Parallel (A Virtual Gamer's Story) [Vol.1 - Vol.4 Complete]

Chapter 144: HELL

Three Months Later,

Ha... Ha... Ha...

Rhythmic panting punctuated the otherwise quiet morning as forty-odd figures ran in sync around a track. The figures moved like a well-oiled machine, measured breathing, and feet like cogs in a machine. Upon closer inspection, these figures were a group of children no more than twelve years old.

Compared to three months back, these children, whose bodies were initially terribly weak and dilapidated, now sported robust muscles and glistening skin, clearly showing their rapid improvements over the past month. Having followed strict dietary guidelines and exercise regiments, these children now looked nothing like their past selves. In fact, a lot of them could probably go toe-to-toe with teenagers much older than them.

Off to the side, Akari stood beside an older man wearing a sports shirt and slacks. The old man's gaze alternated between the stopwatch in his hand and the children on the track, continually memorizing each individual's time. A satisfied smile crossed the old man's face as the children crossed the line for the nineteenth time that day.

This was a standard 400-meter track, meaning the children had already run 7600 meters, or just below 5 miles that morning. Considering most of them could not even manage half a mile when they first arrived, it was quite the achievement, and one he was incredibly proud of.

"Haven't seen you smile like this in years, Coach Kazuki," Akari laughed as he studied the older man's bright grey eyes. Although Coach Kazuki was quite advanced in age, evidenced by his gray hair and wrinkled face, he still sported the vitality of a man decades younger.

To date, Akari couldn't beat the older man in an endurance race, much to his shame. However, he preferred to see Coach Kazuki as a monster. That made much more sense.

Coach Kazuki lightly chuckled as he watched the kids. "Been a while since I saw kids take so quickly to my training." Casting Akari a contemptuous gaze, he added, "How long did it take you to reach their level?"

"Come on, Coach," Akari lightly protested, scratching the back of his head with embarrassment. "Physical fitness was never my strong suit."

Coach Kazuki glanced at the young man dressed as always in an impeccable form-fitting suit, those iconic square-rimmed glasses sitting below neatly brushed dark hair. The young Akari did indeed give off an air of an intellectual. Most evident in those dark eyes that seemed to weigh everything around him on an invisible scale. "Hmph, smarts may be important, but your physical strength is still essential. Why don't you take a page out of that blond lad's book?"

Akari's face darkened. His lips twitched, brows furrowed as he was about to retort. However, Coach Suzuki's shrill whistle forced his attention back to the track where the children had just completed their twentieth lap.

The twentieth lap was the dividing point. Up until then, the children had to keep a standard pace, but from here on, it would be a competition to see who would be the best to complete the final four laps.

A bunch of children had already begun to pull away from the rest of the pack. A tall boy, a full head taller than the rest of the children, led the group.

Coach Kazuki smiled as he studied the child. The boy, Kugo, was the oldest of the children at twelve years old, but that was in no way a detriment to why he could overtake the other children. More than most, the child had a drive and passion that Coach Kazuki had not seen in even many adults.

Kugo spent most of his time at the gym, his training time only seconded by one other person in the class.

Coach Kazuki sighed as he turned to the children floundering at the back, where an eye-catching couple steadily jogged on. A young man with silver hair watched the pack begin to pull ahead, but there wasn't even the slightest care reflected in his indifferent gaze. Next to him, a destructively beautiful girl with blonde hair soldiered on, clothes sticking to her body due to excessive sweating.