Chapter 8: Black Flame
“Thank god the damage wasn’t anything serious, and the hole in the wall is too small to notice from the outside and easy to hide from the inside.” Leo sighed in relief after covering up the hole by sticking a piece of paper over it.
It was a simple but effective solution.
“If I want to continue practicing magic while keeping it a secret, I will need to do it elsewhere. Do you have such places in mind, Lilith?”
“Why can’t you just do it at the training center? They have private rooms made for students that wish to train magic.”
“I could do that, but won’t people be suspicious if I enter a training room meant for magic students when I cannot use magic?”
“You’re thinking too much.” Lilith shrugged.
“But if you’re that worried and cautious, you can visit a private training center outside of school. However, I must warn you, I cannot leave the school premises, so I won’t be able to help you outside.”
“Why can’t you leave? Is there some sort of barrier preventing you from leaving?” Leo asked out of curiosity.
“No, there is not. It’s just that the mana gathered in this place is just enough for me to keep my soul from degrading. The mana outside the academy’s territory is many times worse. If I go outside, I won’t be able to maintain the perfect condition of my soul, and if my soul is damaged, I will truly die.”
“I see… Well, I don’t plan on going outside since I don’t have any money, and renting a private training room sounds expensive.” Leo sighed.
“By the way, what do you normally do as a ghost? Do you just wander around?” He suddenly asked.
“I’m not a ghost! And yes, since I cannot touch anything, I can only wander around the academy and watch people do stuff. I go to classes to keep my mind healthy and my knowledge up to date, and I watch students train when I am bored.”
“When I am super bored, I spy on handsome students in the shower.” Lilith said with a perverted smile on her face.
Leo frowned, “What a vulgar hobby. I am now having second thoughts about being associated with someone like you…”
“I-I am just joking! Sheesh, you’re not very fun. Someone as elegant and graceful as myself would never stoop as low as spying on people when they are in the shower!”
“Right… I guess there must have been a misunderstanding just now when you were peeking at me in the shower.”
The corner of Lilith’s lips twitched after hearing his words.
“I’m sorry! Please don’t stop being my friend! I swear that I will only look at your body starting from today!”
“That’s not the point! Anyways, let’s change topics. I want to know more about you. Can you tell me how you died? What about your life before you became a spirit?”
“…”
Lilith showed a hesitant expression on her face.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t feel comfortable with it. I’m just asking, not demanding.” Leo quickly said.
“Thank you. I will tell you about my background when I am ready. However, I can tell you how I died. I was betrayed by my own family, and I was stabbed in the back. That’s how I died.”
Leo swallowed nervously. He didn’t expect her death to be so dark. Now he understands why she’s reluctant to tell her story.
‘If she’s telling the truth, I don’t think she will betray me in the future.’ Leo thought to himself.
“Can you tell me about your own world?” Lilith suddenly asked him.
“Trust me, you don’t want to. It’s a super boring place compared to this world.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Of course I do. This world has magic, but in my old world, magic only exists in fantasy stories and movies. If you take out all of the fun stuff in this world, you will have my world.”
“Fun, huh…” Lilith muttered in a low voice.
“Regardless, I still want to hear it. If you tell me about your world, I will teach you another magic spell!”
“Deal!” Leo immediately agreed.
Then he realized something.
“Wait, you said that you can’t use magic as a spirit, right? Aren’t magic circles considered magic?”
“Yes, magic circles are considered magic.”
“Then why can you use them?”
“Because my magic circles are not really magic circles. I am a spirit, so I can transform my body according to my imaginations, like this…”
Lilith’s right hand suddenly turned into the blade of a dagger.
“That’s pretty cool.” Leo mumbled.
“This is also how I can create magic circles without using magic.”
“Now that you understand, hurry and tell me about your world!”
“Even if you say that, I don’t even know where to start. My world is exactly the same as this world but without magic and vampires, and that includes the school and the students here.”
“Then tell me about your life before coming here.”
Leo nodded and said, “I was a student of this academy in my world, but the academy had a different name there— Four Seasons University.”
