Chapter 36: Suspicions

A sudden class was fixed, and after arrival, the students who should have been free of any curriculum due to the tournament, realised to their happiness that the gathering was only to pass an announcement.

By then, the announcement had been going on for nearly ten minutes, and Leon was beginning to wonder why everyone had been forced to attend, and he wasn’t the only one.

Their homeroom teacher stood at the front of the classroom, explaining some changes to the academy’s schedule for the coming week. Apparently, a few classes had been moved around to accommodate the tournament which meant more classes than usual once the tournament was over, and students were expected to check the updated timetable later.

That was it, nothing particularly important.

’Couldn’t they have just sent us a message?’ Leon thought to himself.

Leon glanced around. Judging by the expressions of the other students, he wasn’t the only one thinking it.

Someone near the back finally raised their hand.

"Teacher, couldn’t something this simple have been sent to us? Why did we need to gather in class?"

A few students nodded in agreement.

The teacher sighed.

"Because the academy requires such information to be informed in person and to everyone. If you have a problem with that, you can take it up with the administration."

For the most part, that ended the discussion. A few students continued muttering under their breath, but nobody bothered to argue further, Darwit was not the teacher for it. One would even wonder if enjoyed his job, since he always looked like he rather be elsewhere.

Leon leaned back in his chair. ’Wonderful. A perfectly good morning wasted.’

He had been hoping to spend the time reviewing the tournament matches and thinking about his next opponent. Instead, he was stuck listening to an announcement that could have been handled with a single message.

Still, there wasn’t much he could do about it.

He glanced toward the front of the classroom.

Their teacher, Darwit, was continuing with the announcement, occasionally checking a document in his hand. At first glance, he looked like any other academy instructor with his calm expression and steady voice, and he didn’t seem particularly interested in the students’ complaints, but every now and then, his eyes drifted toward Leon.

It was brief enough that nobody notice. Darwit, however, had a different reason for watching him.

Darwit had been observing Leon for several days now. At first, it had been little more than curiosity, a student with an unusual awakening, a seemingly ordinary Grade 1 summon, and a sudden improvement in combat performance. It was worth keeping an eye on, especially after the headmaster had taken an interest, but the more Darwit learned, the less comfortable he became.

’Something is wrong with that summon.’ He thought to himself.

While he watched his first match personally, he had seen the reports from Leon’s other matches. He had also heard the accounts of the dungeon incident, though the details surrounding that event remained incomplete.

The problem wasn’t simply that Leon had performed well, it was the inconsistency accompanying the performance.

A Grade 1 summon shouldn’t display the qualities Leon’s undead had demonstrated. Its combat ability, its resilience, and the energy surrounding it were all difficult to reconcile with its recorded grade.

Even the Skeleton Warrior from Leon’s awakening had shown unusual characteristics, and now, that same skeleton would return as something more buffed up.

Darwit narrowed his eyes slightly. ’How can a Grade 1 summon display qualities of at least a Grade 2 Peak summon? Possibly higher?’

It didn’t make any sense.

Summons could grow stronger, of course. Their development was a fundamental part of a Summoner’s progression, but growth took time.

Even talented Summoners needed resources, experience, and a suitable bond with their summons. They couldn’t simply skip through several stages of development in a matter of weeks.

Yet Leon’s summon had shown a level of ability that didn’t fit its recorded grade.

Darwit had considered several explanations.

Perhaps the academy’s initial assessment had been inaccurate? Perhaps Leon had some rare ability that allowed him to strengthen his summons unusually quickly? Though none of those seemed likely.

Or perhaps the summons themselves weren’t what they appeared to be.

His gaze briefly settled on Leon again.

The boy was leaning back in his chair, looking like he would rather be anywhere else.

’If the summon is genuinely growing that quickly, then perhaps...’ Darwit stopped the thought there, looking more serious than before.

He didn’t have enough information to finish it, and he didn’t like where his mind was going.

Following that, the announcement finally ended.

"That will be all," Darwit said. "Make sure you check the updated schedule before your next class."

Imemdiately, chairs scraped against the floor as the students began gathering their belongings to leave.

Leon stood also.

"Finally," Dustin muttered from beside him. "I thought that was never going to end."

"You could have just listened." Raul said, shaking his head.

"I did listen. That’s why I know it could’ve been a message."

Leon smiled. "He’s got a point."

The three of them headed toward the door.

Darwit watched them leave, his expression unchanged.

Once the classroom had emptied, he returned to his desk and placed the announcement papers aside.

Then he took out a separate document that had Leon’s name written at the top.

Darwit looked at it for a moment before opening the file. The information inside was incomplete, but maybe it would be enough to confirm what he already suspected.

"The final classification certainly still Grade 1."

Darwit read through the report once more, then he began looking for the records behind it.

The process was quiet and unremarkable, at least from the outside, but the records he was looking at were not the sort of information an ordinary homeroom teacher would casually have access to.

Each report added another piece to the picture, but the overall shape remained unclear. If anything, the inconsistencies were becoming harder to ignore.

With no conclusion to it, Darwit closed the file.

’I’ll need to look deeper.’

He put the document away and returned to his usual work. For now, there was no reason to make his interest obvious.

...

Elsewhere, Mason who was also digging through some records, had reached a similar conclusion.

He was currently within his room, going through something on his monitor. Several windows were open across the screen, each displaying different records from the academy’s internal system.

Leon’s awakening record was open as the main window of focus to the side. He had been trying to access it for some time.

While the official report was easy enough to obtain, the details beyond that were another matter. There were restrictions in place, and the records weren’t meant to be available to just anyone.

Mason had never been particularly concerned with that.

He leaned closer to the screen.

A new window opened.

Then another.

Then the system briefly displayed an access warning before the message disappeared.

He then opened the newly accessible record.

The first few lines contained information he already knew. Leon Carter, Grade 1 summon, details of his unusual awakening event, nothing surprising that he hadn’t confirmed already, but further down, the report became less clear.

There were references to missing data, incomplete observations, and inconsistencies in the initial assessment.

Mason’s eyes narrowed.

’What exactly’s going on here?’

He scrolled through the document more.

He didn’t know whether Leon was hiding something deliberately or whether the school itself was backing him.

’If it’s to that level...’ He thought...

Either way, Mason intended to find out.