All eyes rested on Leo.
He was the only one left.
The low murmur in the classroom slowly died as heads turned toward him—some curious, some wary, some openly expectant. The rest of the Elite 7 waited.
Chris's gaze settled on Leo, sharp and measuring.
"Go on," he said. "What's your affinity?"
Leo took a breath and stepped forward.
The moment his foot touched the center of the room, Primo's voice snapped to life in his head.
{Don't tell them that your affinity is chaos}
Leo stiffened internally.
"What?, Why not?"
He kept his face neutral, but his thoughts raced.
"Primo, what are you talking about? That's my affinity."
There was a brief pause—longer than usual—before the system responded.
{Revealing your affinity at this stage is not advised.}
Chris's eyes narrowed slightly as Leo hesitated.
"Is there a problem?" Chris asked.
Leo forced a small shake of his head. "No. Just a moment."
Inside, the argument continued.
Leo pressed. "Why hide it now?"
{Not now. Explanation will be provided at a later time.}
Leo sighed, and asked "So what should I do now?"
{Use FIRE and LIGHTNING.}
Leo froze.
Fire and lightning
{Those are the only affinities currently unlocked and stable within your system. You would have to comprehend the others later}
A memory flickered through Leo's mind—his father's element was seemingly fire.
"Fire…" Leo thought. "Dad has fire too."
"What about the lightning?"
{Secondary affinity. Rare, but acceptable. Let's say that's your element and the fire was inherited from your dad.}
Leo straightened.
"Fine," he thought. "But you owe me an explanation."
{Whatever}
Leo opened his eyes fully and stepped into position.
"If you're ready," Chris said.
Leo raised his hands slightly.
"I am."
Leo, now standing in front of the class, slowly raised his hand.
A small spark of fire flickered to life above his palm, wavering like a fragile flame. Before anyone could react, the fire crackled violently—its glow sharpening, twisting—until it collapsed into a streak of lightning. The bolt snapped once through the air and vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Silence followed.
Leo lowered his hand.
"Those are my affinities."
For a brief moment, Chris simply stared at him.
Then he chuckled.
"Hah… figures."
The instructor folded his arms, an amused glint flashing in his eyes.
"Fire and lightning," Chris said. "The two most offensively inclined elements there are."
"With fire, you gain raw destruction—power that overwhelms," Chris continued. "And lightning?" He smiled thinly. "Lightning gives you destruction, speed, agility, and reaction far beyond normal limits."
Chris's gaze sharpened as it locked onto Leo.
"That means you don't just attack explosively and quickly," he said. "You can strike first, strike hard, and still evade retaliation." "To be honest," Chris added with a twitch in his eyelids. "I would never want to face someone like you in combat."
-------
Chris cleared his throat.
"Now that we know everyone's affinities," he said, "we'll move on to the next agenda."
He paused briefly.
"I was supposed to take you through the mandatory exercise—meditation. Normally, this is where I teach you how to properly circulate your energy because your…" His voice trailed off.
His gaze lingered on Leo.
Avril noticed.
A small smile tugged at her lips as she leaned slightly forward. "You don't have to worry about him, sir."
Chris glanced at her.
Avril continued, "Leo might actually be better at meditating than most of us."
"Before the system's descent," she added, turning her eyes toward Leo, "he was kind of a fanatic about cultivation."
A ripple of quiet surprise spread through the class.
Chris's eyebrow rose.
"…Is that so?"
Leo scratched the back of his head impishly.