The ability tests continued.

After Eugene’s overwhelming performance as the first participant, the other students seemed slightly intimidated.

Seeing the gap between themselves and Eugene firsthand must have been sobering.

But that was inevitable.

Eugene was the protagonist of Dawn’s Blade—

A prodigy among prodigies, destined to become a hero who saves the world.

Standing out, even as a student, was only natural.

The other students gave it their best effort—

But no one came close to Eugene’s performance.

Most of them had no trouble defeating the wolf golem.

However, they struggled once the difficulty increased.

Few students made it as far as the chimera, and even fewer managed to defeat it.

But here’s the thing—

In academy stories like this, it’s common for the protagonist’s generation to be a “golden generation.”

The reason is simple:

It keeps the supporting characters relevant as the protagonist rapidly grows stronger.

Otherwise, if the protagonist’s allies failed to keep up, they’d quickly become irrelevant.

So, the protagonist’s classmates often include several exceptional talents.

Dawn’s Blade was no exception.

“Haaah!”

A powerful barrage of punches struck the chimera golem.

So fast that even its afterimages blurred.

The chimera crumbled like a cookie under the relentless assault.

“What’s next?!”

A tall, bronze-skinned boy stood with his fists raised.

Leo.

He was the first student after Eugene to defeat nine golems at once.

Though his breathing was heavy, he still looked ready for more.

But Angelica shook her head.

“No, Leo. That’s enough.”

“I can keep going!”

“No, you can’t. You’re already at your limit.”

Leo flinched at her words.

“But—”

“Your ability, Acceleration, is undoubtedly powerful.

But the stronger the ability, the higher the price.

You know that better than anyone.”

Leo hesitated, his lips twitching like he wanted to argue.

But in the end, he let out a sigh and lowered his shoulders.

He couldn’t deny it.

Trying to bluff his way through it wouldn’t help either.

Leo’s Acceleration was incredibly dangerous.

He could speed up both his physical movements and thought processes.

Throwing dozens of punches in just a few seconds—

Even Eugene would struggle to dodge them.

However, Acceleration had a fatal flaw.

It burned through stamina at an absurd rate.

That’s why Leo only used it in short bursts.

In a quick, decisive fight, he might be stronger than Eugene.

But in a prolonged battle, he’d run out of energy.

Acknowledging his limits, Leo raised his hands and stepped out of combat mode.

On his way back, he glanced at Eugene—

Probably feeling a spark of rivalry.

And that wasn’t surprising.

Leo was one of Eugene’s main rivals in the story.

After Leo, a few other students stood out.

A braided girl who evaded every attack with fluid movements, taking down eight golems without getting hit even once.

A silver-haired girl with a ponytail who overwhelmed her opponents by multiplying herself into numerous clones.

And another girl who blasted apart five golems at once with a terrifying energy beam.

All of them were heroines.

Of course they were.

“Alright, last one.

Lucia, step forward.”

My turn had finally come.

I took a deep breath, swallowing the slight tension in my chest, and stepped forward.

The wolf golem growled.

I hate this.

Its sharp teeth looked terrifying.

If it bit me, it’d definitely hurt.

Unlike a dagger, those fangs wouldn’t just pierce the skin—

They’d rip and tear it apart.

Gulp.

I swallowed nervously and shook my head.

Was I just imagining things because I was hungry?

Focus.

Now’s not the time to think about this.

“Begin!”

With Angelica’s sharp command, the wolf golem charged.

I didn’t back down.

Instead, I raised the weapon in my hand.

What kind of fighting style does Lucia use?

She doesn’t ignite flames like Eugene.

She doesn’t accelerate her movements like Leo.

Her ability is rapid regeneration—

The power to restore wounds.

So what kind of combat technique suits her?

The answer lay in the weapon I held—a heavy, brutal mace that seemed far too large for a frail-looking girl.

“Raaaah!”

With an inward shout, I swung the mace straight forward.

Crash!

The wolf golem’s head shattered, sending a cloud of dirt and dust into the air.

And so the evaluation continued.

More golems emerged one after another.

Lucia wasn’t picky about weapons.

Swords, spears, maces, whips—

If she could hold it, it became her weapon.

But her greatest weapon wasn’t what she held in her hands.

It was her regeneration.

Her strategy was to trade wounds for victory.

No—

Lucia didn’t just give away flesh to take bones in return.

She gave away bones—because her bones always regenerated.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to use Lucia’s true fighting style in this evaluation.

Angelica, despite her fierce demeanor and harsh words, genuinely cared about her students.

Even knowing about my regeneration, she wouldn’t let me get hurt.

If this were an actual sparring match or a real fight, it might’ve been different.

But this was just an evaluation.

Angelica’s sharp gaze—focused and alert—wasn’t just to monitor my performance.

It was also there to stop the golems immediately if anything went wrong.

Too bad.

I mean, it’s too bad I couldn’t fight properly.

That’s all.

No other meaning behind it.

I dodged the knight golem’s sword strike by pivoting on my left foot.

Then, swinging the mace, I smashed its thigh.

Crack!

The golem’s leg broke, and it stumbled.

