Chapter 71: Lean and Cut

Karl looked down at his body and noticed that while he was only a little more bulky, he was shredded. There wasn't an ounce of visible fat on his upper body, and he could feel the itchy feeling of a beard coming in on his face. That was a new experience for him, as he had never really grown more than a bit of a scraggly mustache before, but this felt like a full beard. Karl judged his body, then his uniform, and put the shirt and jacket back on. They were a bit strained in the arms and chest, but they still closed. "Oh, I see where this is going. Undo the top two buttons, and you'll get all the ladies with that physique." The mage joked. Colonel Valerie gave a faint smile, then shook her head. "That fitment is not within academy regulations. We will get you a fresh uniform and a razor before you leave this room. Daniel will help you shave if you haven't done it before, and I will take Alice to guard the door to prevent any curious eyes from seeing you before you are ready." The uniform was brought in, and the two women left the room while the warrior gave him an assessing look. "We should cut your hair as well. It got shaggy with the rapid growth. Don't worry, I've got practice, and I will keep you looking good for that little mage girl." The wink that Daniel gave him made Karl blush, but the warrior was all business as he took out the electric shaver from an Academy bag and dug a set of clippers and scissors from his kit. It was a shorter process than Karl had expected, as the hand speed of an Elite was so much higher than his mother, who usually cut his hair. In fifteen minutes, he was dressed, the wasted hair was in the trash, and everything was cleaned to Daniel's satisfaction. "Well, that's the best I can do; the rest is up to you. Good luck with the romance." The warrior laughed as he gave Karl one last twirl to make sure his haircut was perfect. "Thanks. Honestly, this is overwhelming; everything is changing so fast that I don't even wear out my clothes before they are discarded for a new size. Heck, I didn't even have that set long enough to launder them before outgrowing them." Karl laughed. "You should be settled now. Well, close to it. The first advancement or two are the largest changes; now you've just got to grow into your body. You're powerfully built, but you're still immature. Give it a few more years of regular training, and all that fancy muscle will become much harder, and you will be able to apply it more effectively. Old man strength is a real thing with the Elites." Daniel laughed. "It's a real thing with the miners as well. Some of them are much stronger than they look." Karl agreed with a smile on his face at the memory of an old man from the third shift showing up a supervisor from the city who couldn't get a rusted gate open. They left the room, and the three adults split off with a short nod toward Karl, who headed straight for the dining room. It was filled with the excited voices of students who had gained something from the day's treats and the ones who had special training for the day because there wasn't a special advancement food for their skills. The first-year mages in particular were freaking out, as four of them had mastered Golem in one class, while the rest of them were on the way to learning the spell. It was a huge moment for the mage trainees, and they had earned the right to gloat for one day. The warrior classes mostly worked on improving basic skills with the food, and Karl wondered if Dana had gotten special treatment as well, as she already knew the Golem spell. She might have gotten the same food buff that the others did to elevate her skill with the spell, but she had been in special training with him on Saturday. Then, she came into the room, accompanied by one of the women from the Elite Development Department, who looked concerned that she would collapse. "Are you alright?" Karl asked, walking over to take over the assistance needed to keep Dana on her feet. "Yeah, we did a bunch of mental enhancement training, and it left her a bit dizzy. Not all the treatments went as expected." The older mage explained with a meaningful look at Karl. That look meant 'don't discuss this in public,' so Karl nodded and helped Dana through the line to get dinner, which the soldier Dana came in with carried to their table before sitting down to join them. "It looks like the special training was much kinder on you. I expected you to be in worse shape." The woman commented. "The last few lessons helped a lot and allowed me to focus. Not all of them worked; some of them were completely ineffective, but enough of them worked that the Colonel almost smiled." Karl replied. The woman smiled. "Well, now that is a new one. She doesn't do that much. In fact, we all thought she had her sense of humor surgically removed when she got her oak leaves." That was a reference to the rank insignia for the Lieutenant Colonel, one military rank below where Colonel Valerie was now. "Jill, be nice. You know she will chew you out the way that she did Dave if she hears you." Dana whispered. "She's too busy berating him to come back this fast. But I will see you soon. Probably tomorrow to get the updated notes on how you're doing. Karl, it is good to meet you. I will be taking over as Dana's personal tutor, so we will be seeing each other every morning." The petite blonde informed Karl with a smirk that made Dana blush. It took a moment to register, then Karl was blushing as well. The mage knew that Dana usually slept in his room, and not knowing how Karl's room was laid out, had made the logical leap to the fact that rooms normally only had one bed in them.