Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

"Professor, what do you mean we will be competing with institutions in other states?" One of Klaus' classmates asked.

Surprised by what the professor had said earlier, they all looked at him intently, waiting for an explanation. One could imagine that there would be competitions between the NIST campuses in the different states, because it wouldn't make sense to have huge gyms on each campus if that wasn't the case, but that wasn't enough for the media and some students to speculate about.

The professor, a little embarrassed for getting too excited and revealing something ahead of time, began to sweat.

"Oops, I think I said too much.... Ergh, don't worry, you'll figure it all out in due time. For now, pay attention to class, okay?"

Obviously, this mandatory class did not return to its normal atmosphere after the professor mentioned something like that.

Except for Andrew, who went back to "sleep," all the students began to think and discuss and theorize about what the professor had said, and it didn't take long for the topic to spread throughout the campus.

When the Ethics and Personal Responsibility class finally ended, Klaus got up and was about to leave the room when he saw Andrew wake up and stand up, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

"You slept through the end of class, didn't you?" Klaus said laughing.

"What? No, I didn't." Andrew replied, scratching his head.

"Yes, you did. You started drooling after the teacher finally left you alone."

Andrew shook his head in the affirmative and smiled. "Man, I was too tired. Did I get in your way?"

"No. Shall we? My next class isn't for another hour, and honestly, this class seemed so long that it made me hungry again." Klaus asked.

"Sure, come on. I haven't eaten anything today. By the way, what's your next class?" Andrew inquired, following Klaus into the cafeteria.

"Basic Military Strategies and Tactics. I bet it will be boring as well."

"That's my class too. Well, I'll try not to sleep this time, it would suck if my grades started off bad."

In addition to subjects such as Ethics and Personal Responsibility and Basic Military Strategies and Tactics, the special program had an emphasis on other more unusual mandatory subjects such as Robotics, Artificial Intelligence Guidelines, Cybersecurity, and more, depending on the student's profile. Each of those admitted would also be taught how to deal with crisis situations and emergencies, with a special focus on responding to natural disasters, terrorist threats, and other national security threats. Contrary to what the advertisement for the special program said, it seemed that NIST was trying to train soldiers rather than improve people's talents, or perhaps that was the U.S. government's vision of improvement.

Just the thought of having to go through so many classes and learn so many new concepts gave Klaus a headache. Anyway, at least this time he wouldn't have to use the time between service breaks or sleep to study like in high school.

After the light lunch and the Military Strategies and Tactics class, Klaus, Andrew and the other classmates were instructed to go to the running track near the dormitories. The e-mail they all received stated that they would be doing a physical fitness training session.

For the first time, Klaus saw that Andrew was nervous after receiving the e-mail. He didn't say anything for a while and looked uncomfortable as they walked to the track, but then his expression suddenly changed from dismay to determination, which reassured Klaus.

As the thirty students gathered along the sides of the track, the teacher of the mandatory class called "Practical Tactics," a muscular man with short gray hair, shouted:

"All of you, pay attention! When I call your name, come to my assistant, Carlos, and get your uniform! After everyone has received their uniforms, you should organize yourselves and go to the locker rooms to change. You will be back here in no more than 10 minutes for the drill to begin! If any of you receive more or less clothes than you were given, it will be your fault, understand? We don't expect you to make the wrong numbering on the registration form, so you have to deal with your mistake and know how to fix it! Do you understand?!"

"Yes..."

"I don't understand! Do you understand or not!?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Okay, now I'll start calling in alphabetical order..."

The physical activity uniforms that NIST delivered that day were obviously no ordinary uniforms. Made of high-tech fabrics that combined breathability, moisture-wicking, stretch, and comfort, these were the very best in athletic apparel. The materials included polyester, nylon, spandex, and polyamide, combined in different proportions to achieve these different performance characteristics.

