The rules were simple: each of the four would participate in an individual match. There would be no team battles.
Since all of the knights belonged to a lower class, all they had to do was defeat their respective opponents to take their Ranks, regardless of the outcome of the other matches.
At the moment, Enrico held Rank 125, Caelan Rank 124, Elian Rank 123, and Serenya Rank 122, making her the second strongest student in Class D.
On the other side stood the four strongest students of Class E. As the strongest members of their class, they believed their Ranks were unfairly low.
Jil Sermonto, the leader of the group, held Rank 151. Beside him was Rodrigo Malik, who had just finished his banana, at Rank 152. Bruna Robin, the dual-sword knight, was Rank 153. Finally, Zaine Kinber, the two-handed sword knight, held Rank 154.
The expected matchups were straightforward, with the strongest facing their respective equals. However, when Serenya chose Caelan to begin the first match, Zaine stepped forward and entered the arena before Bruna could even react.
His action surprised even his own companions.
"Hey, idiot! What are you doing? He's my opponent! My Rank is higher than yours."
Bruna glared at Zaine with obvious irritation, but he didn't seem to care about her complaint in the slightest.
"Sorry, but I want to climb the Rankings faster than you. Since I got in first, I'm sure Lord Jil won't mind. Right?"
"Not at all. Go ahead."
"Leader, why?"
Bruna became even more indignant at the answer, but it only took one cold glance from Jil for her to immediately fall silent, though her dissatisfaction remained obvious.
With her arms crossed, she turned her attention to Caelan, who was supposed to be her opponent.
Meanwhile, Caelan seemed completely indifferent to who his opponent would be. Instead of looking at Zaine, he pointed directly at Jil.
"Why don't you just send your strongest fighter already? That way you'll understand the difference in power between us once and for all."
"What?"
The provocation caused all four knights to narrow their eyes at the same time. They might belong to a lower class, but there was only one class separating the two groups. In their eyes, there wasn't such an overwhelming gap in strength.
Zaine slowly drew the enormous sword strapped to his back and pointed it at Caelan.
"I'll make you swallow those words."
"If you say so."
Caelan shrugged and slipped his hands into his pockets, wearing an arrogant smile that only irritated Zaine even more. The moment Enrico, who had temporarily taken the role of referee, lowered his hand to signal the start of the match, the knight charged forward with his sword in hand.
"Brown Bear Magic!"
"Oh..."
Enrico was immediately surprised to recognize that magic. It was a Unique Magic, an ability inherited exclusively by the Kinber family. Magics of that kind were extremely rare and, in most cases, very powerful. This was also the first time he had seen another member of that family besides the woman he knew from the original story.
'Only she appeared in the original story. The other members of the family were barely even mentioned, since it was said their abilities weren't even close to hers...'
A brown aura enveloped Zaine's sword as he unleashed a powerful strike at Caelan. However, the young man's smile only widened. A barrier of water instantly formed around him and blocked the attack without the slightest difficulty, causing Zaine's eyes to widen in shock.
'And they really aren't even close to that woman's level.'
Before anyone could understand what had happened, a thin jet of water sliced through the air at terrifying speed. Zaine's sword was cut cleanly in half along with his armor, leaving a perfectly straight slash that stopped only a few centimeters short of reaching his chest. The magic vanished the very next instant, as though it had never existed.
Zaine remained frozen, unable to process what had just happened. His eyes were wide open, while his companions stared at the scene with the exact same expression of disbelief.
"W-what just happened?"
"I couldn't even see it properly..."
Caelan simply turned his back, keeping his hands in his pockets as he calmly stepped down from the arena, as though he had just accomplished something completely trivial. Elian walked past him and took his place for the next match. On the opposite side, Rodrigo took a deep breath before stepping into the arena. After witnessing what had just happened, his confidence had diminished considerably.
"Zaine, leave the arena."
When Zaine stepped out of the arena with a completely dejected expression, the second match began. As soon as Enrico gave the signal, Rodrigo drew the short sword from its sheath and immediately charged at Elian. At the same time, Elian ran toward him with a dagger in each hand.
