The First-Year Lecture Hall was already full.
Rows of students filled the seats, conversations buzzing through the room.
"...Did you hear?"
"Blackwood is coming."
"The Fifth Rank?"
"I heard he awakened some legendary weapon."
"No, someone said he fought an instructor."
"The rumors get worse every hour."
Noah pushed open the classroom door.
The chatter instantly died.
Dozens of heads turned toward him.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Noah froze.
"...Why is everyone staring?"
Eric whispered,
"Because you’re famous now."
"I don’t like being famous."
"Tough luck."
The group found seats near the middle of the classroom.
Noah placed his bag beside him.
Almost immediately...
A student approached.
He nervously scratched the back of his head.
"Um..."
"Congratulations on your ranking."
Noah smiled politely.
"Thanks."
The student grinned before hurrying back to his seat.
A second student came over.
Then another.
Some simply congratulated him.
Others asked about the Tower.
One even requested training advice.
Noah answered as honestly as he could.
"I was just trying not to die."
Oddly enough...
That answer made him seem even more impressive.
BANG!
The classroom doors slammed shut.
Professor Ingrid entered.
Tall.
Short black hair.
A long crimson coat draped over her academy uniform.
A longsword rested against her shoulder as casually as if it weighed nothing.
The room became silent.
She placed a stack of papers on the desk.
Without introducing herself...
She looked around the room.
"Who here believes talent decides everything?"
Several students slowly raised their hands.
Ingrid nodded.
Then...
She suddenly disappeared.
WHOOSH!
A violent gust swept through the classroom.
Before anyone realized what had happened...
She stood beside one of the students.
Her sword rested against his neck.
The student hadn’t even seen her move.
She smiled.
"Wrong."
The sword returned to her shoulder.
She walked back to the front of the room.
"Talent opens doors."
"Discipline decides whether you survive what’s behind them."
Noah narrowed his eyes.
She was fast.
Much faster than anyone he’d seen among the first-years.
Professor Ingrid picked up a piece of chalk.
She wrote four words across the board.
Power
Control
Judgment
Resolve
She turned back to the class.
"Most of you think becoming stronger means increasing the first."
She tapped Power.
"It doesn’t."
She tapped Control.
"A swordsman who can’t control his strength is dangerous."
She tapped Judgment.
"A genius who makes foolish decisions dies."
Finally...
She tapped Resolve.
"And someone without resolve..."
"...never becomes strong enough to matter."
Her eyes slowly scanned the room.
They stopped on Noah.
"Blackwood."
Noah looked up.
"Stand."
He did.
"You entered the Tower as an F-Rank."
"Yes."
"You returned Fifth."
"Yes."
"What changed?"
The classroom became completely silent.
Everyone leaned forward.
Even Cedric, seated near the front, glanced back.
Noah thought carefully.
Then answered.
"I stopped worrying about proving myself."
Professor Ingrid raised an eyebrow.
"Explain."
"I realized..."
"...the monsters didn’t care about my rank."
"They only cared whether I survived."
"So I focused on improving instead of comparing myself to everyone else."
Silence.
Professor Ingrid studied him for several seconds.
Then...
She smiled.
It was brief.
Almost invisible.
"Good answer."
She looked toward the rest of the class.
"Write that down."
Groans immediately echoed through the lecture hall.
Halfway through the lecture...
Professor Ingrid suddenly clapped once.
"Enough theory."
She pointed toward the training grounds outside.
"We’re having practical combat."
The students blinked.
"...Right now?"
"Did I stutter?"
Within moments...
The class hurried outside.
The academy’s eastern training grounds stretched across several acres.
Stone arenas.
Weapon racks.
Training dummies.
Protective barriers.
Everything had been designed for combat.
Professor Ingrid stood at the center.
"Today’s lesson is simple."
"You will not fight to win."
"You will fight..."
"...to expose your weaknesses."
She reached into a wooden box beside her.
Inside were hundreds of numbered metal tokens.
She tossed them into the air.
The tokens floated briefly before shooting toward different students.
Noah caught his.
27
Eric looked at his.
28
"...Seriously?"
Eric laughed.
"Looks like we’re partners."
Noah sighed.
"I was hoping for someone easier."
"Oh, now you’re joking."
Professor Ingrid smirked.
"You have five minutes."
"No killing."
"No crippling."
"No excuses."
The barriers surrounding every arena began to rise.
Students spread out across the training grounds.
Excitement filled the air.
Noah and Eric walked toward Arena Seven.
Eric loosened his shoulders and grinned.
"I’ve wanted this rematch since orientation."
Noah smiled.
"So have I."
The signal bell...
Was about to ring.
The signal bell rang.
DONG!
The barriers surrounding each arena shimmered to life.
A translucent blue wall rose around Arena Seven, isolating Noah and Eric from the noise outside.
Professor Ingrid’s voice echoed across the training grounds.
