Chapter Index

    Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
    5

    Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
    5

    I asked the maid to tie my
    hair and change into comfortable clothes, then warmed up in the Allen
    Family’s training yard.

    The knights and soldiers who
    were originally training there looked at me with wary eyes, but I
    paid them no mind.

    It’s not like it’s the first
    time I’ve been stared at like that.

    No matter what they think of
    me, I just need to do what I have to do.

    The plan was already set.

    I had already researched ages
    ago how to efficiently boost character specs.

    The first thing to focus on
    was increasing stamina.

    Stamina is useful no matter
    what kind of character you are building.

    The higher your stamina, the
    more actions you can take in a day.

    Whether it’s exploring
    specific locations, meeting various NPCs, or training for what I need
    right now, stamina is essential.

    Unless you’re aiming for a
    frail mage concept, stamina is a fundamental stat to build up at Soul
    Academy.

    So how can we increase
    stamina?

    It varies depending on the
    game’s timeline, but usually, in the early stages, running is the
    way to go.

    Not some special skill or
    unique method, but just plain simple running that everyone does when
    they need to move around.

    There are other methods, sure,
    but those only become truly efficient in the mid-game stages.

    In the early game, it’s best
    to just grip weapons in both hands and run, increasing both stamina
    and weapon proficiency at the same time.

    So, from now on, except for
    eating and sleeping, I plan to run with a mace and shield in hand for
    about two weeks straight.

    This is the most efficient
    build for character development at Soul Academy.

    After finishing my warm-up, I
    immediately started running around the perimeter of the training
    yard.

    I already knew the proper
    posture and breathing techniques required for running.

    Anyone who has served in the
    military knows how tedious jogging can be.

    It had been quite some time
    since I was discharged, but the habits I picked up back then were
    still ingrained in my body.

    The first lap was no problem
    at all.

    I was slightly out of breath,
    but that was it. Considering that I’d just completed a lap around
    the vast training yard, I was fine.

    The two Stamina Boosting
    Elixirs I had taken were working effectively.

    However, after running for
    about an hour, I sensed something was wrong.

    I still had a long way to go
    to reach my goal, but I already felt winded.

    Could I really keep running
    all day like this? No matter how hard I pushed myself, I felt like
    I’d collapse after another hour or two of running.

    By the time I lost track of
    how many laps I had completed, I was still running.

    The muscles in my legs
    screamed in agony.

    My overworked lungs felt like
    they were tearing apart.

    My arms, holding the mace and
    shield, had grown so heavy that it was more accurate to say I was
    staggering rather than running, but I didn’t stop.

    The old me, before I was
    possessed by this character, would have given up long ago.

    I wasn’t someone who pushed
    myself with such determination.

    If I paid for a three-month
    gym membership, I’d go diligently for a week, get exhausted, and
    waste the remaining two and a half months—that’s the kind of person
    I was.

    So how could someone like me
    endure this gruelling pain and keep moving? There was a part I could
    guess.

    Skills.

    Just like how [Overcoming
    Fear] activated and erased my fear when I consumed the elixirs
    before, the skills I embedded when creating the character must be
    working now.

    In this situation, it’s
    probably the influence of [Unyielding Will].

    The skill description for
    [Unyielding Will] said, ‘Not even death can break your will.’

    In the game, it was just a
    simple instant-death prevention skill, but here it’s proving to be
    quite helpful.

    Thanks to it, I felt
    confident.

    I could run to death just like
    my character did in the game for weeks on end.

    With a will that not even
    death could break, how could I not manage a mere run?

    Excited by this thought, I
    forgot about the concept of pace control and recklessly increased my
    speed.

    That was a mistake.

    What I overlooked was that
    gaining willpower didn’t necessarily mean recovering stamina or
    strength.

    Willpower is willpower, and
    the body is the body.

    No matter how strong my will
    was, if my body reached its limit, it would collapse.

    As I lay sprawled on the cold
    stone floor of the training yard, I felt this fact acutely.

    So that’s why pace control is
    important.

    You wouldn’t know until you’ve
    run yourself to the point of collapse.

    Next time, I need to be more
    mindful of my body as I run.

    “Miss Lucy?!”

    I heard the scream of my
    personal maid, but I couldn’t move a finger.

    “Are you alright?”

    ‘Yes…’

    “I’m alright… Just… be
    quiet, you’re making my ears ring… sloppy one…”

    Since I’m just exhausted, I’ll
    probably be fine after some time.

    So, could you please stop
    fussing around me? Your flustered behaviour is making me feel even
    more disoriented.

    As I kept quiet to avoid
    saying something harsh, I heard footsteps approaching that didn’t
    belong to my maid.

    “Miss Lucy. If you wouldn’t
    mind, may I move you to a more comfortable place to rest?”

    I forced my stiff neck to turn
    and saw one of the knights from the Allen Family.

    I don’t know his name. I only
    remember him leading the soldiers while running.

    “Resting like this will only
    slow your recovery. You need to rest properly.”

    I never thought someone would
    approach Lucy (me) first. It’s surprising.

    Within the Allen Family, Lucy
    (me) is treated like hazardous material.

    Everyone, except for Benedict,
    tries to avoid her (me), fearing her wrath.

    My personal maid had no choice
    but to stay by my side, but I never expected anyone else to approach
    me first.

    Hmm. The cold stone floor was
    making my mouth turn crooked anyway, so this is fortunate.

