Royal Academy, Room 207 (Regnis POV)

A strange uneasiness filled my heart as I sat there waiting patiently for my turn to talk to Professor Kyle. Class ended a few minutes ago, and Halbert, Zane, and Reina had already left the classroom earlier while Headmistress Sylfey seemed to be nagging Professor Kyle about something, but after a few more moments, she left the room as Professor Kyle let out a tired sigh.

Now’s my chance!

I immediately got up, but the moment I did, I heard someone else do the same. I turned to my side to see Sophie, and our eyes met for a moment as we both stood there in silence.

… So... you need his help too, huh?...

Halbert and Zane are lucky.

Halbert’s master is still in the capital so he can hone his swordsmanship with her and the high priestess is always at the church for Zane if he wants to improve his magic skills, but my master isn’t here currently. Captain Lars is still on duty at the northern edge of the Empire, so right now… the best option I have is the only A-rank adventurer I know... Maybe I can’t learn any spearmanship from him, but I can at the very least, I can learn some more alchemy.

I took a deep breath as I could sense a similar resolution burning in Sophie’s eyes, and we nodded to each other before walking up together to Professor Kyle’s desk where he was slumped over with a blank, forlorn look on his face.

Royal Academy, Room 207 (Kyle POV)

I stared out the window at the clouds floating by as I said my final goodbyes to my break. As I expected, Mari wants to make me come along with her as her little assistant to set up everything for the tournament, but I guess if we’re looking at the bright side, at least I don’t have to write up an exam for the class too...

Damn it. I just can’t catch a break today, can I? First I had to deal with the idiots at the 7th Squad Knights, and now I come back to find out I have to work overtime!

I was about to resign myself to the inevitable when suddenly Sophie’s voice brought me back to my senses.

“Professor Kyle.” (Sophie)

“W-Wha-” (Kyle)

I scrambled around in a slight panic before sitting back up to see Sophie and Regnis standing in front of my table with serious faces.

“We have a request.” (Sophie)

“Huh? A request?” (Kyle)

“Please train us. We need to get stronger.” (Sophie)

Sophie’s voice was tinged with a soft, almost begging tone as she bowed deeply to me before Regnis did too.

“... Please, we have no one else to turn to...” (Regnis)

Eh? Train? Thanks to Mari, I won’t even have any time to relax, so where am I going to find the time to trai- Ah.

A surge of hope flooded my heart as I stood up with an excited twinkle in my eyes.

“Sure, no problem!” (Kyle)

Sorry, Mari, but it looks like two of my precious students need my help over the break, and what kind of professor would I be if I didn’t do everything I could to help them over the entirety of the break? So I guess you’ll just have to finish all the preparations for the tournament by yourself.

I laughed to myself triumphantly as Sophie and Regnis slowly stopped bowing with confused looks on their faces.

“What? What’s wrong?” (Kyle)

"Wait, that’s it? You’re just going to accept like that? There’s no requirement, or a test or anything like that?” (Sophie)

“Why would we need a test? You’re already my students, aren’t you? So as your professor, of course I’m going to help you two out. And, well, to be honest, this will help me avoid some extra work too, so it’s not like I don’t have any incentive at all...” (Kyle)

I let out a dry laugh and scratched the back of my head sheepishly before clearing my throat.

“Ahem. Anyway, you said it yourself, Regnis. We only have two weeks, so let’s get going!” (Kyle)

I grabbed my bag and pointed out the window towards the front gate as I made another announcement with a smile on my face.

“Alright, your first task will be to go get your weapons and rendezvous at the front gate of the academy within half an hour!” (Kyle)

***

A while later, I was making my way over to meet up with Regnis and Sophie again after informing Mari about the ‘unfortunate’ request from my students, and the subsequent change of plans. The academy campus was still bustling with activity even though classes ended almost half an hour ago and dozens of students walked past me as I lightly jogged over to the front gate of the academy, where Regnis and Sophie were already waiting for me. They stood on the side of the main path while clutching their weapons, and I waved to them before running over.

