Crack!
The sound of wood striking flesh echoed across the training ground for the twentieth time.
Akira's body flew through the air, crashing into the dirt floor of the arena with a force that knocked the wind right out of his lungs. He rolled several times before coming to a halt face down, his right arm trembling in pain.
[Activation: Pain Memory. Endurance +1] [Muscular Durability +2] [Warning: Physical damage accumulation has reached 60%.]
"Slow. Your eyes follow the sword, when they should be following the killing intent," Hakuro's calm voice came from somewhere in front of him. The old man wasn't even breathing heavily; not a single drop of sweat had fallen from his brow. He looked as though he were on a casual morning stroll.
Akira spat blood and dirt from his mouth, pushing himself up using his wooden sword (Bokken) as a crutch. His muscles were screaming, and his vision was blurred.
This wasn't training; it was systematized torture. Hakuro was moving at a speed entirely beyond human comprehension. Akira couldn't even see the strike until it was already crushing him.
Even with my stats boosted by the System, I can't match him physically, Akira thought, panting heavily. His speed and skill level are in an entirely different dimension. If I keep trying to 'see' him, I'll die before I learn a thing.
Akira closed his eyes for a moment. If his eyes weren't enough, he had to use something else.
He remembered his innate ability: Soul Shards. He had previously used it offensively to deflect an assassin's dagger, and to blind that goblin. The System had stated it could also be used for "danger perception."
"Given up already?" Hakuro asked, slowly raising his sword. "On the battlefield, surrender means death."
"I haven't given up..." Akira muttered, opening his eyes.
He took a deep, cold breath. [Activation: Survival Pulse]
Time slowed down slightly, and his senses sharpened. But this time, instead of focusing on Hakuro's body, Akira focused his energy into his free hand.
[Activation: Soul Shards]
Instead of firing a single, condensed shard as a projectile, Akira shattered it. He scattered his spiritual energy around him like invisible dust, forming a transparent spiderweb that extended three meters in all directions.
This was incredibly taxing on his mind. His head began to throb with sharp, piercing pain, but it was his only solution. Anything that entered the perimeter of this "spiritual web" would cause a disturbance that Akira would feel long before his eyes could perceive it.
"Hoh?" Hakuro let out a faint sound of mild surprise, but he didn't stop. "Let's see if your tricks can save you."
Hakuro vanished.
Akira's eyes saw nothing. The arena before him was completely empty.
But suddenly... he felt a violent disturbance in the dust of his Soul Shards coming from the rear-left. Something had breached the "web" at lightning speed!
Akira didn't turn around. He didn't even think.
Relying entirely on instinct, he lunged his body forward as far as he could, raising his wooden sword horizontally behind his back with both hands.
CLAAANG!
Hakuro's wooden sword clashed violently against Akira's.
The force of the blow was so terrifying that Akira's feet sank deep into the dirt. The bones in his arms nearly snapped from the intense recoil, but... he blocked it.
For the first time in three hours of relentless beatings, Akira did not fall.
Hakuro opened both of his eyes wide, looking down at the trembling boy beneath him who was desperately trying to withstand the pressure of his sword. A small, exceedingly rare smile formed on the old man's face.
"You used your soul as a sensory web to compensate for your lack of visual perception and physical reflexes," Hakuro said, lightly withdrawing his sword. "Good thinking. In battle, those who lack power must possess cunning. Not bad... for a beginner."
Akira instantly dropped to his knees the moment the pressure vanished. His body had reached its absolute limits, and the spiritual web dissipated, leaving him suffering from a violent wave of vertigo.
"Are... are we done for today?" Akira asked, panting like a drowning man.
"We will continue tomorrow before dawn," Hakuro said, turning his back and walking toward the dojo. "If you cannot move your body tomorrow, I will break whatever bones you have left."
Akira remained on the ground, smiling weakly. "Demonic instructor..." he whispered to himself, right before his senses began to surrender to exhaustion.
But just before he lost consciousness entirely, his mind illuminated with a blue flash he had never experienced before. It wasn't red for a warning, nor white for stats. It was a bright, radiant blue, bearing an entirely different message.
[Hidden conditions met.] [1. Endure continuous pain and reach the brink of collapse 10 consecutive times.] [2. Innovative use and advanced application of the 'Soul Shards' skill.] [3. Tactical skill integration with 'Survival Pulse'.]
[Processing data...] [Processing complete. Adaptation reward granted now.]
[Initiating upgrade of the Void Heart System to Version 1.2...] [Upgrade successfully completed.]
Akira felt a cool, soothing current wash over his exhausted mind, as if hidden shackles had finally shattered inside his head.
Then, the final screen appeared right before he blacked out:
[New Skill Unlocked: 'Void Perception Eye'] [Description: A permanent fusion between your senses and Soul Shards. Allows the host to see energy pathways (Mana/Intent) as colors in the immediate surroundings, even with closed eyes. Consumes no active energy.] [Note: You are no longer blind in this world.]
Akira's head fell onto the damp dirt, and he sank into a deep sleep. But this time... he possessed a new weapon that would turn the tide of his training.