Time passed in a blur as anticipation for the Proving steadily rose. Eventually, it became all anyone across the South could talk about.

Gatherings, meetings, events... every conversation somehow returned to the Proving.

Still, Zephyrion’s routine remained mostly unchanged. He spent most of his time training with the house, then devoted the remainder to training alone within his room.

With the discoveries he had made so far, he felt an even greater need to push himself harder. Especially after the reward for the Choosing arrived.

The house rewarded the top ten participants with mind-enhancement elixirs. The quality depended on rank, with Zephyrion naturally receiving a high-grade one.

Using it allowed Zephyrion to clear the fog all the way to Mark Six of the Vessel Rank.

And within a single day, just like that, he advanced into Mark Six... Authority.

The advancement brought an entirely new level of durability to Zephyrion’s body. His skin felt tighter, his muscles denser and more compact.

Even his comprehension improved, extending his range of perception to nearly thirty meters.

Most importantly, he gained a new level of power, Authority.

The ability to impose his will over the metal of those weaker than him.

Zephyrion had already possessed some level of control over the metal of higher marks, and this advancement only strengthened that power further.

Aside from that, the trainees of the Iron Division soon found themselves subjected to an even more brutal training regime.

Garrick had promised them that if they failed to secure at least five spots in the Choosing, he would make them regret it.

Unfortunately for them, only three spots had been secured.

And Garrick had not forgotten.

He tripled the intensity of their training, causing trainees to collapse during sessions while others could barely drag themselves out of the training grounds afterward.

Eventually, as the days of torture passed, the trainees, already on the verge of collapse, finally seemed to have had enough.

They all gathered around Garrick on the platform, staring at him desperately.

"I-instructor... if this keeps up, we’re seriously going to die!"

"He’s right! W-when exactly is this punishment supposed to end?!"

"Please... I don’t want to die a virgin..."

Garrick slowly lifted his head from his lecherous magazine and frowned. Then he lazily gestured toward Zephyrion, who sat silently meditating at one end of the training grounds.

"You’ll stop once all of you can face him without getting your asses kicked."

Frowns instantly spread across the trainees’ faces.

The statement was absurd.

There were over forty trainees present, yet Garrick was implying Zephyrion could defeat all of them at the same time?

"Instructor Garrick, you’re insulting us!"

"Yes! How can the young lord defeat all of us together? That’s impossible!"

"I mean, sure, he’s talented, but we’re not useless either! We’ve been training our asses off too!"

As the complaints rose from the trainees, a grin slowly spread across Garrick’s face.

"Then... why don’t we test it?"

"...test it?" one of them asked cautiously.

"Yes." Garrick’s grin widened even further. "All forty-something of you against Zephyrion. One fight. Same time. We’ll even activate a scrambler to make it fair. If you win, I’ll ease up on your training. But if you lose..."

His grin turned vicious.

"You’ll shut the fuck up and train until I’m satisfied."

Bright smiles immediately spread across many of the trainees’ faces.

This would be easy!

Sure, Zephyrion was stronger and higher ranked, but with a scrambler active, those advantages would be neutralized. At most, he would only be slightly more durable than them.

Against over forty trainees at once?

There was simply no way he could win.

As the trainees eagerly nodded among themselves, Garrick suddenly called out,

"Top trainee! Get over here for a moment!"

Moments later, Zephyrion calmly arrived before the group. Kaiden and Fiona, who had been focused on their own training, were also drawn over by curiosity.

"Top trainee," Garrick said with a savage grin, "I want you to fight all of them at the same time with a scrambler active."

"..."

The trainees stared at Zephyrion intently.

At the end of the day, the fate of their suffering rested entirely on whether he accepted. But no sane person would willingly agree to fight over forty people while restricted by a scrambler.

A second passed.

Then Zephyrion calmly nodded.

"Alright."

"...what?"

The trainees stared at him in utter shock. But Garrick suddenly burst into loud laughter.

"HAHAHA! Good! Good! That’s my top trainee!"

Moments later, they were all led toward the only place with a scrambler large enough to contain the fight, the instructors’ cave. More specifically, the same training grounds where Zephyrion had taken his combat assessment.

"Oh, it’s Garrick. Why’s he dragging his trainees over here?"

"I heard he wants to borrow the scrambler. Apparently they’re about to spar."

"Oh? A spar? Sounds interesting. Who’s fighting?"

"...the young lord against the other forty-something trainees."

"...I’m sorry, what?"

As word about the spar spread among the instructors, they each reacted the same way, with utter shock.

However, the moment they saw Zephyrion standing alone on one side of the arena while facing the army of trainees opposite him, they realized it was true.

It wasn’t long before a large crowd of instructors gathered around the arena, watching intently.

The scrambler was soon activated, followed by a loud boom.

"Begin!"

"Alright, surround him!" one of the trainees shouted immediately. "Attack in groups! Don’t rush him all at once! He can fight, but there’s no way he can handle all of us at the same time!"

The trainees nodded seriously as they slowly spread out around Zephyrion.

In contrast, Zephyrion remained completely still, his calm gaze fixed ahead as though he barely even acknowledged their presence.

"Attack!"

More than ten trainees lunged forward at once, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks.

Their attacks closed in on Zephyrion from every direction, appearing only inches away from reaching him...

Then he blurred. Their attacks struck nothing but empty air.

The trainees’ eyes widened violently.

"Huh?! Where did he—"

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Heavy impacts exploded across their bodies... stomach, face, chest, chin.

The trainees were lifted off the ground before being violently hurled out of the arena.

The eyes of the remaining trainees trembled violently.

"W-what the hell was that?!"

"H-how is he moving that fast?!"

But no answer came.

Zephyrion calmly walked toward them step by step, his cold purple gaze seeming to freeze them in place.

Then, he vanished again.

"Where did he—ARGH!"

"There he—URK!"

"He’s too fast—!"

"What kind of monster is this?!"

Zephyrion tore through the trainees like a blur.

All they could see was a fleeting flash before a devastating impact crashed into their jaws and sent them unconscious instantly.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Bodies continuously dropped across the arena floor.

Within moments, the final trainee collapsed.

Silence.

Absolute silence filled the training grounds.

The instructors stared with widened eyes at the unconscious trainees sprawled across the arena floor.

Forty trainees.

Defeated in less than a minute.

And throughout the entire fight, Zephyrion’s breathing had not changed even once.

Garrick slowly grinned.

"Winner—Zephyrion!"

The silence only deepened.

Kaiden stared at the arena with trembling eyes. Even Fiona looked stunned.

Although they already knew Zephyrion was strong... this was far beyond anything they had imagined.

Even under the effects of a scrambler, he had completely overwhelmed more than forty trainees without the slightest difficulty.

The gap between them was no longer merely large.

It was monstrous.

Meanwhile, Zephyrion calmly turned and began walking away as though nothing had happened.

Then Garrick’s loud laughter suddenly echoed throughout the arena.

"HAHAHA! Did you idiots finally understand now?!"

The trainees sprawled across the arena floor could only stare blankly upward with lifeless expressions.

They had entered this fight believing forty against one was unfair for Zephyrion.

Now they realized...

It had actually been unfair for them.