    Since he’s offering help, I
    should gratefully accept it.

    ‘Yes. Please do that.’

    “Alright, Sloppy Knight. I
    permit you to touch my body.”

    “It’s an honour, Miss.”

    The knight carefully
    approached and lifted me up.

    It was then that I noticed all
    the eyes in the training ground were now focused on me.

    Most of these stares were
    filled with concern.

    They weren’t worried about
    me though. Considering all the trouble Lucy has caused, why would
    they worry about me?

    Those looks were directed at
    the knight who picked me up, fearful of what Lucy (I) might do to
    him.

    That’s a bit over the top.
    No matter how much of a troublemaker Lucy is, would she really lash
    out at someone who helped her?

    Did she send away a respectful
    maid over a trivial matter?

    Did she cause a ruckus in the
    kitchen because she didn’t like the food the chef prepared?

    Did she curse at a teacher
    just for telling her to study?

    Yes…

    She did all of that.

    Hmm. Maybe their worry is
    justified.

    Reflecting on Lucy’s past
    actions, the fact that this knight came forward to help me seemed all
    the more peculiar.

    With such a notorious history,
    why would he step up to help me first? Did his superior order him to
    come and help me?

    “Miss, may I ask you one
    question?”

    “Yes.”

    “Why are you running with a
    mace and shield?”

    I was at a loss for words at
    his unexpected question.

    “I understand you’re
    trying to build your stamina, but it seems like you’re pushing
    yourself too hard from the start.”

    Judging by what the knight
    said, I realised I must have looked strange to him suddenly appearing
    in the training ground carrying a mace and shield and running.

    From an objective perspective,
    it must have indeed looked odd. After all, a girl who never exercised
    before was suddenly running for over an hour with weapons in hand.

    But I couldn’t explain my
    situation.

    How could I possibly tell him
    that running with weapons not only boosts my stamina but also
    increases my proficiency at the same time?

    I didn’t want to add another
    conversation topic to the already spreading stories among the maids
    about me, Lucy.

    So, I couldn’t say anything
    in response.

    When I clamped my mouth shut,
    the knight gave a wry smile.

    “If you want to start
    training, please ask us. This is what we do every day. We know better
    than anyone how to train properly.”

    His argument was convincing,
    but I had no intention of listening to the knight’s advice.

    I firmly believed what I was
    doing was right.

    After all, my skills were
    actively manifesting in this world.

    This meant that the game’s
    system was in effect.

    So, if I followed the build I
    used in the game, I could become stronger faster than anyone else.
    How could I give that up?

    “Miss?”

    ‘I appreciate the concern,
    but I’m fine.’

    “Shut up, Sloppy Knight.
    Don’t tell me what to do.”

    This damn Mesugaki.

    Where did the part about
    appreciating the concern go?

    Huh? Is there some disease
    where you die if you say thank you?

    The knight, taken aback by the
    harsh reply, apologised and then kept his mouth shut.

    That wasn’t my intention. When
    translated into ‘Mesugaki,’ it completely loses the nuance of a
    polite refusal.

    Ugh. Damn it. Can’t I fix this
    somehow?

    It’s fine now since we’re in
    the mansion, but if I continue like this at the academy later, it’ll
    be problematic.

    Am I really going to end up an
    outcast?

    Erin, Lucy’s personal maid,
    watched her mistress running diligently in the corner of the training
    ground.

    For three hours today alone,
    Lucy had been running around the outskirts of the training ground and
    was soaked in sweat.

    She seemed so weak and about
    to collapse at any moment, tottering as though her body couldn’t hold
    out any longer.

    Yet, Lucy did not collapse.
    She moved her feet forward as if she would die if she stopped.

    Why is she working so hard?

    It had already been three days
    since Lucy started running, but Erin still couldn’t understand her.

    The Lucy she originally knew
    was not someone who would do such things. The Lucy that Erin knew was
    a bratty kid who thought she was the queen of the mansion.

    If even the smallest thing
    didn’t go her way, she would throw a fit, pick fights over every
    little thing, and boost her ego by insulting others.

    Her personality was so
    horrible that her personal maid position was constantly vacant.

    Usually, becoming the personal
    maid of a noble lady in another family was a sort of honour. It meant
    you were recognized for having the skills to serve someone important
    in the family.

    Even if you were later
    dismissed by a superior, it was rare for someone to voluntarily give
    up the position of a personal maid.

    But it was different at the
    Allen Mansion. The position of Lucy’s personal maid wasn’t
    considered an honour.

    The term ‘recommended
    resignation’ for the personal maid was commonly used, revealing
    what people thought of serving Lucy.

    When Erin was assigned as
    Lucy’s personal maid, it felt like the sky was collapsing.

    She thought she had been doing
    a good job so far. Had she unknowingly earned someone’s hatred? Had
    she offended the head maid somehow?

    Was this a quiet warning that
    she should leave?

    The night she was assigned to
    be Lucy’s personal maid, Erin couldn’t sleep, repeatedly
    questioning what she had done wrong.

    The thought of constantly
    staying by Lucy’s side, someone she found unbearable even for a
    brief encounter, was like falling into hell.

    Erin had to continually endure
    Lucy’s tyranny.

    As a result, she spent her
    days with her head bowed and her nights crying herself to sleep.

    Then one day—on that
    particular day, as the morning came again, making Erin’s heart
    race…

    Lucy had changed.

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