"Now that’s what I call Spartan training," Mary remarked, emerging from the usual white mist. Though her tone was neutral, a hint of anger still lingered in her expression.

"Mary," Ethan muttered, stopping mid-motion.

"It’s fine. Speak in your mind. We wouldn’t want them getting suspicious, would we?" she said, her annoyance still evident.

"I'm sorry, Mary. Truly," Ethan said in his thoughts. "I don’t know why I acted like that… why I was so pushy.. "

"No, it’s fine. You had every right to be concerned—it is your life, after all. Besides, the repair of your soul is likely to blame. You’re still adjusting. That’s why your emotions are all over the place." she replied.

"No," Ethan countered, resuming his squats, though his form wasn’t as precise as before. "I should’ve handled it differently. You were the one who brought me back. In a way… I owe this life to you."

Mary smirked. "My, my. Are you trying to flirt with me? ‘I owe this life to you’—such a romantic line. Too bad, I am way out of your league, And besides I already told you that it was my grandmother that brought you back, I am just here as a sort of caretaker for you. So do try not to fall in love with me please. You do not fit my taste." she teased, her irritation finally dissipating.

Ethan let out a quiet chuckle but didn’t take the bait. He knew better than to engage in her playful jabs.

Mary’s smirk lingered as she studied him. "But I have to say, I’m surprised. I expected you to dive straight into training your ability, maybe even use the system. I thought you were starving for power."

"I am," Ethan admitted. "But Power without control or responsibility is just chaos in disguise. If I can’t wield it properly, it’ll only slow me down. Worse, it’ll make me arrogant. And arrogance alone can only take you so far before crumbling everything."

"You’ve really thought this through," Mary said, her voice carrying a mix of respect and amusement. "I’ll give you credit for keeping them from using their powers. Smart move."

She crossed her arms, glancing toward the courtyard where Adrian and Elise struggled through their grueling laps.

"If they activated their abilities now… well, let’s just say one wrong move and this whole place would be reduced to rubble in seconds," she continued as she views their Status Window. "Worse, with their current stats, they’d probably destroy themselves before they even realized what was happening."

Her words lingered in the air, a quiet warning wrapped in casual observation.

"Yeah." was the short answer Ethan gave her as he did another perfect squat.

 "But I have to say, I'm impressed with their abilities—even if their stats are trash. I should have chosen one of them instead of you, it seems," Mary teased with a playful smirk.

Ethan laughed. "Too bad. You're stuck with me."

Mary glanced back at the status window, then fell silent for a moment. After a brief pause, Ethan, mid-squat, asked, "Anything wrong?"

Mary’s smile shifted into something sharper, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Well, you told Elise to be extra careful, but honestly, that Arian boy is the one who really stands out. If he loses control, hardly anyone can rein him in. A 'Monster,’ if you want to put it bluntly."

Ethan stopped and considered her words, shaking his head as he replied thoughtfully, "You can figure all that out from the status board? I didn't expect you to know so much about combat. You have my apologies."

Mary rolled her eyes lightly. "Oh please, you always overestimate me. I can see all of that because I've got the final model of the system, while you're stuck with the basic one. But don't worry—if you complete enough missions, you'll upgrade too. Granted, it might take about 150 years."

Ethan shot her a look that said, "Are you serious?" and then chuckled, "I’ll be dead by then."

"Well, that's too bad," Mary giggled before asking, "So, any special reason you didn't warn Adrian?"

Ethan stopped mid-set. "Adrian's abilities need specific conditions to kick in fully. That's why I warned Elise more. She doesn't quite understand her powers yet. As for Adrian..." Ethan glanced over at Adrian, who was still sprinting ahead, focused on his goal. "He's already had enough run-ins with his power going haywire. No need to remind him."

Mary's lips curled into a small, amused smile. "You really do care about them, don't you, Host?"

Ethan's gaze softened, and his voice grew quieter. "In a world like this, they're all I've got left—my only family. Of course I care about them." He said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, but there was a slight edge of sadness in his voice.

A silence fell between them as Ethan continued his grueling workout, occasionally launching small bursts of flame at Adrian and Elise, while Mary floated lazily above, watching with mild boredom.

After some time, Mary mused, "This is all fine and dandy, but when are you going to actually use the system? I even removed the initial requirements for your first skill steal."

Ethan eyed her suspiciously. "You? Are you sure it wasn’t your grandmother or someone else in your family who did it—and you're just taking the credit like before?"

Mary laughed, shaking her head. "It was just a slip of the tongue. But that's not the point. When are you going to use it? Don't tell me you're going to leave me hanging like last time!"

"Hahaha, don't worry," Ethan replied, still grinning. "According to my memories, I'll have to wait about a month and a half for the ability I'm choosing. Until then, I'll work on raising my stats and sorting out this money problem."

"That long?" Mary asked, her tone laced with impatience.

Mary crossed her arms and sighed. "Fine, I can wait. But I won't be around much until then," she said, turning away as her misty form began to fade. "Don't disappoint me, Host. Or next time, I'll be really mad." With that, she vanished once again.

Ethan let out a long exhale and thought, "She really does whatever she wants, doesn't she? It's like a tornado passing by."

Then, as if on cue, Mary's voice echoed, "I heard that." Ethan just smiled and kept training.

After a while, he finally called out, "Alright, that's enough!"

Both Adrian and Elise collapsed onto the ground, their faces buried in the dirt, completely drained. Their bodies had given up long ago—what had kept them going was pure determination.

"How long do we have to keep doing this?" Adrian groaned, barely lifting his head from the ground.

Ethan's tone was flat as he replied, "For the rest of your lives."

In the bright sunlight, Ethan's silhouette looked less like that of a caring mentor and more like a looming demon. At that moment, Adrian and Elise truly understood—this brutal training wasn't just for today. It was their new reality.