Grayish-white spirals churned in Ashan's eyes as he studied the rock.
'A shame,' he mused. 'To have a key to such power and only use one lock.'
The other skills—Memory Drive, Foresee, and Conceal—remained theoretical, stymied by a lack of formal knowledge and the ever-present, prying eyes of the instructors. 'Perhaps a carefully dropped hint to the elder is the path... but the risk...'
His analysis complete, he identified the nodes where the rock's infused prana was thinnest. He channeled his own energy into his fist and struck.
Thwack! More gravel flew, but the stone held. 'The weak points are clear, but my strength is insufficient. A frustrating equation.'
For two hours, the hall echoed with the sounds of futile impacts. Ashan's rock was dented, but no one had shattered theirs.
"Pathetic," Instructor Yessa finally snarled, his voice dripping with contempt. "You have three days to destroy these stones with your bare hands. Fail, and you will learn the meaning of punishment. Dismissed!"
***
"My knuckles are on fire," Ballio whimpered, cradling his swollen, red hands.
"Is there any way to break them without our hands?" Helma asked, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Dris snorted. "What, you gonna use your—" He cut himself off, a rare moment of restraint dawning on his face. '...Better not. Even for me, that's too much.'
"Focus your life sense," Ashan interjected, his tone calm and instructive. "Strike where the Prana feels thinnest. That is the trail."
'For them, it's a test of sensory control. For me, it's a map laid bare.'
He contemplated the deeper lesson. 'They're meant to learn to find flaws through feel. I'm just cheating with a blueprint.'
"I tried," Imla sighed. "But sensing one or two weak spots isn't enough. The rock is still too dense."
"You can use Life Sense like that?" Rodric, Dris, and Damara exclaimed in unison.
"Even if we found all the points, we lack the strength," Helma countered, ever the pragmatist.
Ballio, still nursing his hands, offered a new perspective.
"Maybe the true goal isn't to break the rock but to train our Life Sense to its limit."
"But Instructor Vael is already teaching us the Prana basics. Why this separate drill?" Rodric argued.
"Perhaps it's both," Ashan concluded. "Yessa is building the foundation for combat. To break your enemy, you must first find his weakness."
***
On the second floor of the classroom building, Instructor Dhren awaited them. "
The shelves hold texts on our previous studies. Today, we move to practical knowledge: survival and the other intelligent races of this world."
Dris perked up. 'Finally, no more numbers and gravity.'
"The other races?" a candidate whispered, confusion rippling through the group.
The concept was alien to these orphans, who knew only the dregs of human society.
Ashan felt no such shock. 'In a world of magic and gods, a world with only one intelligent race would be the true surprise.'
Instructor Dhren's voice cut through the murmurs. "The Rakshasa and the Manuga. Both inhabit the northern continent."
"The Rakshasa are monstrous beasts, yet they can harness Sadhana. They are... resources. Hunted for their parts to craft pills, weapons, and artifacts."
His tone then twisted into disdain. "The Manuga are wretched creatures—animals wearing a humanoid mask. They have human forms with bestial features."
Swish!
Goat-skin pages landed before each student. "Take notes!"
He delved into their biology and habitats. Rakshasa were mutated, evolved beasts, vastly outnumbering humans. Manuga species were categorized as canine, feline, reptilian, avian, and aquatic.
'So, the catgirls and foxgirls of fantasy are real,' Ashan mused, a faint sigh escaping him.
'A worldly pleasure to be sampled, perhaps, once immortality is secured.'
The thought was a flicker of dark amusement in his grim calculus.
***
"That old man never stops talking!" Dris grumbled as they filed out.
"It's amazing, though," Ballio said, his face alight with excitement. "Other races!"
Rodric gave him a curious look. "Why are you so happy?"
"From childhood, I've adored animals! I even did... experiments," Ballio replied, his voice cracking slightly before he regained his enthusiasm. "The world is so vast!"
The team exchanged puzzled glances.
Ashan allowed a slight smile. "Well, aren't you a furry lover, then?"
The group stared blankly. The word "furry" didn't exist in Sankhrein.
"Fua...ruuy? What is that?" Ballio asked, intrigued.
"Furry," Ashan corrected. "A term I coined for a friend who shared your... ardent appreciation for animals." Internally, he smirked.
'Though his interest was more... carnal. Ballio's seems purely scientific.
A glutton for knowledge, not lust.
"Oh! A strange word, but I like it!" Ballio beamed, blissfully unaware.
'If only you knew,' Ashan jested silently.
***
The third floor was a vast, open space filled with wooden training puppets.
"Form lines! Now!" Head Instructor Inira's command brooked no delay.
Her cold gaze swept over them, lingering a moment too long on Team 7.
"I will now teach you the foundations of Atma Vidya.
Just as prana can strengthen the body and grant life sense, Atmic can be used for 'soul sense'—a two-meter radius mental perception—and to fortify your mind-sea against intrusion."
"First, soul sense. Still your mind. Let your consciousness expand and perceive the world without your eyes."
Ashan complied, his mind becoming a calm lake.
Slowly, silhouettes began to form in his perception—the bright auras of living candidates against the dark voids of inanimate objects.
"Enough!" Inira's voice shattered the concentration. "Now, for practical application."
She uttered a phrase in guttural Ashurain, her hand snapping forward. A bolt of dark azure energy shot forth, striking a wooden puppet. The upper half of the target vanished into splinters and dust.
"This," she declared, as the echoes of the blast faded, "is one of the most basic mantras for a Bodnir-ranked Sadhaka: [Combat Bolt]."
A stunned silence filled the hall, every eye wide with a mixture of shock and raw, covetous hunger.