Chapter 17: Six Month’s Hell

Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Six Month’s Hell

"100%," Krono replied, sounding very firm.

​The lionman’s smile widened. "Very well. Get started, my boy."

​Krono nodded and went to pick up the boulder. Surprisingly, he lifted it up easily. It almost looked effortless.

​His small hands gripped the rough texture with an iron grip.

​Afterward, holding it on his shoulder, he started descending with steady steps. His breathing was calm and even.

​He knew he could not be so hasty while descending such a dangerous slope.

​After a successful descent, he started running toward the marked mountain. The path was filled with dirt and small pebbles.

The pebbles were sharp and pointy.

​So, even with the coarse cloth shoes he wore, they stung the bottoms of his feet.

Despite all that pain, he endured.

He reached the other mountain within 15 minutes.

Now, he had to come back again.

Back on the mountain peak.

The 5 dragon hunters stood near the edge of the cliff, watching the tiny figure of a seven-year-old boy steadily jogging across the valley floor with a massive boulder on his shoulder.

​Garrick crossed his thick muscular arms in contentment. "Mmm, he didn’t use a single drop of mana. Did you all see that?"

Sirius nodded,

​"Yes, I saw it. Physical reinforcement magic is one thing, but that boy lifted fifty kilograms using pure, raw muscle. At seven years old. That shouldn’t be biologically possible."

​Aurora stood at the edge of the group, watching Krono with a proud smirk.

​"I told you he was a jewel. Now you understand why I brought him to you all."

Wendy smiled.

"Yes, we can finally understand, captain. You want him to revive the legacy of Honoured Empire Guild."

​Down in the valley, Krono was completely unaware of the praise he was receiving. His world had narrowed down to the dirt path, completely focused on completing the ten laps.

​Time passed. Hours.

​THUD!

​Krono finally dropped the heavy boulder from his shoulder. But his physical condition was far from good.

​His whole body, from his face down to his legs, was covered in sweat and grime. He was breathing very raggedly, each breath coming out like that of a haggard dog.

​Still, a satisfied smile crossed his face. Because he knew he was improving.

​When the day came, he would not feel fear in the presence of a dragon anymore.

Like this, 6 months passed by.

Those 6 months were less a training regimen and more a systematic deconstruction of Krono’s limits.

By the end of it, the concept of "rest" felt like a distant, alien memory.

The first two months were dedicated to completely breaking down Krono’s physical foundation to rebuild it stronger.

Krono was forced to wear localized gravity seals or weighted gear that made lifting a single finger feel like moving boulders.

Then, endless repetitive drills pushed muscles past failure, tearing the fibers day after day. And healing was accelerated just enough to prevent permanent damage, only to repeat the cycle the very next morning.

​Once the body was broken in, the focus shifted to the internal energy system.

In the 3rd month Krono was forced to completely empty their energy reserves daily, scraping the absolute bottom of his Mana core.

The agonizing process of forced recovery expanded the "vessel," but the sensory backlash was akin to swallowing glass.

​His mana pathways were forcibly widened through high-pressure circulation exercises. It felt like hot wires being dragged through Krono’s veins.

​And to heighten internal awareness, Krono spent days meditating blindfolded and deafened, forced to sense the energy of the world without relying on physical sight or sound.

With an upgraded body and expanded core, the 4th and 5th month were spent on endless combat application.

​He fought against almost everyone: Garrick, Wendy, Sirius, Solana, and Aurora.

​He was obviously far, far weaker than them, but fighting them for real gave him profound insights.

​Almost every one of them praised his resilience and mind-breaking talent.

​He didn’t get many chances to devour things, but still, the improvement was enough to make up for the gaps.

​After all, just growing strong in an unrefined way is not the path to true power. Everything needs to be refined.

​

When the final month ended, Krono emerged completely tranformed.

The exhausted, desperate movements from thirty days ago were gone.

In their place was a leaner, scarred, and unnervingly quiet combatant whose every twitch was calculated, possessing eyes that looked like they had stared into the abyss and learned its flow.

​Just then, Sirius appeared in front of him, delivering a hearty slap to his shoulder.

​"Well, champ, you’ve finally done it! You are now a certified Bronze Rank Hunter."

​Along with the congratulatory slap, Sirius handed Krono a polished wooden card. It was an official Hunter License from the Dragon Hunter Association.

​A sudden gust of wind signaled Wendy’s arrival. "That’s a Hunter License. It grants you special privileges and honors. More importantly, it’ll keep some of the more annoying flies away from you when you’re heading out to battle a dragon."

​She didn’t clarify who those ’annoying flies’ were, and Krono didn’t feel the need to ask. Instead, he flipped the wooden card over in his hand.

"Who applied for this? Doesn’t anyone need to verify my capabilities first?"

"Haha..." Sirius burst into a booming laugh.

​"Verify? Kid, when five of the strongest hunters in the kingdom walk into the Association branch and say, ’Give this boy a license,’ the desk clerks don’t exactly hand out a written exam. They just nervously ask how to spell your name."

​Aurora added, "It’s called a Vanguard Recommendation, Krono. High-ranking hunters like us have the authority to completely bypass the standard testing phases for a chosen candidate."

​She pointed a slender finger at the wooden card in his hand.

"But remember, that privilege comes with a catch. By skipping the exams, our names are now permanently tied to your official record. If you embarrass yourself out there, it reflects poorly on us. Though... after watching you survive Garrick’s physical conditioning, I highly doubt a mere Bronze-rank monster will give you much trouble."

Krono nodded respectfully,

"I understand, and I won’t be disappointing any of you."