing on. The majority of the people there were still alive.


    As he was thinking that, Dmitrinded behind him.


    "I can take care of these soldiers, my liege. You can go ahead and kill those ants in front of you."


    "Thank you, Dmitri. You are always so... dependable," he said in a daze.


    His body floated back into the air and shot toward the running soldiers. He put himself in the middle of the running crowd without any concern that the momentum would push him away. His spear was out and thirsty for blood, but he put it away before hended. Instead of that, he took out a halberd.


    It was the same halberd he had seen in the statue outside the first temple he went to. He swung it a single time, releasing a wave of aura that spread out around him. With a single swing, he decapitated a hundred people.


    The blood and aura of these people automatically rose and formed an orb that shot to his hand. He consumed it without any change in his attacks. To him, creating the orbs and absorbing them started to be a very familiar process.


    At this point, the people in the front finally exited the ravine. They seemed very excited since they could finally try to run away from the demons behind them. However, the minute they exited the gorge, they encountered a more frightening horror.


    "Soldiers! Kill!" A loud shout came from a person on top of an Aura Beast at the helm of the army.


    "Kill! Kill! Kill!"


    Hismand set off the army and they started chanting the word. Each word struck the hearts of the people who just exited the valley with fear.

 Chapter 212 Small Victories

    ?


    The sight of the imposing army in front of them made all the fleeing soldiers halt in their positions.


    "Ambush! There is an Ambush in the front!" They shouted desperately, hoping to get the people behind them to stop as well.


    The soldiers in the front weren''t worried about the worries in the back so they stopped while rying the information to the ones behind them. However, the soldiers all the way in the back were concerned solely about the demon in the back who was ughtering his way to the front.


    Leo charged forward as meaningless attacks were thrown his way. A few brave souls realized how useless running away was and tried to attack him. However, their arrows and des did very little to stop him. They only managed to slow him down for a tiny amount of time by being a nuisance.


    His shields remained unharmed even after thousands of soldiers like this tried to attack him. Once they did, he waved his halberd once, slicing off the heads of the attackers. He just charged forward, ignoring the few people who remained alive behind him.


    There were both Dmitri and the general who could take care of them on the way. He kept charging forward with nothing stopping him, leaving countless bodies behind. As people realized that fleeing was meaningless, they kneeled down and tried to surrender.


    "We surrender!"


    The pleas of the soldiers fell on deaf ears. Their knees on the ground only helped them make their fall more gentle. Some of their heads were still attached to their necks, but most of them didn''t enjoy that luxury.


    They were sharing a simr fate on the other side of the ravine where the army chose to stop right at the exit. Attacks from the Blood God''s army poured onto the Heart Alliance. No one seemed to mind killing those who surrendered.


    The ughter was violent and short. Within an hour, the 150000-strong armyy on the ground. The stench of blood was in the air but no one seemed to mind it. Standing atop the corpses, Leo looked around.


    The scene was eerily simr to what he experienced when he entered this strange battlefield. He was standing on top of a mountain of corpses then too. Dmitri approached him but maintained a distance when he noticed the look in his eyes.


    Leo''s eyes had a very noticeable hint of red that made him look scarier than normal. He looked back at Dmitri who backed away.


    "How many casualties?" He asked.


    "Twelve, my liege. A few soldiers got too excited when seeing so many people kill and eagerly rushed for more achievements. The cornered army ughtered them. They are, after all, a veteran army."


    "Twelve is manageable. Get the soldiers ready. We are leaving to fight the rest of the alliance."


    "Of course. The entire forces here belong to the Bandit King and the Spade Queen. The Fire King withdrew all of his forces from the attack. He might have predicted this oue."


    Leo smiled. "That is okay. He will be crushed either way. You were right, Dmitri. We are the Blood Shrine army! We didn''t have a need to resort to tricks like this. With opponents this weak, we will be ughtering them whether there are 150000 soldiers or 300000 soldiers."


    "Blood God! Blood God! Blood God!"


    Chants of the Blood God loudly bounced around the ravine. With the victory, all the soldiers were very excited.


    "We will leave immediately. I trust that everyone can fly, so we can avoid the corpses. The army has to reach there in an hour. By then, I will join the decoy. We will pincer the camp with this army and the illusion that we sent beforehand," Leo said to Dmitri.


    "But they will know that one of the armies is an illusion."


    "It doesn''t matter. I am only going to guard my soldiers. Once we surround the camp, we will battle it out like normal. There shouldn''t be a big problem once we get rid of the stronger generals andmanders."


    The orders went out and Leo set out to reach the team he sent out the previous day. As he flew through the sky, he saw what seemed to be the camp of the Heart Alliance far away in the distance. Well, it was more of the Fire Kingdom''s army since both the Spade Kingdom and the Maldine Kingdom''s armies were wiped out by him.


    The camp wasn''t as far as he thought - only a hundred miles from his location. With the amazing senses of his body, he was able to see it even from where he was. In the distance, he could see his own army as well.


    As he got closer, he noticed that he wasn''t alone in approaching the army. There were multiple individuals maintaining a safe distance while scoping the army. He realized that they were scouts.


    One of them was camouged as the sand on the desert and was crawling toward the camp. The only reason he was picked out by Leo was because of the unreal perception of his body. There were a lot of perks to being an 8th Circle Aura Knight.


    As the scout was crawling toward the army, Leonded right behind him. The scout realized this immediately and slowly turned back. The bone-chilling aura that was emanating from behind her shook her mind.


    When shepletely turned around, her body shuddered. In front of her was a person d in a blood-red robe. His bloodshot eyes that seemed to stare into her soul and the blood dripping from his halberd weren''t making it any better for her.


    A drop of blood dripped onto the ground from his robe which made her realize that the robe wasn''t supposed to be red in the first ce. There were hints of a lighter red which seemed to be its original color. The darker shade was artificially created by blood stains all over it.


    With this much blood around him, she came to a conclusion very quickly. This was someone who had either massacred or witnessed the massacre of a lot of people and hade to the Blood God''s army. It was easy to assume that he belonged to the Blood Shrine.


    "Lord-Lord General. Please spare me," she whispered.


    "You are here to spy on my army. Tell me, why should I leave you? Give me a good reason," he said with an emotionless. His hand was very tempted to just wave his halberd and decapitate the girl, but he was holding off on the urge.


    "I can- I can give you information! The Fire Kingdom thinks that the army here could be an illusion. They are nning for an invasion from the south from where the rest of the Heart Alliance entered a ravine."


    His mouth curved into a smile.


    "That is indeed a good reason. What is your name, girl?"


    "I am Laury," she said. Her eyes were filled with hope that she was going to be free.


    "Well, Lauri, let me give you a piece of advice. And let this be thest piece of advice you receive. Don''t try to go against the Blood God."


    His halberd swung down at her neck, slicing her head off her body.

 Chapter 213 Bad Planning

    ?


    He didn''t even bother draining the body of its aura and blood since she was just a 4th Circle Aura Knight. The amount of aura in her body was pitiful and uselesspared to what he received from the massacre earlier.


    Previously, he was a Middle Stage 8th Circle Aura Knight, but this pushed him a little closer to the Late Stage. While he was unsure exactly how long it took for people to move up in stages at a level so high, he didn''t expect it to be very short.


    If given arge enough war, then he would be jumping up levels like crazy. It would make him strong a lot quicker than any other aura knight given that he was willing to kill anyone for it.


    After stepping over her body, he looked at the army in front of him. He could see through the illusion very clearly and saw a hundred men standing in the surroundings. His mouth moved and he whispered something, but no sound came out of his mouth.


    A little bit of aura congregated at his mouth and then flew toward all 100 of those men. They all heard a whisper in their ear.


    "Start moving with the array. You need to be at the camp of the Heart Alliance within 10 minutes."


    Everyone''s eyes frantically searched around for the origin of the sound. They were sure it was the Blood God but wanted to find him first. When they looked up, they found him. He was in the air, observing their actions.


    "Blood God''s Army! March!" The person in the leadmanded.


    They were all on aura beasts, so they were really a lot faster than normal soldiers. Since it was just an array that they had to carry, it wasn''t hard to do. Each one of them was carrying a g which represented a part of the illusion.


    With the array, they made the sharp turn to go to the camp. The minute they did, the entire camp was alerted. The guards at the gates were quickly alerted by the sudden appearance of the army but were not shocked. They were aware of the existence of the Blood God''s army for a long time.


    "Attack! The Blood God''s army ising toward us!" One of the guards shouted.


    The entire army scrambled to assemble while some of the guards rushed to tell theirmanders. Inside themanders'' tent, the Fire King and Fire Queen were having a discussion.


    "So, will the army be able to win? If they do actually encounter the Blood God?" The Fire Queen asked.


    "Maybe not. I am counting on them to lose, actually," The Fire King replied.


    "Then why did we send them? Isn''t that very dangerous? If the Death Bringer goes back to his side, then we will be next. How will we win?"


    "There are two options to consider. One is that the Death Bringer was truly a traitor. If he was, then he will not be spared. But that would end in the Blood God''s loss since he would lose to the both 8th Circle Aura Knights.


    However, he would probably take down one of them with him and injure the other one. So it won''t be a problem for us to take the remaining person. My real expectation is that the Death Bringer never betrayed the Blood God and was not a traitor this whole time."


    "But.. but that would mean sure-fire victory for them. And they would be killing one of the 8th Circle Aura Knights too!" The Fire Queen was shocked and confused at the same time.


    "Well, at least one of them should be dead by now though. The Bandit King isn''t an easy person to kill. He has a treasure that is the equivalent of a 9th Circle Aura Knight self-destructing. He will be taking down at least one of them with him."


    "And what if he doesn''t?"


    "Then he will harm them at the very least. We might not be able to take them down as we are, but we will with reinforcements," he said, which shocked her even more.


    "Where will we get reinforcements from?"


    "The Elementals havee to a stalemate with the Gloves with no one initiating an attack. So I am borrowing the help of an old friend - the Wind King."


    As he said that, a guard burst into the tent.


    "Respected Fire King. I deeply apologize for the intrusion, but the Blood Shrine Army is only a few minutes away from us. We need your presence," the guard said.


    "We will be there. Leave us now and get the army ready," he said. As soon as the guard left, he slumped onto the chair.


    "No... no this can''t be happening. It shouldn''t be possible," he muttered.


    "Why? What is this army? Where is iting from? Isn''t the main force of the Blood Shrine still at their camp?" The Fire Queen saw her nervous husband and started to freak out as well.


    "This can only be the army behind the mountain. But I was sure that it was just an illusion. The scouts didn''t confirm it, but they didn''t report any signs of a high aura level which meant no real generals.


    But if they are attacking, they could be the real deal! I should have checked for myself to make sure it was them!"


    "But if the army is here, then doesn''t that mean the Death Bringer didn''t betray us? Tell the army toe back using the one-waymunication crystal. At least the Bandit King can make it back in time. If both he and the traitor can, then we will be able to fend them off easily," she said.


    "Yes! That is brilliant. It also means that they should either be unharmed or have already dealt with the Blood God!"


    "What about the Wind King? What happened to his support?"


    "I only sent themunication for him today once the Bandit King was gone. The crystal delivered the message, I am sure of that, but for him to make a move it would take more time than what has psed. He won''t be of any help during this battle."


    "Let us go, then. We need to stave off the army till that time," the Fire Queen said while exiting the tent.


    He nodded while taking out his crystal from his ring.


    "This is the Fire King. The army of the Blood God is ambushing us. We need you and the Death Bringer back immediately. We will be able to deal with the Blood Godter."


    The message reached its recipient. The current holder of its corresponding crystal was Dmitri. He had looted all the generals, the Bandit King and the Spade Queen since the Blood God never bothered to.


    Since he was holding on to the crystal, he got the message and knew what was going on. He smiled and shouted to the army.


    "Hurry up! The army needs to be there in 40 minutes! Go forward at full speed and ambush the Heart Alliance from the back. Generals! Take care of the army. I will be going ahead first to aid the lord."

 Chapter 214 Betrayal

    ?


    The army of the Heart Alliance took twenty minutes to get out of the camp and properly assemble themselves. So they were all confused about how they weren''t attacked yet.


    What they saw was that the Blood Shrine army was a mile away from them, waiting for them. They didn''t seem interested in attacking first at all and this made the general inmand a little uneasy.


    The Fire Queen and Fire King rose into the air and looked in the direction of the army. They saw the two powers facing off each other but not attacking first. They quickly flew there to make sure that the battle wouldn''t start without them.


    When they got there, they felt a powerful aura in front of them. In the sky, the Blood God was staring at them with his cold eyes. He had a spear in his hands instead of the renowned halberd.


    "If he is here, then the two will being here to help us. We just need to stall for time. For someone like them, they would only take a couple of minutes or less to get here," the Fire Queen whispered to her husband.


    He nodded while flying up into the air.


    "Blood God! The famed Aura Knight who rose to fame after ughtering an entire kingdom. What can I do for you?" The Fire King greeted Leo.


    "If you could offer your head without any hassle, that would be appreciated," Leo returned a jokingment.


    "I am afraid I cannot do that. But I can offer something else. An alliance and a traitor. If I offer you the traitor, the Death Bringer, then would you consider joining me to conquer the rest of this battlefield?"


    Leoughed for a second before realizing something. The person in front of him still believed that Dmitri wasn''t on his side. That opened up apletely new set of possibilities. He would only need to stall till Dmitri came and the Fire King would then think that he had the advantage.


    "Keep talking. Why would an alliance with you be of any benefit to me? I can destroy the Elementals and Gloves by myself," he said.


    "You are mistaken about that. The Elementals are abination of five kingdoms, each contributing a single 8th Circle Aura Knight as well as 100,000 soldiers. There are numerous 7th Circle Aura Knights in that mix. It would be far too difficult to take them down by yourself.


    As for the Gloves, they only have three 8th Circle Aura Knights, but their leader is in the Late Stage, making him the strongest person on this battlefield. But we only need to wait for them to erode each other off and we can take care of the remaining forces."


    Leo was going to keep talking, but he realized that a strong force was approaching from the ravine. It was Dmitri, which meant he no longer had to keep dragging the talk.


    "I appreciate your offer, but I think I can manage without you."


    The Fire King smirked. "Your judgment is bad, but it won''t matter. I was only dragging the time out and now that the Death Bringer is here, we won''t need to stall anymore."


    He looked down at the vast army and shouted.


    "Fire Kingdom! Attack!"


    Leo responded quickly to that.


    "Retreat!"


    Hismand puzzled all the people present. Why was he trying to evade the fight that he started?


    Following hismand, a hundred men on aura beasts exited the army. It seemed surprising that they were able to fit the aura beasts inside the army and bring them out with ease. These hundred men started retreating in the direction they came from while the huge armyy in their positions.


    When they saw this, both the Fire King and Fire Queen realized what happened. They hadn''t paid enough attention to the army because the Blood God was present. Once they did, they immediately recognized the usage of an illusion array.


    "The army isn''t here? Then where could it be?" The Fire King was puzzled. As he said that, Dmitri flew close to the three people. The Fire Queen greeted him instantly.


    "Death Bringer! You came! But where is the Bandit King?" She asked him.


    Dmitri looked at Leo and the Fire King who were both looking at him. Leo nodded at him which seemed to convey all he needed to know.


    "He is dead."


    "Dead?"


    She never got an answer to her question. Her head was sliced off by Dmitri before she could react. She believed that he was still on her side and didn''t expect an attack from him. Given that he was also stronger than her, she couldn''t do anything to stop her death.


    The Fire King''s eyes widened.


    "ine!" He shouted and was about to go to catch her while she was falling, but an attack from behind stopped him from doing that. In front of him, the Blood God was stopping him from moving forward.


    He looked back again at the falling head of his wife when he saw that the Death Bringer was keeping both the head and the body in the air. What he saw only saddened him more. All the aura and blood were sucked out of his wife and absorbed by Dmitri.


    Once that happened, the body was left to drop onto the ground. It fell without anyone to stop it. Even the 7th Circle General on the ground was too afraid to do anything in front of the Death Bringer and Blood God.


    The body fell all the way to the ground until it hit it and sttered into a pile of blood and flesh. The Fire King winced and looked back at Leo.


    "Fire Kingdom! Attack the two people at the top! Don''t worry about the crossfire and the army in front of you! Only attack the two enemies!"


    His shouts triggered the entire army who took out their ranged weapon if they had any. Those who had bows nocked their arrows and quickly released them at the Blood God.


    Dmitri saw this and flew toward them. He waved his hand, creating a huge dome with his blood aura. It surrounded Leo, him, and the Fire King as well. The arrows struck the dome and bounced back without doing any damage to it.


    Some threw their spears and swords into the air but it didn''t affect the dome at all. The only attacks which seemed to make an impact were that of the remaining 7th Circle Aura Knight. His attacks created a small crack in the dome which disappeared only a second away.


    "I can keep the barrier for around 5 minutes, my liege. I hope that you can finish the fight by then," he said to Leo.


    "Of course. He isn''t as much of a threat," Leo said.


    The Fire King looked at Leo bitterly but didn''t try to refute his arrogant im. What he said waspletely true. The Blood God was already known to be stronger than people in his realm, and the Fire King was a minor stage less than him. His chances of victory were bordering zero.

 Chapter 215 One Sided

    ?


    When he realized this, his eyes no longer contained the hatred the had before.


    "Consider my previous deal, Blood God. With the three of us, we will be able to win against anyone. We will rule the continent for the next thousand years!" The Fire King pleaded.


    "Do you know the difference between you and the Bandit King? He was willing to die taking revenge for the woman he loved, even if no one knew about his rtionship with her. But you don''t even care as long as you can get out alive. Would I want someone like that on my side?" Leo asked him.


    "Of course not, but I swear to be an ally who will remain loyal to you at all times. You letting me live will be a favor that I will not forget. Please let me-"


    He was droning on which made Leo irritated. His right arm moved by itself and the spear in his hand shot toward the Fire King.


    He dodged the attack while regaining his bitter look.


    "If it''s going to be this way, then don''t forget. I am the Fire King, the one with the highest affinity to the Fire Attribute. Defeating me will not be as easy as you think."


    He brought out a huge mace from his ring and held it in front of him. The mace was a very unorthodox weapon that Leo hadn''t seen before but it didn''t deter him at all. His spear was reced by the halberd and he faced off the person.


    At this point, Leo was no longer feeling any sort of tension when he was fighting since he no longer cared about anything except the fight. He wanted to fight and kill the person in front of him. That was all that mattered.


    And once he killed the person, he would absorb the essence that he could extract. After that, he would move on to the next person and repeat. So when he suddenly lost control over his body, he got incredibly upset.


    The body moved on its own and started to fight the Fire King. But for the first time, Leo started to fight back for control. He was done being pushed out of control whenever the body deemed it necessary. What he wanted to do was kill the person in front of him and he wanted to do it by himself.


    He concentrated heavily on moving his body by himself, but that failed to achieve anything. This wasn''t his first attempt doing that so it was unsurprising that it ended in failure. Since he wasn''t gaining control of the body, he decided to do what Nefrati did - try to gain partial control.


    Instead of concentrating on the entire body, he focused his mind only on his left hand. After thinking heavily about moving the hand by himself, he suddenly felt his left hand was free. The rest of his body still moved by itself and he felt like an immovable brick, but now he could feel his left hand.


    At this stage, it wasn''t making as much of a difference in the fight because the Blood God was dominating over the Fire King. Every attack thrashed him to the corners of the dome they were in and made him bleed.


    The Fire King seemed to be blocking every attack with his mace, but the shockwave that the shes and thrusts were creating was slowly adding to the damage.


    Once Leo got control over one hand, he decided that it wasn''t enough. He wanted more and he needed to do it quickly. If he blundered and took too much time, it would allow the Fire King to attack him when he was defenseless.


    His mind concentrated on regaining control over other parts of the body which happened smoothly. Once he was in control of the torso and chest, the body seemed to have given up. Leo got back in control by himself for the first time.


    He looked up at the Fire King who rose up. His eyes were different than before. Previously they seemed to have calmed down and his attacks were very methodical. It was clear that he was slowly wearing his opponent out while making sure nothing happened to him.


    But now, his eyes showed a crazy bloodthirsty look. It made even the Fire King take a step back in fear. The look was something he would only expect from someone who was backed up in a corner and was willing to even risk their lives to kill and get out. It didn''t make sense for someone in such a superior position to have eyes like those.


    Unlike before, his next attack was filled with aura. There was no attempt at conserving it as the halberd swung diagonally at the Fire King. The sh was quick but he dodged in the nick of time. It wasn''t a perfect dodge though.


    The attack was able to sever his arm from his body. Along with that, it also sliced the Blood Dome that Dmitri had created around them. That was how powerful the attack was.


    The Fire King grasped his hand with pain as he tried to escape from the dome. However, another attack came before he could move away. Leo wasn''t trying to make his opponent feel pain. He only wanted to kill him and take his blood and aura.


    So the strike was going for the head and it cleanly did its job. The head flew off the body into the air. Before anything could go anywhere, Leo summoned the aura inside the body and absorbed it. Once that was done, he let the body drop to the ground.


    The falling body was high up in the air - almost a mile. While it fell onto the ground, the majority of soldiers didn''t know what was going on. Only the general and the 6th Circle Aura Knights did.


    "Retreat!" The general shouted. Now that themanders were both dead, he was the highest rank in control. He wanted to get the soldiers out of the battlefield that had the Blood God as soon as possible.


    Hismand puzzled everyone. Not because it was a retreat, but because they didn''t know where to go. Typically, they would only receive instructions about a retreat when they attacked other armies.


    This would be about where to retreat to. But now they didn''t have those instructions because they were defending their home base. No one ever considered that they would be trying to retreat from someone who did something as brave as attacking them at their own base.


    But who expected two 8th Circle Aura Knights, one of whom they invited into their camp like a guest?


    "Where to sir?" One brave soldier asked.


    "Run! Escape from the demon!"


    The only words that came out from the word of the general seemed very weird. Why was he giving such an exaggeration of an 8th Circle Aura Knight?


    As they were thinking that, a body fell to the ground. Even though the body seemed sucked out of any hydration, people could still recognize it. It was theirmander - the Fire King.


    "Run!"


    People finally realized why their general said those words.

 Chapter 216 Personality

    ?


    Once the Fire King was killed, Dmitri released his barrier. He no longer needed to shield the fight. The minute he didn''t need to protect the Blood God and lifted the barrier, he raced toward the annoying 7th Circle Aura Knight who was attacking him.


    "Come here, you pest!"


    The general saw the iing Death Bringer and turned away. His eyes showed his fear as he dove low into the crowd of soldiers. His hope was to use the soldiers as a shield against the 8th Circle Aura Knight.


    Dmitri saw this and smiled. He waved his hand, forming clouds over the area where the general hid in. The clouds quickly turned into a dark shade of red and burst.


    A rain of blood poured from the sky. Every drop was filled with a small amount of aura which made it a weapon. When it struck a person, the drop pierced through their skin and dug into their body.


    One drop was enough to make a person feel a heart-wrenching pain. Two would make them want to die. The rain of bloodsted only a few seconds, but it elicited the most agonizing screams the battlefield had ever heard.


    All the soldiers in a quarter-mile radius were in the impact zone and were screaming in pain. The weaker ones died instantly, but most of the powerful ones stayed alive. However, that might have been a better result since they had to experience the pain they were going to.


    The general hiding in the crowd was wracking his brain. The rain didn''t do anything to him, but he still had to figure out how to escape. Once all the people around him were dead, his aura would be very apparent to the people flying above him.


    He was not very optimistic about his chances to stay alive since the Blood Shrine didn''t take prisoners. But he would still try to stay alive as long as possible. This was because he knew that if he stalled, the chance that he stayed alive would increase.


    Dmitri was sadisticallyughing while jumping down into the middle of the 150,000 people army. He was ready to start ughtering his way toward the fleeing general


    Meanwhile, Leo at the top was staring nkly at the people on the ground. His eyes no longer looked human. They werepletely bloodshot without any hint of white left. Along with the change in his eyes, there was also a voice booming in his head.


    "Kill!"


    The chants that his army chanted when he first entered the world appeared in his mind and were overwhelming him. As he looked down at the remaining army, the only thing he could think about was how he could kill every single one of them and absorb them for himself.


    When Dmitri was killing people, he felt irked at him and wanted to stop him from taking away what were his spoils of war. He was supposed to be the one killing the entire army. Not Dmitri.


    This was just a fleeting thought that passed through his mind but it achieved something extraordinary. In the depths of his mind, behind the new shell of his thoughts that solely wanted to kill people, his true self was hiding.


    It didn''t want to be a part of this trial anymore. This went against what he came here for. He wanted to gain a proper aura technique so that he would have an alternative to magic that was as powerful.


    However, if this was what the alternative meant, then it wasn''t what he wanted. He would stick to the magic he learned and the aura techniques he had. If Nefrati gave him a better one, then that would work as well.


    But he definitely wouldn''t pursue the blood aura technique. However, even if he came to that realization it didn''t change his current position. He was still stuck in this trial that didn''t seem to have a purpose.


    He had been trying to find out exactly what he needed to do to end the trial and the best answer he got so far was to kill everyone that existed on the battlefield. The idea scared him so much that he created a shell around himself and decided to let the body do whatever it wanted.


    He had gotten to this stage once he went through the massacre of more than a hundred thousand people. The personality that had acted from then on was just a small remnant that seemed to know what was right and what was wrong.


    Inside, Leo was just biding his time, hoping that he would be able to escape once the killing was over. However, the new chants told him that his n wasn''t working. Something was wrong with his body and he would need to take over the reins, even if he had to see the massacre ensuing with his own eyes.


    He broke out of his shell and opened his eyes, merging with the part of his mind that was battling till then. The minute he did that, he felt his head fell like bursting open. He sped his head with his hands in pain as the chants that he was hearing became louder.


    The only thing he could hear was the chants of the army.


    "Kill! Kill!"


    At this exact moment, another chant slowly became audible.


    "Blood God! Blood God!"


    He opened his eyes to look at the source of the chant. His head was still hurting but he wanted to see if he was imagining the new chant as well. His sight was incredibly blurry and covered in a hue of red.


    All he could see around him were the bodies of people painted in red. Dmitri was dancing through the army dropping bodies in his path. Everyone seemed to be fleeing from him, ignoring his presence.


    He noticed that the Blood God above him was motionless, but he ignored it. His concentration was solely on finding the rat who was hiding among the crowd of soldiers around him. In the time he had taken to get there, he lost the general''s position and couldn''t find him anymore.


    The general was nervously running away from the Death Bringer along with the rest of the soldiers. He had hidden his energy because it would be a dead giveaway to someone as strong as who he was hiding from.


    Meanwhile, Leo was still facing his own troubles. His hand automatically moved and tried to wave the halberd it was holding. He quickly held his right arm with his left and looked away from the people. He saw a new yer in the distance. It was his army.


    They were chanting his name as they got closer and closer to where they were. The chants were starting to be as loud as the chants in his head which made the splitting headache he had even worse.


    His entire body was itching to wield the weapon it had and kill everyone it could see. Suddenly, the concept of ally and enemy seemed to have disappeared in his mind. The only thing he could see in front of him was prey. And he was the hunter.

