While the shade possessed greater strength and endurance, Roa noticed how it was lacking a portion of his cognitive abilities. —To put it simply? The shade was stupid. 

Utilizing this fact, he manipulated the shade to respond the way he wanted, grabbing its outstretched arm and pulling it towards an awkward position. 

Before it could retaliate, Roa’s blade went upwards from its left side and drew a thin line across its neck. Swift and decisive.

 A dark, misty haze spilled out like blood from the cut, and the shade slumped lifelessly onto the ground. 

The exchange elicited horrified screams from the audience. Witnessing murder was too much for those faint of heart. Take note that most of the audience members were other applicants—young, sheltered children that at worst have only seen a scrape on the knee. Although the shade wasn’t human, it did appear every bit the same as one.

A cut on the neck was quite the jump.

On the other hand, the three gray ties observing outside the arena, each of them showed reactions different from their peers:

Novis Philitte, the young noble of Luveris, bit his lower lip and clenched his fists tightly, revealing his undisguised frustration; Yuria Illyas, the potato sack picked up in an alley, clapped her hands and boisterously cheered, projecting her restless excitement; And Ariene Diadora, the woodlands’ princess, she raised her head in astonishment as she discovered some admiration amidst her lingering fear.

Respectively, the three had viewed Roa’s display with pain, hope, and approval—a variety of emotions, the meanings of which were left to themselves to ponder. 

At the same time, those at the stage, the academy board members and professors, burst into loud, fervent discussion.

“H-He… managed to defeat the shade!? Hah! The founder truly has a good eye!”

“Ridiculous! The boy didn’t even use mana! Isn’t this a magic academy? He used tricks—circus acts! Look at our Seed of Fire!—If the boy hadn’t interfered, then I’m sure she would have done much better!”

“Cough! Indeed… Anyone can wield a sword. And considering his age, to be stuck at the Red-Tier?”

It was only when the discussion leaned towards an unfavorable outcome for Roa did the aristocrat, Noreau Philitte, pitch his opinion, “—No. Mere circus acts won’t be enough to defeat such an opponent.”

He continued, ”It may be hard to see from here, but the boy did make use of aura. There are only a hundred or so swordsmen capable of using aura on Waylurne—isn’t it with good grace that the academy has gained an additional two, is it not?”

Noreau phrased it such that it sounded like he was praising the academy for a foregone decision. Fortunately, with that, and with the exception of a single disgruntled woodland fae, the board made its decision in favor of Roa.

Noreau raised his cup up to his mouth contentedly. His lips didn’t touch the rim, nor did this Luveris aristocrat ever condone drinking cold tea; he only wanted to conceal the fact that a smile was blooming on his face.

‘A kid from slums. No ties to any kingdom or faction. If polished properly, he could become a rare gem that would belong solely to Luveris Academy!’

The noble from the Kingdom of Luveris eyed the people around the stage. Including himself, more than half of the dozen people were tied to different affiliations. 

Since they catered to their self-interests—talented students like Roa Fariche with no distinguished background, were ostracized, shunned, and eventually left out of the system. The academy fell on a steep decline, of which they themselves weren’t aware of. 

To remedy this, Noreau, who cared about the academy as much as he did for the Kingdom of Luveris, placed high expectations on the boy from Bellona District. 

Meanwhile, the boy in question… After delivering the blow to the shade’s neck, Roa was left feeling unsettled. 

Immersed in his thoughts, he stuck his tongue out as he rubbed an imaginary line on his neck. He said to himself, “That felt awful. It was like looking in a mirror! —Huh?” 

Roa, who was familiar with death, had developed a certain sense for it. There was a sudden prick at the back of his neck. He quickly turned his head to the shade that he thought he’d defeated—and witnessed its eyes gleaming a ferocious red. 

Death had latched a glare on his back.

“Eruind… remembers…”

Roa widened his eyes, startled as the shade muttered words in a gravelly voice. 

“Eruind… remembers!” It repeated.

At that moment, the ring of a familiar voice echoed inside of his head—this time, nervous and shaky. It was the voice of the self-proclaimed dragon, Solitaria. 

 ‘A-Ah! W-We were caught!’ she stammered.

‘Solitaria, you finally show up!’ Roa shifted his head side to side, looking for a trace of her. “Where are you? What’s going on!?”

‘Wuu… We were caught! We were caught!’ Solitaria repeated with a frantic voice, adding to Roa’s confusion. 

‘Caught—What do you mean!?’ he asked, but failed to receive a proper response.

A sudden chill shot up his spine. Irrespective of his will, his left arm had begun to act. It was an eerie experience, where he could feel his nerves and muscles as he should, but had no control over its actions.

‘Wait—stop it! How are you doing this!?’

Roa’s arm dragged him to the edge of the arena, and tried to reach outside of the mana curtain, however… his palm slammed heavily onto the curtain, instead evoking a massive ripple that coursed throughout the entire defensive array.

Roa felt another prick at the back of his neck; death’s glare had suddenly become sharper. He immediately waved his blade behind him, intercepting an attack that would have otherwise wounded his back.

‘This jabbering lizard—what did you do!?’

‘No! No! Savior, help me! I don’t want to go back there!’

‘I can’t get a sense of what you’re saying! Calm down and give me back my arm!’

Panic-stricken, the movements of Roa’s left arm interfered with his stance and blood was drawn from his side; the shade had snuck in a quick thrust, fortunately, Roa managed to shift the blade slightly away from his vitals.

When red spilled onto the platform, the academy officials immediately engaged the arena’s defensive array. Students getting injured was a pretty common occurrence so their movements were already practiced. One official ran towards the side of the arena to urge Roa to go outside, only to notice him seemingly at odds with his left hand.