Back in the classroom, Eric casually brushed off Chris's questions and began skimming through the books he got from Mr. Wells.
After a brief look, Eric felt overwhelmed. The Knight Academy's professional exam covered an enormous range of topics. The most important parts involved understanding one's own body. As a future knight, if you didn't even know the structure of your own body, how could you possibly train it properly?
The books covered everything from the number of bones and key arteries in the body to how the circulatory system worked. Knights needed to know the arrangement of bones, the functions of internal organs, and the meaning of special knight-training terms.
In addition, there were basic medical and pharmaceutical principles, as well as books on the *History of Knights*, *Biographies of Legendary Figures*, *A Beginner's Guide to Weapons*, and *Combat Techniques for Beginners*. There were over ten books in total, and after just a few pages, Eric's eyes started to blur.
Trying to read through everything felt like an impossible task. Even if Eric treated them like novels, it'd probably take him until the exam was over to finish. On top of that, he still had to prepare for the academic portion of the exam. Though he had a decent foundation from previous years of schooling, it wasn't something he could restore overnight.
"This is such a headache," Eric muttered under his breath.
Chris, sitting nearby, noticed his frustration. Although he was a bit annoyed that Eric hadn't told him about signing up earlier, he still offered some words of comfort. "Hey, you've already signed up, so don't waste that $10,000 registration fee."
Eric rolled his eyes, thinking, *So you think I'm just doing this to get my money's worth?*
Chris didn't notice and kept talking. "Too bad we're not knights. If we had their stamina, we wouldn't even need sleep for days. I heard some high-level knights can process information as fast as computers. Those elites? They can manage businesses or government work ten times better than a normal person."
Chris sighed with envy. "I heard that back when Malcolm was starting his company, he didn't have enough money or manpower, so he worked for seven straight days without rest. That was when his knight rank was still pretty low. Now, he could probably go a whole month without sleep. Man, if we had that kind of energy, acing the academic exams would be no problem."
Chris's words made Eric think. Chris might not have the means to become a knight, but Eric did. He had already felt the benefits of increased vitality. After boosting his vitality the previous day, he felt much more energetic—sleeping less didn't even leave him tired.
That was the advantage of high vitality. It gave people more stamina. So what exactly did the "spirit" stat in his system do? Eric had a hunch that raising his spirit would improve his memory and comprehension. If that was the case, then the academic exams wouldn't be such a big hurdle.
Chris's casual remarks actually put Eric at ease. It seemed that making money to experiment with his spirit stat should be his next priority. Whether it was boosting vitality or increasing his spirit, everything relied on money. Without it, he couldn't make any progress.
…
The rest of the day was filled with review sessions and test prep. Eric didn't waste time—he spent most of it reading the books without taking notes. The teachers didn't seem to mind. At this point in the school year, studying was mostly self-directed. And since the teachers knew Eric had signed up for the Knight Academy exam, they didn't interrupt him when he was reading knight-related material in class.
Time passed quickly, and when the final bell rang, Eric didn't leave with Chris and the others as he usually did. Instead, he walked over to Mark Wilson.
As Mark packed up his bag, he smiled and said, "Saw you studying knight stuff today. How's it going?"
"It's okay, not too hard, just a lot to take in," Eric replied honestly.
"Some of it won't even be on the test. Once you've copied my notes, just focus on the key areas. If anything's unclear, feel free to ask me." Mark offered with a grin.
"Thanks again, I really appreciate it," Eric said, genuinely grateful. Help like this was rare, especially during crunch time when most top students didn't want to share their advantages.
Of course, this had to do with the fact that Mark didn't see Eric as a competitor. His real competition was with the top students in the advanced classes and the best candidates from across the country. In his eyes, Eric was a beginner who barely understood the basics.
The two chatted as they left the school.
…
Mark's home wasn't far from the school, about a ten-minute walk. It was also in a residential neighborhood, though a much nicer one. As they reached the entrance to the complex, Eric couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. He had half-expected Mark's family to live in a mansion.
Eric didn't know much about Mark, even in his previous life, they hadn't interacted much. Still, it made sense—if Mark's family had been extremely wealthy, he probably would've attended the advanced classes, where there were ways to buy your way in.
The complex was well-maintained, unlike Eric's home, which anyone could enter. This one required keycard access.
"William King will be at school in two days. I wonder if we'll get a chance to talk to him one-on-one," Mark mused.
"It's about time the school did something useful. William King is a big inspiration for us students in the general class. He wasn't doing all that well before the Knight Academy exams last year, and then suddenly he surged ahead and shocked everyone. I wonder if he had some secret trick up his sleeve," Mark said wistfully.
Eric perked up at that, feeling a strange sense of connection. That story sounded awfully familiar, almost like his own. Could William be a reborn like him? But after listening to Mark talk some more, Eric figured that wasn't the case—it was probably just a matter of William peaking at the right time.
…
After a bit more small talk, they arrived at Mark's home. When he opened the door, Mark glanced at Eric, surprised to see him unfazed.
Mark's house was large, a two-story duplex with high-end decor. Most students from average families would've shown some sign of envy, even if they weren't outright jealous. But Eric's expression remained neutral, as if this kind of luxury was nothing new.
If Eric had known what Mark was thinking, he might have put on a show to satisfy his expectations. But Eric hadn't given it a second thought. In his previous life, after graduating college, he'd bought a decent-sized apartment with the help of his parents and his own savings. It wasn't as fancy as Mark's place, but it wasn't far off. Plus, Eric had bought his place in a big city, where property values were much higher.
Having worked for several years and seen far grander homes in major cities like New York and London, he wasn't easily impressed by a small-town duplex.
…
Mark's mother was home and greeted Eric politely before Mark led him upstairs.
After handing over his notes, Mark took Eric to another room. "This is our home gym. The vitality tester is over here." He opened the door to reveal a simple setup—some dumbbells, a barbell, a treadmill, and a leg press machine. Next to the equipment was a device that looked like a massage chair, with a monitor attached. Eric assumed this was the vitality tester.
Sure enough, Mark walked over to the "massage chair" and said, "This is it. It's a simplified version, nowhere near as good as the hospital's. Their machine looks like a space pod and can do a full-body scan. This one just gives rough readings."
"Lie down, I'll hook up the sensors. Oh, and you'll need to put in some effort," Mark added with a smile.
"Effort?" Eric asked, puzzled.
"Your vitality is usually at a resting level. You need to get it boiling to hit your peak. It's not just about physical exertion—you need to get your emotions going too. That's the only way to see your real vitality level. You see those pedals down there? When I say go, push as hard as you can and stretch your arms back with full force. And during the actual exam, don't hold anything back."
With that, Mark signaled for Eric to lie down and began attaching the sensors. Once everything was set, Mark turned on the monitor and said, "Alright, go ahead. And if you can't get your emotions up, think of something that makes you really happy."
Taking a deep breath, Eric pushed hard against the pedals and stretched his arms out with all his strength. Mark watched the monitor closely, waiting for the results…
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