Chapter 203 : P.E. with the Conflagration King
The Enora Meadow.
It was a vast field located 60 km southwest of Gairadite.
The students of both the Demon King and Hero Academies were gathered in this place of unspoiled nature, overflowing with green grass and flowers.
All three of our teachers were standing in front of us.
Eldmed, Shin, and Emilia.
“Well then, ladies and gents, today we’re going to have a P.E. class in preparation for the dragon subjugation. Physical aptitude isn’t something that can be improved overnight. Even when fighting a dragon, there’s an appropriate level of agility to possess. Once you learn that, you’ll have a much easier time defeating them.” (Eldmed)
Eldmed twirled his cane and thrusted it on the ground.
“So first, let’s play tag.” (Eldmed)
At that moment, someone from the Hero Academy sighed.
“The hell? We’re supposed to hunt those dragon monsters, and now you’re telling us to play tag? Talk about carefree.” Raos said lazily.
“Yeah, same. And here I was thinking we’d get a proper lecture, so this is kind of a letdown.” Heine said mockingly, while Ledriano pushed up his glasses.
“I understand the importance of the basics, but at this pace, I don’t think we will be ready to subjugate dragons in 10 days. I believe a slightly more rigorous lesson would be more beneficial.” (Ledriano)
Emilia glared sharply at the three complaining Heroes.
“Raos-kun, Heine-kun, Ledriano-kun, can’t you three even listen to the class quietly?” (Emilia)
“Nobody asked you, Emilia.” (Heine)
“That’s Emilia-sensei to you!” (Emilia)
“Yeah, yeah.” Heine said while mockingly waving his hand in the air.
“I don’t mind it, Emilia-sensei. Khahaha! Now aren’t you three quite eager to learn?” (Eldmed)
As Eldmed said that, Emilia reluctantly backed down.
“In that case, here’s an idea. You three will run to that tree over there. If you can reach it in three minutes without using magic, we will provide tougher lessons. How does that sound, hmm?” (Eldmed)
“Three minutes? Hey now, you better not take us lightly just cuz we’re humans. Three minutes is more than enough.” Raos said, laughing off the challenge.
The Conflagration King removed his hat and pulled out three hourglasses from it.
“Well then, as soon as the sand starts falling, the race begins.” (Eldmed)
He flipped over the floating hourglasses, then announced the start.
“Go!” (Eldmed)
At that moment, Ledriano and the other two began running toward the tree, looking bored.
Even so, they had still trained their bodies at the Hero Academy, so they were several times faster than ordinary humans.
In about 10 seconds, they had covered half the distance.
“Haha! We don’t even need to run, we’d still make it in time by walking.” (Raos)
“What’s the Demon King Academy even trying to accomplish by making us do such an easy exercise?” (Heine)
At that moment, the ground exploded.
“WHA—?!” (Raos)
“Huh? A-AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!” (Heine)
A green dragon with sharp horns, huge wings, and covered in tough scales appeared directly beneath the three runners, and soared into the sky.
Its huge body, perhaps thirty meters in length, floated in the sky while flapping its wings.
Ledriano and the others, who were blown away by the dragon’s violent rush from underground to the surface, were miserably tumbling on the ground.
Their entire bodies were covered in blood, and they were probably not breathing anymore.
“…H… Heine-kun…? Raos-kun…? Ledriano-kun…?!” Emilia shouted in concern.
She immediately tried to run to them, but the dragon’s glare from above left her paralyzed in fear.
“Khahaha! I checked this area yesterday, and it turns out there’s a dragon’s nest nearby. If you provoke them carelessly, they will fly out of there, so you better be careful.” (Eldmed)
Eldmed laughed, as if to say that he planned for all this.
“W-W-What is the meaning of this, Eldmed-sensei?! I thought you said that today’s P.E. would be about improving their agility in a game of tag…!” (Emilia)
“Exactly. A game of tag with dragons! No matter how much theory we teach them or how much simulation training sessions we run, real battles will always play out differently. So I told myself, why not just experience the threat of dragons first hand, then?!” (Eldmed)
Hmm. So as we play tag with dragons, our bodies will acquire enough agility to face them, huh.
A perfectly sensible exercise, indeed.
“…You do realize that this will also get them killed, don’t you…?” (Emilia)
“Not to worry.” (Eldmed)
When Eldmed said that, the hourglasses flaring in midair emitted a mana-filled light.
As if in tandem, light gathered around the bodies of Raos, Heine and Ledriano, healing their wounds and reviving them.
“Wha…? What happened…?” (Heine)
“…I have no idea…” (Ledriano)
This was probably their first time dying.
The three of them looked at each other in shock.
“As long as the sand in these Hourglasses of Conflagration is still flowing down, no matter how many times you’re killed, you will come back to life. So if you don’t want to die, you’ll have to get back here and flip them over again.” (Eldmed)
The moment Eldmed said that, the dragon, which had been flapping its wings and hovering, turned its horns toward the ground and swooped down on the three.
They did everything they could to evade it, but they were knocked away and killed again.
The dragon went back underground with that same momentum.
“Oh, but I should warn you, though: don’t let it devour you. If that happens, it’ll digest your sources along with the rest, and you’ll never be able to come back to life again.” (Eldmed)
The Hourglasses of Conflagration glowed, resurrecting the trio once more.
They were two-sided magic items that served as a life-destroying curse when used on enemies, and a life-saving blessing when used on allies.
“Fucking hell… Are you shitting me…?!” (Raos)
“You call that a game of tag?! You want us to die or what?!” (Heine)
Seeing that the sand in the hourglasses was about to run out, Ledriano and the other two came back here in a rush. Then, they flipped them over in extremis.
“That’s right! When you’re dealing with dragons, even a game of tag becomes a struggle for life!” Eldmed declared enthusiastically, while the students looked frightened.
“Now, Shin-sensei, would you please show us a demonstration?” (Eldmed)
“Very well.” (Shin)
Shin headed straight for the lone tree.
“Dragons do not use their Magic Eyes to capture the creatures on the surface, but sense the vibrations they generate instead. Therefore, if you run quietly, they will not be able to grasp your position so easily.” (Shin)
Shin’s voice flowed into all of the student’s heads via <Thought Communication Leaks>.
He started to run, but unlike earlier, the dragon showed no sign of flying out of its nest.
“If you proceed like this, the dragon will gradually wonder what is happening on the surface, and move closer to it. When it does, its enormous body causes the ground to shake slightly. You simply have to sense it with the soles of your feet.” (Shin)
By focusing my Magic Eyes, I could see that the area where Shin was running was trembling a bit.
“If you sense that the tremors are growing louder and that the dragon is close to ground level, then you can also make your footsteps louder to lure it out instead.” (Shin)
