Chapter 89: Chapter 89

The inside of the observation deck was engulfed in absolute, suffocating silence.

Through the black, one-way mana glass, Cassandra and Sophie stared at the scene below. It was simple, yet utterly paradigm-shattering.

Down in the cratered ring, the blinding red light of the Overcharged Arc-bolt completely dissipated. It hadn’t exploded outward. It hadn’t bypassed him. The hyper-dense, Mach-speed spell simulating Ivan Baker’s ultimate strike had simply… died against the palm of a first-year student.

Alex stood amidst the shattered stone, his posture entirely relaxed. Smoke curled lazily from his right hand, the leather of his glove completely singed off, exposing slightly reddened skin.

But his arm wasn’t broken. He wasn’t bleeding. He was just glaring up at the observation deck with the bored, arrogant irritation of a king whose time was being wasted.

“If you’re going to test an apex predator, don’t use a toy. You insolent fools.”

His cold voice echoed through the deck’s speakers.

Cassandra opened her mouth, her face completely pale, but no words came out. She looked at the Spire technician, who was frantically tapping his console, trying to make sense of the telemetry data.

“Professor…” the technician stammered, his hands shaking. “The kinetic force… it didn’t deflect. The target… he absorbed it. One hundred percent of the impact vector was internalized.”

“Absorbed it?” Cassandra gasped, her cat-like eyes widening. “That’s impossible. Without heavy Aura Plating, a human body would turn to mist under that much localized pressure!”

“He’s not a normal human, Cass,” Sophie muttered.

The Vice-Guildmaster of the Vanguard Stars looked down at her shattered Aether-Reader watch, then back through the glass at Alex. Her purple mana flared, her heart hammering against her ribs with a violent, thrill-seeking rhythm.

Up until the third round, Sophie had viewed Alex as a brilliant, terrifyingly precise tactician. An analytical genius who could dismantle spells with microscopic kinetic bullets. A ’gemstone’ worth polishing.

But catching a Mach-speed cannonball bare-handed?

That wasn’t tactics. That was raw, overwhelming, monstrous dominance. He was already a finished jewel—a predator wearing a student’s uniform.

Sophie licked her lips, her combat instincts screaming. The Vanguard Stars hunted Cultists and monsters. They desperately needed Mages who didn’t cower behind walls. They needed monsters of their own.

With a sharp wave of her hand, Sophie channeled her vivid purple mana into the observation deck’s mainframe.

Vrrrrm.

The heavy, black one-way mirror hummed and deactivated, turning completely transparent.

Alex didn’t flinch as the glass cleared. He just stared up at us, his glowing red eyes locking directly onto Sophie. He knew exactly who had pushed the override button.

“Hey, you,” Sophie called out, her voice amplified by the room’s acoustics. She leaned heavily against the glass, looking down at him. “Why did you catch it?”

Alex tilted his head slightly, his expression perfectly stoic. Underneath the calm exterior, my internal System was going absolutely crazy.

[System Notification: Massive Kinetic Impact Absorbed.]

[Trait: Kinetic Resonance actively converting physical trauma into Mana.]

[Warning: Core Overcharged. Temporary Mana Capacity increased by 300%.]

The searing heat in my chest was intoxicating. I felt like a walking nuclear reactor. If I wanted to, I could probably level the entire 12th floor right now without chanting a single syllable.

“Why did I catch it?” I echoed Sophie’s question, rolling my smoking shoulder casually. “Because it was fired at me.”

“Don’t play dumb,” Sophie shot back, her tone rough and demanding. “Your analytical dismantling in the first three rounds was flawless. But catching that fourth bolt was suicidal. A Mage relies on distance. If you couldn’t dismantle it fast enough, you should have evaded. Weren’t you scared it would rip your arm off?”

“Scared?” I let out a low, dark chuckle that reverberated through the vast hall.

Cassandra finally found her voice, leaning over the console. “Alex, she’s right! It’s an absurdly dangerous stunt! If your mana circuit had failed to handle the friction for even a microsecond, you would be dead!”

I looked up at the two veteran Mages. They were bound by the archaic, restrictive rules of this world. Mages run. Knights charge.

“I’ll ask you a question, Vice-Guildmaster,” I said, pointing my smoking hand directly at Sophie. “If you exhausted all your defensive spells, and a speed-type Knight like Ivan Baker was closing the final two meters to take your head… would you evade?”

