Chapter 25

After a month of training as a magic swordsman, the three of us, having completed our suspension period without incident, gathered in front of the principal's office.

As usual, we knocked and received permission to enter, then slowly opened the black door.

"---Excuse me."

There, as usual, was Ms. Leia, looking as lively as ever, and No. 18, who for some reason looked even more haggard than usual.

...It seems that during this month, she had been used quite harshly by the teacher.

"Oh, you're back! ...Hmm, all three of you seem to have become a bit tougher, haven't you?"

The teacher stared intently at our three faces and muttered this observation.

"A, ahaha... There were quite a few things that happened..."

"Yes... It was packed with events..."

"It was intense..."

When I calmly reflected on it, this month had indeed been quite dense...

Probably, it would be more accurate to say that our faces had 'aged' rather than 'become tougher.'

"Hehe. Well, I'll hear the details of that later."

Then the teacher smiled happily and said,

"Alright, then I'll lift your suspensions and allow you to return to Class 1-A!"

She stamped the three documents in front of her with the principal's seal.

"Thank you."

"Yay!"

"Finally back."

Now we could finally attend classes.

(Soul Armament class... I'm looking forward to it!)

Though there was some anxiety about being a month behind, the excitement and joy far outweighed it.

During this short period, I had seen many Soul Armaments.

Reia's <Primordial Dragon King>.

Cain's <Hundred Years of Hell>.

Shido's <Lonely Ice Wolf>.

Dodriel's <Master of Shadows>.

Rize's <Wilted Umbrella>.

Each of them possessed incredibly powerful abilities.

(What kind of ability will my Soul Armament have...?)

To be honest, I couldn't sleep much last night because I was thinking about this all the time.

"Well, let's get right to the first class... Hmm, it starts in about ten minutes, so I'll go with you."

Then we went to Class 1-A with the teacher.

The corridor we walked down after a month felt a little nostalgic.

"Here we are."

The teacher stepped to the side of the classroom door without opening it.

It seemed that I had to open this door myself.

"Phew..."

"It's a bit... nerve-wracking, isn't it?"

"It's been a month, after all..."

Of course, it had been a month, but more than that, there was a feeling of not wanting to face them.

(I did cause some trouble for everyone...)

The match with Shido at the Great Five Holy Festival.

(If I hadn't let the spirit core take over my body and could have controlled that power properly...)

Probably, the Thousand Blades Academy could have beaten the Ice King Academy, their long-standing rival.

I often think about such 'what ifs' at random moments.

"Phew... Alright, I'm opening it?"

The two of them nodded silently.

Bracing myself for cold glares and insults from my classmates, I opened the door with a burst of energy.

"Alen, Reia, Rose! Welcome back!"

Several party poppers went off with a bang, and at the same time, words of congratulations were sent.

"Wha...?"

Completely caught off guard, the three of us opened our mouths in surprise.

"Hahaha! Oh, what's with those faces!"

"It's a big success!"

"Alen, Reia, and Rose, you all did a great job! It must have been tough."

The Class 1-A students said this and came running over to us.

"Um, but... aren't you guys angry...?"

I finally voiced the concern that had been bothering me.

"No, no! The other side went too far first! Besides, he was a real jerk!"

"Yeah! In fact, I felt relieved after beating him up!"

"Well, the last part was a bit too much, but..."

They welcomed us warmly, saying this.

(...)

I felt a bit of warmth in my eyes.

But I was too embarrassed to cry in front of so many people, so I pinched my thigh with my fingers to force back the tears.

Meanwhile, questions were fired at me one after another.

"Hey, hey, you were a magic swordsman during your suspension, right? Tell us about it!"

"You registered at the Magic Swordsman Association's Aurest branch, right? That's impressive... I heard there's a super scary 'bald guy' there!"

"By the way, I want to hear about this too! The incident at the Great Commercial Festival! Alen's name was mentioned in Rize Dohrahin's interview!"

"Eh, um..."

As the questions rained down, I was at a loss for words.

"---Cough. Hold it, hold it, you guys. Save those stories for break time. We're in class now, after all."

Ms. Leia said this and pointed to the clock on the blackboard.

Looking at it, I saw that three minutes had already passed since the start of the first period.

"Ah, damn, can't help it."

"Alen, Reia, Rose! Please tell us later!"

Thus, everyone grumbled a bit but returned to their seats.

The three of us also headed to the three empty seats by the window—our seats.

Then the teacher, standing at the lectern, said something strange.

"Alright, starting today, we will begin the Soul Armament class!"

"Yay! I've been waiting for this!"

"This month has been tough..."

"Heh, my spirit core is roaring!"

At the same time, the classmates cheered, as if to say, "We've been waiting for this!"

I exchanged glances with Reia and Rose.

"Teacher... What do you mean by 'starting today'?"

"Hmm? ...Oh, I haven't told you yet. Since you were suspended, for the past month, at the request of all the students in Class 1-A, they have only been doing strength training. They all wanted to start the Soul Armament class at the same time as you three."

"Wh-What...!?"

I turned to look at everyone, and they nodded with smiles.

(Indeed, it's very nice to be able to learn Soul Armaments with everyone...)

It would be good to learn with Reia and Rose, but it would certainly be more fun to learn Soul Armaments with the whole class.

(But, it feels wrong to waste everyone's precious month...)

The feeling of gratitude was overshadowed by a sense of guilt.

Then, as if reading my thoughts, the teacher smiled slyly.

"Hey, don't misunderstand. They haven't wasted a single second."

"What do you mean?"

"Heh. After all, I personally trained them intensively for a whole month! Look closely. You can see that everyone has leveled up significantly, right?"

...Indeed.

