Zane and Vale ran as fast as they could, heading to their classrooms. They simply didn't want to be late because their new professor was Shadow Blade himself.
It's not that they are excited to receive his lessons, but because they are scared of him. I mean, who would want to anger Shadow Blade? His aura itself speaks of dominance.
Sooner after, Zane and Vale arrived at their classrooms. They stood before it for a while, breathing heavily, with sweat dripping on their forehead.
They both glanced at each other, although they didn't say anything. One could tell what the other was thinking.
'Hopefully, Professor Ferlin isn't here yet.'
Looking away from each other, Zane hinted at Vale to go in first. Although Vale looked like he was about to retaliate, for some reason he just went along with it.
Looking at Zane with a blank face, he opened the door and went in first. Zane then followed; their appearance caught the attention of many students.
Well, more like Zane's appearance caught the attention of many students; after all, a person passing out after attempting to cast their own family's magic spell really just sounds pathetic even for Zane.
Zane could feel the gazes upon him; however, his expression remained unchanged. Instead of scanning his surroundings, he looked in the front. Vale did as well.
Suddenly, a grin appeared on Vale's face while looking towards Zane. He then said.
"Well, aren't we lucky, Zane? The professor is late as well!"
Zane smiled; he then said in a casual tone.
"Yeah."
Vale then headed towards where they sat last time. Zane stood motionlessly for a bit; although it may not look like it, he was a bit puzzled this time by the way people gazed at him.
He really felt pathetic. However, this time things were destined to change. He was now released from the curse that held him back his entire life.
Zane shook his head; he then followed Vale, heading towards their seats. He then sat down next to Vale.
Right after sitting down, Zane felt as if... Something, or someone, was missing.
'Wait, hold on. Where is Velrath?'
Zane looked from left to right, scanning his surroundings. However, he couldn't see Velrath anywhere.
'Where the hell is that guy? I'm just hoping he doesn't do anything devious.'
Zane thought that he was just strolling around, especially since he was just unsealed recently. Perhaps he wanted to look around the outside world for a bit.
Zane sighed, putting the thought away for a while.
Vale looked towards Zane, confused about his unusual behavior. He then said in a playful tone.
"How unusual of you, Zane... looking around like that... Ah, I get it! I see, I see. You really have grown, Zane!"
Zane looked towards Vale; his expression was blank as he paused for a bit. He then said.
"Really, Vale? Can you stop being like this?"
Vale grinned; he then said.
"What? It's not like it's a big deal! Liking someone is normal, man."
Zane sighed once again; this time, he simply focused in front of him, waiting patiently for the professor.
Zane didn't really get enough sleep last night because of all the unusual events that happened. So he took this opportunity to take a nap. Feeling really tired, he allowed his body to relax.
However, right after he did. The professor arrived.
'Ah, what bad timing.'
Zane raised his head, looking at Professor Ferlin. Ferlin was walking towards the center, where a wooden table could be seen.
As soon as everyone noticed Shadow Blade's appearance. Everyone remained quiet as if it were a life-and-death situation.
"Alright, everyone. Please proceed to the training hall."
Everyone paused for a while after hearing the professor speak. Suddenly, everyone could be heard mumbling about something.
"Huh? Are we not going to receive lessons this time?"
"Is... Professor Ferlin uninterested in teaching us?"
Ferlin paused for a bit, hearing the students not agreeing with his decision. He then said it in a reassuring tone.
"Everyone, please be quiet. Of course everyone will receive a lesson. We will just do it at the training hall."
As everyone heard Professor Ferlin's voice. A sign of relief could be seen on everyone's face.
"No way. This isn't a dream, right...? We are really getting trained by a 6-tier mage! And it's Shadow Blade himself!"
Everyone exclaimed in excitement.
Without wasting even a single second, everyone immediately headed out of the academy, heading towards their training hall.
Well, except for Zane. Zane was the last person who came out of the classroom. Even Vale couldn't hold himself and immediately left the classroom, heading towards their training hall.
It's not that Zane wasn't excited to receive Shadow Blade's lesson. This was simply a natural feeling—a feeling he had grown accustomed to. For some reason he could never feel excited about anything related to the academy.
Even though his mana core had already gone back to its normal state.
Zane could even feel an immense amount of mana inside of him, to the point that Zane doubted if it was even real.
It took him a lot longer to accept the fact that he really did possess more mana than his grandfather. Thinking about it, he couldn't help but feel amazed at himself.
It was kind of unusual for him to think of himself this way, especially because his entire life. He had thought of himself as someone pathetic.
It made him even more eager to become stronger. Thinking about all the time he had wasted if he had possessed this same amount of mana as a child.
He couldn't imagine the amount of power he would hold.
It made him greedy for power. Although he knew that greediness wasn't a good feeling, he still couldn't help it. But still, he knew how to control himself, at least.
Sighing once again, he started moving, heading outside the classroom.
"Zane, are you alright? Your mana was quite drained yesterday. I didn't expect you to be back already."
However, right before he could, a familiar voice could be heard. It was... Shadow Blade. Surprised by the sudden question, Zane answered, stuttering.
"Ah, yes, I'm alright. Thank you for asking, Professor Ferlin."
Ferlin paused for a bit before saying something. For some reason, Zane felt like Ferlin was observing him.
After Professor Ferlin paused for a bit, looking staring at Zane. He finally said something.
"That's good."
Ferlin said he then left afterwards.
Zane watched as Ferlin disappeared in the distance.
'Professor Ferlin... I felt like he could tell that something changed in me. As expected of Shadow Blade, although I don't really plan on revealing my transformation yet. Well, at least not for now.'
Right after Ferlin left, Zane followed him as well, heading to the training hall.
...
The training hall was outside the academy. Zane felt the bright sun torturing his skin. Zane wasn't really that physically active, which was also one of his flaws.
Zane looked at the training hall. It had a really large space, and everyone was waiting for Professor Ferlin.
Zane looked around at the training hall for a while before lining up with the others. He was looking to see if Velrath was somewhere here.
However, as he was looking for Velrath, he could see Vale waving towards him.
Noticing Vale, Zane headed to where Vale was standing.
"Zane, you sure took your time getting here. Did what happened yesterday traumatize you or something?"
Zane paused for a bit before responding; he then said in a casual tone.
"No, of course not. It's just that whether I'm excited or not, nothing will really change for me."
Vale stared at him blankly for a while; he then said.
"Seriously, dude? Such negative thinking. I never thought you would ever say such a thing ever, Zane!"
Zane smiled; he then said.
"It's not being negative. It's simply being realistic and accepting reality."
Vale sighed; he was about to speak when suddenly. Shadow Blade spoke first.
"Alright, everyone. Please listen. I will only demonstrate this twice, so please watch carefully."
Suddenly, everyone's focus shifted to Shadow Blade. The training hall that was filled with loud noises was now so quiet that you could even hear the wind whispering through your ears.