Chapter 33: Fever (3)
[Host, the medicine that can suppress fever regardless of its cause is the All-Fever Potion for 20 Credits.]
Shani was surprised by how cheap it was.
She had gotten so used to seeing the system throw around outrageous numbers that she’d forgotten how happy she used to be just having 10 Credits.
After thinking about it, a regular bottle of fever medicine cost around 90 Credits and contained twenty-four tablets. For that price, it already worked very well.
The problem was, Shani had no idea whether ordinary medicine could suppress Jeryon’s fever, considering the cause had never even been studied.
Just to be safe, she decided to buy the system’s medicine instead.
After completing the purchase, she immediately took it out of her inventory. There were two small vials. One could be used now, while the other was meant for the evening.
She helped Jeryon drink it right away. This time, there was no need to hide it in milk.
[Cashback Activated! Gift: 1x All-Fever Potion (10 Credits). Cashback: 20 Credits. Total Gift Value: 115,024 Credits.]
The notification rang inside Shani’s head. Even though the cashback was nowhere near as incredible as usual, it still made her happy.
After adjusting Jeryon’s pillow and blanket, Shani left his room.
...
Essence Combat practical class was still held on the sixth floor, inside one of the academy’s indoor training arenas.
Shani arrived at the same time as Damon. He let her enter first.
She made her way to the back of the rows. Up front, the rest of the students had shed their formal uniform for combat ones, eagerly standing together.
The moment Kiran spotted her, she hurried over. "How’s Jeryon?" Kiran whispered.
"He still has a fever," Shani replied.
They stopped chatting as class began.
"What is the most important thing for a beastman in the first beastification stage?" Damon asked.
"Stamina," the students answered in unison.
Damon nodded. "That’s right. As non-beasts, the very first thing you need to improve is your stamina."
Then, he instructed the students to run laps around the field. Each student had a required number of laps based on their rank, along with a time limit.
"This is your first assignment for this class. If you complete the required laps, you’ll receive a standard score. If you exceed the requirement, you’ll earn bonus points."
"On the other hand, if you fail to complete the required number of laps, you’ll receive minus points."
After spending several days stuck inside classrooms, the students looked excited and confident they could earn bonus points.
Following a warm-up led by Damon’s assistant, Damon began calling students in order of their ranks.
A female student stepped forward first, followed by a male student.
"That’s Noella Rosenbaum, an elite-grade Runic Jaguar beastman, and Garth Herrman, an elite-grade Obsidian Panther beastman. They’re the only two A-Ranks in our year, not counting Jeryon," Kiran whispered, explaining who they were.
"They’re partners too. They’re considered the strongest pair in our year. I heard the upperclassmen are betting on which first-year pair will hatch their egg the fastest and whose baby beast will be born with the highest rank. Almost everyone picked Noella and Garth for both."
Shani had to admit that an A-Rank pair was impressive. On top of that, House Rosenbaum ranked second among the Top Ten Prestigious Families.
As for Garth, although he didn’t come from an elite family, his beast gene was the Obsidian Panther, a variant of the Panther.
Similar to the Fire Lynx, many believed that an Obsidian Panther beastman was individually stronger than a Night Panther, despite the Night Panther belonging to one of the Top Ten Families.
As an F-Rank Night Panther herself, Shani couldn’t deny it.
’Without the system, this elite-grade gene of mine would be completely useless, wouldn’t it?’
Not long afterward, Kiran’s name was called. She was fifth in line.
Shani hadn’t realized her friend ranked in the top five out of a hundred first-year students.
She felt both proud of her and motivated to raise her own rank.
"Vivianne Ashbourne." That familiar name appeared tenth, making her the last student in the first group.
Shani’s sharp gaze stayed fixed on the silver-haired girl as she began running after Damon’s assistant gave the signal.
Another ten names were called, and after the signal, they started running as well. The students had been divided into groups to prevent the track from becoming overcrowded.
By the time it was Shani’s turn, Noella and Garth had already completed one full lap.
Despite being a girl, Noella matched Garth’s speed even though he had a broad, muscular build. Her breathing remained steady.
Shani stepped closer to Damon and whispered, "Instructor, what about me?"
"Just run as much as you can," Damon whispered back.
Shani was honestly starting to panic.
She knew very well that her body was terrible when it came to physical ability. She had planned to follow the pace of the D-Rank students, but even they were required to run four laps.
"Run!" Damon’s assistant shouted.
Shani no longer had time to think. She started running. Not long afterward, Kiran caught up to her during her second lap.
"Let’s run together," Kiran said cheerfully. She looked completely relaxed, as though she were simply taking an evening stroll.
As she neared the end of her first lap, Shani felt her entire body growing heavier.
She glanced at Kiran, who still looked perfectly comfortable. She had even been casually commenting on the other students the whole time.
’So this is the difference between an F-Rank body and a B-Rank body? If I’d known it would be this bad, I would’ve bought an Energy Potion immediately! What’s the point of having all that cashback money if I’m still suffering like this?!’
Shani screamed in regret inside her head, but there was nothing she could do. She couldn’t exactly stop for a drink now.
Her running speed was obviously slower than everyone else’s. As a result, Kiran slowed down significantly to stay beside her.
But Kiran didn’t seem to mind at all. Apparently, having someone to run with was far more important to her than the boredom of running alone.
...