The Conflict of Training
That afternoon, Asdin was introduced to the residents of Demz Village at the village chief's house.
Aside from the original settlers, the residents of Demz Village consisted of those who had drifted into the village and voluntarily expressed their desire to settle, or those who had been harshly treated elsewhere and had reformed before settling down. And on very rare occasions, there were those who settled through the introduction and recommendation of an existing Exile.
Asdin fell into this latter category.
“Since he’s a child who has survived alone in the wilderness, his survival knowledge must be significant. However, he likely knows little about how to live in a village. I hope you all treat him well.”
“Understood, Chief.”
The adults welcomed the new resident warmly. Even though his appearance made it clear at a glance that he had Highsider blood, it was nothing special in this village. Everyone treated everyone else as equals. That was the biggest reason this village had been able to survive for so long.
However, even within that, a foreign hostility existed. Asdin cast his gaze toward the sensation of being pricked by a sharp look. There stood Toby, who had picked a fight with him earlier, and a man and woman watching from behind him.
Seeing their features, Asdin guessed they were Toby’s parents.
Asdin couldn't understand it. What had he done wrong that this kid, and even his adult parents, were glaring at him as if they wanted to kill him?
"You must have told them you came in through Srem."
“Do you know something about this?”
Asdin whispered softly.
"Rather than saying I know, let's just call it a guess."
Just then, Lukedi clapped his hands to change the atmosphere.
“Alright! Thank you all for gathering for this young new resident today. We’ll have a small celebration soon. And Mure. Horchi.”
Lukedi called out some names. The parents standing next to Toby reacted.
“I know what you are thinking. However, this is a child I verified and decided to bring in. Do you understand?”
Toby’s father didn’t even nod. Instead, he just turned away with a hostile glare and retreated with his family.
“Let’s go.”
After the villagers dispersed and evening arrived, Asdin, now free, came out of Lukedi’s house, intending to practice. Since Lukedi had said he had business to attend to, Asdin had quickly finished his dinner of stored jerky and steamed potatoes.
There was a small empty lot behind Lukedi’s house that could be called a backyard. Asdin focused on every single posture there, checking the Firmament techniques he had learned so far.
Although he had learned the movements separately, having practiced them countless times, he could now see the flow connecting the motions. His hands and feet drew slow but smooth trajectories. And the line along which the staff swung was rhythmic.
Having finished all his movement training, Asdin moved on to training his Essence. The Essence that had been lingering in various parts of his body began to flow through him, following Asdin’s will.
As always, the start was the same. He used Firmo to move and anchor the Essence, and then used Moror to increase its density.
Once he became accustomed to maintaining that density for a certain amount of time, he increased the density further. Then, he anchored it again with Firmo as much as possible.
This was the basic training method Asdin had been consistently following.
However, once Asdin became somewhat accustomed to this, Urnil had assigned a higher level of difficulty shortly before arriving at the village.
"Double the Firmo."
In short, it meant increasing the number of areas where he concentrated his Essence by one. For Asdin, who handled a small amount of Essence, it was still a burdensome training method.
“Isn’t this too difficult?”
To Asdin’s small protest, Urnil explained the reason why it had to be done.
"The density of the Essence you handle has become high enough to directly contribute to recovery. That means you can absorb and use Essence through your skin as well. Well, that’s a story for a later stage. But when it comes to necessity, it’s a bit different."
“Necessity?”
"Because you need to lay the foundation to learn Aaurio as well."
Asdin wondered if Urnil’s passion for education was perhaps too intense.
“It’s already overwhelming just mastering Moror with Firmo, and now something new?”
"Training isn't meant for when you're at your wit's end; it's meant for when you doubt whether you can actually do it."
Asdin shook his head at the teaching from thousands of years ago. Using old proverbs to push Asdin to strive in his training was one of Urnil’s main methods.
However, despite Urnil’s encouragement, Asdin faced a sudden obstacle.
“Hmm, this…”
Asdin furrowed his brow. In his eyes, he could see his two hands tinged with a pale light. And those two hands were holding the staff loosely.
The only difference from usual was that the Essence hadn’t flowed into the staff through his hands; it had stopped right at the boundary of his hands.
"Just try it."
“Yes.”
Asdin naturally tried to channel the Essence along the structure of the staff. That was easy. But when he tried to channel the Essence as if it were flowing along the side of the staff, the Essence scattered, escaping his will.
It was not an easy technique by any means.
Sweating, Asdin sighed and sat down haphazardly. Then, Urnil asked in a subtle tone.
"Do you know the most basic way a practitioner sends high-density Essence outside the body?"
“Uh, I’m not really sure.”
Asdin replied, tilting his head. Urnil let out a faint chuckle and said.
"That is exactly what you are doing right now. Everything other than your own body can be considered outside the body. You just need to know that. That is where the beginning of Aaurio lies."
