At that moment, a strange instinct suddenly awakened in Sunny's mind.

Then, a wide grin slowly appeared on Sunny's face.

"Damn it!"

In fact, his face grew darker with each praise he received.

In a fraction of a second, Caster covered the distance between him and Nephis and delivered a devastating blow. However, despite his astonishing speed, she somehow managed to react in time, slightly turning her body to deflect the strike.

It seemed like Caster suddenly ceased to exist.

And now that he had committed to a strike, there was no simple way to stop. No matter how fast he was, he was still subject to the laws of inertia. The elbow was approaching his face with a profound feeling of inevitability.

"Because they're all dead. The Immortal Flame clan is long gone."

Caster gritted his teeth.

But that didn't make any sense!

Caster's eyes widened.

"True Name? Who needs that? She's just a wanna-be!"

The rest of the Sleepers were gawking at the young man with reverence, whispering among each other in hushed tones. It seemed that his performance left them with a deep impression.

Back in his room, Sunny opened his eyes in shock.

'How is this fair?'

He clenched his fist again, looking down at the black, shadowy glove.

The thing that Sleepers failed to notice was that Nephis did not use her Aspect Ability when facing Caster. In fact, she had not used it at any point during today's testing. No one even knew what her Ability was.

Following the command of this instinct, his shadow flowed up and wrapped itself around his hand, sticking to it like a black glove. In the next moment, the punch connected.

"I trust that I don't need to tell you about her grandfather. Her parents were Smile of Heaven and Broken Sword."

He wasn't very interested in watching a bunch of teenagers changing clothes, but there was a slight possibility that Caster would either comment on his duel with Nephis or answer some questions about his incredible Aspect Ability.

Finally, Caster raised his head and pierced the last boy who had spoken with a cold look. That boy, just like him, was one of the few Legacies in their batch of Sleepers. He frowned, surprised by Caster's rection.

The shadow hiding in the corner of the dojo seemed to agree with him wholeheartedly.

It wasn't even a ten.

"Oh, come on! I deserve a ten, at least!"

The machine trembled from the force of the strike. Sunny's yelped in pain and took a step back, cradling his bruised fist. After a while, the result was displayed. However, it wasn't a nine anymore.

Even royalty was not safe from the cruelty of the world.

Even he knew who Immortal Flame and Broken Sword were. The former was the first human to conquer the Second Nightmare and become a Master. The latter — the first one to conquer the Third Nightmare and become a Saint.

Shaking his head, Sunny left the ring and then he looked at his shadow.

Caster sighed.

Feeling very indignant, he struck the plate again, almost hurting his fingers. However, the result was the same.

Late at night, when everyone was already asleep, Sunny furtively entered the dojo. Looking around, he made sure that no one was there and then curiously approached the ring where Nephis and others had been tested earlier. He stopped at the center of the ring and stood there for a while, remembering how she had dealt with dozens of Sleepers of their batch before being defeated by Caster.

The other Legacy raised an eyebrow.

That was because, unlike the rest of them, he came to a certain realization. The truth of the matter was known only to him, Nephis, Instructor Rock… and Sunny, who was very observant and quickly picked up on such things.

The shadow hesitated for a few seconds, then stuck out its chest and crossed its arms, trying to appear cocky, disdainful and unperturbed. However, its act wasn't very convincing.

Even then, he only noticed a hazy blur streaking through the air.

"She's the only one left."

Caster opened his mouth several times, as though not sure what to say. Finally, he shook his head and answered:

And yet, despite his powerful Aspect, Caster barely managed to clutch a victory against her.

Back in the dojo, Instructor Rock grunted and gave Caster a nod. Nephis slowly rose to her feet.

No wonder he addressed her as "lady". Why didn't he just call her "princess" instead?

It was eighteen.

"You Aspect is overpowered, am I right?"

However, it was only an illusion. The truth was that he was just moving so fast that the human eye wasn't able to keep up with his movements. If it wasn't for the special properties of Shadow Sight, Sunny wouldn't have been able to perceive anything either.

