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Chapter 111: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat

Chapter 111


A distance of 100 meters isn't particularly far for superhumans who possess abilities far superior to those of ordinary people.


For students with abilities specializing in physical enhancement or acceleration, it's a distance they can cover in the blink of an eye.


However, to the students' eyes right now, the circle with a 100-meter radius drawn on the ground looked overwhelmingly large.


"Defense is good, but in real combat, there will be times when you have to fight multiple enemies at once, and not all attacks will be ones you can simply block. Try to avoid attacks whenever possible."


"...Ugh."


Natalia pointed out areas for improvement in a kind voice.


At her words, a male student who had been steadily advancing while blocking attacks with his shield fell just past the 50-meter mark, unable to dodge a simultaneous attack from the rear.


Another male student stood outside the circle, and soon another scream echoed.


"Argh...!"


A male student, who had jumped up using his spear as if pole vaulting to avoid an attack, was intercepted in mid-air and fell to the ground, coughing up blood.


"The idea of using three-dimensional space isn't bad, but if you can't move freely in the air, such large movements are a bad move. Simplify your evasion actions and train to ensure your next move is not hindered. Next~"


"...She's really merciless."


A bespectacled female student who had prepared herself glanced nervously at Natalia, murmuring from outside the circle.


Natalia smiled slightly at the student's words.


Of course, she had to be merciless.


Reality is much harsher than this kind of training.


"In reality, a single mistake can cost you your life. So, to prevent that, you have no choice but to push yourself. If it's too hard, I recommend giving up on becoming a hero now."


"...Unfortunately, that's not an option."


Determined, the female student nodded once, drew her sword, and charged forward.


Perhaps using her abilities, she moved faster than the others, dodging the water streams. But as the streams grew stronger, she seemed to decide that evasion was impossible and chose to defend instead.


However, this turned out to be a poor decision.


Once she stopped to defend against an attack, her feet were pinned down by subsequent attacks.


Not bad, but still lacking, 60 meters, huh?


Natalia, muttering inwardly, spoke to the female student who had eventually been struck down.


"Not a bad result, but I think you could have done a bit better. It seems you have the ability to manipulate wind; I think it would be better to focus on mobility rather than defense. Think about how you can best utilize your abilities and strengths."


After the fallen female student was ejected out of the magic space, Natalia mumbled her impressions as she observed the students.


She felt their overall level was much higher than expected.


Earlier, she had said that the standard was at the level of active-duty heroes, but the real benchmark was whether they could hold their own in actual combat against monsters at the front lines.


That's why Natalia had not expected much from the students.


Unlike Marin, who had reached near the passing point from the start, this training was not easy.


Marin had received training from a young age and was exceptionally talented, enough to be called a genius, so it was natural that she couldn't be compared to ordinary children.


In fact, for first-year academy students, 30 meters was about the average distance in this training.


However, contrary to her expectations, most students surpassed 30 meters, reaching close to 40 meters, and some even went beyond 50 meters, showing remarkable performance.


The emergence of the witch might have ignited a sense of crisis among the students, raising the average level significantly by her standards.


Regardless of the reason, as a senior and a hero, Natalia felt it wasn't a bad thing, so she was pleased, thinking that this year's first-year students were a bumper crop.


And it didn't take long for her evaluation to change.


Because soon, the first person to pass appeared.


The protagonist was a male student with tousled blond hair, Dwight Neinhart.


His tired, hollow eyes saw the attacks coming and immediately neutralized them with magic, slowly walking and crossing the finish line.


Indeed, he was the descendant of the great mage Neinhart, who had erected the barrier around the city.


While marveling at his magical prowess, which exceeded that of Martina during her student days, Natalia was equally surprised by Sylvia Astra, known as the successor of Astra.


The sole contractor of the Star Spirit in the current generation.


Since there was no one who could teach her training methods or usage, she skillfully used her abilities for movement and defense, reaching the finish line.


Before she could even admire their talent and effort, another passer appeared.


It was a familiar face to Natalia.


The young lady of the Dolos family, Florene Dolos, who had been friends with her daughter since childhood.


True to the family known for their strength and robust physiques, she didn't resort to any tricks.


As if proclaiming that only the weak used their brains, she simply charged forward.


She took all the attacks that should have shattered and destroyed her body head-on and crossed the finish line, grumbling in pain with her pink hair.


Seeing this, Natalia thought.


It seemed like it was time for her generation, the so-called golden generation including herself, her husband Lucas, Martina, and Leon, who had been their senior, to pass on their name.


With children like these, including her daughter and Yoon Si-woo, she felt reassured about the future generation.


While she was pleased with these thoughts, the last student appeared.


