Formal Training Begins
It had been two weeks and three days since I’d woken up here with no memory.
For most of that time, I’d stayed in a private room at the treatment center, and because of my fear of humans, I hadn’t really gone outside at all. The day I’d first left the treatment center had been the Sielm Academy entrance ceremony, so...
I’d barely had any reason to move my body.
Which meant my legs had almost never been used, and of course I’d never run before.
“Huff... huff... huff...”
How many people in the world had never run a single step?
For most ‘normal’ people, using both legs to sprint was probably as natural as breathing.
And I wasn’t part of that ‘normal’ crowd.
I was clumsy at running, and as a result, naturally slow.
“Hah...! Hah...!”
The sunlight beat down hard on the ground.
Sweat beaded all over me, and my body was desperate to replace the water it was losing. The heat kept climbing through me, my whole body burning up from the inside out.
When people thought of a normal athletic field, they probably imagined a track around 300 meters a lap, but...
The track in this enormous open field was so huge it felt like it could easily surpass several kilometers.
Normally, there should be some sense of accomplishment when you circle a running track, some swelling feeling in your chest—but the track was so absurdly long that I couldn’t even think clearly enough for that.
It felt less like running a few laps and more like doing a marathon.
I ran.
I moved my legs in alternating strides.
I planted one foot on the ground and swung the other leg forward, pushing on.
It was such a simple, basic motion, and yet the stamina it consumed far exceeded anything I’d imagined.
How many laps is it now...?
I’d given up counting long ago, sometime after the second lap.
My body was already screaming, and I’d decided there was no way I could also keep track of numbers.
Even with my eyes squeezed shut, the image of this endless track burned vividly in my mind.
I was stumbling through the run in a haze, imagining I had sandbags strapped to both legs, when Professor Seres—who had been standing there with her arms folded—finally spoke.
“Five laps.”
Even though I was in no condition to think straight, that one word sank straight into my ear.
Professor Seres had simply been watching from the sidelines, both hands in her coat pockets, as I ran around the field.
Of course, for a moment I’d thought, I’m the one suffering, and she’s just standing there resting.
But the more I thought about it, the faster that thought disappeared.
Could a special professor who taught combat at Sielm really not do something as simple as running a few laps?
Maybe the five laps I was struggling through would be over in thirty seconds for her.
Obviously, this kind of running must mean nothing to her.
For her, it would be no harder than eating cold porridge.
I stopped thinking and ran. Just ran like crazy.
I kept pushing myself, like I was about to run out of breath and die on the spot.
And somewhere in the middle of it, I suddenly remembered what I’d looked like earlier.
When I’d walked to this field and taken in all the advanced training facilities clustered around it, then finally arrived here, I’d had the idiotic thought of what on earth anyone could possibly do in a place this size.
“Hm. Six laps.”
Ha. Six laps, she said.
At first, even one lap had seemed impossible, and now I was running six laps—far beyond that.
When I’d gotten past the second lap, I’d thought I was going to die. And yet here I was, still conscious after three times that much.
I ran and ran.
I still had some strength left.
I kept going, forcing down the breath that felt ready to burst out of my chest.
“Seven.”
I could no longer feel my legs. My vision blurred, and my breathing turned ragged and uneven.
The more I ran, the more I confused which leg should cross where, and it felt like I could trip and fall at any moment.
“Eight laps... that’s enough—”
“Ugh...”
- Thud
Just as I had the instinctive feeling that I couldn’t keep my consciousness together any longer, the moment I heard the word that, the strength drained from my legs.
The second my legs gave out, my body lost balance and collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.
Small scrapes opened on my body, but I didn’t feel them at all.
“Haa... haa... haa...”
After falling forward, I used what little strength I had left to roll myself over.
There was a ringing in my ears, but it was different from the kind that came when someone got too close and touched me.
It wasn’t the sickly pounding of panic. It was the heartbeat of a body overheated from exertion, my heart pumping furiously just to keep me alive.
I could tell, at least, that I was definitely still alive, but it also felt like I might die any second now.
Professor Seres, who had been watching me quietly from a distance while I gasped for air, slowly approached.
“The result is eight laps... According to Sielm’s standards, that’s a failing score.”
Professor Seres, having calmly delivered her verdict on me, rummaged in her pocket for a moment.
“I heard you hadn’t done any exercise since you woke up, so I can understand it well enough. But such excuses won’t mean anything in my class.”
The thing she pulled from her pocket was a water bottle.
