Chapter 93 - Masochist in Motion
One week.
Then, two weeks passed.
Atlas followed a grueling routine, repeating similar training every day. He ran laps, increasing the distance and the weight he carried each day, pushing his body to its limits.
In the second phase of his training, he faced monsters attacking from all directions, all while his senses remained completely shut off.
By the third week, the challenge escalated further. Atlas now had to run the same number of laps, but in an environment teeming with roaming monsters that would ambush him whenever he passed.
Several times, he stumbled or fell into streams of molten lava. The searing pain should have been unbearable, but by now, Atlas had grown numb to it. Pain had become just another obstacle to overcome.
Every time he was forced to retreat, he would recover as best as he could, then push himself right back into the fight.
Step by step, he grew stronger, his body adapting to the brutal conditions and the relentless onslaught of monsters.
Four weeks had passed.
Atlas now faced an entirely new challenge: battling his own troops in a simulation designed to test him to his limits. At first, it was a one-on-one skirmish. Then it escalated to two opponents, eventually culminating in a coordinated assault by four of his elite fighters.
This training was both intense and exhilarating. Unlike the monsters he had fought before, his troops were smarter and far more strategic.
They took full advantage of his blind spots. Though, to be fair, every spot was a blind spot for him. It was more about finding the gaps he couldn’t predict or cover in time.