Overwhelming Firepower

From those present, barely one-fourth had passed. It didn't matter if they were of noble birth or not; in the Royal Academy, all were treated equally.

In this place, only talent, willpower, and skill are worth anything. You need all three to be able to survive until the end.

While everyone was leaving, Nina approached Alexander's group. The three who were talking to one another stopped as they looked at the new arrival.

"Hello, do you need something, Miss?"

"Apologies, I was momentarily dazed. We haven't formally been introduced. I'm Nina Drexford." Nina showed a bright smile as she curtsied.

"Ah... Right... I'm Alexander Wyrd." Startled by the sudden introductions, Alexander awkwardly replied while trying to do a rather clumsy knight's salute.

Seeing the rather handsome Alexander do such an action made Nina giggle at how cute the contrast was from his performance before.

"Ahem," Mina coughed dryly, drawing the attention away from Alexander. "I'm Mina Escartin. It's a pleasure to meet you." Mina copied the way Nina curtsied as she spoke.

"Likewise," Nina responded.

"Cael Thornehart, please to meet you." Unlike Alexander, Cael did a proper knight's salute.

"You jest, Sir Cael, we have already met before."

"Is that so?... Apologies, I have been so focused on training, I don't seem to recall you."

Hearing Cael's honest reply, Nina was taken aback, but she quickly regained her composure, which was expected of the daughter of a high-ranking noble.

"Don't worry about it. We shall get to know each other more, seeing as the four of us will be classmates."

As if on cue, the second Nina said those words, someone else approached the group.

"Hey, my fellow S-class, are you greeting each other without me?"

The voice was bright and energetic, completely different from the calm and formal tone the four had been using.

They turned their heads and saw a young man jogging toward them, waving his hand as if he had already known them for years. He had two short swords at his waist and was a head shorter than Cael.

"Um, who are you?" Mina asked the question most of them had.

"Oh, right! I haven't introduced myself yet. The name's Ryan of house Veros."

"Oh, you're the genius of House Veros," Nina commented at the side.

"I don't know about genius, the true geniuses are you guys. I barely made a scratch on that armor." Ryan blushed a little as he showed a bright smile while scratching the back of his head.

"Heh, I'm no genius, I just tried my best." Alexander, while scratching his cheek, was a bit embarrassed by the compliment.

"No need to be so shy, Alexander, you are a genius. If not for you helping with my training, I wouldn't be able to get in as well." Mina spoke up.

"Right, I'm rather interested to know who the one who trained you two was? It must have been a famous knight, right?" Ryan suddenly asked.

When Nina heard the question, her ears perked up as she too was interested to know the answer.

Cael, on the other hand, had no change in expression and simply continued to listen to the conversation.

"Oh no, it was nothing like that. The two of us met a wandering mercenary, who was quite old and said he wanted to pass down his techniques. He taught us how to use the sword and spear, and he also taught us how to control aura."

"Wait a minute! You're saying a random mercenary happens upon your village, and this mercenary not only teaches you his techniques, but he even knew how to control aura and taught it to you guys?" Ryan repeated what Alexander basically said to confirm what he just heard.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it."

"Did this mercenary have a name?" Nina asked. Alexander then shook his head before responding.

"No, he did not give us his name."

"Is he still in your village?"

"No... He died a few years ago." Hearing Alexander's response, Nina paused for a bit before responding.

"I see... I'm sorry." The proud Nina Drexford said the words sorry, many people who knew her would have been surprised to hear such words come out of her mouth.

"It's alright, it's been a long time since then."

"So that mercenary did he teach you awesome techniques like what you did a while ago?" Ryan could not help but ask.

"I don't know about awesome techniques. He just taught us a few basic things. What I did a while ago was just a normal downward slash."

"Then he must have taught you guys an incredible way to use aura, right?"

"Um, he only taught us how to manifest our aura; aside from that, we just did whatever felt right."

"... Ha... So you're saying your aura technique is self-taught?..." Ryan said those words with his mouth slightly open.

"I guess so," Alexander responded as if it wasn't a big deal. Hearing that response, Ryan smacked his hand onto his forehead.

Nina clenched her fist tightly as she gnashed her teeth a little. Cael had his lips curl upward for a second before they returned to neutral.

