Grand Finale Entrance, Poised to Strike

"..."

The surroundings fell utterly silent.

Ryuuen froze for a moment, the corner of his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

No way, bro!! What the hell are you talking about?!

A marathon was 42 kilometers, and he had supposedly run several of them while carrying weights?!!!

Did you take the Shinkansen and try to fool us?!!

Shiina Hiyori pursed her lips as well.

Why did this guy's way of talking feel a little like... Jiahao?

She found a stone step and slowly sat down. Her body was weak, and the pain in her lower abdomen was still worsening.

"..."

Dongshan glanced at Uchiha, his face practically spelling out awkwardness.

He no longer had the strength to comment.

Let the results slap him in the face.

He spoke sternly. "You'll be in the last group with Ryuuen, Ibuki, Yamada, and the others. Have a race and see the difference for yourself."

At those words, Ryuuen's mouth curled crookedly.

"Couldn't be better."

Yamada's physical ability was ranked A, placing him at the T0 level in the class.

As for Ryuuen and Ibuki, their physical abilities were infinitely close to A. They had entered the T1 ranks as well. They were holding nothing but good cards—how could they possibly lose?!!!

When it came to playing the pig to eat the tiger, Ryuuen had mastered the art.

The three minutes and twelve seconds he had mentioned earlier had actually been his high school record.

After several years of growth, he could now finish one kilometer in just over two minutes, a speed comparable to an ordinary electric scooter.

Uchiha nodded. "No problem."

"The protagonist usually makes the grand finale entrance."

Dongshan's face kept twitching as he looked at the masked man who had no idea what was good for him. His anger mounted higher and higher.

I only put you last so I could finish my damned job first!!

What protagonist? Grand finale entrance??

You're making a grand finale fool of yourself!!!

"Hehe, fine. Just don't start making excuses later because you can't catch up to me."

"I'm telling you, crying won't help. If you lose, you admit it."

Ryuuen was not deliberately putting him down.

He genuinely believed it.

A weak-legged guy dared to compete with him in long-distance running?

Wasn't that just asking to be crushed?!

[Spirit +321]

[Spirit +256]

[Spirit +304]

[...]

Hm?!

Uchiha was taken aback.

The gains had slowed after he kept showing off?!

Fine.

He could take a break and farm them slowly.

At this moment.

The ten students whose names Teacher Dongshan had called were already standing at the starting line.

Yamauchi was among them.

Yamauchi ranted wildly in his heart. Didn't you say we could form teams freely?!

Teacher, why the hell are you still half-forcing me into a team?!!

The horse-faced guy had already planned to run with the girls with huge boobs later. Their speeds were about the same anyway, and maybe he would get to enjoy some breathtaking scenery along the way...

But now!!!!

He scanned his teammates from side to side, growing a little desperate—

There were Hirata, Sudou, Horikita... all widely recognized athletic powerhouses.

Then there were Akito Miyake, Kanno Onodera, Nan Jieye, Jin Makita... all of them had joined sports clubs, so their stamina naturally would not be bad.

There were also several tall guys from Class C. Their legs looked pretty long, and they seemed capable of running fast!!

Before Yamauchi had even started running, cold sweat was already pouring down him. He kept licking his dry, cracked lips...

I'm so screwed!!

I got assigned to the group of death!!

At this moment.

Horikita Suzune alternated high knee raises, loosening up every bone and muscle in her body.

She rotated and stretched her wrists and ankles, her breathing gradually evening out. Then she turned her head slightly.

"Kushida, you really don't need to be this persistent. I told you not to interfere with me. It would be better for both of us."

Kushida was also doing her final warm-ups. Her movements were not as precise as Horikita's, but they were far more pleasing to the eye.

"Eh? I just want to finish running quickly and rest."

"I hope so."

Horikita dropped those cold words and stopped paying attention to the orange-haired girl.

A thick, dark aura churned in her eyes. Kushida swore that she would absolutely make that stuck-up bitch collapse later!!!

The moment she entered university, she had realized the gap between herself and true geniuses. So she had trained extra every night, running without fail. She refused to believe she could not beat Horikita!!

Dongshan put the whistle to his mouth, ready to announce the start of the race!!

Just then!!!

Yamauchi weakly raised his hand, pretending to be on the verge of collapsing.

"Teacher, I need to take leave!!"

"I twisted my ankle yesterday. I can't run."

"Hmph, I'll let you all have first place for now."

"Once my leg gets better, you'll all be eating my dust!!!"

"..."

Dongshan's eyes narrowed, his entire face turning as dark as an African brother's.

"You! Said! What?!!"

Yamauchi shrank his neck, but he still forced himself to repeat it!!

"Fine. You said there's something wrong with your leg, right? Go to the infirmary right now for an X-ray and an MRI. I'll cover the points."

"If you dare lie to me, the consequences will be more than you can bear."

Seeing that the PE teacher was even scarier than Sadako, Yamauchi immediately caved.

He took two steps, then two more, and happily slapped his thigh.

"It's fine now! It recovered! Isn't that miraculous?!!"

"Ahem, ahem. It was a misunderstanding. Maybe I slept with the air conditioner on last night without a blanket, and my leg cramped up a little~"

"It's nothing, nothing, hahahaha~"

After saying that, he returned to the starting point with a miserable expression.

"Pfft..."

Uchiha clamped his mouth between his index and middle fingers, his shoulders shaking violently!!

After all, whenever he ran into someone like Yamauchi, holding back laughter was the hardest part!!!

Ryuuen turned his head and sneered. What the hell are you laughing at? I'll make you cry later!!!

At the starting line.

Dongshan loudly emphasized, "No student may take leave for any reason!!"

What a joke.

If he made an exception for that horse-faced guy, then there would be no need to hold PE class afterward!!

Everyone would have an excuse to take leave. What would be the point of PE then? They might as well teach math instead!!

Besides, this was his first class with the first-years. He had to establish the rules from the start!!

And besides, horse-faced student, where did you get the confidence to imitate Jiahao and challenge a teacher's authority?!

Did you have connections?! Did you have strength?!

What a clown!!

Shiina, who was resting on the ground, heard the teacher say that taking leave was forbidden. Her cherry lips turned even paler, nearly transparent!!

Hm?!

Uchiha twitched his nose. Spotless had enhanced his ability to sense "impurities."

Why was there a smell of blood at the track?!

Was someone injured?!

Seeing that all the runners were ready, Dongshan raised a hand.

"On your marks! Run!!"

In an instant!!

Thud!!!!

Kushida forgot to manage her expression. Power exploded from beneath her feet, and she shot forward like a launched projectile!!

It was a 400-meter circular track.

As she ran, she was every bit the equal of the boys, surpassing every girl in her group at high speed in a short time!!

Meanwhile, Horikita remained completely unaffected. Her rhythm did not change as she kept moving steadily.

Long-distance running was different from sprinting. It was more about how to allocate one's stamina and at what point to make a full-speed push.

Yamauchi, however, was startled so badly by the whistle that his entire body jolted. His feet slipped wildly, and after flailing his arms and legs—

He planted his horse face straight into the track!!!

At that sight.

The surrounding spectators burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha!!"

"Yamauchi, he... I'm dying, stop sticking your ass up at the sky, hahahaha..."

"Without comparison, there's no damage!!!"

"Place your bets!! Place your bets!!"

"Who do you think will take first among the boys in this group? And who'll take first among the girls?"