Chapter 4

He woke up alone in some dark room. Veles had no idea for how long he slept and why they chose to

drug them.

While slowly standing up from a bed, a human-size hologram appeared from the middle of what turned

out to be a very spacious room.

The hologram was projecting a silver android with a perfect, muscular body standing in an enormous

hall.

Such a body looked strange on a robot. Veles couldn't help but ask himself why the creator of this body

made such carved muscles? Isn't that just a dead weight as a real android's strength is coming from the

mechanism inside? It felt unnecessary.

On top of that, the Android had a belt with a wooden longsword and arm protectors giving him a look of a

weird, metallic warrior taken from some fantasy game.

The hall which seemed to be inside the Spaceship was magnificent. It was bigger than any stadium, and

it was hard to say how vast it was. In the middle stood a statue, tall like a ten-floors building. The

sculpture wore a one-piece robe and held with both hands some kind of wand with a blue gem. It was

beautiful and mysterious at the same time.

"Greetings, Earthlings! It seems all of you have awakened. You are now in Milky Way Training station,

many light-years from Earth. It will be your home for a foreseeable future. We believe about six million

from your species will have Aether Roots, and all of them will end up here for the first round of education.

Currently, there are about 210 hundred thousands of Earthlings. Your batch has number 7 with about

30000 people. I'm Brendel, the Basic sword skill trainer and currently a guide to your cabins. " He said

with a deep, metallic voice. It seems that this Android was of much lesser quality then Kenji, who even

look like a human.

"Your schedule is a simple one. You'll spend most of your time in your cabins working on sensing and

manipulating the Aether. Once per week, there is a public lecture on Aether given by one of the 12 Aether

users on a Station. It happens via hologram on Friday noon," Brendel explained. "Also, three-time per

week, one of the sword instructors will spar with you and give you some basic pointer and exercises. Any

questions?" He asked in a thunder-like voice.

"How long on average does it take to start sensing the Aether and reaching the first layer?" Veles quickly

asked. He wanted to stand out at least a little, so it'll be easier to approach the other people as they will

be familiar with his face or voice. He had no idea how much of it transfers via hologram.

"Decent question. Usually, it takes about two weeks to start sensing and about half a year to reach First

Layer and becoming an Aether Initiate. Any other questions?" Brendel responded.

"What's the thing with the sword?" asked the "Professor," the tall and wiry guy in early forties from earlier.

It turned out that a person that asks a question temporarily appears for everyone to see in the projection.

" I thought that it's all about using an Aether. White weapons are probably not much of a use in modern

warfare. " He added with a curious expression on his face.

"Ah, right, an excellent question. Based on Earth technology, you might have a misconception of what

modern warfare is. You see, currently, to take someone down during the fight, it takes multiple shots

from infantry weapons. It's all due to various defensive fields, which are part of standard soldier's

equipment. That makes most of the battles to end up in a melee with guns as support." Brendel

explained, putting his silver hand on the hilt of the wooden longsword.

"Any other questions? "

"I have one. I still don't get it, why the swords? I thought that we would be Aether users, and we need no

weapons." A teenage boy in with long, brown hair asked.

"Well, actually the vast majority of Aether users use weapons to some extent. Only the mighty beings like

the one you see on Earth have the luxury of not using them every time. However, even they have in their

arsenals weapons like swords." Brendel replied, somewhat impatiently this time. Seem's that what

differentiates those androids was not only skills but also personalities.

"Alright, that's enough of questions for today. All of that you can find any way in the materials left in your

cabins. So let's finished it here."

It marked the end of transmission and the hologram diseased from the room. Veles looked around to

get more familiar with his new living place.

There were three rooms, not counting the bathroom —each about 25 meters square. In the first one,

there was a pretty comfortable bed, desk,

and a wardrobe full of clothes at Veles's size. The room was not as luxurious as the shuttle they came;

however, it was both practical and neat. Almost everything in the place served some purpose, but still,

give an elegant feeling due to its craftsmanship. For example, the desk has carved ornaments, or the

wardrobe had stylish handle and knobs, etc.

In a second room, there was a gym with wooden swords, scarecrow, and lifting weights.

The third room looked a bit like a Japanese room with tatami and mediation mat lying in the middle. In

the corner, there was a miniature mountain with a stream and plants. The sound of the water was very

calming and refreshing.

"Not bad. It's a lot of space for a single person. If everyone gets room like that, then this ship is much

bigger then I imagined." Veles thought.

Stolen story; please report.

He sat on the chair next to the desk, and right away, a strange device lying on the desk in shape ball

activated.

"Greetings, I am cabin's AI to help you set up your daily routines. For today, before going to sleep,

please get yourself familiar with the breathing technique described in the manual. Once you read it, I will

be projecting a visual help to make it easier for you to repeat the described exercises." The ball said.

"So it begins," Veles thought with sight as he grabbed the manual and started reading it.

