Rose Carter, Quinn’s wife, was waiting for them when they arrived at the training field. Beside her stood specialist Jean McCleary. Both were dressed in padded training gear and formfitting outfits that would keep them from overheating.

Rose nodded to Jean and then turned away.

“Due to recent complications with Rose’s voice, it has been decided that I will be helping her teach this year. In practice, you will find that she will be in charge of the training exercises, while I do pretty much all the talking. You may call me Jean or instructor McCleary. Now go get your gear and get changed. Class begins in five minutes. Any who are late will be running extra laps around the academy grounds!”

Zack was the first to break away and run for the changing rooms. He had seen her angry the night before and had no intentions of being the last one on the field. Doing that would ensure her ire was directed at him more than any other.

He didn’t believe he would be able to find and change into his training outfit and gear in the time she had mentioned. There was, however, safety in numbers. None of the other kids in his class would make it in time, either.

Only Testarosa was waiting on the field when he ran back out six minutes later.

The uniform was a simple, stretchy affair that was made to be easy to put on and keep the wearer cool. The safety gear, which was just glorified pads, had taken longer to put on than the outfit.

Jean was glaring at her watch as she waited by Rose’s side. “You both were late. However, as the first to arrive, Tessa will run one lap around the ground. Zack will also do one, followed by a lap around the training grounds. Everyone after this will do even more.”

Tessa shared a look with Zack, and together they set off at an even, sustainable pace. No words were spoken as they jogged next to each other. It was better to save their breath for later. Behind them, the rest of the class stretched out into a line as they, too, were ordered to run laps of ever longer lengths.

Zack was glad he hadn’t gotten up earlier to run that morning. He was still lacking in stamina, as all the nutritious food he ate went to rebuilding his damaged muscles. It wasn’t until they had started eating better that he realized how far their bodies had fallen.

Tessa peeled off to the side as they circled back to the training grounds. He continued on for the rest of his run.

Jean and Rose came over to him when he returned, gasping for breath. They had a critical look in their eyes as they poked at the muscles in his legs and had him lift his shirt. They politely ignored the scars and studied the loosely defined muscles he had been working to regain.

“It looks as though you used to have some decent muscle mass, but it all faded from disuse or lack of proper nutrition,” Jean said as Rose pulled at his skin, testing its elastic properties. “Stay after class has ended and we’ll give you a box of nutrient bars. They should help speed along your recovery and get some muscle back on your bones.”

He sat on the dirt ground of the training ring and waited as the two teachers repeated their process with each student. It was a quick inspection that let them judge the condition of each person. Unlike with Zack, all of the other students had been properly fed. While some of them may not have been in the best shape, none were as weak as him either.

Rose trotted off to the side of the field when they finished inspecting everyone. A shed and overhang were placed out of the way, concealing the wooden weapons they would be using to train.

“Everyone, stand up!” Jean commanded to a round of groans. “Since we won’t know what your class will be until next week when you go through the portal. Part of this week will be spent familiarizing each of you with the more common weapons used. Swords, bows, staffs, and more. You will be spending time with each. We don’t expect you to be proficient with any of them by the end of the week. Frankly, if you can hold one and not hurt yourself, that will be enough.”

Rose returned with an armload of weapons, that she carefully placed on the ground in front of the students.

“The rest of the time, when you are not playing with wooden weapons, will be spent with Rose or instructor Carter, depending on her mood. She will be covering your martial art training, ensuring that you can at least defend yourself if something happens to your weapon.”

Half the class went with instructor McCleary and the weapons. While the other half went to a different part of the field with Rose. Zack, of course, went with Rose; he had no reason to learn how to use a sword or bow. Unless something changed when his status came back and he reawakened, he would be a magic-user.

Same as the first time.

It was pointless anyway. With the current malnourished state of his body, and their recent exercise sapping what little strength he had. Holding a weapon, regardless of how light they may or may not be, was asking for too much.

Not that learning martial arts was likely to be any better.

Still, he followed after the silent woman and pushed his body to keep going for as long as he could. Sweat stained his clothes, and the other students were looking at him oddly when class ended hours later.

“You should get changed and go get some food,” Rose informed him after the rest of the class had dispersed for lunch. She was sucking on a lozenge for her throat, and her voice was less raspy than it had been the day before. She dropped a box of the nutrient bars beside him and then left.

“You’re going to have to work harder than everyone else to regain your lost muscle mass,” Jean said, pulling him to his feet.

He gave her a slight, cryptic grin and shook his head. “No, I only have to last the week.”

She tilted her head in puzzlement but didn’t pursue the odd remark.

The cafeteria was packed with students from all the different years. Each class got out at different times, in an effort to stagger the rush for food. It was a measure that tended to only become effective after the first few days of the school year. Before then, the teachers were still adjusting to their classes. Some would be let out early and others late during that adjustment period.

Zack didn’t need to worry about bringing food back for Zara, as Edith was nice enough to feed her lunch. Carrying a plateful of food on top of the box in his arms, he selected a spot in the corner of the large eating area. There were few students in that spot since it was far away from the food. He didn’t recognize any of them.

The topic of conversation among them all was the local orphan boy and his little sister. The sides seemed to be split down the middle on how they felt. Some didn’t appear to care, either way, not believing that the duo mattered. The other half felt the same way his noble-born classmates had that morning.

He wondered how long it would take for the news to come out that he was also the record holder? More than that, he wondered if it would affect how they saw him and his sister. The shift in his classmate’s thinking had been readily apparent. Most had become neutral and curious, willing to wait until later to form an actual opinion. The rest hadn’t hesitated to form a negative opinion of him and what they believed he represented.

Zack expected the rest of the student body to form similar opinions.

Keeping his head down, he ate his food and hurried back to the classroom with the box in hand. A different teacher than Quinn was busy writing down numbers on the whiteboard when he arrived.

He muffled a groan as he saw the equations being written out. Math. It was one of the subjects Edith was going to begin tutoring him on later that day. He knew the basics and could even multiply to a degree. Everything past that had gone over his head.

It had been a cascading loss of knowledge, one that was clearer with math than any other subject. With most of the topics they were taught, it had been fine to miss a class or two. That was not the case when it came to numbers. It was a discipline that constantly built on what had been taught before.

Once he fell behind, it was impossible to catch up.

Despite that, he was determined to learn. Even if he couldn’t understand any of what was taught now, in time, with Edith’s help, that would change. Until then, he would take copious notes and keep his head down if possible.

As long as none of the teachers created problems for him, then everything would be fine. It was a stupid hope; he knew.