I Just Inherited The Arcane Emperor's Legacy

Leo soared through the skies at full speed. His mind was filled with the stress associated with not making it back on time. It was nightfall, so no one was out in the forests to see him.

Another thing he would need to keep in mind was that he spent a month longer than he said he would. If his status was revoked because of that, he would be very disappointed.

To him, this was far more than just the Phoenix Trials. It was also going to the capital that he wanted. If he could go and visit Daphne once, then it would be completely worth it. He could try to do it in his own time, but that would come with a few risks.

If he did get caught, he would have to deal with the Duke family all by himself. But as a representative of the Eldridge Academy, he would have a little bit of protection. To avail that, he would need to show that he was a very good talent that they could foster, though.

This was one of the reasons why he was trying to go to the Phoenix Trials as a candidate. Putting aside what Nefrati said about the lack of strong Aura Knights in the empire, if he did perform well, he would get fame.

He would be considered a talented Aura Knight that families would want to recruit. The emperor wouldn't be able to sit back and let the duke kill him as he did to the entire city of Solhaven.

The harsh reality of the world was that a single person was worth more than hundreds of thousands of lives. And he needed to make himself worth that much as an Aura Knight. Until he got strong enough to not need that defense.

In less than a couple of hours, he got near the gate t the city. He slowed down and descended to a part of the forest that was empty. The only ones who watched him take off his disguise were the Magical Beasts around him.

They didn't attack him though. The aura and magic he was emitting made them all run away in fear. His walk to the city was quick and uninterrupted. As he was walking in, Nefrati asked him a question.

"Why aren't you hiding your aura level?" She asked him.

Her question made him a little surprised, though he didn't show it in his face. He took out the card that showed his identity and presented it to the guard. The guard was extremely sleepy and looked like he was about to doze off.

His half-open eyes took a glance at the card to make sure it belonged to the right city.

"What do you mean by hiding my aura level?" He asked her while the guard looked at his card.

"I mean you can hide it from people so that they won't know how strong you are. It won't work against people who are far more stronger than you, but it will work against 4th Circle Aura Knights," she said.

"You can enter," the guard said while yawning.

"Teach me when you can. It sounds very useful," he said to Nefrati as he got his card back from the guard.

"There isn't anything to teach. You just have to pull in your aura into your body and dantian without letting it leak out. It is one of the simplest ways to conceal yourself. Do they not teach this to you?" She asked him.

"Well, I am not surprised. I keep forgetting that your empire is such a backward civilization when it comes to using aura. The number of mid-level Aura Knights in here could be counted with a single hand," she said.

He sighed at her comment. Instead of being bothered by it, he walked straight toward the academy. As he did, he tried out what she told him. He held in the aura inside his dantian without letting it escape.

He almost succeeded, only letting out a few strands of aura. It was still considered a success since it seemed nothing like the aura of a 3rd Circle Aura Knight.

As he practiced concealing his aura, he got to the gates of the academy. There was a single guard there to make sure that not everyone could get in. Leo took out his card and showed it to him.

The guard nodded and let Leo pass through. He walked into the fog that shrouded the appearance of the academy. Inside, everything was just like it used to be.

There were a few students wandering around, talking to each other. It was night, so there weren't too many people. Even the few people wandering around were a surprise to him. There were only a couple of hours till sunrise, so he had a little time before they would leave.

At his hour, very few would be in their office, but he wanted to try. If he could find Maria or Asher, then he would be able to explain to them why he took so long. He hoped that they would believe that he was sincerely training his aura for the Phoenix Trials. It was, after all, partly true.

He walked on the paths that led to Maria's office. When he got to the building, he saw that a few of the windows showed light inside them. One of them was Maria's office. He smiled and rushed into the building.

Inside the office, Maria was talking to Asher.

"So, do we have our list confirmed?" He asked Maria.

"Yes. For our 5 normal spots, we have Nathaniel Moon, Elysia Still, Lucius Ravenspire, Isabella Rhine, and Ria Goldberg. Out of the 10 reserve spots, we gave five to the Eldridge family and five to the freshmen." She said.

"And the freshmen are all ready?" He asked her.

She shook her head. "Almost all of them. We will need to replace Leo. He remains the highest ranked among all of them, but he isn't here. So we will need to find another student. I already had two in mind. Since Leo still hasn't shown up, I will talk to them and get them ready within a few hours," she replied.

"How could you have taken so long? This is of utmost importance. If he didn't show up, then he forfeits his opportunity. We can't hold him a spot for this long!" Asher said with a little anger.

"That is true but he is the only one among all of them that might have a chance to make it past the reserve competition," she said.

"That is just wishful thinking. None of the reserve members will get past it. Previously we would have one of the commoners get past, but we gave their positions to the freshmen because of their potential. For the first time, we have commoners who could exceed nobles and their best chance is being squandered," he sighed.

A knock on the door disturbed their conversation.

"Who is it at this hour?" He murmured to himself as he walked to the door. He didn't sense anyone powerful beyond it - just someone with very little aura. As the door creaked open, it revealed Leo the door. He didn't sense anyone powerful beyond it - just someone with very little aura. As the door creaked open, it revealed Leo beyond it.

"Hello, professors. It took me a while to get back. I hope that it won't be a problem."