"Next up is raw mana-reinforced strength."
Professor Russel announced the next activity we were going to do, and if I wasn’t wrong—this is the second to last activity we need to do for this class.
The sun had moved higher into the sky, casting short, dark shadows across the trampled grass of the training field as the wind died down.
"What you guys will do is simple."
As Professor Russel say that, Professor Aine walked beside him pushing a what seems to look like a training dummy on the trolley. She then picked it up like it was nothing and placed it on the floor, then after that—she picked up another thing from the trolley; it looks like a screen or some sort.
The metal frame of the dummy made a heavy thud as it settled onto the dirt, completely stationary under her smooth, casual grip.
Professor Aine then connected it to the training dummy, and after that—she gave Professor Russel a thumbs up. Professor Russel nodded his head, then turning his attention back to us—
The electronic display flickered to life with a quiet beep, showing a row of crisp zero digits on its screen.
"All you have to do is strike this dummy once—you can’t use any ability, but you can use mana. Your score then will be displayed on the monitor connected to it; the higher the score, the better."
He stated. It was just like a punching game in the arcade.
He tapped the thick reinforced chest plate of the target, showing us that the thick padding was designed to absorb immense physical impacts while measuring raw kinetic force.
"In this activity, you can go at any order—so if there’s a volunteer, just raise your hand."
Professor Russel then declared that, and at his words... the students went silent. Nobody wants to go first.
I don’t want to either.
A quiet awkwardness settled over both classes as everyone looked around, waiting for someone else to step into the spotlight and set the baseline.
But after a while, breaking the awkward silence—
A single hand shot up sharply from the ranks of Class 1-F.
"I will go first, professor."
Marcus raised his hand and declared that.
He stepped out from the group without a single trace of hesitation, his posture rigid and focused as he walked toward the center of the yard.
"Go ahead."
Professor Russel said with a straight face, nodding his head.
Marcus went in front of the training dummy. He wasted no time and started gathering mana on his right fist.
SWOOSH~
The concentrated mana on his fist was dense.
A faint aura flared violently around his arm, compressing tighter and tighter around his knuckles until the surrounding air began to hum from the pressure.
Then after a few seconds of gathering mana—
"HEUB!!!"
He launched a heavy hook at the head of the training dummy.
BOOM!
The sound it made as his fist connected was so loud that it seems like a small explosion had occurred—the force of his punch send the dust around him fly away. If I was hit by that; I would probably break my neck!
The reinforced dummy rocked back sharply under the force, its base grinding into the dirt before snapping back into its vertical position.
Everyone immediately looked at the monitor where the score would be displayed, and there—his point was out for everyone to see.
The digital numbers flashed rapidly on the screen before settling into a bold, solid figure.
"Marcus—360 points."
Professor Russel announced.
"It’s a good point, the average point of the sophomores are 400, you’re nearly there."
He then followed, nodding as he complimented Marcus.
Marcus let out a small smile, then he started walking toward our class. On his way though, his eyes landed again on me.
"..."
I just pretended not to notice it. I kept my eyes fixed on the dummy up front, keeping my hands resting casually in my pockets.
"You wanna go next?"
Anyway, Zion asked me that in a whisper. He leaned sideways, tilting his head toward the front with an eager look in his eyes.
"Hmm, not yet."
I gave a faint shake of my head, preferring to see how the rest of the ranks scored before taking my turn.
"Why not?"
He followed. But before I could even answer—
"I will go next, professor."
Someone raised their hand... It was David this time.
He pushed his way past his Class 1-B peers, tossing a cold, dismissive glance at Marcus as he took his position in front of the target.
Professor Russel just nodded and told him to go on.
David stood in front of the training dummy, then instead of his arm—he gathered mana on his right leg and foot.
A dense, glowing layer of mana enveloped his right boot, compressing so tightly that the ground beneath his stance cracked slightly under the localized pressure.
And after that—BOOOOM!!!
He launched a heavy kick on the dummy’s head. It shook the whole training dummy, and the grass around him was blew away. The sound it made was louder than Marcus’ and this made the students watching silent.
