Fenix's challenge still hung in the suffocating air of the chamber like a blade waiting to fall.
"I dare you to repeat those exact words."
The silence was crushing. Everyone seemed frozen in place, their minds struggling to process the impossible sight before them - the family's legendary "useless heir" blazing with raw crimson fury that made the ancient stone walls tremble.
Kai was the first to recover from the shock. Slowly, almost mockingly, he straightened to his full height, letting that familiar arrogant grin slide back into place like armor. But his eyes burned with something far more dangerous now - not surprise, but the thrill of accepting a challenge from someone he considered beneath notice.
His aura ignited with a sudden 'whoomph' that sucked the air from the room. Brilliant, roaring azure light flooded the chamber like a frozen hurricane, and the temperature plummeted as the very air grew sharp and electric with barely contained violence.
The crushing pressure hit Fenix like a physical wall, driving him back a step.
Reality struck him with sickening clarity. In his excitement over finally awakening his core, he had conveniently forgotten one absolutely crucial fact - both Kai and Abel had reached the Intermediate+ rank years ago. They weren't just stronger than him; they existed in a completely different realm of power. He was a newborn wolf cub challenging fully grown apex predators.
Kai began advancing with deliberate slowness, his polished boots clicking against the stone floor like a countdown timer ticking toward something violent and final.
But before either combatant could close the distance between them, a voice cut through the mounting tension like a thunderclap that shook dust from the ceiling.
"You both dare to disregard my presence!"
The words belonged to Khan, and they carried more than mere authority - they carried the crushing weight of absolute power. His aura slammed into them like a tidal wave of pure force, an invisible mountain that drove both young men to their knees instantly. The ancient stone floor actually cracked under the strain as Fenix gritted his teeth against the overwhelming pressure. Sweat poured down his face in rivers as his muscles trembled in violent protest.
Abigail gasped in alarm and darted to his side, her small hands gripping his arm as if she could somehow anchor him against the storm.
Abel moved with similar concern toward his twin brother.
Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the crushing force vanished completely.
Fenix sucked in deep, ragged breaths, feeling sensation slowly return to his limbs as Khan leaned back in his elevated seat. The older man stroked his chin with an expression that was utterly unreadable.
"Hmm," he said slowly, his tone deliberately measured and thoughtful. "Nephew, I must admit I didn't expect you to awaken your core at this time. Interesting development indeed."
He paused, his sharp eyes narrowing with something that looked suspiciously like predatory calculation.
"Here's my proposition for you."
The silence in the chamber became so complete that everyone could hear their own heartbeats.
"The Richter family will visit our estate in exactly six months to formally meet Abigail and finalize the marriage arrangements. Their presence here will also mark our territory, providing protection from the interference of other ambitious families who might see us as easy prey."
Khan leaned forward slightly, his crimson eyes locking onto Fenix like a hawk studying a mouse.
"The timeframe will also coincide with our annual family selection trials - the brutal competition that determines who earns a coveted place on the guild exploration team that ventures into the deadlands beyond our territory."
A dangerous gleam flashed in his predatory gaze.
"If you can train yourself properly and qualify for that exploration team within six months, I will personally call off Abigail's engagement to the Richter boy."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.
"But if you fail to meet this challenge... I will not only proceed with marrying her off as planned, but I will personally deliver you into their household as an indentured servant for the rest of your natural life."
There was no bluff in his iron tone. No room for negotiation. No trace of mercy or familial affection.
Fenix held his uncle's burning gaze steadily, seeing the cold fire there with perfect clarity. Khan meant every single word he had spoken.
A few tense moments later, they were curtly dismissed from his presence.
---
Outside the chamber, Abigail's carefully maintained composure finally cracked like a broken dam. Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over as she clutched desperately at his sleeve.
"Don't do this," she whispered, her voice shaking with barely controlled panic. "Please don't risk your life for mine. I couldn't bear it if something happened to you because of me."
He shook his head with stubborn determination, his crimson eyes blazing with unshakeable resolve.
"I'm not risking my life, Abby. I'm deciding what to do with it. And I've decided exactly what that is - I'm going to save you from this fate, no matter what it costs me."
No more words were exchanged between them. They parted for the night, each retreating to their separate rooms with hearts heavy as lead.
