The silence covering Testing Ground No. 4 began to be replaced by a rising murmur, like a disturbed beehive. Every pair of eyes shifted from shock to apprehension as they looked toward young man No. 099, who had just cleaved a boss-level Stone Giant with a chipped iron sword and with a single strike.
The instructor adjusted his tie slightly, trying to regain his composure. He stepped down from the control platform, walking through the shimmering mana dust that had yet to dissipate, until he stopped directly in front of Knight. At a distance of only three meters, Knight could feel a massive pressure unlike that of the simulated monsters... this was the pressure of the "real deal" who had survived countless battlefields.
"Knight, is it?" the instructor said, his voice shifting from fierce to a flat tone laced with gravity. "Your score in the first round is higher than the system can evaluate. According to the regulations of Zenith Academy, if a genius who exceeds the criteria appears..."
He raised his right hand. Suddenly, the space around him began to warp, and a steel-grey box appeared out of thin air. It opened, releasing a massive, blunt iron greatsword into his grip.
"You have the right to skip the third round of the interview and attitude assessment immediately, provided you can 'stand your ground' against me in this special trial." The instructor tightened his grip on the sword. "The condition is simple... if you can make me take even a single step back, you will be admitted as a Special Scholarship student immediately. But if you lose or fail to show me that you are 'worthy,' you must start over at the third round like everyone else."
Knight stared at the man. The atmosphere surrounding the instructor wasn't cold like his own; it was the scorching heat of iron forged in a red-hot fire. 'Are you serious...' Knight took a long breath, but within his pitch-black eyes, a faint silver light flickered once more. He wasn't afraid; on the contrary, his blood was pumping with an excitement he had never felt before.
"Challenge accepted." Knight took a ready stance. The chipped iron sword in his hand was lowered, its tip pointing to the ground. A silver aura began to crystallize into thin scales of ice around the blade once more.
There was no signal to start the fight. There was only the lightning-fast movement of the instructor. The giant sword in his hand traced a violent arc, plunging toward Knight from above. The air pressure was so heavy that the ground around Knight's feet caved in.
Clang!
The sound of clashing metal echoed throughout the dome. Knight didn't dodge; he used his subpar sword to take the hit head-on. The boy's body was pressed down until his feet sank into the carbon flooring, yet the cloth-wrapped sword did not shatter as everyone expected.
"Ho... you blocked my blade with that piece of junk?" The instructor smirked, applying more pressure.
Knight didn't answer. He angled his blade slightly to deflect the impact, following the instincts gained from the trial, then spun and lunged into the opening beneath the instructor's arm. The old man's sword swept through the air like a frigid silver line.
Whoosh!
The instructor tilted his body, narrowly avoiding it. He felt a cold chill graze his cheek until it drew blood. "Fast... and cold-blooded!" He threw a straight right punch, sending Knight flying several meters back, while staring at the small wound on his face in awe.
Knight scrambled up and lunged again, aiming precisely at the proctor's vital points, but the attack was parried without much difficulty. The instructor swung his sword in a counter, forcing Knight to leap back to reset his stance.
"This ends now!"
Knight lunged forward once more. This time, he didn't just slash. The silver aura around him exploded into a frost mist that blanketed a ten-meter radius, blinding everyone. The middle-aged man in dark grey widened his eyes as he found that the pressure that had once dominated the field had vanished, replaced by a sharp, piercing emptiness.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sounds of rapid clashing rang out from within the white mist. Every time the blades met, the silver aura ate away at the mana in the instructor's giant sword until cracks began to form. Knight appeared from a dark corner of the mist, pointing the tip of his sword at the instructor's heart.
The instructor instinctively raised his sword to defend, but Knight didn't thrust directly. He spun his body, utilizing the centrifugal force from the distorted center of gravity of his low-quality sword to his advantage, slamming the blade into the hilt of the giant sword with all his might.
BOOM!
The instructor's giant sword was knocked off course, causing him to lose his balance until he had to... take one step back to keep from falling.
The frost mist gradually faded, leaving only a boy gasping for breath in the center of the yard and an instructor standing still, staring at his own retreated footprints.
"..." Silence fell again, but this time it was the silence of acceptance.
"I took a step back, didn't I..." the instructor muttered as he dissolved the giant sword back into its box. He looked up at Knight with eyes full of expectation. "Number 099, Knight... you passed the special trial. Congratulations. This year's 'Pioneer' scholarship holder is you."
Knight slowly sheathed his sword.
The atmosphere inside the dome of Testing Ground No. 4 fell into silence once more. However, this time it wasn't a silence of doubt, but one of respect for the victor. Knight stood there, breathing slowly, trying to suppress the silver aura still flickering around him. The freezing cold that had radiated outward began to retract into his body, leaving only thin frost patterns on the concrete floor that were starting to melt.
"Thank you..." Knight said flatly. Though his body protested with fatigue from forcing the use of his incomplete power, his gaze remained calm and steady.
