Elysia was sitting in her chair, having already finished her second coffee of the day. She was now waiting for someone.
"He's late…" she sighed as she leaned back, glancing at the clock.
19:35
"He's late by a lot… did something happen?" she muttered under her breath, using her golden bracelet to send a message.
-----
Elysia: You're late by about an hour. Did something happen?
Roderic: Yes, I'm witnessing the birth of something incredible.
Elysia: What? Did your wife go into labor so soon?!
Roderic: No
Elysia: Then what is it? You know I value my time, so this better not be a waste.
Roderic: I think it's better if you come here and see for yourself.
Elysia: This better be worth it.
-----
"He wants me to go to the Live Combat Practice room? Why? Usually, at this hour, all facilities are locked."
With a sigh, she stood up and left her office.
"This better not waste my time," she muttered under her breath, walking through the academy until she finally reached the Live Combat Practice facility.
-----
Elysia: I'm here. Where are you?
Roderic: Room 72
-----
"What's he doing in the room for team duels?" she cursed softly. "Has the man finally gone insane?"
Walking through the hallways, she arrived at the door of the room. Across from it, the sound of battle was raging.
Without hesitation, Elysia turned the knob and entered.
Her eyes narrowed in shock as she took in the scene before her.
Roderic, one of the most influential instructors in the academy, was sitting on a chair near the entrance, completely silent and mesmerized by the sight before him.
A loud, menacing laugh echoed through the room.
"Is that all you've got?!" shouted Zaroth, who was missing his left eye.
"I'm just warming up!" Zack spat back. His left arm had endured so many attacks that most of the flesh had fallen away, leaving only bone, rendering it useless.
"Take this seriously, for fuck's sake!" Lily commanded, standing in front of Roran with a deep wound on her head.
He smiled faintly before replying, "But I am taking you seriously."
His answer only irritated the girl further. "Don't you start lying to me! I know if you were taking this seriously, you would've beaten me in mere seconds!"
Elysia shifted her gaze to Roderic, who was still fixated on the fight. Her voice, dark and threatening, cut through the chaos.
"What the fuck is this?"
Finally realizing that the chairwoman had entered, Roderic met her gaze with a smile. "The birth of new geniuses!"
His answer only worsened her mood.
Looking at the brutal scene before her, Elysia saw only one thing: four people on the verge of killing one another, even with the healing provided by the room.
"STOP THIS NONSENSE AT ONCE!" Elysia shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos and finally snapping the four youngsters out of their frenzy as they turned to face her.
"Did… did we do something wrong?" Lily asked, stuttering. Just looking at Elysia—the chairwoman and one of the strongest people in the empire—filled her with dread.
Elysia shifted her gaze to the timid girl before replying, "Have you done something wrong, you ask?!" Her voice grew angrier with every word.
"Come. Stand by my side."
Lily was startled by the sudden request, but with no choice, she obeyed. She took a step forward.
Then a second.
On the third step, Lily collapsed, unable to move.
"Lily!" Roran screamed, rushing to her side… only to collapse after his third step as well.
"What is going on?" Zaroth muttered, before collapsing, unable to move. Zack followed immediately after.
Elysia took a deep breath, trying to calm herself before explaining.
"You fools! The room may heal your injuries, but not your exhaustion! If you had gone any longer, you would have died from sheer overexertion!"
Zaroth, now lying on the floor, realized that he not only felt physical pain but also a sharp ache in his chest—it was as if his mana core was on the verge of cracking. Without hesitation, he desummoned Silverfang.
Trying to make sense of the situation, he muttered under his tired breath, "This doesn't make sense… I was just fighting a moment ago, and now I can't even move?!"
Elysia shifted her gaze to him before answering,
"Yes, because you were all fighting for your lives. You must have been running on adrenaline alone, but even that has its limits! Try standing up."
The four bodies lying on the floor didn't move. A terrified voice broke the silence—Lily's.
"I… I can't move a muscle," she whispered.
"There's a reason this lecture is usually only an hour and a half," Elysia said as she glanced at the current time—20:12.
"When did you start this class?"
"15:30, ma'am," Roran replied weakly.
"Five hours… It's a miracle you're still alive," Elysia muttered under her breath. She turned her piercing gaze toward Roderic.
"You… after I deal with them, I want you in my office."
Trying to hide the fact that he was sweating bullets, he replied timidly,
"Yes, ma'am."
With a sigh, Elysia flicked her finger, and the four students were lifted into the air.
It was a strange experience for Zaroth. It felt as though he was frozen in time—he couldn't even open his mouth to speak. All he could do was observe.
'Luna…' he began hesitantly in his mind.
'No, it wasn't wrong. I am proud,' she replied immediately, cutting off his question.
'Proud?' He would have raised an eyebrow if he wasn't frozen.
'Yes. You must increase your strength faster—much faster than everyone else here. Today, not only did you push past the limitations of your physical body, but your coordination with Silverfang also improved, strengthening your core.'
'Then…'
'No, you are still far too weak to handle me,' Luna answered his unspoken question.
'Curses,' Zaroth thought bitterly.
*****
Smoking her cigarette, Sylvia savored the rare moment of peace she had as a healer.
Until the doors to her room suddenly burst open.
Shifting her gaze, she saw Elysia enter, bearing a menacing expression.
"Boss, what's wrong?" Sylvia asked, cursing internally. 'Shit, she's not here to scold me for smoking in the infirmary, right?'
She prepared for anything—or so she thought—until four floating bodies entered behind Elysia.
No, they weren't corpses. It was just that the sheer amount of dried blood on their bodies and the rips in their clothes easily made them look like ones.
"What happened? Were we attacked?!" Sylvia shouted, rushing to tend to the wounds of the four students.
"Yes, we were," Elysia replied instantly, "Attacked by idiocy."
After placing the four students on the empty beds, Elysia turned her back to leave, but then she suddenly stopped.
"Sylvia," she said coldly.
"Y-yes?" Sylvia replied timidly.
"If I catch you smoking in the infirmary again, you will have a problem."
"I see. I'll keep that in mind," Sylvia muttered nervously.
As Elysia left, Sylvia sighed.
"How the hell did these four end up so beaten up?"
Zaroth, too tired to care or think about anything, drifted into sleep.
This marked the end of his second day at the academy—from waking up naked on its roof, to running half a marathon, to fighting for his life, to peacefully sleeping in the infirmary—all in a single day.