We bowed to the grandmaster and the master and then took our leave. I followed Kalistra as she exited through the secret panels and soon we were back outside. When we reached the courtyard, I was shocked by what was there—a pull cart. Unlike the cart that the drows were pushing when my Watch patrol encountered them yesterday, this cart had a long wooden bar at the front of the box. While the push cart had two wheels in the front, this cart had those wheels at the back. In certain parts of Asia, the pull cart was modified to transport people rather than goods. I wasn't surprised by the invention of pull carts in this gaming world given my encounter with a push cart. But it didn't resolve the mystery of its presence at the dojo.

"Why is there a pull cart here?" I finally asked Kalistra while pointing at the "vehicle." When I pulled my eyes away from the cart, I noticed that the eyes of the pupils and instructors standing in the courtyard were on me! Uh-oh! I started feeling those butterflies in my stomach.

Some of my fellow students snickered at my inquiry as if this was all a big joke. It probably was—at my expense.

Kalistra remained silent for a moment longer to savor my uneasiness before she mercifully relented. "Do you remember the wererat invasion at our dojo? Those damned creatures dug tunnels right under us!" Her eery eyes flared in anger at the memory before she found her inner peace again.

"It happened two days ago," I noted. The wererats opened a big hole in the courtyard and attacked the dojo. Thankfully, we were able to repel the invaders and forced them back into their lair. When the Watch arrived, I accompanied them to eliminate Tregome's wererat invasion. Alas, the cost was high—the life of the former Watch captain, Peng Li. Furthermore, I had a difficult encounter with the wererat leader, Ebenthal. With a tiny bit of assistance from Lord Bane, I was able to defeat my nemesis. As a reward for avenging the death of Town Judge Wachtel, Bishop Canterbury awarded me the deceased judge's truth stone. I looked more closely at the ground before me. It was evident that the courtyard had been remade recently.

Kalistra turned around and faced the western wall of the compound. In front of the wall was a humongous pile of dirt and stone.

I did not notice the building material on that side until my instructor directed my attention to it. When I saw that pile of rocks, I groaned inwardly because I realized what the pull cart was for.

"That's the leftover material after we filled up the tunnels beneath us," the cat girl said while pointing at the pile. "The masons have requested that we transfer this material to the northern walls so that they could use it to patch up the holes," she explained. "Since we have no use for these rocks, the grandmaster agreed to the request. He promised to have it transported up there today. And so, this is where you come in," she grinned.

"You want me to load up the pull cart and make several trips up north?" I asked to confirm her unspoken request.

"I knew you're a smart man!" the cat girl replied cheerfully and started purring.

Ugh! I resisted the temptation to facepalm. "Wouldn't it be faster if you hired a team of manual laborers for this task?" I asked.

"And miss this opportunity to kill two birds with one stone?" she smirked.

I sighed deeply. It was obvious that Kalistra had decided to incorporate this task into my training. I was hoping to learn more sword techniques from the grandmaster but apparently, the heir of the dojo had other ideas. "I better raise my Constitution a few points by doing this," I groused.

"You will," she promised and continued to purr.

I started to untie my studded leather chest piece when Kalistra put a paw on my hand to stop me. I looked at her quizzically.

"Once you step beyond the gates of Tregome, you will be an official adventurer. You will need to become accustomed to doing every task while wearing your armor. You will NOT take it off until you reach another town or village. Is that clear?" she ordered while staring directly into my eyes.

"Yes, master!" I replied immediately. Great! Not only will I be tired from bringing the rocks up north, I will also be dirty, sweaty, and smelly too! The only reason I agreed to the cat girl's outrageous demand was that I will be staying at the dojo overnight. Hopefully, having my smelly old self stinking up the entire dojo will make her unable to get any sleep tonight.

From the very first day when I took off my shoes in order to enter the dojo, I noticed that Kalistra was particularly sensitive to the smell of bad odor; it distracted her more than she was willing to admit. If she wanted to go out of her way to make me miserable, then two can play that game! I will freely admit that I had a very petty side to my character. When someone purposely went out of her way to irritate me, I will be more than happy to stoop down to her level. Did you get that, Lord Bane?

Since the dojo's source of water was from the well, I doubted that I will be able to take a bath here. And I didn't plan to spend my precious coins at the bath house either, unless Amelica was going to join me there, of course. When we hit the open road, I doubt that Kalistra will be kind enough to allow me to take a bath in the river. Thus, I was prepared to wallow in my filth from Tregome all the way to Bristol, where the Melee Tournament will take place. Hopefully, by the time I leave the event, my filth won't include dried blood. Did I ever mention that I enjoyed some gallows humor, too?

As if to compound my problems, Kalistra abruptly held out her left paw. Tellingly, her paw was strategically placed right in front of my waist pouch and money sack. Her ears perked up and her whiskered twitched. "Before we begin your intensive training, you will need to pay your training fee," she began.

"How much?" I asked casually. For only one day of training, the tuition should be no more than a few gold coins at most.

"One platinum coin, please," my instructor asked innocently as if she was asking for a mere copper piece.

"What!" I blurted out loud. "Not only will you get free labor from me, you will also rob me of my coin?" I complained angrily.

HISS!

I looked around and saw that the other students were staring at me angrily. Wow, if looks could kill! I was very confused by their reaction, though. Should I simply pay this outrageous tuition fee and not raise a stink about it? Was that what my colleagues expected of me?

Clap-clap. "Okay, everyone. Please return to your training," a deep, calm voice said.

I turned to the direction of the voice and saw Gurgne approaching us.

Seeing the confusion on my face, the dog man asked, "Young pup, why do you think the other students are angry with you?"

"I don't know," I admitted honestly with a shrug. I looked at Kalistra but she only folded her arms. Her face was calm but her eyes were glowing brightly in anger at me. Her white fur was puffed up. If she lost her restraint, the cat girl could kill me on the spot!

Realizing the danger that I was in, I took a moment to calm down. I thought about what I had said to her. Suddenly, I had a crucial insight and I cringed in horror at the implications of my words. "You're angry because I accused you of robbing me. I was questioning your Honor." I bowed deeply from my waist before the offended cat girl. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend your Honor."

It took a few moments before Kalistra acknowledged my apology. "I forgot how greedy nobles could be," she replied pointedly and turned her face away from me.

I raised my head. "It's not that I'm greedy but rather that I was surprised at the cost of one day of your personal instructions. It's a big tuition hike from what you charged me a few days ago," I pointed out. To smooth things over, I reluctantly paid her the platinum coin fee.

Kalistra resisted the temptation to call me a "stupid human" as she placed the precious coin in her own waist pouch. "The fee is really a deposit to cover the cost of potions of healing and stamina," she explained. "The training schedule we set for you is tough but necessary to prepare you for the Melee Tournament. You will end up using a few potions, and they are rather costly to buy from the alchemist."

Ah! In other words, the platinum coin covered both the lesson and the course materials. I quickly offered her another bow from my waist. Now that I understood the situation, I was completely in the wrong and I was really embarrassed at my accusation of Kalistra.

"Enough," Kalistra patted the back of my head with her paw as if I was her pet. "I forget that you're a foreigner to our land and you have your own customs from back home. Please start shoveling the rocks and dirt onto the cart. If you pack the material correctly, you should be able to bring everything up north in just one trip," she said.

"Yes, master!" I replied and started walking toward the pile awaiting me.