"Don't thank me, kid. Your skill proved everything," the instructor said, walking over to clap Knight on the shoulder. The force of the pat carried full recognition. "Physical strength without a trace of mana mixed in, yet so sharp... I've never seen anyone train their 'Aura' to be this concentrated before."
Truth be told, Knight could hardly distinguish the fundamentals of these powers. He had heard of many things: Energy, Mana, Aura, and so on. It was so much that he could barely tell them apart. He only knew that what he used frequently was called "Aura," according to the memories of the Red Cross General.
But he didn't know how it differed from Mana or Energy.
As he was about to step through the dome's exit, the system window he had opened in the cafe popped up in front of him again. But this time, it was different.
[ Heroic Deed Recorded ]
[ New Title: 'Giant Slayer' ]
[ Special Effect: Strength is doubled when facing enemies larger than yourself. ]
[ Class: (Analyzing suitability based on combat style...) ]
'A title... I actually got one,' Knight frowned at the translucent screen. 'And it says the Class is still being analyzed. That means what Freya said was true; the Tower's system has begun to recognize my identity.'
'But how does this title correlate with my box? My box is Uriel, who just sleeps soundly and won't let me use any skills,' Knight thought with suspicion. 'Whatever. It hasn't made sense from the start anyway.'
Knight stepped out into the fresh air outside the dome. The afternoon sun was still doing its job well, but the heavy feeling in his heart from when he first entered the academy had vanished. He lightly stroked the bandages on the hilt of the old man's sword.
"I've taken one step, old man... I have a place to sleep and free food now," he murmured to himself.
However, as he was walking toward the dormitory registration building, he sensed someone leaning against a pillar in the shadow of the administration building. A slender figure in a dark blue school uniform moved out of the shadows, her violet-blue eyes fixed intently on him.
"Congratulations," Freya said, her voice still indifferent but carrying a hidden meaning. "But watch your back. You really made them lose face." Freya pointed back toward the dome, where those from noble families were staring at Knight with eyes full of envy and malice.
"...Is that so?" Knight replied with a shrug. "If they can handle a Stone Giant, then I'll consider them a threat."
"I see... In that case, there shouldn't be a problem. Those people wouldn't even be chosen by a box if they hadn't inherited one," Freya said in a cold voice, though not as distant as she had been a week ago.
"Have fun with your school life," Freya said before walking away silently.
"You know that girl?" the instructor, who had followed him out to lead him to the dorm registration, asked as they walked.
"I suppose you could call us acquaintances. She was the one who suggested I try for a scholarship at this school," Knight said, looking around to familiarize himself with his surroundings.
"Is that so... that 'problem child' actually recommended someone?" The instructor spoke with a tone of half-belief.
"Problem child? Why do you call her that?" Knight felt slightly surprised that someone as beautiful as her would be called a problem child. Was she a problem because she was too beautiful?
"...It's the name everyone calls Freya. I admit, that girl is a genius among geniuses. You only see someone with that kind of potential once in several decades." The instructor let out a heavy sigh. "But she wasn't chosen by any box at all. And she doesn't even care that the boxes didn't pick her even though her family's wealth could easily buy one."
'Buy a box? Boxes can be bought and sold?' Knight pondered. New information was flooding his head without pause.
Before long, they arrived at the dormitory registration building.
The registration building looked modern, a stark contrast to the ruins Knight had just left. Blue LED strips ran across the ceiling, quickly identifying users. The faint scent of air freshener made Knight feel stiff, causing him to tighten his grip on the sword at his waist.
"Fill out your profile on this hologram panel," the instructor pointed to the terminal. "As a Pioneer Scholar, you have the right to choose a dorm in 'District Three,' which is the general student area... but I recommend you choose the very last dorm in the district."
"Why?" Knight asked as his fingertips touched the blue light panel that popped up.
"Dormitory Thirteen... it's the furthest and the oldest." The instructor turned to lock eyes with Knight. "Those 'noble' kids on the balcony staring at you earlier? They're high-ranking nobles from District One. If you want time to practice that strange Aura of yours without people spying on you or looking for a fight every five minutes, that's the quietest place... or you could call it the place that was forgotten."
Knight gave a small smirk. 'A place that was forgotten... suits someone like me.' He didn't hesitate to select Dormitory 13 immediately.
[ Dormitory Registration Complete ]
Accommodation: Dormitory No. 13 (District Three)
Status: Type 1 Scholar (Full Scholarship)
"All done," Knight said, taking the digital keycard printed from the machine.
"Good... get some rest. Tomorrow's orientation is the real deal." The instructor patted Knight's shoulder once more before walking away. "Remember, Knight. In this tower, knowledge is the sword, but instinct is the shield. Don't let the system swallow your identity whole."
Knight watched the instructor's back until he disappeared from sight, then turned and headed toward Dormitory Thirteen.