"That should be enough for today." Decus smiled, his palm raised to his face to shield himself from the blazing sun above.
"I literally can't move..." Spes weakly mumbled, completely exhausted on the floor, a wooden barrel next to him.
"It's proof you did well. Don't worry, I'll tell Crystal to go easier on you tomorrow," Decus said, picking Spes up from the floor, carrying him on his shoulder.
"I highly doubt she will..." Spes smiled wryly.
Decus only laughed in response, bringing the young man to the Medicus's cabin.
"Take care of him. He's had a hard day." Decus smiled at the old man before leaving the room.
"Pursuing the path of Knight, huh?" The old man raised an eyebrow, looking at Spes slumped on his table.
"It's what I thought to be the best for me." Spes turned his head to face the old Medicus, smiling wryly.
"Well, the vice captain is sure making extra effort on you," the Medicus commented upon examining the young man's body.
"Hm, nothing serious," he whispered, letting go of Spes and grabbing his bottle of rum.
"You don't have to worry about your training tomorrow. You'll surely recover in no time with your Physique," the Medicus chuckled, sipping from the bottle.
"Hopefully I recover fast... The captain really doesn't hold back." Spes smiled wryly.
The Medicus then frowned when the word 'captain' was mentioned. He sneered, taking a long sip from his bottle.
"So... what's with the two of you?" Spes asked, recalling the tense moment they shared during their last encounter.
"I... It's better you don't know. Just focus on your training."
Spes set his eyes on the Medicus. His eyes — they were in pain, as if something was tormenting him. Taking another drink, he tried to drown away the pain.
Spes could only sigh, not knowing what he could do about it. He decided to either ask Vota or Decus on the matter.
The young man stayed in the Medicus's cabin for a while, until the soreness in his muscles was bearable. Saying his goodbyes, he walked out of the cabin, limping towards his own.
"I'm really proud of you, Spes. You really outdid yourself out there." Liber's robotic voice resounded in his head as he entered his cabin.
"You better keep up." Spes chuckled, carefully laying on his bed, his muscles still hurting him.
"So you wanna rest, or you wanna see our updated status? Much has changed," Liber asked, as his other self was slowly closing his eyes, ready to drift into slumber.
"You really had to mention that now of all times..." Spes grumbled, his curiosity piqued.
"I start with mine or yours?"
"Mine, of course! Not after disturbing my well-deserved rest!"
"Okay, okay, calm down." Liber laughed, sending a blue panel in front of Spes.
[[ Spes ]]
[[ Race: Human ]]
[[ Job: Apprentice Knight - Early Stage (Peak) ]]
[[ Modules Installed: Automated Ki Redirection Module ]]
[[ Mana Pool: 0 U ]]
[[ Meridians: 40% formed ]]
[[ Ki: 50 U / 50 U ]]
[[ Spiritual Sense: Lvl 3 (in sync with Liber) ]]
[[ Physique: LifeStream Physique (Mortal Stage / Middle Phase {Peak}) ]]
+New: Meridians: 10% formed => 40%
+New: Ki: >> 50 U Max
+New: LifeStream Physique (Middle Phase) => Middle Phase {Peak}
"Decus was right... my training really did help with the development of my meridians." Spes nodded, seeing that his meridians were halfway away from being fully formed.
"So 50 Units of Ki is the maximum my Dantian can store," he whispered, sending his Spiritual Sense towards his lower abdomen, noticing that his Dantian was filled with multiple strands of Ki floating all around.
"You'll have to break through to the Apprentice Knight's Middle Stage before you'll be able to store more. As for now, the Automated Ki Redirection Module will be on pause until new order," Liber commented.
"Automated Ki Redirection Module... Don't you think it's too long?" Spes scratched his hair, seemingly lost in thought.
"What do you think about... AKIRM?" The young man's eyes lit up as he slapped his thighs, finding the right acronym.
"Ow..." Spes then grunted, forgetting that his thighs were still sore.
If Liber had eyes, he would be aggressively rolling them right now. He wondered how long he would deal with his other self's habits of naming or renaming abilities.
"Yeah, whatever, I'll update the module's name next time," Liber sighed.
"You better... I won't forget it." Spes narrowed his eyes suspiciously before staring back at the blue panel.
"Interesting, my LifeStream Physique is at the peak of its Middle Phase! How do I break through again?"
"About that, I thought getting beat up was the way to cultivate your Physique, but after your recent trainings, from the data that I've collected and sent to the seed for analysis, the Mortal Stage of your Physique is purely based on your fleshly body."
"My fleshly body?" Spes repeated, not fully comprehending Liber's words, as he was quite vague.
"As your fleshly body strengthens, your Physique improves along with it."
"The Knight path really does suit me then." Spes smiled, realizing how his Physique perfectly aligned with his training.
"Naturally!" Liber chuckled.
"A proposition from me is always right!"
Spes rolled his eyes, met with his other self's boasting again. He wasn't done yet, as Liber this time sent his stats to Spes.
[[ Liber / Spes's other self ]]
[[ Race: Soul ]]
[[ Seed Authority: Lvl 2 ]]
[[ Job: Apprentice Mage ]]
[[ Mana Pool: 3000 U (Max) ]]
[[ Spiritual Sense (Seeing Sense): Lvl 3 ]]
[[ Mastery: >> Tome of the Magician: Full Mastery (Limited to Job's Tier) ]]
[[ Soul Abilities: Soul Channeling ]]
"Hehe, it's not only you who has been working hard!" Spes laughed.
"2000 more Units of Mana and I'll be able to start the ritual to become a fully-fledged Mage!"
Liber would then go on and boast on his new accomplishments as Spes was fighting for his life, his eyelids getting harder and harder to control.