A well-built man entered the room. He had a masculine face and broad shoulders. Looking at the man's simple loose clothing, Aena wouldn't be surprised if underneath his clothes belied well-toned muscles.
Wasting no time, he immediately bellowed in a loud voice for the class to follow him outside. There were a few groans of protest from some of the students, but they were immediately silenced by the instructor's sharp turn of the head. They headed for the fields which were similar to the training grounds that Aena had been to earlier in the day.
When everyone had finally gathered up, he started speaking.
"We will be holding a physical training class every other day unless there is some other event going on at the time, such as a tournament or class assignment."
He then gave an enthusiastic, but unwarranted, spiel about the importance of physical endurance, muscles, and exercise. 'Yes,' Aena confirmed, 'this guy is a devoted muscle fanatic.'
Even with his peculiar obsession, he seemed like a decent instructor so far, who was passionate about his job, so that was a win.
"We'll be starting with fifty laps," the instructor shouted.
'Wait a minute,' Aena cramped up just thinking about it. She was already tired from the morning session. If she knew this was going to happen, she wouldn't have pushed herself so hard then.
"What are you fools standing around for? Get on it!" He barked.
'Ugh.' So with the instructor's dreaded words, Aena and everyone else began the arduous task.
…
Two hours later, Aena and everyone else lay sprawled in the grass, panting heavily.
Although they were getting smeared with dirt, it didn't matter since they were already drenched with sweat; they were too weary to care about anything at the moment.
Everyone had a blank look on their face. Of course, there were a few individuals who looked better compared to the others, those who had probably hardly ever exercised outside of coercion in their life. People like Lance and Cassidy, of course, were given to be in the spotlight, since they were the top of the year.
What was surprising, was that the upbeat girl, Emmy, was also on par with Lance and Cassidy. Aena was shocked at the endurance of that airhead. 'I guess looks really aren't everything.' Maybe her information gathering required high levels of flexibility and finesse. Various improbable scenes appeared in Aena's mind.
Aena herself fell somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. She did exercise, but certainly not to the extent of a melee combatant.
Aena had thought that the instructor would've ended the class with fifty laps, which already caused them to feel clasped in the hands of death. Yet to their dismay, the instructor merely stated that "they were only getting started."
The running was then followed by pushups, situps, and squats. It seemed like basic exercises, but the amount was truly tantamount to Olympic-level athletes; which most if not none possessed such a title. They weren't Saitama.
Aena already felt a sense of foreboding for the next class. Physical training class? What bullshit! Aena was sure that even the prisoners of hell were having an easier time than them. Sisyphus was pushing a pebble compared to the limits they were tested. Every fiber of her being felt exhausted. With every breath she took, she could feel the soreness that permeated through her muscles.
She could only imagine the pain she would feel tomorrow. At least she didn't have any movement-based classes like some of her peers. They could only begin to shed tears at this point.
Students soon recovered somewhat and began walking away alone or in groups. Aena espied Cassidy walking away and she begrudgingly pulled her body up as well.
The two began the trip back to the Rosengard Dorms together. Not exactly together, but rather with Aena trailing behind around ten meters back. It was slightly awkward.
Aena figured the girl either hated everyone around her or had some reason to stay alone which would explain her behavior during the opening ceremony. Either way, it wouldn't be wise to approach her, as it looked like it wasn't something she desired.
So Aena trailed behind. She then realized that her current behavior was mighty suspicious as well. It almost seemed like she was purposefully following her. They had the same destination, but her behavior was like that of a stalker.
She didn't want to be solidified as a creep more than he already had been. She could try to overtake the girl, but she had short legs and in her tired condition, she only wanted to rest.
She could slow her steps and pretend to have another commitment before circling back, but that might defeat the purpose—it would be strange to do anything besides washing up.
'Ugh.' Why was she thinking so much about such a meaningless topic? It was never this complicated before.
So Aena just continued to follow behind.
After another ten minutes, they arrived back at the dorm and entered the foyer. Only once she was safely back in her room did Aena relax. She knew that some nobles were impertinent brats who picked on others for their own ego.
She was pretty sure from the way Cassidy acted that she wasn't someone like that, but it didn't hurt to make sure. From what Aena had perceived, Cassidy didn't react to anything around her noticeably, but the words she had said were particularly rash.
"You'll know soon enough." 'I wonder what those words could have meant,' pondered Aena.
Aena grabbed a clean set of clothes and set off to the showers. Finding a stall, she noticed that the violet-haired girl was already there.
Aena thought it was rather strange that in the whole dormitory, she had only seen Cassidy. The academy released the class rosters beforehand, so usually the classes dormed together, but Aena had made her choice based on the fees. Plus, although living with her class could've allowed her to make connections and strengthen bonds, she wasn't the kind of person who was worried about that.
She couldn't understand why Cassidy would make such a decision though. Was there perhaps some knowledge that she was exempt from? The public showering facilities were not something that she could see the other girl, who did not value others, to like.
So why did she do it then? When registering housing, the academy publicly showed the students that applied for the dorm, so that this way classmates could be together. Thinking back, she remembered that the dormitory inhabitant's applicants were filled significantly. It was strange that she hadn't seen a single one. She couldn't think of any reason outside of maybe they had gone on some special outing as a dorm. The thought worried her.
Plagued with thoughts looking at the other girl, the warm water soon lifted her of her worries. She finished her shower with a contented shower. Showers really were the best.
She headed back into her room before opening her laptop.
There were some things she needed to prepare for. Some upcoming events were going to appear soon—some of the main reasons she joined the academy.