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墨書 Inktalez
On a Monday morning.
On the playground, the Newbies stood in neat rows, their eyes filled with admiration as they looked at Garen. The reason was simple—Dostodoro had returned! Compared to Black Duncan, this group of Novices actually understood Dostodoro much better and were well aware of how difficult it was to get him back to class. Yet, this was something that Instructor Garen had accomplished!
Of course, this admiration was merely that, not shock. Last semester, Garen's image in the eyes of the Newbies had already risen to a considerable height, far surpassing that of the former Volikov.
Now, when they spoke of Volikov, they would jokingly say—what, that broken wine jug? Forget it... I heard he nearly died from just one glare from the instructor!
Garen looked at the Newbies and could clearly see that their bodies had become much more toned. Clearly, while indulging during the holiday, they hadn’t neglected their training.
“Very good. It seems this holiday didn’t kill you Novices,” Garen said loudly.
The Newbies were familiar with Garen's personality, so to them, this meant: Good job, I see your efforts over the holiday. Thus, they all proudly smiled.
However, Dostodoro was taken aback; he looked at his classmates in confusion. Did they all go mad? Novices? How could such an unpleasant name make them laugh?
“Layton, same old rules,” Garen tossed out casually.
The Rookie Squad Leader stood up at the call and shouted loudly, “Form up! Run 20 laps around the playground!”
Twenty laps?! Dostodoro was startled and quickly noticed that his classmates turned around and began to prepare for a warm-up. There was no hint of resistance in their eyes; instead, there was even a glimmer of anticipation? Eagerness?
What has happened to these guys? Have they lost their minds? Don’t they know how to resist? Dostodoro thought to himself but soon withdrew his gaze. Hmph! Anyway, he was just here to pass the time; there was no mention of running 20 laps in his agreement with Black Duncan!
As his classmates started jogging, Dostodoro remained standing still. He noticed Garen’s gaze sweep over him but strangely enough, Garen didn’t say anything and silently walked toward the water tank.
At that moment, a furious roar echoed through the air.
"New Novice! What are you still standing there for?" Layton glared and shouted, "Are your little wings frozen stiff?"
"W-what did you say..." Dostodoro was completely taken aback.
"Put away that look in your eyes; don’t think you can get close to me, the class leader! On the path away from Novice, we are all equals!" Layton continued to yell.
"Layton!" Dostodoro finally snapped.
But just then, laughter erupted from the distance within the Lineup.
"Haha! Is the new Novice scared?"
"Ah... I used to think he was an old hand; I'm so disappointed!"
"The new Novice's little wings are frozen stiff!"
Seeing Dostodoro trembling with anger, Layton felt a surge of satisfaction inside and maintained a stern expression. "Is your dream to be a sickly bird?"
"Layton!" Dostodoro could no longer hold back and took off after him. "You better stop right there!"
"Heh heh, the road to battle is long; I'll be waiting for you at the finish line!"
Watching the Rookie Squad Leader dash across the playground, Garen couldn't help but stroke his chin. It seemed he had never said anything like that before, had he?
Garen certainly did not know that this Rookie Squad Leader, in order to solidify his "position," had spent the holiday reading a series of books such as "The Warrior's Handbook," "The Knight's Declaration," "Leadership Quotes," and "How to Become a Great Person"...
It is worth mentioning that Dostodoro's physical fitness was not bad at all; in fact, it was far better than that of the Newbies from the previous semester, and he adapted quickly.
As the third lap came to an end, a slender figure approached.
"You can only drink water on the tenth lap," Garen said with a smile, looking at the Novice vice-class leader who was walking over.
"I don't want to drink water."
Rody shook his head, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Instructor, I want to become stronger."
Garen's smile faded, and a look of confusion crossed his face.
"Instructor, I don't want to run anymore... Perhaps this is the most effective way to solidify the basics, but it's not enough. I want a shortcut to becoming stronger..." Rody took a deep breath and said earnestly, "I want to cultivate Fighting Spirit!"
Rody's gaze was very determined, even somewhat mature.
It was not hard to guess that he must have gone through some profound and painful experiences during this holiday.
Garen remained silent for a moment before saying, "There are no shortcuts to becoming stronger. Any so-called shortcut is merely exchanging greater costs for the desired results."
"I'm not afraid."
"Even if it will be very difficult?"
"I am willing to endure."
Looking at the stubborn boy, Garen paused for a moment before ultimately deciding to teach Rody the high-intensity Muscle Training. Although this set of exercises was designed for adult warriors and was too harsh for Rody, he had stated his willingness to endure.
