-1222- [ Kurogane ]

Previously mentioned, during the Second World War, because of the existence of a Blazer, Japan, this small country, was able to join the ranks of the victorious nations, preserving its international status in front of the world's powers.

This Blazer, named Kurogane Ryoma, was known as the "Samurai Ryoma."

He was a hero in the Far East, and the Kurogane family he belonged to had produced talented individuals for generations. Apart from him, there had been many outstanding Blazers in the family's history. Since the Meiji era, they had maintained their status as a prominent Blazer family, exerting considerable influence in the knightly world and holding significant power within the League.

Previously mentioned was the only A-ranked knight currently enrolled in Japan, who hailed from the Kurogane family. However, he wasn't at Hagun Academy but at another knight academy, and his name was still frequently mentioned.

From this, one could see the significance of the surname "Kurogane" in this country.

Rozen's statement of "Could it really be that Kurogane?" was asking Ikki if he was from the Kurogane family.

Then, Rozen received a positive answer.

Kurogane Ikki indeed hailed from the Kurogane family and was a Blazer.

However...

"His magical power..."

Rozen frowned slightly.

Only now did Rozen realize that the fluctuations of magical power on this boy were minimal.

And when Rozen used Spirit Vision to observe him, he discovered that Kurogane Ikki's magical power was extremely weak.

Such weak magical power, except for ordinary people, Rozen had never seen before.

"From the prestigious Kurogane family, yet his magical power is so weak?"

Rozen seemed to understand something.

Unfortunately, Ikki's observational skills seemed exceptional too, as he noticed something from Rozen's actions and words.

"You noticed, huh?" Ikki's expression of helplessness disappeared completely, replaced by a very cheerful tone. "My magical power is very low, isn't it?"

As he said this, there was no shadow of sadness on Ikki's face, as if his own affairs were not worth caring about compared to the matter of the Kurogane surname.

Seeing this, Rozen didn't conceal anything and nodded directly.

"Your magical power is indeed very weak, perhaps the weakest among all the Blazer I've seen?"

Magical power is something innate that determines the total quantity, directly reflecting the weight of a person's destiny.

So, as long as someone has the potential to become a Blazer, the quantity of their magical power can be known from birth and remains constant throughout life.

In other words, even a baby, as long as they have the potential to become a Blazer, their magical power can be assessed.

And based on Rozen's travels over the past decade, Rozen could confirm that among all the Blazers he had seen, Ikki's magical power was the weakest, not even comparable to that of a baby.

What does this imply?

It implies...

"I don't have the ability to become a Mage-Knight, and my Blazer rank is the lowest F. It's quite embarrassing."

Ikki said this with a smile on his face, but it left Rozen somewhat dumbfounded.

"F rank?"

This was truly an unexpected rank.

So much so that Rozen even had this thought.

"Are you kidding me?"

Rozen voiced this thought.

There's no way; logically speaking, even if Ikki were an E-ranked knight, Rozen wouldn't be surprised, but F rank was truly unexpected.

"Really F rank." Ikki wasn't frustrated, but rather patiently explained, "If you don't believe it, you can check the student handbook's student list, where you should be able to find my ability values."

At this, Rozen didn't hold back and took out the student handbook to check.

Not long after, Rozen did find Ikki's personal information.

...

Name: Kurogane Ikki

Class: Hagun Academy, First Year, Class 1

Age: 16

Nationality: Japan

Blazer Rank: F

Title: The Worst One

Attack Power: F

Defense Power: F

Mana Quantity: F

Mana Control: E

Physical Ability: A

Luck: F

Character Summary: The only F-ranked knight at Hagun Academy, with magical power at one-tenth of the average. Among F ranks, he is at the lowest level, severely lacking the ability to become a Mage-Knight. Due to insufficient credits, he is subject to retention penalties and cannot advance to the next grade.

...

Seeing this, Rozen had to believe it was true.

But the problem was...

"If he's F rank, why is he at Hagun Academy?"

Rozen was somewhat puzzled.

You see, Hagun Academy has entrance exams and requirements for students. Unless they are students of higher than E rank, they all fail to meet the requirements and are not admitted.

So, logically speaking, as an F-ranked knight, Ikki shouldn't be able to enroll at Hagun Academy.

This was also why Rozen hadn't expected Ikki to be F-ranked and even thought he was joking.

However, upon careful consideration, Rozen perhaps somewhat understood the reason.

Perhaps, Ikki had used some unconventional means to prove his ability to enroll?

Sure enough...

"I defeated the chief examiner at the time and used that as a condition to allow them to admit me."

Ikki continued to smile as he spoke, but the content of his words was shocking.

"Defeated the chief examiner?"

Rozen suddenly realized.

If Ikki really could defeat the chief examiner, then regardless, they would allow him to enroll, right?

After all, the chief examiner is usually a current teacher at Hagun Academy and also an active-duty knight, with a rank of at least D. Their strength is much higher than that of student knights, and not even Stella might necessarily be able to defeat them.

And when even official knights were defeated, who could oppose Ikki's enrollment?

It's just that others definitely wouldn't have expected that this seemingly harmless youth could actually defeat the chief examiner who was a full-fledged knight, right?

Rozen, however, was different.

"After seeing what just happened, it's not that hard to understand."

Rozen sincerely said so.

This made Ikki show an incredulous expression.

"What's wrong?"

Rozen asked curiously.

"No, it's nothing." Ikki quickly shook his head, then hesitated a bit later and said, "Do you believe me? Do you believe that as an F-ranked knight, I could defeat the chief examiner?"

It seemed that this was the reason Ikki found it incredible.

But...

"If you can exist here, that's already enough to prove your earlier words weren't false, not to mention..."

Rozen said this, then approached Ikki and reached out, tapping the blade of the sword he held in his hand, speaking like this.

"This sword, it's truly sharp, truly powerful."

Rozen's brief words made Ikki first widen his eyes, then burst into a happy laugh.

"You're the first person to believe me like this."

Ikki said so, his gaze fixed tightly on Rozen.

"Moreover, you're equally powerful, aren't you?"

Ikki's smile didn't diminish, only his eyes changed.

They became sharp, keen, and intense.

At that moment, Rozen felt an unbeatable sharpness and sword aura.

From this, Rozen could be sure.

Kurogane Ikki was skilled.

At least, within this academy, he was undoubtedly a first-rate expert.

This made Rozen unable to help but propose something that he had never considered before.

"How about we have a go?"

Rozen actually made such a request.

This first stunned Ikki, then he nodded happily.