The Class Placement Exam, Part 2
"I'm telling you, that kid is seriously freaky! Shattering magic with a sword?!"
Reina's outburst left the other instructors in stunned silence.
"..."
Because they, of all people, understood exactly what those words implied.
"I know it makes no sense. But you all saw it, didn't you? And don't give me any of that 'luck' bullshit this time."
"Haa..."
Snapped out of their daze by Reina's sharp tongue, one of the instructors let out a low groan.
"The real question is how he did it."
Dispelling was, by definition, an incredibly advanced technique. It required a deeper, more precise understanding of the spell than even the original caster possessed.
"The battle isn't over yet, so let us watch a little longer."
"Agreed."
With that, the instructors turned their attention back to the screen.
Shhhk!
On screen, Amon's right arm—now stripped of its stone gauntlet—was severed cleanly.
"Fuck!! What the hell is this?!"
Although the pain was reduced to less than a fifth inside the illusion magic, preventing Amon from passing out from the amputation, the sheer shock of it was more than enough to shatter his composure.
Zeto's dispelling didn't stop there.
Next was the gauntlet on the left arm.
Shhhk!
Amon's defenseless left arm was severed in an instant.
Soon, Amon collapsed to his knees before Zeto.
"It's over."
"It seems the mental shock is just as severe as his pride was immense."
"Well, of course. He was utterly defeated by a nameless, faceless opponent—one who can't even see, no less."
"I don't think Cadet Amon Caligus was weak."
As the instructor spoke, the kneeling Amon's head flew from his shoulders.
"He simply crossed paths with an opponent he could never have anticipated."
With that, another round of the exam came to an end.
The instructors began grading the final two survivors.
"Amon's response was a bit disappointing."
"Disappointing? Personally, I think he did as well as any first-year cadet could. Honestly, even we would have been caught off guard."
Amon wasn't heavily penalized.
Even though he had lost to Zeto, he still secured second place, and it was an undeniable fact that he had effortlessly dispatched four other opponents.
"And what about Cadet Zeto?"
"Hmm..."
Surprisingly, the instructor who specialized in swordsmanship fell into deep thought.
The others, eager to hear his take, waited in silence for him to speak.
"His swordsmanship... there was nothing particularly special about it."
"Excuse me?"
"I mean exactly what I said. I saw nothing extraordinary in his swordplay. In the swordsmanship itself, that is."
"Then..."
"And that's the mystery. He used a completely unremarkable sword technique to neutralize magic... to perform a dispel."
Coming from a seasoned veteran of countless battlefields, his words left everyone even more bewildered.
If there was nothing special about his swordsmanship...
...then how on earth had Zeto managed to dispel magic with a sword?
That was when Reina, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
"Then there's only one explanation."
But before she could finish, another voice smoothly hijacked her train of thought.
"He must have targeted and shattered the structural 'weak point' of the magic, correct?"
Instantly, all eyes in the room snapped toward the speaker.
First, because it was the very first time he had spoken since the exam began.
Second, because he was the only person in the room who wasn't an instructor.
"Do you mind not cutting me off like it's the most natural thing in the world? And why the hell is he even here anyway?"
Reina snapped, glaring in irritation at the intruder.
"Well, we didn't exactly have a choice..."
Another instructor muttered, and the rest nodded in resignation. Considering his background, even the instructors couldn't do much about his presence.
"I heard there was something entertaining to watch, so I decided to drop by. Besides, I kept my mouth shut until now, didn't I?"
He said, offering a sly grin.
His narrow, squinting eyes practically dripped with suspicion, as they always did.
"My father did tell me to get some work done, after all. Consider this killing two birds with one stone."
His name was Edward Klaus.
His father was Juliut Klaus, the 21st Principal of Innocence Academy.
"You were all agonizing over something so obvious that I simply couldn't keep quiet any longer. I absolutely detest tedious delays, you see."
"Ha."
Reina snorted in disbelief.
Unfazed, Edward continued smoothly.
"To get straight to the point: every spell inherently possesses structural weak points. Disrupting those points with magical interference to neutralize the spell is what we call a 'dispel.' I assume everyone here is well aware of that much... However, doesn't dispelling require one crucial prerequisite?"
"...That you must possess a superior understanding of the spell than the caster?"
Reina easily answered Edward's sudden pop quiz.
It was exactly the answer Edward needed to build his point.
"Yet, Cadet Zeto doesn't even seem capable of properly controlling mana, let alone casting magic."
Edward's smile remained fixed as he delivered his cryptic observation.
"Exactly. That's why it makes no sense."
"That is indeed the logical conclusion. However, in my opinion... he is 'seeing' it."
"What are you talking about?"
The boy was clearly blind. What could he possibly be seeing?
The instructors frowned at Edward's seemingly absurd claim.
