The moment the referee's voice echoed through the arena, the silence among the witnesses finally cracked.

Whispers crept in first, then murmurs, and soon the whole of the class S was filled with low voices speaking Leon's name again and again.

Leon noticed it as he stood there, the Moonblade still resting in his hand. And all the eyes shifted between him and Kian's unmoving body against the far wall, with frost still clinging to the stone around him.

The looks they gave him were no longer just curiosity.

It was awe, and fear.

Leon exhaled slowly, letting his shoulders relax.

His gaze drifted briefly toward Sir Tyler, and he caught it. Sir Tyler's eyes had not left the Moonblade even once. They were glued to it as if he were actively suppressing the urge to rush forward and demand answers.

Leon almost chuckled.

'Sweet,' he thought. 'Let's edge him a little more.'

With deliberate calmness, Leon slid Moonblade back into its sheath and secured it against his waist strap. Only then did he step off the concrete stage.

His steps tapped softly as he walked across the stone floor, heading toward where Ethan and Alice were.

Both of them were staring at him.

Leon slowed his pace slightly as he approached them, amused by their expressions.

Ethan had seen him fight before. He had watched Leon take down a Primordial. And Alice had witnessed Moonblade up close the first time Leon ever used it. And yet, the way they were looking at him now made Leon wonder if they had really understood back then.

As he passed through the crowd, Leon felt a familiar sensation from his own body.

Rumi was drawing a small portion of his mana again.

'Hm?' Leon asked calmly in his mind. 'You're tired?'

Her response came instantly.

'I do not get tired from something this trivial,' Rumi replied. 'However, refining and purifying Moonblade's unstable mana requires me to channel my own energy to regulate the flow through your arteries. I must ensure it does not strain your mana core. But worry not, as this was my first time doing it at this level, so consider it temporary payment.'

Leon did not question it further. He simply allowed her to continue whatever she was doing.

When he finally reached Alice and Ethan, Leon noticed three unfamiliar figures standing near them.

All girls, wearing Class S uniforms. He glanced at them briefly.

'Alice's friends?' he thought.

The idea died instantly.

'Nah. Not a chance.'

One of them caught his attention without him trying. A girl with shoulder-length black hair and matching black eyes. She barely reached Alice's shoulder and kept averting her gaze every time Leon looked her way.

The two girls beside her were subtly poking her at the waist, clearly urging her to do something.

Leon frowned slightly.

'The hell they are on about…?'

Before he could think further, Alice spoke.

"You really like attention, huh?"

Leon turned to her, unfazed. "I do. It's what makes me feel satisfied."

Alice snorted. "Oh… tough life. I feel bad for whoever ends up marrying you."

Leon let out a short laugh. "Sounds like a skill issue on her part."

Ethan coughed loudly beside them. "What the hell are you both discussing out of nowhere?"

Leon sighed and answered him, "Just get used to it, it is kind of natural for her."

"You..!" Alice's eye browed twitch.

"Haah… anyways, good fight out there," he said changing the topic. "But… what is that sword?"

Leon glanced down at Moonblade.

"This?" he said casually. "It's a sword capable of producing highly unstable mana, and it allows the wielder to directly draw mana from the atmosphere."

Ethan blinked. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"It is," Leon replied without hesitation. "But I'm used to it now."

"…Huh."

Ethan's gaze lingered on the sword a little too long. Leon noticed his pupils shift subtly, as if he were reading something invisible in the air.

'Talk about privacy,' Leon sighed inwardly.

Even though Leon himself could view stats and information, Ethan somehow made it look natural every single time.

Leon was certain Ethan had already figured out what Moonblade was and who it once belonged to.

Still, he showed no visible reaction.

Leon shook his head slightly.

'Some people were just annoyingly composed.'

As they continued talking, Leon could not help but notice it again.

The black-haired girl. She had been staring at him since he walked over, her gaze lingering longer than it should have, then darting away the moment he turned his head even slightly in her direction.

It wasn't subtle. If anything, it was painfully obvious.

Leon frowned.

He had endured stares before. This, however, felt different.

Eventually, he sighed. "What do you want?" he asked plainly.

"E-eh?!"

The girl flinched as if she had been struck by lightning.

Then, instead of answering his question, she lowered her head sharply into a stiff bow.

"I-I'm Beatrix!" she blurted out.

"…"

Leon blinked once.

She slowly raised her head again, clearly regretting her life choices, her eyes refusing to meet him. And her fingers twisted nervously at the hem of her skirt as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"And?" Leon prompted.

