A punch hit a three-meter metal cube, a fiery blow sinking into the block, followed by several more punches denting the front of the cube.
"My physique is much better now."
[Also, if it didn't get better after the absurd training you do, it would mean you might as well give up.]
After the confrontation with Princess Elowyn, everyone was sent to rest in the infirmary. They even asked him to stay for a checkup, but he preferred to return to his room to train.
[So this is the fourth artifact.]
'Yes.'
The metal cube in front, with the dents disappearing and returning to normal. Its name was Erlo, an object created to store a large amount of magic. This object was used to create magic cannons and was supposed to be for that purpose only. It had been a problem bringing it here because they were suspicious, but he used the usual excuse, mentioning his family.
[I can't believe that excuse keeps working.]
Enrico's family is known for being obsessed with power—whether magical, item-based, or anything considered powerful—and they discard anything that isn't.
Enrico placed his hands on the cube and began transferring all his magic into it. The cube started to emit a light smoke. Enrico sat down after putting all his magic into the cube, and he'd have to do this eleven more times.
This cube had good regenerative capacity, so he would have to hit harder, start forming a metal ball, and then begin burning it until it melted. After all that, he would have to let the magic fully combine with the liquid metal and finally—
'And to think I'll have to drink it, and it's definitely going to be awful.'
[Have you ever drunk alcohol before?]
'Never.'
[Well, I have, and let me tell you—this must be worse than alcohol.]
'Thanks for stating the obvious.'
The system was trying new tactics to annoy Enrico, but it didn't seem to be working, so it disappeared grumbling. Getting up, he began punching the cube again—it was a great workout for him.
"It's simply amazing how resistant mages' bodies are."
Because of the magic that runs through the body, every time a circle increases, the mage's physical body also improves. This was great because reaching a certain circle meant you could withstand attacks of that same level, which only made Enrico think more and more about how absurd mages of the eighth circle and above were.
For two hours, he trained in that room. He stopped using magic in his fists, which were now bleeding, and decided to drink water. His hands were shaking not only from the punches but also because he could feel he was reaching the "limit break" state—he could feel his body starting to fail, which was dangerous. He was at the point where he could die, always on the edge, always exhausted.
'I have to go further—thanks to Elowyn, they must see me as an even bigger wall than they thought, and I need to keep it that way.'
He immediately went back to training after drinking water and resting a bit, then spent a few more hours training. After the training and a shower, he saw that it was nighttime and went out to talk to the girls who came with him and find out how the test went. But when he opened the door, Yumeha was kneeling, waiting excitedly.
"Yumeha… how long have you been here?"
"Two hours."
"Why didn't you knock and let me know?"
"I didn't want to interrupt the master's training."
Enrico knew how devoted Yumeha had been to the demon who believed in her, but even so, her dedication was still surprising. After asking how the test went, Yumeha said it was very easy, because she had joined Class A to follow her master, so there was no challenge in beating anyone.
"I wanted to challenge someone of high rank, but they were injured."
"Alright Yumeha, but I'd like to let you know that the three ranked right below me are my friends."
"You don't have to worry, master."
After talking a bit more, he learned that Rina and Aoi also went to Class A, which was a shame because they were very strong and could have gone to Class S, but he knew why they did it.
"Alright Yumeha, thanks for the talk, but it's best to rest now. We'll talk more tomorrow."
"Yes, master."
Enrico said goodbye and entered the room, but then noticed Yumeha had entered with him. Yumeha approached his bed and kneeled beside it.
"Yumeha."
Yumeha looked innocent, which made him a bit uncomfortable.
"Yes?"
"What are you doing?"
"Serving the master's first night."
Enrico sighed and had a talk with Yumeha about how they were in the boys' dormitory and she needed to go to the girls' side. Yumeha seemed disappointed, but he promised that when they were officially married, they'd spend the night together—so she left cheerfully.
[You rejected the girl—how could you?]
Enrico lay in bed for his usual four hours of sleep.
'I prefer adults, but don't worry—I won't reject her when we're grown.'
[Wait, what? You're really going to marry her?]
'Yes, I take responsibility—of course, if I don't die first.'
The system started making incredulous noises while Enrico, poker-faced, began to sleep—only to be awakened by a knock at the door. He got up and opened it, seeing Elian out of breath.
"What happened?"
"Huff… Professor Virelle… huff… she challenged a teacher from Class S."
That surprised Enrico. Together with Elian, they ran to the training field, and Elian explained that the teacher she challenged was the same one who lied about them starting the fight days ago. Enrico didn't know that last part, but what mattered most wasn't that. He knew that no first- or second-year teacher was at Virelle's level, so what mattered most to him was that he was about to witness a good massacre—because he hated all the teachers from Class S.