Episode 44: Condemnation, Condemnation, Condemnation! Death Penalty!!!
A few days after the summons from the National Defense Force, Kazuma had come to a sparkling beach under the blazing sun. Of course, he wasn’t alone, but with his friends.
He had come to the summer beach with the usual group: Akatsuki, Taichi, and Kosuke. Their main purpose was to have fun, but naturally, there was something else as well.
“When you think of summer, you think of the sea!”
“When you think of the sea, you think of swimsuits!”
“That’s right! Picking up girls in swimsuits!”
“A liberating summer! We’re gonna make some summer memories!”
Kosuke’s and Kazuma’s excitement was at its peak. The two had their arms around each other’s shoulders, completely pumped up.
The beach they surveyed was filled with numerous women. Faced with such a smorgasbord of choices, their fantasies ran wild.
“Those two are really energetic, huh~” Akatsuki remarked.
“Well, at our age, it might actually be normal,” Taichi replied.
“Hmm, is that so?”
“It is. In fact, Akatsuki, you’re a little hopeful too, aren’t you?”
“Well, yeah! Same for you, Taichi, right?”
“Just a little. But honestly, with those two around…”
Taichi’s gaze fell upon the two idiots. However, their bodies were surprisingly well-toned, so they’d probably be popular with young ladies who had a muscle fetish. Kazuma, in particular, was incredible. He was built to the point where you’d suspect he was a different person once he took his shirt off.
“Ah, they certainly have bodies that seem like they’d be in demand by certain people. Especially Kazuma,” Akatsuki mused.
“I wonder when on earth he trained so much…” Taichi pondered.
The mystery only deepened.
And so, Kazuma and his friends enjoyed their time at the beach, aiming for a summer adventure.
◇◇◇◇
While Kazuma and his friends were fully enjoying their summer vacation, certain individuals had been summoned to a classroom at the academy.
All of them were first-year students from the Combat Course, both male and female. They had no idea why they had been summoned.
“Hey, does anyone know why we were called this time?”
“Dunno?”
“No idea~”
Thus, no one had even a clue.
They wondered what business could possibly be so important as to interrupt their summer vacation, a time typically filled with many events for students.
Then, the classroom door opened. The person who entered was a Combat Course teacher. He stood at the lectern, a tablet in one hand.
The students who had gathered were about to ask questions, but the teacher spoke first, cutting them off.
“Now then, I will take attendance. When your name is called, please respond.”
Saying so, the teacher checked the roster on his tablet and called out each name one by one.
After confirming everyone’s attendance, the teacher nodded with satisfaction.
“Mm. Excellent. No absences is truly appreciated.”
“Um, Sensei~. What is this all about?” one student asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, we were wondering why we were called.”
“Ah. About that. I shall explain it now.”
The teacher, after a deliberate cough, dimmed the room and activated the projector installed in the classroom.
Projected onto the entire wall was a certain video. The students in the classroom began to murmur amongst themselves upon seeing it.
“Hey, is that…”
“No way… Why!?”
“Huh!?”
The video, which lasted only about ten-odd minutes, was more than enough to make the students tremble.
“I believe you understand now… Your conduct has been rather egregious. Your usual words and actions, your excessive verbal abuse towards the Support Course, violence, extortion. And the content of your training within the simulator. All of it is atrocious. Let me be blunt. You are criminals.”
“!!!”
Criminals—at that single word, the students gasped. The video they had just watched depicted their numerous misdeeds. Every single one of them had been clearly recorded.
“Therefore, the academy has decided to implement a special curriculum to rehabilitate students with poor conduct like yourselves. Naturally, you have no right to refuse.”
“Th-there’s no way our guardians would allow that!” a student exclaimed.
“Rest assured. We have received permission from the National Defense Force and your guardians.”
“W-What!? That’s tyrannical! What about our own will in all this!”
“Don’t spout such nonsense!!!”
“Eek!!!”
The teacher, who had been speaking mildly, suddenly transformed and roared, causing the student who had been objecting to let out a small shriek in surprise.
“Tyrannical? How dare you brazenly say such a thing. You, who don’t even realize the extent of the sins you’ve committed. How many innocent students do you think you’ve made cry? How many students do you think you’ve hurt? We’ve warned you repeatedly not to engage in such flagrant behavior. And you’re the ones who ignored those warnings!”
