A bucket of water was dumped over Valença. She shuddered, and when she slowly raised her head, she found Enrico, Elian, and Caelan holding the bucket while smiling. Right behind them, Serenya watched the scene with her usual contemptuous smile.
"Do you understand now, commoner? There may be one or two strong commoners in this academy, but that doesn't mean you're one of them."
Valença trembled upon hearing those words. The entire classroom remained in absolute silence. Not even the student ranked 121 dared to say anything. Everyone knew the power and influence of the Malquess family, and no one wanted to pick a fight with Serenya.
Enrico took a few steps forward and began lightly slapping Valença's face as she struggled to hold back her tears.
"Why are you crying? We're just joking. Come on... smile."
In the village where she had been born, Valença had been considered a true genius. Alongside Kai, she carried the hopes of all the villagers. When she entered Astrong Academy, she had reached Rank 134, a result that filled her with pride. Even so, in that place, all of that achievement seemed to mean absolutely nothing.
"Stop."
To everyone's surprise, a punch struck Enrico's face, making him stumble back a few steps. As soon as he regained his balance, he looked up and faced Kai, who had just entered the classroom.
"How dare you..."
"I won't let you keep bothering Valença."
Kai held Enrico's gaze without showing any fear. Behind him, Valença watched him with concern. Kai had just reached Rank 150 and was also a constant target of Enrico's provocations.
'As always... he's brave. But Enrico is Rank 125... he won't win. I don't want him to get hurt because of me.'
She discreetly grabbed Kai's shirt, trying to make him step back.
Enrico walked until he was standing face-to-face with him. The two stared at each other for a few seconds before Enrico broke into an arrogant smile.
"If that's the case... I challenge you to a duel."
Kai accepted without hesitation.
"Fine. And if I win, you'll stop doing this to anyone."
Enrico let out a mocking laugh before returning to Serenya, Elian, and Caelan.
"I'll make you regret those words, commoner. The fight will be in three weeks."
Valença watched the four walk away before turning back to Kai. Her concern was obvious.
"Kai... you're going to get hurt."
Kai smiled to reassure her.
"Don't worry. No matter what happens... I'll win."
Valença wanted to believe those words. If Kai really managed to defeat Enrico, perhaps she would also find the courage to stand up to those who treated her that way.
And that was exactly what happened.
After that day, whenever Enrico tried to provoke her, she found the strength to answer back. In addition, Elaris insisted that he never trained and spent most of his time simply bothering other students. Little by little, the fear she felt began to disappear.
At least until two weeks before the duel.
Enrico had changed.
He no longer spent his days harassing other students like before. That sudden change caused an unsettling thought to appear in Valença's mind.
'What if he's training?'
When she shared her concern with Elaris, the student council president reassured her. She said she had never seen him training and that, as a precaution, she had even sent other council members to keep an eye on him.
After hearing that, Valença decided to trust her words.
However, when the day of the duel finally arrived, she did not witness Kai's victory.
She witnessed his complete defeat.
And at that moment, all the fear she believed she had overcome returned to consume her heart as she desperately ran to help him back to his feet.
'Damn... I'm out of mana. Good thing the plan worked.'
[You were amazing. I really didn't expect it to work.]
'If it hadn't worked, I would've been completely screwed.'
Enrico breathed discreetly as he watched the protagonist stand up. Kai wiped the blood running from the corner of his mouth, the only injury he had truly suffered during the entire fight.
'After everything I did... was that all the damage I managed to cause? He really is the protagonist.'
Even though he had won, Enrico couldn't help thinking that. The gap between them was still enormous. With this defeat, Kai would probably grow even faster than he had in the original story.
'Even so... I still need to make him stronger.'
"Alright, students. The winner is Enrico, so the rankings remain unchanged. Therefore..."
Before Borem could finish speaking, Enrico stepped forward.
"Your swordsmanship is far too predictable."
His words directed at Kai caused the entire arena to fall silent.
