Keeping Records and the commencement of Duels

Dear Diary,

Today marks the 19th day of the 5th month in the year 1867 of the Akan Alliance Calendar. The weather is dry. This afternoon, I sent the young master to enrol in the academy. Instructor Landon warned that the young master's health would be at risk if he didn't lose weight and continued his unhealthy eating habits. The master agreed to let Instructor Landon conduct a fat loss course and even signed an agreement. He tasked me to stay at the academy to assist Instructor Landon wherever possible, but I was not allowed to interfere with the training course nor interact with the young master and could only observe the situation from afar. Although I agreed to comply, I can't help but feel that things won't go well for the young master in the times to come.

As expected, Instructor Landon asked me to get a cart full of vegetables after briefing the other instructors. He then took the young master away. When I returned with the vegetables, Instructor Landon brought me to a small building made of bluestone and had me place the vegetables on the floor. The room felt like a sword training room to me. Just as the impression entered my head, I saw the young master crouching in a corner crying. I could not ask him what had happened nor could I talk to him, so I asked the instructor.

Instructor Landon gave a savage smile before replying and said that this would be the young master's living quarters from this day onward. The room did not have a bed or a furnace. I wondered how the young master would be able to sleep like that.

Instructor Landon did not seem to think that was a problem and said that the straw mat and woollen blanket would be sufficient. He also mentioned that the room was soundproof, and no matter how the young master screamed, nobody would be able to hear a thing.

I then asked him what the young master would be having for dinner. He merely pointed towards the vegetables I had brought and said that the young master would be feeding on only those vegetables for the coming three days. I was greatly surprised. I tried to subtly tell him that the young master didn't like to eat vegetables, especially raw ones. He laughed it off and tapped my shoulders, saying that there was nothing to worry about.

Yesterday, the young master cried for the entire night, but nobody paid attention. I wanted to go there to calm him down, but the assistant instructors who were on night guard wouldn't let me and warned me that I couldn't go near the room without permission. I could only hear the young master crying from afar and couldn't do anything about it. After the cries had subsided, I heard the sound of vegetables being eaten.

I feel that it is my duty to report all of this to the master so that the young master can receive the help that he needs. Asake's Diary:

The year 1867, 21st day of the 5th month, Akan Alliance Calendar Weather: Sunny

Yesterday, the young master had a meal with only vegetables and made a lot of noise as he chewed. He cried and fell asleep just before dawn. In the afternoon, Instructor Landon and a few others came over to help clean up the room, bathe the young master and give him rough hemp garments. The instructor checked the young master's pulse, which caused him to curse and cry. He even talked about making a cane that would cause a lot of pain but would not harm his bones. It seemed like he was treating the young master like a slave.

After that, Instructor Landon gave Asake a drawing parchment with building designs on it. He wanted a vast wooden bathroom built in the academy with a room made entirely out of wood, which he called a 'sauna'. Asake suspected that Instructor Landon was trying to get additional benefits for the academy. However, the young master approved of the design and sent people to the academy to start working on it right away.

Asake's Diary:

Year 1867, 22nd day of the 5th month, Akan Alliance Calendar Weather: Sunny

Yesterday, the young master ate only carrots and didn't make much noise. Instructor Landon came over again in the afternoon, checked the young master's pulse, and cleaned up the room as usual. He also asked Asake to buy more vegetables and gave her a list of medicines to purchase for the young master. Asake secretly added a few tomatoes to the pile.

Asake's Diary:

Year 1867, 23rd day of the 5th month, Akan Alliance Calendar Weather: Cloudy

Yesterday, the young master ate only celery as there were no more carrots left. Instructor Landon had a few assistants hold the young master down and force him to drink a bitter medicinal liquid. The young master began experiencing diarrhoea soon after.

Asake's Diary:

The year 1867, 31st day of the 5th month, Akan Alliance Calendar Weather: Cloudy

The young master slept soundly without snoring or sleep-talking last night. For the past few days, he had been given a laxative medicine. Though the frequency of his trips to the lavatory had decreased gradually, he looked far more energetic than before. The young master had lost up to 8.5 kilograms in just a few days. Instructor Landon remarked that the young master would need to lose at least 85 more kilograms to reach a normal body weight. It seemed almost impossible.

