Chapter 13
Lumeria City.
This great city in the center of the continent is called the center of the world, not just for its geography, but for its symbolic significance as well.
One of the warp gates in Lumeria City lit up.
—Dear guests, you have arrived in Lumeria City. Please check your belongings and exit the gate.
With the announcement, Leo stepped out of the gate.
The warp gate was located on the outskirts of Lumeria City, on high ground.
The moment he exited the gate, the panoramic view of Lumeria City spread out before his eyes.
Whoooosh—!
Leo’s white hair fluttered in the wind.
A vast, developed metropolis stretched before him.
And in the distance, a massive lake that could be mistaken for the sea was visible.
Normally, the lake would be covered with a heavy mist, but today it was perfectly clear.
Thanks to that, he could faintly make out the massive castle at the far end of the lake—Lumene Academy.
‘In two days, I’ll be heading there.’
A month had already passed since the entrance exam.
As always, the entrance exam had sparked many stories.
The most talked-about was, by far, the western region exam that Leo had taken.
With only forty people passing, it was the subject of much commotion for a while.
‘Not that it matters to me.’
Leo had been busy preparing for admission.
And today, after a month of preparation, he had arrived in Lumeria.
No one from the Plov family had come with him.
No outsiders were allowed at the Lumene entrance ceremony.
‘Go and learn much, my son.’
‘You’re not upset that I’m not coming, are you?’
Leo smiled as he remembered Deid and Reina, who had seen him off.
Though his parents were nobles, they weren’t the type to indulge in luxury.
‘They’re the kind who would rather spend the money for the warp gate on the welfare of the territory than waste it for no reason.’
Leo agreed with his parents’ thinking.
Leaving the warp gate, Leo entered Kuraju Street, the bustling area of Lumeria.
‘They said they’d wait for me here, right?’
“Leo! Over here, over here!”
Celia, her long black hair tied in a ponytail and wearing elegant but practical clothes, waved as she approached.
She drew the eyes of everyone around her as she came up to Leo and smiled brightly.
“How have you been?”
“I’ve been fine. Anyway, congratulations on being top of the class.”
“I’m not thrilled about sharing it with that butter, but being top is still top.”
She said that, then elegantly brushed her hair aside.
“Now, try to look at me with a little more respect.”
“Can’t really respect someone after seeing them almost throw up, can I?”
“Hey!”
Celia shouted, her face bright red.
“Ugh! Seriously! You never lose an argument!”
Glaring at Leo, Celia let out a deep sigh.
“Where’s Uncle Gis?”
“He said he’ll come in the evening. Until then, I thought I’d shop on Kuraju Street.”
Kuraju Street sells everything needed for Lumene.
From uniforms and textbooks to each department’s special materials—gear, staffs, summoning catalysts, and more.
“You haven’t bought your uniform and textbooks yet, have you?”
“Nope.”
“Then today’s the day. Come on, I’ll show you around, just this once.”
* * *
The first place Celia took Leo was a large clothing store on the main road.
In the glass display visible from outside, Lumene’s uniforms were showcased.
The label read [Blessriger].
“Looks expensive.”
“Of course! This shop has been making Lumene uniforms for a thousand years.”
There are three main types of clothing needed for Lumene.
Dress uniforms for ceremonies.
School uniforms for class.
And practice uniforms for practical training.
All of them have minimum required specs.
To meet those specs, the fabric needs to be infused with mana—a ‘mana cloth.’ Celia explained that the quality of the uniform depends on the mana cloth used.
“And Blessriger is a famous brand. I got mine here too.”
Finishing her explanation, Celia entered the store.
Ding-a-ling—
“Welcome to Blessriger.”
A staff member waiting at the door smiled kindly and held the door open.
Inside, a few customers could be seen.
Among them were some kids who looked like incoming Lumene students.
While browsing the displays, a middle-aged woman appeared.
“Hello, Lady Celia. We’re honored by your return visit.”
