Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Rural Development Magic Club
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Delaiten's club activities varied from one to the next. Some met up to five times a week, but the Rural Development Magic Club kept it moderate at twice a week.
“Wow. Still so sleepy, damn...”
Rain let out a big yawn as he headed to the clubroom. A ways behind him, Logan from Chaihak Academy was shuffling along hesitantly.
There seemed to be more members than expected.
Twenty-three freshmen, six sophomores. Juniors were too busy with graduation theses to participate in clubs.
The sophomores waved and greeted him warmly.
“You're here, young master!”
“You look exhausted. You okay?”
“Yeah, just didn't sleep much. But more members than I thought, huh?”
“Plenty of folks want to use the magic they learn to give back to their hometowns. No other high nobles besides you, though.”
It sounded like the club's prestige had risen with the arrival of a high noble like Rain.
“And this time, it feels like we got one or two times more thanks to you!”
“Me? What'd I do?”
He'd never helped with club promotions.
“That time at the magic tournament—”
The excited sophomores trailed off awkwardly, smiling as they edged away upon spotting Logan entering behind him.
“Why're you here?”
“Why... If I'm here, no one will pick fights, right?”
“Oh.”
Rain glanced around casually before settling into a seat in the back. He'd concluded over the past month that the back row was surprisingly comfy.
He was about to slam his head on the desk for a nap when the club president walked in with a stack of papers.
“Uh, nice to meet you. I'm Joën, president of the Rural Development Magic Club. Looking forward to working with you.”
Hmm...
Rain clapped along as the students applauded. It was his first club activity ever, and it felt kinda exciting.
“Our club researches magic for rural development and ultimately aims to create it. To do that, we need at least a basic grasp of everyday stuff like farming and fishing.”
In truth, magic for civilian life fell under the purview of court mages serving local lords.
But not everyone could access it anytime, anywhere... let alone rural backwater villages.
“Anyway, take a look at this. Remy, pass these out. Yeah. Quick. Alright, these are spells mainly used during busy farming seasons...”
Watching his magic juniors (actual 300-year seniors) dive deep into spell discussions was a more unique experience than expected.
Too bad drowsiness and other factors kept him from focusing.
‘Black mages exist in this era too...’
That realization demanded a major revision to his life strategy.
Ever since rediscovering black magic, he'd grown wary of whoever sent Lin's diary.
Assuming a clash could come soon—maybe very soon—he needed to ramp up his magic training.
Endless worrying wasn't his style.
‘Could report black magic sightings to the church or Magic Alliance, but that'd complicate things big time.’
If there were spies in the Alliance... hmm, scary to even think.
And Pope Haraderiman, who'd watched the world for a millennium, probably knew already. The guy was a divine dragon, after all.
So, priority one: raise his personal skills to at least half of Lin's level.
“RudiyËn.”
He invoked RudiyËn to check his current physical status.
Gustaba: Quantifies the caster's physical condition in objective numerical values.
・Mainstay (柱): Current mana 12,564.
・Remainder (留): Current spell lines 354.
・Pause (逗): Stamina・Mental strength 311.
Mana and spell lines were lackluster compared to Lin's body, but still far above the Delaiten student average.
Not enough, though. At this age, Lin's body had nearly 90,000 mana, he remembered.
‘Biggest issue is stamina...’
To properly wield the staff arts from his Lin days for close combat, he needed to build his body first.
Man, guys who loved sprints or strength training were total masochists. Who enjoys torturing their own body like that?
‘Would be nice if someone could guide me...’
A sudden idea flashed in his mind. Rain whipped around with a grin, and ‘that guy’ flinched, shoulders twitching.
Logan.
Rain sidled over to the seat next to him. The guy's bulky muscles tensed and rippled all over.
“W-what?”
“Teach me some exercise.”
“?”
No response for a moment.
He even leaned away, face screaming ‘is this guy sane?’
“Look, I have no clue how to build strength quick.”
Lin had just rolled around the slums surviving, toughening up basics that way.
After joining the hero party, Rista taught him staff arts, refining the advanced stuff.
But Rain?
“And you're from Chaihak Academy. Sweat-drenched muscle-building experts, right?”
“True, a real mage builds muscle. That's why we're the academy of true mages.”
Flattering the academy loosened Logan up; he shrugged with a grin, his trapezius and sternocleidomastoid bulging grotesquely.
