Vol. 1 - Ch. 139 - Outdoor Classes

The late autumn season, two months had passed since the second half of first-term had begun.

We, the students of Royal Academy, were currently out for the outdoor class.

The destination of the outdoor classes were different for each grade, along with the location and the details of classes.

A typical school wouldn't have been able to achieve a flexible curriculum of this level absolutely, with the hindrance being the budget more than anything else. Well, that was the gulf between a typical school and Royal Academy with the budget and human resources allocated to them.

The training place elected for first-years this year was halfway up on the Darre Mountain Range, located in the Viscount Vangyush territory that comes within Dorveil region. In short, it was the territory that Godorfun-sensei's family ruled over.

While Godorfun-sensei bear the title of 'Von,' and were effectively the present head of Vangyush family, his constant stay in the royal capital following his extremely busy schedule rendered it impossible for him to govern the territory. Thus the title of viscount has been inherited by his little brother.

Anyway, it was outdoor training where classmates would spend the night together.

We had heard about the general gist of the situation from the seniors of our dorm and while the details varied by year, the class would be split into several groups and from there, they would contest for better rankings.

But more than that, the girls and boys would work together for things like setting their outdoor tents and all, so there were going to be lots of chances to sharply close distance with girls with all the chit-chat and giggles.

Just the mere thought of it caused an exhilarating sensation to circulate inside me. At last, the diary of my life had finally turned to the most awaited page of my youth!

It wasn't just me, even my otherwise sensible and mature classmates were showing an upbeat mood as we rode into the magic car train, booked for our trip to the destination. Though of course, neither of them could best me my relentless excitment!

...Speaking of, I think we would be having the typical love talk as well. I mean, it's the staple after all, wasn't it?

While listening to everyone's type of girl, maybe I would also pass some valuable advice—some excerpt from 'The Secret to Being a Successful Man' if there was someone struggling with their love life.

At that moment, I was drowning into the blissful moment, my heart surged surging with a fuzzy feeling.

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The camping ground we had arrived at—the grassland that spreads at the foot of Darre Mountain Range, with red leaves around putting a display to the peak autumn season—was a picturesque spot.

A faint patches of snow could already be seen at the peak of steep Darre Mountains. Today's weather was otherwise perfectly clear. If anything, with pleasant wind swirling, it was just the sweet spot for an excursion.

Once the hundred Royal Academy's first year students had lined up according to their classes, Godorfun-sensei started with his speech.

"Fuhahaha. To preface, welcome to the distant Vangyush Territory. I'm the class teacher of Class 1-A, and will be in charge of guiding everyone in this year's outdoor classes."

Godorfun-sensei's, too, was showcasing his upbeat mood.

"According to the guidelines of Royal Academy, the goal of outdoor classes has always been to speed up the endurance training and inner discipline of students as they work out in the embrace of nature, and to further raise their bond with their fellow classmates. The curriculum has been based around this topic."

Hmm-mm, the classic Royal Academy move. They really have think through things huh.

"The general gist involves the specific assignment passed to each class, where you will compete to clear it first. Also, the degree of achievement would also be taken into evaluating the final score.

Of course, I have properly evaluated everyone's ability and made it so that it remains a close struggle between all the classes."

Woahh! So we're really going with class battles?! Now it suddenly feels more and more like another world's school program as a reincarnator!

I took a quick glance at the faces of Class D and E and they appeared just as excited. With the difficulty adjustment, they must have felt they could have a shot to top out as well.

"I need not to emphasise it, but the score you earned will also affect your current term's overall result. In addition, to further fuel the competition spirit, the academy has prepared a small reward as well.

......Wow, now they'd even pulled a command chain on purpose huh. Plus, considering the phrasing '1st Scenario's leader...' means leader would change with each scenario.

They were really hellbent on putting all sorts of disgusting blockades.

The responsibility of everyone's safety, the outcome of their strategy etc would be for the Leader to bore. It was definitely going to put a huge pressure on the Leader.

......This, too, must have been the idea of Godorfun-sensei.

The path ahead from here would have no correct answer, nor would it be possible to decide the direction of the event with 51% vs 49% votes. At the end of the day, everything would depend on the leader's guidance.

A misstep could topple the entire group easily.

With the leadership changing hands each time, there would be a slight shift in how the class will operate for sure. It would further propagate the dissatisfaction between them since the leader wasn't decided by them.

Maybe, feeling it beneath them to take orders from someone they always thought was no match for them, someone who's especially egotistical about this fact might create a blunder that would cost the whole class.

Well, this happens all the time in society, so maybe this was quite the suitable theme for an educational institute or to develop one's temperament.

Afterwards, class teachers of other classes took their turn to reveal the scenarios of their respective class. The difficulty of scenarios increased as they climbed up in class order.

"I will now reveal the 1st scenario for Class 1-B!

Scene - The Barony of Fliguel, adjacent to Viscount Vangyush territory, has detected the sign of impending stampede! Your task is to swiftly join the Dorveil region's army and support them!

The convergence place is Yatoma village, about 70 kilometres toward the east and then 40 kilometres to the north. The time limit to meet them is 10 PM tomorrow. You have a total of 36 hours.

Inspect your equipment from the warehouse on the right rear side, and depart as soon as preparations are complete! The leader for 1st scenario is Aris Masculean!"

"What~? It's too tough!"

"Isn't the jump in level a bit too steep?"

"It isn't fair, only we get that tough task!"

Hearing the condition of 1st scenario, the students of Class B mumbled their complaints.

According to the simple map passed to us, the 40km turn to the north is almost through the mountain. The distance might be comparable to the activity of Hill Road Club, however taking into account the appearance of monsters midway completely overturn the implication.

The anticipated difficulty level, or in other words, the required time compared to what would be needed if performed by individuals of the same level, is likely 1.5 to nearly twice as long in E class.

The leader Aris of Class B pulled in the reign of her classmates, who had begun complaining before even making a start.

Well, she was one of the staff of Hill Road Club, and exceptional in keeping the situation or calm mind in such scenarios.

And finally, Godorfun-sensei stepped forward and started unravelling the scenario for Class 1-A.

He still looked like your friendly neighbourhood grandpa, but the impression he exude was an inverse of his 'Godorfun the Buddha' expression that he had when he gleefully explained about the rewards etc.

Everyone from Class A was familiar with this look, it was the same look of 'Fiend Geezer' that would go gung-ho and on our regular practical classes.

A strain of nervousness crossed across the faces of Class A students.

At this moment, everyone was unanimously clear we're going to receive one hell of a mission.