I really want to see her whipping those guys at the training center into shape. As I am escorted off the castle grounds, pets in tow, I get to have a really nice view of the sunrise. Man, that's refreshing. Okay, I'm gonna go back and buy myself some real pants. These things are getting genuinely uncomfortable.

I found a place that sells "light wear" and I wondered what that meant. Taking a look inside, I saw various tank-tops, bras, v-viii... Oh, it's a lady place. Next!

This one seems nice, "Extra Weight". Really implies they've got something my size. When I came in, a fat man in a fancy suit approached me.

"Good day to you, good sir! Would you perhaps be interested in a shirt?"

"No, but I'll take some actual sportswear anyday. This is hardly a garment," I say, trying to be polite.

"Of course, the buff man wants to show off his muscles. Fair, I say."

He led me through a series of questions and measurements, most relating to the shorts I wanted. We decided on a brownish pair of slightly tight shorts that reached halfway down my calves. Add a hat and I look like Saxton Hale. They're made of a cotton-hemp-thingy material, with leather rings around each leg for style. This is way better than the oddly-fitting beginner gear, and feels more flexible.

"How much will this cost me?"

"These are quite simple to make, they hardly cost more than the worth of the materials. It's only a meager 650 Gold."

"Really? These shoes cost me 900. That's cheap!"

"Well, that's because you can climb mountains and fight in those, while these short pants will only protect your decency. I'd feel like a sham if I sold them to you for any more than this."

"If you say so, then so be it. You gave me what I wanted, so how can I complain?"

After a short farewell, I left the shop wearing my new clothes. So soft, compared to that other pair. So robust as well. I headed to the training center to train on the track again. I want to enter the Fight Club so bad, you have no idea. I need more Dexterity and Constitution to do that, though. So I enter the gym, which is already full of hustle and bustle, and I walk straight through into the courtyard. A few people are using it, same as yesterday, and I get to running around the track. No stretching needed. This time, I mix in sprints and short slowdowns to catch my breath and avoid bottoming out again.

I also grab a jump rope and work on that a bit, this is awkward, I'm not used to being this large, it's clumsy. I'm doing fairly well, though, and after I reach low stamina on the rope, I max out my stamina and switch again. This goes on for quite a bit, and it's always so rewarding to see it all roll in at the end.

Dexterity has increased by 2!

Constitution has increased by 1!

Max Stamina has increased by 2!

Sprint has leveled up!

I decide to cut this room short, and when I go back into the big room, I see that the trainer has taken up her routine again. Seeing a nearby dummy was free, I decided to work on my kicks again, this time not only from the side, but from below and front kicks as well. Now that I know the key to success-- repetition-- I understand how to do this. This is also a good chance to test the limits of my increased strength. It feels like there's way more than there should be, like the difference between 10 and 11 is smaller than the difference between 20 and 21. This means I'm not just twice as strong as before, but it's more like four and a half times.

After a particularly nice-sounding high kick, someone put their hand on my shoulder. I turned around, expecting the trainer, but it was some Japanese Warrior-looking dude with a full-on Gi.

"Excuse me for disturbing you, dear fellow, but I was under the impression you were just some no-name musclehead. However, I couldn't help but recognize that name and that... hat, of yours. Are you by chance the one who defeated the Great Slime King?"

"Well, technically I wasn't. There were like a few hundred people there, and I didn't get the final hit in."

"I saw your fight in person, and what those two did was absolutely despicable. The entire server received a message saying the mage killed the king, but what I saw didn't lie. The real winner was you."

"Did you now? I didn't get any sort of message. I got like two thousand XP, though. This little one got more."

We chatted about martial arts a bit, but it was fairly obvious I wasn't as interested in the subject as he was. We both got back to our own trainings after a few minutes, and it kept going on. I was pacing myself, because I knew what was to come.

Switching to using my fists for a while, I wondered what kind of destructive power the Mighty Punch had in store for me now. I had 42 Strength now, so it would be like punching with 84. How hard would that punch hit? How much damage would it cause? I couldn't help but be curious. If I did that here, would it be showoffy? Nah, it's a bunch of mindless hooligans swinging sticks, that one's completely vacant, he's not even moving anymore. They won't notice. I throw a few more warm-up punches, then take a step back and prepare the Mighty Fist. It's primed and ready to blow.

I throw all my weight and what little technique I have into my punch, and it's real loud. A powerful bang resounds through the place, startling my neighbors and making the trainer turn her head to look at me. With a grin, I pull my fist back. The dummy is intact, like it wasn't even hit. She wasn't kidding about steelbark.

