Chapter 68: Cocktail Hour

Karl watched carefully, and Hawk rested in the Beast Space as the fights continued, with the huge professor giving each of the students a chance to try against him. Karl had been the only one who really stood a chance, as the rest had all been training only against their own styles or had specialized in grappling and submission techniques, which wouldn't work on Tank. But you didn't get to pick and choose your targets in a fight. There was a threat, and you had to deal with it, so this sort of training would be incredibly valuable to them later. Karl knew that there were many species of giant humanoid monsters as well. Orcs, trolls, ogres, owlbears, and many more. This sort of training would work on them as well, with only a little modification. It was hard for Karl to imagine what a troll or ogre might look like in person, but after seeing Tank, it became a bit easier. Ogres were supposed to be close to three meters tall, so they would tower over the Berserker the same way that he did over the agility warriors in this class. That was a terrifying thought, but they also wouldn't be in armor, so there was a chance that Rend would actually cut them apart as it was intended to, as long as they weren't too much more powerful than he was. As the day progressed, Professor Tank showed off a dozen different fighting styles, and the students began to wonder if he had taken this job just because he was a battle junkie and there weren't constant threats at a level where he would be sent out. Fighting the students gave him a chance to let off some steam, even if he couldn't go all out. But there were other students here as well, and some of the stronger Ascended Rank seniors from the other training group of the class were enough to actually make him work for his victories, not like Karl and the first-year class, whom he just toyed with. The mixed martial arts instructor raised his hand to get everyone's attention. "Alright, that's it for the day. Professor Tank will be working with a different class tomorrow, but don't forget the lessons you learned today. Integrate them into your fighting style, and prepare for his return later this week." That would be easy enough. None of them were likely to forget this day any time soon. Karl headed back toward the dorm rooms to begin the studies that he had been assigned on monster biology, intending to spend the evening focusing on finding ways to make Hawk stronger. But when he rounded the corner, he found Colonel Valerie standing at the door to the dormitory waiting for him with her trademark frown on her face. "Student Karl, follow me. We have numerous things to do today before dinner." She announced as she started walking. Karl sighed while Hawk gloated and dug into the pile of meat in the Beast Space. The new Strength Stones with the Awakened Rank Boar blood were doing great things for him, but Karl had to rely on the feedback and work while Hawk ate. The colonel led him toward the next building and into a private classroom, where one of the pairs from the last training day was waiting. It was a warrior and mage pair, like him and Dana. They had a large selection of pills, loaded needles, and food products set out on the table waiting for him, making Karl pause at the door in concern. "Are we not concerned about interactions between multiple treatments?" Karl asked. "Not particularly. All of these are known to work together occasionally, and we are not sure how many, if any, of them will actually work on you." The Colonel replied with a shrug. "You know that deadpan voice is why everyone thinks that you're a heartless bitch, right?" The other woman in the room asked, forcing Karl to nearly swallow his tongue to avoid laughing. That definitely wouldn't go over well with the uncompromising Colonel, but despite her hard glare at her subordinate, she did relent a little and explain her idea. "These treatments aren't as nefarious as they look. Each of them is carefully chosen to enhance an aspect that you have already shown an aptitude beyond the normal in. The pills are mental stimulants more commonly used on psychics and visualization-type mages. The injections are all magical equivalents of steroids, and the foods are specially prepared combinations of materials that are intended to trigger skill understanding breakthroughs." The other two in the room nodded in satisfaction, as if that was enough of an explanation for Karl to just accept that he was going to take over a dozen treatments all in one sitting, possibly with a short break in between for everyone to take notes. "Alright, where do we start?" Karl asked reluctantly. "With the mental improvement. From what we have deduced based on your reports, you meditate to improve the conditions and power stored in the mental space that Hawk inhabits, correct? So improving that mental ability should help both of you. Compared to a physical enhancement, which only treats you, it is clearly the better option." The lone man in the room nodded in agreement. "These are all well-known and tested treatments. Both of us have taken them already without side effects, though they didn't do much for me other than increase the speed at which I learned new skills." The speed with which he learned to improve his skills was a huge part of Karl's combat power, so this could actually be a big break for him, Karl decided as he picked up the first little paper with a single glowing green pill on it. "That is a Dragonite pill. It's made with the empowered bones of long-dead dragons that have crystallized. It is mostly for mages, as it gives a notable improvement in mana growth, but it also has incredible effects on intellect and mental strength." Colonel Valerie noted as the other two moved to their laptop computers to take notes. Karl popped the pill in his mouth and was about to wash it down with water, but the pill dissolved, and his mind seemed to be flooded with golden light. Power seemed to be flowing into him at an incredible rate, and the world within the Beast Space began to grow at a visible pace. "Well, it definitely worked. It's like a golden light in my mind, and I can see the improvement in the Beast Space already." Karl explained so the others would know what was happening. "Excellent. Give it a few minutes to settle, and we will move on." Hawk trilled happily as he flew around in the space, absorbing the energy until the feeling of the space returned to close to its original state. "Now that it has settled and Hawk absorbed a lot of the excess energy, it feels like the improvement is noticeable, but not as strong as it felt at first." Karl added. "So, it helps the Hawk as well? That is impressive. We will prepare another dose later so that you both get the full effect." Valerie noted. "Perhaps we should double the dose of everything that we have spares for?" The female mage suggested," "That is a valid theory. If Karl and Hawk share everything, we are actually dosing both of them, so the increased dosage could be necessary for some of these treatments to work properly." The warrior noted, running his fingers through his short brown hair.