Initially, Oscar was not totally convinced about training with Erwin.

He had accepted on the spur of the moment because, in addition to wanting to become strong at all costs, he was desperate; desperate to stay in the academy, desperate to prove to his other classmates that he was strong.

Still, he did not know whether he had made the right choice in following Erwin, since he, despite having seen Erwin "fight" those damn bullies, believed it was all due to mere luck.

Some of it was because he believed it, but the truth was that he could not accept that someone,on his first day of school, did what he had always been afraid to do, namely, stand up to bullies.

They had agreed, under pressure from Erwin, to sparring so that the latter could understand Oscar's level. But it was not a normal sparring, since only Oscar had a chance to attack, while Erwin only had to defend.

To Oscar, this rule was stupid, and he believed that Erwin underestimated him: he did not expect much from this fight, since he believed that at least a couple of times, he would hit him.

Yet... For the entire duration of the sparring, the boy failed to hit Erwin. Not even once. He couldn't even touch him.

He had tried everything: kicks, punches, headbutts. None of it worked, embarrassing himself more and more.

He had been skeptical when he had decided to spar with him. But now that he had faced him in sparring, he realized how stupid he had been to think "bad" of him.

It was simple sparring for Erwin, but not for Oscar, since it was clear to him that the difference between him and his new friend was very big, and for the fact that Oscar had the impression that Erwin was playing with him, rather than fighting.

And this, only made Oscar more frustrated, who in addition to not possessing Erwin's talent, he falt that his failure on the day of the test was just a matter of time. Moreover, he felt increasingly tired, which only made his shots slower, more predictable, and easier to counter.

"Well Oscar, that's enough for today, don't you think?" said Erwin noting how Oscar, in addition to being short of mana, was short of strength and breath.

Oscar wanted very much to continue training, but in addition to being exhausted, he was completely beaten on all fronts.

"Y-Yeah, you're right..." Oscar replied with bated breath, bending on his knees.

The two of them, after taking a breather, made their way to one of the many empty wooden benches and began brawling; Oscar, who was literally shattered despite the fact that the sparring lasted little more than five minutes, emptied his bottle within moments, while Erwin, who had not at all struggled to dodge all those blows, felt as fresh as a rose.

"Do you want my bottle too?" asked Erwin to his new friend, who at first, due to embarrassment, did not answer.

But the thirst was so severe that he was almost forced to accept Erwin's offer.

"Y-Yeah..."

The two were silent again, each assorted in his own thoughts; if Oscar was worried about the test, Erwin was worried that what he would teach him would not be enough, since time was scarce.

He had an inkling that Oscar was not particularly gifted in fighting, but his movements were so clumsy that he wondered how he had been admitted to the academy;

Not to mention his mana control, which was not in the least acceptable to the academy standard. Erwin thought about Brenin and Elaine's control of their own energies, and if they control of the mana were an 8 and a 10 respectively, Oscar was very close to a 3 or a 4.

He wanted to help him, but what could she teach him that would be so effective as to help him improve so much in such a short time?

"Well? What do you think?" - Oscar tried to break the ice, looking down at his feet - "I'm not that good, right?"

Erwin did not know what to say: he was not particularly good at lying, and in that situation, he had the impression that whatever he would say or do would be wrong.That silence, however, gave the answers he himself sought, namely, that he was nothing special. In fact, he was talentless.

"I'll take that silence of yours as a yes," Oscar huffed, stretching his legs as he sat down.

"I-I didn't want-"

"Don't worry. " - Oscar interrupted him reassuringly, with a smile that seemed forced - "I know very well that I am weak., you don't need to hide it, I can accept it, this body of mine is not suitable for fighting. Besides, my father warned me."

"Your father?" frowned Erwin, wondering what his father and Oscar had to do with this.

Oscar, at Erwin's question, bit his lip, almost as if he had let slip something he should not have said.

"Nothing, never mind. " - Oscar said, his tone of voice becoming lower and lower.

