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 become a mage. Then you wouldn't need to be surrounded by the heaps and heaps of commoners," 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. Lyra completely 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.
"You say that, but all I hear are words coming from the least talented person here," he said.
Remus stopped talking and looked at him with a stern glare. "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 your commoner 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 talk later 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 a complete thing in the higher levels. And Leo was doing it in the 4th level. As a first year.
