The first day of intense training had come to a grinding, aching end.
And to everyone's surprise, and maybe their slight shame, not a single person was able to even land a hit on Aron.
Even though that wasn't the actual goal of the whole exercise, they were still treating the sparring sessions almost like a real fight. After all, in order to feel fear, the kind of paralyzing, primal fear required to trigger their hidden potential, wouldn't they need to push Aron to the point where he felt in danger? Only then would he attack them back even harder, with genuine intent.
Right now, they had to admit it: because the gap between them and him seemed so incredibly large, none of them really felt the fear of dying.
This, they knew, was their downfall. The thought was perpetually at the back of their heads: they were sure Aron was skilled enough to avoid actually killing them. That tiny safety net, that unspoken assurance, was blocking the mental spike necessary for their breakthrough.
