Galon, still undecided on which attribute to enhance by the end of the class, now fully believed in the reality of his newfound ability.
The crisp sound of the class-ending bell suddenly rang out, and the etiquette teacher quickly left the classroom, turning the once quiet room noisy.
Galon jolted upright, taking a deep breath before suddenly feeling an unprecedented hunger gnawing at his stomach. He covered his belly with his hand and discreetly checked his pockets, pulling out a few pale blue banknotes with denominations of 1 and 5. Counting his money, he frowned slightly.
"Just fifteen dollars for the whole week... That's far from enough. And I had breakfast before coming. The hunger struck just as my potential reached 100%. It seems this potential isn't only about absorbing from jewels but also related to my own body's energy consumption."
Suddenly, his shoulder was tapped from behind. "Galon, lunch at the usual spot?" A young male voice sounded from behind.
Turning around, Galon saw a short-haired, freckled, fair-skinned boy smiling at him. "What usual spot?"
"By the window, remember?" The boy, named Kaledo, was one of the few in class slightly acquainted with Galon.
"Yesterday was the Jasmine Tea Set for lunch. Wonder what's today?" another boy whispered, hoping for the special dark purple jam again.
"Alright, I'll go buy the sheep milk. Give me five each," Kaledo said, extending his hand. It was a tradition among the students to drink hot sheep milk before lunch, and almost everyone participated.
As Kaledo spread his hand, a dozen students immediately gathered around, placing five-dollar notes in his palm. "Here's mine!" "And mine!" The crowd quickly formed, eager to contribute.
Kaledo, overwhelmed, counted the money: "Twelve servings... Galon, you're not getting milk? I can buy something else for you on the way."
"No, thanks. You know I don't like sheep milk," Galon quickly declined, pretending indifference due to his lack of money, even though he would have preferred to say otherwise. He had always used this excuse, following the original Galon's habit.
Unexpectedly, Kaledo really thought Galon didn't like it: "No worries, just buy a box and try it. The taste is quite good. Since I brought it for you anyway, what's there to fear?"
"No need, I really don't like it," Galon kept refusing.
"Just give it a try, it's fine!"
"I really don't like drinking it, you guys go ahead!"
"Alright then…" Kaledo shrugged helplessly and trotted out of the classroom.
Before long, several students chatting together each held a box of white-packaged sheep's milk, slowly sipping it. Left with no choice, Galon pretended to focus on his studies, bowing his head to read and take notes. With the increased intensity of his exercises, the allowance from home was barely enough for food. Now, just smelling the warm milk made his stomach grumble again. Fortunately, the noise of chatting around was loud enough to cover the sound.
He shook his head in resignation and suddenly caught sight of the girl, Aifi, to his right.
She seemed to be in a similar situation, pretending to study while her small stomach unnaturally sucked in, trying to prevent any sounds. Aifi noticed his gaze and looked back, their eyes meeting. Both blushed, seemingly understanding each other's plight, and a sense of camaraderie rose between them.
After drinking the sheep's milk, Galon joined a group of boys, laughing and talking on their way down to the central cafeteria.
The cafeteria was located in the center of the academy, surrounded by countless student dormitories, forming a black cubic shape with entrances on all sides. A large number of students were coming and going, and the aroma of bread and cakes, along with the noise of students, filled the air.
After eating the free meal with the boys, Galon finally managed to suppress his hunger.
Leaving the cafeteria with the crowd, Galon looked up at the bright sunny weather, feeling the burn of the brilliant sunlight on his face: "It's no wonder it's among the top hundred schools in the Federation, right here in Huai Mountain City. Saint Ying Middle School probably has the best food... The afternoon classes are different, ending at three o'clock, which gives me a perfect opportunity to test if my abilities work."
He looked again at the five faint red attributes in his vision, anticipation flickering in his eyes. Recalling the national map he had memorized, "I also need to check the specifics of my surroundings…" Thinking this, he looked around, chose a direction with fewer people, and walked briskly away, soon disappearing between the buildings.
In the afternoon, the orange sunlight slanted across Huai Mountain City, turning the varied heights of buildings a deep red, with some pointed and domed buildings reflecting a mirror-like shine. A breeze brought waves of warm air.
