"もしもし (Moshi
Moshi)… I'm back," a playful voice echoed.
Everyone
turned. It was Alex Thorne.
"You're
late, Alex," Veiron scolded. "The training already started."
Alex
smirked, tossing his shopping bags aside. "I know. I was buying clothes.
Priorities, you know."
Sam
Rikaza's eyes narrowed.
Alex
teased, "Ooo, Rikaza… is that a pimple on your ugly face?"
"WHAT?!"
Sam instantly pulled out her phone. "Where where.
Then
realized he was joking.
"You
idiot! How can you say this? I am not ugly!" she shouted angrily.
Veiron
held her hands, "Let it be, he was just kidding."
Alex
smirked, "Yes, it's true. You have an ugly face."
Veiron
and Sam noticed the students were staring at them.
Sam
shouted, "Don't watch, idiots! Just do the Iron Pillar!"
All
the students, scared, immediately started again.
Alex
turned, "Huh? Who is that guy? He's enduring the pain so much."
Veiron
replied, "Lyron. It's almost 25 minutes and 40 seconds. He hasn't fallen yet,
and he's doing very well. Good job, buddy."
Alex
walked forward, got into position, and stood on his forearms right in front of
Lyron.
"Moshi
moshi (もしもし), so… what's your full name?"
Alex asked.
Lyron
replied calmly, "My name is Lyron Danji Karlos."
Alex:
"Lyron… so what's your secret to endure this much pain?"
Lyron:
"Guru, it's easy. I want to gain mystical fist powers, Guru. For that, I can
endure this much pain."
Alex
smiled, "あなたはとても興味深い人です (You are a
very interesting person)."
Lyron:
"Interesting?"
Alex
laughed, "Yaya… Omoshiroi, Lyron. Interesting, interesting.
Alex
Omoshiroi, Omoshiroi."
Veiron
and Sam exchanged an awkward grin.
"Alex…
what are you doing?" Veiron asked.
Suddenly,
a guy from behind cried in pain and collapsed. Because of him, six other people
in the same line also fell.
"You
idiot! Because of you, I fell! I was holding it for the last nine minutes!" one
of them shouted.
"Sorry,
sorry! My hand is paining, I can't anymore!" the first guy replied.
Alex
walked over, his tone firm, "You guys have to do it again. And for sure you all
can. Do it again — your time is reset now."
He
moved forward.
One boy was drenched in sweat, his
body trembling. His pain was extreme. He thought to himself, "My forearms…
I can't hold more… I'm going to quit."
Just
then, Alex came near. He gave the boy a firm slap on the ass.
The boy's face went completely red
with anger. Shocked, he shouted, "What the—?!"
He stopped, staring at Alex.
"Huh...?"
Alex smirked, "You are strong. Don't
give up here."
The boy was motivated by Alex's
words, but he lost his balance from the shock and fell on the ground.
"I-I'm sorry…" he said weakly.
Sam's face turned red with anger. "Idiot!
What are you doing?!"
Veiron sighed, "You have to do it again.
Your time is reset."
Alex moved forward casually.
All the students were struggling,
their sweaty bodies shaking. One girl saw Alex Guru approaching and quickly sat
on her knees.
Alex smirked, "I don't hit girls. So,
you have to do it again."
The girl groaned, "Guhhhh…"
Meanwhile,
Lewosito had already fallen five times. His forearms were bleeding each time,
but healed within seconds.
Atharv's
case was worse. His forearms were swelling, bleeding had stopped, but now they
were turning purple.
Atharv
cried, "My hand… sniff sniff… I can't… it's so hard…" He fell many times.
Veiron
announced, "Only Lyron has completed this training in one go. He already left
for home."
It
was now 3 pm.
Atharv
thought to himself, I want to go home… I can't handle anymore.
Everyone
kept falling again and again.
Alex
shouted, "Do it again! You fell! Hey you—yes, you—do it again! You also fell,
you do it again! Do it again!"
By
9 pm, 30 students had still not completed the training.
Heavy
rain poured for the last hour. Thunder roared—CRACK!
From
a distance, Ritesh Guru was watching.
"They
still haven't finished this training?" he asked.
"Lewosito
and Atharv?"
