Time passed in the blink of an eye, and several days went by peacefully.
The ample sense of security gradually eased the tense atmosphere within the estate. Captain of the Guard Garick’s injuries were also steadily recovering; he could already lean against the headboard, grumbling and complaining while drinking his meat broth.
As for Young Master Leo, these past few days could be described as “learning a bitter lesson and turning over a new leaf.”
Perhaps he was frightened by the assassin from that night, or perhaps the beating Ailiya gave him with that brush left an indelible psychological scar.
He not only stopped throwing tantrums but also toned down a lot of his previous arrogant and domineering young master attitude.
Especially when facing Ailiya.
During this period, life in the estate had rarely returned to normal.
***
In the corridor on the second floor.
Leo was holding his wand, walking while muttering and reciting complex earth element magic chants under his breath.
Just then, a set of extremely light footsteps came from around the corner of the corridor.
Ailiya walked over, carrying a basin of freshly washed bedsheets, her expression calm and indifferent.
Leo’s voice instantly caught in his throat, like a duck being choked.
He almost reflexively snapped to attention on the spot, quickly turned to face the wall, pretending to be studying the patterns on the wallpaper, and even loudly and deliberately recited to cover it up: “Ah! O resilient elements slumbering beneath the earth…”
Only when that familiar, cool fragrance drifted past from behind him and the footsteps faded into the distance did Leo, feeling guilty like a thief, turn his head and peek half his face out from the corner, secretly watching that slender, silver-haired back disappear at the stairwell.
“Whew…” Leo let out a long sigh of relief, patted his chest, and muttered quietly, “The weird aura around that woman is getting more and more frightening. That night, when everything outside was exploding so violently, was she really just sweeping the floor?”
He couldn’t figure it out, simply couldn’t.
Leo shook his head, tossing these distracting thoughts aside, and hurried towards the training ground in the backyard.
Inside the training ground.
Boom!
A tangerine-colored fireball shot out with a roar, smashing hard into a discarded wooden target in the distance.
Although the aim was slightly off, the shockwave and flames from the explosion still instantly engulfed more than half of the wooden target.
“Well done, Young Master.”
Ian sat on a chair to the side, holding a small notebook, nodding in approval as he recorded.
“Of course, I’m a genius,” Leo said proudly, tilting his chin up, blowing on the residual heat at the tip of his wand, his face full of unconcealed pride.
Ian adjusted the black-framed glasses on the bridge of his nose, flipping through the records in his notebook, beginning a phased assessment.
“Hmm, the condensation speed and power of the fireball art are barely up to standard.”
“The concealment and trigger timing of the earth spike spell have also improved quite a bit compared to before.”
“And the defensive thickness of the water shield spell, during the test just now, could already block a frontal charge from a normal beast.”
With each sentence Ian spoke, Leo nodded frantically, that noble young master’s confidence surging again, his tail practically wagging up to the sky.
“Hahaha, I told you! As long as I put in a little bit of effort, these basic magics are a piece of cake!” Leo laughed heartily, hands on his hips.
Watching Leo’s buoyant demeanor, Ian closed the notebook in his hand, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly into a smile that could be described as “benevolent.”
“Since you’ve mastered these basic offensive and defensive magics, the progress is indeed much faster than I anticipated.”
Ian stood up, patting the dust off his robe.
“Then, let’s strike while the iron is hot. We’ll begin the graduation assessment.”
“Graduation assessment?!”
Upon hearing this, Leo was overjoyed, his face clearly saying, “Bring it on, I fear nothing.”
“No problem! What’s the test? Hitting moving targets? Or casting magic blindfolded? Bring it on!” Leo patted his chest grandly, eager to try.
Ian chuckled lightly but didn’t speak. Instead, he walked to the very center of the training ground.
He gently tapped his wand on the ground, silently uttering a short incantation.
A low rumble echoed.
Under the pull of magic power, a crude, half-human-tall earth puppet slowly rose from the cracks between the flagstones, standing in the middle of the field.
“Why’d you make a mudman?” Leo asked curiously, leaning in for a closer look.
“The rules are simple,” Ian said, pointing at the earth puppet, his tone relaxed. “Next, we will conduct a practical combat spar. You just need to use any magic or method you have mastered. As long as it shatters, you pass the assessment.”
Leo looked at the lifeless puppet that didn’t even have a defensive barrier, curling his lip disdainfully.
He thought it would be some high-difficulty test.
“That’s it?” Leo continued to nod proudly, his face full of indifference. “I could stand here with my eyes closed and blast it to bits with one fireball art. This is way too easy!”
“It is indeed very simple.”
Ian pushed his glasses up, a sharp glint of light flashing across the lenses. His expression suddenly lost its smile, becoming unprecedentedly serious.
“However, before that… what you have to face is this earth puppet’s guardian. You must first break through the guardian’s defense before you can touch it, you know.”
Leo was stunned for a moment, looking around the empty training ground.
“Guardian? Who? Are you going to call Uncle Garick to fight injured? That won’t do, I’m afraid I might accidentally send him back to bed.”
Ian looked at Leo, who was still completely out of the loop, and sighed helplessly.
He unhurriedly drew his own thick magic tome from his waist. As the pages rustled open, a pressure of genuine Arcadia Academy student-level magic power began to spread across the training ground.
Then, Ian held the wand inlaid with a high-grade cyan magic crystal horizontally across his chest. The tip of the wand was already glowing with a dangerous cyan light.
He looked at Leo and revealed a smile filled with immense pressure.
His thin lips parted slightly, slowly uttering a single word:
“Me.”
A gentle breeze blew across the empty training ground, stirring up a few fallen leaves.
The air suddenly fell silent.
The smug, triumphant smile on Leo’s face instantly froze solid.
He stared dumbfounded at the fully armed Ian ahead of him, who not only had magic power surging around him but had even preemptively layered a semi-transparent mana shield over his own body.
“Huh?”
Leo pointed at Ian in disbelief, his voice cracking and changing pitch.
“You?!”