Chapter 289 Compliments

When the instructor started the second fitness session, the obstacle course, Klaus took off like lightning with an impressive initial acceleration. His muscles seemed to work in harmony to propel him forward at an incredible speed.

The other students could only watch Klaus with admiration, incredulous at his athletic ability.

The way he ran was smooth and fluid, as if he was floating through the air. His feet barely touched the ground as he shot ahead of the other students.

Klaus finished the first lap with a large lead over the other runners and continued to increase his lead in the following laps. He didn't seem to get tired, didn't pant or show any signs of exertion as he ran. It seemed as if his body was moving on its own, as if he was in a kind of trance, concentrating on his own thoughts and movements.

The other students wondered how Klaus could run so fast and for so long with such a large body. It seemed that he was on another level of fitness, an ability unmatched by the other students in his class.

With Klaus at the top of the times table, the competition became fiercer than ever. The other students struggled to keep up with his pace, but he remained unstoppable, crossing the finish line each time with a surprising advantage.

Klaus ran at the same speed throughout the training, never slowing down. He passed the other runners like they were statues, overtaking them with ease and leaving no one behind in the rare moments when he fell behind someone.

When he finally reached the end of the last race, Klaus stopped as he crossed the finish line, this time completely out of breath, and looked back to see the other runners coming, one by one. The other runners quickly approached him, also exhausted, and greeted him, some with smiles, some with looks of respect, and most with sincere compliments.

"Man, what incredible speed!"

"I've never seen anyone move like you!"

"What's your secret, Klaus?"

"How do you do it? You look like a professional runner. Now I'll have to train harder than ever!"

"You're in what department? I bet it's athletics."

Klaus felt a wave of warmth in his chest, a sense of belonging he had never felt before. He didn't even know how to react with so many people around him like this, it seemed like decades since something like this had happened to him for the last time. He immediately blushed at the compliments.

Had he been wrong all along about holding back from making unwanted enemies?

Noticing how embarrassed Klaus was, his roommate and classmate Andrew approached him, slipped an arm behind his sweaty neck and said to the staff:

"Athletic department? Haha! Of course not. He and I are in the archery department."

People were surprised at what Andrew said.

"Wow, we have an archery department? I didn't know that."

"I saw on the Internet that an archery prodigy who is a candidate for the Olympics got into the special NIST program in California, but I didn't think we had a department dedicated to it."

"What a waste, Klaus! Get into the athletics department, I bet you'll come out much better."

"Hahaha!" Andrew laughed out loud, once again surprising everyone, even Klaus. "You only think Klaus is fast with his legs because you haven't seen him shoot with a bow and arrow. He's a monster, I'm sure he'll be one of the best in the department and maybe even in the whole country."

"Well, I'm looking forward to seeing him shoot sometime!"

"Me too!"

After that, it was the professor and his assistant's turn to approach Klaus. They crossed the sea of students around Klaus and stopped in front of him, looking impressed by the talent in front of them.

The gray-haired professor looked at Klaus and said:

"Klaus Park, you have an impressive physical talent. You should be an example of discipline to all the other students on this campus, and I believe that you can excel in any area you set your mind to training. How do you feel about the possibility of competing in both athletics and archery in the future?"

Klaus didn't know what to say. He had never thought about becoming a professional athlete or archer. As he thought about it, something in him awoke, a spark of enthusiasm. Still, he decided to tell his teacher with a smile:

"Nah! I'll settle for archery for now."

The teacher smiled back and nodded. "All right, come see me if you change your mind. I will introduce you to the head of the athletics department if that is the case."

Klaus nodded as a sign of respect and thanks. Then the professor announced the end of the training and dismissed everyone to change in the locker rooms as the evening began.

As Klaus and Andrew came out of the locker room changed, Nathan met them halfway to dormitory A-3.

Nathan was a handsome boy with blond hair, slim and of medium height, but he had too many thoughts he couldn't keep to himself, so he became a machine gun of words and various topics. He talked about everything from politics to biology, and from the moment he met his roommates, Nathan never stopped talking about how interesting the herbology class he had taken had been.

Klaus and Andrew were already getting headaches as Nathan spouted a tsunami of technical terms without even stuttering, and they were about to tell him to shut up when he suddenly stopped talking. This made them feel like they were on a completely peaceful desert island, and they were so at peace that they could transcend themselves right there, only they were confused when Nathan stopped following them and they decided to look back.

The young blond man stood motionless in the middle of the street, staring intently at a television that was broadcasting a match of Dagger Dispute, a mobile game that was becoming increasingly popular among teenagers.

"Ashley Cox..." Nathan muttered, standing like a statue as he stared at the television.

Even Klaus and Andrew looked at Ashley Cox with surprise.

"Man, I knew you were a virgin, but I had no idea how much. You're in love with a woman from TV?" Andrew said, stopping himself from laughing at Nathan.

"Is she famous?" asked Klaus, remembering the deal he had made with this very girl when he went to the audition. Only, since he hadn't gotten her number that day, he didn't even know if she had been accepted into the special program or not until that moment.

Nathan slowly turned his head towards the two boys and looked at them as if they had just asked the worst question ever asked by humans in history. Then he asked with a slightly crooked mouth and a frown on his forehead:

"Are you serious? How can you not know the main muse of our campus? She is just perfect. Her face is cute, she has rosy cheeks, a seductive body, a beautiful smile, and everything a woman can have."

"Oh! So she's not a celebrity?" Andrew asked, looking at the TV.

"Do you realize what you are watching, Andrew? It is only the second day and the first day of school, but she has already established herself as the head coordinator of the Dagger Dispute Society. Somehow she managed to come up with a plan that convinced the board to create this society out of a 'mere' mobile game. The professors, the NIST instructors, and all the other students are so excited for her, no wonder the society's opening match is being broadcast live!" He said with more enthusiasm than when he was talking about the Herbology class.

"Wow, she really sounds amazing." Andrew said for the first time, sounding impressed by something Nathan had said.

"She's a smart and beautiful goddess. She must have a lot of suitors already, it's just that no one has been able to get close to her yet."

"Why?" Klaus inquired.

"She probably thinks that no one is good enough for her. I heard that her father has a lot of influence in the national congress, so people like us don't even compare to her." Nathan said with some sadness.

"Nathan, you talk like you're poor, but didn't you say yesterday that you spent your last vacation in Dubai with everything paid for?" Andrew reminded him.

"What my family has is nothing compared to theirs. Believe me." Nathan said. "Besides, even if her family is okay with her having a relationship, it doesn't mean she will. They say she is very friendly with the girls, only with most of the boys she is very hard."

"You seem to be a big fan of hers. Why don't you go over there and join her company?" Andrew scoffed.

Nathan's eyes lit up at that moment and he hastily agreed:

"Great idea. Come on, let's apply together." Excited, Nathan grabbed Andrew's hand and started walking in the opposite direction of the dormitory.

Before Klaus had a chance to reject the plan, Nathan pulled him into the Dagger Dispute Society's temporary building.

...

Edited by: DrHitsuji

If you want to see original illustrations of Rise Online characters, consider helping me on pa treon: Pa treon.com/NandoFalske

More character images in:

Like it? Add to library!

Don't forget to vote with Powerstone to support the book if you like it...