Garen did not ask Rody what had happened, as it would serve no purpose. What Rody wanted was to solve the challenges he faced through his own strength, and bringing it up would only serve to poke at his wounds.
Muscle Training consisted of three parts: Awakening, Activation, and Limit. This process gradually increased the muscle load, thereby unlocking the body's potential and accelerating the brewing and formation cycle of Fighting Spirit. While the muscle awakening training was the least intense, it was still far more painful than ordinary training due to its inherently high intensity.
Fortunately, with Garen personally guiding him, various injuries could be avoided. However, even so, it would still be a tremendous ordeal.
Watching the boy nearby drenched in sweat, clearly in pain yet gritting his teeth to persist, Garen felt an inexplicable sense of emotion.
It seemed that no matter which world one inhabited, humanity remained the same. Despite having many choices available and the ability to grow through effort, people often procrastinated or gave up due to the comfort of their current lives. Only when faced with true difficulties or drastic changes did they begin to awaken and force themselves through even more torturous methods.
The question was, if one chose to work hard from the beginning, would they not have to resolve their problems in such a way?
What appeared to be a Fearless choice was actually just seeking excuses for past laziness.
Of course, Garen was not targeting Rody; rather, in his eyes, Rody's ability to make such a choice at such a young age far surpassed that of countless adults.
In the afternoon, Black Duncan arrived at the academy with a woman by his side.
"Sir Garen! This is the assistant hired by the mayor for you. I hope under your guidance, the students will become increasingly excellent!"
However, the moment Garen looked over, he froze in shock.
Yasthia tied her golden hair up and stood beside Black Duncan, waving her hand with a smile.
Garen felt somewhat helpless, yet he couldn't help but admire this woman.
It was not hard to guess. Although Garen was nominally Yasthia's bodyguard, he couldn't very well bring a woman with him during class. Thus, Yasthia was willing to become the assistant to the instructor just to stay by Garen's side.
Black Duncan glanced at the students running around, and when he spotted Dostodoro, he couldn't help but laugh heartily, saying he would go tell the town mayor. After finishing his business regarding the instructor's assistant, he left the academy.
After a while, Garen and Yasthia sat by the water tank.
"But if that's the case, what about the tower construction project?" Garen asked.
"Well... I've looked over your blueprint and prepared three plans that can be implemented at any time," Yasthia replied with a smile.
"So soon?" Garen was astonished. He had specifically checked in with her before leaving this morning, and at that time, Yasthia was still studying the blueprint.
"Is it fast? If it weren't for your magic tower blueprint being overly complicated, almost exceeding all records of the Holy Empire... I could have done it even faster," Yasthia said dismissively.
Garen felt relieved as he recalled a great person from Valoran Continent who once said: If given an hour to answer a question that determines my life or death, I would spend 55 minutes understanding its meaning; as for the answer, the remaining 5 minutes would be sufficient.
"So, what are we still missing?" Garen asked in confusion.
"We still need an address for the tower construction," Yasthia blinked and asked, "Have you decided where to build it?"
"You decide. I've already given you the key to Black Gold Loft."
"How casual..." Yasthia chuckled helplessly and sighed, "But it's hard to imagine that you've only been in town for two months and managed to save up so many gold coins!"
Clearly, Yasthia had already visited the Black Gold Loft.
But were these gold coins really a lot? Garen thought about the magical python fangs that Sharg had taken to the town for auction.
Yasthia looked at his resolute face and felt an inexplicable sense of mystery. Just like back on Agalon Prairie, he always gave people a special sense of security; otherwise, she wouldn't have sought Garen's help. However, as she gradually got to know this man, she realized that she had underestimated him.
At least, the blueprint for the Magic Tower was certainly not something that could be conceived by the current standards of the Holy Empire.
In fact, it would be difficult to find such an astonishing and grand concept anywhere in the entire Godeyas Continent.
Of course, according to Yasthia's judgment, it was basically impossible to construct a complete Magic Tower based on the blueprint at this stage. So after discussing with Garen, they decided to cut parts of the tower body. In other words, they would create a scaled-down version of the Magic Tower, ensuring that any part could function normally while reducing its size.
"By the way, have you thought about what to call this tower?" Yasthia suddenly asked.
"Watchtower," Garen replied calmly.
"Watchtower?" Yasthia paused for a moment, recalling that she had read somewhere that 'watching' refers to hope and expectation, but it also implies guarding hope.
Before their conversation could continue, a shout suddenly rang out not far away.
Rody was in the third part of his Muscle Training: the limit. However, he hadn't been able to sustain himself in this state for long before half-black sweat began to ooze from his body, and with a thud, he fainted!
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