Training camp passed in the blink of an eye.
Fujimura Hikaru had already given all the advice he could; how much the horse girls would actually gain from it depended on whether they listened.
Training volume takes time to turn into real strength. The ones who followed his recommendations would naturally see results. As for those who insisted on doing things their own way, he wasn't going to waste too much energy trying to straighten them out.
He couldn't spoon-feed everything into their mouths—if he did, being a teacher would be exhausting.
Once the morning camp wrapped up, he went back to his team's activity room in the afternoon and began planning Xingmu's training regimen.
Using his Appraisal Eye, he checked Xingmu's current condition. The numbers came back as:
[Speed: 202 | Stamina: 179 | Power: 184 | Guts: 207 | Wisdom: 200]
Her average was around 194—easily top-tier among freshmen.
If her goal were simply to win her debut, a bit more Power and Speed would probably do it.
But his and Xingmu's target wasn't something as small as a debut win. If they wanted to challenge Opera O, this panel was nowhere near enough.
"We need to push every stat to an average of 300 before the debut."
And that requirement wasn't just for Xingmu. For Feitong as well, his baseline was the same: at least three attributes had to reach 300 before debuting.
A "Ten-Mile-Slope Sword Saint"? No, no—this was just basic prudence.
With the system panel as a foundation, Fujimura quickly laid out Xingmu's training plan. Xingmu trusted his ability completely and accepted everything without hesitation.
Before he knew it, the day's packed schedule was over.
—
Night fell, pouring over Tracen like a waterfall. Only the roadside lights remained, the few sources of illumination in the darkness.
In that quiet blackness, steady footsteps echoed along Tracen's paths.
Long black hair seemed to melt into the night, while crimson eyes stood out unnaturally bright.
The one running in the darkness was none other than Fujimura Hikaru—currently in his Feitong form.
It was 10 p.m., about the same time the student dorm curfew kicked in. Choosing this hour meant he could avoid most students.
[Cumulative Run: 12 km | Progress: 9 km | Reward: 10 Attribute Points (+1)]
Yes—he was out doing quests again.
He planned to continue yesterday's cumulative mission tonight.
During the day, he'd been busy with training camp, and in the afternoon he'd done specialized training with Xingmu.
Only late at night, when everything was silent, could he carve out time to train himself.
Even then, he only had about three hours.
From 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.—that was the schedule he'd set. Any longer and lack of sleep would ruin tomorrow's condition, so he couldn't push too far.
Within those three hours, he wanted to rack up as much distance as possible.
Sure, the quest didn't seem to have a time limit—but he couldn't be certain it would sit there forever without consequences. If it vanished, he'd regret it for the rest of his life.
"Huff… hah… huff… hah…"
Keeping his breathing rhythm steady, he maintained a fast pace along the path. The night wind slapped against his body, a chill that made his arms go faintly numb.
But the cold was quickly overwhelmed by heat rising from within. Sweat rolled down his forehead and soaked into his clothes. The moisture made his athletic top slightly translucent—boy, no, girl now—its damp fabric clinging tightly and outlining her figure.
Feitong's body wasn't particularly outstanding, but it wasn't bad either—balanced, proportionate, the kind of build that simply made sense.
Too much "front armor" made running miserable; too little looked awkward. The "just right" size mattered.
Of course, as a man, Fujimura didn't care how big his "front armor" was. That kind of thing meant nothing to him.
Compared to looks, stats mattered more.
He forced all stray thoughts out of his mind and focused entirely on the road ahead.
9 km… 10 km… 11 km…
The number on the quest panel kept climbing, but he didn't slow down.
He wasn't at his limit yet. This body still had untapped potential…
12 km…
Quest complete. He dumped points into Stamina. Next target: 15 km. Keep running.
Around midnight, the cumulative distance on his system panel had already reached 27 km.
[Cumulative Run: 30 km | Progress: 27 km | Reward: 10 Attribute Points (+1)]
In two hours, he'd gone from 9 km to 27 km—about 18 km total.
At the conversion rate of 11 attribute points per 3 km, tonight's two-hour grind earned him 66 points. He split them evenly between Speed and Stamina, and his panel now looked like this:
[Speed: 106 | Stamina: 113 | Power: 70 | Guts: 100 | Wisdom: 80]
After training, both Speed and Stamina had crossed the 100 mark.
More Speed let him run faster during practice; more Stamina determined how long he could maintain that speed. For this "mining" style of training, that allocation was rational.
As for Power, he wasn't rushing into races yet—he could invest there later. Right now, the priority was squeezing more points out of this running quest.
"Still… this is brutal."
Two hours for 18 km—only 3 km short of a half marathon. That was a real challenge.
A normal adult at a normal pace would also take a bit over two hours for that distance—roughly similar to what Feitong-Fujimura was doing now.
Technically, Feitong's physical ability was well above average, but Fujimura had little experience with long-distance runs. His pace control and stamina management weren't great, which dragged out his time. Otherwise, he could've "mined" even more points tonight.
"Sixty-six points in one night… that's solid progress. If I had a better handle on this body, I should be able to pull even more."
