“What does it matter?”
Deiker looked indifferent to Sophia’s words. He was well aware that Lizardmen were 5-tier monsters.
“Huh…?”
Sophia made a troubled face. Judging by Deiker’s tone, it seemed unlikely that the monsters for the exam would be changed no matter what she said.
“How many will there be?”
“It will be based on the tier standards.”
As expected, this meant there would be dozens of them.
‘Having dozens of dumb goblins wouldn’t be a concern, but…’
Having dozens of intelligent Lizardmen was difficult in this situation.
‘Lizardmen are intelligent, so they’ll quickly figure out our formation.’
This was clearly why the academy had informed them about the monsters for the first exam.
‘We’ll have to change formations frequently while we fight.’
Eugene was already thinking about how to position his team members in his head.
“The reward for winning the duel ends here, so you may leave now.”
Screeeech.
Eugene and Sophia left the head instructor’s office, having only obtained information about the Lizardmen from Deiker.
“Phew. I didn’t expect a 5-tier monster.”
“Yeah, really.”
Sophia nodded at Eugene’s words. She hadn’t expected a 5-tier monster to appear in the exam either.
“Oh, by the way, that assassin hasn’t come back, right?”
“Why… are you worried?”
“Of course. I can’t afford to lose anything because of that guy.”
‘If he comes back, I’ll have to call the instructors somehow.’
Since the assassin was a high-level mage, there wasn’t much she could do about it yet. Sophia turned her head to look at the wall, hiding her blushing cheeks, still misunderstanding the situation.
“Hmm… Anyway, what are you going to do?”
“About what?”
“About the Lizardmen being the exam monsters… Are you going to tell the other teams?”
“Is there any need to?”
Eugene shook his head at Sophia’s question. The academy inherently encouraged a competitive atmosphere. Sharing his cards in such an academy seemed unnecessary.
“I don’t have any close teams anyway.”
“I see.”
“And you? Are you going to share it with anyone?”
“I do have a team I’ve made an alliance with.”
“Really?”
It was the first Eugene had heard of this. Sophia was already the strongest among the first-year students, aside from Eugene. It was surprising that someone like her had formed an alliance with another team.
“Alliances are meaningless here anyway. If you fail the exam three times, you’re expelled.”
Although there was some irony in saying that failing three exams led to expulsion, this rule made Landbard Academy students always strive harder and train relentlessly.
‘That’s probably why Landbard Academy holds the top position in Seifran.’
An academy infamous for its survival of the fittest. That was Landbard Academy.
“So, you’re not going to share the hint?”
“Well, it’s your choice, but I wouldn’t do it.”
“Huh?”
“If you don’t want to, then I won’t share it.”
Eugene, walking side by side with Sophia back to the dormitory, tilted his head in confusion. She should just follow her own heart, why bother asking…?
“No, it’s just…”
“Sophia!”
Just as Eugene was about to say something to Sophia with an exasperated expression, the girls from Team 3 came running toward her from a distance.
‘Well… She’ll figure it out.’
Seeing the girls from Team 3, Eugene turned around and headed back to his dormitory.
***
Time passed quickly. Team 5, with Eugene as the leader, was initially very shocked to learn that the exam monster would be Lizardmen. However, Arid quickly put an end to any chaos by establishing order, and they continued their formation training without complaint. Eugene also focused on the exam given by Deiker: the manifestation of aura, specifically creating sword energy.
In truth, to materialize an aura blade, one needed to reach the peak level of inner strength, at least 12 years of training. Eugene, on the other hand, was only at the level of a four-star warrior, slightly above the first-class level.
So, why did Eugene accept Deiker’s test?
Did he think he could reach the peak stage in two weeks?
No.
Eugene could create sword energy even without reaching the peak stage.
‘Though it’s just barely.’
The method was quite ingenious. By redirecting the flow of inner strength to a specific point, he could manipulate his meridians and blood vessels to create an aura blade. This technique was extremely risky, as it could cause severe internal damage if not done correctly.
Eugene pressed his meridians to block the flow of inner strength, channeling all his energy to his sword, forming an unstable aura blade.
‘It’s really unstable since it’s forcefully made.’
