The dusty air of the neglected courtyard was completely silent when Instructor Gage returned. Crimson walked a half step behind him, his body wrapped securely in clean white medical bandages.
The scrawny boy still moved with a slight limp, his head bowed as he stared intensely at the cracked earth beneath his feet.
The rest of Class F looked up from where they sat on the ground, their eyes shifting between the beaten red haired boy and the calm, sharp looking man in the tailored suit.
Gage walked directly to the center of the courtyard and stopped.
He casually slid his hands into his suit trousers pockets, his piercing gaze sweeping across the twenty teenagers before him.
They looked small, malnourished, and completely defeated by the system of Pristina Academy.
"From this day forward, I am your official combat instructor," Gage began, his voice low, clear, and perfectly composed.
"My name is Mr. Gage. I am not here to teach you how to chant formulas or wave expensive pieces of wood in the air."
"I am here to teach you how to survive, and how to break the people who think you are garbage."
A few of the students exchanged skeptical, fearful glances.
A burly boy near the back raised a trembling hand, his voice cracking slightly.
"But Instructor Gage, we don't have mana."
"The noble classes can blast us apart before we can even get close to them."
"How are we supposed to fight magic with just our bare hands?"
A quiet, dangerous smile touched the corner of Gage's mouth.
Instead of answering verbally, he narrowed his eyes slightly, activating his minimalist interface.
Translucent parchment style windows instantly erupted over every single teenager sitting in the dirt.
He completely ignored their low magical energy readings and focused entirely on their raw physical hidden metrics.
Student: Jared
Hidden Talent: Iron Bone Density
Potential: Grade A
Student: Mina
Hidden Talent: Peripheral Kinetic Vision
Potential: Grade S
Student: Silas
Hidden Talent: Muscle Fiber Elasticity
Potential: Grade B
The system data solidified Gage's initial thoughts.
These children were not talentless at all.
The academy evaluation methods were simply deeply flawed, judging human capability entirely on the singular metric of magical compatibility.
They were completely blind to the fact that Jared possessed bones thick enough to withstand a charging beast, or that Mina could track high speed projectiles with the visual clarity of an apex predator.
"Magic is nothing more than a crutch for those who possess weak bodies," Gage said flatly, his words causing a collective gasp among the commoner students.
"A firebolt requires a chant. A shield requires a solid concentration of mana. If you move faster than their minds can process, their magic becomes completely useless."
"Your bodies are your weapons, and right now, your weapons are incredibly dull."
Gage stepped toward a wooden rack sitting against the crumbling stone wall.
The rack was filled with heavy, solid oak training swords, most of them splintered and covered in a thick layer of grey dust.
He reached down, grasped a heavy wooden blade with a single hand, and lifted it effortlessly.
He didn't take a combat stance.
He simply held it casually at his side while keeping his left hand firmly tucked inside his suit pocket.
"We are going to begin our very first evaluation," Gage announced, his sharp eyes locking onto the entire class.
"I want all twenty of you to stand up."
"Your task for the remainder of the afternoon is incredibly simple."
"You will attempt to land a single, solid strike on my body using any means necessary."
"You may attack all at once, or you may attack one by one."
"If even a single thread of my suit is damaged, the entire class passes the day's training."
The teenagers stared at him as if he had completely lost his mind.
He was a single man dressed in a sleek business suit, holding a wooden practice weapon, challenging twenty people simultaneously without even taking his hand out of his pocket.
"Are you serious, Instructor?" Jared asked, slowly pushing himself up from the ground.
"There are twenty of us."
"Even if we don't have magic, we can still overwhelm you through numbers."
"Then I suggest you begin moving your legs," Gage replied, his expression returning to a state of absolute, icy calmness.
"Because if you are still sitting on the dirt in the next three seconds, I will personally ensure your day becomes a living hell."
The threat in his low voice was incredibly real.
Sensing the sudden drop in temperature within the courtyard, Jared let out a loud roar, charging forward with his fists raised.
Two other boys followed right behind him, attempting to flank Gage from the left and right sides.
They moved with zero coordination, their movements clumsy, loud, and incredibly predictable.
To the students watching, Gage didn't even seem to blink.
The moment Jared entered his personal space, Gage executed a micro movement.
He shifted his right foot back by a mere three inches, completely lowering his center of gravity while maintaining his immaculate posture.
The heavy wooden oak sword flashed through the dusty air like a blur of dark lightning.
A sharp crack resonated through the courtyard.
The wooden blade slammed cleanly into Jared's right shoulder, perfectly striking a vital nerve cluster.
The large boy instantly lost all strength in his arms, his entire body collapsing face first into the dirt from the sudden shock to his nervous system.
Before the other two attackers could even comprehend what had happened, Gage tilted his head slightly to the left, effortlessly dodging a wild swing from the second boy.
He extended his right leg in a swift, sweeping motion, tripping the third attacker and sending him crashing heavily into the stone wall.
Combat Analysis Active
Target Flaws Exposed: Jared lowered his chin too much, exposing his collarbone.
Perfect Counter Executed.
"Too slow," Gage murmured, his voice completely steady as he stood perfectly over the three groaning students.
"Your steps are entirely too heavy, your intentions are written directly on your faces, and your guards are completely nonexistent."
"Again."
Crimson watched the entire display from the edge of the courtyard, his chest tightening with a strange, overwhelming mix of awe and terror.
He had seen high ranking noble knights train with beautiful, glowing swords, but he had never witnessed someone move with such terrifying, minimalist efficiency.
Mr. Gage wasn't using a single drop of mana.
He was manipulating his weight, his balance, and his timing with absolute, mathematical perfection.
"What are the rest of you waiting for?" Gage called out, his sharp eyes cutting through the remaining students who were frozen in fear.
"The clock is ticking."
"If no one touches me by sunset, your training drops will be cut in half, and we will repeat this exercise tomorrow morning."
Driven by pure desperation and the sudden urge to prove themselves, the remaining fifteen students scrambled to their feet, grabbing whatever splintered wooden weapons they could find.
They rushed forward in a chaotic, desperate wave, completely surrounding the man in the black suit.
Gage simply closed his eyes for a split second, a soft chime echoing within his mind as the system prepared to record the massive influx of physical data.
Let the training begin, he thought silently, opening his eyes to meet the oncoming storm.