"The Midterms will be starting next week. I do hope that everyone is prepared for them. During the first week, we'll have your theoretical examination."

Professor Bridgette's voice echoed throughout the otherwise silent classroom.

"After that, we will be moving to the combat-related examinations. I hope that all of you are ready for what is to come. There will be a lot of people, scouts included. They will be closely examining your performances."

She was currently giving us a brief rundown of the upcoming exams.

"It is important that you do your best during the examinations. Not only will you receive a new rank, but you will also have an evaluation given by the scouts who will use the information for the draft."

It was just general knowledge. I more or less knew most of the information that was being given. But even then, I didn't have it in me to pay attention to any of the words that she was saying.

The only thing that was running through my mind were thoughts about the faceless man.

Who was he?

No... I already had an idea of who he was. The leader of the Inverted Sky. But... Not just that. He was also the leader of several other organizations that resided within the other Empires.

The sheer idea of the power that he held sent shivers down my spine.

Not only was his influence in this Empire but in the other Empires too. What sort of concept was this?

I desperately wanted to do some research on the organizations that he had named, but I refrained from doing so.

That... also felt like a trap.

Knowing just how powerful the Inverted Sky was, I could tell that he had eyes and ears everywhere.

One wrong move and I was likely going to expose myself.

I needed to tread carefully.

"Ah, this..."

Yet again, this sense of helplessness...

The worst part of this was that I knew what his target was.

The sword.

'I shouldn't have activated it.'

It was the whole reason why he was able to detect me.

Had I not...

'No, it was bound to happen.'

One day, or another, I was going to do the same thing. It was something that was bound to happen. But...

'....If only I had done it a little later.'

I knew that it was too late for me to regret it. For now, the only thing I could do was find a way to buy as much time as possible.

The only thing that he knew was the Empire I was from, and that I was a noble.

I was still in the clear.

What he didn't know was the fact that I was part of that very organization.

At least, on paper.

That meant that I only had one true path to take.

'Have more control within the organization.'

"Julien."

"Hm?"

Suddenly hearing my name getting called up, I raised my head. When I looked around, I found that everyone was staring at me.

"...."

I remained quiet and waited for the Professor to speak. I had been too immersed in my own thoughts. I had no idea what was happening.

"Who are you going to choose?"

"...."

Choose?

I blinked my eyes.

I had to choose? Choose what?

"Haa..."

As if understanding that I wasn't paying attention, Professor Bridgette sighed and shook her head.

"Never mind, I will select your team members for you."

"Uh?"

Looking around the classroom, the Professor's gaze fell on several people.

"Your team members will be, Anders, Kiera, Luxon, and Josephine."

*

It turns out that for the midterms, the combat sequence was divided into two parts. Team, and individual performance.

According to the Professor, cadets needed to know how to work well together.

It was one of the traits that the Guild's scouts looked forward to the most given that they sent extraction teams into the Mirror Dimension all the time.

For that reason, a draft prospect needed to know how to work and lead in a team, outside of their individual power.

To Guilds, powerful cadets were useless if they didn't know how to work together with other members.

At the training grounds.

"Haaa..."

"Stop it."

"Haaa...."

"I said stop it."

"Haaaa-Hiek!! Stop! I'm sorry!"

Ignoring Kiera and Josephine who were bickering with one another, a sight which had started to become the norm within the classroom, I took a look at the other two cadets in my team.

'Anders and Luxon.'

Both were ranked rather high.

....I knew Anders a little. Ever since the incident back in the forest, he had mellowed out a lot.

Rather, you could say he was on friendlier terms with me.

Even so, it wasn't as if I was extremely familiar with him.

The only one that I wasn't very familiar with was Luxon. With brown hair and blue eyes, he was rather handsome. Last I recalled he was also ranked five, and a knight.

A powerful team member.

No, all of them were strong. I couldn't complain about the team composition.

"Uht!! H-help!"

There was only one problem.

"Are you dissatisfied with something?"

Luxon didn't seem to be satisfied with the current arrangement. He appeared to be the only one like that as he had been wearing a frown ever since we left the classroom and came into the training area.

Turning his head, he met my gaze.

"....."

Though he didn't say anything, I could tell at a glance what his problem was.

'So it's me.'

Right...

".....I don't like this."

His deep voice echoed throughout. Though it wasn't loud, it was enough to stop Kiera and Josephine by the side.

"What's going on?"

Ignoring her, he continued.

"Since this is a decision made by the Professor, I won't argue. I'm just stating that I don't like this arrangement."

"...."

As expected, I was right.

