Chapter 32: Selene’s Curiosity
I gathered information about all the top-tier students when I first entered the academy. Not because I saw them as rivals initially, but because I wanted to avoid unnecessary conflict with people who had the power to make my life difficult.
After that thought, Draco decided to do what he came for. Which was to train, not worry about Glade and Selene Frost.
Draco dropped to the floor and began with press-ups.
"1..2..3"
Spotting Draco performing some unusual exercises, Glade frowned in confusion.
He had never seen these kinds of movements before; his half-brother was dropping to the floor and pressing himself up repeatedly. It looked bizarre and completely foreign to any training regimen he was familiar with.
He turned toward Selene and noticed she wore the same puzzled frown on her face. Clearly, she was equally unfamiliar with whatever Draco was doing.
"Hey, what is your brother doing?" Selene asked, her ice-blue eyes studying Draco’s repetitive movements with analytical curiosity.
"He is not my brother, he is a bastard," Glade scoffed, his voice filled with disdain. "Besides, he already decided to disown the family. He is no longer part of the Ashblade name. As for your question, I don’t know either."
Selene’s frown remained as she continued observing the strange exercise routine, clearly trying to understand its purpose.
What kind of training method is that? I’ve never seen anything like it
Selene thought with bewilderment. Glade turned back to Selene, refocusing on their interrupted conversation. "Think about my proposal. I believe it would be beneficial to both of us."
What Draco was performing were push-ups, a basic exercise from his previous world that didn’t exist in this realm’s training culture.
Here, physical conditioning typically involved sword work, running, and strength training with weights, but bodyweight exercises were unknown.
Selene did not respond to Glade’s proposal, maintaining her cold demeanor as she continued watching Draco’s workout with mild interest.
Expecting her silence, Glade turned to leave. As he passed by Draco, he couldn’t resist asking, "What kind of tricks are you performing?"
Draco ignored him completely, continuing his push-ups as if Glade didn’t exist. He maintained perfect form and rhythm, not even acknowledging his presence.
Glade’s face flushed slightly with embarrassment at being so thoroughly dismissed, but he forced himself to scoff and walk away.
He couldn’t afford to lose his temper so easily in front of Selene, especially when he needed her to consider his proposal seriously.
The bastard thinks he can ignore me now that he has some talent. We’ll see how long that confidence lasts. I will show him that during the examination.
Nearly an hour later, Draco completed his daily mission. His fitness had improved dramatically, what used to require more than two hours of grueling effort now took less than an hour to complete.
[You have received +2 EXP.]
[You have received 1 Stat point.]
[Master, you’re getting so much stronger. Even I can tell the difference, good job.] Zephyr chirped approvingly from his shoulder.
Draco chuckled at Zephyr’s attempt of encouraging him before patting the hummingbirds tiny head. "Thank you, Zephyr. You’ve gotten stronger too."
-----
Draco Von Ashblade [Awakened] EXP: 51/100
Title: None
Talent: Dragon Lord (SSS-Rank)
Strength: 14(+3) / Agility: 21 (+3) / Constitution: 14 / Mana: 51
Beastmaster Manual: Uncommon-Rank [0/4 EXP]
Skills: Stone Heart(Uncommon, Lvl.1)
Stat points: 3
Looking at his accumulated stat points, Draco made strategic allocation decisions. He added one point to strength and one to constitution, recognizing the importance of balanced physical development. The third point went to agility, maintaining his focus on maximizing Zephyr’s speed-based abilities.
Strength: 14 → 15
Constitution: 14 → 15
Agility: 21 → 22
Staring at his experience bar, Draco realised he was officially half way into entering the elite rank.
Based on his estimate, he was most definitely one of the closest to entering the rank amongst everyone in the academy.
After assigning his stat points, Draco didn’t immediately get up from his spot on the training ground. Instead, he retrieved his uncommon-rank beastmaster manual from his new storage ring and settled into a cross-legged meditation position.
[Master, cultivation time? I love this part!] Zephyr chirped happily, positioning himself according to the manual’s first illustrated pose.
Draco opened the manual to the initial cultivation position and began synchronizing his breathing with Zephyr’s rapid heartbeat. The warmth of their strengthened bond flowed between them as they entered the meditative state together.
Thirty minutes passed in peaceful cultivation. The experience points flowed steadily as their connection deepened.
[1/4 EXP]
An hour passed in total, and Draco felt the second wave of experience accumulate.
[2/4 EXP gained]
[Master, I can feel us getting stronger together! This warm feeling is so nice! (＾◡＾)] Zephyr observed contentedly.
Draco glanced at the time and realized his next class was starting in about fifteen minutes. He still needed time to shower and clean up after his intensive training session.
I don’t want to arrive at class covered in sweat and smelling like the training ground.
"We’ll have to continue this at home later, Zephyr," Draco said, carefully closing the manual and storing it back in his ring.
"I need to get cleaned up before the next class."
[Aww, but I was enjoying our bonding time. Can we continue when we get home)]
"Absolutely. We’ll complete the full four experience points tonight during our evening routine."
Standing up from his meditation position, Draco felt a pair of eyes stare at him. He turned his head to find Selene Frost staring at him without even bothering to hide it.
Draco held eye contact for about a second before she decided to break that contact and leave the training grounds. It seemed like they had both finished their training at the same time.
Without overthinking the small interaction he had just gone through, Draco headed to the washing room before heading to his summoning class.
Inside the beast taming class, Draco took his seat. Today was like most other days, in the first portion of the class, the beast masters were encouraged to think of strategies they could use with their beasts, whilst also having a short time to bond and interact with them. The second portion of the class consisted of the instructor talking about the weaknesses of the most common beasts and how to tackle them.