The person’s identity was none other than Sid Cromwell.

Sid looked down at Nigel with a playful expression.

“Ars, can you call yourself a magic student at Cienia if you can’t control mana?”

“Sid!”

Allen, who had called out his name as if admonishing him, jumped up from his seat. However, Nigel stepped in front of Sid first.

“You still don’t know anything, Cromwell.”

One step.

“Why do you think I didn’t transfer to the political department despite Professor Cledian’s recommendation?”

One step.

Nigel slowly approached Sid.

“Why don’t you appreciate my deep consideration in letting you at least be the top student in the department, Sid? I’m disappointed.”

Nigel, whose eye level was now almost even with Sid’s, whispered in Sid’s ear with a smirk.

At those words, Sid’s face crumpled. However, unlike before, deep emotions such as resentment or jealousy were not evident on Sid’s face.

That emotion was closer to the mild irritation one feels at a friend’s mischievous prank.

“…Just wait and see, Ars. Let’s see who takes the top spot overall after the midterm exams.”

“Oh, did you call me, Sid?”

At Nigel’s brazen response, Sid bit his lip hard in resentment.

“Look forward to it. I’ll flatten your nose.”

“Unfortunately, my nose is too high to be flattened overnight.”

Nigel playfully touched his own nose.

“I don’t think I have anything more to say to you.”

Sid let out a hollow laugh and abruptly turned his body.

“Yeah, good job, Cromwell.”

Nigel cheerfully waved his hand at Sid’s back as he strode away.

At that moment, Noah, who was quickly approaching Allen from afar, entered Nigel’s field of vision.

Looking around quickly, Charlotte and her group were nowhere to be seen, as if they had already left the classroom.

Oh no.

Nigel quickly gathered his belongings and rummaged through his pockets.

‘…Of all times to forget the teleport stone.’

Nigel closed his eyes tightly once and opened his mouth.

“…Sid! Let’s study together.”

“What, what?”

As if he had picked a fight earlier, Nigel approached with a friendly tone, and the startled Sid stopped in his tracks and stared blankly at Nigel.

Nigel swiftly approached Sid and put his arm around his shoulder in a friendly manner.

“…Cromwell. If you don’t want to be hit by my mana right now and end up in the infirmary, keep your mouth shut and pretend to be friendly with me.”

Nigel whispered quickly, putting all his strength into his arm on Sid’s shoulder.

“What is that…?”

To Sid, whose eyes were wavering, Nigel meticulously created a small mana flame the size of a fingernail on his hand to show him.

“…Oh, oh!! Haha! Right! Ars, we said we’d study together in the li-library! Ha, haha…..”

And so, Nigel and Cromwell successfully left the classroom on good terms.

However, the next day.

Nigel’s hardships did not end even with Roneh’s basic swordsmanship exam.

“Now! You all know that today’s exam is a one-on-one match, right? So, I have paired you up with partners suitable for your level. There are no exceptions, so everyone line up with your assigned partner!”

Thwack!

Roneh attached a rolled-up paper that he had been holding under his arm to the blackboard in the corner of the training ground.

Seeing the name prominently attached next to his own name, Nigel let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

“The top student of the magic department… is paired with Duke Beselion? Does that make sense?”

Fortunately, it wasn’t just Nigel’s thought, as the children murmured about the news of Nigel and Noah’s partnership.

“Is it a printing error? Look at the difference in their physique. It seems like Nigel would fly to the end of the training ground with a single swing of Noah’s sword.”

“Well, it’s still understandable. Noah is Professor Roneh’s famous favorite student, and Nigel is the only freshman who received praise from Professor Roneh in the first class.”

“…Damn it! I really wanted to go up against Noah!”

One male student from the swordsmanship department couldn’t contain his disappointment and even glared at Nigel’s face.

Nigel wished he could give up his spot to that male student if possible.

At this point, he thought Kirelia had completely forgotten about him. …Or maybe Kirelia was on someone else’s side.

At that moment, a faint presence was felt behind Nigel.

Turning around, as expected, there was Noah Beselion, his partner and the one blessed by the goddess.

Noah, who awkwardly raised the corners of his mouth slightly upon seeing him, had a strangely haggard complexion.

‘Seriously… What does Professor Roneh see that makes him think his level and mine are similar?’

