Professor Vane clapped his hands, the echoes ringing through the high-ceilinged training hall. "Alright, break time! Take five minutes before your muscles actually turn into stone,"
he barked, though his voice lacked its usual bite. He walked over to Toya, who was still a shivering mess on the floor, and helped the Level 5 student back to his feet.
While Toya gasped for air, Lilith hadn't moved an inch. She leaned against the wall, her gaze heavy and focused entirely on Haruto. Haruto shifted his weight, feeling the "Intense Stare" debuff. It was uncomfortable—being watched like a rare specimen by a Princess was a level of social pressure he hadn't coded for yet.
In the back, the Three Goddesses were fuming silently. Their telepathic link was buzzing with annoyance.
(Ivory's Mind-Link): "Can someone please kick this 'Lili' out of the room? She's staring at him like he's a piece of cake. It's irritating."
Haruto, trying to break the tension, called out, "Asobi! Can we get some water over here?"
Almost instantly, Asobi appeared in the center of the room. She was carrying a silver tray with crystal glasses of ice-cold water. Her movement was so silent and fast that Vane jumped slightly when he realized she was standing right next to him.
Asobi began serving the water with mechanical grace:
Haruto: She gave him a gentle, respectful nod.
Lilith: A polite, cold, professional bow.
Vane: She stared directly into his eyes as she handed him the glass. Vane immediately looked down at his boots, his hands shaking. He knew—even if she was a maid—that he was looking at an Apex Predator.
Toya: She handed him a glass as he leaned against a pillar for support.
Then, she stopped. She stood there with the tray, ignoring the three Goddesses entirely. She didn't offer them a single drop, standing like a regal statue while they glared at the back of her head.
Haruto took a long sip of water and looked at Vane.
"Professor... since we're talking about spirits and SSR ranks earlier... Do you have one? A Weapon Spirit, I mean."
Vane nearly choked on his water. He coughed, trying to regain his "Elite Instructor" composure. "I... Well, yes. Of course I do. A Royal Instructor without a spirit would be a laughingstock." He straightened his jacket, looking a bit defensive.
"But it isn't 'Awakened' like your maid's pipe. Mine remains in its core state. It takes a lifetime of mana-syncing to manifest a humanoid form, Haruto. It's not something you just... do."
Vane took a quick breath, feeling his ego recover slightly. He looked at Haruto with a suspicious squint. "What about you? You talk a lot about spirits for a Level 4. Do you actually possess a vessel, or are you just relying on your 'attendants' to do the heavy lifting?"
Haruto looked at Vane with a calm, almost bored expression. "No, I don't have a 'vessel' like yours," he said simply.
Vane let out a long sigh of relief, his shoulders relaxing. "As expected. A Level 4 obtaining a stable spirit vessel would be a statistical anomaly that—"
"But," Haruto interrupted, his voice dropping an octave, "I do have a weapon. My own weapon."
Vane froze. "What? What do you mean 'your own'?"
Haruto closed his eyes. He didn't reach for a sword or a pipe. Instead, he began to loosen the tight grip he kept on his internal energy. Suddenly, the air in the training hall turned heavy—not with mana, but with a cold, absolute void.
A swirling, obsidian-black aura began to leak from Haruto's skin. It wasn't the glowing, colorful mana everyone in this world was used to. It was dark, silent, and felt like it was swallowing the light around it.
Lilith gasped, her heart racing. "His aura... it's as black as his gear. It's terrifying, but... so cool."Asobi leaned forward, her eyes narrowing with intense interest. She had felt his presence before, but seeing his aura manifested in its raw state was a first even for her.Toya has seen this on his first day of school so he blanked outProfessor Vane backed away, his face turning pale. "This... this isn't mana. Is he an anti-magic being? A demon? No human should possess an aura that feels like an empty grave!"
In the background, the Three Goddesses were panicking.
(Ivory's Mental Link): "What are you doing?! You're showing too much! If vane report this, the balance will break!"
Haruto ignored the warning. He felt a surge of adrenaline. He decided to give them a small "glimpse" to heighten the excitement. In that moment, his internal HUD flickered:
[SYSTEM ALERT: emotion triggered]
Current Level: 4 → 10 (Temporary Overclock)
Haruto extended his right hand. The black aura began to condense, spinning rapidly until it solidified into a physical shape. With a sharp *VREEE*— sound, a massive, jagged sword made of pure obsidian energy appeared in his grip.
The blade was semi-transparent, pulsing with a violet-black light. This was the Void Reaper, a weapon forged from the "deleted files" of Haruto's internal system.
"This is it," Haruto said, the sword's blade humming against the floor. "This is the Void Reaper."
The atmosphere in the room felt like a thin wire about to snap. Lilith was practically vibrating, drawn to Haruto like a moth to a flame. She walked toward him, her eyes reflecting the obsidian glow of the. "This is a masterpiece... it's not just a weapon, it's a part of you," she whispered, her voice full of awe.
Professor Vane just stood there, his mouth hanging open. He couldn't even process the logic of what he was seeing. A Level 4 boy manifesting a physical weapon from raw, dark energy without a vessel? It broke every rule in the Royal Academy's textbooks.
Haruto looked down at the Void Reaper, feeling a strange sense of pride. This wasn't a drop from a boss; this was his code.
