Shane Krakt
Shane Krakt.
I didn’t know much about her, but judging from the reactions around me, she was clearly a pretty famous figure.
“Shane Krakt is requesting a spar first?”
“With a nobody like him?”
“Shane’s actually sparring?! With who?!”
The moment Shane glared at the murmuring students, the noise died instantly.
She really does seem strong.
Not only had she silenced the extras with a single look, but there was also that red lightning and spear she’d shown earlier.
Why isn’t someone like her in S class?
It was almost comical that a powerhouse like her was stuck in A class instead of S.
“You’ll spar with me, right?”
“……Before that, I have something to ask.”
Shane tilted her head at my words.
“What is it?”
“Why are you in A class?”
“Ah, that?”
Shane answered without the slightest hesitation.
“Family tradition. To enter S class, you have to fight strong opponents or people who catch your interest and win. That’s how I ended up in A class.”
So that was how it worked. Using the power of your family to get what you wanted at the academy.
I guess this much falls within the acceptable range.
It didn’t hurt anyone, and it was a method for students to grow stronger, so the academy apparently allowed it.
“That’s why I got interested in you.”
I met her vivid red gaze.
“Ranked 500th, yet in S class? What kind of ability do you have?”
Step.
She walked right up to me.
“Hmm?”
Her face, overflowing with curiosity, filled my vision.
……This is burdensome.
I’d grown used to making eye contact with beautiful women, but Shane was standing on her tiptoes, bringing her face extremely close to mine.
“Well, it doesn’t matter.”
She stepped back.
“The spar will be next Monday after classes. That fine with you?”
“……Yeah.”
I nodded reluctantly.
It’s not like I can refuse anyway.
I should just spar to my heart’s content inside S class. Most of the class lessons would probably be sparring or practical training anyway.
……It matches perfectly with someone who loves fighting.
I had no idea why their family tradition was like that.
“Then I’ll be going? See you at the training ground after class on Monday.”
She must have already reserved the arena.
“……”
I stared blankly at Shane’s retreating figure as she left with a bright smile.
Light red hair tied in a ponytail, crimson eyes, and a smile that could charm anyone. I felt like I’d been enchanted without realizing it.
Anyway, I need to win first.
I couldn’t leave S class.
Because I wouldn’t be able to come back.
In short, I had to get stronger.
To defeat Shane, I would need to be at least on the same level as her.
How?
There was no way I could surpass her in just three days.
No matter how much I thought about it, the conclusion was the same.
I headed to a private training room instead of the dormitory.
***
Once I arrived at the private training room, I sat cross-legged in a place swirling with flames and began to meditate.
This is one of the headmaster’s abilities too.
For the private training rooms, all you had to do was submit a single request form to the headmaster and the environment could be changed however you wanted.
I can’t waste this chance.
This privilege would vanish the moment I lost a single spar.
I pushed away the rising thoughts and focused.
Can I create a new form?
The first method to grow stronger was creating forms.
When I had created my first form, I felt something inside my body change.
Was it Rank?
Rank.
In today’s theory class, we had learned about it.
Simply put, it was a concept similar to karma that humans accumulated to become transcendents.
To raise one’s Rank, you had to reach the pinnacle in some field or achieve feats that would shock the world, they said.
The higher your Rank, the more you could do.
……But it feels like I can’t make one.
It was the fastest way to become stronger, yet I was hitting a wall right now.
It was more outstanding than I thought.
The most basic first form was a technique that required perfect control over compression and manipulation.
I could manage it to a certain degree, but to use it perfectly I still needed more training.
In short, because the first form was far more advanced than expected, no ideas for creating a second form came to mind.
……There isn’t enough time.
My physical and mana talents could truly be called the best.
But both the time I had spent training and the time I had left to train were far too short.
……Let’s start with what I can do now.
What I could do right now was use this space to grow stronger.
“Huu……”
I stood up and looked around.
Close by, flames were drifting toward me. In the distance, lava radiated heat so intense it was scorching just to look at.
It’s not even hot yet.
I had requested a space that grew hotter the farther you went.
The flames at the beginning only felt slightly warm—probably thanks to my high fire resistance.
Let’s go.
I began walking along the Flame Path.
Whoosh.
The flames drew near.
Instead of harming me, they cautiously circled around me.
What is this?
It was my first time experiencing something like this and I had no knowledge of it, so I felt bewildered.
Still, it was clear that the situation was at least beneficial to me.
I absorbed the fire energy and walked deeper inside.
A little hot. But bearable.
That was my impression after walking the Flame Path for five hours and reaching the area near the lava.