 Chapter 217 Interference

    ?


    The general was hoping in his mind that he would soon be rescued. The reason he had even the faintest bit of hope was that the Fire King had called for reinforcements a while back.


    The person he had called for was the Wind King. Obviously, the Elementals wouldn''t allow someone of such a high stature to go alone. There would definitely be apanying 8th Circle Aura Knights who woulde when they found out that the Blood God was there.


    However, the iing Blood Shrine army was not making it any better for him. He was lucky in that the army was away from where he was trying to run away. But it would make the Death Bringer focus on his side which was worse for him.


    As he expected, Dmitri focused his attention on the other side when he saw the iing army. He looked up again at the motionless Blood God and shook his head. He seemed the least bit bothered about his condition.


    Leo was going through a huge crisis. He could barely control what was happening in his mind. It was a battle that was the hardest he had ever fought in. The battle was between him and the new impulses that the Blood Aura brought.


    A huge part of him wanted to get rid of any remnant of consciousness and start killing people immediately. And he was the consciousness in question. So he was no longer bothered about the outside world and was focused on fighting himself.


    He could feel the mindless killer in his head trying to take over his body and kick him out entirely. So he resisted vehemently. His eyes were threatening to close and his senses were slowly fading. The sweet embrace of sleep was calling for him.


    But he ignored those calls. Giving in at this point would mean he would no longer exist. He wouldpletely transform into another person. So he forcefully kept resisting. The pain intensified but he still held on.


    His efforts to take control were starting toe to fruition. He was on the defensive for a long time, but that seemed to change. A minuteter, the pain started to fade which gave him the ability to try and control the body.


    He was taking back control and it was visible. The redness in his eyes was starting to shrink and the chants in his head disappeared. A sh of red passed through his head and he realized that he could now see what was previously formless.


    Before, he seemed to be fighting a formless force. But now, in front of him, he could see a visualization of his enemy. It was a version of him, the real him. He saw the scrawny 10-year-old boy from the slums of Sria with a dagger in his hands.


    The difference was that this boy had eyes of hatred. Eyes that were showing that he was ready to kill anyone to survive. This was him at a point in time. And it was a part of him that existed.


    This trial was able to nurture the lost part of him to a level that made it uncontroble. Leo stepped forward and reached his hand out at the boy. The boy looked at him with the same hate but didn''t refuse the arm. He was about to touch it, but a jolt of pain knocked him back to the real world.


    He opened his eyes, now seeing the world in full color. He looked down at his chest and noticed that there was an arrow sticking out. The familiar red color made a part of him grow out.


    His eyes closed slowly before opening again. The previous clear white eyes were gone, reced bypletely red eyes. Leo was back in his mind, out of control. He could only observe what was happening as the savage part of his mind was taking control of his body.


    A mile away from Leo, a green-robed man was looking at the person he struck. He turned to the person beside him who was wearing a blue robe.


    "How did someone like that kill the Fire King? Surely, the Fire King isn''t that weak," hemented.


    "You are overestimating the Fire King, Wind King. But I am still very surprised that your attack connected. The Blood God has a very high reputation. Well, all of these are going our way. With both the Blood God and Fire King gone, we will only have to deal with the Gloves."


    "I agree. I will stay here. You go and take out the Death Bringer. We can leave the Blood Shrine Army. They are harmless."


    Leo fell to the ground but cushioned his fall right before he impacted the corpses below. The blood and aura in a lot of them were still left, so he greedily absorbed all of it. Once he did that, he looked at the arrow.


    It had struck him in his right chest, missing most of his internal organs. The only reason it had even touched him was because he not moving and battling in his head. He pulled out the arrow while wincing.


    Once he did that, he looked in the direction of Dmitri. For the first time since the Fire King was killed, Dmitri paid attention to the condition he was in. He rushed to where he was and got there in seconds.


    "Are you okay, my liege?" He asked while smiling.


    Leo ignored his question and stood up. His eyes were full of blood lust toward the person who harmed him. He looked past the iing 8th Circle Aura Knight and met the eyes of the Wind King who was a mile away.


    Another arrow came flying toward him, but he caught it with his left hand before it struck him. With a small movement of his hand, he snapped the arrow into two like a twig. Then he flew up into the air.


    "Take care of the person in front of us," he said to Dmitri before dashing toward the Wind King.


    The Blood Shrine army saw all this and quickened their speed. They were nning on getting there quickly to aid theirmanders. As for the Water King, he was questioning whether to stay or retreat.


    He wasn''t nning on dealing with the entire army along with the Death Bringer. And the Blood God on top of that? It would be a lot harder even if he had the support of the Wind King behind him. If only the Blood God stayed down with a single arrow.


    When he saw the iing Blood God, he prepared for battle. He took out his sword and flew to meet him. The sword danced around, creating a dragon made out of water in the air. It was about to crash into Leo, but another dragon flew from behind him.


    This dragon was made out of blood and was as big as the water dragon. Its creator was Dmitri. The two dragons crashed, resulting in an explosion of aura. Leo went past the explosion, ignoring the Aura Knight who attacked him. He was only concerned about the person who attacked him first.

 Chapter 218 Breaking Free

    ?


    As his body charged at the person who attacked him, Leo was thinking about what to do. He could have taken back the body at that time, but something stopped him.


    He reached out his hand to his other personality because he wasn''t willing to let go of it. That was a part of him that might have been out of control, but it defined who he was. He wasn''t trying to change that but control it instead.


    But because he hesitated and tried to go back to normal, he wasn''t able to gain control over the body before his savage sense.


    His primitive mind controlled his body and flew it straight toward the arrows. All of them missed or were caught by him. They wereing at him at full speed and were filled with power so he needed to coat his hand in aura.


    As he got closer to the archer, the arrows were getting faster and faster. Even if his hands could still handle the force of the arrows, he was not fast enough to catch them. His only option was to create a shield.


    But instead of creating a shield that would slow him down, he chose to keep flying forward at full speed. This move waspletely unexpected and took the arched by surprise. Why was the Blood God not trying to block any of his attacks? Was it cockiness?


    Some of the attacks missed, most were dodged, and Leo caught a rare few, but the rest passed through. Around three of them struck Leo in his abdomen but he didn''t even wince. His expression only showed his one goal - to kill.


    He wielded his halberd and sliced at the man immediately after getting near him. The green-robed man jumped back to dodge the attack.


    "I am surprised that you took so many hits. It makes you seem very desperate to kill me. Anyone else would think we have a blood feud." Hemented.


    "I do want to kill you. Very badly."


    His demeanor showed off that desire. He swung his halberd while he was almost a tenth of a mile away. A wave aura burst forth toward the Wind King.


    He winced and quickly retreated while setting up a shield. The shield cracked and burst open when it impacted the wave of aura. He was thrown back a few meters but didn''t suffer from any serious damage.


    However, when he looked up he was face to face with the Blood God with only a few inches of distance.


    "And I don''t think you will be able to stop me," Leo said.


    The distance between them was minute so the Wind King could see every detail of Leo''s face. From the bloodshot eyes to the numerous blood stters on his face, everything he saw confirmed his conception of the Blood God. He reeked of a bloody stench that was proof of the people who died at his hands.


    "Don''t think I will fall as easily as the Fire King. I am an Early-Stage 8th Circle Aura Knight like him, but there were multiple times when I have bested him inbat. And you are just a wounded person who fought a war. What makes you think you will even be able to touch me?"


    Leo smiled. He red out his aura without controlling it at all, revealing the extent of his power to the person in front of him. The minute he did that, the Wind King''s expression changed.


    "No... no this. can''t be. You are a Late-Stage 8th Circle Aura Knight? Only one person on this battlefield is supposed to be on that level and it isn''t you."


    He backed away slowly from Leo in fear. His smile faded and his face showed his fear. There was a very small chance he would win if he was going against a Middle-Stage 8th Circle Aura Knight. But if it was someone in the Late-Stage, then he would die instantly.


    This was the reason the Gloves and the Elementals were at a stalemate. They couldn''te up with a way to defeat themander of the Gloves without sacrificing more than half of their army.


    "Wait! Don''t kill me! If you spare me and the Water King, then we can offer you an alliance. If you help us defeat the Gloves, then we will give you-"


    As he was pleading for an alternative, his head went flying. The Wind Kingpletely gave up on fighting and tried to plead for an alliance, but Leo was not interested in him speaking at all.


    "I don''t want an alliance. I only want to ki-"


    As he said that, he suddenly knelt on the ground. His head started to hurt again and someone started to take control of his body. It wasn''t someone foreign though, it was Leo. Well, the part of Leo that had been pushed back and had a repulsion toward the obscene killing.


    "Leave... leave me alone!"


    Inside his head, the 10-year-old kid with blood shot eyes roared. In front of him, the grown-up 15-year-old was smiling at him. This teenager was properly nourished and didn''t seem as skinny as the kid.


    "And what are you nning on doing once I do leave you alone?"


    "I will... I will kill. If I kill, then I can be stronger. I will everyone I need to kill to be as strong as possible."


    "And why do you want to be strong?" The teenager asked the kid.


    "To live without being under anyone. I can do whatever I want without being afraid that I will die. I will be able to live with my friends without worrying about-"


    "What friends? You said you will kill everyone. Once you do that, you will be alone in the world. What do you n to do in a world like that?"


    His question stumped the kid.


    "I... I will spare my friends."


    "We both know that once you start killing like this, then we will be the only ones left in the world. No one will want to be near us except our enemies. The only thing that will remain is fear. Do you want that?"


    His question only angered the kid.


    "What do you want? If you want to control the body, then fight for it! Stop trying to make me change!"


    The teenagerughed. "We both know that taking back control isn''t hard for me. I am done with this stupid trial and I only gave you back control so that you would see the expression on that man''s face. What did you see when you killed him?"


    "Fear! Fear toward me! It means that I have power and he didn''t!"


    "Yes. And what did that give you? Now that you killed him? Another enemy. And you will probably be continuing this until you die. Killing enemies and forming new ones. It''s an endless cycle that I can''t allow. So I am putting an end to this."


    "What do you want to do then? Kill me? Take back control and give up on the trial? You don''t even know how to do that!"


    "No. I won''t kill you. You are, in the end, a part of me that I can''t let go of. Without you, I won''t be able to kill anyone. Killing isn''t what is wrong,ck of control os the problem. I am the control, and you are the killer. We are two halves of a whole and need to be whole. That is what this trial was about from the start."


    "You know what the trial is about? Don''t make meugh!"


    "Yes. I do. Ever since the trial started and we lost control over the body for the first time, we separated. And you slowly merged with the mysterious power that was controlling the body. It pulled you out of me.


    After a point, whenever I lost control over the body it was just you who was using it. I only realized it once you killed 150000 Soldiers. Outside of this conversation, you are starting to merge with the body and be a part of it instead of me.


    That means that to finish the trial I only needed to get rid of the outside part that is trying to steal you away from me. By trying to win this war, I am only getting further and further away from my goal.


    Everything that happened to us that pushed us toward killing just separated you from me. Every time I thought that Blood Aura was about killing it made me shell up away from it while drawing you closer to it.


    To finish this trial. I need to merge with you and finally take over the body once and for all."


    His long speech struck the kid. Once he heard and thought about what the teenager said, his body started glowing. He looked up.


    "You might be right, but I am only trusting you because of who you are. Do remember, you will never be able to cage a part of yourself, so don''t try to do that."


    The glow became brighter until it was blinding and then disappeared in the blink of an eye. The kid in front of Leo was gone and had transformed into a stream of light. It moved slowly toward his chest and disappeared into him.


    The loud chants were still resounding in his head.


    "Kill! Kill!"


    But he ignored them. They no longer meant anything to him because he had full control over that urge. He opened his eyes and smiled. The red in his eyes had faded again, and there was no chance that it wasing back.

 Chapter 219 Passed

    ?


    When he opened his eyes, he noticed that he was in apletely different cepared to before. The battlefield was reced by a grey stone room. The limp body of the Wind King was gone, as was the army behind him. The shouts in his head had disappeared too.


    But most importantly, he could no longer sense any hint of blood aura. Instead, he could feel the magic in his body flowing around. His mind was clearer than ever and the flow of magic seemed even more freepared to before.


    "Are you okay?" A voice sounded in his head. It was a familiar sound that he had started to miss.


    "Yes, I''m okay. How long was I gone for?" He asked the voice.


    "Gone for? You just entered the room. What do you mean gone for?"


    Leo was puzzled for a second before realizing that the trial had only taken a second. Since it was all in his head, the progression of time was skewed. It wasn''t the same as real-time. So even though he spent more than a few days on the battlefield, it was only a few seconds in the real world.


    As he was thinking that, Nefrati interrupted his thought process.


    "Is the trial already over?"


    "Yes. Good guess."


    She sighed. "It wasn''t a guess. The trial was probably one that tested your mental fortitude, right?"


    "Yes, I think. How did you find out?"


    "Well, your presence has changedpared to before. I am starting to dislike your talents at this point, Leo. Not only did you pass the trial, but you also reached a stage in your soul that took me over ten years to achieve."


    "What are you talking about?" Leo was confused. The only thing that changed was his perception of himself. He was sure that he hadn''t grown stronger other than that.


    Suddenly, it hit him. His flow of magic and aura were both just a little different from before. But that small difference was very noticeable. His flow was already very smooth before, so making it better would be helping him a lot.


    It would make his attacks a lot quicker to activate and stronger too. And once he came back from the trial, he felt that his magic flow and aura flow were smoother than before. She was probably referring to this change. However, what she said next was a little different from what he thought.


    "You reached the Dual Mind Stage."


    "The Divergent Mind Stage?"


    "Yes. Everyone innately thinks that they are one person and so they are one entity. But as people get stronger, the different personalities in everyone develop slowly and start to branch off.


    But the problem is that people don''t recognize this as a different personality. Eventually, they will either try to unconsciously kill this new personality, or be taken over by it. Normally, the new personality is only a little different from the old one and the difference isn''t as noticeable.


    However, there were numerous cases on the battlefields where soldiers became killing machines once they participated in war for long enough. They never left that state. There are other cases like people being introduced to other vices.


    However, the Divergent Mind Stage means that you recognized that there are multiple personalities developing inside you. And instead of killing it, you are controlling it. It is a very high level of mind development that people generally reach in the 7th Circle."


    Leo nodded. "Well, what benefit does it really give me? If is it worth it? Having another personality?"


    "Yes. By recognizing its existence, you are considering it as a part of yourself. So that means it will merge back with you and make your mind and soul a lot stronger. Now, the soul itself is a very mysterious topic that even the strongest of my generation are dubious of. So, I won''t be able to exin how that will work.


    All you need to know is that it will help you while circting your aura and any other power that you use."


    "Magic," Leo reminded her.


    "Yes, magic. It should help in that too, if I am not wrong."


    He nodded in response even though she wasn''t in front of him.


    "Anyway, it will also help in making fast decisions during battle. Training will also be faster. Having it at a young age and low power like this is a boon to you."


    "Thanks for the information."


    Once he was done discussing with her, he looked up. The room wasn''t empty but he was too busy talking to notice exactly what was surrounding him.


    The ''room'' he was in was a giant hall. There were massive pirs supporting the ceiling that popted the entire room except for a single corridor.


    The corridor was illuminated by white crystals emitting light. They only shone the path brightly, leaving the rest of the hall dim. He could only see the pirs outside the path in front of him and nothing more. Everything else was too dark and his perception seemed to be blocked off.


    Aftering back from his trial where he was seemingly omnipotent, his perception seemed verycking to him. He could no longer look into people a mile away like before, nor could he kill thousands of people at once. Of course, his perception was blocked off by the nature of the temple itself and it wasn''t his strength that was the reason it didn''t help him.


    The darkness around him seemed to highlight the path ahead. It lead down a long 100-meter tiled path to a shrine. The shrine was madepletely of gold but it wasn''t the brightest object there.


    Inside the shrine, the idol of worship was made out of a ruby. Leo had never imagined that a single ruby would be able to so massive that an entire idol could be made out of it. He walked toward it to take a better look at it.


    After a minute, he was standing in front of the idol. It was a life-size statue of the Blood God. He had experienced his body, so he knew that it was a perfect representation. The fact that there was a halberd instead of a spear also made sense to him.


    One of the things he realized during the trial was the importance of a weapon. There were differences between weapons that made a huge difference in battle.


    Compared to the spear, the halberd was a far superior weapon. He wasn''t sure if it was because the aura it gained after being drenched in the blood of millions of death gave it a natural killing aura, but it made a difference. His attacks were stronger with it than with the spear.


    It made him realize that he was very foolish for hiding the weapon of the Viscount. He had gained a staff from the Viscount back in Solhaven, but he never used it because he was afraid.


    He was afraid that if he did use the staff and someone recognized it, he would be caught. However, that didn''t really matter to him because he only went around in disguises. It wouldn''t matter since he could discard those disguises whenever he wanted.


    Apart from the halberd, another thing caught his attention.

 Chapter 220 Statue

    ?


    There was a small chest in front of the statue that was simr to the ones in the first room he encountered. The difference was that this chest was incredibly tiny. He could guess that nothing big would fit in it, so he expected one out of two things.


    The chest was closed, so he bent down and opened it. Inside was what he expected would be there - another piece of the ruby slip he had been collecting. It was the third piece so far and it seemed to be the final one.


    He took out thebined piece from before and held them together. When he did, the two attracted each other and shot out of his hands. They snapped into ce, setting off a chain reaction.


    A huge amount of aura was released from the small slip in his hand. It startled him a little so he quickly put up an Arcane Shield around himself.


    The aura congregated around the statue, making it glow. As the aura levels rose, he got a little concerned for himself. As if sensing his concern, Nefrati calmed him down.


    "This might seem like a lot of aura, but it isn''t. For someone at that level, even if he put a small array, it would release at least this much aura to activate. That is the price for anything tost for eons without deteriorating."


    "So what will happen now? What array is he activating? Another test?" Leo asked.


    "No. I think you are done with all the tests. Since you came out of the mental fortitude test without bing insane, it means you passed it. And that is generally the most important, dangerous, and final test that I would expect from him."


    Leo trusted her words and waited for the aura to show its results. He was curious to see what something from several hundred years ago would look like.


    The aura didn''t show any signs of stopping. As it grew without bounds, it reached a level that was suffocating to him. It was like the gravity steps at the Eldridge Academy, but multiple times more difficult. And that was when the pressure started.


    As the aura kept increasing, he was forced onto his knees. He was panting while rapidly circting all the magic in his body. Unfortunately for him, the amount of aura only kept going up. His entire body became pinned to the floor, making him unable to move.


    All of a sudden, the aura was absorbed by the statue, relieving all the pressure on him. With his body free all of a sudden, he could breathe properly. He stayed on the floor and took a deep breath, enjoying the freedom he got back.


    However, hisxness was very short-lived. He realized that he was no longer alone in the room. His body bolted up and backed away from the shrine. Inside, the statue was unlike before.


    The statue''s eyes that were previously closed were now open and staring at Leo. Their gaze was unnerving, given that its eyes were made out of ruby like the rest of the statue.


    "So... you must be the one who passed my trials!" A low rumbling voice sounded in his head. He couldn''t see the lips of the statue move, but he knew that it was the source of the sound.


    "Blood God?" He asked with curiosity. Since he didn''t know how to converse with the Blood God inside his head, he said it out loud. Unlike Nefrati who was living inside his head and could read his thoughts, he was guessing the Blood God could only transmit into his head.


    "That is the title that I have been called for the majority of my life. I am not concerned about what you choose to call me. My only interest is what you choose at this point."


    "What do I choose?" Leo asked, puzzled at his question.


    "I am presenting you with a choice, boy. You can be my sessor and inherit that Blood Shrine or you can walk away with the prizes you have so far."


    In his mind, Nefrati was shouting with excitement.


    "Take it! Take it! I never thought that I would live to see the Blood God finally ept a sessor. This is unbelievable!"


    While she was saying that, Leo smiled sheepishly.


    "I am sorry, but I cannot ept that position without knowing what the Blood Arts entail. If I am being pushed to kill as many people as possible to grow stronger, then I would rather stick to the subpar aura manuals that I am using now," he said.


    His response didn''t trigger the Blood God as he thought. He only got back a calm response.


    "Typically, I would have let you go. But I do not wish to let go of someone with as great potential as you. Moreover, I do not want you to leave with your incorrect understanding of Blood Aura.


    To kill people and take their aura for yourself is indeed the fastest way to grow while using Blood Aura. It is unique to the Blood Element. However, in my Blood Shrine, it is highly restricted.


    You will be taught it during your training but instructed clearly to not use it unless required. Each time you use this technique, you are also absorbing the malice and grudge left behind by the freshly deceased. These emotions need to be purified before beingpletely absorbed or they will separate your mind.


    The only thing that will make this easier is by achieving the Divergent Mind Stage like you have. But it is still not necessary for you to use methods like that to grow in strength. If you ignore that one technique and train like normal, you will still progress faster than every other element."


    After his exnation, Nefrati scolded him.


    "Are you retarded? Why would you say no because of your foolish questions? You are lucky that he even-"


    Leo wasn''t in the mood to listen to her even though she only meant to give him good advice. He knew everything he needed to make the decision so he wanted some peace to do that. His tattoo glowed and her voice faded away.


    He was now in peace to think about the choice presented to him. However, when the tattoo glowed, the Blood God noticed it as well.


    "You are not solely an Aura user. That is very surprising."


    Leo''s eyes shot up with surprise. He didn''t expect the Blood God to realize that he had magic. But after thinking about it, it wasn''t as surprising. Someone of that strength would know if he had a different power than aura.


    "Yes. It is called Magic."


    "I know the existence of magic, though I understand your assumption. It is not native to this continent so none of the residents here are aware of it. I am surprised that you are using magic though, because I have never seen a native use it." He said to Leo. "But more importantly, I also sense that you are not without a master."


    Leo''s sheepish smile returned as he exined the origin of his magic.


    "I inherited my magic from a tome. The tome of the Arcane Emperor."

 Chapter 221 Student

    ?


    "The Arcane Emperor... I didn''t think I would hear that name on this continent." The Blood God said.


    His statement made Leo confused. The previous words too suggested that there was another continent that magic seemed to be from. The Blood God seemingly figured out that Leo was clueless about the matter, so he exined it to him.


    "The Arcane Emperor is from a different continent, as is magic. I visited the ce once I conquered thesends and realized how different it is there. The resources are abundant and everyone can use magic.


    And the Arcane Emperor is a mythical figure that has existed on that continent. His legacy still continues to this day in your form and it is far more valuable than mine. You inherited it, which means that you cannot be my sessor."


    Leo frowned. Just as he was starting to consider the option presented to him, it was taken away from him.


    "Don''t worry. You can still receive my teachings. While you cannot be my sessor, you can still be my student. I will give you all the knowledge you need and a few treasures. However, the title of the Blood God and the most important treasures will remain for my sessor. Of course, you still need to ept to shift to the Blood Element."


    Leo took a minute to think. It was a pretty straightforward choice - learning from someone so obscenely powerful that he would be able to be strong enough to do anything he wanted. He only took time to make sure he wasn''t being hasty.


    But there weren''t any seeming shorings to the deal. And if there was, he would either go back to his normal aura with great effort or forsake it and only use his magic. He didn''t know how changing the element of his aura would proceed, but the Blood God would probably teach him that.


    "I will do it. I will be your student." Leo said. His eyes were clear and didn''t waver with any hesitation. They showed that his decision was not going to change.


    "Good. Then you must ready yourself."


    "Ready myself?"


    The aura from the statue left it, making him crumple down onto the ground. The aura pressed him to the ground again. This time, it converged into the figure of a human that approached him.


    The figure of the human was ethereal-like, making it seem like a ghost. It approached him, floating through the air. The closer it got, the stronger the pressure grew. As it drew close, it whispered to him in a raspy voice.


    "Only 15 years old, and yet you have aplished so much. You will grow finely as my student."


    The human-like figure kept drawing close until it was right in front of him. It didn''t stop and passed through him. The aura swept through his body and passed through. Once it did, it dispersed.


    As the wave of aura swept through him, his mind went through a very familiar process. It was the same thing that happened to him two years ago when he first encountered the tome of the Arcane Emperor.


    A wave of knowledge swept his mind and anchored itself in him. He magically gained knowledge of things he didn''t know about before. It was the effect of what the Blood God did to him, of that he was sure.


    The aura disappeared along with any hint that it was there in the first ce. As he got up and looked around, he noticed that the ce he was inpletely changed. There was no shrine in front of him and the ruby slip that he had with him when he got there was gone.


    He checked for thepass that he had used to get to the temple but that was gone as well. And the room he was in had morphed into a smaller chamber. The grey, stone walls seemed to suffocate him as they were only a few meters away.


    The room he was in had barely any space to move around. There was a single addition to him in the entire room - a small chest. This was not a chest like anything he had seen before.


    This was made out of ruby without any other adornments. It didn''t need them though. The aura it emitted told Leo that it had an item that would be considered very precious.


    He walked a single step and bent down to open it. His hands were steady as he expected nothing of great value in it. While it was definitely something precious, it wouldn''t be any of the Blood God''s greatest treasures.


    After all, he was only a student and not a sessor. The item he would get would still be helpful in his journey, so he was going to ept it with gratitude.


    He opened the box and looked inside. There was a single ne with a pendant. The pendant was a drop of blood made with ruby and the chain was braided gold. It was a simple ne that wouldn''t look odd hanging on the neck of a man.


    "You are very lucky, Leo. That ne is one of the most valuable things you could have gotten from the Blood God," she said.


    She hadn''t made a single remark for a while because he suppressed her for a long time. Because of that, she hadn''t been able to see and hear the conversation between him and the Blood God about the Arcane Emperor.


    Once the conversation was over and the room he was in changed, he undid the restriction he ced on her.


    He raised an eyebrow at her because of her remark. "Why is this the most valuable?"


    "The strongest treasure from the Blood God''s treasury would be his halberd. But how much of its strength can a 2nd Circle Aura Knight like you hope to use? It would be a normal weapon in your hands.


    But this ne ispletely different. It is valuable because it has a power higher than you that you cannot change. At my level, it ispletely useless. But for you, this can be a lifesaver."


    "What does this do?" He became curious about the ne.


    "This ne can automatically block an attack for you. It can even defend against the full-strength attack of a 7th Circle Aura Knight," she said.


    "Only a 7th Circle? It is incredibly useful to me, but it doesn''t make sense that someone that powerful has an artifact this useless to him."


    "It doesn''t just block a single attack. This can block ten attacks and can be recharged to attack more. However, you will probably not be able to charge it." She exined.


    "How would I charge it?"


    "You would need to... kill 1 7th Circle, 10 6th Circle, or a hundred 5th Circle Aura Knights to fully charge it."


    He sighed. She knew that he wouldn''t prefer it because he wasn''t a huge fan of killing as he mentioned in his conversation with the Blood God.


    "It doesn''t matter. I will still be able to use it to save myself. This will be very valuable to me." he told himself.


    "So, did you be his sessor?" Nefrati asked him. She hadn''t been there for that part of the conversation either.

 Chapter 222 Continent

    ?


