Delta and Diana walked together, laughing at the various jokes and silly messages in the group chat. 

 

Delta had to admit, he enjoyed being with her, even though she was technically about a third of his real age. 

 

The next lesson was called ‘Guided Training’, and according to the calendar, they were to meet up at the classroom where they would be instructed further. 

 

Upon arriving, Angus sat them all down in their normal seats, waiting until he had complete silence before starting. 

 

“You will have these guided training sessions every weekday, other than the 5th day, where you will have time to study freely on your own. You will also be allowed to pick a single training book from the Academy Library later on Friday, however, for these first 2 days, you will study under your chosen instructors, depending on which technique you have chosen to study. I am aware that some of you would rather study under your family instructors, so you will be allowed to do that.”

 

He pulled a list out of his pocket and began reading out some names.

 

“Theodore, Peter, Roger, James, Diana.”

 

“You five, your instructors are next door to pick you up. Delta, you head on down to the training arena. You’ll find your teacher there. The rest of you choose which teacher you’d like to study from.”

 

Diana looked over at him, a smug look on her face as the mouthed “Called it”. 

 

“...”

 

Delta stood up, packed up his things into the backpack the students were given at the start of the year and headed out towards the training arena, stopping in the toilets on the way to change into his training kit, keeping the Uniform’s Blazer on. 

 

He had no idea who the person supposedly training him was, but at this point, he had pretty much given up on trying to figure out how many powerful figures were interested in him. 

 

After a short walk, Delta arrived at the training arena. It was a different ground to the one he had been on for the Mana Assessment, and instead of being an outdoors field-like ground, it was a large colosseum-like arena, with arrays of assorted weapons laid out on racks.

 

A large circle was carved into the arena ground, representing the boundaries for the fights that took place, and in the perfect centre of that circle stood someone who gave Delta a familiar feeling. 

 

Upon coming closer, Delta could see that his body seemed to emanate an aura of strength, his long red hair floating as his presence released a suppressive force upon the area around him. 

 

His eyes were shut, but it felt as if he could see everyone and everything around him, giving an air of wildness and supreme strength, like a beast king gazing over its domain.

 

A cold sweat trickled down Delta’s back as he struggled not to buckle under the stranger’s aura.

 

“It took you long enough, boy.”

 

He opened his eyes, and his terrifying presence disappeared, vanishing as if it had never existed in the first place. 

 

“It’s time to begin your lessons, as promised. Mana has given me the 1st and 3rd day’s guided training every week to work with you, and I plan to make the most of it. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

 

Suddenly, he vanished, appearing behind Delta with a speed so fast it was as if he was there the whole time. 

 

Out of pure reflex, Delta spun himself around, blocking the oncoming fist with his arms, but was sent flying to the other side of the arena in the process. 

 

“Oh? You’re better than I thought. Very well then.”

 

He snapped his fingers, and the ground underneath him began to open up, materialising into a large serpent-like creature. 

 

The Earth condensed into its form, forming its fangs and scales until it was a beast of incredible size. 

 

“Finally, the physical world...” It spoke, moving its jaws and making a horrible, screeching sound.

 

Delta readied himself, calling upon his mana as the beast coiled up, its rocky tongue flickering around as if it were hunting its prey. 

 

The serpent sprung forwards, using its muscles to attack at incredible speeds. Its jaws unhinged as it flew, its tongue flickering in joy as it prepared to reap the life of Delta. 

 

But Delta was ready. He breathed in calmly, taking in as much mana from the air as he could before he charged it into his legs, leaping sideways towards the weapons and picking up the closest weapon to him. 

 

The serpent crashed down like thunder onto the spot he had been stood on, lifting itself up as it cackled wickedly, readying itself to lunge again. 

 

Delta’s eyes flickered around, taking in his surroundings for anything that could help him. The man seemed to have disappeared from where he had been standing, sitting instead upon a tower of Earth that he had formed the same way as the snake. 

 

“Let’s end this quickly…” he muttered to himself.

 

The weapon he had picked up was a halberd. It was about the same height as him, made of a mix of iron and steel and weighed somewhere around 40kg. 

 

‘My training’s been useful, huh.’

 

The serpent leapt forwards again, charging forwards to devour Delta, however Delta had a plan this time. 

 

As it came over, Delta focused his mana into his legs again, however instead of leaping sideways, he leapt up above the serpent, his eyes set on the throat of the snake. 

 

He charged all of his mana into the blade of the sword, letting it flow manically as if thirsting for blood. 

 

“Enjoy the afterlife, serpent.”

 

Delta brought the blade down upon its throat, slamming the weapon down with enough force to shock the ground underneath it as the beast’s head was severed onto the ground it had been created from. 

 

A clapping sound echoed around the arena.

 

“My my, that was rather impressive.”

 

The man leapt down from the tower, his limbs shifting and squirming in an inhumane manner as he slowly lost his form as a human, descending to the ground as a giant red dragon, his very breath scorching the ground they stood on. 

 

The body of the cobra sunk back into the ground and the earth quickly restored itself as if nothing had ever happened. 

 

“You have more talent than I thought, boy. Prepare yourself, for this shall be the most difficult training you’ve ever faced.”