Leander stared at the scales beneath his feet. Just one kilogram lost in an entire month. Eight lost in total since he started. This was a disaster. At the start, he had lost weight quickly. Then, something had happened, and he had begun to do so at a snail's pace.

Was he doing something wrong? He was not eating sugar, not even on the cheat days. He ate fruits on those days. And no bigger than his palm.

As the rule went, which he had read from a book on nutrition from the library, he had to eat no more sweet things than how big his open palm was. And no more meat than his closed fist.

But, the problem with that was, that his hand was big. He had always been fat, and he was tall. One meter and ninety-eight centimeters. So, his limbs were long and his hands big.

Was the rule not meant for storks like him? Should he eat only half of his hand's size? He had no idea, but the results were staring in his face. His shoulders slumped. He would not give up. Even if he took away only one kilogram per month, he would continue the grind. But, he needed answers.

So, he went to Tom's house and knocked on the front door. The one-armed healer came out, and welcomed him in.

"Hey, guild master. How are you doing?" Tom teased, and Leander blushed.

"Tom, please. I need to ask you a couple of things that I haven't found in books," Tom led Leander to the living room, and they sat on the couch. Leander took in a deep breath, and began.

"I lost only one kilogram since I weighted myself last," Leander spoke. He had not lost anything in the three months that he had been on leave from active duty. And had lost the weight just this month.

"Well, what do you expect? Your body was on starvation mode for three months. Be glad you haven't gained weight," Tom snapped. Leander's eyes widened.

"What do you mean-starvation mode? I have plenty of fat to keep me going," Leander argued, and Tom rubbed his temples.

"Look, boy, when you don't give your body enough food, it thinks you are starving, and you are going to die. With me so far?" Leander nodded. But, surely, one or two meals skipped per day here and there did not equal starving?

"So, how it copes is by shutting down your metabolism. That remains even after you start to eat normally. Honestly, if I could, I'd give your former guild master a trashing. He should have given you kids some money. He must have known that none of you have invested in anything worthwhile," Leander sighed. People were still smarting over that, he was, too.

So, when Alklair came yesterday to ask him for a spot in the guild, not to man the front desk, but as an adventurer, Leander had been hesitant.

Then, someone had called Valerie, and she had given Leander an ultimatum. The new guild master either let the old back in the guild, or she and Baleg would quit. The frown on the half-orc had spoken volumes.

Leander had not wanted to lose his two columns, so he had caved. Alklair was in Valerie's party. The Prancing Pegasus. No one else wanted to party with Alklair, so Leander was wondering what quest he could give the two. Without a tank, or even a berserker, the options were slim.

"He didn't mean for us to starve. Our pay was big, it was our own fault that we didn't save our money when we could," Leander countered and Tom patted his head. 

"You are a good boy, Leander. But, ignorance is never an excuse. Remember that. Now, where was I? So, your body was in starvation mode for three months and thought it was going to die. I take it you lost the kilogram after you started to eat normally?" Leander nodded. It was exactly like that.

"So, there you have it. Don't skip meals and don't eat junk. You will begin to lose four kilograms per month again. Don't aim for higher, you will shut off your metabolism again," Leander bitt his bottom lip. It all sounded so easy. He could do it. Now came the hard part. The second reason behind him coming to Tom.

"I was wondering if you could become one of the guild's instructors. Many healers in the guild don't know how to do a quick heal, and I am not a good teacher," Leander had the patience needed to teach, but trying to put his knowledge into the heads of others ended up with frowns and mutterings. People still saw him as chubby Leander, the C ranked healer. And they didn't respect him like how they still respected Alklair.

"I suppose I can. How big are the classes?" Leander smiled. There were twenty other healers in the guild. But some mages could benefit from barrier lessons and mana sensing instructions.

Soed's book was dry, but great. Leander did not understand why no one had agreed to publish it. The healer guild master had read through it and found some things he could improve on.

"I think no bigger than fifty people at a time. Everyone has to do double the quests, since I no longer take a big cut from the S and up ranked parties and platoons," Leander informed him. Tom chuckled.

"I have no idea if I can be a good teacher," Tom spoke, and Leander was ready to argue. "But I will take you up on the offer. Let it not be said I did not do my part to keep people alive."

Leander jumped from his seat and hugged the one-armed healer. He felt a hand pat his back, and he let out a chuckle.

"Thank you. I will make sure everyone signs up. I have been making the classes free, so, the guild will pay you directly," Tom nodded. The mantra of "never give knowledge for free" was old and dangerous. The healer had seen plenty of people die because they had lacked the funds to learn spells and moves. He was glad that the new guild master was ushering in a new age.