"Us beating class B? You say class D beating high ranks? Even you are talking the impossible now, professor..."
The line was from one of the class mages, but it reflected the thoughts of the majority there. No one would believe that a D rank could beat a B rank. That was impossible, no matter what method was used.
"So you guys believe that I am wrong and that there is no way for you to win? Is that it?" asked Professor Caligan flashing a smart smile.
"There is no way, professor. To defeat a B rank you need about five C ranks , and for a C rank you need about five D ranks. To defeat a B rank with D ranks you would need about..."
"Twenty-five D ranks to have a small chance of defeating a B rank? Is that what you believe?" completed professor Caligan "Do you really believe that the Theory of Fives makes sense? That it is true?"
The students in the room were quiet, but Kaito could see that they believed in the Theory of Fives. It was too many years of an absurd difference between ranks for them to think differently.
"Well, my dears students, I am sorry to say that the Theory of Fives is true. We actually put lower ranks up against higher ranks and the victories of the low ranks have always been at about five to one. Yes, a B rank has the power to beat twenty-five D or maybe a lot more than that. I've seen it personally."
"So how are we going to beat the higher ranks if one of them already destroys a bunch of us?" asked Hakon confused.
"That is an honest question, Mr. Gundahar. I will return it with another question then. How did mr. Arturis, an F rank, beat several D ranks yesterday? Shouldn't that be impossible?"
"Because he cheated! He must have done something we don't know and won!" replied a mage further back.
"Shut your mouth, you little shit! The boss can beat the crap out of you any time he wants, and that's because the boss is the strongest in this goddamn academy!" shouted Hakon as he stood up.
The class began to get into a heated argument, but soon stopped when Professor Caligan snapped his fingers, creating a spark that sounded like loud thunder in the room.
"This class faces enough problems already to divide against each other. And as for the nonsensical theory that Mr. Arturis won because he cheated somehow, it is not only unfounded, it is also pathetic. Don't be pathetic, my dear students, because I know you can be better than that."
The teacher's speech filled the entire class with shame. Everyone there knew that Kaito had done nothing but fight fairly against them, and somehow what the professor said made them recognize the incoherence of their words.
"Mister Arturis won by being an F rank. From what I've examined his powers are the most basic and weakest in the entire class." said the teacher pointing to Kaito's name and powers on the board.
"But how can he be weak if he did all that? The ground exploded and he shot lightning and everything!" said a rogue from the class.
"It's simple. He adapted himself. Usually when a mage enchants a weapon the combatant with that weapon just tries to hit his enemy. It's the most straightforward way to do damage." explained the professor circling the word adaptation "Then I will ask Mr. Arturis to explain to us how he managed to do what he did yesterday."
The professor stopped talking and faced the boy, who was sitting in front of him writing down every single thing that was said in class. Kaito found himself being watched at that moment, with all eyes on him. Feeling strangely nervous, he started speaking.
"I knew that my magic would not be able to match what a real mage can do. I've tried it before and I wasn't even close to have the same results. So when the fight was about to start I noticed that the ground was dirt and I figured that if I could concentrate some of the power on the tip of the spear and put that magic inside the soil, it would explode."
"And how were you sure it would explode, Mister Arturis?"
"Weapons enchanted with fire spells make small explosions of flame on impact. Ice repels, lightning accelerates, water slows it down and makes it glide, and wind can give control, range and even cut things. Of course, these same elements can be used in other ways... like, you can make ice glide if you put it the right way on an armor, then weapons like spears and arrows can't pierce properly... but that's pretty much the theory."
Everyone was dumbfounded by the boy's words. What he had said was no big deal. It was actually basic knowledge, but the way he used it and the mastery he had with that information seemed to be extensive.
"Now do you all understand? Mr. Arturis has adapted to the terrain and used dust and earth to blend in. An enemy can be strong, but if he is confused he loses a lot of potential. If the enemy doesn't know how to fight right, it's more potential wasted, and from potential to potential lost, an A rank can lose to a B rank, or C, D, and even an F. That's how Mr. Arturis won. He turned all of you into something weaker than an F rank. He balanced the fight."
The class was silent for a moment, but soon Saphyra raised her hand.
"So you are saying that in order to beat the higher ranks we must create various strategies and tricks in order to reduce their strength? Is that right?"
"Exactly, Miss Vizzora! The more experienced and studious you are, the greater the chances." replied the professor with a brief smile.
"But what if the higher ranks adapt? What if they also have these strategies? The scales will unbalance again and it will be us who will be embarrassed again."
Kaito looked at Saphyra and noticed in her gaze a deep heaviness. It was as if the whole thing seemed to resonate within her in a negative way. He had seen that look before. It was the one he had a week after he discovered himself as an F rank.
"I'm not here to say that ranks don't matter, Miss Vizzora. In fact the reality where the power of a rank is important will never cease to exist. What I want to make clear here is that if you put in the effort and learn how to fight using location and predicting your enemy, you might have a chance. An F rank proved this to me and I came here, in front of everyone to say that there is a way."
Everyone looked at Kaito, who just smiled with confidence to see that the teacher was understanding what he wanted to prove in that academy. He felt good to see that he was being backed up by someone of such importance.
"But now I need you to accompany me to the training room. There is something I need to show you all."
The class was confused as the teacher took some of his books and placed them under his arm. Faced with such confusion it was Kaito who took the initiative to ask.
"Professor, and what would this something be?"
