Normally Back

4 days after the meeting between Lein and Samael...

Lein continued to lock himself in his dormitory room during his suspension, studying new techniques and powers with Samael. Lein remembered Reo and Grace—he decided to meet them after his suspension ended.

He didn't even meet the two of them during these 4 days, but he patiently waited for his suspension to end. Lein planned to excitedly teach Reo and Grace new abilities as well.

"Are you thinking about your friends? That's good, at least you still care about them," Samael said with a faint smile.

"Yes... I also want to apologize to them for worrying them," Lein replied with a faint smile as well.

----

"I also want to apologize to him later for being too much and not considering his condition back then," Reo said to Grace, the two of them chatting and sharing their thoughts at the academy cafeteria.

"You don't need to blame yourself, Reo... You were just worried and cared about him, I'm sure Lein will understand that too," Grace replied with a soft smile at Reo.

"Yeah, I hope so too," Reo replied with a faint smile as well.

"Tomorrow's the day Lein's suspension ends, right? I think we should get back to normal and grow together," Grace said with a wider smile.

----

Lein spent his time to learned new abilities through books sent by Samael from the dimensional storage, while Samael searched for books that could be studied, whether buying or creating the books, he continuously obtained it.

"How many have you learned, Lein?" Samael said, communicating with Lein through telepathy.

"A considerable amount, I've learned 17 new abilities today," Lein replied.

"Good... I can also feel my body growing stronger," Samael said before eventually severing his telepathic connection with Lein.

Lein then summoned the angel. The angel now appeared more majestic because Lein shared his Mana energy and strengthened the aura of the summoned angel.

"Damn... You're getting stronger just because I gave you a bit of Mana," Lein said in awe.

He then took a sword from his backpack, a sword that was issued to every personnel when they sign up in the military academy.

He then engraved ancient letters and sentences known as Thi, using his finger to carve formulas with these ancient characters onto the blade of the sword.

Lein channeled Flux energy, Cultivation, Mana, and Nature Magic into the sword and reconstructed its form into an incredibly cool sword.

"Whoa, this is cool," Lein said in awe, still holding onto the new sword he had created.

He then approached the angel he had summoned and struck it with the sword, causing it to vanish.

The sword crafted by Lein was able to pierce through the angel's enhanced extra-dimensional durability, leaving Lein utterly amazed and his eyes sparkling with wonder.

"This is really cool, I'll name this sword Arcel Blade," Lein said in awe, still gripping the Arcel Blade tightly.

The next day...

Lein's suspension period had ended, and he returned to his classes at the academy as usual. However, he was still being mocked, and people hadn't forgotten about his actions towards Therrie before.

He took his seat, with Samael still lingering in the shadows beside him. A little while later, Reo and Grace entered the classroom and made their way to their seats, pausing to greet Lein as they passed by.

The atmosphere among the three of them felt awkward, and there was a brief moment of silence before Reo finally spoke up...

"Sorry, Lein... Back then I was too excessive and didn't understand how you felt," Reo said, extending his hand.

"Yeah, sorry too for worrying both of you too much," Lein said, and he shook Reo's hand.

The three of them then laughed together like they used to, their friendship renewed and now felt even stronger, with Samael still lingering in Lein's shadow.

"So, you've finally patched things up with your friends, Lein," Samael communicated to Lein through telepathy.

"Thanks, Samael... How about I introduce you during the break later?" Lein asked through telepathy.

"No problem, it's actually good for me to get new friends," Samael replied.

"Good," Lein said.

Although Lein returned to his usual routine in class, everything felt different now. His classmates kept talking about him regarding his previous actions. Lein remained nonchalant and ignored them all.

----

A few minutes later, Lucy entered the classroom. She looked at Lein but didn't mention his previous actions. Instead, she resumed the lesson and instructed the students to take turns practicing aura release.

Some personnel stepped forward, showcasing impressive aura control, while others were more average. Reo and Grace, however, demonstrated exceptional aura control, with Reo ranking second and Grace ranking first.

