After the testing period ended, all the students returned from their missions. Some were happy with what they had achieved, others were sad and frustrated, and some argued with their teammates, blaming them. There were also those who would jokingly hit each other on the shoulder and look forward to seeing one another again. This mix of emotions was what gave the academy its lively atmosphere.
Finally, Kin Light arrived with Baro Ferrer, having completed their mission together as a team. Kin said, "Great job, Baro. I didn't expect you to have such strong skills in your first year."
Baro replied, "Well, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to show my skills under such pressure. So the credit goes to you."
They continued praising each other until Fiore Tai interrupted their conversation, saying, "Hey everyone!"
Baro greeted him back and asked, "How was your test?"
Fiore clenched his teeth and said angrily, "If it weren't for the master, we would've failed the mission. The second- and third-year students were useless trash!"
Then, as if remembering something, he asked, "By the way, where is the master?"
Kin replied, "Do you mean Shion Lan?"
Fiore nodded, and Kin thought, 'We heard about his test results… which were nothing short of a literal disaster. Because of him, the exam content was re-evaluated and its difficulty reduced for everyone.'
Then Ken said, "I think Shion should be resting at the mansion after that mission."
Baro said, "Alright then, let's go visit him."
After saying goodbye to Kin, Baro and Fiore left. Kin stayed where he was as the announcer spoke: "The test results will be displayed shortly, so everyone please wait!"
Then Glass Sano arrived and asked, "How was your test?"
"Fine. I collected some items from dangerous areas, but it went well," Kin replied.
Glass sighed, "As for me, I was assigned to protect a trade caravan. It was a bit boring."
He sighed in frustration and added, "Shion got all the fun again!"
Kin replied, "His life was on the line there, you know."
Glass said, "It's not that I'm brave or anything, but I just don't feel any excitement in what I do. The few times I did feel excitement were when I fought you last year, when I met Shion, and that time we faced Shiu Won Lan."
Ken said, "You're just lacking passion, nothing more. Shion, on the other hand, was risking his life when he seriously investigated that case, so of course he felt danger."
Glass replied, "Danger, lack of passion—call it whatever you want. I just want some excitement in my life, and that will come at the end of the academic year."
Kin, realizing it, said, "You mean the academy tournament?"
Glass nodded. "There are a lot of interesting people this year. There are many fourth-level students I want to face, and there's Sol Hart, who has become a four-circle spirit mage, and Shion, who has grown strong with only two stars. Things will be very exciting."
The announcer interrupted everyone: "The team with the highest score is Violet Night Team! And the most influential individual is student Shion Lan! The rest of the rankings will be posted shortly, so please proceed to the arena."
Glass said, "He got all the lights again."
Kin smiled. "It seems things will indeed be interesting!"
…
At that time, Shion was in the mansion, training hard to reach the fourth level. After finishing his usual training, he sat on the ground and thought for a moment,
'Contradiction and coexistence are the foundation of my technique. I managed to manifest the image of the technique by placing a hand of fire and a hand of water on the sword hilt, but I still can't achieve this harmony within myself. Still, I have an experiment to try.'
He closed his eyes, and his star spirit energy blossomed, carrying the elements of water and fire. He manifested his astral body, half glowing with intense heat and the other half calm and cold.
Shion thought, 'I studied spirits in the Neumann family palace for a long time. One of the most important elemental spirit trainings is to place them in environments opposite to their nature. So we will place the fire spirit in the cold half and the water spirit in the hot half…!'
The moment he did this, he felt intense pain, as if his mind was about to scream. But he gritted his teeth and said, "It seems harmony is harder than I thought… but...let's continue!"
He surrounded himself with aura, used magical power, and activated the technique (Path of Stellar River). The aura reacted violently with the technique—his joints trembled, muscles tore, skin cracked, and a line of blood ran from the corner of his mouth. His eyes turned red.
He remained like that for ten minutes until his spirits began adapting to the different bodies. He no longer felt pain, though he wasn't sure if it was because he succeeded or because his body had gone numb from the intensity. However, he was certain he could no longer move.
He collapsed on the ground after returning his spirits to their original form and breathed heavily.
Then Marie entered. She didn't seem surprised.
