Chapter 11
Chapter 11
T/l Penny
Chapter 11
Lea (1)
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Late at night, amid the chirping of birds.
A rustling sound accompanied someone who was still awake.
"...Rowen. You're really a strange guy."
Arien gazed at the soundly sleeping Rowen, lost in thought.
And well she might be. Even as rumors about him swirled on everyone's lips, just as always.
The only one who had ever taken her side was Rowen, and Rowen alone.
Rowen, getting angry on her behalf as if it were her own problem.
'Ugh... embarrassing.'
How startled had she been, quietly eating in the corner of the dining hall.
Still, knowing there was someone who would get that angry for her sake didn't feel half bad.
'He's been like that since the first time we met.'
Even after she had pushed him away time and again with harsh words, despite his smiling approach.
He had extended his hand to her steadily, as if he understood everything.
He had done the same today.
His expression had darkened briefly upon hearing the rumors about the Hero for the first time.
But he had quickly smiled as if it were nothing and said it didn't matter, even telling his friends to take good care of the Hero.
What on earth had she done to deserve this kind of treatment from him?
As she quietly closed her eyes, memories surfaced.
Feelings from her childhood, when her mother had still been by her side.
That warmth of someone giving purely for her sake, without expecting anything in return.
She could feel it now, from Rowen.
"Nngh..."
Rowen twisted in his sleep, groaning from severe muscle pain.
Arien hesitated at the sight, then quietly rose and opened her drawer.
It was a healing ointment she had received from the cathedral before enrolling at the academy.
'...He won't even notice if I use this.'
Arien carefully approached Rowen's side and slowly applied the ointment to his sore spots.
A faint herbal scent spread through the air, and Rowen's furrowed brow gradually relaxed—proof it was working.
"...Good."
She let out a relieved breath and was about to return to her spot before he woke.
"Don't go..."
Rowen's voice carried a hint of sorrow.
Arien froze in surprise and looked at him.
But his eyes remained closed—it was just sleep-talk.
"He's not awake... right?"
It sounded like longing for someone, but it was probably just her imagination.
More importantly, if she caught him applying ointment directly to his body, she'd die of embarrassment. So she hurried back to bed and pretended to sleep.
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In the bustling Class D classroom.
I was greeting a very refreshing morning.
'Yesterday, I could barely move.'
For some reason, nothing hurt at all. In fact, my body felt lighter.
I asked Arien next to me if this ever happened, but his face flushed red, he snapped at me suddenly, and stormed out of the room.
Well, good things are good. I could worry about it later.
As the warm sunlight made my body feel languid.
Serin entered through the front door of the classroom.
"Alright, everyone focus. Before we dive into proper lessons today, I want to gauge your approximate skill levels. We'll do it through one-on-one student spars, so gather at the training grounds."
Oh, as expected, day two meant spars.
After academy enrollment and class assignments, simple spars were held to accurately assess students' abilities.
It would have been nice if they ended cleanly since they were brief.
But this world wasn't that kind.
This spar marked the starting point where Lea—one of the protagonist's heroines—would face bullying.
Her opponent, smitten by Lea's looks, would spew vulgar taunts to provoke her.
Furious, Lea would swing her shield and knock him out.
Up to that point, it seemed satisfying. The problem was that the guy with the cracked skull was the only heir to a count's family.
Humiliated by his crushing defeat to a commoner, he'd gather his friends to torment Lea.
If you didn't notice, Lea would endure the bullying until she couldn't and drop out of the academy.
'Of course, I'll stop it before it gets that far.'
Losing her—a future top-tier frontliner—was secondary. I hated the thought of her getting hurt more.
The idea of such a nightmare befalling her, when she was enjoying academy life with such an innocent smile right now.
Just imagining it twisted my gut strangely.
I had to prevent it somehow before the real bullying started after today's class.
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Arriving at the training grounds revealed a wide-open space.
Weapons hung neatly on the walls, alongside various tools.
"Everyone here? All future spars will take place here. Friendly matches between friends are fine, as are settling disputes. However, you must always have a professor oversee any spar. Break this rule, and you'll face immediate disciplinary action—keep that in mind."