"Ah, to be precise, perhaps 'sensing' is a more accurate term than 'seeing.' Well, this is merely my speculation, of course..."
Edward paused mid-explanation, drawing a tense silence from the instructors.
Scanning their expectant faces, Edward finally spoke.
"...What if he is reading and perceiving mana itself? What if, through some 'impossible' sensory perception, he can instinctively pierce the weak points of spells he has never even seen before?"
Edward's hypothesis was more than enough to pique the instructors' interest.
"If that's the case... is it a matter of sheer talent, or the result of unimaginable effort?"
The grading session had long since devolved into a debate over Zeto's mysterious dispelling technique.
"Well, I've occasionally seen cases where losing vital senses like sight or hearing amplifies other perceptions, but..."
"Hahaha. Certainly not to this extent. It's not as if every blind or deaf person in the world can pull off a stunt like that."
"In the first place, a blind man wielding a sword with such proficiency is already extraordinary. Of course, as a cadet of this academy, he was bound to have some secret up his sleeve..."
"But to think it would be an ability like this..."
While the instructors had felt a sense of pure admiration for Eisel, who had tested earlier, Zeto evoked a murky, unsettling feeling of the 'unknown.'
Outstanding cadets appeared from time to time.
Granted, Eisel was a once-in-a-generation genius who transcended even that category.
But an incomprehensible 'unknown' like Zeto was an entirely different matter.
"I don't think we'll find any answers just sitting here and talking about it, though."
Edward cut through the instructors' heated discussion.
His words made sense.
Yet, that did nothing to resolve the growing curiosity in the instructors' minds.
Knowing this, Edward offered a remarkably simple solution.
"So, why don't we just go and have a chat with him ourselves?"
"..."
"I believe that could be seen as a form of favoritism."
Hearing this, Edward wore a sly, devious smile.
"Favoritism? Instructor Kaliman, this is Innocence Academy. Within these walls, strength is everything, and one's martial prowess is the ultimate law. Favoritism? Would any cadet complaining about that possess an ability even half as extraordinary as Cadet Zeto's?"
Instructor Kaliman shrugged.
He simply shared a long, unpleasant history with Edward; he was well aware of how the academy operated.
"And why are you the one making the decision when you're not even an instructor?"
Reina interjected with a sharp retort.
But Edward's next bombshell was something absolutely no one could have anticipated.
Even his father, Juliut, would have been flabbergasted had he been present.
"Actually, I was thinking of taking up an instructor position myself."
Edward's declaration left everyone in the room utterly dumbfounded.
"...And Miss Reina? I would appreciate it if you maintained proper etiquette in a professional setting like this."
Edward said, the corner of his mouth curling upward.
"This smug bastard..."
Reina slammed her hand on the desk, her temper flaring at Edward's jab.
Looking at the atmosphere, a massive brawl seemed ready to break out at any second.
The instructors found Edward's insufferably smug, devious smile more obnoxious than ever today.
***
I won.
That was my honest, unadorned thought as I returned to the testing grounds after the exam concluded.
Even magic had visible weak points.
I didn't even fully understand my own abilities yet.
My mind was still a bit muddled, but regardless, the outcome was favorable.
Looking around, I saw Amon standing there, looking utterly dazed.
The moment his eyes locked onto me, his gaze turned murderous.
How terrifying.
Amon seemed incredibly resentful.
Whether this defeat would lead to his corruption or spark his inner growth was up to him.
If I left him be, he would naturally drift toward one of those two paths.
But there was no need to make an unnecessary enemy.
It seemed I would need to have a deep conversation with him sometime. A deep conversation in the form of a 'sparring match,' that is.
Since the exam was over, I headed back to my seat where Yuri was waiting.
The moment I reached her, a barrage of questions flew my way.
"Zeto, what on earth was that?! ...I-I mean, what was that?"
Yuri's eyes sparkled with excitement, so intense she had briefly forgotten her formal tone.
"What do you mean?"
Playing dumb in front of Yuri was quickly becoming a habit of mine.
"You dispelled Amon's magic right before our eyes, didn't you?"
"..."
Could that really be considered a dispel?
It differed from the dispelling I knew, but since it neutralized magic, I suppose it fell under the same category...
For now, I needed a plausible excuse to appease the demanding Yuri.
"I am not entirely sure myself... It just sort of happened, I suppose."
"...Don't play games with me."
"I am telling the truth."
I really didn't know.
It was frustrating because I, too, was in the dark about what exactly this ability was and how it worked.
"...So you refuse to tell me. Fine. I suppose I was being 'rude' by asking."
Emphasizing the word 'rude,' Yuri pointedly turned her head away and refused to look at me.
I wasn't sure what turning away was supposed to accomplish, considering she believed I was blind.
But since I wasn't actually blind, I could see it clearly.
It seemed Yuri was thoroughly sulking.