After the Shadow Blade hit the prism, Leo immediately jumped out. He formed two Shadow Blades 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 blades. 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 blade hit it. He quickly moved out of the way before the second blade 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 blades was flying toward him. This time it was three blades.
Instead of forming a barrier, he jumped back.
"Brilliant Lance!"
A Lance shot forward toward the blades. He was able to deflect two of the blades with just one lance but the other one was still coming his way. It swerved toward him so it was clearly being controlled by Leo.
He rolled away from the blade 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 glanced down and saw a shadow blade 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 blade 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 a competitive spirit blaze 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 to commit 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.
"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 occur on the second Sunday of January. If the dates clashed, 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 the compass 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.
Asher laughed. "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 the compass 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 become 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 contemplation. 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.
