The next day Rio headed toward the Vice Headmaster's office.
The upper administrative district of Mythralis Academy was far quieter compared to the rest of the academy. The usual sounds of training swords and mana explosions no longer echoed through the halls here. Instead, the atmosphere felt refined. Controlled.
Almost oppressive.
Rio soon arrived before the reception hall where a sharp-eyed woman sat behind a floating crystal desk organizing documents.
Before he could even speak—
she glanced up briefly.
"Vice Headmaster Christopher Nova is currently not inside his office."
Rio blinked slightly.
"Do you know where he might be?"
The woman placed a hand against her chin thoughtfully.
"Hm…"
"Head toward the South Tower."
"He's most likely training the Imperial Prodigies right now."
Rio's brows narrowed slightly.
"The Imperial Prodigies?"
The woman looked mildly surprised.
"Hm? You haven't heard of them?"
"Ah… I'm still quite new here."
Understanding flashed across her face afterward.
"Oh."
"You must be the new assistant professor Evelisse mentioned."
"Yes."
The woman nodded lightly before continuing.
"The Imperial Prodigies are the elites of Mythralis Academy."
"Lucinda Valen."
"Isolde Viremont."
"Joseph Valoris."
"And the Imperial Twins themselves."
"William Astryx and Anastasia Astryx."
Rio listened quietly.
Meanwhile the woman continued calmly.
"The chosen elites are personally supervised by the Headmaster at times."
"But with him currently absent…"
"…Vice Headmaster Christopher appears to have taken over their training temporarily."
A faint sigh escaped her afterward.
"And without Raze around, he probably wanted to check if they've started slacking."
Rio narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Raze?"
The woman looked at him strangely now.
"Huh!?"
"…You seriously haven't heard of him?"
Rio awkwardly shook his head.
The woman stared at him for a few seconds before sighing.
"Well… whatever."
"Raze is their leader.."
"He is the greatest prodigy of Mythralis Academy."
"The top among the top."
"He's also the personal disciple of the Headmaster himself."
Rio quietly listened.
Then—
the woman casually added,
"He also awakened a quadruple elemental affinity."
Rio's eyes widened instantly.
"A quadruple affinity?"
Even within his memories of the original novel—
Samuel Crimson, humanity's strongest prodigy from Verilian and the main character, only possessed triple elemental affinity.
And that alone had already made him monstrous.
Now there was someone in Astryx with four?
Inside his spirit space—
Astarax lazily yawned.
[Why are you acting so shocked?]
[Don't you possess every affinity yourself?]
Rio twitched slightly.
Uh…
Well yeah.
But that wasn't exactly normal either.
Meanwhile the clerk noticed Rio zoning out and lightly coughed.
"Anyways."
"You should head toward the South Tower."
"The Vice Headmaster should still be there."
Rio nodded afterward.
"Thank you."
Then—
he turned and headed deeper into the academy.
Toward the place where the strongest youths of Astryx were currently training.
...
As Rio entered the South Tower—
his eyes widened slightly.
The entire tower was hollow from the inside, functioning more like an enormous combat arena than a building. Massive obsidian pillars stretched upward endlessly while dozens of floating platforms surrounded the central battlefield.
The pressure within the room alone felt suffocating.
Then—
a cold voice echoed throughout the tower.
"Pathetic."
Rio's gaze slowly lifted.
At the center of the battlefield stood a silver-haired man wearing a dark obsidian academy uniform trimmed with silver lines.
Sharp blue eyes.
Cold expression.
And within his hand—
a sword rested casually against his shoulder.
Christopher Nova.
In front of him—
stood five battered students.
Lucinda Valen's silver hair was slightly disheveled while frost continuously leaked from the sword in her hand. Blood dripped slowly down the side of her forehead as she struggled to steady her breathing.
Joseph Valoris was already on one knee, barely conscious.
The Imperial Twins weren't any better.
William Astryx knelt heavily while gripping his sword planted into the ground just to keep himself standing.
Meanwhile Anastasia had already collapsed entirely beside her shattered bow.
And then—
there was Isolde Viremont.
Even while clutching her staff tightly—
her entire body trembled from exhaustion as she glared toward Christopher stubbornly.
Christopher's cold gaze swept across all of them.
"Disappointing."
"Without Raze around…"
"…you all become this weak?"
A heavy silence filled the tower.
Then Christopher continued calmly.
"No."
"Weak would still imply potential."
"You're below even that."
The students clenched their teeth hearing those words.
Especially Lucinda.
Suddenly—
she stepped forward once more.
Frost exploded beneath her feet as she rushed toward Christopher again.
William immediately followed behind her.
Their coordination was flawless.
Lucinda attacked first from the front while William moved toward Christopher's blind spot simultaneously.
Perfect teamwork.
And yet—
Christopher didn't even move his feet.
In one smooth motion—
he grabbed both of them by their faces.
BOOM.
The sound echoed violently throughout the tower.
Then—
he slammed them directly into the wall.
The entire structure shook.
Cracks spread across the obsidian stone instantly.
Rio's eyes narrowed slightly.
Fast.
Far too fast.
Christopher casually released them afterward as if throwing away garbage.
Lucinda crashed onto the ground coughing blood while William struggled to even breathe.
Christopher still hadn't even looked remotely serious.
Rio quietly observed him.
Strong.
Around S+ Rank physically.
But the pressure surrounding him…
It felt wrong somehow.
Different.
Inside his spirit space—
Astarax suddenly spoke.
[He stands at the threshold.]
Rio blinked slightly.
[Threshold?]
[Yes.]
Astarax's ancient voice echoed calmly.
[That man could ascend into SS Rank whenever he desires.]
[Yet he intentionally refuses to.]
Rio frowned slightly.
