"A dream..." —Leto opened his eyes before dawn. His body was already used to waking up early thanks to his mother's strict training regimen.

As for the words he had whispered when he opened his eyes, Leto had dreamed of the past, of the heavy days of brutal training to which his mother subjected him daily.

After setting aside the sheets, Leto got up from the bed. He was wearing a long white nightgown full of ruffles, another old-fashioned garment that was included among the clothes that were given by the academy.

Although such a garment was much better for him given his circumstances, since he was used to the silk lace nightgowns that his mother and Grabriel provided him, Leto could not feel comfortable and this filled him with bitterness, his body and mind were too used to women's clothes… to the flashy clothes…

"Good morning..." —after giving a deep yawn, Nadyia exclaimed a simple greeting.

"Good Morning"

Leto hid his bitterness behind a charming smile, he hoped that Nadyia would give him space to change his clothes, however, she was already awake.

"Today is the tournament, let's do our best"

Leto was about to respond when his words drowned in his throat to he saw Nadyia get out of bed. Nadyia was not wearing the nightgown that the academy had provided.

Nadyia was wearing only her pumpkin panties, and except for a tangled bandage on her chest, the rest of her skin was completely exposed.

Leto quickly remembered that last night before going to sleep, he tried to get Nadyia to wear the nightgown, however, his attempt was useless since the discussion reached a standstill as happened before in the academy store with swords and underclothes topic.
Nadyia simply could not find meaning in wearing a special sleeping garment, she used to sleep this way in the same room as her father and brothers, why would she worry about a pretty girl like Leto seeing her underwear and some of her skin?

In contrast, Nadyia did not try to make Leto sleep in the same way that she. Leto looked like a real doll in that frilly white nightgown.

With Nadyia focusing her attention bitterly on the short skirt of the uniform, Leto pulled his shorts on without removing his nightgown. As for the top, he turned his back on Nadyia to shed his nightgown, his most delicate part was already safe and even if Nadyia approached and saw his naked chest, he could fake bitterness expressing his disagreement regarding his alleged lack of chest. Oddly enough, Leto had already practiced for such a situation with Gabriel's help, should be noted that she always teasing at Leto, 'Gabriel's chest will grow big enough to make up for your shortcomings, so don't worry too much about it Leto-sama' —this was always Gabriel's mocking reply to Leto, and although Leto was not aware of it, this was the main reason he was always looking for Gabriel's breasts while they were having sex, perhaps some kind of rematch that ended up becoming a fetish.

After eating breakfast in the dining room of the dormitory, a nervous Leto and an enthusiastic Nadyia went to the duels arena behind the school building. The vast majority of the first-grade students were already present at the venue, all of them sitting on the stands waiting for the tournament to begin.

Leto sat nervously while Nadyia was so excited that she forgot to pay too much attention to her skirt as she did in the amphitheater the day before.

With different feelings in their hearts, all the girls kept their eyes on the center of the arena, on a large circular platform about ten meters in diameter and on which several characters carved on the edge of its circumference were appreciated. In that place would not only decide today the three of them to become apprentices to the Holy Maiden Raynelle, but would also become the center of their lives for the next four years since the only way to become candidates was through duels, who of all these young ladies did not wish to be chosen by one of the Holy Swords?

"She is here" —Nadyia resisted the urge to scream because of the excitement, Raynelle Heyward stepped onto the platform accompanied by other teachers from the academy and the three candidates who would serve as judges of the most important duels, Aspyn Claud, Inis Selvyn and Kristin Lyndell.

Leto couldn't help but shudder when he saw his older sister once again.

To the amazement of all the girls and Leto, Kristin Lyndell stepped forward.

"Today you will not only earn your first points and begin your four years as students of the Imperial Academy, but three of you will also have the honor of becoming apprentices to a Holy Maiden" —Kristin Lyndell not showing any change on her impassive face.

The enthusiasm in the girls on the stands led them to scream with excitement. Becoming apprentices to a Holy Maiden was undoubtedly the fastest way to grow to the point of being able to challenge the six candidates.

Inis and Aspyn stepped forward and explained the tournament rules.

The combats would be carried out in pairs until the number of participants was reduced to a third, and after this the duels would be carried out individually. Both the pairs and the order of the duels would be decided by chance, and in fact, there would be girls who would probably end up entering the next phase of the tournament without engaging in single combat, and conversely, it was possible for some girls to fight several times, it all depended on the fate of each girl. In this world where chance-type skills existed, luck was an important factor to consider.

A large urn was placed at the foot of the combat platform. Inside were the names of the hundred first grade students.

Under the girls' admiring gaze, Raynelle Heyward reached into the urn and pulled out four small papers, which she handed to Kristin.

"Nadyia Maynor"

Leto was surprised to hear the first name his sister spoke.

Not showing a bit of nervousness, and with her eyes filled with a radiant glow of anticipation, Nadyia stood up and shot a quick glance at Leto, then headed towards the combat platform.

"Good luck, Nadyia"

Nadyia nodded as she heard Leto speak those words behind her.

Three other girls left their seats when their names were spoken, each of them showed a certain level of nervousness, there were no second chances, the tournament was to direct elimination.

As for Nadyia, the desire to compete against these noble girls and show them they were no better than her did not allow her to feel nervous.

Being the first to be called, Nadyia was also the first to reach the combat platform.

