Struggling as a Villain

After washing himself Richard wore the training gear which the school provided. It was a full-sleeve shirt made out of thin and stretchable fabric that allowed good mobility and possibly minor protection against cuts. On the lower half was a pair of knee-length pants of the same fabric that stuck to his skin quite firmly and a pair of high-ankle boots.

Inside the changing room, mostly everyone was stealing glances at Richard who looked charismatic and breathing in the attire. Even the way he tied his hair in a messy bun was quite enchanting to the eye, even though everyone around him was male.

Richard avoided those gazes and looked at Ethan, who was tying the shoelaces...but was failing miserably.

Richard knew that Ethan always had a problem with shoelaces, so he crouched to help him, startling Ethan.

"Ah-I.."

"Tell me, Ethan," Before Ethan could say anything, Richard asked, "...why did you choose to be a hunter?"

Richard was just curious about what changed in him, and Ethan chose to be a hunter instead of an adventurer. Originally even after his mother died, he chose the path where he could help as many people as he could. However, in this timeline, when he hasn\'t lost his master and just his mother, he chooses to be a hunter.

Richard had a hunch about this sudden change, and hearing Ethan\'s following words, his hunch was proven right,

"I have recently been fooled and trapped by someone, and after that, because of me, many people suffered," Ethan began, his voice containing both sorrow and anger, "That day...I lost my motivation to help humanity. That\'s why, being a hunter, I would be allowed to vent all my frustration on those beings who don\'t deserve to live."

Richard raised his brows before lifting his eyes and asking Ethan, "So are you going to hunt humans as well?"

That statement made Ethan flustered as he hurriedly shook his head, "No-no! Of course not. Although a few people have hurt me, there are those as well who have shown that kindness is something that still lives within humans. So no, I won\'t be turning my sword against humanity."

Richard inwardly heaved a sigh. Thankfully, the protagonist hasn\'t strayed from his path, or who knows what those heaven dwellers might have done.

Soon, all the students returned to the examination hall, where, this time, a different instructor was waiting.

He was a tall and thin man with curly black hair and a pair of green square glasses. He wore a friendly smile on his face as he greeted the students, "I hope you all had a pleasant bath and are ready to take the next examination."

Although many of the students wanted to ask for a break, they never got the chance to speak as the instructor waved his hand and a large umbrella without a handle flew in their direction.

It was about ten meters in radius and was made of shiny platinum plates that reflected the faces of the students as they looked up.

The instructor continued, "Your endurance will be tested in this. Under the umbrella, your resistance against different conditions would be tested. If you feel you cannot endure and want to forfeit just use this alarm to get out,"

As he said, he showed a small red button attached to a strap that remained tied around his hand.

"The test would continue for twenty minutes and fifteen minutes is the minimum requirement to get passing marks. Those extra five minutes would grant you extra points, so hang in there as long as you can."

Many students shivered and looked at the umbrella once again, sensing that a great disaster was about to befall.

However, none of them stepped back after coming this far and the test began.

Once every student stood in a circle, the umbrella began to lower even more, and several long steel fangs descended from the corners to make it look more like a tent.

Students were now surrounded by the platinum surroundings, their figures being reflected in the shiny surface as they remained nervously fidgeting at their spot.

It was then,

**SHLINK**

Many of the students, including Richard and Amelia, fell to the ground upon feeling the weight over their shoulders and they lost their balance.

Those who remained standing were three of the most bulky dudes with tree trunk-like thighs that allowed them to retain their stance.

They were forbidden from using any spell and utilizing ether altogether, which is why using body strengthening was never an option—which leaves the students to rely on their physical might.

Richard glanced at Amelia and found her somehow recovering from the initial shock and sitting on the ground.

The current weight they were experiencing was around fifty kilograms(110 lbs) which definitely was endurable for those who have passed the first round of examination to get enrolled here.

However, not everyone came here through normal means.

Glancing at Ethan, who has been admitted through special recommendation, Richard felt that the Protagonist might not be able to endure for long.

With his body completely pressed against the ground, Ethan kept his eyes closed and fist clenched. Although he has been training for the last few weeks, it doesn\'t mean he has become all mighty or something. And most of the time, when he did some kind of task for money, he utilized his newfound magic to help himself.

\'I shouldn\'t have been so reliant on that!\' He was now regretting.

Richard just hoped that he could get through this in one piece.

He was now feeling a lot better than he initially was. He has done weight training with Lilia enough to not get affected by this.

The other students were also not as affected as well since most of them belonged to either commoner backgrounds or low-ranking noble families, which forced them to make this academy their life goal, and they worked hard for their ambition.

In the entire group, only Ethan and two frail-looking girls were struggling against the increased gravity.

The torture continued for three minutes before the weight was doubled.

"Ugh!" Ethan felt his bones getting crushed and his mind turning into a mess.

He heard a couple of buzzers from the other students, and for a moment, Ethan also felt like tapping the red buttons and getting rid of this excruciating pain...however, the moment he recalled the face of his mother, he found himself thinking about nothing else.

Only that face remained in his mind and Ethan was no longer struggling. It was like everything he experienced until now was not real and he was now free from all the bounds.

Richard looked at Ethan and somehow discerned that the Protagonist used the power of love to endure this as well. On the other hand, Amelia didn\'t look good.

She has trained herself to be an adventurer and a spy for most of the time. Surely, she must have gone through this training, but considering the slowly increasing weight, there was no doubt that she must be nearing the limits of her tolerance.

Richard slowly removed his hand from his thigh and rested it on her hand, making Amelia instantly open her eyes and look at Richard.

The look in his eyes somehow whispered in her ear,

\'I want to be with you in the same class...\'And that gave the raven-haired enough strength to straighten her back and forget about the struggle.

Just like that, another three minutes passed, and many students fell on the ground lifelessly after having the pressure removed. But that freedom was soon snatched away when the panels of the umbrella turned white and the temperature dropped to zero in an instant.

"Shit! This is tooooo much!" One of the students cursed as he rolled in a ball to cover himself from the cold.

Not only that, even blizzards began to appear inside the dome as everyone shivered and balled up as well.

Richard rubbed his nose which slowly began to turn red as he was also not used to such extreme cold.

It seemed the temperature was dropping every second—Richard thought, but in reality, every ten seconds, a degree went down.

"Wait! We are forbidden from using ether, but we can surely help each other, right?" Someone from the group suddenly voiced.

"Yes! Teamwork is a very essential factor of hunters." Another one chimed, clearly in assent to the idea

Soon, various students began to gather up to hug each other and warm each other through their body heat.

Richard saw Ethan also getting himself gathered in a group of three girls who kept him in the middle and embraced him from all three directions.

\'What would happen if Elizabeth sees this...\' He inwardly chuckled, when suddenly he felt someone tapping on his shoulder.

Turning towards the person, Richard\'s eyes widened slightly.

Amelia sat there on her knees with a pitiful look as she weakly extended her arms and asked,

"Warm me up?"

*Gulp*

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A/N:- ahahaha…this girl is so wild.