So we headed into the forest to begin the marathon.
"The route is pretty simple," explained Kayne. "You'll follow the usual path to school, then go along the street to the park near the building. After that, you'll do three laps around the block surrounding the park and come back the same way. And all of that without stopping, of course!"
"Do we have to finish within a certain time?" I asked.
"Nope, but the last one back doesn't get to eat!" he added with a mischievous smile.
Alright, I think it's time to test this body's full potential. If the Spirit wasn't lying, I'm not supposed to get tired unless he does. I just hope he's not working out right now, I thought.
"Alright, I'll do the countdown now. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... Go!" he shouted.
We all started running—except for Katia, who floated. At first, we were all going at the same pace.
"Hey, don't you think Kayne's pushing it a bit with all this running on the first day?" asked Juan.
"A little, yeah, but I guess he wants to prep us early so we'll be ready for missions," Komi replied.
"In my opinion, he's just trying to toughen us up through suffering," I added.
"I don't care. Since I'm floating, I don't get tired as long as I keep a steady speed," Katia said casually.
We'd been running non-stop for ten minutes.
I think the Spirit was right. With my old body, I'd be doubled over on the ground by now, drenched in sweat—but now, I'm not even slightly out of breath.
After a while, Komi and Juan started slowing down. Katia and I had kept the same steady pace.
"Hey Marvens, do you think this'll be over after the marathon? I'm getting bored!" Katia said, sounding drained.
"Hm, I don't think so. I bet he'll want to test our strength and muscular endurance next, but without using our psychic abilities."
"Ugh, I'm already tired! I want to go eat, I'm hungry. By the way, when did you get so much stamina? I remember you collapsing after two minutes!" she laughed.
"Hey! Don't start mocking me!" I said with a small smile. "I think when I changed appearance, my physical abilities changed too."
"Yeah, probably. That would explain why I've got so much endurance in this form too."
We kept chatting as we ran, without stopping, until we got back.
"We're almost there, only a hundred meters left!" I said to Katia to encourage her.
"Finally! I couldn't take it anymore. It wasn't exhausting, just so boring!" she replied.
"You're already back?" asked Kayne, surprised.
"Yep! We didn't stop once!" I said proudly.
"And where are Komi and Juan?" he asked.
"I think they'll be about ten minutes," Katia replied.
Kayne stepped forward to examine us.
"You don't look out of breath... And you, Marvens, you're not even sweating. Did you really follow the route I gave you?" he asked, skeptical.
"Of course! You can ask them when they get here," I replied.
"Alright, for now I'll give you the benefit of the doubt," Kayne said.
"By the way, I was wondering... Are you going to measure our strength and muscle endurance now?" I asked him.
"You're a smart one! That's exactly what we're going to do," he answered.
About ten minutes later, Komi showed up, followed by Juan a few minutes after that.
"Finally! I thought I was gonna die!" said Juan, collapsing on the ground.
"Well, last one back doesn't get dinner!" Kayne announced with a big grin.
Juan shot him a death glare. I could tell he wanted to punch him—but knew he couldn't.
"Alright, now we move on to the strength trial."
"What? It's still not over?!" Juan groaned, defeated.
"Of course not! But don't worry, you little wimp, this is the last challenge for today," Kayne said, locking eyes with him.
I could feel the constant tension between those two, but I figured it was better to let them settle it themselves.
We headed to the courtyard. When we got there, we saw a 25-pound dumbbell, a 100-pound one, a car engine, a medium-sized stone statue, a Fiat 500, an SUV, and a small black cube.
They seemed lined up from lightest to heaviest.
"Alright. You're going to try to lift each object until you reach the one you can't pick up anymore. For your info, they range from 25 to 10,000 pounds," Kayne explained.
"That's insane! No human can lift that!" Komi exclaimed.
"Not true—I can!" he said confidently.
He picked up the tiny cube—the last object in the line.
"Yeah right... You expect us to believe that's heavy?" Juan scoffed.
Kayne dropped the cube—and it created a massive crater in the ground where it landed.
We were all speechless.
"Well, still think that little cube's light, Juan?" Kayne asked with a mischievous smile.
The two of them stared each other down like they were about to fight.
"Alright, let's get started. The order will be: Komi, Juan, Katia, then Marvens. Go on!" Kayne ordered.
Komi started with the 25-pound dumbbell and lifted it easily with one hand. She then picked up the 100-pound one with both hands. But when she tried to lift the car engine, she couldn't budge it.
"How heavy is this engine?!" she groaned, trying with all her strength.
"About 200 pounds, I'd say," Kayne replied.
"Next up is you, Juan," he added.
Juan lifted the 25-pound dumbbell, then the 100-pound one. He managed to lift the engine with both hands. But when he got to the statue, he couldn't even move it.
"Man, this thing is heavy! How much does it weigh?" he asked.
"About 600 pounds, I think," Kayne answered.
"Pff... Give me two months—I'll lift it for sure," Juan said.
"Well, I guess it's my turn. Since I can't physically interact with these things, I'll just float them," said Katia.
"Alright, do whatever works for you," Kayne agreed.
Katia made her way through the items, but when she got to the Fiat 500, she struggled.
"Jeez! How much does a car weigh?" she asked, clearly worn out.
"About 2,000 pounds, I'd say. Alright, Marvens, your turn—but I want you to start with the cube," Kayne announced.
"Alright," I replied.
I stepped up to the cube... and lifted it. It was definitely heavy, but I didn't struggle at all.
"Whoa! That's insane!" everyone shouted—except Kayne, who looked at me with a knowing smile.
"Well, Marvens, I think I've figured something out. You're communicating with your Spirit, aren't you?" he asked.
"But that's impossible! We can't talk to the Spirits inside us, right?" said Komi, surprised.
"Normally no, but I think Marvens is an exception. The Master once told me about an anomaly that would appear in a half-Spirit, but he never gave me the details."
I panicked a little, but chose not to lie.
"Yeah, it's true. I didn't know it wasn't normal," I replied, even though my Spirit had already told me that.
"If my instincts are right," Kayne said seriously, "you're going to have a very important mission to complete."
"What kind of mission?" asked Juan.
"That... you'll find out when the time comes," he said with a goofy grin.