Ring! Ring! Ring!

It had been extremely hard but Seth, who had been fighting against his sleepiness, had managed to stay "awake." Yet, his physical appearance betrayed him, clearly showing his exhaustion. His eyes were red, and dark circles clung beneath them.

"Hey, Seth, we'll be waiting for you at our usual spot," Jake called out to Seth from the classroom doorway.

Seth nodded and watched as his friend walked away toward the academy's dining hall. He then made his way toward Mr. Parker's desk.

"Mr. Parker."

"Yes, Seth. I wanted to talk to you for a moment. It's unlike you to doze off during class. Is everything alright?" Mr. Parker asked.

"Yes, I just had trouble sleeping last night. That's all," Seth replied, his voice showing his fatigue.

"Is something bothering you? I also noticed you were absent from your awakening class this Sunday."

"I couldn't make it to class. It's nothing to worry about, but I apologize for the absence," Seth replied apologetically.

"Alright, just remember that if you ever encounter any difficulties, you can always talk to me or any of your assigned professors. We're here to support you in any way we can."

"Thank you, sir," Seth said with a little bow before turning to leave.

"Oh, and Seth," Mr. Parker called out, stopping Seth in his tracks. "There's nothing shameful in accepting one’s reality. Now, you need to focus on your studies and remember to withdraw your participation from the tournament," Mr. Parker advised, offering a compassionate smile. He assumed Seth had accepted the fact that he wouldn’t awaken his ability, thinking that was the reason for his absence from his awakening class and that the exhaustion and lack of energy were associated with Seth coming to terms with his reality.

"Thank you, Mr. Parker," Seth replied. It seemed easier to go along with Mr. Parker's assumptions for now.

----------------------------------------

"Hey Seth, where were you?" Victor asked Seth as he approached their usual table.

"Mr. Parker wanted to speak with me, so I stayed a bit longer."

"He caught him sleeping in class," Jake added.

"Huh? And he called you out just for that?" Victor exclaimed in surprise.

"That's what I thought too. No teacher treats me that way when they catch me sleeping," Jake commented

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Well, they've probably given up on trying to discipline you," Seth commented, yawning.

"Geez dude, why do you have to attack me like that? I'm on your side."

"Sorry Jake, I’m usually not in a very good mood when I’m sleepy."

"So, what happened to you? Why are you so tired?" Victor asked.

"Training," Seth answered plainly.

"Training? I've never seen you this worn out just from training."

"Well, I might have overdone it this time."

"How long did you train?" Illya asked from the side.

"All day."

"All day?"

"All day."

"Holy… no wonder you are this exhausted. You gotta be careful though, if you train so hard without thinking you could get seriously injured," Victor said more seriously.

"Victor is right. Please tell me you had a training program," Illya interjected.

"Of course, I did."

‘Or at least I hope Miss Leywin did,’ Seth thought to himself.

"Okay, then I guess there's nothing much to worry about," Illya said.

"Anyway, want to hang out after school? We could head to Solar Mall again," Viktor suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Jake replied

"I'm in," Illya added.

"Sorry, guys, I can't," Seth declined.

"Huh? Why?" Jake asked.

"I have something to take care of."

"You're not going to train, are you?"

"No, no, it's nothing related to training," Seth said, yet Jake still looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Whatever, it's not like we can do something about it. Just try not to overdo it this time," Jake advised, a little annoyed.

"I already told you I won't be training."

"And I'm Mr. Voight's favorite student. Come on, you don’t fool anyone," Jake joked.

Once their classes concluded, Jake, Illya, and Victor met at the academy's front gate, making their way to Solar Mall. Meanwhile, Seth dashed home as fast as he could. He only had thirty minutes to get from the school to the gymnasium, where Miss Leywin was waiting for him. He had no time to lose.

Having slept through most of his classes, he felt no longer sleepy or overly tired. Fortunately, his energy had returned just in time for his training session with Miss Leywin. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to keep up with Miss Leywin’s training.

"What took you so long?" Miss Leywin asked as Seth entered the gymnasium, he was breathing heavily and his body was drenched in sweat.

"I’m... *pant*... sorry… *pant*... for the delay," Seth gasped between breaths.

"At least it seems like you've warmed up. We can start right away," Miss Leywin declared with a smug grin.

'She knew I would get here exhausted from running, didn’t she?' Seth thought, slightly frustrated.

"Yes, I knew," Miss Leywin responded, her words echoing Seth's thoughts.

"Huh? How did you...?" Seth tried to ask, shocked.

"You're still too easy to read, Seth. But yes, I knew that you would have to basically sprint at full speed from your academy to get here on time. We can’t afford to waste any precious time. This way, your warm-up is complete, allowing us to train for as long as possible. It's a perfect win-win situation," Miss Leywin explained seriously.

'She's really scary,' Seth thought.

"Anyway, shall we begin?" Miss Leywin proposed.

"Let me catch my breath," Seth requested.

"We don't have time for that. Go grab your weapon," Miss Leywin ordered, pointing her sword toward the closet filled with a wide variety of weapons.

Seth, who had been seated on the floor, stood up and made his way to the closet, instinctively reaching for the katana. He then returned to Miss Leywin's side.

"Very well," Miss Leywin announced. "Seth, the first two days of our training were designed for me to assess your combat technique, identify your strengths and weaknesses, and start the process of enhancing your physical prowess and endurance. That's why the training was relatively light."

‘That was light training?!'

"From today, the real training starts. Firstly, your strengths: you possess an exceptional defensive technique, capable of blocking nearly all ordinary attacks. Additionally, you already surpass most espers your age in terms of speed, strength, and resistance, as long as they don't use their abilities," Miss Leywin summarized her analysis of Seth's abilities.

"However..." Seth said, waiting for Miss Leywin to continue.

Miss Leywin observed the unwavering determination gleaming in Seth's eyes and grinned.

'That's the spirit, kiddo,' she thought.