Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Rolled by Big Brother and Big Sister
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Conclusion: Elric's wish to study diligently before entering the academy did not come true.
"Elric."
"Bro-"
Whish-
"-ther?!"
His head had started aching from poring over material he'd never seen before, so he'd stepped out for a short walk. In the blink of an eye, he'd been kidnapped by Joel.
Elric dangled limply from Joel's shoulder like a piece of luggage, his face a mask of utter confusion.
'What's going on?! Why are you dragging me off!? At least tell me!'
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
But there was no way he could muster the courage to tackle Joel, who was barreling down the mansion hallway, shaking the floorboards with every step.
In the end, Elric meekly accepted his fate, letting his body stretch out in total resignation.
'Fine... you're not gonna drag me off to some dark corner and kill me...'
If Joel really meant to kill him, given his personality, he would've just confronted him head-on instead of carrying him like this.
That was the comforting thought Elric clung to.
Screeech-
Joel, who'd been sprinting full tilt, came to a dramatic halt.
'Where... is this?'
The first thing that caught Elric's eye was a thick door adorned with ornate decorations.
Joel, still carrying Elric over his shoulder, flung the heavy door open as if it were a sheet of paper.
Screeech-
Inside was a vast open space, weapons lined up neatly on one side, and straw dummies piled in a corner.
He'd never seen it in person, but having devoured countless web novels, Elric recognized it instantly.
'The training hall?'
Joel strode confidently into the hall and finally set Elric down.
Elric blinked and looked around.
"Elric."
"Yes?"
At the sound of Joel calling his name, Elric instinctively whipped his head forward.
And when he saw what Joel was holding, he recoiled inwardly in shock.
"The day you head to the academy is drawing near. I can't bear the thought of sending off my fragile little brother and spending sleepless nights worrying."
'You look like you couldn't care less...'
Joel stood there hefting a barbell of enormous size.
"So from today, we'll ramp up the training intensity. Let's start with what you usually do."
Joel advanced toward Elric with the barbell—which looked brutally heavy just from sight—in one hand. He set it down right in front of Elric.
"Come on, lift it."
Elric gaped in disbelief, his mouth hanging open. It took every ounce of mental fortitude just to keep his expression from crumbling.
'I'm not you!'
Of course, his mental shout didn't reach Joel. After hesitating for a moment, Elric gripped the bar with both hands.
He had a rough idea of what was expected. Deadlift. One of the big three lifts that added up to 500 kilos.
Yeo Si-un—no, Elric—had experience with it from his past life as an office worker who'd exercised to stay healthy.
...Though nothing anywhere near this heavy!
'Hoo...'
Elric glanced down at his arms gripping the bar.
They looked pathetically frail. He wasn't even sure he could lift it if the barbell were cut in half.
But if he didn't even try, who knew what Joel might do to him? With a sigh, he tensed his arms on the bar,
and hoisted it up.
'...Huh?'
Not without much effort, either.
'Is this lighter than it looks? Nah...'
When he'd tested it earlier without committing full power, it hadn't budged an inch.
Stunned by how effortlessly he'd lifted the massive weight, Elric barely managed to school his bewildered expression.
Joel nodded approvingly as Elric lifted it with ease.
"Hmm, as expected. You can handle this much without breaking a sweat now. That's my little brother."
He then eyed Elric's slender(?) arms.
"It's truly amazing. How do you generate that kind of power from arms like those...?"
'Yeah, I get it, so can I put this down now...?'
How long was he supposed to hold it up?
"Good. Lower it."
"Hoo-"
Elric exhaled and slowly lowered the barbell. It still didn't feel all that heavy.
"Elric, what did I tell you about training intensity?"
"Huh?"
Joel's face was deadly serious as he stared at Elric. Elric blinked in confusion before dredging up some vague memory from the past.
"To the point where it feels challenging for you...?"
"Exactly! Which means lifting that provides zero benefit right now. You've resisted increasing the intensity all this time, but today I won't back down. I absolutely cannot let you go to the academy with such a frail body!"
"Huh?"
Elric gawked at Joel in horror. Frail? To the guy who was hoisting this monster like it was nothing!
"Alright, let's add one more plate to each side!"
No matter Elric's reaction, Joel was relentless. He slapped an extra plate onto each end of the barbell.
'R, run...'
Of course, that was out of the question.
"Ughhh..."
Elric dragged his creaking body down the mansion hallway. Joel's words echoed in his mind.
'Hm, deadlifts up to 220kg now. Incredible progress, Elric.'
When he'd heard that, Elric had nearly fainted. Deadlift 220kg? Was that a dog's name or something? And forcing a mage to do it?!
But the ordeal hadn't ended there. After deadlifts came squats, bench presses—the full big three—plus every other strength exercise imaginable before Joel finally released him from his clutches.
