Darius unrolled a mat and placed a small wooden block at its end. He then carefully set a valtite fragment atop the block, its mysterious glow cast a soft radiance over the surrounding area. Sublime beauty!

“Sit here!”

His academy mates were engaged in various exercises and meditations across the vast, open, gym-like space. Amidst the sea of disciplined faces, Sophia caught sight of Brian from her designated area, her eyes lighting up as she waved energetically. Brian responded with a confident thumbs up, earning a warm smile from Sophia before she returned her attention to her training.

Commander Darius Keldorn, stood nearby. “Begin by focusing your energy into this fragment; both pouring your valtite into it and trying to absorb valtite from the fragment."

Brian nodded, absorbing the abstract information his instructor had just unloaded on him. Even though he now understood the entire concept of valtite, and although he could see it thanks to his Oculus Core, he had no clue how to manifest it. Regardless, he followed Darius's instructions, sitting before the fragment, focusing intently, and holding his hands up to it, hoping for something to happen.

Darius observed Brian's attempt for a brief moment. "I will check on your progress later," he said with a disappointed expression on his face.

"...Not a prodigy, it seems..." Dairus muttered to himself as he walked away.

Brian persisted in his efforts to focus on the valtite energy between himself and the fragment for an entire sol. He tried using his left hand, right hand, both hands, and even attempted to employ his Oculus Core to visualize the flow. However, the more he used his ocular ability, the more exhausted he became due to the continuous drain on his valtite energy. Despite his various approaches, nothing seemed to yield any results, and ultimately, he concluded that utilizing his Oculus Core was counterproductive since it was draining his resources, not allowing him to focus on his task.

Brian decided he needed to take a step back. He was clearly not manifesting his void energy correctly. Something was fundamentally wrong. The valtite was within him—he knew it—the problem was getting it out.

So he stood up, stretched his neck from side to side and crossed his arms. He needed to rethink his approach.

The books mentioned extending your energy rather than releasing it. The energy, though manifested outside the body, still needed to be felt as part of oneself. It wasn't about releasing the energy, it was about extending it. Unfortunately, that was the part Brian didn't know how to do yet.

To top that off, void energy was also one of the most difficult to manifest initially. Control needed to be perfect. The slightest misstep and the caster risked being sucked into the void they had created. Brian shivered at the thought.

If he remembered his studies in quantum physics back in college accurately, black holes and such, once formed, could trap even light with its overwhelming gravity. A small error and he could end up creating a personal black hole right here in the training room. Although, if his rough, out of the ass, calculations were correct, at level 14, his valtite would only allow for one of his arms to be sent into oblivion.

“Why are you wasting your time? Are you seriously just standing around?That is enough. It is time for our combat training.” Brian was so engrossed in his thoughts that Darius's voice made him jump.

Sparring? Brian cringed; his only formal fighting experience was in aikido, and he didn't feel confident that it would help him much in this situation.

The group stood in the designated combat training area, surrounded by various training equipment and large open spaces for sparring. Commander Darius, wielding his usual air of authority, taught them an array of fighting styles, techniques, and a whole lecture on how the monsters in Valteria fight. Nonetheless, he moved on to sparring sessions promptly; real combat being better than practice and all that.

“Jax, Sophia, go to the left side,” Darius directed, also gesturing with his hands. “Brian, Kael, right side. Remember to apply what we discussed. However, be prepared to adapt. You never know where the monsters will come from, or how many you will be forced to fight at once.”

"Give me a signal when you're set," Brian asked Kael as they distanced themselves slightly from Darius.

"I'm all set. Didn’t you say you have a trick up your sleeve that lets you read your opponent's movements?" Kael queried, standing across from Brian about fifteen feet away.

"Indeed, I do," Brian responded, then slipped into his defensive aikido stance.

Brian decided to use aikido since he has some muscle memory from his training on Earth. His other choice would have been to assume a boxing stance and try to imitate what he'd seen on pay-per-view; but he knew that he would end up looking like an inexperienced street brawler. Additionally, he wanted to see if the whole 'using your opponent's energy to your advantage' relation to void energy would give him some insight into his valtite manifestation; he doubted it.

