──────────────────────────
Chapter 31 — Dawn of the First Trial
──────────────────────────
Scene 1 — Inside the House, Early Morning
The sun was slowly carving its way from beyond the horizon, a thin thread of light slipping through the small window, touching the room like a warm whisper.
Kyura and Reinion were still asleep beneath their blankets, while Zokimushi was doing push-ups nonstop as if he were a machine.
Kazu stepped out of his room, his footsteps quiet at first… then he looked at them and said in a low tone:
Kazu gently (They're still sleeping…)
He took a long breath… then shouted in a
roar that shook the place:
Kazu (How do you expect to train while you're still asleep?!)
Kyura and Reinion jumped from their beds with half-open eyes, exhaustion clear on their faces.
Kyura (The sun hasn't risen yet…)
Reinion (Look at the sky… it's still black…)
Kazu pointed toward the window:
Kazu (I know that… but look closely… half of the sun has already appeared. Come on, get up. Zokimushi will be rewarded because he woke up first, and he's even doing push-ups.)
Zokimushi waved while continuing his exercise:
Zokimushi (I want my reward to be fighting you!)
Kazu smiled lightly:
Kazu (Alright… but the reward might change. Anyway, come on… get ready for breakfast, then we'll train.)
Kyura and Reinion answered in tired, dragging voices:
Kyura and Reinion (Alright…)
After a while, Miro came carrying a plate with bread toasted in oil and stuffed with eggs, along with warm tea, and beside it were strange herbs…
Rough green leaves, their edges serrated, streaked with red lines resembling veins—but they were not veins… rather small branches pulsing with a faint color.
Kyura (What is this…?)
Reinion (I've never seen anything like it in my life…)
Zokimushi (I used to eat them all the time in the forest.)
Kazu handed each of them one of those leaves:
Kazu (Eat it with the bread.)
Then his expression turned serious, carrying authority:
Kazu (And I forgot to tell you last night… my training is harsh. Can you endure it? After agreeing… there is no turning back.)
The three of them spoke in one voice as if declaring an oath:
All three (We agree.)
Kazu (Good… now eat.)
Kyura put a piece of bread into his mouth:
Kyura (It's delicious…)
Reinion (You're right… it's good.)
Zokimushi (Delicious… delicious!)
Then Kyura bit into the leaf—
And in the next moment, he spat the food directly into Kazu's face:
Kyura (It's awful! It tastes terrible! It ruined the flavor of the bread!)
Reinion quickly pulled the leaf away from her mouth:
Reinion (I'm not tasting that!)
As for Zokimushi, he ate all of it without a care, as if he were enjoying a luxurious meal.
Kazu wiped the food and saliva off his face with a napkin, then looked at Kyura with a calm but threatening gaze:
Kazu (Your training will be harsh… and if you don't finish it, I won't train you. The same applies to you, Reinion.)
The two swallowed nervously… then continued eating with great difficulty, as if they were chewing herbs brought up from the depths of hell.
After some time, they finally finished, and Kazu stood up, saying:
Kazu (Alright… you've passed the first test, and Zokimushi outperformed you because he ate it all without hesitation.)
He walked toward a large wooden door and opened it…
A smell of iron rushed out from within, a strong cold scent as if it came from an ancient mine.
They descended with him down a stone staircase leading downward…
Until they reached what seemed like another world.
──────────────────────────
Scene 2 — In the Basement
──────────────────────────
A massive training ground… stretching wide with vast space, its walls and floor made of iron.
The iron gleamed with a cold gray shine.
Huge chains hung from the ceiling, solid iron pillars stood firm, and strange stones of various shapes lay scattered…
Spherical rocks, others square, and some jagged as if they were stones from an ancient temple.
Numerous lamps spread across the iron ceiling, lighting the place brightly enough to make them forget they were underground.
Several doors were lined up along the sides…
Some wooden, others metallic, in different sizes and shapes.
Kyura (What is all this…?)
Zokimushi (Amazing! This is truly incredible!)
Reinion (Are we… under the house? Is this a basement…?)
Kazu turned to them, spreading his arms as if presenting a new world:
Kazu (Welcome to my training ground… Let's begin the first training with Kyura.)
Kyura, clearly tense:
Kyura (Alright…)
Kazu stepped toward a small square rock only a few centimeters in size…
He lifted it with unbelievable ease, as if it weighed no more than a small twig.
Kazu (I want you to lift this rock one hundred times upward.)
Kyura extended his hands while thinking:
(This is easy… it's very small.)
But—
When Kazu placed the rock onto Kyura's palm—
Kyura felt a terrifying weight… an immense pressure that crushed his hand for a moment, and the rock fell quickly onto the iron floor.
The ground trembled slightly…
And a small crater and cracks appeared around the impact point.
The three shouted together:
All three (What—?!)
To be continued…
──────────────────────────