Two days later,
Somewhere in the Great Deserts of the Eastern Continent,
Two men were engaged in an intense battle.
One might wonder, who were these two individuals?
Well, who else would be foolish enough to train in such a harsh environment and risk succumbing to a heatstroke.
Of course, it was none other than Leo and his dear disciple—yours truly.
You see, the King's Tournament was just a day away, and Leo had decided to put me through the most grueling training imaginable.
I wasn't exaggerating this time. This was really hard mode training he was putting me through.
I remember when we were training in the Southern Mountain range, Leo casually mentioned that he was taking it easy on me.
At the time, I didn't believe him for a second.
'What could be harder than this?' I remember myself thinking through the pain and cold.
But now, after enduring daily sessions with him under the scorching desert sun, I have to admit, he wasn't kidding.
He really was taking it easy on me.
Why am I being so dramatic, one might ask?
Well, I was ordered to walk the blistering sands barefoot while trying to perfect my Mirage Walk.
At this point, I couldn't feel anything below my knees. My heels were scorched.
Leo is a nutjob, I'm telling you! A true nutjob! And that's something coming from me!
No matter how much I shriek or shed tears of agony, it doesn't seem to faze him in the slightest.
Occasionally, he would toss me a healing potion with a smug grin. That was the extent of his sympathy!
Ahh, god! I hate him!
"Haaa!" I roared, unleashing a battle cry as I swung my spear at his foot.
Fwoosh—
But in a swift motion, he leaped into the air, dodging my attack.
I quickly capitalized on this opportunity by retracting my spear and positioning it for a thrust.
My plan was to land a blow as soon as he touched the ground, catching him off balance.
Thwack—!!
But he swiftly kicked his leg back in mid-jump and as if walking on air he lunged at me, thrashing his knee on my face.
Thud–
"Khuk!!" I cried out in pain, collapsing onto my knees as he landed beside me with a resounding thud.
"That's cheating!" I accused him, gasping for breath. "You're Leo Kurogami! You shouldn't resort to such tricks against me!"
"Yeah? Will you say the same to your opponents tomorrow?" Leo retorted.
"I won't be fighting tomorrow," I replied, mustering the strength to rise as Leo tended to my bleeding nose with a healing potion. "I will only participate in the main event on the seventh day."
"You do know you can join the side games even if your rank is above 200, right?" Leo raised an eyebrow.
"I'd rather save my energy for the main event," I waved my hand dismissively.
"Alright," Leo shrugged, finishing up the treatment and healing my nose like brand new. "I suppose we'll have seven more days to train, then."
"...On second thought, maybe I'll take part in some side games, just for the thrill of it," I said, averting my gaze.
Beads of sweat formed on my forehead at the thought of enduring seven more days of this torture that Leo had named training.
"Hahaha!" Leo burst into hearty laughter. "Good. Win as many games as you can, and then emerge victorious in the main event too. Become the next Cadet Council president. Remember, you're now known as my disciple."
I couldn't help but nod my head as I heaved a sigh. "Sureeee~"
†
"Haa! Haaa!"
Panting heavily, I approached my apartment door, hastening my steps.
I had to get inside quickly and turn on the AC before crashing for a nap.
Yeah, my plan was to sleep the entire day and wake up fresh tomorrow morning, ready for the King's Tournament.
"...Huh?"
But all that planning came crashing down as I saw that my apartment door was slightly ajar.
"Fuck," I cursed under my breath, dashing inside. "Did I forget to lock the damn door?"
I had been running back and forth between my apartment, the teleportation gate, and the training spot in the desert every four to five hours so I was naturally exhausted.
Maybe in my rush to get back, I left the door unlocked by mistake?
Argh! I hope nothing's gone wrong.
With that thought lingering in the back of my mind, I entered my apartment and spotted Sera sitting on the center table, chirping away merrily.
For a brief moment, relief washed over me. But it was short-lived, as my gaze fell upon a hand that was gently caressing the red baby bird's feathers.
"...Ahh?"
There stood a young woman in her late teens with dark black hair and eyes as green as the finest emeralds.
And she was gently petting my Seraphina.
"Oh, Lucas, you're back?" Her eyes met mine, and she greeted me with a warm smile.
"How the hell did you break into my apartment?" I politely asked, flashing a smile of my own.
"The door was open," she replied, the smile still lingering on her face.
"I see, I see," I nodded, trying to process the situation.
"Lucas," she called out my name.
"Hmm?" I raised an eyebrow, knowing what she was going to say.
The smile on her face vanished in an instant.
Her eyes widened, and blue lines appeared on her forehead as she pointed at Sera on the table, her voice filled with shock, "Is this a Phoenix?!"
"Shhhh! Calm the hell down!" I pressed my index finger against my lips, signaling for her to speak in a lower tone.
She took my reaction as a confirmation and had to cover her mouth with her hands to hold herself back from screaming in shock.
"I knew it!" she whispered in a hushed tone after a few seconds, her eyes still fixated on Sera. "I knew from the way this bird was glowing."
Unlike fully grown Phoenixes, Sera's body isn't engulfed in flames since she's still a baby.
However, her red feathers emit a gentle glow, giving her a mystical aura that made it obvious she was a mythical creature.
"Okay, Amelia, you need to calm down!" I said, approaching her cautiously.
"How in the world do you have a Phoenix in your possession?!" she exclaimed urgently, her voice barely above a whisper. "I thought mythical mana beasts like Phoenixes were all eradicated eight years ago!"
"I, uh... I found her somewhere," I replied, nervously scratching the back of my neck.
"You— Haha! You found her somewhere?! And it's a 'her'?" Amelia's voice wavered with nervous laughter.
"Yeah," I managed to utter.
"...."
