Jake could roughly guess why she was mad. They were childhood friends, and they obviously cared for each other. In Marilyn's point of view, she had heard he had faced hard times. Yet, he acted like he didn't want to share his story with her, even though she genuinely cared for him.
Jake admitted he was unfair to her. He always listened to her stories, but he rarely shared his. Maybe he needed to tell her what he had gone through if she asked him once more.
---
After the first day was over. New students brought their belongings and went to their dormitories. As of today, they would live in the academy. They couldn't leave without permission.
Jake also walked toward the first year Elite Class's dormitory. Unlike the others, he didn't bring anything. Thanks to Aunt Mercedes's help, all his belongings were already in his room. He just needed to find where the dormitory was. Alas, the academy was too big, and he didn't gain a map because he had skipped the class. Thanks to that, Jake had to ask around. Luckily, Elite Class was popular, so many people knew the location of the dormitory. He arrived in front of the dormitory in no time.
The dormitory for the first year's Elite Class was a luxurious mansion, and there were many beautiful decorations such as a fountain, garden, and sculptures of the heroes. As a noble, he was used to this luxurious home too, but he didn't think the academy would provide such luxurious facilities for the students.
"Well I guess that made sense. Most of the elite class's students are nobles after all," Jake said as he thought of his personal room. He wondered how good the bed was. He wished he would get a room that faced the garden, so he could enjoy the beautiful views.
As he walked toward the mansion, he noticed most students had formed their circles. They happily talked to each other like close friends. Meanwhile, Jake was alone.
"Hm, maybe skipping the class for the first day was a mistake. Ah, well. Can't do anything about it," Jake muttered. He didn't envy their closeness. In fact, he was happy that people seemed to get along with each other.
"Man, don't you think the sculpture of the Magic Empress looks as beautiful as the real version? I want to hug it," said a brown-skinned boy to his friend as Jake passed by.
"Stop your raging hormones, idiot. You will get arrested," replied his friend. He was a man with wavy white hair.
Jake held his laughter when he overheard them, but they noticed his presence. The brown-skinned man waved his hand and called, "Yo, Mr. Number 1. Are you going inside?"
"You are Warren Reid."
"And this fool is Brian Foreman," Warren Reid said as he pointed his thumb at the white-haired man beside him."
"Who are you calling an idiot, you horny buffoon!" Brian Foreman exclaimed as he stomped his foot.
"Anyway, I heard you are Mrs. Magic Empress's nephew."
"What about it?" Jake asked.
Warren clasped his hands and bowed. "Please don't report me. I don't want to be arrested."
"Don't sweat it. Aunty is an easy going person. Go ahead and hug that sculpture. Nobody is going to arrest you. Trust," Jake said, lifting his thumb.
"You shouldn't trust Butler. He is suspicious," Brian said, but as if he remembered something he quickly explained, "I didn't mean your lineage by the way."
"Relax. Anyway, if both of you don't want to do a weird thing, you can show me my room."
"I don't mind, but where is your map?" Warren asked.
"He skipped the class, so he didn't get one."
"Alright. Shall we go now?" Warren asked.
The three entered the mansion and arrived at the main hall. Just like outside, the interior of this mansion was luxurious. There was a giant hanging lamp made of precious gems, carpet from the hide of a powerful magical beast, sofas from magic wood that emitted healing mana, etc.
Next to the main hall was the dining room. The kitchen in this mansion was active every hour. The students could eat and fill their stomach with the best quality meals. It was near lunchtime, so people were coming to the dining room. The two boys wanted to have lunch too, but they needed to find their rooms first.
"Let's see. Our rooms are on the second floor," Brian said as they arrived at the second floor. They faced a glass door that revealed the views of the balcony. "The girls' dormitory was on the left side. We are on the right side. Your room's number is A-1, Jake. Wait, do you even have your student card with you? You can only enter your room with that."
"I bring it with me," Jake said.
"Alright. Let's go to our rooms and have lunch together."
"Nah, I will pass. I want to sleep. See you tomorrow, guys." Jake waved them goodbye and rushed to the A-1 door. This was the moment he had been waiting for. He couldn't wait to see his bedroom.
Jake exposed his student card to the door knob. As he opened the door, he could see the room. His eyes were fixated on the king-sized mattress with white sheet and fluffy-looking pillows. That was what he needed. He didn't care about his belongings near the foot of the mattress. He didn't pay attention to the size of the large room and the luxurious bathroom in it. He ran straight into the room and threw himself onto the bed.
As his body touched the bed, the bed pulled his body in like a sponge. "Oh, so fluffy," Jake said with a blissful expression. He had slept on a low-quality mattress for almost a year. Oh, how much he missed this blissful sensation. Jake flipped his body and let his back feel the softness of the bed. "Oh, oh!! I—good night." After saying that, Jake fell into a deep slumber and nothing could wake him up until the next day.
