The Failed Swordmaster - Chapter 9

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 9 4. Muscle, That Symbol of Masculinity (2)

‘Physical training!’

Lumian made an expression of deep emotion.

It wasn’t fitness training. It was physical training. That slight difference was bringing tremendous inspiration to Lumian.

During his time as an old knight, he had focused more on accumulating and handling aura rather than training his body.

He had no choice. His physical potential was significantly lower compared to other knights.

Without testicles, the source of male strength, even strength training couldn’t produce proper results.

It was a painful truth. Despite being a man, he had to carry the same penalty as female knights.

Watching fellow knights easily surpass years of his blood-soaked efforts, Ryan Fromhart had given up expectations about physical strength.

‘Though I did reach a certain level with just endurance, precision, and aura utilization abilities…’

The constant feeling of regret was unavoidable.

But now the situation was different.

A 15-year-old young body. His manhood was robust, and his testicles were robust too.

It meant masculine strength was flowing abundantly. Lumian smiled brightly as he looked at the exercise equipment.

‘Good, this new body!’

But his focus was somewhat strange.

It wasn’t anticipation of becoming a better knight. Well, of course he had such thoughts, but at least that wasn’t the main point.

‘In this life… I can build an amazing body!’

Lumian began fantasizing.

Broad shoulders, solid chest muscles, abs so firm you could do laundry on them!

These could be called essential elements of a popular man.

At least that’s how it was from his past life experience. Especially as women got older, their preference for men with good bodies increased even more.

“First, let’s loosen up our bodies lightly. If you don’t stretch properly, you could injure your ligaments and joints. Not just now, but keep them loose regularly!”

Professor Arnold spoke vigorously and demonstrated in front of the cadets.

Despite having muscles so bulging that even an ogre would be startled, his body was incredibly flexible.

Lumian nodded. For a knight, flexibility was one of the most important virtues. He eagerly followed Arnold’s posture with sparkling eyes.

‘He’s working hard. His name was… Lumian Calard, wasn’t it?’

Professor Arnold watched such a Lumian.

He was a child who always seemed listless. He remembered last year when the boy acted while reading the room here and there, as if lacking confidence.

Since he couldn’t leave someone who was dispirited alone, he had given special guidance from the side several times. Each time, the boy made an expression as if he would die right then and there, becoming a laughingstock for the children.

‘So after that, I didn’t particularly approach him.’

He had been considerate, worried that the already timid child would have an even harder time.

But today felt a little different.

First, his eyes were different. Unlike before when he had eyes like a rotten pollack, the current Lumian was looking at him with such concentration that light seemed to shine from his eyes.

The surrounding reactions were also subtly different.

If it were before, there would have been children avoiding his gaze while poking each other or letting out snickers. But now there weren’t any such ill-behaved kids.

Rather, he could even sense something like anticipation in the eyes of children who were glancing at the boy.

Arnold made an interested expression.

‘Did something change during the vacation?’

It seemed that way.

He couldn’t tell what had changed yet.

But however he had changed, he was confident it would work positively for Lumian.

Arnold grinned. When his fierce face contorted, the children trembled, but he didn’t care.

“Good. Now we’re getting into serious training! Your records are all written here, so don’t even think about whining!”

“Ugh…”

“I already feel nauseous…”

The children murmured in quiet voices. Even though Arnold heard all their words, he didn’t care.

Shortly after, hellish training began under the guidance of Professor Arnold and the teaching assistants.

“Seven!”

“Grrgh!”

“Eight!”

“Grrrgh!”

“Nine! One more left!”

“Graaaagh!”

“Good, let’s try two more. You can still squeeze out more!”

“Graaaaaagh!”

“If I assist you, you could do five more, right? Push a little harder! Keep your body tense!”

“…”

It was truly a terrible sight. The cadets in the training ground continued their arduous and tedious training under the sharp gazes of the teaching assistants.

They had no choice but to work hard. Professor Arnold personally went to children who were exercising half-heartedly and provided exercise assistance right beside them.

Cadets who received his merciless guidance had to undergo hard training that made the sky seem to spin. Several cadets even poured vomit into buckets in the corners.

Watching such children, Professor Arnold laughed heartily.

“You brats, can you become knights if you can’t endure even that much? Accumulating aura is important, but if your body isn’t the foundation, you’re only half-complete! Do you understand?”

“Yes…”

“Look at those voices. Before extending class time, I’ll ask once more! Do you understand?”

“Yes!”

“You. Yes, you in the back reading the room. Your voice was the smallest, so I’ll have to give you special guidance.”

“Hii, hiiek!”

The freckled boy who was pointed out by Arnold made a terrified expression.

Among all the many professors at the Academy, he feared Arnold the most. So he had constantly tried not to stand out, but ultimately couldn’t escape his clutches.

The freckled boy whimpered like a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse. The surrounding children felt sorry for him but turned away, worried that attention might turn to them. And they pretended to focus on their exercises.

Then, there was one cadet who approached Professor Arnold.

The professor’s eyes widened. He called the cadet’s name.

“Lumian Calard, right?”

“Yes! Thank you for remembering, Professor.”

“Right. What is it? I’m busy because I have a cadet to guide right now.”

When Arnold glanced over, Freckled Boy trembled.

