Sword Saint's Reincarnation
Book 2 Chapter 34: Battle Fundamentals

Rylan quickly scanned the room, as he did every time he entered a new environment. Dozens of teenagers were now staring at him with different emotions in their eyes. Apart from a few whispers, the classroom had gone silent from the moment he stepped inside.

Around one hundred people?

The eyes of the boys and girls almost shone. Some of the girls whispered to each other while grinning, and the boys smiled at him. Among them, Rylan’s gaze moved to the one surrounded by a whole group, looking uncomfortable and out of place. Hayden met his eyes and gave him a helpless smile. Even though there were so many boys and girls around Hayden, the seat next to him was empty. In fact, the group of teenagers seemed to step away from it once they looked at Rylan.

“Have a seat, students,” Alice’s voice cut through the silent atmosphere. “The lecture will begin soon.”

He looked at her and nodded with a smile. She slightly nodded back, discreetly enough that most would have missed it.

“At least the lecture hasn’t started yet,” Aelfric said from behind Rylan, his voice almost a whisper. “I’ll go sit with Luna. You look like you already have a seat.”

Rylan glanced over his shoulder with a scoff.

I guess it’s painfully obvious.

The group that had been standing around Hayden was now almost cowering behind him and gesturing to the empty seat.

“Sure,” Rylan replied.

Aelfric and Luna went to find their seats as Rylan walked up the stairs in the middle of the classroom. He analyzed the group around Hayden. There were a few faces he recognized from the social gatherings after the tournament: Lara, Josef, and others. As expected, they were still trying to sink their claws into Hayden, likely at the request of their families. Josef, in particular, smiled at Rylan and bowed slightly once he approached.

“Good morning, Rylan,” Josef said in a calm voice, making the students around him flinch.

Rylan nodded at him with a professional grin.

“Good morning, Josef. Is it really the time to be doing this?”

Josef tilted his head.

“Of course. The importance of networking is obvious,” he pointed at Hayden with his thumb. “The first day of class is a great opportunity to become closer to other classmates.”

Rylan resisted the urge to sigh. Still, he preferred this type of shamelessness over deceitful words and dishonesty. Just like when they had first spoken at the ball that had happened after the tournament, Josef was surprisingly clear about his intentions. It had been the same as when he’d revealed the noble houses’ desire to build a good relationship with Rylan. It was actually sort of refreshing, especially when Rylan had just been dealing with Nathan and would have to deal with the Astassier house soon.

“Well, I’m sure my friend just wants to enjoy his first day of classes without dealing with any of that. Go back to your seats.”

The others around them almost deflated, but Josef only smiled.

“Well, I’ve already said what I wanted to say. I would go for you, too, but I don’t think your position is going to change.”

Rylan scoffed and gave Josef a dismissive wave.

“Move along, all of you,” he said as he scanned the group around Hayden. Several of the students nodded repeatedly like woodpeckers before returning to their seats.

With a sigh, Rylan finally looked back at Hayden. The boy was staring at him with narrowed eyes, making him raise an eyebrow.

“I’m gonna help you deal with them,” Rylan said after a second. “But you’ll need to be able to do it on your own too. What have you told them?”

“…You’re different,” Hayden replied in a low tone, scanning Rylan from head to toe.

Rylan looked at Hayden with some appreciation. Even though the boy lacked enough experience and knowledge to grasp Rylan’s changes in an instant like Damian had, his instincts were still perceptive enough. As expected, a genius was a genius.

I even went through some effort to hide my mana signature over the past few days.

Damian had been helpful, but Rylan had still needed to do it mostly on his own. Given how different his Circles were from ordinary ones, he had needed to avoid getting specific advice. Still, because of his experience with Aura in his past life, it hadn’t been too difficult. The same principles mostly applied to his Aura-Heart-like Circles. As for his body, it hadn’t outwardly changed much. The changes only became truly apparent once he removed his clothes.

Well, Damian could tell.

Still, the old man couldn’t really be used as a standard.

“That’s not what’s important right now.”

Hayden gave Rylan one last look before closing his eyes and leaning back in his seat with a deep breath.

“That I needed time to think about it.”

Rylan shrugged and sat down in his seat.

“Well, I guess that’s the best answer you could have given them while you’re still on the fence about it. No rejection, no acceptance.”

Hayden frowned as he opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling.

“…I should be happy.”

“Because you’ve received the opportunity to escape your past lifestyle?”

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Hayden nodded and looked at Rylan. He looked a bit older than before. His eyes were deeper.

“I know we’ve talked about this several times already, but,” Hayden smiled bitterly. “This isn’t exactly what I expected.”

Rylan stared back with calmness.

“But it is reality. I think we should try to work through it. Come up with a plan. But everything hinges on what your decision will be.”

Hayden looked at the floor.

“…What will you do?”

Rylan immediately shook his head.

“We’re different people with different goals. You shouldn’t make your decision based on me. But to answer your question, I already have and will continue to reject them all. I’m already one of Damian’s disciples, anyway. I don’t need to get tangled up in the web of nobility.”

Hayden raised his gaze. His eyes were now burning with a small flame, deep within. Before he could say anything, however, Rylan raised his hand, palm facing forward.

“Don’t. Think it through. It would be better for you to ask for Damian’s opinion too. You don’t have to decide right now.”

Hayden nodded with a sigh, then furrowed his brow.

“…Why are you calling our master and Headmaster by his name?”

Rylan shrugged, making Hayden scoff.

At that moment, a loud sound echoed throughout the classroom, drowning out every conversation. It sounded like a giant had clapped his hands. Every student turned to look at Alice, who stood on the professor’s podium. She was smiling at them with joined hands.

