The Hatching
Mia panted heavily, her eyes fixed on Rai standing before her.
Under the banner of continuous sparring, everyone in the garden had been training relentlessly, and the final one was Rai, like a final boss.
Even at her peak condition, she couldn’t match him. Right now, simply standing felt like an ordeal.
The seemingly endless mana she possessed had run dry. The Crescent, named after the new moon, slipped from her control, and she kept forcing it upward to keep it from crashing to the ground.
Staring at Rai’s unfathomable skill, Mia swallowed hard and gripped her spear tighter.
His gaze was as playful as ever, but the sense of crisis made Mia thrust her spear forward in a fierce charge.
She hadn’t even been training with the spear for a full year, yet the effort she’d poured in showed in the sharpness of her strike as she targeted his body.
Rai slowly extended his hand and flicked the tip of her spear with a casual touch. The overwhelming force Mia couldn’t withstand pressed down on her.
“… …!!”
Feeling the spear blade being sucked into the ground, Mia braced desperately to keep her grip, only for her balance to shatter. She was left completely exposed before Rai.
The Crescent had been given to her for moments like this, yet it hung uselessly beneath her, unable to shield her exposed torso.
-Thud
With a short, sharp impact, Mia’s jaw snapped to the side, followed by a massive pressure that sent her body spinning through the air.
She couldn’t even count how many rotations she’d made in the air before lifting her head. Rai was looking down at her.
The crushing sense of defeat and the fear of an unknown power locked her body in place.
Her eyes, losing all will to fight, made the corner of Rai’s mouth curl up.
“Get up. Huh? Huh what? Juan? Huel? Anyway, even in front of that guy, you’re sitting on your knees like this?”
When Rai mentioned one of the academy students who had tormented her, Mia’s eyes changed.
The once-gentle gaze now burned with anger and vengeful resolve, sharp as a blade. A tiny trickle of blood escaped from her tightly clenched lips.
Forcing her trembling legs to stand, Mia pulled every last drop of mana from the ground and lifted the Crescent high.
“Good. When the Crescent falls to the ground, it’s only when you’re dead. Whether you faint or lose your arm, never let go of the Crescent.”
Rai’s fist hovered high in the air, as if praising her.
-Thud
Again, with the same short impact, Mia lost consciousness.
When Mia regained her senses, the others were all in tattered condition, having finished their training.
Abigail was the only one who looked normal, having trained elsewhere, but she was seething with rage. She was furiously kicking the sandbag in the corner of the garden.
“Here, water. You worked hard.”
“Thank you, senior. But… why is Abigail-senpai…”
Zeroa, who had been handing out water, gave a bitter smile at Mia’s question.
“She seems to be getting along poorly with Instructor Xenia…”
“Ah…”
Even without further explanation, Mia nodded, understanding.
She hadn’t grasped the principle, but she knew that Abigail’s Joue en Lucette sword technique was created through the fusion of divine power and mana.
To nurture Abigail’s newly awakened divine power, Rai had sent her to Xenia.
While teaching alchemy, Xenia—unique for her priestess background—was the only instructor among the academy staff who possessed divine power.
Yet her gentle, warm, innocent, smiling, soft, and serene nature stood in complete opposition to Abigail’s.
“Saying it like that makes it sound like I’m insulting Abigail-senpai…”
Anyway, the clash of personalities had clearly caused problems.
Others might not know the details, but all Abigail had done after meeting Xenia was pray, serve, and clean.
“Hehe, if I serve the world for the sake of others, the gods will recognize us.”
With her bright sky-blue hair and warm smile, Xenia had said this, forcing Abigail to scowl.
The martial arts tournament was right around the corner, and the others were training their bones to the limit, while she was watering flowers. It was unbearable.
No matter how fierce her expression or how harsh her words, Xenia just smiled gently and kept repeating that the gods would recognize her.
Abigail had endured an hellish time of exchanging blows with Rai instead, then returned and kicked the sandbag with all her strength, her eyes blazing with fury as she glared at Rai.
“This is actually helpful, right? Or should I just kill you?”
“I don’t know. I’m not a priestess.”
Rai answered with a mocking expression, making Abigail grind her teeth, but she held back her anger.
Yet when the sandbag that had been launched high in the air came crashing back down, it looked like her rage hadn’t fully dissipated, as if she were stomping on a street thug.
“Alright, everyone gather around.”
Rai casually dropped onto the grass and the students gathered.
