Elysia exited the Training Center, steam still rising faintly from her damp hair, the night air cool against her flushed skin.
She could've gone home after having completed her training for the day.
But instead, her path veered naturally—almost instinctively—toward the open-air Training Grounds.
(He should be there!)
Her footsteps were light as she followed the stone path through the academy gardens.
Mana-lamps flickered faintly under the twilight sky.
Most of the campus was silent, the buzz of the day long faded.
But not the Training Grounds.
Even from afar, she could hear the soft rhythm of footsteps on dirt, labored breathing, and the sharp voice of Sylvia—stern and uncompromising.
The punishment laps were still going.
Elysia approached quietly, hidden behind a hedge that bordered the field.
Her eyes scanned the dim field.
Several students had collapsed on the ground.
Some had given up completely, sprawled on their backs or sitting with their heads down.
A few still moved—barely—dragging their feet in exhausted circles.
But one figure stood out.
Kael Ashford.
He looked like a wreck—soaked in sweat, arms limp, shirt clinging to him like a second skin.
His steps were slow, barely more than a shuffle.
Each footfall was a struggle, every breath hard-earned.
But he hadn't stopped.
Lap after lap, he kept going. Swaying, dipping, staggering—but never falling.
He moved not with pride or discipline, but rather like he was being chased, just as Elysia was.
Elysia watched in silence, unmoving.
The others had stopped long ago, too exhausted to care.
But Kael—he was still running.
Alone and exhausted.
And yet the look in his eyes hadn't changed. That same quiet fire burned, undimmed by fatigue.
Not once had he complained.
Not once had he looked for pity.
Not once had he tried to be seen.
He simply endured.
"Still acting, huh…" she muttered.
She remembered him being very powerful vividly, so she didn't believe that he was struggling in such easy training.
"Congratulations!"
Sylvia's voice cracked through the air like a whip.
"That's the final lap! Good work!"
Sylvia ticked off the mark on Kael Ashford's name on her paper.
She then looked at the other students, who were mostly collapsed from exhaustion, and
concluded that none of them could continue.
"We will keep today's punishments as completed."
Several students groaned in relief, dropping where they stood.
"However—if you didn't complete your punishment laps today, you will do them tomorrow. Plus twenty more for those who didn't complete today."
"Twenty more?! That's insane!"
"No way I'll survive another morning like this…"
"This is cruelty!"
…
Many complained, but no one dared speak directly against Professor Sylvia.
Her reputation as a strict teacher who doesn't compromise was already well-known.
"Dismissed! Get rest while you can."
Everybody was too tired to walk right away, and some even rested on the ground.
Kael walked away, tired but still moving—at a very slow pace.
He hadn't complained once.
Just before leaving the field, his legs buckled.
He breathed hard and kept walking.
To the dining hall!
The scent of roasted beef, bread, herbs, and stew drifted through the air.
He piled his plate with meat—Roasted Beef, Grilled Chicken Wings, and Pork Ribs.
A huge amount of food.
The kitchen staff stared.
"Are you gonna eat all that?!" one of them asked.
Kael Ashford just nodded and walked with his trays of food.
He sat at a far corner, alone.
At another table, students leaned in, whispering among themselves.
"This training… it's worse than I expected."
"I thought we'd be learning cool spells and swordplay. Not collapsing after two days."
"And tomorrow's worse. Twenty extra laps for those who didn't finish today."
"Arcadia is brutal."
"I wonder how other academies are doing?"
"This is what makes it the best academy across the continent…" some murmured.
"But maybe that's the point. Only monsters graduate from here."
"Still," one said, glancing at Kael, "that guy… he didn't complain once. Didn't even talk. Just ran, struggling to complete the laps."
"Yeah… weirdly inspiring. Or terrifying. Can't tell, but I envy it…"
Kael ignored them. He ate in silence.
Later, after washing off the sweat and dirt in the showers, Kael collapsed on his bed.
But he didn't sleep immediately.
His body was tired. But his mind raced.
"This is real. There's no reset. No escape. I'm stuck in this world…"
(I need to survive in this world!)
He recounted what he remembered from the novel and the important events that had yet to unfold.
There were many events he should avoid—and needs to avoid—as they are very dangerous, and he must keep track of those events.
If there are events that he can't avoid, then he needs to make extra preparation for them.
But in the end, becoming powerful is the permanent solution.
My body… it's too weak for a swordsman. My arms are slow…
I won't survive in this world if I stay this fragile.
No one's coming to save me.
First, I need to train this body.
Then comes mana, which is very essential for me.
"Today, I grasped something during Professor Orwen's class on mana control."
"I need to learn how to control and use mana."
Without the knowledge of that, I am far behind my peers. Not to mention surviving—I could be called the weakest person right now.
Using mana is essential for using any type of skill.
Therefore, learning about mana and using it should be my primary objective, along with
strengthening my body.
And then... there are the skills.
I remember quite a few skills that the MC and other characters acquire in the future.
Those could be quite helpful, but for now, they are just things that I would like to get in the future.
Without the basics, those things aren't very useful to me.
However—
"I shouldn't change too much… Edwin Leonhart still has to grow."
He's the protagonist. The one who saves the world.
If I take his chances away... he might become too weak to face the Demon King—and that
would mean the end of the world.
This is something that I must avoid at all costs.