"It's already morning?!" Leo muttered, casting a glance out the window. The sunlight was streaming in, warming the room. He stretched, feeling the stiffness in his limbs, then decided to take a quick shower. After changing into fresh clothes, he walked into the kitchen where the familiar smell of breakfast greeted him.

"Good morning," he said, his voice still a bit groggy.

“Good morning, sweetie,” his mom replied, turning from the stove with a smile. “You look tired. Did you get enough sleep last night?”

Leo sank into a chair. "I was reading a book and... forgot to sleep."

Just then, Lisa placed a plate with an egg in front of him. "Sweetie, you shouldn't push yourself like that," she said, her tone was gentle.

Leo remained calm, quietly picking up his fork and starting on his breakfast. “Don’t worry, Mom. I don’t want to overdo it. Like I said, I just forgot. Thank you for the food.”

After finishing his meal, he stood up and turned to leave. "I'll be careful next time," he added with a reassuring smile before heading out.

…

Edmond perused Leo’s file with a furrowed brow, the pages filled with notes and observations. Clutching the file, he made his way to the Paladin association’s main hall.

“Lara, is Peter around?” Edmond inquired, scanning the bustling space.

“Yes, he’s in his office. Shall I call him?” Lara offered, ready to dispatch a message.

“No need, I’ll head over myself,” Edmond decided, handing her the file as he strode towards the storage room.

Upon entering, Edmond found Peter standing at attention, his fist pressed firmly against his chest in a respectful salute.

“Captain, how may I assist you today?” Peter asked, his posture relaxing slightly as he acknowledged Edmond's presence.

“At ease,” Captain Edmond responded, his voice steady. After a brief pause, he continued, his gaze sharp. “What do you think about Leo?”

Peter hesitated for a moment, his eyes flickering with thought. “Leo?” he repeated, as if weighing his words carefully.

“He’s an exceptionally bright young man,” Peter said at last, his tone thoughtful but filled with admiration. “Remarkably efficient in his duties. He’s got a lot of potential.”

“Efficient? In what manner?” Edmond probed further.

“Samuel mentioned that Leo managed to clean an entire library section yesterday. He even verified Leo’s work himself,” Peter explained.

“And the verdict?” Edmond pressed on.

“Samuel was quite impressed with the quality of his work,” Peter confirmed with a nod.

“Hm,” Edmond hummed thoughtfully.

“There’s something else… His demeanor is somewhat atypical,” Peter added cautiously.

“Go on,” Edmond encouraged.

“He carries himself more like an adult than an almost fifteen-year-old,” Peter observed thoughtfully. “It’s quite unusual.”

“Yes, I’ve noticed that peculiarity as well,” Edmond agreed, a contemplative frown forming as he folded his arms.

“Maybe growing up in a poor family and being the only man in the house can do that,” Peter offered, making an assumption.

“Maybe,” Edmond echoed, though his tone was noncommittal. After a moment, he gave a curt nod. “Anyway, I got what I was looking for.”

Edmond was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Leo entered, looked at Peter and Edmond confusedly, and then placed his fist on his chest.

"Captain, Mr. Peter, good morning."

"Good morning," both Edmond and Peter said simultaneously.

Edmond looked back at Peter.

"Thank you, Peter."

"Of course, captain."

he turned around and walked away.

…

Leo stared at the door, lost in thought.

“When did you learn to do the fist thing?” Peter asked, noticing the gesture from earlier.

Leo smiled, glancing at Peter. “It was in the book about the rules. I read it last night.”

“You read that whole book in one day?” Peter asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Yeah,” Leo replied casually, “it was boring.”

He made no mention of having already read all four of the books he’d been given. Heading into the back room, he hung his coat neatly in the closet.

“Change into the white clothes in there,” Peter called after him.

Leo paused, eyeing the neatly folded clothes. “What are these for?”

“They’re for your exercise with Faleria,” Peter said with a smile.

He went into the library after changing his clothes and placed his book on the desk. Then he went out into the yard and went straight to Faleria's location. Faleria was seated in the middle of the room, concentrating, like before. He stepped back and tried not to stare.

