Sunlight crept across Ren's face far earlier than he wanted. He groaned, turned over, and tried to hide under his blanket. His entire body felt like it had been rolled down a mountain, stuffed into a barrel, and kicked for good measure.
"Ren," a voice called from outside his door, polite but firm. "Wake up."
Ren muttered, "I'm broken."
The door slid open gently. Rina stepped inside holding a tray.
"You're not broken," she said. "Just sore."
"I'm mortally sore," Ren replied.
Rina offered him a cup. "Drink this."
Ren sniffed it suspiciously. "What… is it?"
"A recovery drink."
Ren eyed it. "Is it safe?"
Jinto's voice shouted from outside the window, "NO."
Rina glared toward the window. "Ignore him. Drink."
Ren tried a sip. His face contorted instantly. "It tastes like melted socks."
"That means it's working," Rina replied calmly.
Ren forced the rest down, gagging.
Rina nodded approvingly. "Good. Get dressed. Everyone is waiting."
Ren sighed. "Of course they are."
---
The training field was already packed—again. Miro waved wildly, nearly falling over. Tali stood beside him, steadying him by the collar.
"Miro," Tali said, "stop bouncing. You're like a potato in a tornado."
"I'm SUPPORTIVE!" Miro declared.
Dano approached Ren the moment he stepped onto the field. "Today we increase difficulty."
Ren rubbed his temples. "I was afraid you'd say that."
Haru leaned over Ren's shoulder. "I heard Nima planned something special."
Jinto added helpfully, "You're going to hate it."
Suri huffed. "Stop scaring him already."
Rina folded her arms. "He SHOULD be scared. Today is serious."
Ren swallowed. "…How serious?"
Before anyone could answer, Nima arrived, staff in hand. The crowd quieted instantly.
Nima's gaze fell on Ren. "You performed well yesterday. Today we test your adaptability."
Ren whispered, "I've adapted enough…"
Nima continued, "This trial requires precision under rapidly shifting conditions."
Taro leaped forward dramatically. "BEHOLD! THE SHIFTING GAUNTLET!"
He pulled away a large cloth, revealing an even more elaborate structure than yesterday's monstrosity—a maze-like course of moving platforms, rotating logs, suspended stones, and balance beams that looked far too thin to trust.
Ren stared blankly. "Did you… did you build this?"
Taro puffed out his chest. "YES."
Jinto whispered, "We tried to stop him again."
Suri added, "We failed again."
Emi stepped beside Ren. "Careful. This one moves."
Ren blinked. "What moves?"
As if answering him, a platform lurched sideways with a loud clunk. Ren jumped.
Miro pointed. "REN! IT WANTS TO KILL YOU!"
Tali smacked him. "STOP making everything worse!"
Nima raised a hand. The group fell silent.
"Ren. The rules are simple. Move through the entire course continuously. If you stop, the course accelerates."
Ren stared. "…WHAT?"
Taro shouted, "IT GETS ANGRY!"
Ren whispered, "Why would you build something that gets angry?"
Taro shouted back, "MOTIVATION!"
Ren covered his face. "I'm not ready."
Nima said calmly, "You are."
Ren sighed. "I hate that you believe in me."
Nima nodded once. "Begin."
---
Ren sprinted forward before he could overthink. The first platform shifted the moment he stepped on it. He stumbled, arms flailing.
Haru shouted, "LEAN LEFT!"
Ren leaned left. The platform rotated faster.
"NOT THAT MUCH!" Haru yelled.
Ren yelped, scrambling to regain balance.
Rina shouted, "Center your weight, Ren! Keep your feet aligned!"
Ren crouched, trying to steady himself. The platform spun again but slower this time.
Suri called out, "Good! Move!"
Ren jumped to the next platform just as the first began spinning rapidly behind him. He landed hard, nearly slipping.
Dano shouted, "Low stance! Knees bent!"
Ren bent his knees, sweating. The second platform shuddered violently before shooting upward like a spring. Ren screamed as he was launched into the air, flailing wildly.
