Chapter 13

■ Chapter 12. Training Ground (1) □ ᓚᘏᗢ

This is my first weekend since enrolling at Hailo Academy. Although the world I live in claims to be from the medieval era, the concept of a week has been carried over from ancient times in my previous life.

“Ah~ I slept well.”

After finally getting to sleep in, my body and mind feel refreshed. Stretching, I checked the time and saw it was only half past eight. I thought I had slept in, but it seems I hadn’t.

Still, today is all about relaxing. If I hadn’t proofread the manuscript yesterday, it would have been a disaster, so I hurriedly revised it.

‘I really almost got into trouble.’

I lounged in bed for a while before suddenly sitting up. Looking at my desk, I saw the traces of my hard work from last night, from dinner until late.

The words I spoke to Cecil in front of the cafeteria yesterday were all written in the manuscript. They were the words Xenon, as a close friend and the second protagonist, used to console Jin.

Through this scene, Jin’s internal growth is facilitated, making it a crucial part of the story. However, the problem was that I ended up saying those exact words to Cecil.

In the end, I made some minor adjustments, but the nuance was similar, which was a bit unsettling. With the astonishing memory of a demon, she might notice something suspicious.

‘Well, in that case…’

I’ll just have to brush it off as a coincidence. From what I’ve seen so far, most people assume the author of Xenon’s biography is an experienced sage, not a young, inexperienced teenager like me.

I scratched my stomach, thinking about how to have breakfast. During the week, meals are provided, but on weekends, I have to go to the cafeteria. Still, students get a discount, so it’s relatively cheap.

‘But where should I exercise?’

When I was at home, I used to do light exercise every morning. My father, who sat at his desk all day, encouraged exercise to prevent a hunched back and stiff body.

I also exercised to stay healthy, following my father’s lead. Jogging was a given, and I did various stretches to loosen up my stiff body.

Thanks to that, I rarely had any aches or pains.

Occasionally, my eyes would get dry from focusing too much on work, leading to a decline in my vision.

‘Now that I think about it, the training ground here looks quite spacious…’

From exploring the academy, I learned that there is a public training ground. It’s only natural for a place that trains knights and mages to have a training ground.

However, I never went inside. I didn’t feel the need to.

‘I’ll grab a quick breakfast after exercising.’

Hailo Academy has a few take-out restaurants. They exist for students who consider mealtime a waste of time.

Moreover, liberal arts students use take-out much more frequently than martial arts students. Martial arts students prioritize balanced meals for their bodies, but liberal arts students don’t.

One might wonder about take-out in a medieval setting, but surprisingly, this world has a well-developed food industry. There are various spices, and trade is very active.

To exaggerate a bit, the food here is not much different from my previous life, and there are even street snacks.

‘There’s no cola or carbonated drinks, though.’

If there were, chemistry and mechanical engineering would have developed as well. I don’t even consider the idea of making carbonated drinks with magic.

After a quick workout, I thought about eating a sandwich and started changing into my clothes. I planned to shower after exercising but didn’t skip washing my face. That’s a basic necessity.

“Let’s see… I’m sure I put my casual clothes here… Ah, there they are.”

I didn’t bring many clothes from home, but I did bring what I needed for exercise. Thanks to the dwarves, who are known for their craftsmanship, the variety of clothes is similar to my previous life. There are even leggings, which is quite impressive.

However, without factories, which are symbols of the Industrial Revolution and enable mass production, each piece of clothing has to be made by hand. Therefore, special materials like those used in training clothes and leggings are extremely expensive.

I’m lucky to be a noble; if I were a commoner, I would have trembled at the price.

‘This really is a strange world.’

With mana and magic, and not just humans but other races, it’s no wonder things are this way.

This subtle imbalance might be why mechanical engineering is developing slowly. If they can solve problems with magic, there’s less incentive to develop technology.

One might ask about refrigerators or air conditioners. I don’t know. I’m a writer, not a mage.

