One hour had passed since the children started running around the gymnasium.
Vikram and Ahmed were still running at the front, and the collaterals, vassal children, and recommended children were neck-in-neck behind them.
Of course, not all one hundred sixty of them were running anymore.
Those who lacked stamina had already given up and were resting in a corner, and the number of quitters kept increasing even now.
"Haaaah."
Alberad's eyes quickly moved left and right, despite lying down on the platform and yawning.
'The sixty-first guy gave up earlier than his stamina could last, and the sixty-second one lasted longer.'
He was grasping all one hundred sixty children at a glance with sleepy eyes.
However, stamina wasn't the only thing he was analyzing.
'There is no point in just checking their stamina.'
How much stamina children had depended on how they grew up. Honestly, they were all similar except for the two and the roughly twenty-best children.
Even if their stamina was similar, some children gave up as soon as they were out of breath, and some kept running until the end, while their sides pinched or they cried.
'That difference is the most important thing here.'
Just like there were people who gave up easily, there are also people who never gave up. That difference in willpower that looked small at present would grow to be tremendous in the future.
Stamina could be increased, and talents could be nurtured.
However, it was extremely difficult to develop perseverance.
Children who never gave up wouldn't give up in the future either, and children who gave up easily would grow up to be adults who did the same.
Of course, there were exceptions, as some would realize and change their way. However, that was as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.
If you can't bend a plant, how can you bend it when it grows up into a tree?
Like that , if the children can't correct their way early on, it would be very difficult to do so in the future.
So, looking for a child who already had perseverance and willpower was the easiest way.
'This is pretty much set in stone now.'
Alberad smiled. Over half of the children had already given up, and the rest were getting slower as they tired.
As Alberad was preparing to end the exam, the pitch-black-haired child running in the back group crossed his sight.
'Ashoka Maurya.'
He was the only child who had exceeded his expectations.
Alberad's eyes shone like stars.
'I don't understand it.'
Ashoka had run out of stamina a long time ago. He shouldn't have been able to stand, because of the shortening of his breath. However, he kept moving his feet relentlessly, without breaking his posture.
'This can't even be called perseverance anymore. This is obstinacy.'
He had seen many brilliant talents, throughout countless battlefields.
Among them, there were swordsmen who would stand at the top of the continent with their swords, and magicians who would change the standard of the world with their magic.
But none of them had as much persistence as Ashoka.
He kept running even after running out of stamina, especially when he was a six-year-old child who was born with a terrible constitution.
That wasn't possible without having gone through the hardships of life. He couldn't figure out just how a sheltered child-like Ashoka possibly ended up with such obstinacy.
'Hmm…'
He looked around the entire gymnasium.
Vikram and Ahmed, who were staying at the top despite saving their power, were amazing. However, that was nothing compared to Ashoka, who was still running stably with no trace of exhaustion.
The children of noble families who made fun of Ashoka were drooling as they ran as if they didn't want to lose to him.
"Haha."
Alberad's lips bent into a smooth arc.
"It's going to be fun teaching them."
* * *
"Hmm…"
Vikram kept turning back, as he couldn't focus on running. And each time, he had to frown.
'Why? Why is that guy still running?!'
Ashoka.
He was someone who looked like a weak child.
Staying in the tempest manor for more than half of his life, he thought Ashoka would be very different compared to himself who had to work up his way due to being an Illigimate son.
Although Ashoka was also a bastard son like himself, he was a prince.
And the privileges he got as a prince were incomparable to Vikram who was born to a maid.
Maybe it was due to jealousy, Vikram felt an aversion toward Ashoka.
'He shouldn't be in any condition to run right now…'
Looking at Ashoka's outer appearance, he had a thin body, a handsome which didn't give the impression that he was strong, which misdirected Vikram's thoughts.
When Vikram saw him for the first time, Ashoka looked even more pathetic from his perspective while wearing a flowery ring.
He didn't even have the slightest sign of having trained.
'And yet…'
He didn't give up.
The children of noble families, whose talents had been acknowledged were already giving up.
And yet, he was still running with an expressionless face like he wasn't even affected by anything.
'And the person next to me, he is also annoying.'
Ahmed, who was the only person who kept up with him, and Ashoka, who he thought would drop out, were both irritating.
'Alright. I'll show you the clear difference.'
Deciding that he would discourage both Ahmed and Ashoka, he fiercely kicked the ground.
Swoosh!
Using aura, he amplified the muscles in his thighs and calves. Running at a speed that could create tunnel vision, he looked back.
'Those brats?!'
Neither Ahmed, who he thought of as a rival, nor Ashoka were showing any kind of reaction.
They were both running at their own pace, and it was the other children from noble families who were carelessly following him.
"Tsk!"
Vikram clicked his tongue and increased his speed.
He was now far ahead of Ahmed, who used to run next to him, and he had already run past Ashoka a long time ago.
However, Ashoka and Ahmed's speed didn't change. It was like they were telling him that they weren't interested in him.
'Kuh!'
Realizing that he was ignored by those inferior to him, anger simmered inside him.
'Let's see how long you can keep up that act.'
* * *
"Huff!"
Ashoka smiled, exhaling vigorously.
'Power keeps flowing in.'
His stamina pool had gone empty, resembling a dried-up well a long time ago.
Although he had trained well, he was just a 10-year-old kid, and running lap after lap around the huge gymnasium would be difficult even for him.
But thanks to the energy circulation method he had learned from Sage Vyasa, he was able to keep on going.
More than that, unlike everyone he was running at a steady pace without rushing, so his stamina consumption and recovery were sort of balanced.
