ODOC 18

Chapter 18

The students of Ziel all looked toward their teacher.

Their role in this test was simple: just observing.

Long-distance running.

They had practiced it to death, but facing the actual test made them nervous regardless.

‘Is the teacher not going to say anything?’
‘No tips or anything?’
‘What even is mana resistance…?’

At the same time, their hearts were pounding.

It was amazing enough that the long-distance running Ziel had taught them ended up as an actual test event.

And they hadn’t just run normally—they ran without using mana, with sandbags strapped to their legs.

So just how much better would they be when running with mana?

“Yurio Harmattan.”

Ziel’s voice rang out.

“Your heart rate is too high.”
“…Huh?”

How did he even know that?

“Calm your nerves. If your heart rate is high from the start, it’ll only get in your way.”

As expected of Teacher Ziel.

“Yes, sir!”

Looking at his students, Ziel added expressionlessly:

“Just do exactly what you learned in class. You’ll all get high rankings.”

Then he added:

“If anyone fails… I’ll have to change the way I teach. To something more efficient.”

A chill ran down their spines.

What did he mean by that?

‘Don’t tell me… harder than now…?’
‘No way. I’m already dying every day…’

Deep in their hearts, motivation began to sprout violently.

They could not let that happen.

‘I’m going to run. Until I collapse!’

Yurio also clenched his teeth.

He may have barely passed the entrance exam, but now he could see a future for himself.

“Karen, let’s do our best.”
“Y-yeah. We have to. We’re hopeless for the swordsmanship part, so let’s secure as many points as we can here.”
“Don’t you think we could do okay in swordsmanship too?”
“…Again with that?”

Karen sighed.

“Who here didn’t get called a prodigy before coming?”

From the first conversation after their entrance, she had heard that same story.

Yurio had often been called talented at swordsmanship since he was young.

“But it’s true…”
“I was too, you know? But once you enter Sword School, you shut up about it.”
“….”
“Just focus on the endurance test.”

And finally, the first test began.

“Huff… huff…”

The pressure from the mana barrier and the increased gravity pulling their bodies downward made the test brutal.

Their legs felt heavy, like when they wore those sandbags—

Wait.

Karen suddenly remembered Ziel’s lesson.

Sandbags!

They had run with those.

No way… did he know?

Impossible.

There was no way.

But the testing environment was eerily similar to that day’s training.

Because of that, they didn’t tire as easily, and instead felt confidence rising inside them.

“Hey, huff… this is actually doable?”
“I know, right?! We ran like crazy with those sandbags!”

Every student could feel it.

If not for Ziel’s long-distance running class—
If not for learning how to breathe and how to find the best personal running rhythm—

‘We definitely would’ve collapsed by now.’
‘Is it because we can use mana? This is way easier than class…’

Their respect soared.

Ziel-sensei’s grand plan!

Lap 40.

Among Ziel’s own students, not a single one had dropped out yet.

On the other hand—

“Huff… no… I can’t…!”
“Uughh—!”

Students not taught by Ziel began dropping out one by one.

“As expected, this is tough. Did you set the barrier strength high?”
“As I said earlier, it’s set to medium.”

Professor Berhal clicked his tongue.

“The first-years are getting weaker each year. At this rate, almost all of them will be out in five minutes.”
“I’ll… teach them better next time.”

Professor Elcanto scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

Berhal expected most students to fail soon.

He also assumed Ziel’s students would start dropping as well.

But after five minutes passed…

And ten…

‘W-what is this…?’

Out of 80 students, 30 had already been eliminated…

Almost all of them from the students not trained by Ziel.

In other words, Professor Elcanto’s Class 3 and 4 general-education students.

‘What the? Why are they so good?!’

Elcanto’s hips twitched anxiously.

Professor Berhal didn’t know which students belonged to which classes.

“Is something wrong, Professor Elcanto?”
“N-no, sir.”
“You don’t look good.”
“Haha… I ate too much breakfast…”
“You were dieting pretty hard though.”

