While the students began their training in the second week, the school needed to face another visitor.
The school principal let out a long sigh while looking outside the school through the window.
He turned around and looked at the pile of documents on his table. Next to the table was a shelf filled with books. They all had a label from "A" to "J".
Sensing someone's presence right in front of his door, he frowned and said, "Come in."
Creak.
The door gradually opened as a middle-aged man entered the room. Gray, short hair hung over a long, tense face. His sharp brown eyes emanated an indescribable fighting intent, watching the principal cautiously.
He wore a plain shirt and buttoned it up fully to support the black tie circling on his neck, barely hiding the muscle underneath it. The pants were plain black leather pants, but it was just his way of clothing that had been tailored perfectly for him to move like he was on the battlefield at any moment.
"Good morning, Principal Eigen. I'm sure you know my name from the letter, right?" The man made a simple smile and walked to him, stretching his hand.
Principal Eigen closed his eyes and nodded, shaking his hand. "Yes. It's my pleasure to meet you, Mr. Radvils."
"Thank you. Let's skip the formality and talk about the real thing, shall we?"
"Yes. We, from the school, have done everything according to the instruction."
"How many people have dropped out?"
"Currently, five percent. I'm sure that with the training regime you have sent to me, there will be a total of thirty percent if not forty percent."
"Yeah, I'm sure." Radvils nodded and contemplated for a while. "I'm sure most of them will be eliminated in the next stage."
"I'm sorry for asking this, but I can't comprehend why don't you just form a team with other schools? There are seven schools in this country and I believe they have the so-called "ace" in their school like our Alea Eilric."
"That's where you're wrong." He smirked. "In a poker match, a Royal Flush can beat four aces. Talents? So what? Even if the so-called genius Alea Eilric begs me, I will still expel her the moment she is eliminated in this competition.
"I just want to know that a losing genius means nothing to me. In the Grand Gaia, once you lose, you're out. Meanwhile, in this competition, I'm already good enough to give them a few more chances."
"…" The principal frowned and clenched his fists. "Are you trying to win by momentum?"
"That's not it. Do you know what was the problem with our team last year and the year before that?"
"We were not strong enough." Eigen shook his head helplessly, knowing that they were defeated in the very first round.
"No! They simply have no desire to win."
"That's not true. They have done their best… Their opponents were too good." He slammed the table and released a bit of his killing intent.
"That's it. You can always make excuses when you lose. It's all the same for everyone. And that's exactly the reason why you lost!" Radvils smirked and raised his hand, showing his excitement. "I don't need those f*cking losers. What I want is for each person to go for the win, even if they need to do it by themselves.
"I want to build their character. I don't need weaklings who think they are good. I want those strong people who think that if their teammate is weak, they just need to carry them. Every time they win, they will think that they are the best. I have specifically made this training with this thought in my mind.
"And eventually, they will think of themselves as the best in the world. Even when those talented people from all around the world gather, they will still think they have the chance to fight them even if their enemies have shown the difference between them. What I want is the will!
"I will sacrifice all the students in your school to make that peerless team, and they will be representing our country, Thersland, on the world stage and bring our country name that has only been established for two hundred years to the entire world."
Eigen widened his eyes in astonishment. In his eyes, there wasn't a single doubt that they would go to the world stage, even if they needed to use all the students in school. He took a step back as he couldn't understand this man's mind. He wasn't qualified as a teacher at all, but he indeed had the marking to be an instructor who would guide their team to the world stage.
Radvils narrowed his eyes and pointed his finger right at the principal. "Now, I'm asking you. Do you have that kind of resolve, Principal? If you don't have it, don't ever bother me."
For the first time, Eigen was afraid when he was wearing this suit. Usually, he would face this feeling when fighting a powerful monster in the Haven, but his instinct told him that this man's ambition could even suppress him.
He gritted his teeth and shook his head, throwing that fear. He glared at Radvils with his own resolve. "I'm still the principal of this school. My top priority is the students, not the Grand Gaia. I won't make you destroy my students."
"Of course. That's your job after all. I believe that you can save every single student from breaking, Principal." He smiled and turned around. "Still, my objective remains the same. I hope that you don't stop me at all."
Radvils walked to the door, opened it and left the room with one last message. "I don't need glory. Glory is for the kids. As for me? If we don't even reach the main stage, then I will shoulder all the blame and commit suicide. This is my resolve as well as my personal belief. I just want you to know it, Principal."
The moment the door was closed, the principal slammed the table again, snapping it into two. "Kh! You mad bastard."
His will got shaken once again when Radvils told him that he would kill himself. He was serious about this.
"Fine by me. Try to wreck my students, I will be sure to be there for them and prevent them from going astray. This is my job as this school's principal."