Greeting her gracefully, the woman spoke with care.
“But what brings you here today? Was there something wrong with your uniform?”
“No, I’m here to get a boy’s uniform fitted today.”
Celia smiled and pointed to Leo.
“He’s entering with me this year.”
“Oh, I see. I thought only Lady Celia was enrolling from House Zerdinger this year. So there’s another young master.”
The tailor, covering her mouth in surprise, politely greeted Leo.
“My name is Nera. I’m the tailor here at Blessriger.”
Leo could immediately tell she was a mage.
‘Makes sense, you’d have to be a mage to handle mana-infused fabric. Still, for a mage to work as a tailor… The world really has changed.’
“Young master, let me take your measurements.”
Nera took out a measuring tape and measured Leo.
“You’re enrolling in the Knight Studies department, correct?”
“Yes.”
“What is your Aura’s attribute, if I may ask?”
Aura is divided by attribute, depending on the type of Aura Technique used.
The blend of mana cloth changes based on the Aura’s attribute.
It can increase resistance against opposing attributes.
Or add strength to the same attribute.
Of course, you can’t expect dramatic effects from mana cloth, but even a small advantage helps in Lumene’s infinite competition.
“Please use non-attribute mana cloth.”
“Excuse me?”
Nera looked slightly puzzled, and Celia, who had been watching with a bright smile, furrowed her brow.
Leo smiled and repeated himself.
“Non-attribute, please.”
Non-attribute mana cloth.
As the name suggests, it’s plain fabric with no particular attribute.
Naturally, nobody usually asks for that.
“Understood.”
But if that’s what the customer wants, she has to do it.
After taking the measurements and details, Nera headed to the fitting room.
“Why non-attribute all of a sudden? You’re going to learn our family’s Aura, so wouldn’t it be better to make your uniform with flame-attribute mana cloth?”
“I just have my reasons.”
‘Non-attribute means it can become anything.’
Of course, he would learn the Zerdinger Aura Technique.
But he didn’t plan to rely solely on that.
“By the way, I don’t have any money.”
“You think I’d be petty and make you pay? After hearing about you, Father decided the Zerdinger family would cover all your school expenses.”
At that, Leo remembered Reina’s words.
‘It’s fine, it’s fine. My brother’s stingy, but he’s got plenty of money. And if he tries to act cheap, I won’t let it slide.’
It was what his mother said when Deid was worrying about the costs for Leo’s admission, uniform, and textbooks.
According to his mother, she left all her personal assets behind when she left the Zerdinger family.
Even after leaving, since the wealth she accumulated was separate from the family, she could still claim ownership.
‘Knowing my mother, she’d just storm into Zerdinger and flip everything upside down.’
The family head probably knew that well and so offered support.
A short while later—Nera, being a first-rate tailor, quickly returned with a custom-fitted uniform.
After trying it on, only a few minor adjustments were needed.
About an hour later, Nera returned with the perfectly finished uniform and bowed.
“I’ll have your uniform delivered to your dormitory.”
After paying with the staff’s help, they left Blessriger.
“Alright, shall we get textbooks next?”
Celia led Leo to a huge bookstore.
They needed to buy all the required textbooks for every student, as well as the ones for their major.
Leo swept up not only the Knight Studies textbooks, but also the ones for Magic Studies and Summoning Studies.
“Are you preparing for duels already? You’re so thorough.”
Celia nodded in admiration, going “Hoo—hoo—.”
‘I’m planning to learn them.’
Of course, he didn’t say that out loud.
If he did, she’d just look at him like he was crazy.
He bought every textbook he needed.
Afterward, they explored Lumeria.
Lumeria was a big city, with lots to see.
Sightseeing was fun, and grabbing street food along the way was enjoyable too.
Leo smiled as he watched Celia’s happy expression while eating ice cream.
‘She’s still just a kid sometimes.’
Though Celia, as a Zerdinger daughter, was always conscious of others’ eyes, spending time with Leo—someone her own age—brought out her more youthful side.
