After losing multiple times to Lia in a row, Leo finally achieved his first victory against her when he managed to master the movements.
Even though he had a passive skill that granted him incredible mastery over a certain sword technique, there was just something special about the Vampire Vanquisher that required him to actually practice with it.
However, even though he'd managed to defeat Lia, it was a bittersweet victory due to Lia running out of stamina.
After taking a short break, they consumed an energy potion before they continued their training, using magic this time around.
The training building would shake every few seconds with the two of them bombarding each other with powerful magic spells that would, without doubt, demolish the regular training buildings.
At the end of the day, Lia still won the majority of fights due to mistakes and bad decisions from Leo's part.
"It appears that I only defeated you out of luck during the tournament." Leo sighed out loud at the end of their training.
"That's not true. I can tell that you're still holding back some strength, and you're only using fire magic for some reason."
"I can only use fire magic when I am 'Leo', after all. As for holding back… I admit that I am not going all out, but that's only because I don't want your servant to see you in a messy state, as she would definitely start complaining and threatening me for hurting you."
"You shouldn't pay so much attention to her. If she tries anything, I will stop her."
Leo nodded, "Fine. I will start going all out tomorrow."
They left the training room shortly after, and they were immediately greeted by Seven the moment they stepped outside.
"Is everything okay, Lady Scarlet?" Seven asked her.
"Yes." She calmly nodded.
"Then I will see you tomorrow. I start training after breakfast if you're wondering when you should show up." Leo said to her before making his way towards Eve's living quarters.
However, he stopped walking when he noticed Lia following him.
"You're still following me? Don't you have your own living quarters?" Leo asked her with raised eyebrows.
"It's fine, Leo. She'll be staying with us."
A voice that wasn't Lia suddenly resounded, and it came from the direction of his living quarters.
When he turned to look at the building, he could see half of Eve's body popping out of the window from her room, and she was wrapped in a white towel, suggesting that she had just gotten out of the shower.
"You mean she's living with us?" Leo asked for clarification.
"Yes. She insisted on living near you, and as you already know, there isn't any residence near this place, so I decided to let her stay with us. There are plenty of available rooms, anyway." Eve said.
Leo didn't say anything else and entered the building.
Sometime later, Leo arrived at his room, and to nobody's surprise, Lia had chosen to live in the room that was right beside his room.
After taking a hot bath, Leo went to the dining room to eat dinner. While he ate high-quality MRE, Lia sat beside him and ate the food that was prepared by Seven.
"Leo, you haven't registered any team for the Ancient Labyrinth as far as I'm aware. Do you plan on soloing it? I know you're strong, but I don't recommend it. The Ancient Labyrinth is a dangerous place. More students have perished inside than the Wilderness Training Course— three times as many." Eve said to him after dinner.
"Three times…? Why is the school even allowing such a dangerous event to take place? I understand that training must be done, but there are other options— far less dangerous ones."
"I guess it's something like a tradition now. Even though it's dangerous, the vast majority of students still decide to participate. Of course, this means that it's not mandatory to participate in the Labyrinth Examination, unlike the Wilderness Training Course, the main reason being that teachers won't be allowed inside, so we cannot save you."
"If it's not mandatory, why do students still risk their lives? For the grades? I doubt they're doing it merely for tradition."
"Grades are one reason that students participate. However, what incentivizes them the most is definitely the fame one could gain from this. Unlike the tournament and the Wilderness Training Course, the Labyrinth Examination is an extremely important event that essentially determines many of the students' futures." Eve said.
"Let me explain. The deeper you delve in the Ancient Labyrinth, the more attention you'll receive from the media, and this is international media that I am talking about. If you receive a good result, powerful Guilds and Families from all over the world will flock to recruit you, and some of them might even fight for you."
"Sounds like something I don't want to deal with…" Leo said with raised eyebrows.
He was already fed up from being recruited by the Four Celestial Families. He cannot imagine having to go through that experience again.
"You might not care about it, but the majority of students do. Even members of the Four Celestial Families aren't an exception." Eve said.
After a brief moment, she continued, "Except for Lia Scarlet, of course."
"I guess…"
Leo and the others retired to their rooms shortly after.
"Looks like you won't be able to avoid the Scarlet Family as much as you'd hoped. At this rate, you'll be part of the Scarlet Family within another half a year." Lilith chuckled, throwing some jabs at him back in their room.
"Yeah, right. That won't happen." Leo was quite dismissive of it.
"We shall see…" Lilith smiled.
The following day, Leo began practicing his swordsmanship shortly after arriving in the training building.
Lia showed up a few minutes later and started training with him.
However, half an hour into their training, someone else showed up.
A red-haired beauty wearing the school uniform approached Seven, who was guarding the door.
'This is Lia Scarlet's servant… What is she doing here?' Helia wondered to herself as she stopped before Seven and spoke, "Excuse me, I'd like to pass."