"A more intense training?" the man couldn't help questioning. "But going to the hospital five times in half a month—isn't that a bit extreme? Couldn't we ease up a little?"
"Train hard now to bleed less in battle. I think you understand that, sir. Your son has exceptional talent, which means that in the future, he'll represent our family on the battlefield. The battlefield will be far harsher than any training he's experiencing now, so adapting early will only benefit him."
"It seems my son's training involves a lot of bleeding already." Although he roughly understood the family's reasoning, the man couldn't help but make a subtle jab.
"Ahem, well, better he bleeds a bit now in training than too much later in real combat. At least now he can go to the hospital and get treated. In battle, if the injuries are too severe... well, you know the outcome," the family butler, Wayne, coughed lightly.
"I see. In that case, please convey a message to his instructor: 'As long as he's not dead, push him to his limits.'" The man's face showed a resolute expression.
"Your understanding of the family's strategic vision is commendable," Butler Wayne nodded in satisfaction, as parents this open-minded were rare.
…
Victor, who was anxiously awaiting a call from his family to tell him he could skip training, was instead greeted by a call from his strict instructor.
"I heard you're healed. Since you've recovered, be here tomorrow for training," Muria's indifferent face appeared on the communicator screen.
"Wait, I'm off training tomorrow," the boy instinctively shrank back at the sight of Muria, but then straightened up, weakly insisting, "I talked to my parents. They'll report you to the family for what you're putting me through. Soon enough, I'll be released from this training, and you won't have the authority to control me anymore, Geros."
Muria gave a mirthless smile. "Report me to the family? You're adorably naive. Be there for training tomorrow, or face the consequences."
With that, Muria ended the call, ignoring the boy's naive bravado.
"Why does he get to order me around when my talent is obviously way above his?" Victor muttered, clenching his fist on the desk. "My dad's probably already contacted the family; it won't be long before I get the news. I'll just skip tomorrow's training and see what he can do about it."
Determined, the rebellious teen decided, "Tomorrow, I'll sleep till noon if I want. No training, no getting beaten."
…
At dawn, the sky still dark and hazy, Muria stood on the manor's lawn, looking over the boys and girls gathered before him.
"Count off!"
"One!" "Two!" … "Six!"
"Why are there only six of you?" Muria frowned, noticing the missing head count.
"Reporting, sir!"
"Speak."
"The rest are hospitalized—they're all still lying in hospital beds," replied a girl with long, dark hair.
"That's obvious," Muria nodded. "But today, at this time, there should be seven of you here. Someone is absent."
The teenagers exchanged glances, a bit surprised. Who would have dared to defy Muria?
"It's Victor." Out of the thirteen people assigned by the Douglas family for Muria's training, they quickly identified the missing "brave soul."
"Interesting. Last night, he told me he wouldn't show up today. I thought he was just trying to test me, but he actually has the guts to skip."
Muria smiled; though he hadn't been training these kids long, he had thoroughly "disciplined" each one. The defiance was unexpected.
"He's got guts. But if he dares ignore me, he'll face the consequences." Muria stroked his chin, considering the best way to make an example out of this truant.
"Brother, what are you planning?" At this point, his sister Daisy stepped forward, nervously asking. Although she was gifted and held a high position in the family, she still felt a bit intimidated by Muria, who treated them all with equal severity. Even she had been hospitalized more than once.
"Why ask? Of course, I need to teach this troublemaker a lesson he'll remember for life."
"What are you going to do?" Daisy asked, suppressing the hint of excitement in her eyes.
"Let me think…" Muria raised a hand, signaling her to hold her questions.
"I've got it. The family recently sent me a piece of star-grade equipment to test. There's no time like the present—let's try it out on Victor!" Muria grinned, pounding one fist into the other.
"What kind of weapon?"
"A sniper rifle," Muria replied, summoning a weapon nearly three meters long, large enough to be mistaken for a mini-cannon, which he held with one hand.
"It's the latest prototype, supposedly able to channel energy into the bullets. Of course, I still need to test its effectiveness."
"You're going to shoot Victor?" Another boy in the group gaped at Muria, feeling a pang of fear himself even though he wasn't the target.
"Now, who knows where Victor's room is?" Muria, having loaded the gun, began concentrating energy from his arms into the weapon's chamber, charging the bullet.
According to his brief, this rifle and its ammunition were designed to accept energy input, enhancing firepower for a limited time.
"He's probably still asleep around now. Aren't you worried about killing him?" Daisy stared at him, disbelieving.
"No problem. He's undergone training with me. If he lacks the alertness to react to this, he might as well not have bothered with all those beatings." Muria dismissed her concerns, taking a piece of paper handed over by a snickering student and began estimating Victor's location.
"Hold on—you can't just fire at his room. Other family members live in that building; you'll end up hurting someone else," another student pointed out, uneasily.
"Then here's what you all will do: evacuate everyone near Victor's room. That way, the only damage will be to the building, not people." Muria smiled warmly at the student who spoke up while adjusting the gun's scope. Victor's room was within a kilometer, well within the rifle's 3.6-kilometer effective range.
"You're insane, Geros, using a family member as target practice," a small blonde girl stammered, visibly unsettled.
"That's why I'm confirming his location," Muria replied, moving the scope. "I'll give him a warning shot first, then aim for real if he doesn't get out of bed. That way, I won't kill him."
"Get moving and evacuate everyone around Victor's room. Ten minutes from now, I'm firing," Muria called out.
…
Ring! Ring!
The harsh ring of an alarm echoed through Victor's darkened room, only to be silenced by a hand reaching out from the heavy blankets, smashing the clock into a pile of broken parts.
"Stupid alarm," Victor mumbled, groggily opening his eyes. After a few seconds of thought, he remembered that today was a training day, then immediately recalled his vow the night before to never attend again.
"This bed is way more comfortable. I told my dad; no more having to look at Geros' stupid face. So what if I skip? What can he do about it?"
Satisfied, he closed his eyes, ready to go back to sleep. But just as he was about to drift off…
Boom!
A thunderous explosion shook his room, rattling his bed and snapping him fully awake.
_________________________
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