CHAPTER 73 — THE PRESIDENT'S FINAL LESSON

That night, Percy did not sleep. His desk was entirely covered with books. These were not first-year texts. They were fourth-year books.

Physics.

Geometry.

Orin control. Core theory. World history. Modern civilizations. Percy closed one book.

He immediately pulled another in front of him. On some pages, he lingered for a long time. Others he skimmed in mere seconds. At one point, he picked up Shiri.

"Brother Galahad."

A sleepy voice responded from the other end.

"Percy?"

"I have a question."

Galahad remained silent for a few seconds.

"Are you aware of the time?"

"Yes."

"Of course you are."

Percy pulled the book closer.

"Does the Core circulation change after becoming Awakened?"

Galahad's sleepiness faded slightly.

"In what aspect?"

Percy explained his question in greater detail. Galahad answered. Percy immediately asked another question. Then another. And another.

Minutes passed. Galahad finally took a deep breath.

"Percy."

"Hm?"

"I am your older brother."

"I know."

"I am not your midnight tutor."

Percy paused his pen.

"But you are an Awakened Two."

Silence fell. Galahad sighed.

"Ask."

Percy smiled. The questions continued. A long while later, the connection closed. Percy leaned back in his chair. He looked at the plan he had prepared on the board.

He made the final few corrections. Then he nodded. Everything was ready.

Morning was still early. Percy left the house before anyone else. When he arrived at the academy, the corridors were empty. He walked directly into Class 1-A. He worked in front of the blackboard for a long time.

He wrote. He erased. He rewrote. He underlined certain sections. Finally, he gazed at the board for a long moment.

Then, he pulled the black curtain. The entire board became obscured. Percy did not take his seat. He walked to the window. He looked outside in silence.

When Clara opened her eyes, Percy was gone. She stared at the empty side for a while. Then she sat up.

"Grandpa?"

Holar lifted his head.

"He left early."

Clara frowned.

"He wouldn't leave without me."

Holar looked at her.

"He is not your leech."

Clara remained silent.

"Of course he can go."

Clara puffed her cheeks slightly. She pressed her thumb against her cheek. She held it like that for a while. Then she checked the other side. Holar watched her.

Clara was still thinking. She couldn't find a problem. But something felt strange. Finally, she lowered her hand.

"Hm."

She got ready and left the house.

The moment she entered the academy, she felt the stares. Yesterday's tournament had not yet been forgotten. On the contrary, its legend had grown.

"Clara Leyvar."

"The Champion."

"Percy isn't with her."

"I guess she's alone this time."

Clara didn't look at any of them. She kept walking. At the end of the corridor, someone stepped in front of her. Clara stopped. Leon Ashford.

Clara tilted her head slightly.

"Leon?"

Leon watched her for a few seconds.

"Could we spend some time together occasionally?"

Clara's eyebrows rose slightly.

"Do you want to be friends?"

Leon paused before answering.

"More than that."

Clara looked at his face for a few seconds. Then she spoke quite calmly.

"We are seven years old."

The expression on Leon's face did not change. Clara continued.

"Besides, you're not my type."

She stepped to walk past him. Leon suddenly grabbed her arm. Clara's gaze fell to his hand.

"Don't be too confident in yourself."

Lightning flickered around Leon. But his spell could not be completed. His body suddenly rose from the floor. Leon's eyes widened.

"What—"

Galahad stood at the end of the hallway. One hand was raised slightly. Leon rose even higher. Galahad looked at him calmly.

"No one likes bullies."

Leon tried to move. He couldn't. Galahad closed his fingers slightly.

"Nor the persistence of the rejected."

Gravity locked Leon completely in place. Galahad walked right past him.

"You will stay like this for an hour."

Leon's face changed. Galahad put his hands in his pockets.

"Enjoy."

Clara looked at him.

"Thank you, brother."

Galahad smiled.

"Don't mention it."

He kept walking. Clara hesitated for a few seconds. Then she called out after him.

"Brother Galahad."

Galahad turned.

"Let's not tell Percy, alright?"

Galahad's eyebrow rose. Clara looked at Leon.

"He'll beat the boy."

Galahad let out a short laugh.

"I think you should tell him."

Clara looked at him.

"But it's your decision."

Galahad fell silent for a few seconds. Then he added.

"He is Percy."

"Don't forget."

Clara looked at Leon again. Then she nodded.

"Alright."

