Once again, Leon stood at the precipice of his own soul. The hostel room had vanished, replaced by the crushing vastness of the Realm of the Almighty. Before him loomed the endless pantheon of gods, their humanoid forms grotesque and divine—some with multiple heads that whispered in unison, others with dozens of eyes that tracked his every breath. Their collective gaze was heavy with disdain, a weight so cold it sent a shiver down Leon's spine and forced him to take a staggering step back.
But as the shadows of fear began to creep in, Yudris's voice echoed in the chambers of his mind. This is your creation. To control it, you must not be afraid.
Leon steeled his heart. Suddenly, his silver hair ignited with a celestial glow and his golden eyes flared like twin stars. He began to levitate, rising until he reached the very center of the divine assembly. When he spoke, his voice was no longer that of a child; it was a thousand choruses singing in terrifying harmony.
"I am your creator," he declared, the command vibrating through the fabric of the dimension. "And you shall obey."
An absolute, deafening silence fell over the realm. Then, one by one, the colossal giants—each a world-class threat capable of ending civilizations—placed their right hands over their chests and bowed low. The rebellion of his subconscious had ended. The pantheon had acknowledged its master.
While Leon mastered his inner world, the Academy administration was in a state of quiet crisis. They reviewed the footage and reports from the forest with growing disbelief. No one had predicted a Green Dragon's appearance, and even more concerning was the manner in which it died.
"A single Green Dragon requires the combined effort of fifty C-Rank students to even stand a chance," one official argued during the review. "To suggest a ten-year-old killed it is absurd. It must have been a passing A-Rank or S-Rank hero who intervened and left before being spotted."
The committee reached a cold conclusion: Leon von Vinci would be tested again. If he failed to replicate even a fraction of that power, the incident would be officially ruled as a "Random S-Rank Intervention."
The Return to Reality
When school resumed after a day of mourning and rest, the atmosphere on the training field was suffocating. Every eye was on Leon. Connell and Kendris approached him immediately, their expressions a mix of gratitude and intense suspicion.
"How did you do it, Leon?" Kendris asked, her eyes searching his for a lie. "That explosion... that wasn't a C-Rank skill."
"I... I told you," Leon replied, looking away. "I don't remember anything after I was knocked out."
They stared at him with an intensity that suggested they didn't believe a word, but their interrogation was cut short by Mr. Mason. The instructor commended the class on their teamwork and announced that everyone had passed the mission. However, as the students began to head to their classrooms, Mason's voice rang out:
"Leon. Remain behind."
Prince Lloyd's face twisted with disdain as he walked past Leon, his aura radiating a silent, bitter heat. Once the field was empty, Mr. Mason walked up to Leon, his expression unreadable.
"Do you know why you've been picked to stay?" Mason asked.
Leon looked straight into his instructor's eyes. The fear was gone, replaced by the calm he had found in the Soul Palace. "No... well, maybe," he muttered.
Mason didn't respond. He simply gestured for Leon to follow. They walked deep into the heart of the Academy, eventually entering the Administration Review Room. Leon stepped inside to find the school's high committee waiting for him. They weren't there to congratulate him; they were there to dissect him. The evaluation had begun.
The atmosphere in the Administration Review Room was suffocating. Leon stood at the center of the floor, feeling the weight of five pairs of "devouring" eyes. Before him sat the committee: five S-Rank elites who managed every crucial detail of the Academy. Somewhere behind the scenes, pulling the strings of the administration, sat the final head—an unknown Legendary Rank whose mere reputation kept the school in order.
Rika Don Vickrey, a renowned S-Rank water user, was the first to break the silence. Her voice was like ice, cold and calm. "Young Master Leon, do you know why you are here?"
"I believe it's because of the dragon incident," Leon responded, his voice betraying a slight shake despite his training.
"Precisely," Rika continued. "We find it absurd that a C-Rank could kill a Green Dragon. We need the truth: did you kill that beast by yourself?"
"I… I don't remember much from the incident," Leon replied, leaning into the amnesia he had claimed before. "I can't give you much information."
The room fell into a heavy silence until Bruce Brasin, a middle-aged S-Rank clone master, leaned forward. His face was unfazed, his eyes sharp. "Well then, we intend to leave no stone unturned. We have come to a conclusion: we are going to test you."
Leon's heart sank. "A test?"
"You shall fight an A-Rank," Rika clarified. "You must fight with everything you have. If we notice you are holding back, you will be suspended for deceit. Do not worry about losing; there is no repercussion for defeat. We only intend to evaluate your true ceiling."
"The test begins soon," Bruce added coldly. "You will fight in the main arena in front of the entire school. We shall be the judges. Go prepare yourself—and remember, do not hold back."
As Leon left the room, his mind was a whirlwind of panic. He had fought an S-Rank before and won, but that was a secret. If he fought at full strength now, everything he had built would collapse. How would his father react to a suspension? How would Claire feel if she realized he had been lying to her about his power level this entire time?
Desperate, he summoned Yudris to his side as he walked through the halls. "Yudris, I need a plan. If I show my power, I'm exposed. If I don't, I'm suspended."
"Young Lord, you have nothing to worry about," Yudris replied, her voice a soothing contrast to his frantic thoughts. "As long as you do not take that 'Glowing Form,' I believe you will do just fine."
"Are you certain?" Leon asked.
"Yes. And if anything goes truly wrong, I can always turn back time for you."
Leon stopped in his tracks, staring at her. "What? You can turn back time, Yudris?"
"If you desire it, Young Lord, I can," she responded with a cryptic smile.
"Yudris... what can't you do?"
"I am yet to find out, Young Lord."
The hour arrived. The school arena was packed to the rafters; every student and teacher had gathered to witness the C-Rank "anomaly" face off against an elite. Leon stepped onto the sands, his opponent already waiting: Glean Carter, an A-Rank elemental master whose aura felt like a crushing weight.
Leon took a deep breath, centering his mind. One wrong move, and his life at the Academy was over. He had to be careful. He had to be in control.
The referee raised a hand, the sunlight glinting off the whistle. A sharp blast echoed through the stadium.
"BEGIN!"