The Class Determination Battle
He won’t be joining us…
A moment later the instructor stepped up onto the podium and began explaining the rules of the Class Determination Battle. I had memorized every detail from playing the game so many times that I didn’t need to listen closely.
As expected, it’s exactly the same.
The rules of the Class Determination Battle placed almost no restrictions on the competitors. The match ended when one side was rendered unable to fight or surrendered. Anything that happened before that point would be overlooked, so long as no one was killed. Severing limbs, mental attacks—whatever. The supervisors stationed on the field would heal everything anyway.
“We will now begin team selection!”
While my mind wandered, the selection started. Teams were formed completely at random. Because anyone who could truly shine would stand out no matter the lineup, the academy saw no reason to impose criteria.
“Hmm… not a single teammate worth cooperating with.”
My own group consisted entirely of weaklings—sons and daughters of minor viscount and count houses with no real influence. On the bright side, I would have plenty of room to carry them and earn high marks. On the downside, the odds of us losing without even putting up a fight were equally high. In other words, even in defeat the important thing was how hard I struggled.
“Proceed to your assigned teams.”
Following the instructor’s direction, I moved to my designated spot. The team I had been assigned was labeled D12. When I reached the placard, four people were already waiting. Among the usual extras, one face stood out: Charlotte of House Verdian, the girl who had sat beside me at the entrance ceremony.
“S-Sir Fix!”
“Lady Charlotte.”
She beamed the instant she saw me, adjusting her round white glasses and patting down her green curls. Her face was flushed bright red, and the generous sprinkling of freckles across it made her look exactly like a strawberry.
“W-when I heard your name, S-Sir Fix… I-I can’t even tell you how happy I was.”
“I felt the same when I saw a familiar name. Let’s work well together.”
I shook her hand in a show of encouragement. The other teammates followed suit, introducing themselves and offering their own handshakes.
“Hah. Only a handful of us are advancing anyway. What’s with all the handshakes?”
Not everyone was friendly. While Charlotte and one other were warm, the remaining two eyed me with clear wariness.
“You said you awakened your mana by yourself, right? How long ago was that?”
The one with the slicked-back red hair immediately began interrogating me. I answered with the plain truth.
“Exactly sixteen days.”
“What? Sixteen days?”
“Yes.”
“Puhaha! Kkuk kuk kuk! A commoner after all. You probably don’t even know many spells, do you?”
“Well… that’s true.”
“Then you play meat shield. I’ll handle the rest.”
“We’ll see.”
He was openly provoking me, but I saw no value in engaging, so I answered half-heartedly. His face twisted.
“Hey, is that attitude supposed to be sincere? You want to fail the exam?”
“……”
Hmm. He’s becoming a nuisance. I didn’t want to use force here.
“U-um!”
At that moment Charlotte stepped forward, voice trembling.
“I-isn’t it too rude to speak that way to a teammate…?”
She had mustered real courage, yet the red-haired boy only sneered.
“Kkuk. Verdian, wasn’t it? That bankrupt house?”
“Eek… th-that’s…”
“A girl from a family whose only asset is grass has no right to butt in. If you were at least pretty it might be different, but an ugly girl like you—”
That’s starting to cross the line. Even if we were on the same team, he was clearly useless.
“Haha, let’s stop here. I’ll apologize in his place.”
I approached the boy with a polite service smile. He still looked unsatisfied and kept snarling.
“Stop here? What do you mean stop here? Just because people call you ‘Sir Fix’ you think a commoner like you is on the same level as me? Someone who awakened his mana barely any time ago—”
“Hahaha. Yes, I was wrong.”
Still smiling, I pulled him into a hug. He frowned and tried to shove me away.
“What the hell is this guy—”
“Haha, it’s a gesture of goodwill between teammates. Please accept my apology.”
As I spoke, I gathered the maximum amount of mana into my thumb and pressed it firmly into his ribs. A crisp crack sounded. The boy let out a choked grunt.
“Keheuk…!”
“Oh? Why are you suddenly like this? Are you all right?”
I pressed the opposite rib. Another crunch. His legs buckled.
“Y-you son of a—”
“Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
Supporting his collapsing body, I pressed a third rib. His eyes rolled back and foam began to bubble from his mouth.
“Get a hold of yourself! Why are you suddenly—!”
Pretending to help him breathe, I gently pressed his neck. The foaming boy lost consciousness completely. He had fainted.
“Ah…”
I sighed as I looked at the unconscious boy, then quickly reported to the nearest instructor.
“Instructor! I think he needs the infirmary! He suddenly collapsed like this…”
“……”
The instructor examined the fallen red-haired student, then glanced at me. The corner of his mouth twitched upward.
