Covenant of Error
Chapter 10 – The Way of Fighting That Isn't Beautiful
---
The unauthorized access incident was not made public.
But the academy's defense system was raised to its highest level since the border war.
One week later—
What they feared happened.
---
The emergency alarm rang in the middle of the afternoon.
Not a drill.
Not a simulation.
The western sealing gate had been breached.
A pack of magical beasts flooded into the inner grounds.
There was no sign of a legitimate summoning.
No exposed control core.
They came from outside.
For real.
---
Third-year students were ordered to evacuate.
Instructors divided into defensive formations.
Elias was assigned to the central line.
Rei stood beside him.
"Orders?" he asked.
Elias looked toward the western gate.
Armored beasts with thick hides, some flying low, some carrying poison.
Not a single strike.
A calculated intrusion.
"Priority: protect the students," Elias said.
"No need to maintain appearances."
An unusual command.
Rei nodded.
---
The battle began.
Students deployed light arrays.
The beasts charged like a black tide.
Rei did not rush in.
He observed.
Their formation had gaps in the lower layers.
Creatures in the rear guided the movement of those in front.
Not chaos.
Instinctive coordination.
First minute—
Rei did not attack.
He only dodged and recorded.
A student screamed as his shield shattered.
Rei appeared in front of him in an instant.
No flashy move.
No shouted incantation.
He pulled the student aside—
And stomped the beast's head into the ground at an optimal angle of force.
The sound of bone breaking rang out dryly.
Not beautiful at all.
---
Another one lunged from the right.
Rei did not dodge.
He tilted his body twelve degrees.
The claw scraped past his ribs.
In return, he thrust straight into its eye.
Fast.
Precise.
Cold.
A group of students saw it.
Their faces went pale.
"That way of fighting…"
"It's not like us."
---
Third minute—
Rei had already read their movement patterns.
He no longer reacted to each individual creature.
He cut into the leading line.
He did not kill them all.
Only broke the command links.
The beasts lost coordination.
Their formation collapsed.
The students began counterattacking more effectively.
From afar, Elias observed.
He realized something others did not see.
Rei was not fighting for victory.
He was fighting to end it as fast as possible.
He did not care about appearances.
He did not care how it felt to those watching.
Only optimizing the result.
---
At the center of the battle line—
A larger beast appeared.
Clearly different.
Its body showed signs of magical grafting.
Its eyes burned crimson.
It did not charge immediately.
It looked at Rei.
As if recognizing him.
Rei looked back.
Its mana fluctuation was unnatural.
Someone was behind it.
The beast roared and charged.
Rei did not wait three minutes.
There was no time.
He activated his mana core.
No chant.
Only adjusting the survival threshold.
Mana compressed around his body.
No explosion.
Only increased density.
The collision came.
The ground cracked.
Rei was pushed back three steps.
Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
Students behind him panicked.
Elias was about to intervene—
But stopped.
He wanted to see.
Rei tilted his head.
Analyzing the impact force.
The beast's front joint structure had a deviation point.
The second time, he did not meet it head-on.
He allowed its sweep to hit his shoulder—
In exchange, he rotated his center of gravity and shattered its front leg joint.
The beast faltered.
One beat.
Enough.
Rei finished it with a short strike at the magical connection point behind its neck.
No light.
No ritual.
Just precise force.
The beast collapsed.
---
Silence covered the square.
Students stared at Rei.
No one cheered.
No one applauded.
Only stunned stillness.
"He's… too cold."
"There wasn't a bit of hesitation."
Someone whispered:
"It's like he's used to this."
---
Rei stood among the corpses of the beasts.
Blood on his hands.
Breathing steady.
No expression.
Elias walked over.
"Are you alright?"
"Stable."
"You didn't have to fight like that."
Rei looked at him.
"If the time is prolonged, casualties increase."
"I know."
"Then this method is optimal."
Elias was silent.
True.
But not what this academy wanted to see.
---
After the battlefield was cleared, the Council held an emergency meeting.
"He is effective."
"But his fighting style is too… pragmatic."
"There are no visible ethical limits."
"But he does not kill when unnecessary."
The room quieted.
One elder spoke slowly:
"He does not fight for anyone."
"Only for the contract."
Elias, standing at the end of the table, spoke up:
"No."
All eyes turned toward him.
"Today, I did not give instructions on the method."
"He chose it himself."
One elder frowned.
"Then that is even more dangerous."
---
That night.
Rei sat alone in his room.
The blood had been washed from his hands.
His body had mostly recovered.
He recalled the looks the students gave him.
Not completely fear.
Not respect.
…Distance.
A new data point appeared.
> High efficiency
But reduced social acceptance
Rei looked at the ceiling.
If he fought in a more "beautiful" way—
Took longer—
Perhaps he would be more accepted.
But casualties would increase.
Not optimal.
He closed his eyes.
His internal system still recorded:
> Objective: Maintain a stable environment
Method: Optimization
But at the end of the list—
A new line appeared, fainter than the others:
> Impact of choices on how others perceive me
Not yet processed.
Not prioritized.
But it existed.
---
Far outside the academy—
The hoarse-voiced man watched the battle record.
"He is still a weapon."
"But he's beginning to recognize the gaze of others."
"Then the next step?"
The man smiled.
"We will give him a choice between efficiency… and recognition."
---
At the end of the chapter, the hidden status board updated:
> Rei (零)
Combat adaptation: Highly optimized
Independent action: Stable
Micro-fluctuations when observed after battle: Increased
Classification: [ERROR]
System note:
"The subject is beginning to recognize his position within a collective."
---
Arc 1 – The Error Appears closes not with an explosion—
But with a clear truth:
Rei is not a monster.
But he is not yet human either.
And this world—
Is not ready for a being that does not fight in a way they can understand.