“Alright, are you two ready?” (Kyle)

“Yes.” (Regnis)

“What are we going to do, Professor Kyle?” (Sophie)

“Hmm, well, before we start, I should probably get a general idea of how you two are right now. So let’s head over to the training fields first. We can have a small spar there. Follow me.” (Kyle)

I turned around and started walking towards the training field with a smile as Regnis and Sophie followed behind me.

We weaved our way through the crowds of students leaving campus to move to the training fields. However, when we finally arrived at the entrance to the training fields, despair flooded my heart as I saw it again.

There it was, my mortal enemy in all its abhorrent glory. In front of me wasn’t the clean, empty academy training fields I was used to. In front of me was… another line!

Yes, a line. There was a multitude of students in uniform following behind who I assume were their respective professors as they all waited in line for their turn to use the training field. I scanned through the huge line of people before finally spotting a familiar figure standing in the middle.

Wait a second! I’d recognize that tacky outfit anywhere!

A man with long black hair who was dressed in a white robe held together by an embroidered sash was standing in line, talking to a student who had short, dark brown hair and similarly colored eyes. The student had a longsword sheathed at his waist and was nodding at the man with a stoic look on his face when I called out to the two in line.

“Oi, Raven!” (Kyle)

“Oh, Ky. You’re here too?” (Raven)

Raven waved at me nonchalantly as I ran over and grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Raven, what’s going on? Why is there such a huge line to use the training fields?” (Kyle)

“What are you talking about? Obviously, it’s because of the academy tournament coming up.” (Raven)

Raven stared at me with a puzzled look on his face as Regnis and Sophie finally caught up with me.

“Everyone wants to use the training field right now, so I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for your turn, Ky. But if you get on line now, you’ll probably be able to use it before nighttime.” (Raven)

“Damn it! I should’ve known this would happen! There’s no such thing as a tournament arc without everyone having their own training montage!” (Kyle)

Raven nodded to himself in confirmation as I muttered to myself when suddenly the brown-haired student Raven was talking to before interrupted us.

“Professor Yong, who is this?”

“Oh, right. You two haven’t met yet. Jin, this is my friend, Professor Kyle from the alchemy department. Ky, this is my best student, Jin.” (Raven)

“Pleased to meet you, Professor Kyle.” (Jin)

“Uh, same here...” (Kyle)

Raven’s student, Jin, turned to me while still completely straight-faced and bowed slightly as we stood there awkwardly for a moment before I cleared my throat and turned back to Regnis and Sophie with a defeated sigh.

“Well, looks like we can’t use the training field…” (Kyle)

“Where do we go then?” (Sophie)

I rubbed my temples as I stood there thinking about where we could go, but nowhere else came to mind except the academy training fields.

“Ugh. There’s no way we can do any training like this. Alright, maybe we can borrow a training field from the adventurer’s guild then. If I remember, they should be just outside the southern part of the city.” (Kyle)

Regnis and Sophie looked like they were startled a bit after I mentioned leaving the city, but after a moment, they recollected themselves and nodded to me with serious faces before Raven’s voice suddenly rang out again from behind me.

“Oh? Looks like I was right. You came here to train your students, Ky. Which means they’re entering the academy tournament too, right?” (Raven)

“Yeah.” (Kyle)

“I see. Then… ” (Raven)

I stopped and turned around to see Raven with a smile on his face as he patted Jin’s shoulder before extending his open hand out towards me.

“... let’s see who’s students come out on top! It’s a duel, Ky, and this time, it’ll be different! So don’t get eliminated before our battle!” (Raven)

Oi, calm down, you duel-obsessed idiot! You’re not even the one competing, your student is!

Raven clenched his hand into a fist before he turned to Jin with passionate flames burning in his eyes.

“Jin, we have no time to waste!” (Raven)

“Yes, Professor Yong! I won’t let you down!” (Jin)

Jin nodded at Raven intensely before Raven called out to me again.

