Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 726: Third Week [Castle Bonus - ]

Asher spent over five hours running through the forest, dodging various traps he had never even imagined would be available. After a while, he finally burst out from the other side, his body tearing through the foliage of tree leaves as he landed on the ground with a heavy, booming sound that echoed faintly through the surrounding area.

The moment he landed, he collapsed against the forest floor, panting as though his lungs were about to collapse under the immense strain. Sweat filled his face and neck but not his body, as the jumpsuit’s auto-cleansing function remained constantly active, leaving the rest of him pristine despite the ordeal he had just endured.

The moment Asher finished his course, Instructor Sane appeared in a blur as he spoke, "You have an hour to rest. Use that time to catch your breath, think about what you could have done better, think about traps you should have anticipated." As soon as he was done speaking, he didn’t wait for Asher to reply; he simply vanished from where he floated, as though he had never been there to begin with, leaving behind nothing but silence and the lingering weight of his instructions.

Asher could only sigh, he didn’t need to be told to know his training would begin again in an hour, probably in another part of the huge forest since this area was being destroyed in real time by traps and explosions, rendering it increasingly unusable with each passing moment.

’At least we get an hour,’ he thought to himself as he sat in a lotus position, remembering how Instructor Mira had only given ten minutes of rest. Although Asher also understood that Instructor Sane had only given the period of an hour not because he cared, but because students actually needed to comprehend what they had just experienced and internalize the lessons hidden within the chaos.

It was already morning, sunlight poured down upon the forest, washing away the darkness that blanketed the environment, allowing students to see clearer and better, although it still didn’t matter as many of them still suffered, their bodies aching and their minds strained from the relentless pressure.

Over half an hour passed and various students made it out, some covered in soot, some in dust, clothes torn, hair disarranged, blood staining their clothes as it dripped on the floor while they walked with pale faces and painful expressions, some gritting their teeth as they moved forward step by step, refusing to collapse despite their condition.

Truly, at this moment, nobody was thinking about the free point system Cindralis had approved, there was no time to enjoy and take advantage of it aside from that particular day when the announcement was made by Cindralis, as survival and endurance had taken absolute priority over everything else.

Asher turned to the side, his senses picking up Finch, who walked out from his own side of the forest, the boy panting as though every ounce of oxygen on the planet wasn’t enough to sustain him, but strangely, he had not a single injury on him, it was as though he had just run from the other end of the forest to this place without encountering any true danger at all.

Asher simply shook his head and chose to forget about it, focusing his thoughts and his recovery. Queen of Bones, Ryaen Silvershade, was also out, she also bore a few injuries, but she was better than a lot of other students who had clearly suffered far worse fates. Throughout the entire training, only Asher and Finch came out without injuries, as for Thalric and Teo, even they were injured as they just couldn’t escape over one thousand arrows without being hit, no matter how skilled they were.

The day passed swiftly and soon darkness came as the moon replaced the sun. Instructor Sane appeared before the students once more, he simply announced their training began from 5:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m., with that, the man vanished without another word. Those who were injured were healed by healers, but obviously they weren’t restored to their peaks, leaving behind lingering fatigue as part of the training’s intended burden.

Asher simply stared at Finch, who had started his transportation business, then nodded at William, Teo, Ryaen, and Thalric, before vanishing from his position without a word. And of course, he removed the mark at Instructor Mira’s training ground and implanted it at this current training ground, ensuring his movement remained seamless and efficient.

And just like that, a week passed in the blink of an eye.

A week of pain. A week of suffering. A week of screams that echoed through both day and night.

Many couldn’t help but wish they had remained with Instructor Mira, at least there they didn’t get injured this much, all they had to do was climb the mountain, which, while hard, was manageable compared to this mad and unforgiving training.

Asher also felt the intensity of the training increase as Instructor Sane enlarged the weights restricting him, reducing his speed further in an attempt to ensure he would be injured at least once. And anytime he seemed to have gotten used to the rhythm of the training, Instructor Sane showed just how cunning he was and simply replaced the entire obstacle course with something completely different, forcing constant adaptation without rest.

He even threw a few students into the forest and told them to attempt the obstacle course while blindfolded. It didn’t even need to be said, but the result was gruesome in every sense of the word, injuries piled up rapidly, even Asher himself wasn’t spared, although he wasn’t injured like the others, after a few hits, he got a hang of it and adapted quickly. Injuries he could have avoided if he had used his Omni Perception but deliberately chose not to.

A few students seemed to lose their hearing due to the constant explosions going off in their ears, but such a healing task didn’t even require Crownstar Life Rankers, a basic healer was enough to restore them without difficulty.

But regardless of how hard and demanding the training was, the result was immense, the progress showed in real time, visible in their movements and reactions. Although the students complained, as they were indeed children, but who didn’t like the feeling of progression? They all bore smiles at times, boasting about their sharpened senses and reflexes, some even claiming they could sense things from another Empire with ease, whether exaggerated or not.

Asher could be seen sitting within his room, he had been told by Instructor Sane that tomorrow would bring another type of training, which would take place at a different location entirely, suggesting a shift in challenge once again.

’A type of training per week, huh?’ Asher thought to himself, at this moment, many students were already sleeping to recover their stamina and strength for whatever deranged new training awaited them, but Asher could afford to stay up late because his Absolute Physique allowed him to recover within a mere three to four hours, granting him a distinct advantage in preparation.

At this point, two weeks had passed out of the one-month training, and they were entering the third week, where the difficulty would likely escalate even further, pushing them beyond anything they had previously endured.

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