On the dirt path leading to the entrance gate of Seabloom Academy, two young teenages walked side by side, a girl with brown hair and tanned, healthy skin, and a shorter boy with a resolute, calm face.

  The girl occasionally glanced at the boy with curious eyes. It seemed that some thought had crossed her mind, causing red clouds to appear on her cheeks. Exitus’s combat ability left Mira deeply impressed. He easily defeated her father with just a few basic strikes. The most terrifying thing was his speed; it was so fast that she felt it could rival the veteran combat instructors at the academy. That was the speed of a warlord.

  “Hey,” Mira gently tapped the boy’s shoulder with her elbow.

  “You seem rather quiet. Aren’t you going to ask about the upcoming entrance examination?”

  “What does that examination include?” Exitus turned his head and asked quietly.

  “Seabloom Academy may only be a mid-tier school in the Hesmir Bay region, but its tests are still quite strict. If you register for the combat division, you must at least be capable of mana gathering, which means you need to have reached the Fighter level. If you apply for the magic division, you must meet the knowledge standards in one of three subjects, alchemy, body surgery, or formation studies. They’ll test your knowledge through a written quiz and a practical section.”

  “In fact, I have no intention of following the path of magic. So the combat examination will be enough,” Exitus calmly replied.

  “That’s only true for ordinary students.” Mira smiled mysteriously.

  “Explain that a bit clearer,” Exitus asked curiously.

  “There is a different examination standard for the Special Class. Those are the ones trained separately to compete in the inter-academy tournaments. They represent Seabloom. I’m one of them,” Mira said proudly, raising her chin.

  Exitus wasn’t surprised. Mira was already close to the Mage rank; her first magic core would soon form. With how rare mages were, the standard for joining the elite class was much lighter.

  “What about the requirement for the combat class?”

  “You have to fight a veteran instructor and be recognized by him.”

  ...

  Seabloom Academy is a long-established academy in Hesmir. It is an ancient school surrounded by beautiful forests. The academy was built with an architecture resembling blooming flowers. The tallest, largest building, like the largest flower, is Seabloom's main headquarters, which houses combat arenas, libraries, laboratories, and residences for the teachers who work there. The small rooms scattered around like small buds are the dormitory area for the students.

  At the registration hall, a female teacher stared fixedly at Exitus. She looked him up and down, reading his profile over and over in disbelief. Then she frowned slightly and read his file aloud, as if to make sure there was no mistake.

  “Name: Exitus. A boy from a poor family living in a small village near the border of Hesmor and Golden. Some time ago, the villagers were massacred by Hesmor’s army, and he was the only survivor, captured and enslaved in the Allblack Dungeon. During an uprising, he escaped along with the rebels and wandered to the Hesmir Bay region.”

  “Did I read that correctly, boy? And now you wish to apply for the Special Class, is that right?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Very well! I’ll arrange an instructor to test you! Mira, guide him to the waiting room.”

  Not long after Exitus left, a tattooed, rough-looking instructor stormed in and slammed his hand down on the registration desk. His face was flushed red, and the strong stench of Meli wine poured out from his mouth.

  “You’re bothering me again, Xevia. Since when can some no-name brat take the elite course assessment? Why didn’t you just put him through the standard test first? I was finally enjoying one of my rare days off in this damned academy which full of idiots, and you just had to ruin it.”

  Xevia remained calm, saying nothing until the drunken man finished his rant. When he finally quieted down, she slowly pushed her glasses down, tossed a folder across the desk toward him, and said with a faint smile,

  “Read it, Renes.”

  “Tch.” Renes clicked his tongue in annoyance. If he could beat her in a fight, he wouldn’t have bothered to listen to her at all. His eyes drifted lazily over the papers at first, but soon turned sharp. The disdain on his face hardened into focus.

  “If this file is accurate, the fact that he’s even standing here is a miracle. Allblack is a notorious slave dungeon surrounded by the Infernic Range, a region saturated with fire elements and terrifying beasts. The only way out is through the Darkwood Forest behind it. But to reach the Hesmir Bay area, he’d have to cross the Valley of the Dead."

  “Exactly." Xevia added.

  “How fascinating." Renes fell silent, deep in thought.

  “Alright then,” he finally grinned, a wild glint in his eyes. “Let’s see what’s so special about this kid.”

  ...

  "That woman! The one handling the registration. She’s incredibly, incredibly strong!" Exitus thought to himself.

  He couldn’t sense anything unusual from her, yet Jester’s voice suddenly echoed faintly in his mind. The man warned him about the person before him. It seemed that woman was not human.

  "It seems this Seabloom Academy has its fair share of secrets as well."

  “What are you thinking about? That teacher is Xevia. She’s a very knowledgeable mage. Though not strong, her knowledge runs deep. Even the headmaster treats her with respect,” Mira explained.

