The Silver-Haired Challenger

I adjusted my stance and glanced at the girl before me. She had long, beautiful silver hair and blue eyes fixed on me. Strange. 'With looks like that, there's no way I wouldn't remember her.' Silver hair and blue eyes aren't exactly rare, but even with all the silver-haired, blue-eyed characters in recent fiction, this should have stuck. I've never seen anyone like her at Tinesy Academy. 'I definitely heard that voice before.'

A peculiar voice that seemed to echo in my mind. Not that the voice itself was odd—just something strange about the way she spoke. Pretty, yet somehow off. Whatever. When I shifted my posture, she mirrored me. If I pulled my right leg back, she did the same. Even a slight movement of my arm made her flinch. 'Her reaction time is impressive.'

We stood facing each other for a while until the supervisor from earlier approached her. He looked nothing like before. Earlier he'd seemed like some strict drill instructor from a middle school retreat, but now he was visibly flustered.

"Um, Miss Erien… If you suddenly start a duel like this, it puts us in a difficult position…"

"The exam's already over. There's nothing left to do."

"There's still a bit more to handle, so if you could just—"

"Then do it. We'll do our thing too."

Where did my opinion go in all this? She said "we" so naturally. 'The supervisor really can't do anything here.'

The supervisor was just an extra who appeared occasionally in the original story, but he left an impression—mostly a bad one. The kind of NPC who'd hand out punishments for the slightest bump in the hallway. His personality was so rotten it was hard to describe. Yet here he was, completely helpless. '…She said her name is Erien?'

Never heard the name before either. Still, worth remembering. In this genre, a silver-haired, blue-eyed character can't be a one-off. If I make contact, it'll probably lead somewhere. The way the supervisor was groveling, there had to be more to her.

Despite his polite requests, Erien showed no sign of backing down.

"Actually, we've decided to announce the top scorer today as an exception…"

"I know."

"And that student is—"

"I know that too."

Erien answered while keeping her eyes locked on me.

"It was overwhelming. And it caught my interest."

"…Anyway, may we take the student now?"

The supervisor bowed again, seeking her permission. At this point, he was starting to look pitiful.

"…I suppose it can't be helped."

"!! Thank you, Miss Erien!"

"Then I'll just do this real quick and go."

"……What?"

In that instant, Erien leaped toward me. 'Crazy girl.'

Ignoring the supervisor's desperate shouts from behind, she threw a punch at me. The speed was considerable, even at a glance. But—

"Such an attack would never reach this body."

I adjusted my stance and activated my mana circuits. I launched a Wind Blade toward her fist, but—

"That's weak. Stronger."

With one swing of her fist, Erien shattered my Wind Blade into pieces. 'She broke the magic?'

I didn't have time to think. She was already closing in. However—

"It seems you weren't watching my exam very carefully."

"…!!"

Even a B-rank Wind Blade only lets you fire two blades. The one aimed at her fist was a feint. The real one targeted her ankle.

"Kuh…!"

Erien tried to slow down and dodge, but it was too late. The Wind Blade struck her left leg, forcing her into a kneeling position.

"Now that's a much more pleasing posture."

"You…"

Erien looked up at me from one knee. She seemed about to say something, but—

"……You're strong."

She stood up, brushing off her knees, and turned to leave the training ground without another word. But—

"How unpleasant."

"……What?"

"Challenging me with that level of skill only to run away. A truly disagreeable experience."

"…Hmm."

What I basically said was, 'You throw ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the first punch and don't even pay compensation?' Fortunately, Erien seemed to understand exactly what I meant. She turned back to face me. Her expression was still blank, but the atmosphere had shifted. Curiosity was breaking through the impassive mask.

"Unpleasant……"

Erien rested a hand on her chin, stared into the air for a moment, then—

"Here."

She tossed something to me. Despite the distance, it landed perfectly in my hand—a single rectangular card.

"You don't seem to have a weapon. Use this at the academy's forge to get one made."

A free weapon crafting voucher? The forge inside the academy was better than most large workshops, and correspondingly expensive. Getting a custom weapon made there for free? 'She actually knows basic manners. I'll remember this.'

