Chapter 53: Elite Academy entrance evaluation

[STATUS]

Name: [Julian Clair]

Rank: [E] — [49.0%]

Talent: [Unbroken Mask] — [SSS-Grade]

Skills:

• [Unshaken Facade]

• [One Slash] — [D] — [33.7%]

• [Flash Step] — [D] — [1.7%]

• [Unbidden Prophecy] — [D] — [0.6%]

• [Fate’s Blind Spot] — [E] — [0.8%]

• [Frost Edge] — [C] — [14.9%]

Unique Authority:

MASTER

Disciple Slots: [2/5]

’My growth doesn’t make any sense.’

Julian was well aware of it. Because of the system he had, even when he did nothing but laze around, his growth rate was genuinely absurd.

That was exactly what fueled Julian’s desire to give even more help to his disciples, because with a growth rate like this, wouldn’t he eventually become so strong that he’d never have to worry about anything ever again?

With power like that, he could relax however he pleased. After all, no one would dare disturb his rest anymore, and he wouldn’t even need to worry about Invaders if he became strong enough.

So far, Kina had contributed the most to Julian’s growth. But Julian had a feeling that Ilunia would soon start contributing quite a lot too.

Especially since one of her skills tied to prophecy worked passively, meaning that Skill’s growth would occur naturally the moment Ilunia witnessed a prophecy.

So Ilunia didn’t even need to struggle to figure out how to master it. All she had to do was develop within the prophecy itself, try to hold onto it, see further than she was supposed to, and eventually find a way to change what had already been fated.

That alone was enough for Ilunia to make progress.

The progress Julian currently had from that skill was tied to the moment he’d witnessed a prophecy himself. He’d figured out how to deal with it, including trying to hold onto it and see further than he should have, and that was exactly why he’d grown from it.

On the other hand, Fate’s Blind Spot, true to its name, was also an active skill, just used in a different way.

That skill always gave Julian a kind of gut feeling, something like ’use this skill,’ which had happened once during his fight against that D-Rank Invader. And the moment he’d used it, Julian immediately got another strong hunch.

’Use Flash Step and get behind that Invader.’

Julian had acted on instinct, and everything had gone smoothly. True to its name, the skill nudged its user toward one of the more favorable possibilities among those that were still within reach.

Fate had told him, through that powerful hunch, that this was what he needed to do, and thanks to it, Julian had managed to kill that Invader.

If that skill grew further down the line, Julian wondered, would his ability to manipulate fate itself grow even greater along with it?

’This skill is way too overpowered for just an E-Grade. Maybe that’s what it means to be someone with an SSS-Grade Talent.’

They all had skills that made no sense.

That made Julian wonder, if Kina ever reached Rank D someday, would she awaken a new skill as well, or not?

Because there was no way an SSS-Grade Sword Maiden could rely on One Slash alone, right?

Julian let out a quiet breath. His gaze settled on Kina, who was training beneath the large apple tree.

Thanks to his current status as an Honorary Instructor, Julian could now come and go from the Academy freely.

So Julian took the opportunity to watch how Kina trained while he thought things over.

’If Kina grows stronger and her Progress gets returned to me a hundredfold, could I give that understanding back to her somehow?’

The system did return Kina’s Skill Progress to him, but what Julian received was only the end result.

He knew exactly how Frost Edge was supposed to be used. His body and mana could even carry it out instinctively. But Julian never got the entire process, the trial and error, the failures, the moments of realization, that were supposed to lead someone toward that kind of understanding.

The system didn’t hand Julian a complete theory he could recite back to someone else. That understanding felt more like instinct already ingrained in his body.

Julian knew exactly when mana needed to flow, how much pressure to apply, and how a movement was supposed to be executed, but explaining the reasoning behind all of it in words was an entirely different matter.

While watching Kina train, Julian could sometimes tell that something was off, that it didn’t quite match his own understanding. But explaining exactly what he was seeing felt incredibly difficult.

Still, not all the time. Every so often, there were things Julian could actually pick out and understand.

’Her mana’s spreading out... She shouldn’t be doing that.’

After thinking it over briefly, Julian decided to test it.

"Kina, try not to spread your mana out too much, and focus it on your blade’s Edge instead."

"....?" Kina glanced at Julian for a moment, then sank into thought and went back to training, following what he’d told her.

As Kina tried it, Julian watched the mistake grow even worse. She was doing it the wrong way, making things worse than before.

But a moment later, Kina corrected it, as if she’d found a better path forward.

Julian had only pointed out the part that felt off to him. Figuring out how to actually fix it was something Kina had to find on her own.

The Edge around her sword grew sharper, the cold air condensing more densely around the blade, and the result reached something Julian considered better than before.

[System]

Disciple Skill Progress detected.

Skill: [Frost Edge]

Source Skill Rank: [D]

Progress Gained: [+0.70%]

MASTER Authority activated.

Return Multiplier: [100×]

[Status Update]

[Frost Edge] — [C] — [14.9%] → [Frost Edge] — [C] — [21.9%]

’Oh? It worked?’

Julian mulled it over, refusing to let himself sink into pure excitement. Of course, he couldn’t fully hold it back. In his mind, he smiled with deep satisfaction, his lips twitching as he held back a laugh.

Ehem.

Julian coughed, then turned his attention back to Kina, who was beaming brightly.

Kina had secured the approval and recommendation needed to take part in the Elite Academy entrance evaluation.

This was an event that only happened once a year, one that gathered the top students from every academy across Central to come together and go through the evaluation process.

If their talent measured up, they’d be transferred to the Elite Academy, and if their talent was truly exceptional, the great families who always attended the event might even choose to sponsor them and back their future.

The event would be starting soon, next month, to be exact. If Kina succeeded, that same month would also mark the moment Kina left Central, just as Lurker had promised.

So, with some time still left before then, Julian figured he should do everything he could to help push forward every bit of progress in Kina’s skills.

After all, since every great family would be gathering there...

"That means the Mivelo Family will be there too."

Julian murmured quietly.

Would Kina be alright with that?