They were surprised, at awe.
The wind swept outward in a sharp gust, whipping through the uniform jackets of the front row spectators.
A collective murmur rippled through the Class 1-B crowd, their earlier confidence flooding right back into their expressions.
And then they looked at the score—the digital monitor beeped twice as the final calculation flashed across the LED display.
"David—462 points."
Professor Russel announced, he looks a bit taken aback reading that. As he said before, 400 is the average score for the sophomores, then that just mean that in terms of raw mana-reinforced strength; David was already stronger than some of them.
David heard his score and a smug face appeared on his face. He started walking back to his class confidently then.
He dusted off his pant leg, crossing his arms with a tall, arrogant posture as his classmates showered him with praise.
And as if following his lead—the idiots from the [B-Class] looked toward us with an annoying look on their faces.
As if telling them they win. I just ignored them.
"Are you going now?"
Zion didn’t pay any attention to them as well and just asked me that. I just looked at him, and even before I can open my mouth—
"I will go next, sir!"
The girl who beat me from the previous two activities from the [B-Class] raised her hand.
She stepped out from the ranks of Class 1-B with a calm, composed stride, taking her place directly in front of the measuring apparatus.
Just like Marcus, she used her fist to strike as well—and she got a score of 349. Strength isn’t her strong suit, after all. But even with that—her score was still above average.
She nodded politely to Professor Aine before returning to her class, fairly content with her high-level baseline score.
And just like that, one by one--the students started taking turns.
... ... ...
... ... ...
... ... ...
The [B-Class] averaged at 250. While our class averaged at 200.
One by one, the rest of the students stepped up to deliver their single mana-reinforced strikes to the target dummy.
The line moved along steadily as the monitor recorded a wide variety of scores ranging from low hundreds to decent two-hundreds.
I waited for them to go through one by one—I stopped Zion for trying as well, telling him that we both should go last. He wasn’t that hard to convince.
"Trust me, just hold off until the end."
I had whispered to him, grabbing his shoulder to keep him in place whenever he made a move to step forward.
"Aww, come on, Vael! My knuckles are literally itching right now!"
He had complained softly, though he ultimately grumbled and stayed right beside me as instructed.
Anyway... time went like that, and finally...
With the entire roster finished and only the two of us remaining on the sign-up sheet, I took a step forward from our section.
"I will go next, sir."
It was my time to do the activity.
*****
I stepped in front of the training dummy.
The heavy steel frame sat quietly on the grass, its chest plate scuffed with faint scuff marks from all the previous hits.
"..."
I concentrated and let out a small sigh to relax my body. I wasn’t the strongest, but I trained my strength for the past two months.
I adjusted my stance, spreading my feet shoulder-width apart as I loosened the joints in my shoulders and arms.
Vael’s body is gifted physically as well.
Even without magical reinforcement, the natural baseline stats built into this character’s physical frame were built for high-level combat execution.
And in terms of mana—I’m really confident with mine.
After all, as if in exchange for the body condition restricting me from using projectiles; my mana pool is stupidly massive and the density of it was absurd as well.
I closed my eyes briefly, reaching deep into my chest to pull out a thick stream of raw, unrefined mana.
SWOOOOOSH~!
I wasted no more time as I gathered mana into my right fist. I could feel the air around my fist twisting as I continued concentrating the mana on it. The sheer volume of energy forced the surrounding wind to whirl inward, coiling around my forearm like a dense, visible spiral of power.
My sleeve fluttered wildly under the violent pressure as the mana density spiked far past normal safety thresholds.
And then, after a few seconds of doing that—
’URGH...!!! FUCKING WORK!!!’
I exclaimed that in my head, and I threw my fist into a heavy, vicious right hook!
FWIISH—B O O O O O M—!!!
The sound echoed through the yard as my fist hit the training dummy square in the jaw. A weak shockwave erupted around me from the force of my punch as well!
The blast of compressed air swept outward across the grass, kicking up a thick ring of dust and loose debris that blew back into the faces of the front row spectators.
