Chapter 30
Even though I was being taught concepts based on a completely different world, most of the classes were bearable as the curriculum was geared toward first-year high school students, and they were learning basic theory.
The Royal Class was a gathering place for those with exceptional talents, but that didn’t mean that everyone there was book smart. In fact, some students even slept during class.
Of course, the intellectually gifted ones would pay attention during class, but there were some physically gifted students who also focused during class.
However, there were also plenty of students with average intelligence. Not to mention, they were still kids, so they found the classes to be annoying and mundane. After all, they were chosen for their talents, not their intelligence.
Compared to these students who were still struggling with their academics, I found the classes I took both boring and easy, and consisted mostly of memorization.
However...
—Run! Don’t stop! Run!
Huff... huff... huff...
“I can’t... I can’t run anymore...”
Huff... huff...
“Why... why do I have to do this?!”
—This isn’t middle school anymore! No one here is going to take care of you and treat you like a kid!
The physical training class was basically hell. It was repetitive and physically demanding, almost like corporal punishment.
—Magic, supernatural powers, academics, or whatever—you can never neglect physical training! You guys are the future of the empire. If you don’t meet a certain level of physical fitness by the end of the semester, you’re going to fail the class! Don’t forget this!
—‘It was a misconception to think that being a wizard meant you could lack physical abilities.’
—‘Relying solely on supernatural abilities will backfire on you.’
—‘If you have poor physical fitness, you won’t be able to study for long.’
These were all sentences that were definitely written by me. That was why, regardless of what a student majored in, the Temple always incorporated physical training into all of the regular classes, as if it wasn’t acceptable for any student in any major to be physically weak.
So those who did not have talents in combat or exceptional physical abilities disliked the physical training classes the most.
And as if I were receiving punishment for writing such a setting...
—Hey, you there! Don’t walk, run!
Sigh.
I was pushed to the limit by the intense physical training that I had written about, and hated myself more than anyone for all this.
—Run people, run! You can’t possibly die from running! Hey, look at how he’s running over there!
The gym teacher pointed to someone who had been running at a steady pace from the start.
Thud, thud, thud.
The person wasn’t even jogging, but was sprinting at full speed.
As he ran past me, he cheerfully said a few words.
“Cheer up, Reinhart! You can do it!”
Huff... huff...
It was Ludwig.
Physical education was one of the classes both Class A and Class B attended together.
Ludwig had only one talent: physical fitness.
All physical abilities were ranked based on numerical values. I checked the rank distribution criteria written next to the physical fitness stat table of my classmates to confirm the settings I had made in the past.
0~4 (F rank)
5~7 (D rank)
8~13 (C rank)
14~19 (B rank)
20~30 (A rank)
31~35 (S rank)
36~40 (S+ rank)
There was also an SS rank, but it was meaningless, since beyond that point, it surpassed even the realm of superhumans. But of course, some managed to reach that level...
Rank F to rank D corresponded to the low tier.
C rank corresponded to the middle tier.
B rank onwards was considered high-tier, where the growth rate significantly slowed down. Unless one was naturally gifted, that person might even reach the limit of growth. At that point, no matter how hard they tried, they might not reach the A- rank.
In other words, A- rank onward was considered the limit as a human. Reaching A+ rank meant that you had already gone to the extreme.
S rank onward was clearly the realm of superhumans, and it was impossible to reach that level with ordinary training.
Ludwig’s physical fitness score was 30, equivalent to an A+ rank.
While the average physical fitness of those in the same age group was a D, around 6 to 7, his physical fitness was close to 30. Ludwig was a monster in terms of physical fitness, and could easily beat any professional athlete out there.
That was his one and only specialty.
“He... he’s insane... he’s a monster!”
The other classmates also couldn’t help but be amazed and envious as they witnessed Ludwig’s inhuman physical capabilities. No one even thought about being jealous of him, and merely admired him.
I just felt like dying.
‘Do I have to do this every single week for the entire semester? Twice a week?’
I seriously contemplated taking physical fitness as my first talent, and disregarding supernatural powers or whatever. After all, Ludwig would level up to be on par with Ellen using his physical fitness as his foundation.
“...”
Whoosh!
Ellen Artorius, who was also running at a steady pace without any hiccups, passed by me.
***
The gym class, which turned people into complete wrecks, included not only running but also strength training, and there was no distinction between genders.
Only five people were able to properly withstand the training: Ellen, Number 2 of Class A; Vertus, Number 1 of Class A; Cliffman, Number 5 of Class A; Scarlett, Number 3 of Class B; and Ludwig, Number 11 of Class B.
The rest were all crying out in pain, and even some actually burst into tears.
“If you have the energy to cry, use that energy to do one more rep instead!”
The gym teacher, who had a demonic appearance, was merciless.
There was one person who was exempted from the training: Charlotte de Gradias, who was watching us struggle our asses off.