Sophie frowned, crossing her arms. “It depends on the terrain and the opponent’s momentum, but generally? Yes. You always create distance.”

“And that,” I sneered, my lips curling into a ruthless smile, “is why the Magic Department has been the Knight Department’s punching bag for decades.”

The words struck Cassandra like a physical blow.

“You think like prey,” I stated coldly, walking slowly toward the center of the crater I had created. “A Knight charges because he assumes the Mage will step back. He relies on that fear to build his momentum.”

I raised my fist, the residual red energy of the Arc-Cannon crackling violently between my knuckles, fueled by my completely overcharged core.

“I didn’t evade because there is no reason to avoid it,” I declared, my voice echoing with absolute, dictatorial authority. “If a Knight wants to close the distance and hit me… I’ll let him. And then I will use his own momentum to shatter every bone in his body.”

Silence fell over the Spire once again.

Sophie and Cassandra looked at each other. The sheer, overwhelming arrogance of the boy standing below them was suffocating.

He didn’t want to outsmart the Knights. He wanted to break them at their own game. He wanted to beat them in close-quarters combat just to prove that they were beneath him.

Sophie felt a shiver run down her spine. The small flutter of curiosity she had felt in the lounge had officially evolved into a massive, unavoidable storm.

“Cassandra,” Sophie whispered, never taking her eyes off Alex. “If you don’t make him the Representative, I’m personally reporting you to the Tower Master for gross incompetence.”

Cassandra swallowed hard, staring at the cratered floor.

She pressed the intercom button, her voice trembling slightly, not from fear, but from the sudden, terrifying realization that the Magic Department might actually slaughter the Knights this year.

“The evaluation is complete. The results will be announced shortly. All candidates, please remain in the lounge.”

The automated voice of the Spire echoed through the 11th floor.

I walked out of the stairwell and chose a plush leather armchair in the corner of the waiting room, sinking into it. The adrenaline from overcharging my core was slowly settling, leaving a dull, throbbing heat in my right hand.

Across the room, the social hierarchy was acting exactly as expected. The students were naturally gravitating toward Ren Montclair.

“You definitely got it, Ren,” Lena smiled brightly, lightly brushing a stray strand of hair from the protagonist’s sweaty forehead. “I was praying for you. There’s no way anyone else scored higher.”

“I don’t know about that,” Ren smiled faintly, his innate humility taking over. His eyes quietly darted across the room toward me. “I think the results might surprise us.”

“Oh, please,” Martin scoffed, crossing his arms. “You’re being too humble, Ren. You have the Light element. Who else are they going to pick? The Ice Princess?”

Naturally, a few people drifted toward me as well. Or rather, one specific person practically teleported to my side.

“Sir Alex,” Emma murmured, instantly sliding onto the armrest of my chair. She completely ignored the other students, her golden eyes scanning me from head to toe for any injuries. She gently took my left arm and hugged it to her chest. “Did you do well? I was cheering for you the entire time.”

“I did what was necessary, Emma,” I replied smoothly, leaning back. I didn’t feel anything special about being cheered for, but keeping the yandere placated was a full-time job.

Besides, there was no one else in this room remotely qualified to take the Representative spot. If they didn’t pick me, Cassandra was a fool.

Ding.

The heavy brass doors of the elevator slid open.

Professor Cassandra stepped out, followed closely by Sophie. The visual contrast between the two women was striking. Sophie was tall, athletic, and radiating a vibrant, predatory energy. Cassandra was short, wrapped in her heavy robes, and looked like an exhausted little witch who had just witnessed a miracle.

“Attention, brats,” Cassandra’s voice cut through the lounge, instantly silencing the chatter. “First of all, you survived the evaluation. Barely.”

She stepped into the center of the room, puffing a cloud of lavender smoke from her pipe.

“Enough with the preamble,” Cassandra sighed, though there was a distinct, undeniable glint of pride in her cat-like eyes. “Let’s get to the results.”

As soon as she mentioned the results, everyone held their breath. Lena squeezed Ren’s arm. Alicia stood on her tiptoes. Emily watched with unblinking blue eyes.

Cassandra flicked her finger. A projection of vivid, glowing mana materialized in the air above us.

[First-Year Champion: Alex Edelhart]

“Wait… Ren isn’t the Representative?” Lena muttered, her jaw dropping as she stared at the glowing letters.

The silence lasted for exactly two seconds before the lounge erupted into absolute chaos.

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