The practical class still began with a run, though this time they only had to circle the Duel Hall once. Dark had assumed the old professors would receive special treatment, but to his surprise, the moment the bell rang, they too began running under the urging of the various Dueling Class professors.
As for how the old professors performed... that was truly a sad story. Out of the traditional virtue of respecting the elderly and caring for the young, there was no need to go into detail. In any case, Sister Callian, who had come specifically for this, had prepared an entire crate of nutritional supplements for them.
Dark also spotted Sister Lilyan beside Sister Callian for the first time in a while and briefly greeted her.
About ten minutes after class began, Sister Callian left alone, leaving only Sister Lilyan in the Duel Hall to handle any emergencies.
After the run ended, all the students were gathered together.
The first through fifth-year students stood in one line, while the old professors formed another.
Not only did the Dueling Class professors make no effort to bridge the gap between them, they deliberately separated the two groups, creating an opposition between the "new" and the "old."
—The academy professors were all thoroughly practiced in such little tactics of creating opposition and encouraging competition.
Both the students and the retired professors understood this perfectly well. But such tactics never failed.
The moment that divide was drawn, the atmosphere between the two sides immediately took on a faintly tense edge.
Once they were separated, it became clear that the student group contained around fifty people.
The retired professors and graduates numbered nearly thirty. Between the two groups, the ratio was surprisingly only two to one.
Seeing that the atmosphere was right, Professor Power