Since she was still too weak and needed absolute rest, the teacher exempted Charlotte from the class. No one raised any objections either, since she must have gone through tremendous hardships while being held in the Demon King’s castle. Both the students and the teachers were amazed that she could even listen and pay attention in class.
Even while feeling like I was going to die from the training, my gaze subtly shifted toward Charlotte.
What kind of talent did she have, exactly? It had to be written on the Class B bulletin board, but I didn’t want to go to their classroom to check and cause unnecessary trouble.
Charlotte was simply observing us without saying a word.
Although we had gone through the life and death crisis together, it had been a crisis situation, and I realized that I hadn’t gotten to know Charlotte de Gradias’s real personality. I knew that her personality in a crisis would surely have been different from her usual personality.
“Hey, hey! You’re too fast! I can’t count!”
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Next to me, Ludwig was doing sit-ups at a machine-like speed, and on the opposite side of him, someone was holding onto him and counting his reps, almost crying. I couldn’t recognize who Ludwig’s partner was, probably because he was from Class B.
I surely realized what I liked and didn’t like now. It was the same with Sarkergar.
Enthusiastic people and people overflowing with spirit were not my cup of tea.
***
After the grueling two-hour gym class from hell, everyone showered and changed clothes in the locker room.
“Why are the shower rooms and changing rooms connected?” Erhi de Raffaeli grumbled in a low voice.
The shower facilities themselves were fine. However, while the male and female areas were separate, the classes shared a common space. In other words, the boys of Class A and Class B shared the same changing rooms and showers, as did the girls of Class A and Class B.
‘That scumbag complains about every little thing doesn’t he...’
I was so tired that I couldn’t even care about such things.
There were those who had a certain level of physical fitness, and then there were those who had completely collapsed.
“Hey, that’s not the problem... The problem is that we have to do this again on Thursday...” A-8, Connor Lint, muttered absentmindedly.
“Ughhh...”
Sighs of despair echoed throughout the class. Whether they were from Class A or Class B, everyone was equally exhausted.
They would train us hard on Monday and give us a two-day break, only to do it all again on Thursday. Yes, it was undoubtedly intentional.
—Smack!
“... Hey... are you okay?”
I was so angry at myself for writing such a ridiculous story that I smacked my own head, prompting everyone to look at me with bewildered expressions.
‘I’m sorry, guys. This is all my fault...’
But then, a problem arose while changing clothes in the locker room...
“Hey, Number 11.”
“... What is it?”
Kaier Vioden had approached me.
As if I wasn’t already exhausted. What was his problem now?
“It seems like you’re not even particularly gifted at physical fitness.”
“... So what?”
I didn’t know what he was trying to say, but I was so tired and ready to leave. Besides, he wasn’t particularly great in terms of physical fitness either.
“Hey, are you good at fighting? Huh?”
‘What a childish dispute.’
It seemed like he thought that I had hidden my real strength or something during the confrontation with him that morning, and it seemed like that confrontation had hit his pride hard.
However, it seemed like he’d revised that opinion when he saw me struggling in a physical education class with him as well, and now considered me weak, like him. That was why, even though we were both exhausted, he had gained the confidence to start a dispute in the locker room.
There were only boys in the locker room. It was a perfect place for a battle of egos.
“No, I’m not good at it at all.”
I decided to hold back this time since I couldn’t get angry at a younger kid again, and to be honest, I regretted what I had done previously.
“What makes you so tough then? Huh?”
He said it in such an argumentative and corny tone that I felt my hairs stand on end.
‘“What makes you so tough”? Ugh, come on now, I’m too old for this!’
I was so dumbfounded that I didn’t even want to retort.
“What do you mean...” I sighed. “Weren’t you the one spouting nonsense at me?”
“No, you were definitely trying to pick a fight with me. Isn’t that right, you little shit?”
Thump!
Kaier hit my shoulder lightly, as if he wanted to start a fight.
“Stop it,” I said.
“Why? Why don’t you act all tough again like you did this morning? Hm? Go ahead, no one’s stopping you. It doesn’t make any sense for someone like you to be in Class A. What tricks did you pull to get in? Someone with absolutely no talent in Class A. Did you bribe your way in or something?”
Thump!
This guy didn’t seem like he would back down easily until he massaged his bruised ego. It seemed like his pride had taken quite a hit earlier.
I couldn’t help but admit that I was a person with little patience.
“Uck!”
Thud!
I grabbed him by the collar and pinned him down on the ground. He fell over easily, since he was pretty drained from all the training we just had.
The fella looked up at me with a bewildered expression.
The ironic thing was that the Royal Class was a class that selected students based solely on their talent. It was completely opposite to the Orbis Class, where skill was an important factor in selections.
“Some kids will simply learn from their mistakes through conversation alone, but some brats require physical discipline.”
