The Useless Prince Is A Gangster

The training chamber felt calm and quiet, the silence was so deep that Leo could hear his own heartbeat, steady and strong, the cool air buzzing.

Gidon stood across from Leo, his tough frame in a plain gray tunic, graying beard framing a face both stern and curious. Leo, in his neat academy uniform, arms crossed, crimson eyes sharp with a small, confident smirk.

Gidon’s voice boomed through the quiet, rough but full of respect. "These past two days, I’ve put you through every test I could think of. Your skills? A damn arsenal—too many to track. But your hand-to-hand combat? Every move is meant to killing, precise as a blade."

Leo’s smirk grew, a flash of pride in his eyes. His past life as Leo Carter, a skilled assassin, had made his body a weapon, every hit deadly, his smirk speak for him.

Gidon crossed his arms, his hands tightening as he looked at Leo, curiosity in his eyes. "You’re no novice, Caulem. Teaching you basics would be a waste. I’m thinking of teaching aura training—real aura mastery—and a few of my personal techniques to sharpen what you’ve got."

Leo stepped forward, arms uncrossed, his tone calm but direct. "I can release aura, but shaping it is where I’m stuck."

Gidon’s thick brows shot up, surprise breaking his stern look. "You’re saying you never learned to mold it? Not even the fundamentals?"

Leo gave a dry laugh, honest but not embarrassed. "Come on, professor. Months ago, I was the Academy’s punching bag. Who’d bother teaching a bronze nobody like me aura techniques?"

Gidon’s jaw tightened, a hint of guilt on his rugged face. He knew the Academy’s unspoken rule: bronze students were left to struggle alone. He shook his head, voice strong, almost sorry. "Aura mastery hinges on three pillars: understanding, channeling, and controlling. Advancing comes later. Even for nobles trained since young age, it takes six months to a year to get it right."