Rin walked down to the yard after that. The students were standing in front of Eli, who they had not seen since his fight with Maria.

"Here's how this is going to work," Rin heard as she got there. "This course will focus entirely on you lot doing some limit-breaking. Anyone here understands that?"

Seth raised his hand, but instead of answering the question, he said:

"I saw something get broken this morning," Seth muttered with a smirk and Eli's eyes snapped to him. He took large steps toward the boy, and even as tall as Seth was, this man towered over him.

"Kid, I got beat by a Rank S adventurer. The only thing you look like you could EVER be Rank S at is sucking my cock, so unless you intend to do that, shut the fuck up."

What followed was maybe the first act of humility that Seth had shown this entire time. He looked away without a response.

"Good." Eli walked back in front of the class. "Now, listen. I assume that Harriton told you all about Essence, right? Essence is in everyone. Every living thing. But it ain't just used for spellsigns. No. You can use it to make your body stronger. That's how construction workers can lift rocks over their heads the size of small houses, that's the only reason humans could ever hope to fight something like a dragon, and," he sighed, "that's how a girl the size of a fucking ant can beat someone like me in a fight. Because, after you go beyond your body's natural limits, looks don't mean shit."

With that said, he gestured for everyone to follow him, so they did.

He led them behind the academy and Rin nearly fainted when she saw what was there. It was a full course of paths and obstacles, with a black line on the left side and another one on the right.

"So, before you start, let me explain. The way people's bodies work, they don't use all of their strength. Your body subconsciously saves a small amount of strength for true emergencies. Things like almost getting eaten by a wild monster, for instance. However, by running Essence through your body while you train, it makes it so those limits are temporarily broken."

He gestured at the course.

"However, this also means your body can train at maximum capacity. And, because of that, your strength and speed gains are increased exponentially. That is the secret to limit-breaking. You're going to be tired as shit though afterward, so be ready for that. Now, here's what you need to do," he stood in front of everyone and closed his eyes. "First, feel the Essence in your body. If you've ever tried to cast spells, you understand this already. If not, this might take you a second. Once you identify the Essence inside of you, move it to the rest of your body with your mind. Make sure your entire body, head to toe, is covered in it. As soon as you've done that, you're ready to start. Now, go."

[Well, you make it sound so easy.] Rin internally rolled her eyes. [Alright, let's try-]

"Yeah?" The teacher asked. Rin hadn't seen her, but Eve had raised her hand.

"Does the same go for me?" Eve asked. "I'm not human. Neither is he." She pointed at Varyn.

"Fuck if I know. Try it, you might blow yourself up, give me something to laugh at."

[... Hm. I really hope that this guy isn't what the average adventurer is like, cause that would get annoying really fast,] Rin thought, trying to focus on herself. [Some of these people are nice, but some of them are the exact type of people I'd complain about to Felix back home.]

Putting those thoughts aside, she searched for her Essence, which meant that she stood there for an uncomfortable amount of time with her eyes closed. Before she could find it, someone tapped her shoulder.

"Ugh, what do you..." She turned around annoyed, ready to complain, only to find Elisa standing in front of her with a raised brow.

"Well, sorry, I just wanted to know what I missed."

[Fucking kill me.]

After a rapid-fire series of apologies, she quickly explained what the teacher had said.

"Oh. Okay. Thanks."

"Y-Yeah... No problem."

After that awkward interaction that she absolutely needed in her life, she tried again. One, two, three minutes of just standing there, and then, she felt it. It was small, but it was like a candle in her chest. A slight heat. [Huh... So, now I just...?]

She tried to spread that heat and succeeded. Her body felt warmer. More energetic. Alive.

"You done?"

"Huh?" Rin looked around and saw that everyone was staring at her. She had been the last one to do it, even though Elisa had gotten there late. "Ye-, uh, yeah."

"Alright. Here's what you're going to do. You're going to run through the path, climb over the wall there, swim across that pool, roll under the bar to the right, and get to the finish line."

[Shit... That seems really hard. Can't remember the last time I exercised.]

"And you're going to do that ten times."

Rin blinked.

[I might actually die.]

"Wait, won't we get our clothes wet?" Lisa raised her hand and asked.

"Yeah, so?"

"Uh... I didn't bring another set of clothes, I'm sorry, I..."

"Tough shit. You don't want to get your shit wet? Take it off, leave it here."

