Chapter 26:

Chapter 26:

“So, Abel. What is your true identity?”

Abel felt a cold sweat on his back for a moment.

‘True identity?’

The pressure on his mind made it hard for him to think straight. He had yet to learn what Magnus meant by asking the question. Abel managed to compose himself before speaking.

“I’m an orphan who used to live on the streets.”

Once he spoke, it was easy to continue.

“I was lucky enough to be allowed to learn at the Academy. Do you have a problem with my low status?”

“What? No way!”

Magnus hastily denied it, and at the same time, the pressure washed away.

“Status doesn’t matter when it comes to selecting the best and brightest for the Del Mordor Academy, and I didn’t ask that question with that intention in the first place!”

Abel was not relieved to hear the panic in Magnus’s voice. Because he had experienced it once, he’d been nicely talking to him, only to have him suddenly raise a sense of intimidation and ask an awkward question. His current appearance might have been deliberate, so Abel exaggeratedly responded with an impressed expression.

“I see, thank you!”

“Mmmm, yes. This conversation has taken a strange turn, but that is not what I wanted to ask you.”

Magnus turned back to Abel with a serious expression.

“Have you had any previous training in gigants or other training?”

“If it’s training, then....... I’ve been taught a few times when I was on the streets.”

“Oh, by whom?”

“Usually mercenaries or veterans. They were regulars at the bar where I worked.”

“......I see.”

Magnus nodded with a subtle face in response.

“It was a courtesy question because the investigation had already been done before admission was granted.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. You’re going to be... No, you’re already getting a lot of attention. You’re very talented, and you’ve made some outstanding achievements.”

“You’re flattering me.”

“The point is, you’ll receive much more support in the future as long as you keep making achievements.”

Magnus continued, “So you’re going to be more on point or point it out clearly. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Yes, I understand.”

His meaning was quite simple. Magnus was referring to the possibility that Abel was a spy or hiding something else.

‘It is said that the Empire is a great power, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any countries that can’t stand against them.’

The last Great War changed the landscape of the continent. The Empire was still regarded as the most powerful nation, but it was no longer as untouchable as before the Great War. Especially now, with the times as they are, there must be more alertness to the overflow of talent or spies.

‘I don’t think that’s necessarily the case.’

Of course, Abel wasn’t stupid enough to voice his suspicions. Magnus said something to the effect that he was only asking out of courtesy, that it was nothing to worry about. He then spoke again.

“Alright, it’s time to cut to the chase. Since we’re in the middle of the school year, there won’t be a separate award of commendations.”

“Yes.”

‘It was to be expected. I don’t think the imperial family intends to make a big deal out of this.’

“Instead, we have two awards for you. One is an activity fee.”

“An activity fee?”

“Yes. The Academy awards activity fees to cadets who show outstanding achievement to encourage them to go the extra mile, though they are rarely awarded this early.”

Magnus assured Abel that he would receive his activity fee every month from now on and that he was free to use it as he wished.

“And the second one is this,”

Magnus continued, handing him a silver plate. Abel’s eyes lit up as soon as he recognized it.This chapter's initial release occurred on the n0vell--Bjjn site.

“Is this......?”

“Access to the private training grounds.”

Magnus explained, “Normally, private training grounds are not given to first-year Cadets. However, it’s a different story if you’re exceptionally talented and have made a name for yourself.”

“Are they crazy?”

“This is hard for a sane person to do... I can barely lift a finger.”

The other cadets stuck out their tongues as they watched. But unlike Daniel, who was indeed a monster, Abel was slowly reaching his limit. No matter how determined one is, there are limits, and just when he was about to give up.

[Your physical strength has increased by one level.]

A message flashed in front of Abel’s eyes. He checked it, squeezed out the last of his strength, and ran, stopping short when he reached the finish line.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.”

“Great job, Abel!”

Boyle looked at Abel and praised him in a loud voice. Then he shouted for the other cadets to hear.

“The important thing in physical fitness is the will! Willpower! Just like Abel here.....”

Abel quietly opened his status window before his eyes, hearing Boyle’s voice in one ear and mesmerizing it in the other.

[Abel]

[Race: Human]

[Physical strength: C]

[Attunement: S]

[Hp: C]

[Possession: gigant Lupus]

[Skills: lightning bolt, overflow, shadow step, double attack, beginner gigant.....]

At first glance, the status bar didn’t make much difference. But a new window popped up as Abel stared at the ‘physical strength’ section for a few seconds.

[Physical strength: C]

– Stamina: C

– Strength: C

-Agility: B

-Flexibility: C

.........

It was the details of the stats. Every stat was made up of a number of details, and the grade was the average level of those details.

‘I’ve just gone from D to C in Stamina. If I do well, I can raise my grade to B within this semester,’

Abel smiled slightly and stretched his bent upper body.

“All right, let’s give Abel a round of applause!”

While Boyle had the cadets clapping their hands, Abel wondered what he was talking about.

“Wow....”

Of course, the exhausted cadets couldn’t have reacted enthusiastically to Boyle’s boring speech. In any case, Boyle saw Abel’s grit and finished his lecture ahead of schedule. Taking advantage of the distraction, Abel reached into the stash of stamina pills he had prepared and took one.

“Whoosh.”

His body, as heavy as a soaked cotton ball, felt light as a feather. He wasn’t completely fine, but at least he wasn’t too sore to move. Just then. Daniel, who had been running with Abel until the end, came up to him.

“Abel!”

“Hmm?”

“Lecture ended early. Do you want to go to the training ground?”

Abel looked at Daniel in disbelief. And thought to himself,

‘Is he really a monster?’

Even if he had taken a health restoration pill, there was no way Daniel had any, which meant he still had a lot of stamina. This was truly abnormal. Abel shook his head and replied.

“No, I can’t. I have somewhere to go.”

“Somewhere? Where?”

“There’s this place like that. I’ll see you later at mealtime.”

Abel replied moderately and started walking. He headed to the personal training center. It was the first time he’d been there since his lecture schedule.

Of course, he wasn’t just going to look around. As Abel walked quickly, he slipped his hand into his bosom and felt something heavy. It was a box containing a Gigant heart. Today he was going to transplant a Gigant heart into Lupus.

[To be continued.]