Author's Note: Here's the extra chapter I promised for today.

Quin was waiting for his instructor in the training facility at the school just like he had been told in the last week. It only took a couple of minutes for the instructor to arrive and then they went to the first floor of the building, which was crowded with different kinds of machines Quin has never seen before.

“Alright, I guess your leg is fully healed now, so let’s get started. The first thing we’re going to check is the muscle strength of your legs and arms,” he started explaining. “Come, stand below this one and try to support it with your hands, as long as possible.”

From the ceiling a rectangular shaped object was hanging. Quin stood below it, lifted his hands up and then the instructor started to lower it. As it reached Quin’s hands he noticed that it was weighing more and more. In just a few second he was only barely able to hold it, and then soon he dropped to his knees, unable to bear it.

“Hmm, seven point two muscle strength, well it’s definitely not much but you have to start somewhere,” he said. “Next, squat here, and after you hear the sound of the bell, jump up with as much power as you can.”

The current testing machine did not seem too complex, only a meter by meter flat, black square on the floor.

He had to squat and jump three times to get a more accurate result, which turned out to be not so bright this time either.

Thirdly his stamina was tested, which proved to be average as well.

After some other minor tests, the last one checked his reflexes, which surprisingly was quite good, even if not exceptional. This made Quin happy, because he finally had an attribute which was not average or even below that.

“Alright, we’re finished now with the testing,” he told Quin. “I’ll go and make you the new training plans, and then give it to you on tomorrow.”

Naturally, Quin thanked him again and then went home happy.

The following day he received a couple of pages, filled with his instructor’s writing. He said that it was panned out for the whole summer and afterwards they should check his strength again to readjust his training regime.

In contrast with his previous one he made by himself, this consisted of a bigger amount of exercises, not just the few ones he had originally thought up. Though it focused on stamina building as well -- especially running -- it also contained other ones. Furthermore the running part of it also differed greatly, as it was not just plain running for as long as you can, but instead was divided into several various exercises. He had to start with a warm-up running for a quarter of an hour, then the next half hour had to be spent by running in a moderate tempo. The following thirty minutes afterwards was split into twenty segments, which consisted of half a minute of sprinting and a minute of walking. Lastly after resting for fifteen minutes, there was another fifteen minutes long run, but this time in a relaxed pace. Fortunately he had a magical hand-watch, which he could use for measuring time.

For most of the other kinds of exercises he was allowed to use the training facility of the school, which in the long run would probably result in a considerable difference compared to doing them at home.

Finishing reading it, Quin started his new training program that very day. Just a few months ago, I would have never believed that I could be so eager about it. Even though a week has not passed yet since my injury, somehow I feel that I can’t even wait another day to restart my daily exercises, he thought.

This line of thought shocked him so much, that for a moment he even started to wondered if he was alright. However then, he remembered why did he start it and what was his motivation behind it: survival. He did not want to relive that incident again, feeling terrified and utterly helpless, having nightmares every night; trembling in fear of the unknown enemies that can come anytime to take him down. No, the next time he will be ready, or at the very least more prepared. All in all, he still did not find that much fun in training itself, but rather in the fact that he was continuously improving.

After he was done with training, he went to speak with Leyn again to tell her what happened and that he had already finished his first day with his new schedule. The girl was happy for him, but did not forget to warn him, to be careful and not to overexert himself again.

As both of them was finished with their exercises, they stayed in for nearly an hour to talk about various things and afterwards they went home.

Quin was rather tired after finishing his dinner, so he decided to go bed early and get a bit more sleep for tomorrow.

The next day his entire body felt sore and nearly all of it had muscle strain, even walking felt painful. He was not sad or angry about it though, because he knew that it meant that his new training schedule was quite efficient. It did not focus on only improving a few parts of his body, rather all of his muscles were simultaneously worked on.

In the blink of an eye, a little over three months has passed, and it was already the start of the new school year.

The summer break -- which essentially meant that they only had four days of training classes per weeks and no other ones -- was somewhat uneventful. Quin firmly continued his daily exercises, except for having at least one day of rest each week, and the four month-long training undoubtedly bore its fruits. Although the road ahead of him was still long and all-in-all his physical fitness was still below than average, he was nowhere near to the weak, whining boy he had been. By the constant training his mental strength also increased, making it easier to put up with fatigue.

He also hung out often with his friends and they played a lot of different things. They were quite nice to him and he considered them his closest friends. Even so, sometimes he still felt like an outsider in this group. The reason behind this was quite simple: Aline, Alinor and Dreon were from great, powerful noble houses thus it was not that difficult to notice the difference between their upbringing and how people saw them. Though they never looked down on him, he did feel inferior to them sometimes, which was something that he hated. Despite not desiring to be of noble birth initially, he felt that it would have made things easier for him. Maybe, if I train hard enough and become powerful I’ll be able to stand next to them as an equal, without having to feel inferior? he wondered and this line of thought boosted his enthusiasm regarding training even more.

His other friend, Leyn regularly trained on the school track and in the training facility as well, thus they met frequently. Quin found it easy to talk with her and it seemed like this was the case for the girl as well. She was a couple of years older than him, thus having more knowledge in various things, so he felt that he could rely on her when he needed something. He did not have any siblings, but always wanted to have one, so he gradually started to look at her as she was his big sister.

Although Mang was not a talkative one, they often met on the school fields and had talked a few times.

Quin had only a single thing he regretted: his relationship with his father. Though he honestly hoped they will be on better terms because he started to take his training seriously, even doing extra exercises, unfortunately it was not the case. However he tried, his father always found something he could criticize and to top it off the small amount of time he spent at home decreased even further as well. He always blamed himself, thinking it was his fault for not being a better son and thus disappointing his father.

The new school year itself did not bring major changes either, they had the same classes, in the same order as before and the lessons simply continued where they left off.

After the first school day was over, Quin decided to visit his instructor, to adjust his training schedule as they have discussed it before.

“Excuse me sir, I’ve come as you have told me so last school year, to change my training plan,” Quin said after finally finding him.

“Alright, come, let’s go to the training facility to check how much you’ve improved,” he replied.

They entered the building and started doing the exact same testing process as last time.

“Hmm, actually that’s quite good. Honestly I haven’t expected you to reach such results,” he said surprised. “Though you shouldn’t forget you’re still far from the top. Speaking about your rate of improvement, I’ve to say that it is actually great. If you keep up with this attitude and do your exercises with such determination, I can say that it’ll only take two to three years to catch up with the top of the class, and that can pass in the blink of an eye.

“I also have to commend you on your perseverance in these month, never missing a single day of training, never messing around and always focusing on it. I rarely praise my students and I know many of them thinks that I’m cold-hearted, scary and someone who likes to see them suffering. Though the question is why should I praise them? Just because they were lucky to born with great strength or stamina, or because they do the regular exercises? That doesn’t mean much in the long run. Although less, they’ve to work for success as well, unless they only plan on becoming just an average cannon fodder soldier. However that’s not my goal at all, I’m working on to make them excellent, distinguished warriors! Anyways, enough of my ramblings, wait a few minutes and then I’ll give you your new schedule.” Seeing Quin’s results made his mood quite good, and that there was finally a student who truly listened to him, while also having such a strong determination, made it even better.

“Alright, here it is,” he said, giving him his new training plan. “I also hope what I said won’t go to your head and that you will train diligently.” He looked at him for a moment and then left.

Hearing the praise and having his new schedule made Quin, without a doubt happy and excited for the future.

“Thank you,” Quin replied and then left as well, to begin his training.

Edited on 2016. 09. 17.