Why "Boss"?
When Xiel arrived at the training hall, all the magic puppets were already waiting.
To his mild surprise, the person who had brought them down personally was none other than the Arcane School's first-year supervising professor, Emeric Kent.
"Professor Emeric."
"Instructor Xiel!"
Emeric looked almost strangely delighted to see him. He hurried over in a flurry of robes and blurted out without preamble, "How on earth did you pull this off?"
"What do you mean?"
"These magic puppets! I was certain Professor Titus would never lend them out—not in a million years! Wow, you really are incredible. When he summoned me out of nowhere, I was sweating bullets, but then he suddenly told me to prepare fifty magic puppets and an assortment of magic tools! So I..."
Still reeling from the shock, Emeric rambled on without taking a breath. From his perspective, it was nothing short of miraculous.
I mean, really. Even when departments are on great terms, nobody hands over magic puppets that easily.
Yet here they were. A monumental feat!
Naturally, the atmosphere within the Arcane School had turned utterly bizarre.
"There's even a rumor going around asking if Professor Titus has finally lost his mind, you know?"
While some whispered such things, others harbored darker suspicions—wondering whether the Sword School had managed to unearth some devastating leverage against him.
Which, in fact, was precisely what had happened.
They simply had no idea what kind of leverage it was.
"In any case, things are in absolute turmoil on our end right now. All thanks to Professor Titus—or rather, ultimately... thanks to you, Instructor Xiel."
"Is that so?"
Xiel gave a flat, indifferent nod.
Whatever chaos churned within the Arcane School was none of his concern. His interest began and ended with one thing: acquiring the magic puppets necessary for his students' curriculum. Since the promised units had been delivered as agreed, the internal affairs of the mages meant nothing to him.
Xiel cut into the conversation at an appropriate lull. "All fifty units are accounted for. Can the configuration be done immediately?"
"Ah, yes. That's why I came personally. My specialized field of research was actually the study and development of magic puppets. That was why I agreed so readily when you proposed your terms back then."
Hearing that his sub-major had been magic puppets, Gilbert blinked in surprise. "Isn't that a rather unpopular specialty?"
"Haha. Which is precisely why I couldn't enter the Magic Tower and had to start at the academy instead."
"Oh dear. My apologies."
"No, it's fine. I'm fortunate enough just to be here. The other professors all came here after establishing careers elsewhere, whereas I started from the bottom as a teaching assistant. Still, I'm content. Even if I've fallen out of favor lately."
Though a trace of melancholy tinged his final words, Emeric quickly rallied with enthusiastic vigor.
"For now, the default settings are all complete. You can refer to this manual for operating instructions, and as for maintenance, you simply need to keep swapping out the magic stones housed right here. It will likely consume a substantial number of stones, so regarding the upkeep costs..."
"Department Head Berhal Abue has granted permission to purchase and use as many as needed."
"Ah. Then there's no issue at all. For emergency shutdowns, you can perform a batch override with this device, and if you need an individual emergency halt, simply press this trigger here."
The operational mechanisms of the magic puppets were versatile, which was another way of saying they were excruciatingly complex.
"It would be best to read through this manual thoroughly. You'll probably need to study it until the pages are tattered and—"
"I have finished reading it."
"Right. But you'll need to go over it multiple times to—"
"Once is sufficient."
With those words, Xiel passed the booklet to Gilbert.
Gilbert stared down at the dense diagrams and formulas, his mind instantly going blank. "The black parts are ink, and the white parts are paper."
"Indeed. That's... the normal reaction," Emeric murmured.
Unless one was a fellow mage, it was practically impossible for an ordinary layman to grasp such an intricate mechanical and arcane framework after skimming a manual once.
It was impossible, yet...
"Let us see."
Xiel stepped up to the sample puppet brought to the front. With fluid, practiced ease, he engaged the primary switch and linked the circuitry to the magic stone.
Emeric's jaw dropped.
"H-Have you... done this before?"
"No."
"Then how...?"
"I simply followed what was written in the manual. It did not strike me as an operation requiring specialized magical knowledge."
Strictly speaking, that was true. In essence, it was a physical manipulation. Yet aligning arcane circuits to a magic stone demanded exceedingly delicate precision. The slightest misalignment could cause mana arcs to spark or burn out the entire internal array entirely—
"It appears to be connected."
Click.
