Shattered Sanity

While the line to receive the Aether Pills slowly moved forward, Riven repeatedly found himself glancing around the training grounds in search of Mary and Stacy, however no matter how many times he scanned the gathered recruits, the two sisters were nowhere to be seen among the crowd.

’Where are they? Did they manage to survive the night?’

Riven wondered, as despite only knowing the sisters for a few hours, he still could not stop himself from worrying about them after witnessing the condition they had been left in yesterday.

After all, Mary had been barely able to stand by the end of the beating, while Stacy had remained unconscious even when he left them beside the fire.

And although Riven desperately wanted to believe that the two of them were safe, the absence of any sign of them on the training grounds made it increasingly difficult to ignore the possibility that something might have gone wrong.

’I hope they’re alright...’

He thought, as for several more minutes his eyes continued searching instinctively whenever somebody new arrived at the field, however neither sister ever appeared.

Eventually though, with no way to verify their whereabouts and his turn in the queue steadily approaching, Riven reluctantly pushed those concerns aside and focused his attention back toward the training ahead, as in the end, while he did care about the sisters a tiny bit, his true obsession was his revenge.

’Today, I must produce that loud punching rhythm consistently...’

Riven thought, as he walked up to Garron with a determined face and stretched his hand forward to receive the pill.

”Don’t swallow and start punching the dummy.”

Garron instructed, as Riven immediately placed the pill inside his mouth before making his way toward the same practice dummy that he had spent most of the previous day assaulting.

*Thud* *Thud* *Thud*

The moment the medicine began dissolving, the familiar wave of heat returned, however unlike yesterday, when the sensation had felt wild, chaotic, and completely beyond his understanding, today the experience felt entirely different because this time he could actually feel the warmth flooding through his body and gathering near the centre of his chest.

’Aether....’

Riven thought excitedly, as he managed to sense it at once, and feel how it moved from his throat down towards the centre of his chest.

However, while he could sense it, he could not yet move it, as despite clearly feeling the warmth, he struggled to channel it into his punches.

’Move.... Come on.... move into my arms.’

He thought repeatedly while maintaining the rhythm of his punches, however for the first few minutes of training, absolutely nothing happened as the warmth remained stubbornly gathered within his chest no matter how much he willed it to move.

Still, Riven refused to become discouraged because yesterday he could not even sense Aether, whereas today he could feel its presence clearly within his body, and that alone already felt like undeniable progress.

*Thud* *Thud* *Thud*

Minutes passed slowly, until eventually, after what felt like an eternity of failure, he suddenly sensed a tiny stream of warmth flow from the centre of his chest into his shoulder, as although the sensation only lasted briefly before disappearing once again, it was enough to cause his heart to race with excitement.

’I did it.... It was a small stream, but it moved!’

Riven thought, as encouraged by that small success, he continued experimenting, until eventually the movement stopped feeling accidental and began responding to his intentions with increasing consistency.

*BAM!*

The sound of his next strike immediately changed, as Riven’s eyes widened in realization because he recognized that noise at once.

It was the same sound Mary and Stacy had produced yesterday.

The same sound every successful recruit eventually produced once they learned how to reinforce their limbs with Aether.

*BAM!*

Once again, as another punch landed and produced the same explosive impact, many heads instinctively turned toward him, some looking surprised, others annoyed, while more than a few openly stared with envy after realizing that Riven had become the first person today to successfully achieve the breakthrough.

’I did it.... I finally did it!’

Riven thought happily, as excitement surged through his chest while he instinctively began drawing greater and greater quantities of Aether into his arms.

*BAM!*

*BAM!*

*BAM!*

Each strike landed harder than the last, causing the dummy to vibrate violently beneath the assault, as several loose wooden fragments began falling from the structure.

”That’s right, boy.

You’ve finally got it.”

Garron acknowledged while walking past him, as hearing the instructor’s praise caused a powerful sense of accomplishment to swell inside Riven’s chest.

However, before he could enjoy the feeling for very long, Garron’s expression immediately hardened.

”Tone down the power.

You are not here to destroy the dummies.”

He warned, before raising his voice toward the entire training grounds.

”Everyone, stop trying to hit harder.

The goal is to achieve steady rhythm and controlled channeling, not mindless power.

The longer you can maintain the flow, the greater the benefits, so draw the smallest amount of Aether possible and sustain it for as long as you can.

That is how you improve.”

Garron barked, as immediately several children reduced the strength behind their attacks, with Riven also doing the same.

As instead of chasing power, he began focusing entirely on consistency.

*Bam* *Bam* *Bam*

The rhythm slowed while the Aether flowing through his arms became steadier and more controlled, as over the next several hours he continued drawing warmth from his Soul Vessel without interruption, while maintaining the pace Garron had instructed them to keep.

Meanwhile, as the hours continued passing, Garron silently observed the recruits while making his rounds, watching one child after another gradually exhaust the Aether stored inside their Soul Vessels before eventually slowing down or stopping entirely.

Such reactions were completely normal, because once a newly awakened recruit depleted their reserves beyond a certain threshold, the body naturally began resisting further exertion as fatigue settled into the muscles, dizziness clouded the mind, and even simple movements started feeling increasingly difficult to maintain.

The veterans called those symptoms ’Aether Depletion’ and it was a big problem in warriors of the Ember rank and below.

However, while most of the recruits had already reached their limits and stopped long ago, one particular idiot continued punching stubbornly despite having no business remaining on his feet.

From Garron’s perspective, the situation was obvious because unlike the children around him, he could clearly sense fluctuations in Aether, and at this moment there was not even the faintest trace remaining inside Riven’s Soul Vessel.

The boy had already drained himself completely.

Yet despite running entirely on empty, he somehow continued punching while his shoulders sagged from exhaustion, his breathing grew ragged, and his stance gradually deteriorated with every passing minute.

’What the hell is this kid doing? It’s not a crime to sit down and rest if he’s expended all his Aether.

Most individuals experience Aether Depletion when their soul vessels have less than 10% Aether remaining, so why is he still going at 1%?’

Garron wondered, as watching Riven’s determination, he could not help but feel once again that his mindset and willpower was something special, and yet, almost immediately, he regretted that it was placed on a body with average talent.

”Boy, take this bottle of water and stop punching.

Sit, breathe, drink and give your arms some rest.”

Garron said eventually, as he forced Riven to take a break before he passed out from over-exertion, as at that very moment, Riven immediately buckled to his knees, too weak to even grab the bottle, as he looked towards Garron with half dazed eyes.

”On Minerva’s lance! The hell is wrong with you boy?

Do you want to die from over exertion?

Does your body have no sense of self preservation?

You’re on the edge of fainting.”

Garron admonished, as after unscrewing the bottle himself, he helped Riven drink a few mouthfuls of water before placing the remainder against his chest and moving on without another word while quietly shaking his head.

However, while Garron ultimately viewed Riven as nothing more than a boy with average talent and inhuman levels of determination, many of the other recruits found themselves looking at him as though he were some kind of freak.

After all, it was relatively easy to accept being inferior to somebody born with greater talent than oneself, because talent was something decided at birth and therefore beyond one’s control, however it was much harder to accept being outperformed by somebody whose only obvious advantage seemed to be a willingness to suffer more than everyone else.

As a result, not only the privileged children, but even many among the slaves and servants quietly took note of Riven that day, as while some felt admiration toward his work ethic, many others felt a growing sense of discomfort whenever they looked in his direction, as they silently marked him as somebody they would rather avoid, surpass, or crush in the future.