(Heartfelt thanks to 'What Kind of Piano' for the 10,000 reward, and to 'Seven Sins Shattered,' 'Q Yongjiang Yiku Q,' '200530481273,' 'Soul of a Siscon,' 'Xin Teng Qian Xun,' and 'Youyouzi's Lament' for their rewards!)
Before the sun rose, in the hours near dawn, one school was already exceptionally lively.
On the track, students in gym uniforms adjusted their breathing as they jogged.
There were an astonishing number of such students—if not a thousand, then at least several hundred.
And it was all voluntary, without any organization.
For so many people to willingly do morning exercises before sunrise was almost unbelievable for a school.
But for this school, it was perfectly ordinary.
—Haoling Academy.
An academy dedicated to cultivating combat skills.
At this academy, if one did not work hard, the final result was elimination.
Because it did not cultivate talent. It cultivated test subjects.
Therefore, for the students who could remain at the academy, morning exercise was merely their leisure time of the day. When actual training began, that was what truly counted as grueling.
Under such circumstances, several figures gathered at the edge of the track. After greeting each other, they began running around the field without prior arrangement.
They were several girls in the bloom of youth.
They were Imari, Julie, Lilith, Hotaka Miyabi, and Tachibana Tomoe.
The girls ran around the track as well, chatting while they ran. They seemed to be in quite good moods.
However, before long, all of them widened their eyes at once.
Because someone was slowly running past them.
"Th-that is..." Imari, Julie, Lilith, Hotaka Miyabi, and Tachibana Tomoe all looked utterly shocked, momentarily frozen in place.
In response, the person slowly running past them simply raised a hand without looking back, gave it a light wave, and said one thing.