    "No, I didn''t. He said that I couldn''t be his sessor because of a fewplications."


    "You should have taken the chance when you got it. But you must have gained a decent amount from this temple. You can use the pill with an Aura Manual that I have. It isn''t one of the best Shadow Element Manuals in the world, but it is better than what you are using," she said with a tone of disappointment.


    "Actually, I already have an aura manual. He gave me the Blood Element manual to me."


    His response didn''t elicit any response for a few seconds. After a little bit of silence, Nefrati asked him a question.


    "So, why did you get that manual?"


    "Well, he made me his student instead of a sessor. So I have the manual and techniques I need for a very long time."


    "You are very good at being lucky, Leo. Now, I am assuming that he gave them to you in your mind, so you need to train the technique and change your element. Once you get to a safe ce, I can help you with that," she said.


    Leo nodded. "I would do that, but I was considering just doing it here. Wouldn''t that be pretty safe since there are a lot of beasts outside? I will also need to consider how I will get back to a city since the trip back will be very long and filled with Magical Beasts," he said.


    "No. This space is very close to crumbling down and evicting you. So you need to put on the ne and leave," she said.


    He looked around and realized there were hints of what she said. The walls were still in ce, but the ceiling had signs of cracks and the small amount of aura inside the room was slowly disappearing.


    The ne was still inside the chest, so he grabbed it. As he threw it around his neck, the space around him morphed. The walls disappeared and were reced by a swirling red aura. This was a very familiar experience for him since he had gone through it to get into the temple.


    This time, he didn''t ck out. He waspletely aware of the turns he went through as the aura carried him to the surface. It took him ten minutes to finally get to the surface. Once h reached the top, he was spit out by the red hand that grabbed him in the first ce. The hand sunk back into the ground, leaving him on his back in the middle of the clearing of the forest.


    He wasn''t sure if the journey was long because the temple was so deeply nested in the ground. It was probably because the Blood God didn''t want someone to be digging down to find it. He might have made the journey so long that it would be very hard to pinpoint exactly where the temple was to dig it out.


    Once he stopped thinking about it, he looked around. It was very early in the morning and the sun was just rising. This didn''t matter to the forest since there would probably be some Magical Beast or the other prancing around.


    As he thought that, he noticed that there were a few beasts slowly approaching him. They were only a few 2nd Circle Magical Beasts, so he let out his magic. The magic he released scared off the beasts, but that didn''t mean he could stay there.


    If he was this deep inside the forest, then he could encounter a 5th Circle Magical Beast. He had seen one on the way but it was under the effects of the Blood Moon. Since it was too agitated, it didn''t have the intelligence someone of that power would typically have.


    However, it was now the start of the day and it would be able to pluck him off the sky as easily as plucking a fruit from a nt. This meant he would need to be fast. He couldn''t alter his route since that would make himpletely lost, so he would definitely encounter the 5th Circle Magical Beast on the way.


    He rose into the air and shot toward the marking he made. As he flew high up, he was able to see the signs of uprooted trees in the distance. When he got closer, he saw the charred ground and a dozen sted trees in the area.


    "Good. Now I just need to go North from here," he said. Based on the sun that just rose, he faced the north direction and started flying. This time, his flight wasn''t as boring as before since he had someone to converse with.


    "So, why do you care so much about me, Nefrati? You just need me to be alive, but you seem to be so focused on making me as strong as possible." He asked her.


    She took a minute to think before answering.


    "I want to make you strong because you would owe me a favor. If I made you the strongest Aura Knight on this continent, or at least helped you in that process, you will be able to help me get back to my former strength. Otherwise, I will be in danger once I get my body," she said.


    Her response wasn''t what surprised him. He expected something on that line. However, what she said at the end made him narrow his eyes.


    "This continent? So you also know that there is another continent apart from this one?"


    "Yes. Everyone with power in my era knew that there was another continent superior to our own. It is muchrger and has so many resources that the powers there would be able to conquer us without any trouble. However, they simply don''t because it isn''t worth it for them and we have a few deterrents," she said.


    "And who are those deterrents?" He asked with curiosity.


    "Well, the Blood God was definitely one in his era. He was probably as strong as the strongest in their continent as well, so he would cause them a huge amount of losses. And in my era, we had a number of 10th Circle Aura Knights and a few 11th Circle Aura Knights as well, so we would be hard to win against without substantial losses.


    Of course, if more than one power came together then we would be wiped out, but no power would create an alliance for our continent," she answered his question.


    This made him think. The Srian Empire was just on one continent while there was a whole new world out there that he could explore. That meant that he wouldn''t necessarily need to stay in such a horrible ce. The only problem was that he was anchored there by a few of his friends.


    "Then how do you not know about magic? Apparently, it is from the other continent?" He asked her.


    "Oh, I only know that they are strong. The information we have is passed down from our ancestors based on them risking their lives and going to that continent. They weren''t able to find out much about thenguage they speak or the power they use. All we know is that you need to be very strong if you want to go there and survive. At least a 7th Circle Aura Knight."

 Chapter 223 Greens Again

    Chapter 223 Greens Again


    His discussions with Nefrati made his journey bearable as he flew threw the forest. One of the advantages of not flying during the Blood Moon was that the Magical Beasts weren''t as aggressive as then.


    So no one actually attacked him. However, he stayed cautious as he moved through the forest. Eventually, he got to the strip where he hadst seen the monstrous 5th Circle Magical Beast.


    Thankfully, he didn''t notice anyone of that level around, so his journey had no hups. He lost any stress once he got past it and kept flying for another hour. After that, it was just a smooth flying experience.


    4 hours after he started from the location of his fight with the Viscount, he noticed that the forest was clearing out. His mind was relieved and he quickened his pace. While doing that, he quickly disguised himself.


    This time, he chose to go for a more unnoticeable disguise since his previous one was very recognizable and in a lot of trouble. The guise he decided was the face of one of the Mercenary Group members of the Crown Band. He didn''t care about the havoc he would create with that face.


    As soon as he exited the forest, he saw a city in the distance. It was Phoenix Greens, the same city he had left when he went to the Blood God''s temple.


    He approached the city and slowly descended to the ground when no one was around. Then he walked toward the city. Compared to how he left it, it seemed a lot more on alert. There were a lot more guards at the checkpoint for him to enter.


    When he got near, he noticed the nervous expressions on the guards. They were frantically searching for a person among the people who entered. There was a line of people entering the city and each one of them was being checked stringently.


    Leo looked around to see how many eyes were on him. Seeing that there were a lot of people there, it was easy for them to miss him. Once he confirmed that none of the guards were looking at him, he sunk down into the shadows.


    A girl who was with her father and mother was looking around and saw Leo sink into the shadows. She couldn''t believe her eyes and asked her parents about it.


    "Mom, Dad. That person went into the ground," she pointed at where Leo was standing.


    "Stop talking and stand quietly. We don''t want to get into any trouble," the father said.


    Meanwhile, the shadow shot through the gate with great speed such that the guards and people there didn''t even see a blur. Within seconds, Leo was far into the city, away from the gate.


    He got into an alley that was very dimly lit and not popted. The shadow wavered a little bit as he stepped out. He stretched a little and looked at himself. When he did, he quickly realized that there was something he missed.


    His clothes were very battered and it was clear he had gone through a fight. He would need to change to not look very out of ce. Thankfully, he had the perfect excuse ofing out of the forest, but he didn''t want to attract too much attention.


    He stepped out of the alley,nding on the main street immediately. His perception was spread out as wide as possible to make sure that he knew if anything out of ce was happening.


    The city seemed very weird so he wanted to know if he needed to leave. He walked around looking for the same inn he had stayed in several days ago. While they wouldn''t recognize him, at least he would know that they were going to treat him very well.


    After ten minutes of looking, he found the inn he was searching for - The Prancing Pony. He entered the inn and saw a simr vibrant scene in the bar. The people there weren''t concerned at all about the troubles the guards were going through.


    He walked up to the counter to get a room for himself. While doing so, he talked to the boy who was there to get some information. It was the same boy he tipped when he stayed there.


    "Hello, how can I help you sir?"


    "I am just looking for a single room for myself. How much is it?" He asked the boy.


    "Well, the best room we have is a suite for 3000 Starcoins a day. The normal room is 300 Starcoins a day. The elite room is 1000 Starcoins a night," the boy said exactly what he saidst time.


    "I''ll take an Elite room for... what''s the date?" He asked the boy. After going through the Blood God''s temple, his sense of time waspletely skewed. He had no idea how long he spent in there.


    "19th January."


    Leo thought about what he could do. He wanted to make it back to the academy before they left, which was on the 1st of March. However, he wanted as much time for himself to practice without any disturbance as well.


    He had a lot on his agenda before going back to the academy. To finish it, he expected that he would need at least a month. Fortunately for him, he had that long.


    "I''ll take the room for the next 40 days," he said.


    His response made the boy shocked.


    "Did you say 40 days, sir?"


    "Yes. Do I need to pay upfront?"


    "We need half of the payment as an advance," the boy said.


    "Sure," Leo said while taking out some money from his dimensional ring. As he did, he asked the questions he wanted answers for.


    "Do you know why the guards outside took so long for the checks? It wasn''t like that thest time I came here."


    "Oh, that is because of the lockdown, I think. We don''t know why there was a lockdown of the entire city since it happened during the Blood Moon, but the biggest rumor is that it was because of the Fairmount family.


    The lockdown was only for less than a day, but it made the whole counting it to make sure that the money was enough. As he got through the stack, he noticed that there was an extra 1000 city change and be more cautious. We don''t know why," he said.


    When he heard about the Fairmount family, his eyes narrowed. That meant that the lockdown was for him. He was contemting leaving the city entirely and going back to Eldridge, but the boy''s outstretched hand made him reconsider.


    There wasn''t any overly strong energy inside the city when he entered, and the Viscount was only a 4th Circle Mage. There weren''t any real threats to him at all, except for the off chance that someone from the Fairmount family decided toe to the city.


    Leo ced the money in the boy''s hand. He quickly started counting it to make sure that the money was enough. As he got through the stack, he noticed that there was an extra 1000 Starcoins.


    "Sir, you gave 1000 Starcoins more," he said.


    Leo smiled at his naivety. He acted simrlyst time as well.


    "That''s your tip for the information," he said. He left the boy thinking about thest time he got a tip like that for a few words.

 Chapter 224 Agenda

    Chapter 224 Agenda


    He took his key and went up the stairs. Since he was already there once, he knew the way. He rejected the boy''s help and went up the stairs by himself. Once he got to the floor his room was one, finding it wasn''t that difficult.


    The room was unlocked, so he slowly pushed it open. It was empty inside, save for a bed, a bedside drawer, and a desk. The room was smaller than the suite, but he didn''t mind that. He closed and locked the door behind him andunched himself onto the bed.


    "This is a very nice bed," Nefratimented.


    "It is," Leo said with a blissful expression on his face. He needed a break after what he had gone through, and he finally got it. At his stage, he didn''t need sleep, but he appreciated moments of silence when he didn''t have to do anything.


    After ten minutes, he got up. As much as he could waste all the time he had in the day lying on the bed, he knew that he had to start training.


    "So, are you going to start now?" Nefrati asked him.


    He nodded. There was an agenda he had that would make him ready for the Phoenix Trials. The first out of them was to make his aura stronger.


    The knowledge he received from the Blood God included the technique to shift all his aura into Blood Aura. It would strip away his current element and make it without any quality. Then he would train normally. When he used any Blood Aura Techniques, his aura would automatically transition into that element.


    Nefrati expected what he was going to do, so she offered her help.


    "Do you want me to guide you through the process?"


    "No. Just tell me if I am veering off the right path. I''ll figure out everything else by myself."


    He sat cross-legged on his bed and started circting his aura. The shadow element was very strongly present in it which made him frown. It was going to be a long and arduous process.


    The circting aura inside his body was slowed down immensely. Once it was going at a snail''s pace, he pulled out a wisp of aura outside. The aura left his fingertip and was about to disperse.


    However, he controlled the aura with his hands and took a closer look at the element inside. While the shadow element was strong, it hadn''tpletely melded into the aura. The reason for this was that he never truly used his aura as much.


    For any of his fights, his go-to was to use magic. The shadow element he had was also partly because of his magic. Since his aura hadn''t used the Aura Techniques heavily, the element was only lingering in his aura, albeit in a heavy amount. So the aura was very easy to separate from the element, which made his life easier.


    He controlled the aura and split up the element from it, releasing control over the element immediately. A shadowy wisp dissipated into the air. Once that happened, he reabsorbed the aura back into his body.


    Once he seeded with that little bit of aura, he quickly moved torger bit of aura. This time, it was the size of a tennis ball.


    He repeated the process again and sent it back into his body. The the next bit. He quickened the flow of aura and brought out a muchrger bit of aura. This time, it was the size of a tennis ball.


    He repeated the process again and sent it back into his body. The aura cycled through his body, merging with the rest of it. Because the aura all became one again, the shadow element in the rest of the aura diffused into his aura.


    While this should have made him a little disappointed that his actions were being voided, it didn''t affect him at all. This was because he knew it was still good progress. While there weren''t any parts of his aura that had no element, his aura as a whole had a lesser amount of the shadow element.


    There was a small clock on the table beside his bed. The hands slowly ticked away as he kept at the process without rest. The second hand ticked away, turning the minutes. Minutes turned hours and hours turned days.


    Four days passed since he started, and it left his aura almostpletely clear. There were only trace amounts of the element that he simply couldn''t get rid of no matter how long he spent. He stretched his arms once he was done, ready to go to the next step.


    "Are you going to start anew?" Nefrati asked him.


    "No. I cannot let go of that much progress," he said.


    She was referring to the choice he had. Since he now had a new aura manual with a way to create aura circles, he could choose to break off his first two circles to make new ones. This would only make sense because the circles of the Blood God were far superior to the ones he made.


    After all, he got his for 1000 Starcoins while the Blood God perfected his circles after years of training. The benefits would be a higher aura capacity and a more efficient aura cycle, but he decided not to do it.


    The circle he would build from then would have those benefits as well, and he didn''t have enough resources to rebuild the circles. Because of his Pill Body, he would need too much aura to construct the circles. And moreover, his body already had a very high aura capacity. The circles would add on top of that, but that would be overkill.


    "That is fine. You can start at this point and it would still help," she said. "Are you going to directly breakthrough?"


    "Yes."


    He was a Middle-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight, which would normally be very far from a 3rd Circle. However, he had one thing that he didn''t have before.


    The pill that he got from the Blood God''s temple was perfect for him. He didn''t think it would be enough then because of the strong blood element present in it. If he had to change that to the Shadow Element, he would lose a lot of the aura residing in it.


    However, now that he was going to train in Blood Aura, the pill was perfect for him. He took out the box he got from the temple and set it in front of him.


    Before he could even open it, the leaving aura made him shiver with anticipation. He took only a second to shake off his excitement and looked at the box in front of him. His steady hands opened the lid, revealing the pill to him again.


    The aura released by the pill made him smile. When he peered into it, he could sense a vast sea of aura, threatening to gush out. If it was a normal person trying to use it, they would explode, unable to take such a powerful aura in such a high dose.


    But this was nectar to him. He gently took the pill from the box and brought it closer to him.


    "Be careful. Once you start, you cannot lose focus," Nefrati warned him.


    He opened his mouth and popped in the pill.

 Chapter 225 Advanced

    Chapter 225 Advanced


    The minute the pill entered his mouth, it melted, leaving a warm sensation in his mouth. This was short-lived, as the heat kept increasing. Theforting warmth turned into a smoldering burn.


    All of the aura inside the pill burst out of it, ready to rampage. However, it was quickly and forcibly controlled by Leo who started channeling it. He forced it down his throat, carrying the burning sensation down his body.


    The aura quickly gushed into his stomach and was ready to wreak havoc, but he split up the whole sea into two parts. Then he started circting the two parts from different ends of his stomach around his body.


    They were circting in the same direction as each other, but never met andbined. This meant that while the entire aura would have damaged his body if it was allowed to circte, the separated halves couldn''t do anything.


    After an hour, parts of the aura that had been circting for a long time started to calm down. He brought it into his dantian and settled it there. As more and more aura entered it, his aura level started increasing.


    He was firmly in the Middle-Stage before taking the pill, but he started approaching the Late-Stage. After another hour, the aura he had tamed was enough for him to advance. However, he didn''t open his eyes yet even though he broke through a level.


    A Late-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight would be considered a very high level of aplishment, especially for someone as young as him. It would probably even be enough for him to enter the wouldn''t be satisfied with something as small as a minor breakthrough. With the amount of aura present in the pill, he Phoenix Trials and get past the reserve member status.


    But he didn''t care about what others thought was enough. He wouldn''t be satisfied with something as small as a minor breakthrough. With the amount of aura present in the pill, he would be ashamed if he stopped just at the Late-Stage.


    He kept circting the aura in his body for a long time. Half a day passed and he persistently kept at the process. Nothing was making him stop. His concentration hadn''t declined at all which made Nefrati a little surprised.


    At this point, very few things that happened around Leo were making her truly astonished. She had seen a lot of things in her time, and she would be surprised if anything that she didn''t see happened in front of her. However, Leo had broken all of those with his absurd aplishments and she was getting used to them.


    As the hours went by, the only aura left circting through his body was that which waspletely tamed. Once that happened, he brought together the two halves of the aura. Since they werepletely tamed by him, the aura calmly flowed through his body.


    Once he did this, he got ready for the next step. It was time for him to move on to the next part of his agenda - reaching the 3rd Circle.


    He allowed a part of the aura to enter his dantian to reach the Peak Stage of the 2nd Circle. Once it settled there, he started forming the circle.


    There was a vast difference between forming a circle before going to the Blood God''s temple and forming a circle after. The major one was that the circle he was going to draw was 10 times moreplicated than before.


    Fortunately for him, there were three positive differences. One was that he perfectly knew exactly what the circle looked like. The knowledge of it was wedged into his mind by the Blood God, making sure that he would know if he was making a mistake.


    The second positive difference was that he had reached the Divergent Mind Stage. This gave him a higher control over his aura, making it easier for him to draw the circle. And the final, and maybe the highest definitive difference that decided whether the circle would sessfully be formed or not was his breakthrough to the 4th Star in magic.


    Because of his breakthrough, his ability to control aura and concentrate had increased so heavily that he didn''t need pills and potions that helped him draw the circle.


    Knowing all of these, he immediately started drawing the circle. The minute he did, he started to realize the change in his body. With the blood aura in him instead of shadow aura, his body was more active and restless.


    He started off with the outer circle, the easiest of them all. Drawing it with the aura he had was fairly simple. The more difficult part was keeping it that way while he drew the rest of the aura circle.


    As he maintained the circle, he quickly went on to the numerous inner circles. While he couldn''t afford to make a mistake, he also couldn''t afford to be too slow. He was confident with his uracy, so he sped through the process.


    He drew a total of four circles. After that, he turned to the hard part - connecting them. While maintaining the circles with his concentration, he quickly started drawing the runes that connected each of the circles.


    This was the first time he needed to draw such aplicated circle, but his immense concentration and focus were pulling him through. The circle became more and moreplete.


    Lines between the circles formed, and runes were etched between them. Designs were starting to be apparent, as were the words disyed by the runes.


    A bead of sweat started to form on his forehead and it slowly trickled down his face. It rolled to his chin where it lingered there for just a second, before dropping onto hisp. He let out a huge breath and gasped for air.


    His body tumbled back onto the soft cushion. He looked at the ceiling with eyes that smiled even when his mouth was gasping for air.


    "Congrattions," Nefrati said to him.


    "Thank you."


    He had crossed the barrier and got to the 3rd Circle. This made him as strong as a Baron without even needing to use magic. At least, close to that level.


    "6 days have gone by," Nefrati said. She had been keeping track of time for him while he was busy practicing. It was useful since he would know exactly how much time he had left before needing to leave for the academy.


    With 6 days gone, he still had around a month left. Out of those 6 days, he had used most of his time to separate the shadow element from his aura. Now with his breakthrough, he hadpletely filled his body with blood aura.


    The change was very visible. The shadow aura was perfect if he wanted to conceal himself and sneakily attack his enemies. The only simrity it shared with blood aura was that it also siphoned off aura from its enemies.


    Blood Aura, on the other hand, was extremely violent and would favor head-on collisions. He didn''t mind it, except that it would put him in the light and he wouldn''t be able to hide his involvement in a fight.


    It was a trade-off he was willing to ept. He was noticing the difference in the quality of aura immediately, but he wanted to test it out beforeing to any conclusions.

 Chapter 226 Technique

    Chapter 226 Technique


    There were two things left in his entire agenda. The first one included figuring out the strength of his aura.


    For that, he would need to learn aura techniques and be able to use them in battle. Without that, his aura would be useless. He only had a month and not all of that time could go to this.


    He searched through his mind and quickly found what he was looking for. There were 5 techniques he could learn as a 3rd Circle Aura Knight. Compared to what he got from the Arcane Emperor, they were indeed a higher number of techniques for a single level.


    But he understood why there were very few to learn. If he spent too much time learning multiple techniques, he would never master any of thempletely and would also advance by then to the next level.


    At that point, the techniques would be useless as he would need to devote more of his time to new and stronger techniques. The case in point was his case with the Obsidian des.


    He hadn''t even reached Expert proficiency with any of the 2nd Circle Aura Techniques he learned. That was why, even though he had 5 aura techniques, he was only going to learn three of them. And to pick them out, he was going to employ one of his very useful assets.


    "So Nefrati, I need you to pick out the best aura techniques for me out of these. I need to be learning them within ten days," he said to her.


    When he first started asking her that question, she got a little excited, but she quickly changed her mind when he finished it.


    "10 days? I don''t think you will find any aura technique for 3rd Circles that you can learn in ten days. You just moved to Blood Aura, so you will take months to get used to it and properly use Aura techniques with it."


    "Just give me the easiest techniques to learn. I will figure it out from there," he said.


    If what she said was true, he would start with the offensive technique and then move to the movement technique. If time permits him, he would learn the other ones, but otherwise, he was going to shift to the final part of his agenda.


    What he learned from his fight with the 4th Circle Aura Knight was that he would have won with no effort if he just learned the offensive spell presented to him. So he would do just that and make sure he wouldn''t be ced in a position like the one he was in before.


    "Fine, give the techniques. But let me warn you, you will definitely fail. Just don''t force your body, or you will injure yourself," she said.


    "Crimson Whish: Create tendrils of blood that extend from my body andsh out at my opponents.


    Sanguine Barrage: Manipte my blood into projectiles that I canunch at my enemies.


    Blood Flow: Concentrating my blood energy in my legs and releasing it in a powerful burst, allowing for bursts of power.


    Hemaline Flow: Allows me to manipte the viscosity of my blood, making it flow faster through my veins.


    Hemal Shield: Create a barrier of condensed blood energy around me, forming a protective shield that absorbs and disperses iing attacks."


    Nefrati thought for a second before quickly giving her opinion.


    "You cannot learn the Sanguine Barrage since it requires a very high mastery of blood aura. Even then, it uses your blood for power which might be dangerous. And the Hemaline Flow is weaker and harder to use than Blood Flow.


    The only benefit is that you can use it along with other techniques, but there are stronger techniques simr to it that you will be able to learn at a higher stage."


    "Thank you, Nefrati. Now, what makes the Crimson Whish better, again? Is it easier to learn?" He asked.


    "That also. Since you can start with a single tendril, it should be easy to start learning it. Mastery will take longer than the barrage, though."


    "That doesn''t matter. I will start with the Whish then."


    After saying that, he stood up and stretched his body. He was ready to start training immediately without any rest. As he said before, he only had 10 days to learn the aura techniques.


    He would learn what he could, and then move on to the spells. The only time he wouldn''t shift to spells would be if he hadn''t even mastered the Crimson Whish. That would be problematic since he would need a way to attack his opponents at the Phoenix Trials.


    While he was still unsure of the manner it would be conducted, he needed to be prepared to fight against other candidates.


    to using his new aura yet.


    So his n was to familiarize himself with it by controlling it and The blood aura in his body started moving around as hemanded it. It stayed in his body and didn''t leave yet because he listened to Nefrati. She was right when she said that he wasn''t used to using his new aura yet.


    So his n was to familiarize himself with it by controlling it and messing around with it without worrying about the aura technique. After circting it around his body for a little, he brought it out.


    It exited through his fingertips as tiny tendrils, but these weren''t for attacking. They were harmless pieces of aura that just wiggled around at hismand. Once he felt that the tiny tendrils werepletely in hismands, he increased the amount of aura he was letting out.


    The tendrils doubled in size and he started to control them. Now they were a few inches long so he could actually see them. He kept at it and slowly increased the size of the tendrils once they were in hisplete control.


    Hours passed by as he focused solely on gaining control over the aura. Nefrati watched this with acknowledgment since it was the right thing to do. The only thing that left a distaste in her was how quickly he was able to increase the size of the tendrils.


    She thought he would take half a month since he had absolutely no experience, and that was considering his monstrous talent. To her credit, she wasn''t aware that Leo did, in fact, have some experience with controlling blood aura.


    He had spent several days in the weird ce where he controlled the Blood God''s body like it was his own. He had experienced the aura flowing through his attacks and now that it was happening in his own body, it was almost natural.


    Moreover, because he had used aura techniques with the blood aura, he was far more familiar with it than even he had thought. A day passed since he broke through and he was perfectly in control of the aura inside him.


    Well, as perfect as he could be. There was a limit that he could achieve and crossing it would take too much time. Time that he couldn''t afford to give.


    Once he had gained control, he stopped releasing the numerous tendrils from his fingertips. They were all absorbed back into his body. After that, he started training in the real aura technique - the Crimson Whish.

 Chapter 227 Intermediate

    Chapter 227 Intermediate


    Hours transitioned into days. His training proceeded far smoother than anyone expected. Because of his experience handling high-level aura techniques that utilized Blood Aura, he was easily able to start using the aura techniques he chose.


    Once he reached Novice Mastery in just 5 days, he transitioned to the movement aura technique. Over the course of the next 5 days, he learned the Blood Flow. The only caveat was that he achieved just Beginner Mastery of that technique.


    After that, hepletely set aside any training rted to aura. He closed his eyes and entered the training room in his mind space. Out of the two offensive spells presented to him, he chose the Fire Nova.


    Magic was a concept that he had higher control over and extreme passion for. Compared to him, Nefrati was someone who didn''t even know what it was. So her opinions would only make him distracted.


    By keeping himself in his training room, a ce that Nefrati didn''t know about and couldn''t enter, he wouldn''t be disturbed by her at all. As for her, she was simply confused about what happened to him.


    He had closed his eyes and looked like he was sleeping, but that was odd for someone at his stage. She waited for a few hours to see if there was any change to his state, but he stayed that way without budging.


    Days passed as he remained in that state which kept her puzzled. Meanwhile, Leo was focusing solely on the one spell he chose. Even with the incredible amount of time he had put in, his progress was minuscule.


    The entirety of the twenty days almost passed but it seemed like Leo wasn''t moving from his ce. He wasn''t keeping track of time while practicing and he had blocked off any sound from Nefrati. There was no one to wake him up and tell him that he had run out of time.