The moment Xiel engaged the power feed, the puppet slowly lifted its head. It had booted up. Flawlessly, without a single hitch.
"...Instructor Xiel, just what kind of person are you?"
"I am an elective instructor at Edelbein Academy's Sword School."
"Ah."
That wasn't what Emeric had meant, but...
For an elective instructor, this makes no sense whatsoever...
"How does one adjust the parameters?" Xiel asked.
"Ah, adjusting the parameters requires reopening the circuit housing. Please suspend its operation for a moment."
"Understood."
The moment the words left his mouth, Emeric winced internally. Shutting down an active combat automaton was far more difficult and precarious than starting it up.
You can't just cut the power abruptly; you have to verify the regional shutdown sequences one by one...
Yet rendering Emeric's worries entirely moot, Xiel navigated the convoluted shutdown sequence without a moment's hesitation and smoothly detached the magic stone.
"You truly are... remarkable, Instructor Xiel."
"I only did as the manual instructed."
"That's what makes it so remarkable..."
Beside them, Gilbert didn't understand the technical details, but seized the chance to shower Xiel with praise anyway. "As expected of the Boss! Tacking through complicated tasks like it's nothing!"
"Indeed. The Boss... no, Instructor Xiel, just who in the world are you...?"
Emeric couldn't help but wonder if Xiel was secretly a high-tier mage. After all, what ordinary warrior with no arcane schooling could digest that manual on sight and manipulate a puppet with such effortless dexterity?
"I merely memorized the manual," Xiel stated.
Memorizing it was one thing, but comprehending the practical application was an entirely different beast.
Could he really be a mage? Operating under deep cover inside the Sword School...?
Xiel brought the conversation back on track. "Please configure the individual parameters now."
"Ah, yes. I received the materials you forwarded earlier. I've calibrated the baseline according to the students' general proficiency. The output scales up to ten. Considering they are first-years, I set the initial baseline to three."
The puppet's output output rating.
As the rating increased, the breadth of executable techniques expanded, and kinetic force surged accordingly. Because they lacked an autonomous ego, they could not improvise beyond programmed sword forms and physical movement routines. Even so, as demonstrated during the Exchange Event, high-output puppets were extraordinarily lethal combatants.
"According to the manual," Xiel remarked, "an output of eight corresponds to the caliber of a Great Knight."
"That is correct. It's quite hazardous. The possibility of an arcane runaway must always be taken into account as well."
"Then please set them to eight."
"Yes, then eight it is... Pardon?"
"Set them to eight, please."
"Why?!"
"Seven is too low. Nine is too high."
"Y-You mean you're serious?"
"Yes."
This time, even Gilbert looked horrified. "Boss, they're first-years!"
"Correct. Forty first-year students."
"Then why set it to eight, which is on par with a Great Knight...?!"
"I just told you. Seven is too low, and nine is too high. It is a configuration chosen with their level in mind."
If you were taking their level into account, you'd set it to three or four, not eight!
Gilbert didn't know all the technicalities, but he wasn't completely ignorant of arcane constructs. A puppet operating at the level of a Great Knight would dismantle a novice in a handful of exchanges.
Is he trying to break their spirits completely?
"Uh, Boss... if I may offer a word of caution... this will be extraordinarily dangerous for the students."
"I am aware. That is precisely why I am doing it."
"What?"
Xiel pointed toward the rack of wooden practice blades. "They will not die regardless."
"..."
"Practice swords have no edges."
They might not have edges, but taking a full blow will hurt like hell! Bones will shatter!
"Only by confronting danger does one overcome fear and achieve genuine growth," Xiel said evenly.
I think they're far more likely to give up entirely before that happens. Gilbert broke into a cold sweat. He understood what Xiel was aiming for in principle. Sharpening oneself against a superior opponent was a natural and necessary path to improvement. But when the disparity in skill was an insurmountable chasm, it yielded despair rather than progress.
Xiel pushed the stakes even further. "Once they grow accustomed, they will transition to their personal steel swords."
"Not the practice ones?!"
"Yes."
Gilbert swallowed hard and ventured cautiously, "U-Um, taking the skill gap into account, wouldn't it be better to lower it to six? Or perhaps five...?"
"My students have already experienced far worse during the first semester."
"They have? Truly?"
What could that possibly mean? Had Department Head Berhal, a former Imperial Knight Commander, personally drilled them into the dirt?