“So teach me. Not that hulking bulk like yours—just lean muscle.”
“Oh man, oh man! Get it together. You think puny muscles come without aiming higher first?”
“Ooh, sounded pro just now?”
Rain whistled and thumbs-upped. Logan coughed awkwardly, but a smirk tugged at his lips.
“Who do you think I am? Logan, later-generation successor of Chaihak.”
“Then let's sweat it out together starting today.”
“Uh, that's...”
“Huh, why?”
“You asking cause you don't know?”
“What? Mad I won't call you master? I will if you want. Master Logan, make my body sweat buckets starting today.”
A guy in the front row turned around, eyes wide in horror, hand over his mouth.
Wait, hold up.
That came out super wrong. Not what it sounded like.
“No, why are you doing this? We're enemies. I'm from one of the Eight Great Academies, you're from a Great Magic House. How do rivals help each other?”
Logan shook his head like it was absurd. Rain tilted his head, incredulous.
“You and me, enemies? Not fellow seekers of magic?”
Logan shut his mouth.
Flustered? Shocked...?
No, beyond basic emotions.
What was it called—refuted? His logic circuits shorted; he couldn't retort.
Rain smirked like ‘see?’ and patted Logan's shoulder.
“See? Not enemies after all.”
“...!”
“So let's smash workouts together starting today. Ah, too tired now—tomorrow onward.”
* * *
“What next?”
“How about basics like push-ups or running?”
“You use gear.”
“Even if I teach gear, you'd quit fast. Bodyweight exercise shows your condition quickest.”
Hmph, Magic House brat wanting muscles... He'll dabble twice and bail. Like most mages.
“Okay. Start there?”
But Rain... weird. Most quit after this grind. Why so gung-ho?
‘Not messing with me—he really wants muscles?’
Chaihak had a saying: Build muscle, and one day a new brain circuit forms.
Seeing a muscle newbie dead serious makes you itch to teach more, uncontrollably excited (???).
That's why Chaihak was famed for being kinder to new trainees than any academy.
They called this bizarre phenomenon ‘friendship blooming from muscles.’
“......”
Four days of Rain's muscle sincerity, and Logan felt the ancestors' wisdom in his bones.
‘Nah, not like that...’
‘That form misses the muscle stimulus...’
‘Tch, bad habits early mean hell to fix later...’
Teach him!
Dying to teach! Body itching like mosquito bites everywhere, Logan squirmed.
‘Gonna kill me first.’
Cause of death: heart attack.
Overcome by teaching zeal for a muscle newb, Logan rationalized.
‘Not acknowledging this arrogant House punk. Big bro said get friendly, so faking it before he chews me out.’
Mid-curling his biceps with dumbbells, Logan sidled up to Rain and cleared his throat.
“That's not how.”
“?”
“Feet first—wrong. Shoulder-width, slight angle. Yes, like that!”
“!!!”
“Weight on heels when squatting—no. Good. Now exhale slow as you rise.”
“!”
“Ten reps. One, two, good. Three, four, five, six, seven—core tight, eight, nine, last one, push push push, perfect.”
Rain stood, blinked, rubbed his thighs, eyes sparkling.
“Whoa! This spot hurts like hell! Feels like I actually worked out!”
“Ooh! Feeling the burn?! Just thighs?”
“Yeah, thighs only!”
“Good good good! Thigh burn means you're nailing it! Keep going, glutes'll fire up too. Key is checking knee pain when posing...”
Chaihak mages get called un-mage-like.
Studying rational magic yet emotional, aggressive—not rational. Emotional meant simple, too.
As a later-gen successor, Logan embodied Chaihak traits perfectly...
“What the hell are those guys doing...?”
Weiber from Rohwinen Academy caught the scene by chance and tilted his head.
Meanwhile, Professor Owen watched the two jogging laps from his office, smiling.
“Training guidance! Damn Logan, following orders!”
Face blooming like flowers. That happy just explaining exercise?
He felt his muscles twitch all over but deep-breathed the excitement down.
‘Oops, muscle newb instinct kicked in. But a big bro steals a junior's fun?’
Professor Owen—Chaihak to the core.
‘Still, impressive. Bonding that fast, even with my orders.’
Owen downed his tea, eyes lingering on Rain's back. He chuckled, turning from the window.
‘Heh... Great ones attract great ones, huh.’