Before it could rise again, I slammed its head, shattering it into dirt and dust.

Wolf, gargoyle, knight…

And now—

Chimera.

Seeing it up close was entirely different from watching from a distance.

Its stone mane seemed almost alive.

Its outspread wings cast a massive shadow.

The snake-headed tail flicked its tongue menacingly.

It was just a golem created by Angelica—

But the pressure it exuded was enough to make it feel real.

The lion’s head rumbled silently.

One step.

Two steps.

The chimera slowly approached—

And then suddenly pounced.

Too fast!

I threw myself to the side just in time.

Crash!

Its front claws slammed into the ground, shattering it.

I swallowed hard, tightening my grip on the mace.

Eugene took this thing down in two hits?

This is bad.

I can’t win.

At least—not without using Lucia’s fighting style.

Fighting without my biggest weapon—regeneration—

Of course, I wouldn’t win.

But this wasn’t a real fight.

It was just an evaluation.

Angelica wouldn’t allow bloodshed here.

…Right?

Wait.

Isn’t that exactly why I should use my ability?

This is a supernatural ability test, after all.

Shouldn’t regeneration be part of the evaluation?

Angelica even said not to hold back.

Wouldn’t it be disrespectful if I didn’t go all out?

I adjusted my stance.

Ugh.

I didn’t like it, but I had no choice.

This was a test, and I had a duty to demonstrate my abilities.

It’s going to hurt if I let it hit me.

Definitely.

But it’s part of the test!

The chimera leaped again, moving faster than something its size should.

If I didn’t dodge, Angelica would definitely stop it.

So instead—

I shifted my stance to look like I was about to counterattack.

Like I had a plan.

Like I knew exactly what I was doing.

Technically, I did have a plan.

Give bones to take flesh.

Regenerate the bones.

Then do it again.

Lucia’s ability was built for endurance.

I had to endure.

And if I pushed through long enough, the opponent would fall.

I dodged the chimera’s pouncing claws and raised my mace.

I pretended to swing—half-heartedly, as if I were about to attack—

But… Ugh.

I was too hungry.

I hadn’t eaten since yesterday, and my body had no strength.

So instead, I shoved my shoulder straight into the chimera’s massive jaws.

Crunch!

“—!”

I heard Angelica’s sharp gasp all the way from where she stood.

She’d been paying close attention, but since I had shoved myself into the chimera’s mouth, her reaction had been a little late.

Well, I gave up a bone—

Now it’s time to take some flesh!

I raised my mace, ready to smash the chimera’s lower jaw—

—?!

But before I could move,

A white-hot flash of pain exploded through me.

My mind went blank.

My vision flickered as my arms and legs trembled uncontrollably, like they’d been electrocuted.

My shoulder bones shattered.

Chunks of flesh were ripped away.

Hot blood flooded the chimera’s mouth.

It hurts.

What the hell?

This hurts way more than I expected.

So much more—

For a moment, I blacked out.

When I resurfaced, a crushing pain overwhelmed me.

This wasn’t even comparable to slashing my wrist with a dagger.

My skin was torn.

My blood vessels were severed.

My bones were crushed.

My muscles were shredded.

This was—

Pain.

Unbelievable, unbearable, unnatural pain!

Pain!

It hurts so much!

Ah.

I might have… leaked a little.

But it’s fine.

It wasn’t much, so no one will notice.

My heart pounded violently.

It was racing so fast I worried it might burst.

My brain felt like it was melting.

Like it was oozing out of my skull.

“...Ah, ngh…”

Just a little more.

A little more.

Hurt me more.

Tear me apart.

Make it hurt even more.

Rip my flesh open.

Break my bones.

And then—

“Are you okay?!”

The thought was cut off.

The chimera golem crumbled into dust.

Angelica had stepped in, replacing it.

I collapsed, my legs giving out, but she caught me gently.

“Why would you do something so reckless?!”

Her teeth ground together in frustration as she scolded me.

Only then did I snap out of my daze.

I blinked blankly, my mind still reeling with lingering disappointment.

“Your wounds… they’ve already healed completely.”

“Ah… Yes…”

“Lucia.

I’ve known a few other supernatural ability users with regeneration abilities like yours.

And you know what they all had in common?

They relied on their healing to fight recklessly, taking injuries on purpose because it was ‘efficient.’

You were trying to do the same thing just now, weren’t you?”

Bullseye.

That’s exactly what I’d tried to do.

I wanted to—

But… Hehe.

“But regeneration is just ‘healing quickly.’

It doesn’t take away the pain.

If you freeze up like that because you can’t handle the pain,

You’ll just end up being an easy meal.

Do you understand?

Even seasoned warriors struggle with this strategy—

Let alone someone like you who’s never been in real combat before.”

It wasn’t because of the pain, though…

Or was it?

No, it was ridiculously painful.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.

You had the courage to try, and that’s commendable.”

Angelica sighed and helped me to my feet.

She used her ability to brush the dirt and dust off my uniform.

Her voice softened, though it sounded a bit drained.

“That concludes your evaluation.

Good work, Lucia.”

Hehe.

She’s surprisingly kind.

If she acted like this all the time, I bet the students would love her.