Kail being an Aura Master spread widely within the Academy, but the cadets couldn’t quite accept that fact right away.
That’s just how Masters were. Even if you searched the entire nation, they were extremely rare beings that you could count on both hands.
How could anyone believe that a current Academy cadet, not some prestigious alumnus, had achieved such a feat?
It was like hearing that a high school friend had suddenly won a Nobel Prize, or even more absurd than that.
“Kail, Kail-!”
“Yeah?”
“Is this true!?”
However, not everyone dismissed it as false. Humans were curious creatures. It didn’t cost money to ask, so naturally, there were plenty of cadets who wanted to confirm it for themselves.
Seeing the newspaper thrust at him by Mei, a fellow department cadet, Kail nodded. It was today’s paper with the headline about him becoming a Master.
“Well, can you show us your Aura Blade just once?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“It’s bothersome.”
Upon hearing Kail’s response, Mei began stomping her feet in disbelief. But Kail firmly refused her request.
Mei, who had been whining in front of him, cautiously returned to her seat when the professor entered the classroom.
The professor who entered glanced briefly at Kail’s face, then quietly turned to look at the other cadets before speaking.
“All personnel, prepare for morning training.”
“Morning training preparation!”
As the cadets changed into their training uniforms and gathered on the field, Arthur slowly sidled up to Kail and asked,
“Hey, Kail. Can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“Why did you refuse the others’ requests?”
“It’s my choice.”
“But wouldn’t it be quicker to just show them?”
Hearing Arthur’s words, Kail smirked, thinking this guy didn’t understand either. Seeing his smile, Arthur tilted his head, unsure why he was laughing.
Having finished changing and gathered on the field, Kail felt the gazes directed at him. These kids had eyes and ears too, so they must have heard the rumors of Kail becoming a Master.
But they probably couldn’t confirm whether it was true or not, hence their behavior.
‘Come to think of it, even I wouldn’t believe it.’
Becoming a Master in your teens? It was more realistic to believe someone became president in their teens. After all, presidents were elected every five years, whereas Masters might not appear for a hundred years.
Perhaps sensing the children’s attention focused on Kail, the instructor clapped loudly to gather everyone’s attention.
“Alright! Focus here. Let’s start by warming up. Spread out.”
Training began, and after simple stretches, running, and strength exercises, the cadets were given a short break.
In other words, it was time for the cadets to whisper amongst themselves.
Maybe thinking this was their only chance, one of the cadets chatting noisily approached Kail.
“Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“Is… Is that true?”
“What is?”
“The rumor about you becoming a Master…”
The kid chuckled awkwardly at his own question. Watching him chuckle, Kail casually replied,
“It’s true.”
“So… can you show me? Your Aura Blade?”
“No.”
“…Figures. Yeah, got it.”
The kid who gave a bland reaction quickly returned to his group. However, Kail overheard him muttering to his friends.
…So it really is a lie-
…What kind of Master is he. At best-
…I heard he’s friends with Prince Bellion, so maybe it’s fake news spread by the Imperial Palace-
“Hey.”
At Kail’s call, the kid who had returned to chat with his friends suddenly turned his head. Looking at Kail with a nonchalant expression as if nothing was wrong, Kail spoke.
“Do you really behave like that even in front of a Master?”
“…What are you talking about, all of a sudden?”
“There’s a Master in front of you. Is it appropriate to act so rudely?”
Hearing those words, the kid snickered and approached Kail. Getting right up close, he shrugged his shoulders as if to say ‘what now,’ facing Kail who was sitting on the ground.
“Well, if you can’t even show an Aura Blade, how can you pretend to be a Master?”
Watching the arrogant attitude of the kid, Kail turned to Arthur sitting next to him.
“Arthur, didn’t you ask me earlier why I was dragging this out when I could just show them and end it quickly?”
“Huh? Uh-huh.”
“Is that what a Master is? Some clown pulling out an Aura Blade every time these guys come around saying ‘Hi, let me show you!'”
“Haa- How long are you going to keep pretending to be a Master…!”
The cadet who kept pushing suddenly felt an unknown force pressing down on him and collapsed face-first onto the ground.
Kail lightly extended his hand and looked down at the cadet.
“A Master is not such a trivial existence.”
Kuuung-! The pressure grew stronger. The cadet felt his consciousness slipping away.