The shape was crooked, and the energy was volatile, ready to explode at any moment.
‘Well… it’s to be expected.’
As he released the blocked meridians, the aura blade disappeared, and the energy returned to its natural flow. Blocking his meridians caused significant strain on his body, so he couldn’t maintain it for long.
Clack. Clack.
“Are you here?”
Eugene bowed as Deiker and Lina walked into the training room. They seemed to be here to test Eugene’s abilities today.
“So, today is the second week since we spoke… do you need more time?”
Deiker looked at Eugene with eyes that didn’t hold much expectation. After all, it seemed impossible for someone who wasn’t even a knight to form an aura blade in just two weeks.
“If you need more time, I can certainly…”
Clack. Clack.
“Huh?!”
Deiker’s eyes widened as he saw Eugene form an aura blade right in front of him. Though the shape was unstable, it was undoubtedly an aura blade.
Clack. Clack.
Deiker was speechless, just like when Eugene had smashed the Black Steel Golem. How could someone form an aura blade in just two weeks?
In truth, he had set the task knowing it was a near-impossible challenge. He had planned to guide Eugene step by step or make him give up on becoming a magic swordsman if he failed. But Eugene, without any complaints, had achieved the impossible.
“What about my trial?” Lina, who had been as shocked as Deiker, finally spoke up.
The task of forming a contract with a spirit in two weeks was equally unreasonable.
“Did you contract with a spirit?”
“Lina, are you serious? Did you really set such an impossible task as a trial?”
Deiker glared at Lina in disbelief. Contracting with a spirit was more about luck than effort, unlike forming an aura blade.
“Hmph, the Bedia family has a good compatibility with spirits.”
Crack.
Deiker gritted his teeth at Lina’s continued nonsense.
“The head of the Bedia family, a 10th-circle sage, hasn’t even contracted with a spirit. So how could he…”
Whoosh.
“?!”
“?!”
Before Deiker could finish his sentence, a pleasant breeze blew through the training room.
Poof!
“Hello, Eugene!”
It was Sylph, the spirit Eugene had summoned.
“Hello, Sylph. Could you show yourself to the others?”
“Yes!” Sylph flapped her wings vigorously and revealed herself to Deiker and Lina with a cheerful greeting.
There was no strength left to be surprised. They had expected something when the wind blew through the room, but to see a spirit contract, and with a mid-level spirit like Sylph, was beyond belief.
“Haha… ha…”
Lina laughed like a mad person. Even seeing it with her own eyes, she couldn’t believe it.
As Deiker had mentioned, the head of the Bedia family, a 10th-circle mage, had not contracted with a spirit. Although he could have used an artifact to contract with a spirit, he chose to focus on his magic instead.
The idea of a family having a special affinity for spirits was just nonsense. If such a family existed, all mages with daughters would send them to marry into that family.
But Eugene had made a spirit contract, and with a mid-level spirit no less.
“Is it really Sylph?”
“Yes, she’s a mid-level spirit.”
“So… when did you contract with Eugene?”
Sylph awkwardly laughed and lied to Deiker, saying it had been two days.
In reality, Eugene had summoned Sylph in the restroom two days ago and instructed her to lie about the timing of their contract. He wanted to avoid any suspicion that he had external help in forming the contract.
‘I really must thank Aster someday.’ Thanks to him, Eugene easily passed Lina’s unreasonable trial.
“I’ll be leaving now…”
With a defeated expression, Lina walked out of the training room. She felt utterly helpless and miserable, as she hadn’t even contracted with a spirit herself.
“Lina will face consequences for setting such an unreasonable trial.”
“Yes…”
At this point, the punishment didn’t matter. It would probably be something minor like a suspension or pay cut.
“Sylph, you can go now.”
“Yes, call me again later.”
Poof.
“Hmph… I still can’t believe your progress.”
Deiker crossed his arms and praised Eugene. Coming from Deiker, who rarely praised students, it was high praise indeed.
“What will I learn next?”
Deiker sighed at Eugene’s question. His original plan had been to guide Eugene slowly or make him give up if he failed. But Eugene had surpassed his expectations by forming an aura blade.
‘Since he created sword energy, there’s nothing more I can teach him right now.’
Cliche Novel 