Shirone’s body stiffened.
He distinctly remembered choosing answer number three. But in the end, he was wrong.
His score was 78. Just two points short of passing, and the realization choked the breath out of him.
"Number two... Number two..."
Shirone kept repeating the same words until suddenly, he clutched the back of his neck and collapsed backward.
Nade and Iruki, who had been beside him, hurriedly caught his back and shouted.
"Shirone! Are you okay? Get a hold of yourself! Aren’t you supposed to be Iron-Bodied?"
"Number two? Why... How could it be number two..."
"Teacher, we’re taking him! Thanks for your hard work!"
Even as he was dragged away, Shirone continued to mumble the same words over and over.
Watching in amusement, Sheena let out a small chuckle and turned towards the faculty office.
"Seriously, doesn’t he ever get tired? He’s full of energy every day."
Inside the faculty office, the teachers were busily grading papers.
Sheena took her seat and began marking the assigned test sheets.
At some point, something came to her mind. She opened her drawer and pulled out the Math A-type exam paper.
"It was the last multiple-choice question, right?"
Sheena examined the proofing formula.
After briefly running through the solution in her mind, she smiled brightly.
"Ah, it was number three."
Promotion to Class Four Confirmed.
Kaizen Swordsmanship School
The Kaizen Swordsmanship School, located in the capital of the Tormia Kingdom, had a history of 200 years and had produced numerous knights of great achievement.
It boasted more than ten officially recognized First-Class Swordmasters, among whom some held the prestigious title of Grand Swordmaster.
A bastion of iron will and a symbol of courage.
In Tormia, anyone who dreamed of becoming a knight aspired to enter the Kaizen Swordsmanship School. But wealth and power alone were not enough to gain entry.
Kaizen had no entrance exam. Instead, applicants underwent a month-long apprenticeship, during which their potential was evaluated. Only those who showed true promise were selected.
Each semester, 300 applicants vied for a spot, yet only 30 were accepted.
Among these elite few, Rian had secured his place and was now attending classes at Kaizen.
Urban Combat Training Ground
The training ground, designed to replicate the layout of an actual city, was one of Kaizen’s greatest prides.
A skeletal-looking instructor, with a face as harsh as weathered stone, glared at the first-year students sitting on the steps and spoke.
"Today’s practical lesson is on movement. First-years will be evaluated with a focus on weight shifting."
The instructor’s name was Parca Kuan.
An officially recognized Sixth-Class Swordmaster, Kuan had once been known as the ’Magician of Death’ before sustaining a leg injury in war.
"Weight shifting is a fundamental skill for any swordsman. The three essential elements of swordsmanship—speed, power, and accuracy—all begin with proper weight distribution."
Limping slightly on his right leg, Kuan walked toward the students and pointed at a particularly large-built boy.
"You. Where is a swordsman’s center of gravity?"
"Sir! It’s at the navel!"
"Wrong. You, answer."
Kuan gestured toward another student, whose eyes were sharply slanted like a shark’s.
Even if he didn’t know the answer, he had to stand up. Hesitation meant punishment.
"Sir! It’s at the soles of the feet!"
Even his voice trembled.
"Drop down. 200 push-ups."
The student immediately broke away from the line and started doing push-ups.
Wasting stamina right before an evaluation was a nightmare, but the instructors at Kaizen had no concern for such things.
Kuan unsheathed the long sword strapped to his waist. The blade flared outward like a fan at the tip, but the rest of the sword was relatively thin.
"Where is a swordsman’s center of gravity? The correct answer is—outside the body. In technical terms, this is called external gravity. Repeat after me—external gravity."
The students shouted, their voices laced with both confusion and frustration.
It made no sense for Kuan to introduce a completely new concept just moments before an evaluation.
"I haven’t taught this before because I didn’t feel like it. Besides, there was no way you blockheads would understand. But today, I’m in a bad mood. So, I’m adding an external gravity assessment. Understood?"
No one dared to object, but their voices dripped with murderous intent.
Adding a new evaluation criteria at this stage? It felt like months of grueling effort had just been thrown away.
’Damn it. What kind of teacher does this?’
"I’ll demonstrate it once. Watch carefully. The evaluation will begin immediately after."
The once noisy training ground fell silent.
"Cut as you move forward. Cut as you retreat."
Kuan advanced and withdrew repeatedly, slashing through the air.
His limp made his movements look awkward, but the sound of his blade slicing through the wind was terrifying.
"This is basic sword movement. The body generates force, the shift in weight amplifies the sword’s power. And if enhanced with Schema, the destructive force of a sword increases exponentially."
The students swallowed hard.
They had heard this countless times before, but the pressure of the impending evaluation heightened their nerves.
"...And yet, some of you are probably thinking, ’I just need to move faster and hit harder.’ But if you approach real combat with that mentality, you’ll be dead within three seconds."
Their eyes burned with resentment.
"Remember this. No matter how powerful your attacks are, if your movement is compromised, the battle is lost. That is why swordsmen shift their center of gravity outside their bodies. ."
Kuan stomped the ground. Then, tilting his body forward, he maintained an impossible 70-degree lean without falling.
The students’ mouths hung open.
Unless he was tied to a harness, staying upright in such a posture was inconceivable.
"The force amplified by Schema allows the shifting of balance beyond the body’s normal limits. Right now, my center of gravity is outside my body—precisely, beyond my back. This is external gravity."
With just a slight lift of his chin, Kuan effortlessly straightened his posture.
"Using external gravity expands movement possibilities infinitely. For example—"
This time, Kuan tilted backward until his back nearly touched the ground, then spun like a top.
A vortex of wind roared as his blade whirled in a perfect, lethal arc.