Chapter 6: Where did he come from to be so handsome?

I had fought goblins before—a long, long time ago.

Back when my Hero’s Party first formed and they started feeding me combat experience.

A goblin was the first monster I had ever killed.

“Well, not that I had any reason to fight them after that.”

Sure, while mowing down other monsters, I might’ve incidentally cut down a goblin or two.

But I never had to fight them separately, one-on-one.

After all, these guys weren’t meant for heroes to handle.

They were more on the level of military guards and mercenaries.

At some point, my sword had simply become too valuable to waste on goblins.

—Krrik.

—Kik, Krrrk.

Disgusting little creatures, no matter how many times I see them.

It wasn’t just their sickly green faces that made them repulsive.

Despite their small stature, they were shockingly violent.

They kidnapped villagers daily, increasing their population through twisted means.

Unlike demons, goblins were an entirely different kind of enemy to humanity—an immediate kill-on-sight threat.

“So… what should I do about this?”

Since this was just an illusion, I didn’t hesitate to kill them.

The only issue was how much power to display.

Just a trivial dilemma concerning first impressions.

[‘The Goddess of Order and Causality’ holds great expectations for the Hero’s hidden strength.]

It wasn’t exactly hiding my strength, but… using my full power against goblins?

That didn’t sit right with me as a former hero.

Of course, I was aware of all the watchful eyes.

But the bigger concern was efficiency.

Even with just a fraction of my power, I could achieve miracles.

There was no need to go all out.

Tuk, tuk.

As I tapped the flat of my sword, lost in thought, I made my decision.

Right now, I had about one-tenth of my peak strength.

So why not use just one-tenth of that?

“May the blessings of the Goddess watch over me.”

I murmured a habitual prayer.

Honestly, even one percent of my real power would be too much for goblins and hobgoblins.

Srrrng—

I unsheathed my sword.

***

Meanwhile, in the Meeting Room

While the illusion magic battlefield unfolded and the Combat Studies freshmen flailed in confusion, Professor Shin Ah-rin was no longer in the lecture hall.

Despite being an S-rank Hunter and a High-Ranker, she was ultimately a physical combatant.

She knew how to counter magic, but not how to observe and analyze its mechanics in real time.

“Oh, finally made it?”

“I was about to grow old waiting for you.”

“Hey, hey, hurry up! Sit down!”

In short, she needed help.

Inside the conference room, dozens of floating screens displayed the illusion battlefield.

Seeing the unexpectedly large crowd of professors gathered, Shin Ah-rin clicked her tongue.

“I thought only the magic professors needed to be here… Looks like all the Combat Studies professors showed up instead.”

“Well, we do need to keep an eye on the lecture hall.”

“Yeah, yeah, we know.”

“Ah-rin, get over here. As the class professor, you can’t afford to miss this.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

She squeezed into a seat and stared at the glowing blue screens.

As the goblins began to appear, the other professors buzzed with excitement.

“Ah, the annual level test begins!”

“Last year, we used golems, but this time they increased the numbers and lowered the difficulty.”

“Golems were too tough, honestly. Even if the students couldn’t win, they should at least be able to analyze their opponents. Golems are just too damn sturdy.”

“Besides, real monsters are better than constructs. Some kids don’t mind breaking objects, but fighting real, living creatures is another story. Lots of them get scared.”

“Even goblins are useful for testing how they handle outnumbered combat situations.”

Shin Ah-rin halfheartedly nodded along before glancing sideways.

The combat professors were excitedly chatting away, but the magic professors, the ones who actually designed the illusion, remained completely indifferent.

“Weird. Aren’t mages usually the sensitive, emotional type?”

One of the older professors spoke up.

“Students who lack combat experience panic when they see a large group. And if they don’t know how to deal with higher-ranked monsters like hobgoblins, they’re doomed.”

“Unless they practiced beforehand with private tutors, it’s only natural.”

“Well, noble kids always train in advance. Times sure have changed.”

“Back in the 20th century, we were constantly panicking over breakouts, collapsed cities, and economic disasters. But look at us now—totally relaxed.”

“Tch, these young’uns don’t know real hardship.”

As their conversation veered into ancient history, Shin Ah-rin narrowed her eyes and leaned back in her chair.

“What the hell? Are these old geezers mocking me too?”

Considering their usual nagging, there was a high chance they were just subtly ribbing her.

The way they chuckled pissed her off.

“If my old teachers weren’t still around, I’d flip this whole damn table.”

Besides, assessing the students’ abilities should be the priority here, not enjoying the show.

Even though she was now higher-ranked than most of these professors, she used to be their student, which made it hard to call them out directly.

“Fine. I’ll let it slide—just this once.”

Suppressing her irritation, Shin Ah-rin sighed and refocused on the illusion screens.

Despite the chatter, every professor had their eyes glued to the battle.