"Now that was definitely a Mighty Blow. How did you awaken it?"

"I got stronger. That's all there is."

"Yes, yes you did. I was watching and those blows were a lot straighter, more accurate. Whatever you were doing in the fourteen hours you were away, it clearly worked."

"Thanks, I worked hard."

"I can tell."

"Uh, I don't know if I should tell you this, but I met your sister."

"Oh, you mean Tracy? How's she doing?"

"I accidentally discovered prince William was extorting merchants and he flipped out. She was there and started berating him then he said he wanted a divorce. Then we had a conversation, I reassured her about her looks, oh and she said she'd come here to "punish the perverts".

"A divorce? That's... actually kind of a good thing. But you said she's coming here today?"

"It should be today, yeah. Unless you have other family members in other training centers?"

"No, there's just the two of us in my family. Oh, it's been so long since she last came to see me! This'll be great! Make sure to stick around, okay?"

"I intended on doing exactly that. I can't wait to see those guys' faces."

"No, you see, she's the Captain of the Guard but," she said in a whisper, coming in close, "she doesn't quite understand that it's not normal for them to obey her every order and call her "Mistress". I might be rough, but she's literally a dominatrix who's completely unaware of that fact."

"Oh wow. That bad, huh? I guess it runs in the family."

Then I saw her, out of the corner of my eye. Tracy Dunning, the Captain of the Guard, in full official gear as opposed to the dress she was wearing earlier. There was just a bit too much black leather, a bit too much exposed skin, and she had a fucking whip. What even.

"Oh. I see what you mean now."

"Huh? Oh my, Tracyyy!"

"Julia, it's been a while. How've you been?"

"Oh, it's been so hard here with all these hot gazes on me all the time. If you could help me, it'd be great..."

Hey hey, you're just offering it to her on a gold platter now. Come on... I don't wanna be caught in the middle of all this, I'll show myself.

"Hi! You showed up faster than I thought you would, did you have an easy time with the king?"

"Oh, it's you. It was really fast, turns out he'd heard about William's shady parts, but having them confirmed made him really mad and now he's in the same cell you were. Talk about karma, huh?"

"Yeah. Anyway, these are the troublesome ones. Look at those eyes, they're eating you up. I mean, that outfit doesn't help, did you choose this?"

"What's wrong with looking good while working?"

"No, that's really kinky, you know? What with all the black leather and the whip."

"Nonsense, this is what I wear every day! Plus, this thing's blunted, so it's not like it does much more than sting a bit."

"Buh- but that's- you know what, it's fine. Do your thing."

The trainer, whose name I only just learned now, listened to this whole exchange with a knowing smirk. She's had this chat before, hasn't she?

"Alright, listen up, you maggots! I want you lot to line up against this here wall! Come on, pack it up! You're worthless anyways, it doesn't matter if you're cramped. Tsk, fucking weaklings. I'll show you a good training method: Obedience and submission! You will bow your heads to me, you will worship me, I am the god of your life now and if I tell you to move, you move! Am I clear?"

""Yes, madam!""

"What the fuck? Who are you?"

"Are you disobeying me, wimp? You wanna get some fucking training done or not? If you do, you obey me!"

"T-the fuck is this, some kinda BDSM shit? Fuck that, I'm outta here! Fuckin' bunch a' degenerates!"

That was a reasonable reaction, guy. You do that. He ran outside, out of the danger zone. Julia, meanwhile, pulled a chair from somewhere and was pouring herself a drink.

"You want some too, Chad? We've got front row tickets to the freakshow today."

"Thanks, I'll do that."

Then we got to watch for three hours as a whole bunch of guys were treated like objects, beaten and battered, with plenty of lashings and very kinky-sounding negative reinforcement from Tracy. I was very impressed by this whole display, clearly she was used to this. A lot of these people were players too, which made her absolute authority even more amazing. I, meanwhile, was getting on Julia's good side, making small talk, pouring her more drinks, even giving her a shoulder massage, which I only realized after the fact made us look like she was also a kinkster and I was her boytoy. Eh, whatever. She liked it.

Then Tracy declared "I'll be back every week! That's seven days, for those of you that are so dumb they can't tell how many days are in a week. You better be there." A week? How long is that IRL? Well, a day is twenty hours and there's a time dilation of five times. 20 times 7 is 140, divided by 5 is 28. 28 real-life hours.

"Wow, that was hot. I've got a stiffy right now."

"I know, right? It makes me wonder if she feigns ignorance every time I see her do it."

Then she came over to us.

"Thanks for letting me do that. I needed to let off some steam."

No, really?