Chapter 70: Aaron's Training Begins.
Aiden walked out as he saw the black-clothed guard who had escorted him here. The guard stood silently beside the door, his figure still and disciplined, just as it had been earlier.
Aiden looked at him and gave a small nod, a simple gesture to show thanks. The guard did not speak, only bowed his head slightly in return before turning away. Aiden then began to walk toward the students' dorms.
It was dark outside as night had fully fallen. The lamps placed along the academy corridors cast a soft glow over the stone floors, creating long shadows that followed Aiden with each step.
He silently walked through the wide corridors all alone. The entire place felt quiet, peaceful, almost empty, as if the whole academy had gone to sleep already. His footsteps echoed lightly as he took slow yet steady steps. After a few minutes of walking, Aiden finally arrived in front of his room.
He reached out and knocked on the door, then pushed it open immediately. The moment he stepped inside the room, Aaron saw him.
Aaron's expression instantly twisted into one full of worry. His eyes widened, and his mouth fell slightly open in shock. He had not seen Aiden since he left for his class, and he and Victoria had searched all over the academy to find him.
After their own class ended, both of them had gone straight to the training ground to once again train with Aiden, but he had not been there.
They waited, thinking he would show up, but an hour had passed, and he still hadn't come. That was when the worry started.
They had looked everywhere—behind the dorms, near the cafeteria, inside the training grounds, around the arena, and even near the professor's corridor—but they didn't find him anywhere. After searching for a long time, Victoria finally told Victor about Aiden's disappearance.
Victor immediately told them to return to their dorms, saying that he would search for Aiden himself. Aaron and Victoria obeyed because they respected Victor, but even after returning to their rooms, they remained worried.
Hours passed, and still there had been no news of Aiden. Aaron had been unable to sleep, sitting on his bed and constantly looking at the door with fear that something had happened to him.
So when Aaron suddenly saw Aiden walk into the room, he practically jumped out of his bed.
"Aiden—where have you been? Are you alright? We have been searching for you all over the academy, but we didn't find you. I thought— I thought something had happened to you!" Aaron said rapidly, his voice trembling as all the fear he had been holding in came out at once.
It was clear he was on the verge of crying. Aiden and Victoria were his only friends in the academy, the only people who treated him with kindness, so he cherished them deeply. Seeing Aiden disappear without a trace had terrified him.
Aiden saw Aaron's pitiful expression. For the first time in a long while, he sighed softly. Then he looked at Aaron and spoke calmly.
"You don't have to worry. I am completely fine."
Aaron stared at him anxiously and asked again, his voice shaking, "A-Are you really fine?"
Aiden simply nodded.
But Aaron wasn't done. He quickly asked, "Where were you all this time? We searched for you inside the whole academy, but we still didn't find you."
Aiden replied in the same calm tone, "I was training in my personal training room."
Aaron froze. He was stunned by Aiden's answer. He knew what a private training room was—something only the sons and daughters of high noble families could access, and even they had to pay a huge amount for it.
Aaron thought for a moment and suddenly recalled the rumor spreading around the academy. The rumor said that Aiden was a commoner orphan whom the Principal had saved and adopted.
He had heard the rumor from students whispering in the hallway, but he hadn't believed it because he had never heard it from Aiden himself.
He looked at Aiden and asked, "So… so that rumor about you… Is it true?"
Aiden blinked in confusion. He didn't know about any rumor. So he asked, "What rumor are you talking about?"
Aaron was surprised. The rumor had spread through the academy like wildfire, and almost everyone knew about it—except Aiden himself. Aaron took a deep breath and explained, "It's the rumor about you… that the Principal saved you and adopted you."
Aiden instantly understood everything. Sophia had told the entire class about him, and the other students must have spread it across the academy. Aiden, who had already planned to follow the explanation William gave, didn't mind the rumor spreading at all.
He looked at Aaron and simply said, "Yes. It's true."
Aaron, who had already guessed it, still felt shocked. Aiden was now the adopted son of the academy Principal. No wonder he could use a personal training room.
"So… the personal training room was provided by the Principal?" Aaron asked.
Aiden nodded. He then walked toward the washroom. The moment he stepped inside, he turned on the water and began to take a bath.
