Trial Student

"So, you're saying you want Leon to enroll as a test student so he can understand the importance of the academy?" Elena asked, raising an eyebrow.

Raaz frowned, recalling how Leon had healed Lith earlier, impressing everyone with his skill. It was clear to him that Leon's master was exceptional, possibly even more competent than the incompetent professor who had nearly caused his son to lose an arm.

Linjos observed Elena and Raaz's reactions, understanding that they were skeptical of his proposal. "Maybe Leon is a genius who can create his own spells," Linjos began, "but think about it: why waste time creating a knife when you can buy it? If Leon enrolls in the academy, he'll directly learn the spells he would eventually create on his own, saving both his time and talent," he argued, trying to convince them.

Raaz was tempted to mention that Leon's master was already teaching him everything he needed, but he held back, uncertain of the consequences if they revealed Leon's current training situation.

Elena considered Linjos's words, then thought, 'Leon doesn't have any friends. What if he makes a friend here, or even finds a girlfriend?' Her eyes sparkled at the thought.

"He will not—" Raaz started to say, but Elena cut him off.

"He will enroll," she declared, leaving Raaz dumbfounded as she addressed Linjos.

"Elena!" Raaz exclaimed in surprise, while Linjos rejoiced at the decision.

"But I have a condition," Elena added, causing Linjos to take a deep breath, preparing himself for what was likely to be a difficult request. "Please, tell me your condition," he asked, his expression serious, ready to turn down any unreasonable demand.

Elena nodded and, with a serious expression, said, "I want him in a class with beautiful girls."

"Excuse me?" Linjos almost thought he had heard wrong.

"I want him to make friends and, hopefully, a beautiful girlfriend," Elena clarified.

Raaz, understanding her point, nodded in agreement. "Yes, that will be our demand," he confirmed. "You see, he has no friends due to his... um, personality. We can't hope for any girl to like him for who he is, rather than for the money and fame he might gain in the future. So we would, um, force him—I mean, convince him to enroll here, as long as you promise to place him in a class full of beautiful girls," he explained, with Elena nodding beside him.

Linjos felt like he was inviting another Manohar into his academy but knew he had little choice. By the queen's orders, he could only comply. "You don't have to worry about it," Linjos assured them. "Here, the girl-to-boy ratio is 10 to 3, so he'll find plenty of girls."

With that assurance, Elena and Raaz promised that Leon would enroll at the academy. The three of them smiled, while Leon, talking with Lith, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

The next day, 

Leon wearing Academy uniform, enters the class, attracting lots of eyes of eyes to him as he entered the class. 

He walked up to last desk where some nobles looked at him with disdain and arriving in front of them.. 

" It seems dog is here to greet his master" Noble kid said, causing everyone to laugh out loud. 

Quylla, looked at Lith and asked " Why aren't you helping your brother? " 

Last day, they all met Leon, and they find him quite good boy, so, seeing him getting bullied they couldn't take it. 

Friya thought too as she asked Tista, Yurial too asked Trion sitting with him. 

Lith and others shook their head and said " Just watch".

Curious they looked back what they meant and they got their answers. 

Leon looked at orange head Noble in front of him and said " Leave, while I am saying nicely" 

" Filthy commoner how dare you look at me like tha... " 

Bang! 

Bang! 

Bang! 

Before the poor noble kid could finish his warning dialogue, Leon grabbed him by hair and then smacked his face three times on the desk, causing it get bloody all over. 

Leon then also heals him instantly and then removing all marks of fight he once again said " Leave" . The noble kid cried as he looked into Leon Rainbow eyes and ran away crying.

"Filthy pampered kid," Leon cursed while removing everything with dark magic. He sat down, while the entire class stared at him in pin drop silence.

"What? Do you all need a beating too?" he asked, glaring at everyone.

Everyone quickly looked to the front.

"Oh, you all are here. Well, the class was awfully quiet, so I thought no one was here... Hmm, well anyway, let's start the class," Professor Trasque said. He was in charge of teaching about spell casting and such.

The class went smoothly, and afterward, everyone approached Leon.

"How did you end up here?" Lith asked.

Leon sighed and explained how last evening Elena had told him that he had to enroll or she'd kick him out of the house.

"It's definitely Linjos' fault, I tell you," Leon said, gritting his teeth.

Lith patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, it's not as bad as you think."

Leon nodded and then went to his next class, the class of Battle Mages. And thus, for the next three days, this was his routine.

