Crossing the Line
Leon spent the entire time up until MAIE-day training until he couldn't spare the energy to even close his eyes. From dawn until dusk, he practiced hand seals, martial arts, lifted makeshift weights, ran, all the while continuing to consume ambient mana.
His last session practicing seals, Beelzebub even taught him his first spell: {Spark}. It was a simple, three seal spell that only requires one hand to cast. Upon casting it, a small, concentrated ball of [Eternal Flame] will float around the caster until they willed it to launch itself.
Aiming was hard at first, but he got the hang of it. The trickiest part came after that– controlling more than one at a time.
Without much time on top of wanting a good night's sleep before Monday, Leon had to cut his training short. Because of this, he couldn't manage to get more than three {Spark} instances under his consistent control at one time.
He was, however, quite satisfied with his progress on the martial art front.
Regardless, today was the day his entire life would turn around. Io had already gone off to her work, not before leaving Leon a small breakfast.
After wolfing it down, Leon made his way to district 97's high school. His now useless habit of doing this at the crack of dawn remained, not that Herschel and his goons even bothered to try and intercept him these days.
Leon stopped in-front of his school, taking it all in. 'This is the last day I will spend in this gods-forsaken dump,' he thought. For the first time since maybe elementary school, he had no existential dread looming over him upon entering a school.
As he walked the halls, the few kids already at school as well as some of the staff shot him surprised glances, some whispering among themselves.
Thankfully, he was the first in his homeroom, allowing him a few extra minutes of peace before his peers crowded in, more energetic than ever.
.
.
.
Today was a great day for many year 11 students, as was true for Herschel Myers. As an E-rank awakener, he passed the minimum requirement to get an invitation to the Military Academy, and with the telepath he paid off yesterday, he'd also pass the exam.
On top of all this, it seemed the "bug" that had bothered him since elementary school had kicked the bucket!
Thus, he was on cloud nine–
'...you're kidding me…'
Scratch that, he was pissed.
It seems the bug was alive and well! 'This cocky son of a whore!'
At this point, he was ready to put his hands up and kill Leonidass Mourningstard (his new, still cringey, renaming) once and for all. Just as he was about to, the homeroom teacher entered the class. Glaring at Leon, who continued to ignore Herschel with a look of complete relaxation, he sat down at his seat with a huff.
Of course, Leon had sensed Herschel's totally unhidden killing intent directed at him, how couldn't he? Not only were his senses greatly enhanced, Beezebub was also roaring his head off, ordering Leon to "Utterly brutalize that hideous ant!" among many, many other things.
"Mr. Mourningstar, I am very disappointed in you. Five days of unexcused absences? I'll see you in detention tomorrow," the homeroom teacher scolded while shaking his head in faux disappointment.
Leon nodded along, holding back a smile. 'Doesn't he know? Invitations to the Military Academy are immediate after the rank evaluation, and they expect us to show up the very next day. How is he going to put me in detention if I'm there?
'Actually, of course he doesn't know! He's a glorified hall-monitor in one of the shittiest academic institutions in all of Tera 1, possibly even the whole planet! There's no way he was invited back when he took the exams.'
To be fair, even if he did know, nobody expected Leon to get an invitation, right?
Honestly, the homeroom teacher finally found a reason to reprimand the, rule-wise, perfect Leon after all this time. Disappointingly, Leon's reaction left much to be desired. Ignoring it, he began his impromptu speech.
"My students, today, you will all gather in the examination hall and take the most important test of your lives. I hope you all studied. If not," he shook his head, "I wish you good fortune. You'll need it."
For once, Leon actually agreed with what he said.
On que, an announcement played over the school's intercoms, "All year 11 students, report to the examination hall at once. Bring nothing. Watches will be jammed within the hall."
"All right! Get going!" the homeroom teacher said, clasping his hands together. On the way out, he made sure to shout a few boot-licking comments towards students he thought had a good chance at passing.
Almost the moment they were out, Herschel approached Leon. "Oi walking dead! How hopeful of you to show up today of all days!"
Leon just waved his hand at him and walked by.
"I mean, why bother? You can't even pass the basic requirements! Your slut aunt working at the strip club can't suck you out of this one!"
Comments about his aunt, while rare, were the few that actually got to Leon. Thankfully, he had already passed Herschel and his goons, or they would have seen his eye twitch at this comment. It was untrue– she worked in a bloody library for gods' sake– but it still annoyed him all the same.
