I was finally offered a break from the math lesson. Just a temporary one, sadly, and brought on by both the fact that I had needed to heal and that my constant mistakes had completely exhausted Vile's mana. Still, as rough as things are, I'm rather excited by the prospect that I can become stronger outside of gaining experience levels.

"So, can you just keep training to get as strong as you want?" I ask. Although the math lesson had continued for quite a while and I hadn't gained any more intelligence, the system seemed especially rewarding and not all that difficult. The training system, that is. The actual math is still exceedingly difficult.

"There are limits which are based on class, species, and, of course, ones own nature. Certain stats are much easier to raise than others for certain individuals." the rat replies.

"Oh, is that why Slave has such high defense, but is also so weak?" I ask. I immediately realize what an insensitive thing that was to say, even without the angry glare from the cat. "Um, sorry, I didn't mean that, it's just that..."

"No, you're right." Vile says. The black cat Slave lowers her head, dejectedly. "She has a lot of speed and toughness, but lacks stopping power. We've been working on correcting that, but despite our best efforts, we've seen no results. It might be due to cats simply lacking in physical strength, or perhaps the admittedly rather excessive gains in defense might have stunted possible growth in other areas." the rat pauses. "I have had similar issues with trying to become stronger."

"Mistress is perfect just the way that she is! She has no need for strength, so long as I am here to protect her!" Slave blurts out, before lowering her head once again at the angry look from her owner.

"Be silent, Slave. As I was saying, naturally, I can't expect to be able to punch through brick walls or anything like that, but it would be nice to not have to worry about being killed by a strong breeze." she gives a preemptive glare to the black cat before she can object. "Sadly, despite my best efforts, and I can assure you they were extensive, I couldn't seem to raise my strength and endurance at all. I suppose I'm just a magic specialist at heart."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I nod my head, taking in this information. While it had been explained earlier, being able to really put into context just how powerful such training could be, taking Slave as an example, was extremely impressive. I did feel rather guilty for implying that the black cat was weak. She's not. Quite the contrary. She stood tall, enduring blow after blow from the AbyssalWood Alpha, whereas I would have gone down after only a few hits, and she's also a creature which is only half my size! The very idea that I can become that tough is a thrilling one! Okay, maybe not quite that tough. I suspect Slave is something of an anomaly in that regard, and I shudder to imagine the sort of torments that she must have endured to become so solid.

"So... does that mean that I could become a lot stronger, too?" I ask.

"I don't see why not. You come off as something of an 'all rounder'. You probably won't reach the heights of defense that Slave embodies, and I can't imagine you ever reaching anywhere close to my intelligence level... I'll be surprised if you're ever as smart as Slave, in fact." the black cat smiles smugly from her seated position a few steps behind the rat, "But with a little determination, I have no doubt your abilities could increase significantly."

"Great!" I bark, tail wagging excitedly. The tail stops after I give the matter a little bit more thought. "What exactly do I need to do to raise them?" I say, dreading more math quizzes.

The downright wicked grin I'm greeted with instead makes my blood run cold. I have the sneaking suspicion that I have just fallen into a trap.

---

Slave: "I thought that we were done with the extra short chapters?"

Vile: "This one is a bit of an anomaly. Well, at least now we've properly explained why our core stats are so much higher than Squire's."

Squire: "I'm still not happy about that... who do I need to train so hard to catch up, and you two just start off strong?"

Slave: "It's not our fault that you spent most of your life as a lazy pet that didn't get nearly enough exercise."

Squire: "It's true... if only I had worked harder when I was younger, maybe I would have been better equipped to serve my master today."

Vile: "Stop depressing the dog, Slave."