Entering the back corridors of Killian Hall’s sprawling training grounds, I moved quietly through the restricted access zone, led by two professors acting as my guides.

Their expressions were unreadable, their steps brisk, but there was a clear hint of respect—or perhaps wariness—in their tone as they gestured toward the private waiting area.

“This way. Please take a seat. Miss Alice will arrive shortly.”

With a small nod, I stepped into the waiting room and sat down.

The moment I sank into the cushioned bench, a quiet stillness washed over me.

Despite the years that had passed since I’d last been here, the room looked more or less the same.

Dim lighting filtered through mana-infused glass panels, giving everything a gentle violet hue.

The polished floor remained unblemished, and the enchanted clock on the far wall ticked forward with its soft chimes.

A faint scent of old books and fresh ink lingered in the air. It was nostalgic.

But not everything was untouched.

In the corner stood a series of glowing crystals—Magic Stones—neatly arranged in a triangular formation on a metallic pedestal.

Their gentle pulses radiated with a low hum, releasing faint waves of mana that brushed against my senses like ripples on a still lake.

Surveillance and detection stones, I noted instantly.

So Principal Leilah had been upgrading the security measures.

Not surprising.

After all, not too long ago, this very academy was secretly infiltrated by demonic worshippers.

She had to clean up the mess quietly and delicately without alarming the wider public.

Precautions like this were not only smart—they were necessary.

Still, I couldn’t help but think it would’ve been more effective if she’d hidden them inside the walls rather than leaving them in plain sight.

A clever enemy could easily spot and disable them.

Then again, maybe that was the point—maybe this setup was just bait for something else entirely.

Knowing Leilah, she never did anything without layers beneath layers.

“Riley!”

I looked up as Alice entered the room, her pink hair bouncing with each step, the iconic wide-brimmed witch hat tilting slightly as she moved.

Her golden eyes sparkled the moment she saw me.

“Alice. You’re here.”

She grinned playfully and waved. “Hehe~ Sorry for being late. Lorraine kept me a little longer than expected. She got caught up explaining that new barrier enhancement project again—total mana geek mode.”

“It’s fine,” I said with a small smile. “The test hasn’t started yet.”

“Oh? Is that so~?” she purred softly, already walking toward me.

Without hesitation, Alice dropped onto the bench beside me, her presence like a comforting warmth against the room’s otherwise sterile stillness.

Then, with a content sigh, she leaned in and wrapped her arms around me, burying her face briefly in my shoulder.

I blinked. “Alice?”

“Mmm~ You’ve been spoiling the other girls the whole night, you know. So right now I’m just a tiny bit jealous~”

I let out a soft chuckle and returned the hug, pulling her close in a gentle embrace.

“Is that so…”

Her arms tightened slightly in response, and I felt her breathing slow, as if she was savoring the moment.

I stroked the back of her head lightly, running my fingers through her hair.

No matter how composed or understanding Alice always appeared to be—how often she played the role of the whimsical, brilliant upperclassman—there were still parts of her that needed reassurance, too.

Having had her fill of cuddling, Alice slowly pulled away and sat upright again, smoothing the creases of her uniform as she looked at me with a soft, amused smile.

Her golden eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief, always so full of life.

“I didn’t expect the principal to go so far as to make our re-evaluation a public spectacle like this~” she said with a small chuckle, glancing toward the heavy metallic door across from us. Her gaze lingered on it, as though she could see straight through the barrier. “There sure are a lot of students out there…”

I didn’t need to rely on mana sensing to confirm her words.

The sound alone was enough—dozens, maybe hundreds of voices blending together in a rising sea of tension, excitement, and nervous anticipation.

Some shouted to be heard, others laughed to cover their fear, but all of them echoed loud enough through the magically insulated walls that I could estimate the crowd.

“At least a thousand students by the sound of it,” I murmured, resting my elbow on my knee.

Alice gave a light whistle, clearly impressed. “I guess principal Leilah really wanted to make a point.”

“She did say this was a rushed re-evaluation,” I said, leaning back slightly. “Given everything that’s happened, it’s not surprising she wanted to test our current abilities in front of the student body. She probably wants to show them that the academy is still strong… that her top students haven’t gone soft, and this probably the best way to properly establish were we sit in the rankings as well.”

Alice giggled lightly and turned to face me more directly.

“Still… don’t you think this is a little unfair?”

“For us?”

