Ion and Alice went to one of the cafés they used to prefer.
A calm atmosphere, with some murmurs here and there, and a hint of mint in the air.
Alice and Ion spent some time talking to each other.
Most of it was Alice's curiosity about the match. She was greatly surprised when she learned that his opponent was Cyril Valerian.
This person was very مشهور among the academy students, even though he was not from the S class, his strength could not be denied, especially since she had heard that Cyril had awakened a Heaven and Earth Rune at the fifth level.
She heard that there was only one person in the third year of class S who had awakened the fifth level, while the others, except for a few not exceeding ten, had awakened the fourth level, and the rest ranged between the first and third levels.
In the second year alone, Cyril Valerian had awakened the fifth level of the Heaven and Earth Rune,
while Rin Evelyn was at the sixth level. In the second year, there was only one monster who had awakened the seventh level, something that had not happened for ten thousand years, while the rest of the class were all at the sixth rank, which was as rare as dragon scales and phoenix feathers. The Astra Empire had never seen a generation with such power before, even the academy, which does not show any stance toward student talents, could not help but be affected this year and the previous one, because this matter is very important to the higher authorities that oversee the academy and support it with resources to nurture their talents.
This year, the talents are far more promising than last year. It is said that Princess Eliana Valerian has the greatest chance of awakening a seventh-level rune or higher, and not only her, but also some princes and princesses of other ruling families of Astra have talents that almost guarantee they will awaken at least the fifth and sixth levels.
This only shows the rarity of the person called Cyril Valerian, and it seems that her older brother had fought him.
Her eyes shone with excitement as she stood up from her chair and said with burning curiosity:
"Big brother, who won? I'm sure it was—"
A gentle voice interrupted, calling Alice:
"Alice... I'm here, I've arrived, sorry for being late."
They turned toward the voice, and Alice seemed to recognize her friend.
The most striking thing about her was her pink eyes and her thick black hair flowing down her back, black like the night itself.
"Janet, why are you so late? It's already been an hour,"
Alice said with a slight pout... it seemed they were close, this is what Ion thought as he watched them talk.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Janet with a somewhat focused gaze... this is strange, how can a human like this exist? Isn't this ability exclusive to elves?
Alice suddenly noticed Ion's gaze toward Janet.
She smiled slyly and said:
"What is it, big brother? Did you fall for my close friend's beauty?... Let me warn you, even though she's a commoner, she already has several suitors enough to fill a line all the way to the last gate of Astra."
Janet blushed slightly when she heard her friend say that.
Ion ignored the comment of this annoying little sister, then looked at Janet and said with curiosity:
"You have an abnormal affinity for mana, as if mana loves you and wants you to use it, but you are human and not even half-elf. How can this be possible?"
Janet's eyes widened in shock when she heard Ion's comment. She hadn't told anyone about this except her close friend Alice, because she trusted her deeply. She could only turn her gaze to Alice, who noticed it.
Alice quickly said:
"Hey, don't look at me like that, I didn't tell anyone, not even my big brother. It's just that my big brother has a sense like a dog's sense of smell, he can notice things that are hard for humans to notice."
Ion frowned at Alice's comment. It wasn't that he deliberately examined Janet, but rather his spiritual power had noticed this strange anomaly.
Ion's power is focused in the form of a complete spherical field of about five meters at all times. He does this as a kind of mental training to control his spiritual power and also as a form of protection against surprise attacks. This field is like Ion's eyes and ears; nothing escapes his hearing or sight, not even an ant or the sound of its crawling, even mana cannot escape his perception of his surroundings.
Ion saw Janet's hesitation in answering his question, so he quickly waved his hand dismissively:
"No need to trouble yourself, no need to answer my question, it was just curiosity, and everyone has their own secrets."
Janet's expression immediately relaxed when she heard him.
Ion asked her again:
"Have we met before? You seem strangely familiar."
Janet answered in a slightly strange tone:
"Yes, we met before during the entrance exam in the tower on the fourth floor... you destroyed my team and stole our zone, I barely escaped back then... you were like a rabid man at that time... and also, I sit next to you in class."
Alice couldn't hold back her laughter when she heard the part about Ion being like a rabid person chasing points...
"Hahaha, you don't know him, Janet, this big brother is addicted to fighting and bullying nobles in particular. During the exam, he even chased me to steal my points, even though I'm his cute little sister!! I only escaped because he ran into Arthur and the Princess of Rofilion."
She could only grit her teeth in anger toward Ion as she remembered her pitiful state running with tears in her eyes while he chased her with that evil laugh. She had nightmares this month remembering his face.
