Chapter 6 – Promising Talent Right Out of the Gate

The day after a transcendent being descended into the cradle.

“….”

Deus could clearly perceive that something was different from yesterday.

How should he put it? Ah, yes. A tiger or a lion in a zoo. Some sort of predator.

The moment it leaps over the fence and enters human territory.

The way everyone holds their breath and stares – that was precisely this moment!

“Wow, he’s here!”

“He really pulverized the measuring device? Really?”

“Would I lie to a nobleman?”

The freshmen. Especially those in the same class as Deus, shrunk back.

They barely scraped by with stats slightly above average.

Even those who specialized in physical prowess barely managed to hang on to the upper ranks.

But Deus waved his hand once, and the measuring device ceased to exist.

They witnessed that unbelievable sight with their own eyes.

He even crumbled the barrier with his fist like a lump of clay.

It was only natural to tremble like rabbits before a predator.

“Wow. That’s him. He definitely looks different.”

“Wasn’t he supposed to be the best of the promising freshmen? Ooh. He’s got quite the presence!”

“Does his back look like a monster is about to tear through his skin, or is that just me…?”

Deus’s upperclassmen were doing slightly better.

Because their own year had a few so-called monsters.

Rather, they compared Deus to them, looking forward to the inter-school exchange.

“Hehe.”

And at their center was the student council president, Neferti.

“Ohoho!”

— *Fwoosh!*

Gracefully unfurling her fan with a rustle. She smiled.

‘Just as I thought. He lives up to my expectations, that junior of mine.’

It was still the first day of the entrance ceremony. The gauntlet, a baptismal custom for new recruits, replayed vividly in her mind.

Only four intrepid freshmen had dared to challenge it. And not one of them endured it twice.

Of course, even that was quite an achievement. Others hadn’t even attempted it.

It wasn’t that the freshmen were lacking; it was that Neferti herself was an exceptionally powerful ability user.

From the start, wind-based abilities were more suited to movement than attack.

They excelled at supporting other ability users, and that was generally how they were utilized.

Thus, no one had ever encountered a wind like this – like a blade.

“Is there any other junior willing to step forward?”

Those who had seemed so formidable during the entrance exam had all been utterly defeated.

It was at that moment, as Neferti addressed the thoroughly frozen freshmen, that…

“I’ll challenge next.”

That was how she remembered her first encounter with Deus.

*

“I’ll challenge next.”

A murmur rippled through the instructors as a male student stepped forward from the ranks of freshmen.

Neferti, who was overseeing the initiation, was no exception.

‘Good heavens.’

His presence evoked a ‘hero’ straight from the pages of mythology.

An imposing physique barely contained by the school uniform. Muscles straining, on full display.

The aura emanating from him was enough to overwhelm the assembled crowd.

More than anything, gazing into those eyes felt like being stripped bare, soul exposed.

No matter how you looked at it, he was certainly no ordinary, run-of-the-mill freshman.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, junior. What’s your name?”

“Deus. I entered with a martial arts-based ability.”

“Deus. Good. I’ll remember it. Shall we begin immediately, then?”

“I look forward to your guidance.”

Neferti nonchalantly fluttered her fan.

Her opponent was a martial arts type. An ability user with immense physical prowess.

Which meant a dreadful match-up for a wind-based user.

No matter how fiercely the wind raged, he could simply endure it and deliver a single, devastating blow.

Yes. If that wind-based user were just an ordinary ability user.

“Don’t be too nervous. I won’t come at you with full force right away.”

—Swish!

A gentle breeze, almost imperceptible, transformed in an instant into a swirling vortex.

Wind is invisible. A phenomenon without form.

But its presence can be inferred from the movement of the things around it.

And so, the freshman challengers so far had chosen to evade it.

—Thwack!

But this student, Deus, seemed to have an entirely different idea.

“Hmph?”

“Whoa!!”

The instructors breathed out astonished gasps. The students erupted in cheers.

Deus’s fist shot forward. In that instant, a gale rose.

Not conjured by wind manipulation. Just genuinely, simply. A fist extended.

By that and that alone, he blocked Nefertiti’s oncoming attack.

“Oh my.”

Nefertiti herself was taken aback by the unbelievable spectacle.

She gazed at her junior for a moment, then tapped her folded fan against her palm.

“Weren’t you supposed to be a martial arts-based ability user, junior?”

“That is correct.”

“But just now….”

Nefertiti trailed off, then lightly shook her head.

It’s too early to be impressed. This is only the first attack, after all.

Moreover, even previous freshmen managed to endure or evade that.

“Well then. Second attack. I’ll go a little harder this time.”

“I am ready.”

