The Last-Seat Hero Has Returned

17. Mental Training (2)

A few days had passed since he started researching the stigma amplifier with Professor Jade.

As he was engrossed in the research, the weekend passed in the blink of an eye, and Monday arrived.

There was only one class on Monday.

It was the most important mandatory subject that all third-year candidates had to take, regardless of their department, the ‘Practical Combat Training’ lecture.

The subject that has the greatest impact on the overall ranking of cadets and marks the first step in their activities as ‘heroes’ is ‘Practical Combat Training.’ This course has several unique characteristics.

First, it has absolute priority over other lectures.

In other words, if the schedule for ‘Practical Combat Training’ changes or extends, missing other classes due to this will be considered a legitimate reason for absence.

Second, there is no accountability for injuries or deaths of cadets during the class.

Of course, minimal safety measures are in place, but even if an unexpected accident results in casualties, the professor in charge will not be punished.

This is not an educational institution that trains scholars or professionals, but a place that trains ‘heroes’ who will go out and fight on the front lines of humanity after graduation.

The third characteristic is that the lecture time is long.

Unlike other lectures that usually last 2-3 hours per session, Practical Combat Training takes up the entire Monday.

Lunch and break times also vary at the discretion of the professor, so in the worst case, like the previous outdoor training, the class may proceed without giving time to eat lunch.

In other words.

“The theme of today’s lecture is ‘Mental Discipline.’ If anyone fails the test after the morning class, they will continue the class straight through the afternoon without a lunch break, so be aware of that.”

Despite the hectic schedule of the past few days, I had been secretly looking forward to it.

To have a cozy lunch with Iris, I had to overcome the obstacle named Professor Lucas first.

‘No matter what, give us time to eat, you old man.’

I glared at Professor Lucas standing at the podium and sighed deeply.

“A full day of classes without even a lunch break….”

“That’s not something a human should do!”

“We suffered a lot during last week’s outdoor training too!”

I wasn’t the only one who sighed at the news of no lunch break.

The cadets glared at Professor Lucas with resentment, thinking, ‘Other class professors give breaks often, why only our class!’

“Why, do you have complaints?”

“No, sir!”

“No complaints!”

Of course.

It didn’t work at all.

“Tsk tsk. It’s not like I want to starve you rookies while pushing you hard.”

“Uh? But during the outdoor training….”

“That time, it wasn’t me who starved you, it was you who didn’t bring food. Am I wrong?”

“…….”

Faced with this heavy fact, the cadets pursed their lips tightly.

In the ensuing silence.

Albert raised his trembling hand.

“But, didn’t you just say that if we didn’t pass the test, we wouldn’t get lunch?”

“That’s right.”

“Then it’s the same as starving us….”

“I said I wouldn’t give you lunch, not that I would starve you.”

Professor Lucas smirked and pulled out a transparent container from his coat, placing it on the lectern.

Inside the transparent container was a green liquid of unknown origin.

“This is a special juice I made myself. One of these should be enough to keep you from being hungry until dinner.”

“…….”

The green liquid glowed ominously.

Even though it wasn’t on a flame, the green liquid was bubbling, causing the candidates’ faces to turn pale.

“Um… Professor… what is that?”

“Hmm? Didn’t I just say? It’s a special juice I made myself.”

“No, I got that… but what is it made of?”

“Hahaha.”

“No.”

Stop laughing and tell us.

“Candidate Albert. Are you curious about what the juice is made of?”

“Ah… yes. I, I am curious.”

“Then come up here and have a taste.”

“What?”

Albert’s face hardened.

“N-no! I’m not curious at all, Professor!”

“You just said you were curious.”

“No! I’m not curious!”

“Alright, let’s proceed fairly with a vote. Candidates who think Albert should taste it, raise your hands.”

All the candidates in the lecture hall raised their hands.

Of course, I raised mine too.

“You, you traitors…!”

Albert began to tremble violently at the unanimous opinion.

Professor Lucas walked steadily towards the trembling Albert.

“He, heek!”

“Don’t make a fuss. You won’t die from drinking this.”

“Ugh…”

“Yes… you ‘won’t die’. Probably.”

“Kyaaa!”

Professor Lucas grabbed Albert’s shoulder, who was trying to run away while screaming pathetically, and forcibly poured the juice into his mouth.

“Ugh, cough, kuh!”

Albert’s eyes widened as he was forced to drink the special juice.

“Ugh! Ugh!”

“Hey, don’t throw up.”

“What on earth… ugh! What is this made of…!”

