Art woke up the next morning thanks to Stacy's alarm. After he had fixed himself and gotten ready he walked to the kitchen where Stacy ate breakfast. Art took out a slice of bread and put it on the table.
"I'm gonna be late today so you don't need to wait for me." Art said to Stacy who wasn't surprised. Art was always late and got home after midnight sometime. Stacy was worried that he would be in danger but he always came home without any injuries. '
When they had eaten they walked to school. Stacy was attending a different school but next year she would start attending the same school as Art. When Art was sitting in the classroom he saw how Jason looked at him with an angry look on his face. Jason was one of the beasts who informed of Art's special condition to Kevin who took it upon himself to punish him for being a lowly Human.
Art ignored him and got through his day as usual. When the day ended Art ran as fast as he could to the cafe. When Art was halfway there he was out of breath and walked the rest of the way. Art also got the same message as yesterday.
[You have been in the sunlight for one hour]
[Reward: 10 exp]
When Art got to the cafe the two twins were the first to great him "Hello Art, How are you doing" Mary asked. "I'm doing fine, how are you?" Art answered. "I'm fine," She said with a smile.
Carol was a little different but still greeted him "Hello Art I'm doing fine, what about you... Great" Art didn't know what he was supposed to say so he just nodded.
Art saw Steven making coffee and waved at him and he waved back. When Art remembered the talk they had yesterday he felt really good and was happy that he would help him train. When Art got behind the door he saw how Max and the boss were sitting and discussed something. When Art walked into the room they immediately stopped which Art thought was a little suspicious.
"Hi Art!" Max said and handed him the uniform had used yesterday. Art thanked him and changed. When Art got to work he felt that it had become much easier since yesterday. They were done after 4 hours.
Art changed and walked to Steven. "Are you ready?" Steven said. "Yeah," Art answered. "What are you getting ready for?" Max asked curiously.
"Steven has promised to train me," Art said happily. Max looked at Steven who just nodded with a smile. Alright be careful and good luck Art. "Thanks Max!" That was the only thing he could say before he got out of the door.
"Let's go" Steven said and started walking with Art right behind. After around 5 minutes Carol spoke in a quiet voice "Will he be okay?" Mary was wondering the same thing. Naomi, who sat at the table, laughed and said loudly. "The kid is more persistent than you would believe."
"How do you know?" Mary Asked. "I had Max look into the kid so we could be sure that he wasn't a spy from The red teardrops." Naomi calmly said. "The results were kind of shocking. He is living in the poorer parts of Pinevale and not only that his parents died four years ago and now he is living with his 15 year old sister. He does jobs so that they can live a good life.
Carol and Mary looked at each other and started thinking how easy their lives had been.
Art and Steven were walking to one of the parks nearby. Art looked at the buildings that looked really expensive. Art had never really had a reason to visit.
When Steven saw how Art looked at the buildings he started to get a little sad but it quickly disappeared when he saw their training spot.
"We're here" Steven said as he pointed at the park. Art looked at the park that was clean and not dirty as they were back where he and Stacy lived. Steven pointed to a small road that was going through the park. "We will start by running one lap around the park"
Art looked at the road. There was a sign with a map of the park and how long the road was. When he saw that it was 5 km he could already feel the exhaustion.
Steven took out a timer from his jacket and got ready to take Art's time. Art walked towards the start of the track and got ready.
"Are you ready?" There was clearly enjoyment in Stevens' eyes as he said this.
Art nodded and took a deep breath.
"Ready, Set, Go!" Steven yelled out.
Art started running and after about 2,5 km he got two messages
[Agility has increased by 1]
[Stamina has increased by 1]
"So i can increase my stats if i train"
Art continued to run but he felt how his energy was almost completely drained but he kept going.
When Art was back he saw the same messages pop up again but another message accompanied them this time.
[Agility has increased by 1]
[Stamina has increased by 1]
[You have been in the sunlight for one hour]
[Reward: 10 exp]
"It looks like every 2,5 km I get one point in agility and stamina."
"Great job 30 minutes but I want you to run this in half the time and have so much stamina left that you could run it 100 times." Steven said with a smile.
"Are you ready for the next step?"
Art locked at him and thought one word
"NO"
But Art nodded as if he was completely fine, the next second he would regret the tough guy act as he was slammed into the ground by Steven.
The next step was apparently knowing how to take punches well.
Steven kicked him, punched him and even threw him. Art felt completely helpless and was about to give up but the next second two new message popped up
[Endurance has increased by 1]
[Your health is below 50%]
"This training might not be so bad" Art thought as a smile appeared on his lips. Art wondered if he would get more stat points if they continued but Steven stooped. Steven looked at Art and was impressed that Art didn't look that beaten up but had been taking his punches for more than 20 minutes.
Art looked at Steven with respect in his eyes because it had been nearly 20 minutes and he had gotten him under 50% without trying to hurt him that much. If he compared Steven and the Shadow fighter he would probably say that they were on the same level.
For the last step Art needed to do was to learn how to fight. Art learned that Steven had boxing and muay thai experience and he learned the basics before they ended for the day.