The journey was supposed to take around a week. Zaroth initially thought he was going to relax in the meantime, but it looked like he had been mistaken.
"Oh? Are you done already? But this was too fast…" Luna said, grinning while looking at the exhausted body of Zaroth, which was drenched in sweat.
He had removed his suit, not wanting to ruin it, so now he was in his underwear.
"I can't go on!" he grunted between his teeth, his body suffering from exhaustion.
"Come on! Just one more! Get it up once more!" Luna commanded.
Grunting heavily, he strained his muscles and managed to do one more push-up before immediately collapsing on the hard floor of the carriage.
"35 without stopping, great progress!" Luna exclaimed.
"WUF! WUF!" Zaroth's wolf agreed with her.
Because Zaroth was traveling by carriage, he didn't have much to do except train, so now he had summoned Luna and his wolf to train his core while also working on his physical body at the same time.
"I guess this is it, I'm done for now," Zaroth said, happy that even if his core hurt like crazy, he could let his body rest for a few hours.
Upon hearing that, Luna raised an eyebrow and asked, "Done? What about your pull-ups?"
Irritated, Zaroth spat, "We are not in the forest, Luna! There aren't any branches I could use in the carriage!"
"But there is something you could use."
"And what is it?!" Zaroth asked sarcastically. "There's nothing in this carriage that can be used for doing pull-ups!"
Without saying anything, Luna extended her hand to the side.
Seeing that gesture made Zaroth's eyes widen in surprise.
"I don't care how strong you are, there is no way your arms are so strong that I could just do pull-ups on them!" he cried.
Grinning from ear to ear, she answered, "Why don't you find out?"
With a sigh, he stood up and approached Luna. She was taller than him by about 20 centimeters, so after placing his hands on her arms, he had to bend his knees backward to avoid hitting the ground.
After that, he used his back muscles and pulled himself upward, noticing how Luna's arm didn't move even a centimeter.
Unable to believe what he was seeing, he shifted his gaze to Luna and asked her,
"How the hell are you so strong?"
With a mischievous grin, she answered,
"Less talking, more pulling!"
Needless to say, the week they spent traveling was akin to torture. Zaroth's mana core and body were stretched to their limits at the same time!
But considering that it was all in pursuit of strength, Zaroth didn't complain even once.
During the whole journey, Zaroth felt weird calling his great wolf "little buddy," so after consulting with Luna for her opinion, his pet would be called Silverfang from now on. It was a fitting name, considering the color of his fur and fangs.
On the last day of their journey, Zaroth stripped naked, and Luna examined his body. "Yes, the changes are obvious. You've definitely put on some muscle mass."
It wasn't surprising. One week of doing nothing but training nonstop would transform your body. But alas, he was still far from reaching his goal. He could now do 100 squats without a problem, but his push-ups were stuck at 50, and his pull-ups at 20.
Luna reassured him that once he entered the academy, his progress would drastically increase.
As the carriage came to a stop, Zaroth dismissed his companions, and then a voice was heard from the door,
"Sir, we have arrived at the capital."
Exiting, Zaroth put on a smile and thanked the man for the ride. The entire time, the man didn't comment on how behind him there were a woman's and a wolf's voices, but it was only natural. He had promised that he would ignore every noise after all.
After the man left, Zaroth glanced at the massive walls of the capital. They were close to fifty meters in height.
He was mesmerized for some time until Luna broke him out of his haze.
"I know it's beautiful, but you don't want to look like a country bumpkin, you know?"
She was using a new method of communication that they had found during their travel to the capital.
If Luna was dismissed, she could communicate with him using her thoughts. It was also possible if she was summoned, but it was much harder. He had also tested it on Silverfang and was able to send him some of his thoughts as well.
As they approached the gates, Zaroth patiently waited his turn until a guard called him over.
"Your name?" the knight asked.
"Zaroth," Zaroth replied. The knight began writing something in his mysterious magical device.
"Your cat-like eyes, are you related to the dragons' descendants?"
"Something like that," Zaroth answered with an innocent smile.
"Reason for visiting?"
"I plan to enter one of the magic academies."
Raising an eyebrow, the knight responded, "You know how many people want to join every year, right? You don't have a high chance unless you are gifted or of noble birth."
With a smile, Zaroth responded confidently, "I'll figure it out."
"Well, if you are related to the dragon descendants, I guess you have a chance." Muttering under his breath, the knight raised his hand, signaling that Zaroth was allowed to pass.
"All right, welcome to the capital of the Draconian Empire, boy."
Advancing forward, Zaroth spoke with Luna in his head,
"It's a good thing you warned me about the eyes. Who knew these eyes were only meant for the dragon descendants?"
"Yes, it's better for them to think you're related to the dragon descendants in some way in the Draconian Empire. That alone should earn you some respect."
Entering the capital was like entering another world. The buildings, the people—everything was advanced, almost like Zaroth had entered a new era.
He had energy. It was still morning, and he was dressed in the suit he had bought, meaning he was ready.
"All right, it's time I enter this academy."