In the northern part of the city, near the famous Saint Ying Academy, at the end of a street to the left, stood a broad courtyard with gray and redwood. Simple houses were in front, with two large open fields at the back.
In one corner of the yellow field under the shade of trees, yellow-dressed youths were practicing against wooden stakes, the sound of their hitting echoing continuously. A young man in white walked among them, correcting their movements now and then.
Near the edge, under the shade, one of the youths in yellow, with purple hair and wine-red eyes, was Galon, who had come here after school at Saint Ying Academy.
This was a local martial arts gym near the academy, specializing in teaching basic martial arts skills.
Galon and two classmates from the academy had impulsively joined this gym, motivated by the robust physiques of the martial arts students and the desire to strengthen their own bodies.
Galon was lightly hitting a wooden stake in front of him. The stake, level with a person, was dark yellow and covered with yellow rubber, making it painless to hit.
After practicing for a while, he paused for a brief rest: "The original Galon had average talent but put in a lot of effort to learn. The basic fighting techniques from the Baiyun Gym were thoroughly practiced by him. However, without innate talent or supernatural powers in this world, a weak body is a major disadvantage." Leaning on the thick wooden stake, Galon caught his breath, organizing his thoughts. "In Baiyun Gym, the master is rarely seen, and it's mostly his disciples who teach us..."
His gaze landed on the white-dressed young man approaching, "One of them is Luo Ya, and there's also a girl named Shamanla."
"Now that I've mastered the basic fighting techniques, it's just my poor physique that's holding me back," Galon pondered.
With a plan in mind, he continued to exercise according to the physical instincts he remembered from his memories.
A few minutes later, a girl with a ponytail and dressed in white quickly approached Luo Ya, whispering something to him before he
headed straight for the exit where someone seemed to be waiting.
The ponytailed girl, Shamanla, replacing Luo Ya as the instructor, was already familiar to most students, raising no questions.
Galon glanced at Shamanla. Her long legs were her most noticeable feature, along with her tall, slender figure, charming face, and fair skin. As she demonstrated the correct movements, her chest bounced slightly with her vigorous actions, drawing the attention of many practicing boys.
A male student made a deliberate mistake, earning a playful scold and a knock on the head from Shamanla.
"Indeed, being taught by Shamanla is the most comfortable experience," whispered two male students nearby.
Galon thought, "I saved up to practice martial arts, not to ogle at a beauty..."
"Alright, let's start the one-on-one practice, and then rank everyone. As usual, the five lowest-ranked will clean the field," Shamanla announced.
Galon paused, his hand resting on the soft rubber-coated wooden stake.
In the gym, they had daily sparring sessions with rankings. Galon's performance had always been among the lowest, often tasked with cleaning the field, with only occasional victories. Among the twenty students, he was considered one of the weakest.
Hearing about the sparring session, Galon's gaze immediately fell on a silver-haired girl; he had lost to her last time, barely making it into the cleaning crew.
The girl didn't notice his gaze, instead chatting and laughing with a companion.
Shamanla surveyed all the students, nodding slightly at their eager expressions: "Although Baiyun Gym's basic fighting techniques are simple, they're quite effective. Mastered thoroughly, they can allow an ordinary person to burst out with 1.5 times their original strength in an instant. However, only five students have truly mastered it. After observing for a while longer, if no one else improves, we'll select two from these five to teach advanced techniques and make them the elite students."
She knew that the basic fighting techniques could only enhance strength by 1.5 times at most, with limited training effects and difficulty. Only those truly passionate and determined about martial arts would put in the effort to practice. The gym used this method to identify promising students for further training.
Galon continued to practice the basic fighting techniques, warming up his body while focusing on the five attribute symbols in his vision before the sparring began.
"I can use the basic fighting techniques to train my body and enhance my growth with the attribute increase. This dual approach should make me progress faster than anyone else. I just don't know how much the attribute points will increase."
He carefully felt each symbol in his vision: Strength 0.31, Agility 0.22, Constitution 0.27, Intelligence 0.32. Potential 100%. His attention flowed from one attribute to the next without activating any memory or message, leaving Galon somewhat disappointed.
"Alright, let's start the sparring," Shamanla called out.