After three grueling hours of sword training, Aris finally completed his set of swings. His hands throbbed with exhaustion, his entire body ached, and he was drenched; every muscle was sore from relentless repetition.
"Alright, that's enough for now," the instructor said, sliding his sword back into its sheath. The squires followed his lead, their movements sluggish from fatigue.
"Go grab some food. Be back here in thirty minutes—or else." With that, he turned and strode toward the fortress buildings, leaving them to recover… if they could.
The squires collapsed onto the ground, too drained to even sit up. A few turned their heads toward Aris, who was lying flat on his back, his sword still clutched loosely in his trembling hand. His chest heaved with each ragged breath, his body barely holding together after the brutal training.
"How the hell did he even finish that?" one of the squires muttered, nudging his companion. "His body should've given out ages ago."
"No clue," the other said, shaking his head. "I would've quit halfway through. This was the worst training we've had so far."
Another squire, catching the exchange, smirked before glancing at Dylan, the number one ranked and the most physically capable among them. "What do you think, Dylan? If he keeps this up, you think he'll pass you in the rankings once he builds enough muscles?"
Dylan, who had been sitting with his arms crossed over his chest, opened his eyes and let out a slow breath. He looked over at Aris, considering the question before responding.
"He's got grit, I'll give him that. Not many would push through like that," Dylan admitted. "But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Right now, he's still weak in terms of; physique, skill, everything."
"And me?" He sat up, rolling his shoulders. "I'm not a stone that would not move, waiting for him to catch up, am also improving. We're all improving, not just him." He smirked, giving the others a pointed look. "So don't go getting scared over 'potential.' Hard work matters, but so does time"
Dylan and his group took one last look at Aris before heading to the breakfast benches. Their exhaustion was clear, but their confidence remained strong. They had long since adapted to the grueling training, and despite their fatigue, they moved with the ease of those who knew they would recover quickly.
Chris, however, stayed behind. He walked over to where Aris lay on the ground, his chest rising and falling in heavy, uneven breaths. After a brief pause, Chris extended a hand.
"Get up. Time's passing," he said, his voice steady but not unkind.
Aris slowly opened his eyes at the familiar voice. He stared at the outstretched hand for a moment before finally grasping it. With a firm pull, Chris helped him to his feet.
"Your back's a mess," Chris said, noticing the mix of sweat and dirt clinging to Aris's cloth. He reached out to brush it off, but the grime was stuck to the damp fabric.
Aris barely reacted. Without a word, he sheathed his sword and turned toward the breakfast benches. His thoughts were sluggish, his body aching, and right now, only two things mattered to him; food and rest. Everything else could wait.
After two minutes, they arrived at a building with a large brown wooden door and stepped inside. The hall was spacious, with long wooden tables stretching approximately fifteen meters, each accompanied by equally long benches.
The air carried the faint scent of cooked food; to Aris, it made his stomach grumble a reminder of his hunger.
The squires were lining up for their meals, their positions determined by their rankings. The higher-ranked squires stood at the front, receiving their portions first, while the lower-ranked ones waited at the back.
Chris gave Aris a brief glance before heading to his own place in the line. His ranking wasn't high enough to be among the top ten, but it was still better than most. Aris, on the other hand, trudged to the very back, each step sending a dull ache through his body.
He stood there, waiting for his turn, his body screaming for rest. At times, the exhaustion became too much, and he would lower himself to the ground, sitting in silence. But the line kept moving, and whenever it did, he forced himself back up, his movements sluggish as he inched forward, waiting for his share of food.
Finally, his turn came. He stepped forward, stopping in front of a wall with a rectangular hole—an opening through which the food was handed out.
A server on the other side barely spared him a glance before shoving a plate and bowl into his hands. Aris stared at the plate and the bowl in his hands. A portion of brown rice sat next to a thin slice of roasted meat, its juices pooling at the edges. A small piece of white, bitter bread rested beside it with two boiled egg, and to his surprise, the bowl contained steaming herbal broth.
The aroma was unlike anything he had ever smelled before—earthy and slightly sweet, with a sharp undertone. As he took a sip, warmth instantly spread through his exhausted body. He took several more sips, and soon his mind felt clearer and his fatigue lessened. "This isn't ordinary broth," he thought. The faint bitterness in it suggested it contained special herbs.
Aris immediately thought of Zona. "Scan all the food and tell me what you find," he ordered.
