CHAPTER III: THE CLASSROOM
« You, stand up. »
The professor pointed at Martis. His voice cracked like a whip in the silence.
Martis looked around, searching for the person being addressed.
« Who, me? » Martis asked.
« Yes, you. »
Martis stood up, wary.
« I don't know why this guy wants me to stand up, but with everything that's happened to me in this school, I suspect he's planning something rotten for me. »
The professor pointed at Leonard right after Martis.
« Leonard, you stand up too. »
Without making a fuss, he stood up, his hands crossed behind his back.
Martis, seeing him stand up, understood that this was all going to end badly. And what the professor said next confirmed his thoughts.
« You two, switch places immediately. »
Leonard wanted to oppose this decision, which he considered an insult, but a single sentence was enough to dissuade him.
« No comments, Leonard. »
Leonard and Martis immediately started moving without saying a word. When they reached the same level, Leonard whispered a sentence in his ear.
« I swear, you're going to pay for this. »
Martis didn't understand why he hated him; they had never met before.
He arrived in front of his new seat, but the professor stopped him.
« Wait, young man, you are indeed the son of the Leomor family? »
« Yes, that's correct, Sir. I am Martis Rin Leomor, » Martis retorted.
« Well, Leomor, know that only extraordinary mages and fighters from great families come here. And above all, we only train the elite of warriors. So you must know that here you have to give your best, understood? »
« Uh, yes Sir, » Martis replied.
He took his seat next to Leolio. Leolio gave him a big smile in greeting.
« Hey, buddy. We didn't have time to introduce ourselves this morning. I'm Leolio Solaran, nice to meet you. »
« Martis Leomor, not at all happy to meet you, » he retorted.
The professor interrupted their discussion by starting the lesson.
« Well, students. I greet you after these five months of vacation. I hope none of you have forgotten the lessons. Today is the first day, and I'd like to see where you stand. »
He raised his right hand in front of him, making a fireball appear in his palm.
« I want each of you to conjure a flame. »
All the students did so instantly, except for Martis, who looked calm but was panicking inside.
« Oh my God! I'm terrible at practical magic, only good at theory. How am I going to do this? Well, the flame isn't hard, I was taught it. In fact, it's the only thing I know how to do. »
Martis raised his hand and, with great concentration and difficulty, made a fireball appear in his palm.
The professor looked around the room and saw that everyone had succeeded.
« Mediocre work, even a primary school child could do better. Make your flames bigger. »
Instantly, all the flames tripled in size. An unbearable heat settled in the room. Martis couldn't believe it. For them, conjuring a fireball of that size was easy.
Martis, his hand trembling, forced himself, and his fireball surpassed all the others, almost reaching the ceiling. All the students were impressed by the size of his flame. But inside, he could no longer bear the power.
« My hand hurts horribly. I won't last long. »
The professor looked at him and then said.
« Excellent, that's good work, especially you. »
But without warning, his flame changed from red to purple.
« Now, make me purple flames. »
« Wait, what kind of crazy request is that? Does that even exist? »
To his great surprise, all the students managed to do it without a problem; the room, which had been lit with a bright orange color, turned a dark purple.
Martis pulled himself together, but he couldn't do it. So he grabbed his right arm with his left arm to gain more strength. But a strange phenomenon occurred: the flame turned black, then it became black and, like a grenade [Boom!!], the flame exploded, scattering thick black smoke. When the smoke cleared, all eyes were on him. The professor approached him with an astonished look.
« Leomor, can you explain to me what happened? »
He looked at the professor and, with a neutral expression, replied.
« Well, to be honest, I'm very good at theoretical magic, but in practice, I'm useless. There you go. »
The whole room was astonished by what he had just said; murmurs rose in every corner of the room.
« A Leomor who can't use magic? That makes no sense. »
« What he's saying isn't logical; a Leomor can't have problems with magic. »
« So how did he get in here? »
The professor sketched a smile as he leaned closer to his face.
« So you are a Leomor and you are useless at magic. »
« Uh yes, that's right... » he replied.
But the professor interrupted him, shouting in a powerful voice.
« You have one term! I mean one term to master magic, or you're expelled. »
It was the first time the professor had gotten so angry; the whole room was in a deathly silence. He walked back to the board with a dark look.