It wasn't as if I hadn't expected such a scenario. In fact, I had thought that everyone on my team would be in disagreement with the current arrangement, but it was surprising to see that he was the only one who was displeased.

"What do you want to do about it?"

It was a simple question.

One that wasn't filled with any malice.

But deep down, I already knew what he wanted. Still, he shook his head and turned his head.

"Nothing. Since the arrangement is like this, I won't argue."

"Oh? You seem rather reasonable."

It was surprising, but at the same time, it made sense. He was a high-ranking noble who had been trained to enter a Guild.

While he had his pride, he knew the importance of teamwork.

A rather impressive person.

"....Do you want to spar?"

It was for that reason that I offered to spar with him.

"Uh?"

"Hm?"

Perhaps taken aback by my sudden proposition, everyone looked at me. I could also feel Kiera's gaze from the side, but compared to Josephine's and Luxon's expressions, hers contained a different meaning.

Ignoring it, I continued.

"If you're dissatisfied, then I have no problem sparring with you."

I didn't mind it to be honest.

There was something that I wanted to test. It was something that I had discovered during the play and hadn't had the chance to properly test it.

A new ability perhaps.

I wasn't quite sure what to make of it just yet.

But it was certainly an interesting idea...

As if still stunned by the sudden proposition, Luxon's gaze changed.

"...You, are you being serious?"

"Serious."

Unbuttoning the buttons of my shirt, I slowly rolled my sleeves up and tossed my blazer to the side.

"....."

Still stunned, he remained motionless on the opposite end.

But I didn't care and started to stretch my body.

'Rank five...'

Though his rank was high, it was mainly due to the fact that Kiera wasn't very good at academic studies. She was in fact stronger than him. The same was true for a few other cadets.

In terms of raw combat power, he was within the tens.

Even so...

He was certainly strong.

My strength had increased quite a lot over the past few months due to everything that had happened to me.

I wanted to test the extent of my skills.

.....and the new technique that I was trying to grasp.

"Are you ready?"

Once my sleeves were fully rolled up, I looked in his direction. He too had removed his blazer and had rolled up his sleeve.

In his hand was a wooden sword.

When did he get that...?

"How are we going to do this?"

At his question, I looked at the space around me and massaged my shoulder.

".....It's a light spar. Just enough to familiarize ourselves and to please you."

"And the victor?"

"Naturally he'll be the leader."

".....Okay."

Positioning himself in a stance, a thin veil of mana started to cover his body.

"I'm ready."

"....."

Nodding quietly, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Huuu."

'Let's see how this goes.'

There was a high chance it could backfire, but I didn't really care about that. I was more interested in knowing if it was possible.

And thus...

With my eyes closed, I immersed myself in a familiar set of emotions and memories.

***

As Luxon and Julien stood on opposite ends, Kiera, Anders, and Josephine spectated from the side.

"This is so exciting~"

With her body leaning forward, Josephine alternated her gaze between Julien and Luxon.

"As expected, nobody can beat Julien in that department..."

"Uh?"

Kiera looked at Josephine in confusion.

What's this bitch ranting on about?

"But, hey."

Josephine's head turned to face hers.

"Who do you think will win?"

"....Who?"

The obvious answer was Luxon, but...

"I don't know."

Kiera didn't feel so confident in him. It was strange, but she just didn't see him winning against Julien.

"Anders?"

Turning her head, Kiera saw that Anders was also silent. Judging from his expression, he seemed to have similar thoughts to her.

Would you look at this...

Smirking slightly, Kiera reached out for her blazer pocket and took out a small box. Retrieving one out, she was just about to light it up when she stopped herself.

"...."

Her gaze fixed on Julien who stood motionless with his eyes closed.

Feeling her hand grow antsy, she had the urge to light the cigarette. However, despite her mind telling her to, her body refused to.

"Tsk."

In the end, clicking her tongue, she put the cigarette away.

'....Whatever.'

"You, did you..."

Her action seemed to have stunned Josephine who looked at her with widened eyes.

For some reason, Josephine's gaze annoyed her, and she pushed it away with her hand.

"Go away."

"But, you...!"

"Fuck, stop. It's starting."

Indeed, the moment Kiera said those words, Julien opened his eyes. However, the moment he did, the atmosphere around him completely changed.

"What the..."

Scratch. Scratch.

A scratching sound echoed.

All of a sudden, a familiar figure appeared in their vision.

One that everyone present had witnessed once before. Be it live, or through recordings... Everyone was familiar with the figure that stood before them.

Especially when staring into his eyes which contained a hidden madness.

Opening her mouth, Kiera mumbled,

"How does that make sense?"