One thing that remained a constant for the two months was the uncertainty that Leo and Marcus had about how admissions were going to work for the Aura Knight Academy. Neither of them had any idea of what to do once the time came.
However, both of them were definitely strong enough to be admitted into the academy. This was even more true after the two months passed and the date for when the admissions started came near.
Marcus, who was a Middle-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight had completed missions at lightning speed to get upgraded to the Bronze Rank. When he was upgraded, he started finishing 3 missions as he thought about doing the minute he got his card.
In the span of two weeks, he was able to accumulate enough money to pay back Leo for the rent and the pill. On top of that, he was also able to save 45000 Starcoins, so he immediately bought an Aura Gathering Pill.
The singular pill was enough to make a huge difference. It was enough to help him break through to the Late-Stage of the 1st Circle. At this point, he was already a Silver Rank Mercenary because of the volume of the missions he had been doing, but he was just waiting to become strong enough to actually take up those missions.
After becoming a Late-Stage 1st Circle Aura Knight, he started doing Silver Rank Missions, making 1000-2000 Starcoins more than what he used to in a day. It wasn’t as much of an improvement because he could only take up one mission a day unlike with Bronze Rank Missions.
However, by finishing Silver Rank Mission instead, he started to get stronger and gain more battle experience. He started to complete the missions with ease. At the end of the month, he got a second Aura Gathering Pill which brought him to the Peak Stage of the 1st Circle.
This basically let him cruise through the entirety of the time while he finished Silver Rank missions. He had saved a total of 100000 Starcoins by the end of this period, enough to pay a small amount of the tuition that Leo was going to cover.
As for Leo, he didn’t have as much of a leap in strength as Marcus. However, he was able to increase his proficiency in one skill, and that was enough for him. He was able to bring Valkyr’s Deception to Advanced proficiency, prepping him completely for the academy.
With this, he would be able to trick even 4th Circle Mages as long as they weren’t in the Late Stage or Peak Stage. He was not worried about what would happen to him at all when he got to the academy.
Another thing that he learned that was mildly useful was a new spell. When he broke through to the Middle-Stage, a new spell appeared in the spell book he had. It was the spell that let him fly.
[Fly]
[Use mana to fly through the air]
It was an incredibly easy spell to learn, like the sound transmission spell. However, for him to have great mobility in the air and fight freely, he would have to use a lot more magic. And for his movements to be smooth, he would need more practice.
Apart from that, he didn’t have a lot of changes. His magic didn’t increase substantially. Neither did his proficiency in his normal skills. But he was still strong enough for the academy.
After the two months were over, he decided to finally go out to find out exactly how he was supposed to register for the academy. For that, he decided to go to the place where he actually knew someone.
He decided to go to the manor of the Iron Roses Mercenary Group. He was going to ask Evelyn or Clarice since they stayed in Eldridge for longer and probably roamed the streets unlike him.
When he got to the gate, he knocked and waited. A girl came and saw Leo there. She immediately got on guard.
“What are you here for?” She asked.
“I know someone here. Can you tell Evelyn or Clarice that Leo is here?” He asked the girl politely.
“How do you know them?” She asked.
Leo shrugged. “We are from the same city? We met a few months ago and did a mission together. I already came here once with them.” He said.
The girl sighed and went inside. She came back in 10 minutes. She was accompanied by Clarice. Clarice walked outside and talked to Leo.
“Hello, Leo. It’s been a long time. Did you have some reason for looking for me?” She asked him.
He smiled. “Hello, Clarice. It has. I called you here for some help in getting information. If I want to know where to register for the academy, where can I get that information?” He asked her.
“Oh, I can just tell you. We looked into the process for Lily. All you have to do is go to the academy on the day when registration starts and apply. There will be a long line, so you need to wait there. Once you apply, they will test you and if you are good enough to pass the initial round, you can go to the actual selection process.” She said.
He nodded. “That sounds great. Do you know when the registration date is?” He asked.
She nodded. “Yup. It’s on the 1st of August. So you have three days before it starts.”
“Thanks a lot for that, Clarice. Also, is Lily doing good?” He asked
She nodded. “Yes, she is getting better. She is still very quiet and is putting all of her time into training. She is trying her best to forget about her parents.”
He shook his head. “So, do you think she can enter the academy by next year?” He asked her.
She nodded. “Yes, she is making good progress. I think she can enter the 1st Circle Aura Knight by next year too. If she doesn’t though, then it will be hard for her to make it.” She said.
“Tell her that she can use some of the money I gave her for Aura Gathering Pills. That will help her. Thanks a lot for the information.” He said.
“Not a problem. By the way, drop by more. You are very famous around here. The girl didn’t know you because she was new, but the other mercenaries all know who you are.” She said.
He was confused. “Really? Why?”
“Because of what you did to Blake. You changed her completely. She started focusing entirely on training ever since losing to you. People are saying that if they lose to you, they would also gain enlightenment like her.” She said.
He shook his head. “Stop joking around. I don’t fight just anyone. And not everyone who fights me ends up getting enlightened.”
That was true. After all, most of the people who fought Leo ended up dead.