"And you say you're not geniuses! Getting this far from practically being self-taught!" Ryan suddenly raised his voice a little.

Mina frowned slightly at Ryan's sudden outburst and waved her hand as if trying to calm him down.

"You're making it sound way more impressive than it actually is. We didn't do anything special. We just practiced every day."

Ryan stared at her for a moment, then turned to Alexander as if hoping for a different answer.

"... You're going to say the same thing, aren't you?"

Alexander scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Well… yeah. We just trained with what we were taught. The old man told us to repeat the basics over and over again, so that's what we did."

Ryan stared at the two, even though he was the noble and the two were the commoners; right now, he felt like it was the opposite.

'So it isn't just Cael Thornehart, but these two as well... Fine! As a Drexford, I welcome such a challenge. It will make the next few years quite exciting.'

Nina decided at that moment to change her mindset. The tension in her fingers slowly disappeared as she relaxed her clenched fist.

When she looked at the four in front of her again, the frustration in her eyes had already vanished, replaced by the same confident smile she had worn when she first approached them.

"It would seem that this year would be quite interesting."

Ryan lifted his two hands and shook his head. "I guess you can say that."

"I'm confused. Why are you two reacting like that? Isn't it normal to reach that level if you just practice diligently?"

When Nina and Ryan heard what Cael said, the two of them froze for a brief moment. They looked at Cael, and finally remembered that the most absurd person was standing right beside them.

This was a person with his second mantle who was able to cut down armor created to withstand even a fourth mantle's attack.

The second son of Vardon Thornehart, who has been overshadowed by his older brother, was not some random genius. This one was also a monster that was out of the norm.

Ryan slowly lowered his hands and let out a long breath as if all the strength had left his body.

"I almost forgot that you were here, the monster among monsters."

"Why are you calling me a monster? Are you perhaps insulting me?" Despite his face remaining stoic, the pressure Cael was emitting was becoming intense. Ryan quickly responded while waving his hands.

"Nonononono! That's not what I meant."

"Then what do you mean?"

"Monster is just a term that's used to describe someone who's above a genius."

"... Is that so... That's rather worrying, to use the term monster to describe someone better than a genius feels like an insult instead."

Ryan froze for a moment as cold sweat formed on his forehead. The pressure coming from Cael was not overwhelming, but it was enough to make his instincts scream that he had said something he should not have.

"It's just a term used by others. Since monsters are generally stronger than humans."

"Hm... I guess that makes sense, but I still don't like it, though." Cael finally said and retracted the pressure he was emitting.

Feeling the pressure had subsided, Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. "... Anyway, I hope to get along well with all of you these coming years." Ryan quickly tried to change the topic.

"Me too. I hope we can all get along with one another." Alexander chimed in with a great smile on his face that was practically shining.

***

While Alexander's group was having their conversation, Lucen, who was hiding his presence on higher ground, listened to their entire conversation and felt frustrated.

'Damn it! Why was I born in this world before Alexander?! I wanted to experience school life with Alexander and the others! I want to witness Alexander's adventure right by his side! Damn it! I should have reincarnated somewhere near Alexander or at least to be at the same age as him.'

Lucen clicked his tongue in annoyance as he crossed his arms while still crouching on the rooftop.

'Tch… What kind of useless reincarnation timing is this? Of all the possible moments, I had to be born years before the protagonist. What kind of joke is that?'

He looked down at the group again as Alexander laughed together with Mina, Ryan, and Nina, while Cael stood there with his usual calm expression.

Lucen's lips curled upward a little. 'Well, would you look at that, even though there are some differences, the starting party had gathered.'

No matter the route, the original party were the one who survived through many chapters. They were quite important to the growth of the protagonist. Seeing them gather together for the first time in real life made Lucen feel very emotional.

'I really did want to witness Alexander's story up close, but I can't keep on hiding in the shadows. I want to be part of the group, but I'm too old to become a student of the Royal Academy...'

It was at that moment that Lucen had a great thought. 'That's right, there are other ways to get into the Royal Academy and stick close to Alexander's group without being a student.'

The second Lucen thought of what he should do, he was about to quickly leave and get started, but he stopped. He waited for Alexander's group to disperse before leaving as well.

Lucen's lips curled into a grin as he turned to leave. He couldn't wait to see the surprised faces everyone would make once the new semester began.