Chapter 9
When it comes to “Spatial Movement,” most people think of simply moving between two spaces.
I thought the same when I first read about my trait: a convenient ability that lets me instantly travel to locations I remember.
Initially, I used my trait in line with what was written in the status window, simply to teleport. But I realized the potential of Spatial Movement when I faced a life-threatening situation for the first time in Arkaria.
It was the moment I realized that if I didn’t try something, I would die for real.
Swoosh.
I slowly raised my hand, looking at the sluggish fireball flying toward me.
Something fluttered around the edges of the fireball, but it didn’t speed up at all. I wondered about its unnecessary, inefficient form, then extended my hand toward the flame, opening up the space near my fingertips.
I opened the space, let the flame pass through, then closed it. The whole process happened so fast it was invisible to the naked eye.
A seasoned fighter might have noticed, but I doubted that the blond guy, who threw the fireball clumsily, or the girl by the door who suddenly showed up, would have any idea what just happened.
“What… what happened?!”
The blond thug, Kane, stammered in clear shock as his proud fire spell vanished in the blink of an eye. The menacing energy he had aimed at me just moments ago had vanished just like his flames.
“You can’t even control your own magic.”
“There… there’s no way… don’t come closer!”
Smirk.
Moving deliberately slowly, I approached Kane, who was waving his hands, backing away from me.
If no one had been around, I wouldn’t have taken such slow steps, but we did have an audience—a girl standing by the door, staring at me with a dumbfounded look on her face.
Thud.
“Gah!”
I landed a solid punch, aiming to make it hurt. Kane gasped in pain as his body folded, and his strength drained as he collapsed.
He wasn’t even hit on the head, yet he fainted from one punch to the gut. Kids these days must be fragile.
Hmph.
With a dull thud, Kane’s face hit the floor.
From the sound, it seemed like he had really smacked his head.
“Uh… hey?”
“Huh? Me?”
“Yeah, you. That was self-defense, right? You’re my witness, okay?”
“Uh…”
Her violet hair shimmered as she nodded slowly up and down. Witness secured.
***
Haaah.
Amilion thought she’d been sighing far too often recently but couldn’t help letting out yet another one.
“Professor Amilion, it was self-defense. Kane Hover was the one who first used fire magic on Ryu in the training hall…”
“Yes, yes, that’s true.”
“But to leave a kid in that state…!”
Amilion thought of Kane Hover, who had been lying in the infirmary.
Kane had been face down with foam at his mouth—definitely not a sight you’d expect from a noble.
Amilion had been horrified but relieved when she checked Kane’s condition and saw he only had minor injuries from hitting his head on the floor.
Of course, the real issue was that a noble, and a Hover no less, had been knocked out cold by a commoner.
And, of course, at the center of this incident was Ryu, the commoner who had given Amilion a headache during the entrance exams.
“Haha… I didn’t think he’d go down in one hit…”
“Silence.”
“Oh, yes.”
Amilion stopped Ryu’s excuse and held her throbbing head.
From talking to other students, it became clear Kane Hover had indeed started the fight, and Ryu had only acted in self-defense, just as Cynthia claimed.
The real problem was that Ryu had walked away unscathed, while Kane had fainted to the point of foaming at the mouth.
If the head of the Hover family, White Hover, found out his son had been humiliated on the first day…
‘Oh, great.’
Luckily, the skilled priests in the infirmary had managed to remove any visible injuries.
“Fine. Just go back to your class.”
“Yes, Professor!”
“Yes, Professor.”
Amilion decided to send Ryu and Cynthia back to their class for now.
Though Kane was the one injured, Kane was also the one who had started the incident, and there was no real reason to blame Ryu.
Amilion listened to the door closing and let out a small sigh, glancing again at Kane’s condition.
“Still, fainting from a single punch…?”
Although Kane Hover was considered relatively frail for a mage, he was still a member of the renowned “Firebird” Hover family, known for their strict regimen of both magical and physical training. Kane had even placed fifth in the entrance exams, marking him as a notable talent.
“Just who… is he?”
The fact that Ryu had knocked out Kane with a single punch made Amilion’s head throb with questions, yet she couldn’t deny a budding curiosity. Regardless of class or status, encountering talented students always stirred excitement.
***
***
“You’re telling me you weren’t the top?”
“Yes… There was another knight more skilled than me.”
“A knight, not a mage?”
