Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 342: Special Hell Lecture (1)

The students began running across the vast training ground.

At first, they ran by reinforcing their bodies with mana, so there wasn’t much strain.

Even those who normally never exercised could run well thanks to enhancement magic.

But as time went on, their thoughts changed.

Mana was not infinite.

It didn’t take much mana to strengthen the body.

However, if one had to keep running while maintaining that state, the story was different.

In the end, students started running out of mana before completing even a few laps.

Those who had depleted their mana now had to run with their bare bodies.

Bodies that had been protected by enhancement magic began screaming in pain.

“Huff, huff.”

“Pant, pant.”

Heavy breathing echoed everywhere.

Students who usually avoided exercise were now so pale they looked like corpses.

At that moment, the same question rose simultaneously in everyone’s mind.

‘Why am I even running?’

‘This is supposed to help with summoning a magic beast?’

‘Is this right? Really?’

But no one could stop running.

It was because of a man staring at them with an intense gaze.

Ludger Cherish.

He never stopped glaring at the students, as if making sure no one dared to slack off.

Because of Ludger, even those who wanted to stop simply couldn’t.

Ludger was like a ghost.

The moment a student even slightly tried to slow their pace, his gaze cut into them like a dagger. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

And if they still didn’t listen, he would call their name out in his uniquely heavy voice, applying crushing pressure.

That alone was enough to make half-dead students spring forward like startled wild rabbits.

He didn’t go easy on girls.

If he didn’t show mercy to nobles, why would he do so for girls?

And certainly not for noble girls.

“Huff, huff.”

Taishy was gasping for breath, running like crazy.

It felt like it was about time to stop, yet Ludger hadn’t said anything.

Since he had ordered them to keep running until he said otherwise, she had no choice but to continue.

“Why the hell... am I... doing this...”

Her voice broke with each breath, sounding like she might pass out any second.

Even breathing was painful, and her whole body was drenched in sweat.

Taishy wanted to collapse on the spot but couldn’t—because of her pride.

‘Why the hell is Leo running so damn hard?!’

Normally, Leo was the one who would slack off the most.

But ever since the field trip, something had changed in him. He was now giving his best during training, running without a single complaint despite the obvious exhaustion.

Watching Leo run so earnestly made Taishy's insides boil.

For some reason, she felt that if she lost to Leo here, she’d carry the label of a loser for ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) life.

She absolutely couldn’t let that happen.

So Taishy clenched her teeth and kept running.

“Taishy, are you okay?”

Aidan caught up beside her, matching her pace.

It wasn’t that he slowed down—he had already completed another lap ahead of her and simply overtaken her again.

Taishy wanted to answer, but her lungs were too tight, so she shook her head instead.

“Just hold on a bit longer! You’ll feel better soon! Once you push past a certain point, you kinda reach enlightenment!”

Aidan said with a bright, cheerful smile.

‘You call that encouragement?’

Taishy wanted to retort, but even breathing was too much for her now.

She glanced sideways at Aidan in disbelief.

Aside from looking slightly out of breath, he was still fine.

It was because he had been consistently training his body, unlike most.

Taishy suddenly recalled how Leo had once called Aidan a “stupid stamina monster.”

Now, she realized how fitting that nickname really was.

Of course, Aidan wasn’t the only one running well.

Iona, who was several laps ahead of the others, was doing even better.

The beastkin race had superior physical abilities.

Iona, in particular, was born of an exceptional bloodline, so her level was on a whole other plane.

Every time her long legs pushed forward, her body surged gracefully ahead.

The boys could only stare dumbfounded at Iona as she swiftly passed by them.

For boys in their prime, being outdone physically by a girl was a serious blow to their pride.

Because of that, they clenched their teeth and pushed themselves to keep running.

‘She’s like a real monster.’

Taishy clicked her tongue at Iona’s unchanging expression.

Just then, someone with dark-blue hair passed by her.

‘Huh?’

For a moment, Taishy couldn’t place the person, but then she remembered—it was Flora Lumos, the second-year prodigy.

Her hair color had changed slightly, so she hadn’t recognized her at first glance.

‘Was that senior always this good at physical training?’

Contrary to Taishy's expectations, Flora was running well.

She had always assumed that while Flora had incredible talent in magic, she would be weak physically. But that wasn’t the case.

She was obviously tired, but compared to the half-dead students around her, she looked almost lively.

“Haa... haa... F-Flora...”

Sheryl, who had fallen a lap behind, finally caught up to Flora, panting.

“W-what the hell... Why are you... running so well?”

“Well...”

Flora couldn’t bring herself to answer her childhood friend.

She was just as surprised by her improved stamina.

Honestly, when Ludger had ordered them to run, Flora had expected to be exhausted to death.

But when she actually started running, it wasn’t as bad as she’d thought.

‘If I had to guess, it’s probably the same reason my hair color changed.’

When the demon Basara had possessed her body, it forcibly awakened her latent physical potential along with her magical talent.

Though Basara had long since vanished, her body didn’t revert after being awakened.

For Flora, it was a blessing in disguise.

She hadn’t expected her overall physical abilities to improve along with her magic, but here she was.

‘Well, good things are still good.’

Reading the satisfied expression on Flora’s face, Sheryl asked:

“Flora, you... kinda look happy.”

