Joshua forgot the passage of time as he concentrated on the next level of the Magic Spear Arts. But it was not meant to behe was flung against the wall and lost consciousness.

There was a bit of a stir in the Academy. In less than a month after the start of the school year, rumors were already flooding the Academy.

Count Sten was insulted by a random Viscounts son!

The Counts second son, Amaru bron Sten, challenged him to a fight to the death. It was only thanks to Professor Cains intervention that it was reduced to a spar.

Rumors always get blown up to ridiculous proportions, to say nothing about how well-known Amaru bron Sten was in the Academy.

The students initial reactions to the rumors fell into three categories: astonishment, ridicule, and fervor. Life in the Academy was tedious, and the students were stuck there whether they liked it or not; they were locked inside its walls while the teachers hammered the art of war into their heads. A fight between students was a rare break from the monotony, so they flocked to it in droves.

But it should have been impossible, as far as they could tell. Family was everything in Avalon; a powerless family quarreling with a high-ranked family was practically suicide. Even a fight between their children would drag in the entire familythus, the lower household would always bow their head and beg for forgiveness.

By what right does this obscure nobles son disrespect the scion of Count Sten? Who is he to demand such a thing from the son of one of the Empires five Masters?

Is it today? The duel?

Did you say its a duel? I thought it was a real fight.

Eh, either way. Is he sick in the head? No one in their right mind would even dare to look at Amarus chin.

Who? What was his name? Puredator or something? Have you heard of it?

Its Frederick, not Puredator. And no, Ive never heard the name before.

This spar had been hotly debated all morning.

This sucks! Im not gonna see the fight of the century

That and this class is boring.

I keep thinking: its only been a day or two since we got here. You think this sparring is going to affect graduation?

The new kids had gotten themselves into a lot of trouble. Willing or not, this issue had to be resolved.

Did he show up?

You think hes gonna run away?

Anyone would want to run away once they realize theyre up against Amaru bron Stenbut what about his family? Is he willing to leave his family to hang?

Yeah.

Even if the Frederick boy did show up, the Stens would not tolerate the insult. Their pride would drive them to get revenge, one way or the other.

Damn it, looks like theres no fight.

The underclassmen grumbled as they dispersed from the auditorium.

The rumored boy, Joshua, took three days to come to his senses.

How long has it been? Joshua slowly cracked open his stiff eyelids.

His face lit up. Its done! A sliver of electricity flickered across his eyes as he opened them fully.

The air around him vibrated, and his surroundings were tinted black and whiteor was it all in his mind?

His vision was still a little blurry, but his body felt light as a feather; a tremendous amount of energy filled every muscle. Joshua knew this energy well.

Magic Spear Arts, Third Class. He could fully control his mana and envelope his weapon in this state. That said, there was a significant difference in mana density depending on the grade of the wielder.

Hed beaten an intermediate B-Class Knight before. But now everything is different. Imagine the possibilities. He had a brand-new power to accompany his mana.

Joshua closed his eyes and turned his focus inwards. The weird, lumpy energy, which rejected each other like oil and water, was gone. It wasnt perfect, but a massive force embraced the strange intertwining of the two energies.

This kind of power Joshua clenched his fists. He owed Bronto an awful lot. Who wouldve guessed that the Origin Stone possessed such power?

Ah! It occurred to Joshua that he could use that at the third level of the Magic Spear. He stretched his hand out and found nothing? My dear Lugia! Where was it, his heart of hearts?

[Are you a moron?]

Joshua heard a childs voice from over his shoulder. He spun around to find a long object casually floating in front of hima glimmering silver rod emitting a strange light.

Lugia?

[Your stupidity is on another level. Why would you sleep for three days where the enemy can attack you on all sides?]

Three days? Joshuas face paled.

[Thank and adore the great Lugia! The greatest companion in the world! This body cared for you while you slept dumbly for three days!]

Wait Lugias constant chatter was making it hard for him to think.

Something wasnt right. Joshua had expected Lugia to transform; similar changes had happened in his former life as well.

The thing was, each stage of the Magic Spear had distinct qualities. One of these was the subspace, which allowed an artifact to appear and disappear. Lugia had its own subspace magic, a distinguishing trait of the extremely rare ancient artifacts.

However, those relics were typically tiny objects like rings and necklacesthere were almost no subspaces that encompassed an entire weapon, especially one as large as Lugia. Even a handful of space took enormous amounts of mana to twist, and generating a subspace required twisting space all the way.

Joshua had relished Lugias subspace abilities in his first life. In the blood-soaked carnage of the battlefield, Lugia could appear from nowhere and strike at an enemy at any place and at any time. To his enemies, Lugia was like the reaper emerging from hell to drag Joshuas victims into the underworld.

Another one of Lugias unique properties was the ability to alter its appearance, as Joshua showed the Duke.

I didnt realize Lugia could change its shape until this life.

Joshua was ecstatic that he could disguise Lugia as an iron rod. He was worried that its distinctive shape would draw peoples attention.

But this last ability is what puzzles me the most. Joshuas brow furrowed.

Lugia can talk. In other words, it had an ego.

This happened to me before, shortly after I returned, so I wasnt surprised. I felt like I was dealing with a serious middle-aged man at the time, but now

[Are you seriously telling me that you think I act like a child?]

Like a child Joshuas eyes popped when he realized hed been talking out loud. What was

[Are you done being surprised? Dont be a wimp and dont rely on this weapon that just awakened, okay? Also, I can read minds, if you hadnt noticed.]

Joshua clamped his mouth shut.

[Surely youre not forgetting something important.]

What are you talking about?

[Hahhh Worry about yourself before you start worrying about your enemy. Do you know if your body is okay right now or not?]

Its

[Want me to tell you something?] Lugia pushed up close to him.

You know something?

[The Stone you got earlier Youd be a fool to believe that all it has is an attribute.]

It doesnt?

Lugia seemed to roll its imaginary eyes before it continued.

[If you dont know that, I have to wonder how much research humans have done on the Origin Stones. Its true power is different.]

Joshua stared at Lugia.

[You want some examples? The Origin Stone Magma has the power of extinction. It will devour everything in its scorching flames. Aqua has regeneration, Gaia has harmony, and so on. In summary, they all have their unique properties. What matters is: what kind of power does Bronto have?]

Joshua mulled it over for a while. I have the thunder attribute, known for its destructive power, but does it have more than this? No, it must. This stone is clearly on the same level as Ulabiss red Origin Stone.

[Consider your options carefully The answer could be very helpful in your situation.] Lugia teased him like it had no intention of giving him a straight answer. [Remember your plans? The revenge?]

The sound of Lugias voice made his eyes fly wide open.

You!