"Oh?"
Leo was still lost in his Inner Spiritual Energy practice and the details of the Lodestar Stove. That was all he said before following Mira out.
Mira gathered her long hair and tied it into a ponytail with a blue ribbon. Then the two of them walked back to the main hall and headed straight for the third floor.
Rowan was already waiting. When he saw them, he smiled and walked over to Leo.
"How was your rest? Do you like your room?"
Leo bowed first, then answered. "I like it very much. Thank you, Uncle Rowan."
Rowan smiled lightly. He liked this boy more and more. Even as the son of such a powerful father, he didn’t have a speck of arrogance.
"You’ve completed your Sacred Awakening. That means you have what it takes to be a knight. But to join Moonhaven Hall, you have to be registered. For that, we need to check your current Spiritual Energy."
He went on, "From tomorrow, you’ll study in the knight class so you can learn Guardian Knight skills. If you don’t understand something, just ask me."
"Yes."
Leo flicked his wrist and pulled a heavy sword from his back. His father hadn’t wanted him to show his Retribution Knight strength to anyone. That’s why he carried only one heavy sword on his back. The other was hidden inside his Spatial Ring.
"Little brother, you want to be a Guardian Knight?" Mira asked in surprise.
Leo laughed. "I decided that after I got back from my last test."
The same black stone pillar stood ready for the test.
"Begin." Rowan nodded.
Leo focused and stepped forward.
The heavy sword in his right hand flashed like lightning. Layers of golden light wrapped around the blade. It wasn’t a skill. It was the effect of filling the blade with Spiritual Energy.
A soft sound rang out. Blue light rose slowly from the hall’s walls.
Rowan and Mira both held their breath. Their eyes were glued to the top of the black pillar.
"268."
A big number lit up on the pillar.
Both of them gasped and froze.
"You’re just two points away from the next rank of Genuine Knight!" Mira shouted. "Little brother, are you even human? You’re not even twelve, and you’re already at this rank!"
The truth was, a year and a half ago, when Mira first met Leo, she herself had only just reached the Genuine Knight level. And in these one and a half years, Leo’s Spiritual Energy had more than doubled.
That was because both his Inner and Outer Spiritual Energy had been trained. Still, it could only be called a terrifying talent.
Leo put the sword away and stood quietly. He wasn’t surprised by the number at all. The reason was that it wasn’t his real Spiritual Energy.
After merging with the Lodestar Stove, his Inner Spiritual Energy had dropped by more than fifty levels. Otherwise, he would have passed the fourth rank and been close to a fifth-rank Genuine Knight.
"A genius... a true genius." Rowan murmured.
Mira blinked her big eyes and looked at Leo.
"I’m so lucky! Not many people get a little brother this strong. I’ll brag about you for years."
Leo blushed. He still clearly remembered that day, more than a year ago, when Mira had mistaken him for a girl and caused that awkward moment.
"Come on, it’s dinner time!"
Mira pulled his arm, bowed to Rowan, and ran out.
Leaving Moonhaven Hall, she took him to the biggest restaurant in the neighborhood.
The moment they walked in, a waiter rushed over. "Welcome, Miss Mimi!"
"Bring us something to eat."
The waiter saw that Mira was holding a boy’s arm. He was a little surprised. "Please come up to the second floor."
"No need. We’ll sit in the main dining hall, by the window. Bring the menu, I’m starving!"
With that, she dragged Leo over and sat down.
The main dining hall was packed. The moment she sat down, Mira began ordering. And Leo’s eyes went wide at the way she did it.
She put her finger on only five or six dishes in the menu. Leo was wondering why the waiter wasn’t writing down the dishes she had chosen, when Mira said,
"Bring everything except these."
That meant almost the whole menu. Twenty or thirty dishes!
"Big sister Mira, that’s too much! We’ll never finish it all." Leo said quickly.
He was starting to understand his new big sister a little. That carefree style of hers made him feel comfortable around her.
Mira put on a serious face. "Why won’t we finish? You’re growing, you need to eat a lot."
"Wow! Making other people eat more? Simple. You’re just a big glutton yourself."
A cold, mocking voice stopped right beside them.
Leo turned around. Two boys and a girl had just come into the restaurant. All three were walking past them, but they stopped. The girl was the one who spoke.
She wore a deep blue robe. Elemental energy hovered around it, making it glow a soft blue. On the left side of her chest was a mark: three stars, surrounded by six golden bands.
A magical robe. So is she a Mage?
Leo only knew about Mages from his father’s stories. It was the first time in his life he was seeing a real one.
Three stars and six bands. That meant third stage, sixth rank. A Genuine Mage. The first three stages of the Mage path were Apprentice Mage, Spell Student, and Genuine Mage.
*Bang!*
Mira slammed her hand on the table and stood up angrily.
"Liora Frostvane! Who did you call a glutton?"
Liora gave a crooked smile. "Who else? Whoever eats this much."
Until now, Leo had only been looking at the magical robe. Now he looked closely at the Mage.
Liora and Mira were both very beautiful. But in completely different ways.
Mira was straight and full of fire. Her beauty had power. Liora seemed soft and clever, like the wise girl of a good family.
Fair skin, medium height, long light blue hair flowing down her back. Pretty brows, a sharp nose, and a pair of identical blue eyes. Her gentle face would make anyone worry about her.
But what she held in her hands told a different story.
It was a black magic staff made of wood, 0.66 meters long. At its upper end, small branches the size of a hand held a Bluewater Gem the size of a fist. The magical elemental energy coming from the staff felt far sharper than her robe.
"Want to fight?"
With sparks of anger in her eyes, Mira stepped in front of her.
The two boys who had come with Liora rushed forward in a panic and stood on her left and right. Both wore leather armor. They were Warriors. It was clear they were Liora’s bodyguards.
What Mages feared most was an attack. Even though their magic could cause terrible destruction, their bodies were very weak. That was why every good Mage always had bodyguards.
"You two ladies, please calm down!" the Warrior on the left said nervously. "Just a month ago, the Head Officer and the Minister punished both of you!"
"Hmph!"
Mira and Liora turned their faces away almost at the same time. Then they glared at each other.
The air between them began to chill, and the water in the nearest glass started to freeze at the edges.
Leo, who was starving, quietly reached for the first dish that had arrived. *Whatever happens next,* he thought, *I’m eating first.*