Chapter 193 - Please Carry Me
The students who were wrapped in training uniforms returned to the middle of the field. They reformed the ranks to their previous positions. Luckily, five minutes was enough for all of them, and no one was too late for it... Just barely grazed the deadline.
That way, none of the students would receive disciplinary punishment for it. Now, the students came back to the training field, but the instructor still hadn't announced anything. The students just stood and waited silently for Instructor Dillon to speak.
"It's not that bad. Five minutes is more than enough for you to change into a training uniform." Instructor Dillon no longer folded his arms across his chest. He scanned all the students and nodded once.
"For your warm-up, all of you have to jog within the track bounded by that iron rod. All of you have to go around the track three times without fail, whether it's a boy or a girl." Instructor Dillon pointed to a short track route near them.
The students turned to check once more about the track route they needed to take. It wasn't large, with a shorter distance than the track in the previous knight class. Students who were ready and thought it was easy just snorted silently, while those who weren't prepared could happily sigh with relief.
They needed to take a route like the distance from the soccer field's circumference, but it was circular and repeated three times. It wasn't difficult. They thought it would be lighter. However, that assumption was immediately crushed by the instructor's continuation.
"In that route, within a radius of three meters near the iron rods, the force of gravity will be doubled. Yes! You will jog with twice the effort and twice the weight. You have forty minutes to go that route."
"You only need to jog or sprint three times. I don't take any questions. Go there regularly, starting with girls and then followed by boys." Instructor Dillon gave a 'stop' hand gesture when a student was about to ask a question. Then, he gestured for the female students to go first.
The group of female students didn't waste their time lingering on complaints and other things in their minds. They could only obey the cue to immediately enter the circle with the double force of gravity. After all the girls left their ranks, the male student groups swiftly caught up with the girls.
"Huff, Ely. My body feels heavy. The weight of twice the gravity is making me uncomfortable." Evelyn jogged beside her best friend. She followed Elysia's advice to just jog without taking significant steps, let alone sprint like the boys.
"That's fine, Eve. Just keep jogging and catch your breath well. Three laps aren't that much. It's only about twelve kilometers of mileage." Elysia regulated her breath skilfully. She let the other students overtake her from the right or the left without giving them any attention.
"Two, twelve kilometers? How do you count it, Ely?" Evelyn had a curious expression. She wondered where Elysia counted to get the number.
"I'm just guessing, Eve. Please don't talk too much, or your breathing will become irregular." Elysia said that, so the conversation would not continue.
Evelyn just nodded and continued jogging with her best friend. She also ignored those who sprinted past her as if they weren't worried about getting tired, or perhaps this route was trivial to them.
It wasn't too difficult for the Northern Region Princess to take this route even under twice the burden. It was thanks because she only needed to jog, like never before.
After forty grueling minutes, Elysia and Evelyn were finally done warming up. They returned to the middle of the field, where the instructor was waiting.
"Oh, wow. Why are these students looking rather pitiful while lying on the ground? They aren't passed out, are they?" Evelyn muttered while wiping her sweat with her handkerchief.
"No, they're just taking a breath from the sprint, trying to cool down. That's what will happen if we run like the previous knight class." Elysia answered with a slightly breathless.
This physical training would be tiring if she didn't have her ultra-reliable recovery... Not with her body, which was relatively weak and unsuitable for physical work.
Right after that, they were approached by two male students who had come without being asked.
"You've finally finished jogging, Elysia, Evelyn. Instructor Dillon has given us ten minutes to rest. Here's mineral water for you." Brian grinned as he handed over the two bottles.
"Oh, ah, thanks, Brian. Hmm, Instructor Dillon even provided mineral water for this training." Evelyn accepted the bottle, but she didn't drink it right away like a thirsty person.
"Mhm, thank you. Ten minutes to take a little breath and cool down. The instructor is quite attentive." Elysia also received the bottle.
