With everyone now fully briefed on how their aspects function, it was finally time for training to officially begin—inside Reito’s private training facility, hidden deep within his estate.
The room buzzed with a quiet, restrained tension.
This wasn’t the academy.
This was where real growth happened.
Reito stood at the center of the chamber, hands folded behind his back, eyes scanning the gathered students.
Reito: All right, everyone. Since there are a lot of you, I’ve invited a few fellow instructors to help out. You’ll be splitting into groups.
He pulled up a small holographic screen, tapping it once.
With a soft mechanical chime, a door behind him opens and two people walk out and stand next to Reito.
The first being Mrs. Zinc with freshly healed scars across her face, and the second is a short man with hazel colored hair and blue eyes.
He is wearing a fancy suit and is carrying a golden pocket watch.
Mrs. Zinc: How is everyone doing today? I hope you all have recovered from the recent events at the academy so today we will be taking it slow.
Mr. Pendelton: Yes, in light of the disaster that was this year's midterms this first week will be a bit slow so you can properly recover, but don’t let this easy week fool you. After this the difficulty will ramp up.
Reito: Now that’s out of the way the groups will be announced. Mrs. Zinc, you go first.
Mrs. Zinc: The group that will be trained by me for these next two months will be Kai Almenara, Willow Florence, and Owen Dykuma.
Kai: Looks like we're on the same team. Hope you guys are ready.
Owen: Seems that way but don’t think I’ll let you jump ahead of me so easily.
Willow: Calm down you two. Let’s just try to make it through this first week.
Mr. Pendelton: The group that will be trained by me will be Elric Bonewell, Daniel Fortuna, and Walter Adams.
Daniel: Well Walt my man looks like we’re on the same team. Maybe luck will finally be on your side these next couple of months.
Walter: Like I told you during the midterms I don’t need luck, just skill.
Daniel: Skill vs luck huh. I wonder who will win in the end.
Elric: Oh boy, seems like this is going to be a long two months.
As the two groups go stand with their respective instructors, Jonathan, Hiruzen, and Emma all exchange looks with smiles on their faces.
Jonathan: Well guys there’s only one group left.
Hiruzen: Yup, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Emma: Definitely. The three of us work best together.
Reito (smiling): And finally the group that will be trained by me are none other than my favorite students. Hiruzen Yuki, Emma Lucero, and Jonathan Motarell.
Jonathan: You guys better not drag me down because this time I’m here so I got a lot of catching up to do.
Hiruzen: Don’t worry man, me and Emma will take it slow so you can catch up.
Emma: Yeah we wouldn't want you to be left behind again.
The trio go stand next to Reito, and once all the teams are decided, Reito turns around and opens up three doors behind him, all leading to separate parts of the training room.
Reito: All right everyone, let the training begin.
Reito, Mrs. Zinc, and Mr. Pendelton all take their groups and each enter a different room, closing the doors behind them.
The trio follow behind Reito down a long hallway before reaching a blue door, and when they enter it’s a pure white room with nothing in it, similar to the training sim at the academy.
Jonathan: Whoa! This place looks weird. Why is it empty?
Reito: This is pretty much a slightly more advanced version of the training sim at the academy. You have to insert a sim card into it to load up a simulation, but like Mrs. Zinc said earlier, we’re taking it slow this first week. So for now we’re just going to do some training for your aspects.
Hiruzen: All right, so quick question. When we do load a sim card into this place will it be like before?
Emma: Yeah, I would love to see Annabeth again.
Reito: No, it will be a different simulation suited for the three of you. The last one I picked was for you and Hiruzen because Annabeth and Derrick suited you two well and you grew a lot stronger because of it.
Jonathan: Ok so what’s up first?
Reito: First we’re starting with you Jonathan since you were left out last time. So explain your aspect and I’ll start the first exercise.