"Fire Magic: Flaming Sword."
Flames enveloped Rodrigo's blade, and with a horizontal slash, he launched an arc of fire toward his opponent. Elian leaned his body backward and barely avoided it. Without breaking his rhythm, he took another step forward and aimed the dagger in his left hand at Rodrigo's shoulder, forcing him to retreat before he could be struck.
The two faced each other once again for a brief moment. Neither of them intended to reveal all of their cards at the very beginning of the fight. Coincidentally, they both shared the same greatest strength: Speed.
'If I were the one fighting either of these two, it'd be troublesome... fighting someone fast is a pain.'
The two charged at each other once more. The sound of steel clashing echoed throughout the arena as swords and daggers crossed in an increasingly rapid exchange of attacks and defenses. Enrico could still follow both of their movements, but his current body would never be able to react at that speed if he were in either of their places.
Even so, as the battle continued, he noticed a slight difference. Elian was a little faster even without using magic.
Little by little, small cuts began appearing across Rodrigo's body. They were only superficial wounds, but they kept increasing in number, making it clear that he was already being pushed back.
'Wind.'
At last, Elian decided to use his magical affinity. A gentle current of wind discreetly wrapped around his daggers, increasing the speed of his attacks even further. Taking advantage of an opening, he deflected Rodrigo's sword to the left with the dagger in his right hand and thrust the one in his left toward Rodrigo's neck.
"I surrender."
Rodrigo raised his hand in surrender and let out a tired sigh. The difference in speed between the two of them was simply too great. Continuing the fight would only leave him with more injuries and no real chance of victory.
Seeing his opponent surrender, Elian smiled with the typical arrogance of a noble, clearly satisfied with the outcome of the battle. When Enrico saw that expression, the same inconvenient thought surfaced once again.
'Damn... he's still cute.'
He immediately shook his head to drive that thought away, especially when he saw Serenya stepping into the arena while Jil did the same.
'I know this guy...'
Jil wasn't a particularly important character in the original story. He only appeared a few times, almost as a secondary character among the protagonist's supporting cast. Even so, Enrico remembered his magic well.
Tornado Magic.
Once he reached Circle Six, Jil would be capable of creating a gigantic tornado powerful enough to deflect a meteor launched by another Circle Six mage, saving an entire city from destruction.
'But that's still a long way off. Right now...'
"Begin."
The moment the match started, Jil pointed his sword at Serenya.
"Tornado Magic."
A small tornado formed at the tip of his blade and rapidly rushed toward his opponent.
However, before it had even crossed half of the arena, the spell was completely crushed by the magical pressure released by Serenya. The wave of mana continued advancing without losing any strength and struck Jil head-on, hurling him out of the arena until he slammed violently into the wall.
'He's nowhere near Serenya. The gap between the classes is much bigger than they imagine... unless someone possesses truly extraordinary talent.'
Jil collapsed unconscious on the ground.
Bruna's eyes widened as she watched her leader be defeated so humiliatingly. Rodrigo and Zaine immediately ran over to help him, while Enrico turned his attention to the last knight.
Bruna looked back at him, but after witnessing her companions suffer three consecutive defeats, her expression already showed a certain uneasiness.
Enrico raised his hand toward her, feeling a slight sense of curiosity.
'I wonder if she'll give me any trouble... or if she'll end up just like the others?'
"I believe it's our turn now, Miss Knight."
Even though he had been a fraud, the original Enrico had still been capable of defeating some mages and knights from the lower classes. Because of that, Enrico felt a bit curious at that moment. He wanted to find out whether he had already surpassed the level the previous owner of this body had never managed to reach.
'I've trained a lot since I arrived in this world. Without a doubt, I'm already stronger than he was.'
His eyes turned toward the knight standing before him. Bruna drew both swords at the same time and assumed a defensive stance, keeping both blades raised in front of her body while carefully watching every movement Enrico made.
"Enrico, you'd better win. I don't want to have to visit you in Class E every day."
"I'll do my best, Lady Serenya. After all, I'm your subordinate."