  “Not strong?” Exitus’s eyes twitched. A being who could make even Jester give a warning and not strong? She must be quite the actress.

  In the waiting hall, numerous students passed by. Most of them were children from wealthy families in town. Their clothes and skin alone were proof enough of their privileged lives. Suddenly, from afar, a cocky boy with his nose in the air strutted toward Mira. He didn’t even glance at Exitus and pointed a finger straight at her, speaking loudly with arrogance.

  “Mira, Mira! I thought you were avoiding me forever! So? Have you thought carefully about becoming my girlfriend yet? I, Hesmor Vogar, always keep my promises. As long as you become my girlfriend, you’ll have all the resources you want. Besides, I’m royalty, being my girlfriend would be an honor, Mira!”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Vogar stared at Mira with lustful eyes. He seemed to covet the girl’s beauty. He had long grown tired of pale-skinned noble girls; to him, Mira was like a rough, exotic gem, new and exciting. Moreover, she was a prodigy. If he could secure her, she might one day become a Archmage, and his own status in the family would rise. Perhaps he’d even earn the right to join the “Competition of Two Kings.”

  “Get lost!” Mira replied coldly. This wasn’t the first time he had bothered her. At least, despite his foul mouth, he had never done anything indecent.

  “You’ll come to see my sincerity someday, Mira! I’ll win you over!” Vogar said with a grin.

  Then his gaze turned toward Exitus, who was sitting beside Mira. The boy looked like someone close to her. Putting on a polite smile, Vogar spoke.

  “You must be new here. Nice to meet you, I’m Vogar, Mira’s boyfriend. A pleasure.” He extended his hand, smiling innocently.

  “I’m Exitus,” the boy replied.

  Suddenly, Vogar tightened his grip, his hand clamping down like iron. His voice dropped to a cold whisper.

  “Listen, stay away from Mira. Don’t even think about her. You’re not worthy. She’s mine.”

  Exitus remained calm. Vogar wasn’t weak. He was quite a skilled Warrior, his control of Mana Focusing was precise. The pressure he applied caused pain but didn’t crush bone, proof of control. Exitus didn’t resist. A little pain like this was nothing compared to what he had endured before. Vogar gradually realized something was off. The boy’s hand felt like a slab of flesh incapable of feeling pain. Just as he was about to increase his strength, Mira pushed him away, shouting,

  “Hey! Don’t do that! You’ll get hurt!”

  “Me? Hurt? You’re worried about the wrong person,” Vogar said in confusion.

  “He’s really strong!” Mira said firmly, nodding. The image of Exitus defeating her father in a few strikes still haunted her.

  “Nonsense! In that case, I’ll challenge him! I, Hesmor Vogar, hereby challenge you to a duel! Do you accept?”

  Vogar’s voice echoed, drawing everyone’s attention. Students nearby gathered around, whispering among themselves.

  “Hey, that’s Hesmor Vogar, the royal! A genius student! I heard he’s about to comprehend an Ultimate Skill. Won’t be long before he becomes a powerful Warlord.”

  “Who’s he challenging?”

  “No idea. Looks like a newcomer.”

  Exitus felt things spiraling out of control. Vogar’s inflated ego was making everything needlessly complicated. He simply wanted to take the entrance test quietly. He thought he should refuse this meaningless fight, even if it meant his pride might take a hit. But for Exitus, pride meant nothing.

  “No. I don’t accept,” Exitus said calmly.

  “Coward! Running from a duel. Where’s your honor?” Vogar sneered.

  Just as Exitus was about to respond, Renes’s voice thundered across the hall, cutting him off.

  “What the hell is going on here! What are you brats doing! Get lost! Why are you crowding here, huh?”

  Vogar froze. That voice belonged to the madman Renes. Even as royalty, Vogar didn’t dare cross him. He glared at Exitus, leaving a warning before retreating.

  “This isn’t over.”

  Renes paid no attention to Vogar. He walked up to Exitus, studying the boy closely, leaning forward and stroking his messy beard. A strong whiff of alcohol filled the air as he exhaled into Exitus’s face.

  “So, you’re Exitus, huh? I’m the examiner for your entrance test. Name’s Renes.”

  “An honor to meet you, Mr. Renes,” Exitus greeted politely.

  “Alright, girl, leave this one to me. You can go now,” Renes waved Mira away.

  “Sir Renes! Excuse me!” Mira stammered and quickly left, silently praying that Exitus would survive whatever was to come.

  Renes was a mighty BattleKing, able to fight on equal footing with Nor, the northern general of Greaton. He had never taken a disciple and was notoriously eccentric. He loved alcohol, not just any kind, but fine Meli wine, brewed from the morning dew on the leaves of the World Tree. Renes had a terrible reputation for beating up students and being an irresponsible instructor. If he deemed a student stupid, he wouldn’t waste his time teaching them.