"Your stance, it is strange, but I see a degree of efficiency,” Kael said.

Brian gave a terse nod.

A mist-like energy field suddenly shrouded Kael, emanating an unsettling aura. In the next moment, he disappeared, only to reappear to Brian's left. His punch was thrown with such speed it was barely within Brian's perceptual abilities as it aimed for his torso. Brian turned slightly, trusting his aikido and enhanced sight completely. He could've tried to strike back, but he wasn't in the mood to escalate at that particular moment.

The punch brushed past his guard, before he attempted to redirect the momentum back towards Kael. A slight impact on his back alerted him that he was already outmaneuvered as Kael's roundhouse kick had already connected. Shit! He saw it with his Chronal Gaze, but he couldn’t react in time.

Stepping back, Brian rubbed his back. He had been expecting pain, but he didn't really feel anything. Kael was significantly faster than Mandrix; that's why, even though his eyes could see him coming, his body wasn’t able to catch up. However, at least Kael’s strength was at his own level. On a positive note, Brian was happy to see that his constitution buffs were clearly having an impact, as Kael’s attack barely lowered his vitality.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

He straightened up while Kael returned to a neutral stance.

"Quite the display. It's rare to find someone of your level who could evade my moves, although there is something weird about your technique. I can’t put my finger on it. But You show a good reliance on your instincts and analytical skills, seems like you've experienced danger before. However, you need to work on your response time. You didn't seem to notice my kick until it hit."

"You’re astronomically fast," Brian admitted. "You were just too quick. I could barely follow your first move."

He returned to his defensive stance, his back slightly less sore.

"Getting hit doesn't seem to phase you either. But try to ignore minor hits like that in a long drawn out spar. Every bit of energy is crucial, even if you've got some super-aestari resiliency. I didn't hold back on speed seeing how you managed to dodge most of my hits."

Didn't hold back on speed? Holy Shit. Naruto over there is as swift as Sonic the Hedgehog on crack, Brian thought, managing to suppress the grimace that threatened to mar his face.

His lips twitched into an almost-smile, a display of defiance as he readied himself for another bout.

"Let's see your full technique then. You do have offensive maneuvers, I assume, there is something strange about you. Didn’t Darius say you are not aestari?" Kael asked, his tone edged with curiosity.

"Guess you're about to find out," Brian responded, already moving into a basic ikkyo, an aikido technique meant to pin an attacker's arm using their own forward momentum. Kael, however, twisted his body subtly, evading the technique with graceful ease.

"Not bad, not bad at all," Kael admitted, watching Brian with renewed interest. "I GOT IT! Your move lacked the necessary control, but the intention was there. The turning motion, was incomplete, which gave me room to evade. Remember, I feel like you want to redirect my energy, but you end up resisting it. That’s what has been nagging at me the whole time.”

"Sure… Wait, do you mean my tenkan?" Brian muttered, rolling his shoulders to loosen them up. It was easier said than done, especially when your sparring partner was a trained martial artist. Yet, he saw the logic in Kael's words. Aikido wasn't about brute force or speed, but harmony and flow. His approach had been too rigid.

Brian just got a brilliant idea. He was going to regret it later, because he hated making decisions on a whim, but he had an itch, he wanted to excel. He needed to become water, to flow and adapt, to merge with the momentum instead of colliding with it.

Meanwhile, Darius, had a face that yelled this fucking guy is beyond help. Or at least that was what Brian understood when he read his lips with his Chronal Gaze. Darius then turned his attention towards Sophia and Jax.

"Remember, it's not about overpowering your opponent but using their energy against them," Kael reminded, his voice steady, gaze unfaltering. "Imagine your center, as an immovable object, while everything else is fluid, adaptable."

Be more intuitively in touch with your ‘hara’, your physical and psychological center, that’s what my sensei always said. Brian nodded, mentally jotting down the tips. He was anything but a quitter, and Kael's advice, while a bit extensive, was worth its weight in gold. The next time, he would try to apply Kael's teachings, to align his instincts with his technique.

