Thud thud thud…
—
As I eagerly patrolled the Lower Class, a piece of good news awaited me.
“Training equipment prototypes are complete!”
“Already?”
“With the help of Rosgini and the production crew, we quickly boosted the power, significantly shortening the casting time! Money really can do anything, ho ho!”
Arcadia showed me the equipment.
Trying on the gloves and shoes for a test, I found they didn’t fit properly, leaving space around my heels, and the gloves were so baggy they felt like I’d borrowed them from an adult.
But the weight was not too different from those I had worn at Jonnas’s mansion.
“This is it!”
“I’m glad you’re satisfied. But is it really possible to do everyday activities wearing such heavy training equipment?”
“You’ll adapt eventually; it’ll be fine!”
After all, this is a world with a Status Window.
It’s a Game World with stats too. Students at the Gift Academy, possessing stats far superior to any ordinary person, could greatly benefit from heavy training in their daily lives.
‘Well, it’s not much compared to what Jonnas made.’
I felt a lack of ergonomic design here.
The oversized gloves and shoes pressed on my skin and felt like they were rubbing against me.
There was no auto-balance function to adjust my center of gravity in real-time.
Of course, expecting such features from training equipment designed by first-year students, especially a brand-new prototype, would be akin to expecting a thief not to steal!
If I had any sense, I couldn’t complain to the dedicated Arcadia, Rosgini, and the other first-year production students!
“Can I take this to the mob?”
“Go ahead. It won’t fit, but you can always pad it with something like cotton or fabric, just like layering when wearing armor.”
But I hadn’t thought about the inner armor I was supposed to wear underneath, which gave me pause.
‘Can I just throw anything at a newbie to wear?’
Absolutely not. The best way to lure in a clueless newbie is to bombard them with expensive gear.
If they start their hobby by loading up on expensive equipment, they surely wouldn’t slack off, fearing the money wasted.
Just like how Koreans usually dive into hobbies with full gear, whether it’s hiking, fishing, or cycling.
Even if most of them end up buying expensive toys only to store their full plate armor like treasured heirlooms for their descendants, at least I don’t have to worry about a newbie burying their training equipment under junk in a closet!
After all, those too lazy and desperate not to survive a semester at Gift Academy wouldn’t make it very long here.
‘Mob’s pretty diligent, though.’
Despite his shabby impression, Mob was quite healthy, burning the midnight oil to train hard enough to develop dark circles under his eyes.
Given his sincerity, I had to ensure that he wouldn’t feel intimidated by some kid from the next Lower Class.
“Alright. Let’s fit him with something!”
With everyone putting in the effort to make the training equipment, I had to handle the inner armor myself.
—
Clang clang clang…
—
Professor Plato, more serious about molding iron than anyone else, was not popular among students due to his excessively harsh curriculum.
Not a single student visited him outside of class!
When their eyes met, students typically recoiled in terror, anticipating when he might suggest protein supplements!
“Heh. Cowardly fools.”
The professor didn’t mind.
The true pinnacle of a steelman could not be attained by those trembling in fear!
A little solitude.
A little loneliness.
Only those who can willingly use such feelings as fuel for growth and training can edge closer to being an iron man.
As though insisting that learning has no boundaries, Plato was still honing his physique day by day, turning himself into a living statue.
“Hello, professor!”
But today, something unexpected occurred during his usual training session.
A student approached him, striking up a conversation.
Without stopping his work, Professor Plato replied,
“I do not accept grade disputes.”
“But we haven’t even had our Midterm Exam yet!”
“Then is it about assignments? I don’t accept disputes on assignment evaluations either.”
“I’m not here about assignments!”
“Then what brings you here? If you’re asking me to be a club advisor, I already handle the Strongman Club and the Hand-to-Hand Combat Club, so I have to decline.”
“I came to ask if you know where to get padded armor!”
“Padded armor?”
At first, he thought it was a persistent upperclassman begging for grades, but the mention of padded armor threw him off.
There was something odd about the innocent tone from the first-year Oknodie, who barely looked like she had lost her baby teeth!
“My friend’s training equipment doesn’t fit, and they need armor to pad with.”
She shyly smiled, looking quite like a little fox.
If she could dodge orc evolution, she might grow into someone astonishing like Princess Masugaki!
“Can you show me the training equipment?”
Even though Professor Plato wasn’t very friendly towards students, he softened his expression for the promising first-year Oknodie.
She eagerly dropped her training equipment with a thud.
The dust cloud kicked up gave away its weight!
