Training Hall – Later That Day
THUD!
Adonis slammed into the ground with a bone-jarring grunt—for what felt like the hundredth time that day.
His chest rose and fell like a collapsing tent. His clothes clung to his body from sweat. His arms trembled uncontrollably. His legs gave up trying to stand somewhere around cycle number ten. Now, after finishing his twelfth set of Justin's sadistic "death-and-resurrection" training method, he felt more ghost than human.
"Thirty laps. Strength drills. Healing. Repeat."
Over and over. Every day. No breaks. No shortcuts. No humanity.
Lying flat on the floor, Adonis groaned, "Ugh… I think… my soul left my body four sets ago…"
From across the training hall, Justin leaned against a stone pillar, sipping from a mana-infused drink. His voice echoed back, casual as ever. "You can take a break now. Then we move on to the next step."
Adonis blinked up at the ceiling, too broken to react. "…Next step?"
Justin snorted. "Forget that. You'll die. Train your body first."
Adonis dragged himself into a sitting position, arms resting limply over his knees. "Master… Can I ask something?"
"Sure."
Adonis looked up with a tired but curious gaze. "Mages rely on their mana cores and spells, right? So why… why go through all this brutal body training? Shouldn't improving mana techniques be enough?"
Justin sighed like he'd been waiting for this exact question. He walked over to a nearby table, poured his green alcohol into a glass, and held it up lazily.
"If you assume mana is like this alcohol," he said, swirling the liquid slowly, "then this glass—" he tapped it "—is your body."
Adonis furrowed his brows, trying to follow.
"Most people think breathing techniques and meditation are enough because mana naturally nourishes the body," Justin continued. "And they're not wrong. But it's like keeping a sick person alive using medicine—you might make them live, but you won't make them a world-class athlete like that."
He took a sip from the glass.
"You want to be strong, right? Not just alive?"
"…Of course."
"Then you need more than mana," Justin said flatly. "You need to reforge your body into a vessel worthy of your element. Training manually—without mana—forces your muscles, bones, and organs to adapt to stress. When I heal you, that progress doesn't vanish. It stays. Builds. Stacks."
He raised a finger.
"With a stronger body, you'll be able to store more mana, circulate it faster, react quicker, and survive attacks that would kill others. It's not about becoming a bodybuilder—it's about becoming a perfect weapon."
Adonis stared at him, the explanation slowly sinking in.
"So I'm not just training mana. I'm shaping the vessel it flows through."
Justin nodded, proud. "Exactly. Keep training like this, and eventually your sword element won't be the only sharp thing about you."
Adonis looked down at his trembling hands—scarred, sore, but somehow stronger than just a few days ago."…I get it now."
"Good." Justin stretched. "Now get up. Five more sets before lunch."
Adonis groaned, "You said I could rest!"
"I changed my mind," Justin grinned. "now five more sets go."
Adonis let his head fall back to the floor.
"I'm gonna die before I become strong…"
The reinforced stone walls of Justin Dawn's training hall echoed with rhythmic slaps of bare feet and desperate breathing.
"Twenty-nine… thirty…"
Adonis stumbled across the finish line, sweat dripping from every inch of his body. His eyes rolled back for a second before—
THUMP.
He collapsed face-first into the dirt.
Justin calmly walked over and cast a soothing green healing aura, surrounding Adonis in a glowing light. Within seconds, the boy stirred with a groan.
"Back on your feet. Don't stop till sundown," Justin said flatly, tossing a water bottle in his direction.
Adonis barely had time to register the water before Justin was already walking away, jotting notes in a floating notebook with a lazily floating quill.
From the open doorway, four students stood frozen in collective shock.
Tyrant, Mia, Alex, and Ai stared as if they had just witnessed a live execution.
Adonis, red-faced and soaked, dragged himself to his knees, muttering something incoherent before shakily rising to run again.
"…Is this even legal?" Tyrant asked, wide-eyed.
"Looks like training," Alex muttered, "but also… war crimes."
"He fainted!" Mia whispered. "And the guy just heals him and makes him start over?!
What kind of monster—"
"Training?" Ai scoffed. "That's not training. That's human sacrifice."
Suddenly—Justin's head turned toward them.
Those eerie pale eyes of his locked on.
"Oh? What a coincidence," he said with a smile that made every hair on their bodies stand. "Adonis, look—your dear classmates came to check up on you. How sweet."
Adonis weakly turned his head. "Kill me."
Justin gestured toward the group like a kind host offering dessert.
"Since you're here, how about you all join in? After all, what's friendship without shared suffering?"
The air turned dead silent.
Tyrant took half a step back. "Uh—no thanks! We just came to make sure Adonis is okay!"
"Yeah! Nothing serious! Just a class check-in!" Alex added.
"And Professor Kael told us to remind him to attend lessons regularly," Mia said quickly, already inching toward the door.
"It might affect his academic ranking if he keeps skipping," Ai added calmly—but her eyes screamed fear.
Justin's smile widened ever so slightly.
"Oh, I see. So you care about his education," he said with mock warmth. "Then let's call this extra credit."
Everyone panicked.
"Nope! We're good!" Tyrant spun around. "Adonis, be strong, brother. We believe in you from a safe distance!"
"May the heavens have mercy on you," Alex added, saluting.
"Bye!" Mia waved rapidly.
"…Live," Ai said flatly.
The group bolted out the door like their lives depended on it.
Justin chuckled. "Kids these days."
Adonis, halfway into another lap, turned his head toward the door where his only hope had just evaporated.
"…Traitors," he whispered, and collapsed again.
A green glow washed over him.
"Get up. Again."
And so began the next cycle.