The uniforms were all black and fitted tightly to the bodies of the wearers, especially very muscular people like Klaus Park, who at this point began to attract a lot of attention from the girls in the room because of his different physique from the vast majority.

"Who is this boy?"

"If I didn't hear wrong when the teacher called him, his name is Klaus Park."

"Klaus Park? I haven't seen him here yet. He has a different charm."

"I don't think he was in our previous class."

Klaus Park looked at them, knowing that they were talking about him, only he didn't understand what they were talking about, and since he didn't like it when people talked about him behind his back, he looked at them in a hostile way, which immediately made them a little bit afraid.

"Uh... I think he heard us." One of them whispered, hiding behind her classmate.

"He's pretty, but let's see how he does in training..." A couple of them said almost at the same time as she backed away a little.

By the time the last of the students who had been in the locker room returned to the track, everyone was ready to begin their drills.

There was a certain aura of competitiveness in the air, especially among the boys, and for some reason they were all staring at Klaus like coyotes stalking a wolf. Looking at the boys' excitement to take down Klaus, it didn't even seem like this was a basic fitness training session on the first day of school.

Yes, the boys were staring desperately at Klaus because he was the only one among all the boys in his class who had an impressive physique, only they thought that because Klaus was big and strong, he was also slow. Meanwhile, Klaus was totally focused on himself. He was competing against nothing less than himself and his past mistakes, and this time he was determined to show the best he could, unlike the selection process.

As Klaus straightened his knees and concentrated, he thought:

Standing still and hanging out with Andrew is not going to make me many friends, so maybe they think I am just a loser who was lucky to get into this program. I have to show them that I'm not.

The first stage of conditioning consisted of a one-lap run around the one-kilometer track, and the instructor divided the room into three groups of ten runners, not divided by gender.

"All right, get ready! When I give the signal, start running!" the teacher shouted.

After hearing the order, all of Klaus' classmates began to prepare for the race. Some of them started stretching their muscles, some did a little warm-up before the race, and some ran in a circle for a short time to stretch their muscles.

Klaus decided to continue stretching his knees, after all, it had been a few days since he had done any heavy training.

"Everybody ready? On the count of 1, start running! 3...2...1...RUN!"

When the teacher shouted, indicating the start of the run, Klaus closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, feeling the adrenaline take over his body. He let the energy flow calmly through his body, and when his eyes opened, they seemed to glow with excitement as a pulsating aura of joy surrounded his body. It was as if something inside him had been unleashed and was about to explode.

Klaus was excited because this was the first time he got to compete. He hadn't had many opportunities to participate in sports festivals as a child because of his e-sports career and his subsequent jobs. So it was no wonder that he felt liberated at that moment.

Suddenly, Klaus shot forward, running at an initial speed that was frightening to outsiders. His steps were light as feathers as he pushed himself forward with increasing force. The wind blew hard into his face, blowing his black hair back, and the world around him seemed to be in slow motion.

The other runners could not believe their eyes. Klaus had passed them like a blur of movement, leaving them all behind in a matter of seconds, even though he had started a few seconds late. His speed was incredible, more like lightning than a human runner.

While the others struggled to keep up, Klaus kept moving forward, passing them with ease. His face was focused, as if he was in a trance-like state, running with relentless determination.

The other runners were impressed by the speed with which Klaus passed them. They had never seen anything like it. It was as if he was possessed by a supernatural force that only pushed him forward.

As Klaus approached the finish line in less than a minute, his colleagues on and off the track had the impression that the earth was shaking beneath their feet, creating cracks in the ground. The air around them shook with force, as if nature itself was responding to the force of the movement he was demonstrating with his large body.

Finally, as Klaus crossed the finish line, he stopped abruptly, as if he had hit an invisible wall.

His breathing was a little labored. "Hah... Hah... That was cool."

As he tried to catch his breath, the other runners approached him, looking at him with admiration and wonder.

"What the hell was that?" asked the teacher, incredulous and stunned.

...

Edited by: DrHitsuji

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