Leo turned to leave but paused when he saw the four men watching him, each with a different reaction. Liam looked completely lost, while Peter and Albert seemed stunned. Liamond, on the other hand, had a wicked grin, as if silently saying, "Good job."
Leo walked up to them.
"What the hell is going on?" Peter asked.
"Coach wanted to test my ability, and I asked for a prize."
Peter narrowed his eyes. "What prize? Don't tell me—"
Leo smirked. "Her age."
Albert let out a sharp breath. "Damn, you asked her that right before a fight? Do you have a death wish?"
Liam blinked, confused. "Why? What's wrong with asking her age?"
Leo and the others exchanged looks before bursting into laughter.
Liam scowled. "What?"
Leo clapped a hand on his shoulder. "If you want an answer, you'll have to pay the price."
"Price?" Liam hesitated, then glanced at the battlefield from a few minutes ago. His face twisted in realization. "I'd rather not."
Leo grinned. "Good choice." The same words said to him before.
Without dragging the conversation further, they all went their separate ways—Leo followed Liamond to the kitchen, while Peter and Albert veered off toward the storage room, causing Liamond to call after them, "Hey, Albert, where are you going?"
"I've got patrol duty."
"At this hour?"
"Captain increased the patrols."
Liamond sighed. "Alright, then."
Once inside the kitchen, the first thing Leo and Liamond did was make some coffee. The rich aroma filled the small space as the two prepared their drinks in comfortable silence. Liamond leaned against the counter, sipping slowly, while Leo stared at the dark liquid swirling in his cup, his mind elsewhere.
'I think Moonlit Gaze slightly shifted my soul toward the Enchanting path. Maybe I should create an illusion spell to shape it further in that direction... But what kind of spell should I make?'
He sifted through memories of his previous world, recalling the technology that could inspire something new. There were countless possibilities, but he needed something practical—something he could actually implement with his current level of mana control.
"What are you thinking so deeply about?"
Leo looked up to find Liamond eyeing him curiously over his cup.
"Nothing, just thinking about the next exam," Leo replied, choosing his words carefully.
"What about it?"
"I want to reach rank D."
Liamond raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a little soon?"
"I can feel that I'm ready. Besides, it's still two and a half months away—I have plenty of time to train."
Liamond took another sip, eyeing Leo as if assessing whether he was overconfident or genuinely prepared. "Well... if you think you're ready."
They continued chatting idly, the warmth of the coffee making the morning feel a little more relaxed. Before long, noon approached, and Leo left for the Grand Cathedral.
…
Upon arriving at the cathedral, Leo moved through the familiar stone corridors, his boots clicking softly against the polished floors. The air was thick with the faint scent of parchment and old magic, a reminder of the countless spells practiced within these walls.
He entered the classroom, greeted Jimmie with a nod, and took his usual seat. The room was hummed with quiet murmurs as students settled in.
A few minutes later, Cristina entered, her presence immediately commanding the room's attention. She set her bag down with a soft thud, reached into her coat, and pulled out a cigarette. With a motion, she lit it, took a slow drag, and exhaled before speaking.
"Today is our last session. You're going to demonstrate what you've learned. If you pass, some of you may have the chance to rank up to D minus, though that obviously excludes those who are already D or higher."
With a flick of her fingers, discs and glowing crystals floated from her bag, hovering briefly before landing gently on each student's desk.
"The steps are simple: fill the crystal with mana, carve an enchantment onto the disc, and bind the two together. You have one hour."
The room quickly filled with the sounds of scraping tools and focused breathing as students got to work.
Leo examined the crystal in his palm, feeling its weight, then closed his eyes and began channeling his mana into it. The crystal was smooth and cool, but as it absorbed the energy, it started to warm slightly.
Without wasting time, he turned his attention to the disc. Using his engraving tool, he carefully carved the Light Enchantment into its surface. The process required precision—one wrong stroke could render the entire enchantment unstable or ineffective. After fifteen minutes, the delicate symbols were complete, ending in a single unlinked line, waiting to be bound to the crystal.
