Hearing her threat, Lucifer couldn't help but have a second thought as he glanced at his gloves. He was really in trouble, it seemed.
If he didn't take them off now, he was going to get one strike. Three strikes, and he was expelled. Could he afford it? He knew he couldn't afford to get expelled, but he couldn't afford to take them off either.
"Grandpa, I promise. I will never take these gloves off."
He couldn't help but remember the promise he had made to his grandfather. Also, if he took them off, he could quickly die because of his sickness. He decided what he needed to do. No matter what, he needed to stand firm.
"I can't take them off but listen to me first. I'll tell you the truth!" Lucifer said as he sighed.
"Actually, I have a medical condition. If I take these gloves off, my hands will come in contact with the atmosphere, and my allergy will act up. I'll die. I can't take them off," he continued.
"The only reason I didn't tell this before was because I thought everyone would think I'm lying," he further explained.
"So that's the route you want to go. You're not doing what I asked, and you're also lying? Fine. That's it," Yulia let out, looking furious.
She tapped the bracelet which was in her hand. A light lit up in her bracelet before she started speaking.
" Batch 24, Class A, Alex Alaric broke the rule of the academy. He refused to listen to me and take off his gloves, and he also lied. Register this in his record."
As she finished speaking, she tapped her bracelet again, and the light stopped.
It didn't take long before a light lit up in Lucifer's bracelet. It was a red light, though.
"That's your first strike. Two more, and you'll be expelled. But since you got the punishment for not listening to remove the gloves, I can't punish you for the same again no matter how many times you refuse to take off the gloves now," Yulia told Lucifer.
"I'll let you keep wearing them. Get in the water. Your training will begin now."
Even though Lucifer received the strike, at least he didn't have to take off his gloves now.
And learning to swim was also important, so he again went inside the water.
...
Time kept trickling away, and soon a year had passed since Lucifer had entered this Academy.
He had gone through a year of training to learn many things, and he put his entire effort into learning well.
Moreover, throughout this one year, he also met Grandpa Chi a few times who came to meet him.
Soon, it was the time for the Yearly Exams to see how much the students learned in the year.
Everyone had prepared extensively for the exams, and now it was time for them to show what they learned.
...
"Class A, today begins your first Yearly Exams. Since it's the first year, it'll be much easier and different from the next ones but just remember, you can still fail. Give your best and try to get the first place!" Franci told the six students of Class A who were going to give their first test in the first-year final exams.
"The first test is simple. There are six doors before you, one with each of your names. So all you need to do is step inside the door with your name!"
"Inside, you'll see the test specially designed while keeping your gifts and training in mind. The tests you all go through will be the same, and they'll be equal in difficulty irrespective of what you face. So best of luck. And I'll see you on the other side," Franci told the students.
Yovann and the others were also standing there, wishing the students the best of luck as well.
It was finally the time to see who learned how much.
Cassius was the first one to step inside through one of the doors. The others also stepped inside their rooms, leaving Lucifer, who seemed to be thinking something.
"What happened? Feeling scared?" Yovann asked Lucifer as he stepped forward.
"No. I was just thinking about something. I'm fine," Lucifer muttered as he shook his head.
He passed through the door, which had his name on top.
The five teachers were left behind. As for the Dean, he wasn't here. Throughout the year, not a single student had seen the Dean.
"Who do you think will win?" Yovann asked the others.
"Cassius," Morbius answered first.
"Yeah. Cassius will win," Alexis also answered.
"I think it might be one between Cassius and Alex," Franci muttered.
"Alex? That kid? No chance. I taught him for a year. He is very good, but I don't think he has what it takes," Morbius answered.
"That's because he's new to this. Others have already had years of training but trust me. That kid has something. I believe he can surprise us today," Franci replied, shaking his head.
Even though he had been strict to Lucifer on the outside, inside, he knew that Lucifer had the potential.
"I think Cassius will win. Alex can be good, but that's the problem too. All he has is his strength. He can't kill the enemies without getting close to them. And to fight like that, it takes more time to finish each enemy," Mirali chimed in.
"Cassius, on the other hand, can use his Divine Energy to kill many enemies at once, that too from a distance," she continued.
"It saves his time, so he can definitely come out faster than Alex. It's all about who finishes first. So my bet is on Cassius as well. In fact, I think Alex can't even get third," she further added as she yawned as if she was again feeling sleepy.
"What do you think, Yovann?" Alexi asked the scar-faced man.
"I'm not sure. Actually, I think Mirali's logic is right. Theoretically, Cassius should win, but I feel like we might see something different. I don't know what it is about Alex, but I think he can make an upset," Yovann answered, glancing towards the door Lucifer had entered.
...
As Lucifer entered through the door, he found himself standing on the stairs that went down.
He started running down. Time was of the essence as he needed to finish on time.
The bracelet was still in his hand, but as he was given the permission, he could use his strength now.
There was a white light blinking on his bracelet, showing that he had the permission to use his gifts. There was also that red light there which was showing that he had his first strike already.
