"This is just too weird! Don't you think so, Noah?!" Stella fumed, glaring down at Noah's official ability assessment printout.
After all, the boy's measured stats simply didn't align with the terrifying explosive power he had actually displayed in the testing room.
When Stella loudly asked him about it, Noah's reaction was quite ordinary.
He believed the assessment results accurately reflected his current physical status.
"Not really. My total raw magic power certainly isn't as monstrous as yours, Stella. It might be close to the lowest absolute value for a B-Rank, but it seems I am still a little short. C-Rank makes sense."
He was, in essence, just an ordinary mortal.
The only reason he possessed magic power in the first place was because the gods' Falna had awakened his latent potential.
At Level 1, his Magic attribute had reached the absolute maximum value of S-Rank (S999), which was also the physical limit of his "vessel."
After his vessel was sublimated and leveled up to Level 2, his Magic had reset and eventually reached the current maximum value of E-Rank (E499).
Adding it all together, his total raw magic power was roughly equivalent to a C-Rank in this modern world.
By his tactical estimation, to naturally reach A-Rank magic power, he would need to achieve an S-Rank in Magic every single time he leveled up until he reached Level 4.
Stella's magic power was certified by the League as the world's strongest, and they had provided a rough, terrifying estimate: her total magic capacity was more than thirty times the global average.
According to the League's statistics, the absolute average magic power among all registered Blazers was in the D-Rank range.
Noah's own judgment, made through his Truth Seeker appraisal, was that Stella's magic power was currently 13 times larger than his own.
If his total magic capacity was 100, then the girl's was already over 1,300.
Within the scope of Noah's knowledge, only Orario's strongest mage, the "Nine Hell" Riveria, could possibly match this absurd amount of magic power.
For the people born in this modern world, magic power was permanently predestined at birth. But unfortunately for them, Noah was a true member of a god's Familia.
Unlike the rigid rules of this universe, the gods' Falna allowed him to grow continuously, theoretically even to the point of reaching the true domain of the god.
In terms of the absolute upper limits of power, the world of Blazers was indeed several tiers below the world of Orario.
"You seem to be much more bothered by my test results than I am," Noah smiled, highly amused by the princess's angry reaction.
Although he had technically agreed to join the Vermillion Empire after becoming an official Mage-Knight, it was only a verbal agreement.
Yet, the girl already treated him completely as one of her own, adopting a fierce protective attitude of "one for all, and all for one."
Not that he planned on breaking his promise, anyway.
After some political arrangements were made by Stella, Noah took up residence in a lavish guest room inside the royal palace.
He quickly discovered that although Stella was still young, her political authority in the country was not weak.
Besides their genuine affection for her, the palace servants also showed her ample, deep respect.
'Is it because she is an A-Rank Knight?' Noah wasn't quite sure of the true source of this respect.
"The feeling of falling asleep inside a world I originally entered by falling asleep... it is surprisingly not strange at all."
It was almost like he had truly crossed dimensions again.
'Wait. That is a grammatically incorrect sentence, isn't it?'
In fact, he had indeed crossed dimensions, it was just that he could actively cancel the spell and return to Orario at any time.
Waking up inside a massive, luxurious castle—this was an experience many girls couldn't refuse.
Well, it seemed boys didn't find it easy to refuse either.
He pushed open his bedroom window and looked out at the sprawling capital city of the Vermillion Empire.
"Just looking at it like this, it seems like a very nice country."
Helping that fiery princess turn this place into a genuinely "nice," corruption-free country seemed like it would be a rather fulfilling task.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Noah sighed.
Was that a sound a girl could make by knocking on a wooden door?
It sounded more like someone was swinging a heavy sledgehammer at the wall during renovations!
"It is time for morning practice! No time for slacking off, Noah! Get up, quick!" Stella shouted from the hallway.
She was full of explosive energy, even first thing in the morning.
'Is this hyperactive energy to be expected of a pyromancer? She is a lot like Alise in this regard.'
Noah barely managed to grab a quick bite of breakfast before joining Stella in a massive, empty courtyard behind the palace.
There wasn't much greenery here, it looked like the area had been violently cleared out on purpose.
There were massive, black scorch marks on the stone ground, likely the handiwork of the princess herself.
"Noah, let me teach you a few things. You had better listen closely, okay?" Stella said in a clear, authoritative voice, acting exactly like a strict little teacher.
"As humans with highly special abilities, it is inevitable for Blazers to feel 'special' after their powers awaken. In such cases, without a sufficiently strong, disciplined heart, it is easy to become intoxicated by that raw power and let one's mind become twisted."
"The reason Mage-Knights are officially called Mage-Knights is because the education Blazers receive is the embodiment of chivalry itself! As long as we strictly follow the honorable path of chivalry in our self-training, not only can we develop resilient physical bodies, but we can also attain a powerful, unbreakable spirit!"
Stella's proud smile couldn't quite hide the dark bags under her eyes.
It seemed the girl had stayed up late studying textbooks last night just to show off in front of him this morning.
