The buzz of my Mana-Phone dragged me out of sleep at 4:30 in the morning, and for a second there I seriously considered throwing the damn thing against the wall.
I groaned and slapped the screen, killing the noise.
For a moment I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying to remember why the hell I'd agreed to any of this. The ceiling was gray stone, same as last night, same as it would be for the next two weeks.
Outside the window, it was still dark—not the peaceful kind of dark either, but the kind that made you want to pull the covers over your head and pretend morning didn't exist.
You wanted this. Remember that, you idiot.
I sat up slowly, which turned out to be a massive mistake because my entire body immediately reminded me that I'd pushed it too hard yesterday.
[Good morning, Host.] Nova's voice floated through my mind, way too awake for this hour.
[You look like death warmed over. Twice.]
Thanks for the encouragement. Really feeling the support here.
[I'm not here to encourage you. I'm here to observe your suffering.]
Same thing, different words, you glitchy bastard.
I dragged myself to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. The guy in the mirror looked back at me with dark circles under his eyes and hair that looked like a bird had nested in it overnight.
Same guy who was about to go through another day of hell.
I changed into the training clothes Lyra had left out—black shirt, thick pants, sturdy boots. Nothing fancy. Just practical stuff meant for the cold.
When I opened the door, Lyra was already there, holding out a thermal flask like she'd been waiting for hours. She probably had been.
"Young Master." She smiled, that small warm smile she always had. "Hot broth. You'll need it."
I took the flask, letting the warmth seep through my fingers. "You really didn't have to wake up this early. It's practically the middle of the night."
"I know." She tilted her head slightly, those emerald eyes watching me with that quiet intensity she had. "Be careful today."
I nodded and headed out, already dreading what was coming.
_
The cold hit me the moment I stepped outside, and it wasn't the kind of cold you could just ignore with a positive attitude and a warm coat. This was the kind that cut through your clothes like they weren't even there, that made your breath turn into ice crystals the second it left your mouth.
The sky was still dark, but the training yard was lit up with floodlights bright enough to hurt my eyes after the darkness of the corridor.
And standing right in the middle of it all, like he'd been carved from the ice itself and then left there to terrorize normal people, was Commander Vex.
He was already in his gear—black shirt, thin pants, no coat, no gloves. Just standing there like the freezing temperature didn't bother him at all. His breath didn't even fog. I honestly wondered if he was actually human or if they'd built him in some secret lab specifically to make recruits miserable.
Showoff! Absolute madman! What kind of person doesn't feel cold?
[He's trying to intimidate you.]
It's working. I'm intimidated. Are you happy now, frozen bastard?
I walked up and stopped a few feet away, my boots crunching in the snow.
"You're early," Vex said. His voice was rough and hard, completely devoid of warmth.
"You said 5 AM. It's 4:45."
He grunted. No smile, no nod, nothing, but I think that was approval. Hard to tell with someone whose face looked like it had been punched one too many times and then used as a testing dummy for someone's fists.
"Follow me."
He turned and walked toward the training yard. I followed, because apparently I had no survival instincts.
The training yard was even bigger than it looked from my window, which was just fantastic.
Obstacle courses spread out in every direction like some kind of medieval torture playground—wooden walls to climb, ropes to swing on, muddy trenches to crawl through.
Fighting circles marked in the snow. Climbing walls that looked twenty feet high. Weight stations with bars that probably weighed more than I did and looked just as friendly.
And over in the corner, gathered in a loose formation like they were waiting for execution, were the other recruits.
I counted them as we approached. Twenty-nine people, standing in the snow like they'd been there for hours. Some looked young, maybe my age or a little older. Some looked like they'd been doing this for years, with hard faces and scars that told stories I probably didn't want to hear.
Both men and women, all shapes and sizes, all watching me as I walked up like I was the main attraction at a circus.
Vex stopped in front of them and turned to face me.
"Recruits." His voice carried across the yard without effort, loud enough to wake the dead. "This is Leo von Celestial. He'll be training with you for the next two weeks."
The moment the name left his mouth, the murmurs started.
I could hear them clearly. They weren't even trying to hide it.
"Von Celestial? Like the Great House?"
"Wait, that Leo? The one who—"
"—fiancée of Amelia Nightshade, right? I heard their engagement got broken."
"Didn't he try to slap her? In public? That's messed up."
