Alex was standing—barely.
His posture had long since abandoned anything resembling proper form. One knee bent shakily, his shoulders sagging as though carrying a weight far heavier than exhaustion alone. His grip on the practice sword was so loose it wavered with every shallow, uneven breath, the blade threatening to slip from his hand at any moment.
Faint bruises had begun to bloom across his arms and collarbone, scattered like mottled shades of blue and purple. Some had already darkened into ugly hues, while others pulsed with fresh pain beneath his skin. Light swelling outlined the contours of his muscles where mana projectiles had struck him repeatedly, leaving a dull throb with every twitch. His uniform clung damply to him, soaked through with sweat that had long since lost any trace of freshness.
It had been over an hour.
An hour of relentless, merciless conditioning.
At first, Elena's attacks had been controlled—slow, measured pulses of condensed mana meant to force his focus rather than inspire fear. He had managed those with surprising ease, his composure steady, his stance firm.
But the moment he adapted, she quickened the pace.
Every time he began to cope, she escalated.
His Minor Pain Tolerance skill dulled the pain, but even that had limits. And he had blown past them long ago.
'Anyone else would've collapsed by now…' she mused silently, eyes narrowing just a fraction. 'Stubborn brat, just like his master.' The corner of her lips twitched in the faintest whisper of amusement.
Looking at his sorry state, Elena finally stopped—not because she was satisfied, but because she was busy, and because her goal had already been achieved.
Elena crossed her arms, her expression balancing somewhere between impressed and calculating. "You've exceeded my expectations, Alex. If I hadn't read your file myself, I would've never guessed you barely even qualified to enter the academy a few months ago."
Alex blinked, unsure whether she was praising him, criticizing him, or doing both at once.
"Seriously, you've improved a lot since the day you walked through the Academy gates." she continued, her voice softening for a heartbeat before slipping back into its usual professional sharpness. "Your swordsmanship is just below Grand Master level, and your physical strength should place you somewhere in mid B-rank."
Alex parted his lips to respond, but Elena wasn't even close to done.
"It's good—very good—but still only around top ten if we compare you to students from other academies. But…" She paused, eyes narrowing with a spark that was equal parts excitement and analysis. "I can see the potential in you."
'Other academies?' Alex tilted his head, confusion settling in like a fog.
"Huh? What do students from other schools have anything to do with me?" he asked, raising a brow.
Elena gave him a look that practically translated to how do you not know this? "You're going to fight them in the upcoming tournament. So they have everything to do with you."
Alex blinked again. "Wait… Tournament? This is the first time I'm hearing about this."
He wasn't even surprised at this point. 'Figures… an inter-school tournament right after an intra-school one is practically tradition.' He let out a quiet breath and nodded. 'So that's why the Principal suddenly wanted to spar with me… she was assessing me for this.'
He opened his mouth, ready to unleash the dozen questions crowding his thoughts, when Elena abruptly cut him off—and dropped a bomb.
"So Alex," she said casually, as though commenting on the weather, "you're able to use magic, aren't you?"
'…What?' Alex froze, eyes widening.
Alex's breath hitched. For a moment, he stood completely still, like someone had cast a petrification spell on him. Then panic rushed up his spine.
"What? No—no, you're mistaken!" he blurted out, hands shooting up defensively. "I-I don't know what you're talking about. Magic? Me? That's impossible."
His voice cracked halfway through, which absolutely did not help his case in the slightest.
Elena simply stared at him with the calm, unshakable patience of a teacher who had already seen through not just the cheating, but the entire cheat sheet.
"Alex," she said quietly, "I suspected it the moment I first saw you. After sparring with you today, I became even more suspicious. And just now, watching your reactions…" Her eyes sharpened. "I've confirmed it."
Alex swallowed hard and instinctively glanced toward Aurora.
Aurora floated behind him with a bittersweet smile, her arms folded lightly. 'I had thought she might find out… but I guess it really is impossible to hide from her.' the spirit admitted inwardly, shaking her head in resigned acceptance.
She leaned closer to Alex. "It's no use denying it to her. Someone like her won't be fooled by you this easily."
Alex completely deflated, his shoulders dropped, and he clamped his mouth shut as though resigning himself to fate. 'Right… I'll just revoke my right to remain silent.'
