Haruka stepped forward proudly.
Foom!
Flames flared violently over his palm, swelling into a wild, crackling sphere.
He grinned triumphantly, casting a smug look around at the other students.
“Hmph.
My flames are much bigger and stronger than some cheap ice,” he mocked, shooting a snide smirk toward Akira.
His fireball was indeed noticeably larger than Akira’s frost icicle.
Tokito frowned deeply at the crude insult aimed at her but Akira merely looked away, letting out a quiet, calm sigh.
He is still so much arrogant.
completely ignorant.
Before anyone could speak up, Kojin stepped forward aggressively.
“Hah!” A slightly larger, roaring fireball appeared above his hand.
“Mine is bigger.”
Haruka’s brow twitched in pure anger.
“Are you copying me?”
“No.
Why would I ever copy someone so weak?” Kojin smirked.
“Who are you calling weak!”
Soshiro let out a weary sigh, stepping between them.
“Fire is structurally not as dense as frost.
You would require a fireball nearly twice that size just to match the sheer mana density of Akira-san’s icicle.”
Neither prince listened to a single word of his analysis.
“Nobody asked for your opinion!” both shouted in unison, glaring fiercely at Soshiro.
Kana rubbed her temple in exasperation.
“I explicitly stated that this orientation session is not a competition.” Her pleasant smile vanished entirely, replaced by a chilling look.
“But perhaps I wasn’t clear enough for your royal ears.
Should I arrange a mandatory one hundred laps around the entire academy grounds to help you focus?”
“No, sensei!” everyone answered instantly, their postures turning rigid.
“Then behave yourselves.” Kana said before her pleasant demeanor returning in a flash.
Meanwhile, at the very back of the group, Shinazu quietly watched the entire spectacle of talented nobles showing off their magic.
His dark eyes sparkled with genuine relief.
Perfect.
This class setup is absolutely perfect, with all the top talents and popular faces gathered together in one place, I won’t have a hard time remaining completely invisible and blending into the background.
A wide grin broke across his face.
I bet this setup was enacted by the Headmaster himself to foster fierce competition and rivalry.
In separate classes, without anyone to push them, they wouldn’t grow nearly as much.
However, his wide grin faded instantly as he realized Akira was still standing right beside him, her intense golden eyes watching his expressions like a hawk.
Why is she still looking at me?
He looked down being embarrassed.
She was just curious about his mana control.
After the remaining students finished demonstrating their magic, Ishiki put one hand in his sleeve and looked across the students.
“Good.
Most of you possess excellent mana reserves and unusually refined control for your age,” he said calmly.
“But,” his expression hardened as all trace of praise vanishing from his voice.
“But don’t become arrogant.
The monsters you will encounter outside these walls will not care how talented or noble you are…”
“And before long, every one of you will enter dungeons, where your very lives will be on the stakes.
Make one reckless mistake, and all that awaits you is blood and death.”
A heavy silence fell over them.
Ishiki looked up at them.
“Though, I expect all of you will join in regardless.”
Except for a few girls who looked slightly anxious, the rest of the class stood with steel resolve.
Coming from proud noble and royal families, backing down from combat was simply not an option for them.
With that, Kana-sensei clapped her hands brightly, breaking the dark mood.
“Everyone, we’re heading to the Martial Arts training grounds next!”
They immediately came back to normal state.
…
The Martial Arts arena was even larger than the Mage Arts training grounds. This story is hosted at g.com.
Massive weapon racks stretched along one side of the field, displaying swords, spears, halberds, bows, shields, battleaxes, war hammers, and dozens of unfamiliar weapons crafted from enchanted alloys.
Across the opposite end, rows of reinforced training dummies stood ready for combat drills, while several armored instructors sparred with one another hand to hand.
Every sharp clash echoed loudly throughout the enormous grounds.
Unlike the previous Mage Arts arena, this place wasn’t reserved for a single class.
Dozens of groups had already gathered, each waiting for their own instructor.
Hundreds of students filled the grounds, creating a constant buzz of conversation.
Then, a sudden wave of murmurs spread through the crowd.
“They’re here!”
“Look!
That’s the Star Class!”
“The top elite class…” The have given variety of names to the class in which all the royals were placed.
Students from every direction turned their heads to look at Kana calmly leading her twenty students across the arena as though nothing unusual was happening, yet hushed whispers followed them wherever they walked.
“Look there!
That’s Prince Hayame!”
“And beside him…
isn’t that Prince Soshiro from the Western Lands?”
“I heard both of them awakened Lightning Magic.”
Another girl pointed farther down the line.
“Prince Tenzen is here too.”
“The one from North West Tenryu?”
“I heard he’s a Metal and Frost Mage.
I absolutely love his blue eyes and cold demeanor,” a noble girl whispered shyly, covering her face with her hands as she blushed hard.
A group of nearby boys shook their heads at the girls.
“You girls are blind.
The real beauty is Princess Minara.
Just look at her.
She’s so elegant and charming!”
“Yesterday she even smiled at us!
I swear my heart almost stopped that moment.”
