Chapter 22: Viola Windtänzer.

Chapter 22: Viola Windtänzer.

As Zeke returned to his home, eager to share the details of his duel with his mentor Maximilian, he found the house empty. He searched the rooms and called out his mentor's name, but there was no answer. He waited for what felt like an eternity, pacing the floors and reliving the events of the duel in his head, before Maximilian finally returned.

Zeke rushed over to his mentor, ready to pour out the story of his victory, but the old man stopped him with a wave of his hand. "I already know, my boy," he said, his eyes twinkling with a hint of amusement.

Zeke was flabbergasted. "What? How can you know?" he asked.

Maximilian smiled, a hint of a mischievous gleam in his eye. "I may be old, but I can still sneak around when I want to. I disguised myself as a student and snuck into the arena to watch the duel."

Zeke couldn't help but burst out laughing at the image of his rotund teacher trying to act like a teenager. The idea of this proud and dignified old man sneaking around like a youth was too much to take. He laughed until his sides ached, feeling a deep sense of camaraderie with the old man who had become like a grandfather to him.

Maximilian grinned and patted him on the back. "Don't you dare tell anyone about this, understand? My reputation is at stake."

Zeke nodded, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes. "I won't breathe a word of it, I promise," he said, still chortling.

Zeke and Maximilian quickly delved into a discussion about the duel. Maximilian praised Zeke for his ability to control the discourse before the fight, turning the crowd against Martin and making him appear as a liar and a fool. However, there was not much to say about the actual fight. Maximilian's expression turned to disappointment as they discussed Martin's poor display, and how the fight had ended quickly and decisively in Zeke's favor.

"It is likely that the Feuerkranz family did not teach him anything," said Maximilian with a sigh. "They probably only symbolically invited him into the family without providing any of the benefits such as training or resources." He looked at Zeke with a mix of sorrow and admiration. "You might have been a bit harsh with your last attack," he added.

As the reality of Maximilian's words settled in, Zeke began to feel a twinge of guilt for the way he had humiliated and defeated Martin. He knew that he had applied the precise amount of force necessary to incapacitate his opponent, thanks to his mastery of [Perfect Body Control]. But he had also thought that Martin would have access to the resources of the Feuerkranz family, to help him recover swiftly. It seemed that he had underestimated the extent of Martin's disadvantage, and he couldn't help but wonder if he had gone too far with his final attack, crushing Martin's sternum and leaving him incapacitated.

As the feelings of guilt intensified, Zeke thought about all the times that Martin had worked against him and the plan he had devised to humiliate him in the duel. He thought about all the moments Martin had tried to demean and belittle him, and how he had been seeking revenge. The guilt lessened significantly in the face of this realization, and he was filled with a sense of righteous anger towards Martin. But all those thoughts were blown away when he remembered what had happened after the fight.The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñòv€l-B1n.

With a hint of excitement in his voice, Zeke told Maximilian the piece of good news he had kept secret until now. "When I blocked all those spells with my [Spatial barrier], I felt a pressure from my space core. I'm pretty sure my space core is ready to evolve," he said.

Maximilian placed his hand on Zeke's chest and confirmed his suspicion, the apprentice's space core was indeed ready to be evolved. "I am a little surprised by the speed of your growth," he said, thoughtfully, "But now that I think about it, the most talented youngsters all go through spell engraving over their summer break the end of the semester is only a month away now."

Zeke was taken aback by Maximilian's words, he had only been at the academy for a little over four months now, how could the semester already be over? Maximilian explained to him that a semester at the academy was only five months, followed by a month of summer break.

"And don't forget," he said, "At the end of the semester there is always a big exam to measure if the students are making progress. And at the end of the year, there is the class advancement exam. All the students, who don't make it, have to either repeat the year or risk getting expelled after having to repeat more than three times."

As the thoughts of the upcoming exams filled his mind, Zeke felt a knot of nervousness form in his stomach. He turned to Maximilian, "Will the test be hard?" he asked, his voice betraying his apprehension.

Maximilian looked at him in astonishment, "You don't know who she is?"

Zeke studied the girl more closely. She had a pretty face, with big innocent eyes and a cute nose. Her mouth seemed to be in a perpetual, cat-like smirk, and she had a surprisingly curvy figure for her tiny stature. She looked back at Ezekiel as he looked her up and down, a knowing smirk on her face. Ezekiel had the feeling that he had seen her before, but he couldn't remember where.

After Ezekiel looked at the girl for a while, he made an expression of realization and said confidently, "Is this the woman of my dreams?"

Maximilian was flabbergasted by Ezekiel's nonsense and without replying, he smacked the boy across the head. Undeterred, Ezekiel blurted out a different answer, "Is she my new mommy?" Maximilian wanted to hit the boy again, but then he realized that Zeke was just messing with him.

Maximilian cleared his throat and began to explain the girl's identity. "This young lady is Viola Windtnzer, a prodigy in wind magic and one of the most talented students at the academy. She is a second year student, and she's also the granddaughter of Duke Windtnzer, one of the most powerful and influential noble in the kingdom and the headmaster of this academy. I have taken her under my wing as my personal assistant. She's here to observe and assist in your training, as well as to help you, Ezekiel."

He gave a small smile, "I believe that having her as a partner in your training will push you to new heights and help you reach your full potential."

As Maximilian introduced her, Viola grew even more proud and self-assured. She looked at Ezekiel with a gaze that seemed to be waiting for praise, but when she heard no words of admiration from him, her expression faltered. She let out a small pout and crossed her arms over her chest, "You're such an ungrateful bastard," she said, a hint of annoyance creeping into her voice. "A lot of people would give their right arm to be able to train with me."

Viola quickly turned to Maximilian, her demeanor shifting to one of vulnerability and accusation. "Grandpa, he's bullying me," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "I don't know what I've done to deserve this kind of treatment, but it's not fair. You have to do something about it."

Maximilian looked at Ezekiel, who shook his head in disbelief. "I have not done anything of that sort," he said, his voice firm.

"Grandpa, please don't believe him. He's just trying to cover up his actions," Viola said, her voice trembling with emotion. "I just want justice, I want you to do something about this."

Viola's expression softened at Maximilian's laughter, a hint of a playful grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Fine, fine," she relented, rolling her eyes playfully. "But you can't blame me for trying, can you?" Maximilian chuckled in response, shaking his head. "And don't even think about calling me 'grandpa'," he warned, wagging a finger in mock admonishment. "Your real grandfather would have my head if he knew."

Viola let out a theatrical sigh, pouting for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. "Well, I suppose I'll just have to find a new nickname for you then," she said, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "But enough about that, what are we going to do for training?"

Maximilian leaned back in his chair, considering her question for a moment. "Well, first things first, we'll start tomorrow," he said, reaching out to pat her on the shoulder. "But for now, why don't you two spend some time getting to know each other? It's not every day that we have such a charming guest."

Viola beamed at the compliment, a pink flush rising to her cheeks. "Sounds like a plan," she said, her excitement palpable. "I can't wait to see what kind of training you two have been up to. My Grandpa told me that you are an absolute genius when it comes to teaching spells."

Maximilian gave her a small smile, proud of being recognized for his talents. "That's right, I bet you'll be impressed," he said, "but for now I have to go, I still need to prepare a lot for tomorrow's training." And with those words he left the two of them alone.

Ezekiel looked over at Viola, she waved goodbye to Maximilian and then also turned to look at him. They both stared at each other in silence, and Zeke had no idea what to talk to her about now that Maximilian was gone.