Takashi was now eight years old.
His time at the local academy had officially ended, and with it, the last remaining comforts of his childhood vanished. The Legendary Master had escalated his training to an absolutely brutal, barbaric level.
BOOM!
A massive, crushing boulder was placed roughly onto Takashi's back.
Gritting his teeth, the eight-year-old pushed against the earth, performing thousands of push-ups and sit-ups under the suffocating weight. Sweat poured from his face like rain. Because of this hellish, non-stop physical conditioning, Takashi looked far older and vastly larger than any normal child his age. His chest had broadened, and deep, rock-hard muscle patterns were clearly defined across his stomach.
Until now, the Master had only taught him the foundational basics. But it was finally time for something greater. It was time for the very technique Takashi once believed was impossible.
"Takashi," the Master announced with a serious tone. "Starting today, I will teach you the Black Box Prison and the advanced sealing techniques connected to it."
Takashi's blue eyes lit up with intense excitement. His body was already forged into steel, and his control over his raw power was nearly flawless. He was ready.
The Master extended his hand.
SHOOO!
A dense, terrifying dark energy gathered in the air, instantly forming a perfect, pitch-black cube resting smoothly on his palm.
"Takashi, what do you think this is?" the Master asked, a faint smile on his lips.
Takashi stared at it intensely. He analyzed it with complete seriousness before answering, "It is a black box. It has always looked like a black box to me."
The Legendary Master burst into a booming, hearty laugh. Takashi had grown incredibly smart and powerful, but his pure, childlike innocence still caught the old man off guard.
"My boy," the Master smiled warmly. "It is not merely a black box. This is forged from pure Carbon. By using our Shiritsu, we concentrate the carbon particles present in the atmosphere, molding them into a solid, impenetrable shape. You can use this in combat. When you hunt monsters, you can seal a beast the size of a mountain inside this tiny box, allowing you to carry it effortlessly and sell it in the market without drawing unwanted attention."
Takashi eagerly sat down to try. He didn't know much about the science of carbon; he had only just finished basic schooling. He simply focused his energy and thrust his hands forward.
WHOOSH!
He pushed with all his might, but only a chaotic gust of wind gathered around his fingers. The air swirled, then scattered. He tried again and again until night fell, but nothing formed.
"Do not rush," the Master comforted him. "Mastering this takes a great deal of time."
The very next morning, the Master's routine suddenly changed.
He began disappearing from the cabin at the break of dawn, only returning late in the afternoon. Where he went, Takashi didn't know.
Left alone, Takashi was forced to follow his brutal conditioning strictly. Thousands of push-ups, thousands of sit-ups, and running for miles carrying impossible weights. This was his unbreakable law.
The Master had acquired incredibly dense, heavy clothing and armor for the boy. Lifting them would break an ordinary man's spine, but Takashi wore them effortlessly. Every plate, glass, and utensil in the cabin weighed over forty kilograms. Takashi's body had completely adapted to the immense gravity of his life.
His weapon mastery was also reaching terrifying new heights.
SWOOSH! CLANG!
During his afternoon sparring sessions with the Master, the tiny dagger would shift at a single thought. One second it was a long, sweeping chain, the next it was a razor-sharp katana, and a heartbeat later, a devastating, heavy broadsword. Takashi fought like a demon every single day, trying to overwhelm and defeat his Grandpa. But taking down 600 years of battle experience was still impossible.
A few days later, the Master granted Takashi a new level of freedom.
He was finally allowed to register at the local Supreme Council Branch as a Shin-Warrior to take on official missions. However, the Master gave him one absolute rule: Never register higher than C-Rank.
Takashi pushed open the heavy wooden doors of the branch.
Instantly, he froze.
The hall was packed with rugged, dangerous-looking Shin-Warriors. Their eyes were wild. Many bore horrifying scars from monster claws across their faces and arms. For a brief second, a flicker of fear hit the eight-year-old boy.
Takashi had a strange duality to his personality. When he was alone with his Grandpa, he was mischievous, loud, and full of life. But the moment he stepped into the outside world, the bitter trauma of his past locked his heart away. He became entirely reserved, cold, and utterly distrustful of strangers.
He hesitantly walked up to the reception desk.
"I... m-must... r-register," Takashi stuttered softly.
The beautiful receptionist looked down, ready to dismiss a lost child. But the moment her eyes landed on Takashi, she stopped breathing. His brilliant white hair, his crystalline blue eyes, and the glowing, ethereal white pattern on his face made him look like a living masterpiece. She was instantly mesmerized by his otherworldly charm.
"O-Of course, sir! You can register right now!" she said, her cheeks flushing slightly.
A few veteran warriors in the hall murmured in surprise at seeing an eight-year-old child registering, but one look at Takashi's densely packed, rock-hard muscles shut them up. This boy was clearly not normal.
"Please place your hand on the machine to evaluate your power level," the receptionist instructed.
Remembering his Grandpa's strict warning, Takashi violently clamped down on his monstrous X-Rank aura, suppressing it completely.
BEEP!
The screen flashed: C-Rank.
The registration was complete. The receptionist handed him a sleek, metallic card.
"What is this?" Takashi asked, tilting his head.
"It is your official Shin-Warrior identification," she smiled. "It displays your rank, mission details, and your total completed missions. It is a mix of old-world technology and our modern energy."
Takashi read the card easily. His picture was on it, next to a big 'C'. His completed missions currently stood at zero.
He walked over to the massive Mission Board. As a low-ranking warrior, he could pick basic tasks, though the branch could assign special requests if needed. Since he knew very little about the outside world, he scanned the board for something simple.
Suddenly, a group of tall warriors approached him.
"It's dangerous to do missions alone, kid," one of them smiled warmly. "You should join a squad."
Takashi's heart spiked with anxiety. He took a step back. Trusting others meant opening himself up to betrayal, and he refused to feel that agonizing pain ever again.
Seeing his panic, the warriors raised their hands peacefully. "Hey, don't be scared. Everyone here helps each other out. We're here if you need us."
Their soft words calmed him slightly, but his walls remained up. Finding nothing on the board that he felt comfortable doing alone, he turned around and left the branch without taking a single mission.
Despite returning empty-handed, a small, proud smile tugged at Takashi's lips as he walked home. For the first time in his life, he had stepped into the world and accomplished something entirely on his own.
When the Master returned, Takashi eagerly held up his shiny new Warrior Card.
The Legendary Master's eyes softened. He reached out and gently ruffled the boy's white hair.
"You did very well today, Takashi," the Master praised. "Remember my rules: never reveal your true self, do not trust easily, and never take dangerous missions outside the village without my permission. For now, just take small requests. Help the villagers with your power."
The Master watched the boy closely. His true goal wasn't just to forge a god-tier fighter. If he kept Takashi locked in a room, training day and night, the boy would eventually turn into a hollow, bloodthirsty killing machine.
The Master wanted Takashi to socialize. He wanted the boy to make friends, to help the weak, and most importantly, to learn how to trust humanity again.
Six hundred years ago, after fighting his closest friend, the Legendary Master had completely lost his faith in humanity. He had lived in the shadows, bitter and alone. It was only because of Hayato Shizukami that the Master learned to trust again.
Now, it was the Master's turn to pull Hayato's son out of the darkness. He would make sure this boy became the true Saviour of the world a leader who fought with a heart full of love, not a soul full of revenge.