"And."

She spun fully toward me.

"Once you get the weapon, we're having a proper duel. Both of us going all out. No holding back."

With those final words, Erien left the training ground.

The training ground fell silent again until the supervisor broke it. His flustered demeanor had vanished, replaced by his usual authoritative tone.

"All examinations have concluded! Pass or fail notices will be delivered to your homes in two days!"

He cleared his throat and continued.

"Furthermore! While the top scorer is normally announced at the entrance ceremony—"

The supervisor looked at me. His face was a complicated mix of expressions—curiosity, surprise, bewilderment. …Was he just ugly? Regardless, he pressed on.

"This time, we will announce the top scorer immediately. Kiren Montella, step forward!"

I approached the supervisor, back straight like an elementary school class president, walking with measured steps.

Ambiguous? What does that even mean? I slipped my hands into my pockets and lifted my chin slightly. The message vanished instantly. My arrogance points didn't drop, did they?

Good. It rose without issue.

"That's the guy from earlier, right? The one who turned the scarecrow to dust."

"With skills like that, he should've been famous already… Where did he come from?"

"Better memorize his name. Getting close to him might not be bad."

"But his personality seemed a bit…"

I can hear all of you. The supervisor alternated glances between me and my hands in my pockets, then let out a small sigh.

"…Kiren Montella. Congratulations on your top admission. The academy will serve as a milestone for you. I hope you become a source of pride for Tinesy Academy."

"Of course. Who else but I could illuminate this place?"

"……"

Thus, the entrance exam—filled with all sorts of incidents—came to an end.

**

That evening.

"A bed worthy of this body."

The mattress was just soft enough not to hurt my back. The blanket was warm, and most importantly, everything was spacious. The bed, the room—even the bathtub! 'This is why you aim for top admission.'

Getting assigned a dormitory right away was fortunate. According to the original story, dorm assignments happened a week later at the entrance ceremony, regardless of whether you were top or regular admission. But because I was selected as top scorer on the same day, the academy assigned me one immediately. 'I didn't even know my home address. I almost ended up homeless.'

Imagining myself competing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for sleeping spots with vagrants in some back alley gave me chills. Come to think of it—

"I still haven't checked my face yet."

I hadn't had time to look in a mirror since possessing this body. At least it was clearly male. The name had thrown me off a bit, but whatever. I got up from the bed and headed to the bathroom. A wide ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mirror sat above the sink.

"As expected, an appearance that would draw attention if it didn't."

Blond hair slicked back, red eyes. Quite handsome, actually. Not that I'm giving myself extra points just because it's my face. Objectively speaking, he was good-looking. Anyway—

"Now, how shall I spend my golden time?"

One week until the entrance ceremony. Spending it holed up in the dorm felt wasteful. 'First, let's do some shopping with my arrogance points.'

"Status Window."

-Flash!

My arrogance points had accumulated quite a bit. Maintaining that posture and speech pattern must have helped. 'But I can't keep talking like this forever, can I?' Living with this tone would probably tank my reputation to rock bottom. Arrogance isn't exactly a positive trait to begin with. I'll have to think of another method later.

"First, I need to replace these insect-like stats that don't suit this body. Raise all stats to E-rank."

- Strength: E

- Endurance: E

- Agility: E

- Intelligence: E

- Mana: D

Now the stats were at least decent. It would be nice to raise endurance a bit more. Tinesy Academy's classes were notoriously difficult, so basic stamina was essential. I'll raise it more when I have the leeway.

'What should I do with these leftover points?' Rolling the skill gacha felt a bit wasteful, but there wasn't anywhere else to spend them either. Saving them to duplicate a good skill later wasn't a bad idea either… In the end, I decided to do just one roll. The more usable skills, the better.

"Single roll."

I activated the gacha immediately. And in that moment, the status window began to glow!! It sparkled with blue light like a club mirror ball, then shifted to purple. Eventually, the light turned golden. An effect I hadn't seen when rolling in the training ground. Could it be—?!

Getting an S-rank on the second roll—is this good or what!!!!