A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy -
Chapter 74: Quick Wits (1)
It was around Saturday when I received Lize's explanation on controlling fury and about Chaos.
In other words, Sunday was still ahead, and Lize, on that day, did not aid me but Luna.
She gave Luna a taste of what her physical training would be like in the future.
Luna was more than happy to receive training from someone of Lize's caliber, as she, too, desired strength.
"Ughhh…"
The next day, as soon as the class started, she returned looking like a zombie. The Saintess had somehow made a zombie.
Normally, Luna wouldn't show any sign of struggle even if it was hard for her. But now, she's almost dying with her head lying on the desk.
She seemed to lack even the energy to lift her head. Barely making it to her seat while shuffling along.
"You look exhausted. What on earth did you do yesterday?"
Kara, sensing something out of the ordinary in Luna's condition, couldn't help but ask. Concern could be heard in her voice, sensing the severity of Luna's state.
Trembling, Luna struggled to lift her head in response to the question. At least her expression wasn't marred by fatigue.
Her mind was clear, but her body groaned with exhaustion.
"Just… did some exercise… but it was so hard…"
"What kind of exercise was it?"
"100 push-ups with the body, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and, to top it off, a 10km run."
It was the kind of training one could expect from a bald-caped hero. It might seem easy, but in reality, it's an intense workout plan.
Yet, this is a place filled with superhumans who can handle such a routine easily. Kara was also capable of doing as much.
"That sounds incredibly easy. Were you weaker than I thought?"
"It's not that… You have to do it all at once without a break. If you rest, you start back at one. It doesn't matter if you use mana, but you must get to 100 without stopping."
"That would be pretty tough."
"Yeah… I even threw up in the middle… But the Saintess just kept giving me potions, so I couldn't even rest… Haa…"
As I've mentioned before, the training so harsh it makes one vomit is Lize’s training.
Lize's method pushes a person to their limits and lets them languish there until signs of breaking through appear.
If it risks causing actual harm to the body, she promptly intervenes. That's why the body doesn't get damaged but improves instead.
"I'm supposed to do this training every Sunday. If I don't pass, it's repeated over and over."
"You'll need to work hard on your stamina then. You've got a lot of basics to learn. Even by my standards, there's too much to do."
"Yeah… So please take care of Sivar for the time being, sister."
"Got it. Let’s switch places for now. If you rest in the corner, at least you won’t attract as much attention."
Luna is well-regarded by the professors. Even so, they don't reprimand her for sleeping during classes.
Ultimately, it's her loss if she doesn’t listen. And they think each has their circumstances, so they leave her be.
Then, Luna and Kara switched places, and Luna began to rest, lying down. Not long after, she quieted down, presumably deep in sleep.
"It feels like the first time I'm sitting next to you like this, right?"
"Yeah."
We've sat together during survival practice, but this is the first time in class. Kara smiled at this, her smile always so hearty.
I considered returning the smile but remembered her advice and quickly pulled my lips back into a neutral position.
‘Was my smile really that strange?'
Usually, I maintain a poker face, so it hasn't mattered much, but I was slightly concerned. I thought my appearance was decent enough.
I decided I'd ask others besides Kara later on. For today, I’ll just focus on the tasks at hand.
"Hello, Sivar. Did you have a good weekend?"
Grace arrived as time passed and sat next to me. Evidently, we’ve become a set now since Yeonhwa followed her as well.
Whether Grace dragged her along forcibly, or Yeonhwa came willingly, they appeared to be close.
"Yep. Grace. How about you?"
"Oh. Can you now call my name?"
"Yeah."
With my newfound ability to pronounce four syllables, Grace brightened with amazement.
My faith had risen, enabling me to speak three syllables, but surprisingly, I could do more. My current faith is at 7.
It had gone up by 4 over the weekend. Whatever Chaos saw to boost my faith, my speech has become fluent.
Of course, fluent by my standards is still on par with a young child’s. I’m still not fully literate.
"That's great. I was curious when you'd be able to call my name, so I'm glad. Then you can easily call Yeonhwa too?"
"Uh, huh? Me?"
"Yeonhwa."
While Yeonhwa looked astounded, I called out her name. At first surprised, Yeonhwa also showed a slightly amazed reaction.
Then she spoke up, a trace of wonder on her face.
"It's peculiar. Your pronunciation and accent nearly match the Hwan Empire."
"Is that so? I can’t tell the difference…"
"Grace also struggles saying Yeonhwa, usually calling me Yeounju instead. It's the final consonant that’s hard, isn't it?"
This world has various languages, each with their individual pronunciations and accents.
Although the academy uses a common language, accents are something you can’t easily hide.
Even fluent foreigners in Korean still retain their unique accents and pronunciations, and it's no different in this world.
"Speaking of which, isn't the Tatars language known to be hard to pronounce?"
Grace inquired toward Kara. There was some cautiousness in her question, as they weren’t completely close yet.
Kara, on the other hand, seemed unbothered and nodded affirmatively.
"Why don't you try saying ‘Einherjar'?"
"Einhe… What did you say?"
"Ein… Ein…"
The name of the weapon is Ragnarok. As can be seen from Kara's surname Hektorsdottir, Tatars language has a Nordic influence.
It may seem like a hybrid between Ancient Egypt and Nordic elements, but they surprisingly blend well.
After all, Tatars itself is a land of mighty warriors, fitting well with the barbaric nature of Norse mythology.