Erwin did not understand what was going on, but he knew that Oscar, at that moment, needed help. He did not want to get into his personal life, although some curiosity had been aroused by those words Oscar had said, but he knew very well that, from the way his new friend changed the subject, perhaps it was best to pretend nothing was happening.

"...You are not thatbad, really." - Erwin exclaimed, trying to prove himself as convinced as possible - "You will see that I will find something that can make you better and more confident in no time..."

"...Ok." - replied Oscar thoughtfully, hesitant about Erwin's spoken words.

In Oscar's minde however, there was something else that intrigued him: after seeing Erwin in action, he was certain that he would pass the test with ease, in fact, with extreme ease. But something was troubling him at that moment, something that made absolutely no sense to him and had him curious.

"Anyway, there's something I'm curious about" - Oscar resumed the word, trying to change the subject - "Why are you in Section C?"

"W-What?" jerked Erwin, displaced by that question.

"I mean... You're probably by far the strongest in our class, and I think with your talent, you could easily be in the B section. Yet, despite the principal's recommendation, you're in the C section -- why?"

Erwin suddenly fell silent; sure, he was now inside the academy, but still, he was embarrassed that he was unable to control any element. But he, too, as well as Oscar, had doubts about what he had heard from the professor in the class.

"I would like to answer you, but first there is something I would like to ask you: what does it mean to be 'recommended'? Why did the professor first, and then you, say that phrase?"

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Oscar looked at Erwin skeptically, slightly annoyed by that question;

"You're making fun of me, aren't you?" the boy frowned, glaring at Erwin, who couldn't understand the reason for the hostile look.

"Not at all!" - Erwin exclaimed, trying to justify himself, although he didn't know exactly for what- "When the professor said that word, everyone started looking at me with even more contempt than before, and I don't understand why! So if maybe you can explain to me what it means, maybe I can understand certain things better, don't you think?"

At that moment, Oscar realized that Erwin was not lying at all, and that in fact, he was telling the truth.

But the way Erwin became defensive was too obvious for someone as bright and sharp as Oscar, who understood that Erwin was hiding something.

[In this case...]

"Okay, got it. You see, as a rule, the outcome of the admission tests is decided by four chosen professors and the principal. There are some situations though, where the principal can ignore the vote of the professors, personally choosing to admit a student to the academy. This means being "recommended," and that is exactly the case with you. Being recommended, everyone in the school will see you a bit as the principal's pet...Because of that, everyone looked at you bad, because unlike them, you didn't struggle-"

Oscar paused or rather, he was forced to shut his mouth because of the way Erwin was looking at him with furious eyes.

Erwin had trained hard to achieve this goal, and for a moment, this goal of his slipped from his hand. Hearing those words come out of Oscar's mouth hurt him; he found them unfair, untrue, and in a way, for him what Oscar said seemed almost like an insult against the efforts he made to be in that Academy. And Erwin couldn't absolutely accept those word.

[Those fukce think that i'm just someone with a big luck, huh? Well, it means that I will make them change their mind...] Weighed Erwin with a determined look, puzzling Oscar, who did not understand the reason for that change of mood.

"...Clear, I understand." - replied Erwin with a serious and determined look on his face, thinking of a way to make others understand that he was there only because of him - "You asked me why I'm in Section C, am I right?"

"That's right, I'm curious..." Oscar replied, ready to listen to Erwin's answer.

At first, the boy from Hakvill had no intention of revealing his secret. But besides realizing that it was a stupid idea to hide this, it was inevitable that sooner or later, everyone would find out his "secret."

"Well ... The truth is that I'm an Elementless."

Oscar was silent for a few seconds. He had expected everything from some kind of punishment to some kind of test of his skills.

Everything he would have expected except this. [An elementless one? Here? No... he must surely be joking] He thought at first incredulously, believing it to be a joke.

But it was enough for him to look at Erwin's serious gaze to see that the boy was definitely not bluffing. He was damn serious.

"This is not a joke..." - hissed wide-eyed Oscar, who could not conceive how he could be so strong without being "blessed" by any element. - "Wow...T-This is...Awesome!"