The training dummy rocked backward violence, its heavy steel base lifting completely off the ground before slamming back down with a deafening metallic clatter.
I drew my arm back, shaking out my fingers as a sharp dull numbness spread up my forearm.
I felt my fist throbbing.
And when I looked at my score—
"Vael—489 points..."
Professor Russel annouced that.
It was the highest score so far!
"...!"
My eyes widened.
I stared at the glowing numbers on the screen, taking a step back in slight disbelief as my breathing gradually returned to normal.
And it was not just me, Professor Russel, Professor Aine, and all the students watching the activity... They all couldn’t believe it!
Professor Aine leaned forward slightly, her blue eyes widening in genuine astonishment as she checked the secondary diagnostic readout on her handheld tablet.
I heard murmurs of disbelief from the [B-Class], my class was totally silent.
David’s jaw clenches tightly, his arrogant smirk instantly evaporating into absolute shock as he stared at the board in utter disbelief.
Marcus stood completely frozen in the back row, his eyes locked onto my frame with an intensity that could burn holes through steel.
But Zion... He’s looking at me with a surprised, but an excited smile on his face.
He slapped his hands together, grinning from ear to ear as if he had just witnessed the absolute best outcome possible.
Professor Russel praised me and told me that my score is really high for a freshman, he hadn’t seen anything like this except from the [Z-Class].
"Outstanding output..."
Professor Russel rumbled, clearing his throat as he wrote down the figure on his clipboard with an unusually firm stroke of his pen.
"To push past four hundred and eighty points without using a specialized enhancement technique or skill... you possess exceptional mana density, kid."
He nodded at me, a rare look of genuine approval settling over his rugged, bear-like features.
"Thank you, professor."
I replied quietly, bowing my head slightly before turning back toward our section.
As I walked past the crowd, the students of Class 1-B scrambled to pull back, giving me a wide berth as if I were a wild monster standing among them.
"How... how is an F-Class guy putting up numbers higher than David?!"
"489 points... is he insane?!"
The frantic whispers spread like wildfire among their ranks, their cocky attitudes completely crushed under the weight of the score sitting on the monitor.
I took my spot beside Zion, letting out a quiet breath as I flexed my sore knuckles.
"That was amazing, Vael!"
Zion whispered excitedly, slapping my back with enough force to make me stumble forward half a step.
"I knew you were hiding some serious power!"
"Just go do your turn, Zion."
I mumbled with a quiet chuckle, rolling my right shoulder to ease the lingering tension.
"Haha, alright! Watch this!"
He replied jokingly, standing up.
... ... ...
*****
Anyway, after that...
Zion went in and got 501 as his score. The training dummy even cracked its neck from his punch.
When his fist made contact with the target, a roaring sonic boom tore through the open air, fracturing the reinforced alloy neck joint of the training dummy with a terrifying metallic crunch.
The monitor flickered frantically before settling on the massive 501 mark.
And once again... The whole yard went silent in shock.
Not a single soul uttered a sound. The Class 1-B students looked completely hollowed out, staring at the cracked dummy neck in pure terror.
This is why I was urging him to go last. Seeing everyone go before him, I know that he will be impatient and competitive until his turn.
And in the game, he cracked the training dummy too after going 5th, the activity was delayed because of that.
I want this to finish as fast as possible, so I can’t have him do that.
If he had broken the target early on in the rotation, Professor Russel and Professor Aine would have had to halt the evaluation for at least an hour just to request a replacement unit from the maintenance department.
By holding him back until the very last slot, the session was able to proceed smoothly to the final drill without any tedious delays.
Zion walked back toward me with his hands behind his head, whistling casually as if breaking top-tier academy gear was just a minor detail of his morning routine.
"Oops... I guess I used a little too much strength at the end there."
He chuckled sheepishly, giving me a quick wink as Professor Russel let out a long, heavy sigh while inspecting the cracked metal frame.
"Well..."
Professor Russel grunted, shaking his head in sheer disbelief as he closed his clipboard.
"That concludes the third evaluation drill. Everyone take ten minutes before we move to the final test."