From what I’ve heard, mages classify their spells into combat and support. Support mages seem similar to engineers in my previous life.

‘Washing machines and steam locomotives are more about mechanical engineering. Magic has its limits, I guess.’

I put on a red training suit, similar to my hair color, and went outside. The fresh morning air greeted me, perfect for a light workout.

‘First, the training ground…’

I already have a place in mind for breakfast, so I’ll go there later. It’s cheap and tasty, perfect for me.

‘Weekends are great.’

As I walked to the public training ground, I looked around. Since it was the weekend, there were many more people in casual clothes than in school uniforms.

“Hey, that looks delicious. Should we go?”

“Let’s go. Let’s go.”

“Sally! Come with us!”

“Hurry up, Kai! This looks really fun!”

Nobles wore elaborately made clothes, while commoners wore simpler, easily obtainable clothes.

Occasionally, I saw someone in a training suit, running without caring about the stares. Passersby glanced at them once and then went about their business.

It seemed to be a familiar sight at Hailo Academy. Everyone was busy enjoying what they wanted to do.

‘It’s like a university campus.’

During the week, after classes, people either went to the library or straight to their dorms, so there weren’t many people around. But on weekends, the place was bustling with activity.

I even saw some races I rarely saw before, like elves, known for their beauty, and dwarves. However, merfolk were hard to find.

‘As for demons…’

Cecil is the only demon enrolled at Hailo Academy, so it’s natural that there are none. The reason there are no merfolk is probably because their relationship with humans is currently poor. You can understand why by looking at history.

As I walked, lost in thought, I soon arrived at the public training ground, or rather, in front of its entrance.

“…It’s really big.”

It’s a public facility, so it’s enormous, comparable to a soccer field. The main hall is large, but the public training ground is even bigger.

The building’s structure is similar to a coliseum, and it was explained during the opening ceremony that it has defensive magic, making it probably the sturdiest building here.

“Hey? Isaac?”

“Huh?”

While I was admiring the impressive public training ground, a familiar voice caught my attention. I turned to see who it was.

“…Sis?”

There stood my older sister, Nicole, with her long blue hair tied in a ponytail and wearing a blue training suit.

As soon as she saw me, she crossed her arms and asked with a puzzled look.

“What are you doing here? You’re not planning to exercise, are you?”

“Ah, yeah. I came to do some light exercise.”

“Hmm…”

Nicole looked at the public training ground and then back at me, saying firmly,

“It’s not a good idea.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“It’s a training ground, a place for martial arts. It’s not suitable for the kind of light exercise you’re thinking of. Maybe for ‘training,’ but not for that.”

“Can’t I do light exercise?”

“It’s possible, but…”

She scratched her chin, looking at the public training ground, and said hesitantly,

“Well… there are a lot of strange people here. Some enjoy tormenting others.”

“In what way? Like suddenly throwing a glove and challenging someone to a duel…”

“Are you talking about what era?”

Nicole looked at me with a bewildered expression. I laughed awkwardly.

From her reaction, it seems such a culture did exist.

“Anyway, there’s no such thing, but think of it as kids being a bit mischievous. Especially to freshmen.”

“Do liberal arts students come here too?”

“Yeah. Not commoners, but many nobles do. Most of them learn basic martial arts from their families before enrolling in the academy. You’re the exception.”

As Nicole explained, I have almost no basic martial arts skills. I can understand the concepts, but my body doesn’t follow.

I can control mana to enhance my physical abilities, but that’s it. In my previous life, I hardly used my body, and that hasn’t changed in this fantasy world.

My concentration has improved to the point where even my father is surprised, but my physical strength doesn’t match, making it all for nothing.

“Still, I want to go in once. You saying that makes me more curious.”

“Sigh. Should I have kept my mouth shut? I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Nicole smiled awkwardly, scratching her head, and then put her hands on her hips.