Another boy immediately countered, “Princess Minara is indeed very beautiful and loving…
but Princess Akira is on another level.” He clasped both hands dramatically against his chest.
“Those golden eyes, that cold expression…
if she looked at me just once, I could die without any regrets.”
The boy beside him nodded with complete seriousness.
“I understand your pain perfectly.”
Several nearby students burst into laughter at them.
“You two are hopeless.
She’d probably freeze you solid before you even got close.”
“That would still be totally worth it.”
The chatter only grew louder.
Walking in the line, Haruka folded his arms and clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“Tch.” Kojin snorted as well.
They’re blind, Haruka thought.
Completely blind, Kojin agreed internally thinking the exact same thing as neither of them recieved any praise.
But neither Akira nor anyone else gave an ear to the gossip.
They were all used to ignore that from childhood.
“I heard every single student in that class has multiple attributes.”
“No, not everyone.
But every single one is considered a genius.”
A few other prideful nobles sulked visibly at the remark.
“I heard the Headmaster personally arranged that class.”
“So that’s why they’re all grouped together…”
Meanwhile, Shinazu walked quietly near the back of the group with his hands tucked safely inside his sleeves.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the princes, princesses, and famous noble heirs walking ahead of him.
As long as they keep looking at them…
He quietly smiled, his shoulders relaxed.
Kana eventually stopped the group before a tall, broad-shouldered instructor whose forearms were as if forged from steel.
“Everyone,” she said, “this is Hiroshi-sensei.
He will be teaching you Martial Arts.”
The students bowed respectfully.
“Greetings, Hiroshi-sensei.”
The veteran instructor acknowledged them with a short nod before slowly scanning every student on the field, as he was responsible for more than just a single class.
His sharp eyes carried the heavy weight of countless real battlefields, and only after several seconds of silence did he begin to speak.
“A powerful body is not a luxury…
it is an absolute necessity.” His deep voice loud and clear across the training ground.
“Every single profession benefits from physical training.”
He pointed firmly toward his chest.
“A stronger body keeps your internal organs healthy.” He then tapped his temple.
“And only in a healthy body stays a healthy mind.
It doesn’t matter whether you become a Mage, a Crafter, an Alchemist, or a Knight.
If your body is weak, you will never reach your true potential.”
Everyone looked unimpressed, already bored by his explanation.
He slowly drew a sharp steel sword from his waist.
“Mana does not exist solely to create flashy spells.”
A faint, steady glow spread across the sword’s edge.
“It can also reinforce the physical body itself.” With one casual, effortless swing
CLEAVE!
The metal blade cleaved a massive stone block cleanly in half.
Several students gasped at the display, their bored looks were now replaced by excitement.
“Awesome…” Soshiro’s eye were glittering.
“A trained warrior uses mana to strengthen their muscles, bones, speed, reflexes, and endurance.
With proper training, a human body can even rival a magical beast in raw strength.”
“Rival magical beasts in strength…?” several students murmured, exchanging surprised glances.
Hiroshi lowered his sword.
“That is the true foundation of Martial Arts.
Unlike Mage Arts, which focus on projecting mana outward into spells, Martial Arts channel mana inward to reinforce the body for close combat.
And that is not all.
Here, you will also learn to use enchanted weapons, armor, and equipment forged by expert Mage Crafters.” He glanced toward the heavy weapon racks lining the yard.
“They aren’t just pieces of metal.
In a fight, they become part of your own body.”
“Why should we bother swinging a sword or sweating in the dirt when we can easily wipe out a monster with just our magic?” an arrogant noble boy scoffed, while a few of his noble friends laughed and agreed.
Hiroshi nodded calmly, taking the interruption in stride.
“That is a fair question, and one I have been asked more times than I can remember.”
He offered a polite smile and picked up a fresh longsword from the rack.
“A master Fire Mage may easily create dozens of fireballs, but…”
his smile suddenly turned into a cold predatory stare, locking right onto the boy who had spoken.
Whoosh!
In a blur of motion, Hiroshi launched the longsword straight at him.
The noble boy panicked in sheer horror, terrorized he jumped out of his skin, barely dodging the blade before crashing hard into the dirt.
“…if that very same mage cannot protect his own body, he will be dead before he even finishes a single spell!” Hiroshi finished.
The nobles who had been smiling moments ago now swallowed hard, staring at the blade that was buried in a far wooden target, which was just about to take a life.
Hiroshi relaxed his stance and picked up another sword.
“A battlefield is completely unpredictable,” he said calmly.
“One day you will find yourselves trapped in a tight space with an enemies right at your throat, fighting fast monsters that can slice you up in a second, or backed into a corner when your mana reserves are completely dry”
He pointed the new blade toward the class, and its sharp edge suddenly lit up with a bright red glow.
“In those moments, knowing how to swing a blade is worth far more than another spell.
Besides, a dead enemy does not care whether you killed it with a sword or with magic.”
The field remained quiet, but every single one of them nodded instinctively, understanding the logic.
Satisfied, Hiroshi let the glow fade and returned the weapon to its rack.