However, while everyone was showing progress, Kay stood out... for falling behind.

"It didn't take long to embarrass himself!" Raven teased as she overtook Kay, who was already several laps ahead.

"How did they get used to it so quickly?" Kay muttered, confused.

Trying to increase his speed, he ended up going off the track, bumping into the sides. Raven and Fiona laughed discreetly as they saw him clumsy.

The suit is moving before me; I can't seem to keep it steady. How can the others handle this? Kay wondered, watching her companions pass by again with ease.

"The suits are normal. Strange, he should be the fastest here, since he has 100% compatibility!" said one of the scientists, looking at the tablet.

"Compatible?" Kay repeated, confused, while he was still lying on the ground.

Mira stopped beside him, worried.

"What's going on? It was the same thing in the test!" she said.

— He's following my movements, but it seems like he's going before me — Kay explained, trying to understand.

— Before? What do you mean? — Mira asked, confused.

— Isn't it like that for you? — Kay asked, surprised.

— For me, it just makes my body stronger. It took a few minutes to get used to it! — Mira replied.

— Stronger, getting used to it, compatibility... So that was it! I need to tune in to the suit! — Kay concluded, excited.

— But that's what we're doing! — Mira laughed.

— You guys are amazing... I think I'll need more time for that! — Kay said, standing up and looking at the recruits, who continued their training without showing any signs of fatigue.

— Excuse me, Mira, but can you stop people from getting in my way? — Kay asked.

— What are you going to do? — Mira asked, intrigued.

— I'm going to meditate! — he replied, sitting on the side of the track to get out of the way of the runners.

— What is he doing? — the veterans murmured, perplexed.

— Have you given up yet? — some of them mocked.

— What is he doing? — Thaís asked, running alongside Mira.

— I don't know. He said he was going to meditate and asked us not to interrupt him — Mira replied.

— He must have gone crazy! — laughed Sky, a new recruit.

— Who are you? — Mira asked, surprised.

— That's our roommate, Sky! — Kratos replied.

— I don't remember seeing you in the room... — Thaís said, intrigued.

— I was there, but it's normal not to see me — Sky commented, enigmatically.

— It's no fun keeping the same pace. Let's do like Raven and test our limits. Run like hell! — Kratos encouraged, accelerating.

Yan watched from afar, along with the scientist, who was looking at the tablet.

— This year's batch is really good... but I expected more than 100% — Yan commented.

— It may be compatible, but if the user doesn't have the capacity, it's no use — said the scientist, turning off the tablet.

— Run for another hour, and you're free to rest! — Yan announced, observing the recruits' determination.

— Why did we have to speed up? Now we have to keep it up for an hour! — lamented Thaís, exhausted.

An hour later, the recruits sighed with relief at the end of the training.

— Finally! — they said, relieved.

— Who are these rookies? — the veterans exclaimed, still surprised by their performance.

— Is he sleeping? — Raven murmured to Fiona, observing Kay.

The recruits looked at him. Kay remained motionless in the meditation position the entire time.

— I don't know what he's doing, but his concentration is impressive. You have ten minutes to rest. Then, we'll go to the next training session! — Yan warned.

Mira, taking advantage of the break, placed a bottle of water and a cup next to Kay without making any noise, moving away discreetly.

— Is he sleeping? — Thaís asked, curious.

— No, he's meditating — Mira replied.

— What's that going to help? I don't see any point! — Fiona commented, skeptical.

— And suddenly he decided to talk to us, huh? Make up your mind, Fiona: are you going to join the group or are you going to keep playing hard to get? — Thaís teased.

— I just said I wanted to make him give up; I have nothing against you! — Fiona retorted.

— Then stop acting like you do and join our group now! — Thaís said.

— And the others? — Fiona asked, indicating the other recruits.

— Those ones? They formed their own group, but they're not interfering with us. So, leave them alone! — Thaís replied.

— Come to think of it, we haven't done anything that caught anyone's attention so far — San commented.

— True! Now that you mention it... we didn't stand out at all! — Dan agreed.

— What are you talking about? You guys were faster than me! — Sarah said.

— Drawing unnecessary attention is also bad. Look over there! — Raven commented, pointing at the veterans.

The veterans looked at Kay with disdain and impatience.

— How long is he going to keep doing this? It's getting boring! — they muttered impatiently.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

— Who cares! We have to focus on our training — said another veteran.

— I don't mind being in your group, but that guy is making us look bad! — Raven declared.

