Train Using Your Advantage

Making his way through the sleek, articulately-decorated halls, Kay left the main classroom building. Shiina followed behind with a relaxed look on her face. She happily skipped through the footpath, peeking her head at Kay every once in a while.

"Ooh? Are you going to start training now?"

"That's the plan."

"Well~ if you need an instructor, I'm always here, you know?"

"I'm fine by myself."

"Ah, I've gotten used to your personality by now. Although, the facility told me that sometimes you were expressive, actually showing emotion."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Me neither, honestly. Well, if you're going to be training, then I'll buy a drink and watch you from the side."

"If that's what you want to do."

Shiina seemed somewhat disappointed by the lack of reaction, but she continued to smile as she walked beside him. They made their way across the yard, arriving at the entrance of the training centre. The large, automatic glass doors slid open, sensing their arrival.

The two of them were splashed by a wave of cool air as they entered the building. Arriving in the large reception area, none of the staff even batted an eye. Kay made his way up to the counter and handed one of them the coupon that the Student Council Treasurer had given him.

"Um, I was wondering if I could get a weapon."

"Ah, you don't have a weapon. That's fine. Was there anything, in particular, you were looking for? We've got most weapons."

"I guess a katana would work."

"Alright, we've got some in the back."

A few moments later, the receptionist returned with a brand-new katana in a dark-blue sheath. Passing it across the counter, she handed it to Kay.

"Oh, is there anything else I need to do?"

"Nope, it's fine."

"Ah, alright, thanks."

After wandering around the centre for a little, Kay and Shiina found an empty training room—General Practice Room #3.

There was a screen next to the door which displayed any reservations which had been made. From what they could see, it was free until 7 pm that night. Scanning his student card, the door unlocked, letting them in.

There was a small storage room with a plethora of different equipment, from dummies to cones to resistance bands. Right in front of that was the vast open space of the main training area. Strapping some weights to his arms, Kay took a stance and swung the sword up and down. It was an extremely simple movement, a movement so simple that anyone could reproduce it. Up and down, the blade swung.

Shiina walked to the side, sitting on a bench by the edge of the open gym-like space.

Continuously, up and down, Kay swung his new katana. The veins in his arms were accentuated as he strained his muscles non-stop. After a few minutes, he finally took a break, lowering his sword.

After taking a sip of water from the drinking tap, he made his way back into the middle of the open space.

Again, he tensed his body and began swinging his sword up and down. The blade cut through the air, rising and lowering. His posture was extremely professional, resembling someone who'd practised swordplay for a long time. The sword was almost completely perpendicular to the ground, cutting straight down.

He strained his arms until they struggled to raise once again.

After a short break, he started once again.

Up and down, he pushed his body to the limit, repeatedly practising this single motion. After almost thirty minutes of doing the same action, he finally wiped the sweat off his head and moved on to a different movement.

Changing his grip on the katana, he started to swing the sword sideways. The blade was parallel to the ground, cutting straight across. His movement was as smooth as before, cutting in a perfectly straight line. Again and again, he repeated this action. He pushed himself until his arms could no longer raise the katana properly.

Leaning against the wall, he held his right wrist.

[Instant Heal - Light]

Just like that, he felt completely refreshed. His muscles instantly healed the small tears which were beginning to form. With that, he was able to start again, continuing his routine.

He strained his body to the very limit, training just two different swings. For almost another hour, he repeated the same movements.

"Kay, it's 9:30 pm, and the next class is starting."

"Ah, alright."

He made his way over to the bench and wiped all of the sweat off of his body. He returned the weights back to the storeroom. After taking another gulp of water, the two of them began making their way back into the main reception area. After a little while, the rest of class 1-A arrived, forming a little group around the teacher.

"Alright, well, the group's a little smaller than I expected, but that's fine. I'll be taking you all today for general combat training. You guys can call me Coach Eastwood. I'll talk more once we get into the training room. I'm going to warn you now, I'm very harsh, so if you can't handle it, then you should leave."

Leading the group of students, Coach Eastwood took them into a training room. It seemed that only twenty of the thirty members of class 1-A had shown up to the class. The students formed another circle around the coach as he began explaining what they'd be doing.

"We're going to start with a warm-up. We're going to do six laps around the gym. I'll be following behind all of you. If any of you fall behind me, you'll be doing fifty push-ups as punishment. Five... four... three..."

All of the students quickly began running as the coach counted down from five.

Huddling in a small group, Kay jogged to the front to give himself some space. As he pushed to the front, the average speed of the group also increased.

Suddenly, the loud footsteps of the coach could be heard as he began jogging.

Just the sound was enough to bring newfound motivation to all the students. However, it was pretty clear that there was a big divide between the physical abilities of the students in 1-A.