Chapter 1674: Bruce Wayne and the Chamber of Secrets (VII)

The first class at Kamar-Taj Magic Academy defied all expectations of the outsiders. There was no rote recitation, no repetitive admonitions; they heard only one word from the Master of the Holy Sword: "Run!"

What does it feel like to run at an altitude of 6,000 meters, amidst a blizzard that never ceases?

The magic cast upon Harley, little Bruce, and Barry to help them adapt to the high altitude had not yet faded, so they didn't have to face the oxygen deprivation, but the snow, which buried them up to their calves, was enough to make every step a struggle.

Everyone else seemed accustomed to it, running at top speed across a playground formed by a leveled mountaintop, while the Master of the Holy Sword stood in the center, brandishing his greatsword and shouting in a resonant voice:

"Run faster! I don't want to see anyone slacking off. The first rule of dealing with demons is that you'd better have the strength to punch them down! Run faster, those at the back! Pick up the pace!"

"You two new students, run! Even those younger than you are running faster than you. Lift your legs, swing your arms! And you, Harley Quinn, stop looking around! Stop howling! Run!"

American elementary schools, of course, had physical education, but usually, it didn't involve such intense exercise as running laps around a track. In most cases, there wasn't even a need to form lines; students just queued up to get balls from the equipment room and then either played basketball or soccer with their friends, or simply stood around chatting if they weren't into sports.

The intensity of the physical education class at Kamar-Taj Magic Academy was far beyond their imagination. The class lasted only half an hour, but all three of them felt as though they had been running there for half a year.

Little Bruce was not yet the physically robust Batman; he was just a young master who had lost his parents not long ago. Barry was not yet the Flash who excelled at running; he had attended a much more relaxed public school in America. This half-hour of exercise was equivalent to a year's worth of normal activity.

Harley was the only one of the three who performed relatively well. On one hand, she was older and girls matured earlier, so she could barely manage; on the other hand, surviving in Gotham really required being fast. She could not only survive but also take the initiative, and her physical fitness, capable of carrying four corpses in a row, was quite impressive for her age.

After the Master of the Holy Sword shouted "Class dismissed," even though none of the three understood Chinese, they didn't hesitate for even half a second before collapsing onto the ground.

They were so exhausted they couldn't speak at all, and what was even more terrifying was that they could feel the magic helping them adapt to the altitude gradually fading. This meant that if there were another class like this tomorrow or the day after, they might very well be exhausted to death right there.

"Are you okay?" Although the ground was covered in snow, Helen, wearing only a thin school uniform, walked over to Harley's side. Harley was completely sprawled in the snow, looking somewhat delirious.

"This is insane," Harley said, gasping for air, her tone bordering on tears. "It's only seven-thirty in the morning, and I've already exhausted all the energy I was supposed to use for the next week. I feel like my lung cells are grabbing my ribs and doing a pole dance!"

Helen laughed at her metaphor. She sat down next to Harley and said, "You'll get used to it. I felt tired when I first came here too, but you'll soon find that running for half an hour in such cold weather is actually a pretty good warm-up."

Harley let out another wail. Helen stood up, took Harley by the arm, and forcibly pulled her upper body up, then said, "Hurry up. There are four more required classes to attend this morning. Around ten o'clock, it'll be time for the elective class."

"You haven't chosen an elective yet, and I plan to skip this one. We can go to the library to look up information while it's empty. Hurry up, don't waste time. Shouldn't we leave a good impression on all the professors?"

Harley was dragged toward the next classroom, looking utterly hopeless. As soon as she walked in, she saw a handsome man with black curly hair and green eyes standing by the podium, fiddling with the scrolls in his hand.

"Is he Loki Odinson?" little Bruce asked, walking slowly. Barry's movements were even slower; both felt as though their legs no longer belonged to them.

"I wanted to ask earlier, why Odinson? Isn't Loki Odin's brother in Norse mythology? And Odin's father isn't named Odin, right?" Barry asked, confused.

"In our world, Loki is Thor's brother. They are both Odin's children. Thor is the God King of Asgard, and Loki is the Prince of Asgard."

Shirila's voice came from behind the two boys. She gave little Bruce a light push and said, "Go there. Sit in the front row; I bet Professor Odinson will like you."

