A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

Luna is confident in certain areas, and one of them is certainly her stamina.

She’s from the countryside, where farming is practically the only thing to do, unlike in the cities where most forms of play involve physical activity.

Moreover, Luna is an orphan. She grew into a proper person with the love and care of village folks, and she helped with the work.

From basic farming chores to milking cows, repairing buildings, and more, she built up her stamina through various tasks.

Her stamina was even more enhanced through the basic physical training she received from her master, making her physical abilities decent compared to other students.

Her mental fortitude, which may seem extraordinary, is also rooted in her stamina. After all, mental strength grows under the protection of physical health.

‘I’m dying…'

But all that confidence had been shattered by Lize's training the previous day. Trudging along, these thoughts filled Luna's mind.

There wasn't a single place on her body that didn't ache. The arms and legs were a given, but the most painful area was the back of her thighs.

Push-ups and sit-ups were tough, but squats were even harder. If her posture slipped even slightly, it was back to square one.

Especially since she couldn't rush. She not only had to perform each repetition with correct posture but also ensure that each muscle was properly engaged.

‘At least it’s just a weekly training…'

The notion of having to go through it again seemed daunting. She wondered how long the muscle soreness would persist.

Though she was managing to hang on for now, it was a challenge to stay focused.

"You alright?"

The fact that even Sivar showed concern, asking how she was, indicates how unusual this was. Typically, others would ask questions like this.

It meant Luna’s condition was near zombielike; even walking was a struggle.

Luna gave an awkward smile in response to Sivar's question. Despite feeling like death, she assured him she was okay.

"Yep. I'm fine."

"Really?"

With a gentle poke, Sivar lightly jabbed Luna's arm to check her condition. It was a very light touch.

Regrettably, that spot had muscle soreness comparable to her sore thighs.

"Yowch!?"

As soon as Sivar touched her, Luna let out a unique cry of pain. The trouble, however, was the subsequent surge of pain.

She startled and jerked, which triggered the muscle soreness throughout her body.

If there’s a feeling akin to tasting hell in a mere moment, Luna thought she experienced it as she barely stopped herself from collapsing to the floor.

"Oww…"

"Looks like it's really bad. Sivar? No more jokes like that."

"Sorry."

That was enough—a sincere apology.

Luna internally accepted Sivar's apology after Kara chided him.

Honestly, whether there was an apology or not didn’t matter; the pain throughout her body clouded all thought. She just wished for the agony to subside.

‘How will I survive today’s practice session…?'

She could get through the morning class, but the afternoon practice session posed a problem. Would she be able to endure until then?

"Are you okay?"

A strange man’s voice reached her ears. Slowly, Luna lifted her head.

Raising her head, she saw clothing with a harmonious blend of white and golden hues—a garb suited for clerics.

Lastly, the man had an ordinary appearance, but his brown eyes sparkled with a clear brilliance.

He was the cleric assigned to our group. He had been introduced earlier, but I hadn’t paid much attention.

"Yes… I’m okay…"

Despite Luna’s assertion, the cleric straightforwardly contested her claim. Clearly, anyone could see that Luna's condition was far from well.

She thought lying would be pointless and decided to speak the truth, deliberately omitting anything to do with Lize.

"I did some… excessive exercises yesterday. The muscle soreness is rather severe."

"Ah, I see. You didn't have urine that was red or black, did you?"

Luna perceived what the cleric was concerned about. It was something Lize had warned her about as well.

It’s a condition where muscles literally melt, leading to serious loss and potentially damaging the kidneys.

"Thankfully, no. It's not that bad."

"If you really can’t bear it, you’re allowed to return. I’m reluctant to say this, but there's no real medicine for muscle soreness."

"I’ll be, fine. It’s not that bad."

She ended up this way because of Sivar's pranks, not so bad to return to the dorms. She just needed no one to touch her.

"What do you mean there’s no medicine for muscle soreness? Aren’t you a priest serving under Lord Gaia?"

Grace couldn’t hide her incredulity after the cleric's explanation. As expected, the priest was a follower of Gaia.

One of Gaia’s most significant attributes is the power of healing. Therefore, Luna's pain could potentially be healed right away using that ability.

The priest, however, disagreed with Grace’s statement, shaking his head to indicate his dissent.

"That’s true but regarding muscle soreness from training, it’s often best to leave it untreated in all but the most urgent cases. That’s how one achieves better results."

"Efficiency?"

"Yes. To be more specific, Gaia’s healing abilities act as a kind of barrier until the wound is fully healed."

Human bodies inherently have regenerative abilities, but they are very slow. Healing abilities can maximize that regeneration.

However, until the regeneration is complete, the healing acts as a stopgap. Once regeneration concludes, this stopgap disappears.

"The compound fracture treatment invented by the advanced surgeons of Santias is derived from this principle. They fixed the bones with rods, which were later removed once the bones had fully healed."

"What does this have to do with muscle soreness?"

"Muscle soreness is the pain from muscles damaging and regenerating. The regenerated muscle remembers the pain and intensity, becoming firmer than before. Healing abilities, however, overlay the pre-regeneration muscle, essentially nullifying all progress."

