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 to come a lot closer to the Peak-Stage than he had expected.
In less than a month, he would become a Peak-Stage 3rd Star Mage. He smiled at this thought before taking a leaf from the tree. Even though he had achieved some success 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.
The last 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.
The last 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 the compass 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 class was.
He had a class that day which was good for him. He was planning 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 had come 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.
"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 exclaimed.
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 is complacent 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 slack, 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 Roland 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 place he had spent the last 4 months in. He didn't have a lot of emotional attachment to the place 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.