Why?
No matter how much fire energy I used, I should still be able to feel the heat.
It seemed I was the strange one.
Is it because of the Flame Divine Art?
It was simply a cultivation method that converted absorbed mana into fire energy.
Perhaps there were other unknown aspects to it.
……I definitely can’t go any farther than this.
The place I glanced at was far beyond the horizon, a massive sphere of flame so intense that merely looking at it felt forbidden.
……The sun.
Inside this illusory space, the sun had been manifested.
I wondered how it was even possible.
Is the headmaster a transcendent?
Creating something that looked like a real sun was impossible for any human, no matter how skilled they were at illusion magic.
Only those who had transcended humanity could do it.
……Is there a reason to go this far?
The position of academy headmaster was by no means low on the continent.
For one of the mere ten transcendents that existed across the entire continent, it was even more significant.
There was no reason for such a person to expend this much power for a mere academy student.
The situation must be more dangerous than I thought.
The Northern Demon Border.
The demons descending from there must be causing more trouble than usual, forcing us to grow stronger faster. That was the thought that came to mind.
It was practically a certainty.
I didn’t have time to figure out whether this was also the aftermath of that extreme situation.
Otherwise there’d be no need to do this much.
All I had to do was use it to become stronger.
“……”
With the sun at my back, I retraced the path I had walked.
The feeling that some gaze was watching me from the sun was surely just my imagination.
When I returned to the dormitory that day, I received exactly 257 spar requests.
……Fucking hell.
***
Three days later, Monday.
The moment all classes had ended.
Shane was heading toward the training ground.
I wonder what he’ll be like.
Born into the Krakt family, Shane had learned how to fight from a very young age.
She had fought members of her family since she was five, and began handling mana at ten.
That mana had now become red lightning.
She had been taught that words were spoken not with the mouth but with the body, and that if you wanted something, you should seize it with your own strength.
After growing up fighting every single day, she had entered the academy at twenty.
They didn’t put me in S class.
Because of the family tradition she had ended up in A class, but she didn’t particularly mind.
Because I just have to win.
At the academy, skill was everything.
Practical ability was one hundred percent of the evaluation.
For Shane, who excelled at fighting, reaching S class was something she could do whenever she wanted.
But there aren’t any strong opponents.
Aside from those four, the rest were still just seeds.
They hadn’t properly sprouted yet.
Fighting them would clearly be no fun at all.
There were students who would grow into truly outstanding powerhouses in the future, but if she beat them now and rose up, wouldn’t the future become both boring and hopeless?
That was why she had been searching inside S class for someone who could spark her curiosity.
After one day at the academy, she heard a certain rumor.
“They say Adel Ifrit, ranked 500th, is in S class?”
“What?! Don’t spout nonsense!”
“That dullard in S class? At least make your lies believable.”
“Are you talking about the handsome guy with the black-and-red long hair?”
It was a rumor about Adel Ifrit, who was externally evaluated as the worst dullard in history.
But Shane didn’t share everyone else’s assessment.
What kind of talent does he have?
The talent to be ranked 500th in the first-year class yet still enter S class.
That fact alone was more than enough to ignite Shane’s curiosity.
Knowing she would arrive before anyone else, she had even finished reserving the training ground in advance.
BOOM!
When the day came that she could officially request a spar, she approached Adel before anyone else could.
Because someone else might have requested one first.
It’s different from the rumors.
The Adel Ifrit she met in person was stronger than anyone she had encountered so far.
She didn’t know exactly what kind of power he possessed, but it was clear he was far beyond 500th rank.
The only things that matched the rumors were his black martial arts uniform and his handsome face.
Not bad.
After that, she had requested a spar from him, and he had nodded.
Tap.
Before she knew it, she had arrived at Training Ground 1.
I want to fight.
At the same time, she wanted to know.
The ability and power he possessed.
When was the last time I actually bled?
At some point, what Shane had been doing could no longer be called true struggle.
Others would probably believe it was just a normal fight.
……If he’s nothing special, I’ll just end it quickly.
If he was as outstanding as the four in S class or lived up to her expectations……
Accepting his surrender and growing together wouldn’t be so bad, would it?
She never once thought she wouldn’t be able to enter S class herself.
And if he truly was strong.
He could be acknowledged as husband material too.
A face that matched her tastes and a surprisingly gentle personality.
As long as he was strong enough for the family to approve, her father the family head would surely give his blessing.
“Hehe……”
With those thoughts in mind, Shane stepped into Training Ground 1.
On the opposite side, Adel wearing his black martial arts uniform was warming up.