Book One: The Rise of the Blue-Haired Devil.

      I, like everyone else, was woken up early in the morning. It was about six o'clock. We were led into the arena, and then they began to conduct a warm-up, designed to warm up all the muscles in the body. Even then I realised that the drill was going to be very hot. When the light exercises were done with, we were given a circuit training. About fifteen people were watching it. First we got to run fifteen laps around the arena. Each one was about four hundred metres. In the end, everyone had to run six kilometres. If you made it in twenty-five minutes, you could rest the rest of the time. That is, if you ran the whole distance in twenty-three minutes, you got two minutes of rest.       Many children ran at top speed at the start, hoping to run the distance as fast as possible. I realised this was really stupid. According to my rough estimates, we had to run about five kilometres. At such a distance it is important to keep a constant rhythmic pace, so as not to lose your breath. Otherwise you can quickly run out of breath. Taking my average pace, I ran at the end of all the prisoners. Already on the seventh lap I overtook the boy who was running first. Just as I thought, all the kids who had been running at top speed from the start were already exhausted. Some of them were even walking, trying to regain their breath. These kids were being pushed by the adults who began to apply whiplashes of whips to their skin. I was very glad to see that the past owner of this body had trained thoroughly since he was a little boy. I didn't have even a hint of panting throughout the entire distance. I would even say I didn't need to rest, although that's a mouthful. I studied all the kids during the run and was able to draw a simple conclusion from all the information I received: everyone was between ten and twelve years old. I was the youngest among them. About a quarter of the kids were able to meet the specified time.       - Stop, everybody. Time's up! - shouted one of the ninjas following us. - All of you! - he said, pointing at those who didn't make it to the end of the course. - Go to the right side of the arena. You will have a separate training session, and as soon as it is over, you will have to complete this exercise. - The man added in an orderly tone. The teenagers were quick to follow the command, though it was obvious that they could only stand on their feet. I tried to hear the exercises being given to the other group as well, however they were too far away from us. It was just an interest, so nothing critical that I didn't get that information.       - Take a lying down position! - shouted out the second ninja, standing next to the first, after the two of them approached us. Until then, the other instructors had lined us up in five rows so that we wouldn't get in each other's way.       I quickly adopted the required body position. Many of the children, I realised, did not know what was required of them by the adults, but they quickly orientated themselves by repeating after those kids who knew the correct posture to adopt. They were confused, and yes their uncontrollable panting was still present, and in their eyes I could see a panicked look running across everyone indiscriminately. The unexpected physical exertion coupled with the moral pressure the ninjas were putting on them was causing them to be terribly afraid. Not many of them. Here was a very brutal approach to them. A few strokes of the whip would make them regain consciousness.       - One hundred push-ups. Get to work. - he added when he saw that everyone had taken a lying down position.       Again, many children started doing the exercise for speed, which was not the right thing to do. I knew from the boy's memories that he had already learnt to do push-ups technically, and I had also seen Jace do them several times, as he tried to keep himself in good physical shape. Slowly and leisurely, I performed each bench press. By the fiftieth push-up, I realised that a normal kid couldn't handle such a load.       My arms around the triceps began to tingle with pain. This was not a good sign, but I did not stop, continuing to perform the exercise. On about the seventy-fifth time my arms began to shake convulsively, and I began to feel the pain spreading through my arm muscles much more tangibly than before. I was able to do fifteen more push-ups without any discomfort in my arms, but when I started the last dozen push-ups, it was as if they were filled with lead. I did each push-up with incredible diligence. Each time I did it, my limbs were getting worse and worse. It was as if I was squeezing an iron that was very hard to yield to my will. I felt the strain not only in my arms, but also in my legs, which began to feel the same sense of pain that was already in my arms. When I finished the exercise, I fell on my stomach, spreading my arms and legs apart. The pain in my muscles began to throb with less intensity, and my breathing gradually recovered. After about a minute, I looked around at my surroundings. The ninja who had been watching the exercises was in shock, which was evident from his twitching eye. Apparently, the workload they were giving the kids was going way beyond the standard limits. I smirked back at him. I really liked that these ninjas were underestimating me. I decided to look around at the rest of the prisoners, although I must admit that I was sure I was about to see broken children, however I was slightly surprised. All the other kids continued to stand on their hands in a lying down position, trying to finish the exercise. The teenagers were holding on by sheer force of will. Their arms resembled the loose trunks of a tree in a hurricane. They could not stop their muscles from trembling, and some of them were already lying on the ground, for their arms had simply given up under such inhuman strain. They groaned in pain, assuming the fetal position. One of the examiners was marking the results of those who had already surrendered.       - Get up! The exercise is over! - The head ninja shouted as the last child slumped to the ground, exhausted. By this time, I had managed to get some rest. My arms were still sore, but the cramp had completely disappeared. - Five hundred squats to perform! - He added when he saw that everyone had risen to their feet.       I swallowed nervously. I felt a little uneasy at those words. From the boy's memories I remembered very well that the child gave a load on his legs for a hundred squats at best, and then there was an unprecedented pain in his legs. They became wooden. But I did not despair, starting to perform a new step in the infernal training. As they say there: eyes fear, but hands do... I reached a hundred squats at a relaxed pace, after which the first complications began. I felt very unpleasant sensations in my legs. It was as if I had become an invalid who had an iron bar implanted parallel to my bones, hard to deform. Every new time I went down or up, my legs made a creaking sound, as if someone was opening or closing some huge old door that hadn't been greased in a long time. I managed another hundred and was about to even continue, ignoring the pain in my legs, but the instructor's voice stopped me.       - That's enough. Let's move on to a new task. Break into pairs, and then sit on the ground with your legs interlocked with your partner's. - said the ninja, addressing everyone. The rest of the kids had been lying on the ground for a while now, breathing heavily as they did so. I wanted to go over to someone to start the exercise, but the kids quickly split into pairs, and I was unlucky, because the number of prisoners in our group was odd.       I would have been offended if I hadn't been used to being alone in my previous life. I had already assumed a sitting position, resigned to the fact that I would once again have to overcome difficulties alone, but a girl of about ten years old came to me, tying our legs in the likeness of a cross. I raised an eyebrow in surprise, not realising where she had come from.       The girl was very pretty: bright yellow hair, sticking out like a hedgehog on her head; green eyes that emphasised the pleasant features of her face; a small flat nose and slightly chubby cheeks. The girl was dressed in a green top and the same colour shorts. These clothes matched well with the colouring of her eyes. Her skin had a slightly pale tone, and her body was skinny. I didn't even notice that I was staring at my partner. That stare made the girl blush, averting it to the side.       - "How cute she is..." - I thought, but the ninja's voice brought me out of my reverie.       - Okay, your task is to perform two hundred times the abs exercise. We're watching you. - said the ninja writing down the results on a sheet of paper. - One hundred for you. - He turned to my partner when he spotted her. I started the exercise and immediately noted that this blonde girl was very slow and unsure of each approach. When I got to sixty, she was only at twenty and shaking all over. Her abdominal muscles were clearly not up to it.       I decided to help her, but I had to break the technique of the exercise and started to lower myself very sharply when she tried to go up. Due to my inertia transmitted to her through our bound legs, she was able to perform the exercise calmly. The girl understood my idea quite quickly, starting to do the task in time with me. When she finished, I had sixty more times to go. I was already shaking violently from the pain in my stomach. It felt like being turned inside out. I finished the exercise, because it took a lot more energy to do it. I did 80 off-key moves, trying to help my partner. When did I become altruistic?       - Well done! The morning workout is over. Breakfast is waiting for you in your cells. The Baron has also left you chakra books so you can learn everything faster. I don't advise you to rest in your free time, because in three days we'll have a written exam on the books, and in three more days we'll have a practical exam. Those who fail even one test will be severely punished. It's nine o'clock in the morning. At eleven o'clock sharp, there will be a lesson on economics and politics. Then lunch at one o'clock, followed by a two-hour rest period. From three to six, there's a second training session. It's not designed for your physical development. In the evening practice, we'll deal with edged weapons. Dinner at seven and lights out at nine. The guards will now escort you to your cells. - made an announcement from the head ninja.       The girl and I were taken to our cells first, without even being allowed to talk to each other. When I got to my room, if this place could be called that, I noticed a tray of food on my bed. There was semolina and two sausages on it, tea and some kind of muffin, but that wasn't what interested me right now. Next to the bed was a stack of books. Just four thick books that I would read even if I didn't need to. I picked up the topmost one with one hand and grasped the spoon with the other. I fixed my gaze on the book and began to immerse myself in the reading, remembering to devour my food.