"So healing abilities aren’t exactly omnipotent."

Grace spoke, her expression a mix of amazement. Gaia’s healers are treated as the highest-grade professionals wherever they go.

Especially those at the rank of Cardinal and above have the skills to heal even severed limbs and more. Although that's somewhat exaggerated, it speaks to the incredible abilities they possess.

"Only gods can control omnipotence in this world. If someone like us could, this world would be far more chaotic."

The priest answered with a light smile. It was a wise response to a remark that could have upset others depending on the listener.

Realizing her slip of the tongue, Grace cautiously apologized. The priest accepted her apology graciously.

"Can you make it?"

"Maybe."contemporary romance

Luna hardly listened to the priest’s explanation or anything about healing abilities. She was in too much pain from the muscle soreness.

At least she felt a bit better after receiving some painkillers the priest had. Without them, she might have indeed headed back to the dorm.

Most other students might have asked for an excuse and left. However, Luna stood her ground with stubbornness and diligence.

Some might say it's foolish or obstinate, but that's Luna’s strength.

"Before we start, has anyone visited a church or shrine?"

Before entering a building resembling a museum, the priest surveyed the group and posed the question.

Only one person raised their hand in response: Kara, the devoted follower of Gulak.

She visits the academy's shrine every weekend to make her offerings.

The priest’s gaze lingered on Kara, who stood out among the rest, and then he exclaimed with sudden realization.

"Judging by your skin tone, you seem to be from the Tatars. Tatars take Lord Gulak as their national religion, right?"

"Yes. That’s right."

"Was there any difference between the academy’s shrine and the ones in Tatars?"

"It's just the shape that’s different, the shrine itself is much the same."

In reality, shrines only differ in shape and size; their effects are alike.

Expectedly, the priest nodded to her reply and started his explanation.

"As the student said, the gods do not prefer pomp and circumstance. What’s most important is devotion and sincerity. If you all keep that in mind, you can also receive the favor of the gods."

"…"

Sivar wore a somewhat indifferent expression as he heard this. Some receive godly favor unwillingly and are forced to bear it, especially when it comes from Chaos.

That so-called favor was suspiciously dubious, given that it came from Chaos of all beings.

Unaware of Sivar’s internal thoughts, the priest smiled softly and stepped inside the building.

The rest of the group quietly followed the priest.

"Wow… uh, it's huge…"

"Exactly. I knew a place like this existed, but visiting for the first time is something else."

The interior of the building was as vast as the amazed reactions from Yeonhwa and Grace suggested. There were numerous relics related to ‘mythology' placed about.

It resembled a museum, built by the academy for education and viewing purposes.

"The academy was founded long ago by heroes who repelled the demon god and their allies. The gods also aided the hero in defeating the demon god, so this place is deeply connected to mythology and history."

"Kara, have you been here before?"

"I visited a few times during my adaptation period on the weekends. There was too little to do."

While Kara responded, Luna looked around the museum’s interior. Some people had already arrived and were looking around.

Apparently, they were from another group. It made sense why they divided into groups; too many people would make focus difficult.

"The history lessons will start now, and they might be somewhat dull. I hope you have an interest in mythology."

After a light joke, the priest moved on. The rest of the group silently trailed behind.

The only exception was a single person—Sivar—whose attention was caught by something else.

While the rest followed the priest, Sivar moved on his own, heading in a different direction.

Luna, distracted by muscle soreness, didn’t notice, and Kara was too absorbed talking with Grace.

"If you're interested in mythology, you may know about the rainbow that appeared at the beginning of it all. We call the colors mixed within it the Light of Life. With these colors, we are able to have life."

"What if these colors didn’t exist?"

"Then we'd be like demons, neither one thing nor another. To oppose those demons, we have over there…"

The priest was pointing behind when he had to abruptly halt. The group looked back in response to his reaction.

There stood Sivar, incongruously in the spot the priest indicated, holding an artifact in his hand.

It was small, a simple stick made of wood, topped with a stone shaped like the academy's commemorative tower.

Upon sighting this, the priest exclaimed with alarm.

"Hey, student! What are you doing? Put that down immediately!"

The priest’s voice echoed profoundly within the museum-like building, as if in a cave.

Startled by the reverberating echo, Sivar clutched the artifact too hard and crushed it unintentionally.

With just a tight grip, the hard stone snapped cleanly in two.

"…"

"…"

A hush of silence rolled through the group. Even Sivar seemed taken aback as he rolled his eyes bewildered.

He looked like a puppy that realized it'd done something wrong, checking for others' reactions. However, Sivar was no puppy.

He gently placed the broken pieces of the commemorative stone back where they belonged, carefully trying to fit them together so they wouldn’t crumble again.

But the stone, already shattered, couldn't do anything even when forcibly fitted together—it merely collapsed once more.

"…"

Again, Sivar began to look around cautiously.

Though he might not know exactly what he did wrong, his expression showed that he knew he'd made a mistake.

done.co