“Are you sure?” Brendu asks me. “You need to think this through carefully—you’ll be investing a huge amount of time learning it. It’s better to be completely certain about your decision.” She’s giving me relaxing massages on my back.

  “Yes, I am. I’ve thought about it a lot these past few days, and my intuition confirms it. I’ve already made my decision.” I affirm her question; I’m already prepared and mentally set.

  “I trust your judgment and your intuition. Go all out.” She lies down beside me to relax a bit. I get up to do a few basic exercises to warm up.

  I’ve finally made a decision about what my next objective will be while I work on pushing all my abilities to rank IV. I’m mentally ready to dedicate part of my time to obtaining a new Law. After so much deliberation among countless options, I’ve decided on a pseudo-law that improves my sensory ability.

  I’ll focus on obtaining a pseudo-law of perception. Increasing the effectiveness of my Personal World is necessary—this ability is one of the most useful ones I have, and I’ve managed to survive for so many years thanks to using it constantly.

  It won’t be focused solely on the perception of my surroundings. I want to somehow give it a relationship with my gravity mana. Perception is the ability to sense everything around me, and gravity is everywhere—there has to be a way to give it some kind of orientation toward where I want it to go.

  If pseudo-laws and Laws are always something distinctive to each person, then it’s impossible for a Law to be completely identical between two people. Starting from that premise, it’s normal for Laws to be used differently and to acquire different characteristics depending on the user.

  “I’ll start training to obtain the new pseudo-law from the very first day of next week,” I shout to Brendu from the center of the training dome, receiving a radiant smile and a thumbs-up in response.

  All these days I’ve been fighting against the twins, Humyr and Shawu, to improve my rank III abilities. I’m focusing only on that type of skill to push them as far as possible. I’ve gained a level in each one—Crushing Zone is only two levels away from ranking up, Gravity Surge needs three more levels, and Ferocious Electrifying River is at level 16.

  I knew that fighting while limiting myself would be very difficult; what I didn’t expect was how painfully I would lose without being able to do anything to defend myself. I took a beating during the first few days—I had never felt so powerless while fighting.

  Thinking about it calmly after being humiliated the first few times, I realized it was normal. I’m not used to fighting in such a limited way, and my opponents aren’t just any Sapphire-rank fighters—they’re all at the very top of the rank, with the exception of the limit breakers. Each of my friends has exceptional talent and has never neglected their training; they keep improving day by day.

  Nowadays, I can already put up a decent fight against all of them. My enormous mana pool and swordsmanship allow me to hold my ground. On top of that, I’m getting used to fighting in such a limited manner—gravity can be very flexible if you know how to use it at the right moments.

  One of my new favorite tricks is using it to destabilize them just a little, or to push them a few centimeters backward or forward to disrupt their movements. It’s difficult to move them or send them flying because they use their own magic or Imra to stay stable; I can only alter their movements in very specific situations.

  My trick of freezing them inside a gravity prison with my Imra has also improved a lot. Now I’m able to trap them if they’re not paying attention. Not only that—I can keep them completely immobilized for a few seconds, frozen like statues. That short time is more than enough to beat them senseless.

  All of them have strong willpower; their Imras are quite resilient. I haven’t tested it on weaker Sapphire ranks, but I have a slight suspicion that I could keep them frozen for as long as I wanted. Breaking free from my gravitational grip through Imra isn’t easy—and it will become even harder once I use my ice affinity.

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  I have the feeling that the omnipresent voice will present me with some kind of skill soon, and I’m eagerly awaiting that moment. Officially obtaining the skill will make everything easier—I’ll be able to use my little trick more smoothly and efficiently.

  The gravity field around me has also changed. I’ve managed to improve efficiency and mana consumption when using it in concentrated areas. I can increase gravity enough to keep up with Shawu’s movements without needing to use my electric affinity—that woman is incredibly fast. I’m sure she could be a great assassin if she put her mind to it.

