MTLNOVEL Chapter 140
<140 - Acrobatics Training>
Jezel thought she must have misheard when she first heard from Dorothy that Oknodie was making a lower class student jump into the Burning Ring.
Wasn’t that absurd?
A poor soul, but the kindest kid of all.
It was unimaginable for such a good-natured, innocent child to do something so harsh.
“…Why is this for real?”
At the scene, there was no hint of lies before his eyes.
In the ‘Graduating from the Academy with Luck’, achieving accomplishments grants you titles and stat boosts.
But these accomplishments don’t necessarily include only grand activities.
There can be instances, like ‘Passing through the Burning Ring’, where even seemingly ridiculous acts grant titles upon success.
“Circus stunt courses are the most efficient for sucking up stats in a short period!”
Thus, she swung the whip diligently.
“Jump, mob! This time, you’re jumping over three in a row!”
“I can’t, I can’t! I feel so heavy!”
“If you get over this, you’ll be more agile!”
As she earnestly encouraged the mob, a voice of horror came from behind.
“Little lady. What are you doing right now?”
“Ah! When did you arrive, Jezel-ssi?”
“I heard that Oknodie was abusing a male student, but to think it was true…”
“Ugh! It’s not abuse! It’s training!”
“I suppose one could argue that circus training is training.”
Seeing the incredulous expression on her face, Jezel thought about how this scene looked.
A girl swinging a whip to make a male student jump into the Burning Ring with weight equipment hanging from him.
…Not exactly a normal sight.
“Please understand! The mob has to raise his stats by today to pass the test tomorrow!”
If the mob wasn’t at risk of failing, they wouldn’t even have to do this.
“AHHH! My leg, my leg—!”
“Ah, I’ll put it out right now!”
Drenching the flames on the mob’s leg with a bucket filled with water from the previously cast Water Creation Spell made it all go out.
The sight of the mob, sprawled out after being doused, looked like finding a corpse at a murder scene, and it made her chuckle a bit.
“Ha ha. What’s wrong, mob? If you’re that exhausted after doing this, what are you going to do?”
“…Just let me rest for ten minutes…”
“Alright! Just ten minutes!”
Flipping the hourglass, Jezel started timing, releasing a deep sigh from the mob.
“No matter how urgent the training is, isn’t this a bit too dangerous? The fire just got real.”
“Well, isn’t that why I filled the bucket with water!”
Casting the Water Creation spell once more on the now-empty bucket made bubbling water rise up.
Tasting it with her finger, she ended up with sweet, fizzy cider-flavored water.
Water that could be sprinkled or drunk—this was ultimate!
“Do you think the Academy won’t step in if an accident occurs?”
“Oh. That’s fine. Oknodie had requested a permit to observe, after all.”
A single instructor, who had been resting in the shade behind a box, waved his hand, making his presence known.
“Care for a drink?”
“Oh. Please. Oknodie’s water has a uniquely sweet and fizzy taste that I absolutely love. Water merchant apprentices could learn a thing or two from this.”
“Hehe. If just anybody could do it like me, it’d be a problem. This is all from my know-how.”
“Haha. Those with less know-how than an eleven-year-old surely have no right to call themselves a wizard.”
“Eh. It’s all thanks to my brilliance.”
As they laughed heartily, Jezel glared at the instructor with a very displeased expression.
“Little lady. A proper adult doesn’t make others do what they can’t do themselves. Even if an instructor is accompanying you, this training is excessive.”
“Is that a problem?”
“That is a problem.”
“Hmm. Then I just have to prove it, right? At that point, Jezel won’t be able to say anything!”
“Oknodie? What are you planning— Oh, Oknodie!”
Before Jezel could get a word in edgewise, Oknodie leaped toward the Burning Ring.
POT!
Instead of ducking down like the mob, she sprung up high and cleared it.
After getting through one ring, she touched the empty space with her hand and forcefully pushed off the ground with her arm to pass through.
Finally, she landed with two feet and then spread her body wide like a spring, doing a 1080-degree spin and landing with her arms out, saying “Ta-da!”
[Successfully completed the acrobatics of jumping through the Burning Ring.]
[Jumping experience +10]
[Acrobatics experience +5]
[Long jump experience +2]
[Acquired the title [Acrobat: Burning Ring].]
[With the title effect, agility increases by 1.]
With a skilled landing, Jezel finally let out a sigh of relief.
“You’re really exceptional at scaring people. I was worried the flames might catch something. I really hope you’ll never do that again.”
“You’re asking too much of me, Jezel-ssi!”