A terror of darkness enveloping everything overwhelmed him. He had fainted often enough, but never in this slow, death-approaching manner.
Feeling like his mind was about to shatter, the cadet’s brain finally shut down to protect itself.
Kyaak-! Seeing the cadet faint with his tongue sticking out, Kail finally retracted his aura.
Then, glaring at the other cadets who had been chatting idly with the unconscious one, he spoke.
“Take him away.”
“Uh, yes-!”
“I told you not to do that…!”
As the unconscious cadet was taken to the emergency room, Kail lightly observed the now silent other cadets.
“Hic-!”
Taking one cadet’s hiccups as a signal, the others began making faint noises too—swallowing saliva or trembling slightly.
Kail said nothing, but everyone present now knew.
Kail Meyer was indeed a Master.
And they were reminded that a Master was not someone to be taken lightly.
If anyone had gone up to a Master asking to see an Aura Blade or whined similarly, their necks would have been cut off for rudeness.
“Instructor.”
“Huh, uh-?”
“Let’s proceed with the lesson.”
“R-right. Ahem- Everyone, prepare for technique training!”
“Y-yes…!”
The cadets prepared for training following the instructor’s command, but throughout the session, they remained tense like frogs in front of a snake.
Seeing this, Kail sighed inwardly.
Not just for himself, but also for the other kids.
‘I can’t stay in the Academy anymore.’
***
The news of a mere Academy cadet reaching the level of Master truly rocked the entire continent.
Naturally, hidden organizations in the shadows stirred greatly as well.
“Kail Meyer… A first-year Academy student.”
The cult leader clicked his tongue while reading the newspaper and recalled the terrorist attack they had carried out on the Academy.
They thought it was a perfect plan to restrain the two Masters residing at the Academy, yet it failed for unknown reasons.
At the time, they couldn’t figure out why it failed, but now they understood.
‘He was probably already a Master back then, keeping that fact hidden…’
Sending forces capable of restraining two Masters against a group with three Masters naturally doomed the operation to failure.
Thinking thus, the cult leader closed the newspaper and headed to the pharmacy. Inside, the sect’s alchemists would be diligently creating ‘items.’
As he entered the pharmacy, a loud scream assaulted his ears.
─Kyaaaaa!
“Tch, noisy.”
Frowning, the cult leader went inside to where the alchemists were preparing medicine.
When he appeared, the head alchemist overseeing the others came forward.
“Oh, Master. You’ve arrived.”
“Jinyan Jing. Is the preparation going well?”
“Are you worried about it?”
Jinyan Jing, Al-Kamedi, smirked and guided the cult leader further inside. There lay the source of the continuing screams.
Dozens of test subjects, limbs bound and chests open, revealing their hearts. They neither lived nor died, watching helplessly as their hearts were extracted.
“Huuaaack, Haaaack-!”
“Loud.”
“They’re lively, aren’t they? Despite being so lively, it’s a shame they won’t live long.”
“That’s obvious. How can a human body contain a dragon’s heart? Of course…”
But the cult leader knew it wasn’t impossible. Wasn’t there such a being at the Academy?
“There are exceptions.”
“Even though they used heretical methods akin to magic, I’m curious about the principle behind their survival. If we understood it, our research could progress further…”
“Coincidentally, I found out why we failed last time. There’s another Master at the Academy.”
“…Three Masters? Or does the Empire have so many Masters to waste them like that?”
“No, not the existing Masters. A new Master.”
Al-Kamedi, surprised by the appearance of a new Master, took the newspaper handed by the cult leader and tilted his head.
Opening the newspaper, he read its contents and began smirking. It contained the story of Kail, who became a Master in his teens.
“Master. Having this person would be beneficial. Becoming a Master in his teens, imagine the potential…”
“We’ll try, but don’t get your hopes up. Capturing a Master alive is harder than killing one.”
“Yes, of course. If it doesn’t work, a corpse will suffice.”
Jinyan Jing said this and closed the newspaper. Then he instructed his disciple to bring the ‘elixir’ they had prepared so far.
Shortly after, his disciple returned with a glass bottle filled with red berries.
The cult leader’s eyes sparkled seeing the radiant color.
“Here’s what you requested. We made as much as possible. With this amount…”
“Yes, this should do.”
Looking at the mountain of berries, the cult leader smirked.
“This should be enough to take down ten Masters.”
With this, overthrowing the Academy seemed possible.
