<h4>Chapter 6: Physical Training [1]</h4>


    Brandon and Raven arrived in what seems to be a white room.


    It was time for Physical Training, a session where mages and duelists stood equal.


    It was a mandatory ss. Therefore, mages were forced to take this ss as well.


    It was an unwritten rule in Astrea Academy, but the students knew there was a clear hierarchy between mages and duelists.


    Mages would continue to stand at the top, while duelists were often discriminated against.


    ''Which is why this situation happened. Haa...''


    Brandon let out an inward sigh.


    The mage faction had gathered together, forming a group.


    While the duelist faction gathered and formed their own separate group.


    Imaginary sparks flew between the two factions, as each of them looked at each other with obvious disdain.


    Since Brandon had no other friends besides Raven, he decided to gather together with the duelist faction.


    Due to this, the two factions decided to fight for him.


    From the mage faction,


    "Hey, you''re Brandon Locke aren''t you? Why are you on their side, aren''t you a mage?"


    "Yeah, get over here! Why are you with those...duelists?"


    And from the duelist faction,


    "You don''t have the right to tell him what to do, just leave him alone."


    "Yeah, don''t just tell him to go wherever you please."


    Brandon could only shake his head at this ridiculous debate.


    From his side, Raven spoke up, "Just ignore them, Brandon."


    "Haa... I know."


    It was then when another student chimed in, cing his arm around the two''s shoulders.


    "I agree with both of you."


    Raven tilted his head, confused by the sudden appearance of a third party.


    "Uhm... Do we know you?"


    Brandon reacted differently, he already knew who this was.


    "Haha, apologies. My name is Reinhard Van, I''m a mage. But I''m not like those idiots, so don''t worry."


    Brandon responded in return,


    "Nice to meet you, I''m–"


    "Brandon Locke, right? I''ve seen your performance back in Combat ss, good stuff man."


    Brandon once again scratched his cheek in embarrassment.


    This was another character he had closely followed back in his reading days.


    After all, Reinhard Van was one of the main casts, and would soon be Raven''s best friend.


    Raven responded as well, shing Reinhard with a smile.


    "And I''m Raven ckheart, nice to meet you."


    "Likewise." Reinhard gave a smile of his own.


    The students around them continued to debate, it wasn''t even about Brandon anymore.


    As their voices were getting louder, a familiar figure entered the training hall.


    Vanessa Grace, followed by a muscr man with brown hair, and blue eyes, adorned with a beard.


    When they made their appearance, the voices immediately settled down, as each of the students fixed their gazes at the Professors who had just arrived.


    Vanessa garnered their attention with a stern voice, and said,


    "Apologies for beingte, I had some matters to attend to."


    She then switched her gaze at the Professor beside her, and continued,


    "You might be wondering who this is, so allow me to introduce him."


    Once again, Brandon already knew who exactly the man was.


    Gavin White, one of the strongest duelists in the world.


    ''The man who would soon be Raven''s mentor.''


    ***


    There was a reason why Vanessa, a mage, had brought Gavin, a duelist, along with her for Physical Training.


    The discrimination against duelists only stems in Astrea Academy, it wasn''t a trope that urred on the outside.


    The Professors were already made aware of this, and since Physical Training was a mandatory ss, it didn''t matter if the student were a duelist or a mage, they had to take this ss.


    Hence, there would be obvious opposition from the duelists if a mage–Vanessa, was the one in charge of Physical Training.


    To settle the dispute, she''d brought Gavin along, a duelist.


    As Vanessa finished introducing Gavin, it was time to get down to business.


    Thus, Vanessa instructed, "For today''s first session, we will test each students'' physical aptitude.


    After stating those words, Vanessa pressed a button from behind her.


    <i>Click-</i>


    <i>Kshhhhh-</i>


    As soon as she pressed the button, the white room started expanding.


    <i>Crack!</i>


    As the room continued to expand, arge mountain started gradually materializing out of thin air.


    The room was filled with audible gasps. The students were surprised at the sudden change within the room.


    After the mountain finished materializing, Vanessa beamed with pride, as she turned to look at each students'' surprised faces.


    "This is the pride of Astrea Academy, the virtual simtion room."


    It was more like this was where their tuition fees went, but they didn''t need to know that.


    Vanessa continued exining,


    "You might be wondering what that huge mountain will be used for."


    Vanessa then turned to look at Gavin, "Allow Mr. Gavin to exin."


    The students seemed to get the gist of what today''s session would be about, evident by their expressions.


    Gavin noticed this, and at Vanessa''s signal, he spoke up with a rough voice,


    "As you''ve guessed, you students are gonna climb that humongous mountain."


    He paused for a brief moment, then continued as he explicitly emphasized,


    "But remember, no magic, all of you will have to climb it with your own physical capabilities."


    After all, it was a Physical Training session.


    The duelist faction, already expecting this, had a look of confidence in their faces.


    The mage faction, on the other hand, wore looks of worry.


    Despite being mages, there was no point in being a battle mage if you didn''t have sufficient physical capabilities.


    Which is what Physical Training ss was for.


    Gavin once again instructed,


    "Now, please form a line. Each of you will be timed, as soon as you start climbing."


    Gavin continued, and gave a set of criterias:


    Under 5 minutes: A


    Under 10 minutes: B


    Under 15 minutes: C


    Under 20 minutes: D


    Over 20 minutes: F


    As he finished giving the criterias, there were audibleints from the students–mostly from the mage faction.


    "This is ridiculous! You expect us to climb that...thing in under five minutes?"


    "Yeah! Scratch that, under twenty minutes is impossible already..."


    They continued on, letting their contempt evident.


    The duelist faction, who beamed with confidence, retorted,


    "What a bunch of sissies, Astrea Academy only expects the best of the best."


    "He''s right, if you can''t even handle this, what''s the point of even attending the Academy?"


    The mage faction could only continue to show their disdain.


    It was then–when Vanessa sternly stated, her peach eyes glowed and her brows furrowed.


    "I didn''t want to have to resort to this, but..."


    As soon as she paused, she used gravity magic to press down on the students with immense pressure.


    Some of them bent down due to the weight, and some continued to fight back against the pressure.


    Vanessa then continued,


    "If any of you drop out of this, you will be met with expulsion. If you get an F you are expelled as well, am I clear?"


    The students instantly settled down, unable to say anything, as fear was evident from their expressions.


    It seemed like they forgot that Vanessa was a top ranked mage in the citadel, there was nothing they could do but reluctantly agree.


    Noticing this, Vanessa gave a stern nod,


    "Good, now line up."