Naturally, the black-haired beauty was clearly at a loss for words this time. And this time, she wasn't speechless because of my extreme handsomeness.
"You do realize the serious trouble you can get into if you're caught with a mythical-ranked mana beast, right?" Amelia fell back onto the couch behind her, her gaze fixed on me.
Of course, I know.
Eight years ago, the Central Government subjugated all mythical-ranked mana beasts, considering them a threat to our civilization.
They had also made it a crime to shelter or hide dangerous mana beasts like Dragons, Phoenixes, or Bicorns from the watchful eyes of the government.
If you're caught committing this crime, a sentence of at least one to two years in prison will be given to you.
"I know," I replied earnestly. "That's why I'm asking you not to report this to the academy or anyone else."
"You do realize that I could get into trouble for not reporting something like this, don't you?" Amelia raised an eyebrow at my audacious request.
"I'm aware of that too," I responded. "But please, do me this favor. If I ever get caught, I won't drag you into it. I give you my word."
"...Haaa," Amelia sighed, massaging her forehead. "Fine. But in return, you're going to do me a favor as well."
"Absolutely," I nodded. It's only fair that I give her something in return for a favor like this. "By the way, why are you here?"
"Oh, right. We came because you weren't responding in the group chat," Amelia explained. "Nero and Kent even tried calling you, but you didn't reply."
"Hmm? Is that so?" I furrowed my brow and glanced at my smart bracelet, turning it on.
Ding, Ding, Ding—!!
As soon as I switched it on, a barrage of chat messages and missed call notifications flooded the screen.
I had kept my smart bracelet turned off because Leo wanted me to avoid any and all kinds of distractions during training.
"Sorry for causing you trouble—" I began apologizing, but suddenly, something clicked in my mind.
"Wait, Amelia," I interrupted. "You mentioned 'we' came here. You're not alone?"
"Yeah," Amelia confirmed. "Since Kent and I live closest to your apartment building, we both decided to check up on you."
My mouth fell open as her words registered. "And just where is Kent?"
Krrrzhshhh—!!
At that moment, the sound of a toilet flushing reached my ears. Soon after, the bathroom door clicked open, and Kent stepped out.
"Oh, hey, bro! Where have you been? We've been trying to get hold of you in the group chat. I even called you on your bracelet," Kent approached me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "When you didn't respond to all the pings and the calls, we got worried and Amelia and I came over. We noticed your door was open, so we rushed in, worried that something had happened to you. But you weren't here."
As he spoke, Kent's gaze shifted towards Sera, who was still sitting on the table, chirping happily.
"Kriek~ Kriek~"
I was almost about to facepalm, realizing I had to ask Kent not to mention anything about Sera and make him understand the severity of the situation.
"Instead we found your pet parrot," but when he said that, I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows in bafflement.
"Pet parrot?" I repeated. "She looks like a... parrot to you?"
"Hmm? What else would she be? A canary?" Kent blinked a few times. "By the way, I have to say, you're taking great care of your bird, whatever species she is. Her feathers look like they're glowing by just how impeccably clean they are."
"....." I was rendered speechless. I turned to Amelia after hearing the words coming out of this goofball's mouth.
In reply, Amelia simply shrugged with a helpless expression.
Damn, I had always known it, but today I have to say it again: This guy is dumb!
Well, at least I won't have to explain anything to him now.
"But why didn't you tell me you got a pet?" Kent asked, his face creasing with a frown.
"Ahh, you know we're not allowed to have pets in regular apartment buildings, right? To keep a pet, I'd have to submit an application to the Cadet Council and change my apartment, but I like this place," I explained. "So I kept it a secret."
"I see," Kent nodded a few times before pouting in annoyance. "But not even telling your best friend? That's hurtful."
Wearing a helpless smile, I pulled him into a side hug. "How about we make this our little secret, huh?"
"No, I'm still mad," Kent responded, his pout still in place.
His words made my eyebrow twitch, and I retorted, "Do you want me to cash in one of my remaining punches from our punch bet right now?"
"Actually, secrets between friends can strengthen the bond, right? So yeah, I'll keep my mouth shut," Kent quickly switched gears, wearing a smile that could rival even the greatest negotiators.
Meanwhile, Amelia had been observing us with a blank expression, probably astonished by the sheer professionalism of my lies.
After a moment, she cleared her throat and spoke up, "Ahem. Anyway, Lucas, we were trying to reach you in the group chat because we wanted to know your new rank, but you weren't responding."
"Hmm? We already got our new ranks?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah," Amelia confirmed with a nod. "We received them this morning. That's why we were trying to reach you. We need to know where our Unit stands."
"Yeah, yeah, let me see," I had stopped paying attention to her words, already focused on opening the academy's online portal website.
With a few swift keystrokes on the holographic keyboard being projected out from my smart bracelet, I entered my identity details and roll number, eager to find out my new rank.
Our roll number is different from our academic ranking, and it's the same as our smart bracelet's model number, which is printed on the bottom of it.
It serves as our personal identification number.
Ding—
After the academy AI confirmed my details and checked my IP address, a text window appeared, revealing my new academic ranking.
Upon seeing it, a smirk formed on my face. "Heh."
"What the– Lucas, bro, you told me you barely passed your written exams!" Kent exclaimed, leaning over my shoulder to get a look at my smart bracelet's screen. "So then what the fuck is this?!"
Meanwhile, Amelia shook her head and rubbed her temples. "Haaa, I shouldn't even be surprised anymore."
[Global Academy Portal]
Cadet Name: Lucas Morningstar
Cadet Academy Rank (Previous): 116969
Cadet Exam Rank (First Year):
Written Exam: 1st
Physical Exam: 56th
Cadet Academy Rank (New): 000192