"Would you like me to prepare a bath, my lord?" she asked.
"Yes… By the way, how are things now?"
"It has been two weeks since you arrived, my lord. The tests ended today because of your exam—since the examiners reduced the difficulty, everyone finished quickly. Your team ranked first, and you were the most influential individual."
Shion nodded. "That's good for the academy. What about the Night family?"
Marie shook her head. "It seems no one is interested in a message from a third-tier noble family, so we received no reply. Neither the king nor the head of the Night family seem to have seen it."
"And Violet Night?"
"I don't think she saw it either. Otherwise, she would have tried to contact us."
Though she said this, she remembered the words of King Jord Joul and Lord Halm Night:
"Handle Shion as if we never received those messages. Let him contact Jina instead."
Marie thought while preparing the bath, 'It seems the king has already decided that Princess Jina will be the next heir. But what about Prince Jayden?'
After finishing, she left.
Shion then asked, "By the way, have there been any updates on the Ranus family?"
Marie looked surprised. "I'm sorry, my lord, but I don't think you ordered me to investigate them."
"No, I mean what Shun Ranus said that day… that he wanted to eliminate me. Isn't anyone holding him and his family accountable?"
Mary shook her head. "When you were unconscious, the first prince acted quickly, left his exam, and declared that Solan Neumann loved you and hated Shun, forcing him to say those words. Without a reliable spirit mage, no one can confirm or deny it. The Neumann family is in ruins, Solan loves you, and Sol is known as your neighbor and friend, so there is no one to ensure punishment for Shun."
Shion said angrily, "So the Ranus family got away with it by claiming Solan is lying?!"
Marie thought, 'As for lying… she did fake her death to the entire kingdom.'
After calming down, Shion said, "Can you arrange a meeting with Her Highness, Princess Jina Joul?"
Marie nodded. "Of course, my lord."
Shion went to the bath, thinking, 'I never considered the Ranos family before, especially after they tried to poison me. I don't even know who did it, but I ignored it as the price of leaving that family behind. But now… I won't let it go so easily.'
He immersed himself in the bath, lost in thought.
...
That night, Princess Jina was carefully preparing her appearance and clothing. She looked so beautiful that anyone would think she was a being from another world.
The maids began whispering again.
"Is that white-haired boy coming again?"
"Don't you know? He's the head of the newly established Lan family!"
"What?! A family head at his age?"
"Yes, and he's handsome and strong."
"He also has knowledge of etiquette, arts, and noble presence."
"When did you see all that?!"
"At the kingdom's annual celebration. He received medals from the king and obtained the Cursed Sword…"
The conversation about Shion grew louder, while Jina could only feel happy at the thought of meeting him.
When a maid informed her of Shion's arrival, she immediately adjusted her appearance and went to meet him.
As usual, he looked calm and striking—white hair, beautiful silver eyes, and elegant clothing. The atmosphere around him was quiet.
"Hello, Lord Lan," she greeted.
"Your Highness," Shion replied, bowing.
They sat and talked.
During the conversation, Shion said, "How has Violet been recently? I heard the Night family is going through a difficult time."
Jina nodded sadly. "Yes. My father hasn't acted quickly this time, which is fortunate, but he is pressuring the Night family heavily, not allowing them to defend themselves and trying to uncover everything."
"I suppose that's the natural course of action," Shion said.
"Yes, but it's affecting the Night family greatly—and me as well, since they are my supporters."
"If the Night family gets out of this trouble, you'll be safe too, right?"
"Yes, but how?"
Shion took out some papers. "I saw Roto Night before his soul disappeared. He had regained his consciousness at the last moment and asked me to reveal the forbidden spell that controlled him and deliver it to King Jord so he wouldn't be harsh on the Night family."
Jina looked at the papers in disbelief.
"Shion… thank you! You've saved me again!"
Emotionally, she asked, "Tell me, how can I repay you?"
Shion felt a sharp pain in his chest.
'No, no, no! I have Solan—I must not think about anyone else!'
He said with a straight face, "I want help with revenge!"
The warmth disappeared from Jina's face, replaced by cold intensity.
"Revenge? Against whom?!"
Shion's eyes lost their star-like glow and turned sharp.
"The Ranus family!"