By the time Combat Fundamentals ended, the morning sun had fully risen above the academy.
Students poured out of Combat Grounds Three like water escaping a broken dam.
Conversations erupted immediately.
Rankings.
Duels.
Challenges.
Predictions.
Everyone seemed convinced they would eventually reach the top.
An admirable level of confidence.
I joined the flow of students heading toward the dining hall.
Unlike dinner the previous evening, breakfast was considerably quieter.
Most students still looked half asleep.
A condition I deeply related with.
The meal itself was simple.
Eggs.
Bread.
Fruit.
Several varieties of meat.
I ate quickly.
The sooner I finished, the sooner I could return to doing things that weren't sitting in a crowded hall.
Unfortunately, the academy had other plans.
An hour later, every freshman was assembled once again.
This time at Combat Grounds Four.
The area was even larger than Ground Three.
Multiple testing fields stretched across the complex.
Large signs divided students according to class assignment.
Class 1A.
Class 1B.
Class 1C.
Class 1D.
The other classes quickly disappeared toward their designated sections.
Whatever assessments they were taking would happen elsewhere.
Several instructors stood waiting near the center of the field.
Among them was Garrick.
The man looked exactly as intimidating as he had earlier.
Perhaps more.
He stepped forward once the class had gathered.
"Today's assessment is simple."
A large crystal rose from the ground behind him.
"The academy requires baseline data."
Several students immediately looked nervous.
Garrick ignored them.
"We will measure four categories."
The crystal flashed.
Four words appeared.
Strength.
Speed.
Defense.
Stamina.
"The foundation of combat."
His gaze swept across the crowd.
"Everything else comes later."
That was difficult to argue with.
Magic.
Techniques.
Bloodlines.
Classes.
They all mattered.
But eventually every fight came down to whether your body could support them.
Several assistants began distributing equipment.
Wooden swords.
Wooden spears.
Practice staffs.
Reinforced shields.
Training bows.
All of them academy property.
No personal equipment allowed.
Sensible.
Otherwise there would be complains of unfair advantages from the less privileged.
The other half would arrive carrying enough enchanted equipment to invade a country.
A table was positioned near the front.
Unlike the others, it contained a variety of weapons.
Swords.
Axes.
Maces.
Shields.
Spears.
Daggers.
And several other options.
Students whose classes contained the word Knight were directed toward it.
A small group stepped forward.
Including me.
The assistant looked down at a list.
"Choose whichever training weapon best matches your preferred combat style."
I looked across the selection.
Then immediately ignored most of it.
Swords.
Too common.
Axes.
Too heavy.
Spears.
Too long.
Eventually I found what I was looking for.
A pair of padded leather gloves.
The assistant blinked.
"You want those?"
"Yes."
"They aren't technically weapons."
"They're perfect."
The assistant stared at me for several seconds.
Then shrugged.
"As you wish."
I took the gloves and went back in line.
As students equipped themselves, conversations naturally began.
One boy proudly announced he possessed an Advanced Fire Mage class.
Another openly revealed he was a Battle Berserker.
Several students discussed bloodlines.
Others discussed family achievements.
The academy permitted such things.
It also permitted the opposite.
No student was required to reveal their class.
Or their bloodline.
Or their abilities.
Information was a weapon.
And weapons were meant to be controlled.
When someone eventually asked about mine, I answered simply.
"Knight."
The answer was technically true.
Nobody questioned it.
Which was fortunate.
Explaining the full title would only create unnecessary complications.
Once everyone was equipped, Garrick stepped forward again.
The crystal behind him pulsed.
Rows of testing platforms emerged from the ground.
The atmosphere immediately shifted.
Conversations died.
Smiles faded.
Reality returned.
The assessments were about to begin.
And for the first time since arriving at Galia Military Academy—
The academy was about to see what its newest students could actually do
The testing platforms finished rising from the ground.
Massive stone lanes stretched across the training field.
At the center stood several black dummies unlike anything I remembered from ordinary academies.
Each was over three meters tall.
Covered in silver runes.
And built from a material I immediately recognized.
Void Iron.
Ah.
Someone had been very concerned about students breaking equipment.
A reasonable concern.
Especially in a military academy.
Garrick walked toward one of the dummies and struck it with his fist.
The impact produced a deep metallic sound.
A moment later, numbers appeared above its head.
Force Registered: 4,872
"The Strength Assessment."
Garrick announced.
