Chapter 29: Begin
Three days had passed since Asher’s initial arrival at the First Training Ground. In that brief span, much of the training had begun to feel mundane to him, as he navigated its challenges with increasing ease.
But Harold remained undeterred. Regardless of Asher’s rapid progress, he offered no praise, no pause for recognition, as though such improvement was merely the baseline of expectation.
Instead, he escalated the intensity of the training to match Asher’s growth, and Asher embraced every moment of it.
During movement training, Asher chose to challenge himself by closing his eyes. Given that his Omni Perception remained active even without visual input, he saw it as an opportunity to refine its use.
Within a six-meter radius, everything fell clearly within his perception; beyond that, a veil of complete darkness prevailed. It was during this exercise that Asher came to a realization: while Omni Perception heightened his awareness and granted a seamless 360-degree view of his surroundings, it did not equate to true sight, particularly not when it came to perceiving the invisible.
But that didn’t matter to Asher. He pushed his senses to their very limits. If he couldn’t perceive the invisible directly, then he would learn to read the subtle shifts in the air, the breeze parting as something moved through it.
With that thought, Asher no longer wished to see the arrows flying toward him.
No.
He wanted to trace their trajectories using only the wind and sound.
At first, he was struck repeatedly. But gradually, he adapted. His body began to respond instinctively, his ears attuned to the slightest whistle, and his skin detected even the faintest disturbances in the air.
From clumsy beginnings, he progressed, steadily, fluidly, until, within thirty minutes, his movements became flawless.