Chương 49: Chapter 48 - Worked to the Bone

Elias was incredulous, " There is no way 2 points matters that much, that's absurd." Mira arched a brow back at him, " Oh is that so? Well from what I can gather your class grants 7 points per level?" Eli nodded, she smirked and continued, " So your child class is already at the rare rank?"" Given the similarity to the name of your variant subrace I would imagine they are paired and would be inherited as well.

In just the first tier alone, your variant is gaining 4 points compared to 2 per level, and assuming it is ranked epic and has no unusual quirks, it should also double per tier. So at the end of the first tier when combined with a rare class you will receive 110 instead of 80, the second tier 735 instead of 540, and in the third tier the gap will only grow."

If you don't reach grandmaster, which if you remain my pupil I will be very upset about, you will receive nearly double the amount even if you do not increase your rank, which if you remember is a goal you have already set for yourself. Even before we consider a possible increase in rank differential, you will already exceed the average citizen by a significant amount, possibly by a whole magnitude if you are diligent and ambitious."

Eli nodded with an unsure expression, " And I assume that is impressive, but I'm still not from this world so it's kind of hard to imagine." Mira palmed her face, before grunting and looking back at Eli with a bit of dismay." I know this response is unlikely to be caused by a lack of mathematics skill, so I am assuming it is ignorance.""

Ok, an average child will unlock the system at age 12 with their attributes ranging between 6 and 10 between attributes with some exceptional prodigies ranging into the double digits such as my Lady. They will continue to grow naturally in attributes bringing the average from 8 to 10 until the system unlocks the final age restriction allowing for the evolution to their tier 2 class at 16.""

A prospective scholar at this point may have a base strength score 8, a farmer at 12, and a blacksmith's apprentice or prospective novice guardsman at 14, 16 if they work hard. Ultimately these base scores are a holistic measurement of an individual's talents, and with hard training they may be improved, every further point is less a measurement and more a multiplier applied by the great System through the infusion of refined mana."

Eli grunted before laughing, " Ok, I'm slightly offended that the System marked my strength at 11, I worked out a lot! I can understand the intelligence score of 15 given the difference in education, but why would it give me a willpower of 16?" Mira gave him a sad pitying look, " I would assume you had to endure great hardship in your life, that maybe the transition between realms was an exceptionally difficult one?"

Eli winced internally as that suggestion hit closer to the mark than he expected, " Ok that makes sense, how about the points added to the base then?" Mira shrugged, " There is no direct quantification or mathematical formula that I can give you, simply that as the points are added and the score increases the system infuses your body and mind allowing for greater exertions and enduring more perilous forces." She tapped a knee, " Consider this.

When you were in your homeworld, what was the farthest you could have run without exhausting yourself?" Eli thought back to what would be considered a good workout, " 3 or 5 miles on any given day? Even that would be above average in my world, I ran a marathon once which was 26 miles, and I could barely walk for days afterwards." Mira laughed, " So the rumors must have some truth, you must have been some kind of beastfolk in another life."

She leaned forward with an intense look, " How about that night you rescued my Lady? You traveled leagues that night, with the stamina to fight on when you arrived, and to hear my Lady tell the tale with barely noticeable exhaustion?" Eli realized she was right, that would be absurd to even consider, the System must have enhanced me far more than I thought, this is with a score of 21, what more could it do? A feral grin spread across Mira's face, " So you see. Now, as my Lady would say, let us be about it."

Elias had thought bootcamp was tough, but the drill instructors had nothing on the tender mercies of Mira. He had expected her training to include lessons on the ins and outs of the System, and while there was plenty of lecture material, it was decidedly one-sided. Declaring that she needed a baseline from which to measure his physical abilities she had Eli running laps in full gear around the convoy, and whenever he had enough energy to respond or ask a question she added a rock to his pack.

Mira dropped another rock in his pack, " This is instruction not a debate, if you have the energy to talk, you still have stamina to burn." Eli rolled his eyes and grunted with the weight, but soldiered on pouring sweat straining against the straps as his pack clattered behind him from the numerous weights already within. Tia was not exempt from the training, flying alongside Eli for a time, clutching a tiny load of her own, although Mira allowed for her to take far more breaks due to her youth.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. When Mira switched from endurance to strength training she had Eli haul a large boulder on his back at a pace with the wagons, and she had Tia haul her own smaller weight as well, albeit on top of the wagon under the supervision of corporal Cooper instead given her diminutive stature.

The sight was a hit with both the soldiers of the patrol as well as the refugees, and while Eli was subjected to the good natured jeers of the troops, Tia had her own cheerleader squad in the form of a pair of young women from a neighboring town. The two young women cheered the wyvern as she grunted, growled, and chittered through her own workout.