“I came from a common background that didn’t have much money, so I had to get a scholarship in order to join the school. I got one by scoring the highest in the entrance exam. Soon after I entered the school, the other students started bullying me because I was the only student in my grade to come from a common background, and always being above them in the tests that we must take every two weeks did not help me in the slightest.”
“Oh, since I skipped a few grades, I was also the youngest person in our grade.”
“And right as I was finally getting used to my life, I was tossed into this world without my permission.”
Lilith had a pitiful expression on her face after hearing Leo’s depressing school life.
“What about your life before the academy?”
Leo chuckled and said, “It’s even more boring. All I did was study from day to night, so I had no friends.”
After a moment of silence, Lilith spoke, “Honestly, your life is a lot like mine.”
“I had no friends because I had spent most of my time training magic at home, and I had a very strict household. This was my life from start to end.”
“Maybe it’s because of our similar life that’s brought us together? Is this what they call a fateful encounter?”
“I doubt it.” Leo immediately rejected.
Lilith smiled, “But it is true that you’re the only person in this academy that can see me. Anyways, here is another magic spell, just like I’d promised.”
Lilith showed Leo a different magic circle this time.
Leo stared at the magic circle for a couple of seconds before the system appeared.
[Black Flame]
[Affinity: Dark/Fire]
[Tier: 1]
[Mana: 25]
[Mastery Rank: F]
“This is the magic circle for Black Flame, a dark and fire magic spell.” Lilith explained.
“Huh? I thought I cannot use magic with a different affinity.” Leo tilted his head in a puzzled manner.
“While it’s true that this magic spell has fire element, it is also considered a Dark Magic. As long as the magic spell has some dark element, you will be able to use it. With that being said, if you have a magic affinity for both elements, this magic spell will become more powerful and scale to both of your magic affinity.” Lilith explained.
“I see… I really want to try out this new magic spell, but I will have to endure it for now.” Leo sighed.
Sometime later, Leo left his room and went to the laundry to clean his uniform that reeked of sweat before going to see Hanks.
“What’s up, Leo? And why are you in a bathrobe?”
“I don’t have any clothes, and my only uniform is currently being washed in the laundry.”
“I see… Then do you want to borrow some of my clothes? We have pretty similar body structures, so it should work out.”
“Are you sure?” Leo asked.
“Yes, I have a lot that I stopped using. You can even take them if you want.”
Leo shook his head and said, “I just need something that I can work out in. And just one set of clothes is enough.”
“All right. Come with me.” Hanks brought Leo to his own room.
Sometime later, Hanks handed Leo three sets of clothes for working out.
“I know you only asked for one, but just take them. I was planning on throwing them out later, anyway.”
“Thanks. I owe you.” Leo nodded.
“Also, I wanted to ask you, do you mind if I do some exercises around the dorm?”
“Of course. As long as you don’t make a mess or use magic, you’ll be fine. The use of magic is forbidden outside of official matches and the training center, after all.”
“T-Thanks.” Leo suddenly recalled the hole in the wall.
Sometime later, Leo changed into his new clothes and started running laps around the dorm while Lilith followed him in the air.
After running for three hours without stopping, Leo returned to his room to take another shower.
Afterward, he wore his school uniform and left the dorm.
“Where are you going now?” Lilith asked him.
“The cafeteria, obviously. I’m starving after all the training I did today.”
There were three different cafeterias that students can go to in the academy. Two of them serve free food while the third one is for the elites that don’t mind paying for luxurious food.
As for the other two cafeterias, one is used by only magic students while the other is for normal students.
However, this disparity between the students wasn’t natural, something the school had intended. Instead, it was a situation created by the students that preferred being away from the other side, hence the disparity.
Fortunately for Leo, the cafeteria used by normal students like him was the closest to his dorm, and he arrived after a short ten minute walk.
When he arrived, the students there quickly noticed Leo’s presence, and with everyone there staring at him, it made it near impossible for him to eat in peace.