[Month of Hell — Alito’s Training]
[Week One]
Alito’s training… was hell in every sense of the word.
No mercy.
No pity.
No rest.
From sunrise until midnight…
Strike.
Run.
Fall.
Then rise again.
On the very first day alone…
Dastan nearly died three times.
Lying on the ground, gasping, he said:
— “Why are boxers all insane…?”
Alito replied while smashing a rock with a single punch:
— “Because a true fist doesn’t need too much brain!”
— “That explains a lot…”
As for Lucian and Jenica…
They were learning Aura.
But not in a normal way.
Alito didn’t explain much.
He simply hit them until they understood on their own.
— “Release mana outside your bodies!”
Jenica screamed:
— “If I knew how, I would’ve done it already!”
And the next moment—
Alito lightly punched her on the head.
— “Focus.”
— “That’s not focus, that’s assault!”
But slowly…
The three began to understand.
One night…
Dastan sat near the fire, holding his spear.
He breathed slowly.
Then—
A dark mist-like aura flowed around the spear.
Lucian’s eyes widened.
— “He did it…”
Dastan stared at his hand in silence.
For the first time…
He felt his power truly awakening.
[Week Two]
Aura became part of their daily lives.
It was no longer just a combat power.
It became a way of living.
Lucian used light to hunt monsters faster.
Jenica used gravity to gather firewood without lifting it.
And Dastan…
He cut trees down with a single spear strike.
Jenica lay on a tree trunk and said:
— “I feel like we’re losing our humanity.”
Lucian replied while igniting fire with mana:
— “Normal humans don’t survive here anyway.”
Even food started depending on mana.
Movement.
Perception.
Combat.
Everything.
And every day…
Alito silently observed them.
His eyes showing increasing satisfaction.
[Week Three]
At the start of the third week…
The real change happened.
Dastan stood before a massive cliff.
Alito watched him, one hand behind his back.
— “Focus your aura into the strike.”
Dastan clenched his fist.
Darkness began wrapping around his arm and spear together.
Then—
He struck.
The entire cliff exploded apart.
Jenica’s eyes widened.
— “What the hell…?”
Even Dastan himself looked shocked.
But Alito finally smiled.
— “Now… you’re starting to become a monster.”
Then came the day Dastan obtained his first technique.
He gathered darkness and aura into the spear tip.
The air itself began to distort around him.
— “What is this feeling…?”
Alito said calmly:
— “Penetration Technique.”
Then pointed forward.
— “Strike.”
Dastan lunged.
One thrust only.
But everything within a five-meter radius…
Was pierced.
Trees.
Rocks.
Even the air itself seemed torn for a moment.
Silence fell.
Then Jenica said:
— “Okay… that’s terrifying.”
[Week Four]
This week was different.
Because they didn’t just discover techniques…
They discovered themselves.
[Lucian]
During night training…
Lucian tried increasing the speed of light around his body.
But suddenly—
His mana stopped behaving normally.
It turned into pure light.
Calm.
Yet extremely dense.
He slowly opened his eyes.
The light circled around him as if it were alive.
Alito whispered:
— “Light…”
Lucian looked at him.
— “Is this my ability?”
Alito nodded.
— “It’s not ordinary mana.”
[Jenica]
As for Jenica…
She discovered her ability by accident.
She was angry during an argument with Dastan.
She stomped the ground.
And suddenly—
The entire area collapsed downward.
Gravity multiplied violently.
Even Alito raised an eyebrow.
Jenica screamed in panic:
— “I didn’t do anythinggg!”
[Dastan]
As for Dastan…
He was the worst.
Darkness was not just energy.
It was something that devoured everything.
One night…
The fire near him vanished completely.
Even light itself began to fade.
Alito stared at him for a long moment.
Then said:
— “True darkness doesn’t only extinguish light…”
He smiled.
— “It devours it.”
[The Day of Challenge]
The final day arrived.
Everyone stood in the massive mountain arena.
Alito casually punched the mountain with his bare hand.
One strike—
And the upper half of the mountain vanished completely.
It simply disappeared.
Jenica’s mouth fell open.
— “That’s illegal…”
As for Dastan…
He stood silently before him.
The fight began.
Alito followed the rules.
One hand only.
No mana.
But even so…
He completely overwhelmed Dastan.
Every punch sent him flying dozens of meters.
Every strike made his bones scream in pain.
Despair slowly crept in.
“I won’t win…”
“I’m weaker than them…”
“I’m useless…”
His aura weakened.
Alito noticed it.
But didn’t stop.
Suddenly—
Lucian shouted from afar:
— “Get up, Dastan!”
Then Jenica:
— “If you lose, I’ll mock you forever!”
Dastan’s breath stopped for a moment.
Then…
He smiled faintly, exhausted.
He raised his hand.
And forced his aura into his own body.
Darkness tore through his skin slightly.
Pain…
Pulled his consciousness back.
His dark thoughts vanished.
He slowly raised his head.
Alito smiled.
— “Hah…”
Then took a fighting stance again.
— “Now the real fight begins.”
They exchanged blows.
Dastan.
Alito.
The ground collapsed beneath them.
The mountains cracked.
Until—
Alito finally dropped to one knee.
Silence fell.
Then Alito laughed loudly.
— “I lost.”
Dastan’s eyes widened.
But Alito continued, smiling:
— “Because you defeated yourself first… before defeating me.”