However... Noah had already recorded all of this exact textbook information in his brain using Truthseeker on the library books yesterday.
"Ahem. So, how does one properly train?" Noah asked, cooperatively reciting the exact formulaic question from the textbook to humor her.
Stella's eyes lit up.
It was as if she had perfectly anticipated Noah would ask this exact question!
"With blood and sweat, of course! Only those who have worked incredibly hard can truly understand the ratio of diligent effort to reward, instead of indulging in false, unearned power!"
"The path of chivalry must be violently carved out with a sword!"
Stella ran over to the wooden weapon rack with a smug look on her face and took down two heavy wooden training swords.
She tossed one to Noah and then said, "A powerful Mage-Knight has absolutely no weaknesses! Even a backline mage like you must master close-quarters combat! Come on, I will be your sparring opponent! Do not hold back!"
The smug girl had a secret motive.
She had always wanted a younger brother!
And now, although that dream had yet to be officially realized, it didn't stop her from preemptively shaping her "Big Sister" authority over Noah.
'First step: display my overwhelming strength and earn my little brother's total admiration!'
Noah weighed the wooden sword in his hand and murmured, "A sword, huh? It has been a while."
"Eh? What are you muttering about? Hurry up and attack! I told you not to worry, I am very strong!"
'Stella-oneesan, my ass.'
'Is this girl thinking about something weird?'
Noah changed his posture, holding the wooden sword casually upright.
In that single instant, the smug smile on Stella's face completely vanished.
From that one simple, subtle movement, she inexplicably felt a terrifying sense of crisis.
Her knightly instincts were screaming at her, warning her that the boy standing before her was absolutely no rookie.
His posture seemed relaxed and unrefined, yet it appeared to completely hide all physical openings. It was definitely not a stance an amateur could take.
Stella finally remembered the boy's identity when they first met.
He was a survivor of the illegal deathmatches.
He was a gladiator!
"I am coming," Noah said in a low voice. He suddenly launched a surprise attack.
He thrust his wooden sword forward in a very wide, sweeping motion.
Such an attack, if dodged, would leave the attacker entirely unable to defend due to the large, clumsy movement.
In the eyes of a skilled swordsman, it was the most basic, amateurish of moves.
And yet, faced with this move riddled with obvious openings, Stella found she couldn't dodge it.
The tip of the wooden sword was like a venomous snake that had perfectly locked onto her vitals, leaving her nowhere to run.
"How can this be?!"
In her panic, Stella brought her sword down in a powerful vertical slash, intending to break through his thrust with pure, overwhelming physical force.
But Noah's sword strangely shifted.
It seamlessly changed from a forward thrust to a sharp, upward flick, the dull blade striking the flat side of the girl's sword.
A powerful, jarring vibration traveled violently up from the wooden sword, almost making the girl lose her grip and drop her weapon.
But if that happened, she would lose!
Stella forced herself to steady the vibrating wooden sword in her hands.
Noah, however, quickly retracted his sword and jabbed out again, forcing her to awkwardly raise her own to parry.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
Due to the intense, rhythmic vibrations of Noah's strikes, Stella felt as if the sword in her hand was a wild, thrashing fish, desperately struggling to break free from her grasp.
As a proud swordswoman, if she couldn't even control her own blade, what kind of swordswoman was she?!
She stared in absolute astonishment at the perfectly composed boy before her.
'He is aiming for my grip on purpose!'
'This is... a highly unique sword art! Does such an impossible technique actually exist in this world?!'
'No, this is bad! I am losing my grip!'
CLANG!
With a light, perfectly angled strike from Noah, the wooden sword in Stella's hand flew high into the air, spinning several times before landing smoothly right in Noah's free hand.
His expression was still just as relaxed and effortless.
Stella understood.
For him, this wasn't a sparring match at all, he was just giving her a gentle wake-up call.
The boy's swordsmanship completely surpassed hers.
They weren't on the same level at all!
Didn't that mean if he hadn't run away that day and had chosen to fight her in the arena, she very likely would have lost?!
"Noah, your swordsmanship... how can I become as strong as you?!"
She had learned the Royal Imperial Swordsmanship, a magnificent, flawless style passed down through generations of the Vermillion royal family.
To ensure she had no weaknesses, she had trained desperately and constantly challenged the strong martial artists throughout the country to test her skills.
To this day, she had defeated many people older than her.
She had even thought that in the future, there might be no one left in the entire country who could be her opponent.
But now, she had been effortlessly disarmed by a boy two years her junior. It was a complete, humiliating defeat!
Seeing Stella's devastated look, Noah didn't know how to properly explain it.
Firstly, he had never formally learned any traditional sword style.
He possessed the stolen combat insights of countless Orario adventurers and the bloody experience that could only be gained in life-or-death battles inside the Dungeon.
If he had to somehow quantify his stolen experience, all he could say was:
"Talent aside, for a technical skill like swordsmanship... if you practice in the Dungeon for about a hundred and fifty years, you will eventually reach this level."
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