Saint Zoran was once a non-believer.

The first Saint was once a common man, but in strange circumstances, found himself in the place of power. It is said that the intangible God once told him.

"You will split apart the seas."

And Saint Zoran did.

"You will guide my believers."

And Saint Zoran did.

"You will bear my child."

…and Saint Zoran did.

[…]

"Next, Callus von Afrecht."

He stands confidently at the edge of the platform, he takes in the shape, size, and position the platform offers.

Then he smiles.

"Callus von Afrecht, you have a prior achievement of slaying an opposing Mage of the Fourth Tier, destroying a platoon of enemies on the Western Front, and becoming the Youngest Fourth Tier Mage in Empire."

He readies his staff, still smiling, and opens his mouth.

"Instructor Benedict, are you ready?"

He's cocky, but for good reason.

"Whenever you are."

Two flame arrows are cast, readying themselves to fire. Callus then inscribes a rune into one of the arrows, most likely track or explode.

Benedict upon seeing the activation of magic, readies his own form of magic.

"Windseeker."

He blows the whistle around his neck, and a thin layer of wind surrounds him, acting as a slipstream.

Callus fires both arrows and prepares a second spell while Benedict is preoccupied with them. 

The first fire arrow is shattered by a swift strike from the spear, but the second, upon contact with the spear, explodes.

The fire funnels into the slipstream, and blasts off further behind Benedict. 

Benedict uses the force from the explosion and jumps, propelling himself towards Callus with extreme speed.

At this moment, Callus has already finished casting his second spell. 

"Earth Wall."

A pillar of earth shoots up from the floor, breaking a part of the platform and disrupting the magic circle below them.

If someone was flying towards a wall of earth with such speed, they would no doubt splatter and die.

But Benedict is not just someone.

CRASH!!

He's an Instructor here at the Academy.

The Wall breaks down as Benedict smashes a hole through it. As he regains his posture and begins to strike once more, he sees a smiling Callus.

The smiling Callus has finished casting his third spell.

Before Benedict can strike, Callus plants his staff into Benedict's solar plexus.

"Thunderstrike."

A blue flash erupts in the room, and a force of energy blows us back, sending shockwaves around the room.

Instructor Benedict was sent flying out of bounds, sitting in front of a cracked wall where he landed, blood flowing from his mouth.

The earth wall had disintegrated, so the magic circle of healing was back in operation.

"Callus von Afrecht, you've exceeded my expectations."

The instructor opens his mouth a final time before passing out. 

"My apologies for a poor performance, but I do need a replacem…"

The Judges have expressions of awe, they hadn't expected anyone to beat Benedict, a spearman of the fourth tier.

However, there were more than 10 others in this year that could've beaten Benedict.

Yet it was Callus who obtained that spotlight.

"Callus von Afrecht, very well done. We have high expectations for you."

Callus bows and steps off the platform, making his way back inside the crowd. The other students stare in awe.

The Judges signal at the Lady leaning against the wall.

The Lady groans and rolls her eyes in annoyance, mumbling as she reaches the platform.

"Due to Instructor Benedict being incapable of fighting, we have subbed in Miss Eris from the Knight Order of Arkesster. She is a fifth-ranked Swordsman, so we hope she will show some leniency when facing our students."

The judges all glare at her as they say this, causing her expression to sour even more.

The fifth rank is when swordsmanship starts to transcend human limits, so when sparring with a lower-ranked swordsman, it's a given they should go a bit easier.

"Next, Alicia Arden."

The girl with black hair tied up, wearing light armor comes up to the platform. She could've also beaten Benedict if she was able to use her family's sword art properly.

"Your achievements include becoming a fourth-tier swordsman at the age of 15, having a hand in forging an alliance with the Southern Empire of Ferriam, and learning the first step of your family's sword arts."

The first step.

For the Arden family's sword art, the first step is akin to learning the third step of a regular sword art. The requirement for learning such an art is pure genius and raw talent. You have to reach the third stage as a first-tier swordsman. 

But this way, the power of that art is beyond any regular art. It's like comparing a dragon to a lizard. 

The average age for entering the Academy should be 16, so if she was a fourth tier by 15, she should have leveled up some, maybe even close to the second step.

"Arden, are you prepared?"

Eris is insanely annoyed.

"I'm ready."

Alicia draws her sword, readying her stance.

The silence in the air stands still, waiting to be broken.

Clap!

"Begin!"

Eris disappeared.

"Huh?"

Slam!!

Off instinct, Alicia swings her sword behind her back and barely blocks the attack, but Eris has her in sword bind. Alicia isn't able to move her sword even a single inch.

Beads of sweat roll down her forehead as she makes eye contact with Eris.

What she makes eye contact with isn't human.

It's the eyes of a predator.

Her pupils dilate, and her mouth slightly opens, shaking.

She's afraid, afraid of the predator, afraid of Eris.

Afraid of dying.

"AHHHH!!"

She bends her knees and gets out of the sword bind, sliding Eris' sword down to the side.

Alicia presses her feet into the floor, and without the external help of magic, blasts off the floor with extreme speed.

The First Step.

She readies her sword to swing.

Yet Eris is already there, her sword already swinging down, the force can be felt. It can be seen. The air pressure around that sword will definitely break some bones.

Alicia, in her fear, attempts something she hasn't ever succeeded in.

And…The Second Step!

The sword is swung in almost an artistic way, every frame of the swing is captured in the air, giving the illusion of many blades, and a pink haze follows the swords.

As Eris swings down, upon impact with the haze, her sword bounces off, launching her sword into the sky.

With Eris' hand raised, and her sword far, Alicia goes in for the final strike.

"Eh?"

But Eris is no longer there.

"Hey."

She's right beside Alicia.

"You didn't do too bad, but you're about 100 years too early to try that shit on me."

CRACK!!

With the flat of her sword, she sends Alicia flying down, crashing into the floor. The impact on her ribs reverberated across the entire room.

Flexing her neck with a pop, Eris walked back to the center of the platform with a grin.

"Sorry, sorry, that younger brother of mine is making things hard for me. So it was a little hard to hold back, you know?"

The judges all facepalm as she continues to smile.

The one who entered the Knight's Order at 14, and now enrolled in the Academy at 17. The older sister of the genius mage, Eris von Afrecht.

"Next, Duri Noctum."

Ah…shit, this is the worst.