The Trial
Aaron Patrick stood before the assembled trainees on the training grounds, his voice calm and commanding.
“All trainees present?” he asked.
The students answered in unison.
He slipped on his black gloves.
A hand rose.
“What is it, Cadet Ryan?”
“I heard that in this trial, knight-track trainees spar with imperial knights, and mage-track trainees spar with mages from the Tower.”
“Correct.”
Aaron saw no reason to deny it.
The trainee scratched his cheek.
“Um… Professor, I heard you’re a mage, but what about the knight-track trainees? How will you proceed?”
“You need not worry. Against knight-track trainees, I will not use magic.”
“…If I heard correctly, you mean you’ll fight us bare-handed.”
“Precisely.”
Even Aaron’s firm declaration only deepened the trainee’s suspicion.
“Are you aspiring to be a knight?”
“Yes.”
“You seem displeased that a mage like me will spar bare-handed. It looks unfair.”
“Not unfair… I’m just worried I might injure you.”
In short, the words meant: stop acting arrogant just because you’re weak.
Aaron let out a dry laugh at the arrogant tone.
Ryan quickly added, “I have no intention of insulting the Professor…”
Aaron raised a hand. “I understand. No need to explain. A mage claiming to fight bare-handed against knights is a natural reaction. Cadet Ryan.”
“Yes!”
“Step forward. If I only tell you, you won’t believe me, so I’ll prove it directly.”
Ryan remained anxious, but Aaron’s gaze was clear.
He reluctantly drew his sword.
“This trial is an evaluation, so there’s no need to hold back. It is merely to prove that I am a suitable evaluator.”
“I don’t mind if it’s just practice.”
“This is to crush you with full power, so it won’t help your evaluation.”
“….”
Aaron’s dismissive tone made Ryan visibly uncomfortable.
He had to show the trainees that a knight was not easily beaten.
Ryan stepped forward.
No—his foot had already been planted by Aaron’s boot.
“I’ll clarify in advance. I have no intention of molesting you. Just remember this is to prove a point.”
“Hyaa!”
Ryan tried to pull his foot back, but Aaron didn’t budge.
“Discard the prejudice that mages have inferior bodies to knights.”
“Fine!”
Ryan kicked, targeting Aaron’s ribs on the planted leg.
This would break balance and weaken the force on the planted foot. Then he could attack.
The plan was sound, but Ryan’s vision had inverted—sky and ground swapped.
He had no idea what had happened.
*Thud!*
Only the pain of his head striking the ground brought him back to his senses.
“Still doubting my qualifications?”
No one denied it.
The overwhelming superiority was obvious from the trainee’s clumsy movements.
The trial continued without further incident.
After the spar, Aaron listed each trainee’s strengths and weaknesses, then gave his overall assessment.
For Haren he simply tapped his shoulder and ended it.
He had already sparred enough with the man last time; one tap was enough.
“Cadet Hillary, what would you like me to spar with?”
“A mage, please.”
“Understood.”
“…But you won’t use runes? I thought you specialize in rune magic. You haven’t used them at all today.”
As Ryan said, Aaron had only used basic elemental magic.
No particular reason.
“Make it so.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Hillary nodded vigorously and immediately began constructing her spell formula.
Aaron frowned.
“Too slow. With your mana pool and control, you should manage something. Without completing the formula, it means nothing. Speed up construction or find another method.”
As if to prove Aaron was right, he disrupted Hillary’s basic spell formula.
Even with that warning, Hillary’s construction speed did not improve.
She showed no sign of using other means either.
Aaron sighed and lowered his hand.
“That’s enough.”
It was the fastest spar of the day.
Hillary had no complaints.
“Haa… haa… Professor… why only me…?”
“Do you think it’s unfair?”
“…It’s not just me. Other trainees probably feel the same.”
As Hillary said, the watching trainees also believed Aaron had held back against the professor’s techniques.
Aaron’s actions came close to crushing a mage’s pride.
Whenever Hillary started building a spell formula, he shattered it.
Even basic magic.
It was completely different from what he had done with the previous trainees, who had simply waited for magic to complete.
“I’ll be clear. I have no intention of failing you. Overall, your performance was not bad. Judgment, reaction speed, adaptability—levels sufficient for admission to the Academy.”
“Then what exactly are you evaluating?”
“Rigid thinking.”
Aaron sighed at Hillary’s puzzled expression.
“I’ll show you with my body. This time, no magic.”
The moment Aaron prepared his stance, Hillary hurriedly built her spell.
This time it completed and manifested at the last second.
The magic circle reacted to her mana.
Electric current surged toward Aaron.
The fastest elemental magic.
Aaron Patrick would not dodge this, Hillary had thought.
While she prepared another formula.
“Haa.”
Aaron sighed deeply.
“I told you. Thinking too rigidly makes everything obvious.”
He dodged the current with a single step.
By moving minimally, he avoided the goal of wasting time.
Aaron closed the distance.
The magic was not yet complete.
He kicked her hard in the shin.
“Kyaa?!”
She rolled pathetically on the ground.
Aaron asked, “Want to continue?”
“Haa… no…”
“Have you learned anything?”
“….”
Aaron clicked his tongue.
“You treat me the same whether I’m a knight or a mage. Do you know why?”
Hillary shook her head.
“Against knights you must not allow approach. Against mages you crush them with larger-scale magic. You only follow a manual. It’s not rigorous.”
