Highly Developed Muscles

The long ten days before the start of term had finally passed.

It was time to attend lectures as a Magic Department cadet.

I gathered with my classmates for Introduction to Elementalism.

Everyone was quietly focused on the instructor's words.

"Nice to meet you all. I'm Angelina, your instructor for Introduction to Elementalism."

A mage in a splendid pointed hat and robes smiled brightly.

A round of applause followed from the cadets.

"First, I'll take attendance. The order is by first-year evaluation rankings. Fenel—"

A wide grassy plain, white clouds drifting lazily across the sky, a warm spring breeze carrying pollen.

While Angelina's roll call rang out across the training grounds at the start of the new term—

I kept training in silence.

They're not going up as well as usual.

Of course they weren't. I couldn't exactly work out in the open during a lecture.

I was only putting my body through a half-assed routine, so Strength, Stamina, and Agility were climbing more slowly.

Still, the fact that I'm growing at all from this much is something to be grateful for.

What I was doing right now was dumbbell curls.

Normally you'd grip an actual dumbbell and lift it up and down, but that wasn't an option here, so I was making do with a nearby rock.

Surprisingly, even that was enough to get results.

Heavenly Martial Physique doesn't only trigger when you train properly.

The standard for "moving the body" was incredibly loose.

Even lightly shifting around was enough for the stats to climb, however faintly.

Which meant I could farm stats even with this half-assed workout in the middle of a lecture.

"What's that guy even doing?"

"Is he seriously working out here too? What a freak."

"Leave him. He's hopeless anyway."

My Magic Department classmates were still badmouthing me.

I kept training regardless.

In this world, you lived better if you learned to be shameless.

"…And last of all, Heracle."

"Yes."

Angelina called my name.

I answered naturally without stopping my arms.

Her brows furrowed slightly as she looked at me—then she shrugged.

She was letting it slide.

Just what did the Headmaster say to her?

For her to overlook me goofing off during class like this…

"Alright. Attendance is done, so let's begin the lecture. Starting today, I'll be teaching you 'Variations in Spellcasting.'"

Snap!

Angelina flicked her fingers.

At the same moment, a massive boulder crashed down into the center of the grass field with a heavy thud.

That's huge.

Just looking at it, it was far beyond what human strength could lift.

It looked solid enough that a first-year wouldn't even be able to scratch it.

"All of you learned Wind Gun in your first year. Element, rank, properties, and casting method—you should have them all down. Correct?"

"Yes!"

At the cadets' answer, Angelina raised her arm.

Then, just like the classic finger-gun pose from my previous life, she extended her thumb and index finger and folded the other three.

"This is the original casting method for Wind Gun. It's only Lower Magic, but its power still varies by caster. You're proper second-years now—you should at least be able to put a scratch on this rock. Right?"

"Yes."

"Mm. Good."

Satisfied by the clear affirmation, Angelina smiled gently.

Then she shifted the position of her fingers.

She lowered her index finger and laid her thumb ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠over it, while the remaining three fingers stretched open toward the sky.

It was the classic "flicking" pose—the one used for a forehead flick.

"But the moment you change the casting method, the power drops sharply. Casting a spell your own way instead of the original method. At first it feels unfamiliar, so you can't draw out its full strength…"

Angelina's fingers drew taut.

She was casting Wind Gun in her own style.

"…But once you get used to it, it comes out even stronger than the original."

Whiiish—bang!

A faint sound of wind gathering at the tip of Angelina's index finger—

Then the fired bullet of wind struck the boulder dead-on.

BOOM! Clatter…

The rock shattered in a single hit.

"Whoa. What was that?"

"She smashed the boulder in one shot…"

"So this is what an instructor looks like."

"Just changing the casting method makes that much difference?"

Gasps rose from the students.

Once she'd let them soak it in, Angelina flicked her fingers again.

The shattered pieces of rock were restored to their original form by magic.

"The assignment I'm giving you from now on is simple. Cast a modified Wind Gun in your own style and put a scratch on that boulder. If it's too hard, you're welcome to copy my method."

"Do we have to finish it today?"

"No. You don't even need to finish it this week. I'll give you plenty of time, so focus on succeeding. Even the slightest crack counts as a pass. I don't expect it to happen, but if someone manages it today…"

"…"

A meaningful trailing-off.

With every cadet's attention locked on her, Angelina offered the carrot with a captivating smile.

"…I'll grant you complete freedom until this assignment is over. Do whatever you like. So give it your all, understood?"

"Yes!"

