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As I stepped up onto the podium, the students watching me came into view all at once.

The most conspicuous pair, as always, was the man and woman dressed in matching martial robes — Mul and Yul. The two guardians of the Hercason Tribe had arrived early, and Mul in particular had been standing by a full three hours before the lecture was due to begin. When I asked him when exactly he'd shown up, he only threw back his head and roared, "Hahaha!" — no clue at all. Then Yul, arriving right behind him, cracked him across the back of the skull and dragged him inside. Considering the doors were wide open and yet he'd insisted on waiting at the entrance, I could only assume he'd actually been waiting for his tribesmate.

"Hmm."

Campus romance isn't exactly forbidden here…

Yul read the suspicion on my face and shook her head in fervent denial, but I simply smiled and let it go.

And then —

I didn't expect her to come.

Was this shamelessness, or desperation in equal measure? Candy Star — no, Choco — sat gazing up at me, a massive lollipop staff propped on her desk. Compared to before, the excessive competitiveness and open hostility had faded considerably, but that one blazing look in her eyes remained unchanged.

And on top of that, she was in her transformation state.

I sent a telepathic message her way.

"So today's the day you're not embarrassed, huh."

Jolt!

Candy Star flinched hard, her two pupils swaying sharply. Her pink hair shimmered, as though reflecting her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠emotions outright.

That's actually a lot like me.

Ding!

"Heh heh."

So even the prideful Choco could say something like that. Had she wanted the lesson that badly? Talent she had in spades, so it hardly mattered either way.

Candy Star turned her head away in what looked like forced embarrassment, but I deliberately kept my eyes on her. After a prolonged standoff, she finally let out a small sigh and met my gaze.

"Excuse me?"

Her face had turned bright scarlet.

I let a faint smile play across my lips and sent the rest of my message.

"Be grateful you came in your transformation state today."

If she'd shown up without transforming, today might well have been Choco's last lesson. Of course, I would have given her a chance.

A chance to transform, that is.

Personally, I rated Candy Star's talent even higher than Chukachip's — which meant, if anything, teaching this one was all the more satisfying.

"……Ugh."

Leaving Candy Star to drown in her own mortification, I swept my gaze over the rest of the students. Leo, Yena, Redberry — the original founding members — plus the newcomers, Devil and Vlack.

…Beriad isn't here, huh?

Beriad. The dark wizard, another member ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the original class who'd been attending since the second lecture. I had no idea what business he had, but as I'd announced, if his schedule conflicted, there was no obligation to come.

It had been nearly three months since the last lesson, so there was a flutter of excitement in the room — but the first emotion I could read on every face was tension. No doubt that announcement about the duels was weighing on them…

"Ahaha!"

Ah — one exception, that is.

Leo was absolutely buzzing.

"Good to see you all again. It's been almost three months, hasn't it?"

Leo and Yena waved their arms in the air with a hearty Yes~! Behind them, Mul shot up from his seat bellowing That's right! — only for Yul to seize him mid-rise and haul him right back down.

"Some of you I haven't seen in three months, some of you I saw just recently, and some of you are brand-new."

Devil and Vlack. Aside from the original six — with Beriad absent today — they were the fresh additions. And whenever new students arrived, introductions were in order.

"Devil?"

"…Huh?"

"Come on up."

"Y-yes, ma'am."

Devil, who'd been staring blankly in my direction, scrambled down to the podium in a hurry.

Ahem!

"Greetings, humans. I am Devil, God of Darkness."

Fwoooosh! Before the last word had even left his mouth, black flames roared up around him.

If he'd prepared special effects for this, he must have been looking forward to it quite a bit.

He struck his pose with all his might, but he couldn't hide the emotion written across his face. Was this just proof that a kid is a kid, after all?

I chuckled and ruffled Devil's hair.

"Wh-whoa?!"

"Good job. You can sit down now, Devil."

Pat, pat.

"Y-yes… ma'am."

Devil scurried back to his seat, ears burning.

Adorable.

After Vlack's introduction, the lecture proper began.

"Over the past lessons, you've studied the transfer of mana. The basics, comprehension, and advanced application."

The first lesson had covered understanding mana. The second, its transfer and manipulation. The third, mana's encroachment and storage.

So what came next?

"Now that you've learned it — you put it to use, don't you?"

"Well."

Drdrdr…!

The classroom moved.

No — that was an illusion. The classroom hadn't moved at all; it sat exactly where it always had, unbothered.

"Huh?"

What moved were the people seated in it.

A divine magic circle etched into empty air flared to life, and in the space of a heartbeat it swallowed every last one of them. The only soul left in the hollowed-out classroom was me.