"Oh—! R-right!" she hurried to speak. "I just… um… I wanted to say that your match was really cool. I mean it was really amazing. The way you moved, it was like you were already behind him before anyone could even blink. And your footwork was so clean, and your timing was perfect, and when your sword moved it didn't feel heavy at all, it was like it was part of you—"

She stopped for half a breath, only to continue even faster.

"And your hands, I mean, the way you held the sword, not your hands… well, your hands too, but not like that! I mean they didn't shake at all, and your fingers were really steady and slender, and… ah—! Sorry!"

Her face was now bright red.

Leon watched her calmly as she rambled, his expression remained unchanged.

She swallowed and forced herself to continue, voice softer now.

"And your face was really calm the whole time. It was like… you already knew how it would end. That was really… cool.. And I liked it…"

Her voice trailed off at the end, and she finally dared to glance up at him.

Only to immediately look away again.

Leon stared at her for a moment.

'Wait… is this real?'

The thought crossed his mind briefly before he dismissed it just as quickly. His charm rating was abysmal.

It was E-rank. Leon had never been good at this sort of thing, nor had he ever tried to be.

Still…

Leon activated his status view.

[Mana Core: ★★★☆☆ (Red Core, 3-Star)]

[Mana Capacity: A+]

Leon's eyes narrowed slightly.

'…Oh.'

That was not normal.

A three-star Red Core, she was already on the verge of breaking through next rank, with that level of mana capacity?

She was strong. HEr mana capacity is rivaling Rinna's.

'Why don't I remember her…?' He glanced at her again.

Beatrix was still staring at the ground, her fingers fidgeting with her skirt, and shoulders tense as if she were bracing for judgment.

'She should be part of the main cast,' Leon thought. 'At least in some branch.'

But nothing surfaced.

Leon exhaled quietly.

"Beatrix," he said, repeating her name.

She flinched and looked up instantly.

"Yes?!"

Leon smiled faintly, polite but distant.

"I'll remember that name."

"…!"

Beatrix froze.

Behind her, the two girls exchanged wide-eyed looks, silently screaming at each other.

Leon, however, had already lost interest. To him, it was nothing more than acknowledgement. It was a mental note, to keep another variable to keep in mind.

He turned slightly back toward Alice and Ethan, as if the matter had already concluded.

Beatrix, meanwhile, stood there completely still, her heart pounding, and mind spiraling.

As the voices settled into a steady background noise, the referee's voice rang out again.

"Next pair," he announced. "Rinna Lunovar and Cyan Miller."

That name made Leon lift his head to the stage.

Rinna stepped forward first, and Cyan followed shortly after.

Leon's eyes lingered on him for a moment.

'Cyan…'

If Leon had not interfered with the flow of events, then by now Cyan and Ethan would have been firmly grouped together in the same circle.

Leon remembered that clearly.

There were several quests in the later stages where Ethan personally invited Cyan along with him. He considered him as his equal.

By the end of second year, Cyan rose to Rank Two within Eclipse, even surpassing Rinna. He and Ethan became known as a pair of rivals, growing stronger side by side while clashing on ideology more than once every day.

And Cyan was the first whom etan exposed his Light willingly.

Leon watched as Cyan and Rinna stood facing each other on Stage Four.

He then glanced sideways.

Ethan was already staring at them, his gaze remained unfocused in a way Leon had grown familiar with.

Ethan was reading their stats.

Leon spoke anyway.

"Who do you think will win?"

"Hm?" Ethan turned to him, momentarily pulled out of whatever calculation he was doing.

He thought for a brief moment before answering.

"At this point, it's hard to say. But Rinna is still a rank above him. She should have a higher chance."

Leon smirked faintly.

"Is that so?" he replied. "But you can't judge them by class rank anymore. It's all based on credits now."

That much was true.

Rinna was ranked third because of her absurd mana capacity. As a S- rank she was able to cast dozens of three-line incantations back to back without slowing down.

Her control over mana was precise, her understanding of spell structure was near flawless.

That alone made her terrifying.

Her older sister, Eula, could drain that amount with just one or two layered incantations, but Rinna's efficiency and output were still considered monstrous for a first-year.

She earned her rank not through brute force, but through dominance in mana-based engagements and spell optimization.

Even compared to her elder sister, the Rank One of third year, Rinna was considered exceptional in pure spellcraft.

Leon folded his arms and said.

"She'll lose to him."

.

.

[A/N: Expect another chapter today.]

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