“We'll stop here for today.”
Time passed, and the sun began to sink.
Karl roused the trainees from their concentration on the lesson.
Aura lessons were, in a word, a battle of mental endurance.
Under Karl's guidance, the trainees who had awakened their aura had to move it continuously through their dantians for hours.
They had sat in place and silently continued for several hours.
Every trainee slumped over their desk in utter exhaustion.
Even Kamel and Miliana, who had shown overwhelming ability during physical training, looked tired. This lesson could be considered more intense than the physical training.
“You may open your eyes now as well.”
Lauri, who had followed Karl's lead in supervising the trainees without awakened aura, spoke.
At his words, Meirin opened her eyes. Lost in a trance, she had been making her orb glow steadily darker.
Though he showed nothing outwardly, Lauri could not stop marveling inside.
‘She made the orb that dark on her first day.......’
Pandora was not a place anyone of ordinary talent could ever enter.
Unlike an academy devoted to education, this institution had to produce martial artists capable of immediate deployment in real combat.
The rate of growth demanded from its trainees was therefore exceptionally high.
For example, trainees assigned the Red rank had to awaken their aura and advance far enough to release it within two months.
‘Aura release is the realm of a four-star martial artist.’
It was said that even someone with a fair degree of talent needed at least one to five years to reach the level of a four-star martial artist.
Considering that, two months was absurdly brief.
Moreover, the trainees sitting here were ordinary people who could not yet sense aura.
That was why Lauri had given them a week.
‘Aura release is far more difficult than sensing or moving aura.’
If they could not awaken their aura within a week, they had no prospects. Having supervised countless trainees, Lauri was certain of it.
Yet even Lauri had never seen a trainee sense aura on the first day.
The orb's color had even darkened and faded again.
‘She's trying to move her aura.’
Simply becoming conscious of and sensing the aura within one's dantian was enough to darken the orb.
But freely changing the intensity of its color required the ability to move aura according to one's will.
Controlling the intensity was ordinarily taught in the next stage, yet Meirin had already set foot in it.
‘She's still clumsy.’
For now, she was only moving the aura in her dantian by a tiny amount. But this was her first day.
Look around. Most of the other trainees could not even change the color of their orbs, much less move aura.
It was not because they lacked talent. Anyone who had entered this place would be called a genius outside, even if their growth was considered slow here.
Meirin's talent was simply so exceptional that everyone around her looked dull by comparison.
She had performed terribly during stamina and strength training, yet in this lesson she displayed greater talent than anyone else.
‘At this rate, she should be able to move on to aura release before long.’
Still marveling, Lauri turned his gaze away in satisfaction.
Though not to Meirin's degree, several other trainees had also managed to darken their orbs slightly.
It was perhaps only natural, since scouts had personally verified their aptitude before choosing them, but this cohort had an unusually large number of outstanding talents.
Of course, not every trainee was so exceptional.
Lauri saw those who looked disappointed because they had yet to produce any change in their orbs.
“Nnnngh......!”
In particular, a trainee named Ivan still groaned over his orb, unable to put it down even though the lesson had ended.
Ivan was straining with all his might to change its color, but the orb remained pale violet.
***
After their first aura lesson ended, the trainees returned to the dormitory.
“From now on, you have free time. You may go eat, train, or rest. However, you must return to the dormitory by lights-out at 11:00.”
Alia addressed the trainees gathered in the hall. Surprisingly, Pandora guaranteed its trainees free time.
Once all scheduled training and lessons were complete, instructors rarely interfered with the trainees except under special circumstances.
They did not prohibit interaction between trainees from different classes either. That sounded generous, but behind it lay a thoroughgoing belief in ability above all else.
The trainees were given freedom, but anyone who caused trouble or failed an exam was expelled without mercy.
“This is easier than I expected?”
“The stamina and strength training was a little harsh... but still bearable.”
“At this level, there's no way we'll fail.”
“It might be a different story for the trash who haven't even awakened their aura yet. Heh heh.”
The communal dining hall was even noisier than it had been at lunch. Without an instructor controlling them, the trainees' chatter flowed without pause.
“What idiots. The instructor clearly said today's training would be light because it was our first day. This is why I have no desire to associate with people like them.”
Julian spoke contemptuously of the trainees already boasting with arrogance.
From Julian's perspective, today's training had not been particularly demanding.
Even Meirin, who had virtually no stamina, had somehow endured it, so the intensity could not have been high.
“True. Today's training wasn't particularly difficult.”
Ivan agreed with Julian.
This place trained the special investigators who protected the continent. Even at the lowest rank, there was no chance future training would remain as easy as today's.
“The training will probably grow more intense starting tomorrow.”
“Really? Today was already so hard that I thought I was going to die.......”
Meirin's spirits sank at Julian's words. From her perspective, today's training had been hell itself.
Had she not thought of her mother and younger siblings, she surely would have dropped out midway through.
“It's only the first day. We still have two months until the exam, so you can train hard until then. This place has a communal fitness room too, right?”
Ivan encouraged the visibly worried Meirin.
