"Sssh, sssh, sssh..."
Leaves fluttered as the evening breeze caressed the earth gently.
Casio looked up at the moon in the sky, a sudden and intense pang of hunger rushing to his head. He wiped the sweat off his face and slowly walked out of the rectangular sports field along the dimly lit path.
In a corner of the buildings, a dark figure slowly left.
"So it's really closed..."
Casio stood before the locked doors of the cafeteria, the soft moonlight casting a thin layer of frost over the surface of the building's spire.
Helplessly, he could only return to the dormitory area along the small path.
With a creak, the slightly ajar room door opened. A smell of damp cloth mixed with soap hit his face. Casio pushed the door and walked in; all five of his roommates whom he had only met a few times were asleep.
Next to the bed by the window, an empty spot was left. In it, chubby Jo Jo and another person were sound asleep.
Casio slowed his movements, picked up his toiletries and another set of apprentice uniforms from the floor, and quietly left.
Twenty minutes later, he returned after taking a shower and changing into clean clothes. After tidying up a bit, he lay back on the bed.
His body was filled with waves of a tingling sensation. His arms, thighs, waist, and back were all aching, especially around the muscle groups, where the pain was pricking like needles.
In the light from the moon outside the window, Casio found a brown bottle among a pile of items. After a "pop" sound of the corkscrew being opened, a pungent, damp smell rushed out.
This was the potion distributed by the Wind Elephant Gate Youth Training Camp, similar to the Golden Sores Medicine and used for external application. If applied all over the painful parts of the body before going to bed at night, you would feel much better the next morning. It's especially useful for muscle soreness and bruised areas.
One bottle lasted for a month.
Casio poured some pale purple medicine, quickly rubbed it with his hands, and applied it three or four times on the sore muscles.
The moment the potion touched the skin, a contradictory sensation of scorching hot and coolness was transmitted from the applied area to the brain. Casio's arm shook, and tiny goosebumps arose from the skin.
It was hot and painful, burning. After a while, the burning feeling gradually dissipated, and the coolness gradually covered a larger area of skin.
Leaning against the wall and waiting for five or six minutes, Casio found that the sourness of his muscles had eased a bit. This medicine was pretty effective.
He put the lid back on and placed the medicine back in its original place. He gently pressed his stomach, the pain in the muscles was gone, but the hunger surged again.
There was nothing he could do; the cafeteria was closed. He would have to endure until morning.
Taking a deep breath, Casio lay down. Fatigue surged from his limbs and hauled towards his mind like the tide. The sour sensation of his muscles was momentarily suppressed, and his vision gradually became hazy.
He felt his eyelids growing heavier and heavier.
"Little Wei... Little Wei... Little Wei..."
A faint call came from outside the window.
"Hmm?" Rubbing his tired eyes, Casio quickly got up and walked a few steps to the window and quietly opened it.
Under the wooden frame, in the moonlit area, Li Chu looked up at him. The expression on her fair face was somewhat nervous. As soon as she saw Casio opening the window, she was relieved and hurriedly walked a few steps forward.
"Sister? Why did you come to the boys' dormitory..."
Article 10 of the "Youth Training Camp Rules" states that after 7 pm, boys and girls must not enter each other's dormitory areas. Anyone caught would be publicly criticized, then expelled from the Youth Training Camp.
"Didn't you miss dinner? Here." Li Chu glanced nervously around first, then took out a piece of white bread from her pocket. She stood on tiptoe and handed it to Casio.
Before Casio had a chance to say anything, Li Chu retreated a few steps. She waved and walked towards the direction of the girls' dormitory.
At the window, Casio watched Li Chu safely leaving the boys' dormitory area and disappearing from his field of view before he slowly closed the window.
He sat back on the bed, staring at the still warm white bread in his hand, and blinked. The bread had been torn in half from the middle, which was still stuffed with a piece of light brown and fully intact steak.
Casio took a big bite.
He mumbled inarticulately: "Delicious."
********************
The first day of double training volume: Tired, started learning Basic Combat Art, both movements and strength did not meet the standard. Both the morning and afternoon completions were greatly delayed, fortunately, Lixia allowed the assistant to stay for lunch, and Li Chu sent a meat-filled bread in the evening.
The second day: Tired, the weather was exceptionally hot, sunny. Almost had a heatstroke during the morning's physical training, Lixia allowed a five-minute break in the shade every so often. The completion time in the morning and afternoon was still delayed, lunch and dinner were similar to the first day.
The third day: Tired, hot, still sunny. The situation was the same as the previous two days, and in the evening found signs of sunburn on the skin. The potion from Wind Elephant Gate Youth Training Camp was also effective for this.
The fourth day: Tired, cloudy, windy. The most comfortable day so far, still tired but much better than the previous days. Feeling good, finished twenty minutes earlier at noon. As a result, Lixia rewarded half a portion of lunch.
The fifth day: Tired, gloomy, raining. As expected, rainy weather followed a cloudy day. Should have thought of this. Dipped down by a third, by the time lunch was finished, the lunch break had already ended. Training in the rain had a poor performance. Wet weather was more annoying than the heat. An accident happened at night, Li Chu was almost discovered and stopped delivering dinner.
The sixth day: Tired, cloudy, high efficiency. The weather was suitable and in good condition, for the first time, was able to finish in time for dinner. Returned to the dorm early, chatted with Jo Jo at night. He said that if he was eliminated and sent home, he would work hard to earn lots of money, not only enough to support a family of eight but also to buy aristocratic status. Become a nobleman with a big manor, marry a beautiful, virtuous and kind girl. He had even thought of a name for the child: "George Joestar."
On the seventh day, Casio opened the window and glanced at the weather outside. It was pretty bad, somewhere between a cloudy day and a rainy day.
He wondered if it might suddenly start to rain while they were practicing.
As usual, he put on his apprentice uniform and stepped out of the dorm. Today's breakfast in the cafeteria was pretty good, and Casio still longed for more even after finishing his milk. He arrived at the sports field against the cool breeze.
Instructor Lixia hadn't arrived yet. The assistant was squinting his eyes while leaning against a big tree, and only half of the apprentices were having chats on the field.
Casio glanced around and suddenly saw a familiar figure on his right. The redhead with freckles on his face carried a rebellious look between his brows, and it was Finn who had recovered from his injuries and returned to training.
It seemed that Finn felt someone staring at him and turned his head to look. After seeing that it was Casio, his eyes dodged a bit but then he inexplicably widened his eyes, glaring angrily over here, his eyes filled with rage and a touch of resentment.
Casio furrowed his brows and looked away.
No wonder he was so energetic after lying in bed for more than ten days.
Hope he has the same energy later...