Morning Training

It is still pitch black outside. The sun hasn’t risen above the horizon. Beside me stands Principal Orphus. We are attempting to combine spirit power with martial arts, just as we agreed.

“I see… The basis of Far Eastern techniques is to pour your mana into an inanimate object or strengthen your physical body. I understand why they came up with such a method, especially given that their culture honours spirits so much that they won’t make a pact with one before the spirit chooses a host itself.”

Principal Orphus dissects how my marksmanship and swordsmanship techniques work in detail…

“Principal Orphus… An ordinary person wouldn’t be able to deduce this just by watching my basic techniques.”

He writes something in his notebook and adjusts his glasses before gazing at me. “No… Of course not. I have been fascinated by this for five years now. I bought a rare book from the Far East long ago, so it’s not as though my knowledge of the subject is nonexistent.”

I am taken aback by his statement… “I am sorry… It’s not that I don’t understand pursuing an interest, but… you are on a completely different level than me.”

“I am flattered.”

I can only sigh…

My eyes scan the soft blue light glimmers from the talismans inscribed with the character for ‘barrier’, which I place around the club building's training room.

“Oh, before I forget…” I pull out my grandfather’s letter detailing a potential attack on my younger brother, Lucius, and hand it to Principal Orphus.

Principal Orphus reads it for a few minutes before nodding. “You want me to protect First Prince Lucius while he is on academy grounds?”

“Yes… and that is why I want to set up these talismans.” I pull several more talismans from my bag. “This specific type is designed to form a perimeter barrier, a technique originating from the Chongxin Empire. If anyone breaches the barrier, it will instantly notify us. That is why I need your permission to place them around the academy's perimeter.”

“I understand. This means if someone enters the academy grounds anywhere other than the main gate, we will be alerted?”

“That is correct… At the very least, we can respond immediately if unknown assailants enter the academy through improper means. If the First Prince were to be attacked here, it would reflect poorly on you as well, wouldn't it?”

“That is true. I will grant you permission to set them up on school grounds.”

“Thank you, Principal Orphus.” I hand him a master talisman that will immediately alert him as well if anyone crosses the perimeter where my talismans are placed.

We speak for a short while longer about Eastern techniques before hearing voices from outside the training room.

“It seems a few students have arrived.”

Looking over, I spot several boys from my class—and are those Ciel and Seranova? Even my little brother and my cousin are here…

“It seems only a few of the upperclassmen are coming to the club, even after yesterday's spectacle. A sense of superiority is very difficult to overcome in this country. I might need to intervene after all.”

Hearing that makes me hold my head. I can only imagine he wants to arrange another demonstration that will force me to perform in front of a crowd again.

The boys from my class are shocked when they see Ciel and Lucius enter the training room, and they start to whisper among themselves.

“Even the principal is here?!” a spiky-brown-haired boy from my class gasps, stunned to see Principal Orphus standing beside me.

“I simply came to see how my new club creation is faring. However, it seems I have work to attend to. Please show proper respect to Miss Luminera here,” he adds as he turns to leave the room.

“Twenty-five people, huh?” I mutter in a low voice. “This club actually has more members than I expected.”

The first to walk toward me are Ciel and Seranova, both bowing deeply in front of me.

“We're really grateful for what you did yesterday, Lady Luminera…” Ciel looks completely different from yesterday. He actually looks like a refined prince now…

I grow flustered seeing them do this right in front of the other students. “Please don’t bow in front of—” But it is already too late; I catch the other students staring at me in absolute shock… A wild rumour will spread later if you do this. Please!

“Oh? A commoner receiving a gratitude expression from a neighbouring country’s prince? I think everyone would love to hear that story.” Lucius walks toward me with a teasing smirk.

I can feel a headache coming on…

“I am terribly sorry, but the context of the matter itself is confidential. We must also apologise for bringing this up in public.” Seranova steps between the four of us, placing a protective hand over his chest as he smoothly shields us from prying eyes.

Prince Ciel then tries to defuse the situation with a sweet smile… “Good day, Prince Lucius… We’re here just to hone our battle skills. After seeing her match with Principal Orphus yesterday, we were deeply impressed by Lady Luminera’s talent. Neither of us possesses an offensive spirit pact, so we’re here to observe and learn. We hope to achieve what she does in the future. Isn’t that the same for all of you?”

After hearing that, the murmurs subside…

“We came here only to gather information.” Lucius smiles back at Ciel.

I calm myself before trying to defuse the situation. I clap my hands together before speaking in a loud voice so everyone’s attention is directed at me. “Alright! Please stop talking! I will explain our procedure. I hope all of you came here because you want to become stronger, right?”

I can see a fire blazing in their eyes…

“First off, go change into your PE uniforms, and then we’ll meet out on the school grounds. Let’s meet there as soon as possible.”

Since I am already wearing my PE uniform from training with the principal earlier, I immediately head out to the grounds and begin running laps while waiting for them to assemble…

I already completed two laps by the time everyone gathered and watched me run. I pause for a moment to explain the foundation of our training regimen.

“First off, before we even touch upon mana manipulation or any technique, conditioning your stamina and muscles is the foundation of true martial arts—not just swordsmanship. Your mana acts as a multiplier for your physical strength. If your physical strength is zero, then even if you possess thousands of units of mana, the final result will still be zero.”

Hearing that, the students begin to murmur in disbelief.

“Feather Step.”

I move at a speed impossible for an ordinary human to match—so fast that it appears as if I have vanished into thin air before their eyes.

“That is the foundation of martial arts. If you think you can beat someone with this skill using only your spirit power, please spar with me right this moment.”

The only response is complete silence…

“If you follow my instructions, you might be able to perform what I just did within three months. Understood?”

“Understood!”

“First of all, let's do some warm-ups before we run!”

After the warm-up, we begin running together around the perimeter of the school grounds. However, most of the students are already exhausted by the end of their very first lap.

“Go rest and take a sip of water for a moment! After that, we’ll run again. This is to build up your stamina,” I call out as I keep running, leaving the winded students behind…

Yet Ciel and Seranova refuse to rest, pushing through their exhaustion to keep pace with me. I see Lucius grit his teeth at the sight of Ciel and Seranova, forcing his body forward as he tries to follow them… and Nicolai follows right behind Lucius.

Seeing those four continue to run, not a single student dares to give up. Every one of them forces themselves to endure this gruelling training—just as I once did under Master Long Kai.

I can't help but smile seeing them like this… It seems their pride is actually useful for this kind of thing, Principal…

After two more laps, they finally reach their limit. They aren't just tired; they collapse to the dirt ground, gasping deeply for air.

“Not bad for your first time. Rest up while I take another lap.” I wave a hand to the collapsed students.

This is actually way more fun than I thought… It seems training with other people is completely different from training alone.