"What? I'm not going to do this nak-"

"Then stop bitching and go."

Lisa gulped and slowly nodded.

"O-Okay, sir."

"I... I guess I'll use my legs." Eve mumbled, flying down to the dirt. "Ugh, this feels so weird."

"Alright, any other stupid questions? No? Alright, then get started."

The first one to run was Seth. He took off, sprinting through the path to the left. Next, was Elisa who took a more relaxed approach, jogging behind him. Then, the group as a whole started to move. Rin was at the back, next to Eve though. She wasn't about to show off her severely out-of-shape self in front of all of them.

As soon as she took her first jogging steps, she felt a strange sensation run through her legs. It was like electricity running up her lower muscles. [I... My legs feel fine.] She had expected to be out of breath by the first turn, but no. When it came time to scale up the wall, she paused to look at it. There were small rocks planted in the wall to give them something to run up from. Seth was already climbing over it, with Elisa close behind.

One by one, the students all took their turns climbing. Lisa and Rin were the only ones who had any difficulty. Even then, Rin was feeling strong. [This is amazing. I, holy shit, I feel like I'm being bathed in energy!] She smiled to herself as she pushed to move faster. Eve was trailing behind her, but she too was making decent progress.

Then, they reached the water. Seth took off his shirt, tossed it aside, and dove in. Elisa dove in, fully clothed.

"Oh, that looks so gross." Lisa paused as John Ates went next, then Dylan and then Alea. "Okay, okay. I can do it. I got this." The woman held her nose and carefully walked into the water. Rin was behind her. Fuck. She thought about her limited wardrobe. [I need to find some money. I have to buy more clothes if I'm going to be doing this all week.]

Then, she went in after her. The water was cold, but the Essence flowing inside of her made it feel like there was a layer of heat just over her skin. She swam across, got out, and ran to the wooden bar. Seth rolled under it as if he'd done it many times already, Elisa did the same. Dylan, John, none of them had trouble and neither did Rin when it came time for her to replicate their movements.

[Is this it? Am I even working out? Isn't this supposed to hurt?]

Rin's confidence was high as she repeated the exercise nine more times. It took around forty minutes all in all. Then, she and everyone else learned the truth.

"Now, gather up all your Essence back to where it was," Eli instructed and Rin nodded. She closed her eyes and allowed the heat to recede like a retreating wave on a beach until it was all back in her chest.

Then, she fell to the ground.

"OH FUCK!" She screamed and one after another, the students did the same. Even Seth fell to his knees.

"Agh!" Seth said. "I... Dad told me it'd be like this, and I still... aggh..."

Eli cackled as he watched them.

"I love when newbies find out how this shit works. Yeah, when the Essence leaves, get ready cause you're gonna be hit with that GOOD pain."

Rin's entire body was on fire. It was as if it had been putting off the pain and once Rin let the Essence fade, it went "oh? You're ready? Here you go," and dropped all of it on her in an instant. She felt frozen. She could barely move, otherwise, a muscle would scream in agony.

"I'll go... Fuck, I'll go tell that bitch you're all going to be late." Eli stated with a sigh as he walked off and left them there, on the dirt floor.

"I... I can barely feel my thighs." John Ates cried nearby.

"It's like my fuckin' legs are broken!" Seth complained as he tried to stand.

Even Sara was making pained noises as she tried to gather herself.

Holy, holy shit. Rin was breathing heavily, trying to get up. It feels like my tits are going to fall off, fuck!

The only one that was taking things somewhat well was Dylan, who was tired but quickly stood up to walk back to the academy. Everyone else had to stay there for ten to fifteen minutes until the pain became bearable and then they walked back. [How the hell are we going to do combat and dueling now?] Rin wondered.

Seth wordlessly went to the second floor to take a bath and get dressed, so everyone did the same. All of the girls went to the showers, with the exception of Sara who stayed back for some reason.

There were a total of four showers and six girls there, so two would have to sit out while the other showered.

"That was fucking torture," Alea Marina said as she walked into one of them. Elisa did the same, then Carla and Lisa. Eve and Rin ended up sitting outside until they finished. While they waited, Eve said:

"Wow. You humans smell terrible when you exercise."

"And you don't?" Rin raised a brow.

"Check me out." Eve lifted an arm and, curious, Rin took a whiff. She leaned back, shocked.

