After a comfortable sleep, I was woken up before dawn by Livia.

knock* knock* knock* Kacha* Creak*

"Mog, if you want to join the morning training, then come to the training field. You don't have to come." - Livia said softly.

She then closed the door without hearing my reply.

"Training, hah? Okay, I can use some training. But first..."

I checked my status to see if there were any changes.

"Yes!" - I quietly fist pumped into the air.

My talent was slowly, but surely, coming back! It was almost worth celebrating.

I wasn't surprised that my rogue talent didn't increase because its rarity was above warrior talent by a grade, making it harder to nurture.

I then checked the remaining energy in my storage. From around 15 sausages from yesterday, it went all the way down to 7 again.

"I should probably restock on food energy after the morning training." - I said to myself as I got up, took off my tunic, and left the room.

It is worth noting that walking felt less tiresome than yesterday if only a bit.

After reaching the staircase, I saw six people down the stairs by the entrance to the mention and paused.

They were the mistress, Cispia, Sir Erno, the young master Aulus, Drusus, and Lars.

Young Master Aulus was currently wearing a well-decorated lorica musculata¹Muscle armor. with runic patterns and a red cape with the Fidelis insignia behind his back. He held in his right hand a wooden staff with a red-glowing crystal on top.²Just saying, the notion of a mage only wearing a cloak is stupid to me. Drusus and Lars were also dressed in their armor.

The mistress approached the young master with a well-decorated runic helmet in hand and handed it to him, "Take care, dear brother. This is your first battle. Wear this helmet properly. If something bad were to happen to you, I wouldn't know what to do."³Remember, kids! Always wear your helmet when you go to war, or a good hit with a stone to the head will turn you into a vegetable!

The young master looked a bit reluctant, but still took the helmet, "Fine, I'll wear the stupid helmet."

"It is for the best. Take care, dear brother. and remember to use the potions I gave you if necessary." - The mistress gently smiled and gave him a hug and a kiss to the ear, a symbol of affection and kinship.

"Yeah, yeah... It's not like I am going to die or anything." - He rolled his eyes and hugged her back.⁴This is a flag, it's a flag, isn't it?!

After separating, young master Aulus put on the helmet and signaled his two bodyguards, "Let's go."

With that, young master Aulus left through the entrance with Drusus and Lars in toe.

Only then did I go down the stairs again.

As I went down the stairs, the mistress saw me and smiled brightly, "Ah, good morning, my little Mog. How do you feel?"

I stopped descending the stairs and bowed slightly, being careful not to fall, "Good morning, mistress, I feel slightly better today, and was just going to go training. Did you send the young master off to face the Goblintide?"

"Ah, yes. My brother is heading now to the battlefield along with his retinue of bodyguards. He will be in the back lines, so it should be safe." - The mistress replied while I descended the remaining stairs.⁵Stop raising flags!

"I see. Well, I shall not disturb you further, mistress." - I bowed again, preparing to head to the training ground.

 However, the mistress stopped me.

"My little Mog, after breakfast, please wash up and report to the study room. There is someone I have specially invited to meet you."

"Ah, of course, mistress." - I bowed in acknowledgment and left.

"I wonder who did she invite? Why does she want me to meet that person?" - I asked myself as I walked to the training ground.

When I arrived at the training ground, I saw that Faevyre and Livia were already jogging.

When Faevyre saw me, she paused and smiled, "Oh, trainee Mog! I thought that you wouldn't come. Did something stall you along the way?"

I immediately noticed that she called me a trainee, so I responded accordingly.

"Yes, Ma'am! I came to train, and I was delayed by young master Aulus's departure to the Goblintide extermination, ma'am." - I replied.

"Ah, good. Oh, that's right, did he take a helmet with him? Those goblins sure love pelting rocks. A good hit to the head can turn an unguarded mage into a vegetable. It happened before." - She asked.⁶Bruh, stop raising flags! Your killing him!

"Yes, Ma'am, he took a helmet." - I answered.

"Good, good. Alright, come and join us. Do as much as you can, and don't push yourself too much."

