The moment my training sword snapped in half, nothing truly changed. Professor Scarlett simply tossed me another one and continued the so-called "class" with relentless enthusiasm, as if breaking wooden weapons was the entire curriculum.
"You learned this from Master Muscle, right? Let's review it!" she called out cheerfully.
"I don't want to review anything!" I protested.
She only laughed, hurling another axe. This time she didn't even aim—she didn't need to. With her Gift, the axe's return was guaranteed.
"Let's begin!"
She opened both hands. A cold tingle crawled across my forehead—the Gift's warning. The axe she'd thrown earlier was now arcing through the air toward the back of my skull.
"Can't we just have a peaceful class?!" I shouted.
"That's not fun!"
Scarlett charged at me with a smile that belonged to someone far too happy about legal violence. I squeezed my eyes shut as the whistling of the axe behind me grew louder.
I jerked my head aside just in time. The axe sliced past my ear before snapping back into her grasp. She swung down with a force that rattled through my arms.
"Uratcha!"
"Ugh!"
A loud crack rang out. Another training sword turned to splinters in my hands.
I stumbled back, panicking.
Kyle! Do something! Anything!
[…Scarlett Dredex is deeply interested in you now. Similar to Myael, but in a very different direction.]
Stop analyzing her personality and give me a way to survive!
But the professor was already rushing in again, ignoring my desperate surrender plea.
"In my tribe," she said, "you can only surrender after losing a limb!"
"This is Trinity Academy, not your Thorn Tribe!"
She didn't care. Her footwork and axe handling outclassed me so completely that even imagining victory felt arrogant.
I can't beat her. Not even if I resurrected three times.
[The method is simple. You just need to satisfy her interest.]
Speak normally!
I barely blocked another strike—only for my sword to snap again.
Oddly enough, this bought me a moment while she stomped off to fetch another weapon.
"Hey, these break too easily!" she complained.
During my tiny sliver of breathing room, I spoke to Kyle again.
How do I 'satisfy her interest'?
[She wants to see your strength. Show her.]
My hand twitched toward the mask hidden in my storage. I immediately shook my head.
No. I can't reveal that here.
[I know. I'll use a different method.]
What method?
Scarlett returned, tossing me a fresh sword. I braced myself.
[Make physical contact with her. The moment you do, I'll send magic into her.]
…How does that help?
[Trust me. Trust your future self.]
That was never reassuring.
If this fails, it's your fault! I warned him mentally as I charged.
Scarlett beamed. "Good! Come at me!"
The Group's Perspective
From the distance, the others watched the madness unfold.
"…That's Rank 72?" Lug muttered, fur bristling. "Is she even human?"
As a magically sensitive Suin, he could feel how naturally she breathed mana—how she maintained perfect condition without accumulating fatigue.
Anastasia, meanwhile, was simply lost. "Why is Connor fighting the weaponry professor…?"
Whipney floated lazily, hugging her pillow. "He looked fun to fight, maybe?"
"That doesn't make sense!"
"I'm not a professor. I wouldn't know~"
Even she, half-asleep, had her eyes fully open—an unusual sight no one noticed.
On the far end, Myael and Lanius observed silently.
Lanius fidgeted nervously, wondering if I had revealed anything about him.
Myael, however, was watching something entirely different.
He wasn't studying Scarlett.
He was studying me—every movement I used to survive her attacks.
Back to the Fight
The tingling on my forehead wouldn't stop. Scarlett swung with delighted brutality.
"…How do I even make contact with her?" I muttered.
Sword or no sword, the difference was negligible. I needed something unpredictable.
"Come on! You attack too!" she shouted, deliberately showing an opening.
If I attacked normally, she'd crush me. If I hesitated, she'd crush me.
So—
I threw my sword.
The poorly balanced wooden blade spun awkwardly. Scarlett snorted and deflected it.
"No, no. When throwing a weapon, you should—huh?"
Before she could finish, I sprinted forward and slammed my shoulder into her with everything I had.
"Euryaaaa!"
A Fraction of a Second
Scarlett blinked.
Connor McCloud wasn't a prodigy.
He was a survivor—one with the improvisational instincts of a seasoned warrior.
She briefly considered counterattacking, but abandoned the idea.
It would be less fun.
Instead, she prepared to grab me and throw me.
And that's when it hit her.
A foreign magic—one not belonging to me—flowed directly into her body.
'This magic… it's not from Connor.'
Her eyes widened—
—
—and she was thrown backward.
Aftermath
"Euryaaaa—!"
With a heavy thud, Scarlett crashed to the ground. The entire group gasped.
I stared, dumbfounded.
"P-Professor?"
She didn't move.
Kyle?! What did you do?!
[I only infused a small amount of my magic. Nothing harmful.]
Then why is she lying there like that?!
Before Kyle could answer, Scarlett suddenly shot up.
"I got hit!"
"H-huh?"
"Alright! I admit it—you passed!"
"What?!"
"I told you I'd test whether you were worthy of Rank 23, didn't I?"
"That never happened!"
"I'm not fooled."
With a smug grin, she slung her axe over her shoulder.
"That's all for today's class! Clean up everything you broke!"
And she jogged away with springlike happiness.
My group members and I exchanged exhausted sighs.
Later — Academy Hospital
At 5 PM, after cleaning up the battlefield she called "class," I headed to visit Master Muscle in the Academy Hospital.
But the receptionist shut me down immediately.
"Visitation is not allowed."
"…Why?"
"The patient is not in a condition to meet visitors."
"But he should be close to recovery…"
She refused to elaborate.
I left reluctantly, though something felt wrong.
Kyle, what do you think? In the future—
[There was no such event.]
He continued before I could respond.
[Your existence changed countless future paths already. For example—the Titan you defeated? In the original timeline, it returned to the Academy untouched.]
What?!
[I didn't tell you because it wouldn't have helped.]
Painfully true.
So in the original future… neither the Titan fight nor Master Muscle's hospitalization happened?
[Correct.]
I exhaled slowly.
Changes in fate weren't always blessings.
"Is there really no way to check on him…?"
[Worry later. Focus on repairing the broken Dwarven Blade first.]
That seemed reasonable—until I spotted a familiar student leaving the hospital.
Red-sleeved uniform. Bandaged nose. A medicine bag in hand.
His expression turned ghost-white when he saw me.
"C-Connor McCloud?"
"It's been a while," I said lightly. "Your name is… Galea Grog, right?"
And just like that, a new idea—probably a terrible one—took shape.