'We hit every muscle group today, so make sure to get healed by the family healing mage. Otherwise, tomorrow's session will suffer. Over and out!'
From what he gathered, routines here weren't strictly enforced. With a healing mage on hand, they could just patch things up.
Hold on. Did that mean full-body high-intensity workouts every single day?
...Whatever. Good job surviving, Elric. He patted his own shoulder, desperately denying reality.
Still, for a mage's body to handle that kind of training...
"Oh, Elric!"
The bright voice of a woman calling him sent chills racing up Elric's spine. Without looking back, he bolted forward.
'It's that psycho from earlier. The crazy one!'
Elric still vividly remembered Silua swinging a knife at him during breakfast.
A terrifying woman. That was the image of Silua etched in his mind.
"Elric, why run? We need to train!"
But something was off. He was sprinting at full speed, yet her voice came from right beside him.
Elric glanced sideways—and nearly passed out.
Silua was beaming as she effortlessly matched his pace.
'How am I not supposed to run from a face like that!'
This family was even more unhinged than he'd thought.
The smile playing on Silua's lips was that of someone gripped by madness.
Yeah.
If that woman caught him, death was certain.
"Elric! Starting with sprints? Big Sis loves it!"
Silua jogged alongside him without breaking a sweat.
Realizing escape was impossible, Elric gradually slowed. Silua matched him effortlessly.
Once they'd come to a full stop, Silua grabbed his arm and hopped lightly to shake out her legs.
Then she shot forward like an arrow.
Toward the training hall, naturally.
'Someone save me...'
Elric's hollow cry went unheard, once more.
Splash-
Unlike earlier, light footsteps announced their arrival. Silua flung open the training hall door and dashed inside.
Then she hurled Elric into the air.
'Gah?!'
Startled, Elric twisted midair on instinct to land properly.
But before he could, Silua drew her sword and charged with eyes wide in glee.
'Dodge, dodge...!'
Elric evaded every slash in panic.
Being airborne made maneuvering tricky, so he resorted to mana to jerk his body every which way.
Cold sweat poured down his back.
'That's a real sword!'
Who the hell used live blades for training?!
"Haha! Nice dodge, Elric!"
Silua grinned maniacally and channeled mana into her sword. Golden energy shimmered along the blade.
'Mana too?!'
This lunatic! Was she dead set on killing her brother?!
Elric hurriedly twisted to land. He bolted to the weapon rack and snatched the first sword he could grab.
Then infused it with mana. A denser golden aura rippled along the blade than hers.
'Even this works? What the hell is this guy?'
Mere thoughts manifesting into reality—this insane talent. Elric was starting to suspect this body had no limits.
But no time to dwell. The moment he gripped the sword, Silua swung down at him. Elric raised his blade to block.
Claaaang-!
A deafening ring exploded from the clash. Cold sweat beaded on Elric's forehead.
"As expected of Elric! Not a bit rusty! Big Sis is proud!"
'If you're proud, stop attacking!'
Elric screamed internally as he desperately parried and dodged Silua's onslaught. Counterattacking was impossible—her strikes were too fast to exploit any openings.
"Haha, let's play more!"
'Save me!'
And so they exchanged blows for quite some time.
"Huff... huff..."
After being put through the wringer by Joel and now Silua, Elric staggered back to his room and collapsed onto his bed.
His entire body throbbed. Muscles and joints alike screamed in protest.
'These... insane people...'
What swordsman in the world drilled a mage like this? And Elric was publicly hailed as a magic genius, no less.
'Come to think of it...'
But now a question arose.
What the hell was this 'Elric' body that kept up with all that training?
'Wasn't he supposed to be a magic genius?'
So how could this scrawny frame deadlift over 500 kilos without mana, spar toe-to-toe with Silua at such blistering speed and ferocity?
Even if they went easy on him, it didn't add up.
'Does that mean... his magic talent dwarfs even these physical gifts?'
That's why they called him a genius?
A chill ran through Elric at the realization. If his magic surpassed these freakish physical abilities by an even greater margin, what did that make him?
Was he even human?
His head was spinning.
'How does a guy like this even exist?'
Magic genius, peak physical prowess, sword mastery—total balance breaker. Ah, so that's why he's the ultimate villain?
And one more thing nagging at him...
'The novel never showed Elric doing any physical stuff.'
Did the author cut it? Deem it unimportant?
Why gloss over these details?
"Arghhh-!"
He had no clue. Mysteries everywhere.
Elric clutched his pounding head and rolled over.
'Rest first... Oh, right—healing before that...'
He dragged his leaden body to tug the cord by his bedside.
Soon, a knock sounded. Tap tap.
"Elric, may I come in for a moment?"
Elric froze just as he opened his mouth to say come in.
It was Elric's mother, Celest Raishion, calling from outside.