My front door leads to a comic strip

—My door can indeed be upgraded.

This was the first thought that popped into Gu Yuan's mind.

Immediately following, a second thought came to mind:

What are the conditions for upgrading?

He was quite certain he hadn't done anything particularly special lately, like leveling up or collecting energy in some novels...

Wait... energy? Gu Yuan stroked his chin, lost in thought.

A bold hypothesis suddenly flashed through his mind:

What if this door could recharge itself?

"Thinking about it, it's been a full three months since I got this door."

"If three months represents one segment, and the progress bar has six segments, doesn't that mean...?"

In an instant, the drowsiness in Gu Yuan's heart vanished without a trace.

Good news!

If his guess is correct, he has no need to place his hopes of learning magic on the world of Frilian.

It's only a year and a half.

However, Gu Yuan quickly shook his head, trying to remain calm:

"That's not right either. What if magic doesn't exist in another world? We should still be cautious."

He let out a breath. Given the extremely limited information he had, it would be difficult to get a definite answer even if he guessed here.

Left with no other choice, Gu Yuan could only temporarily put aside these conflicting thoughts.

He cast his gaze out the dark window—after all, he'd be able to witness it in another year.

Thinking of this.

He quickly closed the portal between the two worlds and went straight to bed to avoid troubling himself unnecessarily.

……

The next morning.

"Knock knock knock".

A crisp knock on the door gently woke Gu Yuan from his drowsy sleep.

Who is it?

He muttered something subconsciously, and then a greeting in Japanese came from outside the door:

"Uncle, it's me, Mikami Natsumi. Sorry to bother you, I'm here to return the tutoring fee from the day before yesterday."

Upon hearing the word "tutoring fee," Gu Yuan immediately became more alert.

That girl was incredibly fast; she flipped and jumped from the second-floor window to the first floor.

She appears to be delicate and frail, seemingly a sports student.

Completely awake, he yawned as he got up, straightened his clothes, and opened the door to invite him in.

What came into view was a black-haired girl with a neat ponytail, carrying a black bag in her hand.

Upon seeing Gu Yuan, she raised her eyebrows slightly:

"Uncle, I came looking for you yesterday, but you weren't home. Did you go out on a date with another girl?"

To be honest, she was quite disappointed, after all, she had lost a day's worth of tutoring money.

Just as Gu Yuan was about to answer, Mikami Natsumi began rummaging through her bag.

A moment later, she took out an envelope, deliberately slowing down her movements, and said:

"This is the refund from that day. I'm really sorry, I didn't expect my adoptive mother to cause trouble at that time."

"Of course, if you don't mind, we can continue now."

As she spoke, she slowly put the money back, but secretly observed Gu Yuan's reaction.

"?" Gu Yuan looked helpless, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

This girl is quite professional, but is it really appropriate to say these things so early in the morning?

Given that I have almost mastered Japanese in the past month.

At the same time, in order to prevent the same thing from happening again, Gu Yuan thought for a moment and decided to politely decline.

Let's wait until we're absolutely sure it's safe before we talk about it.

He is now starting to train his body to prepare for the upcoming trek of four to five thousand kilometers.

"Huh? Is that so? I understand."

When the girl heard Gu Yuan's excuse, she didn't show any disappointment on her face; instead, her eyes sparkled with excitement.

She snapped her feet together, raised her hand to make a peace sign in front of her eyes, and flashed a bright, sparkling smile:

"Next, please allow me to introduce myself."

"I, Mikami Natsumi, was a long-distance running champion in Haruka High School. I once completed a full marathon when I was thirteen years old."

"If you want to improve your endurance, you can definitely come to me."

"Although it can't compare to those professional coaches, it's cheaper, and your place is quite close to my home, so we can train together."

"How about it, sir? Want to come along?"

"Don't call me 'uncle,' I'm not old yet."

Gu Yuan subconsciously retorted.

However, he then realized that the suggestion seemed pretty good.

Training alone is really not fun, and I don't have enough money to hire a professional coach.

But if you're a student, the cost shouldn't be a problem.

His only worry was what would happen if her school found out. He knew very little about that.

"Oh, no problem! Although the school strictly forbids us from working and earning money in secret before we turn 18, as long as we don't get caught, it's fine."

Mikami Natsumi waved her hand, her gaze serious as she looked at Gu Yuan and said...

"I'm sure you won't tell anyone about this, right, Uncle?"

"To outsiders, we just met by chance, we're running enthusiasts... no, pen pals."

"For internal matters, I can simply forge a consent form at worst."

"I need money, you need physical strength, it's a mutually beneficial arrangement."

"How is it?"

Mikami Natsu blinked her eyes, a hint of anticipation in them.

If this deal goes through, she won't have to take on any more part-time jobs before going to university, and her training time won't be reduced either.

For her, this was a win-win opportunity.

Gu Yuan fell into a brief silence.

The other party had already explained the solution so clearly, and he seemed to have no reason to refuse.

That's true. If you don't tell me and I don't tell you, no one will know that they have an employment relationship.

Gu Yuan nodded slightly, agreeing to Mikami Natsumi's suggestion.

He then invited the girl into his home and began discussing a detailed training plan for the future.

Because Gu Yuan could not stay in Japan for an extended period, his payment was made on a daily basis.

The training program costs 5,000 yen a day and includes long-distance running, core training, swimming, cycling, and more.

Initially, it was four hours a day, and then it was gradually increased to seven hours.

If you persist for three to five years, an average person can probably reach the level of an amateur athlete.

However, Gu Yuan has a training method for warriors, so this time should be greatly reduced.

"I don't need to be able to create a 30-meter crater with a single blow; it's enough to kill the monster easily."

"Since warriors can be on par with mages, it means they must have something extraordinary about them. I hope I can succeed."

Looking at the schedule in front of him, Gu Yuan subconsciously touched the muscles on his shoulders.

It's very hard, but it's far from being as hard as steel.

Directly opposite, Mikami Natsu noticed Kou Gen's movements.

She was slightly taken aback when she saw Gu Yuan's bulging arms.

In her mind, Gu Yuan should be a very introverted middle-aged man, but she never expected...

You underestimated him.

Mikami Natsumi gathered her thoughts, feigning composure, and coughed lightly twice, indicating that she was speaking:

"So, is there any problem with starting formal training at 5 a.m. tomorrow?"

As she spoke, she slowly stood up, a faint smile playing on her lips.

"See you there, uncle!"