Alert!: this chapter has been translated by Mangademon / demonicscans.org, this is a premium translation, not mtl
Lumeria City.
This great city in the center of the continent is called the heart of the world, not only for geographical reasons but also for its symbolic significance.
One of the warp gates in Lumeria City began to glow.
- "Dear passengers, we have arrived in Lumeria City. Please check that you have all your belongings and exit the gate."
With the announcement, Leo stepped out of the gate.
The warp gate was located on a highland at the outskirts of Lumeria City.
As he stepped out of the gate, the full view of Lumeria City unfolded before his eyes.
Whoosh—!
Leo’s white hair fluttered in the breeze.
A vast, developed metropolis stretched before him.
Far in the distance, a lake as massive as a sea came into view.
The lake, usually shrouded in mist, was exceptionally clear.
Because of this, the enormous castle at the lake's edge, Lumerne Academy, was faintly visible.
'In two days, I’ll be there.'
A month had passed since he took the entrance exam.
As always, the entrance exams had sparked plenty of discussions.
Among them, the Western Region exam, which Leo had taken, was the talk of the town.
With only 40 successful candidates, it had caused quite a stir.
'Not my problem.'
Leo had been busy preparing for enrollment.
Today, after a month of preparation, he had come to Lumeria.
No one from the Plov Family had accompanied him.
Outside attendance was not allowed at Lumerne’s entrance ceremony.
'Go and learn as much as you can.'
'Son, you’re not upset that we’re not coming, are you?'
Leo smiled as he recalled his send-off from Dade and Reyna.
Though nobles, his parents disliked indulgence.
'They’d rather spend money on territorial welfare than waste it on a warp gate.'
Leo agreed with their perspective.
Exiting the warp gate, Leo entered Curaju Street, a bustling district in Lumeria.
'They said they’d be waiting here.'
"Leo! Over here, over here."
Wearing her black hair in a ponytail and dressed in an elegant yet practical outfit, Celia waved and approached him.
She drew the attention of those around her and smiled brightly as she stood before Leo.
"How have you been?"
"Nothing to complain about. By the way, congratulations on being the top scorer."
"I’m not too happy about sharing the title with that butter, but a top scorer is still a top scorer."
She elegantly brushed her side bangs back as she spoke.
"Now, look at me with more respect."
"Hard to respect someone I’ve seen puking."
"Hey!"
Celia’s face turned red as she shouted.
"Ugh! You never let me win an argument!"
Glaring at Leo, Celia sighed deeply.
"Where’s Uncle Gis?"
"He said he’d arrive by evening. Until then, I thought I’d shop around Curaju Street."
Curaju Street sold everything necessary for Lumerne students, from uniforms to textbooks, as well as weapons, staffs, and summoning catalysts.
"You haven’t bought your uniform or textbooks yet, have you?"
"Nope."
"You can get them today. Follow me; I’ll come with you."
***
Celia first took Leo to a large clothing store on the main street.
In the glass display visible from outside, Lumerne uniforms were showcased.
The brand [Blessrigger] was prominently displayed.
"Looks expensive."
"Of course. This store has been making Lumerne uniforms for a thousand years."
There were three types of clothes necessary for Lumerne:
Formal wear for events, regular uniforms for classes, and practical clothes for fieldwork.
All the clothes had minimum specifications.
To meet these specs, fabric imbued with mana, called ‘Mana Cloth,’ was required, and the quality of the uniform depended on the Mana Cloth used, according to Celia.
"Blessrigger is renowned for its high-end uniforms. I got mine here too."
After explaining, Celia entered the store.
Ring-ring—
"Welcome to Blessrigger."
The clerk by the door smiled politely and opened it for them.
Inside, several customers were browsing.
Among them were children who appeared to be incoming Lumerne students.
As they looked around the display shelves, a middle-aged woman appeared from inside.
"Welcome, Miss Celia. It’s an honor to have you visit us again."
After a graceful bow, she cautiously spoke.
"Is something wrong with the uniform you had tailored?"
"Not at all. I’m here to have a male student uniform tailored today."
Celia smiled and gestured toward Leo.
"He’s joining me at Lumerne this year."
"Oh, I see. I thought you were the only one from the Zerdinger family enrolling this year. I didn’t know there was another young gentleman."
The tailor, who introduced herself as Nera, exclaimed softly and bowed to Leo.
"I’m Nera, a tailor here at Blessrigger."
Leo immediately recognized that she was a mage.
'Of course. Handling Mana Cloth would require a mage. Still, for a mage to work as a mere tailor... the world has improved.'
"Young Master, I’ll take your measurements."
Nera pulled a measuring tape from her pocket and began taking Leo’s measurements.
"Your department is the Knight Department, correct?"
"Yes."
"What is the attribute of your Aura, if I may ask?"
Aura attributes varied depending on the type of Aura technique practiced, and the composition of Mana Cloth could be adjusted to enhance defense against opposing attributes or strengthen the same attribute.
"Use non-elemental Mana Cloth, please."
"Excuse me?"
Nera looked slightly perplexed, while Celia, who had been smiling, furrowed her brows.
Leo smiled and repeated.
"Non-elemental, please."
Non-elemental Mana Cloth was plain fabric without any attribute.
Of course, no one usually requested such a thing.
"Understood."
Still, a customer’s wish was her command.
After taking his measurements and noting the details, Nera went to the tailoring room.
"Why non-elemental? You’re going to learn our family’s Aura technique, so wouldn’t a fire attribute Mana Cloth be better?"
"I just have my reasons."
'Non-elemental means it can become anything.'