Once Nadyia placed her right foot on the platform, her body was enveloped by a faint blue light. Above Nadyia's head a blue bar appeared, and above this bar two numbers showed; number 4 in gold, and number 7 in silver.

The second girl to be called put one foot on the platform and her body were subjected to the same phenomenon as Nadyia's, only that the golden number was 3 and the silver number was 11.

That phenomenon had been previously explained by Inis and Aspyn.

The blue light that enveloped Nadyia's body was a magical barrier that would protect the participants' bodies and allow them to unleash all their power without fear of hurting their opponents. The blue bar shows the durability of the magic barrier and when the bar is exhausted, the magic barrier will disappear and this will be judged as defeat.

As for the numbers above the blue bar, the golden number corresponded to the level of the person, while the silver number showed the number of skills that a person had.

The magic shield, the level, and the number of skills that were displayed on the girls' heads on the combat platform, all of this were created precisely by the combat platform, which was itself an enchanted artifact.

As for the reason for the platform did not show the levels of the candidates and the teachers this is because one teacher directly controls the mechanism through sorcery and it is she who chooses on who the effect of the platform works.

Comparing Nadyia's silver number, seven, with that of the other girls; eleven, twelve, and ten, inevitably, several girls in the stands mocked.

Among the nobles, at the age necessary to enter the academy, boys and girls had at least ten skills. As for the level, this should be at level three or four.

"She's a commoner, there's no reason to expect too much of her" —someone in the stands pointed this out in a teasing tone.

It was enough to see Nadyia's behavior, her way of walking, her gaze, and her unkempt hair to realize that she came not from a noble family, and this was something that her low number of skills confirmed.

Thanks to the continuous selection of lineages, the nobles were born carrying at least three skills, the commoners if they were born carrying at least one skill they could feel lucky.

Leto frowned upon hearing the taunts directed at Nadyia, however, he did nothing about it, in this case the only one who could turn things around was Nadyia on the combat platform.

As for Nadyia, she was not too surprised by the attitude of many of the noble girls. After she knew she would come to the imperial academy this was something that she expected to happen eventually.

"Select your weapon" —ignoring the atmosphere of the combat arena, one of the academy teachers addressed those words to the four girls on the platform.

Of the first four fighters, Nadyia was the only one to request a spear, the other three girls requested swords.

For the nobles, the sword was the only weapon worthy of being wielded with honor, while the spear was an unworthy weapon that only commoners could wield.

Nadyia's choice of a spear sparked even more derision among the stands, while from the VIP seats occupied by Raynelle, Kristin, and the other candidates, most of them disapproved of Nadyia's choice. Nadyia Maynor clear had the Spearman skill, otherwise, she could not wield a spear, and in contrast, clearly, she did not have the Swordsmanship skill, because if she had this skill, ideally she would choose a sword.

From the stands, Leto could only show an awkward smile. He did not know Nadyia well enough, but he could feel a certain pity for Nadyia. Regardless of the outcome of the combat, Nadyia was at a total disadvantage to what everyone in the academy aspired to, wield a Holy Sword.

Ignoring the surrounding reactions, Nadyia took the iron spear that one teacher handed her. Her shoulders relaxed as she came in contact again with the weapon she was so used to.

"I don't expect you to be of much use, so at least try to keep one of them busy for as long as I take to beat the other"

While Nadyia got acquainted with her provisional spear, the girl who would be her companion exclaimed that in a tone full of disgust. That girl considers it a disgrace to have been paired with this commoner who not only carried few skills but even wielded a weapon as unworthy as a spear.

Nadyia narrowed her eyes with a bit of anger but did not respond. She understood that the best way to speak to these arrogant people was precisely about where she was, through combat.

"Prepare yourselves" —the teacher who was serving as judge of the combat stood in the center of the platform.

Nadyia subtly bowed her body as she held her spear with both hands and pointed it at her opponent in front.

On the other side, the girl who would face Nadyia felt lucky. Their first meeting had turned out to be a simple commoner who also used a spear instead of a sword.

Nadyia took a deep breath as she focused all her attention on her adversary. From one moment to the next in the world only she and the other three girls on the combat platform existed. This was not something as simple as a deep battle concentration, it was the effect of a skill, the skill that had allowed Nadyia to come to the imperial academy.

Sense of Battle, the passive skill that Nadyia carried from birth, a skill labeled with a golden star regarding its power and which also gave her access to the Warlord skill tree.

"Begin!" —the judge was started off the first combat of the tournament.

"Charge!" —just a few milliseconds from the combat start signal, Nadyia used an active skill.

In a moment Nadyia was already in front of her adversary.

"Pierce Atack" —Nadyia thrust her spear at her dismayed rival as she used another active skill.

The tip of Nadyia's spear was enveloped by a dim pale light.

Taken by surprise, Nadyia's spear target girl did not respond in time. The tip of the spear hit the center of her chest and the blue light of her magic shield flickered.

The clash between the tip of the spear endowed with the effect of a skill and the magic shield that enveloped the girl produced a strong sound similar to crystals being broken.

The girl's body flew back several meters and the blue bar above her head flickered and diminished in size until it completely disappeared. The momentum of the skill Charge had been completely transferred to the spear, and added to this the effect of the skill Pierce Atack, because of this, had it not been for the magic barrier, the girl's body would have been converted into mincemeat by Nadyia's attack.