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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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The Mirinae Academy first-year training grounds.
The place was experiencing unprecedented activity.
As the saying goes, the earth hardens after rain.
The students were diligently training.
Casting spells, sparring, honing their individual skills…
It was a rare sight to see students from all three disciplines—Magic, Martial Arts, and Other Studies—gathered together, actively practicing.
This wasn’t simply a surge of motivation; it was a primal instinct, the will to survive.
Having witnessed their classmates reduced to pools of blood just a week ago…
The compulsion to grow stronger had taken root deep within their minds.
‘I have to get stronger! Faster!’
The desperate yearning to live fueled their relentless training, pushing them to the brink of exhaustion.
The fear of death, the constant pressure, gripped them, forcing them to push their bodies beyond their limits.
The meritocratic ideals of Mirinae Academy had, ironically, produced this negative outcome.
Having witnessed the fatal consequences of weakness, of being left behind…
The students were driven by a desperate urgency, pushing themselves relentlessly.
If only there had been a senior or a professor to guide them, to offer support and alleviate their anxieties… but that wasn’t an option.
The professors were busy with damage control, tracking down remaining demons, and handling external diplomatic issues.
The upperclassmen, while not directly targeted by the high-rank demons, had also suffered losses, leaving them unable to offer much guidance.
“Get up. You can do more.”
“Shut up. I’ll do it my way.”
“Faster.”
And fueling this frantic atmosphere were Woo Do-hyun and Bellos.
The sight of the first and third-ranked students pushing themselves to the point of vomiting only intensified the pressure on the others.
Even those who had directly fought against the high-rank demons were driven by this relentless fear.
If they were still training so desperately…
How much harder did the rest of them have to work?
It was a marathon with no finish line in sight.
Even Meiri, who usually avoided the training grounds, was diligently practicing—a clear indication of the prevailing mood.
Training without purpose, a place where the goal had become obscured by fear…
Step, step.
A man wearing a red cap pulled low over his eyes entered the training grounds.
“As expected.”
Newbies always reacted like this after a major incident. They’d blindly charge ahead, their heads buried in the sand.
Tsk tsk.
Clicking his tongue, the man walked towards the center of the training grounds.
“That’s not how you train.”
It was Lee Seok-hyun.
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‘Just as I thought.’
People change after experiencing trauma.
But whether that change was positive or negative depended on the follow-up.
While it was good that they were motivated to train after witnessing death firsthand, too much of anything was detrimental.
Pushing themselves to exhaustion under the scorching sun without proper hydration wouldn’t yield positive results.
They needed guidance, and I’d come prepared.
A red cap, affectionately known as the “drill instructor hat,” pulled low, sunglasses perched above—the perfect outfit.
Adding camouflage pants and a black t-shirt completed the ensemble.
‘Where to even begin?’
I’d drawn their attention with my attire—now I just had to take control of the situation.
I couldn’t offer individual guidance; there were too many students and not enough time.
The most efficient approach was to target the leaders.
“Woo Do-hyun, Bellos!”
“Huh? Seok-hyun!”
“What do you want, commoner?”
Woo Do-hyun and Bellos stopped their training and turned towards me.
They seemed surprised to see me at the training grounds so soon after being discharged from the infirmary.
That surprise wasn’t limited to them—it was reflected in the gazes of most of the students present.
To be at the training grounds so soon after suffering such severe injuries… Lee Seok-hyun was training too.
They saw a reflection of their own struggles, their own desperation, and before that shared sense of despair could take root, I spoke.
“That’s not how you train. This instructor will now demonstrate the fundamentals.”
“Instructor? What are you talking ab—”
“Quiet! From this moment forward, no one speaks without my permission. If you wish to speak, raise your hand, state your name, and wait for my acknowledgment.”
Even nonsense sounded convincing when delivered with authority.
I needed to make a strong impression on Woo Do-hyun and Bellos, who, just moments ago, had been at each other’s throats.
‘Time to leverage my image as class president and representative speaker.’
The first-year students had already been primed to believe that “Lee Seok-hyun is different.” Now was the time to capitalize on that perception.