Jinto shouted, "TUCK AND ROLL!"
Ren had no idea how to tuck anything, but instinct took over. He curled slightly, crashed onto the next platform, and rolled until he slammed into a post.
Emi called, "Are you alive?!"
Ren groaned, "Barely!"
Tali shouted, "KEEP MOVING!"
Ren pushed himself up, legs trembling. Ahead of him, rotating logs spun over a pit of… Ren squinted.
"Miro," Ren shouted, "is that mud or… what IS that?"
Miro answered proudly, "IT'S SURPRISE MUD!"
Tali yelled, "THERE SHOULD NOT BE SURPRISE MUD!"
Jinto muttered, "It's probably not mud."
"KEEP MOVING!" Dano shouted.
Ren ran toward the rotating logs. He tried stepping onto one and immediately fell sideways.
Rina yelled, "Ren! Hips square! Don't twist!"
Ren adjusted. The log spun slower. He stepped again, regained balance, then hopped to the next log.
Taro shouted, "REN YOU'RE DOING AMAZINGLY AVERAGE!"
Ren yelled back, "THANKS I HATE THIS!"
He kept hopping, slipping, correcting, hopping again. Sweat poured down his face.
One wrong shift of weight sent the logs speeding up. Ren yelped and lunged forward, barely managing to grab the edge of the next platform.
Suri exclaimed, "Nice save!"
Haru added, "Not dead yet. Impressive."
Ren dragged himself up, gasping.
Then he saw it—the final section.
A long beam stretching over a set of tilting platforms that continuously swayed at different angles. Each tilt triggered another tilt somewhere further along.
Ren stared. "You've got to be kidding…"
Nima's voice called, calm and steady. "Proceed."
Ren inhaled deeply.
Step.
The first platform tilted. Ren nearly lost his balance but steadied himself.
Step.
The next angle changed. Ren shifted his weight instinctively.
Step.
He moved faster now, not because he wanted to—but because the tilting platforms forced him to react immediately.
Haru shouted, "Good! Don't hesitate!"
Jinto added, "If it starts shaking violently, run. Or scream. Or both."
Taro yelled, "DO A FLIP!"
Ren screamed, "NO!"
One final tilt threatened to throw him off. Ren dove forward, landing on the last platform with a heavy thud.
Silence.
Then—cheers exploded around him.
Miro whooped. "REN YOU DID IT AGAIN!"
Tali shouted, "You survived the horrible thing!"
Suri clapped. "Excellent progress!"
Dano nodded. "You adapted quickly."
Rina smiled. "You really did."
Jinto muttered, "Honestly shocked."
Emi added quietly, "I knew you could."
Taro shoved a wooden slat into Ren's hands. "A NEW TROPHY!"
Ren stared. "This is a broken piece of the course."
"Yes!" Taro said proudly.
Ren laughed despite himself. "Of course it is."
Nima approached last, staff tapping the ground softly. "Ren. You improved your reflexes. You trusted yourself more."
Ren exhaled. "I almost died like four times."
"Yes," Nima said calmly. "And you handled each moment."
Ren looked at her. "…Is this going to get harder?"
"Yes."
Ren groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Why are you like this?"
Nima smiled softly. "Because you can become more than you think."
Ren sighed deeply. "I know. I just wish it didn't hurt so much."
"It will hurt less when you become stronger," Nima replied.
Ren blinked. "…Really?"
"No," Nima admitted. "But you will handle it better."
Ren groaned again.
---
Later that afternoon, the villagers gathered around a wide clearing at the edge of the woods. Ren was dragged there by Miro and Tali despite his protests.
"Miro—my legs—please—STOP DRAGGING ME."
"NO!" Miro shouted. "TODAY IS SPEED TRAINING!"
Tali added, "We voted. You weren't there, so your vote was 'yes.'"
Ren sputtered. "THAT'S NOT HOW VOTING WORKS!"
Dano stood waiting in the clearing. "Ren. Good. Follow."