“We’ll see you at finals, Ky!” (Raven)

“Uh, ok… See you then, I guess...” (Kyle)

A quick glance around let me see that a few people were beginning to stare at us after Raven made such a scene, so I quickly waved goodbye to him before leading Sophie and Regnis back towards the front gate of the academy.

Southern Outskirts of Solria, Adventurer’s Guild Training Field No. 3 (Regnis POV)

A gentle breeze rustled the grass around us as Sophie and I followed behind Professor Kyle. About two hours have passed since we left the academy to go to the adventurer’s guild and we were just now arriving at the entrance to one of the training fields that Professor Kyle managed to rent for today from the guild. A locked gate attached to the large fence that surrounded the entire area was the entrance to the field and I could spot a few training dummies in the distance, set up near the center along with some trees dotting the landscape here and there.

“We’re here.” (Kyle)

Professor Kyle walked up the to gate and pulled out the key that the receptionist at the guild gave him before unlocking it and kicking the gate open. We all entered the training field and he closed the gate behind us before we walked about two-thirds of the way to the center of the field.

“This spot seems good enough, so looks like we can finally have our spar. Are you prepared?” (Kyle)

“Yeah.” (Sophie)

Sophie’s determined voice rang out as I picked up my spear and got into a stance before answering too.

“Yes.” (Regnis)

“Ok. Then you two can say when we start. I’ll go easy on you, but you two should treat this like an actual fight. Don’t hold back.” (Kyle)

Professor Kyle repositioned to a few feet away from us before turning around and slowly taking a stance with a surprisingly serious look on his face. His left hand was open with his fingers held loosely together and extended outwards towards us while his right hand was held at the side of his waist in a fist. Sophie pulled out her gun and held it steady in Professor Kyle’s direction, whereas I lowered my spear a bit so that it was pointing forward. I looked over my shoulder at Sophie and we nodded to each other before I yelled to announce the start of the fight.

“Go!” (Regnis)

I began my chant to activate my body strengthening magic right after starting the battle, however, as soon as I said a single word, Professor Kyle dashed forward.

“Silent storm-” (Regnis)

I couldn’t even get past the second word of my chant before it was cut off by a sharp spin kick and I barely managed to bring my spear up in time to block the kick at my chest as I was blown a few feet backward while Professor Kyle spun to face Sophie who was caught off guard by the immediate assault. She aimed the gun at him in a panic, but before she could pull the trigger, his left arm shot out and grabbed her wrist. He pulled her inward while breaking her balance by kicking low at her leg before he almost instantaneously disarmed her as she fell over. A moment later, Sophie was lying on the ground with the tip of her gun pointed straight at her head.

It was over in a matter of seconds.

“Alright, I think I have a general idea of what level you two are at right now. Are you ok, Sophie?” (Kyle)

“... Y-Yeah...” (Sophie)

Professor Kyle lowered the gun and extended his other hand towards a shaken Sophie to help her up as I ran back over.

“Wait! You attacked before I could even activate my body strengthening magic!” (Regnis)

A faintly indignant tone in my voice alluded to my frustration, but Professor Kyle just turned to me with a slight frown on his face as he patted the dirt off of Sophie before handing her gun back to her.

“Well, of course. What kind of idiot would wait for you to finish casting your body strengthening magic before attacking? I even let you start the battle, so if you’re not going to activate it beforehand, then as your opponent, naturally I would take any advantage I could get, especially in a case like this where I’m unarmed against two people, one of which has a ranged weapon.” (Kyle)

“I…” (Regnis)

I tried to make an excuse, but nothing came out of my mouth as Professor Kyle spoke again.

“I told you to take this seriously, didn’t I? You’re lucky this wasn’t a real fight and I wasn’t a real enemy, otherwise you would both be dead.” (Kyle)

It was those last few words that shut me down.

Professor Kyle was right.

I stood there in silence for a moment as a scene from my memory played out in my head again.

Halbert and Zane were on the other side of the forest clearing, held down by spectral hands from some strange spell, Reina was reaching outward with a desperate look in her eyes, and Sophie sat there in absolute terror right before the undead knight’s sword was about to reach her.

