Chapter 60 - Special Training Begins
The people present were well-informed about the terrifying side effects of the second-generation gene enhancement agent.
No one could envy the opportunity that Classmate Ruo Manni obtained through such a life-and-death struggle. After all, who would take such a risk unless absolutely necessary? They consoled themselves, trying to suppress their feelings of envy and jealousy.
Dudley, the instructor, didn’t want to say much. As a new student instructor, he had seen all kinds of troublesome kids, though this one was particularly concerning. However, on the other hand, without her reckless actions leading up to this, there wouldn’t be today’s exceptional talent.
Still, Dudley decided he needed to keep a closer eye on her; her inner self was completely different from her obedient exterior.
Seeing the crowd’s reaction, Ruo Manni secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She revealed that her impressive potential came from using the second-generation gene enhancement agent, intending to dispel any doubts from others.
That’s how it is: if she had such excellent cultivation potential naturally, those privileged students would wonder why a girl from a third-tier star could surpass them. Such thoughts could lead to resentment, and resentment might provoke malicious actions.
However, if her cultivation potential came at the cost of risking her life, they might think twice about envying someone willing to take such risks. Knowing she had this fearless spirit, these young aristocrats would likely avoid provoking her.
Right now, Ruo Manni felt weak and was under the looming threat of the alien forces, so she wanted to focus solely on her training, avoiding conflicts with the other elite students.
Moreover, she thought about her unique situation of being reborn, and the possibility of others like Aoi Dan who had also returned to their youth—who could say there weren’t third or fourth individuals who had also been reborn or transmigrated?
The changes in Ruo Manni were too evident, making it easy to attract attention from these variables. The second-generation gene enhancement agent served as the perfect explanation for her drastic transformation.
Once all ten new students had gathered, Dudley announced the training would begin without any hesitation. From that noon onward, Ruo Manni learned what hellish training truly meant.
Dudley casually assigned the training tasks: “Today, we’ll start with some light running. The martial artists will run thirty laps around the base track, Ruo Manni will run eighteen laps, and Olli will run fifteen laps. You are not allowed to stop until you finish.”
Having never participated in a training camp before, Ruo Manni thought about running laps and recalled the standard school playground from her Earth days. With her current physical fitness, running over thirty laps there wouldn’t be a problem.
Dudley took out ten combat suits from the spatial ring on his hand, and Ruo Manni grabbed the smallest size, running back to her dorm to change.
The black military-style uniform felt light and almost weightless. Ruo Manni tried a few big movements and found that, despite being fitted, it didn’t hinder her at all.
She remembered reading about the performance of military combat suits—they were waterproof, fireproof, puncture-resistant, and corrosion-resistant… oh, and they even had automatic self-cleaning features.
As elite students among the elite, these boys, with their outstanding skills and presence, looked even more vibrant in their military combat suits, which excited Dudley.
The track was along the coast, offering views of the azure sea. When the run began, Ruo Manni felt calm, but after completing a lap with the group around the island, she wanted to tell Dudley, “What the heck!” That lap was at least five kilometers.
Eighteen laps would nearly be a hundred kilometers, and thirty laps would definitely be no less than one hundred fifty kilometers.
Ruo Manni realized that as a late-stage third-level martial artist, five kilometers was nothing. By the end of her lap, she wasn’t even panting and could return to the starting line with the nine others.
However, by the second and third laps, Ruo Manni and Mina-Olli started to fall behind, eventually losing sight of the other eight martial artists. Of course, Ruo Manni’s speed was still slightly faster than Mina-Olli’s.
Although Mina-Olli fell behind, she wasn’t like Ruo Manni, a genetically mutated wild martial artist; she had trained systematically since childhood. Thus, during the first ten laps, she steadily kept pace behind Ruo Manni.
However, physical fitness levels were the foundation of a martial artist’s strength. By the eleventh lap, Mina-Olli began to struggle, switching from running to walking.
As Ruo Manni completed her sixteenth lap, Hua Deli and the others had already run twenty-three laps. Even the last-placed Sheila was on her twenty-second lap, and each of them seemed to be handling the run much more easily than Ruo Manni and Mina-Olli.
By the seventeenth lap, Ruo Manni slowly caught up with Mina-Olli, who was now barely able to walk. Watching the group of martial artists disappear from sight again, Mina-Olli gasped and said to Ruo Manni, “Let’s slow down and drink some nutrient supplements before we run again. The last lap is the hardest.”
In fact, Ruo Manni wasn’t completely exhausted; if she had to, she could still push for another lap. But since they were the only two telekinetics, she needed to show that her physical abilities weren’t too much better than Mina-Olli’s, or it wouldn’t look good.
So Ruo Manni deliberately slowed her pace, exaggerating her fatigue.
Sure enough, Mina-Olli not only initiated a conversation but also spoke in a more familiar tone, considering they were both weak telekinetics. Extreme exhaustion also made thoughts lazy, making it easy to drift into trivial matters.
“Okay,” Ruo Manni agreed. While she wasn’t too tired, she was quite hungry.
As for whether Instructor Dudley would punish them for this, Ruo Manni didn’t worry; there were no explicit rules, and if she made a mistake, she would just consider herself “innocent due to ignorance.”
After filling their stomachs, the two walked side by side for a while. The sea breeze blew intermittently, carrying a salty scent reminiscent of Earth’s oceans. Ruo Manni closed her eyes to soak it in.
Sure enough, she felt a bit revitalized. Hearing running footsteps approaching from behind, the two girls instinctively began to walk faster.
It seemed Mina-Olli was genuinely exhausted; she struggled to keep up, even with walking.
Seeing Mina-Olli about to stumble, Ruo Manni couldn’t help but reach out to steady her arm, hoping to help her move forward.
In just half a day, Ruo Manni could tell that Mina-Olli was truly proud and stubborn—she wouldn’t even yield to Hua Deli. Ruo Manni wasn’t sure if Mina-Olli could let go of her pride.
Although Ruo Manni and Mina-Olli didn’t quite get along, fate had arranged for them to be classmates and fellow telekinetics. They would inevitably have to train together in the future. Despite any lingering feelings, Ruo Manni hoped they could at least maintain a cordial surface.