Chapter 72

When I conducted the spirit energy measurement,

"Ah, what...?"

For some reason, the magic circle shattered into pieces.

"..."

In the face of this unexpected situation, the spirit energy room fell silent.

The gazes of all my classmates pierced my entire body, and an unpleasant sweat ran down my back.

(This... Could it be... It's my fault...?)

Up until now, about thirty people had measured their spirit energy, but nothing like this had ever happened.

I must have made a mistake in measuring the spirit energy...

In the awkward silence that followed, I felt extremely uneasy.

(How much... did this magic circle cost...?)

Even though it wasn't intentional, I had broken the school's equipment.

Naturally, I would have to pay for it.

A magic circle specifically installed in the "spirit energy room" couldn't possibly be worth just a thousand or two thousand gold.

(I'm sure... Spirit crystal swords cost a million gold each... right...?)

There were over a hundred spirit crystal swords in the preparation room.

However, this magic circle was the only one in the spirit energy room.

From the perspective of rarity, the magic circle was overwhelmingly more valuable.

(It must be worth more than a million gold... right...?)

I could feel the blood draining from my face.

A million gold is a huge amount.

With that much money, I could live without working for a year.

(Oh no...)

I was supposed to become a great swordsman and give my mother a comfortable life...

If this continues, I might drag her into a debt trap...

(No, no, calm down. Maybe it's not as expensive as I think...!)

That's right, it hasn't been decided that it's that expensive yet...

It could be a consumable with a limited number of uses!

With a glimmer of hope, I turned my gaze towards the teacher.

"What...!?"

She had wide eyes and was trembling with her fists clenched.

(It's over...)

That desperate expression—there was no mistaking it.

The magic circle was far more rare and expensive than a spirit crystal sword.

(What the... My spirit energy couldn't be measured...? Did something interfere...? No... that's impossible. I've never heard of spirit rank affecting spirit energy measurement. So the cause of the magic circle's destruction must be... Allen's enormous spirit energy...)

With a pale face, I mustered the courage to speak to the silent teacher.

"Tea-teacher...?"

But there was no response.

She must have been deeply shocked...

She was biting her lower lip and seemed to be deep in thought.

(The cause is undoubtedly that cursed '100 million year button'... It was probably trapped in the 'time prison' for a very long time. A thousand years... or even two thousand years... Poor thing... It must have taken a long time to escape...)

After a while, the teacher, having recovered from the shock, stared at me intently.

"Allen... How old are you—"

"—I'm sorry!"

When I bowed my head,

"What's wrong, all of a sudden?"

The teacher looked confused.

"I'm sorry for breaking the rare magic circle... I'll work hard to pay for it..."

"Oh, no... That's not necessary. This magic circle is made of low-quality spirit crystals and isn't as expensive as you think."

"Really...!?"

"Yes. Besides, what happened just now was a minor accident during class. You're not responsible, and you don't need to pay for it, so don't worry."

"I'm relieved..."

When I let out a deep sigh of relief,

"Leia! In the end, what was Allen's spirit energy like!? I didn't hear anything about black light in your explanation!"

Reia demanded, and the gazes of all the classmates turned to the teacher.

"Hmm, yes... I've never seen such black light before, so I can't say for sure... But there is one thing I'm certain of. Allen's spirit energy is overwhelmingly greater than anyone here, including myself."

When the teacher said this,

"Wh-What!?"

All the classmates froze.

Despite her many shortcomings, Teacher Leia is absolutely strong in combat.

The fact that Allen's spirit energy surpassed hers left all of us, including me, speechless.

"Tea-teacher, isn't that a bit exaggerated...?"

When I timidly asked,

"No, it's not. In terms of spirit energy, you surpass me. Be proud. There aren't many swordsmen with such vast spirit energy."

The teacher smiled.

"Thank you..."

I was very, very happy.

In the fifteen years I've lived, I've never been praised as a swordsman by a teacher.

This was especially true at the Gran Swordsmanship Academy.

—Allen, you have no talent.

—No matter how much you practice, it's useless.

—You're a nuisance, quit soon.

The teachers there said these things with cold, emotionless eyes.

But now, I was praised as a swordsman.

At a far superior academy to the Gran Swordsmanship Academy.

And by Reia, the Black Fist, a renowned swordsman recognized worldwide...

(Being praised... feels good...)

As I savored this immense joy,

"Hey, hey... Is it really true that Allen's spirit energy surpasses Black Fist Reia=Lasnote...!?"

"Is it really at the national level...?"

"Man, Allen is awesome...!"

My classmates also praised me wholeheartedly.

After a while, when the commotion settled down, the teacher clapped her hands.

"Now that the spirit energy measurement is over, I'll teach you specific methods to enhance your spirit energy."

She cleared her throat to gather attention and began to speak slowly.

"The training method is very simple—push yourself to your limits! Wear down your spirit until your heart cries out—your spirit energy will grow significantly! Whether it's sword practice or endurance running, anything will do! Just keep repeating the most grueling trials until you can't take it anymore!"

'Repeating the most grueling trials until you can't take it anymore'—this was a training method that suited me.

After all, I had swung a sword for billions of years in that hellish 'time prison'.

Endurance, perseverance, and persistence—I was already used to such mundane tasks.

In fact, I even found them enjoyable recently.

...Maybe my spirit energy is the result of that experience.

"Until the end of the second period... We have about thirty minutes left. Let's return to the soul equipment field and resume our soul equipment training! The spirit energy enhancement training will be implemented during the afternoon strength training!"

"Understood!"

Thus, we, who had come to understand the essential 'spirit energy' for soul equipment, began our dialogue with our spirit cores once again.