"I instructed them personally," Xiel said.
"Ah."
"Not a single student quit."
Gilbert instantly fell silent, fully convinced.
Right... Did he say output ten was the maximum? The Boss isn't a ten. He's a twenty—no, you probably can't even measure him on that scale.
"Setting them to eight will suffice, Professor Emeric Kent."
"Ah, understood. Then... do you intend to maintain them at eight throughout the term?"
"Depending on their progress, I will raise it to nine or ten toward the end of the semester."
"..."
What kind of terrifying curriculum were the Sword School's first-years enduring? The Arcane School's first-years spent their days seated comfortably reading tomes and occasionally casting minor cantrips.
Perhaps I should send our first-years over here for a term... Emeric thought idly. At the very least, their physical conditioning would improve by leaps and bounds. Ever since their first week, half his arcane students had been constantly catching colds and sniffling through lectures.
"The baseline is set for this unit. Would you like to conduct a test run?"
"Very well."
Xiel picked up a wooden practice sword and stood before the automaton.
"Initiating activation."
Hummm.
A low resonance vibrated through the core as the magic stone awoke, and the puppet raised its head.
Shing.
The motion of drawing its blade was razor-sharp and immaculate. Expressionless wood carved into a human visage. A single fluid whip of the sword cutting through empty air.
If not for the telltale stiffness of an automaton's artificial features, one might easily mistake the opening form for that of a seasoned, high-ranking imperial knight.
"Inputting combat directive."
The moment Emeric entered the command code and stepped back, the magic puppet lunged at Xiel. It unleashed a sudden, merciless strike without an instant's hesitation.
Bloody hell! Gilbert's eyes went wide.
The entire sequence of drawing and striking was terrifyingly pristine. There wasn't an ounce of hesitation, no wavering balance, not a sliver of an opening to be found. Was an output of eight truly this ferocious?
No matter how talented those first-years are... they'll be broken in a single clash!
Yet what was far more astonishing was Xiel.
Clang!
With an effortless flick of his wrist, he deflected the lethal blow. Being an unfeeling automaton, the puppet showed zero bewilderment, pivoting instantly into a rapid flurry of strikes—
Clack, claaang! Clack!
Sporting an expression even more deadpan than the carved wood before him, Xiel batted away every consecutive attack with casual, featherlight parries.
Gilbert could see it clearly.
How can someone move with such absurd efficiency?
Xiel had not shifted his footing by a single inch. Planted firmly in place, he used only the subtle sway of his upper body and minimal wrist adjustments to parry and slip past every incoming arc. His breathing remained completely steady, not a single breath ragged.
"D-Did I calibrate the output incorrectly?" Emeric muttered, cocking his head in genuine confusion.
Seeing his chance, Gilbert leaned in and whispered proudly, "Incredible, isn't he? That's our Boss."
"Y-Yes, indeed... But surely, this level of skill isn't common, is it?"
"Not in the slightest. Who could possibly match him? There is no one in this world who can defeat our Boss."
"Ha..."
Output eight was indisputably Great Knight caliber. While variances existed even among Great Knights, and an automaton lacked organic unpredictability... even to a mage's eyes, Xiel's martial prowess was leagues beyond the realm of ordinary mastery.
"Why would a man like that... remain an elective instructor?"
The question that constantly lingered in Emeric's mind pressed harder than ever today. Realizing his slip of the tongue, Gilbert hastily smoothed it over.
"Our Boss deeply enjoys teaching students."
"Ah."
"Pedagogy is his true calling in life."
"I see..."
A true educator!
Now that Emeric thought about it, everything made sense. Every action Xiel had shown during the joint wilderness field training had been undertaken purely for the students' sake. And beyond that...
Strictly speaking, he had no reason to assist our Arcane School whatsoever.
From the Sword School's perspective, the Arcane School was an arrogant rival they had every reason to snub. Yet despite setting contractual conditions, Xiel had provided unstinting support. Emeric hadn't anticipated that the students would be forced to hunt their own game and roast it over open flames, but that was simply practical necessity given the food shortage.
Truly admirable.
Emeric suddenly felt a twinge of shame. Everyone had their own circumstances, and some fell into academic positions out of mere convenience or compromise... but if one undertook the duty of teaching youth, this was how a proper mentor ought to carry themselves. The dormant passion within his chest seemed to rekindle.