A class president, a representative speaker, offering guidance at the training grounds—
The students stopped their individual training and slowly gathered around me.
It was like a street performer being upstaged by a celebrity’s surprise appearance.
“I’ll now demonstrate the fundamentals of training. I understand your urgency, but this isn’t the right approach.”
I started with a blunt assessment, challenging them to question my authority.
They were thinking, ‘Oh yeah? How are you so different? Let’s hear it.’
But they couldn’t openly challenge me. I’d single-handedly defeated a high-rank demon; they had no choice but to listen.
Even Bellos, initially skeptical, was now silently observing.
“What you need now isn’t combat practice.”
“Then wh—”
“Quiet! No interruptions while this instructor is speaking.”
I immediately shut down any attempts to disrupt the flow.
Having seized control of the situation, I had to maintain this persona to build credibility.
If I faltered, showed any weakness or hesitation, this whole act would crumble.
“What you need isn’t sparring against each other. I learned something valuable during my fight with the high-rank demon.”
I paused, letting my words sink in, reminding them of my accomplishment.
“That’s right… Seok-hyun fought a high-rank demon…”
“Can I still call you Seok-hyun?”
“What else would you call me?”
“Instructor…!”
“Quiet! No more pointless chatter!”
‘This instructor can be your friend or your worst nightmare, depending on your behavior.’
With that final warning, I gathered the students, who were scattered around me, into a more orderly formation.
They followed my gestures, sitting down obediently when I pointed to the ground.
Even the nobles, usually complaining about the dirt, sat without a word.
This was the power of a drill instructor.
“I understand your impatience. I was once like you. But I didn’t train haphazardly like this.”
I will show you the way.
With a tone of authority, I laid out the optimal training path. The students nodded silently.
‘Even if I’m playing solo, I need a strong foundation.’
If another incident like the Death Meteor attack occurred while I was away…
If they couldn’t even defend themselves and continued to die helplessly…
That would be like losing the cattle and then failing to even repair the barn.
To prevent that, I had to nurture the newbies.
‘Project Newbie Training, commencing.’
And once they were all indebted to me, I could collect my due—legally.
It was the perfect plan.
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“It’s finally over.”
“Yes, we should check on the students.”
“I’m worried. They’re probably pushing themselves too hard at the training grounds.”
Gainard, Lee Hwa-ryeong, and Kerrar rushed towards the training grounds as soon as they finished handling the immediate aftermath of the demon attack.
Having experienced similar situations in their youth, they understood the students’ anxieties.
They knew the students would be pushing themselves to their limits, engaging in self-destructive training, and they had to stop it.
They needed to reassure the students, tell them to rest, that they would be protected, that they would grow stronger eventually.
They needed to restore their faith in the academy and in their professors.
Or rather, they intended to.
“Stamina! What you need now is stamina! The strength to take another step, no matter the circumstances! That’s what you need! A nation’s strength lies in its people’s stamina! What did I say?!”
“A nation’s strength lies in its people’s stamina!”
“Louder! Do you think that’s loud enough for training?! Do you think that will make you stronger?!”
“No, sir! A nation’s strength lies in its people’s stamina, sir!”
What was this?
Arriving at the training grounds, the three professors stared in disbelief at the scene before them.
Lee Seok-hyun, wearing a red cap, stood on a large log, urging the students onward as they carried it across the training grounds.
Students who weren’t carrying the log were either doing handstands or running laps.
It was a scene of organized, systematic training, not the chaotic self-destruction they’d expected.
“As expected, Other Studies reigns supreme.”
Clap, clap, clap.
Kerrar, beaming with pride, applauded the scene. Lee Hwa-ryeong and Gainard turned their attention to Lee Seok-hyun.
‘This kid is the real deal.’
The ability to make the right decisions, no matter the circumstances.
Lee Seok-hyun was a force of nature.
“We’re training our stamina! Louder! Give me your war cries! If you can’t keep up, step aside! Rest! No one’s forcing you!”
“No, sir! We’ll keep going, sir!”
Lee Seok-hyun’s booming voice and the students’ energetic replies filled the training grounds.
The despair that had settled over them had vanished without a trace.
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