Who knew how many soul shards were fed to him prior to enrolling into the Academy?

Echoing his thoughts, the pale-faced Sleeper asked in trembling voice:

"Then why… why is she so…"

But it still wasn't enough. Although Nephis had managed to avoid being hit squarely in her center of gravity, Caster's fist ended up connecting with her shoulder, sending the girl into a spin.

He looked at the displayed number for a long time, expressionless.

However, Caster himself wasn't very elated. He glanced at Nephis with an unreadable expression.

***

Luckily, the arrogant Sleeper had the same sentiment.

'What a monster,' Sunny thought, full of unease.

"What is it?"

"I see. So that why. Of course!"

He was already done growing, and his height was not going to drastically increase in the future. No matter how hard Sunny trained, he was always going to be a lightweight.

Not wasting any time, Caster disappeared again. His plan was very simple: while Nephis was still under the impression that the enemy was in front of her, he was going to use his unnatural swiftness to circle around and attack from the back.

Sunny sighed and proceeded to the measuring machine. Making a fist, he swung it and delivered his best punch. The machine hummed for a few seconds and then displayed a single number.

In his room, Sunny almost fell from the chair.

Suddenly filled with resentment, he punched the plate again, putting all of his frustration into this one strike.

He then proceeded to trip and push Nephis, sending her flying to the ground. However, just before she was about to his the mats, the young man carefully grabbed the collar of her dobok and gently pulled, slowing down the fall and allowing Nephis to land on the floor without any impact.

Ah, what an invaluable helper indeed.

"Why? Is there something special about that peasant girl?"

Caster's eye widened. It was all a feint!

'So that's an Ascended Aspect? That's… that's cheating!'

Just as he had expected, the young man was surrounded by a group of newly converted fans. They were congratulating him on his victory, full of adoration and excitement. However, Caster himself seemed to be in a bad mood. His expression was somber, and there was a grim heaviness in his eyes.

"She is Nephis of the Immortal Flame clan."

Sunny paced for a bit, trying to control his anger. It seems he was destined to be a weakling. After all, the force of the strike depended on mass and acceleration. Acceleration could be improved with technique and exercise, but mass was something he had little control of.

Nine.

"Monsters… both of them are monsters!" he mumbled, bitter and disheartened.

A Sleeper had no business being that fast. The powers bestowed upon them by the Spell were supposed to be in their infancy. But… Caster was a Legacy, after all.

As soon as he said that, the arrogant Legacy became deathly pale. Not paying him any attention, Caster continued.

For a few moments, the locker room was completely silent. Caster looked down.

***

However, at the last moment, Nephis suddenly changed her stance and threw her elbow back with frightening force.

"Caster, that was incredible!"

The young man appeared behind the oblivious girl, ready to finish the fight with one decisive strike. Just as he planned, she seemed to be preparing to attack in the direction he had been seen just a split second ago. Gratified, Caster shifted his weight, putting it all into his fist.

Chapter 27 Measure Of Power

"That Nephis girl stood no chance at all!"

And yet, Caster still managed to avoid it, even if it was just by a hair's breadth. His speed advantage was just too big.

"I might have expected such behavior from them, but you should know better."

"Peasant… peasant girl? Do you really not know who she is?"

"Do you agree?"

'No!' Sunny thought impatiently. 'So just get to it and say it out loud!'

"Now we're talking!"

Lying on her back, the girl blinked a couple of times and looked up at him. The whole altercation lasted no more than two seconds.

After that, the introductory combat class was over. Sore from the beating they received, Sleepers headed for the showers. Sunny waited for a bit and then directed his shadow to sneak into the boy's locker room.

Both Immortal Flame and Broken Sword, Nephis's father and grandfather, were as monstrous in terms of power as one can get. But they still failed to protect their family from being eviscerated. So, power wasn't that important in the end.

They, as well as their companions, were among the most famous heroes of the human race, someone who had managed to change history with their own two hands. If what Caster said was true, then Nephis wasn't just an aristocrat… she was royalty!

"Yeah, you're right. Exactly! What's the big deal anyway?"