“No, no~ for them, of course,” she said with a sly grin, nudging my shoulder playfully. “Come on, even you aren’t so humble as to think a few hundred students are enough to take the two of us down, right?”

I exhaled a short laugh at that. “You make it sound like we’re villains being thrown into the coliseum.”

“Well, we’ve survived worse,” she said, her voice softening slightly. “After everything we’ve been through out there… after fighting mother… I don’t want to sound too arrogant, but I think just one or two of my knights could probably hold their own against this crowd.”

Her confidence wasn’t misplaced—and she wasn’t bragging either. It was simply the truth. I smiled faintly, understanding her sentiment completely. “There are a few strong ones out there,” I offered, almost out of courtesy.

Alice’s eyes glimmered faintly, a soft red hue flashing across her irises for just a second. “Mm… yeah. I recognize quite a few familiar mana signatures. Some of them are promising.”

She paused, then added with a spark of excitement in her voice, “But I won’t hold back. I’ve already missed a bunch of classes because of what happened. I can’t waste an opportunity like this”

The same went for me.

As much as I might have preferred to return quietly, to slip back into the academy’s rhythm without much noise, that was simply impossible now.

My reputation alone had already turned me into a walking spectacle, and with all the rumors swirling around us—some of them bordering on myth—there was no way I could avoid attention even if I tried.

The event Principal Leilah had arranged did feel excessive, almost theatrical.

But thinking about it rationally, I could understand her reasoning.

This wasn’t just about us. It was about restoring order—reminding the academy of where we stood, both in position and power.

She likely figured that allowing us to make an overwhelming public statement would erase any lingering doubt about our qualifications to return.

It was practical.

Brutally so.

Wiping the slate clean through sheer force of presence and strength… it wasn’t how I envisioned my return, but it would certainly be effective.

“NOW THEN…”

Professor Ferdinand’s voice boomed across the underground waiting chamber, his energy never faltering.

“WITHOUT FURTHER DELAY… HERE ARE YOUR OPPONENTS! REMEMBER—JUST ONE CLEAN HIT IS ALL IT TAKES TO SHOOT FOR THE TOP!”

As his final words rang out like thunder, a deep metallic groan echoed from the massive door before us.

The steel parted slowly, revealing a blinding wall of light.

Alice and I rose from our seats without exchanging a word.

There was no need.

As we stepped forward together and emerged onto the grounds, the noise hit us immediately—like walking into a packed coliseum.

It wasn’t just students.

It was a sea of them.

Dozens of uniform colors.

Hundreds of faces.

Thousands of eyes locked on us the moment we appeared.

And just like I expected, the reactions were mixed.

Some students stiffened in confusion, unsure of what they were witnessing.

Others instinctively stepped back, an animal fear crossing their expressions as if they sensed something unnatural.

A few more bold—or foolish—ones glared at us, their pride flaring in the face of pressure.

And then there were those whose eyes lit up the moment they saw Alice.

“Alice!? You’re back?! Since when!?”

“Alice!”

“Senior Alice!”

“My Queen!!”

“Senior, please notice me!!”

I side-eyed her and couldn’t help but hide my smirk. Alice, ever the graceful star, waved and smiled at the crowd as if she were returning from a triumphant quest.

“Hehehe~ Thanks, everyone! I missed you too~! Let’s all do our best, okay?”

Her light-hearted tone cut through the tension like a warm breeze, and I could tell it eased some of the anxiety in the air… though only a little.

“Looks like your popularity hasn’t gone down, even after being away for months…”

Alice chuckled softly, brushing a loose strand of her pink hair behind her ear as the crowd continued calling out to her.

“Hehe~ most of the people greeting me are classmates, friends, or acquaintances here and there,” she said with a bright smile. “And as fun as being popular is… it can be a bit burdensome sometimes, you know? I honestly expected it to cool down a little after being gone for so long.”

I gave her a sideways glance, watching how she gracefully acknowledged the cheers and waves.

Her presence really hadn’t dimmed at all.

In fact, it felt like her glow had only intensified.

She walked forward like a queen returning to her court—adored, respected, and unshaken.

If only my own popularity were built on such admiration.

Unlike Alice, the attention I received wasn’t all smiles and cheers.

While a few stared with curiosity or awe, many of the gazes I caught were tinted with uncertainty—some even with unease.

Whispers floated in the air, hushed but sharp.

A few students didn’t bother to hide the suspicion in their eyes, and more than one look held outright disgust.

