Every single moment of yesterday was spent tearing a muscle. Oh, you're done running? Let's work on your arms. Oh, you're done with your arms? Let's work on your core. And so on. The only moments of rest we had was during meals and water breaks. We got home at around seven in the evening and we were dead tired.
During the grueling session yesterday, we didn't talk to Ilmarë at all — no matter how much she pestered us throughout the workout. We only gave her an indication that we could hear her while we were on our way home, because she actually said something important.
She told us we had to meet up with her today at 9 AM sharp for the mandatory class that all combat majors had to take.
We entered her office without knocking with Petra leading the way. Petra came with us again since she really didn't have anything to do at home.
"Where's your sense of respect for your elders? I swear kids these days." The first thing that came out of Ilmarë's mouth was a complaint. The day had only just begun, but I already wanted to get away from her.
Petra seemed to feel the same since she immediately pivoted and left the room with me and Vera following after her.
"Hey! Hey! Wait! It's just a joke! Just a mere jest!"
Vera and I weren't that comfortable yet with acting close to Ilmarë, so we were like little ducklings doing whatever Petra did. The dean followed us out her office to catch up to us.
"Act more like your station." Petra's steady voice cut through the air.
Ilmarë fell to the floor, her legs unsteady. "Aa-a! Th-that hurts too much. I c-can't go... on... anymore." Her back hit the floor as the last of her words slipped out.
I would have been more worried if it weren't for the staffers all around us acting like nothing was wrong. One even walked right past her while she was doing her bit. It seemed like this was just another common occurrence around here.
Petra also plainly left the scene, leaving the Administration Building entirely. As we exited the door, there she was already waiting for us.
"Gosh, what took you three so long? Faster! My class is starting any minute now!" She had her hands on her hips and was tapping her foot while leaning to a scooter.
We got on the ride as she sped us off. "Ilmarë, what are we doing today?"
"What? Why did you drop the 'miss'? I'm a dean! At least call me with a 'ma'am' or something!"
No one said anything.
"I mean, yeah sure. But, like! You know!"
...
"Can I at least cut you three a deal?"
...
"At least call me with a 'miss' or 'ma'am' when around other students. Pwetty pwease?" She lifted her hands from the handlebar as she turned around to face the three of us and did her best to make herself look cute.
I couldn't give a rat's ass about any sense of distance with her anymore when our safety was in danger. "Hey! Ilmarë! Watch where you're driving!"
"Relaaax. I have like eyes in the back of my head. That's how it goes when you're the dean of the College of Mana, you can do stuff like these, you know!" She shrugged and even leaned back into the head of the scooter.
True to her word, no accidents happened as we arrived to an open field in the College of Mana. Hundreds of people were already waiting scattered around the field. We gingerly got off the scooter. "Remember what I said, okay?" Ilmarë gave us a smile and then she disappeared.
The sound of a clap resounded like a boom, drawing everyone's attention to the source. A woman was standing in the middle of the field, her elegant side-swept blonde hair revealing a beautiful gold earring adorned on her long ears. Her green eyes appeared disinterested, looking as if she wanted to be anywhere else but here. Her stylish green sundress complimenting her eyes perfectly. A cigarette stick hanging out from her mouth. It was Ilmarë.
"Sit down." Her whole demeanor was completely different from what it just was. Her voice toed the line between strict and lethargy.
No one dared to speak out and everyone followed her words, me and Vera included. Petra was already sitting down, not on the grass like the rest of us but, on a chair from who knows where.
There was no overconfident student that spoke out, no arrogant noble protesting her orders. The mana that subtly pressed down on all of their shoulders discouraged any thoughts of doing so.
"You're all new combat majors and the one thing that all combat majors need is their mana. Other majors will have this lesson later on, but combat majors don't have that luxury. You need to awaken your mana by the end of this week or you will be removed from the College of Combat and asked to shift to another college. If you're not fast enough to awaken your mana, you have no hope in becoming a combat major in the first place."
"There might be some of you who already awakened your mana. If so, you can leave right now, though I wouldn't suggest doing so. You will learn something new this week, of that I have no doubt."
"Though I didn't want to spend my time here when I could be doing something more productive, circumstances have forced me to take charge of the first day of mana training of all the combat majors. Starting tomorrow, you'll find yourself in different sections taught by different professors."
"I will field your questions before we begin, all five of them. Make the most of it."
Holy. Was she really the same person we knew? She emitted a heavy sense of gravitas and pressure that I couldn't ever imagine coming from her from what we knew of her.
A silence filled the field. A few seconds passed before someone finally managed to work up the courage to ask something.
"And who are you?" A young man's brash voice echoed out.
Her eyes landed on the speaker. "That's one. Next question."
I could feel the common sentiment of the students were around the lines of 'Why is she saying she'll field questions if she's not going to answer it?'
"What's our overview for the day?" This time, a young woman's cool voice entered the fray.
"All of you had some PT yesterday, right?"
A collective nod answered.
"You'll be doing more for the entire morning. Eat lunch. Only then will we start initiating your mana."
"Is there a reason for that?" The same young woman followed up.
"Physical exhaustion makes it easier to feel your mana."
"Thank you."
"Two left."
"Three."
"Two."
"A—" Someone started speaking up, but his voice got cut off.
"One."
"Zero. Seems like there's no more questions."
She... she's not even hiding it.
"Now, stand." She stomped her foot. Immediately the ground underneath each of us rose up from the ground, pushing us all to our feet. Some lost their balance and fell forwards, but no one dared to laugh.
"Run laps around the field until you drop or til I tell you to stop." A pillar also rose behind her looking like a tree stump, the perfect size for sitting. She sat down as adjusted her cigar. "Go."
Roughly all 500 of us started jogging around the grassy field. It was incredibly tempting to approach her in her current demeanor, but it was too scary to try. Especially with everyone being hyper aware of Professor Ilmarë's current state. It felt like if we did anything to irk her, she'd just make things worse for us.
Conversation started flowing between everyone as the session went on while Vera and I kept pace at the very end of the group. There was no need to go faster than needed since it wasn't a race. My feet was getting sore from all this running coupled with the workout we did yesterday.
About thirty minutes into the jog, some people started dropping from the group. Either taking a pause to pant deep breaths or just stopping entirely. Without being ordered to, they all huddled around in a group. No one had the courage to go on their own and have Professor Ilmarë's sights on them.
The jog continued on until hours have passed and only a fraction of us remained.
"That's enough. Go out for lunch and be back in an hour." This was the first words that left the professor's lips since the start of the exercise. By now, everyone treated the words of the silent disinterested beauty as gospel with how each word that comes out of her lips were filled with an unseen pressure.
We stayed back as everyone started leaving the field. The nearest cafeteria was some minutes away so they were all in a bit of a rush to get there and eat lunch in time.
Vera and I approached Petra who somehow went unnoticed by anyone. No one looked at her or bothered her at all. Petra produced out a lunchbox for the three of us and we started eating.
"So?! How was that?!" A cheery voice shouted from behind us, nearly making us drop our lunch.
It seemed like everyone already left so she could drop the act.
"Was that really you?"
She crossed her arms, flipped her hair, and smirked. "Your respect for me rose just now, didn't it?! Hehe." She brushed her thumb on the tip of her nose.
"It just went down."
"Oh please! You can't fool my eyes. My eyes sees all!" She laughed arrogantly.