"Getting better?" she asked softly.
Kael nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Veyla."
"Don’t thank me," she huffed, standing up and brushing her hands clean.
"If you keep fighting like that, I’ll be healing you every time.", she said and her face got blushed.
Jin chuckled. "She’s right. You looked like a raging beast out there. What the hell was that sword of yours?"
Kael avoided his gaze. He didn’t answer. The memory of his eyes turning red and his pain vanishing still lingered like a shadow.
The three of them began walking back toward the training ground one entrance.
Other students had already gathered, whispering and pointing. Some stared with admiration, others with fear.
Kael’s thoughts turned inward.
(Three weeks... That’s when the demons will come. I’m not strong enough to face them. Not even close. But at least... at least I have to get the Ancient Coin. Without it, there’s no chance I’ll become strong...)
Before he could dwell longer, a familiar stern voice cut through the murmurs.
"Who are the ones that dared to make a mess in the senior training ground?"
Professor Slyvia’s heels tapped against the stone floor as she approached, a thin stack of papers tucked under one arm.
Her sharp eyes swept across the crowd of first-year students, who immediately straightened like soldiers under inspection.
Then, slowly, heads began to turn. All eyes pointed toward Kael, Jin, and Veyla.
Kael sighed. Jin scratched the back of his head. Veyla pinched the bridge of her nose as though regretting the decision that had led her to this moment.
Finally, all three raised their hands.
"It was us, Professor," Jin admitted with an awkward grin.
"Though, you know, the senior kind of—"
"Quiet," Slyvia snapped. "It’s just the first day after the midterm break, and you’ve already managed to wreak havoc. Do you three have any idea how much damage you’ve caused?"
Kael opened his mouth, then wisely closed it when he saw her expression.
Veyla tried instead. "Professor, we—"
"No excuses," Slyvia cut in sharply. "If you have the energy to fight, then you have the energy to fix what you’ve broken."
She pointed toward the destroyed field.
"Your punishment is simple. You will repair Ground One. Every single part of it. The grass, the dummies, the barriers, everything. And you have exactly one day to finish it."
A wave of murmurs broke out among the other first-years. Some gasped. Some laughed quietly, clearly glad it wasn’t them. Google seaʀᴄh N0velFire.ɴet
"One day?!" Jin blurted out before he could stop himself.
"Professor, that place looks like a battlefield. We’d need an army!"
Slyvia’s eyes narrowed dangerously. "Then consider this your army of three. Or perhaps you’d prefer I assign extra laps instead?"
Jin quickly shook his head. "No, no! We’ll manage, Professor!"
Kael and Veyla both sighed in unison.
But Slyvia wasn’t finished. She turned to face the rest of the class, her voice carrying like a whip.
"As for the rest of you... don’t think you’ve been spared. Since some of you find it amusing to watch chaos instead of training, your workload increases too. Starting tomorrow, you will all run two hundred laps. Every. Single. Day."
A collective groan filled the air.
"Two hundred?!" someone whispered.
"She’s crazy!" another muttered under their breath.
"And that’s not all," Slyvia continued.
"Heat and cold training will also be doubled. Twice the time in the ice chamber, twice the time in the heat chamber. Perhaps then you’ll learn the meaning of endurance and discipline as well as you will become strong."
The crowd erupted in uneasy murmurs, fear and dread written across their faces.
Some students looked pale as though already imagining frostbite and heatstroke.
Beside Kael, Jin’s jaw dropped. "She’s going to kill us. Two hundred laps and double times training? I’ll be a corpse by the end of the year."
"Serves you right for shouting in the middle of Ground One," Veyla whispered back, though even she looked shaken.
Kael stayed quiet. Harsh as it was, he knew Slyvia’s punishments always had purpose.
Slyvia tapped her papers against her arm, glaring at the three troublemakers once more.
"You will begin repairs immediately after class. Fail, and you’ll face far worse than my scolding. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Professor," all three said in unison.
"Good," she said, finally turning back toward the front. "Now, return to your places. The lecture continues."
The students groaned again but obeyed.
As Kael walked back with Jin and Veyla, Jin whispered, "We’re doomed."
Veyla sighed. "No... we’ll survive. Somehow."
Kael said nothing. His gaze drifted once more toward his sword, its surface now dull gray again. His hand clenched around the hilt.
(Demons... Ancient Coin... and now this punishment. I’ll endure whatever it takes. I have no choice.)
(I will consider this a training...) Kael muttered to himself as they left Professor Slyvia’s scolding behind.
When lunchtime came, Kael’s hunger hit him like a storm. He sat in the dining hall with Veyla, and they quietly nibbled on their portions, Kael devoured food like a starving wolf.
"Uh... Kael," Veyla whispered, leaning closer with wide eyes. "Are you... eating for ten people? Or did you awaken some hidden beast bloodline?"
Kael ignored her, tearing into a roasted leg of chicken, swallowing down rice bowls, bread, soup, and anything within reach. His tray piled up so high that nearby students whispered.
"Look at him go..." one muttered.
"Is he even human?" another said.
"Don’t mind him. He probably burned through all his strength today", Veyla said.
After several more plates, Kael finally leaned back.
"If I don’t eat, I won’t have the strength to finish repairing Ground One. That’s all."
They left the dining hall soon after and made their way to Mr. Orwen’s classroom.
The professor was calm explaining mana control and the flow of energy between one’s body and weapon.
Kael tried to focus, but exhaustion kept tugging at his eyelids. Jin doodled half the time while Veyla took neat notes.
When the bell rang, Professor Orwen dismissed them with a warning.
"Do not mistake strength for recklessness. A swordsman without discipline is like a blade without a hilt—dangerous to himself before anyone else."
By evening, the three of them stood before the Ground One they had destroyed. The torn earth, shattered dummies, and broken barriers stretched across the wide field like scars from a war.