Chapter 234: Heaven Class (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 234: Heaven Class (3)
As the class was completely swallowed by the subspace, Abel spoke up urgently.
“W-Wait a moment, Professor. Telling us to die twenty times in the subspace right off the bat... do you literally mean for us to die?”
When All-Power first appeared, Abel had been so shocked that her mouth just flapped open and shut. The rest of the class had reacted much the same way.
Their homeroom professor was All-Power Meain Poison?! They hadn't received even the slightest hint about this.
Who was All-Power? She was a legendary figure who had vanished before Abel was even born.
'The master of the Seven Stars.'
Being Medea's twin, Meain belonged to the same generation as the Seven Stars. Yet despite their equal age, all of the Seven Stars had followed her guidance without a single complaint.
Being strong was completely different from being a good teacher. And between the two, Meain's true talent lay in the latter. She was extraordinary at teaching others. On top of that, her martial prowess was also immense. Thus, the Seven Stars revered All-Power—their peer in age—as their master.
The master of the Seven Stars. For such a legendary hero to be the professor in charge of the Heaven Class!
If the cadets of the Saint Class heard about this, they would faint. It was obvious there would be an uproar, with everyone clamoring to join the Heaven Class.
Rumor had it that Kang Geomma had recruited her himself.
'Where and how on earth did he manage to recruit Lady All-Power?'
Just that alone was mind-bogglingly unprecedented. But an even greater shock overwhelmed the previous revelation.
'Die twenty times in the subspace to build up our mental strength?'
At Abel's question, Meain replied with a warm smile.
“Originally, I was planning on thirty times, but I thought that might be too harsh~ so I cut it down by ten to a clean twenty! For your information, Abel, your grandfather's generation died thirty-five times each, you know?”
“Thirty... five times...”
“But looking at you guys now, I don't think that'll be necessary. Kids from the Seven Stars back then, like Zieg and Richard, were less talented than you all. So I had to push them a bit harder.”
Hearing Meain's words, Abel suddenly recalled something. When she had asked her grandfather what kind of training he had received back in his day, he had shivered and quickly left the room.
“I object!”
Rachel chimed in. She was faring better than Abel, with some color still left in her face.
“Isn't blindly dying over and over just a weakling's mindset? I accepted the possibility of death the moment I enrolled in Joaquin Academy, but dying meekly... I'd rather die than do that!”
“T-That's right!”
Weapon chimed in hastily.
“Th-The greatest fear of a human is death. B-But if we go through that twenty times a day without even putting up a fight... far from training our minds, we'll be completely broken...!”
“Good point, Rachel and Cadet Weapon.”
At receiving another compliment, Weapon briefly froze with a stunned expression.
“However, I told you to get used to death, not to accept it.”
Meain gave a faint smile. It was the kind of smile a master would show a beloved disciple.
“Just as you said, what progress would you make if you just let yourselves get beaten up? Getting accustomed to something is different from zoning out and giving up.”
Meain clicked her heels as she walked over to stand in the center of the class.
“What I want from you is a resolve that defies death, and an unshakeable core that won't cower before any powerhouse. You know that famous quote by Korea's holy hero, right? 'He who seeks death shall live, and he who seeks life shall die.'”
Meain repeatedly used the word 'death.' However, her eyes were dead serious. She was not speaking lightly.
“So you must resist desperately before you die. Grit your teeth until your molars shatter, struggle until your limbs are torn to rags, and then die.”
“...”
“Every single one of your lives—no, the lives of every academy cadet—is priceless. You are the next generation of heroes willing to fight the demons for humanity. Take pride in that. Well, sure, there might be cadets who enroll riding on the prestige of their families, but at least in our Heaven Class, there are no kids like that, right?”
Meain reminded the cadets of their own pride and identity.
“So if you expend those precious lives—lives of incomparable value—to gain experience, how far can you grow, you who are the most talented since the dawn of history? The Seven Stars? No. I think you can go beyond them.”