Veiron
replied, "No, not yet. Only one student finished earlier and left home in the
afternoon."
Ritesh
frowned, "They're all weak. If they can't complete this training, they won't be
selected for Himachal training. Let them finish this first, only then they can
go home."
Alex
said, "Okay, Guru ji."
Ritesh
guru left.
Alex
looked at Veiron, "Lewosito, this guy has Fire Fist from birth, right?"
Veiron:
"Yes, but he is weak. You can go, Veiron, I'll see the students."
Veiron:
"Yes, but only five minutes are left. I've marked many students' names here. If
they finish, they can go home. If not, they will start again tomorrow."
Alex:
"I know, I know."
Finally,
at 9:10, Lewosito and Atharv completed the training.
Alex
Guru said, "Okay, Lewosito and Atharv, you can go home now."
Both
stood up, exhausted.
Atharv's
forearms were swollen and purple. Lewosito's forearms had already healed.
As
they began walking, Alex said, "Fire Fist, right, Lewosito?"
Lewosito:
"Yes, Guru ji."
Alex:
"Keep going… and your caretaker too."
Atharv:
"I'm not his caretaker."
Alex:
"わかった (Wakatta) Okay, okay. What's
your name then?"
Atharv:
"My name is Atharv."
Alex:
"So, Lewosito and Atharv—you guys are strong. Just keep pushing. In the
beginning, it's painful, but soon your forearms will become stronger."
Lewosito:
"Okay, Guru ji. I will."
Alex:
"Good. You may go."
They
started walking away. Suddenly, Lewosito accidentally stepped on someone's
hand.
"AAAAAaaa
my hand!" the student screamed, falling down, dragging five others with him.
Lewosito
quickly bowed, "Gomen nasai!"
Atharv
groaned, "I'm not driving today. My hands and legs are paining. I can't."
He
continued, "Why didn't your forearm swell?"
Lewosito
told him, "Because of Fire Fist, my forearm heals automatically. That power
heals all the injury."
Atharv
said, "Yes, yes, I forgot that you have Fire Fist."
Lewosito
replied, "I also don't know driving."
From
behind, a voice came, "Hi Lewosito."
Lewosito
looked and said, "Kavishni, how was your first day?"
Atharv
said, "It was hard and it was a very long day. I can't even imagine about
tomorrow, what more is going to happen to us. Right now, I don't even have
strength to drive the car, and Lewosito also doesn't know how to drive."
Lewosito
said, "It was a long day… but painful too."
Kavishni
said, "It's okay cutie, I will drop you guys home."
Atharv
and Lewosito together said, "Yaa please."
They
reached their building's parking lot.
Atharv
said, "Thank you, Kavishni. Aaaa, my forearms…"
Lewosito
came near and hugged her tight. "Thank you, Kavishni."
Atharv
got shocked, "Aaaaaaaaaa!!"
Kavishni
also got shocked. Her face turned red, her heart started beating faster. She
was blushing but she closed her eyes for a second. She felt warm and
comfortable.
She
thought to herself, Lewosito is so warm… I don't know why, but when I saw him
today in the classroom for the first time, I started feeling something for him.
And when I talked to him, I felt comfortable. The thing is, today Jash and
Lewosito were talking, that's why I was waiting for him a few hours ago.
Earlier
that day, Sam Rikaza had seen Kavishni.
Sam
said, "Kavishni, you don't want to go home?"
Kavishni
replied, "I was waiting for someone."
Sam
smirked, "For Lewosito, right?"
Kavishni
froze. "No, no, no…"
Sam
said, "Your face is red, you're blushing, right? I heard you were asking about
Lewosito to Veiron, and I saw you looking at him in the ground."
Kavishni
admitted, "Yes, I was."
Sam
said, "You can, dear. Sit here, okay?"
Back
in the present—
Lewosito's
hands slipped down. He suddenly lost balance and went unconscious, falling in
Kavishni's arms.
Atharv
shouted, "Lewosito! Lewosito! What happened!?"
Kavishni
cried in panic, "Lewosito, Lewosito!?"
Lewosito…
TO BE CONTINUED 4.5 CHAPTER
THE HARDEST PATH II—C