64 Budding

The next morning, Atticus followed his usual training regimen and made his way to the training grounds for the morning session.

Once again, Atticus was the first to arrive at the training grounds. He noticed Aurora was absent, a recurring pattern he had observed recently. He shrugged it off and decided to wait for the other trainees to join. 𝘪𝑎.

Gradually, the rest of the trainees began to arrive. Unlike the previous day, none of them showed signs of exhaustion. After regaining control of their mana, it’s passive recovery nature dissipated their fatigue. As he waited, Nate and Lucas approached. Lucas exchanged brief greetings, while Nate boldly declared, “I’ll be the first this time!” Amused by Nate’s sudden confidence, Atticus couldn’t help but challenge him, “Want to make a bet?” he asked with a smirk. Nate promptly cleared his throat, avoiding eye contact, and mumbled, “No, I don’t want to lose any points.”

Lucas burst into laughter, earning an embarrassed glare from Nate. Atticus joined in the laughter, ‘It seems he got a little more comfortable,’ he observed that Nate appeared more comfortable than before after he had witness the incident with Helodor.

‘I almost forgot about him,’ his thoughts suddenly drifted to Helodor. He had long suspected there was more to Helodor’s animosity toward him. Helodor’s blatant attempt to harm him had left Atticus perplexed. ‘I should pay him a visit soon.’ Determined to get to the bottom of it, Atticus decided to pay Helodor a visit.

His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed Aurora entering the training ground. She appeared as usual—fatigued and weak. Lucas, noticing Atticus’s gaze, remarked, “She must have been training with her father.”

Atticus shifted his attention away from her and inquired, “Her father?”

Lucas, surprised at Atticus’s apparent ignorance, explained, “Yes, you know, Sir Rowan. Everyone in camp knows about it. Don’t tell me you didn’t know? It was pretty obvious- blood red eyes.”

Atticus was taken aback by his own oversight. He felt a pang of embarrassment for not recognizing the resemblance between Aurora and Rowan earlier.

With his sharp intelligence and perception, overlooking the resemblance between Aurora and Rowan felt like a glaring oversight.

‘How the hell did I miss this?’ he asked himself, shaking his head in disbelief. ‘It makes sense why she’s so talented and competitive now,’ he deduced. Elias, arrived precisely at 6 AM and immediately led them to the base of the mountain area. They donned their weights and activated the mana-blocking feature before beginning their run.

Today’s training session was just as grueling as the previous one, with no immediate noticeable changes in the trainees’ performance. A single day wasn’t enough to bring about significant improvements.

As the trainees dashed through the forest, they triggered traps once again, sending them tumbling backward.

This time, Atticus decided not to linger in the middle of the pack. With an understanding of what the course entailed, he chose to lead from the front. His heightened perception was in full swing, allowing him to move swiftly and evade traps with ease.

Emerging from the forest after a few minutes, Atticus plunged into the water. After watching and learning how to swim from that trainee, swimming became second nature to him.

He swam fast and avoided the water blasts and swirls and got to shore in just 25 minutes.

After catching his breath, Atticus made his way to the imposing cliff. Climbing this part of the course was a daunting challenge, even for him.

Each handhold on the cliff required Atticus’s full attention, and he climbed methodically. The rigorous training was proving to be a boon for his perception and intelligence as every single handhold demanded his scrutiny, making sure not to trigger any traps.

Atticus understood that the key to their growth lay in consistent use and pushing worthwhile in the end.

10:13

Afterward, he picked himself up and sprinted toward the slope. In a matter of minutes, them to their limits. As he scaled the cliff, his intelligence and perception gradually flourished, becoming sharper and more refined with every deliberate move.

Minutes passed, and Atticus found himself halfway up the mountain. Below, other trainees just started emerging from the water, not everyone was blessed with high perception like Atticus.

As they looked up and saw Atticus nearing the top, a single thought echoed in their minds: “monster.”

Nate, determined not to be left behind, clenched his fists and raced toward the cliff, leaving an exhausted Lucas behind.

Lucas pleaded, “Nate, wait! Let’s take a short break,” as he sprawled on the ground, gasping for air. ‘This is so difficult,’ he thought, struggling to regain his breath.

After another 20 minutes, Atticus reached the summit. He collapsed onto the ground, resting for a brief moment. His entire body ached, but he knew it would all be worthwhile in the end.

Afterward, he picked himself up and sprinted toward the slope. In a matter of minutes, he descended, skillfully dodging projectiles he knew were coming. Reaching the base of the mountain, he sprinted through the forest, returning to the starting point much to Elias’s surprise.

But Elias was prepared this time around, he knew geniuses hardly follow the convensional norms and already decided to take every spectacular achievement Atticus made as the new standard.

With a smile, he remarked, “You’re 20 minutes earlier than yesterday. 60 points.”

Atticus nodded, hands on his knees as he tried to regain his breath.

Elias continued, “You can leave when you’re ready. I don’t think anyone else will be coming.”

“Okay,” Atticus replied still catching his breath, and after a few minutes of rest, he stood up straight and departed. As Atticus departed, Elias watched his retreating figure with a smile, recognizing the budding genius in the making.

Yet, his thoughts couldn’t help but drift to the situation of a certain red-eyed girl, he let out a short sigh.

***

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