Chapter 179 The Unspeakable Secret: Spring, Knight Academy, Black Flame...
The tough winter is finally over, and thankfully nothing else happened afterward, but those incidents alone are enough to give everyone a good talking-to.
As nature comes to life, good news arrives from the border, which greatly boosts the morale of the people at home.
But whether it's wild animals or war, food is the most essential thing; without it, no one can survive. Everyone temporarily put aside everything else and began to work feverishly to prepare for spring plowing.
This year, Lai plans to plant more corn, but there isn't enough land on the hillside, so he needs to clear the land and create raised beds again. Since the enlightenment, he has become exceptionally busy, spending most of his time living on the hillside with Tata. Fortunately, Saiya can help take care of the family and the sick Guge.
Blake said that Guge's illness was not serious, but it was torturous; it was a chronic disease that required long-term treatment.
As people get older, they are bound to get sick. Gu Ge knew that this day would come sooner or later, so he kept a good attitude and ate and drank as usual, trying not to trouble the younger generation.
However, he no longer planned to plant the remaining grapevines and fruit trees at home, and gave the best ones to Lai. He also lent Lai the backyard vegetable garden, which was entirely planted with corn, leaving only the small front garden for him to grow some vegetables for daily consumption.
Lei was busy at home, and Neil was also very busy with his studies at the Knight Academy.
In the new academic year, Neil's cohort of students took more practical courses to prepare for their final assessments.
The top three students will receive a letter of recommendation from the dean to continue their studies at the Knight Academy in Eton City, which has always been Neil's goal.
The separations and pains he had experienced made Neil cherish his life more than anyone else. He knew how hard it was for Ray to earn money, so he studied harder than anyone else, just so as not to waste the tuition fees his brother paid for him.
Neil consistently ranked first in almost every course, and it's no surprise that Neil Victor's name will appear on the dean's recommendation letter.
As long as he remains number one, he can study at the Knight Academy in Eton City without paying a penny of tuition. If he's lucky enough to be recruited by the church or the city lord, then his brother will never have to worry about him again.
Neil thought so; he had always been a very sensible child.
As a child, he was afraid of losing things and lacked a sense of security, so he liked to cling to Lai Yi. His personality was somewhat extreme, and he was both obsessive and sensitive.
Later, with Ray's encouragement, he gradually became more cheerful. But that wasn't enough, so Ray sent him to the town's knight academy, hoping he could meet more people and broaden his horizons.
Ray's decision was correct; he taught Neil a lot here and helped him out of his misconceptions.
This made him realize that only by having enough power could he protect those he wanted to protect, and that he couldn't always rely on his brother. He needed to be a towering tree, not a blade of grass beneath it.
There are so many people in this world without magic; ordinary people can also achieve success through their own efforts.
These are the principles his teachers at the Knight Academy taught him.
At this moment, Neil was full of expectations for the future. He hoped that he would be Ray's pride, not a burden.
"Neil, we're going to the training ground for sparring this afternoon. Remember to remind me to bring my wooden sword."
"good."
The dormitory at Knight Academy, which is only a dozen square meters, contains four wooden beds and a wooden table. Each floor has an open lounge for students to socialize.
The dormitory environment was so-so; you could occasionally see rats. Only students who lived far away would choose to stay there, so Neil shared a room with kids from nearby villages.
They were well taken care of by their family and grew up in an environment where they were never short of love. They had great personalities, and Neil got along well with them. They would occasionally go to town together to buy groceries. They were all good classmates.
After lunch break, the group went to the training ground together. They arrived early, and there weren't many people there yet.
The weather had just started to warm up, and everyone was still wearing thick clothes.
The stone slabs at the edge of the training field were damp with freshly melted snow. The grass shoots on the central lawn had already sprouted, appearing tender green from a distance, a fuzzy expanse full of life.
After a while, everyone gradually arrived. After learning the new moves from the teacher, they split into pairs and began practicing.
The wooden sword has a rounded tip; it hurts a little when it hits you, but it won't actually cause injury.
Neil also started practicing with Green.
Neil had been feeling unwell since morning, with an inexplicable irritability and everything seeming to annoy him. This restlessness continued into his afternoon swordsmanship class.
The wooden swords clashed back and forth, and Neil released some of his emotions during the attack. He had no intention of hurting his partner, but his moves became increasingly fierce and uncontrollable.
"Hey Neil, you swung your sword too hard, it hurts my hand."
"I'm sorry, I'll try to control myself."
It's generally accepted that Neil won't hit too hard during practice, and he tries to control his strength as much as possible.
"Change!"
Upon hearing the command, the attackers and defenders switched sides, with Neil switching from attacker to defender, and all he had to do was catch his partner's attacks.
All around him were the crisp sounds of wooden swords clashing together. Neil's thoughts drifted to the small village and the low hills, and he was momentarily lost in thought.
"Oh!"
Neil reacted quickly and caught the attack aimed at his right rib.
“Be serious, Neil, I’m not going to hold back this time.”
Neil slightly raised his chin, ignoring the provocation.
"Come."
The opponent's attack speed became extremely fast, each attack swift and precise, the whistling sound of wooden swords cutting through the air filling the air. However, Neil was also very strong, able to firmly catch all of Green's attacks.
"Change!"
After this order, it will be a real fight. Neither side needs to stop fighting; they can continue battling. The defending side can switch from defense to offense depending on the situation.
Neil immediately launched an attack on Green.
