Anton, a veteran combat professor and former knight who has traversed many battlefields, laughed while watching the battle unfold on the training ground.

 

The battle was one-sided.

 

The one attacking was Meryl of the Baines family, and the one receiving the attack was Lucy of the Allen family.

 

Usually, the one taking the initiative in battle is the one attacking.

 

However, this time, common sense was wrong.

 

Lucy Allen was playing with Meryl Baines like a toy without attacking even once.

 

This was a result that no one had expected.

 

It was incomprehensible, because Meryl Baines had appeared at many official events and proved her competence.

 

Although she was lacking compared to the geniuses of her time, she had enough talent to be called a prodigy.

 

In addition, her desire to rise was so great that she was one of the promising prospects for the future.

 

On the other hand, what about Lucy Allen?

 

The stories that were spread about her were only bad reviews.

 

About her personality.

 

About her incompetence.

 

How miserable must her evaluation have been for the nobles to have doubts about whether that young lady was really the child of the Iron Blood Lord Benedict?

 

Since Benedict Allen cherished his daughter so much, no one spoke out, but every time they saw Lucy acting up, they all harboured a thought of how it could be without her.

 

It wasn’t easy to believe that the Iron Blood Lord, who had once terrorized the continent, and the girl who had difficulty climbing stairs were father and child.

 

That’s why Anton thought that there must have been something else involved when he heard the news that Meryl Baines had challenged Lucy Allen to a fistfight and lost last night.

 

Otherwise, there would have been no reason for Meryl to lose.

 

However, Luca, another professor of weapons science who had seen the scene in person, said this at the faculty meeting with heated eyes.

 

‘Everyone! Let’s pit Lucy Allen against Meryl Baines in the duel tomorrow. If we pit the two of them, we’ll definitely be able to see each other’s skills! Since they have a mutual hatred for each other, they will not hesitate to harm each other, and although Lucy Allen is more talented, Meryl Baines has more experience, so it will definitely be a match worth watching!’

 

The other combat professors, including Anton, were sceptical of his proposal.

 

Even if we were to concede that Lucy Allen was talented and had recently improved her skills, how could someone who had been practicing and fighting since she was just starting to walk have a duel with someone who had just picked up a weapon?

 

That would only turn the duel into one-sided bullying rather than a test.

 

‘I will take responsibility! So please believe me!’

 

The other professors eventually nodded at Luca’s words that if he was wrong, he would be punished and find new opponents for Meryl and Lucy.

 

They could not shake their heads at the thought of Professor Luca, who had proven his insight over the past few years, talking like that.

 

And now Anton was seeing that Professor Luca was right.

 

No, to be exact, even Professor Luca was wrong.

 

He said that Lucy and Meryl’s skills would be similar.

 

The talent that Lucy possessed.

 

The talent that was engraved in the blood of the Allen family!

 

It was not something that could be judged by the professors’ simple common sense.

 

As Meryl swung her sword, Lucy moved her shield.

 

The single sword strike from someone who had trained with a sword all her life was by no means light.

 

Nevertheless, Lucy’s shield was solid.

 

A smile appeared on Lucy’s lips as she blocked Meryl’s sword once again.

 

“It’s amazing.”

 

Professor Luca broke the silence that had spread among the interviewers.

 

His eyes, watching the duel, were engraved with a deep joy that anyone watching could see.

 

“Look, everyone. The movement of that shield! Usually, those who are not good at fighting think of shields as defensive equipment that simply blocks attacks. However, Young Lady Allen is different. She knows how to actively move her shield. She intervenes in the sword’s path and reduces its power. Using the opponent’s strength against them. Sometimes, she strikes with her shield to create an opening in their opponent’s defence. That’s not something you can simply say you learned! That’s a talent!”

 

“Don’t be so excited, Professor Luca. We’re all thinking the same thing.”

 

Professor Luca, who is talking like a machine gun, is stopped by another professor.

 

“How can you expect me to calm down after seeing that?”

 

“I understand that you are happy to have found a shining gem, but this is a testing ground. You should not unilaterally defend the other side.”

 

“… Ah, I am sorry. I forgot my duty.”

 

Professor Luca closed his mouth after being reprimanded.

 

However, that was all.

 

No one refuted his opinion, only restraining his excessive excitement.

 

Everyone sympathized with his feelings.

 

Lucy Allen, who had appeared in the social world last year, was a young lady with pure white hands.

 

Those hands proved that she had never practiced, let alone been in a real match.

 

How could Lucy Allen have such skills in just one year?

 

How could she show such an overwhelming appearance that she could crush Meryl Baines’ experience?

 

Just how great was her talent?

 

How beautifully shining was the gem that was her.

 

How wonderful was the thing engraved in Allen’s bloodline that a person could change like that?

 

“On the other hand, Meryl Baines is disappointing today.”

 

When one of the interviewers said that everyone agreed.

