The first weeks of this training, or rather torture, took me the entire day to complete the task, and I spent the rest of the time recovering from it, so I missed quite a few classes.
[Main Mission]
Objective: Train your weak body
- 100/100 Sit-ups
- 100/100 Push-ups
- 100/100 Squats
- 6/10 Kilometers
Special conditions:
1. Training must be performed with double your body weight.
2. This mission must be completed daily for a period of 3 months.
"This is madness… Even for a trained person, this level of demand and these conditions are ridiculous… but strangely, my body is recovering and adapting to this demand," I thought as I ran at a speed that even a child could surpass, yet without resting.
Some time later, I realized that if I stopped to rest during the tasks, they would reset, which was indescribably painful to discover. Tenzin also resolved my doubt as to why my body was adapting so well.
This is because the body of an awakened being is vastly superior to that of a non-awakened one: stronger, more resilient, recovering faster, and also longer-lived.
After two weeks, without even realizing it, I spent repeating that mission for the rest of the first month. During this time, although Tenzin and I made repeated attempts to gather spiritual energy, the result remained the same, so Tenzin himself decided it would be useless to teach me the basics and functioning of spiritual energy since I still could not possess any.
So he asked me to look for missions. However, after that night, the five guys who used to harass me never bothered me again, and Tomizawa was nowhere to be seen either, so my school life became quite normal and peaceful. Because of that, I assumed that was why no missions were appearing.
Everything continued with this calm until the middle of the second month, when I had already gotten used to the mission and could complete it entirely in just the morning. When I arrived at school, no longer being harassed, several people approached me to talk, but I failed to form a friendship with any of them, except for Pig, who always came to get me every recess so we could eat together.
One afternoon, while I was heading to meet Pig, a girl I didn't know approached me.
—Excuse me, are you Takashi Kaito?— a girl with glasses whose hair color reminded me of an orange looked at me, smiling.
—Me? Ah… Yes, that's me. Is something wrong?
—Haha, my boyfriend says he wants to know if you'd like to join us for karaoke— the girl said while pointing at a guy behind her.
—I don't know… I have some things to do at home— I said, avoiding her gaze.
—Come on, please. What else would you have to do at home?
"That felt terribly insulting."
—They're private matters, sorry.
—Please, my boyfriend really wants you to go. You'd be doing me a big favor…
I stayed silent for a second. "I've actually already finished today's tasks… Besides, it's a good opportunity to talk to more people…"
—Alright…
—Really, thank you so much!— the girl said as she took my hand to write something.
—This is the address… we'll see you there after classes— the girl finished saying and returned to her group.
When I was alone again, I continued on my way to meet Pig. When I arrived and saw him, he shouted at me.
—Kaito! Why did you take so long?
—Sorry, I got distracted on the way, haha…
—Do you want to go to the movies today? I was never able to go because everyone always had plans.
—Oh… Sorry, Pig, I'll be busy at home today.
I said, a bit uncomfortable.
—That's fine! Let's do it another time, but make sure to make it up to me with a bowl of noodles!
—Thanks, Pig— I said, feeling a bit bad for lying to him.
After that conversation, we ate together, and the rest of the classes passed normally. When I left and returned home, I found Tenzin waiting for me as usual.
—Why do you always wait for me in that position?
—How is it that after so long you still haven't figured it out? Obviously, it's because this is how spiritual energy is gathered. However, this place has very low concentrations, so some time ago I discovered some mountains with high concentrations, and I was waiting to tell you that I'll be going there for about a week. Just keep completing that task; I'm sure that by the time I return, it won't be long before you can have spiritual energy.
After saying this, Tenzin stood up and opened the window.
—By the way, don't get into trouble. Without me here to recognize someone dangerous, it would be troublesome if you draw attention.— after saying this, Tenzin jumped out the window and disappeared.
After he left, only the silence of my room remained. Strangely, this made me feel down. "I have to admit, I got used to that old man's presence…"
After composing myself, I got dressed to go to karaoke. When I arrived at the address, I noticed it was a somewhat hidden karaoke place that looked like a brothel.
—Is it here?— I went in and checked in. While looking through the rooms, I found one where that group from before was.
—Hey, Kaito, you made it!— said the boyfriend of the girl who invited me to karaoke.
Looking around, there were only three couples, including the girl from before, smoking and singing.
—Come on, sit down!— the guy said, pointing to a spot on the seats.
I sat where he pointed, and once I did, the guy spoke.
—Chii, can you bring us something to drink?— the guy said to his girlfriend.
—Sure!— the girl stood up and left the room.
As soon as the girl left, the guy handed me a can of beer and spoke to me.
—My name is Arakawa Ichiro. I really wanted to talk to you.
—Oh… why?
—I heard that you and Pig beat up Tomizawa's followers.
I fell silent at what he said.
—Hahaha, don't worry. I'm not here on Tomizawa's behalf. I'll be straightforward.
Arakawa leaned closer to me and murmured.
—Do you like Chisaki?