---
Morning arrived far too soon for Fenix's liking.
The confrontation with Khan replayed endlessly in his mind as he stared at the spider-web of cracks spreading across the ceiling above his narrow bed. Six months. That was all the time he had been given. Six months to somehow transform himself from a barely awakened Novice into someone capable of standing among the family's elite warriors.
Six months to place himself between Abigail and a future she didn't deserve.
He clenched his fists so tightly that his fingernails drew blood from his palms.
Every second would have to count. Every moment would need to bring him closer to the impossible goal.
After forcing down a meager breakfast, he told Abigail he was going out to train. She didn't press him for details, understanding instinctively that he needed space to process what lay ahead. Lily, the estate's one genuinely kind-hearted maid, would keep her company and ensure her safety.
The winding path to the sakura hill was eerily quiet, lined with ancient gnarled trees whose bare branches swayed ominously in the cold morning wind. At the summit, beneath the sprawling canopy of pink blossoms that seemed to glow with their own inner light, the mysterious man was waiting - as if he had been there all night, unchanged and patient as stone.
He maintained the same casual posture as their previous meeting: lying back against the massive trunk in his faded kimono, chewing lazily on a blade of grass like he had all the time in the world.
"Not bad, kid," the man said without bothering to open his eyes. "You actually keep to your schedule. That's rarer than you might think."
Fenix opened his mouth to respond - only to discover the man had completely vanished.
A cold shiver of unease raced down his spine. He spun around sharply, scanning the empty hilltop - only to feel a gentle tap on his shoulder that made every instinct scream 'ghost'.
"Six months," the man's voice came from directly behind him, so close that Fenix could feel breath on his neck. "Not much time to get properly strong. We start immediately."
Fenix froze in place, his mind reeling. How could this stranger possibly know about Khan's challenge? He had been nowhere near the estate when the confrontation happened.
"Stop wasting time dwelling on useless questions," the man barked with sudden authority. "We begin your real training right now."
---
Several minutes later, Fenix stood silently before his mysterious mentor, waiting for instructions that would change his life.
"For now, we focus on stamina and basic physical conditioning," the man announced, cracking his neck with audible pops. "Run down this hill to the bottom and back up to the top. Fifty complete circuits."
Fenix's eyes widened almost comically as the impossible demand registered. "Fifty complete—?!"
But the man had already vanished again, leaving only empty air and the faint scent of cherry blossoms.
Fenix exhaled a sharp curse and began running toward his first taste of real hell.
---
The initial circuits weren't unbearable. The crisp morning air filled his lungs cleanly, and the hill's natural slope rolled smoothly beneath his boots. But by the ninth run, his legs were starting to feel like they were made of solid lead. By the fifteenth circuit, his breathing had devolved into ragged, desperate gasps.
At nineteen runs, his shirt was completely soaked with sweat that stung his eyes. At twenty-five, his calf muscles screamed in constant agony. By thirty-two, his entire world had narrowed to the patch of dirt directly under his feet and the thunderous pounding in his ears.
By forty-one, he was running purely on stubborn refusal to quit.
The forty-ninth circuit nearly broke him completely.
But somehow, through sheer bloody-minded determination, he forced his protesting body up the slope one final time. His vision swam with exhaustion, his lungs burned like they were full of acid, and he collapsed flat on his back at the summit like a puppet with cut strings.
Running itself had never been the problem - running up and down a steep hill fifty consecutive times was an entirely different form of torture. His chest felt like it contained molten metal instead of air.
The mysterious man reappeared above him as if materializing from thin air, looking down with what might have been approval.
"Excellent work," he said with satisfaction. "Now for the next phase..."
He paused deliberately, letting the tension build.
"Do it again. All fifty circuits. But this time, maintain your aura enhancement throughout the entire exercise."
Fenix stared up at him in pure, undiluted horror.
"You're completely insane," he wheezed.
The man's grin widened into something genuinely terrifying.
Fenix's voice cracked as it rose to a half-yell, half-groan of despair.
"NOOOOOO!"
He had definitely made a terrible mistake. This man really was trying to kill him.
But as he forced himself back to his feet on trembling legs, one thought burned through the exhaustion and fear:
'Abigail is counting on me. I can't fail her.'
The second round of hell was about to begin.