An Athlete Who Doesn't Exercise Isn't an Excellent Wizard

"What are you doing?"

The professors had never seen anything like this before, and they all looked baffled.

"As you can see, exercising," Tom replied, not stopping for a moment.

The "thud! thud!" Filch had heard earlier came from Tom's feet pounding against the ground as he moved.

"Exercising?"

All the professors stared in disbelief at the boulder, which stood taller than any of them.

"Merlin's beard!"

The older professors had all privately spoken with Dumbledore after the Sorting Ceremony the day before, asking him about Tom's background. So they knew Tom was exceptionally strong.

But...

A file was only a file.

It was impossible not to be shocked when they saw the small boy moving with a boulder more than ten times his own size on his back.

It wasn't just the ordinary professors. Even Dumbledore, who knew Tom best, stared at him, his white beard hanging still.

He remembered that the first time they had met, Tom had only managed to push the boulder a short distance with all his strength. And now... he was using it as an ordinary training tool?

Was this even human?

With his Innate Divine Strength Persona, ordinary dumbbells and the like were no longer enough for Tom. He needed a boulder like this to get a proper workout.

["Innate Divine Strength" +10 progress]

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

The Persona's progress began to increase.

"Huh?" Tom thought, startled.

The Persona's progress seemed to be increasing a little more slowly.

Normally, given the professors' influence, each of them should have provided a bit more progress than this.

Could it be...

That improving a Persona became harder after it evolved?

That made sense. Before, it had been Robust, but now it was Innate Divine Strength. Put side by side, it was obvious that the latter described greater strength.

That meant Tom needed to leave a deeper impression of strength in other people's minds to improve Innate Divine Strength further.

"You little brat, do you know what happens to people who damage school property?!" Filch strode over.

Tom had been moving along the stone path around the outer edge of the training ground. But no matter how sturdy the paving stones were, dragging a boulder weighing several tons over them again and again had left them badly damaged.

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

"Reparo!"

His wand flicked. The scattered stone fragments floated up and returned to their original places.

In less than half a minute, the entire stone path had been repaired. The cracks disappeared, as if it had never been damaged.

"Even if you repaired it, you still—"

Filch was cut off by a burst of applause behind him.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Dumbledore applauded as he walked over to Tom.

Filch still wanted to criticize Tom, but when he caught Dumbledore deliberately glancing his way, he immediately fell silent.

"An excellent Reparo."

The stone path was about four hundred meters long, and its damaged width made for a considerable area.

Though Reparo was a basic first-year spell, Tom was a new student who had not even attended a single class, yet he could already cast it over such a large area. That showed just how talented he was at magic, and how much time he had put into it.

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

He was curious about Tom's ancestry.

Could he be descended from a branch of Slytherin's family and some other kind of being?

Hogwarts had admitted unusual students before. Hagrid was the best example.

Tom was very strong, but his build was perfectly ordinary, so he couldn't be a Giant.

But what other beings were there?

They would have to meet a lot of conditions: be close to human, roughly human-sized, immensely strong, and reasonably talented at magic...

Even with all his knowledge, Dumbledore had reached the limit of what he could think of.

Dumbledore shook his head. Ancestry had never been the issue, and there was no point in overthinking it.

"...Although regular exercise is good for your health, this is a school of magic, not a sports academy. We don't admit students on athletic scholarships. No matter how strong you get, it won't earn you a single point on your O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s." He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

Tom truly had an exceptionally high talent for magic, rarer than any Dumbledore had encountered in his life. He wanted to persuade Tom to spend more time on magic instead of exercise.

Besides, it was one thing for Tom to drag Harry into it, but he had even brought Ron along.

Ordinary humans without special ancestry, no matter how much time they spent training, could never reach Tom's level.

"No."

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

"I think exercise helps with learning magic, too."

"Oh?" Dumbledore immediately adopted an expression that said he was eager to hear more.

"Professor, you have to understand that studying takes a lot of stamina." Tom slowly laid out his theory.

"Whether it's sitting and reading for a long time or the mental effort of thinking, you need stamina for it. So the healthier your body is, the longer you can study, and the more stamina and energy you'll have to spend when practicing magic."

Dumbledore didn't immediately argue with this theory. Instead, he stroked his beard and considered whether it held up.

As he grew older, his stamina had declined, and the strength of his magic had weakened somewhat.

And many Quidditch players, who spent so much time competing on the field, were among the top students in their year, with good marks on their magic exams.

Professor McGonagall had even been a Quidditch player for Gryffindor in her youth, before that incident.

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

"I think... an athlete who doesn't exercise isn't an excellent wizard," Tom explained.

None of the professors present objected to his theory. They had thought it over, but couldn't come up with a counterexample.

"Professor McGonagall, perhaps we should consider Tom's suggestion and make Flying Class a required course for every year." Dumbledore turned to look at her.

Hogwarts didn't have a proper physical education class. The only course that came close was Flying Class. After all, flying through the sky on a broomstick required not only magic, but also balance and stamina.

However, Flying Class was only required in the first year. From the second year onward, it became an elective—though hardly anyone chose it. Quidditch players only trained with their own teams.

In other words, once students reached their second year, Flying Class essentially disappeared.

Madam Rolanda Hooch, who taught Flying Class, was probably the least busy professor in all of Hogwarts.

"I think it's worth considering. But we'd need to adjust the entire timetable, so all the professors should meet to discuss it."

Professor McGonagall held three positions. Besides being the head of Gryffindor, she was also the Transfiguration professor and deputy headmistress of Hogwarts. So, a major decision like adding a required course had to be discussed and decided with her involvement.

Did I just do something bad? Tom wondered to himself.

Somehow, he seemed to have landed every student in the school with a new class. If Flying Class became mandatory, it would probably be added to the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. exams, too.

The exams were getting harder.

He could almost hear the Hufflepuffs wailing.