Sitting on the sand floor with his legs crossed, Kane waited for the old man to explain how the training technique worked.
"Everything is about focus and how you sense the energy, controlling it to make it flow through your body, just like you did when you released your energy into the crystal sphere. But now, you need to control it within yourself, making it circulate through your main veins until it accumulates in your heart."
"The path you're about to follow, boy, is simple, but limited," the village chief began, his deep voice resonating in the cool night air. "This method is what most of us here use, and it will only take you to the second level of Energy. Don't think it's easy or that it will be enough to protect you in the future, but it's what we have."
He paused, allowing Kane to absorb his words. "The secret lies in the main veins of the body," he continued, pointing to Kane's chest with a calloused finger. "You need to make the Energy flow through these veins. Slowly, with control. Making the energy flow isn't just a matter of strength, but of patience and precision. Every time you manage to do that, you'll be strengthening the internal flow of power in your body."
The elder's eyes darkened as he spoke about the next stage. "When you have enough mastery, you'll begin to accumulate this Energy in the heart. But be careful… this is where many fail. The Energy in the heart creates what we call the 'Heart Shroud.' It's an invisible, nearly impenetrable protection if done well. But if you try to accumulate too much energy without control, you could destroy your own heart."
He looked directly into Kane's eyes. "Remember, boy. This method will protect you up to a point, but eventually, you'll need more than this. The 'Heart Shroud' is the limit of what we can achieve with this training, but it's the first step on the path you must follow."
Kane closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to feel the Energy within him. At first, nothing. Just the sound of his breathing and the heavy silence of the night. "I need to feel it... it has to be here," he murmured, trying to stay calm.
After a while, something stirred inside him, a faint sensation, like a timid warmth beginning to circulate through his veins. Kane felt the Energy, but it seemed slippery, like trying to grasp water with his hands. He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to focus more.
[ Energy flow detected. ]
For a moment, he managed to direct the flow through his arm, following the main veins. The warmth grew but soon dissipated, slipping out of his control. Kane exhaled in frustration, sweat beading on his forehead. "Damn... I know what I need to do, so why can't I hold onto it?"
He tried again, repeating the steps in his mind. He closed his eyes and this time, with more patience, guided the Energy through his body, focusing on the points the elder had mentioned. Slowly, the sensation of control returned. The Energy flowed with more consistency, moving through his veins, though still somewhat unstable.
When he tried to bring the energy to his heart, he felt resistance. It wasn't what he had imagined. It felt like a barrier within himself, difficult to overcome. "I need to be more careful," he thought, opening his eyes again, sweat dripping from his forehead.
"AI, I need your help to map and guide the energy flow through my veins. I'm not great with anatomy, so with your assistance, I think I can do better." He sent the mental command to the AI and then closed his eyes again.
At that moment, as the village chief observed Kane, his eyes widened. Normally, something like this would take weeks, if not months. In front of him, Kane closed his eyes again to focus. Suddenly, there was a noticeable change in what he was doing.
It was as if he had fully grasped the training method, guiding the energy through his main veins without error. The sand on the floor around Kane began to vibrate slightly as the young man's internal energy stirred.
In Kane's mind, the AI's voice was constant, guiding him to be more precise in controlling the energy through his veins. But as before, he felt the resistance when the energy approached his heart.
However, it was a one-sided flow, only through one of the main entrances to the heart. So Kane started directing two waves of energy inside him, slowly making them collide in his heart but from two different entries.
"What!?" The village chief stood up, watching what was happening. Kane's hair was slowly floating in the air as the energy inside him began to radiate slightly outward.
"Is he already forming the first part of the Heart Shroud? But that's too fast!"
[ Heart Shroud forming. ]
[ Progress 20% ]
Even though it hadn't been long, this process had already consumed far more mental and physical energy from Kane than he had expected.
[ Body entering overdrive, I suggest resting. ]
With that, Kane gradually stopped the circulation and then fell backward, lying on the floor and staring at the ceiling for a few seconds.
"Youth, are you alright?" came a concerned voice as Kane stared up at the ceiling. "Sir? Yes, I'm just hungry and tired—this takes a lot out of the body."
Coughing a few times, the elder spoke again. "In truth, this is a process that should take months to start doing. I didn't expect you to grasp it so quickly. If you had been trained in energy since you were younger, you'd probably already be at the second stage of energy!"
He laughed as he walked out of the room. "You can rest now. In 30 minutes, we'll have dinner." He stopped near the door, turning back to Kane, and then spoke. "By the way, you may call me Guliman from now on. Now that I see you're a good lad, you've earned that right."
Kane didn't understand the reason for this. He hadn't asked the old man's name, as the elder hadn't introduced himself before. Maybe it was something cultural—judging by the way he said it, it probably was.
But for now, Kane would lie on the ground, breathing calmly to control his body and recover his stamina spent during training.