The answer immediately made Serenya puff out her chest with pride. Without a doubt, her subordinates were completely loyal to her, and in her opinion, Enrico was the most devoted of them all.
Watching the scene, Elian and Caelan exchanged a glance before turning back toward Enrico. A competitive gleam appeared in both of their eyes, as if they were competing over who was the most loyal subordinate. Noticing that, Enrico simply let out a quiet sigh.
Meanwhile, Bruna activated her Hunting Magic. It was a magic developed by her family after generations of study and refinement dedicated to the art of hunting. Since childhood, every technique and lesson had been repeated countless times until they became engraved into her mind.
'Everything will be fine... right? He's the weakest one among them...'
She had been annoyed when Zaine had taken her place in the previous match, but now she felt somewhat relieved. Out of all her opponents, facing Enrico seemed like the most favorable option.
"Ready?"
This time, Elian took on the role of referee. He raised his hand and then lowered it, starting the final match as soon as both fighters nodded.
"Hunting Magic: Hunting Instinct."
Bruna's body began releasing small sparks of white mana. It was one of her family's signature techniques, capable of enhancing her instincts to an extraordinary level. As long as the spell remained active, she could sense her opponent's intentions and predict their movements moments before they were executed.
Of course, the ability had its limits. If her opponent was more than twice as strong as she was, the technique would stop functioning properly, since the gap in power would simply be too great for her instincts to keep up. However, against anyone below that threshold, the spell granted her an enormous advantage in battle.
"Predatory Leap."
Strengthening her legs with mana, Bruna launched herself forward in an explosive leap. Her speed increased so suddenly that Enrico couldn't fully follow her movement. The sword in her left hand slipped through his defense and opened a cut across his shoulder, forcing him to retreat several steps.
Realizing that her first attack had worked, Bruna gave him no time to regain his balance. She used the momentum to charge once more, thrusting the sword in her left hand toward Enrico's other shoulder.
However, before the blade could reach him, Enrico raised his hand.
A fireball instantly formed and struck Bruna squarely in the stomach.
"Ugh!"
The impact interrupted her charge, making her cough up blood as she was pushed backward. Enrico didn't waste the opportunity. Flames quickly enveloped both of his hands, and bringing them together above his head, he unleashed a powerful downward strike against Bruna.
The blow landed on the top of her head, forcing her violently to her knees as her head slammed into the ground with a loud crash.
Bruna gritted her teeth but didn't lose consciousness. Taking advantage of the short distance between them, she spun her body and delivered a horizontal slash with the sword in her right hand. Enrico tried to retreat, but the blade still reached his abdomen, opening a shallow cut that made him frown.
"Predatory Leap."
Empowering her legs with mana once again, Bruna vanished from Enrico's field of vision for an instant before reappearing beside him. Thanks to Hunting Instinct, she anticipated the moment he would raise his hand to cast another spell and changed the trajectory of her sword at the last second.
The blade grazed his left arm, causing several drops of blood to fall onto the ground.
Enrico immediately retreated several steps, keeping his right hand aimed at his opponent.
'Just as I thought... my level is still low.'
A blazing sphere shot forward from his hand at high speed. Bruna crossed both swords and managed to deflect part of the impact, but the explosion still pushed her backward. Before she could regain her footing, a second fireball appeared right behind the first.
Her eyes widened.
"Two...?"
The second sphere exploded directly against her chest, sending her several meters backward. Her body rolled across the ground before finally coming to a stop, coughing as she struggled to get back up.
Even while trembling, Bruna planted one of her swords into the ground and used the other to support herself.
'I can still...'
She took one step forward, but her legs gave out. Her body faltered, and she dropped to her knees once more. Elian carefully observed both combatants before raising his hand with an arrogant smile.
"Without any surprises, the winner is Enrico."
Enrico let out a long sigh of relief. His right shoulder was still bleeding, his left arm had been cut, and the wound on his abdomen burned with every movement, but he was still standing.
'That was pretty pathetic on my part... then again, the original Enrico would've lost, so it's still a significant improvement.'
In front of him, Bruna lowered her head for a few moments before letting out a small laugh of defeat.
"It seems... I still have a lot more training to do."