"B-rank core in an S-rank family. No wonder he's here. Probably couldn't cut it anywhere else."
"—Human Domain's Failure, that's what they call him. Fitting, honestly."
I stood there, listening to them tear me apart in whispers, and felt my jaw tighten.
These... these bastards! I can hear every single word.
[Host—]
I know. I know. Stay calm. Don't react. They're testing me.
"—heard he drinks himself stupid every night. Like, passes out in gutters stupid."
"Probably why he's here. Family finally got tired of cleaning up his messes."
"—surprised he showed his face anywhere. If I was him, I'd hide forever. Wouldn't even leave my room."
I turned my head slightly, looking at the group. A few of them met my eyes. Most looked away, suddenly interested in the snow. A couple kept staring, smirking like they'd already decided exactly what kind of person I was based on rumors alone.
What the actual fuck is wrong with people!?
I know the rumors were bad, but this?
They were acting like I'd committed murder or something. Yeah, I'd been a bastard. Yeah, I'd done stupid things I wasn't proud of. But the way they were talking, you'd think I'd burned down an orphanage with everyone inside.
"Hey, did you hear? He tried to kill her. That's why the engagement ended."
I blinked.
Wait, what?
"Really? I heard he actually hit her. Multiple times. Like, beat her up or something."
"No way. That's insane. How's he not in prison?"
That's not even close to what happened! I wanted to scream it at them. Wanted to tell them they were wrong, that the rumors were exaggerated to hell and back, that I'd been an idiot but not a monster. But my voice stuck in my throat like a rock.
This is what I get. This is what the old Leo left me. A reputation so destroyed that people think I'm an abuser.
[Stay calm.]
Easy for you to say. You're not the one getting this unwanted attention from strangers who don't know me!
The murmurs kept going, getting louder, more confident. A few of them were staring at me openly now, with disgust in their eyes. Like I was something they'd scraped off their boots and couldn't get rid of.
"ENOUGH!"
Vex's voice cut through the noise like a blade through butter. The yard went dead silent so fast you could have heard a pin drop in the snow.
He looked at the recruits, his eyes cold. "You're here to train, not to gossip like old women at a market. If I hear another word about anyone's past—anyone's—you'll be running laps until your legs fall off and then keep running on the stumps. Understood?"
A chorus of murmured "Yes, Commander" answered him, none of them sounding particularly enthusiastic about the leg stump comment.
Vex turned to me. "Say what you need to say."
I blinked. "What?"
He gestured toward the group with a sweep of his scarred hand. "They've had their say. Now you have yours. Speak."
I looked at the recruits. Twenty-nine faces staring back at me. Some curious. Some hostile. Some just waiting to see what I'd do, like I was entertainment.
I took a breath.
"My name is Leo von Celestial." My voice came out steadier than I expected, which was a pleasant surprise. "And yeah, you've probably heard a lot of things about me. Some of them are true. Some of them aren't."
I paused, looking directly at the ones who'd been talking the loudest. "But I'm not here to defend my past. I'm not here to explain myself to a bunch of strangers. I'm here to train. Same as you."
A guy near the front—tall, muscular, built like he'd been doing this his whole life, with the kind of face that said he thought he was better than everyone—snorted loudly. "Training for what? To be a failure in the army too? Because you're off to a great start."
A few people laughed. Not many, but enough to annoy me.
I met his eyes and didn't look away. "Training to survive. Unlike some people, I know I've got a lot to learn. That's why I'm here. You got a problem with that?"
The guy's smirk faded. Just a little. His eyes narrowed, like he was reevaluating something.
Ah, these third-rate villain types. I'm so sick of this crap.
[They're testing you. Seeing if you'll break.]
I know. Doesn't make it less annoying. Fuckers.
But I kept my face neutral. Kept my voice calm. I wasn't going to give them the reaction they wanted, no matter how much I wanted to punch that guy's stupid face.
Vex watched the exchange, then nodded once. "Good. Now that introductions are over, we start."
He walked to a table nearby and picked up a box. When he opened it, I saw metal cuffs inside—black and sleek, with faint blue runes carved into them that glowed slightly in the dark.
"Mana suppressors," Vex announced. "You'll wear these during all physical training. No mana reinforcement. No enhancement. Just your raw bodies. You want to be soldiers? You need to know what you can do without magic holding your hands like babies."
