-1430- Overturn your current situation

"Wait… wait a minute…!"

Just as Rozen was about to leave, the leader of Team E601, and also the most impulsive and impatient of the group, Misora, immediately called out to him.

Rozen turned his head and looked in the direction of Misora and her team.

He saw that Misora was leading the entire E601 team, all of whom were rushing toward him.

Among them, Rico and Lecty looked somewhat fatigued, likely due to the significant amount of mana they had expended while studying new engravings. In contrast, despite being out of breath, Misora was still the first to charge forward.

(Even though this girl wasted the most mana…)

Unlike Rico and Lecty, who were only practicing precise operation techniques, Misora had spent the entire afternoon trying to control her telekinesis but continuously failed. All she could do was release vast amounts of telekinesis energy, sweeping it around like a tornado or shockwave. It seemed as though she made no progress, showing the slowest improvement among the three.

However, despite releasing such a large amount of mana, she was still full of energy, demonstrating that Misora's magic levels were definitely far above those of an A-rank Sky Wizard team.

With such mana, Misora would surely excel if she switched to being a magic artillery user. Even if she didn't, utilizing her vast telekinesis in direct combat would also be a good strategy.

However, Misora was adamant about her identity as a magic swordsman, so it was unlikely she would give up fighting with the magic cannon sword.

Therefore, Rozen wasn't planning to persuade Misora; he just waited for her and the others to arrive.

That being said, Rozen had a pretty good idea of why Misora and the others were so eager to stop him.

It was simple.

"You… you haven't told us yet whether or not you'll be our instructor!"

Misora asked Rozen this while catching her breath.

That's right.

Up until now, Rozen still hadn't told Misora, Lecty, and Rico whether or not he would become the instructor for Team E601.

Although Rozen had already taught them an advanced technique, since he hadn't made any explicit statement, the girls of Team E601 couldn't feel assured.

What if Rozen just thought he could lend a hand and decided to give them three alchemized magic weapons without intending to become their instructor?

Don't forget, Rozen was ultimately the hero of Mistgun, even being hailed as a "Hero of Humanity." It would be beneath him to serve as the instructor for a mere E-rank team.

Misora and the others even wondered if Rozen becoming their instructor was a mistake.

The lack of a sense of reality yesterday was entirely due to this.

Only Rico seemed to have some idea, frowning with displeasure.

"It's that woman's doing, isn't it?"

Rico had already guessed part of the reason.

But Rico's assumption was only half correct.

Indeed, the person who initially proposed finding an instructor for Team E601 was the individual Rico was thinking of, and that person did seek out an S-rank special team, but they never imagined that Rozen would end up becoming the instructor.

The reason Rozen came was partly due to Chloe Sevegny's recommendation, but also because he recognized the rare talents in Team E601 and felt it would be a waste to let them go undeveloped.

Thus, Rozen genuinely appreciated their potential, which was undeniable.

However…

"If you want me to become your instructor, you'll have to pass my test first."

Rozen said this.

"May… may I ask what the test is?"

Lecty immediately asked.

"How dare you impose a test on a goddess like me? You should know how audacious that is, right?"

Rico, however, still maintained her haughty demeanor.

"Wait, we haven't passed your test yet?"

Misora became even more anxious.

Seeing that Rozen was willing to teach them, the three of them surely wondered if he had already acknowledged them.

However, if they wanted Rozen to truly recognize them, they were still a bit lacking.

"I've given you the possibility of becoming stronger, but a possibility is just that—it doesn't mean you're actually strong. And even if you do become strong, it's useless if you can't achieve victory."

Rozen pointed out this fact, leaving the members of Team E601 speechless.

But isn't that the truth?

If we're talking about strength, then leaving Misora aside, both Lecty and Rico are quite strong, possessing considerable power.

At least from Rozen's perspective, Rico's sniping skills are definitely at the level of an A-rank team's sniper, and Lecty's dual-sword technique is also on par with an A-rank team's members. It's just that, due to various reasons, both of them are unable to fully display their true strength.

And in this situation, Team E601 has never won a single match to date, accumulating a record of ten consecutive losses.

Given this…

"If you can't secure at least one victory, it doesn't matter how strong you become. After all, you're not in a competition. The true purpose of the ranking matches is to hone your skills so that you can survive against the Armored Beetles. So don't think that winning isn't important. In this world, if you can't win, your ultimate fate might be death."

Rozen's calm words weighed heavily on the hearts of Team E601's members.

This is the harsh truth of this world.

Perhaps in the previous world, the wielders of swords only needed to pursue strength and seek out strong opponents, but that's not possible in this world.

This is a world where humanity faces the crisis of extinction, with the dominant species status shifting to the Armored Beetles.

For humanity, not winning means losing.

And losing means death and destruction.

Of course, the girls understood this, but hearing it from Rozen, who had fought on the front lines, led humans against the Armored Beetles, and was hailed as a "Hero of Humanity," gave these words an undeniable sense of reality.

"So, you mean…"

Rico seemed to grasp Rozen's thoughts.

"…"

Misora and Lecty also seemed to understand.

Seeing this, Rozen directly spoke.

"I want you to overturn your current situation and achieve victory."

In other words…

"In the seasonal ranking matches, each team usually goes through about twelve matches in the first season."

Rozen looked at the members of Team E601.

"You've already suffered ten straight losses, which means you have two matches left in the first season."

If they can't win these two matches, Team E601's first season ranking match will end in a complete loss.

This kind of record might even go down in the history of Mistgun, right?

Given that…

"I want you to win the next two matches."

Rozen stated the content of his test.

"If you can succeed in securing a victory, I will agree to take on Team E601 and become your instructor."

Rozen finally laid down his conditions.

Misora, Lecty, and Rico exchanged glances.

In their eyes, a strong fighting spirit began to ignite.