In the magnificent training room, the two new CREDHOS - Jaden and Kenzo - were dressed in training uniforms and were moving toward a secluded area of the room to join the waiting members. However, just before they reached their destination, they were forced to turn around because an angry voice demanded it.
"So, the rich kid doesn't only know how to pay? Aren't you afraid of spoiling your little princess angles?"
It was the voice of Tony Kingsley, the guy who had given him a hard time at the academy during the team selection and seemed to have no respect for anyone. His face hadn't changed at all; he still looked as antagonistic as before, maybe even more so.
Right after these words, most of those who were outside the rings started laughing at Jaden. Outside the circles, which were separate rooms, it was the same space, with no privacy, and everyone could hear each other.
Most of them laughed – not all because there were not only newcomers in the room, there were also people who had witnessed Jaden and Kenzo's fight against Sera.
These people knew that this guy was not just a spoiled rich kid, but that was none of their business. Besides, a little teasing never hurt anyone.
Jaden could detect in those laughs a mixture of disdain and anger, although there were also those who laughed simply because it was funny.
Despite having felt this way before at the academy, he was still shocked.
'I'm absolutely certain I've never offended these people, but by all the gods' names, why do they hate me?' Jaden wondered very seriously.
And why, out of all the new CREDHOS in existence, did they have to encounter this guy who seemed to not care about anyone?
"What do you want from him, Tony?" Kenzo asked, clearly annoyed by Tony's remark.
"Oh, the dog barks, go fetch!" Tony replied, tossing the water bottle he had in his hand, which resulted in even louder laughter than before.
Kenzo did his best to hold back because he had learned that a hero should not fall for such petty schemes. On the other hand, Jaden just didn't know how to react; he had never been in this kind of situation before.
He wondered if he should fight back or not. But there was this strange feeling inside him, a feeling that grew even stronger with the laughter from the crowd all around. This feeling was clouding his judgment, leaving him in a state he couldn't fathom.
"Jaden..." Kenzo called out, seeing his friend acting as if he were absent. He knew this feeling all too well, having lived most of his life with people treating him as if he didn't belong.
However, Kenzo understood that Jaden was the only one who could decide to snap out of it. Helping him wouldn't serve much purpose. What would happen when he wasn't there? Plus, he knew Jaden was strong; he just needed enough time to adapt.
During his contemplation, Tony stepped closer to them and went directly in front of Jaden, saying.
"Don't think you can do whatever you want here. Nobody wants you. You're just dead weight, a shame for the CREDHOS. You'd better go back home."
His voice was calm and harsh, and everyone around could hear him. They all seemed to agree, leaving Jaden increasingly shocked.
However, he narrowed his eyes and locked them onto Tony's. He wasn't afraid of this guy; he just didn't know how to handle the situation.
In movies, a good fight would assert one's position, but did he want to establish himself that way? And what guaranteed that he would only fight Tony? It was true they had pride as CREDHOS, but was that pride greater than the animosity they held against him?
After a moment of staring each other down, Tony didn't say anything more and turned to go back to what he had been doing before encountering these two newcomers.
Jaden, on the other hand, still showed no sign of moving. He was lost in thought, wondering if Tony might actually be right.
He had never attended the academy, so by what right did he join the organization? In their place, he would probably have the same reaction.
They had worked hard to get here, and he came out of nowhere, yet still entered the organization under the guidance of one of the most powerful CREDHOS.
"Hey, Jaden, let's go." Kenzo said, touching Jaden's shoulder and bringing him out of his thoughts.
A circle was a place surrounded by blue light, which could be activated, meaning it reached the ceiling, preventing any conversation from escaping, or deactivated, forming just a line that created a small circle. In this state, everything was audible.
Each of these circles had a different purpose. Some looked like small training rooms, while others resembled proper rings, like the one in which Jaden and Kenzo had fought against Sera.
The circle they were heading towards was quite large and seemed to serve multiple functions, falling into the category of training rooms.
Once inside the ring, even before they had a chance to look around, Sera had already spoken.
"Oh? One minute and two seconds late." she said with a smile. In fact, there was a smile on her lips, but her eyes told a different story.
"The world record for push-ups for humans with elemental affinities is 709 in one minute. Since you're more than a minute late, you'll do 1418 in one minute." Sera added without hesitation.
The two newcomers were in shock. How could they compete with a world record? What's more, they had to double a world record. It was beyond excessive.
"55 seconds." Sera's voice echoed as they absorbed the information.
The two immediately assumed the push-up position and started doing them as quickly as they could, but it wasn't nearly enough.
Just after the minute was up, a voice, too monotone to be human, sounded:
"Nine hundred six plus seven hundred nine push-ups for Jaden in sixty seconds."
"Nine hundred plus seven hundred nine push-ups for Kenzo in sixty seconds."
The two apprentices didn't understand why there were these additions, but they knew they couldn't stop under any circumstances.
After another minute, the same monotonous voice echoed:
"One thousand one hundred plus seven hundred nine push-ups for Jaden in sixty seconds."
"One thousand one hundred four plus seven hundred nine push-ups for Kenzo in sixty seconds."
After this announcement, Jaden wanted to understand what was really happening.
'I did five hundred five push-ups in 60 seconds, which means I had two hundred four left. Adding the previous nine hundred six push-ups gives me one thousand one hundred ten, which means...'
Jaden was shocked after this realization.
What needed to be understood was that after a minute, they were adding seven hundred nine push-ups.
If they hadn't finished these seven hundred nine push-ups after that minute, they would do, in the following minute, the seven hundred nine push-ups plus the remaining of the seven hundred nine from the previous minute.
Which meant that as time went on, there would be more and more push-ups. But, the more push-ups Jaden and Kenzo did, the less endurance they had. It was only a matter of time before they would be exhausted.
CREDHOS with their abilities could go for more than one hundred twenty minutes doing push-ups simultaneously; one hundred twenty minutes was the average.
So for Jaden and Kenzo, who were newcomers and not really focused on physical fitness, two hours would probably be their limit.
After that, they could manipulate their elo to generate some vitality and go beyond, but even with all that, would they be able to overcome this exercise?
'I could never overcome this punishment. What will happen to us when we reach our limits?' Jaden wondered.
It was an absolutely impossible task, but he raised his resolution as high as he could, knowing they would probably face something worse than this nightmare if they failed to overcome this test that Sera would likely describe as easy.
Kenzo was thinking along the same lines. He hadn't completely mastered the situation, but he knew that as long as the numbers didn't return to zero, they would be forced to keep doing push-ups.
'No one can do push-ups infinitely; it would never end.' Kenzo thought with a furrowed brow.
'Knowing the tigress, the consequences will be severe once our bodies give out, and we haven't completed the exercise.' he knew they couldn't finish the exercise, but a burning desire to complete it at all costs was ignited within him.
Both of them knew that limits were not really limits; they were only limits if they saw them as such.