Shion Lan realized that he had been absent from the academy for an entire month and that he needed to make up for this period as quickly as possible. He had also missed the monthly student evaluation, but the director would allow him to take it later since he had been ordered to remain with the army.
Shion moved toward his classroom.
'I am no longer a commoner. Now I am a noble, both inside the academy and outside it.'
He entered the classroom and found students from the noble class inside. Two figures immediately came into his line of sight—Nell Stroman and Kin Light—sitting beside one another. Like everyone else, they turned to look at him the moment he entered. Shion ignored their gazes and took a seat, waiting for the lesson to begin.
A student approached him.
"This is my seat!"
The young man spoke arrogantly, then continued,
"It's fine, you're still new to the world of nobles. I'll teach you about our culture, including—"
"Is this seat yours?"
Shion spoke with boredom.
"Yes, it's my seat!"
"And what proof do you have?"
"I've been sitting here for about a month."
"Did you purchase it? Or did the academy issue a rule stating that anyone who sits in the same place for a month becomes its owner?"
Before the boy could respond, Kin Light intervened.
"That's enough!"
He walked toward the student.
"There's something you don't understand about Shion's status, is there?"
"What?!"
No one had expected such words from him, but he continued,
"From the academy's perspective, we are all students at the same level, and the division into squads exists only to prevent our ideas from interfering with one another. However, if we speak of social standing, he is higher than you."
"What are you talking about?!"
"You are merely the son of a second-rank family, while he is the head of a third-rank family. That means he ranks above you and below your father in the hierarchy. Do you understand?"
No one understood why Ken Light was defending Shion in this manner. The student retreated, and so did Kin. At that moment, Nell bombarded Kin with questions.
"Why did you help that bastard?!"
Before he could answer, a teacher entered the classroom, and the lessons began…
After class, Shion Lan left and went to the special division to meet the girl, Pearl Jowel.
"I want you to prepare some elixirs and potions that help increase aura and stabilize the stars."
"Won't that cost you a great deal, Head of House Lan?"
Pearl spoke with her usual charm, but Shion was unaffected.
"You forgot to pay me my due. So instead of money, I want the potions and elixirs."
Her face stiffened as she remembered this. Shion continued,
"I want them by this evening."
He left without another word.
He then went to the library. After taking a seat, he began studying what he had missed.
'A month has passed, and I still have another month on the Sol's mission. I need to finish everything quickly.'
Time passed as he studied, but his progress was slow because he was not using aura or magic to learn. Still, he persisted.
At night, as he was leaving the library, he encountered a commoner student holding a bag containing what Shion wanted.
"Lord Lan!"
The student bowed to him as a noble, but Shion told him to stand.
"Is this from Lady Jowel?"
"Yes!"
Shion took it and left.
In the room, Baro Ferrer and Fiore Tai were studying their lessons. Shion opened the bag, consumed several bottles, and smiled.
"With this, I'll be able to return in three days instead of two weeks."
Shion's stellar body shone as it absorbed the effects of the potions and elixirs. Everything submitted to him, and after full assimilation, their maximum effects manifested. A sparkle of stars appeared in Shion's eyes.
'That bastard Shi Yun Lan—despite being extremely rude—is the most reliable in this world. I never imagined my body would have such a tremendous effect. As a reward, I'll teach him a lesson next time! Ah, right… after merging with him, the veins were slightly damaged, so I'll wait before entering the second vein again. Damn it!'
And then he left this room because of being a noble so he got a suite
…
Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye. Shion did not display his skills so as not to arouse suspicion from the attending physician, but he was able to use his abilities to quickly catch up on what he had missed. After two weeks of hard work, he finally caught up.
At last, he moved to the training grounds.
This place was reserved exclusively for nobles—or more precisely, for the noble squad from all grades. Some were sitting in meditation over their magic, others training their bodies, others challenging one another, and some doing nothing at all.
Shion ignored everything around him, drew his sword, and everyone began to notice him. They wanted to see the skills of the man who had made the difference in the Battle of the Dark Crows.
Shion thought to himself,
'Although I haven't held a sword, every night over the past two weeks I've been fighting Shi Yun Lan so I wouldn't lose my senses. Now, I'll gradually restore my skills.'
He began swinging his sword left and right. Despite the mental training and battles against Shi Yun Lan, he had not moved his body in reality, as he had many lessons to review. However, thanks to the stellar aura, his body began adapting to the movements.
He decided to release his techniques and gradually increase his power.
"(Raindrops) (Water Bomb)."
He cast his techniques while suppressing their power to slowly regain his skills. No one paid him any attention anymore and returned to what they were doing.
Yet an unseen presence continued to observe him…
"One hundred ninety-eight… one hundred ninety-nine… two hundred."
Shion performed his first-level techniques two hundred times until they became well refined. He then sat down to rest briefly.