    Inside the training room, Leo was furiously trying to learn the spell. At this point, he had gotten to Beginner Level proficiency which meant he could use the spell. However, this didn''t satisfy him.


    He wanted to be able to use it freely in battle which meant at least novice proficiency. Because he was so fixated on achieving that goal, he had lost all sense of time.


    His hands moved rapidly as a surge of magical energy gathered around them, forming a swirling vortex of fiery hues.


    When the energy reaches its peak, he pushed his hands forward in a forceful motion, causing the vortex of mes to explode outward. The mes surged forward, in a spluttered matter which made him frown.


    His hands stopped moving and the mes stopped in their ce before slowly dissipating away.


    "What am I doing wrong?" He muttered to himself as he restarted his attempt.


    After two more attempts, the mes moved a little more smoothly, but the force behind them was a littleckluster. Leo didn''t lose any determination and kept going.


    He looked up to see how far he was from his goal. The golden words on the top of the training room were an indication that he was still in the Beginner stage and that he would need to practice more.


    After another failed attempt, he stopped his practice and took a deep breath. He was doing something wrong, but he wasn''t sure what it was. There were two aspects to his magic - one was gathering the fire and the other was pushing it out in a st. So he had to be making a mistake in one of them.


    He sighed and stopped his practice. Instead of going out, however, he went to the book and held his hand on the page. The white room he was in morphed into a marsnd where a silhouette appeared in front of him.


    Since he was failing, he decided to observe the silhouette and see what he was doing wrong. The silhouette slowly did its motion and released the spell, sting away the entire area around it.


    Leo wasn''t paying attention to the destruction it caused and only concentrated on the magic that was flowing through its body. He realized something that it did that he missed.


    He had been trying to control the spread of the fire to make sure it was uniform, while the silhouette was just using all of its power to create an uneven explosion and left it to its own to wreak havoc. His face showed his expression of disbelief. How had he missed something like that?


    Fire was an extremely violent element and he was trying to tame it. That decreased the power of his spell far too much.


    The training room morphed back into a white room for him to practice. He had elected a in room because he didn''t need to see destruction. He was only interested in seeing the spell and the effects.


    His hand quickly flew into a blur and magical energy gathered around him again. The energy was brought into control with his hands. This time, the magic was slightlyrger and more dense. He Beginner anymore, but it wasn''t Novice either. He had jumped to Intermediate Proficiency with that single realization.


    then released the fire energy that he had controlled with his hands.


    Arge wave of fire exploded outward with great force. He looked up to see if he was right in his expectations. The words didn''t say Beginner anymore, but it wasn''t Novice either. He had jumped to Intermediate Proficiency with that single realization.


    Once the high of aplishing what he wanted slowly faded, something struck him. Time.


    He quickly left the training room and back to the real world. His eyes shot open and he took a deep breath.


    "How long has it been since I started training?" He asked Nefrati. Because he hadn''t been keeping track of time, he didn''t know whether he waste or not.


    "Almost a month." She replied. Finally, he hade out of the weird trance he had been in. He wasying unresponsively for almost three weeks and it made her a little worried about his condition.


    Her life was tied to his and if anything happened to him, it would take her with him.


    "Shit!"


    He jumped out of the bed and looked around. There wasn''t any change in the room since he entered it, save for the pill box that contained the pill he got from the Blood God''s temple. After throwing it into his dimensional ring, he looked at himself.


    His clothes were still rags, so he quickly changed into a better set. Once he did that, he burst out of the room and rushed downstairs. As he did, he took out the remainder of what he owed the inn.


    When he got to the front desk of the inn, it waspletely empty, save for the receptionist there. She looked at him and knew he was in a hurry.


    "What can I do for you, sir?" She asked him.


    "What is the date?"


    "28th February, sir."


    "Okay. Here is the money for my stay. Keep the change," he said.


    He had put down 25000 Starcoins when he owed just 20000. She realized this when she counted the money, but by then he was gone.

 Chapter 228 Back

    Chapter 228 Back


    Leo soared through the skies at full speed. His mind was filled with the stress associated with not making it back on time. It was nightfall, so no one was out in the forests to see him.


    Another thing he would need to keep in mind was that he spent a month longer than he said he would. If his status was revoked because of that, he would be very disappointed.


    To him, this was far more than just the Phoenix Trials. It was also going to the capital that he wanted. If he could go and visit Daphne once, then it would bepletely worth it. He could try to do it in his own time, but that woulde with a few risks.


    If he did get caught, he would have to deal with the Duke family all by himself. But as a representative of the Eldridge Academy, he would have a little bit of protection. To avail that, he would need to show that he was a very good talent that they could foster, though.


    This was one of the reasons why he was trying to go to the Phoenix Trials as a candidate. Putting aside what Nefrati said about theck of strong Aura Knights in the empire, if he did perform well, he would get fame.


    He would be considered a talented Aura Knight that families would want to recruit. The emperor wouldn''t be able to sit back and let the duke kill him as he did to the entire city of Solhaven.


    The harsh reality of the world was that a single person was worth more than hundreds of thousands of lives. And he needed to make himself worth that much as an Aura Knight. Until he got strong enough to not need that defense.


    In less than a couple of hours, he got near the gate t the city. He slowed down and descended to a part of the forest that was empty. The only ones who watched him take off his disguise were the Magical Beasts around him.


    They didn''t attack him though. The aura and magic he was emitting made them all run away in fear. His walk to the city was quick and uninterrupted. As he was walking in, Nefrati asked him a question.


    "Why aren''t you hiding your aura level?" She asked him.


    Her question made him a little surprised, though he didn''t show it in his face. He took out the card that showed his identity and presented it to the guard. The guard was extremely sleepy and looked like he was about to doze off.


    His half-open eyes took a nce at the card to make sure it belonged to the right city.


    "What do you mean by hiding my aura level?" He asked her while the guard looked at his card.


    "I mean you can hide it from people so that they won''t know how strong you are. It won''t work against people who are far more stronger than you, but it will work against 4th Circle Aura Knights," she said.


    "You can enter," the guard said while yawning.


    "Teach me when you can. It sounds very useful," he said to Nefrati as he got his card back from the guard.


    "There isn''t anything to teach. You just have to pull in your aura into your body and dantian without letting it leak out. It is one of the simplest ways to conceal yourself. Do they not teach this to you?" She asked him.


    "Well, I am not surprised. I keep forgetting that your empire is such a backward civilization when ites to using aura. The number of mid-level Aura Knights in here could be counted with a single hand," she said.


    He sighed at herment. Instead of being bothered by it, he walked straight toward the academy. As he did, he tried out what she told him. He held in the aura inside his dantian without letting it escape.


    He almost seeded, only letting out a few strands of aura. It was still considered a sess since it seemed nothing like the aura of a 3rd Circle Aura Knight.


    As he practiced concealing his aura, he got to the gates of the academy. There was a single guard there to make sure that not everyone could get in. Leo took out his card and showed it to him.


    The guard nodded and let Leo pass through. He walked into the fog that shrouded the appearance of the academy. Inside, everything was just like it used to be.


    There were a few students wandering around, talking to each other. It was night, so there weren''t too many people. Even the few people wandering around were a surprise to him. There were only a couple of hours till sunrise, so he had a little time before they would leave.


    At his hour, very few would be in their office, but he wanted to try. If he could find Maria or Asher, then he would be able to exin to them why he took so long. He hoped that they would believe that he was sincerely training his aura for the Phoenix Trials. It was, after all, partly true.


    He walked on the paths that led to Maria''s office. When he got to the building, he saw that a few of the windows showed light inside them. One of them was Maria''s office. He smiled and rushed into the building.


    Inside the office, Maria was talking to Asher.


    "So, do we have our list confirmed?" He asked Maria.


    "Yes. For our 5 normal spots, we have Nathaniel Moon, Elysia Still, Lucius Ravenspire, Isabe Rhine, and Ria Goldberg. Out of the 10 reserve spots, we gave five to the Eldridge family and five to the freshmen." She said.


    "And the freshmen are all ready?" He asked her.


    She shook her head. "Almost all of them. We will need to rece Leo. He remains the highest ranked among all of them, but he isn''t here. So we will need to find another student. I already had two in mind. Since Leo still hasn''t shown up, I will talk to them and get them ready within a few hours," she replied.


    "How could you have taken so long? This is of utmost importance. If he didn''t show up, then he forfeits his opportunity. We can''t hold him a spot for this long!" Asher said with a little anger.


    "That is true but he is the only one among all of them that might have a chance to make it past the reservepetition," she said.


    "That is just wishful thinking. None of the reserve members will get past it. Previously we would have one of themoners get past, but we gave their positions to the freshmen because of their potential. For the first time, we havemoners who could exceed nobles and their best chance is being squandered," he sighed.


    A knock on the door disturbed their conversation.


    "Who is it at this hour?" He murmured to himself as he walked to the door. He didn''t sense anyone powerful beyond it - just someone with very little aura. As the door creaked open, it revealed Leo the door. He didn''t sense anyone powerful beyond it - just someone with very little aura. As the door creaked open, it revealed Leo beyond it.


    "Hello, professors. It took me a while to get back. I hope that it won''t be a problem."

 Chapter 229 Reunion

    Chapter 229 Reunion


    "You are the most irresponsible student I have ever-" Maria was very close to getting fired up on Leo when she saw him but Asher stopped her.


    "What is your aura level?" He asked him, cutting right to the chase.


    Leo smiled while Maria''s expression contorted into astonishment. She and Asher realized that he was hiding his aura level from them, which was astonishing.


    Only a few students knew how to do it and that was because their families taught them to do that. But they also knew that hiding aura only worked when the aura levels were very simr. If they weren''t able to look through Leo''s level as 4th Circle Aura Knights, that meant there was a high chance that he wasn''t a 2nd Circle Aura Knight anymore.


    "I recently broke through, professor. I am now a 3rd Circle Aura Knight," he said.


    A thousand questions circled through her mind but she wasn''t able to ask a single one. The rtionship between her and Leo was very shallow, so it wasn''t in her ce to ask him how he was able to break through that quickly.


    Leo released the aura that he had been hiding which validated his statement. Asher''s expression remained cold as he stared at him.


    "Your power is more than enough to get you back on the team. But yourck of discipline makes you a bad candidate. We gave you a month and you took two. If you pull stunts like not showing up in the Phoenix Trials, then we will not consider you the next time.


    Remember, next year you have a chance to go as a real team member. You might be a 3rd Circle Aura Knight, but the chances of you getting past the reserve members tournament is very slim. If you lose next year''s chance, then you will miss out far too much," Asher warned him.


    Leo nodded his head in acknowledgment. His anger was justified since he had taken too long.


    "Thank you, sir. Where should I be for when we are leaving?" He asked.


    "We leave in the morning. Be at the front gate by 7 AM. If you are even a secondte, then you are out," Asher replied. He was done with Leo''s unpunctuality.


    "Definitely, sir. I will be there. Thank you for giving me the chance!" Leo said and slowly backed out of the room. The minute he left, he let out a breath of relief.


    He was able to get onto the team even though he only showed up the day before they were leaving. That was very lucky.


    The minute he left, Maria looked at Asher, her eyes filled with hope.


    "A 3rd Circle Aura Knight?! And he was able to hide his aura! He is a lot more talented than I thought." She said.


    "I know. You did a good thing reserving his ce, but we need to keep him in line. This is the best shot that amoner has had in a long time. He might get past the reserve stage at such a young age, which means he might win eventually."


    "Win?" Maria was shocked.


    "Yes. Win. How old do you think he is?" Asher asked her.


    "16?" Freshmen were generally 16, so she thought he was that age too.


    "No. He is still 15 now. He can go next year and the year after that. Two years from now, he will be able to get to the 4th Circle if he keeps growing strong at this rate. A 4th Circle Aura Knight! He will smoke thepetition!" Asher was starting to get excited.


    "I didn''t think he is so young," she whispered to herself. "Do you think he will be safe among those many nobles? What if he gets into any trouble with them?"


    "That thought crossed my mind. If any noble sees his talent, they will want to take him for themselves. And everyone else will want to snip a bud before it blooms. We need to find him a strong defense."


    "Is there any ally that is a noble?"


    "Yes, there is. One of the allies is a Viscount. And a 5th Circle Aura Knight too. Under her protection, Leo will be safe," Asher said.


    Meanwhile, Leo was busy walking back to his dorm. It was the dead of night so there weren''t as many people around. None of the few people walking recognized him since it had been months since hisst fight.


    He got to the building and climbed up the stairs to his dorm. The door to the dorm was unlocked, so he pushed it open. There was a faint light that illuminated the otherwise dark ce. He entered but didn''t see anyone immediately. The door to Rnd''s room was slightly open, letting some light leak out.


    There was some sounding from inside as well, along with the flow of magic that he could notice. He closed the door behind him softly and walked to his door. Inside, Rnd was practicing his magic potions.


    "Hiss."


    The bottle in front of Rnd was a clear liquid that had just turned blue once he added a green herb. He shook the bottle a little and set it on a stand. The stand had multiple such bottles, all colored blue.


    Once he did that, he took out another ss bottle and was about to start the process again. As he was about to do that, he heard a knock on his door. He quickly jumped up and looked back to see who it was.


    A familiar face greeted him. It was Leo.


    "Leo?" Rnd asked with doubt. It had been a very long time since he had seen him and that made him fear for the worst.


    "Hello, Rnd. It''s been a very long time," Leo said.


    Rnd got up and quickly went to the door. He hugged Leo tightly. Even though he was a year older than Leo, he still came two inches short of him.


    "I missed you too," Leo said.


    Rnd let go after a second.


    "I thought that the worst happened. Marcus said you would be fine, but Lyra and Madison thought differently like me. I am so happy that you are here,pletely fine," he said.


    "I will be talking to them today morning. What are you doing so early in the morning, though?" He asked.


    "Marcus asked me for a few healing potions. Since they are more expensive when you buy them at the Thousand Treasure Tower, I am making them for him. He gives me the ingredients and I make them for practice. They will be useful for the Phoenix Trials." He said.


    "What about pills?" Leo asked. "Are there any healing pills?"


    "No. Pills are generally made with aura. Magic is better for making potions. They both have the same effects, but pills are more portable."


    "I''m good. I won''t need any healing potions, but I appreciate the offer. I will leave you to your work. Once Ie back from the Phoenix Trials, we can properly catch up."


    "Oh right. You are going too. Ipletely forgot about that," he replied while turning back. He turned back again to look at Leo.


    "In case I don''t see you, good luck there. I think you can win."

 Chapter 230 Team

    <h4>Chapter 230 Team</h4>


    Leo walked back to his room and got onto his bed. It had been a very long time since he had used it, so it was a little bit dusty. After blowing it away, hey on it for a while. He thought about what he was supposed to be doing for the next month when he was in the capital.


    His number one priority was going to be getting stronger. While that might mean putting back his meeting with Daphne, it was better that way. It would only be safe to meet her if he was strong enough. Otherwise, he might get into trouble with her family and he had no idea how they would treat him.


    That meant he needed to get better at using his Aura Techniques. It would be his priority until the Phoenix Trials were over. As he was thinking that, a knock on the door brought him back to reality.


    He got up from his bed and looked outside his window. It was still dark which meant it could only be one person. He walked to the door, sensing the aura of the people outside. It was more than one person and their energies gave away who they were. He took a deep breath and opened the door.


    As the door creaked open, it revealed Leo to Marcus, Lyra, and Madison. They saw the person who had been missing for a long time and didn''t know what to feel.


    "Hello. It''s been a while, right?" Leo broke the short silence.


    Marcus walked forward and draped him in a bear hug.


    "Yes, it has been." He let go and said enthusiastically. "Thank god you are alive! We thought you died to some Magical Beast out there."


    "That isn''t some joking matter. What were doing?" Madison asked.


    "I had some work that needed to be done," Leo replied. "Come in, please. I am guessing you came for Rnd''s potions?"


    "Yes. Wait, did you talk to Professor Maria?" Lyra asked him.


    He nodded. "Yes, right beforeing here. She said I was still allowed to be on the team, but Asher said that I need to be on my best behavior while I am there."


    "Well, you do. If you run off and don''te back, they will be very pissed at you," Marcus said.


    Rnd seemed to hear the loud noise they were all making and came out. He had a box full of potions that were for Marcus.


    "Here you go, Marcus. Are you sure you don''t want to borrow my dimensional ring?" He asked.


    Marcus shook his head. "I am saving up for mine. Maybe in a year, I can get one," he said.


    "Actually, you can just take one of mine. I have a bunch," Leo said and took out a dimensional ring. He handed it to Marcus who looked at him with an expression of doubt.


    "Trust me, I have a lot. I don''t need this one, but you can give it back after we are done. Since we will be there together, you won''t feel like you are taking it away from me," he said to Marcus.


    Marcus grudgingly took the ring as Leo turned to Lyra.


    "Do you know when we have to leave?"


    "We were nning on leaving immediately," she said.


    "That''s good then. Asher said I cannot bete in any way."


    "Good Luck to all of you then," Madison said softly. Rnd repeated her words.


    "Thanks," Lyra and Marcus said. Leo just smiled and nodded with acknowledgment.


    The group of three walked out of the room and toward the front gate. As they were walking, Marcus asked him about his aura.


    "So, Leo. Why can''t I see your aura level? It looks like you barely have any aura," he asked.


    Lyra answered the question for him. "It''s called hiding your aura. It''s a fairly simple thing to do, but generally, people don''t because it is hiding your strength. People with power like showing off their power. In apetition like this, however, it cane in very handy."


    "So how strong are you, then?" Marcus asked.


    Leo just smiled. "What makes you think I grew stronger in just two months?"


    "It feels like you did," he replied.


    "You will see if I did, eventually."


    They got to the front gate, being the first ones there. It was around 6 AM, which made them extremely early. They sat down and waited for others toe.


    After thirty minutes, the first set of students started toe. It was three upperssmen - a group of two boys and a girl. They were hiding their aura level, but Leo''s perception seemed to have pierced through it. It seemed that it wasn''t as effective against mages.


    The three were 3rd Circle Aura Knights, with one of the boys being in the Middle Stage. He guessed they were the strongest people who would show up.


    Fifteen minutester, everyone else showed up. First, it was two boys that he didn''t recognize. They looked around Marcus'' age and were both Middle-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knights so they had to be freshmen.


    And finally, along with the professors, two girls in the 3rd Circle came. These were the same two girls that he had encountered while he was in his disguise. As he was thinking that, the professors rounded up the students.


    There were three professors there - Asher, Maria, and Selena. Asher stepped forward and started talking to them when he saw that all of them were there.


    "Let me exin how this works again so everyone here won''t be clueless when we get there," Asher said, his eyes focused on Leo.


    He looked around and saw everyone''s disinterested faces and immediately realized that everyone there already knew how it worked. Asher was repeating it for him since he had been gone for two months and wasn''t updated with all the information he should have known.


    "We have 10 members here. 5 more will join us at the Capital. Out of the 10 here, 5 are reserve team members. These are the freshmen. You will need to participate in a tournament that has over 1000 people. If you are among the top 100 of them, then you will move forward to the actual Phoenix Trials.


    Apart from that, you must keep in mind that everyone there will be incredibly powerful and important people. Do not pick fights with anyone.


    We will start immediately to the Capital and arrive in five days. Then we will prepare you to fight against each other so that you have practice. We will also train you how to hide your aura so that you will not be read like a book by your opponents. Is that clear?" He asked everyone.


    After a few nods, he turned back, allowing the students to discuss among themselves.


    "Why are we even letting freshmen take those spots? We know that they will never be able to get past the first round of the reserve tournament," one of the 3rd Circle Aura Knights there said. He was looking at the five freshmen with disappointment.


    Leo met his stare and chuckled. He then looked away, ignoring hismentpletely.

 Chapter 231 Argument

    <h4>Chapter 231 Argument</h4>


    His chuckle drew the attention of the boy who made the remark. He looked toward Leo with an angry expression.


    "Do you have a problem, freshman?" The boy didn''t like Leo''s chuckle. He started approaching Leo.


    "Stop it, Lucius," the girl said. The boy remained motionless without any concern about what was going to happen.


    Everyone around them saw this and started to act on it. The rest of the freshmen formed a defensiveyer around him. Even though two of them didn''t even know who Leo was, they wanted to stop the fight.


    The two girls who Leo saw outside the city blocked Lucious from getting to Leo.


    "Stop picking a fight with your juniors right before we are leaving. We don''t want to have problems in our team before we even get there," Elysia said.


    "Ha! Problems in our team? As I said, they will never make it past the reserve tournament, so why are we even bringing them along? There are tons of good candidates among the second years that have a better shot than them," he said.


    "And what were you doing when you were a freshman? I remember that you were only an Early-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight. Are you just jealous that they are getting an opportunity that you didn''t?" The red-haired girl beside Elysia said.


    Herment made Lucius angry, but he didn''t refute it. Meanwhile, the professors stepped in to stop the argument.


    "I think we should stop here. We have our reasons for bringing along the freshmen," Asher said.


    "And what is that, professor? Is it something to do with the twomoners they have among them? We all know that you have a soft spot formoners, so you must have changed everything to give those two a better chance."


    Before anyone else could refute that statement, Leo stepped out of the encirclement he was in.


    "It doesn''t matter whether or not I am in the reserve team. I think we need to be more concerned about why you deserve a spot. Out of every 2nd year here, you seem to be the weakest. Stop trying to show that we don''t deserve our spots. Maybe prove that you deserve yours."


    His response made Asher look at him angrily. He had explicitly warned Leo not to cause any problems, but he had done just that. Maria had a disappointed expression too. Only Selena was unconcerned about what was happening.


    A few people saw the professors'' reactions to hisment and were very curious about the multitude of expressions. They were expecting amon reaction of worry for him, but that one thing seemed to be missing in all of them.


    "That is it! Are you out of your mind?! If I decide to fight you here you won''t be able to walk for the Phoenix Trials! What will they do other than find a recement for you pitiful ass? They won''t touch me for someone like you," Lucius said while storming toward him.


    The aura around him intensified and the pressure of an Early-Stage 3rd Circle Aura Knight frightened two freshmen behind him. Only Marcus and Lyra were unbothered. They looked at Asher to see if he would stop the fight.


    However, all three of the teachers stood motionless as the boy approached Leo threateningly. All of the students there were surprised that they were letting this happen. Marcus and Lyra were no longer unbothered and became worried that a fight might actually break out.


    As he got close, Leo remained motionless as the boy winded his arm. He let loose a punch that almost impacted him but stopped an inch away from his face. His eyes didn''t show any fear and stared right into that of the boy''s.


    The boy retracted his arm and turned around.


    "I don''t want him near me during the journey," he said while walking toward his group. As he went away, Elysia walked to Leo.


    "I am sorry for him on behalf of the second years. He is upset because his friend wasn''t able to qualify because of you," she said.


    "It''s okay," he said and turned around to look at Asher.


    "When are we leaving?"


    Asher looked at everyone. "We leave immediately. Everyone, pick a horse. If you don''t know how to ride one, find a friend to ride with you."


    "Where are the horses?" A freshman asked.


    "They should be here anytime now," he said in response.


    As he said that, they heard the sound of hooves from inside the academy. They were expecting normal horses, but what they saw surprised them. Instead of regr horses, they were looking at Magical Beast variants.


    Every single horse had the strength of an Apprentice Aura Knight. In the front, there was a mage controlling them. Leo''s eyebrows raised when he saw who it was.


    The mage that brought the horses was their headmaster. Leo hadn''t seen him since the day of the first speech. And now that he saw him after breaking through, he realized exactly how strong he was.


    The Head Master was a Peak-Stage 5th Circle Mage. His presence alone made Leo start to feel fear. If he noticed the magic he possessed, it was game over for him. He had far too many secrets along with just the magic. There was also Nefrati and the Blood Aura.


    Out of the secrets he had, the Head Master saw through one of them instantly. He took a single nce at all the students while getting near them and knew who was special and who wasn''t.


    The horses were very well-behaved and bent down for him to get down. He walked toward the group and talked to Asher.


    "I trust that everyone is ready to leave immediately."


    "Yes, Head Master. Should we start now?"


    "That will be preferred."


    He turned to the students and spoke.


    "I am sure you weren''t expecting that you would be traveling with an old man like me, but it is unavoidable to guarantee your safety. Before we start, I congratte all of you for qualifying to represent the Eldridge Academy in the Phoenix Trials.


    You all worked extremely hard to get to where you are now. However, I am aware that some of you are not a supporter of the idea of allowing freshmen to join us this year. That decision was made by me, so if you want to raise your concerns, I will be avable."


    The minute he said this, the boy took a step forward. He was still angry at Leo for riling him up. The Head Master took a single nce at him and chuckled.


    "However, if you do have a concern and I prove it to be false, then we will reverse your positions, making you a reserve member."


    His statement made the boy falter for a second, but he still took another step forward.


    "How will you prove that my concern is false? Will you have them duel a 2nd Year Student?" He asked.


    "No, they already did that. All of them were ranked before being considered. I meant that if they defeat you, then your roles will be reversed."


    "And if they don''t?"


    "Then we willpensate your fellow 2nd Years with Aura Essence Pills or Magic Essence Potions topensate. Is that fine?" The old mage said calmly.


    "Fine. At least they will receive those aspensation. Who do I have to fight? I can take all of them at once," he said.


    "Head Master, we might gette," Asher said softly.


    "We allotted ourselves ample time in case things go wrong. This duel will take very less time, so it won''t cut into the travel. As for you, boy, you only have to fight a single person of my choosing."


    He looked at Leo immediately after saying that, which made him turn his head down by reflex. The mage had clearly seen through his aura level and knew exactly how strong he was.


    After taking a breath to calm himself he looked up again. The chance that he knew about either inheritance was minuscule, so he would be fine. He had to concentrate on the chance he was given instead of worrying about the Head Master.


    If he won against the boy in front of him, then he could move up to the normal team. Then he wouldn''t need to worry about being a reserve member and worry about the tournament.


    "I''ll do it," he said and stepped forward.


    His action didn''t surprise anyone since he had a little beef with the boy anyway. They all looked at the Head Master to see if Leo was the one he was talking about. When he nodded, they all got ready for the fight. Only one person retorted.


    "But sir, how fair is letting him fight a person an entire year older than him?" Elysia asked.


    "If I am not wrong, Leo should still be 15 years old. Am I right, boy?"


    The Head Master looked at Leo who nodded in response.


    "But do not worry. I believe that he has a fair chance in this fight. Keep in mind that what you see must not discourage any of you in any way. It is simply the way the world works. It is not fair and you will not be able to pick and choose your enemies."


    His word made everyone shake their heads. In their minds, he had already picked a side, which was very odd. His words made them all think that he was going to support the freshmen, but what he did was the opposite.

 Chapter 232 Shock

    <h4>Chapter 232 Shock</h4>


    Lucius looked at Leo with his predator''s eyes. He was waiting for the fight to start so that he could hunt him down like a lion with a rabbit. However, he was met by Leo''s cold eyes that didn''t seem bothered even a little bit by this fight.


    When he met Leo''s gaze and didn''t see even an ounce of fear,? he got more agitated. To him, this meant confidence that he had a chance. And that was saying that he was weak.


