"98" "99" "100"

*Pant* *Pant* Favian was collapsed onto the floor, trying hard to get his breath back. He'd been able to do all of the push-ups due to his increased strength and constitution values, which were now at 1.4, however, this only meant he was 40% stronger than an average human. Compared to a professional Muay Thai fighter, Favian still had a long way to go in terms of physical talent.

"Boy, you have your work cut out for you. Know what, come by the training facility here every morning at 4am and I'll teach you myself. Your enthusiasm has reinvigorated this old man here." St-Pierre decided this on a whim, however more exercise would never hurt an aged man like himself.

'Old man.. Wait? Huh? But you look like you are 30 years old at the peak of human existence with your chiselled body! Oh this world is giving me so many surprises, I'm going to die of a heart attack at some point.'

Just as Favian had finished drying the sweat off his forehead with a towel handed to him by the professor, other students started to flood the classroom. Favian went back to his seat in the middle of the room, and placed the tome he would be writing down notes on. As a measure to make sure he didn't miss anything, Favian decided that he would let the game system also make its own abridged version of the lecture, which would be compared with his own notes.

After another five minutes all of the students arrived. 'Oh, this reminds me so much of medical school, how I miss those days.. wait, nah, those days were gruelling and wrought with pain because of the workload.'

"Oh Favian, didn't realise you picked martial arts as well." Called out a familiar voice energetically. Looking to his left, Favian could make out the insanely handsome face of Dunkel, who decided to take a seat next to him.

"Dunkel you chose martial arts?" Favian looked at the drow next to him with a happy smile plastered on his face. 'So, I have at least one friend now.' was the thought going through his mind.

Favian was able to examine all of the notes Dunkel had written for the previous 2 lectures that he missed due to his coma, however it seemed like the first lectures of each course didn't really matter too much. Favian felt that he'd be fine even without knowledge of them.

What he had learnt in the martial arts training were simple body refining techniques, which would help strengthen the body. If meditation techniques could be said to improve mainly arcana and intelligence, and a by-product of breakthrough to higher levels would give a net gain of strength, constitution and dexterity, then body refining techniques are the exact opposite. Breaking through a bottleneck of one's own physical parameters would aid intelligence and arcana.

Dunkel had helped Favian out a lot by explaining this, and also by letting Favian know that certain races had specific training techniques which only they could use. For instance, Dunkel himself used a technique which only drow could use.

The lecture ended with a bit of physical exertion, with the whole class being made to run through some martial arts techniques which looked strikingly similar to Krav Maga, one of the best self-defence techniques back on Earth.

"Yo Favian, fancy grabbing a bite to eat? I hear that at noon everyday they sell some of the best puff pastry on campus at this café in the Barracks." Dunkel was salivating already just at the thought of the delicacy which he would be biting into soon. He had been a glutton ever since he was young, and his grandma always teased him that he was so handsome because of it, and would feed him even more.

Favian thought about it for only a second before agreeing. He could definitely blow off some steam on a pile of food because of how rough his day had already been. It took only 10 minutes for the pair to close in on the 'Elegantia Café'. It was a small building with two floors, and had seating both inside and outside. There were pots and vases of flowers all around the place, and there were even many paintings hanged inside. After entering through the front door, the whiff of baked goods intensified, and the smell of sugar caused for even Favian to start salivating.

"I don't even know where to start, what should I order from here Dunkel?" he asked. Too many options were present, and they all sounded equally amazing. His body was starving after the martial arts lecture, and if it were his choice, he would try to sample everything on the menu.

Dunkel looked at the menu which was written in chalk behind the counter before making a quick decision. "Dude, I think what you need after class is a banana milkshake, a chocolate brownie and summer fruits tart."

Favian walked up to the counter, where a middle-aged woman was currently stood behind, sorting out some of the freshly baked goods. She was currently dipping what seemed to be donuts in chocolate. Waiting for her to finish sorting these donuts out, which only took half a minute, Favian proceeded to make an order which left both Dunkel and the shop-owner startled.

"Ma'am, I'd like to order 3 banana milkshakes, 2 chocolate brownies, 3 summer fruit tarts and 6 of those chocolate donuts you just finished cooking." An embarrassed smile came onto Favian's face as he made this order, because his stomach decided to make a huge GROWL after he had finished speaking, almost agreeing with the choice its owner made.

It took the lady a moment to process the order, as nobody had ever come to the shop to eat this much before. "Sure thing, that'll be 3 contribution points." Favian transferred the points via his communication amulet – which also worked like a bank card – before seating himself with Dunkel at a table outside the café.

The sun shone down on the area surrounding the café, with a slight breeze cooling them down from the summer heat. Favian and Dunkel were busy enjoying their food whilst also conversing at the same time. They talked about their childhood, how they learned magic and many other random things. A true friendship seemed to be budding; Dunkel was a talkative energetic boy whilst Favian was a more chilled and laid-back person. This meant that they bounced off each other nicely during their conversations, with Dunkel able to get Favian talking more than he usually would.

"Licht, isn't that the boy who said vulgar things to you earlier?" a loud shout boomed, as a group of people walked up towards Favian and Dunkel. All the people nearby looked at the group of four walk up towards the boys sat eating pastries, knowing that a fight was going to break out. Fights were commonplace in an academy filled with narcissistic individuals, so the scene didn't faze the crowd, and everyone just went on with their day.

The pretty elven girl that Favian had complimented so tactlessly was amongst the group, followed by two more elven girls and an elven boy. Each one of these elves looked prettier than most models on Earth, Favian thought to himself.

'Just great I'm about to get gang stomped by a group of the most beautiful people in existence, just my luck.' Favian's mood turned sour at the rude interruption his conversation with Dunkel received.

'System scan the group of elves approaching me.'

[Ding! Unable to scan 1 target as their power level is above host's.

Target 1 – 2.3 strength, 1.2 agility, 2.0 constitution, 2.1 intelligence

Target 2 – 1.4 strength, 2.2 agility, 2.1 constitution, 1.8 intelligence

Target 3 – 3.0 strength, 1.0 agility, 1.5 constitution, 2.0 intelligence]

'Wow these people are just cannon fodder aren't they. Just so weak. I don't want to have to fight them, but if Dunkel helps me we could probably take them on. Well let me see if I can reason with them first.'

Favian looked at the elven boy who just spoke, who was staring back with a smug expression, almost as if taunting Favian about the incident earlier. "Licht, is that your name?" he asked the girl who he previously complimented, deciding to completely ignore the elven boy.

The elven girl looked at Favian shyly, her long curly hair glistened in the sunlight. Her eyes were a brown colour originally, but the sunlight made it melt into a more caramel colour. 'Why is my heart beating so fast right now.' Licht wondered. She had been used to compliments her whole life, however these compliments had always been focused on her power in battle and magic, not on her appearance.

"Ye- Yes my name is Licht. Sorry about my friends we'll be on our way." She quickly decided to try and leave as soon as possible, as she could feel blood creeping towards her face slowly. She didn't want to reveal such a vulnerable face to somebody else. Licht tried to move her group away, but the elven boy relented, clearly having been annoyed by Favian's dismissal of him.