Upon hearing those words, Yamo froze in place, his eyes widening in shock and fear.
He asked in a trembling voice,
"How am I supposed to fight? I've never even held a knife in my life!"
Jian chuckled softly and said,
"You're Yashion's son… you must have some talent. We'll find out tomorrow. Now go to your room — training starts at dawn."
Yamo hesitated for a moment before asking,
"And… where is my room?"
Jian smiled. "Right, come with me, I'll show you."
They walked through the corridors of the kingdom until they reached a small house on the eastern side. Jian stopped in front of the door and said,
"We're here."
Yamo asked in surprise,
"This house is just for me?"
Jian laughed. "Of course not. You'll be living with three others."
He knocked on the door. After a few moments, it opened — revealing the same girl from the ship.
Yamo froze, thinking to himself, "No way… she's here too?!"
He felt uneasy but said nothing.
They all entered and sat in the large living room. Jian said,
"Before we begin training, introduce yourselves to each other."
Yamo stood first, bowing slightly.
"I'm Yamo Kagimitsu, twelve years old. It's an honor to meet you all. I look forward to working with you."
The girl spoke next, her voice cold and expressionless.
"Katoha, eleven."
Then the next boy stood up with a wide grin.
"I'm Raiki! I'm twelve too, and I can't wait to fight alongside you all!"
Finally, the last boy said in a calm, mature tone,
"Ryomi Seri. Fourteen years old. Nice to meet you all."
Jian smiled as he looked at them.
"Good. You'll be part of my team… but only if you pass the test."
Yamo blinked. "Test? What test?"
Jian replied with a mysterious smile.
"Let Ryomi explain."
Ryomi began,
"Before we can take the test, we'll undergo long training. The test begins eight months from now — which means we'll train almost every day. Some people take years to awaken their Konka because it doesn't awaken easily."
The room fell silent. When he finished speaking, Jian turned toward the door.
"Tomorrow, at exactly five in the morning, training begins. Be ready."
Night fell slowly.
Yamo sat near the window, staring at the darkening sky.
"So this is it… a strange place, far from my family, living with strangers who talk about Konka and magic jewels like it's normal. Now I have to train every single day… and wake up at five in the morning?! What kind of torture is this?"
He sighed deeply, lay down, and muttered sleepily,
"Seriously… what have I gotten myself into?"
Within moments, he drifted off to sleep.
At five a.m., the alarm rang.
Yamo woke sluggishly, eyes half-closed, grumbling,
"First time in my life I've woken up this early… what kind of hell is this?"
He was shocked to see the others already awake, fully dressed, and ready — as if they'd done this a thousand times.
Moments later, Jian arrived and led them to the training grounds. The field was huge, surrounded by tall stone walls, and shrouded in morning fog.
Yamo felt slightly annoyed — he hadn't even explored the kingdom yet — but he hid it and followed along.
In the center of the field stood a man waiting silently. After half an hour, all twenty-four trainees had gathered.
The man stepped forward and spoke in a firm, commanding voice:
"I am Jin, the head instructor. My job is to prepare your bodies to withstand the power of Konka."
One trainee raised his hand and asked,
"And what happens if someone too weak tries to awaken their Konka?"
Silence filled the air. Jin finally replied in a grave, emotionless tone:
"They die."
Everyone's eyes widened in horror. A chill ran down Yamo's spine.
Then Jin's voice thundered:
"Are you ready to begin? Whoever finishes first can spend the rest of the day however they wish!"
Shouts of excitement filled the air — but were instantly crushed when Jin added:
"We'll start with five hundred push-ups!"
Yamo screamed,
"What?! It's only the first day!"
Jin smiled sharply.
"You have only eight months. Hurry!"
The trainees began. Heavy breaths and strained grunts echoed through the courtyard.
Minutes later, some collapsed from exhaustion — Yamo among them, falling to his knees, panting hard. He looked up and saw Katoha still pushing through, sweat dripping down her face without stopping.
From a distance, Ryomi's calm voice rang out,
"Done."
A spark ignited inside Yamo's chest. He clenched his fists and forced himself up again, completing forty more before collapsing once more, completely drained.
Training continued until eight in the evening. Everyone was utterly exhausted.
On their way back, Yamo gasped,
"You've got an amazing body, Ryomi… unlike me."
Ryomi replied quietly,
"I used to train at home. My father taught me martial arts since I was a child."
Yamo lowered his gaze.
"My father… was always too busy."
After a moment, he asked softly,
"So why did you leave your family and come here?"
Ryomi was silent for a few seconds, then answered,
"I don't have a family."
Yamo froze, unsure what to say. He remained silent.
Later that night, he lay in bed, every muscle aching.
Suddenly, Raiki burst into the room, still smiling tiredly.
"Those who couldn't finish the five hundred push-ups have to come for training at four a.m. tomorrow!"
Yamo's eyes shot open.
"WHAT?! Even earlier?!"
Raiki laughed.
"Yup! Get ready for a new kind of hell, my friend."
At four a.m., Raiki banged on Yamo's door.
"Yamoo! What are you doing?! It's four o'clock! I thought you'd be ready half an hour ago!"
Yamo opened his eyes sleepily, then closed them again.
Raiki groaned and yanked the blanket off him.
"Get up, you lazy slug!"
Yamo grumbled,
"Okay, okay! I'm up… just give me a second!"
He threw on his clothes and stumbled out, yawning.
Raiki stood waiting by the door, saying with enthusiasm,
"Let's go before Jin kills us!"
As they stepped outside, the air was freezing, the wind biting at their faces.
Yamo shivered.
"Where's Jian? Didn't he say he'd be at every training?"
Raiki, jogging beside him, replied,
"He comes at five. It's only four-ten — we've gotta hurry!"
They reached the training field and found many others already there, each lost in their own exercise.
Jin wasn't there, but a note hung on the wall:
"Train until I arrive. Don't wait for anyone."
Yamo looked at Raiki and smirked.
"How about a race? First one to collapse loses!"
Raiki grinned.
"Deal!"
They started their push-ups, each trying to outdo the other.
Eventually, Yamo fell flat, panting hard — seconds later, Raiki collapsed beside him.
They sat side by side, laughing between gasps.
Yamo asked,
"How many did you reach?"
Raiki replied, still catching his breath,
"Two hundred ninety-seven."
Yamo chuckled.
"Ha! You lost by one!"
They laughed again before continuing their drills.
Soon Jin arrived, leading the next phase of brutal training.
Days passed slowly…
And three months later, we see Yamo standing in a different training ground — stronger, steadier, his eyes filled with determination.