Sir Drenholm immediately turned to look at Enrico. Valença also stared at him and opened her mouth to respond.
"You..."
"What do you mean by that?"
Before Valença could finish, Kai interrupted her. His eyes remained fixed on Enrico without the slightest sign of irritation. On the contrary, he seemed genuinely interested in understanding what he meant.
"You're just copying the movements you see Sir Drenholm perform during training, aren't you? That's exactly why I was able to predict several of your attacks. I've been observing the way Sir Drenholm fights for a long time."
Kai and Sir Drenholm both showed surprise at the same time.
"But there's a problem. You don't have his level, so you can't perfectly reproduce that style of swordsmanship. As a result, your movements become far too obvious. Besides, you try to attack from behind almost every time."
It was a flaw Sir Drenholm himself would only notice some time later. In the original story, he would personally call Kai aside and explain that mistake, beginning a major evolution in his swordsmanship.
'Don't look at me like that... I need to change the story little by little.'
Enrico maintained an indifferent expression despite everyone's surprise as he continued.
"You should look for a sword style from your own family... assuming a commoner's family even has one."
Kai still didn't know the truth about his own past. His father had been a great hero and, before dying, had left his son both his sword and an exclusive swordsmanship style. Even without the original owner's full power, that technique remained extremely effective and was perfectly suited for lower-level knights.
Sir Drenholm and Borem looked back at Enrico after that final provocation. Both seemed intrigued, while Virelle merely watched the scene with a faint smile.
Kai placed a hand on his chin and spent a few seconds reflecting on those words.
"Is that what you think?"
"If you can't even understand that much, then becoming a true knight will be much harder than you imagine."
Enrico turned around and walked over to Serenya, Elian, and Caelan, who were still standing there, clearly surprised by what they had just witnessed.
"Since when did you learn that ability to split a fireball? Even that Fire Fist was already a surprise for us."
"I told you I was preparing something in my room."
As soon as they heard his answer, Elian and Caelan started asking several questions at the same time, curious to find out what Enrico had been doing during those weeks. Serenya, on the other hand, remained silent. She simply watched him carefully, still unable to believe what she had seen.
'I thought he was just joking and had only learned Fire Fist... but now he's actually training seriously? What did that family do to him that Sunday?'
Her expression became more serious for a few moments. A little farther back, Elaris, who had stepped away to watch the end of the duel, was also observing Enrico suspiciously. For the first time since she had met him, she was no longer certain she could see through everything he did.
Meanwhile, Sir Drenholm approached Kai.
"He's right. You still need to become stronger to use my techniques properly. You learned my movements very quickly, but you still don't have the skill to reproduce them correctly."
"I understand, sir."
Beside them, Borem turned his attention to Valença. The girl kept her head lowered, unable to get the comparison between herself and Enrico out of her mind.
'If even Kai couldn't... then I definitely couldn't. We both use fire magic, but I'm still far below him.'
Noticing what was going through Valença's mind, Borem placed a hand on her shoulder. In his opinion, Kai's defeat had been unbelievable. After all, during all that time, he had never seen Enrico train. To him, that could only mean one thing.
"Comparing yourself to true prodigies is something you shouldn't do."
Valença, however, barely seemed to hear those words. She continued staring at the ground, lost in her own thoughts.
Meanwhile, Virelle simply watched the entire scene. For a moment, she almost started laughing, but merely smiled faintly before turning around and walking toward the arena's exit.
'Well... this actually ends up being good for him, doesn't it? Now people are going to start calling him a prodigy just because he defeated another prodigy.'
That was interesting for her as well.
The greater Enrico's fame became, the more students would try to challenge him. And the more challenges he faced, the more opportunities she would have to observe just how far that boy could evolve.
Outside the arena, Enrico walked behind Serenya, accompanied by Elian and Caelan.
"I knew you would win. After all, you're my subordinate."
