*thump* "Ow... My body hurts. Can't captain Edgar take it a bit easy? Just give us a break or throw us a bone or something." Kai complained to himself, as his body collapsed on the bed, out of sheer exhaustion. As he was laying on his body, he decided to check on his status.
[STATS:
NAME: Kaiser Berthegore
RACE: -7?@! -@43?@! -6;48$
STRENGTH: 1.6
DEXTERITY: 1.8
AGILITY: 2.5
INTELLIGENCE: 1.7
LUCK: 12
AFFINITIES:
FIRE: 0 WATER: 0
EARTH: 0 AIR: 0
LIGHT: 0 DARKNESS: 4]
[ABILITIES:
ACTIVE: Eye of Sight LV.1
PASSIVE: Mind Resistance LV.2, Heart of the Cards (EX), Consumer's Adaptation (EX), Persistence]
[SPELLS: Card Conversion (EX), Card Summon LV.1 (EX)]
[MASTERIES: Spade Style MK.A, Club Style (RNM), Diamond Style (RNM), Heart Style (RNM), Joker Style (RNM)]
[LOGS:
(Day 1: Boot camp from Hell)
(Day 2: Marathons suck)
(Day 3: Stupid nightmares)
(Day 5: I want to go home...)
(Day 7: A whole week and no changes on my face)
(Day 10: So bored...)
(Day 14: And the nightmares still continue)]
Still can't believe that his hellish training actually works. I just wish it wasn't so hard on me. Just why am I the one to have to run the most out of everyone? I'd rather lift those heavy weights than having to run around the field for for hours. Hell, I'll even take Mei's 6-hour magic sessions over having to do that mind numbing exercise. Kai complained inwardly, as he turned his body around and faced the ceiling.
*sigh* "Come on Kai. Don't think like that. Do that and you'll have to repeat Edgar's "Rehab" classes. Urgh... I need some meat buns." After Kai let his inner complaints flow away from him, he took a bath and quickly made his way towards the dining hall, where the workers, guards and the three other heroes ate.
After making his way there, he noticed that Vale and Mei were already eating together, so he decided to join at their table, after grabbing a tray and putting a few buns and a salad.
"Still alive guys?" Kai asked with a tired expression, as he sat down.
"About as alive as a headless spider." Vale answered in a similar way as well, before sipping on a cup of water.
"Better than feeling like having ran enough marathons for your entire life. Thank god for the fact that the ambient mana can allow us to perform this kind of training, otherwise we would have to do this for twice or even three times as long, but I would rather to take on Mei's magic classes, than having to run another marathon again." Kai answered back with a slightly relieved expression on his face.
"Do you really want to change for my 6 hours of theory explanations of how mana works?" Mei asked with a serious expression, while Kai only turned his away in embarrassment, before adding:
"I thought so. Stick to your stuff, so you don't have to unnecessarily suffer."
She is as prickly as ever. Kai thought to himself, as he looked at Mei's serious expression. He still couldn't believe the contrast in her way of thinking and acting, even though he was seeing this, right in front of him. As he was staring at her, he still couldn't help but remember the first day of training, as well as the many changes that followed.
...
-2 weeks ago-
"Alright, that's enough for today. I got a good idea of your current physical limits. Tomorrow, the intensity of the physical will be adjusted accordingly to what is needed for the person themselves. You are free for the rest of the day." Once Edgar announced that, the four of them couldn't help but let out a cry of relief, while both Kai and Vale sat down on the ground.
"Who wants to agree that doing a marathon, push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, sprints, squats, weights and mock battles using our weapons, with barely any breaks in between, is a truly horrible experience?" Jason asked, as he was holding on his sides and still trying to keep himself on his two feet.
"I think all of us hated that. I don't care if you haven't done exercising or if you have exercised your entire life, but doing all of those, in a row, under the hot bloody sun, with little rest in between, is a horrible experience, no matter how much of an exercise junkie you might be." Vale complained, as he was constantly wiping the sweat off his face.
"Maybe for you, but for me, it was just some intense training that I do during the holidays after eating a heavy dinner full of meat, fats and just lots of energy. Although I do think this might be a bit much, even for me." Kai exclaimed, as wiped the sweat off his forehead.
"It might be a bit much for you? What kind of otaku exercises like you?" Vale asked with a hint of disbelief.
"The kind that wants to be healthy and strong. I don't lift heavy weights or run for 45 minutes on my treadmill for nothing you know. Besides, I exercise to burn up a lot of my excess energy, otherwise I become restless and paranoid." Kai explained with a serious expression, while crossing his arms.
"Do you have some sort of panic or anxiety disorder?" Mei asked curiously, as she was slowly feeling better.
"Nothing that I know off. I'm not exactly a talkative person, unless it's necessary for something and I don't ever feel anxious, well, except for beating new games as soon as they are released, but even then, I also try to enjoy them to the fullest, without trying to rush them." Kai answered to the best of his ability, as he reminisced on his gaming habits.
"Don't you go out to a park or something? Don't you have some friends to talk with or any reason to go outside, aside from going to school?" Mei asked with a serious expression, as she was staring at him.
"Well... Aside from the occasional walk around the block, paying the bills or buying whenever I'm free, I don't exactly go out for any other reason." Kai answered casually, after stretching himself a bit.
"Yeah... I think you need to touch more grass, instead of playing videogames. That and also get some actual relationships." Vale answered seriously, before commenting quietly to himself:
"Thank god I actually have friends and I'm not some cave hermit that lives in his mother's basement."
"Anyways, in case you haven't noticed from the color of the sky, but the sun is setting soon. We should go rest everyone and est something. Tomorrow and the upcoming days are going to be long training and learning session and if we want to survive and go home, we have to pull through." Jason explained seriously, as he stared at the other three.
"As long as I become a hero and have an adventure, I'm fine with anything really." Vale answered with a shrug.
"Well I'm not fine with anything, but the returning home part." Mei answered seriously.
"As for me... I do want to return home, but I'm rather curious about the lands here. It's not every day you get to see these kind of lands. Besides, I think after the shock of summoning our weapons and well... my nose, I don't think will be shocked by anything else." Kai answered with a smile on his face, as he stared at the sky.
"Anyways, let's go and rest for now. If possible, let's meet together at the dining hall and make a plan for our future." After Jason gave his plan, everyone agreed unanimously and made their way towards their own rooms. While doing so, Jason couldn't help but stare at Mei and comment inwardly:
I guess you haven't changed, even if a decade has passed.