Free Web NovelChapter 15: Emily Thorne
Down on the field, Arthur moved over to the heavy lifting racks.
He loaded a barbell with heavy iron plates. He wanted to test his deadlift max with his new Strength stat.
He gripped the rough iron bar, planted his feet, and yanked the weight upward.
"You’re going to snap your lower spine in half if you lift like that, Vance."
Arthur paused, holding the heavy barbell at his waist. He turned his head.
Emily Thorne was standing a few feet away.
She belonged to the protagonist’s party. Coming from a wealthy merchant family of martial artists, she practically lived on the training grounds.
She looked incredible. She was wearing a tight black sports bra and dangerously short athletic shorts. Her skin was flushed and glistening with sweat from her own workout. Her short brown hair was plastered to her cheeks and the back of her neck.
Arthur’s eyes naturally dropped to her thick, muscular thighs, then back up to the heavy, firm cleavage spilling over the top of her sports bra.
Damn. The athletic girls really hit different, he noted internally.
"What’s wrong with my form?" Arthur asked, setting the heavy barbell back onto the dirt with a loud clank.
Emily crossed her arms, her brown eyes evaluating him.
Usually, she stayed far away from Arthur. But she came from a martial arts family. She respected hard work above all else. She hated lazy nobles, and she didn’t look down on people who were actually trying to improve themselves. She had watched him sweating his ass off for the last hour.
"Your stance is too wide, and you’re pulling with your lower back instead of driving through your heels," Emily said, walking over to him.
She didn’t sound confrontational. Just blunt.
She stepped right up next to him. She smelled like citrus body wash and fresh sweat.
"Put your hands back on the bar," she ordered.
Arthur raised an eyebrow but complied. He gripped the iron.
Emily stepped up behind him. She kicked his boots closer together with the side of her foot. Then, she placed her warm, sweaty hands flat against his lower back, pushing his hips down.
"Drop your ass. Keep your chest up," she instructed, leaning over him.
Arthur could feel the soft, heavy weight of her breasts lightly brushing against his shoulder blade as she adjusted his posture. The heat rolling off her athletic body was distracting as hell.
But Arthur wasn’t the original simp. He didn’t stutter, and he didn’t try to sneak a creepy glance down her shirt. He just kept his eyes on the iron bar.
"Like this?" Arthur asked, locking his core.
"Better," Emily said, stepping back. "Now drive your heels into the dirt and stand up."
Arthur engaged his legs and pulled. The heavy iron flew up effortlessly. His back stayed perfectly straight.
"Much smoother," Arthur admitted, setting the weight back down. He turned to face her. "Thanks, Thorne."
Emily blinked. She looked genuinely surprised.
She had expected him to make a weird comment. She had expected him to stare at her chest and start sweating.
Instead, he was just... normal. He was looking her right in the eye, thanking her like a regular human being.
"Uh. You’re welcome," Emily said, suddenly feeling a little awkward. She wiped the sweat from her forehead. "I noticed your form this morning. You’ve gotten a lot faster."
"I’ve been putting in the hours," Arthur said casually, grabbing his towel from the rack. "Hard work pays off."
Emily smiled slightly. It was a genuine, friendly smile. "Yeah. It does. Keep your core tight on those lifts, Vance."
"Will do," Arthur said. freewёbnoνel.com
He didn’t try to drag the conversation out. He didn’t linger. He just slung his towel over his shoulder and walked toward the exit, leaving her standing by the weights.
Emily watched him leave.
Alicia was wrong, Emily thought, grabbing her water bottle. He isn’t an arrogant jerk. He’s actually taking this seriously.
****
The next few days settled into a brutal, efficient routine.
Wake up. Walk to the academy without coughing up a lung. Grind Intelligence in morning lectures. Eat exactly enough protein. Grind physical stats on the training field until sundown.
Arthur’s presence at the academy was slowly shifting from ’creepy background loser’ to ’that guy who actually trains now.’
The biggest change, however, was in Magic Theory class.
