Before long, all the trainees had put on their packs and sandbags and gathered on the training ground again.
Alia also appeared on the training ground somewhat late. She held 2 packs and 8 sandbags in her hands.
THUD.
“Trainee Ivan, stand up.”
Alia tossed the packs and sandbags beside Ivan as she spoke.
Following her order, Ivan sprang to his feet.
“Put on a pack and strap the sandbags to your arms and legs.”
“Yes!”
Ivan answered energetically and moved quickly.
He put on the pack and strapped sandbags to his limbs as instructed, but for some reason, Alia's eyebrow twitched.
“What are you doing?”
“Pardon?”
“Can you not see there are still a pack and sandbags left?”
Ivan tilted his head.
“Ah, I thought Instructor Alia was going to use these......”
Alia let out a disbelieving laugh.
“The trainee has a talent for comedy. Did you truly think I, an instructor, would shoulder a burden and run alongside the trainees?”
“Yes, I did!”
Ivan answered honestly.
If someone brought 2 sets of equipment, was it not common sense to assume one was for the other person?
“Since you are an instructor of the renowned Pandora, I thought you would lead the trainees personally through action, not merely words! My apologies!”
“......”
Ivan skillfully embellished his answer using all the experience he had accumulated.
Alia tried to rebuke him, but his words were unexpectedly reasonable, leaving her unable to speak rashly.
‘What the hell is this bastard up to......?’
Alia unwittingly muttered to herself.
Why did she feel as though he were somehow toying with her?
He cleverly dressed up his words until she could not even get angry.
“...Ahem! Indeed. As Trainee Ivan said, this instructor will personally lead every trainee from now on. However, I judged that there was no need for this instructor to participate today, as only light training is scheduled. Therefore, Trainee Ivan.”
Her cold gaze settled on Ivan once more.
“Carry all the remaining equipment. This is your punishment for arriving late and falling asleep during the instructor's explanation, so accept it without complaint.”
Ivan swallowed his disappointment and put on the remaining pack and sandbags.
‘It's heavy, but surprisingly manageable.’
Ivan joined the formation belatedly and patted the packs hanging from his front and back.
Wondering whether everyone felt the same, he looked around and saw more than a few trainees groaning under the weight of their packs and sandbags, unlike him.
Once every trainee was ready, Alia cleared her throat and spoke.
“We will now conduct a simple stamina exercise. The method is also very simple. For the next 2 hours, the trainees will run around this training ground without stopping.”
The complexions of the trainees who had been struggling beneath the weight darkened. In contrast, several trainees smiled confidently.
Most of the noble trainees, including the one who had picked a fight with Ivan earlier, looked relaxed.
“However, before training begins, any trainee currently circulating aura will stop immediately.”
Alia's single statement made the relaxed trainees flinch.
“The use of aura is strictly prohibited during the stamina training overseen by this instructor. I will warn you now: if anyone is caught secretly circulating aura, they may be expelled for violating the rules.”
“......”
“No answer? Do you understand!”
“Yes!”
They were completely forbidden from using aura......
The trainees who had already achieved aura awakening bit their lips and reluctantly stopped circulating it.
“Ugh!”
“S-so heavy......”
One trainee after another let out quiet groans as the weight pressed down on them.
Watching them, Ivan laughed gleefully inside.
The miserable expressions of people caught cheating were always deeply satisfying to behold.
“I will say this again. Any trainee who secretly uses aura will be expelled immediately, so abandon all thoughts of trickery and apply yourselves sincerely to the training.”
“Understood!”
“You may slow down along the way. However, do not stop. Any trainee who stops before the end will receive additional training. Do you understand?”
“Yes!”
“Then, beginning with the front row, run clockwise around the training ground. Begin!”
“Begin!”
At Alia's command, the trainees in the front row began running, and those behind them followed.
Ivan moved his legs as well.
‘It's only 2 hours.’
During his years as a slave, he had often been forced to fight monsters invading the territory throughout the night.
Ivan was therefore fairly confident in his stamina, if nothing else.
