"Yes, don't resist," Toivo ordered, demonstrating the exercises for Asahi.
In this challenge, do two hundred push-ups, two hundred sit-ups, and five hundred pull-ups. This will be your third and final challenge. Each exercise taps into your magical core, strengthening it with every repetition. This discipline ensures your body channels and controls magical power effectively. It might take a few months, so...
Asahi's gray eyes rounded in shock.
"Five months?! That's way too long."
The old, blue-haired man crossed his arms and chuckled with glee.
"That's how you develop. Change takes time. Now, get into the stance. I want to see you perform before I leave," Toivo instructed, arms crossed.
Hearing this, Asahi forced himself into position on the floor and smiled brightly.
"Like... this?"
Toivo knelt and patted his back, confirming with a wide grin.
"Heh heh, yes. Also, one more thing—you don't have to do them all at once. Practice each exercise individually, and then you may progress. Understand what I've shown you?" Toivo added with a grin.
Asahi coughed nervously, pressed his hands to the red carpet, and slowly pushed his body down as he replied.
"Yeah, I do. O… Okay."
Toivo took a deep sigh, stomped his foot on the floor, and shouted while slamming the door.
"Also, you will not be able to leave this room UNTIL you have done at least one of those three exercises!" Toivo hollered as he slammed the door.
(SLAM)
"HUH?!"
After hearing the door slam, Asahi steeled himself, mimicking Toivo's stances as instructed, and began his exercise with determination.
Though he had endured pain from zombies and dummies, Asahi now faced hours of repetitive stunts to grow stronger, physically. Every push-up became a battle—not just against his body's limits, but also against his doubts and fears.
"Why must I endure this?" he thought, gritting his teeth as sweat dripped down his brow. Memories of his father's encouragement echoed, "You have a gift, Asahi, something the world hasn't seen." That belief became his motivation, driving him past every threshold. His mother's words comforted him: "Every great journey is paved with trials. Embrace them, and you will find your strength." He realized his parents had been hard on him because they believed he would grow. His determination pushed him on.
Despite the challenge, he knew these exercises were not just about physical strength, but also about proving to himself that he could conquer obstacles in this new world. Still, he worried that pushing too hard might break his resolve instead of strengthening it.
As he began doing several push-ups automatically, Asahi questioned, his eyes fixed on the door.
"What does this have to do with magic, or in all… training?"
* * *
In a vast library, a crimson-haired maid and a young girl sat at a desk, studying a tall, brown hardback book. Chloe's challenge matched Asahi's in difficulty, but tested her mind, not body. She studied for three days without breaks, reflecting Asahi's dedication. Their separate journeys hinted at a future convergence.
"Alright, now read that paragraph."
"O… Okay. It says…" Chloe stammered, her brown eyes trembling at the strange symbols on the page. "It says…"
The crimson-haired maid snapped her fingers.
"Just speak. I know you can understand me."
Chloe nodded and gulped down a breath of anxiety.
She felt uneasy in the silence, and the nauseating green wood of the library didn't help matters. Still, she kept her anxiety in check. With careful determination, she read the imprinted language, vowing not to falter.
"It says, the brilliant blue bird flew into the pond and grabbed a stick. Is that what it says, Realma?" Chloe asked.
Chloe referred to the short, crimson-haired woman in round glasses and a tight uniform. Her skin was clear, and her purple eyes resembled violet flowers under sunlight.
Realma's lenient posture suggested that her intelligence surpassed everyone in the mansion. Despite her intelligence, she continued to work here. After a long silence, she looked at the otherworlder and responded, hearing Asahi's grunts outside.
"Indeed. You're doing an excellent job, Chloe. For an otherworlder like you, you are blessed with a great mind for expanding so quickly," Realma said, praising her.
A faint red, embarrassed blush emerged from the round face of the girl.
"T-Thank you."
* * *
After giving his all, Asahi returned to the room and told Telos he had managed fifty-seven push-ups in one moment. The transition from his solitary effort back to Telos was a jarring reminder of his ongoing journey, ensuring no pause in his relentless pace.
"...that's all.... that I have experienced."
(HEAVE)
"Hah, to be honest... the zombies were the most painful challenge for me. I..." Asahi panted as he pushed his body down the floor. "I almost thought I was going to die. I'm grateful for what this man has done."
As he collapsed onto the floor and took a breather, Telos' voice shifted to an unforgiving pitch.
(I understand. I can't believe you forgot about everything. Now, switching topics, do you even remember what happened back in the mountain? You were supposed to go in training, not... go through whatever this is.)