"You'll understand once you get there."

It should make for a rather entertaining sight.

'How's that — fun, isn't it?'

'I genuinely want to kill you.'

Leo had arrived at the lecture hall that day with a heart full of sunshine.

Today's lesson: one-on-one duels.

Leo was the strongest player in existence apart from Sword God and Lily — carrying the skill and power to beat anyone who dared step up. A fistful of titles, a fistful of Mythic-grade equipment, divine blessings, and even the renown of an Imperial Marquis: she stood among the very strongest of rankers. A spirit mage commanding all five elements, Leo was practically invincible, and even the rankers hovering in the top ten posed no problem whatsoever.

"Huh?"

Except there was supposed to be no problem…

"My strength…"

"Pardon?"

"Nothing's coming out? Like, nothing at all?"

"HYAAAAAH!"

"…Huh?"

It was heavy.

Every last ounce of her power suppressed, she felt like she was sinking beneath still water. The sensation was so eerily close to being back in her real body that a chill ran down her spine. Surely the only thing that had happened was being brought here — nothing more…

"You all seem rather confused."

Eight figures in a pure white void.

Their clothes were identical, but otherwise every scrap of their power had been placed in escrow, and they could only stare blankly at the voice drifting down from above.

"The space you've entered is a continuation of the advanced course in mana transfer."

"Whoa, insane."

"The mana saturating this space is suppressing every ounce of your power. Just as you pushed my mana out of your concentration stones and filled them with your own, I have pushed out your mana and filled this space with mine."

Strictly speaking, it was closer to a sealing wrought through divinity, but Lily continued calmly all the same.

"From this moment, you have returned to your pure, unadorned selves. What remains is your combat ability, your senses — and your understanding of transfer. Nothing else."

"Graaagh! Come forth, Turtle!!!"

"O darkness!"

Mul and Devil flared their power to the limit, but it was no use. The cohesiveness of this space put the concentration stones to shame.

"When I announced the one-on-one duels, I noticed every one of you started worrying right ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠away."

Isn't Leo just going to win anyway?

With Vlack in there too, and he's inside the top ten — isn't the winner obvious?

At Lily's casual remark, everyone present nodded along. Not a single person said it to Lily's face, but they were all thinking the same thing.

'Leo's taking it, obviously.'

The voice filling the space let out a single soft laugh.

"Don't worry. This one-on-one tournament isn't a mere bracket — it's part of the lecture itself."

Being naturally gifted. Being strong by birthright, wielding exceptional weapons, techniques, and abilities.

If that were all it took to win a fight, I would never have bothered preparing a lecture like this in the first place.

'Ugh, this is infuriating.'

'Come on, then. Right now, you could actually kill me.'

'That's the three-hundredth time you've said that. I'd rather fight you out there, honestly.'

'Out there, you'd lose to a single one of my fingers. Care to test that?'

'God, this is annoying.'

True, nothing could be done about talents that diverged from the cradle onward — but simply being able to fight an unbeatable opponent as an equal carried meaning in itself.

"The conditions are simple. By lottery, you will proceed through a one-on-one tournament. The two combatants will be moved to a special arena to fight."

"Um… you're really not giving us anything?"

The moment Redberry asked, as though it had been waiting for precisely that question, pure white divinity descended before each of them. In Redberry's hand materialized a gleaming white staff.

"A weapon suited to each of you has just been granted. Wielding it, you'll be able to use a portion of the techniques you've always relied on."

"A portion… meaning?"

"One percent."

A massive board materialized out of empty air.

A roulette wheel, each face stamped with a student's likeness. The crimson arrow pointing to twelve o'clock trembled, trembling as if ready to spin at any moment.

"Your starting point is a uniform one percent for everyone. Of course, one percent for one person may be the equivalent of eighty or ninety percent for another — but in here, you are all the same one percent."

Because I made it that way.

Deliberately.

"Your end point, however, need not stay at one percent. Whether you use the advanced principles of transfer to raise that percentage — or find some other method entirely — is up to you."

You're even welcome to find the flaws in this space, or break it outright.

There are many roads. The method I used, as it happens, was one of those.

"Then, without further ado — spinning the first roulette."

Rrrrrratatata!

The arrow whirled. Spinning at breakneck speed, it gradually began to slow, and finally came to rest on one person.

Devil.

And the second was…

"Ah."

"My condolences."

"F, F—"

"Devil, just forfeit now."

"Don't end it! It's not over yet!"

Devil raged against fate.

The reason was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠simple.

He'd drawn the final boss in the very first round.