— Then just leave, okay! — Thaís retorted.

Raven got irritated, but remained silent for a moment.

— I'm going to surpass him in everything they tell us to do. I'll make him look bad all by myself. And that goes for you too! — Raven said, turning to Thaís.

— What did you say? Are you trying to make fun of me? — Thaís exclaimed, irritated.

— I'm saying it's worth humiliating you and breaking your trust in person! — Raven retorted.

— Then try! You'll be embarrassed when I break your lizard confidence! — Thaís challenged.

The tension between the two was evident, and the other recruits, surprised, realized the meaning of that provocation. Ravena had just declared her rivalry not only with Thaís, but also with Kay, making it clear that she recognized them as worthy opponents.

They drank water and waited for the ten minutes to pass. The next training consisted only of movements to increase their compatibility with the suit. They did jumping jacks and other exercises that required body movement.

This training continued until lunchtime, and everyone sighed, tired.

"Tomorrow we will test the weapons with which you are compatible! Usually, it is bladed weapons, but those who can adapt to firearms become more valuable to the army. You are dismissed for today. Tomorrow, at the same time, try to prepare yourselves before what happened today happens again," said Yan.

"Yes, sir!" the soldiers replied, saluting.

Yan left.

"Finally, we will rest!" — Dan exclaimed, exhausted.

“My body is sore!” — San said, sitting on the floor.

“The suit was made to be used for long periods, even days, but we need to get used to it first!” — Kratos said.

“That’s easy for me!” — Slayer roared.

“They say that, but they’re shaking more than anything,” Raven observed, with a calm expression.

“The weather is getting worse, it looks like it’s going to rain!” — Sarah warned.

At that moment, Mira ran out.

“Where are you going?” — Thais exclaimed, tired.

“I’ll get an umbrella!” — Mira replied.

“No need, we’ll find a way!” — Kratos insisted.

Mira stopped and asked how.

Kratos and Slayer, without disturbing Kay, picked him up by the legs and arms, taking him to a covered area, where they left him.

Mira once again placed the bottle next to him and thanked him for his help.

— Sorry for the trouble I gave you guys! — Kay said, standing up.

— If I was awake, I could have come walking! — Slayer commented.

— I failed to become compatible with this ghoul. He refuses to obey me! — Kay blurted out.

— What are you talking about? — Raven exclaimed, confused.

— The cells that were used in the suits are still alive, so in a way, the personality or, perhaps, the instinct of the ghoul remains. They are irrational beings, but they are not stupid and, above all, they are stubborn. I need to try again, but in a less friendly way! — Kay explained.

— Has this guy gone crazy or am I hearing wrong? — Fiona exclaimed.

— He went crazy! — Slayer confirmed.

— Taming ghouls so quickly, you guys are impressive! — Kay commented, amazed.

— We're going to lunch soon. Are you going too? — Mira asked.

— Not yet. I need to tame this ghoul. It will take less time this time, but it will take a while to get to him. I don’t think I’ll finish before nightfall! — Kay replied.

— Then have lunch first and then train! — Mira suggested.

— Yeah, maybe a break wouldn’t hurt — Kay agreed.

— I want to hear more about this during lunch! — Mira said.

— Okay! — Kay replied.

They went back to their rooms and put on normal clothes. Soon after, they went to lunch.

— Don't say anything! This is just different from what I thought, so I want to understand! — Raven said, at the table.

— I didn't say anything! — Thais retorted.

— To be specific, "connection" would be the right word! — Kay said.

— Connection? — Dan exclaimed.

— The suits were created with cells from different ghouls. They devour each other and the predominant one maintains its will, and it is with this ghoul that you connect. That is why the suits are even faster than the ghouls themselves. And that is why this ghoul became proud. The more you connect, the more your compatibility with the suit will increase. But, due to the lack of cells from the ghoul itself, you will not achieve 100% compatibility through normal means and not for a long time. You'll practically temporarily subdue the ghoul. That's what I noticed when I entered his consciousness. It's hard to explain, but it's almost like that! — Kay explained.

— In short, if your will devours the ghoul's, you'll gain more compatibility with the suit. Is that why you already have 100% right from the start? But that doesn't make sense, since the ghoul himself is getting in your way! — Raven exclaimed.

— I don't know if that's it. I'm not that smart about these things. What I do know is that I need to subdue the ghoul to be able to use the suit. Otherwise, he'll keep getting in my way! — Kay said.

— Ghoul consciousness, hmm... I see, I see! — commented the scientist who was behind Kay.

