-1307- [ The Enigmatic Star ]

From here on, there was nothing left to say.

After Rozen and Altera's special training, both Ikki and Stella had overcome the greatest challenges of their lives, growing at an astonishing rate and becoming exceptionally formidable.

No ordinary student knight could match these two anymore.

At the very least, regular student knights stood no chance.

Thus, in the following days, Ikki, Stella, and even Shizuku achieved continuous victories in their selection battles. Regardless of who their opponents were, they could secure a win in a matter of seconds or tens of seconds, often without even trying their hardest. They decisively defeated their opponents, leaving no room for luck.

During this time, Ikki, Stella, and Shizuku faced the representative contestants from last year's Seven Stars Sword Art Festival, encountering enemies far stronger than before.

However, against these powerful foes, not only did Ikki and Stella, but even Shizuku won effortlessly, proving the immense strength of these three.

Ikki and Stella, of course, were formidable, but Shizuku also winning so decisively against last year's representatives was a surprise, even to Ikki and Stella.

On closer thought, although Shizuku hadn't undergone the rigorous training and trials that Ikki and Stella had, she had mentioned before that to help Ikki, she had exerted all her efforts to heal his various injuries. This had greatly improved her control over water. Otherwise, with her previous abilities, she wouldn't have been able to save Ikki from lethal injuries.

It was clear that in her bid to help Ikki, Shizuku had grown in her own way. Even though her growth wasn't as dramatic as Ikki's and Stella's, it was still significant.

Because of this, with the efforts of Ikki, Stella, and Shizuku, the upperclassmen who had participated in last year's Seven Stars Sword Art Festival were all defeated, including some members of the student council. This proved that these three first-year students were incredibly strong, almost unmatched in Hagun Academy.

As a result, the entire student body of Hagun Academy began to rally.

"This year's first-years are just too strong!"

"They even defeated last year's representative contestants. That's incredible."

"No wonder there are A-rank and B-rank knights among them."

"With them, plus the strongest student council president, we might actually get a Seven Stars Sword King from our academy this year."

"That would be amazing."

The students began to have high hopes.

As the saying goes, a collective glory means collective pride. In a competition that concerned the academy's honor, the students of Hagun naturally wanted to support their academy's representatives.

Hagun Academy hadn't achieved good results in a long time, and it had been ages since they had a Seven Stars Sword King. It was only natural for people to start getting their hopes up.

Especially this year, with such talented new students, the excitement among the students was even higher.

Of course...

"It would be great if the other A-rank knight could compete as well."

"His strength is at least on par with the Witch of the Deep Sea, right?"

"He's the second seat of this year's freshmen, only below the Crimson Princess."

"It's really unfair for him to only be the second seat despite being an A-rank knight."

"Well, it can't be helped. The Crimson Princess has the world's strongest magical power."

"Although the second seat has the world's second-strongest magical power."

"So even if he can't match the Crimson Princess, he shouldn't lose to the Witch of the Deep Sea."

"If he competed too, this year's Seven Stars Sword Art Festival would be even more exciting."

"Such a pity."

The students felt regretful but it also showed how high their expectations were for this year's freshmen.

After all, this year's first-years were incredibly strong, with talents aplenty, including two A-rank knights and a B-rank knight. It was likely the best batch since the academy's founding.

Coupled with the excellent performance of Stella and Shizuku in the selection battles, it was natural for people to be curious about the abilities of Rozen, the only one who hadn't competed.

Of course, what was most worth mentioning...

"The most surprising one is that F-rank Worst One."

"Right."

"He's unbelievably strong."

"Is he really just an F-rank knight?"

"Could it be a mistake in testing?"

"Or maybe he was deliberately held back. I heard that the Kurogane family has always looked down on him."

"Even the former chairman seemed to have targeted him a lot."

"That Hunter also always seemed to target him for some reason."

"Was there some kind of conspiracy behind the Worst One being held back?"

"I think it's possible."

As Ikki demonstrated his astonishing strength in the competition, more and more students realized how formidable he was and gradually began to acknowledge him.

Those who had once belittled and looked down on Ikki now felt speechless and ashamed.

Those who had been indifferent to or unaware of Ikki's existence were astonished, leading to the above speculations.

Because Ikki always defeated his opponents with a single, simple strike, and only displayed other abilities on rare occasions, many people were left gasping in awe of his overwhelming strength and started to speculate various possibilities.

In fact, many first-year students became Ikki's fans, transforming the jeers during his matches into cheers—a significant change indeed.

In short, Ikki finally gained recognition from the world and began to showcase his true strength.

This time, the academy's selection battles vindicated Ikki, making his name increasingly prominent while also restoring the honor of his title, the Worst One.

Unconsciously, people started calling Ikki this:

—The Uncrowned Sword King.

This became Ikki's new title.

Receiving an official title as a first-year student was an extremely rare occurrence across all seven Mage-Knight Academies.

The Uncrowned Sword King.

The Crimson Princess.

The Witch of the Deep Sea.

These three first-year students became the most popular contenders in the selection battles, regarded as the three most promising candidates among the six potential representatives.

At the same time, due to Rozen's low profile and absence from the selection battles, yet still being rated as an A-rank knight with rumors of having the world's second strongest magical power, he also earned a title.

—The Enigmatic Star.

This became Rozen's second title in this world.

Although it wasn't as world-renowned as his first title, everyone in the Mage-Knight Academies knew that Hagun Academy had a mysterious and low-profile A-rank knight.

The Enigmatic Star — this title gradually gained popularity from those outside the academy.

Thus, the selection battles continued.

And the fame of the four first-year students grew ever more prominent.