Ren whispered, "I want to unfollow."
Dano began marking the ground with stakes. "This is the sprint field."
Ren blinked. "Sprint… field?"
Suri explained, "Short distances. Maximum effort. Then repeated."
Jinto added cheerfully, "Until you collapse."
Ren stared. "…Why are you smiling?"
"I like watching training," Jinto said.
Ren didn't respond.
Haru tossed Ren a headband. "Put that on. You'll need it to keep sweat out of your eyes."
Ren tied it on with trembling hands.
Dano stepped in front of him. "Goal. Reach the far stake before the bell."
Ren asked, "What bell?"
Taro popped out of nowhere ringing an enormous bell. "THIS BELL!"
Ren jumped. "WHY IS IT SO LOUD?!"
Taro grinned. "MOTIVATION!"
Ren glared at him. "I hate your motivation."
"GOOD!" Taro yelled. "GO!"
Ren sprinted.
He ran harder than he thought he could. His legs burned instantly. His lungs felt like they were being sanded from the inside. But he reached the first stake.
Suri shouted, "BACK!"
Ren turned and ran back. His legs screamed.
Rina called, "Again!"
Ren ran again.
Miro shouted, "FASTER!"
Ren tried.
Tali yelled, "Don't listen to Miro, just stay upright!"
Everyone yelled something.
Ren couldn't distinguish any of them anymore. His legs moved on instinct, pain blending into a steady roar. The world narrowed. Just the path. The stakes. His steps.
Back.
Forth.
Back.
Forth.
He didn't know how long he ran. Minutes? Hours?
Finally, Ren collapsed onto the grass, gasping.
The villagers gathered around him.
Miro poked him. "Ren? Are you alive?"
Ren wheezed, "Not sure."
Tali said, "Good training today."
Suri nodded. "Excellent endurance."
Dano said calmly, "More tomorrow."
Ren rolled onto his side. "I knew you'd say that."
Rina placed a waterskin beside his head. "Drink."
Ren lifted it with shaking hands and drank deeply.
Emi knelt beside him. "You didn't stop. That's impressive."
Ren grinned weakly. "I wanted to. A lot."
Jinto shrugged. "Wanting to stop is normal. Not stopping is the progress part."
Ren lay back and closed his eyes. "Good. Because everything hurts."
Taro sat beside him and placed another broken piece of wood in his lap. "Trophy."
Ren groaned. "Stop… giving me broken things…"
---
Evening settled. Lanterns flickered across the village again. Ren sat on the same fence as the previous night, watching the soft glow dance over the fields.
This time, his legs shook so badly he couldn't stay still.
He chuckled, "I'm starting to think the ground hates me."
A voice answered quietly, "The ground teaches you balance."
Ren turned. Nima stood there again.
He exhaled. "Today was… brutal."
Nima nodded. "Yes."
Ren rubbed his sore arms. "I kept thinking I'd fail."
Nima looked at him gently. "But you didn't."
Ren thought about that. Really thought.
He didn't fall during the tilting platforms.
He didn't stop running during speed training.
He didn't freeze, he didn't crumble, he didn't quit.
He surprised himself.
Ren whispered, "I'm… getting better."
Nima nodded once. "You are."
Ren leaned back slightly. "What's tomorrow?"
Nima answered simply, "A challenge that requires everything you learned so far."
Ren closed his eyes. "Of course it does."
Nima stepped closer, resting her hand lightly on his shoulder.
"You are becoming capable," she said. "Slowly. Consistently. Naturally."
Ren opened his eyes and looked at her.
"Do you really think I can keep up?"
Nima answered, steady and certain, "Yes."
Ren inhaled deeply. The air felt clearer.
The lanterns flickered. The wind rustled the fields. And Ren felt something brand new growing quietly inside him—not confidence, not pride, but a quiet acceptance:
He was changing.
And he wasn't running from it anymore.
He whispered softly to the night:
"I'll keep going."
And he meant it more than ever.