Just like that, the Physical came.
To Julian's surprise, it wasn't conducted in the orphanage. There was a separate part of the area that Saldair had never shown Julian.
The sun was out, brighter than ever. Julian borrowed some comfortable clothes that he could move in.
The area was a large field with different forms of exercise. Among the places were several different instructors, brought in by the kingdom of Venichian. You would hand them the paper that was given to you for entry, do the specific workout, and be graded. It was based on a sort of average, so you would have to do each exercise more than once.
"I'm excited."
Julian had learned a few things yesterday.
In this world, the months were the same. January to December. Yesterday was the 13th of April, in the year 1401, based on the Merian Calendar.
Though I am yet to know exactly who this Meri is.
"That means today is the 14th."
"Well… yeah."
Sodror stood before Julian, responding meekly.
"I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to myself."
"…"
Julian decided to walk away before the conversation got any more awkward.
"Julian? Oh, you did say you were coming."
After a bit of walking, he saw Lyrei.
"Haha. Yes, of course. Good luck."
"Good luck to you, as well!"
Lyrei smiled brightly.
Haah… her smile is like a warm ray of sunlight. Something like this could make even the grumpy Rar into a meek monk. This is like my shot of energy for the day!
…
It seems like it wasn't enough fucking energy!
Julian lies collapsed, his skin nestled by the blades of grass. In the sky, he stares at the bright, fiery ball of plasma. And it stares back at him.
"Bright!"
Julian sighed.
He managed to get an F in every single category.
"What made me think I was any more physically adept than I was back on Earth? Idiot!
"I'll sleep for a little bit longer, then. Yeah, that sounds good. Rest my bones, and all."
".."
"Pathetic piece of dough. You failed on every single thing! Goodness. You aren't even a good fit for Lyrei."
Julian slowly opened his eyes. When he opened, everyone around was gone. It was only Rar there.
"Come on. I waited for you because I thought you would get lost. It's just me here; you don't have to be embarrassed anyway. Even though you should be."
"Well, I'm here too."
A third voice was suddenly heard. It was the deep voice of Saldair.
Julian reluctantly grabbed the stuck-out hand that lingered above him. Rar's otherworldly (literally) strength lifted him up with ease.
. . .
. .
"I mean… failing is not that bad. I didn't know it was possible to fail. Really. I'm not even trying to embarrass you. At least you tried. Right, Rar?"
It was the three of them. Julian was situated in the middle. There was a pathway carved into a small forest that was not too far away from the village, but far enough to act as a sort of safekeeping barrier.
Rays of moonlight were the only thing that illuminated the dark night.
"No, it's definitely bad. I'd be surprised if a revolting militia picked you up as a corps of intelligence with that type of physicality."
Rar walked very widely, kicking rocks past as he went.
"Cut me some slack. For most of my life, I didn't even know mana was a thing! My parents shielded me from that kind of thing, saying it was bad for my mind," Julian lied.
"There are still people like that who exist in this world?" Saldair innocently inquired.
"Doesn't excuse how weak you are. Could've done push-ups. Anything, really."
"Okay, okay. I get it. I want to be strong too! Who wants to stay weak? Now, can we just get home already-"
Fwsh!
Julian was caught off guard, feeling the force of what felt like a gorilla at his back. The heavy hit sent him into a tree.
Saldair and Rar quickly backstepped, their eyes growing wide.
In front of them was an orc. They could tell by its red eyes that glowed in the dark, and its large frame. It held a club, this club being the one that struck Julian in the back.
Julian groaned.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck! It's electrocuting! Like my whole body is getting hit with a thousand volts. It hurts so bad. I want to die! I want to die!
"Saldair! Get Julian and run!" Rar yelled.
Saldair nodded. He scurried toward Julian, still slightly fatigued from the exercise he had been doing.
"Come on, Julian. I'll get you to a doctor… let's go."
Saldair was still light on his feet, faster than Julian could have ever been. Even with the fatigue, even with the extra weight of Julian. Rar stood quietly, watching the orc with keen eyes.
He heard the footsteps grow quieter as Saldair got farther and farther away.
"Haah..."
He let out a sigh, a troublesome breath. The orc charged forward.
In his palm, a strange energy manifested. Dark and brooding. It was the size of a baseball, if not slightly larger. There were traces of dark purple energy on the edge of the black energy.
[Cast: Umbragrasp]
From the shadow being cast by the orc, an invasive hand shot up. It wrapped around the orc's right leg before obtaining a strong grip on the orc's shoulder.
Tap. Tap. Tap!
His footsteps grew faster.
Rar leaped into the air with an open palm.
[Cast: Flames of Darkness]
. . .
. .