The fight had barely begun, and the students were already revealing their true abilities.

“Huh. As expected.”

“The well-trained ones fight cleanly.”

Out of dozens of students, a few stood out.

There were true prodigies among them.

Shin Ah-rin sharpened her focus, filtering out the background noise to analyze every screen.

—Wide-range targeting, rapid freezing.

From the Blue Mage Tower, a prodigy wielding ice magic froze an entire horde of goblins the moment their fight began.

Fast and precise.

Many mages struggled with either speed or control, but this one—barely twenty years old—had both.

In other screens, students ended their fights with raw destructive power, if not with the same graceful efficiency.

—Boom! BOOOOOM!

A spirit user obliterated goblins with sheer brute force.

A summoner from the renowned Alabad family commanded a massive hunk of metal to tear through goblins and annihilate the hobgoblin warrior.

—Crack, crk-crk-crk.

And then, one particular scene stood out as… unsettling.

While similar in approach, there was something off-putting about it.

“Oh, is this year’s top student?”

“As expected. Dark magic is something else.”

“That spell structure is fascinating.”

A goblin’s corpse, twisted and shriveled, drained of all moisture.

A hobgoblin warrior, completely mummified in an instant.

The darkness that had caused it slithered back into the shadows.

The girl responsible—the one who stood at the podium during the entrance ceremony—watched the glowing blue screens with the same serene smile.

“Since when did level tests turn into horror movies?”

“This one’s… dangerous.”

Hearing the surrounding professors’ chatter, Shin Ah-rin couldn’t help but agree—at least a little.

Dark magic itself had high potential for criminal misuse, but something about this female student felt even more cunning than usual.

She was cold, composed—eerily unfazed.

“But I can’t deny it—she’s skilled enough to enter this academy as the top freshman.”

Not only was her spellcasting speed incredibly fast, but the sheer power behind her magic was beyond normal limits.

Unlike the Blue Mage Tower prodigy from earlier, this wasn’t the kind of magic one would waste on goblins.

With this much firepower, she could easily handle orcs—and maybe even trolls.

“Someone called this year’s batch the ‘Golden Generation’.”

“Hmph, they say that every year… but this time, it might actually be true.”

The professors murmured amongst themselves, scanning through the students on the screens.

Now that the top-ranked prodigies had finished their trials, they were looking for a dark horse—and one particular screen caught their attention.

Unlike the other students who were struggling against goblins, one male student stood there, watching the green creatures calmly, completely at ease.

“Who the hell is that kid? Why’s he so damn relaxed?”

“Came in as an independent applicant. No special background.”

“What? Seriously?!”

“Wow… it’s like a photoshoot.”

Even Shin Ah-rin unconsciously nodded at the comment.

He was too good-looking.

…Wait, no, focus!

She shook her head, forcing herself to maintain her dignity as the class professor.

Instead, she focused on one detail—

“A swordsman, huh?”

The sheathed blade at his waist.

While the goblins cackled and crept closer, the male student simply rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, watching them.

“Even if he looks like a model, he’s way too relaxed for a swordsman.”

“Tch, even slower than you were, Professor Ah-rin.”

“Ugh, professors, please focus.”

“Ahem.”

“Yes, yes, we’ll behave.”

After snapping at them once, Shin Ah-rin turned her attention back to the screen—but she was a second too late.

At some point…

The sword was already drawn.

A crescent arc cut through the air.

Before anyone even realized, a goblin’s head went flying.

—Schhk.

A single, effortless slash.

The hobgoblin’s eyes widened in horror, only now realizing the threat before them.

By the time the other goblins flinched and shrank back in fear—

The blade had already begun to dance.

A flowing slaughter.

With each movement, one or two heads were lopped off.

On the illusionary battlefield, a crimson storm bloomed across the once-green plains.

The blood-red petals of goblin corpses scattered like a grotesque flower field, while smoke and gore painted the air.

Despite its almost beautiful brutality, there wasn’t a single wasted motion—pure efficiency.

As someone who had spent her entire life honing her body to its peak, Shin Ah-rin recognized true mastery when she saw it—

And she was stunned.

“…That’s a first-year?”

A freshman?

A new student?!

Even as the professors watching the scene reacted in shock, the sword dance continued.

The blade, now fully engaged, tore through the monsters with increasing precision.

It cut down limbs, parried daggers, and even struck down their wielders in an instant.

At times, he seamlessly incorporated elbow strikes and kicks, engaging in hand-to-hand combat as if it were second nature.

—Kieeek! Krrrrk…!

A hobgoblin, realizing the impossible gap in power, turned to flee—

Only for a blade to bury itself into the back of its skull before it even took a second step.

“Ah.”

For the first time, Shin Ah-rin lost all interest in the other students.

She simply stared, completely entranced.