With the tournament approaching, training intensity had increased, yet no one complained—they were all following along.
Except Abigail.
Rai scanned their faces with eyes full of spirit despite their disheveled appearances, then rested his chin on his hand and spoke.
“Only three days left, so no more training. Personal training will be limited to two hours.”
“Yay! Finally some rest!”
“But is that okay?”
Aslan cheered at Rai’s words, but Zeroa asked with concern.
Though his heart was with Aslan, Rai glanced at Mia, who was nodding along to Zeroa’s words, and spoke lazily.
“Resting to adjust your body condition is something you need to get used to. You’re heading to the battlefield with a messed-up body?”
“Understood…”
“You need to learn how to avoid laziness.”
Zeroa nodded obediently, but Abigail glared at him with discontent.
Her body was still at its peak even after a week of reduced training due to learning divine power from Xenia.
“Good. Do three hours each. The day before the tournament, rest fully.”
“Four hours.”
“This isn’t a negotiation. Doing one extra hour won’t make your strength improve. What is your current purpose?”
“… … To kill all the brats in the tournament.”
“Smart. Then do your best to kill them.”
Still displeased, Abigail nodded.
“Ah, I’ll keep going to Xenia-nim.”
At those words, Abigail’s expression crumpled.
Rai chuckled as he watched her face, then raised one finger.
“This is the final lecture before the tournament. What is each of your weapons?”
At Rai’s question, the students briefly met each other’s eyes.
“Infinite stamina?”
“Mana… Crescent?”
“Joue en Lucette.”
“The sword technique I learned from my master.”
“… …”
Everyone except Zeroa answered.
While others stared at the silent Zeroa, wondering if nothing came to mind, he remained mute.
Aslan and Philia tried to answer for him, but Rai spoke first.
“Don’t say what everyone already knows. After all, techniques and magic are just secondary.”
“Then what do you want to say?”
“Strength isn’t something simple like obtaining a legendary weapon.”
Rai shook his head at Abigail’s provocative gaze, looking disappointed.
“There are many complex elements—mana, techniques, magic, experience, combat tendencies, tactics. I’m not confusing it with weapons. Change the word ‘advantage’ to ‘strength.’ What are each of your strengths?”
Even Aslan hesitated to answer, as there was much to think about.
Rai waited a moment, then shrugged as if annoyed and looked at Aslan.
“Aslan, your strength is your robust body and the confidence gained from it, the spirit that makes you take one more step forward.”
“So it’s all about the mind?”
“That’s right. It’s the most common thing—pride! Belief! Determination! Ooh—awakening!”
Rai spoke playfully, then laughed at the students’ hesitant expressions.
“Taking one more step in battle isn’t something anyone can do. It can be a weakness if you’re too reckless, but your blessed body will compensate. Never fear stepping forward while looking ahead. That is the foundation of your combat.”
“Are you saying I look like a coward?”
“Yes, that attitude. Since you already know, keep advancing. The only exit inside the cage is one step forward.”
Aslan muttered with a satisfied expression, thinking it sounded cool, and Rai turned to Abigail.
“You fight with extreme coldness. Your rough movements, sharp killing intent, desperate ferocity, and all the actions of a third-rate thug are meant to toy with your opponent. Well—your actual personality is like that too.”
“… …”
Abigail glared, but Rai continued smiling.
“Never lose your coldness. If you can do that, you might even be able to face Violet. Whether you win or not… I don’t know.”
That was enough.
She hadn’t abandoned the thought of breaking her someday, but seeing Violet’s overwhelming skill left only frustration.
The words “overwhelming skill” and “can’t match” were nothing but praise to Abigail.
Next was Philia.
“You’re similar to Abigail but completely different. You judge combat strategically rather than tactically, recognizing your surroundings. Use what you need and discard what you don’t. You have the instincts of a great commander.”
“Thank you.”
“You also have the flaw of seeing things too broadly and using your head too much, which reduces your reflexes. In a fight against an equal opponent where a momentary mistake decides the outcome, problems will arise. Since you’re smart, assume every situation from the start and fight.”
After mentioning her strengths and weaknesses, Philia answered with a stern face, “I understand.”
“Next is Mia.”
“Yes, yes!”
Thinking it was Zeroa’s turn, Mia answered loudly in tension when her name was called.
“You have great talent. But you’re a coward.”
“… … I’m sorry.”
“And right now, you’re growing based on anger.”
