Van, Arthur, and the other students kept running non-stop for a full half hour.
After half an hour, Nana also managed to finish her punishment: two thousand handstand push-ups.
Without giving Nana a chance to rest, Master Rock immediately ordered her to join Van and the others.
On the other side, the first-year students were still lying helpless on the ground due to the gravitational pressure.
"Keep trying, kids. If you don't, you'll stay lying there for the rest of class," Master Rock said as he continued to watch the first-year students.
"Are we just going to keep running like this endlessly?" Arthur asked in confusion, wiping away a bead of sweat forming on his forehead.
With physical abilities far beyond other kids his age, Arthur could run non-stop for several hours, but the gravity pressure on the field drained his energy much faster.
"Is this all you've got, mad dog?" Nana asked, running beside Arthur.
Hearing Nana's insult, Arthur's eye twitched in irritation, and he said, "Don't underestimate me, pink minion."
"Pink minion?! How dare you say that to your senior!" Nana said angrily, her eyes glaring at Arthur as if ready to pounce on him at any second.
"What?! You want to fight?" Arthur said, returning Nana's sharp glare.
"Just you wait!" Nana said, speeding up her run.
Arthur wasn't about to lose to Nana and also quickened his pace.
In the end, the two of them raced, running as if their lives were on the line.
'This person...'
Van fell completely silent as he watched Arthur racing against Nana.
Of course, Master Rock noticed the race between Arthur and Nana, but he only observed them briefly before turning his attention back to most of the first-year students still lying helpless on the ground.
'This year's batch is just as bad as previous years,' Master Rock thought as he rubbed his forehead.
Without Van and Master Rock realizing it, an hour and a half had passed.
Arthur and Nana dragged their exhausted bodies around the field as if unwilling to lose to one another.
They looked as pitiful as beggars in the slums—pale faces, messy hair, sweat soaking their uniforms, and their breathing ragged.
At the very least, their eyes were still sharp and shone brightly, showing that their minds remained clear.
Van and the other students' conditions were almost the same as Arthur and Nana's, but they were in much better shape because they focused on conserving their energy while running.
[MASTER, YOU NEED TO IMPROVE YOUR PHYSICAL FITNESS]
'Shut up, [System]. What do you expect me to do with this small body?' Van irritably asked.
[EH-]
'This [System] really is a stupid [System],' Van thought helplessly.
"Attention! Class is over! You may disperse. Remember to improve your physical fitness! Otherwise, I won't hesitate to give you an E grade," Master Rock said, glancing at the first-year students still lying helplessly on the ground.
"Yes, Master!" Van, Arthur, Nana, and the others replied.
Arthur dragged his tired body toward Van, then said, "Master, I'll leave the rest to you."
"Tch. You think [101 Shadows] was created to heal you?" asked Van in annoyance, but he still activated [101 Shadows].
'[Unicorn]!'
Van's shadow surged, and a white horse about two meters tall with a horn on its forehead emerged from his shadow.
The appearance of [Unicorn] caught the attention of Master Rock, Nana, and the students.
"So that's the legendary [101 Shadows]," Nana murmured.
'The skill of the Black Family's ancestors,' Master Rock thought.
The [Unicorn]'s horn glowed and emitted a beam of light that moved toward Arthur. When the light touched Arthur, his body glowed with rainbow-colored light.
In the blink of an eye, Arthur's pale face returned to normal as if he'd never been exhausted.
"Thank you, Master."
Van just nodded in response, and then the [Unicorn] turned back into shadow and merged with Van's shadow.
"Let's go," Van said, walking away from the field, with Arthur following behind him.
- - - - -
Van and Arthur walked quietly along the corridor.
In the corridor, the other students tried to avoid them or made way for them.
No one dared to offend or disturb their mood.
After all, this was only the first day at the Academy, but Van and Arthur had already dared to stir up trouble at the Academy—from defeating senior students and leaving them hospitalized, to defeating members of the [Academy Committee], and even threatening the head of the [Academy Committee].
- - - - -
As the only organization in the Academy, the [Academy Committee] naturally had its own special room.
In the [Academy Committee] room, all the members were gathered, sitting around a round table in the center of the room.
Those ten members were as follows:
The head of the [Academy Committee], Lucas White, a seventh-year Academy student.
The deputy head of the [Academy Committee], Theodore Roosevelt, a seventh-year Academy student.
The secretary of the [Academy Committee], Lily Woody, a sixth-year Academy student. A plant-element mage.
The treasurer of the [Academy Committee], Walton Rockefeller, a sixth-year Academy student.
Member I of the [Academy Committee], Reynard Riot, a fifth-year Academy student.
Member II of the [Academy Committee], Musashi Kojiro, a fifth-year Academy student.
Member III of the [Academy Committee], Gillian Julian, a fourth-year Academy student.
Member IV of the [Academy Committee], Victor Grave, a fourth-year Academy student. A gravity-element mage.
Member V of the [Academy Committee], Nana Mathilda, a third-year Academy student. A physical specialist with the [Clone] skill, element unknown.
Member VI of the [Academy Committee], Silvie Alethea, a second-year Academy student. A swordswoman with wind element.
"Since everyone's here, let's start the meeting," Lucas White said seriously.
"The topic of today's meeting is Van Black and Arthur Black," Lily Woody said, distributing several files to everyone.
All the members of the [Academy Committee] then read through the files Lily handed out.
After reading the files, their expressions were filled with shock, complexity, and disbelief.
"What's with these stats? Are they really just 11-year-old kids?" Musashi Kojiro asked.
"At first, I didn't believe it either, but that's the reality," Lucas White answered with a weary sigh.
Hearing Lucas White's answer, everyone in the meeting room fell silent for a moment.
"Lily, Victor, Nana, Silvie—you've all fought them, right? What are your thoughts?" Theodore Roosevelt asked, looking at the four with a serious gaze.
"The four of us only fought Arthur, but what I can say is that his swordsmanship is terrifying," Lily Woody said seriously.
"Arthur's swordsmanship is terrifying. His style is so strange, it can't even be called swordsmanship, but he's an incredibly strong swordsman," Silvie Alethea said.
"Besides his swordsmanship, his physical strength is also terrifying. He could withstand gravity pressure up to ten times normal," Victor Grave said.
"Both Arthur's physical strength and swordsmanship are nearly on par with a fifth- or sixth-year student," Nana Mathilda said seriously.
"As for Van Black... he's completely different from Arthur. His strength is bizarre," Lily Woody said, a trace of fear crossing her eyes.