Carter, the half-naked kid, and a girl who didn't look a day over 8 all chose to continue training. Before they set off, Carter approached the half-naked kid and offered him his boots.
"Are you sure?" The kid asked in amazement.
"Yeah, I have to get a Scholarship and taking continuous low-grade damage is a good way to speed up increasing constitution." Carter said with a shrug before taking off his shirts and pants leaving only his underwear, suffering through freezing temperatures and sun burn under controlled circumstances would also speed of Constitution gain. It's kind of funny how things that make you sick and lower constitution back on Earth actually made you healthier in the Planar Realms...
The half-naked kid laughed and handed Carter's boots back before saying, "No one will ever say that I, Sir Nicholas Marshal, was a wimp!" The kid then proceeded to take everything off and start sprinting up the mountain completely naked.
"You've gotta be kidding me." The trainer said with a groan, covering up his eyes before he glared at Carter and yelled, "GET A MOVE ON!"
Carter couldn't help laughing even as the pain of running barefoot through the mountain hit him. The pain paid off though as less than an hour later he got a message.
-> +1 Constitution
------
14 days later, Carter and Sir Nicholas Marshal had left the girl behind as they continued to climb the mountain with a trainer. She'd refused to take off her shoes and hadn't been able to keep up after the two reached 15 Constitution. When they'd hit 19 Constitution the trainer had slightly changed their direction, leading them towards the path to the Temple of Thought.
Over the past 14 days, neither of them had slept once and they'd only kept going because of the competition that'd been brewing between them to see who would reach 20 Constitution first. When Sir Nicholas Marshal had begun to slow, his eyes drooping and his run slowing to a staggering walk the trainer had been about to call for a break. After all, the two were on track to complete the training in 20 days instead of the usual thirty. However, Carter had stopped the trainers words by slapping Nick in the face multiple times as he ran past saying, "And I thought Sir Nicholas Marshal wasn't a wimp!"
10 days in, when Carter had fallen and broken his leg he'd been about to take a break before Marshal ran by laughing in his face saying, "HAHAHA, I knew a commoner couldn't possibly keep up with the Great Sir Nicholas Marshal!"
Perhaps because he was now in the body of a 12 year old the childish taunt had worked, and Carter had accepted a healing potion from the trainer before taking off at a sprint even before his bones had finished healing.
Now, the sun was about to raise on the 15th day and Carter was sprawled on the ground, covered in sweat and dirt, laughing as he looked at the message in his status.
-> +1 Constitution
"Take that!" Carter yelled at Nicholas as he ran past continuing the training. Taking a deep breath, Carter closed his eyes and thought "Status".
-> Name: Carter
-> Race: Human
-> Fame: 10
-> Infamy: 0
-> Base Profession: Scholar Level 6 (2,204/3,200)
-> Alignment: Neutral
-> Titles: Chosen (Reincarnation Passive) (Hidden); Slayer of Bunnies (Bunny Terror Passive)
-> HP 200/200 (Constitution x 10)
-> MP 210/210 (Intelligence x 10 + Willpower/2 x 10)
-> Attributes
-> Strength (10)
-> Agility (10)
-> Constitution (20)
-> Intelligence (16)
-> Willpower (10)
-> Charisma (10)
-> Free Attribute Points (6)
-> Affinities(Locked)
-> Skills: Reading level 3 (69%); Writing level 2 (38%); Hand to Hand level 10 (22%); Skinning level 8 (43%); Pain Resistance Level 9 (89%); Running Level 14 (1%)
-> Soul Skills: Reincarnation(Passive) (Hidden); Hand to Hand Savant(Passive); Bunny Terror(Passive)
However, Carter's joy was short lived as less than a hundred feet further up the road Nicholas collapsed onto the ground laughing in joy.
"Put on some damned clothes!" The trainer yelled, he'd gotten tired of being forced to follow along behind the two, especially since Nicholas had been running completely naked for the past two weeks. At least Carter had the decency to wear some underwear...
Nicholas stood up, taking his clothes back from the trainer and said, "That was revenge for dragging me out of bed at 5 in the morning!" Walking back down the trail a hundred feet, he sat down next to Carter and said sarcastically, "Well, that was fun."
Carter laughed, "Compared to the 2nd level of training it most definitely was."
"What's the 2nd level?" Nicholas asked.
"Same thing but you have to be taking continuous damage from an elemental source. Usually it's Ice or Fire damage, the more the better. It also takes an average of 4 months to complete the training." Carter said, his eyes far away as he remembered some of the NPC trainers from the game. It was too bad that the world wasn't exactly the same, there were some people who deserved to die horrendous deaths... "Finally the title is much harder to unlock, usually people unlock it when running for their lives after being seriously injured."
"Alright." The trainer said as he handed some recovery potions to the two of them. "The next stage of the exam takes place in the Temple of Thought. You can take a few minutes to recover, but I'd suggest running the rest of the way. The faster you get to the temple the better off you'll be."
Carter stood up, "Alright Nick, lets go."
"NICK?" Nick asked incredulously, "My name is Sir Nicholas Marshal!"
Carter snorted saying, "Only losers say their entire name every time, and Nicholas takes too long to say. Lets go Nick."
"ARGH!" Nick said, arguing with Carter the entire run to the top of the mountain. Thankfully they were pretty close to the top, the trainer had actually started to make them run in circles about 5 hours ago so they didn't reach the temple before reaching 20 Constitution. Combined with the fact that they weren't nearly crying out in pain every time they took a step the two only needed another half an hour to make it there.
"Damn." Carter said as he came to a stop, admiring the ancient temple. It looked like someone had taken a giant sword and chopped the top off one of the peaks, building a giant and majestic stone temple in the middle of it. Walking through the open gates, the two were amazed to find the inside a completely different world. Gardens stretched as far as the eye could see within the walls, and Carter recognized several incomparably precious ingredients. It was an alchemists wet dream!
"This way." The trainer motioned for them to follow him. They came up to a small clearing of sand where a middle-aged man with long hair brown hair that was just starting to turn white moved slowly. The trainer motioned for the two to be silent and wait.
Carter wasn't paying attention to the trainer anymore, his breath catching as he watched the man move slowly. The man's every movement seemed to increase the his internal power, every strike causing the world to shake and cracks in to form. The movements called to Carter, and he wanted nothing more than to learn this martial art! Messages started appearing as Carter watched the man move, but he ignored it completely entranced.
-> +1 Hand to Hand Combat
-> +1 Hand to Hand Combat
-> +1 Hand to Hand Combat
The man came to a stop as he finished his routine by bending his right knee, slipping his left leg out into a split and placing his palm on the ground. As soon as his palm touched the ground the uncontrolled energy that the man had been containing within his body shot out and the sand exploded several hundred feet into the sky in a massive geyser.
"Holy shit!" Nick exclaimed as he backed off quickly.
Carter didn't even move, his eyes never leaving the spot where the man had been training just a moment before. "I think I made the right decision coming here." He thought as the sand fell back to the earth and the man reappeared, none of the sand having touched his body.
Opening his eyes, the middle aged man instantly looked where the trainer, Nick, and Carter stood with an inviting smile on his face.
The trainer quickly stepped unto the sand and bowed deeply saying, "Elder Sun, I've brought two prospective students who have completed the first test early."
"Oh?" The man looked surprised, looking closely at Nick and Carter. "Write a detailed report, include video where you feel it necessary."
"Yes, sir!" The trainer moved so quickly Carter could barely see him as he leaped into the trees and disappeared into the giant gardens inside the Temple of Thought.