Toma still couldn’t fully process what had happened even the next day, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it. His family was traveling home that morning, so he got up at dawn, determined to talk to them one last time.

  “Please, Mom. Let me.”

  Demia turned to him sharply. “Let what? Let my son drop out of school and become a private student? Why don’t you just endure these last two years and properly finish the academy?”

  Toma’s voice rose despite himself. “Because I can’t! You have to understand—I can’t waste my time like this. I’ll be sixteen soon, and I want to live my youth as a warrior. Even the most talented captains finished the academy early.”

  “And you’re not a captain,” Demia shot back. “Do you even know how strong you have to be for that? Grow up already! Becoming captain of the Elite Division is a childish dream.”

  “That’s not true!” Toma clenched his fists. “I just don’t train hard enough yet. I need to train more! I have to become a young talent who can enter a combat unit at sixteen.”

  “But you are talented,” she insisted. “If you finish the academy properly, you can easily join a combat unit. Warriors earn good money—it’s a stable future.”

  “I don’t care about money!” Toma snapped. “I don’t want to be an average warrior. I want to be the best. I want to climb to the top.”

  Demia crossed her arms. “I understand the rivalry between you and Arvian, but don’t ruin your future because of it. And that supervisor you went on a mission with—the one where you almost died? He doesn’t seem trustworthy at all.”

  “I accepted that mission myself,” Toma replied firmly. “Supervisor Carter even suggested we withdraw. And anyway—we survived.”

  Then his voice lowered, steady and serious. “Please listen carefully, Mom. Arvian will definitely use his grandfather’s connections to become a private student too. He’ll finish the academy next year and get into the Ice Division easily. I’m already behind him—he’s stronger than me. And now this chance comes from Supervisor Carter… I have to take it. This is my only way to surpass Arvian.”

  Demia let out a long sigh. “Alright… fine.”

  Toma froze. “Wait—what? That’s it? You agree?”

  “You’re already grown,” she said quietly. “I couldn’t stop you even if I tried. I can see you’ve made up your mind. So do what you believe in. Become the person you want to be.”

  Toma jumped up and wrapped his arms around her. “Thank you, Mom! I promise—I can do this.”

  Emion and Nira had been watching silently the whole time.

  “Dad… what just happened?” Nira whispered.

  Emion chuckled. “You see, Nira, your brother knows exactly how to convince your mother. Compared to Toma, I don’t stand a chance.”

  Demia raised a finger before Toma could celebrate too much. “But you will call me at least five times a day. Understood?”

  “Five!?” Toma groaned. “What would we even talk about? Can’t it be three calls a day?”

  ***

  Toma still had several things to take care of. On Link, he replied to the six girls he had met the day before. With one of them, he even had a meeting later that day.

  He picked an expensive outfit from his wardrobe and sprayed himself with a pricey perfume, making sure his style was on point.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  At first, Toma and the girl simply walked around and talked. He didn’t really learn anything important about her—only that her name was Elyra, that she was sixteen, and which nail salon she usually went to.

  Eventually, they sat down at a fast-food place for lunch.

  “Honestly, Toma, I feel so bad you didn’t win. The girls and I were really rooting for you. We almost burst into tears.”

  “That’s kind of you,” Toma said, sipping his cold cola.

  She hesitated for a moment, then leaned in slightly. “Since it’s summer break, a few of us are thinking about going to party. Do you want to come with me?”

  Toma stopped mid-sip. “That does sound nice. Unfortunately, I’m leaving tomorrow. I’ll be spending the summer training alongside a professional warrior.”

  “Oh…” She looked genuinely disappointed. “That’s a shame. I would’ve liked to get to know you better.”

  Toma smiled faintly. “That’s sweet—and that’s why I wanted to meet you today. To get to know each other a little.”

  Suddenly, Elyra’s eyes lit up. “Hey, can we take another selfie?”

  “Sure,” Toma agreed immediately.

  She checked the photo and beamed. “This turned out great! Can I post it on my Link story?”

  “Yeah, go ahead.”

