Everyone was groaning in pain, so instructor Lawson said in encouragement, "You don't need to do as much as you did yesterday. You just need to perform enough to be in the first ten. Your competitors are your mates. So all you need to do is to hold out until others fail."
That's what Arthur did yesterday. But he didn't do the same today.
Today, he decided not to compete with the others. He decided to compete with himself, as that was the only way he could reach his limits and break them.
He had the privilege to make that his goal because he was full of energy. He could hold on until he reached the top ten, but he wanted more so that the blood pills would be able to increase the strength of his body faster.
He thought to himself, "They had one blood pill, probably even two, but I had three. So I must do better than them."
As time passed, it was clear that those who got blood pills yesterday had an advantage. There were some upsets as some kids who didn't get blood pills yesterday sometimes beat out the ten of yesterday, but the advantage was mostly for those who got the blood pill.
The blood pill had healed them to a certain extent so they could perform better than those who were still sore. But what was surprising was that Arthur managed to hold out against everyone else.
It wasn't because he was the strongest. Being the one to perform best was only because he was the most dedicated.
He still only had a stamina of 8, so the bigger kids still had a large advantage over him. He shouldn't have beat them if not for the fact that they weren't putting much effort into the exercise.
Everyone just wanted to reach the top ten. So they gave up after securing that position.
Only in situations like push-ups, where they had to perform their best in order to secure the top ten, did they put in all their effort and beat out Arthur.
But in exercises that were a test of endurance, they would give up after 14 others gave up and conserve their strength for the next exercise.
Only Arthur refused to give up until he couldn't continue anymore. He always gave his all for each exercise.
Instructor Lawson saw this and was impressed with his dedication. He said to the other kids, "I only said that you needed to beat the others in your class for the blood pill. But if you want to achieve more, you will need to beat every other kid training right now in the Turin kingdom."
"I said it yesterday that you will compete with everyone at the age of 24 and below for the right to enter a sect. So not only are you competing with the ones here in class with you, but you're also competing with the kids in the inner court of the Dyson family and every kid in every family everywhere."
"If you don't want to lag behind, you must put in your all. Trust me, your efforts won't go to waste even if you don't get the blood pill. In fact, you will have an advantage in that your limit will be easier to break than those who got their blood pills."
"So try to always break your limit. Let mana do the work of healing you. It might be slower than the healing of a blood pill. But it is free."
His words spurred some of the kids on, but they were less than half of the class. One third was encouraged and decided to give it their all, but there was another one third that didn't care and the last one third that had already given their best and had nothing left to give.
The kids that had given their best were aching all over. They had already reached their limits.
As for the ones who didn't care, they were a mix of those who were afraid of pain and the top five, who were also the kids who stayed behind from last year.
The top five kids aren't willing to give it their all because they want to secure the blood pill at all costs. They didn't want to overplay their hands and miss it.
They know that if they miss a blood pill today, it will be much more difficult to get it tomorrow. It is something they had seen happen several times. So they prioritized conserving their strength so that they will always be in the top ten.
Arthur got two rank 1 minor blood pills from his instructor that day. It made him lose his appetite and become sleepy.
This time he was more prepared. He rushed to the carriage and chose to eat on the way back home.
He actually didn't want to eat, but his mother told him that food is always good for growing stronger. More food meant more energy for development, which will increase the effectiveness of the blood pill.
His preparation didn't help him stay awake, though. He still fell asleep after eating.
Despite his tough body, the two blood pills were just too much for his young body to handle without his body dedicating the majority of its blood supply to his stomach to digest it.
Maybe he could have struggled to stay awake if he hadn't eaten. But the phantom fullness caused by the blood pill and the actual fullness caused by his meaty sandwich combined to put a heavy burden on his digestive system and always put him to sleep.
Then he got him, was carried to bed, and slept for five hours. His body got used to the pill after the first time, but this adaptation was to increase blood flow to his stomach faster and put him to sleep quickly.
He still had to digest the blood pills, and they had to take effect on his body. So he slept for five hours every day after class.