Brian tightened his grip, steeling himself. This time when Kael moved, he would be ready.

Kael lunged and Brian turned into it, meeting the punch with measured force. Snaking his arm out, he intercepted the blow, guiding it past him before stepping into an arm lock. Kael's eyes flashed surprise as Brian pivoted fluidly, grounded yet responsive, angling to bring him down.

They locked in a tense waltz of momentum and resistance. But with a grunt Kael twisted free, spinning from Brian's grasp. He stumbled back with a glint of satisfaction glinted in his gaze.

‘DING’ Your untrained potential has been harnessed. Dexterity enhanced. +6 to Dexterity stat. Untrained potential: 0.

Just as he suspected, his intensive focus on perfecting his aikido moves triggered the system to gradually distribute all of his free points into dexterity.

Brian dashed toward Kael. “I still need more!” Brian exclaimed through heaving breaths. His movements had significantly more grace and his limbs flowed with more elegance, but he felt it. He knew it wasn’t enough.

Kael dodged awkwardly, clearly caught off guard by Brian's sudden boost in dexterity. “Wow... You've actually improved... That in itself is a feat.”

Brian swelled with pride, but he knew he wasn’t there yet. Kael hadn’t shown it, but Brian knew he had more in him. And he was right. Almost as if on cue, Kael's aura intensified.

"Now, let's see how you fare against this," Kael declared, before disappearing in a blur. His mist-like energy field rendered him completely invisible. Brian’s Valtite Sensing helped him not to lose track of Kael completely, but Kael was still harder to see.

This time, he was not just fast, he was almost instantaneous. Brian barely had time to react as Kael appeared behind him, his punch already rocketing towards him.

‘DING’ Proficiency Increase Detected: Chronal Gaze now at 'Trace' level. Time perception amplification in process. Temporal discernment has improved. Gain in ability to track fast-moving objects confirmed.

He ignored the message, focusing on the fight. In that split second, Brian realized he was going to lose. Yet, instead of despair, a strange calm overtook him. His body moved on its own, twisting away from the punch. But Kael was simply too fast, too strong. His punch connected with Brian's side, sending him flying backwards.

As he hit the ground, Brian could not help but let out a chuckle. "That... that was electrifying," he said, pushing himself up. Despite the loss, he felt exhilarated. His technique had improved, his body had responded, and for a brief moment, he had been able to hold his own against a superior opponent. It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.

"Next time for sure," he told himself, he was tired. There was no pain, but he was tired. "But for now... I think I'll just lie here for a while." His vitality points had hardly dropped, but his endurance was lagging.

For a moment, Kael watched him. Then, he chuckled, shaking his head. "You are an interesting one, Brian. Looking forward to our next spar."

He offered Brian a hand, helping him up.

Before Brian realized it, the lum had swiftly passed by. Yet, he found some satisfaction in his progress. Although, some anxiety lingered within him as he wrestled with the pros and cons of having allocated every single free point into dexterity.

The downside became glaringly obvious: he sorely needed endurance. By the end of the fight, Kael still had fuel to spare, while he himself was left gasping, without the strength even to speak. His vigor pool was simply too low.

On the flip side, there were advantages. Dexterity increased vigor regeneration by making his muscle contractions more efficient. It also paired exceptionally well with his aikido – his only current weapon – refining his 'tai sabaki' or whole body movements. According to the books he'd read, the third benefit of dexterity was that it improved control over valtite. He had a feeling that control was exactly what he was missing.

He hoped this sudden influx of dexterity would be the catalyst he needed to manifest his valtite into void energy. That was, after all, the deciding factor in his spar with Kael. Kael had been able to manifest his alteration-based camouflage power, while he had been unable to do the same. It was as plain and simple as that... well, that and the fact that Kael had apparently been practicing martial arts every day since he was two years old.

“WRAP IT UP! We are done for lumary,” Darius commanded.