Free Web NovelChapter 24: 24. My Life Is a Cliché and Tonight’s Training Is Going to Make Someone Cry
The afternoon class went on as usual until Olivia walked in about twenty minutes in, looking like someone who had made up her mind to fully commit to this new arrangement. William stopped his tactical lecture to make the introduction.
"Everyone, I’d like introduce to y’all that we have another instructor on staff for this class." William clapped both his hands. "From today on... Mrs. Olivia Gracewell is the assistant instructor in the magical theory department."
"She will be helping with teaching and other administrative tasks in the future."
The classroom was filled with whispers and shocked looks. William watched as his regular students reacted to this news with different levels of disbelief.
Kaela’s face showed that she was trying to figure out if this was a way to build a harem. And Lia on the other hand looked like she was thinking about something, probably how it would affect politics.
Meanwhile... Ellie looked pleased that more instructors were coming to help and Clara was writing furiously in her observation journal, no doubt recording this strange event.
"Another assistant instructor?!" Someone in the back yelled. "How many helpers does one instructor even need?" freewebnovel.cσ๓
"That’s a good question." William answered right away with a sarcastic smile, "Probably as many as it takes to handle my lovely students~!"
"Instructor Gracewell has a lot of knowledge about magical theory that goes well with the focus on practical combat."
"Do you have any other questions, or can we go back to learning how to stay alive in tactical situations?"
The class slowly got back into the lesson, but William could almost hear the rumor mill going into overdrive. After class, most of the students left, but his main group of students stayed behind with looks that ranged from amused to suspicious.
"So," Kaela said with a smirk, "you’ve now gotten two assistant instructors in less than forty-eight hours."
"And the important points are both women are beautiful and even wanted to work with you." Kaela crossed her arms. "Are we really seeing a pattern here?"
"Oh please..." William said defensively, "The pattern is that I’m good at getting competent people to help me deal with situations that are getting more and more complicated."
"This has nothing to do with how people look or how they feel, by the way."
"Of course it doesn’t," Lia said with an unusual sense of humor. "There’s nothing strange about the academy’s former joke instructor suddenly being surrounded by beautiful, talented women who all want his attention and help."
"I’m not trying to win anything," Catherine said firmly, but her slight blush made it seem like she was. "I’m just taking back my identity as a combat instructor instead of wasting away at a desk."
"And I’m here because Instructor Wade saved me from being memory-wiped or worse... by hostile operatives last night," Olivia said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Plus, it appears that he is the only instructor at this academy who can effectively combine theoretical knowledge with real-world combat experience."
That news led to more shocked questions about what had happened the night before, but William avoided them by reminding everyone that they had training in a few hours and should probably get ready instead of talking about it.
William took a moment to be honest with himself when his students finally left and he was alone with Catherine and Olivia. There are now six students, two of whom are also assistant instructors.
A conspiracy has been proven to be going after him and everyone around him.
Political pressure from powerful families.
And his reputation grew as someone who seemed to be able to attract talented women without trying.
William said, "My life has become a cliché."
"What was that?" Catherine asked.
William lied, "Nothing. Just thinking about the lesson plans for tonight’s training."
"Of course you were," Olivia said with a knowing smile.
William chose not to respond to that and instead focused on getting ready for what was sure to be another long night of trying to train a lot of talented people with very different problems while also avoiding being killed by academy conspirators.
Just another day in his new job as the academy’s most controversial instructor.
...
There had never been this many people at Private Training Ground Three before. William stood in the middle of the old stone arena and watched as six women spread out across the space, some of them looking more confident than others.
The high windows let in long shadows from the setting sun, which painted everything in shades of orange and gold. It would have been pretty if William had any energy left to appreciate beauty.
"Okay, listen up, everyone!" William said, and his voice carried across the training ground with the authority he had worked hard to build up over the years. "Tonight... we’re doing something new."
"We’re not doing separate drills anymore, but instead, we’re doing integrated combat scenarios that will make all of you work together and also help you with your specific weaknesses."
Kaela cracked her knuckles with a lot of excitement. "Finally! Some real kicking fucking action instead of just talking."
William replied, "The theory is what keeps you alive when the action starts."
"But yes, tonight is about putting things into practice."
"Catherine and Olivia... you are both full students for now, not just observers." William pointed at both of them. "Your problems are just as important as everyone else’s."
Catherine didn’t like being grouped with the other students, but she nodded in agreement. Olivia took out her observation journal, but then she remembered she was supposed to be training and put it away in a strange way.
William went on, "This is how this works," and moved to a big tactical board he had set up earlier. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
"I’m going to put you through a series of situations that get worse and worse."
"Each one is made to take advantage of your weaknesses and needs you to work together to win. The first team to fail a scenario has to run laps until I get tired of watching."
"Do you have any questions?"
"What kinds of situations?" Clara asked, and her analytical mind was already trying to figure out what would happen and how to get ready.
William said with a smirk, "You’ll find out when they start."
"One of the goals of the exercise is to learn how to deal with things that come up that you didn’t expect."
"Before a real fight, you don’t get a detailed briefing."
He walked over to some training equipment he had asked for earlier. He took out weighted practice weapons, magical resistance bands, and a few things that looked like torture devices but were actually approved training tools.
"Scenario one," William said as he gave Lia and Kaela wooden practice swords. "Close quarters combat with a twist."
"Lia, you’re going to have to fight Kaela with standard duel rules."
"The first person to land three clean hits wins."
Both women moved to the center of the training ground and got into their positions with a lot of competition. It was going to be captivating because they fought in very different ways.
Lia’s precise, technique-focused style will be pitted against Kaela’s overwhelming strength and aggression.
"Here’s the twist," William said, and both women looked at him with suspicion. "Lia, you have to say what you’re going to do before you do it."
"And for Kaela, I need you to cover both of your eyes until you can’t see a thing."
"What the hell kind of rule is that!?" Kaela was shocked hearing the twist. "How is that even fair for me!?"
William pulled out a cloth blindfold and said, "Real combat situation isn’t supposed to be fair, by the way... and this training is supposed to be educational for your future."
"We’re going to make Lia think too much, which is a problem for her." William smirked. "And that’s why... we’re going to keep making her do it until her brain figures out that it’s not helpful."
"As for you, princess... you rely too much on scaring people with your fierce looks of intimidation and by being there like a predator, so we’re taking your eyes away to make you use your other senses."
He tied the blindfold tightly over Kaela’s eyes while Lia stood there, clearly not pleased with the idea of announcing all her moves. "And to make this even more fun, everyone else is going to give their thoughts and suggestions."
"Let’s see how well you deal with stress from outside."
"This is... a bad way of teaching us," Lia said under her breath. "Somebody could’ve get hurt."
"No complains!" William said, "This is MY training, okay?"
"Trust me, it’s going to be effective..."
"Now..."
"...start the battle!"