[...Awesome?] - thought Erwin, who in his situation, saw nothing fantastic.

"You know, everyone says that those born with an element have significantly better mana control than those without an element. But you... you are exactly the opposite! You are strong, talented -- but without the boost given by elements! You are formidable!"

"..."

Faced with all those compliments, Erwin blushed. It was the first time someone appreciated this "peculliarity" of his, and it was the first time someone had pointed out to him how skillful he was, in spite of everything.

"Thank you..." - said Erwin, lowering his gaze because of the slight embarrassment he felt - "You are the first one who made me see my 'deficit' from another point of view..."

"Figure..." - replied Oscar, somewhat astonished by what Erwin said, since, to him, it was such an obvious thing that he didn't understand how he could never have seen this negative side of him as a merit.

"However...I'm surprised that they admitted you...In fact, I'm more surprised that you decided to take the entrance exam despite the fact that it's common knowledge that academies avoid admitting students without an element."

"Oh well, I had to at least try. If I didn't overcome this 'little hurdle,' then without a doubt, it meant that I could never achieve my dreams..."

Oscar was intrigued after what Erwin said, so much so that he wanted to know what his dreams were.

"Well, now I'm curious: what is this dream of yours that you want to achieve?"

Erwin's eyes, lit up with joy: if there was anything that excited him, besides traveling and fighting, it was to talk about his future plans.

And so, Erwin told him everything, about how he wanted to become the No. 1 wizard, and how he wanted to become a great adventurer, also telling him how it was his desire to overcome the myth of Artemisius, although he did not reveal to him the fact that he was his son for obvious reasons.

[...He's crazy!] That was Oscar's first thought when he heard Erwin talk about his dreams; sure, he was talented, but from here to becoming a greater legend than Artemisius, it was something so big and difficult to achieve that it was easier for Oscar to believe in the possibility of seeing sweets falling from the sky.

He didn't know whether Erwin was just a whipped man, a madman, or simply, whether he was unconscious. Yet every time he looked into his eyes, he saw no hesitation, just as he saw no hesitation in his words.

[...I wish I were as naïve as he was...] he thought, breathing a small sigh of relief; he thought that if he had half as much courage as Erwin, perhaps things would be very different for him today.

"It's not an easy goal... In fact, it is almost impossible..."

"I know" - said Erwin, with a smile on his face - "But ... It's a promise I made to someone very dear to me, so I'll do everything I can to succeed."

"I have to admit, you are an interesting guy!" - said Oscar, who hasn't found pleasure in talking to anyone in a long time.

"You think so? Well, thank you!" replied Erwin, scratching his head, slightly embarrassed by the compliment.

"However" - Erwin resumed the word - "I know that my journey is still long. Therefore, I have decided to give myself intermediate goals so that I will arrive ready for the fateful day!"

Oscar pricked up his ears; in these hours, he had gotten to know Erwin, and he understood that the words that came out of his mouth, while not clever things, were non-trivial statements or speeches. Therefore, at that moment, he was curious about what he would say, since if his dream was so great, it meant that his goals must also be difficult anyway.

"What kind of goal have you set for yourself?"

Erwin, hearing the question, gave a big smile, then snapped to his feet and pointed his finger above the ceiling, puffing out his chest and putting one foot on the bench.

"I will conquer the academy by becoming first the strongest student in the class, then in the whole academy! And I will succeed in just over 1 year!"

"Pff.... Hahahah."

Oscar did not know if he was laughing at that strange pose, or if he was laughing at what he had said. But one thing was certain, what he had said was not at all trivial.

"Hey! What are you laughing at!" Frowned Erwin, who did not understand why he was laughing, mistakenly thinking that he was laughing at his target.

"Well... hahah, nothing nothing..." - replied in a trembling voice Oscar, who was trying to stop laughing - "Anyway, if I understand correctly, one of your goals is to become one of the 3 Kings of the academy, am I right?"

Erwin wrinkled his eyebrows, not understanding at all what Oscar was talking about - "The 3 Kings of the Academy?"

END OF CHAPTER 30 - BELIEF.