I Can Copy Curses

"You guys are forgetting something."

At that moment, Lucy looked at Ford and Dustin.

"Have you forgotten that the one who will win tomorrow will also need to complete a mission? If one fails that mission, then their title of leader would be stripped away and would be given to others."

Orion frowned. This was his first time hearing a mission was required to be completed before being fully accepted as a leader and the failure was the instant transfer of leadership to some other individual.

"What type of mission?" he asked.

Lucy shook her head at him.

"Nobody knows. This rule is the first time it has been implemented in our time. So nobody really knows what type of mission one would get."

Orion nodded and thought that even if a mission were to be given to test the individual, it shouldn\'t be that difficult that it couldn\'t be completed but it could be tricky depending on the situation.

"Orion, will you be joining the Dollas Academy?"

Dustin asked Orion this time. He thought that since Orion was the youngest son of their master, he should join that academy as well. Though he wasn\'t sure about that,.

"What academy?" Orion was completely oblivious to what academy they were talking about. As far as he knew, there were many academies in the Magus Kingdom but they were all too weak for him and the academy name Dustin said was a new word to Orion.

"You don\'t know?" Dustin asked, surprised that Orion didn\'t know of Dollas Academy.

Lucy lightly slapped Dustin on the forehead.

"Fool, he had just arrived at home yesterday so how could he know everything about what had happened in the world if someone wouldn\'t tell him? He isn\'t like us, who had already passed the test two-three months ago."

"Ah, right." Dustin nodded embarrassingly.

"So what is this academy thing all about?" Orion asked.

Lucy thought for a moment before explaining it to Orion.

"Because the peace treaty signed between the four races is coming to an end in five years, the powerhouses of the three domains have decided to establish an academy called Dollas Academy where students from all three domains could learn there."

"They would train those students to their very best so that they could prepare for what\'s to come in the next five years. They also mentioned they would also teach us some things about Grimshore but they didn\'t go into the details for this."

After hearing Lucy\'s long explanation, Orion became interested in this Dollas Academy.

"When will the academy start?" He asked.

"Three months after the Stellar Prodigy Tournament," Lucy replied.

"Three months?" Orion felt confident that in three months he would definitely reach silver rank, bringing him one step closer to gold rank. The timing of Dollas Academy\'s offer was perfect, as it came just before his planned entry into Grimshore at gold rank.

But that would mean he would have to cancel his journey to the Human Federation Realm and the Martial Domain.

"If I am allowed to go there, then I will definitely be going."

Orion told them what he believed was true. If his father didn\'t agree, then he couldn\'t go there as Orion. As for his other identity, nobody knew what would happen in the future.

"Our Darkwood family has ten spots in the Dollas Academy, just like the six other Magi families, so we believe tomorrow\'s assessment will be very crucial for us to show our significance to the family."

Hearing Dustin\'s words, Orion thought that only including the seven Magi families would make the total of 70 individuals going to the academy and if he used the Magus Kingdom as a whole, then the number would surely go up to 100.

That meant there would be at least 300 individuals in the academy, give or take.

"I guess I will leave now."

Orion looked at the sky and saw that the night had approached.

"We are also leaving. Let\'s also be together." Lucy suggested.

Orion nodded and they made their way towards the palace.

Arriving at the palace, they went their separate ways and Orion went directly to eat dinner.

Last night, he slept early and forgot to eat with his mother, which made him a little guilty. Therefore, he decided he would first eat with his mother and then he would think of anything else to do.

***

A long table was placed in a large room, with a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, casting a warm, inviting light.

Ten people were seated at the table, eating their food quietly. Nobody spoke a word, and everyone kept their heads down, focusing solely on their meals. The only sounds were the munching and gulping of food, creating a stark contrast to the otherwise pin-drop silence.

Even Ella, who always made a ruckus when they ate, was quiet today.

Orion was also like them, seated in the middle and eating quietly.

When he came to eat earlier, he had imagined a warm dinner with his mother, sister, and friends. However, he didn\'t anticipate the arrival of three other individuals, who changed the entire atmosphere of the dinner.

They were his father, brother, and sister.

It wasn\'t that they said anything about not talking while eating, but the aura they emitted suggested they preferred to eat in peace.

Suggested in their case, speculated by them.

Orion didn\'t know why the three of them had decided to eat at home today.

His father, as far as he could remember, always liked to eat alone with his mother when everyone fell asleep.

His brother rarely ate at home and that only left his sister, who ate with them frequently over time.

But as he looked at their serious faces while they ate, Orion couldn\'t help but laugh secretly, wondering if this was how they usually ate their meals.

However, he noticed one thing during this time and that was about his big sister.

He could feel that she seemed to be looking at him every now and then, frequently, as she ate her meals.

Also, for some reason, he felt that his sister had changed greatly. She was a very cheerful and optimistic person when he left home five years ago but the one in front of him felt like a completely different person.

He didn\'t know what happened to her but he decided to ask her tomorrow after the assessment.

"I am full. I will take my leave."

His father finished eating and left the room.

"I am finished too."

A moment later, his brother finished too and like his father, he too left the room.

However, just when Orion thought his sister would follow in their footsteps, she asked him a question.

"Orion, how did you awaken your talent?"

Except for Famir and Ryfin, who thought he had awakened his talent due to transmigration, and Ron, who looked confused about the whole thing, his mother and Ella looked at him with interest.

Orion sighed, seeing their curious faces. He had anticipated being asked such questions when he awakened his memories, so he had already prepared a reason for that.