"Now my dear student..." answered the professor with a smile taken by the challenge "I will show you the secrets that not even the highest ranks can master. Secrets that can change the lives of all of you!"
* * *
The test room was unlike anything Kaito had ever seen. It was made for a special purpose, to train innovation and create new skills. It was a room taken over by high strength metal and glass, with regenerative weapons and dummies that could be destroyed as many times as necessary. Sound did not enter the test room, nor did it leave. What was done there was supposed to be a secret.
However, even though it looked like such an important place, it was abandoned. Cobwebs, a lot of dust, and old dummies and weapons were what made up the room.
"My god...(yawn)... what a horrible place..." said Theo with a disgusted look on his face.
"Just throw some water on it and it'll be fine. It's better than my room, at least," said Erika.
But what others saw as a place overrun by neglect, Kaito saw as a laboratory of possibilities. The test room looked a bit like the training room on the terrace of his house, a place his father had built to test new types of magic. It was similar, only bigger and with more possibilities.
"Professor... why is this place so abandoned? Isn't it supposed to be an important place?
"Well, Mr. Arturis, this wonderful room since its conception had been considered unimportant by the governing body, and like everything else that is unimportant to the Phoenix Academy, this room was down. You may have noticed, but everything in the basement of our academy is not considered valuable." the professor walked over to a bookcase filled with tablets and books and ran his finger through the fine dust "It's a shame to see so much knowledge ignored by the powerful."
Professor Caligan was silent for a moment and after a long sigh turned to his class and flashed a comfortable smile. He raised one of his hands and a bluish energy arose like smoke, spreading throughout the place and energizing the entire room. Dolls were regenerated, weapons rebuilt and lights turned on.
"This room will be used by you for the entire year and it will be here you will discover how to defeat the higher ranks. We have an important mission here and we must carry it out."
"I really hope that you, sir, have a way to make us stronger. This secret of the higher ranks has to be something very revealing." said Saphyra without much hope.
"Gee, little sister, don't be that pessimistic! Come here so I can give you a tight hug!" said Erika approaching and hugging Saphyra, who didn't reciprocate the gesture.
Professor Caligan gave a smart smile, went to a table where there was a screen shining in white, typed something and soon several little red rubber balls appeared in the big shaded metal basket next to it. He picked up the several balls and threw one of them in Kaito's direction.
"From what I have seen you are a very agile boy. So help me with this explanation, Mr. Arturis." he said, throwing two more balls, "I need you to juggle the items I am about to hand you. Do your best not to drop them."
Kaito didn't understand what the teacher wanted, but he obeyed without hesitation. He started by throwing the three balls up and easily kept them in the air. With all his training with Selize and throwing knives incessantly, that was easy to do.
"This is a piece of cake, professor!"
"Oh, so it's easy, isn't it? Why is it easy? Can someone explain it to me?"
"Hey, professor, it's easy because the boss has few balls. Look there, he doesn't even have to throw them very high to continue!" said Hakon promptly.
"Well observed, Mr. Gundahar. Let's continue our experiment then."
The professor approached and threw two more balls. Kaito caught them deftly and kept them in the air, but now it was much more difficult. He needed to throw them even higher so that he would have time to throw the others.
"And now? Is it still too easy, Mr. Arturis?"
"It's a lot harder. I need to push harder..." said Kaito, almost losing concentration as he spoke.
"And now, class D, what can you observe?"
"With more items he needs to concentrate more and spend more force." Saphyra replied.
"Exactly!" said the teacher snapping her finger and pointing at the mage "why don't we make it even harder?"
The teacher threw three more balls, and when Kaito tried to catch them, he knocked over all the others. The class laughed at him, and even he laughed at himself. The boy felt tired, in a familiar way, as if he had used his powers in battle for too long. As he thought this, something came into his mind.
"Professor, does this have to do with the use of powers?"
"That's exactly like the use of powers by blood, Mr. Arturis!"
Professor Caligan took one of the ground balls and squeezed it lightly between his fingers.
"If you had to throw eight of these balls up, would you be able to sing? Walk? Run or do any other activity at the same time?"
"No, it wouldn't work. Too many things at once and we would go crazy." replied Erika.
"What if there were fewer balls? Just two or three? Even just one. Would you be able to do other things?"
"That would be cake...(yawn)... walk!" replied Theo.
"And how would you relate that to the powers of the low and high ranks?" teased the teacher.
The class was silent for a moment. Everyone was thinking of a theory and many were close to the truth, but it was Kaito who said it first.
"High ranks have a lot of power. Since they have too much power it is harder to control. The lower ranks have less power, so it's easier to control..."
"You couldn't be more right, Mr. Arturis! The test rooms were meant to train power control, but since only high ranks could use them, they were abandoned. Why have such a room if controlling great power is so difficult? Isn't it better to just use all this power without any control and overcome everything that comes your way in a simple way? Soon the research room was abandoned and so we see all the higher ranks using the same fighting patterns and attacks for years and years." replied the professor opening his arms and showing the place.
Kaito realized something that his colleagues could not see. He could see all the possibilities and ways to change the game. The ranks and all the power that had been taught to him was changing at that moment.
"You mean, professor, that we can control our powers better and with that we can be stronger?"
"More than that, Mr. Arturis." said the teacher facing the boy "Knowledge, anticipation, control, variety, innovation and base. With all of this in your hands it is clear that you will become more powerful. With these tools the concept about ranks could be changed forever!"