✍️ Author's Note
> Sorry if I fail to perfectly describe village life in this chapter.
I live in a village myself, so many things feel normal to me—
sometimes I don't know what exactly needs explanation.
Also, the village shown here is my village too.
That's why I added it into this story.
Please don't forget to leave a review.
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Morning had already passed.
The sun stood higher, but the cold refused to leave the mountains.
Leo stood barefoot on the rough ground.
Heavy iron bands were locked around his wrists.
More bands around his ankles.
On his back—
a massive stone slab, tied tightly with thick rope.
Each breath felt like dragging air through fire.
Across from him stood Chen Wei.
He carried the same burden.
Iron on hands.
Iron on legs.
A giant stone pressing his spine down.
Their shadows stretched long over the mountain pit.
Neither spoke.
Leo stepped forward.
The ground cracked.
Chen Wei reacted instantly.
They collided.
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🪨 Fighting Under Crushing Weight
Leo swung his arm.
Not fast.
Not flashy.
Heavy.
Chen Wei blocked.
The impact sent pain screaming through both their bones.
"Ghh—!"
Chen Wei slid backward, feet carving lines into the dirt.
"You're insane," he growled.
"Who fights like this?"
Leo didn't answer.
He charged again.
With every step, the stones on their backs pulled them downward, trying to crush their lungs, their balance, their will.
Punch.
Elbow.
Shoulder.
No techniques.
Only raw survival.
Chen Wei countered with a kick—but the iron bands slowed his leg.
He stumbled.
Leo didn't stop.
He grabbed Chen Wei's shoulder and slammed him into the ground.
BOOM.
Dust exploded into the air.
Chen Wei coughed.
"…This village," he muttered from the ground,
"…is trying to kill me."
Leo finally spoke.
"No," he said quietly.
"It's trying to teach you."
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🏔️ The Village That Shapes Monsters
They stood again.
Sweat soaked into the earth.
Their muscles trembled—not from weakness, but overload.
Leo lifted a stone from the ground—
one even bigger than the one on his back.
He threw it.
Chen Wei dodged barely in time.
The stone shattered against the mountain wall.
Chen Wei stared.
"…You grew up here?"
Leo nodded.
"This weight," he said,
"this silence… this pain…"
He clenched his fist.
"This is normal."
Chen Wei laughed weakly.
"Normal?"
"Old men here lift rocks like toys."
"Goats judge me."
"And the mountains feel like they're watching."
Leo almost smiled.
They charged again.
This time Chen Wei attacked first.
A shoulder tackle.
Leo blocked—but his feet sank into the dirt.
They locked together.
Foreheads touching.
Breathing hard.
"I won't fall behind you," Chen Wei said through clenched teeth.
"Not now."
Leo pushed harder.
"Then don't."
Their auras began to stir.
Not exploding.
Not glowing wildly.
Just pressure.
Like the mountains themselves were pressing inward.
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🔥 Breaking Limits
Chen Wei suddenly twisted his body.
Using the stone's weight, he flipped Leo over his shoulder.
Leo hit the ground.
Hard.
For a second—silence.
Chen Wei panted.
"…Did I—"
Leo stood up immediately.
Blood trickled from his forehead.
He laughed.
"That was good."
Chen Wei froze.
"…You're smiling?"
Leo wiped the blood away.
"This is what it's supposed to feel like."
They fought again.
And again.
Until their legs stopped responding.
Until their hands bled.
Until the sun began to fall behind the peaks.
Finally—
They collapsed into the dirt.
Side by side.
Staring at the sky.
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🌄 End of the Day
Chen Wei spoke softly.
"…I get it now."
Leo turned his head.
"This place," Chen Wei continued,
"doesn't make fighters."
"It makes people who don't break."
The wind passed over them.
The village watched.
And somewhere deep inside their bodies—
something heavy…
was slowly becoming unbreakable.
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END OF CHAPTER 42