The Sports Student Who Doesn't Train Isn't a Good Wizard

"What is this?"

The professors had never seen such a spectacle before and all expressed their confusion.

"As you can see, I'm exercising." Tom answered without pausing his movements.

The "thump! thump!" sounds Filch had heard earlier were the noise of Tom's feet stomping hard on the ground as he moved.

"Exercising?"

Every professor stared incredulously at the boulder, which was taller than any adult among them.

"Merlin's Beard!"

Though the older professors had privately sought out Dumbledore after yesterday's Sorting Ceremony to learn all about Tom, and thus knew he was no weakling...

Still...

Information was just information.

Seeing that small body carrying a boulder over ten times its own size while moving was impossible not to shock.

Not just the ordinary professors—even Dumbledore, who knew Tom best, was staring with his white beard frozen.

He remembered that when they first met, Tom could only push the boulder a short distance with all his might. Now... he'd turned it into an ordinary training tool?

Was this still human?

Unfortunately, with his [Innate Divine Strength] persona, ordinary dumbbells and such were useless to Tom now. Only boulders like this had any kick.

[Innate Divine Strength +10 Progress]

[Innate Divine Strength +10...+15...+25...]

The persona's progress began to grow.

"Eh?" Tom was secretly startled.

The persona's growth rate seemed to have slowed a bit.

Logically, given the professors' influence, each instance should have provided him with a slightly higher boost.

Could it be...

After the persona evolved, improving it became harder?

That made sense. Before, it was just [Robust], but now it was [Innate Divine Strength]. Comparing the two, one could tell at a glance the latter had far greater strength.

This meant Tom needed to leave an even deeper impression of strength in others' minds to further enhance [Innate Divine Strength].

"You brat, do you know the consequences of damaging public property?!" Filch strode over quickly.

Tom had been moving along the outermost brick path of the training ground, but no matter how sturdy the bricks were, the constant dragging of a multi-ton boulder had caused visible damage—the bricks were badly broken.

Before Dumbledore could speak up for Tom, Tom had already raised his wand.

"reh-PAH-roh!"

With a flick of his wand, the scattered brick fragments floating in the air drifted back to their original places.

In less than half a minute, the entire brick path was reassembled, cracks gone, as if it had never been damaged at all.

"Even if you repaired it, you still violated—"

Before Filch could finish, applause sounded from behind him.

Clap clap clap!!

Dumbledore clapped as he walked over to Tom's side.

Filch wanted to continue scolding Tom, but when he saw Dumbledore deliberately cast a sidelong glance his way, he immediately shut his mouth.

"An excellent Reparo."

This brick path was about four hundred meters long. Factoring in the width of the damage, the area was quite large.

Though Reparo was only a first-year basic spell, Tom—a newly enrolled student who hadn't even attended a single class—could already cast magic over such a wide range. It showed his talent in magic and how much time he'd invested.

"Tom..." Dumbledore looked at the child before him.

He was curious—what bloodline did Tom have?

Could he be a descendant of some branch of Slytherin mixed with another race?

Hogwarts had no shortage of precedents for accepting oddities. Hagrid was the best example.

Though Tom was incredibly strong, his build was normal, so he was definitely not a Giant.

But what other race could it be?

This race needed to meet many criteria: close to human in form, similar size, immense strength, no small magical talent...

Even with his breadth of knowledge, Dumbledore had reached his limit.

He shook his head. Race was never the issue; overthinking was pointless.

"...Though regular exercise is good for health, we are a school of magic, not a sports academy. There are no athletic scholarships. No matter how strong you train, it won't add a single point to your O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s." He placed his hand on the child's shoulder.

Tom's magical talent was truly exceptional—the highest Dumbledore had seen in his lifetime. That was why he wanted to persuade Tom to focus more of his energy on magic rather than physical training.

Moreover, dragging Harry along was one thing, but Tom had also brought Ron into the fold.

For an ordinary human without any special bloodline, no matter how much time they spent training, they could never reach Tom's level.

"No."

To Dumbledore's surprise, Tom immediately rejected his suggestion.

"I believe physical training is also very helpful for learning magic."

"Oh?" Dumbledore immediately assumed a posture of eager interest.

"Professor, you must understand that studying is a very physically demanding activity," Tom slowly explained his theory.

"Whether it's sitting for long periods reading or the mental energy spent on thinking, both require physical stamina. So the stronger the body, the longer one can study, and the more physical and mental energy one has to expend when practicing magic."

Faced with this theory, Dumbledore didn't immediately refute it. Instead, he stroked his beard, analyzing whether the reasoning was sound.

Ever since he had grown older, his physical strength had declined, and his magical power had weakened slightly as well.

Then there were the Quidditch players—those who frequently competed on the pitch were mostly outstanding students in their respective years, with good marks in their magical exams.

And the young Professor McGonagall had once been a Gryffindor Quidditch player, until that incident happened.

Even the late James Potter had been an excellent player in his time, winning many Quidditch medals for Gryffindor.

"I believe... a sportsman who doesn't train isn't a good wizard," Tom explained.

Faced with this reasoning, none of the professors present raised any objections. They thought long and hard but couldn't come up with a counterexample.

"Professor McGonagall, perhaps we should consider Tom's suggestion and add Flying class as a mandatory course for all years." Dumbledore turned to look back.

Hogwarts didn't have a proper physical education class. The closest thing to sports was Flying class, after all, flying on a broomstick in the sky required not only magic but also tested a wizard's balance and physical stamina.

However, Flying class was only mandatory for first-years. From second year onward, it became an elective—though generally no one chose it anyway. Quidditch players only trained within their own teams.

In fact, by second year, Flying class essentially ceased to exist.

Madam Rolanda Hooch, who taught Flying class, could be considered the most idle professor in all of Hogwarts.

"I think it's worth considering, but that would require adjusting the entire timetable. I believe we need to gather all the professors at Hogwarts for a discussion."

Professor McGonagall held three positions: besides being the head of Gryffindor, she was also the Transfiguration professor and Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts. So for a major matter like adding a mandatory course, she had to participate in the discussion and decision.

"Have I done something bad?" Tom muttered inwardly.

He seemed to have inexplicably added a new course for all the students. Once Flying class became mandatory, it would most likely also be added to the required exam list for O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s.

The exams had just gotten harder.

He could almost hear the little badgers' wails.