The oppressive pressure lifted, and the students, caught off guard, lost their balance and collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. Lucien walked over to the unconscious Lucan and hoisted him up. He glanced back at the other students and said, "I won. Now get to class. We're already late."
He strode away, brushing past Amara. She watched him for a moment, then turned to the other students, who looked visibly frustrated, except for the vampire girl, whose face remained an icy mask. One by one, they passed her and headed downstairs. Amara lingered briefly before following them.
---
Upon reaching the classroom, Lucien set Lucan down in the first empty seat he found. The other students filed in and took their places. Amara walked to the back of the room and settled into her usual seat.
Lucan stirred, his eyes fluttering open. He realized he was seated in the classroom, his body slumped in a chair. His fist clenched tightly. I lost? Damn it all!
Lucien clapped his hands sharply, drawing the students' attention to him. "Everyone, I'm Lucien Kaelhart, your temporary instructor. I already know Amara. Now, the rest of you, introduce yourselves. Let's start with you." He pointed at the demon boy.
"I'm Lucan," he muttered, his voice thick with irritation.
Next to him, dwarf boy stood up and said, "I'm Liam."
The elf boy, slouched in his seat, didn't bother to stand. "I'm Alaric," he said coolly.
Two seats over, a human girl rose and announced, "I'm Ziya."
Lucien's gaze shifted to the vampire girl. She stood gracefully and said, "I'm Yukiara."
"Now that we know each other, let's begin our lesson," Lucien announced. He walked over to a table, picked up a book, flipped through it briefly, and set it back down.
"What weapons do you all use?" Lucien asked.
"We're all swordsmen," Liam replied.
Lucien nodded. "Which art do you follow?" he asked.
The students exchanged puzzled glances, not because they lacked knowledge, but because it was the BCE era, and the concept of swordsman arts had not yet been established.
"What do you mean by art? Do swordsmen have such a thing?" Alaric asked, leaning forward slightly.
"Without arts, you cannot develop powerful abilities," Lucien explained. "Arts are the paths that allow you to unlock the full potential of your spirit energy. The art I currently use is Atman art, but it's unique to its sword wielder, so you cannot adopt it. Instead, I recommend you create your own."
"Create one? How?" Ziya asked, her curiosity piqued.
"By mastering yourself," Lucien said. "You must perfect every single movement, both physically and mentally. It requires discipline and growth in equal measure. Developing an art typically takes decades, but if you pay close attention to my teachings, by the time your student life ends, you'll emerge as creators of your own arts." His voice carried unshakable confidence.
"That's nonsense. You're just feeding us false hopes. Arts? What are they even? No one talks about them," Lucan said, dismissing him.
Lucien thought to himself, Because no one has lived multiple centuries. Then, in his calm tone, he replied, "I created this 'art', so how would others know to speak of it? Wait, let me show you what art is."
He drew his Atman Blade and activated Spirit Control. Suddenly, Lucan felt a tickling sensation in his stomach. All the other students experienced the same.
"What's this?" Lucan asked, then burst into laughter. All the students, except Yukiara, started laughing too.
"This tickling is so frustrating!" Alaric said, laughing uncontrollably.
Liam rolled on the ground, unable to stop. Ziya tried to suppress her laughter but failed miserably. Amara laughed as well, though hers came out as soft giggles. Yukiara, however, felt nothing unusual in her stomach and watched the others with a steady gaze.
The tickling sensation vanished, and the students returned to normal. Lucan's eye twitched. "What was that?"
Lucien explained, "That was a skill of my Swordsman Art, Spirit Control. I tickled your spirit, which made you laugh."
All the students looked stunned, except for the ever-composed Yukiara.
Ziya raised her hand. "I have a question. Why didn't Yukiara laugh?"
"Simple," Lucien said, his expression calm. "I didn't use the skill on her."
"Why not? Was it too many people for your skill to handle?" Liam asked.
