You’re Right, They’ll Expel Me if I Run into the Store with a Weapon!! - Chapter 56: Shiori-san's Training Classroom!

It was the sound of clothing friction.

Fists clashed fiercely, with beads of sweat flying off.

“You’ve also started to gain stamina,” Shiori commented, prompting the two sweat-drenched figures to fall to the floor.

“I can’t… do this anymore…”

“Shiori-san… too fast… for us…”

The location was a training facility prepared by the combat school.

In a space covered with concrete, Shiori was putting two members of her team through their paces.

It had been several days since they started.

The first thing Shiori focused on was the endurance aspect of physical enhancement.

“You managed to keep your physical enhancements activated for about five minutes straight,” she informed them.

“We’ve… improved by a minute…”

“Thanks to Shiori-san’s… Spartan… training…”

The two faces flushed with exertion and rejoiced at their progress, which made Shiori smile.

“Next, train your ‘Shift Change Time,'” she suggested.

“Wait… let us rest for a bit, please…”

“Hmm, then how about we review some knowledge while resting?”

“Yes, please.”

Shiori sat down beside the two who had collapsed.

“Answer what the ‘Shift Change Time’ means. You first, Sorato.”

“It’s time to switch between activating combat powers.”

Physical enhancement and abilities cannot be used simultaneously; hence, switching between them is necessary.

Switching those powers incurs a time lag, known as the ‘Shift Change Time.’

“Correct. And Mika, what’s your fastest shift change time?”

“Just over ten seconds.”

“You’ve been keeping track properly. How about you, Sorato?”

“The same, just over ten seconds.”

“Good, both of you are in a decent range. But I’d like us to get it down to under ten seconds before the event.”

Hearing this made their faces turn pale, anticipating the next round of Spartan training.

“Shiori-san, how many seconds for you?”

Hoping for a longer rest, Sorato asked another question.

“Three seconds. That’s my full effort.”

“That’s amazing! You can switch to enhancement right after using an ability!”

Shiori gave a wry smile in response.

“You might forget, but after those three seconds, there’s an additional start-up time for the enhancement. Even for me, a complete part enhancement takes about sixty seconds.”

“Oh, right.”

Sorato broke into a light sweat.

“Focusing on one enhancement takes sixty seconds, and if you’re fighting while enhancing, it takes ninety seconds.”

“Ninety seconds… So that’s the time Shiori-san needs to reach her full state?”

“It’s odd to call it a ‘full state,’ but yes, you’re correct. Though I rarely go full.”

“Why is that?”

Kaika raised a question, to which Shiori turned her gaze.

“Full enhancement is indeed powerful. But the more you enhance, the quicker the cooldown kicks in.”

“Ah, that’s right, cooldowns can be scary.”

Kaika seemed convinced by the explanation and stood next to Sorato, who had a new question in mind.

“Shiori-san, you’re holding back on full enhancement, right? So, during our training just now, what enhancement percentage were you using?”

This referred to the one-on-one, hand-to-hand combat training they had conducted a few minutes earlier. Shiori had been facing two individuals who were using human enhancement techniques, and she managed them on her own.

“Do you want to know?”

“…Maybe not.”

“I do want to know.”

After reconsidering, it was Kaika who overlapped Sorato’s change of mind.

Shiori sighed and decided to share her answer.

“Ten percent… maybe less.”

Her words silenced the two.

In front of them, Shiori forced a wry smile.

“Sorry, kind of.”

“We were going all out, and…”

“To think we didn’t even reach ten percent together…”

“Yeah, really sorry…”

She reflected on possibly hurting the feelings of the students trying their best.

But that was the reality of the hierarchical strength.

“How about we go eat something? I’ll treat you.”

“No, we couldn’t possibly…”

“I’ve recently participated in a major mission and received a substantial reward. Let me treat you guys for your hard work.”

“If that’s the case…”

After the joint operation, Shiori had a substantial amount of reward money left over, even after deducting equipment maintenance and replenishment costs.

She decided to use it on her students.

“Then, let’s take a real break. Let’s head to the district lined with shops.”

“Yes!”

The three of them cleaned up their used room and headed towards the changing room.