As threw the weapons, the first dagger almost hit the side of the dummy's right ear, making a small dent. Meanwhile the other one completely missed.
After a second of silence, loud laughter from the other students filled the room and Michael's face turned dark. He looked at the students to shut them up before turning to Sidius.
"Did you just get lucky with the first throw?" the professor asked, clearly pissed.
"N-no, S-sir... I... I can throw again. P-please, give me another chance!" Sidius stuttered, lowering his head and continuing to act.
"What's your growth talent?" Michael asked, still angry.
Sidius lowered his head and remained silent.
"I'm asking you what your growth limit is!" Michael repeated with more volume in his voice. Sidius shivered at the sound of it. The reinforced voice with aura of Michael can even shatter bones of normal humans who do not have any mana.
Suddenly, one student who liked to curry favor with professors confidently shouted. "Sir, he is an E-rank potential!"
Hearing this, Sidius sneered inside. 'Good boy. I will say it myself if you don't shout a little longer.'
Michael was unconvinced as he turned his gaze on the broken dummy earlier. 'It can't be, this guy is really lucky? He is not acting?' he thought.
He turned to another student witnessing the scene and asked again to make sure, "You, Is that true?"
"Y-yes, Sir."
"Forget it then, continue your practice!" Michael's voice once again echoed in the hall before he looked at Sidius. "And you, get out. I don't want to send you out myself."
'I don't want to throw one thousand times either,' Sidius sighed in relief. 'He really is impatient. Any second later and they'll confiscate my personal space or simulation capsule because they don't want to nurture an E rank potential like me.'
Silently, Sidius walked past the students who were mocking and grinning at him. He ignored them and marched towards the exit.
A while later, he heard a female voice coming from behind, dripping with mockery.
"Sidius Ashcroft. E rank potential?"
Hearing the words, Sidius chose to ignore them and continued to walk.
The voice continued.
"But is it really true that you are just an E rank growth talent? You're doing a good job at fooling everyone," she praised, clearly knowing the false pretense of Sidius.
This time, Sidius was convinced that the woman is not saying any nonsensical statements. He stopped his tracks and turned to the origin of voice.
"What did you just say?" Sidius asked.
"You may fool Michael but you cannot fool me, Sidius," the woman with red hair said.
She was Amelia Morningsnow.
"Miss Morningsnow, what are you talking about?" Sidius continued to deny her, curious to see what she was up to.
"Follow me to my office," she said, walking with her hips swaying from side to side.
Sidius was surprised that she did not tell anyone else, guessing that her recklessness is not that much.
'Miss Morningsnow... I think I'm starting to like you as my business partner.'
Sidius smiled and followed her to her office.
Upon hearing the clicking sound, the door to Professor Amelia's office opened and Sidius stepped inside.
The room was filled with the enchanting fragrance of her perfume, mixed with the sweet aroma of amberflaw flowers planted in a corner beside her elegant table, with a small rectangular crystal with black and gold lettering displayed the name 'Prof. Amelia Morningsnow'.
Amelia gracefully took her seat, and Sidius sat across from her, feeling like a student in a counseling session.
She pushed a photograph forward, and Sidius saw the recorded time from his personal space in the training room earlier— '29.39'.
"Do you want to keep lying or will you say it yourself?" she asked in a serious tone.
Sidius looked at the photo displaying the time it took for him to successfully cast the magic spell— 31 minutes.
Amelia continued, "Fia Quinteval who had high affinity with magic and was considered a prodigy of the 57th batch took 29 minutes. You were only two minutes slower than her."
'Fia took 29 minutes? How is that even possible?' Sidius thought, shocked by Amelia's revelation.
'System, How did I get strong in just one day?'
[You are influenced by the memories of Den Grimar, my former owner. All related understanding of swords and magic boost your comprehension.]
'Now I understand,' he thought silently while nodding.
As Sidius was thinking, he realized the significance of the timing in casting the high-ranked tier 1 magic.
The process involved Amelia first and then the headmaster, with several benefits bestowed upon the fastest caster. After that, it will be known only to other professors for confidentiality.
'Since Amelia showed me the evidence, she must not have submitted it to the headmaster yet. That's a relief,' Sidius thought, carefully calculating his next move.
"And the throw you made, you deliberately missed in the second attempt," Amelia's keen eyes studied him as she spoke. "Now tell me, did you also fake your growth talent?" she questioned, stunning Sidius.
Growth talent can be suppressed by some specific artifacts, but it cannot be promoted unless you consume a one-in-a-million natural treasure. Sidius was definitely just an E rank potential during the entrance exam.
As Sidius sat across from Amelia, he could feel her penetrating gaze analyzing him. Her observation left him feeling exposed, and he knew he couldn't hide the truth any longer.
He knew she was suspicious of his sudden improvement in casting the advanced tier 1 magic, but he had an idea to play along with her assumption.
'She probably thinks that I have an artifact that can supress my growth talent and she is here to confirm it,' he thought. 'I guess I'll give what you want then.'
Sidius hesitated for a moment and his mind was racing. He was uncertain if his plan would work on her.
Finally, he took a deep breath and decided to open his mouth.
"What you think is correct Miss Morningsnow. I am an A+ rank potential," he lied, looking directly in her eyes.