abcnovels
Chapter 232
Chapter 232
Chapter 232
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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Chapter:232 Academy (3)
***
Penelope’s eyes snapped open.
“Wh-where am I…?”
The familiar scenery of the training ground was gone, replaced by a strange classroom. Penelope was not alone; other students, specifically those from Class 13, were also seated.
“Why am I here…?”
Penelope was confused.
She understood that she had passed out and then regained consciousness, but she had no memory of what had happened before she fainted.
Trying to recall, she could only remember the excruciating pain as if her head was about to explode.
“She’s awake now, so we can start the class.”
A voice that was unfamiliar yet recognizable reached her ears. Penelope looked up to see who was speaking.
A man stood at the teacher’s desk in front of the blackboard. Seeing his face, Penelope suddenly remembered what had happened.
“Damien Haksen!”
Penelope sprang to her feet and shouted.
“What is the meaning of this! How dare you hit someone on the head with a club! Do you think such an action will be tolerated…?”
Damien struck the floor with the end of his club.
With a resounding noise, the entire building shook, and dust fell from the ceiling.
Penelope swallowed dryly at the overwhelming display of power.
She was reminded once again that the man before her was a Master Class.
“Be quiet. I am speaking.”
Penelope immediately sat back down. Any rebelliousness she had felt disappeared in an instant.
Anyone who had witnessed that would have reacted the same way.
“Let me introduce myself. As you already know, my name is Damien Haksen. I am a knight from the Apple Kingdom.”
The nobles of the Empire often looked down on knights from other kingdoms, considering them insignificant compared to the Empire.
However, there was not a single student in the room who dared to mock Damien Haksen. They had all been rehabilitated by him.
“Due to personal circumstances, I have become the academy’s swordsmanship instructor. I won’t be here long; I’m only on a temporary contract.”
The faces of the Class 13 students brightened at this news. Some even silently cheered, clenching their fists in joy.
“However, to resolve my personal matters, I need some time. The Chancellor gave me a condition. If Class 13 does not achieve excellent results in the upcoming exam in one week, I will be immediately dismissed.”
The students’ faces brightened even more. They might be freed from Damien Haksen sooner than expected.
But their expressions darkened with his next words.
“So, I need your cooperation. What I require of you is very simple. Train diligently under my instruction for a week and achieve good results in the test. Understood?”
At the mention of training, the students’ faces twisted.
Until now, the students of Class 13 had lived as they pleased. Naturally, the idea of training was met with resistance.
“Wait, if we do terribly on the test, he’ll be kicked out in a week, right?”
“Exactly. Why should we go along with his training and take the test?”
Two boys sitting next to Penelope whispered to each other.
Penelope was overhearing them and couldn’t help but agree.
Why should they obediently follow Damien’s orders?
“So, if we refuse his orders, he can be kicked out of the academy in a week…”
“Some of you might think that refusing my training will get me dismissed immediately.”
Damien’s voice cut through Penelope’s thoughts, making her look at him with a startled expression.
“And you might also be wondering why you should follow my orders.”
A few students nodded their heads. Damien immediately glared at them, causing them to lower their heads.
“The reason is simple: you are students, and I am your teacher.”
Penelope felt a wave of disappointment. This sounded like the usual preamble to a lecture about how training was for their future, or some other clichéd teacherly duty…
“Students must obey their teacher’s commands.”
…except something felt off.
“Your opinions do not matter. I will make sure you all achieve excellent results in the exam, no matter what.”
At that moment, Damien’s eyes blazed with intensity. He looked around at the students, his gaze saying he would kill them if they disobeyed.
“So, just follow my orders.”
The students looked at Damien with uncertain expressions, questioning if this was really happening.
Thud.
Damien struck the floor again with the end of his club, causing the building to shake.
“Answer me.”
“Y-Yes, sir! Students must obey the teacher’s orders!”
“Give us any order! We’ll follow like dogs!”
The students’ fear of Damien was already deeply ingrained. None of them voiced any objections.
“Um, teacher?”
At that moment, a boy sitting in the front raised his hand. It was Oliver, who had been with Damien all day.
“What happens if we don’t achieve excellent results in the exam?”
“You’re asking the obvious.”
Damien grabbed the corner of the table and applied a little pressure.
Crack.
The wooden corner crumbled with a chilling sound.
As Damien rubbed his fingers together, finely ground dust fell from his hand.
“You’ll be begging me to kill you instead. And remember, that is not a metaphor.”
The students’ faces went pale. They instinctively realized he wasn’t lying.
“You have 10 minutes. Go to the dormitory and change into your gym clothes.”
Ten minutes was barely enough time to reach the dormitory.
But none of the students complained. They just bolted out of the classroom.
***
Exactly ten minutes later, the students who had hurried back were gathered in the training ground, catching their breath.
But not everyone was present. The number of students had decreased slightly.
Damien was also nowhere to be seen.
“What’s going on? Where did he go?”
“Did he call us here and not show up himself?”
As the students whispered among themselves, terrible screams came from outside the training ground.
“Argh! Ahh!”
“Ugh! Ahhhh!”
A group of about half a dozen students was being driven into the training ground by Damien, who was beating them with his club.
“S- Sir! W-We were wrong!”
“We’re terribly sorry!”
Even as they entered the training ground, Damien didn’t stop his assault. He continued to beat them all over with his club.
The merciless beating was so severe that the students watching could no longer bear it.
The strange thing was that despite being struck so harshly, not a single scratch appeared on the students’ bodies.
“These fuckers dared to skip training and try to run away.”
Damien finally stopped after a long while and said.
“How dare you try to escape from Master Class? Listen up everyone. There is no way you can escape from my hands. It is in your best interest to train diligently.”
Damien spoke to the students who were lying on the ground.
“I will count to three. Get up.”
At that chilling warning, the students scrambled to their feet. And they ran towards where the other students were.
“It seems everyone has gathered. Then let’s start the training,” Damien, the instructor, said, tapping his palm with his club.
“Let’s start with running first?”
Later that evening
More than twenty students were running along the wall of the training ground.
“Haa… haa… haa…”
“I… I’m dying…”
The students all looked like they were about to die. Their faces were all pale.
“What are you doing? Can’t you run faster? You there! I told you to run twice as fast if you’re practicing Mana Cultivation technique!”
Damien stood in the center of the training ground and shouted at the students.
“Ugh, ugh… I can’t run anymore…”
“I told you to run until you collapse.”
Bonk!
“Ack! Agh!”
He sometimes swung his club at students who made weak sounds.
Damien thought to himself as he watched the students run.
‘If I keep them like this for a week, I should be able to pass the physical training part.’
According to Damien’s research, the exam was held in a total of three categories.
They were physical fitness, Imperial swordsmanship, and finally, sparring.
Of these, physical fitness and Imperial swordsmanship each accounted for 25% of the score. And sparring accounted for a whopping 50%.
The reason for dividing the items like this was because the students in the academy were all at different levels.
Not all the students in the academy were aspiring knights. There were scholars, mages, and so on.
It was natural that students who aspired to be knights would get higher scores in exams than other students.
‘If you’re not confident in your skills, focus on physical fitness and Imperial swordsmanship, or else focus on sparring.’
Of course, it was easier said than done. So Damien was determined to drill the students like dogs for a week.
“You’re too slow there. Can’t you move faster?”
At Damien’s shout, the students scurried around.
***
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]