Instructor Landon gave Asake another list of medicines to purchase. He mentioned that the young master no longer had to take the laxatives and could start physical training from tomorrow onwards. He would also be given a new type of medicine as a supplement.

Asake's Diary:

The year 1867, 32nd day of the 5th month, Akan Alliance Calendar Weather: Cloudy

The young master had a good night's sleep the night before.

Instructor Landon came over early in the morning and had the young master run three laps around the field. Initially, the young master refused. But the instructor took out two buns about the size of fists and said that if the young master would run the laps, he would be allowed to eat the buns. Having eaten nothing but raw vegetables for the past few days, the young master instantly lost it and leapt towards the instructor in an attempt to take the buns for himself but was struck down to the floor as a result. Instructor Landon then said that he would toss the buns into the lavatory if the young master didn't run and let him eat vegetables for another week.

For this crudely baked black bread, the young master ran around the field three times and collapsed in the middle of the last lap and had to climb the rest of the way to the finish line. Instructor Landon had a few assistants hold the young master up and walk half a round on the field for him to catch his breath before allowing him to come back to us. I was literally on the brink of tears when I saw the scene of the young master stuffing the bread into his mouth.

From today onwards, the young master's menu has changed. In the morning, he was fed a bowl of porridge with two pieces of bread. For lunch and dinner, he only had raw vegetables. Additionally, the young master started working out every day. During the morning and the night, he had to run around the field for three laps as usual while he did other exercises in the afternoon. After every training session, the young master had to drink a large bowl of salt water to replenish the salt content in his body. Every night before sleep, he will have to consume another serving of a special medicine.

During this afternoon, the young master refused to exercise because the instructor had wanted him to jump like a rabbit and push up from the ground. Without hesitation, Instructor Landon took out a cane and sent a lash towards the young master. A loud sound rang out as the cane stroked the young master's back, leaving behind a red mark on his skin. The young master had never been beaten all his life! I wanted to go stop him, only to be severely warned by the assistant instructors beside me that this would be an indirect violation of the agreement the master had signed. I didn't dare to bear the responsibility for voiding the agreement and could only witness the young master suffer the lashings until the training was completed.

Asake's Diary:

Year 1867, 1st day of the 6th month, Akan Alliance Calendar Weather: Rainy

Having been caned all day the day before, the young master groaned for the whole night as he tried to sleep. Even though Instructor Landon had someone apply some medicine to his wounds, he didn't sleep well and was even dragged out of bed for training today.

The good news, on the other hand, was that the bath has just been completed not long ago. After having his daily dose of medicine, the young master was brought into the sauna and I was allowed to follow them inside.

The sauna was a small wooden hut with a cauldron of cobblestones that were heated up and then sprinkled with water for the steam to evaporate. The room quickly filled with steam the moment the water was splashed onto the hot cobblestones and I found it a little difficult to breathe due to the sudden influx of hot air. Everyone had to strip naked before entering the sauna. Instructor Landon had a magnificent physique which made my underdress moisturized just from staring at him and I was almost drooling while nothing but fatty meat could be seen on the young master's body. Having been put in charge of putting the heated cobblestones into the cauldron and sprinkling water over it, I was sweating all over. The young master on the other hand sat at a corner unmoving as glistening oily sweat oozed out of the pores of his skin. After about 20 minutes, the young master lost consciousness. Instructor Landon said that it wasn't anything to worry about and that he would slowly wake up upon being brought to somewhere with normal air circulation. The young master woke up after being sprinkled with some cold water. He was bathed and put to sleep soon after.

...

Asake's Diary:

Year 1867, 2nd day of the 6th month, Akan Alliance Calendar Weather: Rainy

Yesterday, the young master had yet another night of sound slumber. These few days, he has been training under the threat of the cane from Instructor Landon the whole time whenever he tries to slack off. Before going to sleep, he goes to the sauna every night. These days the young master seems much more revigorated than before: his strength has increased and he no longer starts gasping for breath after walking a few steps. When I was at the sauna with him just now at night, the young master suddenly grabbed on my hand and to my surprise, it hurt. The young master said that he wanted to eat meat so much that he's going to go crazy over it and wanted me to sneak some smoked meat for him.