Caelan crossed his arms and pointed at himself with a confident smile.
"Just so you know, Enrico... my Rank is still higher than yours."
"I think he could beat you."
"Elian! You should be on my side! At least I'm still ahead of Enrico!"
Hearing Caelan's indignant complaint, Enrico merely smiled faintly as he watched them. At the same time they remained confident, they also seemed much more relaxed.
'Their personalities have improved a little.'
Enrico continued walking while reflecting on everything that had happened during the duel. A short while later, he returned to the dormitory accompanied by Serenya, Elian, and Caelan. Along the way, however, the group split up, since Serenya's dormitory was in a different direction.
[Congratulations! With this, you have completed the first arc, and the mission has been completed. In addition, I received an update.]
'Wait... there are missions? And what do you mean by an update?'
[Look. You can now view the attributes of monsters and of any person who is in the same Circle as you.]
Curious, Enrico turned his gaze toward Serenya. At that very moment, a black screen appeared before his eyes.
Name: Serenya Malquess
Magic: Control — Circle Zero 79%
Mana Amount: 209
Unique Ability: ?????? / ??????
Soul: 71
'She has two Unique Abilities?'
The surprise was genuine. It was already extremely rare for someone to awaken even a single Unique Ability, so possessing two was simply extraordinary. Depending on what those abilities were capable of, Serenya could become a key figure in the fight against the Evil Gods. Now that he knew this, Enrico had one more reason to stay by her side.
Enrico turned his attention back to the System, still somewhat surprised by this new function.
'You're finally being useful?'
[...Do you want me to go back to how I was before?]
Without thinking twice, Enrico knelt on the ground and slammed his forehead against the floor.
'Forgive me, System-sama, for my rudeness. This foolish host has overstepped his bounds.'
[That's right, human. Kneel before me like the worm you are.]
Enrico bowed several times in a row, and when he finished, he rubbed his hands together with a mischievous smile.
'So, System-sama... what's my reward?'
[Hmm... it's the Sun Heart technique, which makes you compatible with Solar Magic.]
Enrico froze on the spot.
'System... as far as I know, that technique is used by Apollo and is considered the final evolution of fire magic...'
[Yes. Amazing, isn't it? You should thank me.]
'System... that's a technique whose foundation can only be used by someone at the Eighth Circle without exploding... and whose complete form can only be used by someone at the Ninth Circle.'
[Yes. So, from now on, you're going to have to work much harder. I love that.]
The Sun Heart Technique is a mystical and extremely advanced technique created by the god Apollo. Its purpose is to serve as a bridge of compatibility, allowing someone without a natural affinity for Solar Magic to withstand, absorb, and eventually manipulate this type of energy, which is normally destructive to any unprepared body.
Solar Magic is the manifestation of the sun's pure energy: intense, relentless, and filled with a heat capable of consuming everything around it. As it is considered divine magic, it requires not only a body prepared to endure its temperature and magical radiation, but also a soul synchronized with the solar "frequency" present within the magical heart.
Without this compatibility, any mage who attempts to use Solar Magic will have their own body burned from the inside out.
The technique operates in three main phases, each responsible for gradually adapting the user to the nature of Solar Magic.
First Phase: Inner Incandescence — Fusion with the Solar Spark.
The user concentrates all of their mana in the center of their chest, where the magical heart is located, and creates a permanent core of heat, forming a small artificial sun within their own body. This process simulates the effects of Solar Magic on a smaller scale.
Over time, the body begins adapting to high magical temperatures, strengthening the mana channels so they can withstand increasingly aggressive forms of energy.
Second Phase: Soul Synchronization — Covenant with the Solar Spirit.
The user enters a state of deep meditation or extreme combat, during which their soul must endure a trial composed entirely of sunlight.
If successful, they awaken a special characteristic, such as Solar Resistance or Solar Conductivity. From that moment onward, their soul begins to slowly change, becoming receptive to the divine nature of the sun.