 

“No matter how bad the bad relationship is, she’s too emotional.”

 

“It seems like she doesn’t even realize that she’s being played around by her opponent.”

 

“She’s not thinking before swinging her sword, she’s just attacking blindly.”

 

The interviewers spoke one by one.

 

The content was different for each person, but the problem they were pointing out was the same.

 

She’s not able to control her emotions.

 

People who get emotional so easily create bad variables in real combat.

 

Especially in a dungeon where one mistake can wipe out the entire party.

 

“Do we need to see more?”

 

Professor Luca said as if representing everyone’s opinion, and everyone agreed.

 

After confirming that everyone had agreed, Anton got up from his seat and walked to the centre of the training ground.

 

“Sloppy Lady, are you tired already? Dogs have good stamina, but you’re worse than that?”

 

“Shut up!”

 

“Is that all you can say? The head is big, but the brain is small. Just like a dog!”

 

“Shut up!”

 

Even though she has blossomed her talent, is that temper still the same?

 

I expected this since I was playing with an opponent I could have defeated a long time ago, but it’s frustrating to see it up close.

 

“I am ending this duel with the authority of the interviewer.”

 

When Anton spoke, the two people’s eyes were focused on him.

 

Among them, Meryl Baines was the first to react.

 

“No! I can do more!”

 

“Lady Baines, I clearly said I would end it.”

 

“But I’m going to kill that damned bitch!”

 

“Meryl Baines, if you don’t want to fail the exam by cheating, put down your sword.”

 

Meryl exhaled heavily and chewed her lip, but she didn’t have the courage to go against what the interviewer said, so she lowered her sword.

 

Lucy, who was standing on the other side, also lowered her shield when she saw him.

 

That was when Meryl, who saw Lucy defenceless, rushed at her.

 

It seemed as if she had lowered her sword only to make her let her guard down.

 

However, what Meryl had forgotten was that Anton, who was next to her, was a strong man who she could not even handle.

 

He twisted Meryl’s wrist, made her drop her sword, and sighed.

 

“Meryl Baines, I will say it again. If you do not stop here, I will have no choice but to disqualify you.”

 

“I am sorry…”

 

<Girl, this incident was too much.>

 

…

 

Yes.

 

That is right.

 

This incident is clearly my fault.

 

Grandpa was right.

 

Just now, I was drunk on the thrill of the Mesugaki skill, so I repeated excessive provocations.

 

No matter how badly I thought of them from yesterday, there was no need to torment her to that extent.

 

If I wanted to humiliate her, it would have been enough to give her a moderate defeat.

 

In the past, when I was dealing with goblins or orcs, it was okay to be drunk on this thrill.

 

They were enemies of humanity, monsters.

 

Because it was morally acceptable to give them any kind of ending.

 

But now it’s different.

 

When dealing with ordinary people, you shouldn’t get carried away by the elation.

 

I’m a time bomb that will cause trouble someday if I keep doing more than usual because I’m excited.

 

Even today, I provoked her too much and caused her disadvantage.

 

What if my opponent was a high-ranking noble?

 

Or someone so strong that I couldn’t handle them?

 

The result would have been much worse.

 

<The blessing you have is as effective as it is problematic.>

 

‘That’s right.’

 

I need a way to deal with the elation of skills, but I can’t get it right away.

 

Mental skills aren’t available early in the game.

 

The only skills I can get are the lower-level versions of Overcoming Fear and Unbreakable Will, so there’s no reason to spend time and money on them.

 

For now, I have no choice but to exercise self-restraint.

 

Haa.

 

Anyway, I passed the first practical test well enough.

 

According to Grandpa’s story, the young lady just now wasn’t weak, so I was able to properly appeal to the interviewers about my talents that affected her mind.

 

Now, all that’s left is the last obstacle.

 

Clearing the dungeon created by Soul Academy.

 

Originally, I thought I would have to risk my life clearing this dungeon, but now it wasn’t like that.

 

Thanks to Grandpa’s help, I think I did pretty well on the test, and I probably got a high score in the first practical test, the sparring.

 

I think I could pass Soul Academy without having to go through special admission.

 

Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m going to take the dungeon clearing lightly.

 

I’m a veteran of Soul Academy.

 

I’m not the type of person who can stand being pushed back by others in terms of records.

 

It would be nice if good people were chosen as party members.

 

The dungeon clearing for the Academy entrance exam is conducted by randomly selecting three people to clear the dungeon together.

 

So, in order to get a record for clearing the dungeon, the party members should be good people.

 

The vanguard should be someone who can provide firepower support from behind since I’m standing in front.

 

If possible, it would be good if it was a multi-talented magician.

 

Then we can speed up the attack.

 

The heavens answered my prayer.

 

They brought a multi-talented magician who can do various things in the rear as a party member.

 

“Foolish Young Lady, it seems like our ill-fated relationship will deepen.”

 

The problem is that it was the Foolish Young Lady who made a bet with me.