Chapter 36: Normal Business (2)

“Gasp… gasp… Is this really the right way?”

“Of course it is. I’ve been living a life of deception.”

“No matter how you look at it, this is just… ugh, my thighs are killing me.”

I’m currently volunteering for Isabel’s physical enhancement project and training hard.

Isabel is already a solid 6th rank.

Or perhaps even higher, according to rumors.

So, I asked her for some advice and tips, hoping to learn from her experience.

But instead, she gave me this kind of training.

‘Tie an iron block with a rope and run until you collapse.’

A 50kg square iron plate.

After running with it for two hours, my thighs were trembling so much that they went numb.

“You’re collapsing from just this much, huh?”

“No… what’s with the ‘huh’?”

“Hey! Call me Instructor during training!”

Isabel seems to enjoy tormenting me, coming up with creative and absurd training routines every day.

And the weird role-playing is just the cherry on top.

“Senior…”

“Hey, I said call me Instructor.”

“Why should I?”

“Then should I call you ‘junior’?”

“Ahem, Instructor. What’s the next course?”

Though I’ve been pushed to the brink of exhaustion over the past few days, the training hasn’t been meaningless.

I’ve actually gained a lot of stamina and muscle.

“…But this is just…”

“Now I’m going to swing this stick randomly, so dodge it well.”

The next course involved sitting down and moving only my upper body to dodge the stick she swung.

It seemed relatively easy, so I thought it might be a break.

“Aren’t you going to untie me? We should start.”

“It’s more effective this way.”

“What the f—”

Whoosh! Thud!

“Aaaah!”

I didn’t know she was going to blindfold me.

“How am I supposed to dodge when I can’t see?!”

“Open your mind’s eye. Then you’ll see everything.”

“That doesn’t suit you at all… ugh!”

She didn’t give me a chance to speak, relentlessly swinging the stick.

Blindfolded, I had no idea what was happening and ended up getting beaten for a while.

“Honestly, you just wanted to hit me, didn’t you?”

“No, it’s genuinely helpful.”

“Then let me try. Show me how it’s done.”

“Uh… well, it’s lunchtime! Haha, let’s go eat.”

Damn it, I had a feeling, but it seems like she really just wanted to hit me.

.

.

.

.

.

“Senior Isabel, what did it feel like when you reached the 5th rank?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know, the thrill of breaking through a wall, the euphoria of being rewarded for your efforts.”

“…I didn’t have any of that.”

“Why not?”

“It just happened. While I was fighting.”

Damn these talented people.

While others are desperate to even touch the 5th rank, she talks about it so casually. It’s frustrating.

‘Well, that’s why she’s the heroine.’

And I’m just an extra.

“How’s your body holding up?”

“It feels tougher. When I first came to my senses, I felt like something was off with my body.”

“It’s been a month. Your muscles go on strike if you don’t push them every day.”

Ranks aren’t something you can climb just by having a lot of mana.

Both your body and mana need to be prepared for the opportunity to rise.

Climbing ranks is like becoming a transcendent being.

No one in the continent’s history has ever reached the 10th rank.

But there’s a rumor that if you do, you’ll become immortal.

‘Even Ian couldn’t cross that threshold.’

Despite having divine blood, he tried to reach the 10th rank multiple times but failed every time.

Even though he was closer to transcendence than anyone else.

‘Let’s just aim for the 8th rank. I won’t be greedy beyond that.’

Of course, even that is an incredible achievement.

But to keep up with Ian and the other key figures, I need to reach at least that level.

Otherwise, I’ll just become a burden to them.

‘Alright, I can’t even reach the 5th rank yet, so what am I talking about?’

Well, it’s still a long and arduous road ahead for me.

“Oh, right. Teonar. I have to go on a mission soon, so I can only train you until this week.”

“Is that something all 3rd-years have to do?”

“Not all of them. But as you know, I’m a bit exceptional, so I have no choice but to go.”

‘It must be the season when demonic beasts become more active.’

Since the founding of the empire, there has never been a time without war.

Whether the enemy is human or demonic beasts.

The Lumiere Empire dominates the entire continent, but there’s one place they’ve never conquered.

‘The Black Field.’

A land of unknown located in the eastern part of the continent.

Demonic beasts of unknown origin pour out from there.

No matter how many you kill, they keep coming, as if there’s a 24/7 production factory.

If it were just an environment with a lot of demonic beasts, the empire would have exterminated them long ago.

But that place has no ecosystem.

It’s a barren land where not a single blade of grass grows, inhabited only by demonic beasts.

Moreover, the deeper you go, the stranger things become.

Soldiers go mad and attack each other or suddenly commit suicide, as if possessed by something.

‘The Demon God descended there too.’

So, after several failed attempts to conquer it, the empire built a wall along the Black Field’s border to keep them out.

Every summer, when the demonic beasts become more active, many are summoned to the front lines.

Students from Arcane are sent there annually under the guise of gaining real combat experience, but the chances of coming back in one piece are close to zero.

So, many try to avoid going by sending donations or having other family members go in their place.

‘Well, if you’re unlucky, you might die, so it’s understandable.’

Of course, commoners don’t have the right to refuse.

If the empire summons you, you have to go.

Not all students go.

Since it’s real combat and they need to coordinate with soldiers, only 3rd-years from Arcane are sent.

“Take care and come back safely.”

“Who do you think I am?”

Isabel pounded her chest with her fist, telling me not to worry.

‘It doesn’t seem like much, but just in case, I should ask Gray to check the situation in advance.’

I’m not the one going, but it doesn’t hurt to be informed.

***

“When the empire clashed with Aldonia, which borders the empire, multiple times, it resulted in significant casualties and a food shortage. To overcome that…”

Arcane has started to return to normal, but following the previous curriculum as it was would be too much.

For the time being, all practical classes have been canceled, and with professors among the casualties, there’s a shortage of instructors.

‘With this, the finals are as good as canceled.’

I wanted to aim for another scholarship by acing the finals, but given the situation, it seems the finals will be canceled soon too.

Everyone seems to feel the same way, as they’re not paying attention during class and are instead doing other things.
I’m bored too, so I glance around subtly.

‘…What’s that?’

Exactly diagonal from me, I see some guys eating white powder and giggling like village idiots.

Their pupils are slightly dilated, and there’s drool at the corners of their mouths.

To an outsider, it might look like they’re just goofing around, but I know better.

‘These bastards are daring to do this in the sacred place of learning.’

The white powder they’re snorting is a hallucinogen with a slightly sour and sweet scent, one of the highly addictive substances known as ‘Capina.’

It’s not well-known now, but later, it will plague the entire empire.

‘I need to ask Gray to investigate this.’

If we don’t root this out, Arcane, which has barely returned to normal, might shut down again.

‘That can’t happen!’

Thud…

“Oops, sorry, friend. Can you pick that up for me?”

“Uh… huh… huh?”

I deliberately dropped something to start a conversation.

“Pick it up, will you?”

“Uh… yeah, sure.”

When the guy bent his head down far enough so others wouldn’t see, Wham!

I kicked him in the head, knocking him out.

“What the hell are you—”

The guy next to him noticed and tried to say something, but I cut him off.

“Professor! Someone collapsed here!”

I jumped up and preemptively called out.

Then, I lifted the unconscious guy slightly to show the professor.

“What? Take him to the infirmary right away.”

“Yes, I’ll take responsibility and bring him there.”

I successfully slipped him away.

‘If I just take him to the infirmary, they’ll find out he’s been using something strange, but I need to gather information first.’