When I reached the pile, I grabbed the shovel and started attacking the dirt and rocks with a vengeance. However, when I held the shovel, now fully loaded with a scoop of the materials, in my hands, I realized that I forgot something important. Where was the bucket to dump this in? Was I supposed to carry the shovel across the courtyard to the pull cart? That can’t be right! I looked at my shovel in befuddlement.

Suddenly, I heard a sound and turned toward it. I saw my young friend, Gendun, rolling a wheelbarrow toward me from the direction of the storage shed toward the back of the dojo. However, I noticed that he avoided looking directly at me. There were still many students milling about the courtyard. They were half-heartedly hitting each other with wooden swords. From the glances they kept sending in my direction, they were obviously watching me. When I saw the exchange of coins, I realized what was happening and became furious. They were betting on whether I would seek the wheelbarrow—before or after I started shoveling. I forgot about it until after I started shoveling, and evidently, I made a few students a ton of money.

When Amelica's son finally reached me with the barrow, he placed it near me but quickly turned around and ran off before I could even thank him for bringing it. Gee, was I embarrassing him that much? I was tempted to call out to my young friend, but I decided to save my breath for my laborious task instead. Still holding the loaded shovel, I walked over to the wheelbarrow and unloaded my scoopful of dirt and rocks into the bin.

I repeated this task with another twenty or so scoop of dirt and rocks before the wheelbarrow was full. Once that occurred, I stabbed my shovel into the remaining pile of materials and grabbed the wheelbarrow by the handles. Despite the heavy load, the large wheel was rolling properly. Thus, I was able to push the wheelbarrow across the courtyard until it reached the pull cart.

When I reached my destination, however, I noticed another problem. How was I supposed to transfer the load from the barrow to the cart? Normally, the transfer of cargo was made in a reverse order, from the cart to the barrow and then eventually to the ground. In order for me to transfer the load from the wheelbarrow to the pull cart, however, I would have to physically lift the barrow and dump its contents into the box. If I had the strength of Kalistra or Maisen, this would be an easy task. Alas, I wasn't that strong (yet) and this feat was beyond my capability.

I heard the snickers from the onlookers again, and I witnessed more coins being exchanged by them. I shot them dirty looks as I returned to the pile to retrieve the shovel. With the shovel in hand, I crisscrossed the courtyard again and started shoveling the materials from the wheelbarrow to the pull cart. Once I finished emptying the wheelbarrow, I placed the shovel into the now empty bin and then returned to the dirt pile at the western wall again.

I attacked the pile of rocks and dirt again with the shovel. Once the bin was full, I forcefully pushed the fully loaded wheelbarrow back to the pull cart. The thought of bringing the pull cart to the wall did cross my mind because then I would save some time and energy by shoveling directly into the cart. But I realized that I would be much better off having the pull cart located closer to the exit because I was certain that pulling a fully-loaded cart would be a back-breaking task that involved numerous breaks in between. Instead, by leaving the pull cart at its current location at the middle of the courtyard, I will be saving myself from some physical exertion when I was ready to pull the cart out of the dojo. Hence, I decided to leave the pull cart at its current location.

In the end, it took me five trips to empty out the pile at the wall. I was very surprised to find that everything was able to fit into the box. On the other hand, I shouldn't have been surprised because the bin of the wheelbarrow wasn't too big while the box for the pull cart was both wide and deep. However, by the time I finished packing the box I was already exhausted from my labor. My knees buckled and I had to sit on the ground and lean against a large, wooden wheel of the pull cart. Suddenly, the bell tolled ten times. Ouch. I had spent a good two and a half hour on this task. No wonder I was exhausted!

Finding respite, I started to doze off when I was kicked in the chest! Omf! My fight or flight instinct kicked in immediately and my head started turning to scan for danger. I discovered it in the form of Kalistra, standing in front of me. I took a quick note of my "-3 Health" pop-up and dismissed it. "Why did you kick me?" I complained aloud as I started to pull myself back to my feet. Thankfully, my chest armor had cushioned a part of the blow or else I would have lost more health.