"Difficult, right? In the common tongue, it means ‘The Ones Who Cannot Die.' Not undead but warriors who continue fighting even in death. It refers to the most outstanding warriors of Tatars."
"I see. Then Kara, are you also an Einhe…?"
"I’m a princess, why?"
"Ah."
Grace momentarily wore a baffled expression, having forgotten that she was speaking to royalty.
It makes sense, considering Kara's behavior, which is far removed from any sense of authority, and she's genuinely like that in personality.
Kara herself acknowledged her status only as a princess, so the mention was more of a jest.
"During the tribal unification, I served as an Einherjar. Now, it's gotten troublesome with all the propriety and stuff."
"Mm…"
Grace scanned Kara from head to toe, observing her with curiosity.
Was she bothered by that gaze? Or was it because of Grace's sharp eyes?
"…Why are you looking at me like that? Is it so strange that I am a princess?"
Kara asked, furrowing her brows slightly and speaking with a hint of discomfort.
From Grace's standpoint, it must have been undeserved, but her look often lent itself to misunderstandings.
"No, that's not it. I was just curious all of a sudden. What would Kara look like in traditional Tatars' attire? Plus, you're a princess. Don't you wear something splendid?"
Undeterred, Grace clarified the misunderstanding without any confusion. It was such a frequent occurrence that she could smoothly handle it.
An embarrassed Kara blinked, then scratched her cheek and awkwardly responded.
"Splendid, yes, it’s splendid indeed. But by your standards… you might find it rather… embarrassing. Very much so."
"Embarrassing? What do you mean?"
Kara hardly speaks ill of Tatars. However, she found their traditional garments embarrassing to mention.
Here's something to note: Tatars borders linguistically on Norse, but its motif is actually ‘Ancient Egypt.'
The lifestyle of Ancient Egypt, especially in terms of clothing, often has a fantastical edge.
"Right. Most people wear quite revealing clothing. For men, being bare-chested is just the basics, and women typically wear nothing but underwear and a single skirt. Sometimes the clothing is even more revealing than being naked."
"Oh, my goodness…"
Yeonhwa blushed, letting out an awkward sound. The Hwan Empire, unlike Tatars, is conservative and strict about exposure.
Therefore, even just hearing the description prompted such a cute reaction. Grace, no different, was blushing as well.
Following a slight cough, Grace began to look around carefully, then spoke quietly.
"…Do you wear it, Kara?"
"Yep. I do, why?"
"Aren't you embarrassed?"
"Not at all. It can't be avoided since it’s hotter in my country. Here, I have to restrain myself because of what people might think."
Even her restrained attire is rather revealing. Looking at what she wears every Wednesday afternoon for training, it's clear.
A toned abdomen is always on show, and occasionally, she shows up in such short shorts that it's a tad embarrassing.
The weekends are the same. She walks around in sleeveless tops and shorts that bring all eyes upon her.
And with her vibrant, sun-kissed skin, it’s impossible not to notice her.
"I almost want to tie the academy uniform up around my waist. The dress code is quite strict, isn't it?"
"Yes. I believe you receive penalty points for wearing it oddly."
"That’s too bad. If there weren't these rules, I would be walking around in clothes I brought from Tatars."
"…Did you bring them with you?"
From her words, it seemed like Kara brought traditional Tatars attire with her. Grace, catching on, asked with a bit of surprise.
Kara replied with a look that seemed to say, ‘What kind of question is that?'
"Of course, I brought them. Isn’t there something like a festival or a social gathering? I heard it from my father."
"That’s true but… Do you really have to stick to the traditional dress?"
"Dresses are uncomfortable. I don’t like them."
"…"
Ah, now I remember. Kara has what could be considered a unique skin.
While others would come in dresses or Eastern-style clothing, only Kara wore a dancer’s costume.
Ever since her illustration was revealed, Kara’s fan base has thickened. Other fan bases grew, too, but Kara's was overwhelmingly more popular.
‘I think Ellie had a similar experience.'
I can't remember what Ellie wore. Given her physique, whatever she wears would be dramatic.
"Everyone’s here now. As I mentioned last week, from today on the clerics will be taking over the lessons. The clerics from various orders will be here soon, so follow them in your groups."
It wasn't much later that Marlboro arrived and gave us our schedule. The time to search for the mark of the demon was drawing near.
The group arrangements turned out quite nicely as well. Including me, it was Luna, Kara, Elvin, Grace, Yeonhwa, and so on.
Elvin, Luna, and Kara seemed to be included as my guardians. The two others apparently were teamed up with me during the survival practice.
‘It seems like they’re worried I might get into trouble.'
I will, in fact, cause trouble. Regrettably so.
Afterward, before the clerics arrived, we decided to start by waking Luna, who had dozed off.
Kara poked the deeply sleeping Luna and called out to her.
"Hey, Luna."
No response. She looked like a corpse.
Even when Kara tapped her shoulder, Luna didn't move an inch. How tired must she be to not react at all?
"Luna, wake up. We need to get going."
"Hmm."
Unimpressed, Kara resorted to a more drastic method.
Smack!
With a swift slap on the back.
"Yeep?!"
Perhaps no amount of tiredness could withstand the sting of a back smack.
Luna shot up, startled, with drool streaming from the corner of her mouth, which suggested she’d been in deep sleep.
"We need to go now. Wake up."
"…Eh?"
Luna blinked several times in response to Kara's words and then quietly asked,
"…What?"
It seems she’s out of sorts.
Seeing drool on her face made her look like a complete fool.
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