***
“Huff, huff......!”
As time passed, the sound of trainees breathing heavily echoed across the training ground.
It was only natural. Every trainee had been running for nearly an hour with a body that felt laden with lead.
Pandora was situated high in the mountains, in particular, so their stamina was bound to drain more quickly.
As a result, a clear divide naturally formed between those with excellent stamina and those without it.
‘As expected.’
Alia's eyes gleamed as she watched the trainees from a distance.
As their instructor, she had already grasped the trainees' general ability levels.
For the most part, the trainees falling behind were ironically those who had already achieved aura awakening.
‘It is clear that awakening their aura made them far too complacent.’
It was a common occurrence: martial artists who had only just awakened their aura became intoxicated by its power and relied on it excessively.
But Pandora was not so lenient as to judge results based on aura alone.
Running out of aura in actual combat was common.
That was why a special investigator required not only mastery of aura, but also stamina, judgment, martial strength, composure, and various other abilities to prepare for unavoidable situations.
‘Still, they are better than the previous class.’
Some trainees fell behind as their stamina failed, while others continued running steadily at a consistent pace.
Above all, the trainees at the front caught Alia's attention.
‘Miliana Leonhart.’
The girl with flowing black hair ran farther ahead than anyone else.
Alia knew Miliana's family name very well.
There were 10 Great Houses said to embody the empire's prestige. Leonhart, a renowned house of swordsmanship, was one of their pillars.
It was a story known only to a few, but Miliana was an illegitimate child of the great House Leonhart.
‘Even as an illegitimate child, she clearly inherited Leonhart blood.’
Miliana was also one of the trainees who had awakened her aura long ago.
Yet even without using aura, her stamina overwhelmed that of most trainees.
The boy following close behind Miliana was no less impressive.
‘Kamel Harbern. The youngest son of the Grand Duke of the North, was it?’
He, too, came from one of the empire's Great Houses. The sharp, honed look in his eyes, like a predator tracking prey, was anything but ordinary.
In the past, Alia had met the head of House Harbern, known as the Frost Duke.
In Kamel, she glimpsed the same predatory presence that flashed in the Frost Duke.
‘Was that trainee's name Layla? She has considerable strength for someone so small. That trainee is not bad either.’
Alia continued making various evaluations of the noticeable trainees in her mind.
She gave a faint, satisfied smile.
As members of Red, the lowest rank, these trainees still showed many immature aspects. What mattered, therefore, was not their current ability, but their potential and determination to grow.
In that respect, Alia's impression was that this class of trainees was fairly promising.
And among them, one trainee captured Alia's attention more than anyone else.
‘That bastard... truly is unexpected.’
Alia let out an inward laugh and shifted her gaze. Ivan stood where she looked.
‘I thought he was merely an idiot.’
He had arrived late on his first day and even fallen asleep during the instructor's explanation, so Alia's evaluation of Ivan had not been favorable, to put it mildly.
But what about now?
He was running while carrying twice as much weight as anyone else. And he was doing so among the leaders.
***
Ivan kept his pace while regulating his breathing.
After running for more than an hour, he was short of breath, but it was still manageable.
While the trainees who had fallen behind could barely keep their legs moving, those in the leading group lapped them several times.
“How can that bastard......?”
“Urgh! If only I could use aura, someone like him would be nothing......”
The trainees who disliked Ivan muttered between rough gasps.
“Coming through~”
Ivan waved at them and swept past.
Stung by humiliation, the trainees tried to chase him, but before long, they had no choice but to fall back to their original positions.
“Huff, huff......”
Miliana turned her head slightly and glanced behind her. Kamel and several other trainees were following desperately.
But Miliana was not looking at them.
“......”
Ivan.
Seeing him follow at a fixed distance behind her, Miliana felt faintly displeased.
At present, Miliana unquestionably held the lead.
At the same time, however, Ivan was running while carrying twice as much weight as everyone else.
‘What if...’
What if Ivan had been running with the same amount of weight as her? Would she still have held the lead as she did now?
When her thoughts reached that point, Miliana's brow twitched.
