Taryeon would have been in trouble if not for the harness, which got soaked by the rain to the point where it only got singed. But it still almost snapped from the force of the lightning bolt.

If it hadn't been for Isidore's fast reflexes, Taryeon might have ended up slipping down from the roof. He caught the rope and hauled him back up like a fisherman wrangling a sea beast.

Needless to say, Alec and the others brought the hard-of-hearing, steaming, disco-haired, and half-naked Taryeon to the infirmary. Since the staff there wouldn't let them leave without explaining how he ended up in that state, word soon spread what the group had been up to while ditching class.

It also got out that Taryeon was the first first-year to condense his magic circle or martial star despite being a commoner.

Naturally, the nobles couldn't let that go, but they also couldn't target Taryeon the same way Benjamin targeted Alec. Instead, they insisted that Victoria, who condensed her circle as soon as class ended, would have done it earlier. She was just too good of a student to skip class.

It wasn't impossible. But the lesser nobles who brought up that argument only solidified Taryeon's position as the first to do it.

Taryeon didn't really care about whether he was first or not. He was just happy that he had done it and could finally fling full-fledged lightning bolts at the training dummies instead of having to limit himself to just zapping his friends by touching them.

The rest of the group though, were pretty darn satisfied seeing the frustrated expressions on the nobles in their year when they walked the hallways.

Setting aside Alec's scores and grades, which apparently weren't as important as magic success, it was the first time the nobles were beaten at something they should have the upper hand in.

They had access to better education. They had established lineages. They had more experience since most of them grew up surrounded by magic or martial arts in a way that commoners rarely were.

They had a much more solid foundation than their commoner peers. But not only did their foremost representative, Victoria, not trounce them all, she was even beaten to the first circle.

Noble pride might have been easily bruised, but it wasn't that easily broken. Aether condensation wasn't a sprint. It was a marathon.

The noble students weren't worried.

Taryeon had only done it because of a lucky thunderstorm. Victoria would condense the second circle first. And the rest of the nobles would beat the commoners.

That was the plan, at least.

Isidore condensed his first star a day and a half after Taryeon.

Alec was starting to feel like he could guess why their Importance Levels were so high. They were abnormally talented.

There was one point he was concerned about, though. Victoria was equally talented, and from the same kingdom. She also went to the same Academy.

'What happens in the future that makes these two so important to the original story?' Alec asked himself while looking at the two sparring.

Alec still wasn't used to seeing people fight like they were trying to put the other in a coma. It was a little unnerving. But he understood it.

In this world of monsters, it was fight or die.

So, he looked at the spells Taryeon used and Isidore's swordsmanship.

There was no denying Taryeon's affinity for lightning. He was already juggling three different spells with ease. Two that sent lightning at his opponent and one that sent a burst of lightning through his feet when he pushed off the ground, allowing him to move around like a phantom.

The first two were similar. One was faster and smaller while the other was a bigger, more powerful burst of lightning. The third one was noticeably more complex.

The Core was three runes, the Regulator was more than sixty, and Alec couldn't even be bothered to count the Frame.

Alec couldn't quite decipher it yet, since his skill energy ran out too quickly. But there was one thing he could tell about it.

It did not come from the same part of the library as the other two spells. It was higher from one of the higher floors, a section of spells he hadn't found yet, or not from the library at all.

Given how sleek and well-designed the spell formation was, compared to most other spells he had seen so far, Alec was inclined to think that it did not come from the library. It was just a hunch, though, one he had no intention of questioning Taryeon about.

He could tell that the inconspicuous-looking man had a secret or two. Who didn't?

Still, even with all of his secrets and flashy moves, Taryeon could not beat Isidore.

Alec hadn't spectated swordplay before, whether in this life or the last. But he could tell after just a quick exchange that Isidore was good.

Isidore's swords cut through the air like flowing water. His steps were precis and perfectly timed.

It looked more like he was side-stepping Taryeon's spells because he knew beforehand where they were going to strike than actually reacting to them.

But while still looking graceful, he somehow managed to keep up with Taryeon, always pushing him back and taking the initiative for himself.

Taryeon exhausted himself throwing small lightning bolts at Isidore's sword to deflect it when it got too close, eventually letting Isidore seize the win.

"What did you think?" Taryeon asked between breaths as Isidore sheathed his sword and helped Taryeon to his feet.

"That I never want to fight Isidore."

Taryeon nodded.

"Understandable. But does that mean you're willing to fight me?"

"I told you before, didn't I? As soon as I condense my circle, I'm showing you who's boss."

"Haha! Fine by me!"

"Good, then I can have Isidore all to myself," Erio said, walking over while holding two light axes.

Taryeon and Alec looked at Erio with raised eyebrows.

"Are you sure?"

"Is fighting him right now a good idea?" Alec asked, referring to the fact that the gap between a one-star warrior and a zero-star one was pretty wide. Skill could make up for that gap, but Isidore was the skilled one in this case.

It was possible that he was too strong for Erio to gain much from the fight.

Erio just grinned and gripped his axes tightly.

Isidore unsheathed his sword.

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