「 1𝐬𝐭: 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 ( 617 )

「 2𝐧𝐝: 𝐑𝐞𝐨 𝐍𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡 ( 513 )

「 3𝐫𝐝: 𝐃𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 ( 320 )

Lein applauded, and when it was his turn, he focused his aura control and released it slowly, surprising the entire class.

Lein's aura was enormous and intimidating, making everyone in the class feel like he was a monster. Even Lucy was instantly frightened, her cold sweat pouring out.

「 1𝐬𝐭: 𝐋𝐞𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐥 ( ??? )

「 2𝐧𝐝: 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 ( 617 )

「 3𝐫𝐝: 𝐑𝐞𝐨 𝐍𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡 ( 513 )

Due to Lein's monstrous aura, he automatically took the first place with an unknown score. Lein deactivated his aura and returned to his seat, leaving the entire class feeling strongly intimidated and terrified.

"L-Lein? What was that just now? Why is your aura so strong?" Reo asked with curiosity and shock.

"Y-yeah, it's a long story, but the gist of it is I trained intensively in the dorms during my suspension," Lein replied calmly.

"R-really? That's pretty terrifying, hehe," Grace said, her voice trembling and her expression shocked.

"Really? I think I was just being a bit too much," Lein replied with a faint smile.

----

When lunchtime arrived, the three of them chatted in the cafeteria. The rumor about Lein's strong aura spread quickly, and people started gossiping about him again.

"That's absolutely crazy, Lein... Where did you get the strength to control an aura that terrifying?" Reo asked with curiosity.

"Yeah, when I was suspended, I wandered around the city and met a new friend. He taught me how to become stronger," Lein replied with a faint smile.

"Really? Then why did you become this strong in just 5 days?" Grace asked with curiosity.

"Yeah, my new friend and I used Resonance, an ability that combines our strengths, not just physical but also Flux," Lein explained.

"Really? That sounds impossible. If that's true, is he really an incredibly strong person?" Reo asked with curiosity again, but now his gaze had turned suspicious.

"I'm serious, he's now inside my shadow," Lein said, pointing to himself.

"Huh? Are you fucking kidding me? Isn't the whole world currently plagued by darkness?" Reo exclaimed, looking in the direction Lein pointed, and he was shocked.

Lein's shadow was incredibly dark, even darker than the surrounding darkness itself, catching Reo and Grace off guard.

"W-what is that?! Why is your shadow so dark, Lein?" Grace asked with curiosity.

Lein then snapped his fingers, transporting the three of them to Lein's subconscious realm. Reo and Grace were shocked by the sudden shift, having moved to a different realm in an instant.

"Where are we, Lein?" Reo said, gazing sharply at Lein with curiosity.

"Don't worry, this is my subconscious realm. I also learned this ability during the 5 days I spent with... him," Lein replied calmly.

"Whoa, that's awesome, Lein! You've developed drastically and surpassed us," Grace said, sounding amazed and impressed.

"Thanks, I also plan to help you guys learn this ability later, so we'll be strong together," Lein said with a faint smile.

"Really?! Thanks a lot, Lein!" Grace exclaimed, sounding overjoyed and happy upon hearing Lein's words.

Reo breathed a soft sigh, but ultimately, a thin smile spread across his face, a testament to the strong bond of friendship they now shared.

"Hey... When are you going to introduce me to your friends?!" Samael said through telepathy to Lein.

"Oh yeah, I forgot... You can come out now," Lein replied.

"For the new friend who was in my shadow earlier... I'll introduce him to you both soon," Lein said to Reo and Grace.

"Yeah, where's the new friend you mentioned earlier—man or woman, Lein?" Reo asked Lein.

Samael quickly emerged from Lein's shadow and stood between Reo and Grace, catching them off guard and leaving them shocked and confused.

"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is..." Samael said.

Samael Angelic...

. . .