In the study, Yelo stood beside Hyde, listening to him describe the situation of the current batch of students.
"Yelo, you've been with them for almost a month now. Who do you think will take the top three spots in next month's assessment?" Scholar Hyde asked, leaning back in his chair.
"I think..." He pondered for a moment.
"Firstly, Iona's strength far surpasses everyone else's, so she should be the undisputed first place."
"Among the other students, Soren and Barron are both very strong in both Secret History studies and combat, and are very likely to take second and third place overall."
"As for the remaining students, while some have certain advantages, they only excel in one area. For example, Ray and Karen are stronger in combat, but their Secret History is much weaker."
"Miss Tia is very good at Secret History studies, but she's far too weak in combat. Komiya's Secret History is decent, but her advantage isn't obvious, and her combat skills are only slightly better than Miss Tia's."
"Is that so?" Scholar Hyde showed a smile that was hard to decipher.
"This... please enlighten me, teacher." Yelo bowed to ask for guidance.
"I won't tell you the answer in advance, but this time you might have misjudged."
"No matter, anyone else would probably misjudge too, after all, that child is too low-key."
Yelo didn't know which student Scholar Hyde was referring to, so he could only go through the names in his mind again and again, searching for possibilities.
Toss? He's also the son of a noble, and Viscount Snow's nephew. Could he be a dark horse? No, with his flamboyant personality, he would never be low-key.
Valerie? Even less likely. That fellow is Iona's shadow now, and she hasn't inherited Knight Leven's physique and skills at all.
Mike? His combat techniques are all self-taught, and he's been forced to correct them by the instructors during this time, training late every day. Could it be him? However, his Secret History scores are truly not commendable, unless he improves in other areas to get bonus points.
Miss Tia's knowledge is very good, she's very intelligent, but unfortunately, she's been frail since childhood, and I haven't seen her hold a sword, so she probably can't fight at all. After a few thoughts, Yelo decided to cross the girl with glasses off the list.
There was no possibility for anyone else; they were either too foolish or too mediocre.
So, Mike is the most likely to have been overlooked. He has indeed been working hard to catch up during this time, and his daily training is always the most active, Yelo evaluated in his heart...
A week later, only three days remained until the assessment.
Inside the training ground, the sharp-eyed youth vigorously swung his iron sword, sweat dripping like beads, soaking into the dust on the ground.
After another round of the swordsmanship taught by the instructor, his movements were already exceptionally proficient, forming a kind of muscle memory.
'Basic Swordsmanship Lv.3', that was his approximate current level.
After wiping the sweat with a towel, he came to the well, drew a bucket of well water, poured it over himself to dissipate the heat, and let out a comfortable roar.
"Hey, Mike, training again today?" A tall figure walked over. His name was 'Ray', and he was the tallest of all the students, about 1.9 meters tall and over 200 pounds.
"How about sparring with me today?" Ray waved the large hammer in his hand, feeling a bit eager.
Even with several layers of soft cloth wrapped around it, one strike from this hammer would cause indescribable internal injuries, so other students were unwilling to spar with him.
"Phew, alright, but I need to rest for a bit." Mike took a deep breath, adjusting his state.
"Okay, I'll wait for you." Ray scratched his head a bit foolishly, and the two went to a corner of the training ground to sit for a while... On the other side, Barron was also sparring with another noble student, practicing the newly learned swordsmanship.
After a few moves, Barron easily defeated his opponent.
"Although Instructor Burke always has a sour face, the swordsmanship he teaches is indeed very practical." He put away his sword, striking a rather elegant pose as he commented.
Barron's talent was already good, and under the rigorous training during this period, his strength had improved significantly, so much so that even Soren occasionally lost to him.
"Now Barron, you're going to get second place." Another noble student teased.
"Second place..." Barron nodded slightly.
"As the closest score to Miss Iona, I'm sure it will make her see me in a new light." His pursuit of Iona was already known to everyone.
"It definitely will. You are the rightful heir to a Baron, and although Iona's status was prominent in the past, now she's..." The student shook his head as he spoke.
Within the nobility, there were also class divisions. The highest status usually belonged to the eldest legitimate son who could inherit the title, followed by the second sons of great nobles, and then those with noble blood who could not inherit a title.
"Forget it, let's not talk about these things. I heard that Soren has been practicing a special ability recently. Do you have any news?" Barron asked directly.
"That I don't know, you'd have to ask the commoner students." There was little interaction between noble and commoner students, an invisible barrier.
"Soren's father is a 'Tier 2 - Blood Law' warrior, so it should be his father who taught him."
"However, Soren hasn't been able to condense a 'Tier 1' essence yet, so the abilities he can cultivate are very limited."
"Blood Law essence..." Barron thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"Besides the Breathing Technique, I will not cultivate Blood Law attribute abilities. This is inconsistent with my family's heritage." He was going to become a knight in the future, and he couldn't go astray.
"It's a pity that most 'Castle' essence abilities can only be learned after condensing a 'Tier 1 - Castle' essence." Is there no other way, Barron thought.
He didn't want to lose to Soren; after all, he was a noble. If he lost to a commoner in the assessment, he would be utterly humiliated, especially since this highly anticipated assessment's results would immediately spread throughout Cinderstone City's noble circles. Not only would it disgrace his family, but if Iona saw it, wouldn't that be... Thinking of this, Barron felt a wave of irritation.
No, I have to go back and ask Dad to see if he can find a solution for me. I'm his heir, if I lose face, he loses face too... After resting, Mike and Ray went to one side of the training ground, each taking their weapons.
"Here I come, Mike." Ray swung his large hammer, creating a whooshing sound.
Such a large hammer... Mike glanced at it, quickly jumped away, widening the distance, avoiding the opponent's attack.
"Don't run." Ray swung his hammer again and followed, but fortunately his pace wasn't fast, so Mike could always dodge.
However, constantly dodging wouldn't lead to victory. Mike stared intently at his opponent's movements, trying to find an opening.
When Ray swung his hammer again, he suddenly charged forward, his sword piercing directly into the opponent's waist and abdomen. The specially made wooden sword pressed into Ray's training leather armor, causing the opponent to clutch his body in pain and squat down, finally sitting on the ground.
"Ouch, again." Ray rubbed himself, then got back up.
"Heh, alright." Mike laughed, the two feeling a sense of mutual appreciation.
Because they were both commoners, both started from a lower point, and both trained hard, their relationship slowly grew closer.
The two continued to spar back and forth on the training ground, again and again, until the sun set and the sky grew dark... "That's enough for today." Mike, smelling of sweat, washed his body with water and said to Ray, who was doing the same thing beside him.
"Okay."
After speaking, the two walked out of the training ground in unspoken agreement. Today, they were again the last to leave.
Gazing at the dark red fiery clouds in the sky, a feeling of emotion rose in Mike's heart.
Perhaps, a life like this isn't so bad after all.
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