Point of View: Susan

"Director Susan, isn't this match a little unfair? Basel is the best teacher in the school when it comes to weapons, and your protégé is just a child." A first-year basic exercises teacher asks me. Everyone around raises their ears to hear my answer.

"Don't worry. Both of them will use a protective collar. As you already know, in this duel only mana and Imra are allowed to enhance physical abilities." I'm not sure if this is too much either. I only have Gase's references, and that girl tends to exaggerate things. I can only rely on Maki's confidence. At least he won't get hurt physically while using the collars.

Most of the teachers nod at my words, though I can see a few faces that still look a bit displeased or worried about the situation.

"Enjoy the show. It's not every day that we see Basel this serious in a match." This man is a good teacher and has a serious personality. His short brown hair gives him a military look, and his brown eyes are as sharp as those of a teacher who truly wants to educate. Maki was smart enough to follow my provocation at the beginning; otherwise, Basel wouldn't have taken this fight so seriously.

"Mother…" My adoptive daughter, Areci, speaks softly. I create a layer of mana around the three of us and her friend, so we can talk privately. "Will Maki be able to defeat him? If I faced him using only weapon mastery, I don't think I could win." She looks a bit worried. Since the dinner, she has seen Maki as a younger brother—and not only her, Shawu seems to feel the same way.

I can't help but laugh quietly. "At the very least, he won't lose quickly. He trusts in his swordsmanship, and I trust in his talent." My daughter looks like she wants to reply but stops midway, simply nodding and focusing on the arena. Shawu seems to want to say something too but hesitates, bites her tongue, and also focuses on what's important.

Basel's affinity is with water. It's not the best affinity for strengthening the body. It doesn't have the defense of rock or ice, nor the speed of lightning or wind, nor the power of fire or light. It's more balanced. The problem is the difference in rank—Maki will have to use much more mana to enhance his body, and he could get hurt in the process if he doesn't control it properly. That's where his life affinity comes in.

Maki has drawn his twin swords, which he named Thundersnow Fangs. From this distance, I can see how magnificent they are. Some teachers even whistle in admiration. Basel, on the other hand, carries a huge and heavy sword, though he won't be able to use most of its functions since they're meant for mid-range attacks. Mana and Imra begin to flow through both of their bodies. I create a sphere of electricity and make it burst to signal the beginning of the match.

Neither hesitates. From the very start, they rush forward toward the center to fight. Basel tries to take advantage of his longer weapon with a powerful horizontal slash. Maki takes a quick step back, dodging it by the smallest margin, and immediately advances with two cuts. Both are blocked by Basel's sword, which acts as a shield. Basel swings that enormous weapon from different angles, and Maki is dodging most of them.

Finally, Maki can't position himself in time and has to block. The speed and agility with which Basel swings his sword are not normal. In that instant, the substitute teacher's expression changes—the surprise lasts less than a second, replaced by the growing look of excitement.

Maki's body is lifted into the air; he tries to maintain balance while blocking Basel's next horizontal slash with both swords, bouncing back against the ground. Before he can lift his head, he jumps to the side to avoid a stab aimed at his chest. Basel looks slightly surprised by such fast reflexes and judgment without even looking. He must have realized that Maki isn't relying only on his eyes to sense him.

That brief surprise cost him his advantage. Maki begins to pour much more mana into his body. Somehow, he's pushing his body beyond the limit. I focus on the flow of his mana and immediately see the reason—he's weaving his ice mana to make it more resistant, while his lightning mana gives it the flexibility to keep his speed.

Now I understand why his constructs are so powerful. I hadn't paid attention before and just attributed it to his ridiculous amount of mana. Apparently, this child can already weave his mana so fluently even in the middle of battle. How long has he been training that skill? Something like this can only be achieved after thousands of hours of practice and constant fighting.

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I can still see several flaws—the speed at which he does it, the flexibility, the size of the threads, and not to mention adding Imra threads to every construct—but it's still a solid base. Should I teach him? For a moment, I hesitate, then shake my head. If he asks, I'll give him a hint, but he needs to find his own way.

Basel hasn't been able to regain the advantage. Now that Maki is enhancing every part of his body to the limit, he's at the level of a ruby rank in power. Using this kind of technique isn't recommended—only a few can do it without hurting themselves—but Maki has enough control, a strong mental ability, and can heal himself if something goes wrong.