    "Get ready for the beating of your life, boy."


    Leo ignored his words and looked at the Head Master.


    "Start."


    Lucius took out his sword from his dimensional ring and coated it with an icy cold aura that made the air around it move slower. The chill from it could be felt by Leo who was 5 meters away. It didn''t bother him though. He just waited for his opponent to make the first move.


    When he saw that Leo wasn''t moving at all, Lucius charged forward with a smile.


    "Are you frozen in fear?" He asked. Maybe that was the reason he didn''t see any expression from Leo - because he had no idea what to do and his body wouldn''t do what he asked it to do.


    As he got near, Leo finally stopped bottling all his aura inside. He unleashed it all at once, to make a single tendril. A small tendril made of a red color aura emerged from Leo''s palm and rapidly grew to the size of a meter. Itshed out at the iing Lucius from his right.


    He was surprised by the attack and blocked it with his sword, keeping his sharp edge facing the tendril to cut it. Once it was cut, he was nning on charging forward still. Because of his assumption, he didn''t brace for any impact and kept charging forward.


    The tendril hit the sword and kept going forward without getting cut, making contact with his body. Once it hit him, it threw his body several meters away, making himnd on his left arm. The fall also knocked away the sword in his hand.


    He groaned in pain and tried to get up. After struggling a little, he was able to get his body back up, but his arm waspletely broken so it wouldn''t help in the fight anymore.


    He looked with shock at the tendril that had been fine even though it impacted his sword that was d in his aura. It was impossible for a 2nd Circle Aura Knight''s aura to face his, so how did it happen?


    It wasn''t just him that was surprised. Every student there didn''t expect this to happen. They thought it would be a pitiful beatdown that the professors would have to stop. As for the teachers, they were a little surprised at the power of Leo''s attacks, but not nearly as much as the students.


    Leo stood still, waiting for Lucius to make the next attack. His tendril was retracted back into his body, but the aura he was emitting was still visible for everyone to know.


    The eyes of every student there widened as they realized how Leo was able to do what he did. They were finally able to take a good look at the aura that he had been concealing, and it revealed exactly how strong Leo was.


    "Leo became an Early-Stage 3rd Circle Aura Knight?" Lyra asked Marcus.


    "That is monstrous, even by his standards," he replied to her.


    The 2nd years were surprised by what they saw too. Some of them were having a heated discussion while others were just observing silently, their thoughts hidden from the outside.


    "Isn''t he just 15 years old? How did he manage to be that strong?" The girl with Lucius asked the other boy in the group. He remained silent and just stared at Lucius, waiting to see what he would do next.


    "There is no way that he got there by himself. He had to have help from someone strong. Maybe he took a lot of pills and it damaged his circles?" The red-headed girl asked Elysia.


    "Did you look at the strength of the aura, Ria? The weird tendril he made knocked away the sword and Lucius too. The aura around his sword is decently strong. Even you couldn''t do what he just did," she said.


    "Are you saying that he might be stronger than me?" She asked with a hint of jealousy and surprise.


    "No. I am saying he IS stronger. And it''s not just you. Based on the aura I just saw for a second, he might be as strong as Nathaniel. And he must have understood that as well."


    "But Nathaniel is a Middle-Stage 3rd Circle Aura Knight!" Ria said.


    "That is why we are both interested in who this boy is. He is only 15 years old and he is making this much of a difference. What will he look like a year or two from now? We might be seeing a 4th Circle Aura Knight from Eldridge Academy entering the Phoenix Trials soon."


    Lucius scowled when he saw Leo''s 3rd Circle Aura. He walked to his fallen sword and picked it up, coating it with aura again. Inside, he knew that what happened wasn''t because of luck or surprise.


    The tendril was actually dangerous to him, so he would need to avoid it. He charged again with his sword in his right hand. Leo smiled and held out his hand.


    The tendril emerged again and was about to swipe at Lucius again, but he was ready for it. He unleashed a massive amount of aura, creating a shield made of ice. The tendril hit the shield, creating massive cracks in it. It would tank another two hits, so Lucius decided to take advantage of it.


    He kept charging forward with his sword and the shield followed him, hovering in the air. He was about to hit Leo since the tendril wouldn''t be able to reach him to help unless it broke the shield first.


    However, when he got there, he saw another tendril grow from Leo''s other hand. This time, his sword wasn''t fast enough and it hit him directly in his ribs, breaking two of them. His body dropped to the ground and he groaned in pain.


    Leo retracted his two tendrils and took a step back, allowing the professors to tend to him. He looked at the Head Master to see if this was enough.


    "I think that a few adjustments are in order. Leo will be a part of the normal team while Lucius will join our reserve team. I am sure nobody else will be questioning my decision," he said.


    Asher was smiling a little and walked to the Head Master. He asked him a question once the students were no longer looking at them.


    "Head Master, both of us know that the appearance of the boy is a coincidence. If he hadn''t appeared, what would you have done?"


    The old mage chuckled.


    "That is a good question. But take a step back. If I didn''t give them this chance and solely asked them to question my word, would there be any dispute? The only reason I did this is to get the boy out of the reserve team. He has the potential to make Eldridge more than just the top 10. We might even hit the top 5 academies with him."


    "I agree," Asher said.


    When Leo got back to his ce, he was swarmed with questions by Marcus and Lyra.


    "How did you break through?" Lyra asked him. "And why does your aura feel weird? It isn''t the shadow element that you used to have."


    "So you noticed. I changed to the Blood Element because I found a good aura manual that uses it. I used it to break through."


    "Where did you buy it?" Marcus asked.


    "The Thousand Treasure Tower, obviously. Where else would I find a good manual?"


    "But that doesn''t exin how you were able to get to the 3rd Circle from the Middle Stage of the 2nd Circle," Lyra said.


    "Well, that is hard to exin. I just had a little luck and was able to rapidly increase my aura." He said. His response made both Marcus and Lyra change the topic. They knew that he didn''t want to tell them which they respected.


    At this point, the two other freshmen approached him cautiously.


    "Hello. I am Seraphina Nightshade," the girl introduced herself.


    "I am Magnus White," the boy said.


    "I am Leo," he replied to their introductions.


    When he just gave his first name, it made the two a little disappointed since they assumed he wasn''t interested in giving them his full name. It was a slightly disrespectful thing to do.


    "We just wanted to introduce ourselves since we were supposed to be in the same boat. But now that you moved up, it might be pointless," Magnus said.


    "Oh hardly. I think that it is good we know each other since we will be traveling together for a while. And who knows? You might be able to get past the reserve stage!" He said.


    "I don''t think so. The reserve stage is incredibly hard. There are thousands of people and all of them are the most talented people in the empire." The girl said.


    "Well, don''t sell yourself short. So are you. You are from one of the best academies in the empire. That means you are as good, if not better than them. And if not this year, there''s always next year."


    As they were talking, Asher announced that they were leaving.


    "Pack up! We are leaving."

 Chapter 233 Start

    <h4>Chapter 233 Start</h4>


    "Okay, now everyone pick a horse," Asher said to the people standing there.


    The people took a look at the identical horses which all seemed to have a little bit of aura. They were all still pretty tame, but no one knew how long that wouldst. Thankfully, Asher exined it to them.


    "This is a Magical Beast called the Iron Horse. They are one and a half times as fast as normal horses and have a lot more stamina. However, they are harder to ride because they are Magical Beasts.


    So to stay on their back, you first get on, and then release your aura to intimidate the beast. If you can show that you are many times stronger than it, then it won''t budge. For now, they are under the control of the Head Master. But he will stop releasing his magic once you get on the horse."


    Once he told them how it would work, he got on one of the horses and demonstrated. The minute he got on the horse, the magic that Leo could detect from the Head Master diminished a little.


    At that time, the horse suddenly became incredibly violent and started bucking around for around ten seconds. As it started to do that, Asher let it be violent for ten seconds before finally releasing a little bit of his aura.


    The minute the horse noticed the aura, it quickly calmed down and came to a still. Asher showed everyone that it rode like a normal horse from there.


    "As you could see, the horse will behave normally once you exert your aura. Don''t use too much since using too much aura would make you exhausted."


    Everyone picked a horse, as did Leo. Even Lucius had to. He was given a healing potion that fixed him very quickly so that he could stillpete in the Phoenix Trials. After his defeat to Leo, he didn''t look at him another time.


    Once they did, they all got onto their respective Magical Beasts. A loud neigh erupted from each horse once the Head Master released his magical presence that kept them under control.


    The horses tried to throw their passengers and run away, but they didn''t have the strength to. Meanwhile, everyone started to release their aura to control their beasts. First, it was the seniors who did it, keeping their horses at bay constantly.


    Leo looked around and saw that even the freshmen were able to do it instantly. Then he looked at his own beast and exerted his aura. He had hidden it again after the fight, so he had to exert it again to control the horse.


    He only let a little bit of aura seep from his body and showcase his power. However, that little strand of aura that exited his body seemed to stop the horse from making a sound. It dropped to the ground immediately and started shivering.


    It seemed as if it was in fear because of the aura. Asher noticed the weird phenomena that happened with Leo''s horse and frowned. He had never seen anything like this happen in his entire experience of dealing with Magical Beasts.


    The Head Master also noticed this and rode his own horse to where Leo was. As he got closer, Leo got off the kneeling horse and went to the side, confused about what to do.


    "Well, it seems that your aura is too strong for the horse. How about this? Keep in all of your aura and let me control your horse. As for why this is happening, we can figure it out at ater time. Maybe during the journey when we have time." He said.


    Leo did as instructed and brought back all of his aura into his body, allowing the horse to behave normally again. He got on it again and it didn''t have any problems anymore.


    Once they all got on their horses, they started moving on the road to the Capital. It was in the same direction as the city of Phoenix Greens. As they moved through the city, the odd sight of 12 Magical Beasts being ridden attracted many eyes.


    The cloth draped over the horses had the emblem of the academy, which exined this urrence but it only managed to increase the number of onlookers. Until they exited the city, all of the students were a little ufortable. Once they did, they all became a little rxed.


    Soon after they left the city, Leo was approached by the two seniors who were very intrigued about his strength. These were the two people he had already met.


    "Hello, Leo was it?" The red-headed girl said.


    "Yes, Leo. You are?" He asked both of them.


    "This is Ria, and I am Elysia," Elysia said. They turned to the second years who were beside him. Once they introduced themselves, they turned back to Leo.


    "So, what is your trick to being this strong?" Ria asked immediately.


    Leo chuckled in response. "Do you tell the rest of the world how you became strong, Ria?"


    Her expression soured. "How about if I pay? For your Aura Manual?"


    "How much would you be willing to pay?" Leo asked, intrigued. He didn''t need the money but wanted to see how much she thought he was worth.


    "3 million Starcoins?" Ria asked him. Elysia palmed her face while Leo''s chuckle grew louder.


    "I am sorry but 3 million Starcoins isn''t even getting you information about where I found this manual, much less the manual itself," he said.


    Ria was a little angry at his statement but knew he was right. If there were indeed a secret behind his ascension to the 3rd Circle, it would be worth more than ten million Starcoins. And that was just the information.


    "Let us put that aside. We just hope that we can work together during the trials. That is all," Elysia said and dragged Ria to the side, leaving Leo with his friends.


    "Isn''t that weird?" Marcus asked. "Why did theye to buy off how you became a 3rd Circle Aura Knight?"


    "Because she is a noble. Her name is Ria Goldberg and her father is a Viscount. If there is a trick to be a 3rd Circle Aura Knight, then it would be worth more than a hundred million Starcoins to them." Lyra answered the question.


    "It doesn''t matter. I will need them for the Phoenix Trials anyway," Leo said. "Let''s just get there and we''ll sort it out. You have to worry about the reserve trial that you have to get past."


    "We do. They are right though. The chances that we do get past the reserve stage are very low."


    "Doesn''t mean you don''t try," he responded.


    The journey to the Capital was very smooth. They started off very slowly to get the hang of riding the Magical Beast. This continued for the entire day without any breaks for food.


    Everyone there was at least a 2nd Circle Aura Knight, so they didn''t have any need to eat food. Since they didn''t require breaks, they kept riding until it started to be dark. At that point, they slowed down until they came to an opening.


    "We will take a break in around five minutes. There is a break-point on this path where we can spend the night," Maria said to the students.


    After a few minutes, they dide to an opening. However, the opening they came to was already upied. They could see this from a distance since there was a fire that showed someone else''s presence.


    As they got near, they saw that it was a caravan that was on the way to the Capital as well.


    "What do we do now?" Asher asked the Head Master.


    "We can join them. This is a public space that everyone can use. Who said that we cannot share the space?" The Head Master said without seeming bothered by the situation at all.


    The freshmen didn''t think anything at all, but the seniors did. Ria was very angry when she noticed that the camp was upied.


    "We should just kick them out. They will dly go if we offer them some money," she said to Elysia.


    "Don''t think that anything can be solved with money. This is the nearest break-point to Eldridge, so it is the safest ce to rest during the night. Why would they be willing to give this up?" Elysia asked.


    "Then what do we do? I don''t want to be sharing this ce with those many people. They have a bunch ofmoners and mercenaries who probably don''t even know what civilization means," she said.


    Leo overheard this and smiled. This was typical of a noble, but the efforts of Elysia trying to educate her friend were more interesting to him.


    "Don''t try to assume. And also, we will probably be using tents so we won''t need to encounter the people there anyway," she said.


    Meanwhile, they finally got to the opening. As they got near, the members of the caravan noticed their presence. One of the people in charge came out to see who was approaching them.


    As the light shone on the horses, the emblem of the Eldridge Academy, the crest of the Eldridge family, shone brightly. The person who was going to speak to them recognized the emblem and frowned.


    "I greet the Eldridge family," he said as they got near him.


    The Head Master got off his horse and stepped forward.


    "We are not from the Eldridge Family, only the Eldridge Academy. We are here to stay the night alongside you. I hope that is fine."

 Chapter 234 Inconvinience

    <h4>Chapter 234 Inconvinience</h4>


    (A/N: Please read the author''s thought for a quick update on updating timings.)


    __________________


    "Of course, sir. How should we address you?" The person there asked.


    "Alfred is fine. There is no need to have titles with someone like me. How about you?" The Head Master said.


    "I am Riaz. We are the Eastern Moguls, a small merchant group from Eldridge."


    "Thank you for having us. We will set up our tents on the side," Alfred said and turned to the teachers.


    "We need two tents and a stable. The teachers can keep guard." He said to them.


    They took out a bunch of tents from their dimensional rings and started setting them up. The students looked at the tents with mixed expressions.


    Everyone was confused since they didn''t need to sleep. As they were all 2nd Circle Aura Knights at the least, they would just need to recover their aura and meditate to rest. There wasn''t a need to put up tents for that.


    However, a lot of them appreciated thefort of being in a tent. The nobles all felt that it was good for them to be inside rather than interact with the people outside.


    As for Leo, he saw the tents as pointless. He wasn''t nning on entering them since he preferred the fresh air outside.


    Once the tents were set up, Asher came to the students who were still on their horses.


    "Now, get down from your horses. Release the pressure your aura is creating. The Head Master will take care of them while you can train in the tents. If you don''t want to stay in the tents, that is fine too. Just don''t venture far from where we are now. This ce is known to have bandits."


    Leo smiled. No bandits would be able to enter at least a 2-mile radius without being discovered by the Head Master. Even he could detect any people entering from half a mile himself. And even if an army came, what threat would they pose to a 5th Circle Mage?


    They all got off their horses. Once they did, Asher took all of them to a makeshift stable that they made. As for the students, most of them were going into the tents. Only Leo didn''t.


    "Are you noting with us?" Lyra asked.


    Leo shook his head. "No. I''ll stay outside."


    "How are you alright? I thought you would be drained after releasing your aura for the entire day?" Marcus asked.


    "I didn''t. The Head Master took care of me. So I don''t need to rest. I''ll just hang out with the people from the merchant guild," he said and walked away.


    As the students got set up in the tents, Leo went to the stable where the horses were. It was just two metal poles hanging upright and a roof on top. There was also a horizontal bar for them to tie the horses, but that was it.


    He picked the outermost horse which was resting on the ground. He leaned back, resting his head on it, while perceiving what was happening outside.


    The people in the merchant group were not making any noise at all. Even before they arrived, the only reason they knew someone was there was because of the fire. The entire camp was incredibly alert which was why they were spotted quickly.


    When their group got there, they saw that the camp was very solemn. This made everyone who cared start paying more attention to why this was the case. The Head Master, the professor, some of the students, and Leo all made these observations.


    After an hour, the people from the merchant group stomped out the fire they started. It seemed like they finished eating and were going to rest. However, a lot of the guards were still out, patrolling.


    Leo noticed that out of the guards, there were over 5 2nd Circle Aura Knights and even a 3rd Circle one too. They seemed to be guarding a very precious artifact since they were being this careful with it.


    He scoured through the carriages and the people with his perception, looking for the artifact in question, but he couldn''t find it. After his failure to find anything, he gave up. It was probably in someone''s dimensional ring so there was no way he would be able to look for it.


    With that conclusion, he stopped caring about the merchant group and started training his spells. The next two hours went by without any trouble until he felt someone enter the range of his perception.


    First, it was a single person, but that person was joined by a group of more than 40 people.? They were slowly encircling the camp from afar without being detected by anyone from the camp. Leo immediately opened his eyes to look for where the Head Master was.


    He found him sitting on a rocking chair, looking in the direction where the intruders areing from. Beside him, Asher was sitting on a normal chair alongside. Only Selena was nowhere to be seen.


    The Head Master turned around to meet Leo''s eyes. He smiled before turning away, leaving Leo in a cold sweat. How did he know that Leo was looking at him? Meanwhile, the Head Master gave a few instructions to Asher.


    "We have a few intruders. Tell the merchant group to be a little cautious," he said.


    Leo could hear Alfred''s words which made him worry more. If the Head Master only looked at him to see if he had been alerted by the intruders too, that meant that he was catching on to his true perception.


    At this point, the people who were closing in were very close to the half-mile mark, so if the Head Master knew that his perception could reach that far, it would give him a hint that the 3rd Circle Aura Knight wasn''t a good depiction of his true power.


    As he was thinking this, Alfred gave more orders to Maria.


    "Call the students. This is a good time to let them experience a fight. It will prepare them for the trials," he said.


    Maria left to call the students who were recovering their aura. As Asher did his job in alerting the Merchant Group, the Head Master looked at Leo again.


    "Come here, boy," he said.


    Leo''s mind raced with fear as he walked toward the Head Master. He was afraid that something would happen to him, but at this point, he couldn''t do anything about it. Trying to run would be pointless. A Peak-Stage 5th Circle Aura Knight would catch up to him even after a ten-minute head start.


    "Yes, Head Master?" Leo asked him why he called him.


    "Please, just call me Alfred," the Head Master said.


    Leo became a little ufortable with calling a person that much more older and powerful than him by his first name. Alfred smiled when he saw this.


    "When you be as strong as you are now, then age will not matter anymore. The only thing that remains is mutual respect for everyone who is alike."


    "But I am not as strong as you," Leo replied. His heart was starting to sink because he realized what this meant. The Head Master had discovered his secret.

 Chapter 235 Finding Out

    <h4>Chapter 235 Finding Out</h4>


    "Your tricks might fool everyone else, but you forget that I am only a half-step away from being a 6th Circle Mage. Did you think you can hide your magic from me?"


    His words made Leo''s heart clench. He started thinking about how to escape. One thing he could try would be to take a hostage. But that` was still risky since it might infuriate the Head Master. Another possible escape would be to hide himself using Valkyr''s Deception, but his mastery wasn''t enough to fool a Peak-Stage 5th Circle Mage like the Head Master.


    "You are thinking too much. Do not worry about what I will do to you. I am not your enemy, only a person who means well," Alfred said.


    "What do you want from me then?" Leo said with his guard on.


    "Nothing that you can give me immediately. I need the help of a 6th Circle Mage, and you aren''t at that stage yet. But I think it''s only a matter of time before you get there."


    "So why did you call me?" Leo asked, still wary about what could happen to him. His heart was racing with stress at what could happen.


    "You see, your body has a lot of interesting aspects that are far too dangerous to remain open. To start with, you do not hide your magic as well because you assume that people do not check for it. That is true since you are an Aura Knight, but I can sense the small ripples it causes, so you need to change that," he said.


    Leo felt like dying inside because of what he had done. As he was thinking about how to fix this problem, Nefrati''s voice calmed him down.


    "Stop worrying and calm down. If you were in danger, then you would be chained by now. The person in front of you wants you for something and that''s why he is helping you. Just listen to him and worry about everything else after." She said to him.


    Her words made him break out of the mental state of mind that didn''t let him think properly. He cleared his mind and looked at the Head Master with eyes that didn''t show any more fear.


    "So, would you help me with that, Alfred? I assume that there will be many people there with as much power if not more than you,"? Leo asked him.


    His calm response made Alfred''s smile wider.


    "It is good that you are taking this well. I can, indeed help you with that. But it requires a very high control of magic. I will train you for an entire week so that you are prepared to appear in the Phoenix Trials," he said.


    "You said to start with. Is there something else that I need to be worried about?"


    "Yes. I can see that you have a Pill body, as can anyone else. Now, I would assume that you can only take one among aura and magic pills. So it shouldn''t even be called a Pill Body anymore and be called an Elixir Body. Nheless, it is dangerous to let people know that you are in the possession of a physique like that."


    Leo nodded. "And I assume that you will be teaching me how to hide this as well," he said.


    "Yes, in the week after we get to the capital. You must have understood how important hiding one''s secrets are. The only one of our entire group who has been showing everything was me because I needed to keep the Magical Beasts under control."


    He was right. All of the professors were hiding their aura every since they left the school. However, another question crept up in his mind when he thought about this.


    "Why are you even letting me go to the Phoenix Trials if it''s this easy to find me? Wouldn''t it be a better idea for me to not go?" Leo asked.


    "I admit, I lied when I said you can only help me when you be a 6th Circle Mage. You can do something during the Phoenix Trials that will be very beneficial for me," Alfred said.


    "And what is that?"


    "There is an item that can be found during the Phoenix Trials. Now, it is incredibly dangerous to look for this item, but if you do find it, I need you to bring it to me. I will exin what this item is right before the Phoenix Trials.


    The issue is that you will need to risk your life to find this item. The only advantage you will have is that no one powerful enough will be able to see what you do during this trial, so you can use your magic."


    His words left Leo confused. "I don''t know how this trial even works. How do I find this item?"


    "Do not worry about what isn''t imminent. You will understand everything once you find out what the item is about."


    "And what do I get in return for giving you this item? Apart from you not revealing my secret?"


    Alfred chuckled. "It is good that you are able to stand for yourself against me. In return for this object, you will have the support of a 6th Circle Mage, me. This item is what I need to break through. Is that a good enough offer?" He asked Leo.


    "Yes, it is."


    As he said that, the people from the tents poured out. All the guards and the students exited the tents with their weapons in their hands. The person who Alfred had already talked to came to them. Asher was right beside him.


    "Mr. Alfred. Your subordinate told me that we are under attack. How are you so sure? Our guards haven''t noticed anything," he said.


    "Not we, my friend. They are here for you. And they should be around a quarter mile away from us. The group is moving a lot slower than before, but they will get here within five minutes."


    "And what makes you think they are here for us and not for you?" Riaz asked with a vary expression. He took a step back from Alfred while the guards took a step closer.


    "Don''t make any foolish moves. We are from the Eldridge Academy and there are three professors with me. Do you know the requirement for bing a professor at our academy?" Asher stepped forward.


    "I apologize, but you must understand our need to be suspicious. We have an item of grave importance that needs to be transported safely. If you are aware of how these attackers are already here from more than half a mile, then it seems a little suspicious to us.


    We don''t have any proof that you are from the academy apart from the crests hanging on the horses."


    His words were very audible to the students. They felt a little amused by the situation they were in but didn''t say anything. Asher released a little bit of the aura he was hiding and looked at the 3rd Circle Aura Knight near the person who was talking to them.


    The guard''s expression changed immediately. She walked to Riaz who was talking to Alfred and whispered something in his ear.

 Chapter 236 Bandits?

    <h4>Chapter 236 Bandits?</h4>


    "Sir, they are indeed from the Eldridge Academy. The person in front of us is emitting the aura of a 4th Circle Aura Knight. If they aren''t from the Academy, it won''t take them much time to wipe all of us out," she said to Riaz.


    His expression changed and he turned to the Head Master.


    "I apologize, it seems you must be speaking the truth. Do you have any suggestions about what I should do now?" He asked Alfred.


    "I do have a favor to ask. My students are in dire need of experience in the real world. I hope you will let them take care of the iing intruders instead of having your guards fight."


    His words confused the guard and Riaz.


    "Are you sure, sir? If they are nning on attacking us, then they must have at least a single 3rd Circle Aura Knight," he said.


    Alfred looked at Leo. "Is that right?" He asked with a smile.


    Leo frowned when he was asked the question. It was solely to test how strong his perception was, which he didn''t enjoy.


    "5 3rd Circle Aura Knights," he said and looked at the person Alfred was talking to. "What are you carrying for there to be 30 Aura Knights, all at least being a 2nd Circle Aura Knight to attack you for?"


    Alfred was surprised by the uracy Leo showed. He thought that his perception would be a little cloudy at this distance but it was perfect. Meanwhile, the guard became a little shifty and took a step back.


    Meanwhile, Riaz apologized.


    "I cannot tell you this, but perhaps the leader of our group can. I will call him immediately."


    Once he left, Asher organized the rest of the students.


    "All of you are now going to fight the iing bandits. As you heard, you will be facing 5 3rd Circle and 25 2nd Circle Aura Knights. Only one of them will be stronger than an Early-Stage 3rd Circle Aura Knight, so Nathaniel will be attacking him. Is that clear?"


    Everyone nodded at this statement and took out a weapon from their dimensional ring. The guards belonging to the Merchant Group looked at this with envy.


    They saw a bunch of kids all have dimensional rings worth more than their entire life''s savings. On top of that, all of their weapons seemed very expensive.


    All the students seemed a little excited to start freeing their nerves a little before the fight. As they started to build up enthusiasm, the Head Master said something that destroyed all of that.


    "Asher forgot to mention a very important factor. You cannot leave any one alive. Except for you, Nathaniel. Your opponent will need to be captured alive for information."


    His words came out quite calmly, but they struck the students hard. Out of all the students there, only two people had ever killed a person - Leo and Marcus. And among them, Marcus only killed one because he needed to escape from the ve Trader''s stronghold.


    Their enthusiasm all died down once they heard the requirement that they needed to fulfill. All of them started to be nervous at the thought of killing a person.


    Meanwhile, Alfred turned to Leo.


    "You, unfortunately, will not be participating in this exercise. However, you can observe and interfere if someone is in danger."


    Leo shrugged. After the previous statement, he understood the true purpose of the Head Master''s request. None of the students there had killed a person before and they needed to know how to do that before the Phoenix Trials.


    This also meant that the Phoenix Trials would require him to kill a person inside. Just because Leo had killed a person before, it didn''t mean he didn''t have a conscious.


    He didn''t like that he would have to kill someone who didn''t do anything wrong. However, the circumstances would require him to do it. If someone tried to kill him, then he would have to as well.