The breathing manual was in the form of a scroll, which you had to unfold to reveal the content slowly. It

was not as practical as using the standard books on Earth, but Veles found it more engaging. The scroll

was short, written in an easy to understand way and filled with illustrations that moved similar to GIFs

when he was focusing on them. How it knew that Veles was looking at them was a mystery. Overall, it

took about fifteen minutes to Veles to read through the manual.

The breathing technique did not seem like anything special.

It described a set of breaths and order to perform them. Some of the breathings were very long, some

short and done at strange intervals. Once Veles tried to repeat it, he found it unnatural and had to stop

several times as he began to suffocate.

In the end, it took about an hour to get it right for the first time.

It would be much longer if not for the help of AI. It began to project a hologram of hooded Aether Master

performing the breathing, highlighting how the air flows in and out of lungs. It was surprisingly useful and

let Veles gain insight into how it supposed to work. Soon, his technique was spot on, and after an

additional hour, the breathing stopped feeling uncomfortable. He could almost swear that once he got the

exercise right, the hooded master from the hologram smiled at him. However, he did not feel any

connection to the Aether. The breathing gave him a comfortable feeling, but that was it.

Veles sighted and decided to go through some of the materials available to get more insights about the

Aether. It was about eight PM, so still plenty of time till going to sleep. Veles was the "night owl person,"

enjoying working late at night and waking up just before noon. A long time ago he realized that evenings

are where he is most productive and now he wanted to take advantage of it.

On a shelf, there were several holograms, with one of them marked as "Beginner - Feeling the Aether

lessons." Veles decided to go for it and placed his hand on the device.

Right after he touched the hologram, he saw a scene in his mind. A seemingly good-natured elderly

Aether user was giving a lecture to a class full of teenagers.

"I remember the first time when I wanted to sense my connection to the Aether and performed the same

breathing technique you do. "The old man reminisced, his eyes becoming cloudy is he was thinking

about events that took place over 200 hundred years ago.

"In the beginning, I had no idea what I was doing, just repeating and repeating the exercise in the hope

of feeling something. And after a few days, I did sense the connection! Elder said, and a smile appeared

on his face as if he was enjoying that experience one more time.

"The first time you feel the Aether is a day you'll never forget. The same, you'll never forget your first

lover. You'll get to perceive the world on a different, deeper level. For me, it was like looking at the world

after taking off the sunglasses. Everything becomes brighter, richer, fuller. There is also the feeling of

power that comes with Aether, which makes you feel that nothing is impossible, that you have truly

transcended! However, don't get drunk by that feeling, don't get the Aether to control you! The Aether is as

beautiful as it is dangerous to both body and soul. Especially the soul can be easily corrupted by the

Aether, turning you into a mindless Aether Atontiah. Countless practitioners have their minds corrupted or

their bodies transformed. Such a change can't be reverted. The Aether influence can also be very subtle,

and it takes a strong will to keep yourself intact, especially when practising the Dark Arts." The teacher

warned in a solemn tone. At his level, everyone knows at least one person who did not resist the calling

of Aether.

"However, having the ability to detect it is just a first, tiny step. There is still a long way from the skill of

using it and manipulating according to one's will. At this stage, the danger is minimal, and you will learn

in the future how to defend yourself against the Aether influence." The old teacher continued his lecture,

and his speech was passionate; there was something sacred in the way he spoke about Aether.

"You probably want to hear today more stories about how powerful and amazing it is to use Aether, how it

can change you into a super being. However, today, I won't dwell on it anymore. It is not a time, and

such knowledge would only confuse you now. You firstly have to learn how to stand up before you can

start walking." He said, looking at the classroom, and his eyes seemed to be able to see their thoughts.

"What you need to know is that the breathing technique accumulates Aether in your body, and at some

point, you start to feel it inside you. And also the changes it brings. Some can begin sensing already after

hours or days. In contrast, others need weeks or months, all depending on personal talent and

determination. " Old main explained, trying to encourage the youths.

"So first take away from today's lecture is the repetition, repetition, and repetition of the breathing

technique. Perform those exercises until it becomes second nature to you. That is all you need to

succeed in sensing the Aether. The second point is visualization. The Aether is everywhere, and you must

realize it. The imagination will help your brain to make that switch. The last take away; be wary of how of

the Aether's dangers. If you start having disturbing visions or feel pain while cultivating, please let me

know.

The Aether is everywhere, and it is up to you to extend your hand and reach it. " The elder concluded,

leaving everyone intrigued.

The vision ended. There were about ten similar classes from different elders on the sensing topic, which

further broader Veles's perspective.

"Well, it seems I need to grind it. All lessons are talking about keep on meditating and using the

breathing technique. No way around it," Veles thought after reviewing the last lesson.

The rest of the evening, he spent meditating with eyes closed, trying to visualize the Aether flow. It was a

calming but also mundane experience. His effort soon brought results. If he were to open his eyes for a

moment, you would notice his breath become visible, creating a small mist. Any Aether User would be

able to recognize that mist as a sign that the Aether has started to accumulate. However, Veles was too

engaged in meditating to pay attention to his surroundings.

Two hours later, he fell asleep, having a dream of using the Aether, which he did not remember in the

morning.