April 8th.
The final day before Glory.I finished breakfast just as the sun stretched across the eastern courtyard. My third uncle was already waiting near the edge of the dining hall, stretching lightly near the door.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said, grabbing a towel.
"Let's start."We made our way to the training grounds behind the estate—a long open square of smooth stone tiles bordered by wooden posts and sand rings. No tech here. Just earth, breath, and discipline.
"To build a solid foundation for Rank 1, you start with this," he said, stepping into stance.
"We call it the Four Pillars. They teach structure, resistance, and root."He demonstrated the poses one by one.
"Horse Stance. For lower body stability."
"Crane Root. For balance."
"Iron Arc. For controlled tension."
"Falling Branch Form. For tendon flexibility and posture."
I followed silently, mimicking each position. Every pose demanded stillness and strain in equal measure. My thighs burned from the Horse Stance within minutes, and Iron Arc made my shoulders lock into angles I hadn't trained for in years.
"You hold them. You breathe through them. You don't rush it," Third Uncle said.
"Everyone wants to strike. Nobody wants to stretch. "I bit back a reply and focused. After twenty minutes of physical posing, he stepped back.
"Now try running your breathing cycle. The one from that scroll. "I nodded and settled into the Crane Root stance, pulling out the first sequence of the Skyshatter Eternity Manual. My breathing adjusted automatically—short inhales, long expansions, and a controlled spiral of inner tension winding up through my chest and out through my limbs.
The difference was immediate. My body didn't just breathe—it felt like it was compressing strength into my frame, bracing joints, guiding focus.By the time I finished one full cycle, sweat was dripping from my temples and pooling at my collar.I stood, shaking out my hands.
Third Uncle gave a small nod. "That'll do. You do this twice a day for a week, and you'll feel your blood start heating up."
"Thanks, Uncle."
He smirked. "Let's see if you're still thankful when we start full-body strain tests."
I left the training field to clean up and change. Around 1 PM, one of the villa maids informed me that Mei Rin had arrived and was waiting in the entrance hall.When I stepped in, she waved and handed me a scroll-like holotab.
"Training logs," she said.
"They've been running since ten. Nothing too heavy—just dome drills and movement lines."
"You didn't waste time," I said.
"Didn't plan to."She followed me back inside as I reviewed the chart.
"The girls all came today?"
"All ten,"
she confirmed. "They mostly came to pick up their helmets. I told them they'd be assigned today."
"You've been handling everything alone this morning?"
"Yeah. You were busy cultivating your ancient secrets," she teased.
I gave a faint smile and tapped the log closed. "Not a bad morning.
"We sat down for a quick lunch in the side hall. I gave her a brief rundown of my morning practice, and she filled me in on a few setup glitches at the studio.
As we cleared up, I stood. "Let's head over after this. I'll check the equipment and speak to the team."
She nodded. "I told them we might be back."
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The studio was already humming with quiet energy by the time we arrived. The twelve helmets Mei Rin had bought were stacked neatly along the right wall, each tagged with a name. The girls had finished their morning drills and were relaxing in the back room when we walked in.
"There he is!" one of them called.
"Finally showed up."
"You're lucky I didn't make you run a second round," Mei Rin muttered, though a smile tugged at her lips.
We gathered around the center lounge as I looked around. Everything was functional—nothing fancy, but solid enough for tomorrow.I turned toward the group.
"Alright," I said. "Here's how it'll go."They quieted.
"Tomorrow at launch, I'll log in solo. You can all group up if you want—team up with each other or run alone. Your call."
"You're not forming a squad yet?" one of them asked.
"Not until Day 5," I said. "Until then, just explore and adapt. Get used to the world. I'll be observing from the side."
I looked over at Mei Rin."If you spot anyone promising once you're inside, keep an eye on them. I'll be doing the same."She gave a firm nod. "Understood."
We spent another hour going over in-game syncing steps and assigning pre-registered accounts to their helmets. Mei Rin supervised the data transfers and local backups, and I helped recalibrate a couple of gauntlets that were running off-beat.
Then they started reviewing interface settings and syncing their helmets. Around 8 PM, I invited them all back to the villa for dinner.
They hesitated at first—most of them weren't used to formal estates—but the moment they saw the long table filled with warm dishes and the peaceful garden lights, the tension faded.
The dinner was lively. Aika joined us halfway through and asked every girl what class they were planning to choose.
After dessert, most of the girls stood to leave.
"We'll head back tonight," one of them said. "Still need to unpack."
"Okay, also don't forget to take your VR helmets from the stack" she said.
We returned to the studio by villa transport. They collected their helmets one by one and waved goodnight as they stepped into the evening air. Most were chattering about their launch plans already—who they'd group with, what city they'd spawn in, which class they'd test first.
Only Mei Rin stayed back a moment longer.
She looked at me near the entrance gate. "Tomorrow morning. What time?"
"Launch is at 9 AM sharp. Be online five minutes early just in case."She nodded.
"Got it. I'll message you when I'm in." She turned and headed toward the sidewalk, helmet under her arm. The studio door clicked shut behind her.
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I waited for a while, checking system diagnostics one last time. Everything was running clean. No sync errors. No alerts.
Satisfied, I locked down the studio and walked back toward the transport bay alone. By the time I returned to the estate, the stars were out and the villa was quiet. A few servants moved silently through the halls, preparing for the night.
I made my way up to my room, helmet still in hand.
Before turning in for the night, I sat by the window and opened a quiet note tab on my holo-watch to review everything once more, One by one, I ran through everything that needed to be locked in before tomorrow—class priority, preferred starting city, initial stat allocation.
Once everything was set for launch day, the fatigue finally hit me. Maybe it was the martial arts training earlier, or maybe the nonstop pace—but this time, I felt it all at once, so instead of doing anything else I just went to sleep.