However, the crystal wasn't fully charged yet. He shifted his focus, intensifying the mana flow, watching as the faint glow within the crystal grew stronger. Another fifteen minutes passed before it was finally saturated with energy.
With a fluid gesture, he linked the enchantment to the crystal and activated it. The disc flickered before a soft, steady light pulsed from its center.
Leo glanced around. He was the first to finish. Three minutes later, the other higher-ranked student completed his as well, while the rest of the class continued working.
When the hour was up, Cristina stepped forward, her cigarette now half-burned between her fingers.
"Good job, everyone. I'll compile a list and contact those ready to rank up. But before that, let me ask you something."
She exhaled slowly, letting the question linger before continuing.
"Who here wants to be a normal enchanter? You know, work in a shop, craft items, live a regular life?"
Most of the students—including Jimmie—raised their hands.
"I see. And the rest of you, I assume, want to use enchantments in battle or dangerous situations?"
Cristina's gaze swept over the room, her expression unreadable as she studied those who hadn't raised their hands—including Leo.
"For those of you in the first group, you've already learned everything you need for standard enchanting. Attending the next class won't be of much use to you—but ultimately, the choice is yours."
She flicked the ash from her cigarette, her voice turning sharper.
"As for the second group... The path you're choosing is a dangerous one." She paused, letting her words sink in before continuing. "From my experience, I'll give you one piece of advice: never enter a battle unprepared. Gather all the information you can, plan ahead, and be ready. If you ever find yourself in a fight without preparation—run. There's no shame in it."
Her sharp gaze locked onto the students, ensuring they understood the weight of her words.
"Enchanters don't fight head-on. Our strength lies in traps and strategy. If enchantments are your only weapon, avoid direct combat whenever possible—because if it comes to hand-to-hand, you'll lose. Don't get overconfident. There's always someone stronger out there."
The class fell into silence, the air thick with implicit tension.
Leo remained still, absorbing every word. He had no intention of underestimating the path ahead.
"The last session is now over. You can use the remaining time as you wish," Cristina announced, her tone indifferent as she took another slow drag from her cigarette.
Leo stretched slightly before standing up. Today had felt more like a rest day than a lesson. He turned to Jammie, who was still seated, seemingly lost in thought.
"Will I see you in the next class, Mr. Hurst?" Leo asked with a small smirk.
Jammie hesitated, glancing at his hands before meeting Leo's gaze. "I don't know… I wanted to continue, but after what the teacher said, I need some time to think about it."
"Alright, then. I guess I'll see you around," Leo said, extending a hand. "And if you ever open a shop, send me the location. I might need a few magic items—why not get them from a friend?"
Jammie chuckled and shook his hand firmly. "I will."
With a nod, Leo left the cathedral and stepped outside. The crisp afternoon air carried the distant sounds of the city—footsteps on cobblestone, faint chatter, and the occasional flutter of birds taking flight. He found a nearby bench and sat down, letting his thoughts drift.
"Gather all the information you can." Cristina's words echoed in his mind. 'Maybe I should create a spell for that... but how would it work?'
He leaned back, tapping his fingers against the wooden bench as he considered the possibilities.
'A spell that extracts information from an object… like disenchanting?' He frowned, dismissing the thought after a moment. 'No, more like reverse engineering.'
A smile crept onto his face. He liked that idea. It was something unique—something that didn't seem to exist in this world, at least not as far as he had seen.
Since class had ended earlier than usual, he had extra time. Without wasting it, he rushed to his workshop, grabbed the Codex Arcanum, and started searching for spells related to his concept.
"Let's start with this."
He wrote Disenchant in the book. Nothing happened.
"Seriously? They have enchantments but not disenchanting? Are the scholars here idiots?" he muttered under his breath.
He smiled to himself as he flipped through the pages for the next hour, searching for any spell that might resemble reverse engineering. By the time he reached the end, he found nothing—and that was exactly what he had hoped for.
