Ats remained motionless, staring at the faint particles that had begun to appear around him, visible even without his vision.

  Curiosity overtook him as he sat up, the floating particles ily. His hand reached out, and as he touched them, the particles shifted, their flow disturbed by his movements. Every time he waved his hand, they swirled and altered their paths, some drifting aimlessly in the air while others rose steadily upward.

  Elemental particles!

  Reition dawned on him. These were the same particles that every Awakener would eventually sense during the early stages of gaining affinity with Mana. However, those particles were usually pale white, representing pure Mana.

  What Ats was seeing now were different—these were elemental particles, eae tied to a specific element in nature, their colors distind vibrant.

  He stood slowly, taking in the glowing lights around him. The reddish particles clustered he va he had stepped in earlier, while faint brownish particles hovered over the solid grouood upon.

  I use these!

  Excitement surged through him. He could use these elemental particles to guide him through this sensory void.

  Yes! I’ve found the way!

  Ats pushed himself to run agaie his body feeling numb and deadened from the relentless pain. He could no longer feel anything—only the faint embers of determination driving him forward.

  Yes, I do it. I do it!

  There! Ahead was a stream of va. He slowed his pace, carefully feeling out the edge with his feet. The faint reddish particles floating above the molten river guided him as he gauged the distance.

  He braced himself, bending his knees, and then leaped with all his strength.

  His body soared through the air.

  And—

  He nded on solid ground. Rolling across the dirt, he stopped and y there for a moment, stunned.

  But he had do. He had leaped over the stream of va!

  He did it! He fug did it!

  With renewed determination, Ats got up a running. He could finish this training. He could overe it all.

  The elite subordinates and troops watched from afar, their eyes fixed on their Lord. Many of the troops sat slumped on the ground, too exhausted to move. Not a single one had touched any food all day, even though the night had long since fallen.

  Zara, sitting at the front, g Milo, who was nervously shuffling his cards.

  “Mr. Milo… tell me…” Zara said softly.

  Since Zara, the team leader of the Aether team, had been assigned Milo as their Supervisor, she’d grown surprisingly fortable talking with him. Despite Milo’s usual reluce to give satisfying answers, she seemed unfazed.

  They all found it odd how Zara could approach Milo so casually, especially sidering the man was infamous for hulking out if aouched him.

  “Y-yess… Za-Zara…” Milo stammered.

  “Isn’t it true that someone learn to detect elemental particles through meditation?” Zara asked. “And that this method also helps them build elemental affinity?”

  “U-uhm… uhm…” Milo fumbled, his face twitg as he tried to form a coherent response. “With training this hard… someone could… uhm…”

  “Let me expin.” Before he could finish, a sharp, clear voice cut in.

  Turning, they saw a figure in a sleek bck suit with perfectly styled hair standing nearby. It was Edrik.

  Edrik always had a way of expining things clearly, which was why the troops immediately perked up, listening ily to his words.

  “Someone indeed sense elemental particles through meditation,” Edrik began. “And through this method, they build or unlock their elemental affinity. There’s nothing wrong with that statement. It’s also something all of you will be able to do soon to unlock your owal affinities.”

  He paused, gng at the group, who were wide-eyed and hanging on to his every word.

  “However,” he tinued, “what Master Kurogasa is having the Lord undergo isn’t about meditation. Master Kurogasa wants the Lord to experience elemental particles through struggle, suffering, areme pressure. Uhese ditions, the Lord will develop an unscious—or instinctive—ability to sense elemental particles, especially in moments of danger.”

  He let the weight of his words sink in before tinuing. “When done correctly—though the method is undeniably harsh, extremely harsh—it result in stronger elemental affinity, deeper es with multiple elements, and the potential to develop unique skills or talents. These will serve as the foundation for the Lord’s future growth.”

  He finished his expnation with a pierg gaze. “The point is simple: the harder you suffer in training, the better the results.”

  Edrik’s cold, unyielding eyes swept over the group, making everyone swallow hard.

  Were they going to have to ehe same training?!

  Hell no! No way!

  How long did it take Ats to finish just one p? It felt like forever.

  By the time the clock struck midnight, everyone was still there, still awake. Many were on the verge of colpsing from exhaustion, their heads bobbing as they fought against sleep, but they refused to leave.

  They swallowed hard and shook their heads in disbelief as they watched their Lord train.

  What was this man made of?

  His mental fortitude was unreal. He had ehis hellish training from m until now, well past midnight.

  There’s no way he’s human. He’s a robot!

  Some troops couldn’t take it anymore and fell asleep where they sat, while others kept pushing themselves to stay awake—especially the team leaders, who remained seated and waiting.

  Zara, as usual, was trying to strike up versation with Milo, her effradually calming the nervous man. The pace of his card shuffling slowed down.

  M finally arrived. And there he was—the Lord, still running. Still failing. From yesterday to now, a full 24 hours of relentless hell, uo see, feel, or sense anything, with no idea when this torment would finally end.

  But that m, just as doubts began to creep into the minds of the troops—w if their Lord could ever plete this training—something ged.

  Ats started running faster. His movements greer, his strides more fident. He ran, jumped, and nded.

  He fihe first p.

  Without stopping, he turned and began sprinting toward the se.

  The troops, who had been watg in tense silence, erupted into cheers. They stood, g and shouting.

  Their Lord had do! He had succeeded... the first p!

  een more to go.

  The other troops tinued refusing to eat until their Lord ate as well. Instead of resting, they demao begin their own training immediately.

  They should have been exhausted—starving from ing and drained from ck of sleep. Yet, for some reason, a determination coursed through their bodies, fueling them with a resolve. Without hesitation, they threw themselves into their training once more.

  By the time evening rolled around, everyohered again, waiting with bated breath as Ats he end of his grueling challenge.

  Finally, Ats pleted his 20th p. His steps faltered, and his body colpsed forward—straight into Edrik, who caught him before he could hit the ground.

  “You made it, Ats,” Edrik said. “You made it, My Lord.”

  The troops couldn’t hold bay loears streamed down their faces as they watched their Lord, utterly spent but victorious.

  Some fell to their knees, bowing in deep respect to the man who had ehis hellish training. He was only level 46, born with an F-rank trash bat talent, a he had pushed himself beyond all limits.

  Even though he was just an ordinary human, no different from the rest of them!

  He had do. Against all odds, he had do!

  [You’ve developed new Skill: Epic-grade Instinctive Elemental Sense]

  [Type: Passive Skill]

  [Provides intuitive knowledge of elemental particle movement, enabling seamless navigation aion to elemental energy without scious effort.]