Taking off my uniform, I saw that my body was painted with bruises.
Alleus, who had just finished washing up, dropped the towel she was using to dry her hair.
"Oh geez, your body!"
Pushing her to the side, I took a cold bath to soothe the pain. I didn't bother taking off my clothes, as I felt too much pain whenever I moved.
"Hey Alleus, please put some ice in the tub."
"I'm not a mage. I can't make ice for you."
Sinking deeper into the tub, I sighed.
"…Right. No freezer."
Deep in thought, I wondered if I could check all of my status at the same time.
"System open."
==[Status Window]==
「Information」
[Name: Ring Euclid]
[Class: Warrior]
[Equipment]
◈ Academy uniform
[Weapons]
◈ N/A
[Description]
「Attributes」
[Physical | lvl: 1.5]
[Stamina | lvl: 1.5]
[Intelligence | lvl: 4.5]
[Mana | lvl: 1]
「Skills」
[Basic Sword Technique]
[Basic Practical Martial Arts]
[Unique Skill: Kraken]
=======
"Strange, my Intelligence has risen by a level."
Looking down, my eyes widened.
"Practical Martial Arts. I must have learned it when fighting Professor Distal."
Since there were two Demon King generals left, a battle was likely to happen soon. I had to get as strong as possible.
***
After recovering from my injuries to the extent that I could move, we moved the furniture to the side. I trained with Alleus in the meantime, using the wooden weapons from the training auditorium. Instructor Distal didn't do anything, of course, since he was only written to train the students.
After relentless training, I had reached Adept Sword Technique and Practical Martial Arts.
Checking Alleus' status window, she had learned Nimble Martial Arts.
During this time, I also learned that I could interact with characters as long as they had been arbitrarily written to interact with others.
For example, Instructor Distal was written to be training the class, so he gave pointers and had somewhat normal interactions with the students, as if they weren't written in a novel.
Because of this, I learned as much as I could from Instructor Distal. Although whenever I tried to speak to Professor Talus, he would either ignore my question or my voice wouldn't come out.
***
At the end of Professor Talus' class, he announced:
"As it is your final year, a tournament will be held."
The class then burst into confusion.
"Isn't the tournament during the end of the year? Why is it being held now?"
"I haven't had the time to improve my skills yet..! We should get less homework if it's going to happen so soon!"
Ignoring their complaints, Talus walked towards Incus and Steinen and whispered:
"Of course, you two don't have to. Since you've skipped three grades to advance to the final year, we can make accommodations for you."
Shaking her head, Incus replied.
"No, it's fine. I can join the tournament. Not much, if any, can stand up to me anyway."
Steinen also nodded, a helmet still on his head.
"As do I."
Stepping back to the front of the class, Professor Talus continued.
"If you wish to join, you can write your name here." He pointed at a piece of paper on his desk.
Soon, a line had formed.
"Alleus, what year are you in?"
Writing her name on the piece of paper, she replied:
"Oh me? I'm supposed to be a third year student."
After writing my name, we followed Incus to the training auditorium.
***
Once the room had been fully filled with students, Instructor Distal spoke in a loud voice.
"I'm sure that you've all been told already. The tournament for our graduating year students is soon to happen! Now, I won't be making you fight against each other in the meantime so that you can hide your abilities. However, I still expect you all to work hard!"
Instructor Distal then commanded us to practice our weaponry.
Practicing my swordsmanship, Distal walked up to me and gave me a nod before continuing to look at the other students' forms.
Soon, class had ended.
***
Walking back to the dormitory behind Incus, I looked up at the window in the sky.
—
Chapter 107: Final Year's Announcement
…
Incus' training didn't bear much fruit, as she could get stronger by killing stronger enemies. However, that didn't mean that she couldn't increase her skills. Taking the opportunity, she focused purely on her swordsmanship, something that she had yet to do since she had already been summoned with high stats and advanced skills.
Walking back to her dormitory after class, Incus decided to work on her sword aura.
'I must get stronger as soon as possible.'
—
"Well, can't lag behind now, can I?"
Inside the dormitory halls, Alleus and I decided to run an experiment.
Running down the hall, I tugged on the rope tied around my waist, which acted as a homemade measuring tape in my other hand.
"This dormitory is really big." It covered about two fifths of the entire academy, so it was no surprise.
Standing next to Incus' door, Alleus then began to write down something on a piece of paper.
We continued this cycle until I couldn't move.
After a while, I gained back my ability to act freely.
A few moments beforehand, I had instructed Alleus to reel me in when I didn't tug on the rope.
"…So what's the distance?" I asked, rubbing my temple.
"You lost clarity at eight hundred meters and tugged multiple times at four hundred meters."
Looking at the paper, I commented:
"I began to lose clarity at four hundred and barely managed to form a complete thought after that. From now on, we should stay within three hundred meters of Incus."
"I agree," Alleus nodded.
Over the coming days, we trained in the dorm and focused on the lessons which Professor Talus gave us, since his words might contain foreshadowing.
For example, the Truthseeker.
The mysterious figure who had warned my village about the upcoming disaster, or at least that's what Steinen had concluded. But to my dismay, not a single word had been mentioned about it.
***
On one particular day of Instructor Distal's class, he told the class in a joyful tone:
"I hope you're all ready. The tournament is tomorrow."
Looking at Alleus, a drop of sweat fell down her cheek.
***
Today, Incus decided to stop by and lay on the academy's garden.
Hiding in a bush with Alleus, we watched them.
As Incus lay on the soft grass, Steinen stood over her before asking a question.
"Lady Incus, for tomorrow's tournament, I would like for you not to hold back."
Smirking at him, she replied:
"I don't intend to."
"Ah geez, when are they going to kiss already..!" A strand of hair stood on top of her head and formed into a heart.
The author then published the chapter. But almost immediately, the white window reappeared again.
—-
Chapter 108: unnamed
before tournament starts, a demon invasion happens and we learn that the tournament only happened so early is because a truthseeker had appeared and warned them about the invasion which is why the tournament had been held much earlier than it has to divert people attention
note - call mom
—-