At Rai’s words, Mia’s eyes wavered.
It was undeniable. The driving force that had allowed her to endure this grueling training was the humiliation she had suffered until now.
Of course, there were Zeroa and Rai, but the foundational emotion remained anger.
“If it manifests in the right way, it becomes a moment that helps you understand the weak. Understanding the weak is important. Many strong people in the world have failed to understand this heart and died miserably.”
“… … Uh…”
“You’re being careless.”
Instead of understanding, Philia answered for her.
Rai nodded.
“That’s right. Don’t be careless. No matter how much you emphasize, those who have grown strong never understand it. Those who have actually experienced it and fallen into danger multiple times but still can’t understand until the end make up the majority. If you understand this part when you grow, it will be a great help. Your basic combat style starts from defense.”
“… … Then what about the bad side?”
Mia remembered Rai’s words about the good side and asked about the opposite.
“It becomes arrogant.”
“Eh?”
“Originally, people want to repay what they receive. Especially when they gain greater power. How wonderful—to be able to stomp on the guy who tormented me whenever I want. It’s amazing.”
Looking at Rai’s eyes dyed with madness as he laughed, Mia recoiled with a chill.
“Revenge is, of course, necessary. If I got hit, I have to smash them and rough them up. But if you become addicted to that pleasure, even as you grow, you will regret it greatly someday.”
“I will definitely remember what Instructor said.”
Mia thought Rai was saying this because he was worried that her personality would change after she took revenge on the students who had tormented her.
Differently from Mia, who simply thought Rai was a true master guiding students onto the right path, Philia understood the meaning behind his words.
Her cards were: a technique to physically defend using a massive iron mass, immature spear skills and combat ability after only learning recently, and immense mana.
Combining her cards, her combat style would be to solidify defense and attack using mana.
Without the precondition of solid defense, she could do nothing, given her poor mana control.
Rai had been talking about concentration in defense, but Philia noticed that Mia had misunderstood differently and decided she would have to explain it to her later.
“Zeroa.”
“Yes. Instructor Rai.”
Zeroa, who had been silent until now, answered seriously.
He was in a slump now.
Growth had slowed due to the limits of his talent, and recently he had even lost to Mia in sparring.
Believing in her talent, he had thought he would surpass her someday, but being overtaken so quickly had left Zeroa doubting himself.
The deeper the doubt, the more his confidence waned and frustration enveloped his body.
He acted brightly in front of others, but dark emotions were quietly growing in the depths of his heart.
“What is your strength?”
Rai asked without giving the answer directly, unlike the others.
At the words that seemed to blame his declining self-esteem, Zeroa bit his lip.
“None.”
“Why none? You—”
Aslan tried to deny it, but Philia stopped him from speaking.
“Idiot.”
Abigail clicked her tongue and looked away, while Rai chuckled and gave the answer.
“You are experience.”
“… …”
“Experience is truly amazing. Even a great person who has achieved success in one field becomes a beginner in another. Look at Philia and Aslan—they can’t do housework at all and are always pestered by Sena.”
Even as Rai spoke playfully, Zeroa’s expression remained gloomy.
“But you see, as experience stacks up, you gain some wisdom. In similar fields, past experience helps and you learn faster because of it. As more experience accumulates, it connects to the next field.”
“What can connect to housework?”
Zeroa smiled bitterly.
“Nothing. So what? Did you only do housework? You’ve made weapons, ridden horses, and have forest knowledge on par with rangers. Your weapon is the know-how and knowledge from countless experiences. What did you say you wanted to do?”
“… … Stand beside her.”
“Yes, you’re just weak in interpersonal relationships. It doesn’t mean your value is diminished. Don’t get lost in tournament antics and focus on what you want.”
At the words “what you want,” Aria’s face came to mind.
Zeroa met Rai’s strong gaze and nodded.
Rai nodded back at the determined student, then looked at the others with a meaningful smile.
“Focus, everyone. Face your strengths and weaknesses directly and think desperately about how to use them. You’ve finished the preparation phase. Now you must hatch from the egg.”
The students listened with unwavering eyes, while Rai shrugged.
“What—hatching makes you a chick, though.”
Philia sighed at his words.
“I knew that line would come out.”
“Fuck. Always the nonsense at the end.”
“I’ll show you a super strong chick.”
“M-me too, I’ll do my best!”
“Hatching from the egg comes first.”
Luckily, the students’ reactions weren’t bad.