You think you're worthy of saving the world?

Today's lesson is an outdoor theology class, which involves visiting the Garden of the Holy Sword and learning about its history.

According to St. Cromwell tradition, the Garden of the Holy Sword is only open once a year.

Furthermore, each student has only one opportunity to enter the Holy Land during their first two years of enrollment.

Therefore, today's class was overcrowded, with a large number of lower-grade students gathered.

Yuri, Safia, and Maya, the academy's hottest celebrity, are among them.

For Safia, a weapon enthusiast, the garden where the holy sword was enshrined was simply heaven—

Around this time last year, Safia was caught with the flu and unfortunately missed the open class at the Garden of the Swords; in the end, only Ruby and Emerald attended.

Having looked forward to it for a year, she was in high spirits and even dragged Yuri along.

Yuri didn't have any other appointments in the morning, so she came along as well.

He had already decided to wait until lunch break to go see Principal Joseph and explain his promotion to the third rank.

"Look...that's the legendary Bull Horned Clan princess! So tall! What an amazing figure!" "Such handsome horns, and she's a beautiful woman too..."

The students, seeing Maya for the first time, whispered amongst themselves.

In the past few days, rumors have spread that Euryphus performed a miracle and cured the orc princess's curse.

Because Maya became a legendary star known throughout the school, the prophetic child who healed her also became famous.

"As expected of the Child of Prophecy... He must possess some kind of special miraculous power that transcends the divine system, right?"

"Miracle power... Could it even bring the dead back to life!?" "Even if it were possible, it wouldn't be surprising!"

Meanwhile, Yuri, the person in the spotlight, remained unfazed, listening intently to the lecture.

Today's outdoor class is taught by Eileen, the head of the theology department.

In St. Cromwell, where male teachers make up more than 90% of the faculty, Eileen is one of the few young female teachers.

And unlike the mean-spirited Annabelle, Ms. Eileen is gentle and lovely...

Of course, Yuri wasn't listening so attentively just to impress her; the beautiful teacher didn't matter, her main goal was to learn.

On the chalk altar in the center of the Holy Sword Garden, there is a huge stone with a magnificent longsword half-inserted into it.

The golden hilt and silver blade gleamed in the sunlight, exuding a sacred aura that inspired awe.

"Legend has it that 1500 years ago, demons from the underworld launched a massive invasion of the Sanctuary, and the 'Saintess of Grace' fought against numerous demons to protect the Sanctuary."

Beside the altar, Eileen recounted that ancient history in her clear and beautiful voice.

"In that battle, the 'Saintess of Grace' slaughtered all the demons, but also exhausted all her own spiritual power."

"The last thing to appear before the Holy Maiden was a powerful demon with an immortal body."

"The 'Saint of Grace' threw her beloved sword in an attempt to kill it."

"The golden holy sword easily pierced through the demon's body, ending the demon's immortality, and continued flying for several kilometers before finally stopping after penetrating a boulder."

"What we see now is the sacred relic created by the 'Saint of Grace,' the Sword in the Stone."

"The once golden holy sword lost its performance as a sacred weapon after being corroded by demonic miasma, but a new miracle was created due to the saintess's unintentional act."

"Unlike other holy swords, its current purpose is neither to slay enemies nor to display majesty, but rather for 'the evaluation of a hero's weapon.'"

The pink-haired female teacher continued, "I'm sure you've all heard of the Holy Sword Challenge that's passed down in St. Cromwell..."

This sacred sword in the stone possesses the power to determine a hero's worth; the evaluation varies depending on each person's capacity.

According to legend, only a hero who has accomplished an unprecedented feat can completely pull this sword out of the stone!

After Eileen finished her explanation, the students who had been watching and learning began to discuss it.

Yuri then shifted his gaze from the pink-haired female teacher's face to the sword in the stone beside him—

The Sword in the Stone (Fake)

[Type: Artifact]

[Rank: Legendary (Orange)]

【Attribute: Holy】

【Feature: Class Determination】

[Note: The blade is 130cm long overall, with 100cm embedded in the stone and 30cm exposed in the air.]

[Rank Assessment: Provides the most accurate evaluation of the swordsman. Calculates the swordsman's current rank and the experience points required to advance to the next rank.]

"This time, it wasn't a true hero either."

"...?"

Yuri blinked, wondering if she was seeing things.

Why does the system's explanation seem a little different from what Teacher Eileen explained?

The so-called "evaluation of a hero's weapon" is actually just a way to determine a person's rank.

In this world, only Yuri possesses a system panel, and only he knows the specific percentage of his rank experience, allowing him to calculate how many more experience points he needs to advance.

Therefore, the effect of this fake sword in the stone cannot be considered useless.