Huh?
Why would anyone hold themselves back from becoming an SS Rank?
Before he could think further—
the atmosphere suddenly shifted.
Christopher finally turned his head slightly.
Cold blue eyes landed directly onto Rio.
At the same time—
all the others noticed him as well.
Lucinda.
William.
Anastasia.
Joseph.
Isolde.
Every gaze within the tower suddenly fell onto him.
Christopher's cold gaze shifted away from Rio briefly before returning toward the five battered prodigies.
Then finally—
he spoke.
"You must be Zio Norken the assistant professor?"
"Yes."
Christopher rested the sword against his shoulder casually.
"And why exactly are you looking for me?"
Rio stepped forward before handing him the folded letter Evelisse had written earlier.
Christopher lazily opened it.
His eyes skimmed across the contents casually at first—
then suddenly—
his brows lifted slightly.
Interesting.
A faint smirk slowly appeared on his face afterward.
That alone shocked the Imperial Prodigies more than anything else today.
Because Christopher Nova rarely reacted to anything.
Yet now—
he looked amused.
Before Rio could even speak—
Christopher suddenly vanished.
Rio's eyes widened instantly.
A fist.
Straight toward his face.
Rio instinctively twisted his body backward.
BOOM.
The air exploded beside his head as Christopher's punch barely missed him.
Rio landed several meters away immediately.
What the fuck?!
Meanwhile Christopher casually stood there as if nothing happened.
"It seems another arrogant brat has entered my tower."
Then—
he suddenly threw a sword toward Rio.
CLANG.
The blade stabbed directly into the ground before him.
Christopher's blue eyes narrowed slightly.
"You wish to create an Arcane Core?"
His voice carried obvious disbelief now.
"How delusional."
"Perhaps allowing you into this academy was a mistake."
Rio gritted his teeth slightly.
Meanwhile—
the other students looked stunned hearing those words.
An Arcane Core?
Even Lucinda's eyes narrowed slightly hearing the term.
Joseph Valoris suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hah?!"
"What kind of idiot even thinks something like that is possible?"
The others also looked toward Rio strangely now.
Even Isolde looked speechless.
Christopher calmly continued.
"Did Evelisse not explain to you that it cannot be done?"
"Yes."
Rio answered calmly.
"She did."
Christopher narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Then why come here?"
"Why seek my help?"
Rio slowly lifted his gaze toward him.
"Because I have no other option."
Silence.
Then Rio continued.
"I'm going to create the Arcane Core."
"And I need your help to do it."
Joseph laughed even harder now.
"This guy's completely insane."
Even William frowned slightly now.
Because this no longer sounded ambitious.
It sounded suicidal.
Christopher quietly observed Rio for several moments afterward.
Then—
unexpectedly—
a smile appeared on his face.
Dangerous.
Cold.
Interested.
"How about this."
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Christopher pointed toward the six prodigies behind him.
"You survive against one of them for a single minute…"
"…and I'll consider your proposal."
The others blinked slightly.
Christopher continued calmly.
"Of course."
"As your mana circuits are shattered…"
"…using mana would be unfair."
His sword slowly pointed downward.
"So this will be pure swordsmanship only."
His blue eyes narrowed slightly.
"You may choose whichever one you want."
"Even the princess."
He glanced toward Anastasia who was still unconscious against the wall.
"Oh."
"Right."
"She's unconscious."
A brief pause.
"…Then perhaps not her."
...
Astarax sighed inside his mind.
[You're seriously going to do this, aren't you?]
A faint smile appeared on Rio's face.
[Haah… humans really are troublesome.]
[Wake me up when you're done.]
Meanwhile—
Rio slowly lifted his gaze toward Christopher.
"How about this instead?"
Christopher narrowed his eyes slightly.
Rio calmly continued.
"I fight all five of them."
The atmosphere froze instantly.
"Together."
Even the exhausted prodigies looked up sharply now.
Rio's voice remained calm.
"Pure swordsmanship only."
"No mana."
"No reinforcement."
"Just technique."
Silence.
Then—
"If I win…"
Rio's golden eyes locked directly onto Christopher's cold blue ones.
"…you will help me create the Arcane Core."
"Not partially."
"Not conditionally."
"With your full effort."
For the first time—
Christopher's expression visibly changed.
His eyes widened slightly.
Not because the challenge sounded impossible.
But because Rio had just challenged the Imperial Prodigies in the one thing they took the greatest pride in.
Swordsmanship.
Pure technique.
No mana meant no overwhelming physical reinforcement.
No elemental advantage.
No magical amplification.
Only skill remained.
And within Mythralis Academy—
these five were considered monsters precisely because of their combat fundamentals.
Which made Rio's challenge even more absurd.
A long sigh escaped Christopher afterward.
"…For a moment…"
"…I thought perhaps you weren't stupid."
with a slow whisper he spoke.
..It seems like i shouldn't have agreed to Azrith's proposal
He clicked his tongue lightly.
"But now I understand."
"You're simply dumb as a rock."
Meanwhile—
the reactions behind him became even more intense.
William's eyes narrowed sharply now.
Lucinda's cold expression finally shifted completely.
Anastasia who had woken up was now stunned as she heard what he just said.
Even Isolde blinked repeatedly in disbelief.
Only Joseph—
burst into laughter.
"Hahahahaha!"
"You can't be serious!"
He pointed toward Rio mockingly.
"This bastard actually thinks he can beat all five of us together in swordsmanship?"
"No mana?"
"No enhancements?"
Joseph grinned viciously.
"That's even worse."
"Do you have any idea who you're standing against?"
The atmosphere slowly became heavier afterward.
Because now—
their pride had been challenged directly.
And unlike before—
none of them found it amusing anymore.