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The morning bell rang at 4:00 a.m.—not a second late.
"WAKE UP, UNIT 06!!"
A voice like thunder echoed into their barracks, shaking the walls.
The door slammed open, and in stepped a tall, muscular man in a black coat with silver-lined boots. His face was carved with scars, one eye covered with a mechanical lens. His presence was like a storm about to break.
"I'm Inspector Leo," he growled. "Your trainer. Your nightmare. Your only hope of surviving this place."
He didn't wait.
"ON THE TRAINING GROUND. TEN MINUTES."
No one argued.
Outside, the training ground was already packed. Units 01 to 10 were lined up. The cold northern wind hit their faces like knives, but they had no time to shiver.
Leo stepped onto a raised platform.
"Your ranking is just a number. What matters here is what you earn," he barked. "You will eat pain. You will sleep in fire. You will bleed in training so you don't die in war!"
He pointed to a board. On it were today's trials:
Speed Test: 500-meter dash across rough terrain
Strength Test: Boulder lifts—minimum 200kg
Stamina Test: Endurance run with 50kg weights
Soul Resonance Test: Meditation with the soul flame
Henry's eyes widened. "Fifty kg?! I can barely carry myself!"
Zane cracked his knuckles. "Finally, something real."
Kira didn't flinch. "This is nothing."
Leo began calling the names. "Unit 06! You're up!"
They stepped forward.
Speed Test.
Elliot felt the dirt shift under his boots. A buzzer sounded, and they were off. Zane took the lead, Kira right behind. Henry tripped twice. Elliot pushed through, not the fastest, but never stopped. Kayden finished steady, helping Henry up without a word.
Strength Test.
They lined up beside boulders. Kayden lifted his like it was paper. Zane struggled but didn't stop. Henry tried twice and failed—but gave a crazy grin anyway. "Third time's the charm!" Elliot strained—blood in his hands—but he managed it. Leo nodded. Slight approval.
Stamina Test.
Fifty kg strapped to their backs. The sun was climbing, and so was the heat. Devin threw up halfway. Kira never broke rhythm. Elliot nearly collapsed but remembered Vos' words: "Strength means nothing without endurance." He kept moving.
Soul Resonance Test.
A circle of blue fire in the center. Each recruit sat before it and placed their hand over the flame. It didn't burn. It read your soul. If your heart wavered, the flame turned black. If your mind broke, it burned you.
Henry's flame flickered wildly. Kayden's was steady blue. Kira's glowed white-hot. Elliot...
His flame shifted. For a second, it almost turned black—but then it flared blue and red, dancing like blood and lightning.
Leo watched with interest.
When it ended, Leo stepped forward.
"You're not the best," he said. "But you have potential. And potential is nothing without pain."
He turned his back.
"Same time tomorrow. No excuses."
As Unit 06 limped back to their barracks, silence followed them.
Then Henry laughed. "I think my bones forgot how to be bones."
Zane smirked. "Welcome to the real academy."
Elliot said nothing. But inside, something was changing.
He wasn't just surviving anymore.
He was becoming.
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