"Begin."
Eric grinned.
"So..."
"You going easy on me?"
Noah shook his head.
"You’d complain if I did."
"I definitely would."
Eric cracked his knuckles.
"Good."
Neither moved.
The two simply watched each other.
Searching.
Waiting.
The first person to attack...
Would reveal something.
Outside the barrier...
Students gathered.
"Isn’t that Noah Blackwood?"
"And Eric Holloway."
"This should be interesting."
Even Cedric stopped to watch.
Damien folded his arms nearby.
Laura remained beneath a tree in the distance, quietly observing.
Eric made the first move.
BOOM!
The stone beneath his feet cracked as he lunged forward.
His wooden practice sword slashed diagonally toward Noah’s shoulder.
Noah stepped sideways.
The blade barely missed.
Eric immediately twisted his wrist and changed the attack into a thrust.
"...Faster."
Noah thought.
He raised his own practice sword.
CLANG!
Wood struck wood.
Eric smiled.
"You’ve improved."
"You too."
Three more exchanges followed.
Neither gained an advantage.
Neither overcommitted.
Professor Ingrid watched silently.
"Interesting..."
She murmured.
Eric suddenly retreated.
Only one step.
That was enough.
He lowered his center of gravity.
Noah immediately recognized the stance.
"The charging strike..."
During orientation...
That move had nearly defeated him.
Eric exploded forward.
CRACK!
His speed doubled.
The practice sword blurred.
Noah’s pupils narrowed.
His breathing slowed.
He remembered Kael’s lesson.
Don’t watch the weapon.
Watch the body.
Eric’s shoulders.
His hips.
His leading foot.
Everything moved a fraction of a second before the sword.
"There."
Noah whispered.
Instead of blocking...
He stepped inside Eric’s attack.
Eric’s eyes widened.
"What?!"
THUD!
Noah gently struck Eric’s chest with the flat of his wooden blade.
Not hard enough to injure.
Just enough.
Silence.
Eric looked down at the wooden sword resting against his uniform.
Then...
He laughed.
"Hahaha!"
"I lost."
He stepped back immediately.
"No complaints."
The crowd blinked.
"...That’s it?"
"They stopped?"
"What happened?"
Most students hadn’t even understood the exchange.
Professor Ingrid did.
"So..."
She smiled faintly.
"You learned something valuable inside the Tower."
Eric rubbed the back of his neck.
"I got predictable."
"No."
Noah smiled.
"I finally learned how to read people."
Professor Ingrid walked into the arena.
She looked between the two boys.
"Neither of you fought to impress anyone."
"Good."
She pointed at Eric.
"You attack with confidence."
"But confidence becomes recklessness if left unchecked."
Eric nodded seriously.
"I understand."
She turned toward Noah.
"You’ve become patient."
"Don’t become passive."
Noah nodded.
"Yes, Professor."
She dismissed them.
The barrier vanished.
As Noah stepped off the arena...
Several first-year students immediately approached him.
One of them bowed slightly.
"Blackwood..."
"Would you spar with me sometime?"
Another raised a hand.
"And me."
"I’d like to learn."
Within seconds...
Five more students gathered.
Eric laughed.
"You’ve accidentally become popular."
Noah sighed.
"I don’t even know how."
Before the crowd could grow larger...
A loud impact echoed from Arena Three.
BOOM!
Everyone turned.
Dust filled the air.
One student had been launched completely out of the arena.
He landed several meters away.
Groaning.
Still conscious.
Standing in the center of the arena...
Was Cain Draven.
First Place.
His practice sword rested casually on his shoulder.
Not a scratch marked his uniform.
His opponent slowly accepted a helping hand from the academy medics.
Professor Ingrid frowned.
"Enough."
"Cain."
"You used too much force."
Cain lowered his head slightly.
"My apologies."
His voice was calm.
Sincere.
There wasn’t a hint of arrogance.
As the medics escorted his opponent away...
Cain’s eyes drifted across the training grounds.
They stopped on Noah.
Again.
This time...
He walked over.
The surrounding students instinctively stepped aside.
The academy’s top-ranked first-year stopped a few feet away.
"...Blackwood."
Noah met his gaze.
"Draven."
Cain nodded once.
"I watched your match."
Noah waited.
After a brief pause, Cain said,
"You’ve changed."
"I have."
"Good."
Another pause.
"When the semester tournament begins..."
Cain’s silver eyes held Noah’s without hostility.
"I hope we’re both still undefeated."
He offered a small nod of respect.
Then turned and walked away.
No threats.
No challenge.
No boast.
Just quiet confidence.
Eric let out the breath he’d been holding.
"...That guy is weird."
Damien, who had overheard the exchange, shook his head.
"No."
"He just acknowledged Noah as someone worth facing."
Noah watched Cain disappear toward the equipment racks.
For some reason...
He had the feeling their next meeting...
Wouldn’t be during a class.