Rodrick was looking at Stella as if he had expected this.
Out of all the professors at the academy only Rodrick taught basic to advanced swordsmanship. Magic was much more sought after in this day and age so more people did that subject. More magician students signed up every year at the academy than those talented in close combat.
They(the close combatant students) much rather preferred to join the Order and other training institutes where programs and curriculums were designed specially for swordsmen, spearmen, and many other close combatants. There wasn't an institute for magic besides the academies on the continent if you excluded the Magic Tower training programs.
One could do the Magic Tower programs but the work was much more complex compared to the magic taught at the academy. Students at the academy were given an education in the field of magic while students in the Magic Tower programs learn a deeper understanding of Arcane Arts and all other forms of magic.
It didn't seem like much but the two were vastly different in their approach to magic as a whole.
Since Rodrick was the only one who taught swordsmanship, he should be the only one aware of his students' performance and have a grasp on how high their potential is.
Excluding Arnold, Stella had the best performance out of all the fourth years and even some of her seniors—which was why she was in Class A despite her weak academic record. Of course, there was no way of telling in what areas she was superior to her seniors since all the classes had different curriculums.
Swordsmanship was like a tree.
The seed was how to handle the sword.
As it grew, leaves represented the different techniques one could learn.
Photosynthesis was the knowledge one gained to improve oneself and feed your ambition.
The sunlight was the rate at which you grow.
The thickening of the bark was one's solid grasp on swordsmanship.
In the end you would have a fully grown tree or a person who was one with their swords. Of course, few reached this far that didn't require them to train any longer.
Even Vance, this empire's Sword Master trained his swordsmanship every so often despite being the strongest swordsman in the entire empire. Despite his title and skills, he hadn't reached the peak yet.
'I'm not the only one who knows how powerful she can truly become…'
Stella was a capture target so she became Luke's wife later in the game.
She didn't love him but she bore children for him. Luke had hundreds of wives but not a lot of them had the fortune of bearing powerful children who could fight by their father's side.
Her reason for becoming his wife?
Well, that was because she thought he was strong. If he was strong then he could give her strong children.
That was how simple she was. She only wanted power. Who wouldn't want the power to stand at the top of this world?
Liam knew this feeling very well since Arnold von Berkley actually achieved this before he even turned 25. He waged wars with nations singlehandedly and won them. He slaughtered anyone who even dared oppose him.
Kings, rulers, and leaders of all nations bowed before his power. They would be erased if they don't bend the knee.
If he wasn't a menace to this world then Liam didn't know what was.
"Stella's Sword Intent is gradually getting better as she continues to hold the sword. I want all of you to do the same thing by taking her example into account. Oh, and Stella I want you to drop your sword once five minutes have gone by," Rodrick took out a clock and put it on the table next to him, "All of you should do the same as well."
'She might pass out if she doesn't, huh.'
Rodrick was saying that so that she doesn't overstep her limits. Wanting to surpass one's limits was admirable but not having the potential to actually achieve it wasn't a very good idea, lest you actually killed yourself.
The courtyard was filled with multiple screams when the students uttered the runic word for Sword Intent.
Some foamed at the mouth the instant they uttered the chant and collapsed. Others could still hold on.
Besides Stella, there were 5 other students who could hold on out of the original 25. Similarly blood dripped out of their eyes and nose just like with Stella.
Arnold noticed that Stella's eyes were becoming bloody and she was gritting her teeth too much. Her veins were becoming purple from straining herself.
She now resembled a deadlifter going over the limit with weights.
'She'll collapse or possibly die at this rate.' Arnold decided to go towards her.
She looked up with a glare while her entire body was trembling from handling Sword Intent's power for the first time.
"Don't think about unnecessary things," he put his hand on hers and slowly stroked it, "Emotions can cause ripples in our soul which can lead to your aura spiraling out of control. The purpose of this exercise is to allow both powers to coexist. Not domination over one and not the other. If one overwhelms the other then the imbalance can cause difficulties."
Arnold spoke loud for everyone to hear but his eyes were only gazing into Stella's eyes.
"You don't fight for your family. You don't improve yourself for them either. Think only of yourself and what's important to you."
Stella's eyes widened. Similarly, the output of power in the rune increased immensely.
Stella's almost fell again due to the power but Arnold caught her by her waist.
He was expecting to be punched in the face but Stella had a determined expression on her face as she held on. She didn't even seem angry that Arnold touched her hands.
'If circumstances were different then my jaw would also be broken today…'
He looked at the sword that Stella was using to control Sword Intent. Her output of power was much larger than anyone else's. The problem was that hers alone wasn't burning gently like the others.
This meant that it would take awhile for her to control that power even if she is capable of handling more of it than her classmates.
One of the boys collapsed on the ground while his body jerked like he was being electrocuted.
He was able to control the power. But the fact that he collapsed first meant that his classmates who were still standing could handle much more of the power than him.
Arnold silently looked at his classmates.
'Let's see who can emerge as the strongest user of Sword Intent.'
Of course, he already knew who it was but surprises were welcome as well.
◇◇
It was a few minutes later.
Stella was on her knees. All her classmates were laying on the ground, exhausted.
Stella's entire body was wet with sweat. Perhaps she was feeling too warm but she even took off her blazer so the bra could be seen through the shirt she was wearing.
Rodrick spoke up the moment Stella's sword fell to the ground.