The fan remained folded. In that state, she let it drop lightly downwards.

This time, with greater force. Nefertiti’s will became the biting wind of winter.

– Whhiiiiish!!

Every student who had attempted the challenge had fallen, unable to withstand that wind.

Impossible to block, impossible to dodge. Wind is inherently like that.

“Hmm.”

Did this student, Deus, also understand that fact?

He didn’t throw a punch like before. Instead, he shielded his face with his arm.

Judging from the strength with which he planted his feet, he intends to endure.

But, is that even possible? Even defense-specialized students ultimately failed.

– Ku-gu-gu!

The fierce, frigid winter wind swept over Deus.

The aftermath even knocked a few freshmen off their feet.

If they had faced that wind head-on, it wouldn’t have ended so lightly.

The dust settled. The wind subsided. Nefertiti narrowed her eyes.

In the spot her gaze fell upon, Deus stood, looking utterly unscathed.

‘He, withstood that?’

Ha. Nefertiti involuntarily released a short sigh.

Only two students in the Cradle had ever directly blocked this gale.

The valedictorian of the graduating class. And the salutatorian. Only they were capable of such a feat.

And yet. A freshman, fresh from enrollment, had demonstrated it.

“Well now, junior. This makes me want to do my best as your senior, you see?”

Ohohoho! Accompanied by her distinctive laughter, the fan blossomed open.

At the same time, whirling winds seemed to arise around her, and a tempest descended.

“Ugh…!”

“Hah, the Student Council President?!”

It feels…stronger than what she demonstrated before the initiation ritual?!

The teachers, flustered, stared at Nefertiti, but a woman blocked their view.

“Everyone, calm down. Consider the opponent.”

The Cradle’s physical education teacher. A top-tier ability user in martial arts, Tiamat.

At her restraint, the teachers ultimately swallowed their words and decided to observe.

“Ohohohot! Junior! This is the final part of today’s initiation! Now then. If you can withstand this! You will become one of the Cradle’s most promising prospects!!”

Nefertiti, still gripping her fan, spun around in a complete circle.

Instantly, a massive whirlwind arose, hurtling toward Deus.

Ordinarily, mere wind would be invisible, of course.

Yet, the savage, fierce intensity seemed vividly visible in the eye.

The students, maintaining a safe distance, unconsciously retreated.

—Kugugugu!!

Before that storm, threatening to tear the world apart.

“…”

Deus took only a single step forward.

Digging his feet into the ground, he planted himself firmly. His hands fell to his sides.

Finally, as his arm shot from the earth toward the sky.

“Ah…!”

Nefertiti was able to witness a new wind.

‘Serene yet intense. Howling yet unshakeable. What, exactly, is that…!’

Watching that spectacle, this feeling abruptly seeped into her heart.

I shall follow he who shows me this new wind, for the rest of my days.

*

“President! President? Were you here?”

Casar Volken, the second-seat of Cradle’s third-year class. The Student Council Vice President.

After waiting endlessly for the president, he finally discovered her here.

“Ah, I apologize. Today was the day for the meeting, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. And with the dispatch team matters, today will be extraordinarily busy.”

“I see. Let’s hurry. It’s my fault we’re late.”

Nefertiti turned. And exactly three seconds later.

“Gack!”

—Thwack!

As if tripped by some unseen foot, she simply fell.

“Here, let me help you up.”

“Th-thank you.”

Casar, now accustomed to it, offered his hand.

For the record, assisting this woman doesn’t really help.

If you catch her before she falls, she will find another way to fall again.

There’s a joke that her power comes from tripping.

“More importantly. That guy looks like the one.”

“You’re right. Remember I told you? The freshman who took my wind three times during the initiation and was perfectly fine.”

“…Certainly, just looking at his body, it seems possible enough.”

Is that even a person? More like a monster. That Twin-Headed Orc I saw a few days ago pales in comparison to that male student.

I can’t even begin to fathom how he built up those muscles that look like they’re about to burst.

“You don’t actually think he blocked it because of that, do you?”

“Of course not. What we’re seeing now is just a fraction of the results, wouldn’t you say?”

“Good attitude, Vice-President. Then quickly – ugh!”

How unusual. You’re tripping less than usual today?

“Q-quickly. Let’s head to the Dispatch Unit. If we’re late, those two fourth-year seniors will scold us again.”

“It’s not a gate sealing mission today, but a breach assignment.”

“Ugh. I hate it when I get soaked in monster blood again.”

“Same here. I just hope those graduates, the Yoram Seniors, don’t pawn off all the dirty work on us.”

The two members of the ‘Dispatch Unit’ moved along, chatting as they went.