Seeing the cold blue mana flowing from it, I figured it must be under a warming spell.
“Glug, glug.”
“You were practically on the verge of fainting.”
Then she poured the water in the bottle over me.
Since I was nearly completely exhausted, every drop that ran down my face felt too precious to waste.
The water that reached my mouth was close to life itself for someone as thirsty as I was.
“For now, set aside things like aura, innate abilities, or mana circulation. I’ll start by improving your physical capabilities.”
Since she was explaining the direction of the class to come, even my foggy head caught it clearly.
“Hah, phy... si... cal, haah, cap... ability...?”
“...Just listen. You’re too out of breath to talk.”
Hearing my still-panting voice, Professor Seres shook her head as she spoke.
“Well, I won’t really concern myself with the magic side of things. Another professor at Sielm will teach you that. What I’ll be teaching you is combat, and more specifically, a class based on close-quarters fighting. And to complete that class properly...”
- Tap
Professor Seres pointed at my body as she continued.
“You’ll naturally need a certain level of physical ability to back it up. But you don’t even have the bare minimum right now, so improving your physical condition comes first. Understand?”
“Y-yes...”
“...Good. If you understand, that’s enough.”
She looked up at the blue sky for a moment, then checked the time.
“It took you a long time to finish even those eight failing laps. That’s enough for today. Starting tomorrow, we’ll move into the real training, so steel yourself and come prepared.”
Leaving a fresh water bottle beside me as I lay there on the ground, Professor Seres said no more. She turned and left the field without hesitation.
It truly meant class was over, as she walked away with not a trace of lingering attachment.
I could feel the powerful mana departing, and for a while I just lay there blankly, trying to calm the trembling in my body.
I felt like I’d been down for nearly ten minutes already, but my breathing still hadn’t settled.
With trembling fingers, I barely managed to grasp the bottle.
“Kha...”
A sharp, refreshing chill slammed straight into my throat.
After being parched for so long, gulping water down all at once left me with nothing but awe.
After wetting my throat a bit, I poured the rest over my head.
My feverishly overheated body cooled, even if only by a little.
“Huu...”
Once I’d calmed down somewhat, I let out a deep breath.
Honestly, I had expected it to be hard once I heard the words special lecture, but the pain that had crashed over me far exceeded anything I’d imagined...
It was so hard to endure.
“Four-thirty...”
Checking the time built into my bracelet, I saw that a little over two hours had passed since class had started.
At the very least, two and a half hours...
No, thinking about it, was it more accurate to say two whole hours had passed?
It had taken a truly ridiculous amount of time just to run eight laps around the field.
Over twenty minutes per lap...
Though my speed had dropped sharply after the second lap...
Marveling at the time I’d spent, I forced my upper body upright.
“Heeugh!”
The pain of my whole body feeling like it was breaking made an involuntary groan slip out.
The moment I lifted my upper body, I felt a searing pain in my lower back, but I still forced myself up anyway.
I braced myself with my hands on the ground and stood on trembling legs.
It took a few minutes of grunting and straining before I somehow managed to stand.
My legs kept wobbling, but compared to how they’d felt like they were about to snap a moment ago, this was far more bearable.
For now, I should head back to the dorm.
No matter how tired my body was right now, my mind wasn’t confused in the slightest.
My body had clearly hit its limit, but because my mind had rested a little, I felt more awake than before.
My legs still hurt, but well, sitting down to study would probably make it better.
Until now, I’d been driving my body into the ground, so now I was planning to read the magic textbook instead.
Reading was already second nature to me, so it shouldn’t be difficult.
And with the sun still hanging high overhead, I wasn’t going to lie down and drift off to sleep yet.
.
.
.
“This time, ten laps. Run with everything you’ve got.”
It was another ordinary day.
Sure, when I woke up in the morning, my whole body had felt like it was breaking apart from the muscle soreness, but thanks to the mana erosion, the pain disappeared quickly enough.
I woke up early, attended class ahead of time, and Han Rie sat beside me again today.
Then came Han Seohwa’s morning announcement, followed by the morning lectures.
I sat through the shared theory classes, and in the middle of them, Han Rie gave me chocolate.
That expensive chocolate...
I even ate lunch with Han Rie.
This time I tried challenging myself with spicy food, but... I still didn’t seem to be able to get used to spicy things.
Seeing Han Rie worry over me just because of food made my face burn with embarrassment.
After lunch, I parted ways with her for my afternoon major class.