[Scanning… Analyzing the properties. Herbs with rejuvenating effects detected in the broth. The food is beneficial for the body… Peep… Unknown energy detected in the meat. Trying to analyze the energy… Analysis failed due to insufficient data. Properties not analyzed… Searching for solution.]
Aris smiled and felt relieved to hear that the broth had rejuvenating properties instead of the harmful substances found in the food from his previous place. However, he soon stopped smiling When he heard the 'unknown energy', he asked Zona, "What do you mean by that?"
[No data about the energy recorded in the database.]
[It could be a new element, possibly due to the differences in this world.]
"Of course it is," Aris replied, his tone sharp. But then, he calmed himself. "I can't get angry." Despite his growing hunger, the idea of "unknown energy" in the food made him suspicious, even though he was salivating at the thought of eating.
Aris glanced at the squire sitting next to him, who was hungrily devouring his food. To ensure there was no harmful substance in the meat, Aris told Zona, "Scan the boy next to me while he eats and analyze any changes in his body, down to the smallest detail."
The AI first scanned the boy.
[Name: Unknown, Strength: 0.9, Agility: 0.8, Physical: 1.0, Status: Eating]
"He is much stronger than I am," as he recalled his stats: strength 0.4, agility 0.6, and physical 0.5, which he last checked last night.
"It seems like it has a new other feature, different from the predicting attacks feature" He was surprised by the new abilities the AI was showing, abilities that hadn't been there when he first created it. Since arriving in this world, the AI had become a puzzle, revealing more mysteries with each passing day.
While the growing intrigue fascinated him, Aris knew now wasn't the time to dig into the AI's potential. His focus was on what the squire was doing instead.
As the squire ate a piece of meat, the AI continued to scan him.
[The boy's vitality increased by 0.0001 percent, and the amount of vitality in him increased. His muscles are highly active, as if he's working out, even though he isn't physically exerting himself.]
"What?" Aris thought, staring at the meat on his plate. How could the meat cause that? But then, he quickly realized it wasn't the meat itself—it was the unknown energy in the meat. This was further confirmed by the AI.
[The unknown energy is the cause of this effect. Although it's beneficial, the amount is too small to show drastic improvements in physique. However, the more you consume, the quicker your physique will improve. More data is required to provide more information]
"So if I eat more of this meat, I'll be able to build muscle faster," Aris thought. But he also knew it wouldn't be easy to get more meat. First, he was the weakest of them all. Second, the other squires were improving too. Third, that petty instructor was now targeting him. There was no easy way to get more meat.
He looked at Dylan, who was sitting at the far end of the table. Dylan's plate was larger than the others, and most of the food he was eating was meat.
"It would be difficult to take his position, but not impossible," Aris thought, feeling confident as the AI chip reinforced his belief.
He then began to eat quickly, savoring each bite. "Delicious," he muttered, catching the attention of the squire beside him, but he didn't care. As he swallowed a piece of meat, his body jolted, as if dry land had suddenly been soaked with water. The unknown energy within the food was welcomed by his body, but the sensation was fleeting, vanishing as quickly as it had come.
He chewed another piece of meat and thought inwardly, "Scanthechangesandeffectstheenergyhasonmybody."
[Analyzing energy properties… Strengthening detected… Energy impacting muscle fibers and cellular regeneration. The energy enhances muscle activity, boosting growth and repair rates. Muscle fibers are undergoing rapid recovery and development due to increased metabolic activity. Additionally, cellular regeneration is accelerated, leading to faster muscle recovery and increased strength over time. This energy may stimulate cellular processes similar to anabolic steroids, promoting muscle hypertrophy without significant external strain.]
"So, it's like a steroid… but better—more refined, with some kind of unknown quality," Aris thought, piecing together the AI's explanation. The energy may resemble steroids, but it is undeniably superior in quality and effects.
The effects were quicker; he could already feel himself growing stronger, his muscles less sore, and his exhaustion lifting.
"No wonder they weren't complaining about the intensity of the training," Aris mused. "They knew they'd recover and improve from this amazing food."
He glanced over at Chris, who had claimed the food was decent. Maybe Chris didn't know about the mysterious energy hidden in the broth.
Aris' thoughts were spot on. Chris and the other squires were unaware of the unknown energy in the meat. They only knew that the food made them feel refreshed, and it was effective in alleviating their fatigue. Some of them even speculated that it could help them build muscle faster, but they were not as knowledgeable as Aris or had the AI chip to confirm their speculations.
But Dylan, who had more inside information, was the only one who truly understood its significance. That's why he worked so hard to maintain his position at the top—to ensure he could secure more of the meat for himself.