A confused look crossed Asahi's sweaty face as he pressed up and down in a linear motion.
"Huh? You were watching me the entire time?!"
(Of course, what else am I supposed to do? Sit here, and do nothing?!)
"Well… I guess so. I completely forgot. Sorry."
Telos sighed as Asahi finished one hundred push-ups. Watching, he pondered something.
(Why is it that you have visited here? Surely you must have gone with your group, right? So, I can't seem to understand why you're here right now.)
From Kendra's hidden vantage, she secretly observed Asahi gripping the pull-up bar in the wooden room, watching as he lifted his body up and down the sturdy bar, noting every detail as the observer.
"So... attractive. No one in Destia could compete with such a beautiful, bright, unique shade of his hair," Kendra whispered.
Her blue eyes flashed, she bit her lip, and watched Asahi's abs glisten with sweat. His entire body was growing and pulsing from the exercises. The increase in muscle and size amused the maid even more.
While she watched Asahi's body twitch and harden from the excessive exercise, Kendra hastily turned her head away and giggled, muttering.
"He's so… alluring."
. . .
Two days of continuous workout and strain passed.
Asahi pushed beyond limits, completing thousands of cycles, far surpassing the original assignment.
For him, the workout felt inhumane. No human would ever put themselves through such torment. He pressed on regardless.
"Almost… there."
His muscles were tense, firm, and wrapped in heat.
His skin was taut, like layers of solid rock. Each muscle flexed, bulged, and knotted with visible effort. His upper body looked bulkier and healthier than before, while exercises for his legs added both height and strength to his chin, making him more masculine.
Kendra, watching from afar, grew increasingly eager to approach with each visit as she witnessed his transformation. Meanwhile, Toivo observed the boy's progress and determination with amazement.
"H...How much has he been doing this? He looks jacked."
Kendra's face turned pink in anxiety, she fidgeted with her long blue hair, and she stammered.
"He's b-been doing this for two days now."
Toivo's eyes widened in shock. He couldn't recall any student working as hard as this. He erupted in confusion as the white-haired figure flexed.
"TWO DAYS?! Are you serious? TWO WHOLE DAYS?! I told him to only do a hundred, not this!? This is physically impossible for a human. How is he..." Toivo blurted.
Asahi developed quickly because he wasn't human but a Ruler.
Rulers' bodies were amplified beyond human limits.
Legend has it that Rulers were once guardians of their world, blessed with indomitable strength and the ability to manipulate their environment with ease.
Their eyes can perceive the flows of magic, and their skin, glowing with a subtle iridescence, was impervious to most mortal wounds.
Born with an affinity for magic, Rulers possess a core of pure energy that allows them to perform feats of strength and endurance that no ordinary human could even dream of attempting. The power to NOT use Soil Canisters, but their given element.
That was the main reason why many Rulers have clear skin, beautiful eyes, strong, bulky builds, and all-around perfect bodies. It's because of that amplification. Rulers were like Humans, except way stronger and advanced.
Yet Asahi acted like any normal human.
. . .
When Asahi had blinded and forced himself through hours of non-stop exercise, he never needed to drink water due to the Rulers' amplification. As the day continued to move forward, the world around him did as well.
But that never mattered, because as the day progressed, so did the world.
Telos mumbled as Asahi continued to do more exercises.
(Seriously, I know you want to improve yourself and all, but I think you're forgetting why you have arrived here. I don't understand why you would choose to be separated from your sister after what happened before. I... Isn't there still a person on the loose, not to mention--
'Yeah, yeah, I'm sure she's fine. Come on. Just let me do some."
Telos' voice lifted loudly.
(YOU HAVE BEEN DOING THIS FOR TWO DAYS!)
"W-What? I can't hear you."
Suddenly, as Asahi continued to do a hundred pull-ups and felt his muscles ache, five loud knocks sounded behind the front door.
(KNOCK)
(KNOCK)
(KNOCK)
"Huh? Someone's at the door? At this hour?!"
Kendra fell into an absolute state of disbelief as she continued staring at Asahi's body.
"Humph, why now? I…"
While he saw the blue-haired maid race to the door, Asahi paused his exercise and turned over, curious as to why Kendra stared at him like that.
"Huh? What are you doing?"
She replied with a nervous sweat that slid on her face.
"N... Nothing!"
To avoid revealing what she had done, Kendra quickly turned around and raced to the front door to see who it was that was knocking.