She raised an index finger, pointing toward the ceiling. Or perhaps toward the sky beyond the roof.
“The Seven Champions.”
“...!?”
“And look at that, there are exactly seven of you too. What a perfect picture!”
At those words, Chloe asked back with wide eyes.
“...There are eight of us, though?”
Meain smiled warmly.
“True. But just like seven hundred years ago, there's always one exception, isn't there?”
She then gestured with her chin toward one spot. The cadets followed her gaze.
“The hero who led the Seven Champions.”
Everyone in the Heaven Class...
“Balor Joaquin.”
...looked not at the Hero Leon, but at Kang Geomma.
* * *
I was bewildered.
'Why is everyone suddenly staring at me?'
Because the moment Senior mentioned the Hero of the Origin, everyone had turned to look at me as if by prearrangement.
“...”
Only after a moment of silence did Senior clap her hands, breaking the quiet. The attention focused on me scattered and turned back toward her.
“Alright then. Now that I've stated my intention clearly, shall we officially begin class?”
“Yeees...”
Their voices sounded somber. Except for a few—Leon, Rachel, and Chloe—everyone had tearful, long faces. Even if they had taken the purpose to heart, there was no way they'd be pleased about dying twenty times a day.
“Hmm~ You guys don't seem very motivated.”
Senior stroked her chin, deep in thought. Then, in the next moment, a pair of exclamation marks lit up in her light-green eyes.
“Kids, how about this? As I just said, the purpose of this class is ultimately 'to remain composed in front of a strong enemy.' So, let's pivot the direction. You'll fight for your lives against an 'unbeatable opponent.' That way, I can gauge your mental fortitude.”
Senior persuaded the cadets. Eyes that had been cast down toward the floor slowly lifted back up one by one.
“Who knows? If your level exceeds my expectations, maybe I'll lower the number of daily deaths to ten, or even less? Honestly, even if it's in a subspace, harming you with my own hands doesn't feel great for me either.”
The moment she finished speaking, light returned to Weapon's face.
“By 'unbeatable opponent,' do you mean the training magical beasts managed by the academy? B+ rank? Or maybe A-rank magical beasts?”
He quickly blurted out the question in choppy, disjointed sentences. Anything was better than being beaten to a pulp by All-Power. But Senior shook her head.
“No. For our Heaven Class, we will set our primary target as 'Majin,' not 'magical beasts.' You already know that Majin are many times more dangerous than magical beasts without me having to explain, right?”
“Ah... yes.”
“You must fight against strong enemies 'with intelligence.' What decides life and death in a split second isn't a sturdy body, but quick wit.”
The cadets nodded solemnly at Senior's lucid explanation. They were convinced.
“But as you all know, no matter how great Joaquin Academy is, we can't bring in Majin for training.”
Hontail flinched. She trembled slightly and stole glances at me. Senior continued calmly, as if reassuring Hon.
“Even if it were possible, it violates the Human-Demon Accord, so it's a no-go. Now, here's a quiz. What is intelligent, isn't a magical beast, and can serve as a substitute for a Majin?”
“Humans...”
Ryozo muttered. Hearing that, Senior snapped her fingers cheerfully.
“Smart as always! As a teacher, a cadet like Ryozo is a true delight. It saves me the trouble of explaining. That's right. Although we stand at opposite poles, we humans are endlessly similar to Majin.”
“...Does that mean we have to work together to face you, Lady All-Power?”
At Ryozo's question, Senior shrugged.
“I'd love to, but that's impossible for me. After all, a 'certain someone' breaks the balance way too much, doesn't he? Strictly speaking, your side would have the advantage, and I'd be at a disadvantage.”
“...”
As if it were natural, the cadets turned to look at me once again. Receiving this much attention from day one was burdensome. Senior spoke up.
“Then how about doing the opposite—all of you fight against the Heavenly Sword?”