“...Do I?”

“Yeah. Normally, you’d be the first one to complain. Huff, huff.”

“Me?”

Flora asked, then fell silent.

Sheryl wasn’t wrong.

The old Flora would have argued with Ludger before even starting this kind of training.

The fact that she wasn’t doing so now was because she trusted him.

‘If it’s something Mr. Ludger ordered, there must be a reason.’

A change the old Flora could never have imagined.

Sheryl eyed Flora suspiciously.

“Flora, you...”

“What?”

Sensing Sheryl’s suspicious gaze, Flora avoided her eyes and sped up.

“H-hey?! F-Flora! Wait up!”

As small commotions erupted here and there, Ludger’s magically amplified voice cut through the air.

“Students whose names I call may stop running.”

As Ludger called out names, those students immediately collapsed where they stood.

The ones still running slowed their steps, wondering if their names might be next.

“Who said you could stop just because someone else did? Only those I called may stop. Or do you want to stop running forever here?”

Of course, Ludger’s icy words whipped them back into motion.

“Those who are exhausted, gather in one place and focus on mana recovery.”

“Huff... huff... Sir, does this really help with summoning magic beasts?”

One boy asked between breaths.

Others looked up at Ludger, clearly wanting an answer as well.

Yes, it was about time they got curious.

“Listen while you recover. You may not know this, but summoning-type magical beasts are very different from regular academic magic.”

Academics were mostly about sitting, thinking, and calculating theories.

Even experiments were merely to prove those theories.

But magic beasts were different.

“They require experience, not theory. You don’t need clever ideas or unique insights to summon one. What matters is sensing the very essence of your mana.”

“Essence?”

“Yes. You must find the ‘self’ that sleeps within the mana you’ve always used so carelessly.”

The students looked even more confused.

Mana having a self? That didn’t make sense.

“You all don’t seem to understand.”

“Well, mana having a will just doesn’t make sense.”

“There’s nothing nonsensical about it. Mana is a mysterious energy and one of the world’s foundations. Human logic can never truly define it. Even the greatest mages in history failed to define it.”

“B-but magic uses mana, doesn’t it?”

“And even then, magic only utilizes a fraction of what mana truly is.”

As he explained, Ludger kept an eye on the running students, calling out names of those who had reached their limits.

Students already resting whispered in awe.

It was as if Ludger had some built-in measuring device—he could pinpoint exactly when someone reached their limit.

The moment their names were called, instead of relief, many were startled by how accurately he’d judged them.

“While recovering, feel every bit of mana filling up from the bottom of your core. Repeat this process, and you will start to grasp something.”

Ludger continued his lecture to the resting students.

“As you know, spirits are beings formed from the power of nature. They have self-awareness. The higher the spirit, the more complex and sophisticated that self becomes.”

Then Ludger posed a question.

“Question. If spirits, formed of natural energy, have self-awareness, then do magical beasts made of mana have self-awareness or not? And if they do, why?”

The students glanced at each other, unable to answer hastily.

Then someone raised their hand.

“Yes, Rine.”

Resting with Erendir, Rine immediately answered.

“Magical beasts do have self-awareness.”

“And why is that? Mana is only a broad energy. Can it really hold a will like nature?”

“Not nature’s will—but a mage’s will can be imprinted on it.”

Satisfied, Ludger nodded.

“Correct.”

“Ohh...”

Some students glanced at Rine with newfound respect.

Iona, the last one still running, finally sat down.

It seemed everyone had gathered.

“You’re all curious, I’m sure—why I’m making you go through this much physical torture.”

The students had indeed been wondering that.

“I said summoning magical beasts is a process of experience, not theory. So tell me, what is the greatest characteristic of experience?”

The students fell into thought.

Experience meant practicing with your body. To them, its biggest characteristic was simply: “It’s really hard.”

“You don’t know? I’ll give you the answer.”

The students closed their mouths and waited.

“The greatest characteristic—and advantage—of experience: the more you do it, the better you get.”

...That’s it?

The students looked at him as if asking that exact question.

Ludger understood their feelings, but there was nothing more to say.

“The longer and harder you practice, the more you grow. That’s the biggest advantage of experience. The reason your seniors in third year can summon magical beasts is because they’ve been training and growing for two years at Seorn. You haven’t.”

Even in the third year, more than half the students couldn’t summon by the end of the term.

And first-years who hadn’t spent two years at Seorn were obviously even further behind.

“You lack time—desperately so. Unfortunately, this special lecture has a deadline. You must succeed before the end of this academic year.”

“W-we have to finish it this year no matter what?”

“Yes. And I think even that’s long. Considering future courses, you must learn to summon before the vacation.”

Before vacation?

There was still the fourth test ahead, but even considering that, it wasn’t much time.

“So how do you think you can achieve the greatest efficiency in such a short time?”

“...”

The students stayed silent.

Not because they didn’t know, but because they knew all too well.

“The answer is to increase the density of time. If you put in double the effort in the same amount of time, you’ll learn that much faster. That’s another advantage of experience.”

Increasing time density.

Simply put, it meant being worked far harder than normal.

“Judging by your expressions, it seems you’ve recovered enough.”

A sudden wave of dread washed over the students.

And Ludger did not disappoint them.

“Start running again.”

The hellish training was only just beginning.