Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead

"Alright kids, the great majority of you look like walking from one classroom to another is the greatest exercise you perform at any given time, this is not good" back to her students, Rosemary was standing on one of the many outside portions of the academy, where one could breath fresh air, smell the flowers, and slowly die of heat exposure.

Everyone except her looked like they had ran a marathon by sprinting the entire time, but no, they had just stood outside for too long, she had really brought them out at noon as well, either a machiavellian ploy on her part, or perhaps because she couldn't tell the difference between the cold inside and blazing volcano that was the outside.

"Listen well, I know most mages either look like they could roll off the a slope or like dried branches, but that doesn't mean it is ideal, it is far from ideal in fact, a stronger body can inhabit stronger mana, but that is not all, not being built like a wimp also ensure that you'll die with more difficulty, you!" she suddenly pointed at one of the few students with a good build.

He looked around, and now being certain that she was talking to him, he advanced from the ground with certain hesitation.

"Why are you scared? Listen, you come from a lineage of knights, right?"

"Yes Ma'am" he responded with a strong nod.

"You have learned hand to hand combat?"

"Yes Ma'am" he repeated the same exact movement.

"Alright then, come at me and show your classmates how to fight" he paled instantly, breathing in and out, he looked back at his fellows, they offered no support to him.

Rubbing his sweat covered forehead, he took position and ignited every fiber he possibly could manage with mana, took one step forward, his posture was nearly perfect, clearly showing that he had been diligent in his training from a young age, all of this just to instantly eat dirt.

"See? He is fine because he had the correct response to getting mugged right in the face and a well-trained body to withstand the shock" Rosemary calmly explained, even though the boy was not getting up, laying face first on the grass.

Ignoring that fact, their teacher continued on explaining her point.

"Which is why we will begin some daily physical exercises, as well as some sparring and perhaps some of you could pick up a weapon, although with rigorous training in both the body and magical field, your own body will become a rather powerful weapon in its own rights" she instructed them to begin with running some laps for now, just to check who had some good stamina and such.

"Are you alright?" Milo asked the fellow of knightly descent, checking if he wasn't dead from blunt force trauma.

"No" he simply replied, his voice muffled by the dirt and greenery.

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"She slapped me, slapped me so hard, one slap, just one, and both my knight and mage training failed to do anything, it's like getting kicked in my parts, but on a fundamental level, my only wish is to become one with the grass now…" a bit over dramatic but Milo understood the sentiment in a sense.

"Come on, Miss Rosemary said that she would hit anyone who doesn't do the exercise" lied Milo, but since this fellow had been having an existential crisis, he hadn't been listening at all and believed it instantly.

Jumping to his feet and taking off running toward the rest of the group to ask what the exercise was even about.

As expected, most of the class lagged behind a few people, three in fact, the boy that had been slapped in front of everybody as an example, and the two who had spent most of their childhoods on the farm, Milo and Helena, the rest had spent most of their times practicing magic and such.

Rosemary covered her face with one hand, honestly baffled that anyone could be so unathletic, as she thought of the time that it would take to take so many kids into shape, someone walked up to her side.

"Headmaster, what brings you out into the sunlight? Going for a walk after lunch?" she asked the old man whose back was arched beyond what was healthy, and whose beard dragged on the ground as he moved in the help of an exquisite staff.

"Oh, Rosemary, already unpleasant on such a sunny day? I simply wanted to check on your students, as venomous as you are, you always have the best youths" speaking like a kind elder, he watched the running students for a few seconds.

"Those two…"

"Milo and Helena" Rosemary clarified.

"Hmm, ah yes, the boy is the one with the odd affinity, right?" he spoke in a low tone.

'The geezer knows more than he is letting on' Rosemary rolled her eyes at the foolish antics of the old fossil, he always did this, every time there was something the teachers weren't aware of, he would just show up, act all mysterious and then not elaborate even when asked about it.

"You are also teaching the twelve talent holders in parallel, how are they?" the headmaster switched the subject as per usual.

"They are doing very well, they were nurtured even before coming here, I don't have many gaps to fill with them, what of the elemental champions headmaster?" not really interested in discussing anything with him, Rosemary kept on overlooking her students.

"Oh, they are doing-"

"Headmaster, what the hell are you doing here? You never care for anything that happens, even when students get injured, you don't show up, you are only headmaster in name, just a figurehead that nobody likes, every teacher let it be known that you are unlikable right in your face, stop trying to act all nice and get to the point, I am in class, working, you know what that means?"

"Oh, Rosemary, still as insulting as ever! Always good to know you are in good health, but for once, I really just wanted to see the students, our glorious king is preparing for a war as per the instructions of Quideos Audit, these youth will certainly be soldiers soon"

"You and I will have to die before those kids step foot on an actual battlefield" she responded flatly, prompting the headmaster to get the hint and slither back to his dimly lit office.