… I was knocked away that time too, wasn’t I?... I ran as fast as I could to try and save her, but I wasn’t fast enough. I fought as hard as I could to try and beat the undead knight, but I wasn’t strong enough. I...

I lowered my head to stare at my hands before I whispered to myself in frustration.

“... Damn it… I couldn’t do anything... It’s just like the fight against Zeon again…” (Regnis)

I grit my teeth and my grip on my spear tightened as my surroundings began to slowly meld together into a vague mess of colors and noise before suddenly, the sound of a soft sigh brought me back to my senses.

I raised my head again to see that Professor Kyle had abruptly stopped in his tracks. He tilted his head back a bit to look up at the clouds as we all stood there in silence before Sophie tried to ask him what was wrong.

“... Professor Kyle, what’s wrong?” (Sophie)

“... Hey... let me ask you two something…” (Kyle)

His voice had a sort of somber nostalgia to it as he continued to stare into the sky with his back turned to me and Sophie.

“Why do you two want me to train you?... I know there’s the academy tournament coming up in two weeks, but... ” (Kyle)

Professor Kyle turned around to face us, but for some reason, his usual listless aura was missing. Instead, the air about him was tinged with a faint melancholy.

A pair of golden eyes stared straight at me and Sophie.

It was the same pair of golden eyes that I had seen plenty of times before. The ones that twinkled whenever he got excited. The ones that dulled whenever he felt lazy. And the ones that were terrifyingly sharp when he fought Zeon.

But this time, it wasn’t like any of those. This time, there was a lonely, wistful glint in his eyes as he gently smiled at us.

“... to me, it kind of seems like it’s because of something else...” (Kyle)

… Why?...

I stood there frozen as dozens of reasons ran through my head, but before I could even say a word, the sound of a single footstep broke the silence. Sophie had taken a step forward and Professor Kyle and I both turned to her as she started to speak in a quiet voice.

“... When we fought Zeon... right before the undead knight was about to kill me, I looked around one last time. I was scared. I thought it was going to be the last thing I would ever do. I thought I was going to die. My leg was injured, and it hurt a lot... but everyone else had injuries too... Even though they were hurting too, even though I’m sure they were all afraid too, despite all that, they all still tried desperately to save me. I saw them. Every single one of them... You too, Professor Kyle…” (Sophie)

Sophie tightened her grip on her gun before she raised her head to stare back at Professor Kyle.

“I don’t want to see that despair in their eyes again. That’s why I need to get stronger... I need to get strong enough that nothing like that ever happens again. Honestly, I don’t care much about how well I do in the tournament. I just want to tell them all something. I want to tell everyone that I'm strong now, that nobody else needs to hurt themselves to save me again!” (Sophie)

Her previously soft voice slowly got louder until it reached the point where it was almost a yell, and Sophie finally ended her speech as she gazed right back at Professor Kyle with a fervent resolve surging in her eyes.

… Pathetic… Absolutely pathetic, Regnis...

You were personally handed this sacred spear by his Highness, you’ve been taught by one of the strongest spearmasters in the Empire, you’re someone who’s fated to help defeat the demon lord! But Sophie? She has none of that. No sacred weapon to use, no powerful master to guide her, no grand destiny to fulfill! And yet, despite the fact that she’s just a normal girl, she’s still trying her best to get stronger! Stronger for your sake!

I grit my teeth again and my left hand moved to grab at my heart before I stabbed the bottom of my spear into the ground in frustration.

So how can you catch up to Halbert and Zane like this!? How can you protect anything if you’re so pathetic you can’t even take a single step forward like the normal girl standing right next to you!?

Just move, damn it!

I screamed at myself internally as my anger at my own weakness finally overcame my fear. I took a step forward. Then, I opened my mouth. And this time, my voice followed.

