Chapter 150: Chapter 150 - Importance of Physical training!
Midnight had long since descended upon Crownspire Academy.
The bustling pathways that remained crowded throughout the day had gradually fallen silent beneath the darkness of the night, while the countless academy buildings stood quietly beneath the pale silver moonlight pouring down from the sky above. Occasional mana lamps illuminated portions of the pathways below, yet compared to the lively atmosphere of daytime, the academy now felt almost eerily peaceful.
Inside Damon’s dormitory—
The room remained illuminated only by a small lamp resting upon the desk.
Soft golden light stretched across the floorboards while shadows gathered quietly in the corners of the room.
Meanwhile—
Sahira slept soundly upon the bed.
The blanket had somehow become tangled around her during sleep, one arm extending beyond its confines while strands of brown hair spread across the pillow beneath her head. Her breathing remained steady and peaceful, completely unaware of the thoughts currently occupying the young man standing nearby.
Damon stood beside the desk.
One hand rested within his pocket while his gaze remained fixed upon the dark academy grounds visible beyond the window.
The cool night breeze occasionally slipped through the slightly opened window, causing the curtains to sway gently beside him.
Yet despite the calm atmosphere—
His thoughts refused to settle.
The events of the day continuously replayed within his mind.
The white world.
The countless mana particles.
The circulation process.
The pain.
The blood.
And most importantly—
Elowen’s reaction.
Damon’s brows slowly furrowed.
Because if even Elowen had looked that concerned...
Then the situation was likely more serious than he initially thought.
A quiet sigh escaped him.
His golden eyes drifted toward the night sky beyond the academy.
Could this be something specific to Damon Valecrest?
The possibility had already crossed his mind countless times throughout the evening.
After all—
The original Damon was not normal.
The academy records proved that much.
The instructors treated him differently.
The Duke observed him differently.
Even his resonance itself seemed abnormal.
Could the problem simply originate from the body he now occupied?
The thought lingered for a moment.
Then Damon slowly shook his head.
No.
That explanation felt incomplete.
Because the original Damon had reached the Awakening Realm.
Which meant—
At some point—
Mana circulation must have worked.
Otherwise reaching that stage should have been impossible.
Unless...
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Unless whatever had changed wasn’t the body.
But him.
The thought immediately opened another series of possibilities.
Could the transmigration itself be responsible?
Could Alexander Sterling’s soul somehow be incompatible with Damon’s body?
Could the existence of two lives within a single vessel have altered something fundamental?
Or perhaps—
His gaze darkened slightly.
Perhaps the problem wasn’t related to either of those things.
Perhaps it was related to the resonance.
The mysterious power sleeping within him.
The same resonance that had terrified instructors.
The same resonance that had silenced dozens of students during the placement examination.
The same resonance that nobody seemed capable of fully understanding.
The more Damon thought about it—
The more possibilities appeared.
And the fewer answers he possessed.
A bitter smile slowly appeared on his face.
"Great."
The mutter escaped quietly.
"One mystery solved."
The torn archive page.
The spies.
The unknown enemy.
The questions surrounding Sahira.
All of those matters had finally begun falling into place.
Yet now—
Another problem had appeared.
One potentially far more dangerous than the others.
Because if he couldn’t cultivate properly...
If he couldn’t circulate mana...
Then eventually he would fall behind.
And in this world—
Falling behind meant dying.
His fingers lightly tapped against the desk.
Perhaps there were records.
Books.
Ancient cases.
Historical abnormalities.
The academy library alone contained enough knowledge to fill entire cities.
Surely someone had encountered something similar before.
Or at least something close.
The thought gradually solidified within his mind.
Tomorrow.
He would start searching.
Not blindly.
Methodically.
The same way he approached everything else.
Because waiting for answers had never been his style.
The problem existed.
Which meant there was a cause.
And if there was a cause—
There had to be an answer somewhere.
Meanwhile—
Behind him—
Sahira shifted slightly in her sleep before pulling more of the blanket toward herself with surprising determination.
Damon glanced over his shoulder.
The sight immediately interrupted his train of thought.
For several moments, he simply stared at the sleeping maid.
Then slowly—
A faint sigh escaped him.
Whatever answers awaited him—
They could wait until tomorrow.
For now—
The academy was quiet.
The night was peaceful.
And there was nothing he could accomplish standing beside a window at midnight.
Eventually, Damon turned away from the glass and extinguished the lamp.
Darkness gradually swallowed the room.
And beneath the silver moonlight filtering through the window—
The dormitory finally fell silent.
Morning arrived over Crownspire Academy beneath a sky painted in clear shades of blue while cool winds swept across the enormous training grounds, carrying with them the sounds of students gathering from every corner of the campus. Unlike the usual atmosphere that accompanied physical training classes, however, today’s gathering felt noticeably different.
Quieter.
Heavier.
More focused.
The effects of yesterday’s assembly had not faded.
Not even slightly.
All the class students stood arranged in orderly rows across the training grounds while instructors and teaching assistants observed from the perimeter. The usual chatter that often accompanied the beginning of classes remained noticeably absent as students stood waiting beneath the morning sunlight.
Meanwhile—
Damon stood amongst them with his hands behind his back while his gaze calmly swept across the gathering.