Ordinarily, she would have maintained her current pace to conserve stamina. But feeling a needless competitive spark, Miliana clicked her tongue and sped up.
Miliana was not the only trainee conscious of Ivan.
“......”
Kamel watched Ivan in silence. Even the trainees who had inwardly looked down on him had begun turning their gazes his way.
Time gradually passed amid the silent competition, and at last, 2 hours had gone by.
“Stop. The trainees may cease running. I will give you a 10-minute break, so drink some water and catch your breath.”
“Y-yes......”
The bold voices from before the training had vanished. The exhausted trainees answered with difficulty.
“Whew.”
Ivan set down his equipment, steadied his breathing, and wiped away his sweat.
This level of training was something he had voluntarily done even as a slave, so he did not feel particularly tired.
Of course, that was only from Ivan's perspective. Most of the trainees immediately collapsed where they stood and panted.
Still, no trainee had dropped out midway and earned additional training.
Another exercise began after the brief break.
“Next, we will perform strength exercises. A strong mind and strong aura dwell in a strong body. The trainees will follow my movements.”
Alia stood before them and demonstrated the movements. The trainees immediately dragged their exhausted bodies into following her.
Of course, they still had to wear their packs and sandbags.
“Trainee over there! Correct your posture!”
“Yes!”
“Straighten your elbows!”
“Understood!”
“Do not stop! The real training has not even begun!”
Alia continually berated trainees with poor posture or those attempting to take shortcuts.
The trainees who had entered while underestimating the training center received a rude awakening on the very first day.
To Ivan, however, it amounted to little more than light exercise.
“Morning training ends here. All trainees will rest and assemble in the residential hall by 12:30.”
Bright smiles blossomed across the trainees' faces at the announcement that training was over.
One after another, they threw off their heavy equipment and began rising to get water.
Ivan turned his head while stretching lightly.
‘Why has she been staring at me like that?’
When he turned his head, he found Miliana's piercing gaze waiting for him.
She had been glancing at him that way ever since the run began.
“Do you have something to say?”
Wondering what her problem was, he simply asked her outright. Miliana flinched.
It was as though she had been certain Ivan could not possibly notice her gaze.
“...No.”
Her surprise showed only briefly. Miliana quickly composed her expression and answered curtly.
“And you?”
Ivan turned his head again and asked.
While Miliana had glanced at him covertly, Kamel had been staring at him openly.
“Oh... Lord Kamel's presence is no joke, is it?”
“Is he planning to teach that slave bastard a lesson?”
“As expected of Lord Kamel.”
The nobles who had already become completely hostile toward Ivan laughed and rejoiced at the sight.
Who was Kamel, after all?
He was a warrior from the north, a land crawling with every manner of monster, and the biological son of the Frost Duke, the ruthless ruler of the north!
Every trainee present was seeing Kamel in person for the first time that day, but according to the rumors, he was a cold-blooded man without a shred of mercy.
That was why none of them doubted that Kamel would teach Ivan a lesson.
But...
“My name is Kamel Harbern. I noticed earlier that you have excellent stamina.”
Their expectations immediately shattered.
Kamel approached Ivan first and offered his hand.
“Thanks.”
Ivan took the offered hand and answered.
“But why have you been looking at me like that all this time? I thought you wanted to fight.”
Ivan asked out of genuine curiosity, not as a provocation.
This time, the nobles were certain. Kamel was, after all, a noble of the illustrious ducal House Harbern.
After hearing something like that from a mere slave, the nobles were certain he would become furious!
But once again, Kamel completely overturned their expectations.
“People often tell me my eyes look hostile. However, this is simply how they naturally look. I bear no ill intent, so do not misunderstand.”
“Really? In that case, fine. Let's get along from now on.”
“Agreed.”
The eavesdropping nobles' mouths fell open.
They had thoroughly misunderstood Kamel based only on his appearance and the atmosphere he gave off.
That was right. Contrary to his appearance, Kamel was simply a gentle person cursed with extremely hostile-looking eyes.