"It seems that only 6 of the total 25 students were able to learn and control Sword Intent today. Don't worry, this result won't affect your final exam mark. We're preparing you for that after all," Rodrick looked at Arnold, "If you have anything you're unsure about then you are welcome to ask either me or Arnold for advice."
'No, why me too?' Arnold wanted to ask but someone spoke up after Rodrick.
"W-What about him?" Stella pointed at Arnold.
"What about Arnold?"
"W-Why… do we have… to go through all this… while he only watches…?"
"Yeah! I-I almost passed out multiple times but that jerk only smirked while looking at us!"
"Yeah, yeah!"
"Let him suffer too!"
Rodrick looked at Arnold with a meaningful gaze.
"What they're saying makes sense. I'd also like to see how long you can withstand the power of Sword Intent. We've never gotten an official record like I've done with your classmates." Rodrick wiggled the clipboard in his hand that had the time that each one of them could hold out.
The recording of their durations was important to see if their training progressed or stalled throughout every class.
'Now that I think about it, Sebastian was strict with releasing Arnold's data during his training.'
It was a "warrior's confidentiality" as he called it.
'It should be fine if it's just Sword Intent. I've never really used it more than a few minutes anyway.'
"Alright," Arnold went over to the weapon table and picked up a better sword than the one that he picked earlier, "I'll give it a shot."
He could see Stella look at him with a smug face as if she was confident that he wouldn't last that much longer than the rest of them.
Arnold decided to ignore her annoying expression. He held out the sword, pointing it towards the sky.
He also put one hand behind his back.
"Begin whenever you feel comfortable." Rodrick got his pen ready.
"Got it."
Arnold took a deep breath.
Unlike his demon lord power, he had to actually concentrate to use this power. The muscles around his arm tightened as Sword Intent was channeled through them at abnormal speeds.
A rumble resounded before a brilliant spark of white light ascended to the sky; it was even brighter than the sun.
Arnold had only used Sword Intent to cut down people and monsters faster until now. He hadn't actually used it on a lot of occasions.
His aura and demon lord power was more reliable after all. That was what he thought at first anyway.
"W-What…"
"H-He's controlling that much more power than us… yet he's calm…?"
Arnold looked around and noticed that his classmates were looking at him with sparkling eyes. The fear and hate seemed to have vanished in an instant.
Stella's expression was frozen as she looked at the power of Sword Intent that reached even higher than the building they were standing next to.
The other students were probably alarmed by the sudden white light as many of them looked out of their classroom windows.
Their expressions were the same as his classmates.
Even Arnold was bewildered.
'So this is the power of being a Transcendent… A person with the potential to surpass 9th star…'
His admiration and awe lasted only a while since he felt a sudden jolt up his arm. It was similar to touching a stove that was on.
He noticed that the amount of energy was gradually decreasing.
No, that wasn't what was happening. The power was only decreasing in size, not capacity.
Arnold could feel the sword grow heavier as seconds went by. The density felt even heavier than aura or his demon power.
'What the fuck!?'
He grabbed it with his other hand but the pressure didn't lessen at all.
It felt like he was holding onto a falling boulder that was tied to his arms with chains while he stood with his arms stretched over a cliff.
The white energy was so powerful and dense that Arnold felt like he was holding the heaviest weight in this entire world. He sank to his knees. Blood spurted out of his mouth as his organs rearranged themselves.
Even his bones made loud cracking noises, audible to one's ears.
The pain was much greater than any of them had gone through.
Seeing this, the students screamed. His reaction was far worse than the reaction any of them gave while using the power.
"Drop the sword, Arnold!" Rodrick shouted but kept his distance, "This power shouldn't be handled in such large amounts for a long period of time! Drop it quickly, or you'll—"
Risk ascending to the third stage, was what Rodrick was probably trying to say.
But Arnold couldn't hear Rodrick.
There was this ringing in his ears. A cacophony of noises were combined that he couldn't make out what was what.
Arnold wanted to let the sword go. He really wanted to.
But as he looked down at the hand that was grabbing the sword, he couldn't help but be drawn by the beauty of the white light.
It was like the power was calling out to him.
Strange, he thought, The noises vanished.
Rodrick's voice along with the screams of the students vanished even though Arnold could clearly see them around him. Instead a voice came into his ears.
"Take me."
"I am only yours to possess."
"No one else can achieve something that man has been dreaming of all along…"
"Becoming a god…"
"Heroes, Demons, Kings, Divine Sentient Life… None of them can become truly all-powerful. Or godly."
"So take it! You are worthy of this power!"
No, those were definitely not hallucinations. Arnold was hearing those whispers inside his head.
The power slowly crept up Arnold's arm as he felt excruciating pain.
He tried to pull the sword out of his hand while roaring.
The sword was finally pulled out but the glare of the white light didn't waver at all. If this power wasn't contained then many people would get hurt.
"10th rank magic—[Dimensional Transfer]." A calm voice spoke.
The sword which held that unimaginable power suddenly vanished from the school grounds.
What remained in its place was a large area of the training grounds completely destroyed. Even some of the buildings had cracks though them. The windows were completely broken.
Sword Intent—no, Aether was the cause of that.
Arnold slowly looked up at the person who could utter such a high rank spell chantless.
Messy silver hair was the last thing he saw before his mind completely blanked and his consciousness faded.
But he was able to ascertain the identity of that person.
Freya York.