The sound of steel slicing through air echoed across the forest, a secret spot that I had found a few days ago.
I exhaled slowly, the cold blade resting against his shoulder as lightning flickered faintly along my legs. The strike had been fast—clean—but not fast enough.
Not yet. One mistake here means death. I can't rest. That fight with Fenrir opened my eyes to how weak I really am.
I tightened his grip on the hilt. The morning sun spilled between the leaves of the trees, its golden rays doing little to warm the cold sweat on my back.
"Again," I muttered.
My body moved on instinct. [Flash] activated for the briefest moment, and my body surged forward in a blur. The afterimage of his slash split the wooden dummy in two. But even before it hit the ground, I stumbled slightly, my knee buckling.
"Tch… Still unstable."
I sat down heavily on a nearby bench, letting the mana settle. My breathing was even, but I was frustrated.
Everything about this world—the system, the spells, the fights—it was all built to favor the protagonist. The hero. The chosen one.
Not a side character. Not a bug in the code. Not me.
But that was fine.
Because bugs could crash entire systems.
And I had no interest in stealing the spotlight—only in surviving long enough to get home. Even if that meant slicing through everything this world threw at me with a broken sword and borrowed knowledge.
Then I remembered the clue to a rare item hidden beneath the academy's outskirts.
"Elemental Conductor Crystal… should help stabilize the feedback."
I stood, gaze steeled.
It was time to go hunting.
***
Class proceeded as normal. Here and there a classmate could be seen stressing over the test papers infront of them.
I didn't show the slightest crack in emotion. I proceeded straight to the back of the test papers.
"These should be easy" I I tentionally wasted most of the testing time, since I would be bored if I only answered a few questions and sat here staring at these questions.
After fifteen minutes I handed in my papers. The teacher seemed dumbfounded.
"Mr.Veris this page is blank"
"Ah. Sorry sir, I couldn't answer these questions, I directly skipped to the back."
I hurried away after that answer. I had to start preparing for tonight.
"Mana heart...."
'The only thing that could help me with my mana quality and amount.'
_________
Staring at the student's departing back, the teacher was dumbfounded. He looked at the papers.
"He only answered the back?"
What surprised him even more was that all four these high level - unsolvable answers were solved correctly.
_____________