In the end, Fron returned to her seat before the instructor came in.

I wish I could have heard the rest of the story, but it was a shame.

What was she trying to say?

Is Samuels family quite cruel?

No, I dont think so.

I couldnt figure it out no matter how much I thought about it, so I turned off my mind.

The next class was more important.

Creak-.

The door opened and Ares entered.

Ares opened his mouth.

I saw you all during the entrance exam, so theres no student whos seeing me for the first time, so I wont introduce myself.

Every second counts.

Ares added and tapped the blackboard while glaring at us.

You guys are weak.

Some students frowned.

It must be because he touched their sore spot.

There must be some who show displeasure because they didnt understand what he said.

Unlike those guys, I knew better than anyone that we were weak enough to be miserable.

Ares distorted his face like a demon towards the students expressing their dissatisfaction.

"Against an illusion that was only 10%, no, not even 5% of the Sword Saint, you formed groups of four and still, except for eight groups, you were all annihilated. Even those who passed relied on exceptional individuals. Without them, you would have been wiped out. Am I wrong?"

.

The students didnt answer.

No, they couldnt.

The students also know that Ares is not wrong.

Thats why they couldnt refute it.

Still, it seems like some of them were quite hurt in their pride.

If you become a student of Sytan, you should be able to handle insulting remarks.

He must have said that on purpose to make you angry.

I should be able to figure out this much.

Think about it logically.

Did it seem easy to achieve a skill level of 5% of the Sword Saint?

Its difficult.

Perhaps some may not reach that level even after graduating from Sytan.

The gap between the Sword Saint and ordinary students was like an insurmountable wall.

Nine times out of ten, they will never be able to climb that wall, no matter how much time passes.

Rather, shouldnt they be reacting happily?

However, the students were too young to think that far ahead.

Their knowledge and abilities were shallow and limited.

Thats why they needed to learn.

How to become stronger, and how to kill a human.

In the midst of the gloomy atmosphere.

Knock, knock.

Ares knocked on the platform.

As the students gazes focused on him-.

Therefore, I will teach you swordsmanship. Even if you die, I will make sure that you can take one of your opponents arms with you. That is what I, your instructor, will do for you.

Ares declaration echoed through the air.

The overwhelming atmosphere was different from when I had faced him in the entrance exam. It seemed to affect not only me, but the other students as well.

Wow!!

How cool.

Their gazes were filled with admiration and longing.

It was a gaze that should have been somewhat unfamiliar, but Ares continued to speak without moving an eyebrow.

"Let's begin the first lesson. What I will teach you today is..."

* * *

To tell the truth.

Ares looked a bit cool.

Its true that he had looked at me with some kind of intention during the entrance exam, but he hadnt done anything else to harm me directly, so I hadnt paid much attention to it.

In that situation, when he said something so cool, my negative feelings towards him had shifted slightly towards the positive side.

But that was a mistake.

Because Ares was the devil himself.

Ugh.

I, I think Im going to die.

On the training ground.

The students were walking with their shoulders slumped, struggling to move.

It was because of Ares first lesson.

The basics of swordsmanship are physical strength. How can you use a sword if you dont even have the strength to hold it? So, for the time being, we will only train your basic physical strength.

The students were relieved to hear that they would be training their basic physical strength.

I also thought that it wouldnt be difficult to increase my basic physical strength.

But when I actually tried it, it was the hardest lesson I had ever taken.

50 laps around the training ground.

That was the assignment that Ares had given us for todays lesson.

You shouldnt think of it as a normal athletic field.

It was incredibly large, easily dwarfing a soccer field.

We had to run around it 50 times without resting.

Before I knew it, I had completed thirty laps.

Hey, you. Stop.

Suddenly, Ares glared at a student with a sinister voice.

The student, who was struck by lightning, was startled and fell back into his seat.

I told you to train your basic physical strength, but youre using mana. You punk, start over from the beginning.

W-What the hell!

The student hung his head with a look of shock.

Ares ignored him and began to pick out the students who had used mana to enhance their physical abilities.

In an instant, more than ten students were forced to start over from the beginning.

How cruel.

My tongue rolled out on its own as I watched him.

He had deliberately delayed their punishment.

The horror of making the students run again from the beginning when they had already run more than half the distance.

I quietly suppressed the mana I had been trying to use.

A little more time passed like that.

Its hard.

My muscles and bones were screaming.

I could clearly feel the lukewarm sweat running down my spine.

I lifted my head and stared ahead.

There were only a handful of people who could run around the training ground without losing their breath.

About three, I guess.

Even they seemed to be people who had trained their bodies intensively.

On the other hand, those who had only relied on magic and talent were dropping out one after another.

The prime examples were Fron and Samuel.

Huff, huff Im going to die like this!

.

Fron was gasping for breath, and Samuel had long since collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

I guess Im better off.

I glanced at Ares with a strange sense of triumph.

Ares was prodding the fallen students to get up.

Those who fail to finish in time will have extra lessons until they do!

I flinched.

Samuels shoulder, which had been lying on the ground, twitched once.

I quietly closed my eyes.

Although he was the guy I almost fought with, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

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