“Welcome to the Royal Magic Academy, freshmen students,” she said. Her voice reached every corner of the classroom clearly, despite its size. “And congratulations on getting into the Academy. All of you will become great Mages, and I’m proud of each and every one of you. My name is Alice Carmesim, and I’m the professor in charge of Battle Fundamentals, which will be your first class of your school year.”

Rylan leaned forward with a grin as he glanced around. All students were staring at Alice with serious expressions. Some had taken out notebooks and magic pens, while others had only leaned back with crossed arms. Most had smiles on their faces after listening to her words.

At least the kids can pay attention.

“Naturally, this discipline will tackle the aspects of a real battle and how to become proficient at fighting,” Alice continued, scanning the room with her gaze. “You might think that it’s unnecessary, given the tournament that all of you had to go through before joining the Academy.”

A few students reflexively nodded, making Alice smile.

“However, that is exactly why this discipline exists. Through the tournament, we have managed to grasp what you know and what you lack. All of you could be fighting much better with the weapons you already have and the spells you already have,” she looked at Rylan, eyes curved like crescent moons. “Well, almost all of you.”

Rylan felt a few glances that prompted him to let out a small sigh. A girl suddenly raised her hand quickly, making him look at her. She had brown hair and eyes and seemed to be around fifteen years old. Her expression was tinged with anxiety and uncertainty. Alice looked at her and nodded.

“Will we have to become soldiers?” The girl asked, almost stuttering.

Alice’s gaze immediately softened, as did Rylan’s.

As expected.

Many of the students belonged to the nobility. Naturally, they had access to much greater amounts of information, and the Empire’s conquest wars hadn’t exactly been subtle. Many of the noble houses had likely figured out why the tournament had been created in the first place. Once this fact joined with the continent’s current situation, the result was a burning question that was sure to be in plenty of students’ minds. Rylan looked at the girl with sympathy.

Not everyone is fit to become a soldier.

It was one thing to learn how to defend themselves if the need arose, as well as acquire a few combat-related abilities and Skills. It was another entirely to head to the battlefield and wage war against an enemy army while knowing that they were nothing but pawns to the higher-ups. The death of innocents, the torn apart battlefields, the need to kill or be killed. War was something that teenagers were too young to be prepared for. No, even much older people weren’t prepared at all.

“No,” Alice replied, loudly but in a soft tone. “You won’t. This discipline isn’t just about war, it’s about being able to defend yourselves. At the same time, I won’t guarantee that you’ll never have to fight other Mages. Even if you would rather focus on research, you still need to learn from this class. That’s why it’s the very first one.”

The girl frowned slightly and looked down.

“We’ll be here to help you through it,” Alice continued. “We won’t tell you to fend for yourselves. This is an Academy, after all. You aren’t alone. If you don’t want to fight, those of us who do will do everything we can to ensure you never have to.”

The girl raised her head and nodded after a second. Alice turned away from her to look at the entire class again. The look in her eyes had changed.

“I will now explain what this discipline will address and what you can expect,” Alice said.

The explanation that followed was rather simple. The lectures would be about the principles behind fighting effectively, but they would also involve acquiring certain Passive Skills that would make battles easier. According to Alice, they were cornerstone Skills that supported almost any fighting style, which was also why she expected many of the students to have acquired at least a few of them, especially those that belonged to noble houses. There would be sparring to put the theories they would learn to use, as well as group fights. Grades would be assigned based on a variety of factors, but would be mostly dependent on one’s performance in the spars and fights.

Once she was done, Alice took a deep breath.

“Two months from now,” she said. “Those of you whom I consider to be ready will experience a real battle. You will fight against a monster. The rest will continue their training and fight a monster later on. Keep in mind that all of you will need to go through at least three of these battles during this school year.”

The atmosphere in the classroom froze. Rylan raised an eyebrow.

Bold.

At the same time, it was the most effective way of testing the students and their ability to put their knowledge into practice. With Alice’s oversight, it was unlikely that any of the students would be seriously hurt. Still, the possibility existed. The fact that the Academy was willing to put the students’ safety on the line like this was surprising but expected, given the situation. Rylan just didn’t think the students would take this too well.

As he thought, a growing air of unrest took hold of the classroom. The teenagers traded glances and nervous looks, fidgeting in place. Even Hayden looked a bit uneasy. It was only natural: even though they had gone through the tournament, that was entirely different from fighting a creature willing to kill them. They had also experienced the pain that came from being injured by each other’s spells, which had likely made them afraid of fighting again.

But it needs to be done.

He had his past life’s memories, but the children around him would need to know how to fight with the intent to kill from the ground up. Even if they had hunted monsters to Level up, Rylan was almost certain that almost all of them had done so in a controlled environment, such as killing the monsters that the family’s employees had left half-dead. Either way, it was good that this discipline was their first point of contact with the Academy.

The rest of the lecture was about which Passive Skills they would be going for and why, alongside other introductory explanations. Around an hour later, the lecture ended. Alice took her leave after giving Rylan one last look.

Rylan stood up, as did the other students, and looked for Aelfric among the dozens of teenagers.

“A monster, huh?” Hayden said from the side as he also stood up. “At least it won’t be the first time.”

Rylan nodded.

“Yeah, you had to Level up on your own. You’ll be fine.”

“So will you. You’ve battled to the death before, right?”

“I have.”

Hayden stared at him for a second before turning away. Together, they made their way over to Aelfric and Luna after Rylan located them. After a while, the next professor arrived. Once he entered the classroom, the students started going back to their seats. Rylan analyzed the unfamiliar man. Blue hair and beard, hazel eyes, white skin.

The man stepped onto the podium and smiled at the students.

“Good morning, class. Today, we’ll talk about Professions.”

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