“Yes. We spoke briefly, and I sensed no magical aura typical of a mage. He himself stated he only used martial arts…”
Bam!
“Not only did you lose to a commoner, but you actually spoke with him afterward?”
“…”
Elaine stayed silent, unable to respond to her brother’s outrage-laden, rhetorical questions.
Cassis Sinclair.
The eldest son of the Sinclair family, Elaine’s older brother, and the youngest current professor at the academy.
True to the Sinclair name, Cassis had distinguished himself as a sword prodigy from an early age and built his career accordingly. He graduated top of his class at Crescent Academy and was immediately sent to the Northern Demon Realm, where he served as a knight on the frontlines for five years.
The mere fact that such a prestigious young noble had gone to the treacherous north fresh out of the academy had created waves, but Cassis went on to earn the nickname “Knight of Salvation.” Upon his return, he became Crescent Academy’s youngest professor and one of Crescent’s most popular rising stars.
Of course, as Elaine, the Sinclair family’s new prodigy, came of age, the towering expectations that had once been placed on Cassis naturally shifted to her.
“I fully expected you to secure the top rank.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“You’re called a once-in-a-generation genius, and yet you let a commoner take the top spot? A commoner knight, no less?”
“…”
Elaine listened to Cassis’s words quietly, doing her best to understand his anger.
At first, she too had been stunned to find herself in second place, and the fact that she’d lost to a commoner without even a family name had been a significant shock.
But on the day of the entrance exam, during the Black Crows’ ambush, Elaine’s view of Ryu changed.
From his light but grounded movements, his seemingly casual yet steady demeanor, to his extraordinary skill that backed up his relaxed attitude—Ryu had left a lasting impression.
He had appeared from nowhere, pinning the Black Crows’ operative to the ground just before the man could lunge at Maria.
“Fine. You may go.”
“…Yes.”
Elaine stepped out of Cassis Sinclair’s office, a faint, wistful smile on her face. She had not expected praise, but she also hadn’t anticipated such anger from her older brother.
Sigh
Elaine exhaled slowly, making her way back to her class. It had taken longer than expected to locate Cassis’s office, so she quickened her pace toward the freshman lecture building.
Cassis’s frosty reception had been the exact opposite of what she had hoped for, but for Elaine, who was accustomed to such treatment, it was nothing new.
No matter how often Elaine replayed that scene, she couldn’t understand where or when Ryu had emerged. The Sinclair family, one of the Six Great Houses, was a well-known conservative house of knights, and since childhood, Elaine had been required to speak to her brothers and even her father with formal, knightly speech.
The only times her father spoke kindly to Elaine were when she achieved something impressive, like when she memorized the Sinclair’s First Sword Style at age six or when she defeated her second brother in a duel at twelve.
As a child, Elaine had thrown herself obsessively into swordsmanship, all to earn her father’s praise and the recognition of those around her.
“Ryu… ‘Mr.’ Ryu.”
On her way back, Elaine found herself thinking of Ryu, the commoner who had taken first place in the entrance exam.
With his rare black hair and easygoing, unrestrained attitude, there was a powerful confidence about him that marked him as someone with true strength.
If she had to face Ryu in a one-on-one duel, Elaine couldn’t even imagine what strategy she might use—he felt like a formidable opponent, almost as if she were facing her father in a duel.
Swish.
“Wow, I didn’t expect you to vouch for my self-defense so easily.”
“Well, because that’s what really happened.”
“Still, arms tend to bend inward—usually nobles back other nobles, don’t they?”
“Even so, I couldn’t lie about what I saw.”
“You’re not denying the whole ‘arms bending inward’ bit, though?”
“No, it’s just…”
As soon as she opened the door, Elaine’s gaze landed on Ryu, whose voice she heard right away, and a purple-haired girl chatting with him beside him.
They were the only two talking in the room, completely oblivious to their surroundings, with Ryu speaking energetically, oblivious to the other students around him. Elaine couldn’t help but laugh quietly.
The slightly bitter feeling she had after meeting her brother Cassis melted away as soon as she saw Ryu joking around.
“Oh, Elaine! Where’d you go? I almost died without you here.”
“H-Huh… Elaine Sinclair…!”
“Almost died? What do you mean?”
Elaine held back a smile as she naturally walked over to Ryu, thinking, Looks like he made another friend in the meantime.
—
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