Unlike the other cadets taking basic classes, I received one-on-one customized instruction from Professor Seres during my major period.
The content was similar to yesterday, but...
Ten laps...
The hurdle had risen a little higher.
Even though my legs were still trembling, she didn’t seem to notice, and today’s class began with running again.
I sent Professor Seres my most pitiful look, trying to silently tell her to think about it one more time. Just once.
“Now, run.”
She gave the command in a cold voice, never once meeting my gaze.
“Sigh...”
With a heavy breath, I kicked off the ground.
At this rate, I figured I might as well try running no matter what.
With that mindset, I sprinted down the track.
One lap...
Not bad.
Two laps...
Okay, this isn’t too bad.
Three laps...
Not that hard...?
Huh?
As I ran with a disgruntled feeling in my chest, I passed the third lap and suddenly felt an intense sense of wrongness.
My legs hurt, my breathing was short, my heart was pounding.
It all still hurt, still felt hard, but it was on a completely different level from yesterday.
Yesterday, I’d nearly drained dry even after just one lap, but I still had energy left.
Yesterday, it had felt like I was dragging my body forward by force, but now my body felt lighter than I could have imagined.
“Now ten... stop.”
The moment I heard the words, after somehow making it to ten laps, strength left my body and I splatted onto the ground.
“Hah...”
- Step, step, step
Was that admiration, or sheer disbelief?
Footsteps approached my head. Professor Seres slowly looked down at me.
“How is it?”
“Haa... y-yes...?”
It was such a sudden, out-of-the-blue question, but for some reason, I felt like I already knew the answer she wanted.
“This is Sielm. Because the Academy’s blessing of growth is granted to its cadets, development here happens on a completely different level from anywhere else.”
That was why Sielm had become the finest academy, far beyond the others.
In Sielm, where the power of the Tower of Growth was spread across the whole academy, every positive factor that helped the cadets would produce that absurd effect of amplifying growth.
“And you, because of your condition—mana erosion—it looks like the effect is magnified even more.”
Even special admissions students received the same effect from the power of growth.
But thanks to my mana erosion, it seemed like I was absorbing that effect far more directly, without any filter at all.
“Because of all that, even though only one night has passed, your body has clearly grown enough for you to feel it yourself. Do you understand?”
“...Yes.”
In the end, it meant my growth rate was far faster than other people’s.
“Your body was so far at the bottom that it’s probably even more obvious to you, but still, I can see your growth is significantly faster than most.”
Just like yesterday, Professor Seres poured water over me.
She let me cool off for a while and catch my breath.
“In other words, for you, even something as simple as running can explosively improve your physical ability. If you understand that, then run at full power.”
“Yes.”
“Hm. If you understand, then get up. Your rest is over.”
Since she’d said things would be serious starting today, I’d expected this much. Yesterday had ended with running.
Just as I was getting to my feet, something was handed to me.
The moment I took it, I had the feeling I’d seen its shape somewhere before.
A wooden sword...
“From now on, after running, we’ll begin with light sparring. Given your rate of growth, I’ve brought it forward by a few days, so try to understand.”
The moment I took the wooden sword, I pulled out the one hanging at my waist as well.
“Unlike some people, I don’t particularly like theory classes.”
“...Huh?”
“How you use a sword is entirely up to you. I won’t be the one getting hurt, so swing with everything you’ve got.”
Wait.
Sparring?
No theory class?
While I was still feeling something off in Professor Seres’s words...
- Zing—
“?!
Mana erosion sent a fierce warning through my whole body, and in that instant I reflexively swung the wooden sword.
A sharp cracking sound rang out, and a heavy jolt hit my arm, which hadn’t fully absorbed the impact. I staggered back quickly on unsteady legs.
“Hm...?”
Professor Seres looked at me in puzzlement and let out a low hum. I steadied myself again and drew a breath.
“That looked oddly familiar.”
“...Pardon?”
I voiced my confusion along with her abrupt remark.
“You’ve... got a memory of holding one.”
“Hm, is that so.”
Having heard my answer, Professor Seres nodded with an intrigued expression.
Something about this felt... dangerous.
Before I could say another word, Professor Seres, already back in stance, rushed me again.
“Take this one too.”
Damn it.
This time it happened so fast I couldn’t even block properly, and I took the blow head-on.
“Ghk!?”
Pain surged through my entire body.
The whoosh of the sword cutting the air rang vividly in my ears.
And with the realization that things were really going to be hard from here on out—
- Clack
“Guh!”
I somehow managed to parry the sword.