— You were watching the training — Kay said.

— Do you remember? There was someone who said he saw a ghoul as soon as he put on the suit, but at the same moment that ghoul turned to dust and disappeared. It was Julius himself. We think it was some kind of mirage or illusion, or something like that! — explained the scientist.

— If that's true, then he subdued the ghoul the moment he put on the suit! He practically killed the ghoul! — said Kay.

— I see, so that's what happens to those who are more compatible. The suits keep the ghoul's will stronger and try to prevent the user from using it. To access the ghoul, you need to meditate deeply. Interesting — said the scientist, writing everything down. — But how does the process of subduing the ghoul work? Is there a guarantee that just by meditating you can access the ghoul? Is it some kind of trip to the subconscious? Is there a trick to do it faster? — asked the scientist.

— I think the consciousnesses unite, even if all that's left is the ghoul's will. To defeat it, you just have to subdue it! — answered Kay.

— But how are you going to subdue it? By fighting in your mind? By talking? — asked the scientist, intrigued.

— I have something more important to think about right now, please don't distract me! — said Kay.

— More important than taming the suit? What would it be? — exclaimed the scientist.

— My training! — replied Kay.

— Training? — the scientist was confused.

— Then please don't distract me! — insisted Kay.

— I see. About that business of temporarily subduing the ghoul, we actually have a way to do that. The command we give to your suits leads to a small shock: the limit break! It allows even someone without compatibility to use the suit at its maximum performance, but it comes at a price. The lower the compatibility with the suit, the greater the rebound, and the limit break lasts for a short time! — explained the scientist.

— And what happens next? — exclaimed Dan, worried.

— It depends! The suit becomes unusable. The person can break some bones, or even die. That's why it's recommended to use it in extreme cases of life or death! — explained the scientist.

Dan and San were startled.

— It's because you're forcing someone proud to fight without will. To compensate, he must tighten the suit, making his bones break! — said Kay.

— If we were to put it into words, I think it would go something like this: "How dare this weakling force me to save him? Now I'll kill him myself!" Or, perhaps, "He used me to survive, but we were almost on the same level, so I understand." Is that what the ghouls would think? — the scientist exclaimed.

"That's more or less it!" — Kay confirmed.

"When you go to do the meditation, I'll go with you to assess the condition of the suit, to see if anything changes while you try to subdue the ghoul!" — said the scientist.

"I don't care!" — Kay replied.

"I said I didn't care, but why are you all here? This will take until nightfall!" — Kay exclaimed.

"It's raining, and it's cold outside. Go inside," said Kay.

"Okay, we have nothing to do, let's just watch!" — said Raven.

Kay drank another cup of coffee.

"You're the one who knows!" — he murmured, folding his legs and preparing to meditate.

“We won’t interfere,” Mira assured.

Kay closed his eyes and concentrated. The recruits watched him intently, while the scientist, sitting with a tablet, monitored Kay attentively.

A few minutes later, the recruits got bored and went to play something in the barracks. A few hours later, the scientist also got tired and went to take care of other tasks. Later, Kratos came back to check on Kay and then entered the barracks again.

“He’s still meditating!” Kratos said.

“It’s already dark, he needs to go back to sleep,” Sarah worried.

“Let him go back on his own. I’ll just tuck him in and we can go to sleep,” Mira said.

“Are you sure?” Thais exclaimed.

“Yes, Kay knows how to take care of himself. He’s lazy, but when it comes to killing ghouls, he’ll go all the way,” Mira replied.

“Kill? Wasn’t he going to tame them?” — Viviane exclaimed.

“Living with a ghoul? Kay would never accept that!” said Mira, leaving to get a blanket.

“Is that why it’s taking so long? Are they fighting inside Kay’s mind?” asked San.

“We can’t tell. Let’s wait and see,” said Slayer.

Mira came back and put the blanket over Kay.

“I’m going to sleep now,” she warned.

The group, still apprehensive, went to bed too.

An hour later, Kay’s nose started bleeding. He opened his eyes and wiped the blood away.

“What an amazing desire... it took so long to die!” said Kay, pouring himself another cup of coffee. He noticed the blanket and thought: “Could it have been Mira?” He folded it and left it on a chair.

In another part of the barracks, Ryuji felt something. “I think it’s about to start!” he thought. He took out his cell phone and made a call.

“Come to the courtyard.” Kay walked into the courtyard and stood there, concentrating as he closed his eyes. Silence filled the place.