"No sleeping is permitted while your training is in session," my instructor replied; her arms were folded against her chest.

"But I just finished loading the pull cart!" I protested. "See, the pile is gone!" I pointed at the western wall.

However, the cat girl was unmoved. "Your assignment is only half-completed. You still need to bring this cart to the northern walls," she replied.

I looked at the green stamina bar at the upper left corner of my eye, and I saw that my stamina was almost empty. "I don't have the stamina right now," I answered and shook my head helplessly.

In the blink of an eye, Kalistra used her extraordinary speed to shove a glass vial in front of my face. I saw that the content was a green colored liquid.

"This is a potion of stamina. Drink it to refill your stamina bar, and then bring the cart to the northern walls. The masons are antsy to get started with the repairs," my instructor ordered.

"Yes, master!" I said and drank the potion of stamina in one big gulp. It tasted like lemonade. I felt warmness in the pit of my stomach and the sensation began to spread out until it circulated through my entire body. When the feeling dissipated, I saw that my stamina bar was full again. I took a moment to savor the lightness of my body. Then, with a spring in my step, I turned around to face the pull cart.

Like a boxer approaching his opponent inside the ring, I studied my adversary closely. The pull cart's handle dangled in the air. The bar handle was a thick piece of wood attached on either side to a thick ply of wood roughly nailed to the box that made up the cart. One big wooden wheel was attached to either side of the box. I positioned myself under the bar handle; with both hands, I pulled it down. Uof! The loaded cart was heavy and I had to exert a lot of strength to pull the bar handle down. I could feel the strain on my lower back already! However, I stubbornly persisted in lowering the handle until it was at my mid-chest. I locked my elbows at a ninety degrees angle and squeezed them to the sides of my ribs. Okay, I was ready to roll!

I planted my right heel on the ground and pushed. But the pull cart barely budged! "Oh gosh, is the load too heavy for me to move?" I groaned aloud. Suddenly, Kalistra appeared in front of me and shoved another glass vial in my face. This time, the content held a dark brown liquid. I was about to grab it when I remembered that I was holding the bar handle. "Could you please pour the potion into my mouth?" I requested VERY politely to my instructor.

Kalistra's ears twitched. "Oh? You're not going to ask what potion it is?" she asked suspiciously.

"You already planned out my training program for today. I'm sure the potion will help me with my task. So it doesn't matter what you give me," I half-shrugged.

The cat girl grinned in delight with my answer; it was very important to develop trust between teacher and student. Kalistra was very happy that she was making progress in developing our personal relationship; she could hardly wait to report this to her papa! My instructor purred as she pulled off the stopper and slowly emptied the potion into my mouth.

I was expecting a foul taste in my mouth, but surprisingly it tasted like honey. "Okay, I'm curious now. What is it?" I asked her as I felt a tingling sensation spread from my stomach to the rest of my body.

"It's a potion of enhanced strength," my instructor answered. "It will help increase your strength for a few hours. Without it, you won't be able to pull the cart out of the dojo, much less reach the northern walls," she explained.

After her explanation, I received a pop-up confirmation which read, “+50% Strength. Duration: 0:03:00.” I dismissed the notification. "Um, do I want to know how much the potion costs?" I winced at the thought of the potion’s price tag.

"I don't think you do," the evil minx grinned as her eyes glowed. "Okay, enough chitchat. You need to get going, Lawrence! But don't worry! I will come along with you."

I groaned inwardly. With Kalistra by my side, she will be swiping her claws at me if I went too slowly.

Kalistra noticed my facial expression and her whiskers twitched. "Is there a problem?" she growled.

"Not at all, master. Hahaha!" I laughed nervously. Taking a deep breath, I pushed against the bar handle again. This time though, I was able to move the cart. Quite easily in fact. I slowly turned the cart until it was aimed straight for the heavy doors on the other side of the courtyard.

"Let's go!" Kalistra ordered.

"Yes, master!" I yelled and started pulling the cart toward the exit.