Chapter 138: Legal Age, Thoughts…

Axel stood there silently, unable to believe what had just happened.

Surprisingly, he wasn’t angry.

Instead, he was trying to understand exactly how a fat dog had managed to hit him.

’Impossible...’

His expression remained calm, but countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

’There’s no way this happened! Did she predict my movement? No... that shouldn’t be possible, then was it pure luck?’

The more he replayed the scene in his mind, the stranger it became.

As a Master, losing balance for no reason was nearly impossible.

Yet, it had happened and the result spoke for itself.

A dog had successfully landed a clean hit on him.

"Hmph! Do you want to fight again, woof?" Voomie proudly declared while raising her head high.

She looked every bit like a victorious general returning from war.

Before she could continue boasting, Caelum quietly picked her up.

He then walked toward Axel with a rather troubled expression.

’Please don’t hold a grudge against a dog...’ That was all he wished for from this petty instructor.

Axel dusted off his clothes before looking at them.

There wasn’t even the slightest trace of anger on his face. Instead, his eyes shone with curiosity.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"My name is Caelum—"

"No." Axel interrupted.

"Your dog’s name."

"..."

Caelum paused briefly.

"Her name is Voomie."

"Hmph!" Voomie proudly puffed out her chest as Axel slowly nodded.

Then, to everyone’s complete surprise, he turned toward the class.

"Very well. From today onward, this combat genius Voomie, will also participate in our Combat and Duel Practical classes."

"..."

The training ground fell completely silent.

Nobody had expected that. (Even the author hadn’t expected that.)

"Woof?"

Voomie’s expression froze.

She had a very bad feeling and before she could object Caelum’s eyes suddenly lit up.

He seemed to glimpse a beautiful future.

A future where Voomie finally became slim!

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately nodded.

"Instructor! She will definitely participate in every class!"

"WOO!" Several students even cheered from the sidelines.

A talking dog attending combat classes? That sounded amazing.

"WOOOF?!?!?!"

Voomie looked back and forth in panic. She hadn’t agreed to any of this!

Unfortunately, nobody paid attention to the desperate plea hidden inside her bark.

Just like that, she officially became a member of [Combat and Duel Practicals].

Axel clapped his hands.

"Alright, I’ve already wasted enough time. Now, let’s begin with hand-to-hand combat, I’ll need two volunteers..."

The class quickly returned to normal.

Only one participant remained completely devastated.

A certain fat dog quietly lowered her head.

Her dream of a peaceful life had just become much, much harder.

***

The week quietly slipped by as the children attended one practical class after another.

With each passing day, Caelum noticed an increasingly unusual trend.

More and more PDD’s were taking place and at first, he found it strange.

Then, after observing the academy’s teaching philosophy, he slowly understood the reason.

Humans in this world preferred to throw children into danger first and only later teach them how to survive it.

It was an extremely straightforward approach.

After arriving in this world, Caelum had also come to understand many things that would have been considered unusual on Earth.

Or perhaps, it was simply because mana had existed here since the very beginning of civilization.

Children developed far faster than those on Earth. Not physically alone, but mentally as well.

At least, that was the conclusion Caelum had reached after observing the people around him, and comparing them to the children on Earth.

But still, he had a bias as most were humans.

The legal age of adulthood for both men and women was only fourteen.

Upon reaching that age, they were officially recognized as adults and could legally work anywhere, provided they possessed the necessary qualifications.

Even the Senior Division of Imperial Zenith School reflected that philosophy.

Because students could only remain there until the age of fifteen as that was the upper limit of graduating from this school.

Before graduation, every student was required to spend time working in the real world through assignments or volunteer services.

Only after completing those requirements could they truly graduate from the Zenith Empire’s most prestigious school.

Local schools throughout the Empire generally followed a similar system.

And those wishing to pursue even higher education would then enter one of the great academies.

Among them, the most famous was Arkhavel Academy, an independent international institution founded by the First Hero himself.

Even his elder sister, Hannah Annum, had graduated from there with Magic Honors.

’This world is way too hardcore...’ Caelum silently reaffirmed his opinion.

The difficulty level of this world was absurdly high.

Powerful cults lurked in the shadows, numerous evil organizations operated across the continent.

There were even Demonic Towers and Gods.

Thinking about all of that made his head hurt.

"...I’m still a child, I don’t need to worry about everything yet."

He muttered those words to comfort himself.

Still, one thought remained in the back of his mind.

The school year would eventually end, which meant holidays.

Where should he go then? Perhaps, an adventure wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice Paul waving his hand in front of him.

"You ready?"

Paul asked with a sinister grin that looked completely out of place on his timid face.

"I have a feeling today’s episode is going to be incredible!"

At that moment, their entire group had gathered inside Caelum and Paul’s dormitory room.

The curtains had been drawn shut and mana lamps were off, leaving the room pleasantly dim.

The only source of light came from a long oval-shaped magical artifact resting on a table.

It was the academy’s customized [Viewing Device], proudly bearing the Imperial Zenith School emblem.

The clock struck ten in the morning.

It was finally time.

The newest episode of Justice Kid was about to begin.

The school emblem on the Viewing Device suddenly glowed brightly and a holographic screen unfolded into the air before them.

Dramatic music filled the room.

Justice Kid had finally arrived!