But she had made her decision. She wouldn't tell. She wanted a peaceful day today. Leon, meanwhile, remained suspended in the air. He clenched his fists.

Percy Grant. It was different before Percy arrived. He had a ninety-three percent affinity. He had reached Advanced Core One. His teachers constantly praised him.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

The students knew his name. Then Percy Grant arrived. Now another name was spoken in the corridors.

Percy.

Percy.

Percy.

Leon's teeth ground together. Then his gaze shifted to Clara.

"I will show you by taking from you, Grant."

But there was something he did not know. Someone was standing at the classroom window. Percy had seen everything. There was no expression on his face. He only looked at Leon.

Then he turned back to the classroom.

The students began to arrive slowly. Arthur was one of the first to arrive. William arrived next. Charlotte walked in. Marcus quietly took his seat.

Nathaniel entered through the door. He had food in his hand. Percy looked at him. Nathaniel froze.

"What?"

Percy said nothing. Nathaniel hid his food behind his back.

"Good morning."

"Good morning."

The other students also took their places. The classroom slowly filled. Everyone was saying good morning to one another. Percy picked up Shiri. He called Wycliffe.

The connection was established shortly.

"Professor."

"Percy?"

"As class president, I will be using my weekly class privilege."

Wycliffe was silent for a few seconds.

"Right now?"

"Yes, Professor."

"Why now?"

Percy looked at the curtain-covered blackboard.

"You should come too, Professor."

"You will see."

Wycliffe's voice sounded suspicious.

"I really don't like that sentence."

The connection closed. Right at that moment, the door opened. Clara walked in. Percy looked at her. Clara smiled.

"Good morning, Percy."

Percy smiled back.

"Good morning."

But his eyes lingered on her for a few seconds. The voice. The look. A slight hesitation. There was something.

Clara was acting normal. But Percy knew her. There was a problem. Percy didn't say anything. Clara sat next to him.

A little while later, Wycliffe arrived. He closed the door. He sat in an empty chair. Percy walked to the front of the class. The chatter slowly died down.

Percy looked at everyone one by one.

"From this moment until the end of the class..."

"What I say is absolute command."

Nathaniel's mouth dropped open slightly. Percy immediately looked at him.

"Whoever speaks gets thrown out of the class."

Nathaniel shut his mouth.

"Whoever says 'but' gets thrown out."

Arthur sat up straight.

"Whoever says 'joke' gets thrown out."

Charlotte's smile vanished. Percy looked specifically at Nathaniel.

"Whoever says 'food' gets thrown out too."

Nathaniel's face morphed into horror. William closed his eyes. Percy continued.

"You will be serious."

"Like at camp."

The atmosphere in the classroom changed instantly. Arthur's back straightened. William placed his pen on the desk. Charlotte looked at Percy attentively. Marcus fell completely silent.

Nathaniel slowly lowered the food in his hand. Clara's smile faded. Wycliffe, however, said nothing. He was only watching Percy. Percy looked at the black curtain behind him.

Then he turned back to the class.

"It has been three months since school started."

"We will enter summer vacation soon."

He paused for a moment.

"Recently, my elemental power reached nineteen percent."

William's head snapped up instantly. Arthur's eyes widened. Charlotte held her breath. Wycliffe's gaze sharpened. Clara turned to Percy.

Nineteen percent. Percy continued.

"This means when it goes up one more percent..."

"I will be able to participate in the outer monster wars."

Clara's fingers twitched slightly. Monster wars.

Outside.

The academy without Percy. Percy somewhere else. Thoughts raced through her mind. Percy immediately continued.

"But don't worry."

Clara fixed her eyes on him.

"For another two or three years..."

"I don't think I'll be able to go."

Clara's shoulders relaxed a bit.

"I have other things I need to do."

"The twenty percent threshold is quite tough."

Percy fell silent for a short while.

"There is one more thing."

The class was still silent.

"Recently..."

"My fire affinity reached a hundred percent."

Silence.

A genuine silence. William's pen fell from his hand.

Clack.

No one bent down to pick it up. Arthur was staring at Percy. Charlotte's lips parted. Even Marcus had completely raised his head. Nathaniel drew a breath to speak.

Percy looked at him. Nathaniel shut his mouth again. But his face was screaming. Clara blinked. Wycliffe leaned forward.

"A hundred percent?"

Percy looked at him.

"Professor."

Wycliffe stopped. Percy raised his eyebrow.

