Ato lay helplessly on the ground, unable to lift even a single finger. All around him, the rain continued to pour—cold, apathetic, and uncaring.

How long had it been? He wondered, glancing around him. He was still on the edge of the crossroad, and the sun was just about to set, casting its orange glow upon the rest of the world.

Ato was completely out of energy. He could not even move his limbs. No matter how desperately he tried, the only parts of his body he could move were his head and fingers.

He closed his eyes, attempting to draw in even the slightest glimmer of Kra...

Nothing.

In hindsight, he should have expected it. After all, there was a reason why he had been warned not to continue on after the sensation.

Yet he'd done it anyway, all because of a useless thought.

He'd sworn not to let his emotions get the best of him, and Ato had done just that. He truly was a disappointment, even to himself.

Ato dispelled such thoughts and began violently shaking his head; panic overtook his mind.

Yet underneath that veil of fear, a fierce determination was forming.

Ato began to crawl forward, using his fingers to propel himself. It was tough work, but it would have been even tougher had he not been at the second stage of body tempering.

The young man crawled along, choosing to go down the right path. The journey was tough, and he suffered more than just a few scrapes while heading to his destination.

It was about fifty minutes in when Ato felt the slow but steady trickle of energy into his heart, and a large smile blossomed on his face.

He pushed himself slowly off the ground; the muscles on his bare back strained visibly under the soft glow of the newly risen moon. His face and Kente were absolutely caked in dried mud, and he could definitely taste some of it as well.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"As far as presentable goes... I'm not looking too good..."

He tapped his heart and felt the Kra swirling within it. It was definitely much more Kra than he was used to containing; if he had to estimate, he'd say that his reserve had grown by about five times its original size.

Upgrades, people! That's how we make the dough!

Chuckling a bit at the obscure reference, he made his way forward.

***

When Kweku heard the recounted tales of Ato's struggles, he almost couldn't believe it. Yet his mud-caked face, coupled with the quite visible wounds on his face and left foot, went a long way in persuading him of the story's authenticity.

Adding to this was the strangely small number of people who returned from the farm that night. Kweku counted himself lucky that he'd been able to leave early.

But there was yet another cause for celebration.

"You've broken through?"

Ato looked surprised; it seemed he hadn't expected to get found out so soon. And honestly, Kweku didn't blame him for lying. After all, he still hadn't told him what the orb was, and he wasn't planning to do so anytime soon.

Ato quickly calmed himself, returning to his former expression. The speed at which he did so came as another pleasant surprise to Kweku.

So the boy knows his way around the aristocracy... Good.

Kweku had the strange habit of speaking like an old man in his mind. It helped him feel more grounded, like his father would want.

He quite liked thinking about his father.

Kweku rose from his bed, lending an outstretched hand to his roommate.

"Come on then, let’s go get you a new spell."

***

The two left the hut and went towards their destination. They passed by the old man's shrine and watched the Senior Slave as he swept the dust away from the statue, which seemed a lot more lifelike than when Ato had last seen it. They then went through the courtyard, where hordes of unawakened teenagers went through their nightly drills.

After the awakening of Ato's group, the Supervisor had seen to it that the teenagers also participated in nightly sessions as well. As to whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, Ato couldn't tell.

The teenagers' eyes shone with admiration as they watched them pass by; the determination within their eyes could be seen clearly.

"Isn't it funny?" asked Kweku. "How they reward us for climbing to higher levels? They'll give us spells at this stage, then again at the fourth stage. They're trying to incentivize our growth, as if preparing for war."

The older boy stopped in his walk and turned to address his roommate. Under the shimmering glow of the moonlight, his eyes revealed firm determination.

And a sharp, festering malice.

"You know what I think? I think that by the end of our little journey, we'll have quite the job waiting for us."

Kweku resumed his walk, beckoning Ato to follow. A slight smile danced on his lips as he thought of his new prospects.

The army, huh?

That would definitely work.