    As the students prepared themselves, Riaz went inside the tents to get his leader. Inside, a man was sitting on a chair with a weakly illuminatedmp. He was looking at a few ns on the table in front of him.


    "Sir, the person outside that I told you about is requesting to know about what we are transporting. Would you please make the decision? I do not think I have the authority to do that."


    The person sitting on the chair got up and sighed.


    "Are we surrounded?"


    "ording to the person from the Eldridge Academy, we are. His subordinate is a 4th Circle Aura Knight, so his identity seems to be real."


    "I see. How many people do they have? The attackers? If it is someone from the academy, it must be a mage."


    "5 3rd Circle and 25 2nd Circle Aura Knights, ording to the group."


    "Let us go to meet them then."


    Both of them exited and walked to where Alfred was standing. Riaz stepped to the side as the other man walked forward and met the Head Master.


    "Hello, Mr. Alfred. I am Damian, the leader of the Eastern Moguls. I am told that there is an encirclement of bandits surrounding us," he said to Alfred.


    "I wouldn''t call them bandits. Killers would be a better word for them, seeing how organized they seem. Is there something we need to be aware of regarding what you are transporting?"


    "It isn''t what, but who. In order to reduce any suspicion, we didn''t hire any 4th Circle Aura Knights. If we did, everyone in the Mercenary Group would be aware of our presence. However, it seems that there was a leak beforehand that put us in this situation."


    "And who is it that you are escorting?" The Head Master asked.


    Damian''s expression turned grave. His words murmured but no sound came from them. The sound in them directly traveled to the ears of the Head Master.


    "The illegitimate daughter of the Grand Duke''s second son."


    Leo observed this from a close distance and was surprised. To transmit a voice like that, it would require at least a 3rd Circle as a mage or Aura Knight. He took a closer look at the person Alfred was talking to and noticed that his aura was concealed.


    As a 4th Star Mage, the only time he wouldn''t be able to see through the person''s aura level would be if they were at least a 3rd Circle Aura Knight.


    He had no idea who the person being transported was because of the careful nature of the leader, but he knew it was someone important based on the response of the Head Master.


    "I see," Alfred said slowly, pondering about what this implied. The gears inside his head were turning.


    "I understand that you volunteered to let your students deal with the attackers. Could I ask why?" He asked.


    "It is just to give them a little experience before theypete in the Phoenix Trials," Alfred replied.


    "That is admirable. I would never have expected to meet the young talents of the Eldridge Academy on my way to the capital. They seem exceptionally talented," Damian said.


    "They are. Unfortunately, we do not have much longer to converse."


    "Are the attackers near?"


    "They are already surrounding us."

 Chapter 237 Save

    <h4>Chapter 237 Save</h4>


    His words made all the students grip their weapons harder as they started observing their surroundings carefully. Ria was the first of them to say anything.


    "I can sense someone approaching. Actually, multiple people areing toward us!" She shouted.


    Out of all of them, she had the best perception, so she was the one to detect the iing enemies first. Leo walked toward Lyra and Marcus to make sure nothing would happen to them.


    Since the Head Master had stopped him from fighting, he could make sure that his friends were okay. He knew it wouldn''t be long for the enemies to be in front of them.


    As he expected, a group of people surrounded the entire group within seconds. They were all fully clothed in a ck outfit that covered every part of their body except for their eyes.


    The only revealing characteristic of theirs'' showed absolutely no fear as the attackers stood still once they encountered the huge group.


    "Make sure you cover the entire group and don''t let anyone get hurt!" Asher barked out orders.


    Leo looked at the Head Master with a confused expression.


    "How are they supposed to take care of every single person? They will not be able to manage these many people at once."


    His words had some truth to them. Even though they had enough 3rd Circle Aura Knights to match their enemies, they would be trapped in those fights. Who would fight the 25 2nd Circle Aura Knights?


    On top of that, the biggest problem would be that none of the students there knew how to attack to kill. The attackers wouldn''t have that problem at all.


    The students didn''t care about any of these and quickly divvied up the enemies.


    "I will take the 3rd Circle Aura Knight on this side," Ria said.


    "I''ll be here with you," Elysia decided to fight another 3rd Circle who was near the opponent Ria chose. The other students quickly chose their opponents too.


    As for the Freshmen, they were just spreading each other out to cover the rest of the gaps. The unmoving attackers stayed that way as someone walked up from the shadows.


    The sleek figure donned in ck stayed a safe distance away from the center and started speaking.


    "We havee for a single person. If we receive the target without trouble, then everyone can die without pain." He said emotionlessly to everyone inside the encirclement.


    Leo chuckled at the statement as he threw another nce at the Head Master. His chuckle got everyone''s attention. They were all interested in the person who found the situation funny.


    Even though the person who spoke saw Leough, he ignored it.


    "I will count to 10. If we do not-"


    "You will not receive anything. If you do not flee now, we will kill you," Maria interrupted the figure.


    The person took a step back and whispered, "Attack."


    Every ck-d Aura Knight surrounding them leaped forward. The students braced themselves with their weapons and got ready to attack.


    It was a 360-degree encirclement, which meant that everyone was significantly far from each other, However, Leo didn''t find the distance as high, so he assumed the Head Master had full control over the situation.


    So he was a littleid back as he made sure that Marcus and Lyra were safe. They were on the same side as Elysia and Ria, so they had a little bit of an advantage.


    The minute the shadows all started attacking them, Ria conjured a huge me bull that charged toward the iing killers, knocking them back. The broken-up formation had three injured fighters, which made it easier for the other three to fight them.


    In total, 14 people were attacking the four of them, while 15 were attacking the 4 on the other side. Only one person had to deal with a single enemy - Nathaniel.


    The leader of the killers who spoke earlier recognized his power and went for him first. Their fight wasn''t bothered by the other 2nd Circle Aura Knights because of the dangers implied by trying to mess up the fight.


    If even one stray attack hit them, it would kill them or cripple them instantly. So they only focused on killing the other students first.


    In their minds, it would be a quick sweep of the camp once they took care of the surrounding soldiers. However, it all started going wrong after the initial charging bull.


    When the ming bull appeared, the 3rd Circle Aura Knights on Ria and Elysia''s side finally showed a hint of fear in their eyes. Encountering a mage was out of their expectations.


    "We received false intel!" One of them shouted. "There''s a mage here!"


    Even though they were up against a mage, they went back to their job and approached her with speed to kill her first.


    The first one of them was stopped by Elysia while the other one kept approaching Ria. She calmly raised her staff and erected a me barrier around herself.


    When the killer tried to destroy it, a me from the barrier caught onto his arm, starting a minuscule fire. The killer noticed it and ignored itpletely. He entered the barrier, allowing the fire to start burning his entire body.


    He was now within attacking distance of Ria who didn''t expect that her opponent would be this crazy. Her barrier was supposed to burn everyone who touched it. Who would expect someone who didn''t care about the burn at all?


    She slowly backed up as she chanted another spell. The barrier disappeared and a small fireball formed in front of her chest. It shot at the killer in front of her, but he side-stepped and dodged it.


    As he got closer, Leo on the side noticed what was happening. He took a quick look at the Head Master who was only observing but not gathering any magic. The nearest professor was near Lyra, who was a little away from where Ria was standing.


    Out of the five people supposed to be watching the students, only the Head Master and Leo could do anything about the situation, and he could clearly see that Alfred wasn''t interested in moving.


    "He''s testing you," Nefrati said.


    "I know. It''s starting to be annoying. He''s trying to see exactly how much he should invest in me. His curiosity makes me want to strangle him."


    Even though he was very displeased by the Head Master''s actions, he still acted. His feet moved like a blur as a red aura surrounded them. He quickly arrived behind the killer who was about to attack Ria.


    Arge tendril made of blood aura formed within milli-seconds as the killer turned around to meet the intruder in the fight. By the time he turned around, Leo''s tendril hit him, blowing him 6 feet away.


    After the attack, he retracted his tendril and walked back to his previous position, equidistant from both Marcus and Ria. He didn''t seem affected by what he did at all and showed no change in emotion.


    Ria, on the other hand, was breathing heavily. Her hear was racing as she tried toprehend the situation she was in. She had almost died a second away, if not for Leo''s intervention.

 Chapter 238 Blood

    <h4>Chapter 238 Blood</h4>


    As she was trying to recover from her near-death experience, the people around her were in a simr battle for their lives. Elysia was facing five Aura Knights by herself and it was starting to overwhelm her.


    Every single killer had a pair of daggers that moved at lightning speed. With all five of them attacking her, the aura shield around her was starting to breakdown. Leo saw this and sighed.


    He moved a little toward her side while keeping an eye on everyone else. As this happened, a student finally drew first blood. As Leo expected, it was Marcus.


    Since he had experience with it, he was okay with going for killing blows. Especially since the people he was fighting against weren''t holding back either.


    And even though he was a Middle-Stage 2nd Circle Aura Knight like the person he was going against, the aura technique he used was a lot more efficient and powerful.


    It was a more destructive evolution of the lightning fist he used to use as a 1st Circle Aura Knight. With a punch to the chest, the enemy he was facing died instantly.


    Marcus moved to his next opponent immediately while everyone else was struggling. He moved toward Lyra because he saw her struggling a lot.


    Even though they were all fighting to win, they aimed to push back their opponents. So even though she won a few exchanges of blows, the enemies kepting back.


    Marcus was weaving his way through two attackers to get to where Lyra was. He was luring the two killers on his back to where Lyra was so that both of them could fight together.


    Even though the enemies they would have to fight would multiply to 5 at a single time, it would be easier to face those many people with two people than three without any help.


    As he got closer, he saw an opening when one of the killers stepped forward too much when they tried to stab him. He punched into the ck-d man''s face, caving it inpletely.


    When he retracted his hand, he saw traces of blood on it. He turned away his face, ignoring what he did, and quickly defended against the iing attack from the third killer who was facing him.


    Now that he had brought it down to a one-on-one, it was a fairly simple fight for him. The killer tried to weave past him and take out Lyra first, but Marcus stopped him with a punch.


    The force from the punch hit the killer even though he didn''t get impacted by the fist. It made him falter, and as he regained his footing, Marcus caught up to him. His head was mmed down to the ground before he even got back up.


    Marcus looked up in time to see the shield around Lyra shatter. She swung her sword around her in a graceful manner, pushing away the people around her. They tried to get close to her, but a swirling bright light around her would reach them just in time, forcing her to back off.


    "You will not be able to do this for long. The only way to get out of the encirclement is to kill the people surrounding you," Marcus shouted as he bashed the spine of one of the killers from the back. They weren''t able to react in time since they weren''t prepared to handle another enemy.


    With only two enemies left, Lyra now had a lot of space. She deflected another pair of attacks from the people surrounding her as she ran the thought through her mind.


    The Head Master had told her that it was necessary, so it meant that she would be forced to kill someone eventually. It was inevitable. She saw the people surrounding her with their short daggers, all in the range of her attacks.


    Her long sword suddenly shed brightly and it swept through the necks of the killers who had gotten too close to her. Their heads flew up andnded on the ground without making much sound.


    After she swung her sword, she retracted it and looked at what she had just done. Her eyes fell on the headless bodies that were motionless on the ground. A surge of nausea grew in her stomach and threatened to move up to her mouth.


    She looked away immediately, unable to stomach the sight. Her protected self had never seen a dead person, so she was unable to process it. This,bined with it being her first kill made her incapable of fighting.


    The sword in her hand disappeared back into her ring and she processed her action of taking someone''s life. Marcus saw this and shook his head.


    "In the real world, you have to kill and live with it while dealing with the next thing hurled your way. You can''t let killing someone who wanted to kill you affect you. If you do, you won''t be able to live in this world."


    She looked at him and then saw the bodies behind him. The number of people he had killed was double what she did but he seemedpletely unfazedpared to her.


    "How do you do it, Marcus? How can you remain calm after killing those many people?" She asked him with a shaky voice.


    "I don''t fare as well as you think. You are asking the wrong person to give you advice on how to cope. Leo is a more appropriate person to answer that question." He looked at where Leo was standing.


    At Leo''s feet, a killer who tried to attack him was lying on the ground with his head severed. Leo seemedpletely unbothered by the body at his foot as he looked around, making sure that everyone was okay. He met Lyra''s gaze and smiled, causing a chill to go up her spine.


    "How is he able to act like nothing happened?" She whispered to herself. Marcus heard her but didn''t answer because he didn''t know the answer to that question either.


    There was a lot of mystery surrounding Leo that he had never tried to crack. He was very sure that Leo was connected to the fire that killed his previous owner, but those were questions he never tried to answer.


    Meanwhile, Leo was observing what the other two people were doing. In the time that Marcus and Lyra took out the people on their side, Ria and Elysia were struggling.


    As Ria was trying to cope with people who were prepared to die to kill her, Elysia was making sure that no one would hurt her friend. So her entire focus was on defending against the attacks that targeted both of them.


    Eventually, as time passed, they were both facing 8 enemies together. One of them was almost burned to death by Ria''s shield and Leo''s strike seemed to have killed him.


    However, even with one less opponent, and one less 3rd Circle killer to face, they were still having a huge problem with defending.


    Both of them were very reluctant to kill people and Leo saw that it wasn''t changing even though a lot of time had passed. He turned to the Head Master with an expression showcasing his helplessness.


    "Help them figure it out. If I interfere, they will be under the impression that we will always be there for them. The best motivation for them would be from someone their age since it would give them a hint of what is possible," Alfred said to him from the distance.


    Even though he was quite far away, Leo could see his amused expression and scowled. He turned away and walked to the two girls who were cornered at this point.


    Maria was about to step forward and interfere since she was the closest, but the Head Master stopped her.


    "Don''t, Maria. Let Leo take care of it," Alfred said to her.


    She looked in the distance where he was standing and then looked at Leo who was walking to the trapped duo.


    As Leo was approaching without worrying about speed the killers who were about to destroy the barriers surrounding Ria and Elysia noticed him.


    "Kill him," the 3rd Circle Aura Knight said to the 2nd Circle Aura Knight beside him. With the new orders, the 8th killer turned around and dashed toward Leo to attack him.


    Before he could even get close enough, two tendrils emerged from Leo''s hands and bound the killer. Leo kept walking forward as the tendrils started pulling the killer''s body from each side.


    As he drew closer to the group, the tendrils ripped apart the body into two, showcasing a gory sight that scared almost everyone who was looking. All the killers who saw this took a few steps back.


    Ria and Elysia also saw this and their minds almost cked out. The sight of a ripped-up body with blood dripping from each part scared them so much that they forgot how to move properly.


    The tendrils dropped the bodies down and retracted back to Leo''s hands as he kept walking forward. As he did, Ria and Elysia remembered what the Head Master said before when Leo was fighting Lucius.


    "Keep in mind that what you see must not discourage any of you in any way. It is simply the way the world works. It is not fair and you will not be able to pick and choose your enemies."


    They thought he was talking about Lucius, but he wasn''t. The person in question was Leo. And they didn''t want to face him as an enemy at all.

 Chapter 239 Splitting

    <h4>Chapter 239 Splitting</h4>


    The existence of Leo was going to discourage them. Having a person two years younger than them be so much stronger would definitely hit them. And seeing him kill people like it was nothing made them scared of him.


    As he stepped closer, the killers started to ignore the two and focused on Leo. Meanwhile, he wasn''t even bothered about the people who could attack him and looked at Elysia.


    "If you do not kill the people surrounding you, they will kill you first. It is as simple as that," he said.


    Hisment made the two girls look down with shame. Having a younger person exin a concept they already knew to them was demeaning. It wasn''t that they didn''t know - they just didn''t kill the people because they had never done it before.


    Ria looked up again with a hint of anger in her eyes.


    "We kn-"


    As she was about to respond to hisment, two killers rushed toward him. The tendrils of blood aura erupted from his hands again and stabbed the two, shattering any aura shield that defended them. They were impaled and thrust high into the sky, before being dropped down.


    "You might know, but the Head Master sent me here to make you execute the theory. I lessened the burden, but the rest of them are for you," he said. "Three each is a good ce to start."


    He stayed there, waiting for the people around him to act. The remaining enemies numbered 5 and wouldn''t be able to do anything to the girls anymore. They were stuck with having to pick who they needed to fight first.


    On one hand, they could try to fight the demon who was very clearly stronger than them, or they could try to break through the shield and kill the two girls first. But they would need to pick an option fast before Leo got any closer to them.


    Leo simply looked into the eyes of Elysia first, judging her softness. She felt his gaze and knew what she had to do. Her shaky hands steadied themselves as she took a deep breath.


    She gripped her sword and took out the aura shield covering her and Ria. After that, she charged forward and went to kill the nearest person.


    Ria saw this and knew she couldn''t be doing anything less. She pointed her staff at the people around her and sted them with a fire spell, burning them.


    Leo saw this and stepped back, allowing them to rampage. Every student there was strong enough to handle the enemies, but their inability to kill without thinking too much set them back.


    It would be a bigger problem if it wasn''t fixed before the Phoenix Trials which was why the Head Master made them fight the killers. Leo looked at Alfred who was looking around and making sure that everything was going properly.


    At this point, all the people who had attacked them had died, except for the person that Nathaniel was fighting. That person had been captured and was right beside the Head Master and Damian.


    They seemed to be waiting for the students to finish the fight before questioning the prisoner. Leo looked around to see how everyone looked and he saw what he expected.


    All the students were unable to look at the people they killed. It was the first time they all killed a person, save for Marcus. He didn''t bother waiting for them and walked to where Alfred was.


    Damian looked at the prisoner and then at Alfred.


    "I hope you don''t mind me questioning this person now," he said.


    "Please, go ahead."


    Damian bent down to get to the level of the kneeling prisoner.


    "Who sent you?"


    The person that Damian was talking to had his mask off and it showed his bloodied face. Nathaniel didn''t hold back at all and had nearly killed the man.


    "Whether or not I answer, you will kill me. I would rather die on my terms, than as a tortured ve."


    As he said that, he started building up aura in his body. Leo noticed this and quickly backed away. Damian started panicking.


    "He is killing himself!" He shouted and covered himself, bracing for impact. What the man was doing was blowing up all the aura in his body in a small explosion. It would kill him, but also take the lives of the people around him.


    Damian waited for a second for the explosion to hit him. His eyes were shut by instinct as he waited. He heard a loud sound that was deep and hollow. The explosion should have reached him but he didn''t feel anything.


    A few seconds passed and he opened his eyes, confused at what happened. In front of him, he saw the remnants of the blown-up body. He was confused at how the body exploded but nothing happened to him or the people around him, but he understood when he looked closer.


    There was a faint blue shield that was covering the body that seemed to have contained the aura of the explosion inside. He looked at Alfred, the only person who could have made a shield that strong.


    Out of the entire group, they didn''t have anyone strong enough to contain the self-destruction of a Middle-Stage 3rd Circle Aura Knight. And the barrier didn''t seem like it was made of aura, so it had to be a mage.


    The only two mages there were Alfred and Ria, so it had to be the former.


    "Thank you for saving me," Damian said.


    "You are wee. Although, it was pretty apparent what he was going to do. He had been gathering his aura ever since he got caught. These are true professionals," Alfred said.


    "I thank you for the help that you gave us. I do not think that we would have been able to defend against today''s attack if it weren''t for you. My only problem is that we don''t know what to do from now.


    The safest option would be to return back to Eldridge and hire a stronger guard, but that takes too much time. We can''t risk keeping our target in the city for that long. Would you suggest a solution?" He asked Alfred.


    "Actually, I can," Leo stepped up.


    Alfred turned to him with surprise. Damian looked at the youngster with apprehension. Out of all the students, Leo was the one who stood out the most. He was also the one who scared him the most.


    Compared to everyone there, Leo was visibly younger. He was only 15 years old and it showed. So when he was killing his enemies without any hesitation and goring them to death, it instilled a sense of fear in them.


    "And what is this solution?" Damian asked, hoping it would be a good one.


    "I can be a guard for you. Since you are going to the capital as well, I might as well join the caravan. That way, you have a stronger guard and you can go to the capital safely."


    His solution made a lot of sense, but it made Alfred frown.


    "How long will it take for you toe to the capital?" He asked Damian.


    "Less than a week if we hurry. 5 days."


    Alfred turned to Leo.


    "That means you will have five fewer days of practice. Are you sure you want to do this?"


    Leo nodded. "I do."


    "And why do you want to do this? Out of goodwill?"


    "Obviously, money. They can pay me a little bit of their charge in exchange for this," Leo said.


    Alfred shook his head in disappointment.


    "Surely, you aren''t risking your life for a few hundred thousand Starcoins," he berated Leo.


    "We will offer you 3 million Starcoins," Damian interjected. His words made Alfred shake his head more.


    "Fine. Do what you want. We will be in the La Quille Inn in the Capital. It is on the higher end of inns, so it will be easy to find."


    He said this and turned to the students.


    "Everyone! Get ready to leave. We have to depart immediately!"


    As he said that, Asher came to him with confusion.


    "Are we really letting Leo do this, Head Master? We just saw a team of 2nd Circle Aura Knightse and try to kill everyone. Will he be safe?"


    Alfred nodded. He knew that Leo wasn''t just a 3rd Circle Aura Knight. He was also an Early-Stage 4th Circle Mage. How? He didn''t know. But the strength of a mage as a backup would be enough to guarantee his safety.


    "Do not worry about this. He will join us for training when he gets to the capital."


    Asher sighed and walked over to Maria to pack everything up.


    "What is happening? Is Leo really staying back?" She asked him.


    "Yes. I don''t know why, but it seems like the Head Master is convinced he will be okay."


    The students were having a discussion about this too, though some of them were very happy that he was not going to be with them.


    "Thank god he is gone. I don''t think I would be able to train without having a fear that the psycho would kill me when I am not paying attention," Ria said.


    Elysia looked at her after thement with shock.


    "What did he do to you?" She asked.


    "Look at him. Anyone who can kill like that at such a young age has to have problems. And he seems to be the Head Master''s favorite student. What is stopping him from doing whatever he wants?"

 Chapter 240 Pursuers

    <h4>Chapter 240 Pursuers</h4>


    Ladies and Gentlemen, I have some slightly unfavorable news for you all. Read the author''s note for more.


    ____________________________________


    The sun rose, shining light on the eerie sight of the breakpoint that the group was previously staying in. Mangled corpses covered the ce and it reeked of blood.


    There wasn''t any movement anymore, but the ce had been desecrated by the fight that happened the previous night. Soon after the Eldridge Academy group left, the caravan also departed from the location.


    This time, they weren''t as weakpared to before. With the addition of Leo, they would be able to defend against iing attacks a lot easier, but they would face a problem if anyone stronger than a 3rd Circle Aura Knight appeared.


    The caravan was moving slowly since it was a few carriages with a lot of people. The fastest speed they could travel in would exhaust the horses too much. Leo was in the front along with Damian, trying to understand how difficult the job he took was going to be.


    "Will I ever be told the target that I am protecting?" He asked Damian.


    "I apologize, but I cannot tell you. That information would do you more harm than good."


    "Fine. What about the range of enemies that we will encounter in the future? How strong can we expect the enemies to be?"


    Damian sighed. "We cannot be sure. I am unable to understand whether the goal of the attackers the previous night was to kill or kidnap our target. Thetter would mean the price they can spend would balloon. I wouldn''t be surprised if we encounter a lot more 3rd Circle Aura Knights," he said.


    Leo frowned at this statement. Damian''s words seemed a little off-setting to him. Nefrati interjected.


    "I know who the target is," she said.


    Leo was surprised. "Who?" He asked her.


    "The person behind you, the young girl. She is the target."


    Even though he was told who the target was, he didn''t turn his head. If he did, Damian would know that he caught on to the identity of the person he was supposed to protect.


    Instead, he just looked at her using his perception. It did the job just as well. Behind him was a young girl who seemed to be his age. She didn''t have any traces of magic or aura which made him curious. Why was she on this mission?


    "How do you know?" He asked her.


    "Her bloodline. You don''t know how to identify them yet, but I can. She has an Emperor''s Bloodline, but not as strong as mine. She won''t have a peak-level affinity to any element, but a high-level affinity is guaranteed. She has to be the target if she has that high of a bloodline."


    What she said made sense, but he didn''t know for sure. What if she was coincidentally an inheritor of the bloodline? As if she sensed the question, Nefrati answered it.


    "The odds of inheriting an Emperor Bloodline as amoner is almost impossible. If your ancestors have the bloodline, they are guaranteed to at least be an 8th Circle Aura Knight. In an empire like yours, it is enough to be on the same level as a king," she said.


    "So she has very powerful ancestors?" He asked.


    "Not just any powerful ancestors. Her''s were the strongest at one point, which means there is a chance she is royalty."


    Her words made everything make sense to him. That was why Damian was acting so weird - he was afraid that something would happen to the girl and he wouldn''t be able to survive the repercussions.


    It also meant something even more grave. The implications of kidnapping a royal were a lot higher than just another noble. It gave the person power over a member of the strongest family in the empire. It wasn''t worth just a few million Starcoins.


    Leo guessed that it would be worth hundreds of millions of Starcoins. And if a person knew where the girl was and could spend that much money, they wouldn''t spend just a few million on a team of 3rd Circle Aura Knights.


    They would spend more and hire a 4th Circle Mage or Aura Knight. This put him in a very dangerous position, because the only way he would be able to escape if there was a person that strong would be if he revealed his power as a mage.


    His mouth curved as he realized the grave danger of the mission. Instead of worrying, he started smiling. With grave dangeres opportunity. If he sessfully guarded the girl, he wouldn''t care about the money that the merchant group gave him.


    Instead, he would be more interested in the favor he would receive from the royal family. As he thought that, he noticed a change in the environment around him.


    They were no longer alone and were instead joined by a few people riding toward them from afar. They were only a group of ten and were all 3rd Circle Aura Knights. His face turned sour as he rode his horse toward the person at the front to tell them his observations.


    "Damian, we havepany. Ten 3rd Circle Aura Knightsing our way," he said.


    "Are you sure?"


    Yes, I am sure. They are about 2 minutes away from us," Leo responded.


    When he said that, Damian''s face immediately darkened. A bead of sweat started forming on his forehead as he thought about what to do. They only had two 3rd Circle Aura Knights which wouldn''t be nearly enough to face against the people Leo said wereing.


    "Then we don''t have another option. We can only leave behind the caravan and start running in the direction where there is safety." He said to Leo.


    Then he turned his horse around while taking out a horn from his dimensional ring. He blew it loudly, creating a slight shockwave from it. Leo could handle the sound, but the girl behind him had to cover her years.


    As soon as the horses heard the sound, they started to get racy. Leo felt the horses feel more energetic. He also saw the expressions on the faces of the other guards.


    "What does the horn mean?" He asked Damian.


    "It means we run. Leaving everything behind. No more cover, only running away from now till the capital."


    "What does this mean? We just hope they don''t catch up to us?" He asked with curiosity.


    "No. Everyone will split up at various intersections on the way, leaving multiple tracks. This will throw off the pursuers. The strongest will remain with the target."


    Leo smiled when he heard that. Even though they were in such a dire state, Damian refused to tell him the identity of the target. He was going to be finding out anyway since he expected to stay with the target till the end.