Little Bruce scanned the room but couldn't find a familiar face, so he sat down in the second row, near the edge.

"I am very pleased to see new faces among you."

Loki, wearing a mage's robe at the podium, had his hair neatly combed back, with the Prince's crown resting just in front of the knot. His hand holding the staff wore a ring with a gemstone that shimmered with magical light. Anyone could see that every detail of his appearance had been meticulously groomed.

Unlike the Master of the Holy Sword, Loki didn't lecture in a mix of four or five languages. He spoke in slow, clear American English to everyone: "I am very pleased to have fresh blood constantly injected into this school, and I have another piece of good news to tell you."

Loki paced back and forth in a small area in front of the podium, a playful smile always on his face. He continued, "Don't think I'm going to pull a stack of test papers out of nowhere and hand them to you. Competition in the mystical world has always been about one thing: whose fist is bigger."

The students instantly became restless, like a pot of water suddenly brought to a boil. Except for the three outsiders, all the other students seemed to have completely forgotten the exhaustion from the previous physical education class, their eyes and faces filled with excitement.

"Kamar-Taj Magic Academy will be hosting over twenty rounds of magical duels in the indoor stadium next to the playground over the next three weeks. Anyone can sign up, and the competition isn't limited to wand casting."

Loki stopped pacing, his gaze sweeping over several large students in the classroom as he said, "If you have the ability to knock your opponent down with one punch, such violent behavior is temporarily forgivable. But please remember, only on the arena."

"Of course, some clever little brains have already chosen my Magic and Illusion class. Some of the high-achieving students have already learned invisibility and releasing clones. Such methods can naturally be used. Are you ready to run circles around your opponents?"

The discussion below became even more intense, but Loki acted as if he hadn't heard it and continued, "Also, also, I certainly won't forget—even though the magic world is no longer short of energy for casting, if you can trick more out of demons, we will certainly give you an 'Excellent' on your final exam."

"I know many of you have intermittently begun to communicate with certain mysterious entities in the astral realm. Some have only vaguely heard the summons, while others have decided on their targets for contracts, and there are even some exceptionally talented students who have already reached a mutual commitment with the demons they chose."

When Loki finished speaking, some students in their seats lifted their heads with imperceptible pride. Clearly, they were the high-achieving students Loki was referring to.

"But the lead you think you have may not be a lead at all," Loki shook his head slightly, changing the subject, "Whether your cooperation and compatibility with certain demons can truly bring you help must be tested in practice. Now, the opportunity has arrived."

"This will be the first large-scale event since the official establishment of Kamar-Taj Magic Academy. I believe you should be able to see how much the school values this. It may very well concern your future development in the magic world."

"So, children, I will give you self-study time for this class. You have plenty of time to consider whether you want to go further in gaining power or continue to build a solid foundation. The final result will depend entirely on your own choice... Class dismissed!"

After saying this, Loki put away the scrolls in his hand and walked out of the classroom with the same elegant and slow pace. However, none of the students in the classroom moved. After a few seconds of stagnation, intense discussions erupted.

Little Bruce didn't understand much of the Eastern language, but he could barely sense what they were discussing—nothing more than the tournament format, schedule, or whether they needed teammates. But now, he just wanted to go back and sleep.

In the last few seconds before leaving the Dream Academy last night, little Bruce had asked Stark not to blur his dream memories like other students, because the knowledge Stark shared about the application of Arc Reactor and magic energy was of great inspiration to him, and he didn't want to forget it.

But this brought about a very sad aftereffect: his brain couldn't actually handle twenty-four hours of operation without rest. If he could barely act on instinct before the morning PE class, now the PE class had exhausted all his physical strength. It was already a feat of nature that he was still standing.

Barry very keenly noticed that little Bruce was not in a good state, but he didn't know what he had dreamed about. So, out of kindness, he helped little Bruce all the way back to their room to rest. Seeing little Bruce fall asleep, Barry didn't intend to sleep; he prepared to find Harley to ask what she thought about this competition.

But on the way to the girls' dormitory, Barry encountered Jennifer Mave again. This little girl was no longer as shy as before; instead, her expression was filled with fear and panic.

"God, why are you here? Someone in the fourth-grade dorm went crazy. She was roaring and running toward the single dorms. I was just about to go find a professor!"

"What?!"

"What?!"