That single answer instantly killed the mood of the classroom. Only Leo seemed to frown. He remembered correctly—Jean had told him that to cure a Condemned, an Aura Farmer had to enter the Condemned’s Seed Domain. Well, that method might not be officially accepted, and Jean was the only person he knew who had attempted it and survived, but he didn’t know whether he had actually cured those people or not.

Seraphine calmly closed the textbook halfway.

"Fortunately for you, most Aura Farmers never reach that stage if they cultivate properly."

Leo wasn’t sure if that sounded reassuring or threatening.

The instructor suddenly pointed toward another student.

"You. Explain the purpose of Volumes."

The student straightened immediately.

"Volumes are classifications that measure an Aura Farmer’s overall potential and capability."

"Correct." She nodded once.

"However, many idiots misunderstand Volumes."

Her eyes casually drifted toward Brak again.

The scarred boy looked personally attacked.

"Having a strong Volume does not automatically make you talented. It simply gives you greater potential."

Then her gaze moved toward Leo.

"Likewise, unusual Volumes are not always blessings."

Leo pretended not to notice and cursed under his breath.

The class continued for nearly another hour after that.

Most of the lecture focused on basic Aura circulation, the history of the System, and the dangers of reckless cultivation. Seraphine didn’t overexplain anything, but every few minutes she casually mentioned things that sounded important enough to change someone’s life.

Things like: never trust corrupted Aura. Never invade an unknown Domain recklessly. Never form contracts carelessly.

Some students wrote every word down desperately. Leo just listened quietly.

By the time the lecture finally ended, the entire classroom felt mentally exhausted.

Seraphine closed the textbook fully.

"For your first assignment, write a three-page analysis on why humanity still depends on Aura despite its risks."

Instant groans spread across the room.

Leo stared at the board in horror. Three pages?

’This academy is evil.’

Seraphine ignored everyone’s suffering completely.

"Failure to submit it before next week results in punishment duty."

A student hesitantly raised his hand.

"What kind of punishment duty?"

The instructor adjusted her glasses.

"Cleaning beast cages in the lower training sectors."

The student immediately lowered his hand.

"Class dismissed."

The moment she said those words, the classroom instantly exploded into noise. Students began talking loudly amongst themselves while others immediately rushed out.

Leo remained seated while staring blankly at the assignment. As he was mentally grieving his future, a shadow suddenly stopped beside his desk.

Leo slowly looked up. The scarred boy looked irritated, embarrassed, and strangely awkward at the same time.

The chubby student stood behind him nervously while the pink-haired student remained leaning near the window with his usual bored expression.

Leo sighed inwardly.

’Please don’t tell me this idiot wants round two.’

Brak scratched the back of his neck aggressively before speaking.

"...You fight well."

Leo blinked. That was not what he expected.

"You came to compliment me?"

"Tch, don’t make it weird."

"It already is weird."

The chubby boy suddenly stepped forward excitedly.

"What Brak means is that he respects strength and usually beats people up before becoming friends with them."

Leo stared at him.

"That sounds extremely unhealthy."

"It works though," the chubby boy defended.

Brak clicked his tongue.

"My family trains through combat. If someone can’t fight back then they’re useless."

Leo looked at the cracked desk nearby.

"And your solution was attempted strangulation?"

"You looked arrogant."

Leo raised an eyebrow. "You grabbed my neck in under ten seconds."

"...Fair point."

The pink-haired student finally pushed himself away from the window and walked toward them slowly.

Up close, Leo realized the guy looked even stranger. His expression remained calm to the point it almost looked unnatural.

He stopped beside Brak.

"You’re Leo Atlantis."

Leo nodded carefully.

The boy stared at him silently for several seconds before speaking again.

"You don’t move like a noble."

"What does that even mean?"

"Even I don’t know, but it definitely means something."

’Huh?’ Leo frowned slightly.

The pink-haired student extended his hand casually.

"Lucien Veyth."

His pink eyes remained calm and unreadable.

"Capricorn Rank. Oracle Volume."

Leo shook his hand.

The moment their hands touched, Leo suddenly felt something strange. It felt more like a brief pressure sliding across his soul before disappearing immediately.

Lucien seemed to notice Leo’s reaction, but instead of explaining, he simply released the handshake.

"We’ll probably meet often," he said calmly.

Then he turned around and walked away.

Brak immediately followed after him while the chubby boy waved enthusiastically at Leo before running after the other two.

Leo remained seated quietly for a few seconds. Lucien was definitely not the type to mess with. If anything, he was glad they were now on good terms.

"That’s three foes down. In this academy, I guess I still have a thousand to go."

He sighed and started thinking about the assignment again. He knew what to write and would definitely go beyond three pages, given the lectures he had taken from Yariel for years and the few he had also gotten from the Seek.

The only problem he had was writing. He really hated writing for a long period of time. It would have been better if Seraphine had said the assignment was for them to battle one of the academy beasts.

Fortunately, his next class was Practical Aura Application which was in fifteen minutes.

Unlike Aura Theory, this one didn’t sit well with him. Not because he disliked combat, but because "practical" in academy terms usually meant "you will suffer physically while learning something obvious in a complicated way."

But it was still better than Aura Theory. It wasn’t essentially combats but just a practical teaching on how to control and utilize aura in different fields.

With fifteen minutes before the class, Leo stepped out to study the academy more.

Occasionally, he passed sealed observation windows embedded into the walls. Behind them were training rooms far larger than any classroom he had seen so far. In one, a group of students were suspended mid-air while instructors forced them to stabilize their Aura flow under pressure fields. In another, a student repeatedly collapsed and stood up again as a barrier formed around them, absorbing and reflecting their attacks back at increasing intensity.

Leo watched briefly as he passed one of the windows.

He continued walking.

The further he went, the more structured everything became. Directional signs were now layered with small Aura scripts that reacted to movement. Some doors only opened when specific ranks passed near them. Others remained completely inert unless an instructor authorized entry.

Eventually, he reached a wider intersection.

In the center stood a tall rotating pillar of light, projecting a map of the academy’s eastern sector. Students gathered around it, silently selecting paths with simple gestures before being redirected into different corridors.

Leo stopped at the edge of the projection.

A faint list of classes hovered near his vision when he focused slightly:

CAPRICORN – PRACTICAL AURA APPLICATION

Location: Eastern Combat Wing – Sector C

Time Remaining: 09:42

"This school is really cool."

He exhaled slowly.

’There is still time.’

He moved away from the projection and continued walking instead of heading straight there. The academy was too large to just sit in one place waiting for the next lesson. If he was going to spend years here, understanding its structure early might save him trouble later.

After a few turns, the corridor opened into a long glass-lined bridge connecting two massive sections of the fortress.

Below it, training grounds stretched endlessly.

This area was different from the earlier observation zones. Here, students were actively engaged in real combat drills.

Aura flared in bursts of colorless distortion, twisting the air in visible ripples. Some students moved with precise, trained efficiency. Others were clearly struggling, barely holding their stance as instructors corrected them with quick, sharp interventions.

Leo leaned slightly against the glass watching with amusement.

After a few minutes a voice echoed across the building, announcing the commencement of the next classes.

Leo sighed. "Here we go again."