Jonathan: Well my aspect allows me to charge up kinetic energy. The main way I build up charge is by moving around a lot, but I also build up charge when hit with physical objects or methods like being hit with an attack or being thrown against a wall.
Reito: Okay, with that said check this out.
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A massive screen appears behind Reito and it plays the video of Jonathan fighting against Aaron.
Reito: Jonathan, your issue right now is that you’re treating kinetic energy like fuel. You move, you store energy, and then you use that energy to go faster and put more force behind your attacks.
Jonathan: What’s wrong with that?
Reito: Nothing. It’s just you could be doing so much more. You are predictable. If you were to fight Hiruzen what’s stopping him from freezing you to stop you from charging up? Or people like Owen who can use large AOE attacks that don’t necessarily have to hit you? Or what about Emma who can turn into light and just phase through your attacks?
Jonathan just stands there speechless as he finally starts to ask himself these questions
Reito: They have many ways of stopping your movement or just rendering your attacks useless. So, what will you do?
Jonathan: I… I don’t know. I usually rely on my speed advantage and use it to devastate my opponent before they can counter. Either that or just build up enough charge to take them out in one blow.
Reito: Well against the people you're going to have to face on the five islands, that won’t work. They won’t allow you to freely charge up energy. So for now, we are going to fix that.
Jonathan: How?
Reito: Instead of just moving more, you should train yourself to extract more energy per unit of motion. So the first drill you will do will be micro-movement drills—twitches, foot pivots, and breathing pulses.
Reito taps the large monitor and the training room shifts and changes.
The walls become lined with segmented plates that subtly shift and vibrate.
The floor is layered: solid stone beneath a floating, gyroscopic platform.
The light dims as kinetic sensors begin glowing.
Hiruzen: Whoa this is so cool.
Emma: Yeah this is definitely more advanced.
Reito: Jonathan, catch.
Reito throws Jonathan a weird matte black skin-tight suit with small ring-like nodes at the joints—wrists, ankles, knees, jaw, neck, and spine.
Jonathan: What the heck is this?
Reito: This is your personal training suit designed for your aspect. You each have a unique one designed to help with training your aspects. Jonathan, your suit doesn’t resist movement—it resists muscle activation. Even flexing a finger feels like pushing through syrup, and with enough time the suit tunes itself to require clean, minimal contractions. So go ahead and put it on.
Jonathan puts on the suit and thin luminous lines light up, tracing all of his muscles as it automatically tightens around his body.
Jonathan: Whoa this is pretty cool.
Jonathan goes to take a step forward, but his suit quickly tightens around him, slowing him to a halt.
Jonathan: Hey what the heck is going on?
Reito: That’s the suit activating. It applies variable resistance at the muscle-fiber level. Resistance increases when motion is inefficient and decreases when micro-movements are optimized.
Jonathan: Well how am I supposed to build charge like this?
Reito: Like I said before, you need to train yourself to be constantly building charge from even the smallest movements—like blinking and breathing. This suit will force you to stop over-tensing your muscles, isolate individual fibers, and generate motion without displacement.
Hiruzen: Sounds like you’re going to have it rough.
Reito: Now let’s start.
Reito taps the monitor again and the floor turns smooth and metallic, with faint concentric rings.
Reito: Step onto the floor. The rings will light up when kinetic energy is generated. It will measure the energy you gain per unit of motion and the floor will display it as expanding or collapsing rings of light.
Jonathan: Okay got it.
Jonathan steps onto the floor and a ring lights up underneath him.
The thin lines along his calves, thighs, spine, and shoulders pulse faintly, as if listening.
Emma: Remember, micro movements. Don’t do anything stupid.
Jonathan: Yeah, yeah I know.
Okay Jonathan, this is just standing still. Easy.
He shifted his weight slightly.
The floor immediately reacted.
One of the rings flared red and tilted a fraction of a degree.
Not enough to knock him over—just enough to warn him.
Jonathan: Seriously?