But I don't dare do such a thing as Instructor Landon, who was standing behind the young master unnoticed by him, was glaring at me with a savage gaze like in an attempt to warn me which he was successful in because I was almost scared to death.

Instructor Landon wasn't present this afternoon for the training as he had to prepare for the duels tomorrow. I really don't understand what kind of person would attempt this kind of crazy feat and take on all the Gold and Purple ranked instructors from 27 different academies. I've heard that they number up to 1600 or more people and I don't believe that a sole Gold ranked instructor like Landon can defeat all of them without losing. A tavern near the academy called 'The Knight and Beauty' has a betting pool for the duels that are to come. I shall go bet 1 gold coin on Instructor Landon's loss as I've heard that the payout for 1 silver is 1 gold coin. If I win, I'll instantly gain 100 gold kans! I really hope that Instructor Landon would lose tomorrow.

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The 3rd day of the 6th month finally arrived and the weather on that day was clear and bright. Larne walked casually in the academy as if he didn't mind the oncoming duels one bit.

He has already received the list of challengers a day before for the inter-academy duels. The open matches would start on the 4th day of the 6th month, which was tomorrow. However, he did not have a list of competitors for that as Pella had forgotten to give him one, or maybe he didn't, as he believed that Larne would defeat all of the challengers without exception anyway. On the other hand, Pella has provided Sade with the list of all the challengers, both the instructors and non-instructors, with excruciating detail so that Sade would spread rumors about the challengers' abilities to easily defeat Larne.

"It can't be helped, if we don't do that, we won't be able to attract any customers for the betting pool. We must give the betters information as detailed as possible to make them think that the challengers have a chance against Larne," said Pella as he shrugged his shoulders.

Larne didn't really want to bother with the name lists anyway. The instructors today were from the Harvey Academy that was ranked at the 20th place of the 26 academies and didn't have any famous Gold or while not even having Purple ranked instructors among their ranks, resulting in Larne feeling no enthusiasm whatsoever for the duels to come.

The members of the Enforcement Division as well as the elites of the Swordsmanship Society could be seen receiving instructions from the skinny nearby. Seeing Larne, who was looking around aimlessly, Pella said, "Don't walk away just yet, there's a good show that you should see."

Without much delay, the 'show' that Pella had predicted was slowly unravelling. A group of people dressed in black entered from the academy entrance with the gold-ranked instructors who were wearing the instructor badge of the Harvey Academy leading the other non-challengers from other academies who were here to witness the duels into the premises.

Academy Head Grei who was holding his walking stick was standing by the training hall which had just been completed recently after a month of rushed renovations. With a wide smile, he received the academy heads and brought them to the duelling hall, but he didn't let the other people following behind enter.

"Stingy old man, what is the meaning of this?" asked the head of the Sotherton Academy with a grim expression.

Smiling, Grei said calmly, "Old bastard, the Harvey Academy is here to participate in the duels. Given that you academy heads have come to witness the spectacle, it's only natural for me to receive you. The rest who were left outside can enter from the other door if they want to."

As he said that, Grei pointed towards the other direction where a large sign could be seen hanging with the words 'Ticket Counter' on it. It seemed that the audience had to pay a fee to be able to view the oncoming duels.

"The price isn't expensive, only one silver per person," said the academy head.

"Stingy old man, you've really been blinded by money to the point where you wouldn't even let some small change like this go uncollected. Can't you be more generous in your ways? I'll pay for the tickets of the audience today, just tell me how much I need to pay in total," said the Westpoint Academy Head magnanimously as he took out an intricate pouch and tossed it towards a Gold-ranked instructor from the Sotherton Academy.

"The Westpoint Academy Head is so generous…" "Thank you, academy head…" Such cries and cheers could be heard coming from the audience.

Pretending not to see the Westpoint Academy Head's gleeful expression, he stretched out his hands motioned towards the inside of the halls and said, "Over here, my fellow guests."