Even after his excuse, sweat trickled endlessly down Elcanto’s back.

‘What is happening…?’

Two more of his students dropped.

Students who had been focusing solely on the test also began to notice something strange.

“Huff… dude. Almost everyone still running isn’t from our class, right?”
“Y-yeah. They’re from that general-education instructor’s class…”

To the eliminated students, the ones still running were mostly unfamiliar faces.

“How are they still running? This makes no sense.”
“I thought I was going to die…”

The two observing teachers had opposite expressions.

One was dying inside, about to cry.

The other—

‘So it does work.’

Ziel’s lips curved up slightly.

He hadn’t even realized they did.

‘This feeling… is this what pride feels like?’

And then his smile grew just a bit more.

“Hm.”

Even Professor Berhal began to realize what was happening.

Why Elcanto looked so panicked.

Why Ziel, far away in the back, had the faintest hint of a smile.

‘Ziel Steelheart. A mere general-ed instructor… yet he’s changed his students?’

Indeed, the 40 students who hadn’t panicked at the test announcement were still running almost completely intact.

A few had dropped, but even they lasted quite long.

“It’s becoming clear now.”

More students dropped the moment he said that.

45 remained.

They would run until only 40 were left.

‘We can do this…’

Karen and Yurio.

Both were low-ranked when they started Ziel’s running class, yet they were still running.

Their pace had slowed, but it was steady.

They could use mana here.

And their lethargy had faded thanks to all the training.

‘It wasn’t that I couldn’t do it. I just didn’t know how.’
‘Almost there! We can move on to the next round!’

Those two things kept them running.

“Huff… huff…”

Their breathing was harsh.

Their legs felt like exploding, and their hearts pounded in their ears.

“K-Karen… just a bit more!”
“Yurio… shut up and… huff… run! We’re almost there!”

And—

“Test concluded.”

The final 40 had dropped, ending the first test.

Karen and Yurio collapsed on the spot, and most students lay sprawled everywhere.

“Huff… huff…”
“AAAHHHHHH!”

Screams—whether of agony or triumph—filled the auditorium as they gasped for breath.

Only after they drank water and calmed down did Tyron speak.

“Well done, everyone. Two examiners will cross-check your pace and records to assign scores.”

They didn’t have to be in the top 40.

Just running nonstop until 40 remained made them feel proud.

“We… did it, Karen.”
“Huff… yeah… wow… I can’t believe we actually did.”

Both of them instinctively turned to look at Ziel.

“Is… the teacher smiling?”
“Looks like it…?”

It was the first time either had seen him smile.

But perhaps they imagined it.

There was no way.

Even though Ziel was human, it was impossible to imagine him smiling.

“Nope. I must’ve seen wrong.”

His lips had already gone back down.

They dismissed it as their mistake.

“Professor Elcanto, a very interesting result has come out.”

Elcanto shut his mouth tight at Professor Berhal’s words.

It was only the first test, but the results were obvious.

The “interesting result” Berhal vaguely referred to was exactly this:

Only five.

‘How… is this possible…?’

Except for five students, every student from Elcanto’s Class 3 and 4 had failed.

Even the second-years who had skipped general-ed classes in their first year failed too.

How could all but five lose?

‘What on earth did Teacher Ziel teach them…?’

What shocked him even more was the stamina of Ziel’s forty students.

Even the five who failed lasted until the middle—not early.

The physical difference was enormous.

“The next test begins in one hour. Rest well. Using magical tools or drinks to recover stamina will result in disqualification.”

As the first test ended, Professor Berhal gave Ziel a look filled with suspicion.

“Hm.”

There was clear danger in that gaze.

Elcanto had to act.

“Haha… it seems Teacher Ziel introduced some special training. Their stamina is impressive for first-years…”

Trying to praise the other side to avoid looking bad.

But Berhal was not easy to trick.

