Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Though every battle was interesting and exciting, things eventually reached a peak when Vahn, smile on his face, announced, "We're down to the last few battles in the first set. Sakura, Mash, please step onto the training field."

The moment the other students heard the names mentioned, everyone but the member of the Atlas Temple became tense. They had all been looking forward to seeing how strong the students hailing from the Empire were. At present, everything about the five girls was a mystery as, even when Vahn called their names, he didn't mention their surnames...

After stepping into the starting zones, Sakura and Mash faced each other, the latter breaking the silence as she adopted a pleasant smile and politely stated, "I'm looking forward to the opportunity to battle against you, Sakura. As you know, this is my Companion, Proto-chan...we'll be in your care."

As it was introduced, Proto-chan, a chimera-type Companion, flexed its non-existant muscles as it released an adorable war cry. This eased a lot of the tensions from the students but, as if not to lose out, Sakura's Companion, Momo, held up both of its hands to form claws, a 'ferocious' "Waaaaan~!" escaping its mouth as its tail waggled behind it with vigorous momentum.

Sakura giggled at her own Companion's antics before politely crossing her hands across her lap and saying, "Momo and I are looking forward toa battling you as well, Mashu. Let's put on a good show for everyone~"

Unlike the rest of the students, Sakura and Mash obviously had experience working alongside their Companions. They knew what the tiny creatures were capable of and, while their Magecraft was far behind the average second-year student of the Clock Tower, their physical capabilities and magical resistance were on completely different levels. Adding their overwhelming amount of Od on top of this and, behind those polite smiles, those with sharp intuition could feel oceans begin to stir...

The moment Vahn started the fight, the majority of the class was left slack-jawed when, without the usual accompanying shockwave, Sakura's figure seemed to disappear. They didn't even know what happened until a small explosion, caused by pure physical power, erupted from where Mash had been standing. There, they saw Sakura performing what appeared to be a leaping kick that was easily deflected by a silvery buckler that had appeared in Mash's right hand.

As if her previously gentle nature was an illusion, the current Mash had a calm expression that, in the eyes of some, bordered on emotionless. She was in a state of absolute focus and, despite the power behind the blow, she managed to hold her position without being pushed back a single centimeter. As for Sakura, she had a sharp and focused expression that, even at a glance, conveyed an inhuman amount of determination that didn't match what you would expect from a child...

For a brief moment, it felt like the flow of time around Sakura and Mash began to stagnate. It wasn't until the latter's shield rippled outward with an explosion of magical energy that time began to flow at what felt like an accelerated rate as Sakura was sent flying through the air. At the same moment, Proto-chan used Mash's body as a springboard to follow after Sakura with enough speed to create several shockwaves that, somehow, only gently kicked up Mash's hair.

Sakura managed to course correct in mid-air, reorienting herself so that she was facing Mash and the approaching Proto-chan. She didn't seem to notice the latter, however, as she had complete trust that Momo would step in. This gave her the confidence to use her underdeveloped [Mana Burst] to arrest her backward momentum before angling herself so that she could return to the ground. Being stuck in the air was an extremely disadvantageous position before you had the ability to fly as falling speed was ridiculously slow compared to ground speed.

Mash had been intending to follow up and pressure Sakura but, as she saw a momentary flicker, she instead dove to the right in order to cushion the blow of Proto-chan as it was sent careening toward the ground like a meteor. In the air, Momo could be seen with an excited smile on its face as it made a small v-sign with its hand before curling into a ball and forming a protective membrane around its body.

Though Mash had incredible potential as a Designer Baby, her only advantages against Sakura were age and experience. The latter had immeasurable potential and an ever-increasing amount of Od that, if made public, would shake the entire magical community. After all, the average mature Magus had around 25-40 Od while Sakura, owing to her ten-year fusion with the Greater Grail's mana, had close to 60,000 at the tender age of ten years old.

Fortunately, Sakura could only output around 100 units of Magical Energy at a time so, as a Designer Baby with an Ouroboros Seal, Mash wasn't too far behind her. The training she had participated in had increased her Od to around 1300 units so, once she developed her skills, increase her control, and developed her body, she would even be able to compete against weaker Heroic Spirits...

With the strongest 'normal' student only having an Od of 27, the majority of the class couldn't even fathom how strong Sakura and Mash were. They could only watch in awe as the two girls continued to use what they believed to be an advanced version of [Enhance] and [Reinforcement] Magecraft, their brains automatically excluding the possibility they were using their physical bodies to perform such feats.

In this manner, it felt like only a few seconds had passed by the time Vahn vanished from his spot to intercept Sakura's and Mash's fists. They had been on the verge of an internecine outcome in their final attempts at securing a victory. When their supersonic blows impacted against the palms of his hands, however, all of their force was mitigated. There wasn't even a shockwave, just absolute silence as the climactic battle that awed nearly the entire class was brought to an instantaneous end.