“I hate it. I hate that feeling of helplessness I had when we fought Zeon. I hate being so weak that I couldn’t do anything to the person hurting my friends, that I couldn’t do even a single thing to stop the undead knight that was about to kill one of those friends right in front of me. All I could do was watch as everyone else struggled to survive… It’s not just about beating Halbert and Zane… I have to get stronger. Strong enough that next time I can do something! And I’m sure that everyone else feels the same way right now too, I’m sure they’re trying their hardest! So I have to show them that I’m not falling behind either!” (Regnis)

I finished yelling out the last of my speech with a hoarse voice as I gazed straight back at Professor Kyle. A determined glint shone in my eyes as we stared at each other for a moment before he closed his eyes, and whispered something to himself.

“I see…” (Kyle)

Then, Professor Kyle sighed faintly again before relaxing his shoulders a little. The bittersweet smile on his face was gone. In its place was a proud grin, and when he opened his eyes again they were shining clearly.

“... Well, I already kind of knew, but looks like I’m not a very good professor, am I? After all, it seems that my students have already gone and grown up splendidly without even a bit of my help... It takes a lot of courage to be able to face your fears like that, a level that I definitely didn’t have when I was at your age. Even now, I still don’t. Ironically, I think I have more to learn from my students than they do from me, but even so... I’m still a professor, aren’t I? So I think this time, for the sake of what little pride I have left as one, I’ll have to try my best to match up to the courage and expectations of my precious students…” (Kyle)

Sophie and I stood there for a moment as a breeze blew by. It came from behind Professor Kyle, and his clothes and hair ruffled softly in the wind as the atmosphere around him instantly transformed. There wasn’t so much as a hint of melancholy anymore. No, right now his aura was different.

It was intense.

It was overwhelming.

It was the aura of someone who was strong.

“If you two really want to get stronger, then I’ll help you get stronger, but don’t complain if I’m a little strict. We’ll start your real training with a training camp next week. Unfortunately, looks like renting out this field for today was a bit of a waste since I’ll have to go make some preparations for the camp if I’m going to take this seriously. So let’s head back to the city for now. Meet again tomorrow morning by the front gate of the academy at 10 AM. Training for today is dismissed!” (Kyle)

Professor Kyle waved his arm outward to dismiss us before spinning around to lead us back to the city as Sophie and I answered in unison.

“Yes, Professor Kyle!” (Sophie & Regnis)

Solria, Edge of Middle District, 7th Squad Barracks (Halbert POV)

The clang of metal crashing against metal rang out in my ears. I struggled to keep my mana flowing through my sword while my grip on my sword’s handle was starting to loosen from continuously blocking Vice-Captain Edward’s swings. His blade was covered in a coat of light-element mana as it flowed smoothly from one swing to the next, drawing countless glowing streaks of light in the air as he slowly pressed forward, but despite his leisurely pace, there wasn’t even a moment of rest for me as I was forced back several steps from the endless assault in front of me. Sparks of blue lightning flew off my sword as impact after impact pounded against it before eventually, I couldn’t keep up anymore. Vice-Captain Edward’s sword smashed against the side of mine and a loud clang sounded out as I felt a violent force tear it out of my hands. It spun in the air a few times before landing on the ground a few feet away, but by then, the tip of Vice-Captain Edward’s sword was already pointed at my throat.

“You’ve lost, Halbert.” (Edward)

I froze for a moment before I fell backward onto the ground, gasping for breath as Vice-Captain Edward sheathed his sword again.

“Well, you’ve improved a bit, but you still have a long way to go.” (Edward)

“T-Thank you, Vice-Captain Edward” (Halbert)

I put strength into my legs and got up again as I heard Sir Alain call over to us from the side.

“Don’t be so tough on the rookie, Edward. You even used one of your family’s signature sword techniques!” (Alain)

I turned my head to my side to see Sir Alain walking towards us with a smile. He helped me up before Vice-Captain Edward turned around and spoke in a stern voice.

“He lost this time because his swordsmanship wasn’t refined enough. Not everyone he fights will be around the same level as him... And anyway, I still went a little easy on him, didn’t I?” (Edward)

“Vice-Captain Edward’s right, Sir Alain. I’m still too weak... In a real fight, no one would just let me win.” (Halbert)

I let out a disappointed sigh before Sir Alain patted me on the shoulder.