The next day, Jake woke up early at dawn. He looked at the wall clock and found out it was already 4.00 AM. He immediately got up from the bed and stretched his body. Even though he wanted to sleep longer, he couldn't do that. He was the type to sleep faster, but wake up earlier. Besides, he had a lot of work to do.
Jake began his day with a bath. After that, he applied skin care to his face and skin. If someone saw him, they would think Jake was a diligent person. Nay. Pampering one's body was equal to enjoying themselves. Enjoying something was one of the essences of laziness. Besides, with a healthy body came a better pleasure to enjoy life.
Jake finished his morning routine at 5.00 AM. He left his room and went to the dining room. For breakfast, he'd usually choose a light but complex meal. However, he hadn't eaten yesterday. So, he wanted to pamper his stomach by eating a lot. Luckily, the kitchen provided unlimited supplies of food. He could order anything he wanted.
A few minutes later, many foods were provided on his table. There were steaks, melted cheese, milk, and high calorie fruit like bananas and apples. He ate all the meals in gusto while people were watching him in amazement.
"Yo, Jake. You should have woken us up," Warren greeted Jake in the middle of his meal. He and Brian joined him, and they ate together.
After having his breakfast, Jake excused himself and went to the training field. It was 6.00 AM, and the first class would occur at 9.00 AM. So, he had two hours for morning exercise.
On the training field, Jake only did a resistance training like lifting weight. He wanted to focus on regaining his former physique. That was his motivation to work hard. After all, he had gained an aesthetic body through hellish training with his mother. There was no way he wanted to lose it.
[Your strength has increased by 1]!
"Oh...." Jake stopped in the middle of the pull up. He didn't expect his stats would increase this quickly. He guessed it had something to do with his muscle memory and his system awakening.
Jake let go of the pull up bar and landed on the ground. He was about to open his status window, but a feminine voice called him.
"Jake, I know you are here." Marilyn waved at him and approached him.
Jake thought she was angry at him, but it seemed she was alright. He was glad the girl had a strong heart.
"Yo, are you going to train?" he asked while looking at her. For someone who wanted to exercise, she was wearing the school uniform.
"I was looking for you. There is something I want to give you from mom." Marilyn took out an oval vial from her blazer's pocket and gave it to him.
"This is?"
"Low quality rejuvenation potion. Mom knows you are weakened, so she wants me to give you this. If you consume it, you can regain your peak physical condition."
Jake took the expensive vial without hesitation. Even though it was labeled as low quality, rejuvenation's effect was extremely rare. For example, high quality rejuvenation could help old men regain their youth, and there was no potion that could replicate its effect aside from attaining the effect naturally after someone reached a certain level.
Jake opened the lid and drank the potion. Immediately, he felt its effect. His muscles were popping from inside, and his pores emanated steam, surrounding him. He couldn't see what happened due to the steam, but his shirt suddenly felt too small, especially in the chest, upper arms, and shoulders.
Jake couldn't handle the tightness, so he ripped his shirt. At the same time, the steam around him vanished, revealing his bare lean muscular body. He spread his arms as he looked at his physique. This was his original form, the aesthetical form that was formed through hellish training.
"Haha, that saved me from months of training. Thanks, Marilyn." Jake looked at the blindfolded girl, but for some reason she became quiet. Her body became stiff like a statue, and she forgot to breathe. "Are you okay?"
Marilyn snapped back to her senses when Jake poked her cheek. She hurriedly explained, "I suddenly gained inspiration for my magic research! I am sorry!"
"Why are you apologizing, nerd? But I am glad your nerdy side hasn't changed."
"Ah, yes. I was thinking about packs of musc—magic formulas. It is important research. I can't get it out of my head."
Jake laughed. "That reminds me we are going to select our mandatory courses. I will pick the magic course, so you have to help me in that class."
"You can leave it to me," Marilyn said cheerfully.
It seemed Marilyn wasn't angry at him. Such a big-hearted person, she deserved to know his past. "By the way... I apologize for yesterday. It was hard for me to tell my past experience, but I realized you have the right to know it."
"No! I should be the one who apologizes instead. You don't have to share your secret if you don't want to talk about it."
Jake smiled. "As expected, you deserve to know it. Are you free this weekend?"
Marilyn put her index finger on her chin, recalling something. "My classmates want to—"
Before she could finish her words, Jake said, "There is a nice restaurant by the riverside. If you are free, I want to invite you to lunch there. Oh, you have a plan? Well, nevermind then."
"I AM FREE!"
"Oh, then—"
"Okay, let's meet up on the weekend. Don't forget okay! I won't forgive any excuse!"
Before Jake could say something, Marilyn turned around and ran away while laughing cheerfully. Jake looked at her back with a dumbfounded expression. "Marilyn... don't tell me. She to me...."
Jake pondered about something. At the same time, Ms. Green approached him and wrote something on the note.
"Ms. Green?"
The teacher's glasses glistened as she tore the paper and slapped it on Jake's right chest. "One point deduction for walking around naked."
"Ah, wait. I can explain...."
Ms. Green slapped another paper on his left chest. "Another one point deduction for seducing female students in the vicinity."