“Do you know what ingredient is made entirely of protein, Candidate Albert?”

“Chicken breast… isn’t it?”

“Haha! There’s a high-protein ingredient that can’t even be compared to chicken breast!”

“…?”

Professor Lucas took out another container from his pocket.

Albert, barely holding back his nausea, looked at the container.

Inside the container, something was wriggling.

“Bugs…?”

“Oh no, not bugs. These are edible beetle larvae raised with the Republic’s cultivation technology.”

“So, they are bugs.”

“Once they are in your stomach, they provide the same nutrients.”

“…Ah.”

Thud.

Albert collapsed into a chair with a lost expression.

It seemed he barely managed to hold back his vomit, but from his pale face, it wasn’t hard to guess how terrible the ‘special juice’ tasted.

“……”

“……”

Silence fell among the cadets.

A strong will to never drink that juice filled the classroom.

“Good. You all have a good look in your eyes now.”

Professor Lucas grinned as he stood back at the podium.

“As I mentioned earlier, today’s lesson is ‘mental training.’ It’s an element that’s more important than physical training in actual combat.”

No matter how strong your body is, if your mind collapses, you can never defeat the enemy, Professor Lucas continued, glancing at the classroom door.

“Today’s lecture will be conducted with a special guest, Professor Morpheus from the Department of Magic.”

“Professor Morpheus…?”

“The master of illusion magic?”

Professor Morpheus.

A hero from the Holy Kingdom, known for his mastery of all kinds of illusion magic.

-Click.

The classroom door opened, and a young man with dark brown hair entered.

He looked young enough to be close in age to the cadets, but heroes generally age slowly, so it was hard to guess his age just by appearance.

“Nice to meet you, cadets. I’m Morpheus, here to assist with today’s mental training class.”

Professor Morpheus bowed gracefully, with a gentle smile on his lips, like a picture.

From his first appearance, he gave a completely different impression from that b*stard (Professor Lucas) standing over there, and the cadets’ expressions brightened.

“The lesson is simple. Each of you will come forward and endure the illusion magic I cast for one minute.”

“…Just endure it?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

The cadets tilted their heads at the unexpectedly simple condition.

No matter how realistic the illusion, if you know it’s an illusion, its fear is halved.

Moreover, you don’t even have to fight the illusion; you just have to endure it for one minute.

– Well, it seems easier than I thought?

Such thoughts inevitably crossed the cadets’ minds.

“Phew… Thank goodness.”

“I was scared I’d have to drink grub juice for lunch.”

The cadets sighed in relief, patting their chests.

“Hehehe.”

Professor Lucas twisted his lips into a sly grin as he watched the cadets.

“Professor Morpheus, how about demonstrating an illusion spell on someone?”

“Sure. Is there any candidate who would like to experience an illusion spell?”

“It seems Candidate Albert wants to give it a try.”

“What? No, I never said… aaah!”

Albert was grabbed by the scruff of his neck by Professor Lucas and dragged towards the podium.

“Don’t be too scared. It’s just an illusion after all.”

Professor Morpheus spoke in a gentle voice to Albert, who was trembling with fear.

“Now, sit in this chair, close your eyes, and relax your body.”

“Ah… Yes.”

Albert followed the professor’s instructions and sat in the chair.

Professor Morpheus placed his hand on Albert’s forehead.

And then.

“Ah, uh. Uwaaah!!!”

Crash!

Albert screamed and fell backward off the chair.

It happened in less than ten seconds, not even a minute.

“Huff, huff! This, this is….”

“Are you alright?”

Professor Morpheus extended his hand towards the fallen Albert.

“Go, go away! Get away from me!”

Still not fully recovered, Albert swatted away the professor’s hand and curled up into a ball like a frightened child.

“S-save me… I don’t want to die.”

Albert trembled and sobbed.

Professor Morpheus shrugged and took a few steps back, waiting for Albert to regain his composure.

About a minute passed.

Albert, who had been curled up on the floor, sobbing, slowly got up with a flushed face.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Uh… I’m sorry.”

“Haha, it’s alright. All the candidates who experience my illusion spell for the first time have similar reactions.”

“……”

The expressions of the cadets, who had been relieved that it was nothing serious, hardened once again.

“So… who will be the next cadet to experience the illusion magic?”

Professor Morpheus looked around at the cadets with a smile.

At first, his smile seemed kind, but it began to look like the smile of a grim reaper.

“Let’s see… Ah, the cadet with the gray hair over there.”

Professor Morpheus’s gaze, which had been scanning the cadets, turned towards me.

“Would you like to give it a try?”