Oscar was completely shocked, because he had not expected Ruth to be the one handling the class. Then Ruth said exactly what he had been hoping to hear. Starting from the following week, they would be participating in combat lessons against monsters. She mentioned that they would take part in field training, and the moment Oscar heard it, a wide smile spread across his face, because he was about to get the combat experience he wanted so badly.
Ruth told the students that in order to ensure the combat strength of each group was balanced, they would be forming parties of five. The students began speculating about what she meant by combat strength, and Ruth told them that it would be measured by the performance of their circuits. In other words, the total amount of mana their bodies could hold would be measured.
One of the students asked her how she planned to measure it, and Ruth smiled and said that she had already completed the measurements. Suddenly the students saw glowing orbs of light hovering above their heads, and Ruth explained that the intensity of the light indicated their total mana capacity. Most of the students had bright lights over them, and with that, Ruth could see that there were several high-level students in the class.
Then she checked on Oscar, and his sphere was quite dim compared to the others. The other students wasted no time making fun of him, saying outright that he was trash, because he was a commoner after all. They were certain that no one would be willing to form a party with him. Oscar, on the other hand, did not trouble himself with any of it.
Just then, Lily tapped him and asked whether he would like to join their party, and Oscar asked her whether she was really sure about that. Lily said yes, because she believed that anyone who loved flowers was a good person. However, she told him that she had to ask their party leader, Levin Aldret, first. Levin turned out to be a red-haired noble, and after assessing Oscar, he agreed to add him to the party, declaring that it was a noble's duty to protect the weak.
Levin told Oscar that he would have him tag along as a luggage carrier. Moments later, Lily noticed the way the other students were staring at Oscar, as though he were some kind of disease, and she urged him not to let it get to him. She mentioned that nobles like herself had been learning magic from a young age, so it was only natural that there was a bit of a difference.
Oscar assured her that he was fine, because he was simply glad that he had been able to join her party. Lily asked him how long he had been studying magic, and she almost lost her mind when Oscar told her that he had only started learning about half a year ago. She stood there panting in shock while Oscar just wondered what was wrong with her.
After class, Zazan approached Ruth to talk to her. Ruth asked him what the issue was, and Zazan asked her why there was a commoner in their class. He mentioned that Oscar could not even use a decent spell, and that his mana capacity was trash, which meant an amateur like him would never be able to keep up in the first class.
Ruth smiled when she heard this, and she told Zazan something shocking. She told him that Oscar had only started studying magic about half a year ago, and the moment Zazan heard it, his eyes went wide. Ruth told him boastfully that Oscar had great potential, and that in a few months he might well be the one making the remarks Zazan was currently making.
Ruth walked off, telling Zazan that weeding out amateurs was exactly why the field training existed, so he had nothing to worry about.
Elsewhere, Lily was busy explaining the ranks of magic to Oscar. They ran from magic apprentice to magic adept, then to magic master, then to magic sovereign, and finally to magic saint. She let him know that most nobles already possessed mana at the magic adept level or higher, thanks to training from a young age.
Oscar knew that the magic adept level was the rank usually summoned for actual monster subjugation, and if it was only a matter of mana capacity, he thought it was impressive for students to have reached that level at their age. Lily argued with him, telling him that he was the impressive one, because reaching the magic apprentice level in only six months was unheard of.
That left Oscar wondering whether this was also part of his talent. He still did not want to admit that he was simply extraordinary, and he gave all the credit to his master instead. Then Oscar asked Lily about her relationship with Levin, and she revealed that Levin's family was a prestigious high noble house with a long history. She explained that the surrounding families followed them, seeking their protection, and Oscar concluded that Lily's family must be one of them.
Lily told Oscar that Levin might come across as arrogant, but she promised him that Levin would protect them when the time came. Deep down, Oscar did not want anyone protecting him at all, because what he wanted was the combat experience.
The week of the field training finally arrived, and the students gathered at the rendezvous point. Ruth showed up with another professor, a man with an eye patch named Amon, to explain everything about the training.
Ruth told them that low-rank monsters had been released into the forest, and that their task was to survive one night out there. She told them that magic papers had been distributed to each team leader, and that they were imbued with a defensive barrier and a signal flare spell. If they found themselves in danger, they were to use the paper.
The students heard this and began to smile, because they had all concluded that this was going to be a piece of cake. Then Ruth told them that whichever party used the paper would be demoted from the first class, and the smiles vanished from their faces at once. Seeing how instantly the mood shifted, Oscar realized that staying in the first class mattered enormously to the nobility.
Levin confidently assured his group that as long as he was there, there would be no withdrawal, because he was going to protect all of them. Once they were prepared, Levin dumped a huge load into Oscar's arms and told him to carry it. Lily tried to tell Levin that the luggage was far too much, but Oscar told her not to worry about it, because that had been the deal.
Oscar carried the luggage without complaint, and Levin laughed at him, saying that he liked it when people knew their place, though he still warned Oscar not to hold him back. A while later, the same Levin who had been boasting was already panting from how far they had trekked. He blamed it on the terrain, and when Oscar tried to help him up, he pushed him aside out of pure ego.
After that awkward incident, they continued on, and Oscar worked out that the reason they had not run into a single monster was that the area was managed by the academy. Suddenly he sensed a mana abnormality, and he shouted at Levin to stop. Levin yelled back at him, demanding to know who exactly he thought he was ordering around.