Leo planned to learn the Zerdinger family’s Aura technique but didn’t intend to rely on it exclusively.
"By the way, I’m broke."
"What, do you think I’d make you pay? My father decided to cover all your school-related expenses."
Leo recalled what Reyna had said.
'Don’t worry. My brother may be stingy, but he’s rich. And if he tries to be cheap, I won’t let him.'
Dade, after much deliberation over Leo’s school expenses, had agreed to pay for his uniform and textbooks.
According to Reyna, Dade had left behind his personal wealth when leaving the Zerdinger family.
'If I know my mother, she’d march into the Zerdinger estate and take everything if needed.'
Knowing this, the Zerdinger head had provided the support.
Not long after, Nera, proving her expertise, swiftly tailored a uniform for Leo.
After trying it on and making minor adjustments, it was ready within an hour.
Nera bowed deeply as she presented the finished uniform.
"The uniform will be delivered to your dormitory."
After finishing the payment, guided by the staff, they left Blessrigger.
"Now, let’s go buy textbooks."
Celia led Leo to a large bookstore.
They needed to buy the mandatory textbooks for all students and the specialized books for their respective departments.
Leo bought not only the Knight Department’s textbooks but also those for Magic and Summoning.
"Are you preparing for duels already? Impressive."
Celia nodded in admiration as Leo inwardly thought,
'I’m going to study them.'
Of course, he didn’t say it out loud, knowing she’d think he was crazy.
After buying everything they needed, they explored Lumeria City.
As a metropolis, it had plenty to see.
They enjoyed sightseeing and even bought street food.
Leo chuckled as he watched Celia happily eat ice cream.
'She’s still just a kid.'
Though Celia, as a daughter of the Zerdinger family, was always conscious of others’ opinions, she showed a more carefree side around Leo.
By dinner time, they returned to their lodging.
"You’re here?"
"Uncle!"
Gis was waiting for them at the lodging.
"How did it go?"
Celia anxiously asked, and Gis ruffled her hair before approaching Leo.
"Leo, how have you been this past month?"
"Well, thank you."
"The family meeting has concluded."
After the entrance exam, Gis had proposed allowing Leo to learn [Phoenix Breath].
It was a highly sensitive matter since it was a secret technique reserved for recognized family members, and Leo was an outsider, despite his bloodline.
The meeting had lasted a month, and today the decision was finalized.
"You are permitted to inherit [Phoenix Breath]."
Celia beamed as she congratulated Leo.
"Congratulations, Leo!"
Having trained and taken the exam with him, Celia believed Leo was a good fit for the Zerdinger family.
Still, she was relieved, as the family elders could have thought otherwise.
"Though you left the family, you are still my sister’s son. And..."
Gis grinned.
"The elders valued the fact that you passed the Western Region exam."
The Western Region exam, with only 40 successful candidates, was infamous worldwide.
Gis handed Leo a red key.
It was a subspace key.
"Open it."
Leo inserted the key into the air, turned it, and a subspace opened, revealing a single book.
Opening it, he found the pages blank.
'It’s sealed.'
Leo quickly understood the structure of the seal.
"Drop your blood on it."
Leo bit his finger and let his blood drip onto the pages.
Words began to appear.
"From now on, only you can read this book."
"Understood."
"The entrance ceremony is the day after tomorrow, but... why not try learning it before then?"
"Is that allowed?"
"Of course. Awakening your Aura before enrollment would be ideal."
Gis smiled meaningfully.
"Though it won’t be easy."
***
Leo entered his room with [Phoenix Breath] in hand.
"Why are you here?"
"You’re going to train your Aura now, right? I’ll help if you get stuck."
"Willingly?"
"Of course, you’ll have to say, 'Please help me, my lady,' first."
"Coming from someone who lost and called me 'Young Master' before."
"Hey!"
Celia threw a cushion at her cousin, who mentioned her dark past.
Of course, Leo dodged it smugly.
As Leo sat on the bed and opened the book, Celia looked annoyed.
"Ugh! I won’t help until you ask properly!"
Ignoring her, Leo smirked and began reading the book’s contents.
'Impressive.'
The Zerdinger family’s Aura technique lived up to its reputation.
It was incredibly complex and powerful.
As Leo focused on the mana operation methods of [Phoenix Breath], Celia scoffed.
'No way he’ll get it quickly.'
Given Leo’s current skill level, he could probably learn most Aura techniques with ease.
'Aunt said Leo has already reached the mana resonance stage.'
Knowing mana resonance, which was the hardest part of any Aura technique, meant he had already mastered half the process.
But [Phoenix Breath] was different.
It required not only mana resonance but also advanced mana control to create ‘flames.’
Creating flames marked the first milestone of the technique.
Even Celia, a so-called genius, had taken a week to create flames.
He’d soon hit a wall trying to grasp mana control and get stuck.
Celia grinned mischievously.
'I’ll get him back for bossing me around. I’ll make him call me "my lady" for two days.'
Just as she was thinking of revenge—
Fwoosh—
Flames engulfed Leo’s body and soon surrounded him entirely.
The flames formed wings on his back before scattering.
"Not bad, but not quite there yet."
To start [Phoenix Breath], one had to use Aura to create wings of flame.
It had taken Celia two weeks to reach this stage.
'But this guy... this guy...'
"Hey, my lady. Do you have any tips for this tricky part?"
Pointing to a passage in the book, Leo casually asked in an unrefined tone.
And Celia—
"You crazy idiot! Have some limits! Who glances at it once and pulls off something this insane?!"
—couldn’t help but shout.
End Of Chapter
