Chapter 42: The weakling trying to become stronger (IV)

…Get stronger, my ass.

Might as well die.

Less than half an hour later, I crawled out of the gravity field again, a pathetic mess, thinking just that.

The short distance to the nearby seat took minutes to crawl.

“…N-No… I need a break…”

Gasping, barely out of the gravity field, I collapsed like a puddle of mud.

…It’s just the first day! Lasting almost an hour and a half isn’t bad!

I consoled myself, too drained to move another inch.

Tomorrow, I’ll probably be so sore I won’t want to budge.

“…Sleep all day tomorrow, then back at it the day after… Gotta rest a while before heading home.”

Sprawled on the floor, it took ages to drag myself to the seat. Then, I felt the egg babies in my backpack stir, as if worried about me.

“Phew… Mommy’s fine, don’t worry.”

Exhaling, I steadied my breathing, hugged the backpack, and gently patted the eggs through the fabric.

Being a mage was better. Sure, studying gave me headaches, but it beats half-killing myself like this…

But since I’m aiming for magic-martial dual cultivation, this is the price.

My magical mastery is already peak-level; nightly meditation boosts my mental energy. The rest of the time is best spent training my body.

The intense workout left me dizzy. Even after resting, I hadn’t recovered much.

I couldn’t chug more recovery potions either—too many would upset my stomach.

Knock knock—

Just as I wanted to rest longer, someone knocked on the training room door.

“Hm?”

I opened my eyes, glancing curiously at the locked door.

The supervisor should know I’m using the gravity field, and no one else should barge in—first come, first served. Plus, as a certified Level 10 Alchemist, my status isn’t low.

With no strength left, I wasn’t about to open the locked door.

“Phew, good thing I locked it early, or someone would’ve barged in… I’ve got some energy back, but these sticky clothes are gross… Time to change.”

Thinking, I pulled spare clothes from my backpack, stripped off my sweat-soaked ones, and prepared to change.

But then, with a loud bang, the locked door was kicked open.

“Who’s using this gravity field!? I reserved it—…huh?”

“…”

Half-naked, holding clean clothes to my chest, I was about to put them on. Seeing the familiar man at the door, my mind went blank.

“…”

“GET OUT!!!!!”

Gu Xuanyun stormed in, griping irritably, but froze when he saw me—half-naked, mid-change. Staring in disbelief, he stood there as I, furious, hurled two fireballs at him!!

Boom boom—

The fireballs hit him square, blasting the supposedly cool guy into a tumble, flying out the door. Gritting my teeth, I flicked my mental energy, slamming the door shut!