It all happened in a split second, way faster than Arthur could even react to it. He was unaware of what was about to happen, and his entire body was very much relaxed. Then, out of nowhere, he suddenly found himself lying on the ground.
"Hu…h?" His eyes widened as he blinked. He was standing a few seconds ago, and now he was suddenly on the ground. He looked at his body before he instinctively tried to move his hand. Except… It didn’t move at all.
His hand and the rest of his body were stuck to the ground as if soone had just glued him to it. He tried again, and that was when he felt the horrifying pressure being applied to his body.
Slowly but surely, his body started sinking into the dirt as the gravity weighing on him increased rapidly from normal levels to crushing forces.
"What… the hell?!" Arthur panicked as he used even more power than before, almost double what he used. Luckily, his arm finally responded, but with great difficulty. But it didn’t take long for it to fall again.
"These are the ’Gravity Discs’. Putting them on the joints and your center of gravity, they would apply more pressure on the body and mimic what a stronger gravity environnt would be like.
"Gravity…? Ugh…" Arthur groaned. "You could’ve… warned …"
"You need that elent of surprise, Arthur. This is your very first step. These discs will slowly get stronger and stronger, and their weight will beco a very difficult thing to deal with. Your task now is to move your body with these weights hindering you."
"..."
’Move my body… w-with this? They weigh ten tis my own weight at least!’ He clenched his teeth. Arthur could move his body if he exerted imnse force, but that alone was exhausting enough. He wasn’t familiar with his body being that heavy and restricted.
"You will have to get familiar with it, because you’re going to have these on for the next several days," Yonathan said with a calm tone. "To unlock Exo-Burst, your body must experience an imnse pressure for a long period of ti, and then with talent and work, it will unlock the technique slowly."
"... Got… it…" Arthur squinted as he attempted to lift his arms again; this ti, he was using a lot of power, and he was able to lift them up. ’This reminds of of… ugh… when I tried to go to the gym for the first ti ever! It’s like I’m carrying weights around!’
Slowly, his arms moved, then his legs, then his hips and torso. Each move required imnse effort from him, sothing he never thought he would have to experience. These movents were as easy as breathing for him before, and now he had to take them into consideration. Not to ntion that uncomfortable feeling of being crushed by an invisible force.
Still, with sheer will, Arthur finally stood up again and looked at Yonathan. His legs were barely holding him still as they sunk into the mud beneath him.
"Good. You did well."
"This is… brutal… How am I supposed to keep this for days?" Arthur asked.
"You will learn it. Or are you starting to reconsider now?"
"Hell no! I will still do it! I’m just asking." Arthur shook his head slowly since even his neck felt very heavy.
"I expected so. Now, just standing there won’t really give the result we want. It’s not enough."
" struggling to even stay standing isn’t enough? Hahaha, I’m glad to hear that." Arthur laughed with a pained look.
"You will start with a rather normal exercise so you can understand the idea of having to put an effort into every move your body does. See that trail over there?"
"Hmm?" Arthur looked to the side, and there, a good distance away from him, he saw what seed to be the markings of feet on the ground moving in one single path.
"I want you to follow that path and run around this area."
"Run?"
"Yes, we won’t start with complicated things. So, for now, all you have to do is to run."
"Well, I think I can do that."
"Good. Once you finish 100 laps around the area, co back to ."
"Hmm, got it. I will try to finish it as fast as pos-" Arthur replied with pure instinct before he froze in his place and looked at Yonathan. "E-Excuse ? Can you repeat what you just said?"
"100 laps. That’s your goal."
"..."
"..."
Arthur blinked a few tis before he exhaled a small breath and looked down. "100 laps… You know, Yonathan. You’re a very funny guy."
"Hmm?"
"Listen, as you can see right now, I am barely able to stay standing let alone move. You asked to run, and I expected at most two laps. 100? How would that be pos-"
"Possible? Is that what’s truly concerning you now, child? You showed all that determination, and then at the first hurdle, you’re complaining? Are you soone who can only say words and never do actions?"
"..."
"If you can’t even do sothing as simple this, then you shouldn’t even think about acquiring such a prestigious technique. My n spent all their lives trying to learn it, and with your talent, you could do that in days! Are you that much of a coward, Arthur?"
Yonathan’s tone was harsh and cold, filled with anger. He scolded Arthur relentlessly, and the boy had no way of replying to it. He felt like a small child being yelled at by their father.
"Tell , are you a coward?"
"... No."
"Then do it. If you want to beco the strongest, you would never care if sothing is possible or not. You will only care if doing it gets you one step closer to your goal or not."
The last few words hit Arthur hard, and his eyes widened visibly. He stared into Yonathan’s eyes, his head suddenly clearing up. For so reason, even without thinking about it, those words settled in his mind and started replaying again and again.
’I should… only care if doing it would get closer to my goal? He’s… right. Why am I even complaining when I asked for this?’ He clenched his teeth. ’I’m really stupid. I need to simply do my best! No reason to complain!’
"I understand, Yonathan. I will do it." The boy exhaled. "I don’t know if I can, but I will try and put all my effort into it."
"You better do, or I will not teach you the technique. Now, off you go."
The boy nodded his head before he turned around and, very slowly, started walking away. His muscles exerted imnse force just to keep him balanced and move him. His body was consuming imnse amount of energy to pull it off.
But, with clenched teeth and pure silence, Arthur focused on walking. His legs felt like they were going to explode from sheer pressure.
’One step at a ti, Arthur… One step at a ti. I don’t need to look at the path, I just need to focus on the next step.’ He mused, repeating those words in his head.
Unbeknownst to him, this was the beginning of a path that would show him true hell.
A//N: Thank you all for the gifts, golden tickets, and PS. Let’s keep it up!
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