Kael continued forward through the forest with far more caution than before, his attention now divided between the environment around him and the growing list of sensations his body was refusing to forget.
The tiny thorn prick in his foot remained as irritating as ever, no dulling, no fading, no natural shift into the background like ordinary pain usually did.
The freezing sting on his exposed skin also persisted, lingering across his face and neck as if the cold wind from several minutes ago was still actively biting into him. It was not debilitating, not even close, but it was distracting in the most irritating way possible.
That alone made this trial dangerous.
Kael was beginning to understand that the point was not overwhelming him with pain all at once, but accumulating enough minor suffering until his own mind turned against him. A severe injury could be planned around.
One adapts to major pain. But dozens of tiny discomforts stacked together? That was harder to ignore.