"I said whoever speaks gets thrown out."

A few shoulders trembled in the classroom. Wycliffe looked at Percy for a long time.

"Continue."

Percy did not smile.

"I realized something."

"I need to work very hard in the near future."

Clara watched him carefully.

"And because I was recently defeated..."

Clara's face changed slightly. Percy did not look at her.

"I do not deserve to carry this title."

Arthur immediately furrowed his brows. William lifted his head. The shock on Nathaniel's face grew. Clara wanted to say something. But she remembered Percy's rule.

Percy continued.

"Though I would have stepped down even if I hadn't been defeated."

Wycliffe's gaze hardened. Percy took a deep breath.

"When this lesson ends..."

"I will no longer be your class president."

This time the silence grew heavy. Nathaniel's hands clamped onto the desk. Arthur's jaw clenched. Charlotte wanted to shake her head. William was trying to figure Percy out.

Marcus's eyebrows were knit together. Clara only looked at Percy. Wycliffe still didn't intervene. Percy continued.

"Before I go, I will leave behind two things."

He turned toward the blackboard.

"The first is Resonance."

Everyone paid close attention.

"In Core development, we generate energy from within."

"We can also pull the outside energy."

"But the issue isn't just pulling it."

"The Core has to accept it."

Percy pointed to his own chest.

"I did the opposite."

"I sent the energy directly to the center."

"I allowed it to purify there."

Wycliffe's eyes narrowed slightly. Percy continued.

"It was risky."

"Do not directly do what I did."

For the first time, Nathaniel truly did not fidget. Percy opened his palm.

"But we've learned the part that can be overcome."

"When energy comes to you..."

"Do not immediately accept it as foreign."

"In the beginning, it wasn't dirty."

"In the beginning, it was the pure energy of the universe."

Percy looked at the class.

"Remember it."

"Believe that it remembers."

"And do not reject it."

He paused for a moment.

"It has been rejected enough already."

William's gaze shifted. He repeated the sentence in his mind. Arthur looked at his chest. Charlotte opened her palms. Marcus breathed silently.

Percy continued.

"In order for you to reach Advanced Core..."

"This is the first aid I can give as your president."

Then he turned around. He grasped the black curtain.

"The other..."

He pulled the curtain down. The blackboard was revealed. Everyone in the classroom froze. The board was completely full.

Names.

Times.

Rest intervals. Core studies. Control repetitions. Endurance sections. There was a separate schedule for every student.

William looked as if he was going to stand up. But he remembered the rule and stayed in his seat. Percy moved next to the board.

"This is not an ordinary training plan."

"I prepared it separately for each of you."

"You will follow your schedules."

"And six times a day..."

"You will wait for the moment you are most exhausted."

Percy took a deep breath.

"You will inhale deeply through your nose."

"You will feel your Core at that exact moment."

"You will notice what you reject when you are tired."

"You will keep this up."

"Six months."

"Maybe a year."

"Maybe longer."

Percy looked at the names on the board.

"But I believe you can reach it."

Arthur didn't take his eyes off his own program. Charlotte's eyes were starting to tear up. Marcus was trying to memorize his schedule. Nathaniel's gaze was fixed on Percy. William, meanwhile, was scanning the board.

He had realized that every line was different. Percy had really prepared this. For all of them. One by one. Percy turned back to the class.

"Follow your schedules."

"And level up."

Then he looked at Wycliffe.

"Professor."

Wycliffe did not answer. Percy continued.

"The fourth-years had an exam."

Wycliffe's face changed instantly. Percy looked innocent.

"Could we retake it?"

Wycliffe closed his eyes.

"Again, Percy?"

Percy tilted his head slightly.

"Why, teacher?"

Wycliffe opened his eyes. Percy's lips curled into a smile.

"Are you afraid of knowing the answer?"

Nathaniel's eyes widened. Arthur turned his head toward the desk. Charlotte brought her hand to her mouth. William smiled for the first time. Wycliffe looked at Percy.

For a long time. Then he stood up.

"Very well."

Percy's smile widened.

The exam papers were distributed. William asked for one too. Wycliffe looked at him first. Then he dropped the paper in front of him.

"This is a fourth-year exam."

William nodded.

"I know."

Percy picked up his pen. Wycliffe started the timer. The first section was physics. It asked about the combined effects of forces. Normal mechanics alone were not enough.