Even though Noah hadn’t awakened yet, he had a solid physique and was quite taller than Nigel. Even though Nigel was quite tall among girls.

‘Does Roneh not see this difference in arm thickness?’

Thinking about it again, Nigel, who was angry, looked at Roneh, and Roneh gave a thumbs up with a satisfied face as if he had done a favor.

…Anyway, those who wield swords know that they like being paired with strong opponents.

At that moment, Sid Cromwell’s voice was heard behind Nigel.

“Don’t tell me… my partner is you, Evans? Well… I look forward to working with you from now on.”

It seemed that Sid and Allen had become partners.

‘…Looking at it this way, Roneh’s insight seems accurate.’

Nigel passed by Sid and Allen, who were reluctant to work together, barely pulling the corners of his mouth down.

“Then I will introduce the midterm exam. The midterm exam will be conducted using this training dummy here.”

Roneh roughly tapped the head of a dummy that was as tall as an average adult, placed in the corner of the training ground.

“Do you remember what I said was the most important thing in swinging?”

Swish.

“Good, boy from the political department. Your name was Si… Sidney, right?”

“It’s Sid, Professor.”

Sid’s face, sensitive to his name, hardened slightly.

“Yes, Sid. Would you like to give the correct answer?”

“You emphasized that the most important thing in swinging is consistent force. You said that if you put too much force in the beginning, your posture will be shaken, if you put too much force in the middle, the sword will shake, and if you put too much force at the end, your mind will be shaken.”

“That’s right, you remember very well.”

Sid, who received Roneh’s praise, looked at Nigel with a smug expression.

‘What do you want me to do?’

Nigel abruptly turned his head, completely blocking Sid’s gaze.

“As Sid said, the most important point in swinging is consistent force. And this dummy has specially processed mana stones embedded in it, so the more consistent the force applied, the more it moves.

Now you can probably guess what you need to do, right? Two people will simultaneously swing at this training dummy for 2 minutes to test who can send it closer to the other person. If the dummy touches the other person’s back, the test ends immediately.”

‘…So that’s why Beselion and I are paired up.’

Nigel finally understood Roneh’s choice.

Since only the consistency of force was being evaluated, the opponent’s strength or weight class was not an issue at all.

Also, Roneh often said that Nigel’s sword had a consistent force, so it was a ‘somewhat’ worthwhile match.

There was only one problem: Noah’s sword was so fast that even its trajectory was invisible.

Whoosh!

At that moment, a fierce sandstorm rose in the training ground.

The students, who knew from experience that it came from Roneh’s wooden sword, were no longer startled by the sudden wind blowing in the training ground.

As the sand obscuring their vision subsided, Roneh’s figure appeared.

And… surprisingly, the training dummy that had been standing next to Roneh was now stuck at the very end of the training ground behind Roneh.

“You can clearly see the dummy stuck in that corner, right? Especially our swordsmanship department kids who like to show off their strength, listen carefully.

We swing the sword to test consistency in order to build a foundation, not to show off to others. No matter how consistent, if you swing fast, it will go behind me, not behind the other person, so keep this in mind.”

Roneh’s gaze was strangely directed at Nigel, and then he blinked his left eye with a wink.

“Then let’s begin the midterm exam! Adele and her partner, come up first!”

Finally, the midterm exam for the basic swordsmanship class began.

Unlike other solemn exams like Cledian’s debate class, laughter never ceased in Roneh’s class.

There were cases where the training dummy didn’t move because the skill of swinging the sword consistently was evenly matched, and conversely, there were cases where the training dummy didn’t move at all because the skill of swinging the sword inconsistently was similar.

Allen and Cromwell belonged to the latter case.

“The next pair is… Nigel and Noah.”

At Roneh’s voice, the rowdy voices of the children fell silent.

It was the big match of the day. The showdown between the representatives of the swordsmanship department and the magic department.

Nigel and Noah, holding wooden swords, stood in the center of the training ground with the training dummy between them.

A strange tension hung in the air before the exam.

“…Beselion.”

At that moment, Nigel spoke in a small voice. Noah, who managed to hear that sound, tilted his head.

“Don’t go easy on me.”

Noah, who had become serious, nodded his head lightly.

“Then, Nigel Ars vs. Noah Beselion. The exam begins!”

Roneh’s resonant voice filled the training ground.