The next morning, after a brief training session, Atticus headed to the training grounds.
Using his device for navigation, he arrived at the training grounds 30 minutes ahead of the required time and was surprised to find Aurora already there.
She cast a quick glance in his direction before looking away.
'What a strange girl,' he thought. They stood together in silence, and a few minutes later, everyone surprisingly arrived.
'They must be taking this camp seriously. Who would have thought these pampered kids could be so committed?' he mused.
Atticus received looks from others, as everyone found out that he was the first rank. Many had expected Aurora to be the first. They exchanged whispers and glances, their expectations shifting as they awaited the instructor's arrival. Atticus simply ignored all the looks and waited for their instructor to arrive.
At exactly 6 o'clock, a figure strode purposefully onto the training grounds, His presence instantly captured the attention of all the gathered children.
"Hello, I'm sure you all know me, but for those who may not have been paying attention, my name is Elias. I will be your early morning trainer. I expect each and every one of you to be here by 6 every morning. You can choose not to come, but coming late will result in reduction of points."
A collective understanding passed through the children as he spoke.
Elias's gaze swept over the group before him before he continued, "Follow me." he said and started running towards the huge mountain.
As he began to run, Aurora swiftly followed suit, positioning herself just behind Elias.
Atticus and the rest of the group joined in, their pace quickening as they covered the distance. In a matter of minutes, they reached the base of the mountain.
"Every morning you all would be required to go up this mountain grab a flag positioned at the top and come back down"
His words seemed to alleviate some of the children' tension, the task appearing less daunting.
Elias, noticing the collective sigh of relief, couldn't help but smirk before adding, "But don't get too comfortable. There will be handicaps, of course. On your device, navigate to and click on 'mana block.' If you don't, I'll be notified on my device."
Atticus and the other children followed his instructions, activating the "mana block" feature on their device.
As Atticus tried it, he realized that he could no longer access his mana. However, he quickly turned off the feature, regaining his ability to wield mana.
'This feature is risky. It appears I can turn it off, but I'd be naive to think that there's no way to bypass it,'
Atticus was wary. Having a device that could essentially cripple you strapped to your wrists at all times was like waving a red flag of danger. He couldn't help but contemplate the potential danger.
He attempted to utilize his bloodline and realized that it remained functional. 'Seems like it only affects mana. At least I'll have a means to defend myself if the need arises,' he contemplated, acknowledging the silver lining of the situation.
Elias extended his arms, and a complete set of wearable weights landed in the children's hands – ankle weights, wrist weights, and a vest.
"Put them on. They are all set at 10kg each for now. The intensity will be ramped up over time," he explained.
Putting them on, Atticus felt the weight immediately. 'Good this will be challenging' he thought. When he learned about the Raven camp, he had hoped it would be challenging enough for him. He'll dive head fast into whatever will increase his strength.
"Also, using your bloodline will get you punished. Your device will notify me if you do," he said, while looking at Atticus and Aurora. "Now move! You have 2 hours to climb the mountain and come back. Do not forget the flags!"
As soon as Elias' command echoed across the training grounds, the children sprang into action, charging up the towering mountain.
Every Ravenstein child was expected to have received combat training before turning 10. The camp chose to completely skip the basics and provided training facilities for the children to hone their abilities themselves.
They simply focused on increasing the children's base strength and encouraged battles among them. To the family, a child who can't strive for strength themselves was not needed.
Atticus opted for a moderate pace, mindful of conserving stamina while the weight on his wrist added resistance. As they ran, some children started strong but soon panted and slowed.
With each step, the mountain's incline proved relentless, sapping their energy and straining their muscles. By the time Atticus had covered 8 kilometers, his breaths were coming in ragged gasps, his body slick with sweat.
Despite the toll it was exacting on him, Atticus stubbornly pushed forward. 'It's been a while since I felt this level of exhaustion!'
While he had always trained diligently, the ability to use mana enabled him to recover during training, reducing the pronounced effects of fatigue.
Without the passive enhancement that mana provides, his stats were reduced by 80%.
'It's a little weird that there are no beasts in this mountain range. They must have cleared the whole mountain.' he thought as he kept running.
After some time, varying degrees of struggle emerged among the children. Some had stopped running, unable to move. Only Atticus and a few people pressed on.
Aurora trailed behind Atticus, behind her, Nate, Lucas and a few other struggled to maintain the pace.
As Aurora pushed herself through the run, aches reverberated through her muscles, threatening to overwhelm her. The strain of the climb made it increasingly difficult to maintain consciousness. Only a singular thought echoed persistently in her mind: "I must win."
After an hour of determined effort, Atticus successfully reached the summit. He spotted the flags planted on the ground, swiftly choosing one before making his descent.
The journey downhill proved to be less strenuous than the uphill climb. Despite his exhaustion from the initial ascent, Atticus managed to navigate his way back down, arriving at the bottom with 20 minutes to spare before the allotted time was up.
Elias's smile of approval greeted Atticus as he arrived first, and after 15 minutes, Aurora managed to reach the bottom. Gasping for breath, she knelt down in exhaustion, struggling to recover.
After giving them a brief moment, Elias acknowledged their efforts. "Well done! Atticus, you've earned yourself 10 points for arriving first, and Aurora, you'll receive 5 points for making it here within the allotted time."
Aurora gritted her teeth in frustration, 'Father would be mad,' her thoughts filled with fear of her father's anger.
Elias waited for a while for the other children. When it became apparent that none of them were showing up, he instructed Atticus and Aurora to return on their own.
As they left the training grounds, Aurora suddenly turned to Atticus. "I will not lose again," she said and started walking away. But before she could go far Atticus called out to her.
"Hey, what's your name?" Atticus asked. This situation felt kind stupid to him. Although he always maintains a certain level of indifference towards others, to him it was always better to make allies than enemies depending on the situation.
So he decided to confront her and see why she was acting like that to him.
Aurora seemed slightly taken aback by the question. After a brief moment, she responded, "Aurora."
"Nice to meet you, Aurora. I'm Atticus," he replied with a small smile, extending his hand for a handshake.
However, Aurora's reaction was far from what he expected. "What are you doing?" she exclaimed, surprised by the gesture.
"I'm introducing myself, Aurora. You seem to have some issue with me that I can't quite figure out. Mind telling me why?" Atticus inquired, his gaze fixed on Aurora.
Aurora turned her gaze away, flustered by his direct approach. After a pause, she admitted, "I don't have an issue with you."
"Huh? Then why have you been glaring at me like you want to end me?"
"It's because I want to defeat you!" Aurora responded with determination.
"Wait, seriously? That's the reason?" Atticus couldn't help but burst into laughter, finding her honesty amusing.
Aurora's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, regretting her straightforwardness. It sounded okay when she thought it in her head, but saying it out loud was cringe.
Atticus continued laughing for a while before Aurora's patience reached its limit. She stormed off, shouting over her shoulder, "Stop laughing!"
Watching her retreat, Atticus chuckled to himself.
"I forgot I was dealing with children," he mused before heading off in the same direction.
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