"That said, I figured it might be hard alone. So I'll specially pair you into teams of two. Of course, evaluation will be by team, not individual."

Teams of two.

Tch—I clicked my tongue without meaning to.

What a pain.

My practical score was already a lost cause, so I didn't need to bother.

I'd planned to play dumb and just work out on my own, but if I got stuck with a partner, things would get annoying fast.

And if it wasn't even individual evaluation…

I'm going to get an earful.

"I'll assign teams with the score gaps between students in mind. Now then, first…"

Teams formed one after another under Angelina's roll call.

I quietly scanned the area. Who was going to end up with me?

If she's pairing by score difference…

…Given that I was a make-up admission, there was really only one likely candidate.

"…And lastly, Fenel and Heracle."

"…!"

The moment the names were called, one person snapped her eyes wide open.

Long cherry-blossom hair, accented side locks, bright pink eyes full of life.

Fenel—top of the second-year Magic Department.

"…Ufuhoot. Hello, Heracle?"

She was giving me a strangely meaningful smile… like she was thinking something odd.

Of all people, Fenel.

At this rate her attention would make it impossible to train.

I sincerely hoped they'd switch us.

Not that anything like that was going to happen…

"Instructor!"

"What is it?"

A voice caught Angelina just as she was about to leave.

A plain-looking girl with roughly braided twin tails.

Fenel's friend—the one I'd seen before at the library.

"I'd like to be on the same team as Heracle. Please pair Fenel with someone else."

"Hm? Why is that, Miss Berry?"

Angelina tilted her head, looking thoroughly unable to understand.

I felt the same way.

Has she lost it?

Teaming with me meant adding dead weight.

Why walk into a lower evaluation score of her own free will?

But the extra named Berry only raised her voice further, as if she refused to back down.

"Fenel is the top student. I believe she has the right to be on a better team. I'll take Heracle's place instead."

"…Mm. Well, if Miss Berry herself insists."

Angelina shrugged and approved it.

The one left wide-eyed was Fenel.

"Be-Berry? What's going on?"

"Fenel. You're trying to get involved with Heracle again, aren't you? I know everything."

"No, that's…"

"Absolutely not. You're the top of our year. You're already getting scolded for falling behind the Knight Department kids—are you going to lose points here too? You can't."

"But…"

Berry shoved the clearly protesting Fenel away, sent her off to her original partner, and came to stand in front of me.

"Hi."

"…"

A greeting mixed with a strange little snort.

Berry's pitch-black eyes narrowed to slits. She clearly wasn't thrilled about being stuck with me.

And yet she'd volunteered for the team herself.

Even going so far as to push her own friend Fenel away.

After weighing the entire situation, the only answer I could give her was this:

"Do you like me or something?"

"I do not!"

She flared up—with a force so intense that if a glare alone could kill, I'd already be dead.

I was the one left speechless, though.

"You ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠think I'd let you and Fenel be on the same team? She's precious. She needs good scores. You can't get in her way!"

"Why is that any of your business? Talk about sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

"Hmph! What would you know?"

The way she spoke with her lips stuck out was downright fierce.

If she felt that way, why team up with me in the first place?

Does this girl like Fenel?

Making a whole scene just to protect her friend's score…

I shook my head and went back to training.

"…You. Doing that again? You said you've been working out lately—are you seriously going to keep it up during lecture too?"

"None of your business."

I gave her a flat answer.

I wished she'd stop bothering me and focus on the assignment.

I couldn't handle mana anyway, so training was the better use of my time.

We could each go our own way.

"Hmph. It's not like I'm thrilled about a guy like you either…"

Quite some time had passed since Angelina left her post.

"I'll try it!"

"M-Me too!"

"Maybe just once…?"

In that time, plenty of cadets had approached the central boulder.

It had only been a few hours since they'd changed their casting methods. Adapting in that short a span was never going to be easy.

…I'll grant you complete freedom until this assignment is over. Do whatever you like. So give it your all, understood?

That was how tempting the carrot Angelina had dangled really was.

Tempting enough that no one could hold back from trying.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

But if it were that easy, this wouldn't be an assignment that stretched across multiple weeks.

"Whoa, damn. Not even a scratch."

"The power's garbage the second you change the casting method."

"Is this even possible…?"

Everyone was realizing the difficulty of the very first lecture's assignment and reeling from it.

While they returned to their spots, practicing Wind Gun and sighing—

"…Ugh."

My teammate, the extra character Berry, was scowling hard.

"Please…"

The way she folded her fingers looked awfully familiar.

