26TH GEAR - CRUZO DIED TWO TIMES ON THE SECOND DAY

The Joint Training Camp between the three Speedmage Guilds of Saint Crusade Academy consists of four days, from Thursday to Sunday. The first training day was spent on basics like ten laps around the Triangles, practicing maneuvers around a Checkpoint Tower, and even playing tag.

It was exhausting on the first day even though we started after lunchtime, but it was nothing compared to the second day.

We started early in the morning at five, and the first activity was jogging around the training camp, I mean the whole grassland. It only consists of one lap, and the view around the Sogen Training Camp is awesome, but it is still hectares wide. Most Speedmages who heavily rely on magic and are out of body shape, such as Cruzo, were not able to finish the lap.

“Gah! Hah! Hah!” Cruzo fell on his knees while heavily panting.

Prez, Flu, and I stopped and pulled over to the side. Several Speedmages overtook us as we had a moment of rest.

“Sir Cruzo!” Flu cried.

“Leave me, my dear guild mates! I could not make it!”

“But Sir Cruzo!” Flu made a dramatic cry. “We will not leave you alone! We are in this together!”

“No! I will just drag you down if you wait for me. Go!” Cruzo said as rivers of sweat crawled around his face and body.

“I will remember this noble sacrifice, Sir Cruzo!” Flu wept.

“Come on now, it’s not like that panda is going to die.” Prez pulled Flu’s hand.

“Run, my dear guild mates. Run! Your determination and guts will push you forward, to the finish line!” Cruzo said before he lay flat on the ground.

“Nooooooo!”

I looked at the expired (?) remains of Cruzo, then I wiped away the sweat on his forehead with a dirty towel I used to clean their Speedmage Shoes earlier. After that, I left our panda senior as I continued to jog forward.

What the heck is this soap opera drama?

Wait, why am I jogging with them first thing in the morning? I’m not even a Speedmage! I’m their coach! This jogging session will not do me any good!

I immediately stopped running. Flu and Prez noticed that I’m not following them, so they turned to me.

“Prez, I’ll sit this one out,” I said.

“Huh?” Prez glared at me. "Are you going to die like Cruzo?"

“No. Listen, I’m not even a Speedmage. That’s why I feel like I shouldn’t be jogging with you guys.” I said as I sat on the soft grass.

“But jogging does not require magic.” Prez immediately slapped me with sound logic.

“I’m your coach, remember? My role should be yelling at you players while sitting pretty at the bench.” I shrugged.

“And I am the president of the guild. Judging by our positions, I outrank you. My word is the law as long as you are a member of the Merry Knights.” Prez made a deathly glare at me.

“Well, I did not vote for you.”

“At least show some respect from your senior, you darn newbie!” Prez finally snapped and created a spear out of her magical ice. “Now get your ass in here and run with us!”

I was scared of whatever she might do to me with that ice spear, so I immediately lifted my butt from the ground and saluted.

“Y-Yes ma’am!”

<>

I was able to sit pretty on the next training exercise since it involves magic. Speedmages are instructed to run a lap around the Triangles, touching Checkpoint Towers and scoring as much as they can for five minutes while using any speed spells on their arsenal. This type of training is mainly for Speedsters, but all Speedmages are required to join.

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I saw the records of the exercises and the one who scored the most points in Merry Knights was Cruzo since he is a Speedster. Sprinting and touching Checkpoint Towers is his jam. Coming for second place is President Ericka, as she is quite faster than an average Striker. In the last place was Fluonessia since she’s still new to this and all.

I spent my time instructing Flu to correct her running form and to advise her on breathing techniques to preserve her stamina and mana. That’s the only thing I can do to help since Prez and Cruzo seem to already know what they are doing.

The next exercise was a magical invocation. Speedmages try to do some basic spells while running toward the Checkpoint Tower. It was a simple exercise that it’s not even worthy for me to coach for. Besides, I don’t know how to use magic.

Another exercise was an obstacle course. There are about five moving mannequins that should be circled before going to the next one, until they reach the Checkpoint Tower at the edge of the obstacle course is touched. This is mainly used to train Strikers and their control in the field.

This time, Ericka was the fastest one to finish the obstacle course as she is a Striker. She was followed by Cruzo who was improving his controls even though he is a Speedster. Coming for the last place again is Flu, as her control and estimation are quite a sucker. She would often skip circling a mannequin or two.