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The newly-renovated training hall had changed a lot after the process. In the centre of the hall was an 8m x 6m elevated platform with up to eight terraces of audience seats surrounding it which could seat up to 2500 people.

Lazily standing on the duelling platform, Larne looked casually at the sexy-looking uniform-clad Orca Academy schoolgirls who were walking around the audience seats and saying in a clear voice, "You better get your betting tickets here! Is there anyone who wants to make a bet? The payout for Instructor Landon's victory is 1 copper for every silver and the payout for his loss is 1 silver for every copper!"

The Westpoint Academy and the Harvey Academy heads were infuriated at the scene on the seats. "Stingy old man, what's the meaning of this?"

Academy Head Grei merely said, "What's so weird about a few girls working so hard to run a betting pool to earn some cash for a living? Maybe they're just very confident in their Instructor Landon's abilities and set the betting payouts to be so skewed. If you two are unhappy with that, why not buy some tickets for your victory and teach them a lesson?"

Only an idiot would believe that you weren't involved in it! The two academy heads glared at Grei furiously. The Westpoint Academy head said, "I have more than 10 gold kans in this pouch and I bet on the victory of the Harvey Academy! I'll make sure you go bankrupt from the payout!"

The Harvey Academy head also said to the instructors and students of his academy, "Everyone, put some money in the pool and bet on our victory. It isn't like that Grandmaster-level kid on the platform has three heads or six arms, I doubt that not even one out of the twenty Gold-ranked instructors can take care of him! With enough people, no matter how strong he is, he'll definitely tire out near the end!"

The female students accepted the bets without hesitation even though almost nobody bet for Larne's victory aside from a few other Orca Academy students.

The Harvey Academy head held a handful of betting tickets and whispered to the Westpoint Academy head, "Even though Instructor Wahab is only a Two-level Gold, his swordsmanship is not something to be underestimated. I'm sending him out first to test out that kid Landon's abilities. Even if his swordsmanship is superb, there's no doubt that he'd fall after several tiring matches. Look, Instructor Wahab is already on the platform. With his rich experience and 17 wins out of all 18 duels he has had… Huh?"

Pella quickly walked up to the platform and announced after examining Wahab, who was lying flat on the ground, "The challenger was knocked out from blunt force trauma to the chin and is unable to continue battling. Next one."

Within half an hour, all twenty of the Harvey Academy instructors had been wholly defeated by Larne, who still had the 'energy' to yawn lazily on the stage.

The busty beauties who were running the betting pool as well as the patrolling Enforcement Division members, who held their swords up high, let out cheers of joy with enthusiasm and chanted, "Instructor Landon, Invincible Grandmaster!" over and over again.

The Westpoint Academy head was stunned speechless and ruthlessly tore up all the betting tickets that he had bought. Without even saying his Goodbyes to Academy Head Grei, he turned towards the exit and left right away. The people from the other academies who came to cheer for the Harvey Academy instructors left disappointed as well.

The Harvey Academy head's expression was as dark as the dirt on the ground. He didn't even notice the tickets falling out of his grip. How could it be… The instructors from my academy were mostly defeated within one exchange… Even the best only lasted three bouts…

Larne called Pella over and said, "How many challengers are there for tomorrow?"

"Twenty, just like today," replied Pella.

Larne said, "That's way too little. Next time, increase the number to 50 a day. It's better if I can settle this sooner."

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Asake's Diary:

Year 1867, 3rd day of the 6th month, Akan Alliance Calendar Weather: Sunny

I lost a gold coin in the betting pool today. Who would've expected all the 20 gold-ranked instructors sent by the Harvey Academy to be so useless and get defeated by Instructor Landon… However, I believe it will be different tomorrow, as the duels are open to all the famous combatants who are not representing any academy. They should be too much for an instructor who always spends his time in the academy teaching without much combat experience. It's fortunate that the payout for the betting pool still stayed the same. It seems that I still have a chance to get the gold coin that I lost back.

The young master was in pretty good shape today as well. He bathed and went to sleep after training as usual.