It was the exact same "forehead flick" pose Angelina had used.

Seeing the other cadets do the same, copying the instructor was clearly the comfortable choice.

Not that they could copy the power along with it.

"…Aah!"

Failure.

The Wind Gun Berry had poured so much effort into practicing let out a pathetic pssshh—like air escaping a balloon—and the bullet collapsed apart.

Her shoulders slumped.

She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hadn't rested once since being paired with me, and the result was a total washout.

Berry hadn't managed a single decent cast.

"Hey. At least the casting itself is working, right?"

"Yeah. Scratching the rock's going to be tough, but casting's doable."

"So this is what they mean by varying spellcasting."

By comparison, the other cadets were each racking up their own small wins.

Scratching the boulder was still out of reach, but at least they were managing to cast modified Wind Guns.

There weren't many like Berry who couldn't even manage that much.

"…Haa."

Berry let out a heavy sigh and sank down where she stood.

I kept training regardless.

I really wish I had actual dumbbells.

If even this much made Strength, Stamina, and Agility grow, how much better would real equipment be?

But the Knight Department training grounds weren't available to a mage like me. A shame.

"…Hey."

A voice stabbed into my ear.

Berry was glaring daggers at me.

"You've got it real easy, huh? Just working out over there?"

"What else am I supposed to do?"

"Do something."

Her face was full of resentment.

Berry grumbled, as if venting her frustration.

"You're a mage too."

"I can't use magic."

"Wow. Proud of that?"

"Is that why you made such a scene dragging Fenel off me?"

I shrugged.

"…"

When I stayed unfazed and casually kept training, Berry shut her mouth.

Judging by the way her eyes trembled as she bit her lip, she was pretty upset.

"If it's that hard, you should've just left Fenel paired with me. At this rate, you're not getting any points."

"I know."

"Then why?"

"…You don't need to know."

As she said it, she glanced toward Fenel.

Far off, Fenel was laughing with her partner as she cast Wind Gun.

A completely different picture from Berry struggling here.

"…As long as Fenel's happy, that's enough for me."

"Man. What incredible friendship."

"Whatever. I wasn't expecting anything from you anyway. …I'll handle it myself. I don't care if I don't get the points. I can make up for something like that later."

For someone saying that, her face was pretty crumpled.

She was clearly worried about this assignment's score.

Seriously.

Then why ask to team with me in the first place?

Berry refused to give up and kept trying to cast Wind Gun.

If I left her like this, she'd burn through all her mana and collapse.

Honestly, that wasn't my problem—but—

…What a pain.

I was trying to train, and if she kept pulling aggro next to me like this, it'd get so annoying my efficiency would drop.

I needed Strength, Stamina, and Agility growth urgently. Getting interrupted by this kind of thing would be a problem.

Guess I've got no choice.

Time to clear this up.

"Hey."

"What."

"Anyway, all we have to do is break that rock, right? Then it's a combined team score, so you'd get points too. Yeah?"

"…What kind of nonsense is that all of a sudden?"

"I'm saying this for your sake."

I tossed aside the rock I'd been holding, stood up, and started walking toward the boulder in the center.

"Wait—what are you doing right now? Are you going to challenge that?"

"Yeah."

"A-Are you crazy…? How do you think you're going to pull that off? You can't even use magic!"

"Because you've been sitting there looking so miserable."

"…"

When I pointed it out so bluntly, she clamped her mouth shut.

Seemed like even she felt a little guilty.

"…W-What does that have to do with anything. You can't even cast Wind Gun anyway."

"No. I can."

"What? How?"

Berry stared at me, completely lost.

I smirked and declared it to her.

"I'll show you. My magic."

"…?"

"Just sit tight and watch."

I rolled my shoulders and loosened up.

The closer I got to the center, the more eyes I drew.

Classmates who looked at me with confusion—then turned to sneers.

Fenel's eyes, which went round—then began to sparkle.

Taking all those gazes in at once, I curled my lips into a grin and stopped in front of the boulder.

I raised my arm. I stretched a hand toward the rock and took the same "forehead flick" pose Angelina had used.

The moment my index finger and thumb locked taut—

Muscles trembled along the back of my hand, my wrist, my elbow, my shoulder.

Ready to carry out my command at once.

A situation no one expected anything from.

You can't do it.

You can't use magic.

That was what everyone was thinking—but—

"Alright. Let's give this a shot."

There was nothing to worry about.

Muscles developed to the extreme are indistinguishable from magic, after all.