CHAPTER 72: Training Together.
Everyone now knew that Aiden was not someone they could mess with. In the span of just a few days, he had shown, again and again, that he was undoubtedly the strongest in this academy.
His strength wasn't something vague or rumored anymore—everyone had seen it with their own eyes.
He had already defeated a tri-elemental mana cultivator, and not just any random cultivator, but the young master of the Draconia family, someone most students wouldn't dare to even speak loudly in front of.
And now he had defeated Ian, who was known as the best student of the fire department, the young genius of the Pavlov family, someone praised by teachers and respected by senior students. Aiden had defeated both of them easily, without even breaking a sweat.
To everyone watching, it felt unreal. It was like the gap between them, and Aiden wasn't a gap at all—it was an entire mountain range. He had even stood against Professor Walter earlier and had not backed down for even a single second.
Logan was also surprised by the outcome of this duel. He had not expected that his own nephew, who was considered a prodigy in their family, would be defeated so easily.
Ian was talented, and Logan knew that better than anyone. But after seeing this duel, he now understood very clearly that Aiden was the true genius in this academy. His potential was simply on another level compared to everyone else here.
He looked at Aiden and said, "It was a good fight. Well done."Aiden looked at him and simply nodded, calm as ever, showing no hint of pride or excitement.
Then he walked to the back and quietly began to observe the duels of the other students. His expression did not change as he watched them. Olivia won her duel easily, while the rest of the students fought each other desperately, panting heavily and giving everything they had.
After all the duels ended, Logan stood before the students and explained each of their strengths and weaknesses, pointing out things they needed to improve. His tone was strict but fair.
He didn't give Aiden any advice because in his eyes, Aiden was already perfect in every aspect. There was nothing he could say that Aiden didn't already know.
Then Logan announced, "We will end the class here today." With that, he walked out of the training ground with a calm expression, while the students slowly dispersed and went their own ways.
Aiden didn't waste a second. He turned around and headed straight to his private training room once again. His routine never changed. The same guard was standing in front of the door.
Aiden looked at him and nodded, and the guard nodded back respectfully. He placed his hand on the door and poured mana into it. The door glowed faintly before it slowly opened. Aiden stepped inside.
Inside the quiet room, he began once again to train his breathing technique while casting spells at the same time. The technique was extremely difficult. He trained for two hours straight, and as usual, sometimes he could maintain the breathing technique for a few minutes before it suddenly broke apart.
But he didn't stop. He tried again and again, his breathing steady, his mana flowing, sweat running down his back.
Whenever he felt exhausted, he quietly picked a fruit from the garden placed in the corner of the room and ate it. The fruit replenished his stamina and mana, helping him push himself further.
After six long hours of training, Aiden finally knocked on the door. The guard opened it immediately, and Aiden stepped out, giving him another small nod before leaving.
He then walked back to his room. When he entered, Aaron looked up from his bed and said, "Is your training done?"
Aiden nodded silently and headed to the washroom to wash up. After cleaning himself, he returned, and both he and Aaron sat cross-legged on the bed as they began absorbing mana together.
Once again, Aaron stopped at twenty-five minutes, completely drained. Aiden continued for a full hour before stopping. After that, both of them lay down on their beds and fell asleep peacefully.
Morning came. Sunlight streamed into the room through the window, warm and soft, while birds chirped outside. Aiden slowly opened his eyes. He rubbed them gently and got off the bed.
After that, he went to the washroom and splashed cold water on his face. When he came back, Aaron was awake. Both of them greeted each other casually before Aaron washed up.
Then Aiden left the room, with Aaron following behind him. They walked for a few minutes through the quiet hallway and arrived at the training ground. As they walked toward the center, they saw another figure already standing there.
It was a girl with white hair, wearing a black training suit. Victoria. She had arrived even earlier than they had. The moment Aiden saw her, he immediately understood that Aaron had told everything to Victoria. But he wasn't angry. He didn't say anything about it.
Victoria looked at both of them and said, "Good morning."Aiden simply nodded, while Aaron replied, "Good morning."
Victoria then looked at Aiden again and asked, "What kind of training will we do today?"
Aiden didn't reply. He simply walked past her, stopping at the center of the training ground. He looked at Aaron and Victoria and said in a calm voice, "Both of you will fight me today."
Aaron froze. His eyes widened in shock. Victoria, on the other hand, did not look surprised at all.
She had trained with Aiden before, so she already knew how harsh he could be. She looked at Aaron and said, "Prepare yourself. He is not going to hold back, so it will hurt."
Aaron nodded nervously and took the fighting stance Aiden had taught him. Victoria also took her stance, preparing herself mentally. The air tensed instantly.
Aiden suddenly vanished.
He appeared behind Aaron in a single blink. His fist was pulled back as he launched a punch straight toward Aaron's back.
Aaron was too slow to react, but suddenly an earth wall rose between them. The attack landed on the wall, shattering it instantly, but the wall had stopped the blow.
Victoria shouted, "Don't just stand there! Get away from him!"
Aaron snapped out of his panic and rushed forward, creating distance from Aiden. He reached Victoria's side, and she said, "We will have to work together, or else he will beat us to a pulp. He shows no mercy during training, so always stay on guard."
But just as she said this, Aiden once again appeared beside Aaron and kicked toward his side. Victoria reacted first, conjuring another earth wall between them. But Aiden suddenly vanished again—this time appearing right in front of Victoria.
She was completely surprised. Aiden had used Aaron as a decoy. His real target was her.
Before she could react, Aiden's punch slammed into her stomach, sending her flying backward. Aaron panicked when he saw this, but before he could move, Aiden appeared behind him and landed a kick on his back, knocking him to the ground.
Far away, Victoria stood up, groaning in pain. She conjured a wind cutter and sent it flying toward Aiden, who was standing near Aaron. Aiden dodged it easily.
Then more and more wind cutters shot toward him, but he dodged all of them, his movements smooth and effortless. The distance between him and Aaron widened.
Aaron clenched his teeth and ran toward Victoria, enduring the pain. They regrouped.
Suddenly, Aiden vanished again, appearing right beside Victoria this time. But before he could strike, a ball of light suddenly appeared right in front of his face. It was a light bulb Aaron had conjured to blind Aiden's vision for a moment. Victoria used the chance and sent several more wind cutters at him.
The attacks landed, and dust filled the air, blocking their sight. Aaron and Victoria took rapid breaths, waiting to see if their attacks had worked.
As the dust slowly settled, a bright orange glow appeared inside it. They saw a dome of fire.
Aiden had conjured a fire dome all around himself.
Their hearts tightened. They knew Aiden was completely fine.
The dome slowly faded away, revealing Aiden standing inside without a single scratch on him.
Training continued, and Aiden beat both of them continuously. Aaron and Victoria fought desperately, trying to defend themselves and strike back whenever they could, but they were unable to do anything.
After an hour, both of them lay on the ground, their faces and bodies covered in bruises, groaning in pain. Aiden stood beside them, completely unharmed, as if he hadn't even fought.
Aiden then said, "We will stop here for today."
Aaron and Victoria let out a sigh of relief. Their bodies hurt so much they didn't even want to move.
Aiden left the training ground and went back to his room to change into the academy uniform, while Aaron and Victoria slowly made their way to the healing room to get treated.
Author's Note: Victoria and Aaron train under Aiden's tough and merciless tutelage how strong will they be after completing their training. Stay tuned for more.