Asobi, seeing Haruto's display, tapped her pipe and summoned Smoke back out. The punk-style spirit manifested, still rubbing the back of his head from the previous slap.
"Look at this," Asobi commanded, pointing at the Void Reaper. "This is what a real weapon looks like."
Smoke stared at the scythe, and his purple eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"Whoa... that's a miracle! The mana density and the aura... wait..." Smoke looked at Haruto, then at the three Goddesses, and then back to the scythe. He began to tremble again.
"Wait" Smoke stammered, his voice shaking. "If you have this much power... why haven't you performed the Awakening Ritual yet? You have a Mana Connection with everyone in this room. You are the Master of the Master! And these three—" he pointed at Ivory, Bellona, and Lustra "—they have spirits inside them that make me look like a flickering candle! Why are you all hiding?!"
The Panic of the Goddesses
The silence that followed was deafening. Lilith and Professor Vane froze.
"Mana connection?" Vane whispered, his brain spinning.
"Wait... they have spirits more powerful than an SSR Rank?" Lilith's eyes darted to the Goddesses.
Ivory, Bellona, and Lustra glared at Smoke with such killing intent that the punk spirit physically recoiled. They had been trying so hard to play the role of "Level 6 attendants," and this idiot had just broadcasted their true scale to the entire room.
Haruto stood there, confused.
"Smoke, what the hell are you talking about? 'Master of the Master'? Spirits more powerful than you?"
WHACK!
Asobi didn't let him finish. She delivered a lightning-fast palm strike to the back of Smoke's head. "Shut up! I brought you out to observe, not to give a lecture you're not qualified for!"
She snapped her fingers, and Smoke was sucked back into the pipe in a flash of purple smoke, still shouting apologies.
The silence in the room was heavy, broken only by the sound of Toya leaning against a nearby training pillar. Unlike the others who were frozen in shock, Toya was staring at his own hands, his eyes reflecting a mix of deep admiration and a sudden, sharp longing.
(Toya's Inner Thoughts): "Everyone here has these incredible spirits... Haruto has that dark Sword, the maid has Smoke, and even the 'Level 6' attendants are hiding something god-tier. Am I the only one who's just... a guy with a sword? Do I have a spirit inside me too? Is there a version of me that isn't just a side character?"
He looked at Haruto, then at Ivory, his heart racing. He didn't feel jealous—he felt inspired. He wanted to know if he, a Level 5 student, had the "code" inside him to manifest something that could stand beside the Void Reaper.
Haruto dismissed the Void Reaper, the black aura dissolving back into his skin, but the tension didn't go away. He turned slowly toward Ivory, Bellona, and Lustra.
"Is that true?" Haruto asked, his voice low. "Smoke said you three are holding spirits even more powerful than his SSR rank. Are you hiding weapons from me?"
The three Goddesses looked at each other. They knew they couldn't lie their way out of this one—not after a sentient spirit had literally pointed it out.
Ivory stepped forward, bowing her head slightly. "Haruto... we weren't trying to keep secrets to deceive you. We were simply waiting for the right 'patch' to install them. But if you wish to see them..."
The atmosphere shifted instantly. Lustra glanced at the catatonic faces of Lilith and Professor Vane. Their brains were clearly fried, unable to process the divine-tier reality hitting them all at once.
"They're in a total loop, Haruto," Lustra said, her voice dropping into a dangerous, melodic hum. She raised her hand, and a soft, emerald-pink glow began to swirl around her fingertips.
"If we leave them like this, the Princess will have a mental breakdown and the Professor will go running to the King with stories about gods in the living room."
With a sharp *SNAP* of her fingers, a wave of green energy pulsed through the hall.
The light hit Lilith and Vane squarely in the chest. Their eyes glazed over instantly as Lustra reached into their core memory files. She began to scrub the last ten minutes—the mention of the SSS spirits, the "Master of Masters" comment, and the true scale of the Goddesses.
(Lustra's Inner Thoughts): "I should probably delete the memories of Haruto too... No, if I do that, she'll just claim he kidnapped her and we'll have the Royal Army at the gates. I'll just leave them with the 'Haruto is strong' part and blur out the 'Haruto is a God' part. Much cleaner."
Lilith and Vane both slumped over, sliding into a deep, magical sleep right there on the training mats.
"There," Lustra said, dusting off her hands. "They'll wake up in an hour thinking the training just got too intense and they fainted from the mana pressure. Total system reboot."
Haruto looked at the two unconscious bodies, then turned back to his team. The playful glint was gone from his eyes, replaced by a cold, sharp curiosity. He didn't care about the Princess's memories right now. He wanted to see the "Code" his team was hiding.
"Alright," Haruto said, his voice echoing in the now-quiet hall. "Now that the 'observers' are sleeping... stop the games. Lustra, Bellona, Ivory—show me. I want to see these spirits Smoke was screaming about. I want to see what my party is actually carrying in their inventory."
Toya scrambled over, his eyes wide with a mix of fear and fanboy obsession. Even Asobi stepped closer, leaning her massive pipe against her shoulder, her calm exterior cracking just enough to show she was curious about how these "Goddesses" compared to her own Smoke.
"Fine,"ivory voice dropping the polite student act. It became cold, echoing with the authority of a World Administrator. "If you want to see the 'True Arsenal,' then look. But remember, Haruto—once these are manifest, the local mana will take days to clear."