Looking closely, everyone's physique was incomparable to what it was a month ago.

(Not to the extent of becoming like Ms. Pora or Bones...)

The boys had grown a size larger.

The girls, in the visible areas, had their fat turn into fine muscle.

Strength is the foundation of all sword techniques.

To give an extreme example, if a five-year-old sword genius and a muscular layman had a real sword duel, the layman would undoubtedly win.

That's how important the base of 'strength' is.

"Hehe, Alen? Now I can keep up with your movements!"

"After a hellish month, the Zantei style has evolved even further—different from before."

"I'll have a match with you next time!"

The three boys who had fought me before smiled confidently.

"...! Yeah, of course! Let's have a practice match!"

It seems that my earlier thoughts were completely overthinking.

The people here are all far more talented swordsmen than me.

There was no way they would waste a month.

"Alright, let's start the class right away! First, we'll move to the classroom—follow me!"

Then we followed Ms. Leia to the basement called the 'Soul Armament Field.'

"Alright, go to the preparation room and each take one Spirit Crystal Sword!"

The teacher said this and blew the whistle hanging around her neck with a 'Pee!'

It was a scene that felt familiar.

"Alen, let's go!"

"This way."

"Yeah, okay."

I was led by Reia and Rose to the preparation room.

A Spirit Crystal Sword—made from the rare mineral called Spirit Crystal.

I had heard that it is mainly used in Soul Armament classes and can bring out the 'soul' that sleeps deep within the wielder.

"Spirit Crystal Sword... this one!"

"...Beautiful."

The two of them quickly pulled out the Spirit Crystal Swords lined up in large numbers.

I followed suit and picked up one of them.

(Whoa... surprisingly heavy)

It looked like transparent blue glass, but...

As a mineral, it was much heavier than a regular sword.

With the back end sticking out, we left the preparation room with our Spirit Crystal Swords in hand.

At that moment, a good idea popped into my head.

(...Right! Swinging this will be great training!)

Swinging such a heavy sword would surely have double or triple the effect.

The impact on the shoulders, core, abs, and back would be tremendous.

As I did a few light swings to get used to it,

"Let me remind you, Spirit Crystal Swords are very expensive. One costs at least a million gold, so please handle them carefully."

The teacher said this loudly so that all the students could hear.

"Wha, a million gold...!?"

I was speechless at the eye-popping amount and immediately stopped swinging.

(This sword costs a million gold...!?)

I carefully held the Spirit Crystal Sword with both hands and glanced around.

Just counting the ones I could see... there were over thirty.

—That means, just here, the total is thirty million gold.

This is enough to live comfortably for at least ten years.

(No wonder, one of the Five Academies, the Thousand Blades Academy...)

The level of facilities left me speechless.

While I was pale-faced, everyone around me handled the Spirit Crystal Swords without any hesitation. ...They must be quite wealthy.

Well, it makes sense.

Everyone here is a super elite from a famous sword academy, and there isn't a single person from a rural area like me.

Then,

"Hmm..."

"Ah..."

Reia and Rose, holding the Spirit Crystal Swords, occasionally made strange sounds and fidgeted a bit.

"Are you two okay...?"

"Sorry, Alen! I made strange sounds..."

"My body feels... strange..."

They said this while looking down at the Spirit Crystal Swords, swaying slightly.

(...'Strange'?)

I have no idea what kind of strange feeling it is...

Looking closely, their cheeks were slightly flushed.

Maybe they have a fever.

(Should we go to the infirmary...?)

As I was thinking this, the whistle sounded again.

"Alright, everyone has a Spirit Crystal Sword, right?"

The teacher glanced at everyone.

We nodded in response.

"I think you already know, but the Spirit Crystal Sword is a special sword used only for learning Soul Armaments. Just holding it should give you a strange feeling, right?"

The students around me nodded in unison.

(A strange feeling...? No, I don't feel anything at all)

It seems that I am the only one in the class who doesn't feel anything.

"Those of you with talent—high sensitivity—should feel a tingling sensation in your body. This is a sign that your 'spirit core' is reacting. The intensity varies greatly from person to person, but generally, women are said to be more sensitive than men."

It seems that this tingling is largely due to talent.

(Talent, huh...)

There is no better explanation than this...

"From now on, I will have you start a conversation with the 'spirit core' that resides in your soul. Whether it's a discussion, a fight, or a negotiation—try to get it to share its power. The power you receive—part of the spirit core—materialized, is your 'Soul Armament'!"

...I see.

The knowledge that I had only vaguely known before is now being systematized and organized, and it feels very good, like connecting dots with lines.

"By the way, one thing to note—don't get consumed."

The teacher lowered her voice and warned clearly.

"The spirit core is generally a guardian of you. You can think of it as almost an ally. However, there are rare cases where it tries to take over your body—possessing a strong sense of self. As you all know, Alen's spirit core is one such example."

Everyone's gaze focused on me.

"But Alen's case is special and abnormal—a rare case. Normally, this doesn't happen often, so there's no need to worry too much."

...In other words, I have a lot to worry about when it comes to this class.

I suddenly felt a heavy burden...

"But even if you do get consumed, you don't need to worry at all. I will forcefully suppress it."

Saying this, the teacher snapped her right fingers.

(...That's reassuring)

She may be unreliable in other aspects, but when it comes to physical strength, she is incredibly reliable.

"Alright, let's get to the explanation. The use of the Spirit Crystal Sword is simple! First, close your eyes quietly and focus your mind. Then, slowly sink your consciousness inward—into your soul. When you realize it, the spirit core should be in front of you."

Inward... inward...

It's a rather abstract and sensory explanation.

"Well, seeing