“You’re not staring; it looks like you were listening,” Faleria remarked, her eyes narrowing slightly as she observed Leo.

Leo gave a slight bow. “Good morning, Ms. Rave.”

Faleria stepped closer to the door, glancing outside. The sunlight filtered through her hair, casting a soft glow around her and creating a striking, almost ethereal scene.

“Yes, it’s a good morning,” she said, her voice carrying a sense of authority. “From today on, you’ll call me ‘coach.’”

She then shifted her gaze back to Leo, her expression firm but not unkind.

"For the first week, we just focus on building a little muscle in your body, Your body is simply too weak for any exercise, You first start with some stretching; I show you how to do it, then you go run around the yard for half an hour, you rest for ten minutes, and then you run for another half an hour, Now come stand here and look at what I am doing and try to do the same."

Leo took a step behind Faleria, mirroring her movements as they began their stretches. His muscles tensed as he followed her lead.

“Try to go lower, like this,” Faleria instructed, her tone firm. “Stretch your body as much as you can. You must be able to touch the floor within one week.”

Without warning, she pressed her hand firmly on Leo’s back, pushing him down further. A sharp jolt of pain shot through him, and cold sweat dripped from his forehead.

‘Is she trying to tear my tendons?’ Leo thought, gritting his teeth to keep from crying out.

Fifteen grueling minutes later, they finished the stretches. Leo's legs felt like jelly.

“Enough of that,” Faleria said, straightening up. “Now go run. And don’t even think about walking—I’m watching you the entire time.”

Leo stood up; he hadn't even begun the main part yet, but his entire body ached. He entered the yard and began running. He was out of breath after fifteen minutes and his running speed slowed.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Don't slow down," Faleria called from a distance.

Leo’s breathing grew heavier with each step. His legs felt like lead, his chest tight.

‘I can’t run anymore... I’m going to die,’ he thought, his body screaming for rest. He was on the verge of giving up, his mind teetering on the edge of surrender.

But then, a memory surfaced—his previous self, weaker and determined to be better.

'I don't want to be a loser any more, especially in this world. If I can't run for half an hour right now, I won't be able to reach my goal.'

He inhaled deeply and increased his running speed.

Faleria smiled as she sat on the two stairs in front of the entrance.

"Ho? I wasn't expecting him to continue."

She waited another five minutes before rising.

"All right, that's enough. Come and rest here."

Leo came to a halt. He was standing with his back to the wall, trying to catch his breath. He walked to Faleria after one minute.

"Here, take this," Faleria said, tossing a towel to Leo.

"And drink only half a glass of water," she added sternly.

Leo obediently gulped down the water, his body craving more, but he stopped after half a glass as instructed. After a brief ten-minute rest, he was back on his feet, heading for another grueling half-hour run.

“All right,” Faleria said when he returned, drenched in sweat. “Now take a fifteen-minute break and drink a glass of milk from the cooling box inside.”

Exhausted, Leo retrieved the milk, gulped it down, and slumped into a corner, his body screaming for rest. As soon as he closed his eyes, everything went dark.

“Enough resting, come here!” Faleria’s voice snapped him awake.

Leo jumped to his feet, panic flooding him. Damn, I dozed off.

He hurried over to Faleria, still groggy but alert now.

“For the next hour, you’re going to do these three movements,” she instructed, her eyes fixed on him with unrelenting focus.

She took a wooden sword and stood in the center of the room. The movements were slashing swords from top to bottom, top left to bottom down, and top right to bottom left. She pointed the handle of the wooden sword at Leo after demonstrating the movements.

"One hundred each."

Leo took the sword from her and began to perform the movements. Faleria was walking around him at the same time, making sure he was doing it correctly. She occasionally showed him his error and the proper way to do it.

After an hour, Leo was on the third movement. Sweat was pouring from everywhere on his body, and the muscles in his hand were aching.

"Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred."

He sat on the ground, his sword falling from his grasp.

"Good job; you can rest now, and don't forget to eat something."

