An Old Man from the Countryside Becomes a Swords Saint: I Was Just a Rural Sword Teacher, But My Successful Students Won’t Leave Me Alone! - Chapter 118

118 - The Old Man From The Countryside Old Sets His Students To Running

“Alright, two more laps,” I said.

“What Master said,” Thyssel said. “Step lively.”

A bit of time has passed, and I’ve now had several lectures at the Magician’s Academy.

Today, we are gathering the five members of the Sword Magic Department and running around the Academy’s vast, uselessly large campus.

“Roger! Toriyah!” Cindy cried before she bolted off.

“Yeas, yes, that’s the spirit,” I said.

That kid is really strong. She might be able to have a good match against the disciples who’ve been training at my family’s dojo for several years.

In terms of raw strength, Nazia and Lumitte are better, but in terms of staying power, they are also showing remarkable abilities. I think they look better as swordsmen than magicians. It’s a little interesting to see what would have happened to them if they never developed their magical capability.

“Tch…! Am I falling behind…?!” Nazia grumbled as he saw Cindy take off.

“I as well…!” Lumitte huffed as the both of them began to trail behind Cindy.

As with all things, it’s good to have someone to compete with. No matter how abundant is the talent sleeping inside you, there is a limit to what you can do alone.

People grow up by competing with someone and also begging someone to teach them. Without my Old Man, I wouldn’t be holding the sword till now.

“Fuuh… fuuh…!” Miu gasped.

“Hah, hahii… hahii…!” Feledora wheezed.

And opposite the boys, these two seem to be having a rough time. I’m particularly worried about Feledora’s athletic ability.

I don’t know how she was before the Academy or her origins, but unlike Cindy, Feledora doesn’t seem to be that physically fit, and even now, it feels like she can only move at a crawl’s pace while struggling for breath.

Miu, too—like I thought—she wasn’t very fit right now, in terms of physical endurance.

In terms of how to apply power and bursts of strength, I can see that she’s excellent for her age and gender, but it seems the physical foundation of athletic skill isn’t yet built.

In this aspect, there is no choice but to carefully build up her body, including her future eating habits. Like swordsmanship and magic, physical fitness is not achieved overnight.

“How nostalgic,” Thyssel said as we watched her students run. “I also ran a lot like this.”

“We did go out for quite a lot of runs,” I said.

Thyssel looks delicate at first glance, but she has a lot of athletic ability.

As she demonstrated when we were capturing Bishop Lebios, although her maximum speed is moderate, she can maintain that speed for a significant amount of time.

At the dojo in Bidden Village, I taught swordsmanship, of course, and put more effort into physical training. Hence, many of our students take pride in their athletic abilities.

This is the policy of my Old Man, but according to him, it seems to be a method that has been passed down through our dojo. That’s why I’ve been overseeing running for a long time, as with my Old Man, and it seems my grandpa, as well.

Because I have been trained like this, even someone like me at 45 years old can maintain a certain level of physical fitness.

And because I myself am proof of that training regime, I also teach my students how to run.

Well, it’s probably not possible for me to run this same amount now.

I’m just thinking that I’m still strong for a 45-year-old, and I can’t beat my upcoming juniors.

“No matter what you do, whether you swing your sword or whatever else, the first thing that matters is your physical fitness,” I said.

“I think so, too,” Thyssel said.

On that note, you can’t understate the importance of physical fitness.

Those who don’t understand that often think you only need to know how to swing your sword around. But, the rest is all about strength training. The Knights of Revelio, for example, have a strong emphasis on muscular strength.

Obviously, I’m not wrongfully claiming anything. In order to swing a powerful sword, it is absolutely necessary to have more than the minimum muscular strength. Skill is important, but that alone does not make a sword swing effectively. Everything is needed.

However, the teachings that I and my Old Man cherish do not stop there.

What features make the strongest swordsman?

The one who could swing their sword the fastest and the strongest. That would be one of the correct answers.

However, if their skill is almost equal to the opponent—it’ll be the one who’s stronger and faster. And if they’re still equally matched, it will be the one who can swing their sword for longer.

Furthermore, there are those who still have the physical strength to escape after seeing they aren’t a match, despite having just violently clashed swords. In short, another correct answer is who’s the fastest runner.

Such a person will survive till the end.

I’m not that fast, but I’m pretty confident in how quickly I can cut and run. You can’t overcome the people you can’t win against. In such a case, it is best to run away and train more with the intent of challenging them some other time.

I don’t know if such a scenario will happen to these budding mages, but it’s best to be prepared. Either way, you need physical strength to swing the sword, to begin with.

“Horiyah!” Cindy yelled. “It’s over!”

“Welcome back,” I said. “You’ve got a lot of stamina, Cindy.”

