Thanks, Lein

Reo and Grace were startled, both of them shocked by Samael's sudden emergence from Lein's shadow.

"S-so the friend you mentioned really exists, Lein?!" Grace exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise.

Reo, equally shocked with wide eyes, took a deep breath, realizing that everything Lein said was true, and then introduced himself to Samael.

"M-my name is Reo Neith, my Flux power is Mind Manipulation type," Reo said, introducing himself still half-shocked.

"Ah! M-my name is Grace Victorious, my Flux is called Seraphim Eyes, a-although I'm not really sure what type it is," Grace said nervously, still half-shocked.

"Well, no need to be formal, it's okay, just be natural. Besides... we're friends now, right?" Samael said with a faint smile to Reo and Grace.

"Yeah, but... how did you guys meet? You seem like you're not from Celestial," Reo asked, starting to calm down.

"Haha, the story's quite long if we're going to explain it now, and besides, we're still on break, and this realm can only slow down time up to 2 times compared to the real world, not enough for that," Lein replied with a gentle laugh.

"Yeah, Lein's purpose here is to train you both with various new abilities, and that's why he introduced me," Samael added, still smiling.

"Train us? You mean train us to be strong like Lein?" Reo asked curiously.

"Obviously... For starters, I'll teach you both a technique used by the Qin Dynasty, which is Cultivation," Samael said.

"Cultivation? I didn't know there's a power like that in the Qin Dynasty," Grace said with interest.

"Of course, in the 4 major nations, there are 4 different powers, each unique to each nation. Celestial has Flux, Qin Dynasty has Cultivation, Dasmond Kingdom has Mana, and Elemental Forest has Nature Magic," Samael explained.

"4? Then let's get started quickly! I'm already impatient!" Reo exclaimed with enthusiasm.

Samael merely smiled faintly and chuckled softly, then nodded. They spent the next 20 minutes training, guided by Lein and Samael.

"I didn't expect this, Grace... It turns out you're talented in mastering Mana and Nature Magic, and you even control the elements of fire, water, lightning, light, and earth all at once just for twenty minutes" Lein said in awe.

"Reo, you're really surprising me, you have a strong adaptability, and... you're almost able to copy the technique I trained you on earlier," Samael said impressed.

"Y-yeah, actually, I started learning to mimic abilities from people after seeing the Seraphim Eyes power of Grace," Reo replied, summoning the angelic creature that Samael had learned him.

"Summoning an angel alone is already impressive, and I'm very grateful to you," Reo said with a faint smile, pointing his index finger at the angel.

As soon as he pointed at the angel, he activated his Flux, copying the Seraphim Eyes power of Grace earlier. This caused the angel's body to shatter and disappear instantly.

Lein, Samael, and Grace were shocked. They didn't expect Reo to be able to do such a thing, and Reo only seemed slightly fatigued without feeling any pain or other side effects.

"At first, I was bleeding all over when I tried it for the first time on a rabbit I bought at the market, but it seems like I can control it now, hehe," Reo said with a small laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.

"That's incredibly surprising, Reo... You're able to copy my ability and adapt successfully," Grace said in awe.

"Alright, friends, it looks like our break is almost over. Let's wrap up this training session and continue again tomorrow," Lein said with a faint smile.

Lein snapped his fingers, returned back to the cafeteria and quickly Samael slipped back into Lein's shadow.

----

The three of them walked towards their classroom, chatting and laughing together. They were now back to being close like usual, with the added dynamic of Samael as their new friend.

Several days passed, and they continued to train together, growing incredibly strong. In fact, the three of them were promoted from Tier 9-B straight to Tier 8-A.

"W-wow, I didn't expect the three of us to rise this fast! Even straight to Tier 8-A," Grace exclaimed with excitement, sporting a wide smile on her face.

"Hehe, you look really happy, don't you, Grace?" Lein replied.

"Of course! It's all thanks to our hard work together, the four of us," Grace said, still beaming with joy, her wide smile still plastered on her face.

"Wow... You're already so happy just from reaching Tier 8-A," Reo teased, playfully pinching both of her cheeks.

"Hey, Reo! Stop pinching my cheeks!" Grace said, looking annoyed, but she looked adorable with her puffed-out cheeks.

As the three of them continued to joke around, Lucy suddenly approached them and offered her congratulations.

"Congratulations to the three of you, I wouldn't have expected you to grow this fast and jump straight to Tier 8-A," Lucy said, beaming with pride at Lein, Reo, and Grace.

"Thanks for training us and standing up for us all the way to this point," Lein said with a faint smile on his face.

"Whoa, didn't I train you all this time to become strong, hehe," Samael communicated to Lein through telepathy.

"Shut up," Lein replied through telepathy

----

After the promotion ceremony, the three of them got a week's break to relax and recharge.

The three of them stepped out of the academy and went on a stroll, visiting various places in Medarie Capital City. Despite the world being shrouded in darkness, the colossal tower from Heaven still illuminated the world, even if it was a looming threat.

"By the way, Lein... how many elemental abilities can you learned?!" Grace asked with sparkling eyes, clearly wanting to compare with Lein about this.

Lein pulled out a holographic projection device from his Dimensional Storage, and the device projected the types of all elemental abilities that Lein had mastered.

𝐀𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬:

「 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

「 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

「 𝐀𝐢𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

「 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

「 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

「 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

「 𝐈𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

「 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

「 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

「 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

「 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

...

"W-what is that, Lein?! Why is your power so terrifying?!" Grace's eyes widened in shock, she was utterly astonished by Lein's abilities.

"Haha, I'm not surprised, but Lein... isn't your power more than this?" Reo chuckled softly and asked Lein.

"I deliberately didn't show it, hehe... I only want to reveal it when we're all strong and on the same level," Lein said with a faint smile.

"Alright then, let's just have fun together the four of us with Samael today," Reo replied, also smiling slightly.

Samael stepped out of Lein's shadow and smiled faintly. "Thanks for inviting me,"

The four of them spent the day roaming around Medarie Capital City, having a blast, visiting shops, and playing at the amusement park.

"Hey, isn't today just so much fun?!" Grace exclaimed with a wide smile on her face.

"It's great to get a Tier boost, and this break is just what we needed. It's like a breath of fresh air for our minds," Reo said.

"It's been a while since I've had this much fun. So this is what it's like to have friends," Samael said with a faint smile, gazing up at the sky.

"Didn't you have friends before?" Lein asked.

"No, I never really got to know anyone before," Samael replied, shaking his head.

"Don't worry, Samael! We're your friends now! Hehe..." Grace said cheerfully.

The four of them laughed together and spent the rest of their day, going through many things just to have fun and joke around together.

----

"Hey! Hey! Let's go to that cake shop!" Grace exclaimed, excitedly pointing to the bakery in front of them.

"Yeah, yeah... You're so loud," Reo replied.

"How did it feel? It was really fun, wasn't it? I hope we four can always be together like this," Lein said to Samael.

"Thanks, Lein. I feel... really happy now," Samael replied with a faint smile.

"What are we waiting for? Let's catch up to them," Lein replied with a faint smile as well.

Lein and Samael chuckled briefly and followed Reo and Grace, who were already inside the bakery.

. . .