Splash—splash—splash—
At night in Äußerst, after a day of hard work, the townspeople strolled onto the streets to enjoy their leisure hours.
Vendors selling snacks and toys were out in full force. And due to the recent arrival of mages from the northern and central nations, even street magicians were performing along the roads.
Their fantastical magic drew waves of amazement from the crowd. Applause from adults and cheers from children together shaped this vibrant, harmonious evening in Äußerst.
Inside the inn.
The sounds of the lively streets filtered through the window, gradually rousing Gut from his deep unconsciousness.
"…What… happened to me?"
Lying flat on the floor, Gut jolted up—only to fall straight back down the next second.
"Tsssss—holy hell that hurts."
From top to bottom, not a single part of his body was spared—muscles, tendons… even his manhood felt utterly drained.
What on earth happened?
Dragging himself toward his desk to retrieve the Spell Book, Gut racked his brain for memories from before he passed out.
Finally, just as his fingers reached the holy text, it all came flooding back.
...
Right after consuming the Memory Bread (Enhanced) imprinted with the Body-Training Method, Gut had eagerly sat cross-legged on the floor and circulated his mana, following the internal routes etched into his mind.
As the mana moved along its new path, his brows furrowed deeply. Clearly, breaking through these narrow channels wasn't a pleasant experience.
Even with a mental familiarity akin to muscle memory, it had taken him ten full minutes to complete just one circuit.
Once complete, Gut's mana began flowing steadily along this newly paved route—turbulent at first, bumping and crashing about, before gradually smoothing out and finally stabilizing.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Gut steeled himself.
Next came the most critical step in the Body-Training process—
Oscillation: forming a resonating wave of mana to temper his entire body.
Gut took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. With the blind courage of a greenhorn, he went full throttle, generating an intense internal tremor.
A second later, before he had time to regret it, darkness swallowed his vision.
"So… I messed it up, huh…"
Still lying on the floor, Gut gave a wry smile. Fortunately, he'd now recovered enough to grab his Spell Book, and with his mana no longer being forcibly channeled, he could cast some Goddess Magic.
Several rounds of Healing Magic and Fatigue Relief Magic later, the pickled sensation coursing through his muscles finally subsided a little—enough for him to struggle to his feet, clutching the wall for support.
Flexing his still-tender fingers, Gut muttered:
"That nearly knocked me out cold, but I can't deny—the Body-Training Method is absolutely insane. Every part of my body got hammered. Total coverage."
"Still, I'll probably need some time before the effects really show."
"…Wait a sec!"
Suddenly, a thought struck Gut. He hadn't logged his daily tasks yet!
He'd passed out before even clocking his training. He wondered if the residual effects of his Body-Training could still count as valid training time…
Thankfully, the system seemed to take pity—or perhaps, even unconscious, the remaining resonance from his training met the conditions.
[Become Stronger – Body Training]: COMPLETE (300%)
Task: Train physically for at least 1 hour per day
Reward: Double effectiveness (up to 3 hours); all training damage will be healed by 24:00
"Phew, dodged a bullet."
Relieved, Gut let out a long breath.
What he valued most about the daily reward wasn't the buffed training, but the guaranteed healing of internal strain.
Sure, the late senior brother had claimed this training wouldn't harm the body if done right—but that was all theoretical. No one had tested it to the extreme.
Even if it just flushed out fatigue, it was more than worth it.
So that ticked off his Body-Training task for the day. But his Mana Cultivation task was still incomplete due to last night's insomnia and the blackout that followed.
Just as Gut was about to step out to the balcony to meditate, a sudden memory hit him.
This morning, Serie had told him to visit the exam grounds before the test ended today.
Gut peeked out the window. Darkness blanketed the city. The test must've ended at least two or three hours ago by now.
"Shit."
Palm smacked to his face, Gut winced.
"Welp, guess I'd better head straight to Serie's place and beg for forgiveness."
After a quick wash, he threw on his coat and left the inn.
...
Three hours earlier.
[Continental Mage Association – First Mage Exam Site]
As the barrier above the exam hall dissipated, the day's testing had officially concluded. The crowd of mages and onlookers slowly dispersed.
Inside the hall.
Two disciples stood near the base of the hall, watching Serie remain motionless on her seat, gazing into the distance.
Gumi edged closer to Lernen, whispering, "Hey… do you think Master is… mad?"
"Huh?"
Lernen blinked in confusion. Social cues weren't his strong suit. "Why would you think that?"
"Well, think about it," Gumi said, "Master showed up personally today, just to recruit talented disciples, right?"
"Right," Lernen nodded.
"But despite all that publicity and effort… not even one qualified candidate showed up. Wouldn't that piss you off?"
"Hmm... mad?" Lernen frowned, unsure.
"Exactly!" Gumi looked smug. "I'm gonna go cheer her up."
And with that, she stepped forward toward Serie's throne-like seat.
Serie, of course, had overheard every word.
Was she angry over failing to recruit a new student?
No, not at all.
She was simply waiting for her current chief disciple, Gut, to arrive.
After all, the meal he'd brought her this morning had been delicious, and she wanted to ask which restaurant it came from.
And—well—maybe sit down and have a proper dinner with her disciples too.