She glanced sideways at the many bottles of mineral water on the table. Instead of going there, it was better to receive the bottle from an acquaintance looking for attention. She also noticed that some male students were looking at them with a malicious gaze.
By giving the drinks to two beautiful girls, Brian had other intentions, such as making other boys jealous of him? He wanted to become the boys' public enemy because he had been belittled. Did he intend to get back at them in peculiar ways? Whatever happened, as long as she was not involved in the troublesome thing, she didn't mind it.
"Oh yes, Elysia. These are the handkerchiefs you gave David and me two days ago. I've already washed them, thanks for your kindness." Brian took it out of his pocket.
He had satisfied himself with the handkerchief from his idol girl, the fragrant one that was given to him and was not stained with sweat. It was time to return the handkerchiefs to their owner in front of all the students, especially the boys.
They were just losers who could only see from afar and ended up envious, but they didn't have a chance to get close to the two goddesses of kindness. One of the many reasons that made him think this year was a blessing in disguise.
"Oh, okay. You're welcome." Elysia simply accepted the two handkerchiefs with simple courtesy. After that, she and Evelyn excused themselves to rest.
David didn't hinder them any longer. However, he looked at the jealous student with a smug expression. After he was satisfied, he returned to his original place to mock the amateur boy.
For the next three hours, all of the students were trained in physical training to demonstrate genuine knight training. That day, there was no sword practice or mock battle, but something satisfying at the end of the class... An introduction to Reinforcement Magic in hands-on training!
Something the students were anticipating whether they wanted to become mages or knights. Reinforcement Magic, the magic used to strengthen the body's abilities. With that, there were many things they could do and accomplish.
"I can't feel my legs. Aren't you tired, Ely?" Evelyn laid limply on the ground. She looked at her best friend, who was sitting next to her.
"Hmm-hmm, no?" Elysia wanted to giggle at the limp Evelyn, but she couldn't bear to do it.
"Hey, why are you asking me back? Has Instructor Dillon gone?" Evelyn pouted a little, then looked around for a moment.
"Yes, he went out after class ended. He only let the students who wanted to lie on the ground. Uhm, well, after he checked and helped some students who needed help, of course." Elysia glanced around too.
Almost all of the students suffered from the after-effects of Reinforcement Magic. It wasn't dangerous, just because the students weren't used to accepting additional burdens on their bodies or something related to magical capacity.
However, what was clear, the students were laid down to replenish themselves while waiting for their bodies to cool down.
"Uhh, I just cast Reinforcement Magic into my feet and my leg, and now I can't stand up. Why are we here to suffer? Is this what a rookie suffers from before they succeed?" Evelyn began to digress as she looked up at the ceiling.
"Hey, nee, Eve ~ Are you still there? Want a little help?" Elysia waved her hand in front of the limp girl's face.
"Em, yes, I'm still here. Ah, Ely, please don't help me with your magic here. Also, please don't let anyone know more about your talents and blessings, carelessly, okay?" Evelyn nodded and whispered softly. She knew Elysia could hear that from such a distance.
"En, okay, thanks for reminding me. But, do you want to keep lying on the ground, Eve?" Elysia nodded subtly with appreciation, even though Evelyn misunderstood what kind of help she was offering.
"I just need a few more minutes, Ely. Uhm, maybe a little longer than that. But, if you say that... I don't want to lie on the ground either. Ahh, I need to take a shower immediately." Evelyn whined softly with her sigh.
"Ah, Ely, can you help me?" Evelyn suddenly thought of something. She looked at Elysia with a sparkling expression.
"Sure, I'll help." Elysia smiled lightly and agreed, although she didn't know what kind of help Evelyn was referring to.
"Marvelous! En, please carry me to the locker room. Can you, Ely? Pwease?" Evelyn propelled herself to sit up, then stared at Elysia's expression.
She remembered that her best friend was able to lift a 200-kilogram odachi. Because of this, she thought that her slender body was no burden for Elysia. She didn't want to lie on the ground any longer.