Returning to school after a long time was unexpectedly calm—

“Hey, hey! Look who it is—our Academy's inexplicable commoner! I thought you finally dropped out since I hadn’t seen you for a while, but it seems I was wrong!”

“Bain-kun...”

Of course, it wasn’t peaceful for long. As expected, Stud Bain decided to pick on me in the training grounds.

The heir of the Bain Count family, he had already established himself as the ruler of Class B, effectively bringing all of our classmates under his control. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the entire class was my enemy.

As if on cue, my classmates surrounded me. The atmosphere blatantly screamed, "We’re going to hurt you now," something I had become painfully familiar with in the past few days. To any onlooker, it was clear—many against one, an overwhelming imbalance.

“Not satisfied with how much we’ve beaten you yet, are you?”

And yet, strangely, I felt no fear. Previously, just being near him would send chills down my spine, and standing face-to-face with him would fill me with paralyzing terror. But now? It was a curious sensation.

—Scared...? Not really?

“Hey, are you ignoring me? You’ve gotten cocky, haven’t you, you filthy commoner?!”

“Ah, no...”

Even now, as I stood with my wooden sword raised against him, that feeling hadn’t changed. Accidentally ignoring Bain-kun was not my intent, but honestly, there was no reason to engage with such irrationality. Yet his anger only deepened—such was the nature of your typical noble.

—If only every noble could learn from Master.

I glanced around, searching for the figure of the mentor who had trained this weakling of a person into something resembling a fighter.

The first-year joint training session had gone off without a hitch, and free practice was already underway. Normally, he’d be sparring with someone, but knowing him, he’d certainly anticipate this duel disguised as practice between me and Bain-kun and would be watching.

—I can’t afford a sloppy duel...

If I showed any signs of weakness here, tomorrow’s training would be hell. I was done with the infinite mock battles of torment.

“I hear you’ve been training under the ‘Beheader,’ but a week or so of desperation isn’t enough to make much of a difference. I can’t wait to see how much stronger you’ve gotten!”

Recalling the horrors of a few days ago sent a chill down my spine, yet Bain-kun continued to mock me with a twisted grin. His words, which used to fill me with dread, now barely fazed me. It was like listening to someone excitedly chatting about their day—entertaining but unimportant.

—If only he’d shut up for a bit.

Oddly enough, the man before me inspired no fear. It wasn’t confidence in my ability to fight or the belief that I could overwhelm him.

—Compared to Master, he’s nothing.

After witnessing the overwhelming, irrational strength of my mentor and understanding the vast difference in skill, Bain-kun and I were nothing more than the same. Both of us were mere novices chasing a mountain we couldn’t yet climb.

—We’re just fledgling amateurs compared to Master.

Understanding this, I even felt a strange sense of camaraderie with him. Perhaps one day, we could shake hands and unite in a shared goal to give Master a taste of his own medicine.

“I’ll cut that scar-riddled body of yours to ribbons!”

However, it seemed Bain-kun had yet to grasp his current standing. He laughed at the scars on my body, but there was no shame in the multitude of marks covering me.

“Those are the marks of progress,” Master had said. “The more you have, the greater your potential.”

Since hearing those words, I’d been able to endure the pain and injuries. After all, they were merely stepping stones to strength—a fleeting moment in a longer journey. These scars were badges of honor, a testament to my effort.

“Still ignoring me, huh? Guess you’ve got a death wish!!”

“Uh...”

As I let him rant, Bain-kun, unable to tolerate being ignored, lunged at me.

I didn’t think it was unfair. This wasn’t an official duel, and there wasn’t any formal signal to start. It was a free-for-all. There was no need to rush; in fact, there was no need to worry at all.

“I’ll crush you!!”

His strike—a calculated and sharp horizontal slash—was aimed squarely at my abdomen. The old me wouldn’t have been able to react. But now, I could clearly see the trajectory of his blade.

—Nowhere near Master’s level...

I leapt back, easily dodging his attack. Bain-kun’s voice rose in shock—

“What the—?!”

“Not enough.”

Compared to Master’s blows, Bain-kun’s were nothing. Master’s strikes were sharp enough to shake the surroundings—a swing so irrationally powerful that there was nothing I could do. Dodging Bain-kun’s attack wasn’t odd at all. In fact, failing to evade it would have earned me Master’s scolding later.

“I don’t want extra drills...”

There was no need for pointless back-and-forth. Master would’ve said, “Finish it in one blow,” and Master would’ve done so. As his disciple, it was my duty to execute that perfectly.

My magical energy was already active, coursing through my body and enhancing my physical abilities. Even my bloodline magic was ready. A week ago, I couldn’t even manage these basic things properly. It was baffling how I’d even made it into this Academy.

“Time for the grand debut.”

I couldn’t help but feel gratitude toward Master. The magic I had once been unable to control was now within my grasp, albeit barely.

“Koumei.”

The bloodline magic of the Hero’s lineage—Bright Arts. A ball of light appeared and illuminated the surroundings in a dazzling flash.

“What the—?!”

The spell, as its name suggests, simply illuminated the area. A flash of light, a momentary glow. Yet by adjusting its intensity and range, it could serve as a blinding distraction.

—A cheap trick, but effective.

In battle, even a few seconds of hesitation could be fatal. Master had praised this magic as an excellent tool for creating such openings.

“Damn it! My eyes—!!”

The flash worked perfectly. Bain-kun stumbled, losing sight of me completely.

“—!!”

I seized the opportunity without hesitation, closing the distance in an instant. He had struck first, so I wouldn’t feel guilty about this counterattack.

“In battle, there’s no such thing as fair or foul. Victory is absolute, and the defeated have no say,” Master had said.

Bain-kun was still blinded, unable to see me. I calmly approached his unguarded form. Now, I simply needed to drive my sword into his abdomen with full force.

—Watch me, Master!!

No fancy techniques or magic were necessary. Against another human, the foundation of solid basics was more than enough. Channeling all my magical energy into strengthening my body, I swung my sword with all my might.

“It’s over!!”

“Ngah—!!”

He couldn’t dodge. My blade struck true, slamming into Bain-kun’s abdomen. The sound of his agonized grunt and his body hitting the ground filled the air.

The entire exchange lasted less than a minute. The classmates who had been watching the one-sided duel were left speechless. None of them had expected me to win. Their reactions were amusing, but more than that, I couldn’t wait to report the result to Master.

I wanted to share the joy of achieving this goal—or rather, I wanted his feedback on the fight.

“How was that, Clay-kun?!”

Leaving behind the defeated Bain-kun and the stunned classmates, I rushed toward him.