“Yes! That’s the one thing I’ve got going for me!” Cindy replied.

Meanwhile, Nazia and Lumitte have also arrived.

“Fuuh…! Fuck, too much…” Nazia moaned.

“Haah…!” Lumitte gasped.

It’s not as bad as it could be but they’re still out of breath.

“Fu…!”

“Hahii…!”

And finally, Miu and Feledora arrived when the other three were already cooling off.

These two people are quite exhausted. Feledora is clearly drained, and though Miu doesn’t let it show on her face, she seems to be in quite a lot of pain.

“Good work today, everyone,” I said as I check on everyone’s states. “Just like today, from now we’ll be having runs and athletics checks during your Sword Magic Lectures. Running on a regular basis might do you all some good.”

Now that I’ve played along with Thyssel and Lucy’s drumbeat, I’ve now stopped having any fantasies or serious thoughts of me becoming a magician here at the Academy. No matter where I am, I’m a swordsman, so I’m content to just teach the swordsman’s life.

I honestly don’t know if they need this as mages.

However, as swordsmen, it’s absolutely necessary.

“Yes! Physical fitness is important for swinging a sword! That’s what you mean, right?” Cindy said with such energy, you almost couldn’t imagine she was running just now.

“That’s right,” I said. “I didn’t want to make it sound so blunt, though.”

Yeah, this kid is really amazing. Her muscular strength and sword arm are a little inferior compared to everyone else, but her physical fitness alone is outstanding. This is a natural talent. I envy you. If possible, I want to develop that talent well.

“Pro… Professor Thyssel… did, did you also, go on these runs…?” Feledora asked, breathless.

“Of course,” Thyssel said. “I ran quite a lot.”

“Ofueh…?” Feledora wheezed. “Is, is that so…?”

She seems to be unfamiliar with running in general, as well as her lack of muscular strength.

“Fuh…” Nazia said. “I thought all I needed was arm strength…”

“That’s not the only thing you need,” I said. “It’s not just arm strength that’s important for swinging a sword properly, but lower body strength as well.”

“I get it now…” Nazia said.

As I said, arm strength is certainly important. However, to effectively handle all weapons, and not just swords, powerful arms aren’t the only thing you need, moving your lower body is also important.

“As I said before when you swing your sword, people who don’t know anything tend to just swing their sword with their arms, but if you use your legs, hips, and arms correctly, you can swing your sword more easily and efficiently.”

“I understand somewhat,” Lumitte added. “When I was learning swordsmanship at home, I was also told how to move my feet.”

I don’t mean to say that I’m sort of a leading instructor, but the swordsmanship teacher at Lumitte’s house seemed to have taught him the importance of using his lower body, as well.

If your sword arm’s effectiveness is determined only by arm strength, everyone should do endless push-ups. However, the reality is that this is not the case.

“Alright, let’s wrap it up for today,” I said. “It seems like the right time.”

And almost exactly when I finished saying that: gohn, gohn, the bell announces the end of the lecture.

“Yes, Sir!” Cindy said. “Thank you again for today!” she said, bowing energetically and leaving with as much eagerness. It’s a really refreshing farewell.

“Will you be going home, Master?” Thyssel asked.

“No, Lucy summoned me after today’s class,” I said. “It seems she’s waiting at the headmaster’s office.”

“Then I’ll take you there,” Thyssel said.

“Thank you, that’s very helpful,” I said.

It seems that my employment conditions, contracts, and so on have finally come together.

Since I showed up at Thyssel’s class for the first time, I was thinking that I should do something about this offer, so I decided I was going to accept the teaching job.

However, as I headed into the school building of the Magician’s Academy with Thyssel guiding me, I thought that it took a surprising amount of time for Lucy, who usually moves very fast.

I still think about it, but is it okay for me to be so casual with Lucy, the Head Magus of the Magic Division and the Headmistress of the Magician’s Academy?

Since the first meeting, we have been casual for some reason, but our power and positions are quite different, I guess.

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Well, I wonder if this should be seen as merit, in that I have a friendly relationship with Lucy. Apart from that, I haven’t got any complaints from here, and I don’t think I’ll have a reason to talk politely to Lucy anytime soon.

“This is the Headmistress’s office,” Thyssel said.

And now, after going several flights of stairs and a rather long corridor, we arrived at a place that seems to be Lucy’s office.

“Well then, I’m heading home now,” Thyssel said, turning on her heels and leaving.

“Yes, thanks for guiding me,” I said.

I’m not sure it’d be fine if she was present, but Lucy did call me specifically.

“Now, then,” I said.

Knock-knock.

I rap my knuckles on the heavy door.

“Come in!” Lucy said.

“Pardon me, I’m coming in,” I said as I opened the door.