I found myself mired in two disputes with the same guy on my first day at the Temple.
“And you seem like that sort of brat.”
Smack!
“Uck!”
“You need to be physically disciplined.”
I swung a kick at the downed fella’s abdomen.
The Royal Class did not consist only of individuals whose skills were equal to how they perceived themselves.
It was filled with people who relied solely on their talents, and lacked the drive to put in any effort. That was exactly what the Royal Class’s weakness was. They were selected based on their talents, and there was no such thing as being “kicked out” from the school once you got in.
There were individuals in the class who considered themselves privileged without any actual logic or rationale, just like the guy in front of me.
In reality, there was nothing special about them except for the fact that they were enrolled in the Royal Class.
I trampled on Kaier’s face.
Thump!
“Argh!”
Thud!
“Uckk!”
I kicked his head.
Being strong didn’t mean being physically strong.
Thud!
“Agh!”
Among delinquents, there are various types, but when it comes to fighting, there are two types that you should never mess with.
The ones who are really good at fighting, and the ones who are just crazy.
You can’t mess with the ones who are good at fighting because they’d definitely beat you up.
But the crazy ones were a different story.
You’re afraid to provoke them because you don’t know what they might do when they snap. Some of them would just grab a chair and smash it on you without hesitating.
Since I couldn’t fight, I chose to be the latter to avoid being bullied.
Being able to act like you are strong was what really made someone strong. I just needed to show the ones who only talked the talk that I wasn’t like them, and that I actually meant what I said.
This was a message that I wanted to send to everyone else watching as well.
If I could show that messing with me for no reason could seriously mess up your life, then that was enough for me.
I wasn’t strong, and I couldn’t be strong.
But what I could be was brutal.
Physical stats and rankings did not show everything about an individual’s strength, and that was what I had to demonstrate to everyone.
Thud!
When I stepped on the fella’s face again, someone grabbed me by the arm as if I was taking it too far.
“Hey, stop it!”
“What are you guys trying to do?!”
Ludwig and Vertus were trying to pull me away.
Huff, huff...
“I can do this all day if you want,” I said to Kaier as I was being dragged away by Vertus and Ludwig. “Next time, I’m gonna make sure I kill you.”
Kaier, who was on the ground, couldn’t even look at me.
***
“... So you guys fought?”
“Yes.”
“He hit me first!”
Eventually, the confrontation that resulted in a fistfight led us to be called into Mr. Effenhauser’s office. To be precise, Ludwig and Vertus suggested that we settle it among ourselves and make amends, but someone had ratted us out and reported it to the teacher.
I didn’t know who snitched on us, but I knew the characteristics of all the students. I knew what their personalities were like and even remembered the names that I’d forgotten following the entrance ceremony the day before, so I could figure it out pretty easily.
The guy with the “Tattletale” talent.
It must have been B-2, Louis Ankton.
He must have seen our fight and rushed to snitch on us to his teacher, Ms. Mustang, and since it was a fight between Class A students, she must have informed Mr. Effenhauser.
“Fist fights on the first day of classes, huh?”
“He hit me first! He even insulted me in front of everyone this morning!”
Kaier, with a cold and resentful expression, was insistent that it was all my fault.
It seemed like he was quick to forget about getting beaten up by me in the locker room, and had switched back to his old self.
He probably thought it was the perfect chance to get me expelled, since there was a teacher to protect him.
“It was all his fault—”
“Silence,” said Mr. Effenhauser, spitting Kaier with a cold expression. “Enough talk from you, Number 10.”
“...”
“Don’t speak to me about something I haven’t asked about.”
“... Yes, sir,” Kaier answered, his voice full of fear.
I was just as scared. The look in Mr. Effenhauser’s eyes was so devoid of warmth that I felt uneasy just looking at him.
I knew that he wasn’t a bad person, but his demeanor made us all tense.
“Number 11.”
“Yes.”
And the fact that he referred to us by number rather than name also seemed to be his way of maintaining a certain distance between us.
“Did you hit him?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you hit him?” Mr. Effenhauser asked with a rather uninterested expression.
“He made remarks that undermined the authority of the Temple.”
“... What?”
“Hey, what are you talking about?!”
Both Mr. Effenhauser and Kaier were taken aback by my unexpected statement.
It was no wonder that they were surprised; it was quite out of the blue.
Mr. Effenhauser glared at me.
“Explain what you mean clearly, number 11.”
“Yes, Mr. Effenhauser.”
‘Sit back and watch what I’m going to do to you, you little punk.’
“Kaier critiqued me this morning, claiming that it was unfair for someone like me, who lacked talent, to be admitted into the Royal Class, or even better yet, Class A, solely based on my aptitudes. It was as if he found it incomprehensible.”
“...?”
‘That’s right. Pay close attention to how I’m going to change the story in my favor.’