"Confident the increased security today will keep you safe?" Herschel sped his walking up, but before he could, Leon pointed up.
Not much needed to be said. There was a 360º camera catching everything in 32k high def right there, and today was not a day either of them wanted to get into trouble.
If looks could kill, Leon and that camera would be long dead. "I'll see you after, cocky bastard."
'I really hope so,' Leon said, cracking his knuckles.
.
.
.
~3 Hours Later~
The exam was nothing to scoff at. Advanced calculus, chemistry, physics, and numerous other new-age topics were extensively tested.
A few people trying more primitive ways of cheating were caught, like most years. Sadly for the system at large, Herschel was not, as his method was too sophisticated for such a poor district to handle.
After that? Those who passed were home free… practically. The next section of the exam was, at this point, a formality. Everyone knew what rank their Strand was, after all.
Though, was that really it? No. No it wasn't.
This examination gave the World Military relatively comprehensive data not just on the average rank, but also an updated database of all Strands of the public. Rare Strands like Leon's couldn't be completely uncovered since they didn't have enough data on them. His in particular would only show the fact that it enhanced his physical and mental abilities on top of granting him a transformation.
The atmosphere was quite nonchalant. Students were all lining up, chatting with their peers about the exam they just finished, answers they got, what they were doing after this, etc.
Some took the time to study their competition, sneaking peeks at the ranks of anyone they didn't know.
"Name and student identification," the examiner said robotically… well… it was a robot, so of course it was robotic.
"Leonidas Mourningstar," Leon said, inserting his student ID into the machine.
"Confirmed– Leonidas Mourningstar. Place your palm on the Strand scanning apparatus. Do not remove it until you are prompted to do so."
A few people who knew of him snickered behind him in line, "Why the hell is he even here?"
"10%…35%…95%...100%
"Scan complete. Strand located: Unknown, D-rank, Transformation-type. You may remove your hand from the scanning apparatus."
"""..."""
Crickets.
For some reason, it wasn't just the few students nearby that were paying attention to Leon's scan, half the grade was doing so– some unconsciously, some consciously. All, however, almost fell over hearing the result.
"W-what?"
Herschel was the most dumbfounded. 'How the… FUCK? HOW THE FUCK DOES THAT LOSER HAVE A HIGHER RANKED STRAND THAN ME?'
"Herschel Myers, avoid placing pressure on the scanning apparatus at once."
With confidence, as if the absolute nuke he just dropped was only natural, Leon strutted out of the examination hall.
| Buzz |
He looked down.
| E-MAIL: Congratulations! You have received an invitation to the Military Academy of Tera 1! Report to the premises by exactly 07:00 on Tuesday, January 2nd, 2146. Failure to do so will result in immediate voiding of this invitation. (See more) |
'Perfect~'
Leon's day wasn't complete, however. If he wanted, he could have quickly returned home, but he chose another option.
After the MAIE, all students who took it got the rest of the day off, and if they got an Invitation to the Military Academy? They got the rest of the year off– at the very least. Getting into the fact that many are kicked out soon after they join is irrelevant currently.
The main point is the fact that after the exams, everyone could leave. That includes Leon, and Herschel. 'Based on his glare, I think getting him alone will be elementary,' Leon surmised. 'Ah! Think of the devil, and he shall come.'
Herschel burst out of the examination hall looking for Leon. And to his surprise: He found him! Leon smiled as they made eye contact, mouthing "Kiss. My. Ass."
Nearly crashing out right on the spot, Herschel aggressively walked Leon's way. Leon's grin grew to almost unnatural proportions– the edges of his mouth reaching farther up than they should. "Perfect!!!" Turning around, Leon ran.
"Mother-"
Herschel gave chase. Years of conditioning and precedent had put it in his mind that Leon was his prey, through and through. Even now that he had a Strand, one higher rank than Herschel's, he still thought of Leon as someone beneath him– someone he didn't have to be cautious of.
Alone, Herschel and Leon sprinted through the alleyways of District 97, ducking, hurdling, and slipping past the numerous pipes and trash bins littered throughout.
The amount of time Herschel had his Strand was not inconsequential, as he had been exposed to the effects of mana for almost half of his life now. So, despite the rank disadvantage, he was actually able to keep up with Leon without his transformation.
For roughly an hour, Leon led Herschel to an area neither of them had been to… together, that is.
During the roughly four day period Leon took off after getting back from the hospital, he had been planning this event on and off. As part of this planning, he had mapped the route to this exact location: District 98.