    Since the strongest would have to stay with the person being protected, it would only make sense if Leo was with the girl. Along with that, Damian would have to exin what happened to him if he got out alive but Leo didn''t. So he would need to give Leo the most important and safest job instead of making him bait.

 Chapter 241 Running

    <h4>Chapter 241 Running</h4>


    As he said that, the people on the horses started to go to the carriages and unhook the horses from them. Damian was no longer looking at them and was only concerned with Leo.


    "From here, you need to rush forward at full speed. You cannot stop. You will be joined by me and everyone on a horse." He said.


    Once the horses were separated from the carriages, they slowly rolled to a stop. Meanwhile, a group of guards took over the reins of the horses that were just separated.


    Once they did that, they started charging forward. Damian saw this and beckoned his own horse to do the same. Leo smiled and did what he saw the person in front of him do.


    He looked back as he did that, noticing the expressions of the people left behind. In total, there were 9 horses and around 30 men. A lot of people had to stay behind and remain as bait.


    As he stared at them, he saw that they weren''t waiting for their deaths. All of them were fleeing into the forest to make sure that they weren''t so obviously in the way.


    "So, what tracks do we need to make?" Leo asked.


    "None. Artificial tracks are more likely to be noticed by them than natural ones. By keeping it real, they are more believable. So we just need to ride forward," he said.


    "Well, what''s your n for when you encounter them?" Leo asked.


    "How far away are they?"


    "Around 2 minutes away if we are stationary. But we aren''t. They are still approaching faster than we are running away, so I wouldn''t be verycent. Now they are half a kilometer away."


    Damian frowned when he heard that. Since they moved quickly, they had a little bit of a head start. But it still wasn''t enough to give them enough room to make ns.


    "Fine. In around two minutes, there should be a path that splits between the capital and the district of the Elkhounds. We will split into two there," he said.


    Leo looked forward with his perception and noticed that there was indeed a forked pathway. It would probably help them to throw off the people behind him, or at least make them separated from each other.


    Either way, it wouldn''t make a difference to him. There wasn''t anyone among the people chasing who could actually hurt him.


    As they rode against the wind, he noticed the calm expression on the girl whom Nefrati said was the supposed target. This surprised him, given her young age and theck of power in her.


    If it was anyone who was in her situation, he would expect them to get scared for their life. After all, she would know that the people chasing them were after her, and she wouldn''t be able to defend herself if she was left alone.


    But her calm unbothered expression spoke a different story. As he stared at her face, her eyes met his. When they did, he realized that it wasn''t that she was calm, but that she was apathetic. She seemed to be emotionless even though this was happening to her.


    "We are splitting up now! Leo, Jennifer, and Rylie areing with me. Everyone else, go toward Elkhound," Damian said.


    Leo saw a coordinated change in the group as the people in the back slowed down, allowing Leo and everyone else to speed up while they would stop the attackers in case they already got near them.


    As the small group of four rode forward, they came to an intersection. There were two paths in front of them, both identical. The only difference was shown by a sign to the side.


    "Capital - Left. Elkhound - Right."


    Damian steered to the left and the rest followed him. As they did that, Leo looked back to see where the pursuers were. They were now only 200 meters behind them and a hundred and fifty meters away from the second group. He looked back straight and shook his head, hoping for the best.


    A minuteter, a group of ten ck-d people stopped at the intersection that led to both the capital and the Elkhound territory. The horses skidded to a stop as the people looked at the person in the front.


    In front of the entire group, arge horse shakily took a step back, turning to face the rest. The person riding on its back was looking at them with his cold eyes, the only visible part of his body.


    "Four of you will head toward Elkhound and the rest wille with me toward the capital." He said.


    "Are you sure? Why aren''t we splitting both ways equally?" A person in the back asked.


    He was far from the person in the front, but a single stare toward him created a chill that went down his spine.


    "He''s new. Don''t mind him," the person right in front of him said while positioning himself between the two.


    "No one questions the mission leader." He said to the person who asked the question.


    "Anyone else has something to contribute?" The leader in the front asked. His question was followed by a silence.


    "Good. Split up based on strength. The weaker four rush toward the Elkhound." He said.


    He turned his horse back toward the intersection and beckoned it to go forward. The people in the front followed him while the ones in the back stayed back. As the leader''s group raced forward, the rest slowly picked up their pace and headed toward Elkhound.


    "Why are we heading toward them with a lesser force?" The same person who asked the question asked it again. He was answered by the person who defended him.


    "Are you retarded?"


    His question made the person quiet down.


    "Even if you have valid questions, don''t ask the leader. He always has a good reason for doing what he does. The reason we split toward this route is because we know five people went down this side.


    We were able to read their tracks for so long and we sensed them as we got closer. But this is away from capital which means the target cannot have gone this way. But we are still going to make sure there aren''t any loose ends."


    "So we ignored all the people who escaped into the forest because of this?"


    "Yes."


    The group rode forward, slowly inching toward the group in the front. They were now 500 meters behind because they had to slow down for the conversation. However, they didn''t seem worried at all since they were given the less important task.


    They inched closer little by little, closing down the gap. What was initially 500 meters went down to 400. 400 became 300. They thought they needed to keep riding for a while before they caught up.


    However, the group caught up within another two minutes. What they saw made everyone frown behind their masks. All the horses didn''t have any riders on them. They were chasing horses running forward without an owner all this time.


    "They must have jumped off while the horse rode forward. We can find them on the way back." The person who answered the previous questions said. He seemed to be in charge of the smaller group.


    "But why would they do that? Why not just ride forward trying to get away? That''s what normal people being pursued do," the person in the back said. It was the same one who had asked all the previous questions.


    "It''s because we aren''t dealing with a normal caravan. They areplete professionals who are very experienced with escorting. I understand now how our initial team failed. However, it seemed that the force shrunk, based on the people we were chasing. What do you think?"


    The sudden question shot his way caught him off guard.


    "I... I don''t know. Maybe because-"


    "You still aren''t taking the hint, are you? I don''t know why you are a part of this organization. I already told you not to talk to your mission leader and saved you one time. We don''t give second chances."


    As he said that a quick sharp de emerged from his ring. The person in the back saw this and quickly realized he had screwed up.


    "I''m so sorry! I will not speak a word again!" He said while slowly backing away.


    "I agree. You will not speak a word again."


    The de shot toward the person, piercing through his throat. Blood started oozing out of the small hole that was left behind. The body slowly leaned to the side before falling off the horse.


    The person who killed him didn''t bother going back for the de. He just rode his horse toward the dead body. He took a look before looking around him.


    Look for any tracks of people rolling on the ground. If they fall down while riding that fast, they will create unnoticeable marks. Ride!"

 Chapter 242 Split

    <h4>Chapter 242 Split</h4>


    As the four of them were riding toward the capital at full speed, Leo kept an eye on the group pursuing them. They had stopped momentarily before splitting up. Now they had a group of 5 people chasing them, all 3rd Circle Aura Knights.


    He didn''t tell this information to Damian yet. The reason was that the attackers were almost half a mile away. Showing off his perception wouldn''t be very helpful, so he would give them the information once the distance between them closed down.


    At this point, everyone seemed to know that they were going to get caught. The horses they had were worse than those of the pursuers. The dull faces of the people around him showed theirck of will.


    A few minutester, Leo decided to tell them about the iing horsemen. They were going to catch up to them in a few more minutes and Damian would need at least that much time to make a n.


    "Damian, they are closing in. I give us 5 more minutes," Leo said.


    Damian looked at Leo with a dull gaze.


    "We need to split up again. At this point, I am guessing you know who the target is. You need to take her to the capital as quickly as possible." He said.


    Leo looked at the girl riding alongside him who was looking at him too. When their eyes met, Leo looked away. He didn''t want to look into the eyes of someone who gave up.


    "So, how would we be splitting up?" Leo asked.


    There wasn''t any fork ahead of them for them to be able to split up. This confused him a little.


    "We jump," the girl said. Her voice was very soft, but it was heard by everyone there. Her voice was like a fragile wisp of smoke, drifting through the somber atmosphere. There was a vulnerability in her voice, a deep well of emotion that threatened to overflow with every syble.


    It was the first time he noticed any emotion from her. The frailty that was surrounding her was enhanced by her weak voice.


    "Yes. You need to jump. I hope that you can jump without creating any sort of tracks," Damian said.


    Leo nodded and guided his horse toward the girl''s. Once he got close enough, he held out his hand for her. She looked at it with a little doubt before holding it.


    With remarkable skill, his fingers gently grazed the girl''s outstretched hand. Her hand was incredibly smooth, except for a single scar that ran through her palm. While she was of nobility, she hadn''t grown up as one.


    As his fingers inteced with the girl''s, their horses continued to stride forward, their hooves creating a soft rhythm on the earth beneath them. The girl swung her leg over the back of her horse.


    With Leo''s support and a burst of agility, she seamlessly glides from her horse onto his, finding herself seated behind him. It was a lot easier than Leo had expected.


    Once she was on his horse, he looked at Damian.


    "I hope you get out of this alive," Damian said to him.


    "You too," Leo said.


    Heunched himself onto the back of the horse. Now that he was standing up, he was looking down at the people around him. He turned around and looked down at the girl.


    He stretched out his arm to her. She looked up and saw the outstretched hand. Her hand moved toward it and clenched onto it. The minute she held his hand, he gripped hers strongly.


    He bent down and took her other arm, bringing her to the same height he was in. Both of them were now standing on the mane of the horse, but the girl was very shaky. She was barely able to keep her bnce.


    He bent a little and cradled her waist, lifting her off the horse''s back. Once he had her properly held, he jumped off the horse. The force he exerted pushed the horse a little off track, but it kept riding forward.


    The two of them were already close to the road, so they were going tond away from the road. However, a tree was about to hit them. Leo let go of the girl with his right hand and hugged her close to his body with his left.


    He then rapidly created two blood tendrils that wrapped themselves around the branches getting near them. Using the tendrils, he maneuvered around the tree and away from the road.


    Before he got away, he looked back to meet Damian''s gaze. His face showed immense worry and helplessness. It wasn''t unfounded but that was only because he was underestimating exactly how strong Leo was.


    Leo looked back and used the two tendrils to jump through the trees like a monkey. This was a lot faster than walking, but it would exhaust a lot of his aura if he did it for too long.


    He was only nning on keeping it up till they got away from the road. Once they were around a mile away from the road, they would be away from the pursuers. And since he would be able to detect them before they knew where he was, he would be able to avoid any interaction for a while.


    As they were getting away Damian and Jennifer were doing their best to keep the two horses without riders to stay with them. Jennifer was keeping them in line with her aura.


    "Are you sure that they can escape? Why didn''t you send me along with them?" Jennifer asked.


    "I wanted to give them a smaller footprint by reducing the number of people in that group. It gives them a better chance at surviving, but not that much. We will be dying anyway. I severely miscalcted when I picked this mission," he said.


    "We have worked together a lot, and this is the first time I''ve seen you make this big of a mistake." She said. "What went wrong?"


    "There wasn''t supposed to be anyone who knew the girl existed. And even if they did, they weren''t supposed to care this much. If they sent out 3rd Circle Aura Knights now, who will they send out next? Mages?


    If any group is this interested in capturing her, they must be nning something big. This is a lot bigger than just money." He said.


    "But you were offered 40 Million Starcoins for this job. What would be worth more than that? They must be trying to get more money, that''s all," she said in response.


    "Each one of those killers who attacked us was very experienced. To hire them, I would expect to pay 3 million Starcoins. And now we are being chased by 9 3rd Circle Aura Knights. It would cost 20 million Starcoins at the very least to hire a group like that.


    Do you think they would spend that much money just to ckmail the prince for some money? They are trying to kill everyone who knows about the target. As for why, I wouldn''t be able to say. If we do get out of this alive, we will be seeing something about this empire finally change."

 Chapter 243 Caught up

    <h4>Chapter 243 Caught up</h4>


    Even though he did his best to not leave a trail, his tendrils snapped a few branches while he moved forward among the thicket. He made sure not to let any of the branches hit hispanion, though. As he quickly moved through the trees like a monkey, he kept looking out for the people chasing them.


    The pursuers had just crossed the spot where Leo and the girl had jumped off, which gave him a sense of relief. However, the relief slowly morphed into guilt. The people chasing were now after Damian and Jennifer, who would be defenseless against them.


    If Leo had shown his true power, then he could have saved the lives of all those people. However, to keep it hidden, he had to stay silent and let them ride off to their deaths. His expression of guilt was stered all over his face, garnering the attention of the girl.


    "Is there something wrong?" She asked with her soft voice.


    He slowed down a little while turning to face her. His eyes were ambushed by the sight of hers.


    "Sorry?" He asked, confused.


    "You look sad, so I assumed that the pursuers were already here." She exined.


    Leo raised his eyebrow in surprise.


    "You are very attentive," hemented. "No, nothing is wrong for now. I just thought about everyone who willing acted as bait for both of us to-"


    He stopped talking, realizing that he was projecting his guilt onto her.


    "For us to escape? You shouldn''t be ming yourself. Rather, you should be ming me. If it wasn''t for me, then a lot of people would have their lives."


    Leo''s eyes were still looking into hers, finding more guilt than he had. He looked away and started looking for ces to take shelter. His aura was starting to empty out and they were already a mile away from the road.


    There was a very small chance that anyone would catch up to them in a short amount of time. He wanted to take a break to recover his aura before leaving again.


    His eyes drifted around beforending on a tree in the distance. It was an abnormality among the forest, towering over the rest. As he got closer, its size became more apparent.


    Leo gentlynded on the ground, letting the girl down from his grip. She stumbled forward a step before regaining her footing.


    "Are you alright?" Leo asked. She nodded in response.


    "We are going to stay here for a few hours before moving again," he exined his n to her.


    "Why are we moving in the night?" She asked him. "Isn''t it more dangerous?"


    "It is, but we don''t have a choice. I don''t think that the people chasing us will stop till they capture you, so we can''t give up our nights." Leo said. "If you want though, we can rest for the night."


    "No, it''s fine. I appreciate that you are doing so much for me, but it makes me curious. Why do you care at all about this?" She asked him.


    Leo shrugged. "Money is generally a good answer, right?"


    "Not for you, someone who is one of the best students at Eldridge Academy. Your worth is a lot more than the few million Starcoins you were offered, right?"


    Leo chuckled. "Don''t worry so much about why I am doing what I am doing. I took the job, so I have to finish it."


    "Is it to get away from the people in the academy?"


    Her response made him shudder. She was eerily right about why he chose this job. He didn''t know how she came to that conclusion, but he quickly put up a guard against her.


    "What makes you think that?" He asked her. After seeing her pondering face, he decided not to dwell on the topic. "Never mind. We are now here."


    The girl looked up and saw the huge tree in front of her. The trunk alone was 3 meters thick, making her look skinnier than she was in front of it. She looked up to see a dense collection of branches, none letting the sun past them.


    "So, I never really got your name," Leo said.


    "It''s Mira," the girl said.


    "Well Mira, I have to recover my aura. To do that, I will be meditating on the tree. Meanwhile, you should rest here on the ground. If there is any danger, I will be there," Leo said.


    He took out a set of sheets and a pillow and set it on the ground. He didn''t have a full tent with him because he never expected to be in the situation he was in. Once he set them on the ground, he jumped up onto the tree.


    His nimble body glided from branch to branch until he picked one hidden deep inside. He sat on it and spread out his perception, making sure the entire area was safe. As he did that, he noticed what Mira was doing.


    She set down the sheets without anyints and put down the pillow on the ground. After that, she immediately went to sleep as he said without any issue.


    Apart from her, there wasn''t anything of significance to him. The strongest monster around them was a 1st Circle Magical Beast. Once he had this information, he closed his eyes and started recovering his aura.


    Two miles away from them, Damian and Jennifer were galloping on their horses. They had already traveled a huge distance, but they didn''t hold any hope. Behind them, the silhouettes of the 4 horsemen chasing after them were getting closer.


    Both Damian and Jennifer knew that it was the end for them. However, they hoped that Leo would do his job. It wouldn''t change their fate, but it would make their deaths meaningful.


    As they rode forward, an arrow wedged into the flesh of the horse that Jennifer was on. It neighed loudly and lost its footing. The horse and its rider both tumbled to the ground, skidding to a halt.


    Damian looked back at his fallen guard and quickly halted his horse. It skid to a stop a dozen meters away from Jennifer. As he got off, the other two horses that didn''t have any men on them kept riding on.


    Once he was off the horse, he patted it and whispered something to it. The minute he did, it raced forward, leaving behind its owner. Damian walked to Jennifer who was just getting up.


    They both looked in the direction of their pursuers and saw that they didn''t have any more time. The four horses skid to a stop right in front of the two.


    Just looking at the horses made Damian lose any will to look up. Each horse was a Pseudo-1st Circle Magical Beast that towered over him. The particr breed in front of him was known to be a little slower and had a lot more stamina.


    But it was also a lot more aggressive, making it extremely hard to tame. Yet the horses in front of him were the most well-behaved horses he had seen, which said something about their owners.


    "So, you somehow managed to trick us again," the person in the front spoke, making chills go across the bodies of them both.

 Chapter 244 Trail

    <h4>Chapter 244 Trail</h4>


    He waved his hands, unleashing a powerful aura that pushed them back to the ground. It was partly because they were unprepared to face an attack, but it still went to show how strong he was.


    The two tried to creep back but their bodies were frozen with fear. As the man in front of them approached them menacingly, they could only watch him get closer.


    "Where is she?" He asked with his deep voice.


    Jennifer looked at Damian to see how he would react. She saw a still face that didn''t seem like it would crack even though he was in a precarious situation.


    "Looks like we have a very stubborn person here. It shouldn''t matter though. We always have a second option," one of the persons behind the man in the front said as he got off his horse.


    He made his way to Jennifer and squatted in front of her.


    "So, I am assuming that you are Jennifer, right?" He asked her.


    Her face showed surprise, as she didn''t expect him to know who she was. Even Damian was simrly surprised. Looking at their expressions, the man squatting in front of Jennifer chuckled.


    "Did you think we just blindly rushed into our mission? We know every single person in your caravan. There wasn''t supposed to be anyone except you two who could take out our initial team. So why wouldn''t we know who you are?"


    His words seemed to make sense to them, but they raised a new fear. If he knew who they were, how much more about them did he know?


    "Damian, single, and your parents are dead. Devoted to your work and essentially married to it. You are very useless to us. But Jennifer, on the other hand, isn''t like you. Parents alive, and a sister too. It would be a shame if anything happened to them."


    Jennifer was ready to lunge forward at him. Her family was a line she hoped no one would cross, but unfortunately, her work caught up to it. However, as she was about to get up and attack him, he put his hand forward.


    A st of aura hit her in her face, knocking it back a little. The st wasn''t powerful at all, only enough to hurt her neck. However, the timing of it, just before she was about tounch an attack, was what made it dangerous.


    "Don''t try to do anything that wastes my time. If you want them to stay out of this, then tell us where they jumped off. After that, we will be on our way," he said.


    "Jennifer! Don''t fall for-" As Damian was about to warn her, a quick de of aura from the leader of the pursuers sliced off his neck.


    She looked to the source of the voice and was met with a detached head that rolled to a stop right beside her. As she saw the head, she imagined who''s head could have been there.


    A picture of her young sister''s head right beside her filled her mind, throwing away any thinking ability she had left.


    "I''ll... I''ll take you there." She forced out a reply.


    "Good." The man in front of her said and got up.


    "Someone, take her on your horse." The leader said while getting atop his own. One of the two on a horse rode forward a little and stopped his horse in front of her.


    "Get on, and don''t try anything funny."


    She jumped onto the horse while the other one got on his own. Once everyone was on their horses, they turned around and rode at full speed in the direction they came from.


    Meanwhile, a couple of miles away, Leo was meditating on the tree, regaining his aura. He was also keeping an eye open for anyone entering a dangerously close radius of him. At the foot of the tree, Mira was sleeping peacefully.


    Her face didn''t seem to show any hint of what she was going through, nor did it show difort. Leo turned his attention to the sky and frowned. It was turning dark like he expected, but the effects were a lot more pronounced.


    A lot of Magical Beasts around them were starting to wake up and roam around. he underestimated the nocturnal poption of the woods he was in. He looked at Mira and decided not to wake her up.


    Even if they did travel in the night, it would only exhaust her more which wouldn''t be good for him at the end. He would have to make sure she waspletely healthy since she was such a valuable target.


    Even if the others caught up to him, it wouldn''t be hard for him to shake them off.


    In the distance, their pursuers were nearing the point where Leo and Mira had jumped off. Jennifer''s heart was starting to beat incredibly fast as she got closer to where they were able to escape.


    During the short journey, she was able to think clearly for a minute. Her death was guaranteed at this point, but she was hoping to save her family. But what credibility did the guarantee of a bunch of killers hold to her?


    What would stop them from killing her family anyway? But if she could stop them from finding the target, then she would be achieving a lot more. She knew who the target was, so she knew that there was a small chance that it would actually save her family.


    She liked the odds that the girl she had been traveling with for a few weeks would go back safely and use her new power to reward her saviors'' families with protection. It was a lot higher than the words of the people in front of her.


    With this in mind, she decided to give them a location a lot further than where they actually jumped off. She would even take them to the wrong side of the road,pletely throwing them off.


    As she was devising all these ns, the leader who rode in the front raised his hand. The entire party of five slowed down to a stop.


    "It''s not here. They jumped off a lot further back," Jennifer said. As she said that, a de of aura flew to her, cutting her neck off. Her head dropped to the ground with her body following it.


    "One of you will be taking the horses. The rest of us will be going into the forest," the leader said.


    As three of them got off their horses, the two behind the leader saw where he was headed. There was a particr tree whose branches were all broken off. Right behind it was a simr tree with a few branches snapped off.


    They quickly realized why their leader stopped them. He knew that this was where the people who escaped had gotten off the horses.


    "How many are we looking for?" The person who talked to Jennifer asked the leader. His question was met with a moment of silence.


    After thinking, he said, "Two."


    "Only two?"


    "Yes. The second one should be more powerful than the 3rd Circle Aura Knight you just killed, so do not hold back any of your power." He said and jumped onto the tree that Leo had used to sling through the woods.

 Chapter 245 Road

    <h4>Chapter 245 Road</h4>


    Leo looked at the peaceful sleeping face of Mira from the top of the tree. After staring for a few minutes, he snapped back to reality. He couldn''t afford to lose track of time given his current situation. As he gazed at her, he heard a faint breaking noise.


    Below him, the branch he was standing on was starting to give away. A few cracks were starting to form where the thin branch met its parent''s trunk. He sighed and jumped,pletely breaking the branch with his force. The sound of the branch breaking was enough for Mira to wake up.


    She opened her eyes instantly and shot up, alert and looking for any threats around her. As her fearful eyes scanned the environment around her, Leonded on the ground with a small thud. The thud scared her even more. The entire forest was shrouded in darkness owing to the sun setting a few hours ago.


    Everywhere she looked, she could only make out vague shapes from the sparse moonlight rays peeking out from the clouds. She faced the source of the thud while instinctively taking a step back. In front of her, a silhouette was slowly creeping toward her, making her take a couple more steps back.


    Unlike her, Leo had a perfect view of what was going on. He saw the fear in her eyes and immediately called out to her.


    "Don''t worry. It''s me, Leo," he said.


    The moment she heard him speak, she recognized who it was. Her entire demeanor rxed as Leo came closer. His features became recognizable and his appearance seemed to take away the fear in her eyes, letting her calm down. Her quickened breathing calmed down as Leo walked toward her.


    "Did you get enough rest?" He asked her. His question only elicited a small nod, but it was enough for him.


    "Good. I want to start immediately so that we get to the capital quickly." He said.


    Mira responded with a nod again. Her response was enough for him though. While he was unconcerned about the pursuers after them, he wanted to make it to the capital as quickly as possible to meet up with the rest of the Eldridge Academy group. He tried to get away from the Head Master because he was afraid of him, but Leo still needed his help to hide his magic during the Phoenix Trials.


    "I''m picking you up again," Leo warned her as he walked closer to her. He stopped right in front of her and put his left hand around her waist, holding her tightly to his body. This time, a blood-red tendril emerged from his left hand, encircling Mira and him, locking them together.


    "I will be a little faster today, so please bear with me."


    He jumped up and started swinging through the forest with a blood tendril spawned from his right hand. She held tightly onto his body, burying her face into his ribs. If she peeked a little, the tremendous winds from the speed they were going would make her hide her face again.


    As they were making their way through the forest, Nefrati asked Leo a question.


    "You are obviously in such a hurry. Why don''t you fly over the forest to the capital? You will be there in less than a day."


    Leo smiled bitterly as he kept swinging through the forest like a monkey.


    "I thought of that too, but I discarded the idea because of the girl. Even if I knock her out, she will know that she reached the capital in a suspiciously short period. The intelligence she showed in the short time I interacted with her scared me. Anything she suspects, she could tell whoever is going to be her guardian."


    "Guarding the girl is too much of a hassle. You should be prepared to be disappointed though. She is only the illegitimate daughter of a second son, so there is a high chance she won''t even be imed by the family you want to impress. I am not saying that she is useless, but be prepared for every oue," Nefrati said.


    Leo nodded while making his way through the forest. As he covered a lot of ground, he noticed something with his perception. In the distance, the forest touched a road. He didn''t know where the road led, but he knew it would be a lot easier if he just stuck to a proper road until he found human settlements.


    The road was two kilometers away, so the two reached it within five minutes. Theyunched themselves out of the trees andnded on the paved road that ran through the forest. Leo quickly scanned the area for any threats and signs that would give him information.


    He quickly found what he needed - a signboard almost a kilometer away from him. Once he perceived the vague shape of a signboard in the distance, he started concentrating and tried to read what was on it.


    As he put in magic, the shape became clearer to him, but the words were still blurry and illegible. He frowned and increased the magic he was using, pushing his brain to its limits. His neck had a visible vein throbbing as blood rushed to his head. His neck started turning a pale red, indicating therge amount of blood rushing into it.


    When he tried to make out the characters on the signboard again, he saw that they weren''t as blurry as before, but still illegible. He sighed and released his perception, allowing all the blood in his head to flow back to the rest of his body.


    The only way he knew what was going to be on the board would be if he read it in person. Before he started going toward it, he looked down at the girl in his arms to make sure she was okay. Mira had noticed that they weren''t moving anymore and was looking around. Her wandering eyes met Leo''s gaze averting it.


    "I will be looking for any directions on this road to help us find our way to the capital," he said. His words were met with silence, a norm that he had be ustomed to. After she had rested, she becamepletely anti-social with him. They still haven''t had a proper conversation since they exchanged names.


    Leo shot a tendril toward the tree right beside the road and swung toward the sign board. While there was a road for him to walk on, using his tendrils was a lot faster for him. It increased his speed dramatically and gave him practice in controlling his blood tendrils.


    In a couple of minutes, he reached the signboard that he had seen. Once it was in sight, hended back on the road from the trees. As soon as they were on the ground, he withdrew the blood tendril hugging Mira. She almost fell to the ground because of the force ofnding on the ground, but his hand that was still on her waist kept her in ce.