Third Phase: Radiant Heart — Partial Solar Convergence.
This is the most dangerous stage of all.
During this phase, the user permanently fuses their mana with traces of solar mana. If they survive the process, their magical heart begins vibrating at the same frequency as Solar Magic.
Only from that point onward can they use basic solar spells without risking self-destruction. The higher their Magic Circle, the greater their control over this energy and the lower the risk involved. If they attempt this stage before reaching the Eighth Circle, the probability of an internal explosion is extremely high.
Even so, the technique does not grant complete mastery over Solar Magic. It merely provides partial compatibility. Afterward, the user must still learn and train Solar Magic normally. Furthermore, it requires an extraordinary amount of willpower, as it is said that the pain of the adaptation is comparable to having one's own heart burned every single day.
"I can only acquire this in the Eighth Circle, so tell me... why did you give me a technique like this now?"
[Because I thought it was cool.]
Several veins bulged on Enrico's forehead.
[Relax, relax. I still have one more thing.]
"What is it?"
[It's an agreement... or maybe "pact" is a better word. You'll be able to make two every time you complete two arcs of the original story.]
"So I can ask for something in exchange for something else?"
[More or less.]
"What do you mean by 'more or less'?"
Enrico looked at the System with a confused expression.
[Every two arcs, you choose one condition of the pact, and I choose the second one together with them. After that, they have to approve the pact.]
"I think you should give those people a name. That way you won't have to keep saying 'them' all the time."
[Alright. Let's call them the Constellations.]
"You've been reading manhwa, haven't you?"
The System remained silent for a few seconds.
[Anyway, since this is the beginning, the Constellations allowed us to skip ahead by one arc. But this will only happen this once.]
Enrico lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. If things really worked that way, he would have to think carefully about every choice he made in the future.
'Maybe, with this, I'll be able to keep up with the protagonists.'
[Like I said, every pact must be approved by the Constellations. But since this is the first one we're offering, they decided to grant something that would truly be useful for you.]
A new screen appeared before Enrico. After reading its contents, he slightly raised an eyebrow.
'It may not seem like much... but this is going to help me a lot.'
Since the opportunity had presented itself, there was no reason to refuse.
"I accept."
An excited smile appeared on his face.
At that very moment, in another dormitory, a door opened and Kai slowly entered the room. He sat down on the bed and remained silent for a few moments, remembering the words Enrico had spoken after the duel.
"He's right... but where am I supposed to find something like that?"
Suddenly, he remembered that his father had left behind a diary before he died. Throughout all those years, however, he had never managed to open it.
Kai knelt beside the bed, searched for a few moments, and pulled out an old diary with a gray cover. He tried opening it once again, but, as always, it remained completely sealed.
"Why won't it open?"
Without any strength left, he rested his head on the diary and let out a long sigh.
"I lost so easily... is the difference between Enrico and me really that great? What if the others are even stronger than him?"
For the first time, Kai began to doubt himself.
Then he felt something change.
Lifting his head, he realized the gray cover had disappeared. The diary had now become completely white.
"What?"
With his heart racing, he slowly opened the first page.
Hero's Swordsmanship.
Kai's eyes widened. Without wasting a single second, he turned on the room's light and began reading the diary with a determined expression.
"I won't fall behind."
Elsewhere in the academy, the student council president was researching everything she could find about Enrico.
"I thought he was completely useless... Has he been pretending this whole time? If that's the case, I'll have to change my plans."
She slowly closed the book and walked toward the window. Looking outside, she saw Valença sitting beneath a tree with her head lowered and a dejected expression ever since Kai's defeat.
"It seems she won't be useful. If she's going to give up because of this, then she doesn't deserve my attention."
Elaris watched the girl for a few moments before returning to her desk. Raising her eyes toward the dark sky beyond the window, she strengthened her resolve even further.
"If it's to save my country, I'll form an alliance with anyone who has the potential to become one of my warriors."