“Why didn’t you tell me I was being influenced by the Darkness?”
“I’m not here to help you. The trials are yours and yours alone to clear.”
“Fair enough…”
Seeing her smile, Neo understood it was a fa?ade.
Paimon smiled since it was seen as a friendly act and it lowered others defense towards her.
It wasn’t because she was happy.
The distance to the class was considerable.
Neo covered half of the way when a notification arrived on his smartphone.
[Official Notice]
[First Period has been rescheduled from Aura Class (Theory) to Aura Class (Practical).]
[Arrive at the given venue before the designated time.]
He checked the venue and the time in the attached mail.
The venue was a massive gym.
“I need to reach there in 5 minutes?
“That’s impossible.”
Suddenly, he wondered if this was Elizabeth’s doing.
“It can’t be. She isn’t our Practical Class’ teacher.”
The timetable was released a day ago.
It showed different courses and teachers responsible for the courses.
Elizabeth taught only Aura Theory to Neo’s class.
He ran to the venue and reached it in 10 minutes.
“I shouldn’t be the only one who is late. So, I guess it should be fine—”
His words got struck in his throat when he pushed open the door.
Everyone was there.
They stared at him.
Judging from how they stood in organized rows, they reached the venue long ago.
“You are five minutes late, Neo Hargraves,” Elizabeth spoke.
She stood in front of the group of the students.
The teacher of the Aura Practical Class, an old man, sat on a chair and read newspaper while ignoring the class.
‘Did she substitute the class?’
His future didn’t look bright to him.
“I apologize,” Neo spoke.
He joined the students.
“You will receive a penalty later,” Elizabeth said. “We will start the class now that everyone is here.
“Today, we will have a training session.
“Quickly form teams according to your elements.”
“…?”
The students frowned.
They had to team up with those who had same element as them?
The teams would be imbalanced if that were to happen.
Arthur raised his hand.
“Speak,” Elizabeth said.
“Isn’t what you said disadvantageous for students with rarer elements? It would—”
“You don’t need to worry about others.”
Her sharp answer forced Arthur to lower his hand with an awkward smile.
“Form teams of three students at most.”
The students dispersed.
Neo wondered if he should go for Death or Darkness when Arthur and Felix approached him.
“Why were you late?” Felix questioned.
“I wasn’t. It took 10 minutes to run from Seraphim Hall to here.”
“Yeah, we know that. There was enough time to arrive at the venue.
“We got the message ten minutes before the class started.”
“…?”
Neo took out his phone and showed them the message.
Arthur and Felix’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
They showed their inbox to Neo.
“…Why did you two receive the message five minutes earlier than me?”
“It’s the same for everyone.”
Felix’s answer made Neo frown.
Neo looked at Elizabeth from the corner of his eyes.
‘She didn’t send me the message late on purpose, right?’
‘Of course, that can’t be possible.’
“It must be a network error,” Felix sighed. “Anyway, which element’s group are you two joining?”
“Lightning.”
“Death for me. What about you?”
“I’ll join Water.”
The three talked a bit before splitting up.
Neo didn’t worry about Felix getting harassed.
There was no way the students could act up under Elizabeth’s eyes.
“Hmm?”
Neo saw the number of students in Death element’s group.
“There is no one here.”
Death was a rare element.
Even if someone had affinity for Death they didn’t use it since it was hard to raise Death’s mastery.
But wasn’t it too much to have zero students with Death element as their priority?
He turned to the group of students with Darkness element.
…The place was empty.
“Maybe I should change my group?”
Neo would’ve been fine being alone… if the training helped him.
It was easy to see that wouldn’t happen.
Elizabeth seems to be out to punish him.
“Water element’s group looks okay.”
He took a single step when suddenly he heard Elizabeth’s voice.
“Choose the groups according to your Primary element.”
She spoke while looking at him.
Neo closed his eyes.
Yeah, he was fucked.
The gym was divided into several rooms joined by a long corridor.
The rooms were opened from above.
There were seats on the second floor. They allowed the teachers to observe the rooms from above.
He stood in front of the door of Death element’s training room.
“You can enter,” Elizabeth said.
She was on the second floor along with the teacher, Adam, responsible for Practical Aura Class.
Her eyes were fixed at him. Neo could tell that without looking up.
The room, empty, was as big as a mid-sized hall.
“Do it,” Elizabeth told Adam.
The old man put down his newspaper.
He stood against the railing and opened his mouth.
“Bloom.”
Glowing pollens rained slowly.
They suddenly expanded when they touched the floor.
The Divine Energy from the air was sucked into them.
…!
Neo took a step back.
His eyebrows creased.
Disgust.
He felt loathing from the deepest part of his soul when the pollens swole and transformed into a humanoid golem made from tree branches.
“Life Element.”
His reaction was similar to when a person saw trash.
He didn’t want to go near it.
The pollens continued to fall.
More plant-type golems appeared.
Some of the pollens mutated into wooden birds.
They flapped their wings and took flight.
“Neo Hargraves…”
Elizabeth’s voice snapped Neo out of his thoughts.
He looked up.
“As a penalty for being late, I will be putting restrictions on you during today’s training session.”
Obitus trembled.
No… She is—
Before the sword could complain, it shot out of Neo’s grasp and floated behind Elizabeth.
“I will be confiscating your personal weapon.”
Neo looked at her, exasperated.
She ignored his gaze and opened her mouth.
“Now, I will explain the training’s content.”