The two were evenly matched, both ranking among the top in their class. For a time, they fought back and forth, locked in a fierce and evenly matched battle, and before they knew it, a large crowd had gathered around.
"Is this Neil?"
"right!"
"The fact that they got first place is no exaggeration; every move they made was both beautiful and powerful!"
"Look, the one he's fighting seems to be struggling."
Green was clearly influenced by what the people around him said, and his attacks became increasingly chaotic, landing several blows on Neil amidst his block and slashes. Neil was already in a bad mood, and this back-and-forth made him a little hot-headed, but reason prevailed.
“Green, stop. You’ve gone a bit too far.”
Green didn't stop; he could no longer hear anyone else.
"Green!"
The teacher wanted to stop the fight, as this often happens during sparring matches. The most important thing now is to protect the safety of both sides.
This isn't a solution; if the teacher intervenes, Green will definitely get hurt.
While blocking Green, Neil was trying to come up with a plan. Suddenly, Green's wooden sword came straight at his head.
At this moment, Neil felt that his anger had reached its peak.
"I told you to stop!"
As Neil roared, a ball of black flame spread from his right hand to the entire blade, slicing the wooden sword in Grimm's hand in two.
“Neil!”
Danny shouted breathlessly, having immediately run down from the third floor upon hearing the news.
Danny's voice snapped Neil back to reality. He stared in disbelief at his right hand, where the black flames on the wooden sword were still burning. Startled, he threw the sword away, wanting to get as far away from it as possible.
The students around me were whispering amongst themselves.
"Neil has awakened magical talent? Is that so? I'm not seeing things, am I?"
"My God, he was already the top student in the grade, and now he's awakened magic. No one will be able to beat him in the future."
"Neil isn't an ordinary person? Then why did his brother send him to the Knight Academy instead of the Magic Academy?"
Why did he hide the fact that he knows magic from me?
......
As Neil listened to the discussion, his mind was in turmoil, filled with confusion and unease. He could clearly hear his own heavy breathing, and his right hand was trembling uncontrollably.
“Neil? Neil.”
Danny gently nudged Neil, trying to help him relax.
"Danny, I, I..."
Neil ultimately didn't say anything, pushed through the crowd, and ran back to his dormitory.
The flames on the wooden sword on the ground had disappeared, leaving only a long charred mark on the grass.
"Disperse! Disperse! Go back! Don't talk nonsense!"
The swordsmanship teacher dispersed the students who were watching the spectacle.
Neil is an excellent student, well-behaved and obedient; all the teachers can't help but praise him when they talk about him. Given what happened today, we definitely need to have a serious talk with Neil and his brother.
In the dormitory, Neil huddled under the covers, staring blankly at his right hand, terrified.
He didn't know what had just happened; it felt like something had suddenly broken free of its shackles, a force surging through his limbs and bones, and he was controlled by his emotions. Then, black flames enveloped the wooden sword.
My brother is a wood-type mage, my mother is also a wood-type mage, my father has no magic, and the only person in the family who is a fire-type mage is my cousin Vivian, but our two families live too far apart, and Uncle Hagrid is from a collateral branch, so we have to go back many, many generations to find our blood relationship.
How could a wood-type bloodline have a fire-type mutated offspring?
Neil trembled with fear, afraid to think any further. But the more he tried to stop thinking about it, the more chaotic thoughts popped into his head.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
Neil clenched his fists and pounded his head, tears streaming down his face onto the blanket.
He skipped his afternoon classes for the first time ever, and stayed in his dormitory without going out. He lay on his bed, covered himself with the whole blanket, and didn't say a word.
He was enveloped in fear and timidity, which made him uneasy.
Neil didn't know how to handle the situation, but at that moment he was absolutely certain that he couldn't let Ray know about it.
But can it really be kept secret? Why did this happen to him?
He really didn't want to lose his only brother.
Neil considered countless possible outcomes for Rye if she found out about this, and tried his best to delay or prevent it from happening.
“My brother is my brother, there is no other possibility.”
The next day, Neil took the initiative to find the teacher in charge of him.
"Neil, you're here. Did you sleep well?"
"Very good, thank you."
The teacher looked at Neil encouragingly; she knew he must have something to say.
"Teacher, I will take the initiative to tell my brother about what happened yesterday. I hope the college will stop looking for him."
“I will fully consider your wishes, but Neil, I still need to talk to your brother.”
“Okay.” Neil’s disappointment was clearly visible.
"Go and study hard."
"Um."
When Neil returned to the classroom, his classmates looked at him with curiosity.
"Hey Neil, I'm sorry, I lost control a bit yesterday. But do you really know magic?"
Green, who was sitting at the same table, asked curiously, his eyes gleaming with gossip.
"I don't know any magic; that was just an accident."
Green shrugged, clearly not believing Neil's story.
"Okay then, but your new hair color looks really good."
What?
Neil didn't understand what Green's last sentence meant until he borrowed a mirror.
“Neil, your brown hair is so beautiful, like silk!”
"Thank you for the mirror. I have something to do; my teacher wants me to go to him."
Goodbye, Neil.
Neil wasn't as calm as he appeared inside.
He clearly had the same brown hair as his mother, but I don't know why it's become so much lighter now.
Brown, why brown!
Neil was in a daze all day; he wasn't ready to face what was about to happen.
Nine more days.
There are still nine days until the next break, when my brother will come to pick me up and he will find out about this.
I know... he might not be his parents' child.
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Author's Note: Did anyone guess? It took a long time to build up to this [shy]
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