“Hm.”
Upon lifting it, I felt a slight strain on my muscles.
Indeed, for a first-year, the gloves and shoes were pretty hefty.
“I don’t know who it is, but I commend a student for practicing wearing medium armor in advance.”
Swinging a sword without armor and swinging it while wearing a heavy armor each require different strength, trajectory, and stamina.
For a student aiming for greatness, preparing in advance like this, is the way to go.
Of course, most students don’t do this.
Using the busy academy schedule as an excuse, they squander their precious first-year time playing, eating, and resting!
“Mob is quite diligent and a student of the Lower Class!”
“Is that so?”
If Oknodie was praising him this much, he was certainly more than just an average student.
“Since I don’t have a class right now, have him come over here.”
“Okay!”
Soon after, a scrawny boy showed up.
He showed no signs of being slouched due to bad habits, and though not particularly muscular, it was clear he had been striving to train.
With a natural knack for magic, it looked like Mob’s muscles were fairly toned already.
“You have potential.”
“Th-thank you…?”
Professor Plato lightly poked Mob’s bicep, abdomen, and thigh.
What’s happening? Did Oknodie sell him off to the professor for grades? Mob’s mind was swirling with confusion and fear, but that was not the intention!
‘Muscle fatigue seems more than it appears.’
His muscles had accumulated fatigue faster than they could recover from repeated workouts.
With Mob dividing his training between upper and lower body workouts, the sheer level of commitment meant he had certainly steeled his resolve.
“I like it!”
Seeing a spark of potential and diligence that defied first-year norms, the professor reminisced about his own struggles for the revival of the Kingdom of Florence back in the day.
This student is worth helping out.
“I shall grant you the cotton made from Balmertz’s cotton.”
Balmertz, known as the original cotton, was cultivated in the spirit realm before being brought to the world—it had great historical value!
I wondered if the first-years even recognized its worth, but surprisingly, Oknodie looked like she’d die for it.
‘Ordinary rich folks wouldn’t easily recognize this cotton’s value, would they?’
In stark contrast to Oknodie’s cute appearance and school uniform, the long white gloves reaching her elbows gave away her true nature.
She must come from a wealthy family.
Professor Plato was so earnest about physical training that he hadn’t heard the faintest gossip circulating about Oknodie in the academy.
—
[Plato was satisfied with Mob’s level.]
[Mob receives the Balmertz cotton.]
[The prototype weight training set gains a quality upgrade to “[Excellent (3)].”]
[Shock absorbing function has been added.]
[Heat absorbing function has been added.]
[Equipment durability has significantly improved.]
Though Professor Plato was known as a somewhat dangerous figure who often handed out protein soup to students, he was quite generous at heart.
Managing the Strongman Club and Hand-to-Hand Combat Club, he willingly offered any help if someone was interested in physical development.
“Mob is quite lucky!”
“Huh? Me?”
“That’s worth a fortune.”
“How much?”
“Hmm…”
Considering the value of balancing equipment in the game, I determined its price.
“A full set of magic armor!”
“Gasp!!”
Magic armor, which even nobles couldn’t obtain because of its staggering point cost!
Mob was blown away by the incredible idea of cotton, which outweighed gold!
“What if I spill it? If something leaks, I can get pieces of cotton all over me, and just losing one strand is like throwing away gold!”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. Just try it on for now.”
Plato chuckled heartily as he forcefully stuffed the cotton into Mob’s boots and gloves.
There was a noise that sounded like a crackle, and I hoped, for once, I had misheard it.
“Ugh… It’s heavy.”
“But isn’t the fit nice?”
“Yeah. Thanks to you, professor, it’s way better now.”
“What are you thanking me for? The real thanks start now.”
“Come again?”
“You were worried about spilling the Balmertz cotton, weren’t you?”
So he would eliminate the root of the problem to ease the worry by creating what’s ultimately a pretty desirable training tool?
I had anxiously watched from the side, but fortunately, my fears were unfounded.
He wasn’t taking it, but was modifying it!
Crackle!
Plato had no malicious intent at all; he genuinely felt pleased as he crushed the ends of the gloves and boots with sheer strength, making them fit snugly around Mob’s wrists and ankles.
“Yikes?!”
“You’ve lost one problem.”
With immense pride, Professor Plato declared,
“Wearing shoes and gloves that won’t come off prevents cotton spillage. Now you cannot take them off, no matter what!”
The professor had not stolen the training equipment.
Instead, he’d made it into a cursed item that was impossible to remove!
