However, when she saw him smiling with his usual calm expression, she didn’t ask her question. Instead, she said,
"You’re still very weak. Even with this technique, you still can’t defeat me."
Leonis laughed.
"I never said otherwise."
Rhea fell silent for a moment. Then, she lowered her gaze and gave a small smile. Although she didn’t want to admit it, she was genuinely happy about his progress.
The boy everyone had once looked down on was finally seeing the results of his efforts, and that meant more to her than she was willing to say.
Leonis also smiled. The reason he was slowly showing his power was that he didn’t want to give his master and Rhea a huge shock when he won first place in the exam.
He preferred to prepare them for the future with smaller shocks now.
During those first four days, their relationship also slowly changed. Rhea no longer made excuses every time he suggested a training session.
Sometimes, she even arrived at the training ground before Leonis and prepared the things they needed.
Of course, if anyone asked her about it, she would probably claim that she had arrived early simply because of her own sense of discipline.
One evening, after a long training session, they were both sitting beside the training ground. Rhea was so tired that she rested her head on Leonis’s shoulder for a few moments.
Leonis said nothing.
He simply let her rest, but when the girl realized what she was doing, she immediately lifted her head.
"I was just tired! Don’t get any weird ideas."
He looked at her.
"I didn’t say anything."
"But you were thinking something!"
"Then I guess reading minds is one of your hidden talents."
She hit his shoulder lightly with a red face, but unlike usual, she didn’t threaten to kill him.
On the fifth day, something changed.
During training, Leonis noticed that Rhea had been distracted several times. During one exchange, the girl hesitated for a moment while blocking his attack.
He immediately stopped his sword. The blade was only a few centimeters away from Rhea’s shoulder.
"Why did you stop?" the girl asked.
Leonis lowered his sword.
"Because your mind isn’t here today."
Rhea frowned.
"You’re wrong."
"You hesitated three times during today’s sparring. Yesterday, that didn’t happen even once."
The girl said nothing. At that moment, the short sound of her phone rang, and she turned on the screen.
Her eyes remained on the message for only a few seconds, but those few seconds were enough for Leonis to notice the change in her expression.
Her lips pressed together slightly, her frown deepened, and then she turned off the screen.
"Rhea, is something wrong?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"I just didn’t sleep well."
Leonis looked at her for a few seconds.
"If something is bothering you, you can tell me."
Rhea lowered her gaze. For a moment, it seemed like she wanted to say something, but in the end, she shook her head.
"I said nothing is wrong, Leonis. Please don’t ask any more questions."
He fell silent. He could insist, but doing so would probably only make her more careful around him.
"Okay."
The girl looked at him in surprise.
"That’s it?"
"You told me not to ask any more questions."
Rhea fell silent for a moment, then spoke in a softer voice.
"...Thank you."
Leonis said nothing, but several possibilities began to form in his mind.
Rhea wasn’t afraid of the academy, and she wasn’t afraid of the other students either. If the problem were related to training, she would probably bring it up herself.
So the problem had to be something outside her normal life at the academy.
Her family.
Or, more precisely... the Valcrest Demon Clan.
He glanced at the girl. Rhea still didn’t know that he was aware of her true race, which made the situation even more sensitive.
If the problem was related to her clan’s past or another territory, pressuring her for answers might lead to a bad result.
For now, he needed to gather more information. Until then, it was better to let her believe that her secret was still safe.
On the sixth day, Evangeline noticed Leonis’s latest progress. In the private training hall, several mana projectiles were fired at him from different directions.
He no longer needed to concentrate for a long time to deal with every attack.
[Calamity Sense] showed him the paths of danger.
His body moved out of the attacks’ paths with [Lost Moon], and his mana circulation continued almost without interruption.
The unnecessary movements from his first few days of training were now gone. Every step was shorter, every change of direction was more precise, and every time he used the skill, Leonis ended up in a better position.
The final projectile came toward him from behind, and he only turned his shoulder slightly.