“Taking proper care of your own body is part of the test as well. We will record him as eliminated and transport him to the infirmary.”
At his signal, two attendants brought a stretcher and carried the boy away. I returned to the remaining teammates and informed them.
“Aah… Unfortunately, he won’t be joining us…”
Even with one teammate gone we could not receive a replacement; every student had already been assigned. Still, starting with four was far better than keeping that hindrance. A single ally who drags the team down is more terrifying than a hundred enemies.
“A5 team and B12 team. Please enter the arena.”
While the earlier commotion settled, the Class Determination Battle finally began in earnest. The called teams placed their hands on the teleportation orb and vanished to the battlefield.
“Wow, talk about terrible luck.”
“Of all people, they got matched against Isabella’s team…”
“I would’ve forfeited immediately.”
From the very first match the development was spectacular. Isabella appearing right away? Soon the giant screen split in two. The left side showed B12, the team facing her. The right showed A5, the team that contained her. Each team had been given a video transmission magic orb that broadcast their every move.
B12 Team – Hidden Behind Boulder
“Isabella is the key. We have to overwhelm her with speed before she can launch a mental attack.”
The B12 students were holding a serious strategy meeting using a massive rock for cover. Dividing roles and executing them successfully was also part of the evaluation, so everyone was eagerly brainstorming ways to defeat her.
A5 Team – With Isabella
“You lot are only getting in the way, so disappear.”
The situation on Isabella’s side was completely different. A crimson haze rose around her body as she cast mental domination on her own teammates. They screamed and began stabbing their own stomachs with their weapons.
“Keurgh…! Kegk! Krrraaagh!”
Only one student with unusually strong mental resistance managed to fight back. Even though his body shook like a leaf and his eyes rolled back, he had not yet stabbed himself.
“You’re holding out longer than I expected?”
Isabella reached out and poured more power into the spell. The boy suddenly began laughing maniacally, then drove his blade into his own abdomen and collapsed.
Blue smoke appeared where Isabella stood. It coalesced into human shape and became a fully formed person—the supervisor in charge of the test.
“Andre, Undia, Beatrice, Arthur. You are eliminated due to loss of consciousness.”
The supervisor healed the four fallen students’ wounds and sent them somewhere safe. Left alone, Isabella smirked and loosened her shoulders.
“Hmm… Shall we play properly now?”
Her body rose into the air. The video transmission orb followed. Once she reached the open blue sky, the tops of the B12 students’ heads—still crouched behind their boulder—came into view. Isabella smiled and stretched out her hand.
“Krrgh!?”
One of the B12 students suddenly convulsed; his eyes changed. He immediately turned and attacked his own teammates.
“Why are you— Have you gone insane!?”
B12 fell into chaos in an instant. The boy controlled by Isabella attacked with mad laughter, and the rest began fighting one another. The match ended in overwhelming fashion. The female cadet who had led their strategy managed to loose a desperate arrow at Isabella, but Isabella dodged it lightly and sent it straight back. In the end only Isabella and that one cadet passed. The supervisor recognized the girl’s resistance as meaningful and allowed her to advance.
In the end everything went exactly as predicted. The children of the empire’s four great ducal houses displayed overwhelming talent and advanced to the next round. Lucas of Holy was a given, and Enya of Battojutsu had ended her match with a single draw of her blade. The weakest among the ducal scions, Claire, had struggled but managed to advance through clever use of the Bernhardt family’s signature buffs and tactical maneuvering.
The outcome was utterly predictable. In the closed-off world of nobility, a true dark horse could not exist. Talented individuals quickly became the subject of rumor, and most nobles already knew who would advance and who would fall. In the end everything came down to bloodline. The blood of a viscount could rarely surpass a count, the blood of a count could rarely surpass a marquis, and the four great ducal houses possessed the strongest bloodlines in the empire—excluding the imperial family with their Mystic Eyes that stood above them all.
The only true outlier was Grand Mage Elena, whose absurd talent remained an enigma even now.
“D12 team and C4 team. Please enter the arena.”
The same fatalistic atmosphere lingered even when the D12 team that included me was called. It was true that I was an unusual person, but I was still a commoner. My tongue might be smooth, yet I had awakened mana less than a month ago. There was no room for me to shine.
The spectators were already predicting my defeat, each adding their own commentary. Max Sigmund, whose venom and tenacity were second to none, held a deep grudge against me. All they could do was hope I would at least come to my senses.
“Finally, my turn.”
Yet the person in question—me—rose with a perfectly relaxed expression. I had prepared thoroughly for this Class Determination Battle.
“Let’s go together.”
The crowd had no idea whatsoever.
This match was about to become the greatest upset in the entire Class Determination Battle.