  In the sparring chamber surrounded by numerous defensive runes, Exitus was now equipped with an iron sword and a protective breastplate. Renes stood before him and casually lit a cigarette. He took a deep breath, pointed the cigarette toward Exitus, and said:

  “Before this cigarette goes out, if you can make my feet leave this spot, step on another position, I’ll concede. I’ll only use a single Mana-Focusing technique. Also, I’ll only use mana at the Warrior level.” Renes chuckled.

  “Keng.” No sooner had Renes finished speaking than Exitus darted forward, swinging a heavy strike at his head. However, Renes caught it with a single finger. Mana focusing is a technique that concentrates mana into a part of the body to increase its defensive endurance and resistance to damage. Warrior-level mana cannot normally withstand the assault of steel. Yet Renes applied it masterfully, he focused it into his fingertip, the small area contacting the blade, allowing him to compress far more mana into that point and raise his defense to a new level.

  “You only gathered mana on the part of skin in contact?” Exitus said in astonishment.

  “That’s right, boy! You have considerable speed, but it’s still not enough. The smaller the mana-focusing area, the stronger the mana intensity. As you can see, even Warrior-level mana, when concentrated on a tiny spot, can be amplified greatly enough for me to parry steel."

  "This is extremely difficult! You need a monstrously good battle sense. You must predict the strike’s landing point in advance; if you guess wrong, the mana won’t converge in time and you’ll lose.” Exitus said

  “Clever! So what’s your solution?” Renes asked.

  Exitus remained calm. He focused mana into his left arm and threw a punch at Renes’s face while his right hand, holding the sword, aimed for the midriff. Two strikes, two different impact points.

  “If there are two areas to protect, which one will you choose?”

  Renes focused force into his leg and stomped hard into Exitus’s belly, sending him flying back and smoothly nullifying Exitus’s attack.

  “Of course I attack. The reach of your hand can’t match my leg! Ha ha ha.”

  The match extended, the cigarette burning shorter. Renes could only use Fighter-level mana; he needed to concentrate it at a point to block the sword’s strikes, but there was only one sword. Moreover, whether Exitus used hand or foot, their junction point was his body, Renes only needed to attack the body to negate Exitus’s offensive setup.

  Exitus suddenly devised a plan. He slashed the palm of his hand with the sword until blood gushed out, then rushed forward and flung the blood toward Renes’s face. His aim was to blind Renes’ sight and throw off his judgment of the strike’s landing. As expected, Renes raised his hand to shield his face from the splatter.

  “Now then, how do you guess this time? I win.” Exitus struck hard at Renes’s leg.

  “Keng.” Renes instantly condensed mana into his leg to defend.

  “What?” Exitus was astonished. Renes could still predict the strike’s landing point to the leg?

  “Smart tactic! But I don’t judge by sight. I rely on air vibrations,” Renes praised. He greatly liked reckless fighters; Exitus’s style pleased him. He was considering whether to show mercy. After all, a boy with such a high combat instinct was very rare.

  “Damn it.”

  Exitus slumped down in frustration and hurled his sword at the wall. The sigils on the wall reacted, pushing the sword back toward him.

  “Huh.”

  Hearing the sword clank on the ground, he conceived another idea. What if the two attacks came from sequential directions? That was worth trying.

  Exitus calculated the reflection angle from the rune wall to Renes. He concentrated force into his arm and flung the sword hard at the rune-inscribed wall; the wall reflected the strike so the sword sped toward Renes’s right leg, while Exitus himself lunged to attack the left side.

  “Useless,” Renes snorted.

  He lifted his right leg and kicked Exitus hard, sending him flying, and sneered, “You think attacking from two sides will stop me from striking you? If I block the sword or dodge it, my other leg can't act on you. You’re wrong! I can use my right leg to attack you while both evading and countering.”

  Exitus lay sprawled on the training floor. Though he had taken quite a painful hit, he still burst out laughing.

  “Stop talking nonsense and put your foot down already, ha ha!”

  “Huh?” Renes frowned in confusion. Suddenly, he looked down, his foot was hovering right above the sword stuck deep into the ground, piercing through the exact spot where his foot had been. The blade had broken the floor beneath him. Renes realized the truth. Exitus had never aimed for his leg, but for the spot his leg was standing on. Now, he could no longer place his foot back where it was. Renes had lost.

  Renes laughed loudly, a booming, satisfied laugh. Exitus had used his intellect to win. The more Renes thought about it, the more he liked the boy. He felt it must be fate itself. Enesur had granted him a true successor.

  “Starting tomorrow, you’ll be my student. Forget that so-called Speacial Class nonsense. I’ll personally train you. Allow me to reintroduce myself, I am Rene, known to the world as The Phantom Sword”