"I guess if people don't know something exists, they can't create it so easily," he mused.
From what he had seen so far, enchanters in this world relied purely on their own eyes and senses to analyze spells. They probably thought that was enough.
"They have no idea how useful a spell like this could be."
The thought excited him. It was another moment where his knowledge from his previous life gave him an advantage.
"Now… how do I actually create it?"
Not knowing where to start, he sighed, closed the Codex Arcanum, and stood up. He had spent all his free time researching, and now it was time for his patrol duty. Without another thought, he made his way to the Association, his mind still buzzing with ideas.
…
For the next few days, Leo spent most of his time in his workshop, determined to figure out his new spell. With the secret meetings no longer happening and his enchanting class finished, his days felt uneventful—except for his Illusion class, which provided a welcome distraction. Most of the sessions focused on training, but Edgarth had also begun teaching them Mind Control using the Word Whole. The technique demanded an excessive amount of mana, but it had the potential to influence even slightly stronger minds.
The only other things Leo looked forward to were the few training sessions he had with Elna and the hours he spent refining his spell.
Right now, he was once again in his workshop, staring at the intricate two-circle spell formation drawn on his worktable. A thin line extended outward from the circles, meant to bind a mana crystal to power the spell, as it required a tremendous amount of energy.
Inside the formation, Leo had carefully inscribed six Words of Power, with three additional words positioned between the inner and outer circles.
The first set of three words: Power, Truth, and Light—meant to extract the absolute truth of the object.
The next set: Power, Sight, and Break—to deconstruct the gathered information into something usable.
The final set, placed outside: Power, Control, and Balance—to stabilize the spell's structure.
From the outermost section, he had drawn another line leading to a separate, smaller circle, where he had placed a teleportation scroll. The goal was for the spell to analyze and extract its structure.
But it still wasn't working.
Leo leaned back in his chair, exhaling in frustration. He had already tested every possible combination using the Words of Power he knew, but something was still missing.
"Maybe the words I have aren't enough?" he muttered, rubbing his chin.
He studied the formation again, deep in thought.
"This spell is using an enchantment circle to almost… disenchant something. Is that even possible?"
Then, an idea struck him.
"Maybe the problem isn't the Words of Power… maybe I need to change the symbolism itself."
He leaned forward, gripping his pen, and carefully redrew the central triangle, this time keeping its base at the bottom instead of inverting it again.
Leo was about to activate the spell but stopped himself. This was completely untested, meaning the risks were unknown. He needed safety measures first.
He placed the formation inside the protective Dome, then activated all of his defensive spells on both himself and the room. Once he was certain everything was secure, he activated the mana crystal bound to the spell.
At first, nothing happened. The mana pulse traveled through the formation, but the spell remained stable.
Then, the pulse reached the scroll—and things changed.
The scroll lifted into the air, suspended by an unseen force. A moment later, a wave of energy erupted outward, slamming against the Dome's walls.
Before Leo could react, flames ignited across the scroll, burning it to ash.
The spell formation itself began to vibrate, and then, from its center, mystical symbols started etching themselves onto the floor in a perfect circle.
When the drawing completed, another shockwave burst from the formation—this time crackling with electricity.
The second blast was much stronger, nearly shattering the Dome's protective barriers.
A bead of sweat rolled down Leo's forehead. He could hear something—whispers, faint but unnatural. However, because he had prepared in advance, they didn't overwhelm him.
After waiting a few minutes to ensure everything was safe, he cautiously approached the spell formation.
His eyes widened when he saw the symbols drawn on the floor—the exact structure of the teleportation scroll he had placed inside the formation.
"It worked."
A wide grin spread across Leo's face. After nearly ten days of relentless effort, he was finally close to success. He looked at the burnt remains of the scroll.
"Nice. Now I need another scroll."
Then he turned to examine the Dome, noticing the cracks along its structure.
"And maybe three more crystals for another one… just in case."