After her reckless stunt with the revealing robes, Professor Elena Moon had completely dialed it back. She was a High Elf, an Archmage, and a noble. She couldn’t act like a complete slut in front of a hundred students every day without ruining her reputation.
For the rest of the week, she wore her strictest, highest-collared academic robes. She maintained absolute dignity, pacing the podium with a cold, aristocratic grace.
But the private war between them was still raging.
During lectures, Arthur would occasionally look up from his notes and lock eyes with her. He didn’t stare like a pervert. He just gave her a knowing, arrogant look. A look that said, I know exactly what you aren’t wearing under that skirt.
Whenever he did it, Elena’s jaw would tighten. She would instantly look away, and the chalk in her hand would snap loudly against the blackboard. She kept up her dignified facade perfectly to the rest of the class, but Arthur knew she was burning up inside.
He didn’t push it. He just collected his INT points and left when the bell rang.
On Thursday afternoon, Arthur was walking down the main corridor toward the cafeteria when someone stepped directly into his path.
"Stop right there, Vance."
Arthur sighed, stopping in his tracks.
Alicia Valentine stood blocking the hallway. Her fiery red hair was tied in a strict ponytail, and her hand was resting habitually on the pommel of her training sword. Her green eyes were narrowed in absolute, self-righteous suspicion.
"What do you want now, Valentine?" Arthur asked, sounding incredibly bored.
"I’ve been watching you," Alicia said, her voice cold. "I checked the first-year medical logs from last week. Your base Strength was barely a five. Yesterday, you were deadlifting iron meant for vanguards."
Arthur crossed his arms. "And?"
"And that kind of physical jump in three days is biologically impossible," Alicia snapped, stepping closer. "Not without alchemy. You’re using Black Blood or Mandrake extract, aren’t you? Using illegal, unregulated enhancement drugs to cheat your way through the baseline exams is a disgrace to this academy."
Arthur stared at her. He didn’t blink. He just let out a slow, tired breath.
"Are you an academy instructor, Valentine?" Arthur asked flatly.
Alicia frowned. "No, but—"
"Are you a Guild Investigator?"
"I am a knight of the Valentine Duchy," she declared, lifting her chin proudly. "And I will not tolerate cheating in—"
"So, you’re just a nosy classmate," Arthur cut her off completely. "Got it."
Alicia’s face flushed with sudden anger. "How dare you! I am reporting you to the Disciplinary Committee!"
"Go ahead," Arthur challenged, dropping his arms. "Tell them to blood-test me. When they find out I’m completely clean, I’ll be sure to file a formal complaint against the Valentine Duchy for defamation. I’m sure your father will love the paperwork."
Alicia froze. The absolute confidence in his voice threw her off. He wasn’t acting like a guilty man caught in a lie.
"Hey, hey! Let’s calm down, guys!" freewēbnoveℓ.com
A tall, blonde figure jogged down the corridor, waving his hands with an easy, bright smile.
Leon Braveheart. The golden retriever protagonist.
Leon stepped between them, laughing awkwardly. "Alicia, come on. You can’t just accuse a classmate of using dark alchemy without proof. That’s a heavy charge."
"Leon, look at him," Alicia argued, gesturing to Arthur’s newly muscular chest. "He was a sickly twig last week!"
"People change when they put in the effort!" Leon beamed, turning to Arthur with a massive, friendly smile. "Honestly, man, I’ve seen you on the dirt fields every evening. You’re really putting in the work! It’s super inspiring. We should totally spar sometime!"
Arthur looked at the golden boy.
God, he is so blindingly naive, Arthur thought. Leon was the exact kind of high-stat, high-luck protagonist that made a grinder’s life miserable.
"No thanks," Arthur said bluntly.
He didn’t wait for Leon’s reaction. He just stepped around the two of them and kept walking down the hall.
Leon blinked, slightly deflated by the cold rejection. "Well. He’s... not very chatty, is he?"
Alicia glared at Arthur’s retreating back, her fists clenched. He had completely dismissed her. He had looked at her like she was an annoying bug.
"He’s hiding something, Leon," Alicia muttered, her pride stinging. "I know he is."
