"Skyshard. Yang. You'll both be wearing the 300-kilogram vests today—along with an additional 10 kilograms on each wrist and ankle," Marvin instructed, his tone firm as he gestured toward the weighted gear.
Su Yang stepped forward without hesitation, lifting the 300-kilogram vest with a practiced motion. But to Marvin's surprise, Leo did not follow suit.
Instead, Leo reached for the 325-kilogram vest, his expression unreadable—like a man on a mission.
"I said 300, Skyshard. Not 325—" Marvin repeated, but Leo paid him no heed, slipping the heavier vest over his shoulders without so much as a glance back.
Something about Su Yang already brushing up against his physical limits while he hadn't yet even approached his own… didn't sit right with Leo.
'If I can't out train him, I'll never catch-up to him' Leo thought, as he realized that if he wanted to make up the gap between them, he'd have to push himself harder—starting now.
"Are you sure about this, Skyshard? You were struggling hard with the 290 yesterday—" Su Yang reminded, raising an eyebrow, as Leo answered with a silent, impassive nod.
"Can't let you leave me in the dust," he said simply, as Su Yang grinned, understanding immediately.
This was Leo's way of declaring that the chase was on—and Su Yang welcomed it.
"Very well then… try not to fall behind my pace today," he replied, as Marvin clapped his hands and ordered the rest of the class to begin the day's drills.
—--------
From a distance, the second-year seniors stealthily observed the juniors' training session, intent on gathering crucial intel about their future opponents.
As with Circuit selection day only seven weeks away, every detail mattered.
They tracked every sign of potential, every moment of hesitation, every flash of strength from the juniors who looked like they might threaten their current spots on the team.
Unlike the first-years, who still believed raw power and flashy technique were enough, the seniors knew better.
One-on-one combat wasn't just a contest of strength—it was a chess match, and information in such matches was the king.
To know your opponent was to know yourself. And if you knew where they excelled—and more importantly, where they faltered—you could shape a perfect strategy for victory.
That very approach had been the key to Khyaal and Minerva's wins over Leo and Su Yang.
It wasn't brute strength that carried them—it was preparation, as without that groundwork, those matches could've easily tipped the other way. In fact, if they'd fought purely on instinct, Khyaal might have lost outright.
"Wait… he's putting on the 325-kilo vest?" one of the seniors muttered, squinting. "That's what Khyaal wears now."
A stunned silence followed, broken only by the thunder of footsteps hitting the track.
"Look at the way Skyshard and Su Yang are running," another said, narrowing his eyes. "That speed… they're practically flying across the field, and they're not even breathing hard. Are they really still first-years?"
"They're not supposed to be this physically gifted. Those two… they might be once-in-a-generation," Minerva murmured, her voice low, the words half-whispered more to herself than anyone else.
A strange sense of relief washed over her. She was glad she had pushed herself into the Grandmaster realm recently. Because if she hadn't, she would be genuinely worried about facing those two again.
"So… which one of us loses our seat?" Caleb asked, his tone dry but edged with tension. "Do you think we're still safe against them?"
Silence answered him.
There were ten spots in every Circuit team, but only five were selected for each matchup by the Captain.
Typically, three of those five were the unshakable core—mainstays who fought nearly every match—while the remaining two spots rotated depending on specialties and opponent matchups.
It was a system that allowed versatility, but also constant pressure. Every member got to fight at least once during a Circuit season, but only the best kept their place in the core.
And while Yu Shen and Minerva were secure at the top—undeniably the strongest—the rest of the team? They were vulnerable. Leo and Su Yang were rising fast, and someone was going to be replaced.
"We'll need to get creative if we want to keep up with those two. But I sure as hell won't give up my spot without a fight," Marcus said, fists clenched.
As a chorus of agreement followed.
"Me too."
"Same here."
"Let's take turns watching them. By the time selection day arrives, we'll know everything—from their breathing patterns to their footwork."
The group nodded in agreement, already crafting a surveillance schedule amongst each other, as if they couldn't match the monsters rising in the junior ranks with raw power, then they decided to match them with obsession.
—-----------
(Meanwhile, Yu Shen)
Training alone in the second year Physical Training Grounds, just adjacent to the first-years', Yu Shen shook his head in quiet disdain, his muscles straining under the weight of his relentless regimen.
'Cowards… every last one of them who went to scout the juniors today, are Cowards.'
His jaw clenched as the thought echoed in his mind.
'Before you can become the Circuit Champion, you must develop a champion's mindset. And not a single one of them has it.'
He exhaled sharply, disappointment darkening his gaze.
'If you can't win your circuit matches without relying on scouting reports and cheap tricks, then you don't belong on the team. Strategy has its place, I agree, but if that's all you've got, then you'll never be a champion. You might pull off the occasional upset, but true champions dominate. They don't scrape by.'
Fury began to fuel each repetition, his pace intensifying.
'Instead of training beside me… instead of trying to become the best version of yourself… you waste your mornings spying on rookies—because you're that scared of them. Pathetic.'
Yu Shen's fists tightened, veins bulging across his forearms. He had pushed his team hard these past months, dragging them to a respectable level through sheer will.
But what he couldn't change—no matter how hard he tried—was who they were at their core.
'You can hand a beggar a fortune… but unless he's got the stomach to digest that wealth, he'll always act like he's poor.'
And that was the problem with some of his teammates. They wore the Rodova Circuits uniforms, but carried the mindset of lowlifes—obsessed with tactics and results, with no hunger for real strength or personal growth.
Such warriors, in Yu Shen's eyes, were beyond saving.
He could motivate them. He could carry them. But he could never change what they believed.
'Minerva, you ask me why I made Khyaal vice captain over you—even though you're a Grandmaster and he's not?'
His gaze turned steely as he recalled the decision.
'This is why.'
'You may be stronger, but your mindset is shallow. You chase perfection in outcomes, not in effort. You're not the kind of leader others should follow—and that's why you're not the vice captain.'
As Yu Shen pushed through another brutal set, sweat pouring and muscles burning, he no longer questioned his choice.
In Khyaal, he saw hunger. In Minerva, he saw calculation. And when the time came to fight the real battles—the kind that couldn't be won with intel and clever timing—he knew who would still be standing beside him.