Alard, that is what his name was.

He was one of the few students whose profiles I had actually read simply because he came first in the entrance exam.

it was pitifully empty to tell the truth. I have been sensing this student’s analytic gaze throughout the entire testing. He was always looking for an opening. He wasn’t anything like a lion; his might was certainly nowhere near enough to be considered an apex predator.

But his patience, it was like a panther crawling closer and closer in the darkest night, his bright yellow eyes never leaving its prey waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.

It was almost sad to hear that he was willing to give up this easily. I guess he may have figured out I was nowhere near his league. He smiled as he walked forward, his hands shown, empty as expected.

His hair with a few strands reaching downwards onto forehead twitched slightly in the wind. He muttered a word under his breath.

“equ-boost” It must have been a personal spell since I haven’t heard that one before.

In an instant the student who was at least five meters away closed the distance and appeared directly in front of me.

His eyes that had appeared friendly had changed to that of a predator who was ready to consume its prey.

In his hands a strange sword that appeared out of thin air was cleaving downwards towards my neck. My eye that had seen a thousand blows, saw his attack as though it was in slow motion.

But even I was surprised by the sheer speed and strength his brash attack was demonstrating, even so, I could still dodge this.

However, when I told my body to move as it did a hundred, no a thousand times before, it felt like a house of bricks was sitting on my shoulders.

“When did he!”

I involuntarily let out a noise as the sword drew closer. I could have sworn I saw his smug smirk as he saw the look of surprise on my face.

I was surprised indeed, I had thought his spell was enhancement magic on himself but it seems it was two spells merged into one. Not only did it enhance him but it also slowed me down drastically, this was at least a fourth circle spell as expected from the top student.

“Swift Dia!”

I activated a hastening spell while twisting my body dodging the sword and hitting his hand changing the trajectory of his attack towards the floor.

The impact of his sword strike hitting the floor was powerful enough to split the ground open. Meanwhile, myself now behind him tapped him on the back of his neck teleporting him into the stance. I exhaled a deep sigh of relief as I saw that monster of a child teleport to the stance and rubbed my neck where that sword would have lande.

To my surprise there was a drop, albeit miniscule of blood.

Not only did he force me to use magic but he also drew blood, this child is definitely the real deal.

There was a nagging feeling about the whole situation, for some reason it felt like I had fought this child before. His movements and scheme felt eerily familiar, as though I was fighting an old rival.

I recovered from my thoughts only to remember he was the last of the students which meant the assessment was now complete.

-

Clover gathered the tattered students in the stands and began to give his lecture.

“Today, is your first glimpse into the real world of combat.

You were given time to plan an attack and instead of coordinating as a force with two hundred strong you broke up into your pre-established cliques of fives and tens refusing to cooperate for a bigger picture.”

The colonel paused as he looked over towards the pink haired girl and then shifted his gaze back towards Alard.

“And even the supposedly smart and talented ones amongst you, always thinking they can fight the world by themselves refusing to cooperate because they only believe in their own strengths.”

he made a sharp exhale and paused

“utterly foolish”

He scuffed and continued to preach to the students sitting in the stands with their swollen faces and aching bodies.

“The truth is, in this world sometimes you will face insurmountable mountains and monsters that only an army can tear down. So learn to work together, or learn to die alone.”

The entire freshman block was sent to their dorms for the rest of the day. They all dragged their aching and swollen bodies to their respective rooms.

The special five students were left behind. Clover paced around as he looked at them keenly.

“Marcel Raizer. You managed to muster a group of students and launch an assault.

That is the heart of what I wished all the students would learn, team work.”

Clover handed a silver ticket to the student dressed in his golden armor. Raizer wiped his bright blue eyes and fixed his out of place blonde hair and smiled as he accepted the library golden pass.

“Yonder Silverwing.

You gathered a smaller force and led them from the front, ensuring a more tactical approach.

Truly an embodiment of the generals I wish all my students to be by the end of this year, here you earned this.” Yonder smirked as he received his pass.

“Lloyd, the cannon fodder.

You joined not one but three different groups that teamed up to attack me.

While you may have seemed like any other nameless face in the assault, that tenacity is outstanding.

A great leader knows when it is time to follow, here, have this ticket.”

Lloyd was on the verge of tears, his swollen face appeared more like a swollen cherry than a face, he looked as though he had been through a lot.

“Anka Heraldry.

Your craftiness and ingenuity truly caught me by surprise and amazed me. You deserve this.”

Anka pulled the pink hair reaching down on her face to the back of her ear and bowed slightly as she accepted the colonel's reward.

“And finally, Alard. I can see why you are ranked first amongst the first years. In a split second you can change the tide of a battle. But remember no one man can battle the entire world. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from those around you.”

Alard graciously accepted the Library Pass.