On the fourth day:

"How is the Academy life treating you?" Linjos asked.

"Hmm, better than I expected," Leon replied, as he was really enjoying it.

"Good, then do you want to become a full-fledged student?" he asked.

"... I need more time to decide," Leon replied.

Linjos sighed but nodded, then said something on the intercom, and five men in army-like uniforms entered, with Lith entering from one side as well.

"From now on, everything you hear is classified," Linjos said in a heavy tone, looking at Lith and Leon.

The Headmaster gave them a file containing all the relevant information about the events in Kandria, explaining that their presence was required to shed light on the matter.

"I'm just a student," Lith replied, handing back the folder, while Leon kept looking at it. The file detailed a plague spreading in the Kandria region, multiplying at a rapid rate before it was forced to be contained by isolating an entire region.

"What does this have to do with me?" Lith asked.

"What Headmaster Linjos forgot to tell you, boy, is that this isn't a request. This is an order from the Queen herself," said the lead army man.

The voice belonged to a man about thirty years old, 1.82 meters (6') tall, who walked out of a Warp Step that had opened in the middle of the room. He had light brown crew-cut hair and a mustache of the same color.

He was wearing a deep blue uniform, bearing the Royal crest over his heart: a triangular shield representing a prancing griffon with a crown on its head, holding two scepters in its front claws—one representing magical power, the other military power.

"Lith, Leon, allow me to introduce Captain Velagros from the Queen's Corps. Captain, this is Lith and Leon from Lustria," Linjos said, standing up and offering his hand to the esteemed guest.

"Were you spying on us, or did you just wait to make a dramatic entrance?" Lith asked, unimpressed and slightly annoyed. His bad mood made him blurt out what he would normally have just thought.

"Kid, this is no laughing matter. People are dying at this very moment. If you can do something about it, it's your duty to."

"People die every day," Lith shrugged. "Usually, it's the poor, the orphans, the homeless. Yet no one gives a damn about them. But if it happens to a few rich guys in a fancy city, then suddenly it becomes a huge problem.

Also, I have no duty, since I took no oath. So let me rephrase: what's in it for me?" he said, rubbing his right thumb and index finger together.

Normally, Captain Velagros would have been tempted to teach the arrogant kid a lesson, but he too had read the file. It clearly stated that due to his upbringing, Lith had no real ties to the Kingdom. That was the reason his family was so tightly protected. The orders were to not antagonize him unless it was absolutely necessary.

While all this drama unfolded, Leon kept reading the file. Only after fully reading it did he close it.

By the time Leon closed it, Lith was already signing a contract with Captain Velagros. The contract stated that they would receive protection for their families as compensation if the plague were to break out across the entire Kingdom.

Leon didn't object to anything, and then they all moved.

As they traveled, Leon kept his guard up, sensing the potential for an ambush, though he couldn't quite remember when it was supposed to happen.

After receiving a copy of the agreement, they warped out of the office and materialized in a grassy field in the middle of nowhere. Lith looked around, searching for familiar landmarks but found none. The only structure in sight was a circle formed by rectangular wooden rods from which they had emerged.

The rods stood about 2 meters (6.5 feet) high and were 3 centimeters (1.8 inches) thick. Each side was engraved with bright red runes that pulsed with power before fading as the portal closed behind them. Nearby, a group of three women and two men, all dressed similarly to Velagros and armed with various weapons, were busy packing away the temporary waypoint that had enabled their long-distance travel.

As they packed up, Leon suddenly asked, "By the way, were there any more people coming to fetch us?"

The captain frowned at Leon's words and tilted his head in confusion. Leon nodded and began to chant. A small ball of light appeared in his hand, growing as he raised it high into the air. It expanded into a large sphere before suddenly bursting, releasing countless light missiles that shot off into the distance, seemingly targeting someone.

Calgin, who had been on the verge of attacking Leon, looked ahead in surprise as he saw the missiles intercepted by another spell. "Well, it seems we have an ambush here," Leon said, causing the captain and the others to frown. They demanded, "Then why didn't you inform us before taking action?"

Leon shrugged. "Well, would you have believed a kid over trained and experienced army men?" he retorted. The captain gritted his teeth, knowing Leon was right.

Meanwhile, Lith activated his Life Vision and looked ahead, spotting five individuals with distinctive tattoos approaching them. However, they suddenly stopped at a distance, seemingly hesitating or planning their next move.