Desperate Gambit – No Powers Allowed
The night before the sparring request. That is, Sunday of the first week after the start of the semester. An open lot in the Noble Academy student dorms. In the cool night air, six shadowy figures had gathered. Ethan Miller, Leo Grant, Cecile Urnia, Lien Crossfield, Rakna, and Alice Hayes. Excluding one, they were the pride of the first-years—the golden generation. A lineup that could be called the greatest in the history of the Noble Academy. They were always busy with their own studies and training, so even in groups of two or three it was rare, but all of them together like this was an extraordinarily uncommon sight. If other cadets had seen this, the Noble Academy community forums would have exploded the next day.
Ethan glanced around once and spoke up.
"Is everyone from the first-years here?"
Cecile, arms crossed, half-lidded her eyes in annoyance as she replied.
"Izuna didn't come. She holed up in a private training room right after class ended and hasn't come out. No response even when we called."
"Can't be helped. Let's just start like this for now."
Why had they secretly gathered in the dead of night? There was only one reason. It was all because of a new class they were taking this semester.
Ethan clapped once to gather their scattered attention.
"Alright, down to business. As you all know, starting next week, the official 'Physical Conditioning Period' begins."
Sighs erupted here and there at Ethan's words. Even though they were all elites among elites who had no second place, the Noble Academy's Physical Conditioning Period had that kind of infamous reputation.
During this period, every cadet was forced into at least three hours a day of intense basic physical training. Fail to complete those hours daily, and penalty points piled up; in severe cases, it could lead straight to expulsion. An extreme curriculum.
For physical enhancement types, three hours of stamina training wasn't that much of a burden—unlike energy manipulation types. But the real problem wasn't that.
The academy had countless training facilities: physical conditioning rooms, athletic fields, sparring arenas, and more. And those facilities were located 500 meters below the altitude of the living quarters and lecture halls where cadets spent their daily lives.
In other words, cadets normally lived at 2,500 meters in the lecture and living halls, then went down to 2,000 meters for training. And there was a monorail connecting that stretch. Of course there was. No one could hike 500 meters up to the dorms with a body exhausted from training.
But during the Physical Conditioning Period, the monorail stopped running under the pretext of building cadets' stamina. That was the real issue.
The academy was located in a high-altitude mountain region over 2,000 meters above sea level. No cadet was unaware of what happened when you pushed your body hard in that already oxygen-thin air. They had to descend 500 meters, squeeze out every ounce of stamina in training, then climb back up another 500 meters to the dorms in that depleted state. Every single day. Hiking 500 meters up to the dorms while utterly drained? Might as well camp on the roadside.
It wasn't coincidence that visits to the academy infirmary and medical wing spiked during the Physical Conditioning Period.
Yeah, up to here it was manageable. This wasn't their first semester; it was the second. Everyone here had survived that hellish period once before.
"The problem is that 'Practical Situation Response' class we're taking."
As Ethan continued, Leo, leaning against the wall, rubbed his forehead and added,
"You mean that professor who pushed us to the brink from the very first class? No way that guy's gonna go easy just 'cause it's Physical Conditioning Period. He'll probably grind us even harder."
"It's already hell enough... I can barely walk these days..."
"...Sorry. But we can't help it. You agreed too."
Alice sat in a chair, on the verge of tears. Lien sat beside her with a troubled expression, gripping her hand tightly.
Ever since Alice had been designated as Han Seongjin's 'personal mark' target, she'd been running laps on the athletic field every morning with Lien. In the first semester, she'd cheated through stamina training with her wind spirit, but in Seongjin's classes, the spirits wouldn't listen, so to prepare, she was grinding out raw physical laps every morning. So far, the monorail had gotten her back just barely, but if Physical Conditioning Week overlapped like this, her expulsion was only a matter of time.
Ethan sighed as he looked at the teary-eyed Alice. For him personally, this period wasn't a big deal. Seongjin's classes were tough, of course, but after a few days, he'd even thought it was a good choice. But the others might not feel the same.
