The big test, the Cannonball Execution exam, was right around the corner. It was all anyone in the Misfit Class could talk about. After his intense chat with Ameri about needing "Ambition" and Opera's warning about needing a higher rank, Noir Sullivan knew he couldn't afford to mess up. He needed power—his own true power—or at least, the wild energy bottled up in the weird ring on his finger.
That evening, Noir went looking for his grandpa, Lord Sullivan, and found him in the training yard, trying to teach a tiny, fluffy Buer demon to heel.
NOIR: (Approaching carefully) "Grandpa, I need to talk to you about the Cannonball exam."
Sullivan instantly dropped the leash and zoomed over to Noir, his eyes getting all misty.
SULLIVAN: "Noir-chan! The test of brute strength! Oh, my heart is shattering! You'll get sore arms! Do you want me to just talk to your sensei and have you skip it? We can totally arrange a pity pass! Opera, fetch the emergency ice packs!"
NOIR: "No, Grandpa, I want to pass. I want to use magic. Opera said I need to get a higher rank if I want to figure out what I'm supposed to do next."
Sullivan's face went from pure worry to sheer delight in an instant.
SULLIVAN: "Oh, my precious little Archdemon! Wanting to level up! Such admirable gumption! Of course, I'll help! We shall start your special training right away!"
The next day, they were out in the mansion's vast training grounds. A huge, magically weighted iron ball, the kind they use for the exam, sat on a stand.
Noir stood there, trying to wrestle with the huge, chaotic magical force inside him, the one the Ring of Gluttony was constantly trying to contain.
SULLIVAN: (Clapping excitedly) "Now, Noir-chan! The test is all about getting maximum acceleration! Since you still haven't gotten a leash on that big, beautiful magical surge of yours, we'll start with a simple push! Channel what you can, and just shout a spell!"
Noir, nervous about causing another dimensional incident, tried to hold back. But the Ring of Gluttony, still humming with the charge Sullivan had secretly fed it, practically vibrated on his finger.
NOIR: "U-uh... I'll just try to tap it lightly."
SULLIVAN: "No 'light tap,' darling! You have to be dramatic! Yell it out! Imagine the ball going so fast it breaks the sound barrier and makes a little puff cloud!"
Noir sighed, gripping the heavy ball. He took a deep breath, and with sudden focus, he threw the ball while pushing out the only spell-word he could think of.
NOIR: (Shouting with effort) "ZOOM!"
The effect was instantaneous and loud. Noir had meant to send a tiny flicker of magic for a soft launch. Instead, the Ring of Gluttony went into overdrive, taking that flicker and turning it into a giant wave.
A huge, blinding flash of pure, golden-amber magic—the color of his scary power—erupted from Noir's hand. The force didn't just push the ball; it obliterated the air around it. The iron cannonball was swallowed by the light, shooting horizontally across the entire enormous field. It smashed through the target wall at the far end with a terrifying KABOOM!.
Sullivan, who had wisely jumped behind a reinforced barrier, peeked out, shielding his face from the lingering magical energy.
SULLIVAN: "Amazing! Direct hit! The sheer destructive power! Oh, the drama! Opera, call the maintenance crew for the Sector Delta wall!"
Opera, standing nearby with their omnipresent clipboard, simply noted the result: Top Score, but inefficient.
Noir stared at the hole in the wall, his chest heavy with disappointment.
NOIR: (Dropping his hands, frustrated) "No! That's not winning! That was just borrowed speed! That wasn't me!"
SULLIVAN: (Confused) "Borrowed? What do you mean, sweetie? That was your awesome magic!"
NOIR: "No! That was the Ring! It's the one who burst out that power not me and all that extra mana into it! I couldn't even control the output! I want to win the exam with my own power! The chaotic mana from the Ring of Gluttony is constantly harvesting from my dual core! I want to master that instability!"
He pointed straight at the golden ring, which seemed to thrum on his finger, almost agreeing with him. He wanted his success to come from mastering his own inherent, chaotic disaster, not from his grandpa's cheating.
Sullivan looked at his grandson—this magnificent Archdemon who was rejecting the easy way out and demanding to tame the most difficult part of himself.
SULLIVAN: (Beaming with intense pride) "Ah, I see! You want to utilize the full, raw power of your Dual Core! Such raw nerve! Such ambition!"
He clapped his hands together, his mind already racing with engineering solutions.
SULLIVAN: "The only hitch is, darling, if you truly unleashed that much chaotic force, your magnificent new demonic body still isn't fully conditioned for it. The magical kickback from that pure energy surge would tear through your bones and ligaments!"
NOIR: (A fierce glint in his amber eyes) "Then make my hands tougher, Grandpa. Let me hold the power."
Sullivan's smile turned into an intense, focused grin.
SULLIVAN: "Done! I shall enhance your hands, Noir-chan! We will give your physique the durability it needs! Opera, prepare the Reinforcement Materials! We need to reinforce your bone and tissue structure so they can safely channel the destructive energy of your own magnificent, terrifying power! We'll make you unbreakable!"
Sullivan immediately rushed over, placing his hands on Noir's wrists, and began chanting a complex, solidifying spell. Noir stood firm, feeling a cold, deep energy washing over his hands, fusing his bones and tissue with magical resilience. He was preparing to harness the most dangerous force he possessed, a small, fierce hope blooming in his heart that he might finally achieve something genuinely his own.