  Gravity Surge is the skill that has improved the most over these days. I can keep up with everyone’s movements thanks to it. Ever since I blew my limbs apart like balloons to kill the anomaly, that skill hasn’t stopped improving.

  I talked with them about why they hadn’t advanced to Ruby rank yet. Each of them met the requirements a long time ago—their foundations are incredibly solid. They could take the next step whenever they wanted, and their reasons for not doing so were almost the same.

  They all want to pair some weaker skills with stronger ones, or obtain a new skill or Law before ranking up—but they’re also holding back because of the upcoming tournament. If you’re Ruby rank, you can’t participate; it’s a tournament limited to Sapphire ranks, and all of them want to test themselves against the strongest of our generation and uphold the school’s name.

  I already accepted the invitation to go directly to the tournament—they wouldn’t stop asking me every day. I won’t participate in the school’s small internal tournament; I feel it’s a waste of time. I’ll learn more by practicing alone or fighting my friends.

  Some stories about people from other schools are very interesting—there are many strong individuals throughout the empire. I’m not very informed about the other limit breakers because I’m careless and not particularly interested, but some of them sound quite intriguing. I definitely won’t be bored at the tournament.

  A small smile forms on my face as I think about the possibility of facing any of them. From the bottom of my heart, I know it—I won’t lose to any of them. I refuse to believe that any of them could defeat me.

  Jefran Vallac will surely participate. The star of the Kingdom of Merno is a limit breaker like me and Areci, and I’m sure he’ll lead the group sent by his school. That’s just one of the interesting names.

  There’s also a girl specialized in magic. From what I’ve heard, she has high compatibility with all supreme affinities, and her control over her innate affinities is even better. She was raised by an elderly Obsidian-rank couple specialized in magical attacks—her firepower is ridiculous, and her potential limitless.

  Another person I’d like to face, if possible, is a boy of humble origins. He was taken in by his school’s principal after his immense talent was noticed. At such a young age, he’s already one of the best spear users in the world; all of his attacks are based on spears, and he’s one of the candidates to win the individual tournament.

  Both of them are very strong, and they’re just a few of the most popular names. I didn’t ask for much information about them—I want to be surprised when I see them in person. I want to learn their affinities and abilities when I fight them; it’ll be more fun if I have no idea how to face them.

  I haven’t practiced with Areci since I returned, and even last semester we only did so a few times. We always end up heating up and taking the fight to the next level—neither of us wants to yield, and we take it very seriously. We’re tied with two victories each.

  The main reason I’m not training with her is my self-imposed limitation. I’m not a challenge for her right now, and I wouldn’t improve at all by fighting her—I’d get beaten quickly. There’s no point in facing each other at the moment.

  She usually fights all of us at once; it’s the only way she can feel the pressure of using her full power. Areci has improved a lot—she hasn’t had a boost as massive as mine due to her many responsibilities as school president and as Susan’s daughter, but she can’t be taken lightly. She’s still extremely powerful.

  The days passed, the weeks flew by. I continued with my life and daily routine, improving my abilities little by little and deeply understanding how perception could become a pseudo-law—or even a Law outright.

  “We should go to sleep early today. The tournament starts tomorrow. We need to be fresh and elegant—we’re the face of the school,” Brendu shouts at me from the couch in the training dome.

  “I know, just a bit more. I’m close to evolving a skill—I just need a little more.” To my surprise, Crushing Zone wasn’t the skill that reached level 19 the fastest. Gravity Surge has grown ferociously over these weeks—it’s now just one step away from becoming a rank IV skill.

  Tomorrow, the tournament finally begins. All the schools are already settled in a massive complex near the academy; some are staying in luxurious hotels in the city, but most students are housed in the complex buildings.

  This event will be broadcast throughout many parts of the empire and the kingdoms. Most major cities will have something akin to holograms in their plazas to transmit the tournament.

  The entire world is holding its breath to see which school will win the most important student tournament of the year. Tomorrow will be the moment to show everyone who I am. They will know who Maki is.