"Wow. Nothing."

"Yep, we're magical in more ways than one," Eve said proudly.

"Speaking of, how are you feeling?" Rin asked. "You're not human after all. Are you feeling the pain too?"

"Yeah... but, my wings aren't, so I can still fly myself anywhere I want to go."

"Oh, okay." Then they fell into a comfortable silence as they waited for the others to finish, but Rin thought of another question before that happened. "Hey."

"Yeah?"

"What are you going to do?" Rin asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, out there." Rin let her head rest against the wall, looking up at the ceiling as she asked. "Are you going to be using an ax or something? As an adventurer, what's your plan?" She felt like maybe listening to her plan would give her some sort of inspiration.

"Oh, well I want to be a mage. A healer, but after the class with Ms. Cara... I realize I'm going to have to learn how to use magic offensively too." Eve sounded dejected but determined. "Obviously, the thought of fighting anything directly scares the crap out of me but... I don't want to drag anyone down. If I have to get my hands dirty, I'll do it."

"I believe I will have to do the same." Neither of them had noticed Lisa stop and exit the shower. She stood in front of them with a towel wrapping her up. "I guess we will go on that journey together."

Rin glanced back at Eve and found her blushing.

"Y-Yeah."

Lisa smiled and waved at them.

"See you in class."

With that, she exited.

"You okay?" Rin asked the fairy. "You look a little shaken."

"Nah, no. Just... Not used to people willingly talking to me, is all."

"Huh? You did fine when we went out to the city." Rin stated.

"That was different. Everyone we talked to was an employee. They were paid to treat me normally."

"Oh? What about me then? I talk to you."

"Yeah, but you aren't from Libera. You're different, you're an outsider, like me."

"I guess." Rin shrugged.

"Go ahead." Eve pointed at the shower.

"Thanks." Rin nodded and took her turn.

As she cleaned herself, she wondered what Eve's reaction would be if she came to know just how much of an outsider she was. [Would she judge me?] She asked herself. [Would she care if I told her that I used to be a common whore?]

Her questions, of course, received no answers.

It was another half an hour before everyone was ready for the next class.

---

"Well, it appears my coworker tired you all out," Maria noted.

The group's response was a collection of tired groans. Not one of them could be considered "fresh". Rin thought it was a miracle she could even walk.

The group was sat down in front of her at the gym. She had cleared out the equipment and marked a spot in the center of the room with white chalk in the form of a square. There were those wooden weapons from before, once again organized at the back of the room.

[I don't know if I can take any more training.] Rin thought.

"Welcome to Combat Tactics and Dueling. If you thought exercising was tiring, it's nothing compared to active combat training. Now," she gave a kind smile. "Let's get started."

Maria had an entirely different aura to that of the other teachers. In part, of course, it was because she was Rank S, but also there was a kindness to her. A feeling that her carefree smile and bright clothing communicated. It was like her appearance was carefully designed to make you trust her.

As someone who used to work in an industry that relied a lot on looks, as you needed to look a certain way to pull in customers at the Silver Rose, Rin knew that this likely wasn't an accident. [But why would an adventurer need to look trustworthy like this?] She wondered.

"By the end of the class, I want you all to tell me what equipment you will use, or, for those of you who are less experienced," she glanced at Lisa and Rin, "what seems interesting. This way, I can tailor your training to what you are all trying to accomplish."

[Right... Crap. I don't have a weapon. What am I going to do?]

Lisa raised her hand and Maria raised her own to tell her to pause.

"Yes," Maria answered with a chuckle before Lisa even asked. "Even if you're a mage, you should have a weapon you at least prefer. There are... Situations that can come up in which your spellsigns will not be enough. For example, eldersen have a coating on their skin that protects them from fire. If all you know are flame spellsigns, what will you do if you encounter one? Precisely. You will do nothing. You will have no options, and options, my dear students, are what make for successful missions. So, even if you never plan to use one, you should pick a weapon."

[How am I going to get one?] Rin was lost in her own mind. [I could... Maybe ask someone. I'm sure there has to be someone that could lend me something... What the hell do I do?]

"Of course," Maria said and Rin glanced up, "should you not wish to use a weapon, this is also something I may help with."

When she heard that, Rin's eyes widened. [What? Seriously? How does that work?]

"So, let's get to it. First up, swords."