“If you promise me, I’ll buy you something to eat that Oknodie hasn’t had yet.”
“Wow, really?!”
“It’s a promise.”
“Yay, a promise!”
They shook hands, sealing the deal.
“Ehehe.”
“Phew. You sure are impressive at acrobatics. Have you had similar experiences before?”
“I’ve done it a lot in the past! You have to be good at acrobatics to get agile. Back in my beginner days, I used to catch fire and everything, but after getting familiar, I wasn’t scared anymore, and the rewards came easily, so it was actually pretty sweet!”
Suddenly, Jezel turned her back and looked up at the sky, trembling her shoulders slightly.
“Jezel-ssi?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I just got some dust in my eye…”
“Getting older comes with its troubles!”
“…Indeed. The worries just increase, making it impossible to have a peaceful day.”
While chatting, the ten-minute hourglass piled up on the ground.
“Get up, mob. It’s acrobatics jumping time again.”
“Ugh… It’s so hard…”
“Stop whining and get up quickly. We need to practice five knife juggling, plate spinning, and a somersault before tomorrow!”
“The test is supposed to be smashing rocks. Why are we doing agility training…”
“Because a high agility coefficient will help in landing critical hits on weakness points.”
“This is really weird…”
“Mob. Have you ever been a top student?”
“…”
“Then just do as you’re told!”
The mob, stumbling up like a zombie, jumped once again toward the Burning Ring.
This time, the mob’s upper body was on fire as he screamed for help.
Drenching him again with water from the bucket made her think.
“Mob really is slow to learn!”
“I just want to fail…”
Pouring the protein shake she received from Professor Plato into the mob’s mouth.
“Drink this and get your strength back quickly!”
She was taking extra care of him, and failing was just not allowed!
Warrior Ishtar felt a sense of unease.
“Oknodie… why, of all people, are you being pointed out as a candidate for the Demon King…?”
Candidate Numero Uno for companions.
The child she coveted the most was, by some twist of fate, marked as a candidate for the demon king.
Unlike others, she knew.
Demon Lord.
Dark Princess.
Those were all prerequisites for becoming the Demon King.
That it was a prerequisite to be in the advanced class.
Demons of the underworld challenged the throne of the Demon King.
Oknodie was destined to have that right.
If she wanted to, she could easily become a contender for the Demon King.
Even the evil gods were keeping their eyes on that position.
If wicked fiends extend their hands, could she resist the temptation?
Not a chance.
Humans are inherently weak to the allure of power.
Weren’t most students admitted to the Academy drawn by that power?
“Ishtar. Just give up already.”
“Oknodie isn’t a candidate for the Demon King yet.”
“If a betrayer appears in the warrior party, you know it’s almost a certainty that the warriors will fail in their mission, right?”
“It’s just frustrating. How on earth did the Foundation discover Oknodie, leading her down such a wicked path? I resent fate…”
Upon hearing the rumors circulating about the Developing Insight course, Ishtar cursed the Foundation rumored to be behind Oknodie.
Wiheomhae Foundation.
Collecting talents from across the world and sending them to the world’s top educational institution, and applying pressure on the academy by taking their abilities hostage.
This ominous organization had even succeeded in openly taking a tremendously talented individual, selecting her as the top scholarship student.
So much so that the present warrior, Ishtar, was consumed by agony regarding Oknodie’s treatment.
“If you care that much, why not go visit her?”
Ishtar’s childhood friend, Yufi.
Unable to stand Ishtar’s constant angst, she offered a suggestion.
“I’ll do that. Thanks for the advice, Yufi.”
Let’s meet first.
Let’s talk to Oknodie directly.
It’s possible that the aptitude was merely a fluke, and perhaps the Foundation provided proper education after all.
In that way, Ishtar searched high and low to find Oknodie in a remote place, where she saw the Burning Ring and the abused boy, along with Oknodie, who was frustratingly jumping through the ring herself.
“If you do this like that, it should work. Why can’t you do it?!”
What the heck is going on here?
Within her daze, she heard Jezel’s voice murmuring from a corner of the venue.
“Those Foundation bastards… how old were they when they started forcing Oknodie through such horrendous training… and to the point of absurdity where it’s said this horrendous training is actually sweet…”
Damn it.
The Foundation was really a bunch of bad guys.
Ishtar resolved.
That girl must be rescued from the grips of the Foundation at all costs.
Even if it means putting herself in danger, she decided to bring her into the warrior party.
How could someone unworthy of rescuing a single girl call themselves a warrior?