“Rodrick, you think that boy has something to do with the Sword Dancer?” The clean shaven man asked.

He was dressed as formally today as he was on the day of the entrance exam, sipped his tea after asking the question.

Rodrick nibbled on a biscuit before answering.

“Joey, you can’t tell me that the legendary information network of our esteemed vice-principal wasn’t aware of the rumours surrounding that named blade, Ghost. I refuse to believe your network is that incompetent.”

It was supposed to be a casual conversation, but Rodrick freely spoke his mind. His manner of speaking often ticked Joey off.

“Didn’t you lose to him? I don’t think you have any legs to stand on here, Headmaster.”

Rodrick laughed, nearly spitting out the crumbs from his biscuit.

“Touché old friend, touché. I just want you to keep an eye on him. He’s already gotten into a whole host of trouble with the Arbiter’s boys.” Rodrick took a sip of his tea.

“And you didn’t stop those altercations?”

“The first time I wasn’t even aware it was happening. The second time I had a golem watch it happen. There was some kind of weird mana fluctuation at one point, but it turned out fine. Nothing that bad happened, so it’s all fine!”

“I do hope you’re intending on actually acting like the headmaster one day.”

“I’m afraid my curiosity as a mage far outweighs my concern for the nobility.”

Joey sighed, then leaned back in his seat and took another sip of tea.

“Better not let the donors catch you saying that. They’d be up in arms, again.”

“What can they do about it? They’re weaker now than they've ever been.” His words were harsh, but true. Joey wasn’t all that entrenched in noble culture, but even he knew that the nobles of Zenith were but a shadow of their former selves. But that didn’t excuse Rodrick’s actions. Or lack thereof.

“Physical or magical strength isn’t the only strength that matters in this world. You should know that as the headmaster.”

“You should go to your lesson early for once. I guarantee you’ll see something interesting. You might even believe me for a change.”

“HAH! If you’re right, I’ll eat a frog!”

“Ohoho! Joey you’re not going to be happy... Be prepared, I’ll have a frog ready for you by tomorrow’s lunch.”

The two of them finished their tea and biscuits, then made their way to their respective lessons.

The staff rooms in the Academy were relatively quaint compared to the rest of its facilities. But they felt homely. There was a natural charm to the cosiness afforded to the teachers and instructors. The fact that there were more than a few of them spread over the Academy made it even more comfortable than one would expect a place of teaching to be.

As Joey was walking through the halls, he noticed a trend of students running in front of him, in the direction of the west ground. Odd, what could possibly be so interesting about my classroom. He heard students telling each other to “hurry up” or that they’ve “gotta come see this”. Joey thought it was even more curious that they wouldn’t just say what was happening instead of some vague indication of something interesting. Maybe I’m too old to understand it.

Eventually, Joey made it to the arced gateway that led into the west ground. Well clearly something has to be interesting enough for this large of a crowd to gather. He gently pushed his way into the front of the crowd, causing some students to run away at the sight of the teacher. The rest were too immersed in the spar that was happening in front of them.

Joey understood as soon as he reached the front of the crowd. He saw what was happening. It was the boy that the headmaster was talking about.

He watched the fight alongside the rest of the gathered students, some of which he recognised as students from his class according to the ‘cheat sheet’ he'd made to learn student names.

Joey found the fight to be rudimentary at first, with the two participants making very good use of the basics and fundamentals of fighting. They played to their weapons’ strengths. It was clear that this was agreed upon to be a purely physical spar before it began. Joey remembered the scores for the magical aptitude tests. Rai had a monstrously high score, destroying the base level measuring orb. Sindyl scored the second highest, causing a crack in the measuring orb. If they used magic, this fight wouldn’t be as close as it was. Joey mentally commended their dedication to improving their physical abilities over just their magical prowess. It was rare to see, especially among nobles.

Joey's eyes widened.

Something changed.

That stance...

Joey recognised it.

He was a fighter in the Elder Wars. Even though he wasn’t in the Sword Dancer’s elite forces, Joey would recognise those movements anywhere after seeing them on the battlefield just once. They were practically the same. Though, there was something missing. He’s only using one sword. Is it even possible to use those moves with only one sword? Well obviously it is, I’m looking right at it!

Joey was completely immersed. His eyes were full of wonder as he watched Rai beautifully dance across the ring, making full use of the unorthodox sword paths unique to the Dance.

The fight was longer than he expected, and they were now a few minutes into his lesson time. Joey wasn’t worried about that, since he’d just witnessed proof that the Sword Dancer was still alive, somewhere.

Oh. Oh no. I have to eat a frog.

“Why does he seem so irritated?” Rai whispered to Sin.

“Don’t ask me, I can’t read minds.”

The two of them returned their borrowed weapons, and went to quickly clean themselves in the washroom before returning to the lesson. They were given a few minutes to do so, otherwise the class would stink of their sweat.

When they returned to the class, the cleanly shaven man made his introductions.

“I’m Joey. I’ll be your instructor for weapon skills training. Some of you already know me as the vice-principal, while the rest of you have just learnt that fact.”

There were some murmurs among the group, so Joey waited for them to quieten down. He carried himself with poise as he walked around the group, analysing the students. They quietly watched him do so.

“Apart from four of you, the rest of you are weak.” He stated it as a fact.

There was an uproar among some of the students.

“How can you say that when you haven’t seen our skills?!” One boy shouted above the rest.

“Magical prowess means nothing in this class. You can only rely on your physical strength, agility, and cunning. Most of you are so weak that you rely completely on magic.”

Rai noticed that the vice-president’s build was far more athletic than the headmaster’s. He'd looked more athletic both on the day of the entrance exam and today.

“Are you to say that magic doesn’t matter at all?!” The same boy shouted in retort.

Joey looked at the boy in question. Joey noted that the boy stood with the air of a noble, an air that Joey knew all too well.

“Let me ask you this then. If you are in a life or death situation against someone who can nullify your magic, what do you do? Do you just give up and die?” He paused a moment to let the question sink in.

The class was silent.

“Of course not! You’re not stupid! You should always make sure you cover your weaknesses, otherwise you will be exploited. If you so vehemently believe that training your physical skills is so inferior to your magical skills, then prove it.”

The boy’s proud air all but left him. “Huh? What do you mean prove it?”

“I believe you heard me. It’s very simple to prove it. All you have to do is win in a fight against someone who isn’t using magic, while you are using magic yourself. What’s your name young man?”

The boy’s attitude was initially somewhat tepid, but it soon began morphing into a smug pridefulness. “I’m George, of the-”

Joey raised a hand to stop him there. “I don’t care about your family, or your clan. I asked for your name. That’s all I wanted.”

George was furious, but knew better than to challenge a teacher at the Academy for something like that. He gritted his teeth.

“Yes, of course sir.”

“Good.” He directed his arm towards Rai and Sindyl, “Other than these two,” then turned his direction to the rest of the class, “is there anyone who’s willing to fight against George? The stipulation is that he can use magic, but you cannot.”

There were loud whispers among the students. Most of them were of the idea that it was a stupid challenge. How could you win against someone using magic while you can’t use it yourself?

Rai raised a hand.

“Why can’t we fight?” He asked.

“You just fought. It wouldn’t be a fair fight.”

Rai nodded.

“I’d still win.” He whispered to Sin.

She giggled. “Same.”

A voice boomed from next to them, silencing the whispers of the class.

“I will!”

Tullian had a huge grin on his face while looking at George.

“I’ll fight him according to those rules. And I’ll win!” Tullian declared.

George's eyebrow twitched in response.

Joey afforded himself a slight smile. “One of the four.” He whispered under his breath.

“Time to back those words up, George.”