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Ares\' class ended.

Fron didn\'t spar with me in the end.

She just sat under the shade of the awning at the edge of the training grounds until it was time to leave.

I wanted to approach her, to talk to her, but the atmosphere around her made it impossible to even take a step in her direction.

Luna, who had heard from both Samuel and me about what we had seen, tried to approach Fron, but…

"…"

Fron remained cold and distant, completely ignoring Luna.

…The memory of Luna\'s tearful face after that encounter made my chest ache.

In any case,

I decided to set aside the issue with Fron until the break.

My priority now was preparing for the final exams.

Ares\' class was followed by Robolt\'s magic class.

We were learning the \'Silence\' spell, which was going to be on the final magic exam.

Thanks to Adel\'s talent, I was able to master the Silence spell perfectly, but I couldn\'t help but feel a tinge of regret.

Because,

\'It\'s not easy to combine.\'

The \'Stealth\' magic that Robolt had taught me…

I was curious to see what would happen if I could combine it with the \'Silence\' spell, which seemed like a perfect synergy.

However, combining the two magics and applying them to my body simultaneously was proving to be a challenge.

"Hmm…"

As I was racking my brains in frustration,

Samuel\'s dumbfounded voice echoed in my head.

[Have you no shame?]

"…What do you mean all of a sudden?"

[I won\'t even mention the fact that you already know the Silence spell, which is harder to master than Stealth. But trying to use them both at the same time is even more difficult. You should be focusing on learning which magic to use in which situation….]

Samuel\'s explanation went on.

I let his words flow in one ear and out the other, focusing on using both Silence and Stealth at the same time.

If I could use Stealth and Silence simultaneously during an assassination, I could only imagine how much stronger I would become.

Stealth and Silence.

Add to that the \'Black Rose\', the new technique I had developed, after moving behind the enemy using teleportation…

It would be the ultimate assassination technique.

I had many other skills and traits at my disposal.

However,

\'This is not nearly enough.\'

My current skill level was just slightly below Baltan\'s.

During the invasion of the human realm, I wasn\'t even close to his level.

But now, my total mana capacity had also surpassed 4,000.

So the gap had narrowed, but Baltan possessed an ability that I lacked.

An ability that could only be used by reaching the peak of martial arts: Fighting spirit.

Unfortunately, I hadn\'t learned Fighting spirit yet.

The power of the Black Rose was comparable to an attack infused with \'Fighting spirit\'.

\'…But Fighting spirit only consumes mental strength, while Black Rose requires an immense amount of mana.\'

It couldn\'t be helped.

In the end, I had to focus on honing my assassination skills rather than engaging in a full-frontal assault.

Not that it was a bad thing.

My abilities were originally geared toward assassination anyway.

As I was alternating between Silence and Stealth,

A sudden question popped into my head, and I asked Samuel,

"By the way, Mr. Samuel, you make strange gestures when you use magic."

[Strange gestures?]

"Yes, like extending your hand forward. You don\'t just flick your fingers like this, do you?"

Samuel always moved his hands when he cast magic.

Of course, it was normal to move one\'s hands when using magic, but his hand movements were…peculiar.

I showed Samuel exactly how he moved when he used magic.

Then Samuel said,

[I see what you\'re asking. It\'s not just me, but a kind of preliminary motion that mages do. Some don\'t do it, but I find it more comfortable. It helps me concentrate.]

"Ah."

I understood immediately.

He really had a knack for explaining things.

In short,

"You\'re saying it\'s similar to the incantations used by human mages."

[You catch on quick.]

Just like the incantations Besaha used in the human realm, Samuel used movements as a preliminary preparation for his magic.

Come to think of it, didn\'t Robolt also snap his fingers every time he used magic?

As I was thinking about this,

[Don\'t you have any such motions? Some mages even set those motions as activation conditions for their magic.]

"Well, it\'s not like I don\'t have any…"

I did have a gesture like that.

Or rather, it wasn\'t mine, but the original owner of this body\'s.

The villain with the narrow eyes.

As I tried to think of a gesture that would suit him best, a certain movement naturally came to mind.

I hadn\'t tried it myself, so I wasn\'t sure what would happen, but…

The movement was already ingrained in my body, so there was no harm in trying.

\'…Let\'s give it a shot.\'

A smirk played on my lips as my eyebrows arched, and a playful smile spread across my face.

Swish-

I raised my index finger and placed it against my lips. [T/N: Pose in the Novel Poster]

And the moment I activated both Silence and Stealth simultaneously—

Thrum-

Even I couldn\'t hear my own breath or heartbeat.

For a fleeting second,

Through my blurred vision, I saw Robolt\'s shocked face staring back at me.

He had momentarily lost sight of me, and the surprise was evident on his face.

Perhaps sensing the sudden shift in my mana flow, Samuel\'s breathless voice whispered in my ear.

[…You\'re insane.]

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