“Alright. It’s not bad to come for the experience. But once you’re inside, I can’t help you much.”

“Why?”

“I have to spar with students. Did you forget I’m a teaching assistant?”

“Oh, right.”

Being a teaching assistant in martial arts requires excellent skills. Nicole is currently a teaching assistant at Hailo Academy, working with Dave.

If you’re not sure what that means, think of her as a martial arts instructor. It’s physically demanding, as she has to spar with students even when exhausted.

I nodded at her warning and then thought of something.

“Can I watch the sparring?”

“Sure. For your book?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright. That should be fine.”

So, I followed Nicole into the public training ground. Inside, the structure was surprisingly simple.

There were separate locker rooms and showers for men and women. Further inside, various training weapons were arranged. Out of curiosity, I picked up a sword, which, as expected, was not sharpened.

While I was examining the training sword, Nicole stopped at a fork in the path and asked me,

“Where do you want to start? The sparring area or the exercise area?”

“Huh? There’s a separate area for exercise?”

“Of course. Try exercising while someone is sparring next to you. It won’t work properly and it’s dangerous.”

“I’ll go to the exercise area first, then.”

I came to the public training ground to exercise. Nicole nodded and started walking.

“Oh, and don’t get intimidated after you see it, okay?”

“Got it.”

How impressive could it be for Nicole to say that?

“Huff… Huff…!”

“Wow! Good job! Good job! Pull faster!”

“Mike! If you lose this, you’re in big trouble!”

I had a similar period in my life.

As soon as I entered the exercise area, I was speechless at the scene before me. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

To explain the situation, two men were dragging large chunks of metal with ropes tied around their waists. The chunks were almost as big as houses, and they were being dragged by just one person each.

“Should I bring something bigger?”

“This is enough. Let’s start.”

“… …”

But the others were no less impressive. Some were doing push-ups with heavy metal chunks on their backs, and others were performing artistic pull-ups.

The common thread was that everyone, regardless of age, gender, or race, was dressed to show off their physique. Most men were shirtless, and all the women were in tank tops.

While it was a feast for the eyes, I couldn’t help but wonder if they were really human.

While I was gaping in shock, Nicole raised one corner of her mouth and asked me,

“What do you think? Impressive, right?”

“… …”

“I won’t stop you if you want to exercise here.”

“…No, I’ll just run outside.”

I didn’t have the courage to join those monsters. Nicole patted my shoulder, saying it was fine.

“Then watch me spar for an hour and then go exercise. Got it?”

“Yeah.”

We turned away from the exercise area and headed to the sparring area. At least I can watch the sparring in peace.

‘Next time, I should bring a notebook and a magic pen.’

Everyone knows that hearing and seeing are worlds apart. This will definitely help with the battle scenes in Xenon’s biography, which were somewhat lacking.

For now, I’ll have to rely on my memory, but coming here weekly would be a good idea. Since my sister is a teaching assistant, I don’t have to worry about being noticed.

‘Still, the corridor is quite long.’

The corridor leading to the sparring area was quite long, probably for safety reasons. As we got closer to the exit, the sound of metal clashing occasionally reached my ears, indicating that sparring was already in progress.

Just as Nicole and I reached the exit,

Whoosh!

A sudden sound of something slicing through the air caught my attention.

Thud!

The object, which was flying at high speed, stopped right in front of me. Before I could react, Nicole quickly blocked it.

Confused, I blinked and then realized what she had blocked.

It was just a ball, a soft-looking ball. Despite its appearance, it was moving so fast that Nicole caught it before I could.

Stunned by the unexpected situation, I stared at the ball and then glanced at Nicole. My reaction might have been slow, but Nicole’s reflexes were impressive.

“…This kid… I told him not to do this…!”

Nicole’s face was contorted with frustration.

It was a new expression I had never seen from her, and a new curse I had never heard. And then…

“Ah, sorry. Sorry. The ball I threw went that way.”

A husky female voice came from outside the exit.