…in the afternoon, when the first-year students returned to the training grounds for their last exam, everyone kept away from the young lady Valhall even more than usual as she simply exuded tension and strain.
Constantly biting her lips and clenching her fists, she looked as if she was about to explode at any moment.
Not if, but when.
And everyone knew better than to be in the way once that happened.
"..."
Saria observed how other first-years performed, and her expression only darkened.
Despite attending the Royal Academy, this year's batch of new students wasn't anywhere near as impressive as their predecessors. Although efficient with it, even the best performing student before Saria's turn showed off merely a 2nd tier spell.
Looking at it positively, they had a lot of room for improvement.
And specifically for Saria, others being unimpressive meant that her own spells would shine that much brighter.
…but, on the other hand, looking good because of her fellow classmates' poor performance could get others to doubt the validity of her title as a prodigy in a wider sense…
Saria didn't want to be known as the strongest of the weak!
But for that, she had to show off results that outperform not only the records of the previous first-year students in years, but also the scores of her current upperclassmen!
And so…
"SPITE!"
"Nmm."
Saria reached out her hand and called out, and her contracted fae in a four-feet-tall toy sheep costume materialized by her side with a short groan.
The cowbell-like pull of Spite's costume moved, opening the zipper a bit, and from the opening bits, and pieces of darkness started sipping out and circling around the silver-haired girl like a pitch-black floating fluff.
"PIERCER!"
"Nmm."
*WHOOOOSH*
At the girl's command, her contracted fae nodded its costume's head, and all the scraps of darkness gathered in front of her formed a conical shape of a giant spinning drill that launched itself at the training dummy with almost no delay whatsoever.
*GHHHHGH*
The struck target was pierced right through with a screeching sound of metal being ripped apart, and its bits and pieces were flung around as the projectile itself hit the outer wall further back, causing some stones to crack!
"~!"
Blushing with pride over the result that could not be underestimated, Saria turned right around to look at the teachers…
"..."
"!"
And her expression changed in the blink of an eye when she saw teacher Hervolst and vice headmaster Gemleware looking at the scene with unimpressed expressions.
Saria could swear she could read the female teacher's lips going 'the barrier didn't react, she might be holding back still' and she felt as if someone punched her in the gut.
What did that mean?!
The barrier didn't activate?! As in the Great Barrier surrounding the Royal Academy?!
That's what she should have been aiming for!?
The compounded 10th tier cataclysm-and-bombardment proof defense spell!?
That barrier!?
For the first time in her life, Saria was faced with an expectation so ridiculous she couldn't match it at all.
"Student Vallhall, wait."
"...!"
Saria was turning around, about to clear the spot for another student, but the vice headmaster called out, stopping her in her tracks.
"Since you are a special case too, only the inverse of your cousin, you have to show the spell with and without the aid of your contracted fae, just like students from the second year and above do. You already showed the capacity of your fae, now yours only, if you will."
"!!!"
The vice headmaster declared, waving his hand slightly, encouraging the student to get back into place… also not-so-accidentally causing her expression to darken as she glared back at him with her golden eyes.
"He's NOT my cousin!"
"Yes, he is."
Saria snarled at the man, but the vice headmaster didn't even bat an eye as he responded to her instantly.
"Was I not clear enough!? That trash was just lucky to awaken miniscule amount of Vallhall's bloodline that somehow stayed in his veins after centuries of our families branching apart! He's no relative of mine, definitely not a cousin!"
One didn't have to be a genius to notice how much of a sore spot Rotsard was for the silver-haired girl as she lashed out quite violently. Even her contracted fae stepped away, and the eyes of its costume seemed to scold its master for the outburst despite not changing its original look.