The morning after the family demonstration brought a dramatically reduced number of students to the training grounds.
Of the original eight hundred who had survived the first week, fewer than four hundred remained after the public confrontation with their families' expectations.
Those who had chosen to leave had departed quietly during the night, their absence marked only by empty dormitory rooms and abandoned training equipment.
The students who remained showed a noticeably different demeanor—more focused, more determined, and clearly aware that they had committed to something that would define their futures.
Grim stood before the assembled survivors, studying their faces with obvious satisfaction. The elimination of the uncommitted had left him with a core group that possessed the mental fortitude necessary for what was to come.
"Congratulations," he began, his voice carrying across the training ground with clear authority.