(CREAK)
With a soft push, Kendra pried it open, and as the rain and cold mist poured into the mansion, three people stood and got drenched from the storm.
"Greetings. Is it okay if you can let us in?"
A gray-haired boy, a petite brown-haired woman who had a spoon levitating on her mouth, and a brunette with vibrant lipstick on her mouth. Kendra bowed down and greeted them as the three desperately tried to get inside.
"Welcome to the Toivo residence! My name is Kendra. If you all can be so kind, please enter."
The gray-haired boy, Canyon, nodded his head and gave a weak smile at her.
"Okay…"
As the front doors slammed shut, Tovio and a few maids raced down the stairs while they saw Asahi working out in the background. The man greeted as he bowed his head down at the guests.
"Greetings, welcome to my Residence. You may call me Toivo. What brings you here today, and… what are your names?"
The three revealed their names to be Canyon, Joshilyn, and Brunella.
It seemed to Toivo that they didn't want to waste any time, so as they were led to the dining room, Joshiyln asked while she made a gesture of greeting.
"Have you seen a white-haired boy named Asahi? We've been looking for him EVERYWHERE for the last three to four days. He still has some training to do."
Toivo raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Well, HE has training to do here as well. Actually, he's almost done with it. He's a man now."
Canyon included while he squeezed the water off his thick hair.
"Yeah, yeah, okay. Stop joking around, old man. Have you found another girl named Chloe wandering in here, too?"
As silence dawned upon him, Tovio scratched his chin and mumbled to himself as the three awaited a response.
"Strange, so these three know the two? It's no wonder they arrived here. Something could have happened."
Before he could reveal anything else, he tried to hide that Chloe was here as well, as he never wanted the group to disturb her learning.
"Yes, I saw a boy you have described come here. I don't remember seeing that girl you mentioned, though."
Chloe wasn't who he wanted to disturb, but Asahi was. He was still struck with a wave of disbelief that the boy could still work out after two full days of excessive exercise. Toivo feared that if the young man were to do any more of those exercises, his body would break.
As the rain continued to pound against the roof, Brunella asked as she fixed her long fingernails.
"Do you know where he is?"
He nodded his head and pointed to the direction of the second hallway.
"Of course, he's right this way. In the gym."
All the group's eyes broadened in shock.
"Gym?! You have a gym?! How wealthy are you?!"
"Very wealthy, ha ha. So wealthy, you can't even imagine."
. . .
Seconds passed, Toivo led the group across the sleek hallway, he fixed his hat, and turned to the three. Curiosity started to bite him as they slid their feet across the neatly polished wooden floor.
"So, how did all three of you get here?" He asked with a curious tone.
After a second of silence, Canyon couldn't resist replying.
"We arrived here because of an accident involving Linuxinia Mountain. It was SO crazy! We were ambushed by this strange lady who wielded magical darkness powers and whatnot. It was strange, actually. She seemed to have a particular interest in dividing us and spreading chaos. Some say she desires a powerful artifact hidden within the mountain, something that could shift the balance of power."
Joshilyn provided a much more formal version of his response and waved her spoon around.
"Basically, we encountered a strange anomaly after we had tried to begin the Adventurer's Guild Challenge. Since then, we have all been separated, and so we have been trying to search for everyone in the group for the last two days. Those monsters that suddenly appeared, gave us trouble, and I fear they may have followed us here."
Toivo nodded in understanding.
"Ah… that explains a lot. Don't worry, this mansion is safe."
Brunella commented.
"I hope you're right. Those mechanical creatures were painful to defend ourselves with."
. . .
As the group heard struggling grunts sound toward their right, Joshilyn continued as she placed the spoon back in her mouth.
"Yeah, it was a struggle for all of us to reunite, so that's why we arrived here. Also, thank you so much for letting us in. We were about to get sick from the cold rain outside."
Toivo smiled and chuckled willingly, happy that he had received at least some gratitude for his relatively "kind" acts.
"You're welcome. It was a pleasure working with that boy. Oh, yeah... I forgot." He scratched his head and informed me about who he was. "I usually allow visitors to enter the house because I'm a teacher and trainer for others. I want young adults to become powerful in magic, so... I devised a training process. Although I have experienced several years of training, Asahi is unlike any of the other students I have encountered before."
Canyon raised an eyebrow.
"R-Really? What do you mean by that?"
Toivo answered as Asahi's eyes widened, noticing who had arrived.
"Let's just say... he has a special determination lingering within his heart. One so strong, it eclipses all the stuff I saw before. I... I don't think he's even human."