“For equals, a plain and useful approach is best. But ask this: was I equal or weaker than you?”
“….”
“Against stronger opponents, stop thinking too much. Think. How can you turn the situation around? And move constantly. To survive, you must move. Only then does a sliver of chance appear.”
Aaron concluded, “Don’t just adapt to reality—resist a little, you brat. Next trainee.”
Hillary returned to her seat without a word.
Renya’s heart pounded fast.
Not from hatred of Hillary, but pure anticipation for Aaron Patrick.
She wanted to be recognized.
By this man.
“What method would you like me to use against you?”
The voice was heavy, solemn, and tense.
“Any.”
Renya’s answer brought out a smile Aaron Patrick had not shown during the trial.
“May I expect something?”
“I don’t know— I’ll do my best.”
“Excellent attitude. You can even show a taste for me.”
He spoke the last part so softly only Renya heard.
“Prove it.”
Runes formed.
She didn’t care what kind of magic it was. The act was meaningless.
She closed the distance, using the dagger’s advantage, but moved at a speed that would allow her to dodge anything the rune magic might unleash.
**[Hagalaz] – Do not tolerate the enemy’s footing.**
*Crack!*
A sound that raised goosebumps spread across the ground.
Soon it collapsed and a pit formed.
She leaped over the chasm, but her speed dropped.
Aaron had no reason to let her stand.
**[Nauthiz] – Plummet.**
Gravity around Renya intensified.
Fortunately she was far from the cracks, but the direct impact of striking the ground looked painful.
*Boom!*
Her head slammed into the earth, sending dust flying.
A dagger flew out from the dust.
As expected, Aaron glanced at the dagger and dodged.
*Wham!*
His judgment of swinging at the dagger had been too late.
His body shook, the rune spell misfired.
He bought a fraction of a second.
Renya’s agile movements did not miss the opening.
The distance shrank.
“Primary problem solved. Now what about close combat? Think you can win?”
“How would I beat a monster like you? Still, I’ll give you a taste of your own medicine.”
“Good aspirations.”
She had wanted to cry and run away and discard the dagger.
Her brother had suffered horribly less than a month ago. She was terrified.
Even so, she wanted to prove herself to the man in front of her.
She hated nobility, but she wanted to be recognized by someone who looked like a noble.
She had only known him a short time, but she already understood him.
The strictest fairness without regard to status, and strength beyond his years.
She had lived the gutter life of a stray dog.
If a man like this could give her recognition, she could proudly say she had worked hard.
She couldn’t be certain, but she would do her absolute best to feel at ease.
The martial arts she had learned were auxiliary at best; she relied on the dagger as her main weapon.
The problem was that the man in the black gloves had no weapon.
No, that was an excuse. Even without the glove, the skill gap was too vast.
She dodged and blocked his fists and feet with utmost care.
It was already exhausting, yet she tried to get the dagger to touch his body as much as possible.
As time passed, his movements grew sluggish.
He noticed it too.
“Conditional debuff spell. The condition is probably contact with the dagger… Not a bad idea. But just slowing my body won’t beat me.”
“I can make you feel bad.”
Her body lacked the strength to move.
She forced her mana to move it.
By splashing his fists, she drained a large chunk of his mana.
One-sided damage was inevitable.
So she struck the moment they touched.
*Bang!*
Aaron’s reaction speed had been caught in the dagger’s swing.
The problem was that she, too, had taken damage.
Fine. The goal was to feed him his own medicine.
The dagger still had plenty left.
She would create a variable no matter what.
She would use it to earn his recognition.
Aaron Patrick had already recognized her at this point.
“It’s over… at this rate…”
*Then.*
The girl drawing the dagger changed.
Aaron Patrick judged.
It was no explosion.
The momentum, the killing intent, the posture, the will—completely different.
The resolve to strike a vital point was clear.
He pulled the loose tension taut.
What attack would come next?
He prepared to meet it.
*In an instant.*
Renya was right in front of him, yet he had missed the sound.
A sense of otherness that should not exist made his senses dizzy.
0.5 seconds.
That was the time stolen from Aaron Patrick’s reaction speed.
Moving his hand to change the dagger’s trajectory was too late.
Fortunately he deflected it slightly, but the blade rushed toward his neck.
1 second.
The dagger touched his neck.
A short time.
Renya’s face filled with certainty of victory.
Even the monstrous professor had no way to avoid this.
*Clang!*
It was blocked.
By an invisible wall.
Renya moved to find the cause, then stared in shock.
“You… crazy bastard.”
**[Eihwaz] – Protect me from danger.**
Aaron Patrick had recognized the girl in front of him.
She had forced him to complete the rune spell at maximum speed.
For an assassin-like girl, facing a front-on assault was the worst condition imaginable.
Yet she had produced this result.
He felt the value of what he had taught her.
Aaron Patrick smiled faintly and placed his hand on her head.
“Well done.”
Renya’s heart swelled with the genuine praise.
Even though she had lost, the result was satisfying.
The moment she looked up at Aaron Patrick with a triumphant smile, she was stunned.
“Wow, damn. Professor, when you smile like that you’re insanely handsome…”
“Separately from how well you did, I was about to stab you with my dagger in the Professor’s neck, Cadet Renya.”
The hand on her head tightened.
So stay down for a moment.
*Crack!*
It was not revenge.
“Next will be an evaluation of teamwork. You’ll form four-person teams. Be ready.”
He finished by delivering the final, despairing announcement to the trainees.
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