Enrico simply smiled tiredly as the flames surrounding his hands finally faded away. In the distance, Serenya stepped into the arena with her chest puffed out proudly. However, there was also a clear trace of irritation on her face.
'Damn, she's disappointed in me.'
Enrico assumed she was annoyed because it had taken him longer than the others to win.
But that wasn't the reason.
'Hurting one of my subordinates... what nerve. If she had defeated Enrico, I would've made her life in Class D a living hell.'
Her cold gaze shifted toward the other three knights. The mixture of arrogance, contempt, and coldness on her face was enough to make them shudder involuntarily.
"You... said you'd apologize, didn't you?"
"Yes... we apologize."
The four knights were gathered in the center of the arena, all of them keeping their heads lowered in silence. None of them dared to look up at Serenya. Besides the apology, there was another condition they would also have to fulfill. As they had promised before the matches, and at Serenya's request, each defeated knight would become the personal subordinate of the person who had defeated them.
"Oh, I have a personal subordinate."
"Thank you, Lady Serenya."
"I'll do my best to raise my subordinate's level so she can serve you well."
"I know you will, Enrico... train her well so she can serve me. And you two as well."
The four mages smiled, and to the knights, those smiles looked completely demonic. They had the strange feeling that their lives at the academy were about to become much more difficult.
The following days seemed to pass quickly. Enrico continued training whenever he found an opportunity, paid close attention during Professor Virelle's classes—who now even showed a faint smile whenever she saw him—and also spent part of his time talking with Serenya, Elian, and Caelan to maintain the appearance of the old Enrico while trying to change their attitudes little by little.
His new subordinate immediately received rigorous training. Enrico decided that Bruna would train every four hours, excluding only class time and sleep. If she was now his subordinate, then he would do everything he could to turn her into a much stronger knight.
As for the other three knights, Enrico couldn't interfere. They were under the orders of Serenya, Elian, and Caelan, respectively. From what he observed over the following days, the three had become nothing more than servants to their new superiors, without receiving anything that could truly be called training.
'Those two idiots...'
Caelan and Elian didn't seem to have the slightest intention of strengthening their subordinates. They simply gave orders and enjoyed their new positions of authority, while Enrico did exactly the opposite.
'If they're going to serve Lady Serenya in the future, the stronger they become, the better.'
[Why are you already calling her your leader?]
'...You're right... damn, I'm getting used to it.'
Shaking his head, he continued running with all his effort. Perhaps that was precisely why Serenya seemed to like Enrico more than the other two. Among her three subordinates, he was the only one who genuinely thought about strengthening the people who worked for her.
Before he realized it, another Saturday had finally arrived. It was the day he needed to ask Tolen Rusk for advice.
He quickly walked to the academy library, where Tolen usually spent hours studying alone. As soon as he opened the door, he scanned the room and found only one person, exactly the one he was looking for.
"Perfect... there's no one else here."
Enrico took a deep breath, trying to organize his thoughts.
"Alright. Don't seem too nice... but don't act like an idiot either."
Meanwhile, Tolen remained completely focused on the book he was reading, not noticing Enrico approaching.
"I understand this part... but with the amount of mana I have, I can't do this... Damn... it would be so nice if..."
A shadow appeared in front of the table. A moment later, someone pulled out the chair across from him and sat down. Tolen slowly looked up.
The first thing he saw was the terrifying smile of Enrico Solcren Ferreira.
"Hello, my friend. I'd like you to teach me a few things."
To Tolen, that smile looked like the smile of a demon. He had always been afraid of Serenya's three followers. After all, the Malquess family had enough influence to ruin his life without any difficulty. Besides, everyone at the academy knew that Enrico loved picking on weaker people, and apparently, he had become the newest target.
The color completely drained from his face. The next instant, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted, falling out of his chair.
"Hey, what happened? Why did you faint? Wake up! If someone walks in now, what are they going to think of me?"
[Oops, sorry. It took me a while to understand... wait a second, are you committing a crime? Can I join?]
Enrico grabbed Tolen by the shoulders and began shaking him, trying to wake him up.
"Of course not!"