In comparison to 97, 98 was about the same economically. The main difference was the crime.
98's policing was lack-luster, even worse was the surveillance. Buildings in this part of the city are extremely packed and old, creating tons of blindspots like the one Leon had led Herschel to.
"Pant, pant, Nowhere left to run, Leon!" Herschel taunted. "Should have left when you had the chance!"
"That was the point, Mr. Myers," Leon responded. "How stupid do you think I am?"
Leon began to circle Herschel, whose winded state prevented him from realizing Leon was moving him away from the only exit. "Why do you think I waited outside the hall? Why do you think I brought you all the way to 98? And why to a place with no exposure to the public, no exposure to the authorities?"
Herschel laughed, "You can't be serious? Are you implying you can beat me in a fight? Fucking typical of you, arrogant bastard!"
Lightning crackled across Herschel's hands, "I've been fucking you up since year 5! A worthless Strand won't make any difference. As for this place? I can only thank you for providing me a place to finally finish you off."
'Good… good!' Leon cracked his neck. 'Let's make sure this doesn't end too quickly~'
Another goulish smile crept across Leon's face, looking like someone had attached fishhooks to the edges of his mouth and pulled them up.
Holding off on transforming, Leon got into the |Brute| stance of the RDAB (a/n: remember, RDAB == Royal Demonic Art of the Body). This form was one that focused on the use of fists and blunt-force attacks as opposed to claw and tail strikes.
In essence, it was a kick-boxing stance.
Using complex muscle control and movements, ones even Leon couldn't find meaning for, it had strange effects. Strikes thrown while in this stance (and most-all stances of RDAB) are difficult to anticipate, as the telegraphing is extremely difficult to detect. Since Leon hadn't mastered it yet, nor had he learned any special attacks, his telegraphing wasn't perfectly hidden.
|Brute|s special effect is called |Penetrating Blows|. Sadly, Leon had not reached a proficiency capable of bringing this effect out, but when he did, his previously bludgeoning attacks would be capable of hitting through his victims, damaging internals as if they were completely exposed.
His continued confidence made Herschel's blood boil, pushing him to make the first move.
"Raaaah!"
Herschel haphazardly charged forward, lunging towards Leon in an attempt to shock him into submission.
Expecting this, Leon used footwork to stay just out of his range, responding with a swift front kick to Herschel's midsection. Connecting, he was pushed back half a meter.
Continuing the assault, Herschel madly swung over and over again at Leon. The speed of his movements was quite difficult for Leon to react to, but Herschel's compromised mental state and Leon's familiarity with fighting with him closed the gap his physical stats and experience left.
Multiple haymakers, lunges, takedown attempts, and slaps were dodged with numerous dangerously close calls. At every opportunity, Leon slipped in relatively light retaliatory strikes, so they weren't enough to end the fight.
Swoosh!
Herschel launched a wild uppercut! Leon barely ducked his chin enough to slip the blow, but just a bit of Herschel's electrified hands brushed against him, sending a brief shock across his body. Using this moment, Herschel attempted to kick Leon's legs. Managing to fight through the shock, Leon stepped back slightly, leading to Herschel losing balance.
In one swift motion, Leon pressed forward. Ducking down, he easily avoided the clearly telegraphed elbow sent right at his head, opening Herschel up for a perfect counter.
W-hhAAAM!
Leon got a pretty good hit in, sending Herschel reeling back.
For another few minutes, Herschel continued to spam his E-rank lightning Strand, attempting to stun Leon so he could kill him– yeah, he wasn't joking.
Especially now after being "humiliated" over and over again for the past few minutes, Herschel was also having thoughts of killing Leon's aunt. In a rare instance of intelligence, he didn't voice these thoughts.
"Quit running!" he roared. "You can't-"
"Fine"
"!!!"
Out of nowhere, Leon once again broke the carefully crafted dance they had fallen into, slipping right through Herschel's guard.
WHAM!!
Leon put all his weight into a liver blow, briefly stunning Herschel. Following up, he threw a right cross from extremely close up, easily connecting with his unguarded jaw. The range he created by stepping back slightly opened Herschel up for another front kick that sent him falling on the ground.
"Groannnn~"
Holding himself back, Leon dusted his clothes off and leisurely made his way towards the exit. "DON'T YOU DARE THINK OF RUNNING NOW!"
"I'm not," Leon said with bone chilling calmness. "I'm just making sure you can't escape before the real fun begins~"
"Wha-"