Regardless, Lumian didn’t care.

And he said something no one in Class E could have imagined.

“Sorry for interrupting, Professor. If you have time after guiding that cadet, could you possibly teach me as well?”

“…!”

“…Crazy!”

“Shh!”

Low exclamations burst out here and there and immediately died down. The cadets looked at Lumian with disbelieving expressions.

What, he was requesting guidance from Professor Arnold first?

Doing such a crazy thing?

It was a thought that occurred to everyone simultaneously.

“Oho, really?”

Professor Arnold stroked his chin.

This guy had definitely changed.

Except for growing slightly taller, his appearance hadn’t changed, but at least his mindset was worlds apart from last year.

He could feel determination in his eyes. It didn’t seem like words spoken from momentary bravado.

‘Interesting. This kind of guy is fun to work hard.’

“Good. I can’t refuse a request from a cadet who showed courage. Hey, you there! Sorry, but I’m going to look at this guy first – got any complaints?”

“N-no! It’s fine!”

Freckled Boy answered quickly. There was no way he could have complaints.

He was rescued just before being devoured by the tiger, and Lumian took his place.

‘What is he really thinking?’

Pretending to work much harder than before, Freckled Boy glanced sideways at Lumian.

He thought the guy had volunteered because he was confident he could endure Arnold’s guidance, but that wasn’t it. The guy was lifting equipment looking like he was about to die from exhaustion, obvious to anyone watching.

‘For someone who got so much stronger, his body doesn’t seem to have changed at all.’

It was actually lower than the weight he himself could lift. Suddenly the guy seemed manageable, but remembering the morning’s events, his confidence quickly deflated.

‘Damn, that bastard. He obviously got his hands on elixirs during the break and built up tons of aura. Those must be incredibly expensive, how did he get them?’

Freckled Boy turned his gaze away after muttering internally. His head filled with thoughts hoping that annoying bastard would suffer for a long time.

“Twelve!”

“Huff!”

“Thirteen! Don’t rest in between!”

“Gasp!”

“Fourteen! Take breaths in between! Before you throw up everything inside!”

Just as Freckled Boy wished, Arnold worked Lumian mercilessly. His rough breathing, flowing sweat, and contorted expression spoke of his condition.

But Lumian didn’t give up. He achieved the exercise regimen Arnold demanded without cutting corners, seeing it through to the end.

“Mm, time’s up.”

“Whooo.”

Until class time was over, Arnold spent the time instructing only Lumian. The children left the training ground in relief that they hadn’t become the sacrificial lamb.

But Lumian couldn’t do the same. Arnold posed a question to him as he lay completely exhausted.

“How was it? Manageable?”

“Huff, huff. Yes, whooo, sir!”

“Ho, really? Then you won’t mind if I stick by your side every week from now on?”

A statement that would have made other children recoil in horror and shake their heads.

However, Lumian didn’t do that. Rather, he nodded as if he’d been waiting for this.

“Yes! It’s an honor! Whooo, I’ll work hard!”

At this point, even the seasoned Professor Arnold couldn’t help but be surprised.

He honestly revealed his inner thoughts.

“A guy who seemed so weak and lacking in spirit has returned as a completely different person after not seeing him briefly. Is it really an honor? You’re not doing this because someone threatened you, are you?”

“Whooo, huff. To receive personal instruction from the renowned knight Professor Arnold, how could I not be happy? Please continue to provide much guidance and encouragement!”

Lumian spoke with a resolute expression.

His desire for an attractive body was tremendous. If it meant becoming popular with women, he could follow training ten times harder than this.

He had actually done it before. What had perfected him in his previous life was constant effort rather than a bit of talent.

“Pfhehe. I like it.”

Professor Arnold laughed aloud, seeming pleased.

He patted the shoulder of Lumian, who was still collapsed on the floor, and said.

“Look forward to next week too. Stretch diligently so you don’t get injured, and use aura to boost your recovery. Got it?”

“Yes!”

“Your voice is strong for someone lying face down. Hahaha.”

Following the history professor, Professor Arnold became another person who held Lumian in high regard.

It wasn’t just the professors.

The cadets of Class E also exchanged various stories while watching Lumian, who had changed completely from before.

“What happened? Did he really take an elixir or something?”

“Does that make sense? How could a mere country baron get an elixir? And without considerable ability, you can’t properly digest an elixir. If your body can’t accept it, you could become crippled.”

“Maybe he took it with a gambling mentality? As for how he got it… I don’t know that either.”

“Besides that, his atmosphere has definitely changed. He wasn’t like that before…”

“Damn, if only I could get an elixir too!”

“But those kids who went to the infirmary, is it certain that Lumian did that?”

Surprise, confusion, envy, and more. Various emotions swirled among the cadets.

The biggest emotions were jealousy and envy. When the failing student who had been at the bottom of the class suddenly showed excellent performance, the children showed reactions of disbelief.

Stories circulated that abilities boosted by elixirs were just bubbles and would soon show their true bottom. There were also children who didn’t like how he acted cocky during class.

But about two weeks after the semester started, they all had to acknowledge at least this one thing.

‘He’s working incredibly hard.’

The amount of effort. And its quality.

This was the biggest change in Lumian that third parties observed.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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