"I don't know the exact reason." Lucien glanced at the file containing the students' details. "But I do know Yukiara rarely shows emotion. I want her to laugh or smile when she finds a moment that feels right for her to express herself."
He pulled out a small diary and jotted something down. "What's that?" Alaric asked.
Lucien flipped it. "My bucket list. I just added 'Yukiara's smile' to it."
Yukiara's expression remained unchanged, but she sighed and muttered, "Idiot."
---
The day had been consumed by studying and combat training. It was Lucien's first day, and it had gone more smoothly than he expected. Now, in the evening, he stood in front of the workers' room where he was to sleep. All the workers had gone home, leaving the old building and the main school building silent. Lucien was alone in the old structure.
He entered the workers' room, which was cluttered with cleaning chemicals and supplies. He walked toward a door and opened it, revealing an empty room with a bed and a quilt. A small desk with two drawers and a chair stood beside it. A window next to the bed allowed moonlight to spill inside.
He sat on the bed, finding it comfortable enough. "I haven't opened the Market since the morning, but now I have time."
He opened the Market and scrolled through the items category. His eyes caught an item called "Teleportation Gem," priced at [40,000 Credits].
"That's expensive. If I buy it, I'll only have about 12,000 Credits left. But it's worth it. The description says it can teleport me anywhere I can remember."
He clicked the [Buy] button, and a blue gem appeared in his hand. He examined it closely, then gripped it tightly, focusing on a forest he remembered.
Suddenly, Lucien was teleported into a forest. He opened his eyes and recognized the place. "Yes, it worked. I'm in the forest, days away from the kingdom of Valoria. This is where I found the strongest beast. Last time, I didn't fight because I was weak, but not this time. I'm stronger now, though none of my skills have leveled up since I haven't used them."
He drew his Atman Blade and activated Spirit Vision, scanning within a kilometer to locate the strongest night beast.
When the scan finished, a window appeared:
[Name: Spear Giant]
[Level: 50]
[Race: Night Monster]
[Type: Amok]
A sudden sensation hit him as the beast noticed his presence. "It's coming toward me," Lucien said, his expression calm.
He thought to himself, I know the behavior of Spear Giants. They can form multiple spears from their hands and launch them at lightning speed. Their appearance is terrifying, as they are night monsters, born at night and destined to die at dawn.
---
A spear struck Lucien's left arm with a sharp slash. He looked at the wound, confused. "I got hit. I need to be careful." He pulled the spear out and tossed it aside.
Another spear flew toward him. Lucien dodged it, but a second one followed. He grabbed the first spear from the ground and hurled it at the incoming one, causing both to shatter in midair.
Lucien leaped back, and then he saw the Spear Giant. It was a grotesque creature, seven meters tall, walking on four long, dog-like legs. Two arms protruded from its back, each clutching a spear. Its skin resembled old, rusty metal, and it had two large eyes and a terrifying smile.
Lucien thought to himself, This would be a nightmare for anyone seeing it for the first time, but I've encountered it multiple times in my past life. It's not a problem for me.
Lucien charged toward the Spear Giant. The monster roared and hurled multiple spears at him, but Lucien dodged them, often shielded by trees. Enraged, the creature began smashing the trees with its legs.
Lucien leaped onto one of the monster's legs and climbed up its body. The Spear Giant tried to shake him off and launched spears at him, but Lucien evaded them and slashed at its back with his Atman Blade.
The monster roared again, forming multiple spears in its hands and thrusting them at Lucien, who was now in midair.
Several spears halted just before striking Lucien, while he dodged and slashed through the rest with his sword. He landed on a tree branch and thought, Thanks to Spirit Control, I stopped those spears infused with the monster's spirit energy. Otherwise, I would have died.
The Spear Giant charged again, launching hundreds of spears. Lucien ducked behind a tree, then darted away, weaving through the forest and using trees for cover. The monster roared and began uprooting trees, tossing them aside to clear the area.
Lucien began devising a strategy to defeat the monster. Suddenly, an idea struck him. "Got it!" he exclaimed.