The week had gone by without a hitch. No insults, no attempts at intimidation. Rumors about Damian and his group were spreading quickly through the school hallways. The older bullies were starting to keep an eye on them, but they were still waiting to see how far they would go.
When Saturday arrived, while most of the students were still sleeping or playing video games, Damian was already up at 5:30 in the morning. He put on his sweatpants and a simple t-shirt and left the house towards the forest at the foot of the mountain, where he and Jisoo had agreed to gather everyone.
When he got there, Jisoo was already waiting for him, leaning against a tree, playing with her cell phone.
"I thought you were going to stand me up, kid," Jisoo joked.
"Never. Today things are going to be different."
At 6am sharp, Jinho, Hyunwoo and Minho arrived. They looked sleepy, their hair messy and their workout clothes a little disheveled. Minho was the first to complain:
"Dude… who wakes up early on a Saturday for this? We should be sleeping."
Damian took a step forward, with a serious expression.
"And that's why you guys are still weak. While everyone else is in bed dreaming, we're here turning into monsters. If you don't want to be left behind, hold on."
Jisoo put down her cell phone and opened the trunk of the car she had borrowed from her uncle. Inside were five giant backpacks, full of improvised weights: rocks, water bottles and bricks.
She threw one to each of them.
"Go put these on your backs," she ordered.
"You're kidding, right?" Hyunwoo complained.
"Put them on already. Today's training is for real." — Damian reinforced.
Without much choice, the three obeyed, each one grimacing as they felt the absurd weight.
—That's not even normal for a 9th grader to do on the weekend… — Minho muttered, adjusting himself.
—And who said we're normal? — Damian replied, smiling.
They began the climb up the dirt road of the mountain. The backpack pulled on their backs, their legs trembled, sweat dripped, and the sun began to rise. With each step, Damian felt his body working, his muscles being used to the maximum.
They reached the top after 40 minutes. Everyone was exhausted, except Damian and Jisoo, who seemed to be warming up.
Hyunwoo threw himself on the ground, panting.
—Bro... I'm going to die.
Jisoo slapped him on the head.
—Get up, kid. There's more.
They ate boiled eggs, shredded chicken and took a protein supplement that Damian had brought. Then, the training continued: strength, speed, reflexes and expansion of senses. Damian noticed that his body adapted to everything quickly. Each push-up, each run, each plank exercise was absorbed as if his organism was made for it.
— Wow… my body is getting more and more perfect. It's like I was made for this. — he thought, while doing a plank on one hand. Jisoo noticed and came closer. — You're turning into a monster, you know? Your body is bizarre. Few people adapt like that. Damian just smiled. — I'm still not satisfied. I want more. The training ended late in the morning, with everyone lying on the grass, destroyed, but with a sense of victory. No one was the same weak boy from weeks ago. Damian looked up at the sky. — This here… is just the beginning