Ion felt a bit embarrassed as he remembered how he chased her like crazy across the entire fifth floor.
"Ahem... you can't blame me, little sister, I wanted to test how much your strength had progressed, and I must admit, you impressed me... and also, I wasn't planning to steal your points, I was just pushing you to your limits to explore your full potential... yes, potential..."
Then he turned to Janet, trying to escape Alice's gaze that threatened to devour him:
"You said you are in my class, are you from class S and sit next to me? How did I not notice you before?"
Alice didn't believe a single word Ion said, well... partially at least.
Janet replied with a slight frown in her pink eyes:
"That's because you sleep in all classes except combat classes..."
Suddenly, Janet saw her friend Alice looking at Ion with eyes full of grievance and injustice, with a tear threatening to fall.
Janet quickly connected Alice's current state with Ion's past bullying during the exam.
She suddenly held her by the shoulders with both hands and pulled her slightly to her side as if protecting her from a monster in front of them.
She bared her teeth angrily and growled at Ion, who looked confused:
"Ion Drakis, I thought you were a noble man... but how the hell do you bully your little sister like that in the exam?... Alice is a gentle and kind princess, how the hell does she have an older brother like you?"
Her shout attracted some attention from other tables when they heard Janet speaking to Ion.
Ion bullying his little sister? What a monster!!
Some girls looked at him with disgust.
Ion didn't know how to respond to Janet's accusation. She wasn't entirely wrong; he did chase his little sister across the entire area, even if it was to test her, it was somewhat excessive...
He sighed slowly:
"I'm sorry, Alice, I overdid it a bit during the exam... ask for anything and I'll grant it once... alright?"
When Alice heard that, her sadness and grievance vanished like a strand of smoke in the wind, then she smiled innocently and mischievously at the same time:
"Alright big brother, I already have a request in mind... I want you to train Janet."
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
Both Janet and Ion were surprised at the same time and looked at Alice, searching for an explanation for her strange request.
Alice shifted slightly under their gazes, then said calmly:
"Janet is facing an obstacle. Even though she has a very special talent, she doesn't have a way to use it effectively except a little. If you train her, big brother, I'm sure you'll find a way to help her just like you did with me."
Ion said after a moment of hesitation, he couldn't break his promise to Alice even if he disliked it a little:
"Alright, we'll meet after two days at training ground number 5. Remember to reserve it, Alice. We'll train two hours after noon... alright Janet, you're under my care now, I'll make sure your sleep at night becomes very comfortable."
A bad premonition arose in Janet's heart when she saw a sinister glint in Ion's eyes...
After half an hour, the three left the café.
Ion stretched slightly and said:
"Alright Alice, you can rest from training today, I need some rest after my fight with Cyril."
Joy appeared clearly on Alice's face as if she had been freed from slavery.
Janet frowned slightly seeing how happy Alice was just to rest for one day, and a chill ran down her spine.
Then she was surprised by the name Cyril that Ion mentioned, and said in shock:
"Cyril Valerian? Did you fight Cyril Valerian, the senior from second year class B?"
Alice answered proudly:
"Yes, that Cyril, and he fought using mana against my big brother."
Janet turned to Ion and asked curiously:
"So how did the match go... did you win? Haha just kidding, of course that's impossible against someone like Cyril, but it's impressive that you forced him to use mana against an aura user."
Alice frowned:
"It's impossible for my big brother to lose to someone of the white rank."
Janet widened her eyes in surprise:
"Alice, I know your brother is ridiculously strong for just an aura user, but we are talking about Cyril Valerian here."
Before Alice could respond, Ion spoke calmly:
"Yes, I lost, and he only used about 50% of his strength at most without activating Heaven and Earth Blessing or his lineage."
Janet was shocked.
Alice suddenly screamed in horror and examined Ion's face and body carefully:
"This is impossible big brother, losing to a mere white rank who only used half his power? Is this some exaggerated joke?"
Ion frowned slightly and pushed her away:
"What do you think I am, you fool? I'm not all-powerful to defeat anyone, and I did fight with my full strength."
Then he added:
"Also, my fight with Cyril was just a fight, not a life-or-death battle. If it were life or death... he wouldn't last more than 10 moves before I cut off his head... so stop looking at me like I'm paralyzed... fighting and killing are different, Alice."
Janet... couldn't speak.
Finally, Ion sighed lightly while playing with Alice's hair:
"Alright, stop pouting, you foolish sister... I'll leave before you, I need to rest."
After a short exchange, Ion walked away, his figure disappearing from Janet and Alice's sight.