“And you're in a far better position than I am. Stamina and strength at least improve with steady training, but I still can't even sense aura.”
Ah... Saying it aloud made him realize anew that he was in no position to comfort anyone.
This time, Ivan's spirits sank. He had secretly entertained the idea that he might be a genius.
After all, Ruben had said Ivan manipulated aura unconsciously.
He had even personally told Ivan not to worry because he would awaken his aura quickly.
Ivan had therefore imagined awakening his aura before anyone else in class and drawing everyone's attention.
In reality, far from awakening his aura, all he had managed to do was grow sleepy.
“The more I think about it, the more ridiculous it seems. Hey, Meirin. How in the world did you sense aura? I couldn't feel anything no matter how hard I concentrated.”
“Hm? Uh... I just imagined it the way the assistant told us to, and little by little, I started sensing aura.”
“That's all? Don't you have any clearer tips?”
“Hmm.......”
Meirin rubbed her chin in deep thought before speaking.
“Focusing on the dantian? That's the only thing I can think of.”
“In other words, you're a genius.”
Ivan concluded that Meirin would be no help. She was what people called a talent freak.
She was the sort who would answer the question ‘How can I get good at drawing?’ with ‘Draw straight lines and color neatly.’
“But Meirin is right. There really isn't any special trick to sensing aura. You have to add your imagination, focus on the dantian, and rely entirely on your senses.”
“Really?”
Coming from Julian, who had experienced it himself, that was at least somewhat credible.
“Don't be too impatient. It took me about five days to sense aura too. Meirin is simply a monster.”
Julian added that to ease Ivan's worries.
Of course, Julian was also a monster for awakening aura in only five days.
“I-I'll help too if there's anything I can do, so keep trying, Ivan.”
Meirin also found the courage to offer him timid encouragement.
“Right. It'll work out somehow.”
Ivan decided to empty his mind as much as possible. Worrying would accomplish nothing.
Keeping a positive outlook no matter how shitty the situation became—that was the greatest weapon that had allowed Ivan to survive until now.
“Then shall we get going?”
They had finished their meals while chatting together.
“What are you doing now? If you have nothing planned, come to the fitness room with me.”
Ivan asked Julian as he stood.
Training had ended, but that was no reason to rest. Survival generally demanded moving faster than everyone else.
Julian shook his head at the invitation.
“Thanks for asking, but I'll pass today. I heard there's a library here, so I want to look around.”
“Really? That's a shame. Come on, then, Meirin.”
“What?”
Meirin looked back at Ivan as if asking what he meant. Ivan countered by asking why she looked so surprised.
“Your stamina and strength are both hopeless. You need to train hard starting now if you want to pass the exam later.”
Meirin looked appalled. She had yet to recover fully from the fatigue of the morning's training.
But Ivan's words made her hesitate.
“I won't force you. But when you're worse than everyone else, you have to work twice as hard. If you do nothing because you want to be comfortable now, you'll regret it terribly later.”
It was advice born of experience.
Ivan had survived slavery partly because of luck and physical talent, but without diligence above all else, he could never have lived this long.
He had always gritted his teeth and relentlessly honed himself more than anyone else. Even in the most hopeless situations, he had continued training.
That was how he had endured those hellish days and survived.
“...O-Okay. I'll go to the fitness room too. I can't afford to fail like this......!”
Moved by Ivan's sincere advice, Meirin hardened her expression and steeled herself.
She had not come here with halfhearted resolve either.
If she failed to graduate from the training center, her family would go hungry again. She could not allow that to happen after finally obtaining this opportunity.
“Ivan! I'll work hard even if it's difficult. So, um... if you don't mind, could you h-help me......?”
Asking for help still required tremendous courage from Meirin.
Ever since Ivan realized this was simply her nature, he had accepted it for what it was.
“I invited you because I planned to help from the start. Do exactly what I tell you, and you'll improve quickly. Trust me.”
“Ivan.......”
When Ivan spoke with overflowing confidence, Meirin's eyes reddened with emotion.
To be honest, her first impression of Ivan had not been good by any stretch of the imagination.
That was why, when she had been alone with him in the training yard, Meirin had agonized over whether to ask him for help.
But now, she was truly grateful that she had summoned the courage to do so.
Contrary to his rough appearance and manner of speech, Ivan had a warm heart.
“Then we'll go ahead. See you later, Julian.”
“All right. Work hard, both of you.”
Ivan and Meirin parted from Julian and headed to the fitness room together.
As they walked, Meirin stole glances at Ivan. She had lived a lonely life beside her widowed mother with no one to rely on.
To her, Ivan was still unfamiliar, yet at the same time more dependable than anyone else here.
When she first arrived, the uncertain future had terrified her. Strangely, that fear naturally disappeared whenever she was beside Ivan.
Perhaps even someone as inadequate as her could someday pull her own weight if she stayed by his side?
Heh.
Meirin smiled softly as she followed behind Ivan.
Looking at his broad back somehow filled her with courage. Her steps lighter, Meirin moved up beside him.
Unfortunately, Meirin had already become thoroughly blinded by affection, so she did not know.
She was walking toward another hell.