Once he quieted, Elena stepped forward.
"Even I could barely sense it." she said, clearly impressed. "Your mana flow was controlled exceptionally well. Too well. Even during the spar, you never slipped—not once. No loss of control, no unstable fluctuations, no irregularities anywhere." She tilted her head slightly. "But you are far too young and far too weak to hide something like that from someone like me."
Alex winced.
Because she was right.
From the moment he had been called onto the stage, Aurora had taken over complete control of his mana flow—masking, smoothing, and disguising every trace with meticulous precision. The concealment was so flawless that even skilled mages would have sensed nothing at all.
But Elena?
Someone whose senses, instincts, and battle-forged intuition operated at a level closer to a monster than a human?
She wasn't just anyone, after all.
Even with Aurora's perfect intervention, that single hair-thin thread of concealed mana—something unnoticeable to almost everyone—had still been caught by Elena's razor-sharp perception.
Without giving him any room to argue, Elena gestured for him to follow, and Alex found himself being led back to her office.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
Alex sat stiffly in the Principal's office, back straight, hands resting on his knees, eyes locked on a random corner of the wall. He looked exactly like someone refusing to speak without their lawyer present.
Inside, he was an absolute disaster.
'Run.' That was his first instinct. Completely impossible, obviously.
Then—'Master!' Except Alicia was inside a labyrinth, unreachable for who-knew-how-long.
So now he sat here, staring at nothing, silently praying that Priscilla—his one emergency lifeline—would see his message and call him back before he got executed for… whatever this situation counted as.
Across from him, Elena leaned back in her chair and released a long, displeased sigh. "I know you're wary of me, Alex, but can you please not act like some war prisoner who's about to be martyred?"
He did not move.
"If I wanted to do something to you—or expose you—I wouldn't have brought you into my office." she said, voice firm but not unkind. "This room is fully secure and soundproof. You can speak freely here."
Alex blinked once. Very slowly.
Elena's tone eased by a fraction. "You are my student. And as your Principal, I would never harm you. I would protect you to the best of my ability."
There was something steady and grounded in the way she said it—solid enough that even his panic paused to reconsider.
Floating beside his shoulder, Aurora tapped a finger thoughtfully against her chin. "Well… she does have a point." she murmured, glancing at Alex. "She actually is trustworthy. And honestly, she seems to have a good relationship with Alicia."
Alex swallowed hard.
What they said was… unexpectedly reassuring. Slowly, his rigid posture eased, though he still looked like a terrified kitten waiting for judgement day.
Alex exhaled slowly, shoulders sagging as he finally accepted the situation. His secret was already halfway exposed—trying to clutch it now felt like attempting to plug a sinking ship with his bare hands.
And judging from Elena's tone… and Aurora's steady reassurance… she didn't seem like someone who intended to harm him.
At least, not yet, he thought grimly.
Still, the crushing pressure in his chest eased just a fraction.
Seeing him relax—if only slightly—Elena spoke again. "So, your talent with the sword seems to be very high," she said in a probing tone. "You're a genius at a level just slightly below a Grand Master."
Alex froze all over again.
What was he supposed to say to that? She wasn't praising him—she was examining him, dissecting him like a puzzle she intended to solve.
But before panic returned, confusion bulldozed right over it.
"Uh… what level is Grand Master?" Alex asked, genuinely clueless.
Elena blinked at him—actually blinked—caught off guard for the first time today. "Alicia didn't tell you the levels of weapon mastery?"
Alex shook his head.
Elena sighed—long, weary, and painfully familiar. A sigh that very clearly meant: of course she didn't. "That woman… honestly, this is exactly like her."
Then she began explaining, tapping her fingers rhythmically on her desk as she laid out the hierarchy.
"From lowest to highest, the levels of weapon mastery are:
Novice
Beginner
Expert—sometimes called Adept
Master
Grand Master
King
Emperor
Sovereign
Saint"
She let the list settle between them before continuing, her tone shifting into her lecture mode. "This system is used to categorize skill, talent, and achievement—essentially a classification of one's mastery over a weapon. These ranks can also serve as formal titles, used to honor prestige and accomplishments."
Her gaze flicked back to Alex, steady and scrutinizing.