...What?
“Seriously though, there's no one else here who is overwhelmingly powerful besides the Heavenly Sword.”
'She can twist it like this?' I marveled inwardly. I guessed this was what Senior had intended all along.
“Let me make this clear. If all of you join forces and manage to leave even a single scratch on the Heavenly Sword, I'll cut down your daily deaths to five.”
Senior gave me a sly wink. She continued to egg on the cadets.
“Plus, whoever survives until the very end gets one-on-one tutoring with the Heavenly Sword. Even though he's a fellow cadet, he's one of the Seven Stars, so he can double as an experienced teaching assistant, right?”
A devilish temptation. What was mind-boggling was that the kids were actually taking it seriously.
Had they compromised in the face of fear of death? Judging by their expressions, that wasn't it.
These cadets were the undeniable Golden Generation. Brave and daring. Thus, what burned in their eyes was not an escape from death, but competitive spirit—the urge to test themselves against me.
What bothered me a bit was that the girls' eyes were shining with a particularly chilling glint... Why was that? I couldn't wrap my head around it.
'Ha.'
Chuckling dryly, I changed my perspective.
'Maybe this is a good opportunity to check how far the kids have come.'
The first year was coming to an end. I was curious to see what level they had reached in the meantime.
'Still, I can't just accept this blindly.'
I didn't like the idea of playing right into Senior's hands. After all, she was in my debt, wasn't she? I had every right to demand something out loud.
“Fine.”
I'd accept the request for now.
“However, on the condition that I assist, I have a proposal of my own for Lady All-Power.”
“Hmm? What proposal?”
Senior tilted her head as she asked back. Trying to gloss over it slyly, are we? She was as sly as a professor exploiting a teaching assistant like a slave.
“Let's discuss that separately after class.”
I drew my Sashimi and held it. Too much time had been wasted, so it was time to start class immediately.
* * *
The cadets' daze lasted only a moment. Leon, who had remained silent until now, broke it. Without hesitation, he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and ordered those behind him.
“Everyone, draw your arms.”
Leon's gaze was aloof and cold. Most of the cadets grimaced unhappily at his command, but they quietly complied. The moment Kang Geomma drew his Sashimi, an alarm had practically sounded. The one to open the sparring match was Rachel.
“I'm going first!”
With a battle cry, she charged furiously. She was Rachel, successor of the Myura family, a warrior race. Dominated by adrenaline, her brain contracted while her muscles expanded.
BOOM!
In a single leap, she closed the distance instantly. Reaching Kang Geomma's immediate presence in a flash, she thrust the spear shaft she held at the end with all her power—much like extending a pool cue.
Swoooosh!
The fully extended Sky-Piercing Halberd aimed for his vital points. Unlike a sword blade, the spearhead split to both sides, widening its strike range. Its reach was long as well.
Kang Geomma calmly watched the spear shaft and pondered. The subspace would not repair damaged armaments. If he sliced through the Sky-Piercing Halberd, the cost of reimbursement would fall entirely on him. Thus, he had to target only Rachel, the armament's owner.
Finishing his thought, Kang Geomma tucked his right elbow upward while simultaneously drawing his right shoulder back by a span.
Whoosh!
The spearhead lightly passed through the empty space beneath his armpit, stabbing into the air beyond. Kang Geomma didn't miss the split second. Dropping his raised elbow instantly, he trapped the spear shaft, his inner arm muscles wrapping tightly around the Sky-Piercing Halberd as if binding it.
“W-What...?”
Rachel desperately tried to retract her spear, cold sweat soaking her spine. Before she even had time to regret charging in too hastily, Kang Geomma's left shoulder twitched.
A flash of light arced into a crescent moon. The trajectory of the blade flickered across Rachel's clear pupils. The edge crashed in as if pounding against her throat.
Slice!
Fresh blood spewed high, splattering against the ceiling.