He walked down the line, handing a cuff to each recruit. When he got to me, he paused for just a second—long enough for me to feel uncomfortable—then handed one over without comment.
The cuff was cold and heavy in my hand.
I wrapped it around my wrist and it clicked shut with a sound that felt way too final. The moment it locked, I felt it—a weird emptiness, like something had been switched off inside me.
My core was still there, I could feel it pulsing faintly, but when I reached for mana... Nothing.
Just empty space where there should have been something.
[Mana suppression active. Your core is sealed until you remove the cuff.]
Yeah. Got that. Feels weird as hell.
"Morning run," Vex called out, his gravel voice echoing off the walls. "Twenty laps around the yard. No mana. No cheating. Just your legs. Move!"
Twenty laps. I looked at the yard, really looked this time. It was huge. Massive. Twenty laps here was probably five miles. At least. In the snow. With no mana.
Fuck my life!
_
We started running.
The first few laps weren't terrible. My lungs burned a little, my legs ached, but I could handle it. I stayed in the middle of the pack, not too fast, not too slow.
The guy who'd laughed at me—I heard someone call him Kael—was at the front, running like this was nothing more than a morning stroll. His pace didn't change. His breathing didn't get heavy. The bastard was probably part machine.
By lap five, the pack started spreading out. The strong ones pulled ahead. The weak ones fell behind. I stayed in the middle, focused on putting one foot in front of the other and not thinking about how many laps were left.
By lap eight, my breathing got ragged.
Huff... huff... huff...
The cold air cut into my throat with every breath like tiny knives. My legs started to ache in earnest, a deep burning that wouldn't go away.
By lap ten, I was at the back of the middle pack. The ones ahead were pulling away, looking strong. The ones behind were struggling worse than me, which was the only comfort I had.
A woman with short hair moved past me, her expression set like stone. She ran with steady, measured strides, not too fast but consistent. Behind her, an older guy with gray in his beard was slowing down, his breathing heavy, falling back step by step.
Huff... huff...
I kept running.
Lap twelve. Lap thirteen. My vision blurred a little at the edges. I blinked hard and kept going, focusing on the snow in front of me.
Lap fifteen. The woman and the gray-bearded guy were still ahead. The gap between us wasn't growing, but it wasn't shrinking either. I was holding steady.
Lap seventeen. My legs screamed. Every step sent pain shooting through my calves, my thighs, my knees, my everything.
Huff... huff... huff...
Lap eighteen. Still going. Still behind them. Still pushing.
Lap nineteen. Just one more. Just one more lap and this part was over.
Come on. Come on, you useless body. Move!
Lap twenty.
I crossed the finish line and stumbled to a stop, bending over with my hands on my knees. My chest heaved. My breath came out in ragged gasps that misted in the freezing air.
Huff... huff... huff...
I looked up.
The tall muscular guy was already there, arms crossed, not even breathing hard. The short-haired woman was right behind him, bent over but standing. The gray-bearded guy came in next, hands on his knees, pale and gasping but he'd made it.
I was fourth.
Not last. Not first. But fourth out of thirty people on my first day.
The rest were still coming in, some walking, some barely moving, a couple collapsing in the snow.
Vex walked through the group, checking on people one by one, not saying much. When he got to me, he stopped.
"You made it."
I nodded at him, still gasping.
"Barely." He moved on without another word.
I stayed bent over, trying to catch my breath. My whole body shook. My heart pounded so hard I could hear it in my ears, a steady drumbeat of pure exhaustion.
Huff... huff... huff...
[You survived, Host.]
...Yeah.
[That was twenty laps. With no mana. In the snow. At dawn.]
I know what I just did, Nova. I was there.
I slowly straightened up, my back screaming the whole time. Looked around at the other recruits. Some were already recovered, standing around like this was nothing. Some were still gasping like me, pale and shaky.
A couple were still running, way behind everyone else, looking like they might die before they finished.
The sun was starting to rise now, painting the snow in shades of orange and pink that would have been beautiful if I wasn't too exhausted to appreciate them.
This is only the beginning. This is just day one.
[The day just started, Host. You still have hours of this to look forward to.]
...Thanks for the reminder. Really. You're so helpful.
Vex's voice cut through the morning air like a whip crack.
"Break! Ten minutes! Then we do it again!"
I closed my eyes and let out a long breath that turned into a cloud of mist.
Ten minutes. Great. Fantastic! I love my life.