The clash between Gabriel and Levi kept going on and on for thirty minutes straight, their weapons were almost about to break and their bodies drenched in sweat. Despite this, they kept on exchanging attacks after attacks.

But soon, Levi's strength and stamina started to diminish, and Gabriel started to use more of his sword art.

Gabriel launched himself at Levi and clashed his sword directly onto the spear, breaking it apart and leaving him weaponless.

He thrust the sword at Levi's chest, and before it could reach him, Levi threw the broken spear at his friend. Gabriel sidestepped and dodged it, but that gave Levi the chance to kick the sword out from his hand onto a tree.

Losing grip on your weapon in the midst of battle was fatal, but the battle had weakened Gabriel's grip as well. The sword flew towards one of the trees, and Levi rushed towards it and took it.

"I win."

There was no way Gabriel would win against Levi without a sword.

Shaking his hand, Gabriel reached out to his spatial ring, taking out another sword.

"You came prepared,"

Levi sighed because the battle would go on a bit longer, and he was exhausted. He could give up, but that would upset Gabriel, who was learning and growing stronger as well.

"And, you always come up with surprises."

Gabriel had never seen someone use a bow, a sword, and a spear this well ever in this life. Such a genius was his friend, and maybe catching up to him would be impossible, but he wanted to win, giving his best.

Eliza, sneakily watching, didn't understand why Levi took the sword. If he took out his bow and arrow, Gabriel would have lost ages ago. Even fighting hand-to-hand, Levi would probably win, remembering how easily he subdued a majin on his own.

'Don't tell me he can use a sword too? That's just impossible-'

Eliza's doubt came to an abrupt end when she watched Levi take a perfect stance and rush towards Gabriel.

This time, she only looked at Levi. Sharp reflexes, with correct posture, hand movement, and knowing the weight of the sword and incorporating it with the wielder's weight isn't just a fluke but years of training and hard work.

She hated to admit it, but as a sword-loving nerd, she needed to acknowledge Levi. He wasn't the best, not then her, but he made no mistakes.

'His technique is the definition of "Simplicity is the best".'

Eliza now understood what Blake said back then to Flynn, "You aren't the strongest anymore."

At that time, she doubted Blake's words, and now she was unsure if Flynn stood a chance if Levi did his best.

'Genius.'

That's all that came to her mind.

The fight ended after five minutes, Gabriel emerging as the victor. Levi finished his mana, automatically disabling the skill, giving Gabriel the chance to end their clash.

"Phew-"

Levi sat on the ground, battered, his hands quivering. Gabriel sat beside him as both took in exhaustive breath, trying to get it to normal.

"So what other weapons can you use?"

Gabriel knew Levi had secrets, everyone had, and he respected Levi for having it, nor would he ever try to get it out from him. But he at least wanted to know Levi's talents and skills.

Levi shrugged,

"I don't know."

Gabriel didn't ask anything after that, but the curiosity still lingered.

"Anyway, are you studying for the exams?"

Gabriel had never seen Levi with a notebook, sitting down, and rigorously studying. He knew Levi was busy, but as a student, exams and grades mattered, especially of someone of his status.

Failure in a subject or two would result in some questioning, and if it happened again, then expulsion would be imminent.

"Only a bit, I did do every assignment, but I can't get a grasp on it."

Levi was studying half an hour each day, but there were many things he needed to get a grasp on, mainly because he didn't have a solid foundation on mana theories.

"Why don't you ask your Yuki to help you then?"

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Gabriel said, raising his eyebrows and hitting Levi with his elbow. He liked teasing Levi, even though he knew Levi didn't like Yuki in a romantic way.

'Yuki?'

Eliza knew her classmate. Though they had never talked with each other, she often heard about her from Harper, who was Yuki's and Levi's teammate.

The image of Yuki and Levi sitting together, leaning into a book, inches apart from each other, talking, and sharing a conversation popped up in Eliza's mind. 'Why did I think of that?'

Unsure of her thoughts and her behavior, she shook her head. Realizing she had been eavesdropping on their conversation but-

'It is their fault for training in my nearby training spot, yeah, so I have to hear them talk. What if they are talking about talking about my spot? My behavior does make sense'

No, she made no sense at all.

"Yuki is too busy to help me."

Levi was already asking her to train him in the morning, and Yuki, like him, had a part-time job but not high paying like his. She had her own worries. Even if he asked for help and she obliged, their schedules wouldn't match at all.

"And asking you for help?"

Levi looked at Gabriel and just sighed,

"Hey, don't disrespect me like that. Just because I don't do the assignment doesn't mean I am dumb."

"I never called you dumb."

Levi smirked and elbowed Gabriel just like how he did.

"By the way, why are our practical exams 45 days away?"

In the game, the writing exams didn't have much focus because the result was always the same, and the game never specified why the practical exams were being conducted so late.

