CHAPTER 17: BAPTISM BY FIRE

Pain. Exhaustion. Frustration.

Kieran gasped for breath as he hit the ground, his body screaming in protest. His knuckles were raw, his muscles felt like they were tearing apart, and sweat dripped down his face. Elias wasn’t letting up.

“Again,” Elias ordered.

Kieran forced himself up, his arms trembling. He lunged forward, aiming a strike at Elias’s ribs. Too slow.

Elias sidestepped, his fist driving into Kieran’s gut. Hard. Kieran collapsed again, coughing.

His mind screamed at him. Fucking hell. How was this supposed to make him stronger? He wasn’t learning shit—just getting his ass kicked.

“You rely too much on the system,” Elias said. “You wait for it to tell you what to do instead of trusting yourself.”

Kieran wiped blood from his lip. “And what? You want me to just… figure it out?”

Elias smirked. “Exactly.”

Kieran gritted his teeth. Fine.

He lunged again. This time, he didn’t just attack—he reacted. When Elias moved, Kieran adjusted, predicting his step. Instinct.

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For the first time, he dodged.

Elias’s smirk widened. “Better.”

Then—darkness.

A blindfold covered Kieran’s eyes.

“What the hell—?”

Elias grabbed him by the collar and threw him.

Kieran hit the ground hard. He groaned, forcing himself to his feet, but he couldn’t see. The world was gone, swallowed in darkness.

“This is your next lesson,” Elias said. His voice echoed, making it impossible to pinpoint his location. “Your eyes are a weakness. Rely on them, and you die.”

A sharp whistle cut through the air. Incoming attack.

Kieran moved on instinct, barely dodging before something slammed into the spot where he had been standing.

His pulse pounded. Shit.

The attacks kept coming. Kieran had to rely on sound, movement, the air shifting around him. Each dodge became smoother, more natural.

Then, something changed.

Kieran felt it—a presence, a shift in the air. Elias was about to strike.

Kieran moved before the attack came.

He countered.

His fist shot forward, aimed straight for Elias’s ribs.

Impact.

Silence.

Then—a chuckle.

Kieran’s blindfold was ripped away. Elias was standing in front of him, rubbing his ribs. “Not bad.”

Kieran was panting, drenched in sweat, but he had done it.

He had fought without sight. Without the system. Just instinct.

For the first time since awakening, he felt something real.

Progress.

Elias stepped back. “Good. Now let’s see if you can survive for real.”

Before Kieran could react, Elias shoved him—straight into a dark tunnel.

The floor gave way beneath him.

Kieran’s heart lurched as he plummeted into the unknown.