Pain

Pain.

Zephyr's breath came in harsh, ragged gasps as if each lungful of air was clawed from his chest. His muscles screamed with every strained step as he pounded another lap around the training grounds. His body burned—a fire fueled by exhaustion and stubborn pride.

He thought back to how the day had started; His morning had begun with expectation, with ambition roaring in his chest. He had woken early, convinced this would be the first real step toward becoming a knight. When he arrived at the arena, Gage was already there, deep in conversation with Arena Master Thorne. Gage, without much more than a nod, had sent Zephyr off to do his duties first—sweeping, tidying, preparing the training weapons.

He worked fast. Eager to get started with his first lesson already.

After finishing the chores quickly, eager for his first lesson, he approached Gage on the arena floor. The training grounds were filling up with mercenaries—grizzled veterans and rookies alike, sharpening blades and testing their strength in sparring bouts. Some cast curious glances with hints of amusement towards Zephyr's way.

"That's the fresh meat, huh?" They talked among themselves.

Fresh meat? Zephyr thought, as he waited for Gage's instructions.

Gage non-comittedly looked at him and gave only one simple instruction while nodding towards the edges of the arena: "Run."

No explanation, no guidance—just run.

So, Zephyr did.

One lap turned into two. Three. Then four...Eight...

He kept glancing toward Gage, hoping for any sign that he had done enough. But Gage didn't even spare him a glance, locked in a spar with Thorne. Their duel was a brutal dance of raw power and refined skill. Gage, a tier-two knight and one of the best in the Anchor's Lodge, was relentless, matching Thorne's strikes with quick, calculated precision. Yet, Thorne—with his towering figure of authority and strength—remained firmly in control.

Meanwhile, Zephyr was just there, in the background, still running. Wondering when he'd be told to stop.

It wasn't until the tenth lap that realization dawned on him.

Fuck! They're going to make me run until I drop.

He had noticed the mercenaries' smirks, the glint of coins exchanging hands. He even spotted Cedric and Johan amid the crowd.

Cedric, with a shit eating grin on his face, waved at him, coins in hand. The guy actually joined the mercenaries in placing bets on how far he was gonna run. With Johan also joining in on the fun.

Damn! This was what he meant yesterday. Zephyr thought to himself.

In that case, quitting wasn't an option. Zephyr clenched his teeth, his resolve steeling. He wouldn't give Cedric the satisfaction. He wanted to see the guy to lose some money.

He pushed forward. But by the sixteenth lap, his body began betraying him—his legs were trembling, his muscles locking in rebellion.

He started to think to himself;

Why am I still even doing this? I could just quit now—no shame in it, right? I've done my best.

His body was telling him to just give in. It was pointless.

By now, Gage had already finished sparring with Thorne and was finally watching Zephyr. But his expression was blank. There was nothing there, no hint of approval—just cold observation.

Zephyr dug deeper within him—reaching for every bit of willpower—and forced himself forward. Every step was agony, his vision blurring, lungs burning. Just one more, he thought to himself. Then he did another... and then another… and another...

By the twenty-fifth lap he finally broke. His legs gave out, as he collapsed onto the cold, packed dirt. His chest heaved violently as he sucked in air, hands clawing weakly at the ground as if trying to pull himself up. But he couldn't. Not anymore.

The shadow of Gage loomed over him. "Didn't think you'd last this long," Gage said, voice flat. His eyes lingered for a beat longer, as if measuring something only he could see. "Good. You'll do the same tomorrow."

Zephyr's heart sank.

Tomorrow? Again?

Cedric's POV

Cedric watched the whole thing unfold, arms crossed, an amused smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. At first, it was funny—the classic initiation grind. Everyone went through it, and everyone broke eventually. The fresh ones always thought that becoming a knight was easy stuff. Something to fall back to after their dream of becoming a mage gets cut short. But they end up getting shocked by its demand. The pain. The discipline. The effort. The will it required. Most especially the will.

He had also been the same. And that was why his expression began to shift from amusement to admiration as he watched. Zephyr's determination was admirable—stupid, maybe—but admirable.

Each lap around the arena was around five hundred meters, so most normal people would have actually quit before hitting even just ten laps.

Cedric thought back to his first day: strong-headedly lasting fourteen laps before collapsing. Johan, ever the overachiever, had managed nineteen. That was the current record for a first time try... At least before Zephyr broke it today.

Twenty-five laps. On his first day.

"Well, that works out pretty well for me, doesn't it?" Cedric said with a grin as he gathered his winnings from Johan and a few other grumbling mercenaries.

He had bet on Zephyr breaking Johan's record—and Zephyr actually did it.

"I don't get why the guy pushed himself so hard anyways."

"And it was only his first day too." Cedric muttered to himself as he thought back to his own trial period.

He had arrived at Hoshin Bay two years ago—stowing away on a ship from the farthest reaches of the Merchant Isles. Starving, desperate, he was caught and nearly sold into slavery. Gage had been his unlikely savior, paying off the crew with 25 gold coins and dragging him from the depths of despair.

There were no handouts though. Gage made it clear from the start—if Cedric wanted something, he had to fight for it. Strength was the only true path to freedom, and Cedric had to choose it for himself. So, he asked Gage if he could become a knight.

Gage accepted. But the training was merciless, the discipline harsher than anything Cedric had ever known. Pain became a constant companion.

The knight pathway Gage recommended was called The Path of the Adamantine Reaver—a pathway centered on raw power and destructive precision.

He was now a Tier 1 initiate, embodying the concept - Crushing Force, but Cedric was still a long way from fully mastering it.

As Cedric's gaze lingered on Zephyr's crumpled form in the dirt, he wondered which pathway Gage might suggest to him.

Probably the Path of the Iron Juggernaut... though the Path of the Void Breaker could be an option too.

Both were path made for the relentless.