Natalia's eyes sparkled.


The last student was the red-haired girl Yoon Si-woo liked, the one Marin had been hiding behind earlier.


She had been curious ever since hearing that her daughter had been rejected by this girl.


She wondered what kind of girl would choose someone over Marin, who lacked nothing in terms of looks, abilities, or family background.


...At first impression, she thought she was a bit lacking.


She was pretty, but seemed a bit inferior to Marin.


Then, she noticed the prosthetic arm attached to her left arm.


Come to think of it, she remembered hearing from her daughter about a student who had sacrificed her arm to protect the citizens from a monster that had appeared in the city.


Could that student be this girl?


Perhaps that aspect attracted Yoon Si-woo.


"Please take care of me."


"Yes, do your best."


Natalia smiled at the girl who had finished warming up and thought.


She hoped that her skills would be up to par.


As a parent, it would hurt her pride if the girl didn't perform as well as her daughter.


As she waited with these thoughts, she saw the girl running into the circle.


What Natalia noticed was that the girl was empty-handed.


Empty-handed combat.


For heroes who have to face monsters, this was an extremely rare form of combat. The girl, seemingly having a reason for being unarmed, displayed impressive physical abilities.


She ducked, bent, and twisted her body.


Unencumbered by weapons, her limbs free, the girl easily dodged the streams of water.


However, merely relying on physical abilities to dodge and advance was not an easy task.


Soon, a stream of water flew straight toward her face.


Realizing that evasion was impossible, flames burst from the girl’s hands.


With a loud bang, a large amount of water evaporated, creating a thick cloud of steam.


The flames were powerful enough to instantly evaporate most of the water streams.


However, Natalia’s face showed slight disappointment.


Due to the steam and explosion, the girl couldn’t react properly to the subsequent attack and fell.


Sixty meters, nearly the highest record among the others.


Her physical potential seemed sufficient, and with improvements, she could aim for an even higher record...


But having just seen extraordinary talents and expecting her to be on par with her daughter, Natalia couldn't hide her disappointment.


After all, a person doesn't need outstanding abilities to be liked.


Still, Natalia, smiling, gave some helpful advice to the girl, who was quite a remarkable talent.


“...As I mentioned earlier, it's important to always keep your senses open. There are times when your vision or hearing might be limited, so include all your senses, even your intuition. You seem to have excellent physical abilities, so if you focus on that, you could do even better.”


After saying this, Natalia waved her hand towards Eve, signaling for a break.


It wasn’t because she was tired, but to give the students some time to recover since they had all gone through the exercise.


Though it was a simulated experience, it was a death experience for the students.


Natalia knew from her own student days that such experiences could have a significant impact on one's psyche.


The stress from physical pain and the fear of approaching death was not something that could be quickly recovered from.


Her daughter had only experienced nausea, which was mild.


Some students fainted or cried.


But overcoming this was necessary for mental growth.


Being a hero meant you had to smile the day after witnessing a comrade’s death right before your eyes.


With these thoughts, Natalia emerged from the illusion, slightly surprised.


While most of the other students were still dazed, the red-haired girl from the last round was sitting calmly with only a slight grimace on her face.


Was she an exceptionally mentally strong child?


Natalia watched in amazement as the girl hit her own head a few times, seemingly trying to gather her thoughts, and then made eye contact.


Then the girl stood up abruptly, bowed, and said something that greatly surprised Natalia.


"Um... Excuse me, but can I try one more time? I think I can do better if I try again."


"...You can try as many times as you want, but are you sure you're okay? It's best not to push yourself."


"This is nothing. Please, let me try again."


"...Impressive. It's good to see someone so determined."


She’s incredibly strong mentally.


Natalia admired the girl and raised her evaluation of her.


She liked people who worked hard even more than those who were naturally talented.


“Please take care of me.”


“Remember what I said earlier. Focus on your senses.”


Hoping that the girl would do well, Natalia gave her advice once more.


And the girl proved she hadn’t taken the advice lightly.


As if she had opened her senses, the girl reacted more sensitively to the attacks than before and fell at the 70-meter mark.


A record increase of a full 10 meters from before.


Although her movements became slightly disrupted at the end, preventing her from advancing further, it was still an excellent result.


Natalia clapped with pleasure at the result, acknowledging the girl's effort to correct her flaws immediately.


"Excellent. It seemed like your steps got tangled a bit at the end. Always think about your next move and try to minimize the gap between your thoughts and actions."


After delivering this advice, Natalia emerged from the illusion.


She took a breath.


The girl, who had previously just grimaced, hit her head once more and stood up.


The girl approached again and bowed.