He was extremely satisfied with his growth rate. Among freshmen, even the better horse girls only had individual stats barely breaking 200. He could gain over sixty points in a single day—an absurd pace.
At this rate, reaching a 300 average across five attributes wouldn't take long.
"It's midnight… keep running?"
He stared at the road under the streetlights, thinking.
He still had an hour before his planned 1 a.m. stop. He could squeeze out a few more points.
"Alright—keep going!"
Grrr—
The moment he moved to start again, his stomach let out a crisp, unmistakable growl.
A wave of weakness surged through his horse-girl body.
"Damn it… I'm starving!"
The hunger slammed into his brain.
"So attribute points don't come from nowhere… they burn energy…"
Grrr—
The hunger instantly drained what little strength he had left.
The energy required by the 66 points he'd just added emptied his body's reserves. His slender legs went limp, and he collapsed onto the roadside.
His vision swam.
Only then did Fujimura realize his mistake.
Yesterday he'd only added 20 points, so the mild hunger hadn't registered as a problem. But tonight was 66 points—triple the consumption. It was midnight, hours past dinner, and his body had already burned through plenty during training. Now the bill came due.
Grrr—
I-I'm going to pass out—
If I'd known, I would've brought food—
He didn't even have the strength to groan. His body slumped, and he completely lost consciousness.
—
"Hm…?"
Manhattan Cafe stared down at the horse girl collapsed on the ground, confusion on her face.
Why was there a horse girl fainted on the road in the middle of the night?
Was she, like Cafe, out training at midnight…?
Cafe looked troubled.
"Can't… go back to the dorm… curfew, can't get in…"
"Should I call an ambulance…?"
"…Yes, that's probably what I should do…"
There was no one in front of her, yet she spoke as if holding a conversation with someone unseen.
Just as she took out her phone to call for help, a particularly loud sound came from the unconscious girl.
Grrr—
"…So she fainted from hunger?"
Cafe paused. If it was hunger, maybe she could wake her up with something to eat?
"Ah… I've got it."
She pulled a pack of chocolate from her pocket.
She kept it for emergencies—she just hadn't expected the emergency to be this.
She opened the wrapper, then stared at the hard chocolate in her hand, thinking.
If she tried to feed this directly, the girl probably wouldn't be able to swallow it. She might even choke.
She needed to find somewhere to melt it first…
—
"Mm…"
In his unconscious state, Fujimura felt a warm stream slide from his throat straight into his stomach, and his whole body began to warm up.
His brain, which had "crashed," started rebooting. He forced his eyes open and looked around.
"Where am I…? I remember… I collapsed by the road…?"
The room was filled with bottles and jars that glinted with strange light, lined up on an experiment table that occupied most of the space—like a mad scientist's lab. On the other side, a star-shaped floor lamp cast a soft orange glow over a green leather sofa. That half of the room felt less like a lab and more like a witch's den.
The mismatch with his memory made Fujimura deeply confused. And then, a girl's voice reached him:
"…You're awake. I mixed chocolate into coffee and fed you a little… You shouldn't be hungry now, right?"
A black-haired girl stepped out of the shadows, holding a steaming cup of coffee.
"Ah… sorry for the trouble."
Fujimura thanked her. If she hadn't helped, he didn't know how long he would've been out there.
And if he reverted to his original body while unconscious… it would've been a disaster.
"Even though there isn't usually anything dangerous in the academy… it's not recommended to just sleep on the street…"
"No, it was an accident! Just an accident! It won't happen again!"
"Is that so?"
Cafe lowered her gaze and took a sip of coffee.
"This is my activity room. At this hour, the dorms are under curfew… You can rest here for the night…"
Her face barely moved, yet she was clearly concerned about him. Fujimura had the distinct feeling he'd seen her somewhere before.
The sense of familiarity flashed—and then it hit him.
Wait… isn't this my student?!
The student from earlier—the one with the absurdly high Stamina!
Crap. She saw my most embarrassing moment!
"Manhattan Cafe… just call me Cafe. And you?"
"Feitong. Thank you, Cafe… By the way, why were you outside at this hour…?"
"…Training. With a friend."
Cafe answered tersely, head lowered.
"Oh… I see…"
So there were students who did extra training at night too. That's intense.
"A friend? Where is your friend now?"
"…"
Cafe looked up at a certain spot in the room and answered slowly.
"She already went back."
"I see…"
Fujimura didn't think much of her reaction. After thanking her again, he prepared to leave.
"You're going back now…? It's fine if you rest here for the night."
"It's okay. I'll talk to the dorm manager—should be able to get around curfew."
Of course, faculty housing didn't have a curfew. He could go back whenever he wanted.
But in front of Cafe, he had to pretend he was returning to the horse-girl dorms.
"Before you go… I want to ask you something. I don't know if you can answer…"
The black-haired horse girl drank her coffee quietly. Golden eyes glimmered beneath her bangs, her gaze carrying an unexpected pressure. Fujimura's stomach tightened.
A bad feeling crept up his spine.
"…Are you Teacher Fujimura?"
-------
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