“Professor Elcanto, isn’t another explanation more fitting?”
“….”

Failure.

He should have just admitted he was lacking—

“I understand liking a new general-ed instructor, but this is suspicious, isn’t it?”
“W-what?”
“What method did he use for their stamina to rise like that?”
“Oh…”
“They should’ve all been around the same level originally… isn’t this strange?”
“Y-yes, it is!”
“Look into it. Find out how he did it.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Be discreet about it. Just in case.”
“Of course!”

Elcanto’s eyes sparkled.

True—now that he thought about it, something was off.

How could stamina improve that drastically?

‘Did he feed them something?’

Considering the importance of the selection exam and the honor of representing the academy, it wasn’t impossible.

“Let’s move to the second-year test.”
“Yes, sir.”

The moment Berhal left, Elcanto jumped up.

‘Even if he has backing, using drugs… if caught, my career is done! I’ll die!’

He had worked too hard for his professor position.

‘I have to find out first!’

He waddled urgently toward one particular student.

“Yurio Harmattan, correct?”

The only first-year he remembered who wasn’t from his class—aside from famous families like Delev or Celia.

The reason was simple:

‘What kind of family name is that?’

The name was so unfamiliar it stood out—plus Yurio had been the last place at enrollment.

Meanwhile—

‘H-He knows my name? But I’m not even in his class?’

Yurio completely misinterpreted the situation.

“H-Hello, professor!”
“Mm. You ran hard. Looks like you prepared a lot.”
“Yes! I trained really hard!”
“Did you? Hm. You ran very well.”
“Hehe, thank you.”

Elcanto subtly asked:

“Did you… eat anything good?”
“…Huh?”
“You know. Anything special you’ve been eating lately.”
“Well…”

Yurio’s eyes wavered.

‘Yes!’

Got him.

“…Actually…”
“Yes, go on?”
“It’s a bit embarrassing…”

Elcanto glanced around.

“I’ll keep it secret.”

“…Actually…”

His heart pounded.

‘Say it already!’

And then—

“I… just ate cafeteria food…”
“…What?”
“I don’t have much money, so I only go to the student cafeteria…”
“….”

What…?

“Other kids buy tasty stuff outside, but I… please don’t tell anyone, it’s embarrassing.”
“So… nothing special?”
“I… don’t have money for anything special.”

Something “special,” to Yurio, meant expensive places like Lancaster’s Star.

He couldn’t afford street food either.

So he always filled up on the cheapest cafeteria meals.

Sometimes Karen treated him.

The Harmattan family might have the title of nobility, but in truth, they were extremely poor—barely able to afford his entrance to Sword School.

“Oh, unless… something special someone else bought for me…”
“Yes! Something like that!”
“Teacher Ziel…”
“Teacher Ziel?”
“I ran into him once and he bought me a chicken skewer.”
“….”

Elcanto pressed his hand to his forehead.

‘Then HOW did this happen…?’

He looked toward Ziel.

His eyes trembled violently.

What kind of magic was this?

Even if Ziel had literally used “magic,” Elcanto would’ve noticed.

‘What training did he give them…?’

If he had just read Ziel’s class reports, he might have understood.

But Tyron had always signed them for him.

Elcanto had never read a single one.

“You’ll keep this secret, right…?”
“…Of course. My mistake. Forget I asked.”

He had nothing left to say, so after scraping his brain for something, he added:

“Eat… well.”

Yurio watched blankly as Elcanto hurried away.

Karen approached.

“What was that? Why was Professor Elcanto here?”
“He knew my name…”
“Huh?”
“He told me to eat well. I think he was worried about me.”
“Uh… really…?”

Yurio’s touched expression made Karen tilt her head.

“Why would he…?”
“I don’t know. But if he remembers my name… then…”

Yurio once again praised Ziel in his heart.

‘He noticed me after I changed. Thank you, Teacher Ziel.’

The revival of his family—

It no longer felt like a dream.