Karl woke up early that morning, his disciplinary routine taking effect in him. It wasn’t a huge improvement but the progress even if small was starting to show. The week before, his previous self would have been lazing on his bed before morning sunlight would finally filter the room and wake him up from the lingering sleepiness. But now, he didn’t even wait for the sun to rise. Get up before dawn. Do 60 pull ups, 90 squats and hold planks for approximately 3 minutes. After all that, run 3 lapses around the entire training field. "One more time." Karl gasped as he completed running around the field’s perimeter for the second time. After what felt like an eternity to Karl, he finally completed his training, his breathing heavy with exertion. Then he carried himself to hit the shower. "Hmm.... that’s the real satisfaction", he said in contenment as cold water dripped down his back, wiping away his slicky skin. Having washed himself thoroughly, he wrapped a towel around his waist and approached the mirror. His face no longer contained the tiny scars that had healed over the course of one week. His hands instinctively shifted to caress his stomach that still had a stab wound on it. Wiping away the wet hairs sticking to his forehead, he sighed. "So it begins huh? All this preparation, all the hard work...all for today." He tapped on the new mirror as his expression shifted into a smile. "Yes, let’s get started then." Reaching into a small wardrobe, he pulled out an olive coloured robe. The compulsory uniform for a vice-principal. Even the principal had to wear it. Though for him, it was a black robe unlike the olived colour Karl was fitting on himself right now. Having dressed up, his gaze sweeped through his room before locking his door behind him. He then walked towards the academy dormitory mess where he ate a hearty breakfast. At this hour, the mess was empty. Soon it would be filled with the students living in the dormitory buildings a a little distance away from this main building. Karl had found it a little strange that the kitchen and the dining area for the students wasn’t present in their respective dormitory. But apparently, gathered or communal meals were quite popular and also encouraged for many generations, leading to this strange but wholesome development. And as the first of the students started arriving in the room, Karl finished his meal and left the mess. He walked down the long corridors and hallways. But today the atmosphere felt a bit different. Not in any unpleasant manner but rather a thoughtful and respective postures in which the students passed by him. Previously wherever he passed by, only whispers followed him. Now brief salutes and hesitant "good morning" greeted his path. ’It seems they have all heard of my encounter with demons. I wonder what was the heroic version of it which has suddenly increased my popularity?’ Karl thought as his eyes scanned every single figure, his body alert even though no danger was present nearby. This was a change that had occured to his body in the past week. His body now remains on alert at very single moment and his eyes always tracking down even the minor details. ’Principal Cormac for some reason didn’t mention anything about Isolde or what I had described as a flashy thing. That only means that the story has been twisted in such a way that it now makes me the guy who fended off all the First Rank Demons. And a hoard of them at that.’ Karl grimaced internally. Although he was fairly happy that he now has a higher popularity among the students, he wasn’t at all okay with the sudden influx of attention he was getting. ’This is going to be a problem later on... especially in my midnight activities...’ Though he didn’t complain that much. Afterall this popularity put him at a higher advantage over Reinhard right at the starting line. Even if he and Reinhard were to produce the same results at the end of the one month fixture, he would still be ahead of Reinhard. He almost stumbled against a man as he rounded a corner but quickly stepped back, as the man did the same. Karl was about to mutter a sorry when he saw the cloaked man, who was lowering his cloak over his face even more. "Are you perhaps new here? Or maybe lost?" Karl offered even though he knew no stranger would be allowed in the main building without the supervision of a soldier. Thus, getting lost is out of the possibility. The man just shook his head, his silk material flapping with his rigourous shaking. Then sidestepping Karl, the man tried to walk past and said, "I am not...I shall be on my way." No longer did the man speak, both Karl and him froze. Karl’s brow furrowed as he asked softly, "...Mr.Arlott?" The man flinched as if caught doing something red handed. Then with an almost dramatic slowness he craned his head back to Karl. "Oh hello there, Henry. Where were you? I couldn’t find you anywhere the last week, you know." Karl’s face was unusually blank as he just stared at Mr. Arlott, who in response just gave an awkward grin. Finally when Arlott felt the awkwardness become quite uncomfortable, Karl spoke. "Please refrain from showing those coal coloured teeth, Mr. Arlott. They are quite unsightly to nature and disgusting to humans." Arlott closed his mouth into thin lips as his eyes looked hurt, as if he had been betrayed by someone he trusted. Through his closed lips, he whispered. "My teeth aren’t that bad for my age." Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⚫𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⚫𝔫𝔢𝔱 "What teeth? You only have 6 of them." Arlott grimaced visibly as he muttered, "Satisfied with your revenge?" "Compared to me dodging an endless waves of arrows and somehow escaping a collosal monster? No, this is nothing." "Tch, how would I have known that they wouldn’t take my judgement into account?" Arlott said as he removed his full body cloak. Raising an eyebrow Karl asked, "And did you see a single thing that had been going on in your dimension during the test?" "Of course not. How could I see anything when I was completely busy with stablising the formation?" "Then...why the hell would they take your judgement into account? Just like Principal Cormac, you too saw only the results or the conditions in which I and Reinhard came out. Nothing else." Then in a thoughtful tone Karl added, "And I am sure they wouldn’t have been happy if they had heard the dimension you sent me to was much difficult than Reinhard’s. Atleast Gideon would have been enraged and would have accused me of being a liar." "Doesn’t matter, kido. Just fight and win." Mr. Arlott said with a wise smile plastered on his face, as if he had just said something so profound that they could move the world alone. "Damn you, old man. It’s me who has to fight him, not you! If you think that look full of wisdom would soften me, you are so wrong." Arlott’s expression broke into slight embarrassment. Sighing Karl added," But I guess you are not completely wrong. It gives me time...crucial time to sort out few things."