There were plenty of volunteers.
The entire Astraea Familia signed up—after Tsunayoshi's brief introduction, almost all of them decided to join. The Loki Familia couldn't send everyone, so only a group of familiar faces were tapped for this round.
The moment people stepped through the "training space" door, their expressions changed.
"The pressure here is… huge," Alise said, stunned. "Just walking feels like I've got a mountain on my back."
Kaguya felt the same; her body moved like a machine, heavy and stiff. Any agile motion was incredibly difficult.
No one else spoke; they simply waited in silence.
Even breathing turned laborious. Lungs fought to pull in more oxygen, breaths grew harsh and ragged.
"Even… breathing is exhausting," Ais muttered. "The air feels like it's burning. It's… unpleasant."
"It is burning," Tsunayoshi said. "The ambient temperature here is much higher than you expect."
"The oxygen reserve isn't huge, and the heat thins it further, so every breath stings. Under added gravity, even simple movement drains stamina. You breathe harder as you move, and the hot air scorches the lungs, accelerating fatigue and forcing the body to dig deeper for power."
"That's the logic, isn't it, Tsuna?" Finn analyzed quickly.
With each point he made, everyone felt the invisible weight bearing down. This was one brutally heavy training environment.
"Exactly," Tsunayoshi confirmed. Then he supplied hard numbers. "Mornings hold at fifty degrees; nights drop to minus fifty. In this ratcheting survival pressure, your training should hit the absolute edge of what your bodies can take."
He looked to Tiona and Tione. "Last time outside, the two of you tried one extra G. Even a few days of simple work paid off."
"Yep!" Tiona said without hesitation, meeting everyone's eyes. "After a few days at one extra G, both our strength and endurance hit the cap."
"Cap." The word hammered at every adventurer's heart.
For most, the Falna's ability scores top out at 999. If Tiona and Tione had already maxed strength and endurance, it proved just how explosive the gains here could be.
For a moment, all complaints about the environment vanished. Eyes turned thoughtful—then resolute. Anyone hungry for power could not resist this temptation.
Tsunayoshi then dropped a bigger, heavier note. "The Falna's description for raising ability is clear: targeted training is what moves a stat."
"If you want endurance, your body must bear pressure."
"If you want strength, your body must resist greater force."
"If you want to raise any single stat, you must keep the body near its limit."
"The Falna's greatest gift is 'turning ability into numbers.' After training, you can literally see how much you've grown. And once updated, those numbers barely ever fall—even with age."
"The price is that every increment grows harder to earn. The higher your level, the slower the gains."
"So the higher you climb, the greater the external load you need. Only under overload will the numbers jump. That's the point of this test."
He turned back to Tiona and Tione. "A 'maxed' stat might break its ceiling. 999 is not the Falna's true limit. Four digits exist."
"999 is the body's limit—but nowhere is it written that this limit cannot be exceeded."
"Really!?" The sisters' eyes lit up; the promise of breaking through was irresistible.
They were not alone. Every adventurer present leaned in at the words "break the limit."
Finn's interest spiked as well. If their personal stats could go beyond the cap, it meant there was still vast room to grow. He and Gareth traded a glance and saw the same fire in each other's eyes.
With that possibility on the table, what adventurer could refuse?
"Can we start already?" Bete asked, all ferocity stripped away and replaced by raw hunger for strength. His gaze slid to the Amazon sisters; his pounding heart refused to be left behind.
"Not quite," Tsunayoshi said, shaking his head. He continued the briefing. "This room burns through you. Overdoing it means dehydration and dizziness. So I've stocked plenty of water and rations."
"The food looks like clay—not pretty—but it tastes fine, absorbs fast, and is meant purely for energy."
"And since the sessions are intense, everyone should change into dedicated training gear."
"I made it. Since I don't know your sizes, it's self-adjusting. It won't feel tight, it breathes well, and it won't get soaked with sweat."
"Women don't need to worry; even fitted, the cut won't expose anything."
"That's all for the intro. Head to the men's and women's rooms to change."
"The next half-day is free-form training. After that, Loki-sama and Astraea-sama will be ready to perform status updates so you can see your growth clearly."
With the explanation done, everyone looked at one another—then moved.
"Let's go!" Tiona and Tione couldn't hold back; they dashed into the women's changing room.
(End of Chapter)
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