Shattered Sanity

Hours slowly passed across the training grounds while the endless sounds of fists striking wood continued echoing beneath the cold northern winds.

*Thud* *Thud* *Thud*

At first, nearly every child sounded exactly the same while punching the practice dummies before them, as although some struck harder than others, none of them truly understood how to draw Aether out from their Soul Vessels properly.

Meanwhile, Riven continued trying over and over again to sense the warmth Garron had described earlier.

However, no matter how much he concentrated inwardly while punching, he still could not understand what exactly he was supposed to be feeling.

’How do you pull warmth through your body if you can’t even find it in the first place?’

Riven wondered while repeatedly focusing toward the center of his chest exactly the way Garron had instructed earlier....

When suddenly, someone nearby succeeded in drawing Aether.

*BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!*

The sound of punches shifted sharply from *Thud* to *BAM*, as the sudden change in sound immediately caused nearly every child nearby to instinctively turn their heads toward the source.

’Its the braided girl from yesterday....’

Riven recognised at once, as she became the first individual to draw out her Aether, which enhanced her strength to the point where every punch she threw now caused the entire wooden structure to visibly rattle.

’Whoa! That’s some real power....’

Riven thought, as strangely enough, it did not even look like she was punching any harder than before, yet the output she produced was easily three times stronger.

”Good.

You’re finally starting to understand it.”

Garron acknowledged while nodding slightly toward the girl, as although his expression remained mostly indifferent, there was still faint approval visible within his eyes.

Immediately, envious glances began spreading throughout the training grounds.

Especially among the privileged children who had previously believed themselves superior to the slaves and bastards standing around them.

Meanwhile, Riven himself quietly continued observing the braided girl carefully while trying to understand what exactly she was doing differently compared to him.

However, despite watching her repeatedly, he still could not understand it.

’I still don’t get it....

How are you supposed to draw heat from your chest toward your limbs?’

Riven wondered while frustration slowly began building inside him.

However, to add insult to injury, not long after the elder sister figured it out, the younger one also followed suit.

*BAM!* *BAM!*

The sound of her punches changed, as Garron nodded in acknowledgement.

”Yes.

You’ve gotten the hang of it too.”

Garron muttered, as the younger girl immediately lit up with excitement after hearing the praise.

’If they can do it.... So can I.’

Riven thought, as he continued to train hard, while around him, every half hour or so, another child eventually managed to grasp the process successfully.

”Good.”

”Good.”

”Good.”

Garron acknowledged, as four hours later, when the training day came to an end for the Trash group, there were a total of eight kids who had grasped the process.

”Alright, Trash group.

Your time is up.

Return home and report back tomorrow before first light.”

Garron instructed as several exhausted looking children immediately began collapsing onto the ground in relief before slowly dragging themselves back towards the village.

Some threw envious glances toward the children who had already learned how to reinforce their punches properly.

Meanwhile, others looked at them with quiet resentment instead.

”These slaves! I’ll be giving them a good beating when they come back.

How dare they learn how to draw Aether before us?”

One child muttered, while the others around him nodded in agreement.

Then—

A couple hours later, the same process repeated itself, when the Super Trash group was dismissed as well.

By that point, Riven’s knuckles had already swollen badly enough to visibly pulse with pain beneath the torn skin covering his fists.

And yet despite punching for nearly half a day without pause, he still could not understand what exactly it was that he lacked?

’I can’t figure this out.... Should I ask the instructor for help?’

Riven wondered, as finally, after enduring several more hours of failure silently, Riven eventually stopped punching before turning towards Garron.

”I still don’t understand it....

Can you guide me more

Where is the heat supposed to come from?”

Riven asked as Garron looked toward him with mild amusement in his eyes.

”If you can’t sense the Aether yet, then stop trying to move it around.”

Garron explained while folding his arms behind his back.

”Close your eyes and focus entirely on sensing the warmth inside your core before worrying about guiding it anywhere else.

You can’t control something before you learn how to properly feel it.”

He advised, as from that moment onward, Riven finally stopped focusing on punching entirely and instead closed his eyes while trying desperately to search within himself for the warmth Garron kept describing.

Hours continued passing slowly.

The sky gradually darkened.

And throughout the remaining stretch of the day, Riven focused entirely inwardly while attempting to block out every distraction around him in order to search for even the faintest trace of warmth hidden somewhere inside his body.

However, unfortunately for him, despite all his effort, he still failed.

By the time the sun finally disappeared behind the distant mountains, nearly half of the Ultra Trash group managed to learn how to sense the Aether, however, Riven still failed to do the same.

”Alright.

That’s it for you people as well.

Report back again before first light tomorrow.”

Garron instructed while sweeping his gaze across the exhausted children before him.

”When you go back today, try to eat something nutritious.

Because if you don’t, your bodies will start falling apart tomorrow morning.

Your muscles and arms have taken a pounding today, and they need good food to heal.”

He warned as several children looked toward their swollen fists with miserable expressions.

”So steal, scavenge, hunt, or do whatever you need to do.

Eat raw meat if you have to.

But try sleeping tonight with a full stomach.”

Garron concluded before finally dismissing the remaining children for the day.