Professor Sylvia stood at the edge of the track, arms crossed, heels planted firmly against the stone floor as the sound of footfalls filled the massive field.
Her sharp eyes swept across the wave of students circling the training ground, their movements ranging from frantic to focused.
She watched Edwin Leonhart at the front—his pace consistent, form powerful and efficient.
Despite knowing body enhancement magic, he had yet to use any of it and seemed to treat this as nothing more than normal training, unlike the other students.
Even after five laps, he hadn't slowed. His muscles were coiled and unrelenting. A small, rare nod of satisfaction touched Sylvia's lips.
"Mmm... As expected from the person that the Heroic Council has high expectations for."
She murmured to herself.
Not far behind, Elysia moved like a seasoned knight—graceful, precise, and controlled.
Though clearly struggling more than Edwin, there was rhythm in her breath, like that of a veteran warrior—not something you'd expect from a new student.
Jin Halden, too, was chasing after Edwin and Elysia.
Although reckless and burning through his stamina too quickly, he was managing to keep pace for now.
Sylvia didn't expect so many promising first-years beyond Edwin.
Perhaps this truly marked the rise of a new era—or at least, that's what people had been saying since the emergence of so many talented youths.
Compared to the last batch she had trained, this group showed far more potential—but whether they could grow into the saviors of humanity remained to be seen.
Even the mages, pale and sweating, pushed their limits with trembling legs and flickering mana enhancements.
Yes, this class was promising.
But then her eyes landed on someone who clearly didn't match the rest.
Kael Ashford!
Jogging. Still at the rear.
His form wasn't terrible, but there was no urgency in his movements—no fire, no visible effort to strategize or pace himself effectively.
Just… a steady jog, like he was on a morning stroll instead of enduring one of Sylvia's infamous trials.
Her brow twitched.
Tapping her smartwatch, a holo-interface flickered to life on her wrist. A screen popped up displaying Kael Ashford's profile.
[Kael Ashford – Rank: 137 | Physical Aptitude: Below Average | Magic Potential: Unremarkable | Mana Capacity: Average | Combat Evaluation: Underwhelming]
Sylvia exhaled through her nose.
"No wonder…"
It wasn't even a matter of poor conditioning—the numbers didn't lie. He was weak. His physical stats alone explained his lagging performance.
Still, her gaze lingered on him with a slight edge.
"He's not even counting the distance. Doesn't even seem aware of how far behind he already is…"
Her eyes flicked to the lap tracker above the field—Kael had just completed his fifth lap.
With only two hours in total, he was far off the pace. At this rate, he'd be lucky to hit fifty laps before time ran out.
Sylvia's expression flattened, disappointed.
"It's one thing to be weak," she muttered, eyes hardening, "but giving up before even hitting your limits?"
Her voice was quiet, but the judgment in her tone was sharp as a blade.
She lowered her wrist and watched him for a moment longer, then turned her attention back to the front-runners.
Her students were sweating, stumbling, pushing past pain and pride to run—and yet the one who should be trying the hardest moved with the least urgency.
Her jaw tightened.
Maybe he needed a different kind of push.
Maybe she'd personally make sure Kael Ashford understood the meaning of effort before this semester was over.
She assumed he wasn't taking her seriously—perhaps he thought she was joking when she said there'd be fifty extra laps for anyone who failed.
Either way, she had no intention of intervening now. She would speak with him after class.
***
Thirty minutes later…
Students were dropping left and right—especially the mages.
Their mana was drained—without it, they couldn't enhance their bodies any further.
Without their buffs, they quickly exhausted their stamina, making it difficult to run.
Most of them had only finished thirty laps, which already seemed to be their limit.
Even the swordsmen were out of breath, gasping, their legs growing heavier by the second.
For many, completing 100 laps within two hours was beginning to look impossible.
"Hah… Hah… Professor Sylvia must be joking. Who the hell could finish 100 laps in 2 hours?"
"There's just no way!"
"We are merely students. There is no way that we can complete this task."
Despite their complaints, deep down, they knew it wasn't impossible, at least for one particular person.
Edwin Leonhart had already surpassed fifty laps, his speed and stamina holding steady.
Even Elysia was keeping up with him, though she was visibly tired, occasionally casting buffs to replenish her stamina.
Jin Halden couldn't keep up with the two monsters but had still completed forty-five laps, pushing onward behind them.
Surprisingly, Cecilia—supposedly just a healer with a delicate build—was fourth with forty laps completed.
She had clearly been training hard, using healing magic mid-run to restore stamina as needed.
On the other hand, the lowest lap count belonged, unsurprisingly, to Kael Ashford.
He had completed only around twenty laps—but he was still going.
Not that anyone was impressed.
Kael had been jogging from the start, never truly running like the rest.
Even if he could keep going for another hour and a half, there was no way he'd complete 100 laps at this pace.
One hour later…
Edwin was on the verge of finishing his 100th lap—far ahead of the others.
Elysia was at her 90th, trailing behind by ten laps.
(Damn it!)
Elysia grit her teeth.
Just like in her first life, Edwin had completely outpaced her in the first training session.
Still, the gap had closed. It had been a 20-lap difference before—now, only 10.
Thanks to her experience, she had better stamina management and knew exactly when to cast buffs.
But experience could only go so far. The biggest difference was still physical ability.
And Edwin… that monster wasn't even using magic.
Once again, she was reminded just how monstrous Edwin Leonhart really was.
And yet—even he had fallen to Kael Ashford's hand in her previous life.
Jin Halden had slowed considerably after the 45th minute and had only managed 70 laps so far.
The huge gap between him and Edwin had clearly hurt his pride.
Cecilia didn't seem to care much about rankings, but she had completed 65 laps with calm determination.
Aside from those four, it was clear that no one else had any hope of finishing all 100 laps.
Most of the remaining students were stuck below 50 laps, and their stamina had bottomed out.
If they couldn't complete 50 laps with full stamina, there was no way they'd do another 50 laps with their stamina exhausted.
Several had already collapsed, especially those with fewer than 35 laps, having accepted Sylvia's punishment as inevitable.
But even now, the one student at the very bottom of the ranks… was still running.
Kael Ashford had just completed his 40th lap and showed no sign of giving up.