If it has such a clear function, why use such an ambiguous term as "a tool for measuring heroes"?

Given the church's standards, it's impossible for them to make such a basic mistake...

Yuri thought for a moment and suddenly realized: it must be the church making a fuss again to increase faith.

This sword in the stone is actually a high-level tool for determining one's rank; it is not a divine artifact with any particularly great heritage or destiny.

There are actually many other holy relics like the Holy Sword Garden that don't live up to their name in the Papal City.

For example, the biggest and most undeserving imposter—the Child of Prophecy, Yuri thought to himself with self-mockery.

Ms. Eileen certainly knew the true effect of the (fake) Sword in the Stone, but she didn't reveal the truth to her students directly.

This was partly a requirement of the church, and partly for the purpose of educating students.

However, Yuri noticed something strange: Could it be that none of the students who participated in the Holy Sword Challenge in the past realized the truth about the Sword in the Stone? That's impossible!

"Teacher Eileen! Can we try to pull out the sword in the stone? We'd like to try the Holy Sword Challenge too!"

The blue-haired girl next to Yuri raised her hand high.

Safia's speech immediately received widespread support from the other students.

“That’s right! We also want to try pulling out the sword in the stone!” “Yes, Ms. Eileen! Since it’s an outdoor lesson, let’s give it a try!”

For a brief few seconds, the tranquil and solemn Holy Sword Garden was filled with the voices of the students.

Seeing the students' excited expressions, Ms. Eileen tilted her head cutely, poking her chin with her finger with a troubled look: "Hmm... what should I do?"

"Please, Ms. Eileen!"

Amidst the students' enthusiastic cheers, Ms. Eileen murmured with a hint of annoyance, "Well, what can I do? It's my lovely students' request..."

"Yay!" "Long live Teacher Eileen!" "I love you the most!"

Amid the students' cheers, Eileen's lips curled into a sly smile.

From the very beginning, she intended for her students to try the Holy Sword Challenge in this class.

Compared to dry lectures, hands-on practice is much more effective in stimulating students' interest in learning.

"Letting everyone challenge the sword in the stone is fine, but there's one thing the teacher hopes you'll all follow carefully~"

The pink-haired, beautiful teacher put a finger to her lips and smiled, saying, "You absolutely mustn't tell anyone about secretly letting you draw your swords, okay? Otherwise, I'm dead meat~"

"...!"

At that moment, Yuri's body trembled slightly, and a shiver ran down his spine.

He was initially very confused, then immediately realized—

Ms. Eileen just used "suggestion" on all the students, including herself.

After advancing to the third rank, Yuri's inspiration was further enhanced.

He even keenly sensed the slight fluctuations in spiritual energy when Eileen secretly cast her spell.

If Yuri were to return to the Blackjack Club's underground area from the night before last, he might be able to detect the bewitching barrier the elves had secretly set up beforehand.

"..."

Yuri looked around and found that the other students were unmoved, as if he was the only one who had noticed something was wrong.

Teacher Eileen is truly amazing. She can secretly cast spells on so many students, yet the fluctuations in spiritual energy remain extremely small.

"I'm even more powerful now that I've noticed her secretly casting a spell," Yuri thought to herself with a smug grin.

At the same time, he also realized something else: So that's how it is. The school used this method to allow students to challenge the Holy Sword while hiding the truth about the Sword in the Stone.

Those allowed to enter the Holy Sword Garden are all lower-grade students, who are easily influenced by "suggestion".

After leaving the Garden of the Holy Sword, the students' memories of the Holy Sword Challenge become hazy.

They only remembered that they had participated in the Holy Sword Trial, but could not recall the specific details.

In addition, the confidentiality clause of the "suggestion technique" makes students reluctant to mention the Holy Sword Challenge.

In this way, the truth about the hidden sword in the stone will be difficult to spread.

Ultimately, however, the Holy Sword Challenge is just something like a school legend.

It wasn't even a big secret; the teachers all knew the inside story, and even if the students discovered the truth, nothing would happen.

In the past, there must have been many outstanding senior students who resisted the "suggestion technique," but they kept quiet after they left because they didn't want to ruin the dreams of the younger generation.

Yuri remembered the very subtle expression on Cecilia's face when he mentioned the Sword in the Stone to her two years ago—

Clearly, Cecilia is the student who resists suggestion and seeks the truth.

Now, Yuri has also become one of the genius students who keep the secret of the Sword in the Stone.

"Although the truth about the sword in the stone won't be spread, everyone should discover it immediately in class, right..."

Yuri thought to himself: When I draw my sword later, will the Sword in the Stone thoughtfully display the specific rank and remaining experience points for each challenger?

The individual ranks are divided into 10 levels, from "first" to "tenth".