As if they had just awakened from a dream, one of the students couldn't resist the urge to clap. This started a chain reaction that even extended to the students from the Atlas Temple, despite the blank looks on their faces. Sakura's face became red as a result of this unexpected ovation while Mash, as if possessing two entirely separate personalities, instantly returned to her usually polite self.

Before things could get out of hand, Vahn raised his hand in a silencing gesture. This quickly brought a stop to the applause and, though he wasn't really mad, Vahn adopted a slightly stern voice as he said, "Let us be fair to each other. While the battle between Sakura and Mash was a sight to behold, they should not be the only ones to receive applause. It may seem harmless right now but, if you get used to giving others special treatment, you make things difficult for them and yourselves..."

In response to his words, nearly every student fell into silent contemplation but, before they were able to put too much thought into it, Mordred startled them to awareness by thumping against her chest and shouting, "Thank you for your guidance, Grand Advisor...!" in a commanding tone.

Immediately following Mordred's outburst, Astrid, Zoë, and, reading the flow, Rani simultaneously chimed, "Thank you for your guidance, Grand Advisor...!" This set off a somewhat awkward chain reaction but, before it could get too far, Vahn raised his hand to return the room to silence. At the same time, he gave Mordred a knowing look that brought a cheeky smile to the girl's face as she struggled to resist bursting into a fit of laughter...

---

The rest of the student matches proceeded without incident as, whenever something went wrong, Vahn would always step in at the decisive moment. This made some people fight haphazardly but, as they were all experimenting with coordinating with their Companions, Vahn allowed them to make a few mistakes. They would learn over the following months how to refine their skills and abilities after observing the seriousness in which the higher ranked students treated the training.

As could be expected, the most exciting battles were between the girls hailing from the Empire, the only real exception being Mordred's battles since they always ended in an instant. After all, she was no longer in her sealed state. This made her an A-Rank Heroic Spirit which, if allowed to go all out, had the potential to disrupt tectonic plates and collapse continental shelves.

Even a middling blow from her [Clarent], if aimed at the city itself, could wipe out all of London in a single exchange. The only thing that prevented this was the restrictions of the world and the fact that, unless they were only seeking to cause destruction, most Heroic Spirits didn't aim their attacks at the ground.

Due to the overwhelming gap in power, Mordred was rightfully given the highest rank in the class. As for the second position, it unsurprisingly went to Rani V, even though most of the students had originally expected Sakura to secure the position. Unfortunately, Rani had inherited the knowledge and experience of her preceding models. This wasn't a transfer of consciousness, however, so Rani still had her own Ego, much like the individual Einzbern Homunculi. Thus, while she had more than a hundred years of data to serve as a foundation for her Magecraft, she was still just a sixteen-year-old girl.

Still, Magecraft greatly benefitted from experience, knowledge, and mental capacity so, having a brain that could literally humble a supercomputer, Rani was monstrously talented. She barely had to move in combat as, by the time her opponent had decided to act, she had already formed a magic circle that allowed her to counter their efforts. This, combined with a functionally infinite amount of Magical Power, made it almost impossible for other students to contend against her.

It was unfortunate for Rani that her parameters and maximum output were restricted so, when she was matched against someone like Mordred, all of her benefits were nullified. Mordred had been able to train her [Magic Resistance] once again and, even though it was supposed to be a Class Skill given to Heroic Spirits, the training methods used by the Knights of the Round Table actually made it possible to learn. All it really took was nourishing your body with your own Magical Energy over a long period of time while performing extreme physical training and, as a result of the saturation and exposure, you would naturally become resistant to Magical Energy, you own included.

This was the main reason why most Knights throughout history struggled to ever learn any advanced forms of Magecraft. Though there were a few exceptions, they were usually a Demigod or, like many Knight of the Round Table, recipients of powerful blessings and charms bestowed upon them by Fae and other Spiritual beings. The generations that followed saw this as an example so, while Artifacts and other unique magical armaments have always existed, the use of Mystic Codexes amongst Magi that specialized in physical combat became common.

Needless to say, all of these factors meant it was nigh-impossible for Rani to even damage Mordred. The latter could tank most of her spells without suffering any injury and, with hypersonic speed and explosive power at her behest, there wasn't a match to be had. Mordred closed the distance so fast that Rani's mind was temporarily stalled as, while she could keep up with speed, calculating it with extreme accuracy, she was fundamentally unable to react to it. Thus, without any suspense, Mordred was able to hold out Neko, her personal Companion, right in front of Rani's face. This allowed it to tap against the stunned girl's nose and, without trying to extend the battle, Rani understood she had been bested, ultimately surrendering the battle.

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'I can imagine Sakura and Mash both laughing in an 'Ufufufu~' manner when they grow up...','Vahn OP','Like raising a lion amongst sheep xD...')

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