Beside him—
Even Khaira remained unusually silent.
Which in itself felt strange.
Normally, the beastwoman would already be loudly agreeing with whatever Instructor Barrack had not yet said.
Today—
She simply stood there.
Watching.
Waiting.
Then—
A massive figure stepped forward.
Instructor Barrack.
The enormous beastman stood before the gathered students like a moving fortress, his broad shoulders casting a shadow over portions of the training ground while countless scars stretched across his exposed arms. His heavy gaze moved across the students one by one, lingering just long enough to make several of them instinctively straighten their backs.
The silence continued.
A minute passed.
Then another.
Nobody dared speak.
Nobody dared move.
Meanwhile, Barrack simply continued observing them.
Studying them.
Judging them.
And only after allowing the silence to stretch long enough for discomfort to settle within the gathering did he finally speak.
"Good."
His deep voice rumbled throughout the training grounds.
"At least now yer finally capable o’ shuttin’ yer mouths fer more than ten seconds."
Several students awkwardly shifted.
Barrack ignored them.
His gaze swept across the rows.
"I’ve spent weeks tellin’ ye why physical trainin’ matters."
His voice carried easily across the field.
"Weeks tellin’ ye why yer bodies matter."
"Weeks tellin’ ye that mana ain’t the answer ta every problem."
His massive arms crossed over his chest.
"And every single time..."
A snort escaped him.
"Half o’ ye looked at me like I was an idiot."
Several students immediately looked away.
Meanwhile, Damon remained silent.
Because unfortunately—
Barrack wasn’t wrong.
Most resonance users naturally prioritized mana.
Why wouldn’t they?
Mana created miracles.
Mana destroyed armies.
Mana changed reality.
Compared to that—
Physical training often felt secondary.
Barrack’s gaze hardened.
"Yesterday ye all saw somethin’."
The training grounds immediately grew even quieter.
"Ye saw a man who walked into a Level Five Breach by himself."
No one spoke.
"Ye saw a man who dragged people out when entire military forces couldn’t reach ’em."
The students remained completely focused.
"And ye saw the price."
His words landed heavily.
Several students unconsciously thought about the empty sleeve.
The missing arm.
The grin that somehow never disappeared.
Meanwhile, Barrack’s voice continued.
"Many o’ ye probably went ta bed thinkin’ about mana."
A few students visibly stiffened.
"About resonance."
"About breaches."
"About power."
His massive hand suddenly slammed against his own chest.
THUD.
The sound echoed loudly.
"But lemme ask ye somethin’."
His gaze swept across the students.
"When that arm was gone..."
The training grounds remained silent.
"Did mana carry him out?"
Nobody answered.
"Did resonance carry him out?"
The silence deepened.
"No."
Barrack’s voice thundered.
"His body did."
The students stared.
"He kept fightin’ because his body could keep fightin’."
"He kept movin’ because his body could keep movin’."
"He kept breathin’ because his body refused ta stop breathin’."
The beastman stepped forward.
Every movement carried weight.
"Mana runs dry."
The students listened.
"Resonance breaks."
His voice grew deeper.
"Weapons shatter."
The atmosphere gradually tightened.
"But if yer body fails..."
A brief pause followed.
"...everythin’ else fails with it."
Not a single student spoke.
Meanwhile, even Damon found himself listening more closely than usual.
Because unlike many instructors—
Barrack wasn’t teaching theory.
He was teaching reality.
The kind that killed people.
The kind that didn’t care about talent.
The kind that didn’t care about status.
The kind that didn’t care whether someone was a genius or a fool.
Barrack’s gaze moved across the gathering once more.
"Ye all wanna become heroes."
A few students lowered their heads.
"Ye all wanna become nobles."
His voice rumbled.
"Ye all wanna become powerful."
Then—
His expression hardened.
"Then stop trainin’ like children."
The words struck harder than many expected.
"Because monsters don’t care how talented ye are."
"Breaches don’t care how important yer family is."
"An’ death certainly doesn’t care what rank ye got on some academy board."
The training grounds remained completely silent.
Even Khaira.
Even Eric.
Even the loudest students.
Nobody interrupted.
Nobody laughed.
Because everyone understood now.
Perhaps not completely.
But more than before.
Meanwhile, Barrack observed the students for several moments before finally nodding.
"Good."
The single word carried satisfaction.
Then—
Something dangerous appeared within his grin.
The kind of grin students quickly learned to fear.
"Oh, don’t look so depressed."
Several students immediately felt uneasy.
Barrack’s grin widened further.
"Since yer all suddenly takin’ physical trainin’ seriously..."
A pause followed.
The beastman looked across the gathering like a predator studying prey.
"Today..."
His grin somehow became even larger.
"...we’ll be doin’ somethin’ different."
The moment those words left his mouth—
Murmurs immediately erupted throughout the rows.
"What does that mean?"
"Different how?"
"That sounds bad."
"Whenever an instructor says that, somebody suffers."
Meanwhile, Damon quietly narrowed his eyes.
Because after spending enough
time around Crownspire instructors—
He had learned one important lesson.
Whenever an instructor smiled before revealing a lesson plan—
The students were about to regret something.
And judging from the look currently resting on Barrack’s face—
Today would be no exception.