Levi wished the practical exams would be sooner because if the plans he's made don't go as planned, then he would need a lot of time, and skipping exams wasn't possible.

"Well, it's because the crown prince is in the third year." Gabriel replied.

The practical exams would start immediately after the written exams. However, the crown prince, in his third year of high school, was about to be officially crowned as the crown prince of the human kingdom.

But the ceremony would get in the way of his exams. The academy would have to postpone many things for the third year, causing a lot of mess.

That is when the academy board decided to prepone the third-year exams and postpone the first years.

'I won't be for the ceremony, but I hope the plot doesn't take a U-turn like it has been doing.'

The coronation ceremony was just an introduction phase for the tenth hero, the crown prince, and didn't have anything special about it, except the cutscene for it was 5 minutes and said to be "animated" for at least 6 months.

Which turned out to be a lie by The God himself.

After that Levi and Gabriel talked about random stuff for about twenty minutes, stood up, gave each other a fist bump, and went their ways.

'I wasted my time for nothing.'

Eliza was annoyed. Twenty minutes she eavesdropped just to hear them talk about different flavors of ice cream, then the color of donkeys they had seen to animals they would likely "smash".

That is what her last two brain cells talk about during late-night study hours. She shook her head and walked away as well.

'Men.'

******

"Did you study the atomization of mana in a Hudson Sphere?"

"Wait, there was a topic like that?"

"There is, but that subject is for mana atomization. Today is the test on mana theory."

"WHAT?"

Two weeks had gone by, and the exams were here. Students in class A-9, and throughout the academy, were turning through pages of their notebooks, cramming whatever they could at the last second.

Some were studying, some praying, and there were legends that had given up on life itself. Students and exams, these two would never align with each other.

Though the exam would happen in the same classroom, the seat placement was different.

At the last bench beside the window was Gabriel, on the same seat, but in the place where Levi usually sat. Like most, Gabriel turned the pages of his notebook, studying at the last minute.

But a murmuring sound coming from his left didn't let him focus properly. Annoyed, he looked to his left and saw Eliza also cramming. Her eyes glued to her book, her hands covered her ears, and she kept blurting out gibberish.

The students in front of her were also annoyed but didn't have the guts to say it, but Gabriel did.

"Can't you read it inside your head?"

She just glared at him quickly and started reading again.

'This red-headed bitc-'

Gabriel stopped his thoughts and looked ahead. Levi was on the first bench, looking ahead.

'Is he not worried?' Unlike others, Levi didn't have a book in front of him. Even the stoic and rude Blake was reading, his fingers fidgeting with a pen.

Blake had 95% of his focus on the notebook, and he side-eyed Levi, carefree and a bit bored.

Both hadn't talked nor dueled with each other since Levi saved him. Though Blake was grateful to Levi, that didn't mean they were friends.

They had information about each other's pasts, and that made it even more awkward between them. Though Blake did realize that Levi wasn't like how the rumors made him out to be.

Blake did call him a 'freak' once, and he still cringes because of it, not because of what Levi did, but how immature he sounded, just because someone bumped into him and even apologized.

Most of them were from male students. It was obvious they were jealous of his looks, and he also had an average rank among the students and often performed well in team battles.

And the girls who hated him were mostly people who Levi avoided talking with or blatantly ignored.

The names he called him were horrible. Man-whore, slum rat, filth, and the most popular one 'freak'. But the reason was unclear on why he called him that and who did so even in the first place.

'But why do they call him so, and who started it?' That is what Blake was curious about and wanted to punch that person and shout in their face. Not for Levi, but for the sake of that person.

"Stop speaking nonsense about him. If he gets angry, you won't live for long, and your death won't be pleasant. Remember that."

The memory he saw of Levi's past actions still haunted him.

Noticing he had been distracted, he focused back on his notes, but Fiona entered the room and stood at the podium, like always, but except Levi and Blake, nobody acknowledged her presence.

*Thud*

She hit the wooden podium with a book, getting everyone to look at the front. The notebooks ahead of everyone started to levitate towards Fiona, and the paper she had brought floated towards their respective seats.

'Is that some sort of spell that a teacher should know?'

With just a flick of her fingers, she moved those copies and papers, without any collision in the air. It was normal for an S-rank to do so, but Levi did notice a small smirk appear on her face.

"Now." Fiona said, and the atmosphere in the whole room became heavy. She took a pen and pointed at her students.

"I don't think there is any necessity for me to go over the rules. You have three hours. Attempt every question; if there is confusion, feel free to ask me, but if I find anybody doing anything unnecessary-"

*Crack*

The pen in her hands crumbled into pieces, and everyone took a big gulp. Everyone who had plans of cheating immediately threw that idea out of the window.

Fiona looked at her wristwatch, and as the second hand completed a cycle, she shouted.

"Start."

The sound of scribbling filled the room as the first exam of the freshmen commenced.