The arena was very large, and in order to do forty laps within an hour, they would need to be running at a moderate speed. For these youths who were still low level, it was a hard task to do. Kana and Kiliffia were at the front leading the others. Behind them was a group of students that were dressed crudely but doing perfectly fine even after ten laps. And dragging behind by a lot were the finely dressed students. It was easy to tell who the nobles were and who wasn't.
Unless their families were in the military, normally, the noble kids never did much working out. They could do as they pleased, living pampered lives. This was different for commoners who had to do chores and other things all day at home. They were much more active and could easily deal with this kind of harsh training. There was also a level difference between the commoners and nobles as well. Commoners would need to be outside the safety of the walls and would need to fight monsters. Many of these students came from remote villages in hopes of entering the academy and graduating in order to better the lives of their families.
As long as they graduated, they could get high positions in the military and earn quite a large salary every month. As for those commoners who did not pass, they would go to the army in hopes of being recruited. As for the nobles, they usually begin training in basic combat a year before attempting to enter the academy. They had to have some form of combat ability. Although their levels were not high, as long as they showed off their ability, they could easily enter the academy.
But even if their levels were a bit higher than nobles and their strength was higher, after thirty laps, they began to slow down. Many nobles would have already dropped out if it was not for Instructor Mills threatening to make them run another forty laps if they did. In the end, everyone was forced to continue no matter how tired they were.
As for Kana and Kiliffia, they were perfectly fine as they continued to run at a steady pace. They were even a lap ahead of some. Their steady breathing as they ran impressed Instructor Mills. He himself could be considered one of the kingdom's elite, and at the young age of twenty five, he was already level 38. Being someone who was always training, out of the loop, and never cared about gossip, he actually did not know who Kana was, not by her appearance anyway. He just took her for an average student with good endurance.
"Okay, good! Not bad, not bad. Although some of you wished to give up part of the way, you still finished. We will take a five minute break. After which, I will begin teaching the basics." Instructor Mills was very pleased. In this class, not a single person threw a fit and finished the forty laps. Although it still took a half hour more than he had said, he did not mind.
After the five minute break, everyone had to gather around one of the stages that Instructor Mills stood on top of. Kana was looking forward to this part since she hoped to gain more experience in fighting. She never wanted to end up as she did before. Although, with her current stats, she may be able to fight against some of the most powerful people on this continent, that did not mean this would be the case elsewhere. She had learned a hard lesson when she almost died in the war. If not for her handsome husband and the goddess showing up, she would have long been dead with a stick stuck through her and roasted on a campfire by the Church of Yuthia.
Even though her main focus was forging while she was here, she still wanted to learn much more about combat. The better her skills, the more likely she would be able to survive in tough situations. "Now, as you all know, the system we all get from the day we are born allows us to level up and become stronger. We gain skills based on the route we decided to go. Everyone starts off with basic magic. But some of you may not know that some skills and spells can be inherited. There are many kinds of skills and spells in this world. Some you can get when reaching certain conditions, while others are found in ancient tombs. There are also items out there that are talked about in legends, such as divine weapons made by gods or legendary armor that makes you immortal.
"Throughout history, people will have incredible luck and stumble upon an inheritance that will give them the ability to rise above the rest. Whether or not you are willing to dive deep into the unknown, risking your lives is up to how much courage you have and your willingness to become strong. But before you can become the next hero, if you do not already have the strength to stand on your own and even if you do have the strength, the knowledge of basic combat is always a must.
"Some of you may call me a demon for making you run this forty laps today. Although what you say is true, what I asked of you is important to make sure your body is fit. Because if you do not at least have the strength for fighting with basic techniques, then you can just leave the academy now. We don't train little shits who are so wet behind the ears they are still sucking on their mommy's tit. I will only train little shits who wish to shove their foot down my mouth for being an asshole.
"Until then, you all are under my command and will do as I say or as I said before, you can fuck off out of the academy. Okay, with that said, I want everyone to form three rows and space yourselves out. Do not be in more than three arms lengths of your neighbor!"
--An: extra chapter due to forgetting that fast pass users can't read the current chapters.--