Mr. Effenhauser seemed less surprised by the content of what I said and more taken aback by the choice of words I used. Yes, it did sound like an overly serious explanation.
“So I told Kaier that students shouldn’t question the decisions of the Temple admissions office. Of course, in the process, I asked him forcefully if he was the head of admissions director, and Kaier naturally answered ‘no’ to that question. The conversation ended there, but I suspect that at that moment, Kaier felt a blow to his self-esteem or felt unhappy that his remarks had been disregarded.”
I roughly summarized what I said when I asked Kaier if he was the admissions director.
“And just now, after the end of the physical education class, in the locker room, he asked me if I was good at fighting. So I answered honestly that I’m not good at it at all. It seemed like he saw me struggling in the physical training and wanted to retaliate against me for what had happened in the morning. He pushed me on the shoulder several times and demanded to know why I was talking back to him if I couldn’t even fight. Kaier, you do admit that you said these things, correct?”
In response to my question, Kaier’s face twisted in disbelief. “That’s true, but I only pushed you! But you hit me first!” he shouted.
“I didn’t hit you because you pushed me.”
My explanation was getting long-winded, and Mr. Effenhauser raised his hand.
“Enough. So in what way did he undermine the authority of the Temple?”
He glared at me with a look that demanded I stop wasting his time.
“Kaier claimed that it was absurd for someone like me to have been assigned to Class A solely based on my aptitudes, saying it didn’t make any sense. He accused me of providing financial compensation to gain admission through illegitimate means.”
Kaier’s face contorted rapidly.
Why was I giving such an elaborate speech? There was a reason for everything.
Even though I felt intimidated in front of Mr. Effenhauser, ultimately, he was also a character that I’d created.
“While I can tolerate insults directed at me, Kaier’s remarks cast doubt on the credibility of the Temple, which is not only the finest educational institution in the world, but also a pride of the Gradias Empire.”
I looked at Mr. Effenhauser.
“In essence, what he said called into question the credibility of the Temple and, ultimately, can be taken as an insult to the esteemed Gradias Empire. I couldn’t help but feel indignant at his remarks, which seemed to discredit the trustworthiness of the Temple, and unknowingly acted on my impulsiveness. I apologize for my recklessness, Mr. Effenhauser.”
“... Is it true that such remarks were made, Number 10?”
Patriotism was a key part of Mr. Effenhauser’s character.
“That you, a student who is nothing special except for the fact that he’s in the Royal Class, spread baseless rumors about there being corruption in the Temple?”
“Well... um... That... that...”
“Yes or no? Answer me.”
Though Mr. Effenhauser’s anger wasn’t directed at me, I could feel a chilling aura that sent shivers down my spine.
***
Although Mr. Effenhauser had a cold personality, he was a patriot who took tremendous pride in the empire and the Temple. As a result, he could remain calm in almost every situation, but was highly sensitive to anything that tarnished the reputation of the empire and the Temple.
So when a student openly questioned the decisions of the Temple and made completely unfounded claims not once, but twice in one day, it was natural for him to get heated.
Of course, I may have exaggerated these relatively trivial matters and presented them as more significant issues than they actually were, but all it showed was that words could easily be used to alter something small into something much bigger.
The issue regarding our fight seemed to have been brushed aside for the moment. Perhaps they would let it slide once.
With the individuals that had been gathered into the Royal Class, it was not uncommon for fights to break out among the students.
Mr. Effenhauser told Kaier to stay and told me to leave, murmuring under his breath that real talent wasn’t being recognized as talent.
I think what he meant was that my speech lacked the mannerisms of the other students and that I didn’t speak like a child, which seemed like a talent to him. The Temple was a place where all sorts of kids gathered, so it wouldn’t be so random to have a kid with talent in “mature speech.”
Who would ever suspect that I was actually a middle-aged man inside, pretending to be a child? It would actually be more awkward for me to act like a teenager, so it was better to stick with the real me.
In the end, Mr. Effenhauser focused his attention more on Kaier regarding this matter, but he probably wasn’t going to impose any severe punishment on him. We were just kids to him, and he probably knew that I’d exaggerated my story slightly anyway.
It was probably just going to result in a warning.
When I returned to the classroom, the atmosphere was strange. Kaier hadn’t come back, and it was only me.
There seemed to be an air of bewilderment in the classroom, especially since it seemed to the rest of the class that I hadn’t gotten into much trouble with the teacher.
Word about our fight would have probably spread through both classes A and B like wildfire already, and there were sure to be rumors spreading about me, someone with no talent but a terrible temper.
Ah, what just happened? What was with all this?
All because of that one scumbag. I mean, I guess it’s fair to say that I was actually the scumbag...
Anyway...
[Challenge Completed - Fist Fight]
[You have received 100 Achievement points.]
‘... Huh? What is this?’
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