Orin-assisted movement was also taken into account. Percy wrote down the assumptions first. Then he began to solve it. William got through the first question. He paused at the second question.

Percy had moved on to the third page. William looked at him. Then he returned to his own paper. The geometry section was worse. Three-dimensional fields of movement were given.

Six degrees of freedom were being processed together. William sped up here. He knew this area. On one question, he advanced ahead of Percy. Percy paused.

He noticed William's pen. He returned to his own solution. William continued with a small smile. The next section was Core theory. His smile did not last long.

The question wasn't only asking about development. It also required the consequences of unstable circulation. Disruptions in external energy acceptance were added. Multiple variables were presented together. William stared at the question for a long time.

Percy, however, was not writing an answer. First, he added a sentence beneath the question.

"The information provided is insufficient for a single outcome."

Wycliffe saw this from afar. Percy then separated the possible scenarios. He provided a different answer for each scenario. William realized this. His pen hovered in the air for a few seconds.

This was what Percy had learned from the last exam. He didn't fill in what he didn't know. He first acknowledged the missing information. Then he established its boundaries. The Orin control section began.

The questions grew steadily heavier. The failure point of a spell was asked. The following question asked for the recovery of the same spell. The third asked for a safe retreat.

Percy answered them all individually. William completed a few questions. On some, he left blanks. World history came up. Percy's pen never stopped.

On modern civilizations, he slowed down again. He read one question twice. He did not answer. William noticed this. Percy raised his hand.

Wycliffe came over to him.

"Which period is referred to in this question?"

Wycliffe looked at the question.

"The last fifty years."

Percy nodded.

"Thank you."

And he resumed writing. William was watching him. Percy had not guessed. He had asked. When the final section ended, Percy set his pen down.

William was still writing. Percy waited in silence. Time was up. Wycliffe collected the papers. The class didn't need to speak to anyone.

Everyone was looking at Percy. Especially William. Because he remembered the previous exam.

Seventy-eight.

He remembered Percy's face. The missing twenty-two points. Then, his gathering of the books. His studying for a month and a half. His dragging William along behind him.

His forgetting about lunch. His burying himself in fourth-year books. William slowly looked at Percy. Percy was waiting calmly. Wycliffe began checking the results.

Minutes passed. He flipped a page. Then another. His eyebrows were rising steadily. At last, he stopped.

He looked at Percy. Percy looked back at him. Wycliffe looked at the paper again. Nathaniel couldn't bear it anymore. But he couldn't speak.

His face was in agony. Wycliffe finally stood up.

"William."

William sat up straighter. Wycliffe announced his result. William looked at the paper for a few seconds. It was much better than he had expected. But his eyes immediately darted back to Percy.

Wycliffe held up the other paper. The classroom fell entirely silent.

"Percy Grant."

Percy waited. Wycliffe fell silent for a moment.

"A hundred percent."

The expression on William's face froze. Arthur's eyes widened. Charlotte covered her mouth with both hands. For the first time, Marcus was openly surprised. Nathaniel's entire body lurched forward.

Clara's eyes shone. Wycliffe continued.

"A plus."

Percy did not move for a few seconds. Then he closed his eyes. He let out a small breath. William was looking at him.

"Seventy-eight..."

Percy opened his eyes. William continued.

"It was seventy-eight a month and a half ago."

Percy nodded.

"Yes."

William looked at the paper. Then at Percy.

"You closed the gap on all twenty-two points."

Percy did not answer. William's shock was not yet over.

"This is a fourth-year exam."

Percy nodded again.

"I know."

Nathaniel couldn't take it anymore. He raised his hand. Percy looked at him. Nathaniel lowered his hand. Percy thought for a few seconds.

Then he gave permission with a nod. Nathaniel exploded.

"WHEN THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?"

The classroom burst into laughter. Percy finally laughed too. Wycliffe shook his head.

"Giving you the seventy-eight was a mistake."

Percy looked at him.

"I thought so as well."

Wycliffe's face fell. William started to laugh. Clara was looking at Percy. She was proud. But she hadn't forgotten Percy's words from the morning.

Percy returned to the front of the class. His smile slowly disappeared. He looked at the schedules on the board. Then he turned to his friends.

"That is all."

Nathaniel's face fell once more. Arthur fell quiet. Percy continued.

"From now on, I am not the president."

"You will choose your new president yourselves."

No one spoke. Not because Percy had forbidden it this time. It was because no one could find the words to say.

END OF CHAPTER