After regaining his composure, Phong suddenly wondered what his appearance looked like in this world. With that thought, he quickly pulled out the IV from his left arm and wandered outside to find the restroom.
In the restroom, staring at his reflection in the mirror for a while, he exclaimed:
"Wow! I'm so handsome! At this rate, all the beauties in this world will be mine."
That afternoon, he and his mother completed the early discharge procedures.
2:00 PM, July 15th. Ma Ky World, Hung Ha Province.
Phong followed his mother home. Their three-story house was on the road leading to the city square. Once inside, relying on his memory from his previous life, he went straight to his room and slept until evening, only waking up when his mother came upstairs to call him for dinner.
That evening, while eating, Phong spoke to his family:
"Mom, Dad, I want to apply to the Military Medical Academy."
His mother was very surprised, because his father was an officer in the army. Phong had never liked the life of living with just his mother since he was a child. She thought he would never follow in his father's footsteps.
Phong's father, being an officer, usually only had about 20 days off per year, and every month he could come home only on the last two weekends. The rest of the time, he spent at the unit and the training ground.
Today, however, he was specially allowed to come home for one night after hearing that his precious son had been hospitalized. After hearing Phong's plan, he pondered for a moment and then replied:
"Study it carefully and make your decision. Your future is in your hands. Whatever you choose, we will support you."
And so, Phong began his new life. He was studying in the specialized Biology class at Hung Ha High School. In fact, with his knowledge from his previous life, applying to the Military Medical Academy was not difficult at all—or so he thought.
Opening each textbook, he found that the basic knowledge of this world was largely the same as on Earth. The content of laws and principles remained the same, only the names were different.
The only difference was knowledge of magic and its practical applications, which high school students like Phong were not yet allowed to access. So he felt confident in himself.
He decided to learn swordsmanship from his father.
That afternoon, Phong went with his father to the family training room in the outskirts. The room was about 40 square meters, with walls lined with all kinds of swords, from large to small, round to bent...
His father, Nguyen Hoai Nhan, was a renowned swordsman in the capital military district. When he learned that his son wanted to follow in his footsteps, he wanted him to get familiar with some military basics first, to avoid being "shocked" when encountering them for real. The first step was swordsmanship.
He introduced it to Phong:
"Swordsmanship and shooting are two essential skills every soldier must have. Here, due to limitations, I'll help you get familiar with the basics of swordsmanship first. As for shooting, the military will teach you properly. If you fail, that's just bad luck."
He continued:
"The fundamentals of swordsmanship are very important. They determine whether you can develop long-term and stable skills and learn advanced techniques. There are many types of swords. Depending on personal style, the design, material, and shape vary."
He then took a wooden sword from the chest and tossed it to Phong. He explained:
"This is what you'll use—the standard military training sword. Blade length 80 cm, width 5 cm, handle 12 cm. We just got it from the army's warehouse."
Phong obediently took the sword and waved it a few times, like a country boy using a smartphone for the first time.
"First, we'll train your physical fitness. For the first month, you'll have only two exercises: long-distance running and push-ups."
From that point, Phong began his new routine. He woke up in the morning to run with his father, studied academic subjects during the day, trained his body for an hour in the afternoon starting at 5 PM, and studied and chatted with classmates at night. Before long, a year had passed.
For swordsmanship, he was only taught simple stances and movements: thrusting, horizontal slash, vertical slash, and parrying. Continuous training gradually built him some muscles; he was no longer the frail, sickly boy who once had to be hospitalized from exhaustion.
Regarding academics, since Phong had previously been a medical student, the math, chemistry, and biology here were not difficult for him. He quickly adapted, reviewed, and supplemented his knowledge, confident in his abilities.
Today was the day of the university entrance exam. Due to the complex situation at the northern border, his father had to stay at the unit, so his mother would take him to the exam.
Early in the morning, after meticulously grooming himself and admiring his own handsome face in the mirror, he finally had to leave.
"If you don't come out soon, you'll have to walk today," his mother threatened from the living room.
Phong hurriedly ran out and climbed onto his mother's motorbike, pretending to be dramatic:
"Mom, don't be upset. Your son has to be confident to do well on the exam!"
His mother, used to his antics, only said gently:
"If you fail, tomorrow your father will take you to get a job at the construction site, okay?"