The next few days passed in a quiet rush for Leo.
He poured every spare moment into mastering his two newly acquired skills— [Storm Flash Traverse] and [Astral Hook Bind]— drilling the foundational movements into muscle memory until he managed to reach (basic) proficiency in both skills just two days before the final exams began.
His body seemed to accept the Mana Heart now, as he saw remarkable increases in his strength, endurance, agility and spell output, which almost made him feel like an entirely different warrior.
As a result, when the final exams rolled around.
He aced all the physical training parameters, even outshining Su Yang.
While also scoring first place in Practical Combat and Basics Of Perception class, achieving perfect score in all of the core subjects.
However, the real challenge for him was never these subjects, as Leo knew he could pass them with his eyes closed, as his real challenge was always passing the basics of magic theory class, after David caught on to how he was cheating to pass during the circuits.
However, to his shock, David said nothing during the finals exams after handing him his sheet of paper, nor did he try to prevent him from cheating like he did in the midterms, as although he knew how he was cheating, David turned a blind eye to his behaviour, allowing him to pass with ease.
Perhaps it was his performance in the circuits that softened David up, or perhaps it was the fact that he was leaving the academy at the end of the semester, and David did not wish for him to linger around for a retest.
But either way, he let him pass with ease, with Leo also managing to pass the potions class and stealth class to receive his provisional degree for completing one year at Rodova.
—---------
The goodbyes that followed were all swift.
Leo bid farewell to Su Yang with a silent nod and a firm handshake, the two brothers exchanging no words apart from a silent promise to meet again someday.
Mu Shen offered a respectful bow, and a short hug, thanking Leo for all the memories made together.
While Mu Ryan shed a tear as she said, "Don't die out there, big brother. We still need someone to beat Su Yang someday when he gets too arrogant."
Leo only smirked, patting her on the head on his way out.
However, before leaving, Leo stopped by Dorm A-44, for one last time, as he handed to Roger a cashiers cheque for 200,000 MP.
"Two hundred thousand MP, as promised."
Roger took it with reverence, both hands shaking.
"You're a legend, Sir Leo. Seriously. I'll tell this story till I die... you'll find your copied manual delivered to you as soon as you step outside the academy and walk for about 200 paces. Just take it and run—" Roger informed, as Leo offered him a rare half-smile before turning away.
—-------
Leo's last stop before leaving Rodova was meeting Muiyan Faye.
The woman looked at him with proud eyes and a precious grin, as she handed over to him two parting gifts.
The first gift was a dagger set, a different one from the Horizon set he was currently using, with varying types of twisted and spiral blades, that he could use during tough combat missions.
And the second gift was a small spatial storage ring, inside which Leo could store all of his essentials during his time outside the safety of Rodova.
"I've stocked it with all the essential potions you may need in an emergency and some miscellaneous items such as smoke bombs and poison vials.
I've also stored inside a communication crystal that you can infuse your mana into to call me anytime from anywhere in the universe.
And a list of emergency contacts across various planets, in-case you ever lose the crystal, or are in need of finding a safe house" Faye said, as Leo accepted both gifts with a gracious bow.
"I'll be calling you very soon once I clear the Black Serpents Guild Entrance Interview, will you be able to come over to Twin-Fang planet to restore my memories? Or will I have to fly back here to get them?" Leo asked, as Faye shook her head in denial.
"I'll be nearby, don't worry" she replied with a mysterious smile, as Leo nodded and made his way outside her room, and towards the exit of Rodova Military Academy.
—---------
Once outside the academy gates, the actual planet Rodova stretched before him, as Leo felt baffled looking at the vast metropolitan city.
Having lived a sheltered life within academy walls, Leo had never seen much of the actual planet apart from some aerial views that he enjoyed right after take off or while landing into the academy hangar.
"Well…. Time to find Roger's mysterious contact—" Leo muttered to himself, as he walked two hundred paces in the direction Roger had instructed him to, where he found a cloaked figure waiting beneath a solitary transport beacon, his face obscured and his presence muted.
"Leo Skyshard?" The man asked, as Leo nodded in confirmation.
Without another word, the man handed over a hardbound book which happened to be a precise copy of the [The Sevenfold Revelation Codex].
Leo accepted it, feeling the cold leather of the book warm-up on his touch, as he flipped open the book to confirm its contents before giving the man a nod as he continued to walk forwards.
His destination was the interstellar transport shuttle, from where he intended to catch a transport ship to the Black Serpents Guild Headquarters.
It was about a 20 minute walk, and once there, he found a small ship capable of making the journey, and boarded it without any reservation.
*Hiss*
As the ship doors sealed shut with a hiss and the engines began to hum, the onboard AI asked:
"Destination?"
Leo answered without hesitation.
"Twin Fang Planet. Headquarters of the Black Serpents Guild." As the ship whirred into motion and the screen loading the expected time of arrival at roughly [40 hours 23 minutes].
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END OF VOLUME 2
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