He planted his feet harder, instinctively bracing.
The suit responded by tightening—not squeezing, but resisting.
His calves felt like they were pushing through thick water.
He sucked in a breath.
Nothing happened.
No warmth.
No familiar pressure of stored kinetic energy building in his core.
Jonathan: C’mon. I’m moving, aren’t I? I should be building up charge.
The suit did not care.
Jonathan tried again, this time flexing his legs, a deliberate shift meant to force energy accumulation.
The resistance spiked instantly.
His muscles burned like he was holding a wall up with his thighs.
The floor flashed again—this time orange—and dipped just enough that his balance wobbled.
Jonathan: Whoa—
He stepped to recover.
The moment his foot slid half an inch, the floor lurched violently.
Jonathan staggered, arms flaring out as the rings beneath him spun and destabilized.
He barely caught himself before falling flat on his back.
The lights reset.
Jonathan: What the heck happened? I couldn't even get a small charge.
Reito: That’s because you’re fighting it. You’re still using your old mindset. Remember—micro movements. Don’t overdo it. Just let the suit do its thing.
Jonathan got up and straightened again, slower this time.
He forced himself to relax his shoulders, let his arms hang.
The suit eased—barely—but enough for him to notice.
Jonathan (thinking): Don’t fight it. Just stand still.
Seconds passed.
Nothing.
Jonathan’s brow furrowed.
He could feel himself moving—tiny shifts in his ankles, the subtle sway of balance—but the power wasn’t responding.
His instincts screamed at him to do more.
Move faster.
Push harder.
That’s how it always worked.
So he did.
He tightened his core.
The suit punished him instantly.
Resistance surged through his abdomen and lower back, turning the motion inward.
His breath hitched as if he’d flexed against a steel plate.
The floor flared red again, tilting sharply.
Jonathan: Damn it!
The floor reset again.
Jonathan bent forward, hands on his knees, breathing through his teeth.
Sweat was already forming at his temples.
Jonathan: This thing’s gotta be broken.
As if offended, the suit’s lines dimmed—then hardened.
When he straightened, even that simple motion felt wrong.
His muscles responded too loudly, like he was shouting when he meant to whisper.
He froze.
Jonathan takes a deep breath and tries again.
He slowly let his arms drop again.
He didn’t brace.
Didn’t flex.
He let his weight settle into his heels, into the floor.
The chamber stayed quiet.
His breathing slowed—not because he meant to, but because forcing it made things worse.
He inhaled carefully.
Still nothing.
Then, a second later—and without thinking—his fingers twitched.
Not a movement.
A reflex.
The suit reacted—not with resistance, but with a faint warmth along his forearm.
Jonathan blinked.
Reito: Now he’s got it.
He didn’t move again.
He focused on that same finger.
Let it tense—not enough to curl, not enough to shift the joint.
Just a whisper of contraction.
The warmth returned.
Fainter than he was used to, but unmistakable.
The floor’s innermost ring glowed—just barely.
Jonathan: Now we’re getting somewhere.
The realization didn’t hit like lightning.
It crept in, slow and uncomfortable.
Every time he tried to move, the system fought him.
Every time he forced motion, it shut him down.
But the moment he stopped chasing movement—
His calf trembled slightly as he adjusted his balance.
The suit warmed again.
This time in his leg.
The floor responded with a soft, steady glow.
His legs shook.
His posture wavered.
Sweat rolled down his neck.
And for the first time—
Energy began to accumulate.
Slow.
Fragile.
Unstable.
But real.
The floor hummed beneath his feet, no longer tilting—just listening.
Jonathan held the position as long as he could, teeth clenched, body burning from effort that looked like stillness.
Then his knee buckled.
He stumbled forward, catching himself just before he fell.
The lights reset.
Charge: Minimal
Jonathan straightened, chest heaving, a grin spreading across his face anyway.
Jonathan: Yeah… this is gonna suck.
End Chapter