Urnil explained the rough outline of the new training system in a way that was easy for Asdin to understand.
In short, Urnil was talking about the method of power transmission.
"When a person handles a tool, it becomes familiar to their hands, and eventually, they can use it daily without even thinking about it. If you apply this to training, the staff you use, Asdin, plays the role of drawing the basic path for the Essence to go outside the body as a tool."
“So, as I gradually get used to the sensation of the Essence moving, I have to make it so that I can send Essence with the same sensation even with my bare hands.”
"As expected, you understand quickly."
“Even if you say that, I can’t do it right now.”
"Don't worry. You'll be able to do it soon. Don't forget the dualization of power, either."
“Yes.”
Asdin stood up once more and began operating his Essence. Then, a critique came immediately.
"Look here, the power is only coming out of your right hand."
Asdin was surprised to hear Urnil’s words. While training, Asdin had used Firmo on his entire body for physical reinforcement. Because of that, he had assumed that Essence was definitely entering through both hands when he used the staff.
However, hearing Urnil’s words, he realized that the Essence actually flowing into the staff was only the Essence continuing from his right hand.
Impressed, Asdin asked.
“You’re right. How did you know?”
"I’m just watching. How did I know? Hurry up and pay attention."
When holding a staff, Essence flows along the single structure of the staff. In other words, if one becomes accustomed to the flow of power itself, one can draw a path for Essence in the air even without a staff. In that sense, Urnil often praised Asdin for choosing the staff.
"Swords or spears. Bladed weapons change the Essence they contain into sharp energy (Ye-gi) rather than a constant transmission of power. There is no tool as efficient as a staff for the training of pure Essence."
“Ah, then the reason the Gravekeeper family uses staffs is also…”
"It’s for the same reason. Regardless of what anyone says, they are the ones who can be called the origin of all practitioners."
“I see.”
While he was listening, the flow of Essence he was operating ran out. The Essence he was flowing over his skin and the staff to train Aaurio scattered too easily.
This was why this training was the last to follow and was performed for only a short time.
He operated Moror to replenish the Essence that had been depleted for the second time. Although it was a small amount, Essence gradually accumulated in Asdin’s body again through his skin.
Through his training so far, Asdin knew that the total amount of Essence his body possessed was just a little over a handful. And it took about 10 minutes to replenish that amount again.
However, although Asdin had not let go of the thread of concentration on his training even while listening to Urnil, he could not help but miss what happened next.
“Huh?”
For a moment, his vision blurred and then went black. And the moment he thought he saw a pure white light, Asdin saw the world lying on its side. He was lying on the floor facing forward.
Asdin, not knowing what was going on, sat up. Because his head was spinning from dizziness, he sat with his body bent forward to steady his condition. At that moment, his lips felt swollen and cracked, different from before. Asdin, who checked with his hand, realized his lips were torn.
He couldn’t understand what had happened in that brief moment.
It was at that point that Urnil spoke.
"You fainted for a moment."
“Fainted?”
"Just for a very short time. My words couldn't reach your consciousness."
“Why on earth did it suddenly…”
Asdin’s words trailed off in surprise at the situation he was experiencing for the first time.
"It’s because you used Essence too repetitively."
Asdin found it difficult to understand those words. Repetitive use of Essence?
“That’s something I’ve been doing continuously while training, isn’t it? But you’re saying I suddenly fainted?”
Urnil immediately corrected his words.
"I misspoke. I mean the process of emptying the Essence accumulated through Moror."
Asdin’s mouth hung open at the news that that was the cause of his fainting.
“Was the training I was doing that dangerous?”
"Rather than dangerous, it’s a technique that puts a burden on the body."
“Burden, you say?”
"Artificially using the Essence you possess is not a natural occurrence in itself. To use a metaphor, it’s an act similar to intentionally putting a lot of strain on your muscles. To use a metaphor for the training method you just did, it’s like having someone lift something very heavy, and then making them lift it again as soon as they’ve rested their exhausted body."
“Then that’s extremely dangerous!”
"That depends on the level you’ve been tempered to. Well, it seems this is your limit for now."
Asdin asked in a tone full of worry.
“Then if I continue this training in the future, will I faint often?”
"Yes."
Asdin’s expression became even more troubled.
"But that’s not necessarily a bad thing."
“Yes?”
Asdin was skeptical. Is there any reason fainting wouldn’t be a bad thing? To Asdin, who was tilting his head, Urnil said with a subtle smile.
"Have you ever heard of a priest with insomnia?"
“No.”
"The practitioners at the temple use that training method when they sleep. It works like a charm."
Seeing Asdin look down at his bracelet in disbelief, Urnil laughed heartily.
Asdin, suddenly realizing that the hue had darkened significantly, looked up at the sky.
Night was bidding farewell to the twilight.
"Let’s stop here for today."
At Urnil’s words, Asdin picked up his staff and stood up. It was almost curfew time.