For a fraction of a second, the trace of his mana presence moved away from his body’s actual position, and the projectile passed by him.
[First Veil Skill — Lost Moon (Lost Moon) increased]
[Professional → Mastery]
He slowly let out a breath.
When he turned around, Evangeline was still looking at him. However, the woman wasn’t smiling this time, and it took her a few seconds to lower her sword.
"Leonis..."
"Yes, Master?"
"You really advanced an ancient skill from Professional to Mastery in just a few days."
Leonis gave a small smile.
"I think you’re truly an amazing master."
This time, she didn’t react to his joke.
"This is no longer just about talent. Your speed of understanding is very unusual."
The woman walked a few steps closer and placed her hand on his wrist. She checked the flow of his mana, then looked at him more carefully.
"More importantly, your movements are actually complete. This isn’t just a shallow imitation."
She fell silent for a moment, then smiled with clear admiration.
"You’re really surprising me, my little Disciple."
Leonis kept smiling.
"So, do I get another reward?"
Evangeline raised an eyebrow.
"Weren’t you satisfied with the last one?"
"Good rewards help increase motivation."
The woman laughed, but then her expression became more serious.
"Leonis, do you know how someone from outside might react if they saw how quickly you’re learning? They might want to find out what’s behind this speed."
Leonis remained silent for a moment.
Evangeline didn’t know about the System or the [Immortal Insight Soul], but even without knowing the truth, she had noticed that something about her disciple was unusual.
"Then I guess I shouldn’t show off too much outside this place," Leonis replied.
She smiled.
"Good. But don’t worry. No matter what happens, your master is still here."
During the rest of the training session, Leonis tried to use [Second Veil, Silence of Stars].
Evangeline activated a weak barrier in front of one of the training dummies.
"This time, don’t attack the barrier itself. Find the flow of energy."
He concentrated for a few seconds. With the help of the [Immortal Insight Soul], he examined the mana paths inside the barrier’s structure.
Then, he moved his sword and struck a small point beside the barrier. The blue light shook for a moment, and the flow of mana stopped.
However, it only stopped for a fraction of a second before the barrier became stable again.
Leonis lowered his sword, and Evangeline nodded with satisfaction.
"Good. This is enough for the early stage. You still can’t shut down powerful structures, but you’ve understood the basic idea of the skill correctly."
He smiled. It was satisfying progress, but there was still a huge gap between him and his master.
The woman could shut down enormous mana structures with a single movement, while he could currently only interrupt the flow of mana in a weak barrier for a moment.
After training, they both sat beside the hall’s tall window.
From there, they could see a large part of Avalon Academy.
"Master, how much do you know about demons?" Leonis asked after drinking some water.
Evangeline raised an eyebrow, but she wasn’t surprised.
"You’re a Habsburg. It would be strange if you didn’t know anything about demons."
"Can demons really become stronger by absorbing human souls?"
She looked at him for a few moments.
"Yes. Demons can absorb human souls and use them to strengthen their demonic cores. This was one of the main reasons behind the massacres during the Great War."
He said nothing.
The woman continued, "Of course, not all demons use this method. Some clans still believe in the old traditions, but others have abandoned such practices."
"Then why is entering human territory still forbidden for them?"
Evangeline looked toward the distant city.
"Because history isn’t that easy to forget. Demons once slaughtered huge numbers of humans. Even if not all of them have such intentions today, human governments can’t allow them to enter their territories freely. Still, some of them secretly live in this world."
"Besides, how do we know that demons have really changed? You should know that they still look down on humans and call us inferior."
"Now, what made you suddenly ask about demons?" She then turned her gaze back to her disciple.
Leonis slowly nodded. His childhood friend was one of those very people.
A girl who had lived among humans for years without revealing her true identity.
Evangeline suddenly said,
"Don’t forget one thing, Leonis. Demons cannot be trusted. The last time humanity trusted them, the Great War broke out, and humanity was massacred."