"Hit the dummy."
Several students looked skeptical.
The instructor shrugged.
"The harder you hit it, the higher the number."
Simple.
Direct.
Students were called one at a time.
The first few results were unremarkable.
A swordsman scored slightly above average.
A mage scored slightly below.
A berserker nearly dislocated his shoulder attempting to impress everyone.
The dummy remained unimpressed.
Eventually the numbers began climbing.
Roderic performed well.
One of the highest scores so far.
A few bloodline users surpassed him.
Then Orion stepped forward.
The boy's spear blurred.
The impact echoed across the field.
Force Registered: 2,917
Several students gasped.
A respectable result.
Orion smiled and returned to the group.
Clearly satisfied.
Then my name was called.
I stepped forward.
The dummy stared back.
I stared at the dummy.
For a brief moment, I considered holding back.
Then I remembered something.
This was a physical assessment.
The academy would learn the truth eventually.
Might as well save everyone the trouble.
I tightened the padded glove around my hand.
Then punched.
The sound that followed resembled a cannon firing.
The dummy didn't move.
The ground beneath me cracked instead.
For several seconds nothing happened.
Then—
Force Registered: 6,842
Silence.
Complete silence.
Even Garrick looked surprised.
Not much.
Just enough.
Which somehow made it more impressive.
Behind me, several students stared.
One girl actually checked the dummy to make sure it wasn't malfunctioning.
It wasn't.
I looked at the number.
Huh.
A little lower than I expected.
The remaining students completed their attempts.
Nobody surpassed my score.
A few came close enough to earn attention.
Nobody came close enough to matter.
The final rankings appeared.
Strength Assessment:
Benjamin
Orion
Roderic
The exact order beneath that shifted several times before stabilizing.
I stopped paying attention shortly afterward.
The next assessment was already beginning.
Speed.
Two hundred meters.
No movement skills.
No mana enhancement.
No external assistance.
Just the body.
A rule that immediately annoyed several students.
The instructors looked pleased by that reaction.
Groups were sent one at a time.
The races happened quickly.
A blur of motion.
Footsteps.
Dust.
Heavy breathing.
Then another group.
And another.
Until eventually my own turn arrived.
The signal sounded.
I moved.
The world blurred.
Wind rushed past.
The finish line approached rapidly.
Then—
Someone crossed ahead of me.
Another followed.
I crossed third.
Not bad.
Not first.
But acceptable.
The rankings appeared.
Speed Assessment:
nelisa
Adrien
Benjamin
Several names shared similar times.
The differences between positions were surprisingly small.
I spotted Adrian's name near the top.
Naturally.
The shadow Knight class favored speed.
Particularly short bursts.
The class sacrificed a portion of its offensive power in exchange for mobility and efficiency.
A design choice I had been rather proud of.
Though at the moment, nobody knew that.
The final evaluation combined two categories.
Endurance.
And stamina.
Apparently the academy had decided freshmen deserved suffering.
Large enchanted weights were distributed across the field.
Each automatically adjusted itself.
The starting weight was twice the student's body weight.
Then it increased.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The objective was simple.
Remain standing.
The first eliminations happened quickly.
Several students dropped within minutes.
Others followed soon after.
Sweat appeared.
Breathing became labored.
Legs trembled.
The atmosphere gradually shifted.
Nobody was competing anymore.
Everyone was simply trying to outlast everyone else.
The weight increased.
Then increased again.
And again.
Students began collapsing in groups.
The field steadily emptied.
One by one.
Then two by two.
Then five at a time.
Eventually only a handful remained.
Orion.
The fox-eared girl.
Adrian.
Myself.
Several others.
The strongest members of Class 1A.
At least physically.
The pressure continued increasing.
The remaining students grew quieter.
More focused.
More stubborn.
A battle of willpower now.
Nothing else.
Eventually Garrick raised a hand.
"Enough."
The enchantments vanished instantly.
A collective sigh escaped the remaining students.
Several nearly collapsed afterward.
One actually did.
No winner was declared.
There wasn't one.
The final group had endured nearly identical loads for nearly identical lengths of time.
The instructors simply recorded the results and moved on.
As students recovered, conversations slowly resumed.
I noticed more than a few glances being directed my way.
An unfortunate development.
Apparently placing near the top of every category attracted attention.
Who could have predicted such a thing?
Certainly not the academy that had just forced hundreds of students to compete publicly.