She then continued her jogging with Livia, so I tried to join her.

Five minutes later.

"Wheeze* Hah* Wheeze* Hah*"

However, it was apparent that my fitness was less than subpar. It was horrible. I breathed like someone with lung problems. Also, my leg muscles felt sore like I did a very strenuous activity.

"Okay, stop there, kid. You are a mess. Sit down and breathe. Your training for today is to train alone as you see fit. The training water is over there, drink as you see fit." - Even Faevyre, who was usually sadistic with me, didn't want to see me continue my pathetic display.

"Y-Yes..." - I answered as I dropped to the ground under the pitying eyes of Livia, breathing like a dying dog, not even bothering to crawl to the training water.

"I-I can't continue like this. I lack the stamina to run, and my muscles are too weak. I am using too much stamina for just a short jog. I need more stamina and make my muscles hurt less... Wait..."

My eyes suddenly lit up.

"Right! How could I be so stupid! I have energy that can replenish my stamina and heal my body!"

With that thought, I tried using the energy in my storage to restore my body, and it worked!

I felt another trickle exiting the storage as I felt myself recovering faster and my legs feeling better faster! I did a quick estimate and figured that it increased my recovery rate by a third.

"Although it only increases my resting recovery rate by third, this is a major difference. If I only use it when I am resting, it isn't much, but what if I use it when I am walking or exercising? Wouldnt that slow down my rate of stamina consumption while reducing my need for resting time? That would save so much time!"⁷Imagine it in Skyrim logic. You consume stamina while sprinting, but what if you have a stamina regeneration buff on you? You will consume it slower, or even recover while sprinting. If some marathon runners back on earth had this, they can run forever.

The more I thought about it, the more excited I became. This is the true way to train!

"Alright! I'll immediately test it out! Er... Right after I finish resting..." - I stopped myself from testing it out since I was still fatigued.

After five minutes of rest, I got up and started jogging again. This time, I felt the difference. It was like, while I was running, I was also resting a third of the time. Even though I was still tired and with sore muscles, I managed to run for six minutes and at the same pace as before.

While resting like a dead dog again, I couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.

"This is indeed a better way to train! When I am using this, I can train 50% more, and this is just because I am weak right now. If I was as strong as before, I could increase the efficiency even more."

As I was resting, I checked my energy storage. Although the third trickle also used some energy, it was far less consuming than the other two trickles of energy, around a third of one of them. At this rate, I can use this for around three hours for half a sausage worth of energy.⁸Yes, he is going to keep using sausages as a measuring unit for a while.

"In other words, as long as I have enough food, I can keep using it without a problem."

With that said, I got to my feet and once again started jogging. After every four sets of jogging, I drank the training water, restoring me to tip-top shape before rinsing and repeating.

After the third time I drank the training water, my thirteenth jog lasted for nine minutes, a three-minute improvement! Although it is kind of pathetic, it was a major improvement compared to before.

"Is this also an effect from Effort?" - I wondered to myself.

If it wasn't for Effort, the improvement would have been less substantial.

As I was thinking about these things while resting, I saw Faevyre go up to me.

"I saw your performance, trainee. As long as you keep it up, you will slowly but surely return to normal." - She said with a smile.

"Thank you, ma'am." - I replied.

"That said, for the next month or two, I suggest you don't join the before noon training with the soldiers. Just build back your endurance and muscles." - She continued.

"Yes, thank you, ma'am. I will listen to your suggestion." - I acknowledged.

She made sense. I couldn't come and train with the soldiers if my foundation was too poor. I would be making a joke out of myself. Instead, I planned on letting my talent recover some more while training myself.

After doing a bit of stretching, I went together with Faevyre and Livia to eat breakfast.

This morning, I ate three whole pounds of bread with three bowls of cheese and salad, bringing my storage to around a third full.

After I took a bath and dressed up, I went to report to the mistress in the study room.

"I wonder what she who she wants me to meet with?"

Soon, I arrived in the study room and saw the mistress and...