I can see the looks of shock on many of the teachers' faces. Some have their mouths wide open; others have eyes as big as plates. Everyone is confused—how can such a small child stand firm against Basel? The only ones visibly excited are my daughter and her best friend, cheering for Maki with all their might.

Minutes pass, and both of them move cautiously. Each knows the other's situation well; one small mistake or wrong movement could mean losing the advantage. Every cut, strike, or movement is carefully planned not to give up ground. Maki, with that ridiculous sensory ability, moves like a butterfly, dodging and blocking each strike while counterattacking.

Basel, on the other hand, looks like a strong fortress capable of moving—blocking strikes with his large sword as a shield while holding his position. He knows exactly when to step back or forward, reading his opponent's every move.

"I never thought I'd see something like this." Finally, one of the teachers speaks. Everyone had been silent, enjoying this high-speed fight. Maki and Basel haven't slowed down at all.

"Yes, who would have thought that when we first heard about Basel fighting a boy?" Another teacher who has been teaching how to master Imra for years comments.

"That boy already has what it takes to be a teacher. It doesn't matter if he loses, wins, or if time runs out—he's already earned the position." The last comment comes from a bald teacher, very respected among the others, and his words make everyone quiet again and continue watching the match. Everyone already accepted Maki—it's now a fact that he's the new substitute teacher.

"Mother, Maki is almost thirteen, right?" Areci asks. Luckily, my mana shield preventing sounds from leaking is still active. I don't want to reveal his true age to the world. "How can someone master swordsmanship to that level? There are movements I can't even understand or follow." I understand my daughter perfectly.

"According to him, he's practiced swordsmanship every single day since he was seven, for many hours each day. He's been forced into situations where fighting was the only way to survive—situations where anyone else would have given up, but not him. He kept improving until he overcame each one." I look into both girls' eyes; they're older than him by nearly six years. "And most importantly, he's a genius with the sword. Those two factors have led him to this point."

"A genius? Yes, that must be the answer… but he's not just a swordsmanship genius, right?" Shawu hasn't stopped watching the fight as she speaks. I can see her eyes scanning every movement, every cut or strike. She uses twin daggers as an assassin, and she's trying to absorb as much information as possible.

"Yes, you're right. It seems he's not only a genius of the sword." I can't deny her words. This boy is someone destined to stand at the top—as long as he doesn't die along the way.

Eight minutes have passed since the match began. A ten-minute limit was set. So far, Maki has received two small cuts, while Basel has four. From here, I can see the frustration on the teacher's face—but there's also something else now that wasn't there before: excitement. The thrill of facing someone with equal or greater skill.

Both of them are smiling like children with a new toy as they move across the arena—one like a walking fortress with strong defense, the other agile, jumping from side to side while counterattacking quickly.

Finally, among the rocks scattered around the arena, one of them makes a mistake—a step in the wrong place causes him to lose balance. That fateful mistake cannot go unpunished. Basel loses balance for only a moment, and when he tries to recover, Maki is already on him like a god of death, slashing from every possible angle while dancing around him.

Basel manages to block the first strikes, but the next ones land. A few seconds in that awkward position make him take another hit on the chest. His collar is reaching its limit. Basel decides to take a risky move, and Maki notices—he's about to do the same. Basel gives up on defense and makes an unstoppable slash with all his power. Maki moves his arm faster than ever. Is he using his gravity affinity?

Maki's blade connects just a millisecond earlier thanks to the speed gained from gravity, but his arm is destroyed by the impact and force. At the same time, Basel's massive sword hits Maki's chest. Although he manages to block it just in time with his other sword, he can't withstand the force of the blow and is sent flying backward like a bullet.

Basel's collar activates, while Maki's—amid the rising dust—shows that it hasn't. It was right on the edge of triggering. "Maki has won the match." My words make everyone, who had been frozen in shock, react at once. All the teachers start applauding at the same time.

Maki has indeed won, but he's also injured. His arm is almost torn off, with several broken bones and ripped skin. My daughter and her best friend rush toward the new substitute teacher with worried faces, and I can't help but smile—at the new genius of my academy.

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