The following day.

I groggily opened my eyes and saw the semi-unfamiliar room. It was the cabin-like room that gave a cozy feeling.

From outside, I could see a slightly gray sky with water puddles on the ground. There seemed to be at least a rainstorm yesterday.

''Everyone!'' A loud shout came from the first floor. It belonged to Garp, whose shout echoed throughout the building and nearby area.

''Backyard, in five seconds. The ones who are late will get punched!''

''Ahhh!'' Screams followed, and doors were banged open. Loud footsteps tapped the wooden floor as several individuals ran in the hallways.

''Hmm?'' I shrugged my shoulders and slightly tidied my messy hair. Then, I stood up and left the room with a carefree attitude.

The nearby rooms had their doors wide-open, and beds had their blankets turned around. There were piles of clothes on the floor, and it seemed like everyone left in a hurry and dropped whatever they were doing before.

I walked casually in the hallways and reached the first floor after stepping on the stairs. Then, I saw the garden packed with around 13 young men and women.

In front of them was Garp, whose back was facing me. A pair of glass doors allowed me to enter the garden, with wet grass and water droplets falling down from the roof.

''You are late.'' Garp turned around and looked at me with the scariest grin ever. My mind rang warning bells, and I began stepping back.

However, at that moment, Garp took a step forward, even though it looked like a simple step. He suddenly crossed the whole garden and appeared in front of me with his fist placed right above me.

Smack!

The fist was hammered down, and it smashed Liam's face down until he faceplanted on the ground with wide-area cracks appearing.

Crack!

Liam stopped moving for a second, but then, his fingers twitched, and he raised his muddy face with blood trailing down from the sides of his face.

''Ow…'' The Health Bar blinked before him, which showed that he lost scary 90 HP just from a single punch. It was obvious that Garp held back. Otherwise, he would have died thousand times over.

''Doctor!'' Garp shouted with a grin still painted on his face. Then, an elderly woman in doctor attire crouched next to Liam and stabbed his arm with a syringe.

It seemed to work as Liam saw his Health rising rapidly until he had 50 of his HP restored. Now, he wasn't in a half-dead state and could even stand up.

''W-What the hell was that for?!'' I screamed with obvious anger.

''You were late.'' Garp grabbed me from the edge of my shirt and threw me across the garden. I crashed to the ground, right in front of the young men and women.

Once I stood up, I patted off the dirt and joined the line with my whole body still shaken from the experience. This was a reality check. The old gray-haired bastard was crazy!

''Alright.'' Garp grabbed several heavy-looking bags from the storage and threw them toward the young men and women.

They grabbed the bags and strapped them on their backs.

There was also a bag in front of me, but it was obviously smaller than other bags and seemed to be lighter.

I took it into my arms, and my bones immediately rattled as the weight pushed me down. The bag was full of rocks, not any small rocks, but huge boulder-like rocks!

I clumsily strapped it on my back, and I almost fell. However, managed to stabilize by leaning forward.

''Alright, time for a morning jog!'' Garp clapped his hands, and the young men and women rushed out of the yard with a confident posture.

I got a late start and quickly ran after them. But, I staggered heavily from side to side, and it was a miracle that I could actually stay standing.

After I left the building, Garp ran after me, but only in two steps; he had already passed me and caught up with the young men and women.

I gritted my teeth and tried to run even faster. I ignored the burning in my thighs and the pain my shoulders were in. I ran and ran.

The bottom of my feet was screaming in agony, and the shoes felt tight suddenly. The bag's straps uncomfortably rubbed my body, which caused purplish marks to appear around my skin.

Garp and the rest were already several hundred meters in front of me. They seemed pretty relaxed while running.

Whenever the soldiers passed them, they bowed with great humility toward Garp. It was a world apart from how they treated me, acting like I didn't exist.

''Haahh… Haahh…'' Soon, they turned left, and it took me a minute longer to reach the turn. At that moment, I knew we hadn't even run half of the distance.

That thought made my body heavier. It felt like I could cry at any moment, but no tears came. At one point, I felt like logging out and saying fuck to this all.

Then, the thought of giving up made my steps slower. There was a moment when I completely stopped running. But then, it was like something ignited inside my mind.

My steps became faster, and soon, I was again running. Then, my mind became fuzzy, and I stopped remembering the moments of running.

At first, I was looking at the back of the young men and women, then I was running alone amidst the busy-looking citizens that walked past me.

Without even realizing it, I had already finished the run, and I was back at the cabin-like building. In the windows, I could see the exhausted-looking young men and women. Then, there was Garp, having his back turned.

I stepped inside the garden, staggered forward, and was about to fall down to the ground. But then, Garp grabbed my shoulder and forced me to stand.

I looked at him with my eyes unfocused. I could barely make sense of his face and only saw his lips moving.

''Go take another lap,'' Garp told me and pushed me out of the garden. After those words registered inside my mind, I felt genuinely depressed.

However, my feet began moving unknowingly, and I was again running.