The water flowed down his pale white skin, washing away the sweat and dust from his intense training. The sound of water splashing filled the quiet room. After a few minutes, Aiden came out fully refreshed.
He had changed into his sleeping clothes as he used a towel to dry his hair. While drying, he looked over and saw Aaron sitting on his bed, his expression sad and hesitant. Aaron glanced up nervously. After gathering his courage, he finally spoke.
"Y-You told me to learn and train by watching you… But now that you have a private room… how will I learn by watching you?"
Aiden stopped drying his hair for a moment. He realized Aaron was sad because he thought he wouldn't be able to learn from him anymore. Aaron looked truly disheartened. After thinking for a second, Aiden spoke.
"From tomorrow, you will wake up one hour early. I will personally train you."
Aaron's mouth fell open. He was stunned. Aiden—who everyone saw as a monster—had agreed to train him personally. His eyes brightened in excitement.
"Yes!" he replied loudly before quickly composing himself.
Aiden then sat on his bed again and began to absorb mana from the surroundings. Aaron followed him and sat down too. They both closed their eyes and focused.
After twenty minutes, Aaron reached his limit, but he forced himself to continue for two more minutes through sheer determination. Those two minutes were already progress for him, and he was clearly happy about it.
An hour later, Aiden also reached his limit and stopped. He had trained for many hours earlier, so he could only absorb mana for an hour tonight. After that, both of them went to sleep peacefully.
Morning arrived. The sunlight entered their room through the window, warm and soft. Birds were chirping outside. Suddenly, Aiden opened his eyes. He had woken up an hour earlier than usual.
He stood up and went to the washroom to wash his face. After that, he walked to Aaron's bed and placed a hand on Aaron's shoulder, shaking it gently.
Aaron slowly woke up, yawning. "Good morning," he mumbled.
"Good morning," Aiden replied. Then he paused and said, "Wash up and come to the training ground."
Aaron nodded quickly as he got off the bed and began preparing.
A few minutes later, both of them were standing in the middle of the training ground facing each other. The early morning breeze blew softly, and the ground was empty except for the two of them.
Aiden looked at Aaron and said, "Show me all the spells you can conjure."
Aaron raised his hand and began pouring mana into it. Suddenly, a ball of light appeared—he had conjured a Light Bulb. But it was far dimmer than the others in the academy, which meant his mana capacity and control were extremely low.
Aiden then told him to conjure another spell. As Aaron prepared it, Aiden placed his hand on Aaron's shoulder to check his mana flow and condition.
Aaron used Self Purify, and impurities were pushed out of his body—but it was far slower and far less effective than a normal Purify spell.
Aiden told him to conjure a Light Beam next. Aaron did it, but it was weak, slow, and barely condensed. It was clear—Aaron was at the bottom of the academy. He was so weak that Aiden could defeat him using only martial arts without any mana.
Aiden looked him in the eyes and said, "From now on, I will train you until you are fully exhausted. I won't hold back and will teach you the same way I was taught. It will be a really hard training session, so if you want to quit, you can quit now."
But Aaron didn't back down. He desperately wanted to get strong.
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He took a deep breath and said firmly, "I am ready."
Aiden then began teaching him how to control mana more efficiently, how to take a proper fighting stance, and how to throw punches and kicks correctly. Aaron practiced everything. He was sloppy, slow, and unbalanced, but he still tried with all his effort.
After an hour, Aaron was lying on the ground, completely exhausted, taking deep breaths. His whole body was covered in sweat, and he couldn't even lift his arms anymore. Aiden looked at him and said, "We will end here today."
Aaron felt a huge wave of relief wash over him. "Okay…" he said weakly as he slowly stood up.
Both of them returned to their room to change into their academy uniforms and prepare for class. During all this time, Aiden had been using the breathing technique.
He had finally gotten a slight hang of it—he could now do normal tasks for a few minutes while still maintaining the technique.
Both of them changed and then walked toward the cafeteria to eat breakfast.
Author's Note: The chapter marks the start of Aaron's training as he begins to learn from Aiden. But as they were training, something unpredictable would happen in the cafeteria when they arrived.