Well… I couldn’t exactly blame them.

My name had been tangled in rumors, whispers about disappearances, secrets, strange powers—enough stories to fuel a dozen urban legends.

Alice was a prodigy, but I was a mystery. And mysteries scared people.

Scanning the crowd, I quickly noticed that most of the students participating in the re-evaluation were second-years and above.

I suppose the first-years weren’t deemed necessary for this display of dominance—most of them already knew their place and held enough respect for their seniors not to need reminding.

Among them, I spotted several familiar faces—

My eyes landed on one in particular, and I nearly laughed aloud.

Kagami.

His face was a mixture of concern and confusion, his brows drawn tight as he stared straight at me.

He must have sensed the difference—the chasm that now separated our strengths—yet even so, he stood tall, gauntlets equipped and posture firm.

He hadn’t backed down. That stubborn pride of his hadn’t changed a bit.

Good. He’d grown too. And I could respect that.

Standing near him was Janica, and my gaze lingered a little longer.

She was different.

The way mana flowed around her was sharper now, more controlled.

Had she learned [Vortex Slash] and [Empathy] already?

That was unexpected.

Her progress in the game had always lagged behind Rose and Seo’s, especially in the early stages, but seeing her now…

She’d been training. Hard.

For a so-called “main heroine,” her growth had been on the slower side, but even so, she was steadily catching up.

Compared to most of the others here, she was already standing near the front of the pack.

And then—finally—my eyes found him.

The most excited person in the entire training grounds.

Even without mana sense, without activating [True Sight], without peering beyond the veil of the mundane… I could feel it.

Lucas.

The moment our gazes locked, I nearly smirked.

He was different.

He wasn’t just stronger—he was transformed.

His presence was massive, like an overflowing tide crashing into the air itself.

The aura surrounding him wasn’t just mana anymore; it carried an undertone of something else, something deeper and far more dangerous—divinity.

He radiated it effortlessly.

His stance, his breath, even the way his gaze latched onto me like a hawk that had been starving for a fight—it all screamed one thing:

He’d been waiting for this moment.

“As expected of the protagonist…” I thought, my fingers twitching in subtle anticipation.

There was a sense of assurance now—reassurance that the Lucas I knew was truly beginning to emerge.

A foundation had been laid for what was to come.

I hadn’t expected him to participate today. Part of me thought he might choose to spectate, to analyze, to bide his time and train in silence.

But of course, that wasn’t who he was.

A battle junkie like him couldn’t ignore an open invitation to fight—especially not one where I was involved.

Even a single glance told me what I needed to know.

He’d broken past the level threshold already.

That meant he had finally become qualified to wield the First Stage of the Holy Sword—his divine blessing had begun to awaken.

His physical and magical specs didn’t even need to be measured at this point; his aura alone was a declaration.

The only thing that remained in question was his mindset—his will.

Was it tempered? Focused? Or still scattered and unstable?

Judging by the look on his face, though…

It was like his soul was shouting:

“You’ve finally returned—my rival.”

I’d originally intended to take things slow—to test out my physical prowess against the crowd, use this as an opportunity to measure the disparity between my current stats and the average upperclassmen.

But I guess that would have to wait.

This battlefield wasn’t going to be about patience.

With Professor Ferdanand’s booming voice echoing across the field like a war drum, the announcement shook the air.

“NOW THEN—LET THE RE-EVALUATION BEGIN!!!”

And without hesitation—I moved.

Mana surged, spiraling outward as I called upon my skill.

[Ultimate Skill: Divine Will — Activated.]

— [Skill: Commanding Presence — Activated!]

[All within the area of effect are compelled to obey the user’s commands, regardless of their own will. Resistance is futile.]

“Kneel.”

It was just one word.

But in that single syllable, backed by my authority and mana, the wave hit the field like a crashing storm.

Shock and confusion ran through the gathered students as their bodies buckled beneath an invisible weight.

One by one, knees hit the ground.

Their pride, their arrogance, their resolve—crushed in a moment under a power they couldn’t comprehend.

All… except one.

Lucas stood, eyes wide with confusion.

He looked at me—not in fear, but with a dawning realization, a kind of disbelief… like he hadn’t expected me to be this far ahead already.

I met his gaze, unblinking.

If he truly believed himself to be my rival… then resisting this command would be his first true test.

Let’s see if you can rise against absolute power, Lucas.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep