<160 - The One Haunted by Ghosts>
“Recently, I’ve heard that the students are getting anxious due to some unpleasant rumors spreading around the campus. As the professor for the Upper Class, I ought to say a word to you all.”
In Professor Plato’s physical training lecture for the Upper Class.
The Upper Class students looked at Professor Plato with anticipation, as he finally acted like a professor.
Professor, right?
It’s just a baseless rumor, right?
With the twinkling eyes of the first-years upon him, Professor Plato gave a hearty laugh and struck a bodybuilding pose, the Front Double Biceps, emphasizing his bulging biceps and lats.
“Those rumors that students might die from the midterm exams are false!”
“Wow!”
“Just like Professor Plato!”
Stretching muscles!
Professor, moving energetically, revealed his dazzling white teeth and continued,
“The truth is: ‘Weak students die.’ Let’s not be mistaken about the midterm exams!”
“Wow…”
“Just like Professor Plato…”
The first-year Upper Class students realized that the rumors were anything but baseless.
However, among the first-years, the capable students didn’t show the slightest fear.
To put it bluntly, if you’ve got the skills, there’s no reason to be scared regardless of how ominous the rumors are.
“Please move!! I’ll give you 5,700 carrots, just do something!!”
Heeheeheehee!
Even if they had no skills, the Upper Class had no room for fear.
Ironman Triathlon, at the completion of the test.
A test where they must traverse a designated distance using their tamed mounts.
To pass the test, students have to train their mounts to run quickly.
If they were scared, the student’s real fear came from the mounts, which were looming closer than the actual test coming in three weeks.
“Is Irene not scared at all?”
“If it’s cumbersome, I’ll just freeze it all.”
“…What will you do if you freeze your mount?”
“I’ll just say it’s an ice otter.”
“Irene’s mount really needs to behave well…”
With a fearsome training method that awed her classmates, even if the mount feared the student.
“Oknodie chose a golem, right?”
“Yep!”
“How are you going to train it?”
Isabel, holding a frisbee, struggled as she tried to push a big dog jumping around, eventually flinging the frisbee with all her might far away.
The big dog, excitedly running toward the frisbee, started whining as it got stuck against the leg of Oknodie’s golem, which was standing in the middle of the field.
“Why do you need to train it?”
“…Is that where the difference lies? I can really feel the gap between the top student and the regular Upper Class student.”
“Eh, golems are gentle mounts, that’s why. With a frisbee, it’s easy to handle dogs, right?”
“But throwing the frisbee so much really tires out my arm. I’m so drained from setting aside time to increase affinity over the weekend. I feel like I’m training my body too.”
“Still, that’s better than over there.”
Thud! Thud!
Son Ohchun, hanging from a giraffe, was bouncing around, trying to shake off an annoying monkey, running toward the mountains and smashing into trees and rocks with all his might.
The trees fell with thud thud, shaking the ground, and the students sighed with relief, thankful they hadn’t chosen a giraffe.
“I’ll just train, thanks.”
“I wish I had that kind of freedom too.”
“Good luck!”
After seeing Isabel off, they lightly warmed up their bodies by rotating their shoulders or stretching their legs.
The most efficient kind of training during practice was skill experience training.
And the judgment for skill experience levels up based on specific actions.
Archery requires pulling the bowstring.
Swordsmanship involves the act of slashing.
Once experience reaches a certain level, it doesn’t accrue from simple actions anymore; it requires more difficult, intricate, or demanding repetitions.
Those who don’t know this trick feel as if they’ve leveled up after putting in loads of effort without structure!
Of course, veterans knowing the mechanics won’t engage in such inefficient training.
“Hey! I told you to stay still! Get yourself into a compact position so it’s easier to roll, and keep your limbs tucked in!”
Thud!
My training method for efficient training was just rolling the golem.
Pushing and pulling a heavy object allowed me to train [Archery], [Swordsmanship], and [Martial Arts] simultaneously.
On top of that, depending on how far I pushed, it would also fulfill some conditions for titles like [Strongman] and [The One Who Carried a Golem at 11 Years Old].
“Take that!”
Heave!
Rolling the golem with all my might, like a weightlifter, attracted puzzled gazes from those around me.
After all, I was gearing up for taming training.
While trying to charm my mount, it probably looked quite bizarre to others to be bullying a golem instead of training properly.
“Oknodie! What’s the benefit of doing that?”
“It’s good in many ways!”
“Then should I try it too?”
Somehow, the fellow golem owner, Hestia, started rolling her golem beside me.
While the stares from onlookers intensified as they observed the absurd sight, we tried our best to ignore the burning gazes.
“I’ll give you food! I’ll pull in the winter feed ahead of time, so please run for me! I’m not hoping for an S-grade, just help me get at least a B+!”
Compared to Honor Fried Chicken, who was being dragged around pleading while holding the reins, no matter what I did, I at least looked relatively normal.
*
[Conducted diverse training via rolling, pulling, and throwing the golem.]
[Archery Experience +15]
[Martial Arts Experience +10]
[Swordsmanship Experience +5]
[Fear Inducement Experience +3]
[Strength increases by 1.]
[Title [The One Who Carried a Golem at 11 Years Old] acquired.]
[Title effect grants an additional Strength increase of 1.]
[Title [Golem Kettlebell Training Method Developer] acquired.]
[Title effect grants an additional Strength increase of 1.]
[Sharing this training method increases reputation significantly.]
As I rolled, pushed, pulled, and lifted the golem with enthusiasm, I felt a much hotter, fiercer gaze than the students’ watching me.
Surprised by such an intense glare that felt almost like it could catch fire, I turned to find Professor Plato standing behind me.
“Oknodie! Wouldn’t you like to join the Super Strength Breaking Club? It’s a club I advise, and it seems your strength qualifies you to join!”
“I-I’m sorry. I’m considering another club…”
“What scoundrels dare to offer you a club! Just say the word, and I’ll smash that club to pieces before summer vacation arrives!!”
“…”
Would a professor actually say that?
He’s literally saying he’ll smash that club to pieces right in front of me.
“I-I need to go! I have another lecture!”
Thank goodness I was attending Professor Destroyer’s lecture. Thanks to that, Professor Plato reluctantly let me go.
Had there been no lecture to attend, I might have been dragged into the Super Strength Breaking Club if Professor Plato had been even slightly more intimidating…
Just thinking about it is terrifying.
“Professor, can I lift that too?”
“Hestia? Ah, you’ve lifted the golem well. Great. Could you show me once during a demonstration?”
Oh no…
I feel sorry for Hestia for making that wrong choice.
*
Professor Destroyer felt an odd tension.
Last Sunday.
He’d directly interrupted Oknodie’s reunion with her butler.
Even though Oknodie was aware of this act, for some reason, she didn’t blame him at all.
Sometimes, not addressing an issue can become an even stickier problem.
This was how it felt for him now.
“I’m going crazy. If it were a guy, I could just grab him and ask if he’s got a crush or something.”
But Oknodie is a girl.
An 11-year-old girl, at that.
No matter how much he had tormented the despicable foundation’s staff, it wouldn’t be strange for a student at that age to have a favorite plushie in her bedroom.
The blanket she usually covered herself with could very well be her favorite blanket.
There’s probably a favorite butler too.
If someone handles cherished things carelessly, it sparks anger—what of a cherished butler?
“I let my desires run too far and did something wrong.”
*
Putting aside the awkwardness that was hard to show, Professor Destroyer tried to lessen his mental burden by providing hints about the upcoming exam.
“You must be worried about the midterm exam coming up, but you don’t have to fret too much. Just attending my class will automatically grant you scores.”
“I’m not particularly worried!”
“Well, even in a practice, it’s not a big deal for a student who can answer everything in a warrior’s adventure story, is it?”
In order to lessen his debt of conscience, he felt he had to provide greater insight.
“About the dark energy spreading throughout the school?”
“I know!”
“About parents appearing as ghosts?”
“I helped them move on and even got a thank-you!”
Seeing the ring that filled his hand made him admire her overflowing proactive attitude.
“Then it’s not just one ghost?”
“Yep??”
“It seems you didn’t know that.”
Now he could finally let go of that uncomfortable feeling.
With delight, Professor Destroyer conveyed the information.
“The dark energy calls forth ghosts, and ghosts disguise themselves as beings close to the living, absorbing their vitality from nearby. Usually, the living sense the unease and drive away the ghosts, but sometimes it can be the opposite.”
“Like Ghost Papa of Titosso?”
“Correct.”
Though aware they’re ghosts, they choose not to banish them.
Even if it’s fake, they want to keep them close.
They listen to the demands of the ghosts and come to a compromise.
[The One Haunted by Ghosts] is born this way.
“There’s a student among the first-years who’s becoming the One Haunted by Ghosts. Today’s lecture will substitute to help liberate that student.”
“Can you tell me who it is?”
“It won’t be difficult. You probably know, Oknodie. They stand out among your classmates as a notable student.”
One exceptional student stood out even among the unique students in the Upper Class.
“I believe she wields a sword from the Eastern Region.”
“Ew.”
Even while discussing the stories of corpses among the sheep, Oknodie, who usually remained unfazed, shrank back and frowned.
Eastern Swordsman Sing.
A student who showed a serious demeanor unlike modern kids, hinting at a warrior’s aptitude.
It seems since they were in the same class, she knew already.