"I find myself learning a great deal today."
"Well, our Boss does have a habit of imparting profound lessons. Haha."
"Though... why do you refer to him as 'Boss'?"
"Because he is my superior."
"Ah."
Boss... It does have an oddly fitting ring to it.
At the same time, Emeric recalled the quiet instructions Professor Titus had given him earlier.
I am sorry, Professor Titus. There is absolutely no way I can carry out that order.
Terrified of facing further blackmail, Titus had secretly ordered Emeric to tamper with the internal control circuits of the puppets to sabotage Xiel.
Who in their right mind would dare pull a prank after witnessing this...?
Clack, claaang!
Xiel continued to stonewall every ferocious strike of the automaton without shifting a single footstep. In truth, the martial dominance Xiel had displayed during the joint field exercise was already more than enough to terrify Emeric. Tampering with the puppets to cause trouble? If a student were to get hurt as a result...
I'd be the one getting buried six feet under.
Just as that grim realization settled in—
CLANG!
As if deciding the demonstration was over, Xiel parried the puppet's blade with an entirely different order of kinetic force.
"As expected of the Boss!"
In a blink, Xiel vanished from sight, reappearing like a wraith directly behind the automaton. His hands moved in a blur, initiating the shutdown procedure. In that minuscule fraction of a second, he executed every intricate deactivation step in flawless sequence.
"Y-You could have simply asked me to shut it down..."
"It was no trouble. It was not particularly difficult."
Xiel placed the detached magic stone into Emeric's trembling hands.
"...I suspect it's only easy for you, Instructor."
There were three methods to shut down a combat puppet: an emergency batch cutoff, a standard manual shutdown, and a remote override conducted mid-combat while directives were active. Naturally, the final method was theoretically convenient, but who in their right mind could dance through a lethal storm of strikes to methodically decouple arcane circuits and extract the core?
If I tried to harbor malicious intent around this man, getting hurt would be the least of my problems. I'd be dead before I blinked.
"Professor Emeric Kent."
"Ah, yes! Instructor Xiel!"
"We will need to readjust the baseline output. Please set them all to nine."
"Pardon?!"
Gilbert leaned in, trying to interpret the directive. "Aha, so you mean you'll calibrate only the top students like Deleb and Celia to output nine?"
"No. As I just stated, recalibrate all fifty units to nine."
Gilbert was rendered speechless. In the stunned silence, Emeric found his voice to protest. "Nine is far too brutal, Instructor Xiel! Truly!"
"Having experienced eight firsthand, I believe the students will adapt quickly."
"Excuse me...?"
"If this were a living human opponent, an average Great Knight would indeed be beyond their capacity. However, against a predictable magic puppet, they are fully capable of learning to counter it."
Since a construct lacked human improvisation, the logic wasn't entirely incorrect, but even so...
"Output nine is still entirely unreasonable..."
"That is a matter for myself and my students to resolve." Xiel turned his head toward his assistant. "And Gilbert."
"Yes, Boss?"
"Making the impossible possible is the true role of a teacher."
"The role of a teacher...!"
A spark of profound enlightenment seemed to flash through Gilbert's eyes. He nodded fervently. "Understood! I will see to it that the Boss's grand vision is fulfilled to the letter!"
"Very good."
Xiel glanced toward the entrance of the training hall. "Conveniently, it seems we have an opportunity to test this immediately."
"What do you mean...?"
Before Emeric could finish his question, the heavy double doors of the hall swung wide.
"Instructor Xiel!"
It was Celia, having finally tracked him down. "I found you at last!"
"Student Celia Rihardt."
"Do you have any idea how long I've been searching for you?!"
"Why were you looking for me?"
"Why else? Because I wanted to show you the fruits of my training over the break!"
In truth, however, Xiel's mention of proof hadn't been referring to Celia at all.
"Instructor Xiel Steelheart?"
A second figure stepped through the open doorway right behind her—the academy parcel courier Xiel had encountered when receiving mail from Mortiis Boutique. Xiel had picked up his distinct scent approaching down the corridor moments earlier.
"Yes. That is me."
"A shipment of ten carts has arrived under your name, sir."
"Understood. That is correct."
Today, at long last—
"B-Boss... ten whole carts? What on earth did you order...?"
The protective combat armor crafted from the hide of the Ruinbark had finally arrived for his students.