"Lecture's over."
Immediately, Lune's gaze lifted to see Elise standing just two rows down, looking straight at him.
The lecture hall was already empty. The other students, and even the lecturer, were already gone, leaving only him and Elise behind.
The girl, however, didn't linger.
Without a word, she turned and began walking down the stairs toward the exit.
'I guess the lecture's over' Lune thought as he stood up and followed her out of the hall.
There was no curriculum for pre-awakened students, so he was free to spend his remaining days on Earth however he saw fit.
For most people who returned from the First Expedition, the choice was obvious—learning to use their Technique.
Excitement built in his chest as he made his way toward the training halls.
After all, he possessed a Divine Title, something no one else had ever seen or heard of before. He couldn't even imagine what a divine technique might be capable of.
It took only a few minutes to reach the training building.
It was a five-story high structure.
The first floor for pre-awakened students, the second for awakened, the third for ascended, and so on.
The first floor was exceptionally busy.
Many awakened, and even some ascended, students offered their expertise for a hefty price, teaching swordsmanship or other essential skills.
Lune, however, paid them no attention as he pushed through the crowd toward the area reserved for technique advancement.
The moment he stepped inside, he saw countless students practicing.
Some weaved fire, striking training dummies with waves of flame. Others summoned creatures, commanding them to attack. Some techniques were less visible, enhancing their users in ways unseen by the naked eye.
Lune moved toward a far corner where an empty space awaited him. He picked up a training sword from one of the many weapon racks and stood before a dummy.
'This is it' he thought as he closed his eyes and focused on his Technique.
When a person received their technique, the knowledge of how to access it was engraved directly into their mind. However, understanding it, or using it to its full potential, was something they had to learn on their own.
Lune stretched his arm toward the dummy. With his eyes closed, he called upon his Hollow Technique.
A burst of essence erupted from his core, and a sudden chill spread through his palm.
But when he opened his eyes, he couldn't help but frown as nothing much had happened.
He had expected to see something grand, something overwhelming.
Instead, a small, black, liquid-like orb hovered above his palm, its surface twisting but doing nothing in particular.
He tilted his hand, moved it up and down. The orb followed obediently.
He swung his arm toward the dummy, commanding the orb to strike, but it simply clung to his palm, unmoving from its surface.
'What the hell is going on? Isn't this supposed to be a divine technique?'
Annoyed, Lune continued experimenting, but no matter what he tried, the Hollow Technique appeared utterly useless.
After an hour of complete failure, he left the training hall, frustration boiling inside him.
He hadn't expected miracles, but a divine technique should at least do something.
Lost in thought, he didn't notice when he walked into someone.
"Sorry," Lune muttered, turning to leave.
"Wait, wait, wait," a voice called as a man stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
Lune looked up to see a young man, perhaps a couple of years older than him, with brown hair and deep blue eyes, smiling brightly at him.
"Are you looking for a teacher?" the man asked. "I'm an exceptional sword master..."
Lune sighed.
'He's one of those guys trying to rip people off' he realized as he noticed several awakened students nearby, all attempting to catch the attention of passersbys.
"For a modest price of five thousand credits," the man continued, "I will teach you the infamous sword style of House Lionheart."
"Five thousand?!" Lune exclaimed.
His grandma's best month at her stall barely earned her twelve hundred credits. Who would be stupid enough to pay that much?
"I'm not interested—" Lune began, but stopped short.
"House Lionheart?" he repeated.
Their sword style was infamous, especially because it was never taught outside the main family.
The young man nodded enthusiastically.
"Do you take me for a fool?" Lune snapped. "Even I know House Lionheart doesn't teach its sword style to outsiders."
The man chuckled.
"That was before," he said. "Now, as the new head of House Lionheart, I've decided it's best for humanity that we share our knowledge."
Lune frowned.
"The head of the family? Tommen Lionheart is dead. The house was left in ruin, there is no head. I read about it before my First Expedition."
"Ah, that explains it," the man replied. "You haven't heard. I'm Cassian Lionheart, son of Tommen Lionheart. I returned from my Third Expedition two days ago."
'Cassian Lionheart…'
Lune had heard that name before.
Long before his First Expedition, he read an article claiming Tommen Lionheart's son had been trapped in his third expedition for three years and was presumed dead.
If the man before him was telling the truth, he would not only be an Ascended but also the last surviving Lionheart.
'No... there's no way' Lune concluded.
"Why would Cassian Lionheart be standing around training halls trying to scam people?" Lune asked.
"Scam?" Cassian scoffed. "I'm offering the chance to learn my family's sword style. Don't believe me? Here!" He pulled out an identification card and shoved it into Lune's hand.
Hesitantly, Lune glanced at it.
Cassian Lionheart.
His eyes widened as he looked back up to see Cassian already smiling.
"Still," Lune said, "why would you sell your family's sword style? Aren't you filthy rich?"
Cassian's expression darkened.
"When I returned, everything our House owned was gone. Looted or stolen."
His fist clenched, anger flashed beneath his calm demeanour before he calmed himself with a deep breath and continued.
"I'm raising funds to rebuild House Lionheart"
Lune nodded, but five thousand credits was far beyond for someone as broke as him.
"I see. Well, good luck," he said, turning away to leave.
"First session's free!" Cassian shouted after him.
Lune stopped mid-step.
'First session's free?'
He turned back, a satisfied smirk forming on his face.
"Should've started with that!"