After leaving the restaurant, Dylan visited his parents at the hotel where they were staying, as the freshman tournament was coming up in a week and they wanted to attend to see their son compete.
Dylan spoke naturally about the exam and the result he hoped to achieve, and his parents listened proudly until it got late.
At the hotel entrance.
"Mom, Dad, I'll see you at the tournament. I'll practice a little over the next few days so I don't lose my rhythm."
"Make sure you get plenty of rest and eat well. Everything will turn out fine in the end. I know you've worked hard," Anelia said to her son, then kissed him on the forehead.
Dylan said goodbye to his father, then walked back to the Academy while looking at the different shops in the commercial area.
The day of the magic affinity exam arrived.
In one of the spacious classrooms, a middle-aged professor with sky-blue hair, dressed in a blue and white wizard's robe, called the students to come to the desk at the front of the class and place their hands on a translucent sphere, which glowed intensely depending on the user's mana rank. The color of the glow also depended on the elemental affinity.
Professor Belent Tradexian continued to call on students, and some left embarrassed after showing their ranks.
"It seems I've been assigned to a classroom with commoners and sponsored students. I don't see anyone with the descriptions of the main characters from the novel in this classroom," thought Dylan, who stood up when the professor called on him.
With his appearance, Dylan attracted everyone's attention, who were curious about his rank and affinity.
Dylan, who had been observing the glow of the sphere, adjusted his mana so that the sphere would glow with the intensity he desired.
The sphere glowed with the rank of a 3-Moon (high level) mage. The color of the sphere was light blue, with slight orange hues.
Considering his age, Dylan's rank was outstanding, but the sphere shone based on potential rather than current rank, so everyone thought that Dylan's maximum potential would only allow him to reach the rank of 3-moon wizard. What caught their attention a little was his opposing affinities of water and fire.
Dylan returned to his seat with a relaxed expression and sat down to wait for the affinity tests to end.
...
The next day, Dylan went to the main hall and saw the names on the boards. He recognized some names as those of the protagonist's classmates, but in the top five places, there were four places taken by the children of high-ranking nobility.
"I got seventh place. It was obvious, but it still bothers me to have to participate in the tournament. It's a waste of time. Besides, fifth place is Alger Cremore. Isn't that the name of the main antagonist? What is he doing here? I hope it's just a coincidence, although I doubt it, but for now, I'll just solve the immediate problems," thought Dylan as he walked over to another mural listing the pairings for the tournament. Dylan recorded the names of his potential opponents, then looked around and saw Evon trying to quickly walk away.
"Hello, friend," Dylan said in a friendly tone.
"H-hello, Dylan," Evon said, somewhat nervously.
"Did you see the names on the wall? Bring the ones who might be paired with me to my room. I want to make new friends. Don't let me down. It would be sad if that happened," Dylan said, patting Evon on the back twice and then walking away.
••••
Two days later.
Evon stood outside Dylan's room, watching as each student entered with a lively look on their face and left with a somber expression.
"That psychopath must have tortured them horribly when they tried to refuse," Evon thought to himself.
Another student came out trembling, his breath still visible. He looked at Evon in terror and looked away.
The door was still open. Evon looked somewhat worriedly at the beautiful young woman with long black hair with red tips, ruby-red eyes, and pure white skin, who had an enviable figure, with medium-sized breasts and firm buttocks on her elegant, slender frame. The young woman wore a white uniform with gold trim. The gold trim meant that she was one of the 10 promising first-year students.
"I hope he doesn't get angry. But it wasn't my fault," Evon thought somewhat fearfully as he watched the young Zia Distanian enter Dylan's room.
Dylan was calm and satisfied because he had convinced most of his potential adversaries to surrender if they ever faced him.
Dylan, who was taking notes in a notebook to confirm that he had spoken to most of his potential adversaries, sensed a pleasant and elegant fragrance entering his room.
Dylan looked up and was surprised to see the beautiful student standing in front of him.
"Well, well, how unfortunate I am. One of the villains of the novel makes her appearance. This crazy obsessive woman, who falls in love with the protagonist and, after being rejected several times, decides to take revenge. Halfway through the plot, she makes a pact with one of the Primordials to take definitive revenge on the protagonist, thereby managing to kill the protagonist's first love. She then dies at the hands of the protagonist, who has achieved a power-up," thought Dylan, before speaking in a cordial tone with a gentle and captivating expression:
"Miss Zia, right? May I ask what you're doing here?"
-Miss Distanian. I don't want trash like you calling me by my name. I'm here because you called all your potential opponents, and I decided to replace one of them. Zia replied in a cold voice full of contempt.
"Yes, it's obvious that would be the case, since this high-ranking noblewoman, daughter of an archduke, has the ability to see the evil in people. I don't think she saw anything beautiful when she looked at me," Dylan concluded in his mind, then stood up, changed his friendly expression to a cold and stern one, and said to her in an indecipherable tone of voice, which was neither good nor bad, neither threatening nor friendly:
"Give up, I don't want to hurt you, as I don't want any problems with your family."
"You won't defeat me easily with a potential of 3 moons. Haven't you heard that my potential is 7 moons?" Zia said defiantly.