C urse auntie-Mira and curse her feathered rocks, I will smite all rocks from this world right after I finish all the birds, I will grow giant and strong and I will devour all the birds and shatter the rocks. Eli rolled his eyes, grunting as he stomped alongside the wagon while moving the giant stone he was clutching to his chest to his back at Mira's direction. They probably wouldn't cheer you on if they knew what you were ranting about. AND I WILL DEVOUR THEM AND ALL THEIR SPAWN AS WELL! CURSE THESE ROCKS!

Eli looked up as the tirade paused with a smacking sound to see that the pair had stopped Tia to feed her some inkfruit before she continued on stomping around in a circle with the rock Cooper had tied to her back balanced between her wings. Well maybe I won't devour the new fruitbringers, maybe I will just smite the rocks to dust and eat all of Auntie-Mira's dessert. Eli smiled as the adorable grumblings helped the time pass quicker.

Mira kept up a running dialog as she put Eli through his paces, and his respect for her grew as he realized that she would push him to exhaustion, but never to the point where he grew foggy and lost the ability to take in information. A side effect he learned over the course of the day, of his increased intelligence score. He learned that the attributes did far more than the system described at first blush, and through Mira's instruction was surprised at the difference, small though it still was.

With his increased strength and endurance he had a wind and stamina to rival top athletes hauling and lifting weights that would have made him a solid competitor in the Olympics. One of the few times Mira would not punish a response is when he would respond to one of the many riddles, calculations, or logic puzzles she had him work through while exercising. I've been pretty quick before with numbers, but nothing like this. I am not quite at the human calculator level, but someone who's got scores in the hundreds?

I could see it, I guess this world doesn't need computers when you can find a clerk with a high intellect score. Eli was even more surprised when Mira informed him that his speed was actually in excess of what she would expect for his score, and that given his lengthy education on Earth it would probably take a while to get the most out of the increased benefit.

The willpower training was a little different, apparently it would not only allow someone to withstand the pressure produced by a more powerful entity like Mira, but would at higher levels allow someone to exert their own. Mira kept a narrow band of pressure focused on Eli alone, added yet more weight to his load as he tramped back and forth. Mira went over the effects of the other attributes but told him they would work on them another day."

Allocating free points, or receiving boosts from levelling do increase your power, but without the hard word to consolidate these gains and learn to use their power they are meaningless. I could graft a new muscle on your arm, but it wouldn't help until you built up its strength, and if I gave you a tail it would just flop around uselessly until you learned how to work the nerves."

Mira sighed as she grabbed the massive boulder from Eli and swapped it with a larger one, ignoring the massive fountain of water from her tossing it into the river as if it was just a pebble." Attributes are hollow without effort. You would think this is some great secret with the way so many ignore training." She rolled her eyes, walking alongside Eli as if they were out for an afternoon stroll, " The only 'great secret' is how lazy the average warrior is, you will see for yourself soon enough."

She eyed Eli, " No one who calls themselves my pupil will ever fall prey to such apathy." Eli panted a few more steps before chuckling, " Sure thing Mira." She narrowed her eyes, " A sure thing is it?"" Well let me be sure you remember the lesson, ten more laps. No. With the stone, now move."

Elias wasn't sure the last time he was quite so exhausted, but as the convoy pulled off for the night, and Mira called a halt in their training, his body felt like it weighed a metric ton and his hands were chaffed and bleeding from the rough stones he handled all day. The system agreed with his hard work as he had leveled an expected skill a few times. Ding [Congratulations! [Stalwart] has reached Lv 2] Ding [Congratulations! [Companion Bond] has reached Lv 3] Ding [Congratulations! [Stalwart] has reached Lv 3] Ding [Congratulations! [Companion Bond] has reached Lv 4] Ding [Congratulations! [Stalwart] has reached Lv 4] Man if it wasn't for the magic bullshit I would be worried about waking up with RHABDO. He would be damned if he would show Mira weakness though, he needed her help and he would show her he deserved it. He willed some iron into his spine and stood tall as he focused on easing his breathing as they slowed to a halt at the edge of the clearing.

Mira gave Eli a broad smile as they stopped, " A fine showing today Mr Mercer, I dare say my hopes for you are even higher than they were before." She gestured at him and examined his hands, before looking up with a shake of her head, " I've never heard of a base 16 willpower, but it's not often I can work a pupil so hard with nary a complaint." She snorted, " More like base 20. You have impressed me today Mr Mercer, and in time I imagine you will have my respect as well if you continue on as you are.""

I will instruct Mr Cooper on some changes to your diet as we will soon be allocating your points and you will need it to fuel the great System's transformation of your body as well as to maximize the gains of your training."" See Ms Astrid about your hands, but light healing only, tell her you will need the calluses and she will know what to do."

She drew herself upright taking in his sweat and dirt stained form, " I have taken your measure today young Elias, and while you have the base attributes of a fledgling sorcerer, you most certainly have the heart of a warrior. I daresay we may meet your goal, and faster than you would expect."" Clean up, rest, and as always you are welcome to join my Lady and I for the evening's repast, dismissed."