Naturally, the academy had warned them many times. This is an educational institution, a place that nurtures warriors who will one day join the National Defense Force or corporations like Samurai to protect the citizens.
And yet, they ignored the teachers’ admonitions and behaved unreasonably. There was no way that could be forgiven.
Certainly, one can understand the desire to act high and mighty upon gaining power. However, it is crucial to control that urge and use that power for what is right.
“By rights, you should have been corrected immediately. However, we watched over you, hoping you would eventually realize your mistakes, but you only grew more arrogant. We can no longer overlook this. Therefore, starting today, this special curriculum will be implemented. We have also called in instructors for this purpose.”
When the teacher finished speaking and said, “You may come in now,” several instructors entered the classroom.
Lining up next to the teacher at the lectern were, to everyone’s surprise, upperclassmen clad in Combat Course uniforms.
“They are the instructors who will guide you,” the teacher announced.
“Huh? Th-they’re our senpais!” a student blurted out.
“That’s right. And let me add one more thing: like you, they are all individuals who committed offenses in the past.”
“Wh-what do you mean by that?”
“It means exactly what it sounds like. A year ago, they were in the same position as you are now. And, just like you will be, they were ‘gently’ guided by their own senpais and had a change of heart.”
One of the upperclassmen smiled. “Nice to meet you. We’ll be as gentle as possible, so try not to break too quickly, okay?”
He was smiling brightly, but that smile was utterly terrifying. Combined with his words, it stoked their fear even further.
“Alright, with that said, let’s move. To the simulator room,” the teacher declared.
“D-damn it! Don’t mess with us!”
A student, who could only feel a terrible premonition no matter how he thought about it, tried to escape through the back door.
However, unfortunately, he couldn’t escape. An instructor-senpai had anticipated his move and blocked his escape route.
“So, what will you do?” the senpai asked.
“I-if it comes to this…” the student stammered.
“Let me warn you, you understand what will happen if you use your Gift here, right?”
“Shut up! I’m the strongest!”
“Hmph… It’s like looking at my past self,” the senpai mused.
He approached the student who was about to activate his Gift and restrained him with skillful movements.
“Wha-!?”
“Remember this. Someone of your level can be overwhelmed without me even needing to use a Gift.”
“No way…”
The student, easily subdued, was then helplessly escorted to the simulator room.
The students, forced to change clothes and now undergoing the special curriculum, dived into the Virtual Space. Fundamentally, it was practical training using the same Virtual Space as in their regular classes, but there was one key difference.
That was the pain sensory function being turned on.
In normal classes, the pain sensory function is turned off, so no matter how much injury (damage) they sustain, there is no pain. However, unless one had gone through hellish battles like Kazuma, it was still mentally taxing.
“It seems everyone is present. Now, I will explain the special curriculum. First, your setting is that of ordinary citizens with no powers whatsoever. The instructors, on the other hand, are Terrorists attacking these citizens. In essence, it’s similar to a regular class, but there are two crucial differences: there will be no one to protect you, and the pain sensory function is turned on. Now, feel free to run to your heart’s content.”
The time limit was unlimited. Meaning, it wouldn’t end until every single one of them was dead.
Hearing the teacher’s explanation, the students scrambled to escape, each trying to be the first out. Watching this spectacle, the instructors laughed nostalgically, reminiscing about how they too had run away just like that in the past.
What happened next goes without saying.
It was a complete trampling by the instructors. The fleeing students found themselves on the receiving end of the very same treatment they had dished out to others, now at the hands of these senpais.
Thanks to this, it was a traumatic experience, but it was also a case of reaping what they sowed—karmic retribution.
Of course, this method was harsh for the students. Consequently, there was an unending stream of those who ultimately couldn’t endure it and voluntarily dropped out of the academy.
One might think they should simply discontinue such methods, but those who quit over something of this degree are branded as losers, deemed incapable of fighting against the Ibinom.
Their futures held two possible paths. Either they would reflect on their actions, reform, and grow as individuals. Or, they would succumb to despair, and after a life of evasion, end up as petty villains destined for a correctional facility.
Which path they ultimately take depends entirely on them.