« Since your new friend tells us he's so strong in theory, we're going to indulge him. »
He picked up a piece of chalk and then continued.
« You are going to take a quiz of 117 questions, and since my course is worth 600 credits, the quiz is worth 300 credits. »
The students became hysterical upon hearing this.
« What? 117 questions? That's impossible! Martial arts class is in thirty minutes. »
« I hate this guy, I'm sure he's an impostor. »
The professor, annoyed by the murmuring, turned around.
« I don't want to hear anyone complain! »
The look of admiration the students had for Martis turned into a look of hatred. Martis watched them out of the corner of his eye and then thought:
« I knew that this Academy and I wouldn't work out. »
The professor, frustrated, said to himself deep down:
« A Leomor so weak...
Tsk.
It's a disgrace.
An affront to my master.
How can his son be so mediocre?
No... I cannot accept it.
Not as long as I still bear the name of the one who trained me. »
The class began working on their quiz in complete silence. And the professor watched them with a severe eye.
Twenty-five minutes later, the bell that separated the study hours rang; the class was over. As usual, the students left the room one by one, handing in their quiz papers.
Martis's turn came; he handed in his paper, and his gaze met the professor's, filled with hatred and resentment. He turned his gaze away and quickly left.
« Oh, he doesn't like me either. That makes two. »
Arriving in the hallway, Leolio came up behind him and started walking alongside.
« Oh buddy, why are you leaving so fast? Wait for me. »
Martis looked at him out of the corner of his eye and then sighed with regret.
« No, not you again? »
« Yep, me again, » he replied.
« That black flame you made in the room was very impressive, and the explosion was incredible. »
Martis looked at him out of the corner of his eye and then quickened his pace, saying:
« Thanks, but it wasn't intentional. »
« Yes, but it's still incredible, » Leolio retorted, matching his pace.
« Thanks, but I have a martial arts class now. »
« I know, we're in the same class, but we have to go to the locker rooms first. »
Martis was not used to talking for very long with someone his age; it made him uncomfortable.
« Leolio, can't you go bother someone else? »
« No, I don't want to, my brother, » Leolio said.
« But I'm not your brother. »
« I don't care. »
A few minutes later, they had arrived at the locker rooms and put on their training gear. It consisted of very thick pants and a black top. The locker rooms were full of students talking, laughing, and bickering.
They started to leave the locker rooms, but three students were waiting for them by the door. One of them had black hair and silver eyes. He had a slender and very athletic body, even if Martis's was slightly more so. He advanced with a disgusted look.
« Stop! You, the impostor. Do you know what we got because of you? A quiz. »
Martis bowed slightly, saying « sorry about that, » and tried to pass, but the boy blocked him.
« Wait, what did you say? A Leomor apologizing? »
The three burst out laughing, then the boy took on a serious look, frowning. He grabbed Martis by the collar and pulled him up.
« Listen to me, impostor, a noble never apologizes. That means you're not a Leomor, and for that, I'm going to beat you up. »
Martis looked him in the eyes without flinching; he couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed him by the collar and said in a cold voice.
« You idiot, I'm not apologizing out of fear. I'm apologizing because I know you're involved in a serious problem that I caused. And don't think you scare me. Despite my lack of magic, I won't hesitate to kick your ass. »
The tension was palpable between them. The boy lit a flame in his right hand, smiled, and then said:
« Excuse me, the monkey? »
Hearing this, Martis had a vision of a man in a kimono with hair soaked in rain, standing there and saying: « Excuse me, did I not hear the monkey? »
Martis was shocked; it was the first time he had such a vision. But Leolio came out and immediately stopped them.
« Hey, Charlipé! »
The silver-eyed boy, Charlipé, looked at Leolio, who continued:
« Leave him alone. »
Charlipé backed away and gave him a smile full of pride.
« Calm down, golden lion, I wasn't going to do anything to him. »
Then he looked at Martis and said:
« Pray you don't cross me on the mat today. »
Then he walked away, laughing like a madman.
Martis was still thinking about what he had seen.
« A long-haired man in the rain who says: "Excuse me, did I not hear the monkey?"
It's the first time I've had this vision. »