Chapter 74 - Requirements
“Jiang Hui.” The back of the other person’s head seemed to have eyes, as Jiang Hui hadn’t even approached yet when the other party suddenly spoke in a deep voice.
Jiang Hui felt a bit intimidated because the impression this person gave her was too strict. Earlier, during the group instruction in the classroom, she had felt a slight tremor of fear, let alone now, facing his imposing presence directly.
Jiang Hui timidly called out, “Instructor Stark.”
Seeing that Jiang Hui was standing a bit far away, Stark frowned slightly, signaling her to come a little closer, indicating a desire for an equal dialogue.
As she stepped closer, Jiang Hui felt an almost tangible pressure emanating from him, making the surrounding air feel heavier. The gaze that fell upon her was incredibly overwhelming.
“The principal has already informed me about your situation.”
So, he called her out to discuss this matter.
“I can temporarily agree to this. If you still intend to change your major next year, I will approve it. However, I need to remind you that I will not reduce my requirements for you simply because of your circumstances, as that would be unfair to the other students, and it would be unfair to you as well.”
“You should cherish the opportunity to learn now that you are in school, regardless of what profession you wish to pursue in the future. Since you have the chance to receive an education, you should wholeheartedly focus on improving yourself. You shouldn’t confine yourself to a comfort zone, as it negatively affects both you and your classmates.”
“This class will likely have many students who ultimately choose to take that path. Therefore, I hope that the class can maintain a relatively balanced and open environment. While it’s fine to explain your situation to them and most will likely understand, doing so could create an invisible rift in the class. They may become aware that their environment is no longer as pure, and being singled out will make it easier for the group to develop a restless mindset, which would be an extremely unstable factor for our entire class.”
Jiang Hui remained silent; she actually understood this point. She had encountered similar situations back on Blue Star.
When she attended university, there was military training, and the instructor at the time was very strict with the students, pushing them to their limits as long as they didn’t collapse.
However, there was one student in her class who had particularly poor health, yet he insisted on participating in the training, refusing to listen to anyone’s advice.
Worried that their child might have health issues at school, his parents spoke to the counselor. The counselor then tried to persuade the student, but when that didn’t work, they had to inform the instructor about the situation.
What could the instructor do? This wasn’t his first time training fresh recruits, and he was somewhat cautious with these pampered college students. During training, he didn’t exactly coddle the student, but his requirements were much lower than those for the others.
Especially when he noticed that the student looked pale and shaky, he would instruct him to stand or sit in a shaded area to rest.
This didn’t really count as excessive preferential treatment, as the student could have applied for an exemption from military training. However, he wouldn’t listen to advice and insisted on participating, so it had to be handled this way.
But the instructors probably didn’t expect this, or rather, they had become accustomed to it.
Although some students were aware that the instructor had given the student special treatment due to his health issues, they instinctively felt uncomfortable with such treatment that separated him from the group, even feeling somewhat resentful. As a result, they couldn’t help but look down on him, leading to a bit of rejection towards him.
Some of the more cunning students even tried to mimic him, occasionally claiming that they were feeling unwell, hoping to receive the same special treatment.
As a result, what should have been a well-organized military training class became a complete mess, almost like a palace intrigue. The mood and atmosphere of the entire class exhibited a relatively negative state. Jiang Hui hadn’t participated in any of that; she merely played an ordinary background role. But she had to admit that she did feel an inexplicable distance from that student at the time. However, after the military training ended and she interacted with him more, she discovered that he was just an ordinary and kind person without any issues. The sense of distance she felt was more like something she had imagined.
Although the situation was clearly different from this one, the underlying principle was quite similar.
With a shift in perspective, Jiang Hui could roughly understand the meaning behind Instructor Stark’s words to her.
“I’ve reviewed your file, Jiang Hui. You have undergone two awakenings and have a relatively high level, with the potential to become a high-level awakened individual after reaching adulthood. You should be able to handle our combat unit courses. I hope that in the coming year, you can fully commit to our specialized courses and work hard to improve yourself, regardless of whether you ultimately choose to continue in this field.”
“Can you do that?” He looked down at the girl, who was at least a head shorter than him.
“… Yes.” What else could Jiang Hui say? In fact, after coming to this realization, she had already begun to accept it in her heart.
Instructor Stark nodded, seemingly satisfied, and told Jiang Hui, “You don’t need to worry too much about the basics. Physical training doesn’t happen overnight. While your initial physical abilities may differ from others, with reasonable training, you can reach the average level of your classmates. As long as you’re willing to put in a bit more effort—”
“I will adjust your physical condition based on your situation. You should try to meet the standards I set for the class, and if you can’t reach them, I won’t force you. However, you need to improve your level each time. Basically, in about three months, I can help you raise your physical strength to the current minimum average level of the class. You need to put in more effort.”
“…”
“What? Are you surprised that it only takes three months? If you can handle it, we can even cut that time in half—”
Jiang Hui shook her head repeatedly, wanting to act like a heartless bobblehead.
“Do you think the training of those in the primary academy is any different? Each of them is still in the process of physical and brain development, yet they just train aimlessly, wasting all that effort. They’re not much stronger than you. Just train well and don’t let the opinions of outsiders influence you.”
“Besides you, there’s also Classmate Chen and another female student. That kid is even a bit worse than you… You kids, at such a young age, why is your physical fitness so poor?” At this point, he seemed to express a slight complaint.
“Alright, you can go back now. Enjoy yourself, and just focus on training seriously tomorrow.” With that, Stark immediately dismissed Jiang Hui.
Jiang Hui had already turned and taken a few steps when he seemed to want to say something else: “You… never mind, it’s nothing.”