After the fight incident at the garden, Van, Arthur, the \[Academy Committee], and the other students dispersed quickly since the third class of the day was about to begin.
Van and Arthur were walking down the Academy hallway toward their third class.
"Tch, I'll get back at them next time," Arthur said bitterly.
Van remained silent, ignoring Arthur's muttering, but his eyes kept scanning the surroundings. He noticed that both their peers and upperclassmen were avoiding them.
'Looks like what just happened has already spread throughout the Academy. Forget it, it won't affect me,' Van thought.
They kept walking and eventually arrived at a field the size of a football stadium.
Coincidentally, Van's third class was the same as Arthur's. However, the location of this class wasn't in a typical classroom, but rather in an open field.
Van saw a massive rune covering the field, along with various special instruments scattered around.
'As expected of the [Physical Training] class,' Van thought.
"This class seems a bit interesting," Arthur said with a slight smirk as he observed the setup.
Van and Arthur then stepped onto the field. The moment they did, they felt as if a giant mountain was pressing down on their backs.
'Gravity? This is even stronger than that damned [Academy Committee] gravity,' Arthur thought, his knees slightly buckling.
Van felt nearly the same, though he managed to withstand it better. Looking around, he noticed that they were the first students to arrive at the class.
"You can withstand twelve times gravity? Seems like you two are monsters in your batch."
Van and Arthur looked toward the center of the field and saw someone doing handstand push-ups.
"Hey, Master, what kind of human is that?" Arthur asked, eyes wide and jaw dropped.
How could Arthur not be shocked? The person doing handstand push-ups was enormous. He stood about 250 cm tall, weighed nearly 180 kg, and his body was packed with muscle—without a trace of fat.
'Blue hair, blue eyes, and a monstrous build. The Blue family,' Van briefly thought as he observed the man.
The [Physical Training] class master finished his push-ups and walked toward Van and Arthur.
"Hey there, kids. Name's Rock Blue. You can call me Master Rock," Master Rock said with a wide grin.
Van's eye twitched as Master Rock stood before him. He realized just how tall the man was—blocking out the sunlight above.
Even though Van was considered tall for his age—standing at 1.1 meters at 11 years old—he was nothing compared to Master Rock.
"Freaking monster," Arthur muttered, staring at Master Rock's massive build.
*THUD
*THUD
The sound of bodies hitting the ground drew their attention to the side of the field.
The three of them saw the first-year students collapsing or kneeling due to the unbearable gravity pressure.
"What the—?"
"What's happening?"
"Why does my body feel so heavy?"
Upperclassmen who had just arrived also looked at the struggling first-years with pity in their eyes.
"Alright, kids. You probably don't know me yet, first-years. My name's Rock Blue. You can call me Master Rock. I'll be teaching your [Physical Training] classes going forward. I look forward to working with you," Master Rock said.
"Master Rock, help us," the first-years pleaded.
"That's your first lesson. Use your bodies to resist this gravity. Then, run laps around the field until I tell you to stop," Master Rock ordered.
Hearing this, the first-years showed expressions of despair.
They couldn't even move a finger under the pressure of this gravity—how could they possibly stand and run?
Van, Arthur, and the standing upperclassmen looked down at the collapsed students with sympathy.
"What are you doing standing around?! Start running laps around the field now!" Master Rock shouted.
Van, Arthur, and the upperclassmen snapped out of their daze after Master Rock's shout and began running laps around the field.
After five minutes of running, Van, Arthur, and the upperclassmen had completed two laps.
"When are we going to stop? Just running in circles is so boring," Arthur muttered.
An upperclassman running behind Arthur fell silent when he heard the comment. He wanted to say something but held his tongue, remembering Arthur's bad reputation. Who knew—maybe Arthur would slash him with a sword the next second.
"I'm sorry I'm late, Master Rock. I had something to take care of."
"Alright. I'll accept your apology—but first, give me one thousand handstand push-ups."
Van, Arthur, and all the students looked to the center of the field. They saw a petite girl, about 1 meter tall, with pink hair and eyes, wearing a black robe with the Academy's insignia on the back—signifying she is a member of the [Academy Committee].
Seeing the girl speaking to Master Rock, Arthur's eyes suddenly lit up with cold anger, irritation, and a desire to fight.
"Calm down, you battle maniac," Van said to Arthur.
Arthur calmed down at Van's words, but his glare at the girl remained sharp, as if he might attack her at any moment.
Van also looked at the girl talking to Master Rock. He hadn't expected to run into Nana—one of the [Academy Committee] members they had encountered earlier in the park.
Feeling all the stares, Nana also looked around. When her gaze met Arthur's, her eyes lit up with fury and frustration.
Arthur, noticing Nana's glare, responded by making a throat-slitting gesture and grinning widely.
'Why did I have to meet that mad dog here?!' Nana thought angrily.
Seeing Nana distracted, Master Rock frowned and shouted, "Nana!"
The shout snapped Nana back to attention.
"Yes, Master?" she asked in surprise.
"Two thousand handstand push-ups," Master Rock said.
"Ah—"
"No buts," Master Rock said and walked away.
"Yes, Master," Nana replied weakly.
Nana then began doing handstand push-ups, but her eyes never left Arthur, who continued running laps.
Arthur also kept watching Nana do her push-ups, occasionally taunting her—making Nana tremble with rage.
Watching the unspoken battle between the two, Van simply ignored it, as if none of it had anything to do with him.