All the mana in the room paused the moment Lily made her fiercest strike. As if belatedly realising the immense command that befell it, the mana in the area only moved a second later.
A huge rush of mana crashed into me. An invisible force only made recognisable by the movement of dust particles in the air slammed me backwards. The shockwave was bone-rattling.
And it lasted for four full seconds.
When it was over, Professor Quafia Ul stood up in applause. She was physically unfazed.
"Brava! Brava! That is truly what we can call a specialisation." She beamed. "Extra points for you! You may return to where you had been sitting."
Lily sheathed her blade and walked back to her seat as if nothing happened. Experiencing that display, I couldn't help but wonder what kind of specialisation I would get. What kind of skill suited me? Was the path of my battleaxe the right one?
This was an important question for me. If I could not achieve my best, then who would revive the Sols? There would be no one left if I failed.
We would lose all our prestige and truly become a relic of the past.
I clenched my fist. I needed more strength. Reaching E- rank on all aspects of my being was not enough.
But the question was,
"Where can I get the strength I want?" I whispered to myself.
I made it into Aethercaller, thinking that it would be enough for me. But life has shown me that even the simplest Fireball spell was enough to kill those that I held dear to my heart.
What I needed was absolute strength that could prevent all those lethal possibilities from happening.
As I was thinking, Professor Quafia Ul continued speaking.
"Now, for those of you dreaming of your own specialisations, what I suggest doing is simple: Follow your instincts. Your body knows itself better than you do. What feels correct will most likely be the right path. Even if it hurts."
The professor smacked her lips.
"But that's the tricky part. Sometimes, pain and whatnot can signify something positive. It usually signals muscle growth, mana growth, and other types of growth. But more often than not, pain can be a warning that your body is sending you."
She then zoomed into a part of her illustrations and diagrams that had been displayed on the board.
"That is where the concept of managing pain will come in. It is a lesson that I assure you, you will both love and hate..."
Her lecture continued like this for another hour.
Once the allotted one and a half hours were over, the class was then dismissed. I stood up to head to my next class, but I was stopped by a group of what I assumed to be Aelthrie nobles.
"You can only leave when we allow you to." They crossed their arms and barred the doorway, only letting other nobles pass through.
They were like bouncers, forcing everyone to fall in line.
I glanced around me, and I saw the foul gazes of the entire class. Those who weren't nobles couldn't get to their next classes, putting them at risk of tardiness.
"What are you plebeians looking at? Wait for your turn and stay put or you'll be a hindrance to our movements in the hallways." A noble roared.
"This is bullshit!" Someone yelled.
"Yeah! Bullshit! Let us through!" Another one swiftly followed.
Instantly, the class grew rowdy with a variety of yells and threats.
"Let us through or we'll put you noble bastards down!"
"Right! There are way more of us! If you don't kneel and apologise now, you'll get it!"
Childish, I thought. So many threats, yet I was aware that most of the people here were all bark and no bite.
The first person to act would be the first to bear the brunt of the aftermath. None of my classmates likely had that much bravery. No one was willing to lead the charge against the nobles.
And honestly, I wasn't brave enough to do so either. I was a noble myself, but for some reason, they did not let me through.
They looked down on me as they did on everyone else. I realised that it was likely due to the fact that my family was on the decline.
I sighed.
The main reason I had my fears was that I could not risk angering possible connections. The nobility lived off of connections. If I was everyone's enemy, there would be no path forward.
Thus, the nobles all exited one by one, and with each noble that left, I could feel the irritation of the class grow.
Yet still, no one acted.
I looked around and discovered that Caelum was still sitting at his place, motionless and uncaring of what was occurring. Did he not fear receiving a record for tardiness?
...Why was I expecting him to act in the first place?
Sensing my gaze, a portion of the crowd ended up looking back as well. They all noticed Caelum sitting there without a care.
The number of people who were taking notice of Caelum grew, and soon, everyone was looking.
The commoners were the first to act on this fact.
"Hey, Rank 1! Do something!"
"Are you going to let these noble bastards do this to you? Do you not feel offended?!"
"Where are the abilities you displayed during the entrance exams? Show us your skills!"
But Caelum did not respond at all.
The nobles laughed when they saw that Caelum still sat motionless like a statue.
"He's just a cheater. He isn't actually the strongest among us all. Look, he's too terrified to even move."
"Rank 1 coward! Haha!"
"The title of Rank 1 is nothing. He got to where he was because that rebellious professor doesn't know how to spot cheaters at all! He's as blind as a bat!" A hot-blooded noble ended up shouting those words.
It seemed like he got carried away by the atmosphere. Everyone was spouting threats and insults, so he couldn't help but do the same.
I watched as Caelum finally moved. His head swivelled to face us while it tilted in a manner that seemed to be overflowing with pity and mockery.
"My next class is going to be held here." He said, his carefree tone echoing throughout the classroom.
"And it will be taught by High Professor Deuzetai."
Caelum then pointed with his finger, making everyone turn around once again.
The noble who spouted insults without thinking suddenly froze before my very eyes.