Three hours of training a day was easy. Ethan already spent over five hours daily in the training grounds. The Physical Conditioning Period itself posed no issue for him. The problem was 'that class.' Who knew what kind of bizarre lesson that Han Seongjin professor would bring next? Tossing them into lava and telling them to survive wouldn't be surprising at this point.
...Lava?
Why was the image so vivid? For a moment, it felt like a premonition of the future, but he shook it off.
Anyway, Ethan had brought up this proposal for the sake of the other cadets' well-being. He recalled a friend's face from the first semester, someone who'd buckled under the training and gotten expelled. He didn't want that to happen again.
Ethan gritted his teeth and slowly opened his mouth.
"So, I'm proposing a negotiation."
"Negotiation? You think that monster of a professor will listen to us?"
Ethan nodded at Cecile's question.
"He said he welcomes spars anytime. So we'll set conditions from our side. A spar between the professor and one rep from us—pure physical ability and hand-to-hand combat, no powers. If we win, he eases up on class intensity just for the Physical Conditioning Period."
"...No powers?"
Lien narrowed her eyes.
"Yeah. His tentacle power is definitely off the charts. But what about his physicals? He's always just standing there manipulating tentacles. Common among superhumans. The stronger the power, the more they neglect their base physicals and combat skills."
"Makes sense. Controlling ten tentacles at once must drain mental energy like crazy—no time left to train the body."
"But that professor blocked Izuna's... that white arrow, right? Doesn't that mean his physicals are strong too?"
Alice raised the question as she listened to Ethan, but Leo brushed it off with a laugh.
"Nah, no way he blocked that barehanded. Must've used some artifact. Professors have that kind of stuff, don't they?"
"...Yeah, maybe."
As the mood shifted toward actually requesting the spar, Lien—who had witnessed Seongjin's performance in the slums—swallowed a wry smile alone. What the hell were these people saying? Were they suicidal?
They won't believe me if I say anything...
Tomorrow's gonna suck.
Lien silently patted Alice's shoulder with a pitiful look. Alice just blinked in confusion, wondering what was up with her.
With the decision made to request the spar, Leo stepped forward, flexing his forearm with a confident grin.
"Then I'll be the rep. Pure fighting, no powers? Even that professor won't beat me."
"Good. We'll propose it right at the start of class tomorrow. Everyone agree?"
At Ethan's question, everyone nodded with resolute expressions—except Lien. This was a fight for survival.
And on the outskirts of the cadets. Rakna, who had sat quietly just listening to their talk.
...This feels really ominous.
That was his unspoken thought.
Back to the present. Monday afternoon, the Fifth Athletic Field.
Seongjin rested his chin on his hand, eyeing Ethan and Leo standing resolute before him with evident interest.
"So, you're challenging me to a spar?"
"Yes. But with conditions."
Ethan declared confidently.
"Conditions?"
"If we win this spar, please ease the class intensity during the Physical Conditioning Period. In the interest of fairness, we propose a hand-to-hand combat spar with no powers whatsoever."
Seongjin doubted his ears for a moment. Or rather, reality felt so detached that his brain short-circuited briefly.
No powers?
What the hell were these guys saying? He stared at them blankly for a second.
"So... I don't use tentacles, we just fistfight, and if I lose, you want me to go easy on classes?"
"Exactly! Isn't this a chance for you to prove your martial prowess too, Professor?"
Leo puffed out his chest, grinning provocatively. He already looked convinced of victory.
Seongjin's mouth twitched. He quickly ducked his head and covered it with his hand to stifle it. It was so absurd he nearly burst out laughing. At the same time, the lingering annoyance from yesterday melted away like snow.
Can't laugh... Can't laugh...
Forcing down the rising grin, Seongjin slowly rose from the chair he'd set on the field.
"Fine. But we can't do the spar here, right? Everyone, follow me to the sparring arena."
Seongjin crooked a finger lightly, beckoning them. Watching his back, Leo clenched his fist in triumph, and Ethan let out a relieved sigh, as if the plan had succeeded.
And behind the cadets.
...He won't kill them, right?
Lien followed her comrades with eyes like she was watching cattle led to the slaughterhouse.