[16]

"…I apologize," Gato muttered as he turned to leave.

Ethan, almost to himself, spoke up.

"Why don't you show me?"

"…What do you mean?" Gato asked, turning back.

"You said you've been training as if your life depended on it. Prove it. Join Hugo's training regimen. If you can keep up, I'll acknowledge you."

Gato gritted his teeth.

Where pride once was, only wounds and resentment remained.

"Understood," he said, his eyes blazing with determination.

***

"Huff, huff," Gato panted, running around the training ground.

Hugo, running alongside him, glanced over with concern.

"You really don't need to push yourself this hard…"

"Sh-shut up," Gato snapped, though the fire in his eyes had noticeably dimmed. His limits were showing much faster than he expected.

He had always prided himself on his stamina. He'd never fallen behind during morning runs, and he'd sparred until the moon was high in the sky.

But this endurance training was revealing his limits in less than thirty minutes.

'This is insane,' he thought, feeling as though his heart might burst.

The bizarre combination of push-ups, sprints, and hoisting heavy rocks overhead was overwhelming.

His heart pounded wildly, nausea threatened, and his body trembled like a leaf.

Yet beside him, Hugo performed the extreme exercises without a hitch.

'If he can do it…!' Gato gritted his teeth.

He'd rather die than give up now.

Watching them both, Ethan finally spoke up.

"Alright, fifty more sets."

Gato opened his mouth in disbelief. "That's ridiculous…"

"Understood!" Hugo responded loudly, cutting him off.

Gato stared at him, bewildered.

'This guy's nuts,' Ethan thought, suppressing a smirk.

No matter how fit one might be, keeping up with this regimen was a different beast altogether. It was designed to push one's physical limits to the brink.

'Hugo's just a freak,' Ethan mused, glancing at him.

Hugo's stamina wasn't normal to begin with, and it seemed to grow by the day.

The outcome was obvious from the start.

No matter how much training Gato had undergone, he couldn't compare to Hugo.

Gato looked ready to collapse any moment, yet he persevered.

It was sheer willpower, driven by his lingering pride and resentment, that kept him going.

Burpees, sprints, and snatches. Without barbells or dumbbells, they substituted with large rocks, making the workout even more grueling due to the uneven weight distribution.

There were no breaks between sets.

It was an insane training method. But Hugo followed it silently, while Gato's stamina began to wane after only five sets.

'Too bad,' Ethan thought, watching Gato struggle with a faint smile. 'This is just the beginning.'

***

Training finally ended by evening.

Gato left the annex, looking like his soul had left his body, staggering as he walked.

"…Master Ethan," Hugo called softly.

"What?" Ethan replied.

"…Will he be alright?"

"Why wouldn't he be?"

"It was a fluke last time. If we fight again, I'll lose."

"Yeah, probably. What, are you scared of the consequences now?"

"…"

"I told you, don't worry about useless things. In a real fight, there's no second chance. If it were real, he'd be dead."

"…I'm not a knight."

"True, but you need to become a warrior. The hunts aren't child's play."

Hugo fell silent. Ethan chuckled.

"And don't worry, he'll be back tomorrow. He's not the type to hold a grudge just because he lost to you once."

Ethan's expression showed his certainty.

***

Just as Ethan predicted, Gato returned the next morning.

He was unsteady on his feet, looking much worse for wear, but his face showed resolve.

Hugo said nothing, and Ethan whistled.

"So, yesterday was your loss, right? You couldn't keep up with Hugo and me."

"…I admit it."

"Good to see you acknowledging it. Shall we start again today?"

"I'm ready."

"Don't disgrace yourself like yesterday."

"Understood."

But it didn't take even ten minutes for Gato to start breathing heavily.

***

Rumors spread.

Gato, after his defeat, had been visiting Ethan.

People doubted the rumors.

It was hard to believe that a promising apprentice knight like Gato would seek out someone like Ethan, who was seen as a waste.

But the rumors soon proved true.

Gato, who had withstood any grueling training, was now a mess after training with Ethan.

When asked by his fellow apprentices, Gato only said, "I'm training under Master Ethan."

Curious, the other apprentices wondered what kind of training could reduce Gato to such a state.

As rumors grew, so did their interest in Ethan's training methods.

All of this was orchestrated by Ethan. Once the conditions were right, Ethan spread the rumors himself.

'Give the instructor overseeing the apprentices a brief vacation. And don't keep the trainees restrained'

In a way, it could be seen as an overreach of authority, but the apprentices were still just apprentices.

Despite his reputation, Ethan was a legitimate heir and had the authority to control them.

'Thirty-seven, huh?'

With the situation unfolding as planned, Ethan surveyed his surroundings with satisfaction.

Thirty-seven apprentices had come to his annex, curious about the training method that had made Gato a mess.

"It's my job to filter out the useful ones."

In any case, these apprentices were not the core of his plan. Nice to have, but not essential.

What Ethan wanted were results. Results that could be gained through these apprentices, and the reputation that would follow.

'First, let's weed out the weak ones.'