'This is heaven compared to back then.'
When he was training with Sage Chanakya with his brother, Sudhatta, not only were they required to run until they collapse, Sage Chanakya would even add some restrictions like additional gravity field speel, weight debuff, speed debuff, etc.
So Ashoka really felt like the current training was really easy.
"Huff…"
Ashoka looked forward while panting.
The noble children, who were still running at full speed, were certainly exceptionally talented. However, Vikram and Ahmed were different from them; they were steadily running from the beginning, at a constant speed.
Just as he thought that they weren't called geniuses for nothing.
Vikram suddenly sped up. He ran past Ahmed and became the front-runner.
"Eh?"
"Th....that damn bastard?"
"Run! Don't fall behind!"
The children who saw him forcibly increased their speed.
"Hmph!"
As if telling them to catch up, Vikram peered at Ahmed and Ashoka.
Ashoka obviously ignored his taunt ut someone else was affected by it.
{What are you doing right now? Are you going to do nothing when you are provoked? Catch up to him and crush those eyes.}
Draco ground his teeth, glaring at Vikram, but Ashoka didn't react.
'I told you before. This isn't a competition.'
The run was a test to show how much stamina and willpower everyone had, not a competition.
And there was one more person who knew that fact.
'Tishya Raksha.'
The silver-haired girl running somewhere among the mid-group kept her pace as if she didn't have a speck of interest in anything going on around her.
'She is actually one step ahead of everyone here.'
Ashoka could say just by looking that the girl was far more mature and powerful than the kids who were present on the training grounds.
Although she tried to stay hidden among the average children, her beauty was very hard to hide.
He'd thought that they were similar, the girl and himself.
Anyway, he ignored the girl and moved his attention towards the one who is running in the second position.
'Ahmed Khan.'
He was also maintaining a steady pace while ignoring the taunts from Vikram.
Though they both looked to be on the same level, it seemed like Ahmed was mentally superior to Vikram.
Vikram was pretending to be an adult, but he was acting according to his age. If he went onto the battlefield as he was, he would've died quickly.
'That's not something I should care about.'
Ashoka kept running in the gymnasium, following the girl's back instead of thinking about useless things.
"Ash… Ashoka?"
"How…?"
"He… he was still running?"
The noble children who exhausted themself running after Vikram fell behind. They were the ones who were mocking Ashoka before the test had started.
"Huff, huff! Wh… what did you do?"
"Kuh, there's no way…"
As Ashoka ran past them, the children that were panting slowed their steps and sat down on the ground.
Ashoka kept running, using their astonished gaze as a driving force.
'Pathetic.'
It's a fact that those who couldn't stop talking no matter where they went were actually worthless. Since he wasn't interested in them to begin with, Ashoka forgot about them and kept running.
"Huff…"
He kept rotating his mana using the <Enhanced art of mana circulation> thought by Sage Vyasa.
'The feel the efficiency increasing with each rotation.'
Even though he hadn't run for a long time, the cultivation of <Enhanced art of mana circulation> was progressing quickly.
Maybe due to the reason that he was practicing it while going all out, he could feel the circulation becoming easier by the minute.
'It's still incredibly difficult, though.'
The rotating of the mana didn't make the pain disappear.
Ashoka was still panting from exhaustion.
{How pathetic.}
Draco clicked his tongue as he kept running full out.
{I can't accept defeat from you whose body will become mine. Give your body to me right now. I will catch up and completely freeze that blue-haired brat right now.}
'Shut up.'
It wasn't a test to catch up. It was a fight against himself.
{I can't accept defeat as long as this monarch has his eyes open.}
'Then close your eyes. It's already good enough that I'm still running like this.'
It wasn't a lie.
Even though he had the dragon's system, Ashoka didn't get all-powerful, he was still a 10-year-old kid.
{Then give your body to me.}
Draco transformed into the blue flame that he had seen the day before. His anger made him nauseated as it stimulated his emotions.
'Not now, of all times…'
Ashoka bit his lip.
Draco's stimulation felt twice as painful as the day before because of how tired he was.
'It's pointless, so go back to sleep already.'
He kept his calm expression using the <Enhanced art of mana circulation> at full force. He kept moving his legs, pretending he wasn't affected.
{Kuh! Why does The monarch's power not work on you?!}
Draco kept stimulating the angry emotion relentlessly.
"Huff…"
Ashoka withstood Draco's mental attack with his already empty stamina.
'I'm dying…'
Cold sweat ran down his back. He felt like he would faint at any moment.
Thanks to the balance between the <Enhanced art of mana circulation> and his incredibly rare mana attribute, he barely managed to hold on.
{You stubborn brat!}
'Give up and piss off!'
"Haa!"
While Ashoka was pushing back Draco's power, Alberad, who was lying on the platform suddenly stood up.
"Everyone, stop!"
The children who were running in the gymnasium stopped as they heard his clear voice.
"Huff! Huff!"
"Kuh!"
"Aww!"
The children could hardly keep their eyes open as they panted, sitting on the ground or holding their knees.
"Huff…"
Ashoka looked like he would die as he panted heavily.
{What a monster.}
Draco ground his teeth and went back to the ring.
'I told you, you can't.'
Ashoka wiped the cold sweat off his forehead.
The test was difficult, but withstanding Draco's attack was even more so. If he'd kept running, he could've really died.
'Life isn't easy… Hmm?'
A new message popped up while he was drinking water.
Ding!
[An extreme stamina-surpassing action was performed.]
[Ability points have increased.]
---***---