    Once she gained stability, he let go of her and walked to the signboard. He read out what it said so that Mira would know as well.


    "Capital City Road. The capital is 650 kilometers from here."

 Chapter 246 Encountered

    <h4>Chapter 246 Encountered</h4>


    Far in the distance, the leader of Leo''s and Mira''s pursuers was observing the wreckage on the branches of the trees. He looked ahead into the vast darkness before turning around.


    "We will be splitting up here. They will eventually get back onto the road, so the two of you will go ahead at full speed. We will track them through the forest. Kill anyone except the girl," he said, pointing to two of the people on horses.


    He released the aura that was suppressing the horse he was in, making it let out a small neigh and raising its front legs a feet. Other than that, it didn''t do anything else, staying in its ce in a well-behaved manner. The other two persons about to go into the forest with their leader did the same.


    As soon as control over their horses was relinquished, they all dashed into the forest without saying any words. The n was only implied, yet the two left seemed to be well aware of what it was. They took over control of the horses left behind.


    Once they had all five horses in their control, they turned their horses toward the road and tugged at the ropes, nudging them to gallop toward the capital. As they moved toward the capital, one of them broke the silence that had formed between them since they left their team.


    "So, who is this leader, 7? He seems to be a lot more rigid than the others," the person on the right asked.


    The man named 7 turned to him with a confused expression.


    "He is one of the strongest 3rd Circle members in the organization. He never leaves witnesses, which is why he handles most of the dirty work of nobles," 7 said nonchntly. "I am surprised you didn''t hear of him. What team did you work with before, 4?"


    "I was in Wind." 4 said while turning back to the front. He stayed silent after answering, no longer interested in conversing. 7 showed no signs of making small talk either.


    Therge horses they were on made the stoneid road tremble slightly each time their hoovesnded on the ground. They were galloping forward at speeds that 4th Circle Aura Knights could not match. On the other side of the forest, the rest of their team was also moving swiftly.


    While Leo had covered a lot of distance, his trail was apparent to the leader of the team pursuing him, even in the darkness. Each time he had swung forward, he had destroyed the branches in his way with his aura. This meant he essentially built a path for the people following him.


    "The girl''s guardian seems to be at least a 3rd Circle Aura Knight, so we have to be careful. If he went arge distance, there is a chance that he might be a 4th Circle Aura Knight too," the leader said.


    The others nodded, following him into the dark forest. The moonlight was shrouded by the densely packed trees. The only moonlight that made it through was illuminating the path in front of them.


    As they kept following the path deeper and deeper, the leader noticed an upsetting trend. The amount of damage shown by the branches was steadily decreasing by a noticeable amount. The wreckage before had be slightly bent branches.


    The other members looked forward and noticed this too. They looked to the leader without saying anything.


    "They got better at concealing their tracks. Get ready to search the forest. We are splitting up here and moving toward the capital. Stay quiet so you don''t alert them. Steer clear of any Magical Beasts. Those will alert them as well." He said this and jumped onto a tree, moving in the direction of the remaining traces.


    The other two followed behind him before splitting off after a minute when they couldn''t keep up with him. They all stayed in the general direction of the capital though.


    Meanwhile, the two with the horses were galloping to the capital without having to deal with any of the inconveniences of tracking people in the forest. Around two hourster, they came across a sign in front of them making them slow down.


    "What does it say?" 4 asked 7, who was reading it.


    "This says 550. What did the other one say?" 7 asked back.


    "650. Do you think they could have gotten this far?"


    "Not on foot. Unless they have a mage with them. Or a 4th Circle Aura Knight, but I doubt that."


    "They would need a Late-Stage 4th Circle Aura Knight to outpace an Iron Horse," 4 said. "I say we turn back. Either of those cases would mean we don''t have a chance to acquire the target."


    As he said that, he tugged the reins to the horse, turning it around. He didn''t seem to be concerned with 7''s opinion. 7 didn''t mind this and followed his lead.


    "We might need to circle this strip in case they enter the road from the forest," 7 warned 4.


    "Yes, sure."


    Fifty kilometers in front of them, Leo was starting to feel his headache a little. He let his perception go, lightening the load on his head immensely. With a sigh, he looked forward, now unaware of what was approaching him.


    It was only going to be for a short time - until his mind recovered. The pressure he put on it by pushing it trying to read the words on the signs made his overused mind incredibly tired.


    "We need to get on the move again. Now that we know we are so far from the capital, I think we need to stick to the forest. We don''t know when they can catch up to us if we stay on the road," Leo said to Mira.


    "How long do you think we can keep running before they find us?" Mira broke the silence that had formed between them for the past hour.


    He wanted to answer her, but he remained silent. While he was unbothered by five 3rd Circle Aura Knights, he knew she was probably feeling different emotions. Almost a minute of the awkward silence ensued before she talked again.


    "I think you should just leave me here and-"


    "We should probably leave now," Leo interrupted her before she could finish suggesting that they split up. "The longer we talk, the longer we are on the road. We need to go back into the forest and move toward the capital."


    She nodded while walking toward him. At this point, she understood that if they wanted to go anywhere, she would need to cling to him while he carried her. Otherwise, they wouldn''t be able to go anywhere at all.


    As he was just about to encircle her with a tentacle, his ears picked up the sound of hoovesnding on the road. He frowned and instantly unleashed his perception, immediately bing aware of what was around him.


    Around two hundred meters away from them, five horses were making their way to him. His arm let go of Mira as he stepped in front of her. At this point, Mira could also hear the sound of the horses. She put her hand over her mouth, frightened by the misfortune it brought. Just like she said, the people after her had found them.


    Now that they were right in front of each other, the two parties could see each other perfectly in the moonlight. Leo''s frown no longer showed on his face. Only a calm, emotionless face remained, which showed a contrast to the defeated expression that Mira had.


    The two people on the horses, wrapped in ck, towered over and looked down at them. Their horses alone were the size of Leo.


    "Well, I wanted to avoid this, but I can''t. This is a better situation than I expected, though." Leo said.

 Chapter 247 Misgauging

    <h4>Chapter 247 Misgauging</h4>


    7 dismounted his horse and looked at 4, who remained stationary. 7 shook his head and turned to Leo and Mira. He quickly scanned the surroundings and gauged the power levels of the two.


    The minute he did a wave of confusion hit him. The two people in front of him were kids, and neither of them seemed to emit any aura. 4 dismounted the horse as well after noticing this same observation.


    Leo remained calm and stood steady in front of Mira who was too scared to move back. He was curious to see if the two in front of him would treat him as a boy without any aura, or an Aura Knight hiding his power.


    7 and 4 both took out weapons from their dimensional rings, revealing their intentions to kill him. The former was carrying a sword while thetter had a pair of daggers.


    "Did the leader say anything about how strong the girl''spanion is?" 7 asked 4.


    "No," 4 said while stepping forward. "The mission said that there were only 2 3rd Circle Aura Knights in the group, and we killed both of them. We just need to kill the boy and take the girl. This should get us a good mission rating."


    7 frowned when he saw the person in front of him try to finish the mission quickly by himself. Their organization rewardedpetition over team effort. The mission they were on was considered incredibly important, so the person capturing the girl would likely receive their very own team. He wanted his own team just like 4 did, which meant he needed to get to the girl before him.


    Before 7 could move forward, 4unched himself toward Leo.


    "Fuck!" 7 cursed while chasing after his partner. He had taken too much time to decide whether he wanted topete with 4 or not, which allowed 4 to get to Leo. He knew that he had essentially lost his chance since they would both only need a second to kill a 15-year-old without any aura.


    4 arrived in front of Leo with a smirk on his face.


    "You shouldn''t have taken this escort job without knowing the target. Next life, try taking easier jobs," he said. "Thanks for the promotion you will get me."


    He raised the dagger in his right hand, unleashing his aura. Leo looked up at the taller Aura Knight in front of him without any expression. The iing dagger was covered in aura that burned the air around it. The heat reached him, but the dagger itself seemed like it was moving slowly. His eyes moved to meet thecent eyes of the person attacking him as his lips curved into a smirk.


    As 7 chased his team member, a thought went through his mind. How did the two of them escape into the forest while staying above the ground? The trail they had left was damage done to the branches of the tree, which meant the boy and girl had to be moving above the ground. How was that possible without any aura?


    But if the boy or girl had aura, then why couldn''t they see it? The only other person''s aura that they couldn''t sense was... was their leader''s. 7''s eyes widened and he warned 4 with a shout.


    "Back off! He''s an Aura Knight!"


    Just as he shouted, a blood-red tendril shot up, piercing through 4''s body. 4 looked down at the tendril with confusion. His face turned back to see 7 maintaining a safe distance from the two. The warning just registered in his brain as he looked back at Leo.


    "So you were an Aura Knight all along," he said weakly. The tendril twisted itself into his body, making him cough out some blood. It lifted him into the air before flinging him down to the ground. 4''s vertebrae shattered at the force that he impacted the ground with. The sound made the horses behind 7 neigh and move back a little.


    The tendril disintegrated as Leo turned to the other person there.


    "I assumed you would know that I was an Aura Knight. You guys seemed very experienced," Leomentated. "You will be harder to kill, though. He was decently weaker than you."


    When he saw them both, Leo had gauged them like they had tried to gauge him. The person he had killed was only an Early-Stage 3rd Circle Aura Knight, while the other one was a Middle-Stage 3rd Circle Aura Knight.


    7 had no intention of fighting Leo. The person in front of him was only an Early-Stage 3rd Circle Aura Knight, but the power he had shown made him afraid for some reason. The aura Leo emitted felt weird in a scary way. He took out an item from his dimensional ring the minute he saw what Leo did to 4.


    Leo saw 7 take out an orb and was confused. What would an orb do in this situation? Was it a bomb? He prepared himself to shield Mira and him from an explosion that wasn''ting.


    7 filled the orb with his aura and threw it up into the air. When he did that, the orb released a shining beacon that onlysted a second. That second, however, was very impactful, since the beacon in the dark would be visible from anywhere inside the forest.


    Leo immediately released his perception to see who wasing toward him. There was already a person only a kilometer away from him that was now rushing to his location. Another person entered his perception''s range only a secondter, followed by another one after them.


    A frown formed on Leo''s face. If it was only one of them, he would be able to handle the situation with aura, but all four of them would be impossible. He ignored the person in front of him who was prepared to receive an attack from him and instead turned to face Mira.


    The girl behind him was still recovering from the sight of the broken body in front of her. She hadn''t expected that Leo would be this strong. She was absent during the initial fight, so she didn''t see him at that time. If she did, she would know that this was normal to him.


    "Mira. I am going to apologize in advance for what I am about to do. This is necessary," he said to her.


    The small hope she held in her mind disappeared. A sigh escaped her mouth as she readied herself. She expected that Leo would run away at some point. After all, who would keep up with this much danger for so long? The only surprise was that he held on for so long that he had given her hope. But now that hope was taken from her too.


    Leo,pletely engrossed in tracking the people around him, didn''t pay any attention to the broken face of the girl in front of him. He moved behind her and chopped at the back of her neck with a little force, knocking her out instantly. She was already weak because of her many sleep-deprived nights that he didn''t even need to use a lot of force. He caught the falling body and slowly set it on the ground.

 Chapter 248 Underestimated

    <h4>Chapter 248 Underestimated</h4>


    7 was confused when he saw Leo knock Mira out. He couldn''t understand why Leo did that. The only conclusion he coulde to was that he understood that reinforcements would be getting there quickly, so he was surrendering.


    "You are making the right move. Surrender now, and we will let you go," 7 lied with a smile on his face. There was no way that they would be letting Leo go alive, but it would be easier to kill a person who thinks that they are on the same side.


    Leo shook his head.


    "Both of us know that you won''t let me leave alive. Why do we need to lie to each other?" As he said that, he sunk into the ground, disappearing into the darkness.


    7 was caught off guard. He quickly put up a shield around him while furiously searching for where Leo had disappeared. As he was searching around, a tendril tried to strike him from behind, hitting his aura shield.


    "Tsk," Leo clicked his tongue when he saw his Crimson Whish fail to make it past the shield. It did make the aura shield crack a little though. He once again sunk into the ground, disappearing just as 7 turned around.


    "What is this?! I have never heard of an aura technique that allows one to teleport!" He shouted as he became delirious. His inability to see his opponent was starting to get to his nerves as he became afraid of where the next attack was going toe from.


    Leo was having a quick debate in his mind on how to end the battle quickly. He wanted to keep the advantage of his hidden status as a mage before the other three pursuers arrived. That was why he still used his aura technique to try and damage the shield. However, it would take too much time to get past the shield and he wanted to kill the person before the others emerged out of the forest.


    He quickly checked how long he had and frowned. The closest person was now only 400 meters away and would get there in less than a minute. The best option he had would be to finish the battle quickly and prepare to battle the others. There wasn''t any way he would lose to a few 3rd Circle Aura Knights whether or not they knew he was a mage.


    As 7 was frantically searching for Leo in the darkness, he noticed a bright blue light in the corner of his eyes. He turned toward it, trying to figure out what it was. The light became bigger and started moving toward him, making his eyes widen. By the time he realized what it was, it was toote and there was no time to dodge.


    He put all of his aura into the shield around him, trying to defend the attack. The light he had seen was a ball of fire that he was sure would explode when it hit him. The shield that he conjured should be able to defend it though, if it was an attack from a 3rd Circle Aura Knight like himself.


    The issue was that he was not fighting a fair fight at all. When the light finally reached him and impacted the aura shield, it created an explosive burst of searing heat and destructive energy.


    The soul fire burst from Leo engulfed him, reducing him to a smoldering remnant and scorched the surroundings. The fire onlysted a few seconds before dying down. In the remains were a charred corpse and a charred ground to go with it.


    It was a very shy event and Leo knew the people in the forest would notice it. However, they had no way to know whether it was magic or aura until they experienced it for themselves.


    He looked to his left where the road met the forest. With Mira asleep and the two attackers dead, the only sound left was that of the restless horses. They still stayed even though they witnessed such a scary event, albeit they were a little restless. The sound of their hooves hitting the ground and their neighing echoed in the night.


    A few secondster, a figure emerged from inside the forest onto the path. Two more joined after. The one in the front had an imposing aura that was trying to frighten Leo into surrendering. It would have worked on most people, given that the person was a Peak-Stage 3rd Circle Aura Knight.


    He looked around him at what Leo caused. His eyes first noticed the mangled body of 4 before drifting across to the unconscious body of Mira. He looked at Leo after, curious to see who caused this mess. When he did, he inevitably caught sight of the charred body of the other person he put to the task of finding the two on the road.


    He was right about how Leo and Mira might go back on the road again, but he made a mistake in sending the weaker two to follow them. Now they were both dead.


    "So, you are the person who took care of the previous team as well," he said to Leo.


    "You mean the mob of 2nd Circle Aura Knights?" Leo asked, unsurprised that they were from the same organization.


    "So it was you. You weren''t part of the report we received. Who are you?"


    Leo shook his head. "I am just a wandering stranger to them. She''s actually incredibly lucky that I offered to escort her to the capital. There aren''t a lot of mercenaries who are ready to deal with 9 3rd Circle Aura Knights chasing them. So, who are you? You must be in some big organization if you are going after her."


    The leader of the group frowned when he heard Leo''s answer. It was incredibly vague but it revealed that he knew that their group had 9 people even though there were only 5 of them here. How was his intelligence so much better than theirs?


    "If you were strong enough to fight us, then you would have made a stand instead of letting us massacre everyone else in your group," he said. Leo was openly disying his aura, giving the leader the impression that he was an Early-Stage 3rd Circle Aura Knight. Having this information about him made the leadercent.


    "I''ll just report you as an unforeseen circumstance to exin what happened to 4 and 7." He turned to look at the person to his right.


    "Kill him. Both of you, together. 4 and 7 attacked separately, which clearly didn''t end well."


    The minute he said that the two people behind him rushed toward Leo to attack him. Their blind faith in their leader''s words amused Leo a little as he readied himself to face them.


    He knew how strong the two were. Both were Middle-Stage 3rd Circle Aura Knights like the one he defeated before.


    As they were approaching him the two were preparing their strongest attacks. All they knew about their opponent was that he could create an explosion, but it didn''t exin what happened to 4. The uncertainty around him only increased their vignce.


    Leo noticed their careful approach and nodded in approval.


    "That''s good. At least you guys are giving it your all before dying."

 Chapter 249 Dealt

    <h4>Chapter 249 Dealt</h4>


    The leader was readying his weapon in preparation to attack along with his underlings. He wasn''t nning on letting go of a clear advantage by ganging up on the boy. When it came to the mission, he would do anything without considering morals. There was no space for things like that in his work.


    He took out a rapier from his dimensional ring and looked ahead at the two who had almost reached Leo. As he was about to lunge forward and close the gap between him and Leo, he noticed a ball of energy forming in Leo''s hands.


    The ball was pretty small, but the energy it radiated seemed to instill fear in him even though he was a couple dozen meters away. The energy that was already powerful didn''t seem to stop growing, making the ball bigger.


    The two attacking Leo noticed this as well and were backing away from him, but they didn''t have enough time.


    "Fire Nova," Leo unleashed the spell prematurely before it could umte its full strength.


    A massive eruption of intense mes radiated outward in a wave-like fashion from Leo, engulfing everything in its path. The two attackers couldn''t escape in time, falling prey to the hungry mes. The heat from the attack almost reached the leader and Mira but just fell short before dying out.


    When the mes disappeared, the two charred bodies on the ground became visible to the leader. He gripped his weapon in fear as he looked up at the source of the mes.


    "You... you are a mage!" He shouted in shock. "What is a Viscount like you interfering in our mission? We should have been informed if the Grand Duke enlisted someone like you to guard his granddaughter."


    He started muttering to himself after his initial shock. Leo shook his head and took a step forward, frightening the leader.


    When he saw Leo walk toward him, he quickly thought of a way to escape. His eyes fell on the girl who was lying on the ground 7 meters away from him. He lunged toward her to take her as a hostage.


    "Shadow Step."


    Before he could reach her, Leo traveled through the shadows in the blink of an eye and appeared in front of Mira. The leader instinctively attacked Leo who had appeared in front of him with his sword, only to have it blocked by a magic shield.


    "Intermediate Arcane Shield."


    The leader jumped back when his first attack failed and tried to continue with another attack. He gathered all of his aura into his thin de and tried to pierce the shield but only managed to create a small crack in it.


    "Shadowbind Bolt."


    A bolt of dark energy streaked through the air, homing onto him. It hit him in his chest and released a burst of shadowy tendrils that surged outward, ensnaring him. The tendrils wrapped around him, binding him tightly and restricting his movements.


    He tried to wriggle his way out of it while pushing his aura outward to break the tendrils. While he was doing so, he noticed that the tendrils were?draining his strength. The tendrils only managed tost a couple of seconds before he broke free.


    But by the time he broke out of them, a red tendril pierced him in the chest. He looked down with confusion. The tendril was made of aura, the aura of a 3rd Circle Aura Knight.


    "What is this? You were supposed to be a mage," he managed to whisper a few words with his remaining strength.


    The tendril faded away, allowing the leader''s body to drop to the ground. Leo was about to walk to the girl, but Nefrati stopped him.


    "Wait, the leader is still alive. Try asking him who it is trying to kidnap the girl," she said.


    Leo was confused for a second before realizing why that was a good idea. He crouched down next to the leader and asked him the question.


    "So, since you are almost dead, can you tell me who it is that''s after the girl?"


    "Fu... fuck off," The leader muttered.


    "I tried," He shrugged while peeling off the leader''s dimensional ring off his hand. He got up and turned around while shooting another tendril at the leader, this time into his face.


    As he walked toward Mira, he looked into the contents of the ring. There wasn''t much - a million Starcoins, a book, and a token. The sole weapon he owned was with his corpse.


    "So, what now?" He asked Nefrati.


    "Just give the ring to the Grand Duke. They should be able to investigate. After that, you should distance yourself from the matter entirely. Until you are strong enough to be part of the discussion at least."


    "You''re right. I''ll keep the money though," he said. He transferred the money into the ring on his left index finger before wearing the one he just got on his right index finger.


    "Now we can just walk to the capital until some amazing person decides to go on this route and give me a ride," he sighed as he walked to the corpse beside Mira. He took the corpse''s dimensional ring as well before walking to Mira. They were the only two rings that still survived. His attacks burned the other three rings so badly that it broke them.


    "Why don''t you just use the horses?" Nefrati asked with curiosity as Leo lifted the unconscious body of Mira.


    "Didn''t you see at the academy? I can''t use my aura with these horses for some reason. The Headmaster had to use his magic to control them. Even if there are 5 perfectly behaved Magical Beasts in front of me, I can''t use them at all. Fuck my life," he cursed.


    "No no, that''s because you are using blood aura. The horses are innately afraid of it. You are going to be fine if you just use your magic to intimidate them," she said in response.


    Leo was surprised.


    "No way! Why didn''t you tell me this before?" He asked her.


    "What were you going to do? Use your magic in front of everyone? I thought that was the reason you didn''t try using your magic," she said.


    He chuckled in response. "Yeah, you are right. Let me try your idea," he said.


    Leo walked up to the closest horse with Mira in his arms. He suppressed all the aura he had and only released his magic. The minute he did, all the horses around him that were restless immediately stopped moving.


    He jumped up andnded on the back of the horse in front of him. Once he was seatedfortably, he let down Mira onto the horse. He made her sit in front of him in such a way that her unconscious body would lean back onto him without falling off the horse. When they were in position, he wrapped his hands around her and took over the reins to the horse.


    He turned the horse around in the direction of the capital. Before leaving, he took a look back to see if he was forgetting anything. All that was left behind were a few corpses and nothing of value. Cleaning up wasn''t his problem. He was leaving that to whoever was using the road after him.

 Chapter 250 Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 250 Arrival</h4>


    The motion of the horse gallop stirred Mira up. She realized she was in motion and recollected what happened. Thest thing she remembered was Leo knocking her out. That meant she was now with the people who were after her.


    A wave of disappointment washed over her. The little hope she had left inside her was extinguished when Leo gave her to the pursuers. She refused to open her eyes and turn to see who the person behind her was because it would only make her feel worse.


    After a while, she felt the horse she was on slow down. The sun was still high up in the sky, so a little of that light crept into her eyes. If they were slowing down, it meant that they were there. She opened her eyes to see the destination where she was being taken.


    The minute her eyes opened, the sudden influx of light blinded her. She jerked back in reflex, surprising Leo. He caught her, making sure she wouldn''t fall off the horse.


    "You finally woke up," he said.


    His voice caught her off guard. She immediately turned around and saw the familiar face of Leo. There wasn''t anyone else behind him either.


    "You''re... you''re here instead of... them," she said with a shocked tone.


    Leo chuckled. "Yes, is that a problem?"


    Mira shook her head. "No. It''s just..." She wrapped her hands around his neck and hugged him. "Thanks. I don''t know how you saved me, but thanks."


    Leo''s chuckle rescinded into a smile.


    "You had it hard. On the bright side, we are here," he said, pointing to what was in front of them.


    She turned back around to see where they were. She was greeted by the tallest walls she had seen in her life. Like Leo, the biggest city she had seen was Eldridge.


    The walls stood over 70 meters tall, with two giant gs running down each side of the gates. The two magnificent gates were opened up. Tucked to the side of the entrance were two guards checking the identities of the people entering.


    She was startled when the horse they were riding on came to a screeching halt.


    "We are getting off," Leo said while lifting her. He dropped her on the ground before getting off the horse himself.


    "Why are we not using the horse?" She asked him.


    "I am trying not to attract too much attention. My control over the horse is starting to weaken," Leo lied.


    The real reason he didn''t want to take the horse was because he was controlling it with his magic and not his aura. This might have been fine in a random town with barely any mages, but not in the Capital. He already sensed a few mages entering before them. Any of them would be able to tell that he is a mage.


    Leo copsed all of his magic and aura into his body. His magic was too


    As they approached the walls, they noticed the towers that peeked from above the wall. These tall buildings dwarfed all of those that Leo or Mira had seen in their life.


    "Identification," the guard asked Leo.


    Leo took out the bronze mercenary card he had with his real name. It was enough to prove that he was decently strong for a kid which would make the guard treat him better. His hunch was right.


    "A bronze mercenary? You seem pretty young. Are you here for the Phoenix Trials?" The guard asked.


    Leo nodded. "Yes. I am from Eldridge Academy. This is my... ssmate," he said.


    "Wee to the Capital. So you don''t get lost, the event is being hosted in the center of the city. You will need to prove your spot to enter the event area, though." The guard said to Leo.


    "Thank you," Leo said while dragging Mira into the city along with him. They walked into the wide street that headed into the heart of the city. Every single building was sky-high and crammed next to each other. The amount of people walking around was overwhelming to Leo and Mira.


    "It''s a lot of people," Mira said to Leo while clinging on to him closely.


    "We just need to walk straight. As long as we make it to the trials and meet the people from Eldridge Academy, I will let the Headmaster make the preparations to bring you back to whoever requested your escort."


    Leo was done dealing with the stress of being in charge of a very important person. Mira''s existence was a time bomb that he didn''t want to be holding. The Head Master was far more qualified to finish the scenario while teaching him how to hide his magic.


    The most important skill that Leo needed to learn was how to hide his magic. If there was a ce filled with powerful magicians, the Grand Duke''s ce would be a top contender in the entire empire.


    The Grand Duke was the second most powerful person in the empire. He was even above the Crown Prince and only below the Emperor of the Srian Empire. Someone part of the royal family who controlled an army of mages was bound to have a multitude of strong mages in their midst.


    But he still wanted to be there in person to be given credit for what he did. He was the one who did all that work and it was all for the favor of such a powerful person.


    As they were walking together through the streets, Leo noticed a fancy restaurant tucked into the alley. He looked to his side at Mira who couldn''t look worse. After the travel that she had gone through, along with the chase thatsted a couple of days, her body really showed how weary she was. That also meant she was hungry. Leopletely forgot that the girl needed food.


    "You must be hungry. Why don''t we stop to catch a bite?" Leo asked Mira.


    Mira was surprised by what she was offered.


    "It''s okay. I think I can wait for some more time," she politely declined. She thought about the danger of doing anything except getting to safety. Her refusal was followed by a loud growl from her stomach.


    "I think we should stop for a second. The beauty of being in the capital means that no one can attack us in front of so many people."


    He said while dragging her along with him toward the restaurant. They soon reached the doors to the restaurant. Both of them marveled at the clear ss doors that revealed the inside.


    Right at the entrance, there was a standing desk with a handsome man behind it. Leo opened the door for Mira and let her walk in before him. After she was inside, he walked in faster than her to reach the front desk before her.


    "Hello, Sir and Ma''am. Do you have a reservation?" The youthful man asked Leo.


    "No, we don''t. Will that be a problem?"


    The man nodded his head.


    "I apologize, but the ss Onion only epts paying customers on its first floor. If you want to dine today, then you would have to go upstairs. We ept customers on the same day for people dining with the upper-floor menu."


    As they were talking, another group of people entered the restaurant just as Leo was about to go upstairs. Leo was distracted by the noise of them entering and turned around to see who it was.


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