After that, he adjusted his body and decided to use the Fire Star. After a short while, he stood up and swung his sword with other techniques.
"(Cutting Flames) (Paths of Fire)."
Violent fire attacks erupted from Shion. Since the Fire Star was not like water, he decided to repeat the process one hundred times and began training in earnest…
Shion Lan finally approached the end of the month, training with intensity and severity. He drew everyone's attention to the level he had reached.
"Wasn't he weak just ten days ago? How did he become this strong?!"
"His power has reached the peak of the third level—even those at the fourth level would struggle to defeat him!"
"His Water element has reached the third level, and his Fire element has reached the second, and it's still improving!"
"But we haven't seen his Art yet!"
As if responding to their thoughts, Shion gathered his stellar aura. His stellar body shone, his silver eyes gleaming as he assumed a steady stance.
"(Star Tide)."
He struck horizontally with his sword, releasing a cutting attack laden with countless stars flowing within the tide. It pierced the target after slicing through it, striking the training dummy.
'Ever since I restored my strength, third-level dummies can no longer withstand a full-powered strike.'
He went to the arena supervisor.
"Sir, I want a fourth-level training dummy."
"I expected that. Take this one."
Everything proceeded quickly. Shion drew his sword again and decided to use his full power on this dummy, choosing to combine his techniques.
"(Star Vortex) (Star Tide) (Star Bombs)."
The vortex surged powerfully around Shion. Using its momentum, he struck in a circular motion, embedding small explosives along his blade. The strike collided with the dummy, producing a loud sound.
When everything settled, the dummy was deformed—but there were no cut marks.
Shion was surprised.
'This is strange. I was able to easily sever the necks of the Dark Crows—so what changed?'
As if Kin Light knew what Shion was thinking, he spoke.
"The dummy is designed to be cut only by sword aura, and nothing else. But deforming it means you possess aura and power comparable to the fourth level."
Shion lowered his head in understanding.
Kin moved forward, drew his sword, and unleashed his Art—Master of Moon.
"(Blue Moon)."
An aura burst forth from his body, sweeping everything around him. He followed with his technique,
"(Thousand Radiant Swords: Cutting Barrage)!"
Six hundred sword strikes slammed into the dummy, producing the same effect.
After delivering his strike, Kin Light said,
"Lord Lan, how about exchanging a few blows?"
Nearby, the Moon Sorceress watched, thinking to herself,
'Glass Sano was at a high level, so I believe Shion is at a similar level—especially after his injury. I can't even imagine how strong he would be without it.' as she doesn't know about his recovery.
But Shion refused the offer.
"I apologize, but I will be going on a mission in the coming days, and I cannot risk injury right now."
One of those present sneered.
"The young family head can't handle a mere student?!"
Shion glared at him sharply.
"I don't want to fight Kin Light because I don't want to get injured. But if it's you, that's fine."
The boy's expression turned ugly—he had been belittled in front of everyone, and moreover, he was a third-year, considered Shion's senior.
Before he could say anything foolish, his relative from the fourth year intervened.
"Allow me to face you, Lord Lan."
Shion looked at him questioningly.
"I am his relative. We are from House Tayon. I am a fourth-year student. I have witnessed your unfathomable skills and merely wish to exchange a few blows."
His relative was stunned—but to everyone's surprise, Shion nodded and agreed.
Soon, students gathered in the dueling arena.
Shion Lan, at the third level, versus Yuri Tayon, at the fourth level.
This naturally stirred excitement among the students, drawing them in to witness the rumored skills Shion possessed.
Both prepared for battle.
Yuri moved swiftly without activating sword aura, choosing to fight Shion using only third-level strength. This enraged Shion.
'You claim to acknowledge my skills, yet you show me such a low-level performance? How bold!'
Without warning, Shion used
"(Paths of Fire)" and "(Cutting Flames)."
He targeted weak points such as the ankle and shoulder. Explosions erupted at those points as the four threads converged from every direction.
Before Yuri could even process what happened, four cutting strikes laden with fiery aura burst forth from a single swing and rushed toward him.
He barely managed to evade two. The third struck his chest, and the fourth nearly severed his neck—but protective magic activated in time.
Shion calmly sheathed his sword and looked at him with disdain.
"You're not even fit to be my training dummy at this level."
He left the arena, his words branding themselves into everyone's minds. It was a decisive blow to the pride of a duelist who had underestimated Shion.
Yuri had not unleashed his full strength—and neither had Shion. Shion had used only his weakest skills and still defeated him.
Kin Light thought to himself as he watched the match,
'He didn't use his powerful techniques, yet he sensed everything like Lily does, launched his attacks with precision, and defeated him. Could I have done that without relying on Lily, using only my weakest skills? Yet he said he might get injured if we fought…'
…
That night, within the veins, Shion was finally allowed to enter the second vein once again.