After a long day of training, people would be grouped up in the afternoon to cook for our dinner. Unfortunately, our guild was split into three in terms of the preparation of food.

The first group consists of Flu and Ericka, and a mix of other Speedmages from other guilds. They will be preparing our food for tonight.

The second group will be Cruzo's group, and he will be together with some Cool Escape captains to prepare the dinner next night.

The third group would be my group, and I was teamed up together with the three Eaglecrest jackasses, including their president, the Speedmage Champion, and his scrawny little brother.

It was around seven when the campfires were made. Several foldable tables and chairs were already set. People are waiting for their meals to be served by the first cooking group. Since it was a long day, people are starving.

Flu and Prez are in charge of the dinner for tonight, so I’m excited. Surely, those two beautiful girls can cook, right?

Right?

I gulped.

I just remembered that Flu is an airhead. I would compare her hands to the hand of Midas, except that the things she touches will not turn to gold. It will turn to shit instead. Who knows what kind of mystical creature she would serve at our dining table?

I looked at Cruzo who was sitting beside me. He was sweating non-stop, with a forced smile on his face. I think he’s sweating more right now than he had back on the morning jogging routine.

“What’s the matter?” I asked Cruzo.

“I-I’m looking forward to our dinner! Ahahaha!” Cruzo’s sweat sprinkled as he laughed heavily. "With determination and guts, we can do this and survive the night!"

“M-Me too! I’m excited about what meal they will serve! Hahaha!” I matched Cruzo’s disgusting laugh.

I guess he’s worried about Flu’s cooking too. Or maybe Ericka's.

Well, we are in this together. If Flu’s cooking may have turned to shit, we will resort to Cruzo’s packed chips back in the tent. It may be junk food, but at least it is edible.

“Dinner’s ready~” Flu cheerfully appeared and laid down the meal: egg fried rice, chicken curry, and croquettes.

“Ah!” Cruzo and I shrieked.

“Hey, why are you guys shouting as if you’ve seen a ghost?” Ericka said as she laid the plates and utensils on the wooden table.

“N-Nothing! Hahahaha!” Cruzo and I laughed in sync.

I’m pretty sure we boys are thinking the same thing: Run. Hide. Survive.

“Come on, help yourselves! Let’s eat!” Flu happily said as she gave me a serving.

I looked at the egg fried rice, the chicken curry, and the croquette. They seem to be normal, at least to the naked eye. I turned on the special properties of the Mystic Glasses to detect any anomaly, but there are no mana traces on the food either. Actually, it is dumb for me to use Mystic Glasses to check the food.

Wait, there is another way to find out which food to avoid! I will just have to ask Flu directly!

“Hey, Flu.”

“Yes?” Flu adorably answered.

“Which one did you cook?”

“Me? I helped a little with the chicken curry. I was in charge of slicing the vegetables.” Flu said.

“So the other students did not allow you to join the actual cooking process?” I asked.

“Tahahaha…” Flu answered with a dumb smile and a scratch on her head.

“Hey, that’s rude, you know!” Ericka joined the conversation. She grabbed Flu’s hand and showed it to us. It was full of bandages, indicating the small cuts on her fingers. “Flu gave all her best to slice vegetables, so she deserves some thanks!”

“R-Right.” I bowed in embarrassment. “Thank you for the meal, Flu.”

“You’re welcome!” Flu bowed so energetically that she slammed her forehead on the table. As a result, the dishes and the utensils jumped by about two centimeters.

I took a spoonful of the egg-fried rice with a mix of chicken curry. I was about to put it in my mouth when I discovered a crime scene-

It was Cruzo laying flat on the floor!

“Cruzo!” We three yelled.

I immediately went to his side and raised his head. His mouth is gargling with black bubbles! I’m pretty sure this is due to him eating the food!

“W-What happened, Cruzo!?” I cried.

“G-Gh… hhh…” Cruzo struggled to speak. His eyes locked on me. Giving a tainted smile and a thumbs-up, he gave his dying words. “The chicken… curry… is innocent…”

As soon as he said those words, his hand lost all its strength and fell to the ground. His eyes closed as he peacefully expired (?).

“No, no, no, nooo! Cruzo!” I cried.

Ericka was in a state of shock, while Flu is now bawling her eyes out.

However…

Soon after Cruzo’s death (?), several students also fell to the floor with their mouths gagging with black bubbles. Almost fifty people fell, dead (?). Several screams echoed in the middle of the night, making it the most horrifying event ever known in all Training Camps.