"Um... I'm really sorry, but can I try just one more time?"


"...You want to go again without resting? Even if your body is fine, mentally..."


No matter how strong she was mentally, recovering so quickly seemed impossible.


Checking the girl’s condition, Natalia saw she looked unfazed and murmured.


"I’m fine..."


Natalia glanced at the other students' reactions.


They all looked as if they couldn't understand what they were seeing.


She herself probably had a similar expression.


"...If no other students want to go now."


With no one else volunteering, the girl’s training resumed naturally.


The girl bowed again and ran toward the center of the circle.


The result was,


“Seventy-five meters... Your movements have definitely improved. But there's still some unnecessary movements, so if you focus on that, it could get even better. Improving this quickly is quite rare. With a bit more time, you could grow significantly.”


Truly impressed, Natalia shook her head.


Seeing her quickly correct her shortcomings showed she had talent in that area, but her true talent lay elsewhere.


She didn't stop, even though it was hard.


People called that effort, and knowing how hard it was, they admired the girl.


But,


"Um... Excuse me, can I try one more time..."


Natalia was beyond impressed, now shocked, seeing the girl already up and waiting.


"Please take care of me."


The girl bowed and ran again.


Eighty meters.


"...If you take a bit of risk and narrowly dodge, it will give you more time."


Back out, the girl was bowing.


"One more time, please..."


Natalia laughed helplessly.


"Please take care of me."


Perhaps something didn’t go well, and her record dropped.


Seventy-two meters.


But the girl didn’t seem to care.


"One more time, please."


If she regressed, she would simply advance again, bowing her head.


Everyone could only stare blankly at the girl.


To them, she seemed like an incomprehensible being.


And Natalia finally began to understand this girl.


Ah, this child won't stop.


"Please take care of me."


78m.


She exited.


"One more time."


She entered again.


"Please take care of me."


81m.


At some point, Natalia no longer needed to leave the illusion.


If she waited, the girl would return shortly.


The girl's bow was now a singular action.


"Please take care of me."


81m, 82m, 79m, 84m, 86m.


In the midst of these continuous attempts, at some point, the advice stopped.


The girl seemed to be finding the answers herself through countless tries.


For the realization gained through one's own efforts is far more valuable than any piece of advice.


"Please take care of me."


85, 87, 88, 88, 86, 89, 90.


In a world where only the girl's greeting echoed like a refrain, she was slowly but surely moving forward.


As the girl fell closer and closer to the endpoint, Natalia could see her eyes more closely.


There was something missing in the girl's eyes.


Or perhaps it was something she had grown accustomed to or dulled by.


The girl accepted death as if it were the most natural thing.


This made her look precarious,


This made her seem futile,


But this also made it impossible to take one's eyes off her.


"Please take care of me."


90, 91, 91, 91, 91, 91, 91.


She lingered around the same point.


But she was not stagnant.


Little by little, she continued to move forward.


"Please take care of me."


93.


Natalia couldn't count how many times she had heard those words.


But each time, the girl got a little closer, and Natalia could feel the heat of the flames the girl emitted.


Natalia saw the flame that radiated that heat.


"Please take care of me."


95.


Even if her arm was blown off, even if her leg was broken, even if she fell, coughing up blood,


The girl, who kept moving forward with her eyes set only ahead,


Natalia saw the flame in her.


"Please take care of me."


97.


If asked why she pushed herself so hard, she would probably respond with a nonchalant face,


"Because I still have something to burn," as if saying so,


A flame that just kept burning without stopping.


"Please take care of me."


99.


Natalia thought.


A flame that wavered like it would be blown out by the wind at any moment,


A flame that seemed futile because it would eventually die out,


Yet a flame that shone brilliantly because of that,


And thus was dazzlingly beautiful,


"Please take care of me."


The endless sound echoed,


100.


And finally, it stopped.


The girl, touching Natalia's arm, stared blankly at her own hand.


Then she smiled faintly.


Although she had reached her destination with great difficulty, she didn't jump for joy.


She merely smiled quietly and said,


"Thank you."


As she bowed to Natalia.


Seeing this, Natalia let out a helpless laugh and muttered,


Daughter, this was worth losing.



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Comments

  1. If mc has a resurrection ability then this story would have been over, heh.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Also yes I counted. She died 30 times trying to reach nat...

      Delete
    2. I think you didn't read properly because she died 30 times in an illusion

      Delete
    3. Fire power is sometimes associated with phoenix and that bird can resurrect it's a possibility at least

      Delete
  2. "Dormammu, I've come to bargain. "

    ReplyDelete
  3. The commandment that stands against wrath the best, temperance. She is a monster of a woman

    ReplyDelete

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