Lightheart Academy (Part 2)

"Hey Zent, it seems like you've got everyone here head over heels for you," praised Z proudly, like a parent who sees their child score a perfect hundred on an exam.

Can you please stop talking about it?

I'm really embarrassed now!

Damn it, damn it, damn it. Why aren't they looking elsewhere? Why does it have to be here? Why does it have to be about me?

There's still Rayven! There's still Celin—No, not them. Just Rayven.

I don't know where to put my face. All I can do is keep looking ahead, listening to the headmaster with his long explanations that I'm using to push away this feeling of embarrassment.

Fifteen minutes have passed since they started the Lightheart tour. Headmaster Verhatten seems so enthusiastic that it's hard for them to ask him to stop. Especially not with that glowing expression on his face.

However, that's what's making Rayven feel something's off.

This is the first time he's been here, but from what he's heard, this academy is one of the best academies, positioned third out of the two others. If this academy is the third-best in order, why do the staff's faces look so grim, which they try to conceal behind a fake smile?

Rayven isn't the only one who notices it. Celine, Rio, and the others also sense the tense atmosphere. It's faint but still palpable. Like a tickle in the heart.

They exchange glances, communicating through their looks before refocusing on the headmaster's explanation about the large building next to them.

"And this is the building where we test the strength of each student," he proudly exclaims. "As you might have heard, we don't divide academy classes by age. Instead, it's based on their sensitivity to magic.

There are three classes here. Starting with Humilis, then Medius. And finally, Summus. The class where geniuses from all sorts of worlds gather."

The headmaster steps closer to the double doors made of brown wood with gold stripes, opening them for us and inviting us to enter the grand and imposing white building.

What we see inside is something we've never seen before.

Unlike when we encountered Hexas, where the room looked futuristic. Here, the room appears mystical with shades of bluish-gray. Adorned with various plants crawling on the walls, adorned with beautiful flowers in different colors.

The room's texture isn't smooth either, but rather finely carved like a stone. Various carvings are displayed on the walls, designs resembling elegant waves, leading to each of those flowers.

Not far ahead, there's a bright white halo circle, slowly spinning above an altar adorned with wave carvings. Upon closer inspection, it turns out that each of those carvings is connected to the carvings on the walls.

Headmaster Verhatten walks to its side, explaining, "This is the Halo of Truth. A device designed using Angel's Halo and combined with various knowledge to detect a person's sensitivity in detail.

Those flowers behind it are what will indicate it. Each color represents an element that you can sense. The more that light up, the more sensitive your body is to that element. Would you like to try?"

I turned to Rayven, remembering that I didn't have any mana in my body. Rayven nodded, stepping forward and placing his arm inside the now-stopped spinning Halo.

Instantly, every carving on the altar lit up brightly in a bright white color. They crawled up each side of the wall, lighting up several flowers with green dominating over the other colors.

The headmaster applauded, saying, "As a Tier 5 knight, it's only fitting that you can illuminate a quarter of this room. Mr. Rayven, you have a strong sensitivity to the wind element. Now I understand why you use arrows," he praised.

Now it was Rio's turn to step forward, placing her hand there, and the same thing happened again. The difference was that Rio's dominant color was yellow, with slightly fewer lights compared to Rayven.

"Ohh, this is one of the rarer mana to be found. Miss Rio, you have a sensitivity to the iron element. But I don't see any weapons on you at all," the headmaster said, puzzled, not finding anything behind Rio's body.

Rio smiled, pulling out a small iron cylinder that, when pressed, transformed into a large silver hammer of the same color, with rectangle form.

Seeing that, the headmaster nodded in understanding. "According to their elements. You will be a formidable opponent in the tournament ahead."

"Thank you very much, Headmaster! I'll make them all regret challenging me!" she exclaimed with fiery enthusiasm.

When it was Celine's turn, the building trembled before her immense power, for a human. Almost every part of the room lit up brightly with a dominant golden hue.

Particles of light began to form, adorning it with colors that felt both warm and magnificent. It surprised the headmaster and the staff so much that the murmurs of the students outside the building could be heard.

"Wow... the Light element... And with a level of sensitivity so high, nearly rivaling that of an Angel's Saint. Princess Celine, you are suitable to lead the human kingdom. Bringing light to all of us and dispelling the darkness within," he commented.

"I also want to try it."

We immediately turned to Sarah, who had stepped forward, wanting to stop her. But unfortunately, we were too late.

This time, it wasn't just the room; the entire academy shook strongly as the light particles were replaced by a bright purple hue. Even the once colorful flowers now emitted a purple glow. The carvings on the walls also changed, with cracks appearing.

The headmaster appeared cautious, aware that only the Heretics possessed such magic, especially at high levels like this. However, he couldn't move recklessly, as he wasn't sure if he could defeat her.

So, he could only nervously laugh, observing the worried staff who were starting to question whether they had made a big mistake.

Sarah pulled her hand back, returning to her original position with a blank expression, as if all of this didn't really matter to her.

"Headmaster Verhatten, Sarah... She indeed is one of the Heretics, but!" I quickly spoke before they could say anything. "She was just a puppet in there until we eventually saved her. You must be familiar with Zhao Feng, right?"

"You mean, The Jade Master? Why would he intervene for a Heretics? Wasn't he hunting them down?" the headmaster asked, puzzled.

"Because he and I are friends."

The headmaster fell silent, unsure how to process the information. Zhao Feng was famously cold and indifferent to others, making it hard for him to believe that Zent was truly a friend of The Jade Master.

Moreover, Zhao Feng was notorious for being ruthless towards the Heretics and would never spare any of them, especially after the attack three months ago. Why would he save one of them?

Just because of Zent?

The headmaster thought for a moment, convinced that there was something much bigger behind all of this, including the reason his ex-wife wanted to help them. Perhaps Mary had known. This only left him more perplexed.

Why was his ex-wife allowed to know while he wasn't?

However, to maintain his professionalism, the headmaster nodded in understanding. He would inquire about this later, when he had the time. There were too many witnesses now, and perhaps that was also why they hadn't told him yet.

"Very well then. I will turn a blind eye to Miss Sarah's past as a former Heretics."

"Wait! Headmaster, you don't—"

The headmaster glanced in that direction, at a human woman in her mid-thirties who looked like a bookworm. "Do you want to argue with me, Velora?"

"N-no... Headmaster."

A sigh escaped.

The headmaster cleared his throat several times, then turned his gaze to me. "Are you also not going to try, Mr. Zent?"

I exchanged a look with Rayven, who shook his head subtly, signaling me not to do it, or else the headmaster would have an even harder time accepting us as representatives. Especially after finding out that I have no mana.

However, I could also feel the probing stares of the staff, who appeared quite suspicious after the earlier events.

To clear our names, whether I like it or not, I have to do it.

I stepped forward, ignoring Rayven's frowning and lip-biting, his silent plea for me to stop.

Raising my hand, I slowly entered the device.

However, just as the tip of my middle finger hadn't fully passed through the Halo, a commotion erupted outside, causing us to rush over there, no longer concerned about the Halo of Truth. Rayven breathed a sigh of relief, thanking our lucky stars that we didn't have to explain the fact that I lacked mana.

One thing they didn't realize was that the entire room suddenly turned pitch black the moment we left. A dense darkness without any light. Then, it blinked a few times and vanished as quickly as it appeared.