The grass was drenched with black viscous blood.
He sat breathing heavy, a giant snake in front of him a deep gash in its neck, and a phantomlike blade in its skull.
"Simulation complete."
It had been an entire day. Kayui looked like he had to make three trips to hell and back.
His face and hair were slick with blood, his shirt and pants to his uniform were shredded until only the upper half of his pants barely remained.
A few scars the healers couldn't fully fix at the moment remained from a couple of close calls.
He had been impaled more than once.
Throughout it all he finally made a breakthrough — aura projection.
His katana didn't hold up much longer after the first few hours, so he found another way.
Projecting his aura in certain ways could allow it to become tangible.
This was his breakthrough.
He limped his way out of the training room. Immediately multiple eyes shot at him.
It wasn't typical for a room to be occupied for such a long period of time so students who came in regularly noticed it quickly.
"That's the new kid right?"
"That's Makil's little brother!"
"I heard he went toe to toe with the Dying Star Heir."
He ignored all the muttering and made his way to an altitude chamber.
A chamber filled with condensed altitude, handy for meditation and altitude cycling.
******
"Good morning," Kage said as Kayui walked through the town hall door.
Kayui walked in, his head held higher than the day before. Both Kage and Modoru noticed a difference immediately.
They felt his presence had changed, his altitude felt thicker, and controlled.
They walked in silence for a while, Kage leading the two into a private room.
"You're looking good," Kage spoke again directly to Kayui.
Kayui didn't immediately respond. He let the words hang for a second.
"I know, what's the plan?"
"There isn't one," Modoru spoke for the first time, his green eyes dull.
"We go in, we find the target, we leave."
Kayui had no objections so he stayed quiet. The unfamiliarity of the two made the tension heavy.
He saw them as rivals, while they saw him as prey waiting to be devoured.
"We three are strong enough, there won't be any true threat here besides our main target. Prepare we move out in an hour."
Kayui didn't need another signal. He stood up and made his way to the door.
A knock on the door came before it slowly opened.
Mr.Kong stepped through, his large frame barely squeezing through the slim door.
His presence alone took up plenty of space, smothering out the other three completely.
"There's an escort outside for when you're ready. It'll only take you about 3 hours away from the village if you walk. The rest of the trip will be on foot."
None of them batted an eye. For them that 3-hour time would be cut to mere minutes if need be.
"Finally, don't be overconfident. This isn't an academy test. It's the real deal. Overconfidence will be the first thing to get you killed."
He didn't say much more and made his way out the door. Kayui followed.
"Maybe we should plan something,"
Kage placed his hand on Kayui's shoulder as they made their way out of the hall. He turned around, ignoring the gesture.
"Let me take on the leader. My abilities are suited for direct encounters. You snuff out the elites and let Modoru handle the rest of the village."
"Quite a strategist huh?" Kage shot back, hiding his destain. It was clear to him that Kayui felt like he was the strongest.
The egoist didn't reply. He walked through the door calmly.
In his mind, his thoughts were racing.
'Am I the overconfident one?'
He knew Mr. Kong's words weren't purposeless. But was he the target?
He stepped onto damp grass and floated up onto the town hall with an effortless leap.
The town hall was off the path of the city of Celestia and was surrounded by lush nature. He didn't know exactly how but he knew for as far as he could see there was open grass and large trees.
Celestia was so large, with plenty of parks and ecosystems living within the city alongside fully developed urban areas filled to the brim with skyscrapers and advanced technology highways.
It was bright outside, and he could smell that it had rained the night before. If he wasn't in the training room for the past three days he would've seen it.
Rain wasn't very common in Celestia's climate. When rain came to Celestia it was always a little concerning.
The storm goddess wasn't necessarily popular in these parts. Kayui never paid any mind to these things as his deity, the beast god, was rarely affected by such things.
He sat in thought for a second and fell into his mindscape.
The water at his feet had become thicker and was now at his shins.
The grey sphere had gotten darker in color.
He willed his self to walk closer — this time no resistance came. As he approached it he noticed a small crack had appeared on the sphere where his finger had touched it those few days ago. It was white in color and bled purple light.
'Is my core breaking?'
He touched the crack, but there was no negative effect. Instead, he felt power. A warm power bled through.
Immediately he was intrigued, but at the same time, he was apprehensive. A change to his core could mean bad or good, but he knew he had to take risks to become powerful.
The fear lingered before he pushed it to the back of his mind and took his attention back to the true world.
He had plenty of time to burn, so he meditated, using a technique he learned in the training chamber, he cycled out his own altitude and brought in nature's.
He didn't completely understand but he knew his breathing was important. He could feel the energy flow from his mouth into his lungs and out into his bloodstream.
This technique opened his pathways and grew his core exponentially.
'It's slow, but it'll pay off'
****
"Time to go." A monotone voice called out. If it wasn't for his enhanced senses Kayui wouldn't have heard it.
He opened his eyes, he felt completely rejuvenated, and met Modoru's gaze.
"You have a cycling routine?" Kayui asked as he dropped down to the still-damp grass. Even uneasy, he knew he needed to learn about his new companions.
"What do you mean by cycling?"
Kayui scratched his head, struggling to find words to describe his concept of cycling.
"The practice of absorbing natural altitudes in your vicinity. It's done in many ways, but most commonly with meditative breathing." Kage poked his head out from inside an approaching van's passenger seat.
It was matte black and obviously plated with thick armor. A few hatches were visible. Kayui knew they hid weapons in case of an emergency.
"C'mon, we're already behind."