It was evening by the time Leo and Celia returned to the dormitory.
“You’re back?”
“Uncle!”
Gis was waiting for them.
“How did it go?”
He ruffled Celia’s hair and approached Leo.
“Leo, how have you been this past month?”
“Well.”
“The family meeting reached a decision.”
After the entrance exam, Gis had proposed that Leo be allowed to learn [Phoenix Breath].
Even though he was blood-related, it was a sensitive topic, since only recognized family members could inherit the secret technique, and Leo was technically an outsider.
The family meeting dragged on for a month, and today the decision had finally come.
“You’re permitted to inherit [Phoenix Breath].”
At that, Celia beamed and congratulated Leo.
“Congratulations, Leo!”
Celia, who had trained and taken the exam with Leo, thought he was a good fit for Zerdinger.
But the family elders might have felt differently.
She had been nervous—but at last, permission was granted.
“Even though you left the family, you’re still my sister’s son, and…”
Gis grinned.
“The elders highly valued the fact that you passed the western exam.”
The western exam’s reputation for difficulty was world-famous, with only forty passing.
Gis handed Leo a red key.
It was a spatial storage key.
“Go on, open it.”
Leo inserted the key into the air and turned it, opening the storage and retrieving a book.
He opened the book, but nothing was written inside.
‘It’s sealed.’
He understood the structure of the seal easily enough.
“Drop your blood on it.”
Leo bit his finger and let a drop fall onto the page.
Then, words appeared.
“From now on, only you can read this book.”
“Yes.”
“Enrollment is the day after tomorrow… but how about you try learning it before then?”
“Is that alright?”
“Of course. If you can awaken Aura before admission, nothing could be better.”
Gis smiled meaningfully.
“Of course, it won’t be easy.”
* * *
Having received [Phoenix Breath], Leo went to his room.
“Why are you here?”
“You’re going to practice Aura, right? If you get stuck, I’ll help.”
“So cooperative?”
“Of course, but you’ll have to say, ‘Please help me, my lady.’”
“You’re the one who used to call me ‘young master, young master’ after losing to me.”
“Hey!”
Celia hurled a cushion at her cousin for bringing up her dark past.
Naturally, Leo dodged it with an annoying grin.
Celia scowled as she watched Leo sit on the bed and open the book.
“Hmph! I won’t help you until you ask nicely!”
As Celia turned away, Leo grinned and checked the book’s contents.
‘As expected.’
It was a fitting Aura Technique for a house of heroes.
It was extremely complex and powerful.
Celia watched Leo as he focused and read through the [Phoenix Breath] mana control method.
‘There’s no way it’ll be easy.’
With his current skills, Leo would probably master any normal Aura Technique without trouble.
‘Aunt said Leo had reached the Mana Resonance stage.’
If he could already do mana resonance, the hardest step of Aura training, he’d already mastered more than half.
But Phoenix Breath was different.
It required not just mana resonance, but also precise mana control.
Only by creating ‘flames’ through that control could you pass the first gate.
Even Celia, called a genius, took a week to spark her first flame.
Soon, Leo would hit a wall with the mana control method.
Celia smirked.
‘I’ll make him pay for making me act like a maid. He’ll have to call me “my lady” for a couple of days~’
Just as she was thinking of payback for last time—
Whoosh—
Flames rose from Leo’s body and soon engulfed him.
The flames took the shape of wings on his back, then quickly scattered.
“As expected, it’s not easy.”
Getting started with [Phoenix Breath] meant creating wings of flame with Aura.
It took Celia two weeks to reach that stage.
‘But this guy… this guy…’
“My lady. I’m stuck on this part—do you have any tips?”
Leo pointed to a passage in the book and asked, not politely at all.
Celia looked at him and—
“You crazy idiot! Seriously, there’s a limit! Who the hell just glances at something and pulls it off like some kind of monster?!”
…couldn’t help but shout.
