Surrounded by nearly 300 cadets, Faiger’s face stiffened completely.
No matter how much he enhanced his strength using Schema, he couldn’t handle this number.
"What the hell, you guys! Do you really want to die?"
"If you can kill us, then try it, you bastard!"
A cadet from Group 2, known for his strength, struck first.
Faiger’s jaw twisted from the blow, and as he turned his head back with a grimace, dozens of cadets slammed him into the ground.
"W-Wait! I get it! Stop... Ugh!"
Even as Faiger screamed, realizing the reality of the situation, the cadets’ anger did not subside easily.
Throughout the area, members of Group 1 were being beaten in the same way. Even cadets from outside the groups had joined in, throwing punches.
’I’m going to die at this rate!’
Even if no one was aiming to kill, getting beaten by dozens of people could still be fatal.
Faiger screamed desperately.
"Help! Instructor! Instructor!"
Rian watched indifferently.
Seeing his reaction, Tess turned to him and spoke.
"Haha, this is kind of awkward. It feels like I just stabbed my fork into a meal someone else prepared."
"Whatever. I hate playing the hero. That’s why I lured them to a place without an instructor."
"Huh? Do you really not get it?"
Realizing the truth, Tess looked at Rian in disbelief.
"Are you an idiot? There’s no way the instructors would just leave us alone. They’re watching us even now. This entire situation is being reported."
Tess’s prediction was spot on.
Faiger, who had suffered multiple fractures, was deemed unfit for training and was forcibly expelled. The Group 1 cadets who had supported him, despite their high scores, were denied admission.
And Rian—out of the 300 applicants—entered Kaizen Swordsmanship School as the top-ranking student.
’Right... that’s how it was.’
Recalling his first meeting with Rian, Tess smirked and pointed at him.
"And that very same Rian is now stuck at the bottom of the rankings."
"Shut up. Why bring up the past all of a sudden? It’s not like I asked to be ranked first."
"Haha, still, it’s impressive. If it were me, I’d be drowning in self-doubt. But you train every single day without fail."
"Self-doubt? That’s something I graduated from a long time ago."
"But aren’t you worried? You got into the school, so you have to graduate and make a name for yourself as a swordsman. At this rate, you won’t achieve anything."
"...You’re really going out of your way to crush my confidence, aren’t you?"
"What are you talking about? I’m saying this because I genuinely care. It’s frustrating to watch. What’s your driving force, anyway?"
Compared to the other cadets, Rian had a more relaxed position.
"Graduation, honor—none of that matters to me. I just need to get stronger. For my lord."
"Yeah, I took a knight’s oath."
A knight’s oath was something one could only make once in a lifetime. Choosing a lord required thorough consideration of their future and potential.
"Who is it? Someone I know?"
Surely, it had to be someone famous—a war hero, a high-ranking official at the royal palace, or at the very least, a regional lord.
"Shirone? Hmm, never heard of them. What do they do?"
"He’s my friend. He’s currently studying at a magic academy back home."
A friend? Not even a proper mage yet, just a student?
"What the hell were you thinking? Even if you’re close, there’s no need to swear a knight’s oath. Wait... Don’t tell me—"
Tess suddenly felt uneasy.
There were cases where knights pledged their oaths to people who were neither famous nor promising.
"This Shirone... Is she a girl?"
"Are you insane? What are you even imagining? No matter how lacking my talent is, I wouldn’t make a knight’s oath for that reason."
Tess secretly sighed in relief.
"Anyway, don’t judge so easily. I believe Shirone will become the greatest. That’s why I’ve staked my life on him."
It was a classic case of camaraderie between men, but it made Tess curious about this friend.
’Shirone, huh... I’ve never really paid attention to magic academies...’
Her eyes suddenly sparkled.
She had been looking for an excuse to bring this up, and now she had found the perfect one.
"Can you show me Shirone?"
"What? Why do you want to meet my friend?"
"You talk about him so much that I can’t help but be curious. Honestly, I’m kind of jealous. It’s like you’ve already secured your future job while still in school."
"That doesn’t mean you can just suddenly—Besides, Shirone is in Creas. That’s really far from here."
"So what? The semester ends in a few days anyway. My family is in occupied territory, so I don’t have anyone to visit. I might as well take a trip to Creas. Oh, right, isn’t there an island in the south? It’s a tourist spot I’ve always wanted to visit. Let’s go together."
Tess’s proposal made Rian slightly interested.
Not that he had any desire to travel alone with Tess, but if Shirone was involved, it was a different story.
"Hmm, but if it’s just the three of us, it might be a bit awkward. I’m not really sociable... especially with girls."
Tess grinned like a cat.
This only made her even more curious about Shirone, the one person who could influence Rian so much.
"Then have Shirone bring someone along. There must be plenty of girls he knows at the magic academy. It’ll be a 2-on-2 trip. What do you think?"
More importantly, Rian had already been thinking about spending time with Shirone after the semester ended, so there was no real reason to refuse.
"Well, I’ll think about it."
Tess, knowing he was already half-convinced, nodded with satisfaction.
"Great! Then, let’s wrap up this final practical evaluation in style so we can enjoy our vacation!"