Leo wiped the sweat from his face and arms with the towel, then carefully returned both the sword and towel to their places, preparing to leave for the day.

“Leo,” Faleria’s voice called out just as he was about to step out.

He froze, turning to face her, worried she might have another grueling exercise lined up.

“You need more sleep,” she said, her tone unexpectedly gentle.

Relief washed over him. He nodded, a small smile creeping onto his face. “I’ll get more sleep,” he promised.

Exhaustion weighed heavily on Leo as he retraced his steps to the storage room, each step a testament to the day’s grueling efforts. Upon opening the door, he was greeted by Peter’s knowing gaze.

“You’ve had your first encounter with the famous Faleria, I see,” Peter remarked, his eyes softening with empathy.

“Yes, I have,” Leo confirmed, a weary sigh escaping him.

He shuffled into the back room, intent on washing away the day’s toil. Frank was there, vigorously drying off with a towel.

“Good evening, Mr. Rove,” Leo greeted with a nod.

“Hey there, Leo. Drop the formalities; just Frank is fine,” he replied with an easy smile.

Frank then shot Leo a quick, knowing look before speaking again.

“Faleria gave you a tough time, didn’t she?”

“How does everyone seem to know?” Leo asked, a mix of curiosity and exasperation in his voice.

“We’ve all been through her rigorous training at some point,” Frank explained, his smile fading slightly.

“All of you? How old is she?” Leo pressed, his interest piqued.

Frank’s expression turned grave. “If you’re really curious about her age, you might want to ask her directly. But be warned, that knowledge comes at a price.”

A flicker of apprehension crossed Leo’s face. “Maybe I’m better off not knowing.”

“That’s a wise decision,” Frank agreed, clapping a reassuring hand on Leo’s shoulder before exiting the room.

Leo stood for a few moments, staring at the door. He then took his clothes off and went into the shower. After he was done, he went into the kitchen to eat something. Wina was in the kitchen, and Liamond, Gery, and Albert were playing cards.

Hello, everyone,” Leo greeted as he walked into the room.

“Hi,” replied Liamond, Gery, and Albert in unison, barely looking up from what they were doing.

Wina turned around with a warm smile. “Hello,”

Leo made his way into the kitchen, grabbed an egg from the cooling box, and started frying it. The sound of the sizzling pan filled the room as he focused on his breakfast.

“Leo, want to play a hand of cards?” Albert asked casually, not even turning around from the game he was setting up.

Leo sat at the table, placing his plate down with the freshly baked egg. “No, I need to be at the library in fifteen minutes,” he replied.

Albert shrugged. “Okay, suit yourself,” he said, shuffling the deck.

After consuming his egg, Leo made his way to the library. The familiar scent of old books greeted him as he entered. Samuel was there, ensconced behind his desk, a cup of tea in one hand and a book in the other.

“Good morning, Mr. Samuel,” Leo greeted, his voice echoing slightly in the quiet room.

“Ah, Leo, good to see you,” Samuel responded without looking up, his attention still partly on the pages before him.

There was a brief silence as Samuel took a measured sip of his tea before he finally set his book aside and regarded Leo with a curious gaze.

“You’ve been training with Faleria today, haven’t you?” Samuel inquired, an astute observation coloring his tone.

Leo blinked in surprise. “Yes, but how could you tell?”

“There’s a certain… uniqueness to your gait this morning,” Samuel commented with a wry smile as he rose from his seat.

"There are also two black marks under your eyes, which show that you did not get enough sleep last night."

"O about that, I have a question, Mr. Samuel."

Samuel did not expect a question; His eyebrows rose slightly in surprise, "What is it?".

"Last night I was reading the introduction to the magic book, and then I tried the practice to feel my mana."

“Let me guess. You didn't feel it, and you're wondering what went wrong. You should give it more time."

"No, actually, I did feel it," he said, before telling the entire story of last night.

For a few moments, Samuel stood there like a statue. He finally responded after a while.

"You truly are a genius; it takes at least a week to feel your mana, and you did it in an hour?" Not only that, but you finished your first spell."

He then exhaled deeply.

