Volar City, Zrochester Province.
The Volar city was one of the famous cities under the Draton kingdom. It was one of the most prosperous cities as it earned excellent revenue for the Kingdom. One of the main reasons for its fame was the Silver Orphanage. Silver Orphanage was a recruitment center for the military, thus increasing the extraordinary impression of Volar city due to the many famous people in the military who came from this orphanage.
In an open ground behind the Silver Orphanage, a 7 to 8 year old boy was dragging a 50 jin stone tied to his waist. Sweat was all over his body, but still, he gritted his teeth as he continued dragging it.
"Lately, my nightmares are getting worse. I should probably increase my training," the boy muttered as he continued to drag the stone.
His name was Ajax. Although he appeared like he was eight years old, he was only six years old. His training had honed his body to look more mature due to his training regimen. From the age of 4, he had begun diligently training every day.
.....
When he turned three years old, he began experiencing weird nightmares in his sleep every day, making it very hard for him to sleep through the night. Due to insufficient sleep, he looked fragile, with dark circles around his eyes.
When he was four years old, an older man joined the orphanage to instruct the kids in their training. All knew him as Elder Boron.
"Hey, brat, if you want to sleep peacefully, then train your body,"
Ajax was shocked because he hadn't told anyone about his nightmares, but somehow this older man knew by merely looking at him. Ajax tried to ask many questions about how he knew, but the older man didn't reply, so he also stopped asking questions.
Although he was still skeptical, he believed the elder enough to try it. The results of this attempt were shocking. He slept peacefully for the first time in a year on that day.
From that day onward, he started his training to suppress his nightmares.
.....
"Hey brat, stop dreaming and focus on training," Elder Boron yelled at him.
Ajax woke from his daze and started his training with concentration.
Many other children were also training outside the orphanage, but not all were as focused as Ajax.
Still, some of them did their best.
If they could exert 1000 jin by the age of 15, they would be enlisted to the military and have proper standing.
They could also improve their ranks by doing some merits to the Kingdom. So, this was only the first step for them for their fantastic future.
In this world, people that could improve their body through training. They were called Cultivators.
The orphanage conducted these daily training drills to increase the number of children who had trained their body force to 1000 jin by the age of 15 to be enlisted to the military by the Kingdom.
"Damon, relax for 5 minutes and then start running around the grounds."
"Hector, focus more on that punch."
"Jason, you are the eldest of all the children here, but you still lift the same weight as your younger brothers. Increase your weight!"
Elder Boron shouted continuously at the children as he instructed them. Soon, the sun began to sink as night came.
"Ok then, we will stop here for today. Everyone should be here by six tomorrow morning. There will be no breakfast or lunch for those who come late." instructed Elder Boron loudly.
"Yes, sir!" all the children shouted. They breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that the training was completed for the day.
"Ajax, wait here; I need to talk to you about something." Elder Boron told Ajax to stop as all the children were returning to their rooms.
"Ok, Elder," Ajax stopped and waited till all the children left the ground.
Ajax respected Elder Boron a lot. Elder Boron shared many stories of legends and history and paid special attention to training Ajax with a variety of exercises, which helped him suppress his nightmares.
Ajax wondered what new thing Elder Boron was going to share with him this time.