  They walked together for a while longer. Then, as they were about to part ways, Toma stopped.

  “Elyra… I really had a great time today.”

  Reaching into his pocket, he took out a silver medal. “I want you to have this. It’s the silver medal I got after the championship yesterday.”

  Her face flushed bright red. “Wait—seriously? For me?”

  He nodded. “I don’t collect silver medals. It would just gather dust with me. But only if you want it.”

  Elyra carefully took the medal from his hand. “Thank you. I’ll treasure it forever.”

  Overcome with emotion, she suddenly hugged him. Toma blinked in surprise, then gently returned the hug.

  Still flustered, Elyra quickly stepped back and hurried away. From a distance, she turned around, waved, and called out, “We’ll talk on Link later!”

  “Definitely!” Toma called back.

  As she disappeared down the street, her thoughts raced. She had never liked a boy as much as she liked Toma.

  Toma, meanwhile, was thinking about something entirely different.

  “Perfect,” he muttered. “I finally got rid of that silver medal that kept reminding me of my weakness. And I even made a girl happy.”

  He placed his hands behind his neck and walked off.

  During the rest of the day, Toma packed his clothes and belongings so he’d be ready to leave—but he quickly ran into a problem.

  “Damn it… I’ve already filled two suitcases, and there are still clothes left. All these expensive outfits I got from Carter barely fit!”

  He glanced at his watch.

  “Shit. Carter will be here soon. I have to go!”

  He shoved the remaining clothes into the suitcases, zipped them shut, and rushed out. After handing in his room key at the front desk, Toma left the dormitory for good.

  Outside, Lyrien and Arlen were already waiting.

  “You’re late,” Arlen called out immediately.

  “Chill,” Toma shot back. “Carter’s not here yet.”

  Lyrien hesitated for a moment before speaking. “Toma… are you sure it’s okay that I’m coming with you too?”

  “Of course it is. Don’t worry,” he said without hesitation. “I talked everything through with Carter yesterday. You’ll be preparing for the graduation exam with us.”

  Her expression softened. “I don’t even know how to thank you.”

  At that moment, a large white limousine rolled toward them and stopped right in front of the dormitory.

  “Need a ride?”

  Arlen’s eyes widened. “Inspector Carter!? It feels like I haven’t seen you in a thousand years!”

  Lyrien greeted him more formally. “Greetings, Inspector.”

  “Oh, come on,” Carter waved it off. “Just call me Carter.

  Toma skipped the pleasantries. “Where do we put the suitcases?”

  Carter laughed. “No idea. We’ll find a trash can and you can toss them in.”

  Toma scowled. “I’ll throw you in first.”

  Still grinning, Carter raised his hands. “Chill, I’m joking. Put them in the trunk.”

  He glanced at the luggage, then raised an eyebrow. “But seriously—how is it that you boys each brought two suitcases, while poor Lyrien only has one? You’re worse than girls.”

  Toma kept grumbling. “Just open the trunk already so we can load up and go.”

  “Alright, alright. Calm down a little,” Carter chuckled.

  As soon as the limousine started moving, Toma fell asleep—his early morning finally catching up with him.

  Meanwhile, Carter turned his attention to Lyrien.

  “So, I’m Inspector Carter. Toma’s already told me about you. He asked me to let you join us.”

  She nodded. “Yes. He called me last night and asked if I wanted to come. At first, I didn’t want to—I didn’t want to be a burden.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” Carter said easily. “There’s plenty of space next to these two. And I’ve seen your matches—you’ve got potential. You can definitely improve.”

  “Thank you very much for the opportunity,” Lyrien replied with a small bow.

  Up front, Arlen leaned toward the driver. “Excuse me, sir. How long until we reach our destination?”

  The driver thought for a moment. “Hard to say, but probably about six more hours.”

  Arlen blinked. “Six hours!?”

  Carter leaned forward slightly. “I’ll take over driving halfway so you can rest.”

  “Thank you, sir,” the driver replied.

  Carter leaned back with a grin. “Alright, everyone—sit back and enjoy the ride.”