"The reason for your headache and the disappearance of your spell is that you have used up all of your mana, And it's not because your mana is low; it's actually quite high, but your control over it is lacking, so you're wasting a lot of it, with proper control over your mana you can keep your light ball for at least one hour, but Never do that again until you've mastered controlling your mana; exceeding your mana capacity is extremely dangerous, and it can even kill you."

A flicker of worry passed over Leo’s face as he stood rooted to the spot, contemplating Samuel’s words.

“I’ll remember that,” Leo assured him, his voice tinged with resolve.

He then gestured towards the stack of books on his desk.

“I’ve managed to read through all of these,” he declared.

Samuel raised an eyebrow in surprise. “You’ve finished them all in just one day?”

“Couldn’t sleep after the headache set in, so I turned to reading. Besides, the books weren’t particularly lengthy,” Leo explained, a hint of fatigue creeping into his voice.

Samuel’s expression shifted to one of concern. “Alright, I’ll assign you your next set of readings. Just make sure you continue cleaning the next section without overexerting yourself.”

“Understood,” Leo replied with a nod, already moving to begin his cleaning tasks.

Over the following two weeks, Leo found himself caught in a monotonous routine. Each day, he would rise early, head to work, attend his training session with Faleria, and then proceed to the library for his cleaning duties. In his spare moments, he delved into five additional books, covering topics ranging from mathematics and the city's history to the nation's past, the teachings of the god of light, and a comprehensive volume on elvish language.

…

A man in a black robe and a large hat, which covered his face, was walking down a dark alley. He looked around from time to time to make sure no one was following him. After a few minutes of walking and passing through several alleys, he came to a halt in front of an old house with a black door. He knocked three times on the door, paused for a few seconds, and then knocked twice more. The door was opened by a large, bald man.

“Aline, you’re late,” the man muttered.

Aline didn’t bother acknowledging him. Instead, he cut straight to the point. “Where’s the boss?”

He sighed, slightly annoyed but pointed toward the staircase. “In the basement.”

Aline opened another door, leading to a set of long, dark stairs. There was no light, but he had been here before and knew how to get down. He arrived at a door after descending an unknown number of stairs. He paused for a few moments before opening the door. The room was also dark, but not completely dark. There were two torches on the wall, both with blue flames. Every corner of the room was crammed with human body parts. Looking at the bodies and the disgusting smell, Aline felt that he was going to vomit. He went inside after taking a few deep breaths and being careful not to step on anything. A man was standing in front of a table. There was a body on the table, and the man was holding a dagger.

"Aline, you are late," the man stated flatly without turning around.

“I’m sorry, sir, but we have a problem,” Aline replied, his voice steady but tense.

“Problem?” The man’s tone sharpened, a hint of anger creeping into his voice as he finally turned to face him.

“Yes,” Aline confirmed, swallowing hard. “Our contract has been killed.”

For a split second, the man did not say anything. He then began stabbing the body in front of him.

"That useless piece of shit, do you know how close I was to success?" he mumbled, still stabbing the body.

He turned around, his face covered in scars and his eyes completely black. He was like a moving dead body.

“Who’s responsible for this?” he demanded, his voice rising in a crescendo of fury.

“Captain Edmond of the Paladin Association,” came the timid reply.

“That insufferable man again?!” His face reddened with anger, and his voice boomed through the room.

Aline stood meekly, head bowed, hands trembling with trepidation at the outburst.

The man’s lips twisted into a sinister grin, his voice dropping to a menacing whisper.

“He must be eliminated.”

“But sir, he’s a B-rank Paladin, and he’s not alone; he has an entire army at his disposal. How can we possibly take him down?” Aline questioned, his voice laced with doubt.

A dark chuckle escaped the man’s throat. “Fear not, I have a strategy in mind. Gather everyone—it’s time to set things in motion.”

“Yes, sir,” Aline responded with a quick nod before hastily retreating from the room.

Once alone, the man turned his attention to the lifeless form before him.

“Captain Edmond, you’ll serve as an excellent specimen for my next experiment,” he mused aloud, his laughter echoing ominously in the empty space.