In the game, every academy fight happened here too.
Some used violence anyway, disciplinary actions be damned, but they were rare enough not to matter much.
"Let's begin the spars. First up: Rowen. Your opponent is Dores Balmont."
Me first, huh.
And Dores again. Annoying...
Anyway, I selected the sword from the wall that suited me best and prepared.
"Everyone in the training area has a mana barrier applied. No need to worry about injuries or accidents. If anything dangerous happens, I'll step in myself."
Oh, the mana barrier functions like an HP bar.
Good—no worrying about hurting the opponent.
As Serin's explanation ended and I did some light stretches.
Dores smirked at me from across the field, ready.
"Ha! You again, Rowen. What now? No instructor to save you this time."
"Yeah. Your face is getting old too."
Better to crush his spirit in this spar.
To fight a mage, close the distance first.
Failing that against a mage just means eating spells from afar.
So I kept circulating aura through my body.
At Serin's signal, I kicked off the ground and charged.
"Guh, what speed!"
As expected, he was off-guard.
Reaching Dores in an instant, I used my momentum to slash upward from below.
Shaaaak—!
The transparent mana barrier warped and rippled like waves.
Simultaneously, the display showed Dores's barrier drop to 30%.
"Heh, close. Could've ended it in one hit."
Not an academy slacker—he twisted back maximally to minimize damage.
"You bastard! That was just me letting my guard down! Now that we've got some distance, what can you do?"
Not wrong, but...
Coming from him, it sounded utterly unthreatening.
Still, recalling his entrance exam power, I gripped my sword tighter and braced for defense.
"Fireball, Fireball, Fireball!"
Does this guy only know Fireball?
Whatever—thank you very much.
I twisted aside from the frontal one easily.
The side ones, I deflected with the flat of my blade.
KABOOM!
Dust rose from the explosion, obscuring everyone's vision.
"Hahaha! Acting tough for trash... Gyaaah!"
A sword pierced the smoke toward Dores's eyes.
Rowen, in a state of utmost focus, stared blankly at his opponent and thrust emotionlessly.
Plink, plink...
The sound of the mana barrier shattering completely.
If Serin hadn't stopped the sword, it could've been disastrous.
"That's enough. Rowen? That thrust was high-level. You took the opening from the dust of his spells hitting and struck his weakness. Excellent combat sense."
Serin halted the sword with one hand and explained.
Everyone glanced at the display—Rowen's barrier had shrunk significantly too.
"Dores, you're too complacent. That's a habit you need to fix."
Dores stared blankly, sword inches from his face, utterly shocked.
"Good work, both of you. You're done. As you saw, nothing's absolute in combat. Higher stats don't guarantee victory over lower ones."
Students whose preconceptions had shattered hung on Serin's words.
"There's no such thing as absolutes in this world. The strongest technique means nothing if it misses. Even the weakest can inflict massive damage if it catches someone off-guard."
Dores could've dodged that thrust easily without his arrogance.
"Some of you might have dismissed Rowen for his lowest scores. I hope you learned something today."
Some students nodded in agreement; others whispered dissent.
"I see some still can't accept it, but you'll realize it someday. Now, next pair."
Serin smiled and called the next names, resuming the spars.
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Back at my seat, I replayed the spar in my mind.
'So that's Weakness Perception.'
As I blocked Dores's Fireball for a counter.
In the smoke filling the air, one point glowed red.
The instant I thought to target it, my body moved.
That's how I won so easily.
So that's what sensing weaknesses better means—
"Hi! You're Rowen, right?"
A bright voice made me turn. Lea beamed purely.
Her brown hair glowed warmly, enchanting anyone who saw it. Her eyes sparkled like autumn wheat.
Her big eyes and gentle expression reminded me of a puppy.
"That spar was so cool! You went 'whoosh!' and vanished right at the start—how'd you do it?"
If she had a tail, it'd be wagging furiously.
She seemed embarrassed herself, clasping her hands and smiling shyly.
"Hehe, did I talk too much for a first meeting?"