To ensure they wouldn't be a hindrance, Ethan needed to filter them, even roughly.

***

"Huff, huff!"

The apprentices were easier to sort than expected.

Interval training or high-intensity workouts weren't necessary. A simple run sufficed when the numbers were this large.

Hugo ran around the training ground with ease, and Gato followed closely, managing his breath calmly.

'His stamina's improved.'

At first, Gato had struggled to keep up with Hugo, their stamina levels vastly different. Yet, after only a few days of training together, Gato was keeping pace quite well.

Of course, Hugo still led by a wide margin, followed by Gato and the other apprentices.

Gato's expression was composed, while the other apprentices looked near death.

'An hour like this.'

***

At the end of the hour, six trainees remained standing.

It was more than Ethan had expected.

He looked them over and spoke.

"So, I hear there's been a lot of talk around the estate. You probably know why you're here," Ethan said.

The exhausted trainees nodded weakly.

"Right. You've come here to train under me, correct?" he continued.

The trainees swallowed hard, clearly nervous.

"But there's a catch. I'm not doing this out of charity. You need to offer something in return. Got it?"

"If it's money, we're sorry, but—"

"It's not about money. Do you think I'd extort you? My condition is that you join my direct subjugation squad," Ethan declared.

The trainees began murmuring among themselves.

Joining the subjugation squad was both an opportunity and a risk.

The Blante family had various factions, the most prominent being led by the eldest son, Morun.

Despite Ethan's recent rise, Morun's dominance was still widely accepted.

Many believed that this regular subjugation was Morun's final push to solidify his power before inheriting the title.

They weren't wrong.

'In the original story, Morun almost entirely seized control after this subjugation.'

The power difference was significant.

Apart from Ethan's direct ten-man squad, most soldiers and knights were under Morun's command.

This structure meant that Morun would monopolize most of the achievements during the subjugation, making it very challenging for Ethan to produce notable results.

The trainees had endured grueling training with the singular desire to become knights.

The prospect of being marked as part of Ethan's squad could be damaging to their reputations, making their positions precarious.

As the trainees hesitated, Ethan spoke again.

"I guarantee that training under me will make you grow far beyond your current capabilities. I'm proof enough, and so is Hugo. I, without mana, defeated Karon, a mana user. And Hugo, who until recently was tending the stables, defeated the most promising trainee, Gato."

At Ethan's words, Gato lowered his head, and the other trainees fell silent.

The facts spoke for themselves.

"You're free to doubt, but you're also free to seize this opportunity. I promise that after this regular subjugation, I intend to appoint everyone in my squad as official knights."

The trainees went quiet at Ethan's declaration.

Becoming a knight was their ultimate goal, the dream they had pursued tirelessly.

Their weary expressions shifted.

However, some remained skeptical. It wasn't unreasonable.

Knight appointments were the sole prerogative of the head of the family.

While Ethan was a legitimate heir, he wasn't yet a recognized noble with full authority.

'Anyone can make empty promises,' they thought.

If Ethan was simply using them for his own gains, they wanted no part of it.

"I won't force you to believe me. It's your choice. But I don't make empty promises," Ethan said seriously.

His demeanor convinced the trainees to start responding.

"Trainee Falon, I'll join the subjugation squad."

"Trainee Hansen, I'll join as well."

Once the first few spoke up, the rest followed swiftly.

All the trainees Ethan had selected joined his subjugation squad.

'According to plan,' Ethan thought.

Though not a complete force, it was a significant step considering his current position.

No sensible knight or soldier would willingly join under him.

"Let's begin the real training," Ethan announced.

Time was running short.

He had no intention of returning to how things were. Real combat was imminent.

"Naid," Ethan called out.

"Yes, sir?"

"I need you."

"…Me?" Naid asked, surprised.

"What do I know about training them?"

Naid looked at Ethan, bewildered.

Ethan blinked and stared back.

"What are you waiting for? Start training them."

They now had a solid group of ten. The last one was always meant to be Naid.

***

The training remained arduous, but Hugo and Gato wore slightly perplexed expressions.

Despite the high intensity, something felt lacking.

They had adapted to the searing pain and breathlessness.

The training swords were heavy, and their shoulders ached, but that was all.

Having grown accustomed to hellish pain, they felt oddly unfulfilled.

"Don't worry. We'll continue the same training in the evening," Ethan said, as if sensing their thoughts.

"There's no need for that," Hugo replied.

"I agree. The current training is sufficient," Gato added.

Ethan scoffed at their late objections.

"It's not enough for me, so keep quiet," he said, though he was also re-evaluating the trainees.

The training intensity was already high. High-Intensity Training was typically only necessary twice a week to avoid overburdening the body.

The purpose of training was growth, not injury.

But these trainees were different.

They thrived on daily training and visibly grew stronger.

Ethan adjusted the training plan accordingly.

'Time to think about myself too.'

Of course, Ethan hadn't been neglecting his own training. As a descendant of Blante, he was growing at an astonishing rate, even faster than the others.