Night fell over the river camp with a hushed finality. Though the group had labored to build crude defenses and sharpen their skills, no one felt entirely at ease. A tension drifted in the humid air, as though unseen eyes watched from just beyond the flickering glow of the campfire. Every snapped twig or sudden rustle set nerves on edge, yet no attack came.

Kurai took the first watch, perched on an overturned log near the camp's edge. He remained motionless, keen eyes darting over every shadow.

That strange, prickling sense that something lurked out there never faded, but dawn arrived without incident. By the time morning broke, the entire group was weary with half-rest and anxious anticipation.

Before the others had fully shaken off sleep, Kurai readied his spear. His expression was focused and distant, as though he'd already decided on his next move. No one tried to stop him when he announced he was going out to hunt again. They only nodded in resigned acceptance.

"Be careful," Mira offered quietly, still blinking away the last of her exhaustion. Elias inclined his head but said nothing, and Theo murmured a similar caution. Jace gave a small nod.

With that, Kurai slipped out of the camp, following the river for a short distance before veering into the denser jungle. His heightened reflexes and Aether-infused strength propelled him forward with startling speed. Leaves and vines parted in his wake, a blur of motion as he tracked prowlers or any other suitable prey.

In the span of a few hours, Kurai dispatched seven prowlers—an accomplishment that, not so long ago, would have been unthinkable. He recalled how the first hunts demanded caution, each kill a victory given by careful movement and thinking. Now, he moved like a wraith: leaping fallen logs with ease, spinning away from lunging claws, dispatching beasts with spear thrusts that felt almost effortless.

Three fell to him in a single skirmish, the rest in another. He scarcely had time to feel winded. Each kill brought fresh surges of Aether, though the System's voice awarding points had become so routine that he barely listened. All that mattered was that he had enough now. Enough to claim the Aether Manual he'd fixated on since discovering the System's shop.

When Kurai emerged from the undergrowth, the midday sun filtering through the canopy, he carried yet another sinewy prowler corpse slung over his shoulder. Blood matted his clothes, but his steps were light, unfaltering. He let the carcass drop near the camp's perimeter with a dull thud, casting a glance around at his companions.

Jace, who had been running through the stances Kurai taught the night before, froze mid-motion. He stared at Kurai, fists clenching around his makeshift spear. The speed of Kurai's return—and the casual way he hauled his kill—only served to deepen Jace's frustration. He set his jaw, silently vowing that he wouldn't remain a bystander for long.

Kurai dropping the prowler down by the campfire, moved quickly again, eager to figure out what the manual would say. "I'll be back in a while. Don't disturb me."

Before anyone could protest, he walked away, heading toward a cluster of trees on the camp's far side. Jace watched him go, bitterness nudging at the corners of his thoughts. Elias, hovering nearby, cast Jace a brief, unreadable look, then moved to help Theo with the prowler.

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Kurai found a quiet spot near a broad-rooted tree, isolated enough to grant a semblance of privacy. The canopy above filtered the sunlight into shifting patches, and the distant chatter of the river provided a muted backdrop. He sank down against the trunk, closing his eyes for a moment, letting his breathing steady.

He opened the System menu in his mind. The points displayed clearly: 320 in total—more than enough. He navigated to the item he'd coveted for days now: A Basic Aether Manual (300 points).

He felt the mental prompt. Purchase.

In that instant, a needle-sharp pain lanced through his skull—more intense than any he had felt before. His hands reflexively gripped the tree's gnarled roots. Blood roared in his ears, seemingly rushing to his head.

Knowledge flooded in—fragments of diagrams, instructions, cryptic words that felt both ancient and oddly clinical. Vessels of Aether, core formations, pathways for controlling energy within the body. His mind spun. Heartbeats passed like a slow eternity.

Then, as suddenly as it began, the pain ebbed, leaving behind a resonating clarity. He inhaled shakily, blinking sweat from his eyes.

No physical book lay before him; instead, the Manual's teachings were etched into his memory as though he'd studied them for years. The instructions guided him to solidify the Aether to a single point in his body, and to channel energy along prescribed pathways in his limbs and torso. It reminded him of the ways of temple, the monks and their teachings, to gain inner control of yourself and the stages of enlightenment in order to perceive the world, he reminisced. He reasoned his meditation practices will be helpful in this endeavor as well.

He knew it was only a sliver of what might be possible, but it dwarfed anything he'd known before. I was merely gathering Aether until now, he realized, but this.. this is shaping it. It was difficult for now. The wild Aether in his body needed to be grounded before he could do something too magical, though the idea excited him. I can't remember the last time I felt like this, despite the place he now found himself in, away from the peaceful sanctuary of his abode, he felt alive and even hopeful for the future.

He recalled the manual's last page: a simple test to determine one's affinity. Elements, concepts—whatever the System recognized as a person's strongest connection. He clenched his fingers, feeling the swirling power under his skin.

However controlling himself, he ebbed his excitement down. So much more to learn. The Manual made it clear he was still in the early stage of Aether control, and he would need even more if he wanted to fully manifest its potential. The manual explicitly explained that he needed to be overflowing to make the core supposed to contain the Aether.

At length, Kurai rose, bracing himself against the tree. The headache lingered in a dull throb and his gaze drifted to where the camp lay.

Night had passed uneventfully, yet under the midday sun, Kurai felt a new dawn rising within himself.