Morning rose over the Crystal Empire like a slow exhale, the light slipping through the castle’s crystalline windows in soft golden beams.
Temu Zennen stood before Kaida’s bedroom door, clawed fingers twitching with irritation.
SLAM!
The door burst open—only to find the bed barely used, sheets nearly untouched. The room was spotless.
She narrowed her eyes.
“Where the hell is that runt?”
Her boots thudded through the hallway as she stalked off in search of him.
The first person she found was Seraphina—sprawled sideways in a hallway chair, still half-asleep, an arm dangling like her soul had given up.
Temu’s voice cracked through the air like thunder.
“On your feet, Vale!”
Seraphina let out a strangled noise as she bolted upright.
“Ack—yes! Yes! I’m awake—!”
“Training field. Now.”
“Got it, Master Temu!” She scrambled off, wobbling as she went.
Temu didn’t wait to see if she’d trip.
She turned the next corner and spotted Lorien perched in a windowsill, nose buried in a thick tome.
“You.”
Lorien flinched so hard his book nearly flew from his hands.
“M-Miss Temu!”
“Have you seen Kaida?”
“No ma’am—uh—miss—I mean, no!”
She growled low. “Field. Now.”
He stumbled off in a panic, clutching his book like a shield.
The last stop: Princess Lysara, already dressed in a sleek royal-blue tunic. She stood near another window, quietly observing the castle grounds.
Temu bowed slightly. “Your Highness. Have you seen the boy?”
Lysara smiled gently and pointed toward the outer courtyard. “I believe you’ll find him training.”
Temu followed her gaze.
There, in the morning mist, stood Kaida—sweat dripping from his brow, already halfway through a second set of pushups. Alric stood beside him, shouting encouragement.
Temu scoffed under her breath. “Overachiever…”
Still, a small flick of her tail betrayed her surprise.
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By the time the others arrived, Kaida had already completed one full circuit of bodyweight training.
He was on squats now. Weighted cuffs on both arms and legs—each one 30 pounds.
His breathing was steady. Determined.
Alric clapped his hands. “That’s 100 pushups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats—nice! Just the run left!”
Kaida paused, stretching his arms behind his back. “You’re… way too chipper for this early in the morning…”
“Discipline is its own joy, my man.”
Temu approached from behind.
“Already up, already training. Hmph. Guess I’ll make it harder.”
Kaida blinked. “Wait, what—?”
She walked over and tossed him two heavier cuffs.
“Forty pounds. You want to train ahead of my schedule, you’ll suffer ahead of it too.”
Kaida gave her a dead stare. “You’re joking.”
“Do I look like I joke?”
He groaned and swapped them in with a grunt, his limbs sagging almost immediately under the increased load.
Temu turned to the others. “Weights. Now.”
Alric helped distribute them.
Lysara and Seraphina each received 20-pound sets. Neither protested—though Seraphina muttered, “I already regret waking up.”
Lorien stared in horror as Alric approached with a slightly heavier set.
“Wait what?! Twenty-five?!” he whined.
“You should’ve kept your mouth shut yesterday,” Temu snapped.
“I was hoping she’d forget…” He muttered to himself.
“Runt!” she barked at Kaida. “You’re in charge of leading today’s warm-up.”
Kaida, still adjusting to the added weight, stumbled forward. “Wait—me?!”
“You woke up early. Consider this your reward.”
Alric slapped him on the back. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep pace with ya.”
Temu cracked her knuckles. “Same as yesterday. 10 kilometers. Mana flow must be active the entire run.”
“Active what now?” Kaida asked.
Temu grinned. “You’ll figure it out.”
And with that—she shouted: “MOVE!”
They took off, Kaida leading the charge, albeit wobbly.
Alric immediately peeled off his armor and tossed it aside as he sprinted, practically floating beside him.
Kaida cursed under his breath. “How are you this fast in the morning?!”
“Habit!”
Lysara paced herself gracefully. Seraphina bounced ahead for a few seconds, then fell back dramatically. Lorien wheezed like an old kettle.
BOOM!
He was launched into the air again by a mana trap, screaming like a cartoon character.
“Mana bombs again?!” Kaida shouted back at Temu.
“Of course. Builds reflexes.”
“I’m gonna die!”
“You will if you don’t run, so RUN!”
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After the run, everyone collapsed on the grass, panting and sweating.
Well—everyone except Alric.
He was doing one-handed pushups.
Kaida rolled over, face half-buried in the dirt. “You’re not real…”
Alric grinned. “I get that a lot.”
Temu finally approached.
“Break’s over.”
Everyone groaned.
She ignored them and dropped to one knee.
“This next part,” she began, “is about mana.”
That got their attention.
She raised her hand—and a glowing circle of blue light flickered to life above her palm.
“Every living thing has a mana core inside. Call it instinct, will, energy—doesn’t matter. It’s yours.”
She turned to Seraphina. “Try it.”
Seraphina furrowed her brow, held out a hand. Nothing happened.
Temu nodded. “It’s like flexing a muscle you’ve never used. You won’t get it right away.”
But as she explained further, something shifted beside her.
A screen blinked to life—hovering mid-air.
Everyone turned.
“Activating your mana is just the start. I don’t care about fancy fireballs yet. What I want is this—”
She ignited her aura again, letting it flicker outward.
“Keep your mana active. Always. Through every pushup, every meal, every damn breath.”
Lorien looked like he might cry.
Temu went on, “Mana’s like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets—but push too far, and it’ll break you.”
She gestured to Kaida. “You. Try maintaining it.”
He closed his eyes. Focused.
A faint glow surrounded him—his own pure mana.
Temu nodded once.
“Good. Now do that until your body screams. When it does, do it again. And again.”
She grinned—something wicked behind her sharp teeth.
“Eventually, your body’ll adapt. And when it does… you’ll regenerate mana on your own. More than before.”
Kaida stared down at his hands. “So we… build mana like muscles?”
“Exactly. Burn it dry. Push past the crash. Come out stronger.”
“Sounds… kinda stupid.”
“Stupid works.”
Temu clapped her hands once.
“Next up—sparring.”
Seraphina perked up. “Finally something fun!”
Temu pointed. “Kaida. You’re first.”
“Wait—why me?!”
“Because I said so.”
“…This is gonna hurt, isn’t it?”
Seraphina smiled wide. “Oh absolutely.”
