I Entered Magic Academy With F-Rank Stats

Chapter 9 - First Skill

“How much longer are you going to make everyone wait?”

Marcus Hale stared at Ryan impatiently, tapping the flat of his sword against his boot.

“A few minutes of practice won’t change anything. If your physical condition was bad from the start, you should just accept it.”

Ryan ignored him and swung the dagger again.

The movement felt much cleaner than when he had first started practicing, and the notification he had been waiting for finally appeared.

[Basic Dagger Mastery Lv.1: 96/100.]

Marcus snorted.

“I got thirty-two attribute points because I trained every day before coming here. You can’t make up that kind of difference in half an hour.”

“You’ve mentioned thirty-two several times already,” one of the group members said. “We still remember.”

A few people laughed.

Marcus’s expression hardened slightly.

He was about to respond when Evelyn spoke calmly.

“High attributes are an advantage, but Blight Goblins have low attack and defense. A difference of a few points matters less than maintaining the formation.”

Marcus looked at her.

“Easy for you to say. What’s your total attribute score, anyway?”

“Forty-six.”

The room instantly went silent.

Marcus, who had been standing there full of confidence, didn’t answer right away.

Even Ryan stopped halfway through his next swing and looked at Evelyn.

He had already guessed that her score was far above average.

Forty-six was still higher than he had expected.

Evelyn adjusted her glasses.

“Any other questions?”

“No.”

Marcus cleared his throat and looked away.

“We should get moving.”

Ryan nearly laughed, but he still needed two more swings.

He took a breath, adjusted his footing, then brought the dagger down with all his strength.

[Basic Dagger Mastery Lv.1: 98/100.]

One more swing followed.

[Basic Dagger Mastery has increased to Lv.2.]

[You have gained a basic understanding of dagger usage. Attack effectiveness with daggers has increased.]

[Intensive training has improved your physical condition.]

[Strength +1.]

[Basic Dagger Mastery Lv.2: 0/500.]

Ryan stared at the notifications with satisfaction.

He hadn’t expected raising Mastery to improve his base attributes as well.

For someone who had started with stats as low as his, even a single point was valuable.

But Blackthorn wasn’t finished.

[You are the first candidate in this year’s class to raise a Basic Weapon Mastery to Lv.2.]

[Under Blackthorn’s first-year reward regulations, you are eligible to receive one ability compatible with your current condition.]

[Searching for compatible abilities...]

Ryan waited.

A few seconds passed.

Then more.

The longer the search continued, the more his excitement turned into suspicion.

'Don’t tell me the system is struggling to find a skill weak enough for me.'

About half a minute later, the answer appeared.

[Power Slash Lv.1.]

[Requirement: Strength 1 or higher.]

[Weapon Requirement: Melee physical weapon.]

[Effect: Gather strength briefly before unleashing a more powerful attack. Damage scales with the user’s Strength attribute.]

[Warning: A minimum interval of one minute between uses is recommended. Repeated use will drastically increase stamina consumption.]

Ryan wasn’t sure whether he should feel pleased or insulted.

The requirement was only one point of Strength.

Which meant Blackthorn had genuinely picked one of the most basic abilities available.

Still, a skill was a skill.

[Physical Attack Rank increased from F- to F.]

That alone was enough to make Ryan smile.

“Finished?” Marcus asked.

“Now I am.”

The twelve candidates immediately moved into position.

Four ranged fighters stood in the center while the other eight formed a protective circle around them.

Ryan chose a spot toward the rear.

He still had no idea how effective Power Slash would be in an actual fight.

Marcus took the lead.

The moment they crossed the building’s entrance, he raised his sword.

“Move!”

Instead of walking, he immediately broke into a run.

Everyone behind him had no choice but to speed up to keep the formation from falling apart.