“Eh, don’t worry too much, rookie. You’re already pretty strong. Edward’s just mad that he lost earlier and now he’s taking it out on you. Honestly, I think he should be more like my little angel, Lucy, and learn to let it go. Isn’t that right, Edward?” (Alain)

Sir Alain poked Vice-Captain Edward in the arm playfully before Vice-Captain Edward immediately yelled at him with an angry, flustered face.

“I’m not mad!” (Edward)

“Really? It kind of seems like you are to me.” (Alain)

Eh?

I stared at them with a confused look on my face as Sir Alain laughed a bit while Vice-Captain Edward grabbed him by the collar of his uniform.

“Wait, Vice-Captain Edward lost to someone?” (Halbert)

“I didn’t lose! I-It was a tie!” (Edward)

“D-Did another Knight Captain come by to visit or something?” (Halbert)

“Oh, right. You weren’t here, rookie. Captain Aria’s friend came over earlier to drop something off for her, but Edward thought he was an intruder and attacked him on sight even though he was unarmed.” (Alain)

Unarmed!? How did they break through that barrage of swings!? Even with my sword, I could barely handle it and he was going easy on me! I knew Captain Aria was insanely strong, but I didn’t think everyone around her would be so strong too...

“Like I said before, he was acting suspiciously by the front door! I didn’t know Lillian left the front gate open and he had Captain Aria’s missing lunchbox!” (Edward)

Vice-Captain Edward grumbled about it a little more before turning to me with an annoyed look on his face as he tried to change the subject.

“Anyway, Halbert, didn’t you say that you had something to ask Captain Aria about after our spar?” (Edward)

“Y-Yeah.” (Halbert)

That’s right… I need to ask her for an important favor...

Vice-Captain Edward walked over, picked my sword, and tossed it over as he pointed towards the front door to the barracks.

“Then get going. She should be in her office.” (Edward)

“Yes, Vice-Captain Edward!” (Halbert)

I gave a knight’s salute to Vice-Captain Edward before making my way over to Captain Aria’s office as he waved to shoo me away.

***

The door to Captain Aria’s office stood right in front of me as a surge of anxiety filled my heart. The hallway was silent, silent enough that I could hear my own heart beating in my chest. I wanted, no, I needed to knock on the door, but despite me telling my hand to move, it just wouldn’t… All I could manage to do was stand there frozen.

It was like I was being held down by Zeon’s spell again.

A deep breath entered my lungs as I stood there with a distressed look on my face before I closed my eyes for a moment.

In my mind, the shadowy, phantasmal figure of a man dressed in a black hooded cloak emerged, and in his hand was a staff with a black crystal embedded at the tip. He had a twisted smile on his face as he slowly pointed his staff at me before wisps of darkness gathered behind him to form an undead knight covered in old, scratched up armor with faded blue designs and a tattered cape.

The shadowy figure and I stared at each other for a moment. A cold feeling of death swirled around in his eyes before he let out a crazed, yet absolutely silent laugh and disintegrated into wisps of darkness himself, disappearing into nothingness along with the undead knight.

And then, I was alone once more.

… You know better than anyone what you need to do, don’t you?…

Everyone almost died because of you, because you weren’t strong enough to defeat the Sin of Envy, Zeon.

You need to get stronger…

So what are you afraid of, Halbert? You’re lucky Captain Aria’s right here to help you. Regnis and Zane don’t have that luxury, and yet I’m sure that they’re still trying their hardest to get stronger right now! They’re already far ahead of you!

So how?... How the hell are you going to face them if you can’t even gather up the courage to knock on a door? How are you going to save anyone like this?

I opened my eyes again and looked down at my right hand. It was trembling, trembling from my anger at my own weakness as I screamed at myself internally one last time.

What kind of hero can’t even protect the people around him!?

My hand slowly tightened into a fist before the trembling stopped.

And finally, I moved.

I raised my hand and knocked on the door as a burning resolve lit up in my eyes.

... Two weeks… You only have two weeks, and this time, you’re the one who has to catch up!