Once Garron dismissed them, the exhausted children finally started to make their way back towards the miserable lodgings they were all currently living at, however while most of the others simply looked like they wanted to crawl into their beds and sleep for an entire day straight, Riven himself looked utterly dejected for a completely different reason.
Because although his swollen knuckles pulsed painfully with every movement and exhaustion weighed heavily across his thin body, none of that bothered him nearly as much as the simple fact that he could still not sense the warmth Garron had repeatedly described throughout the day.
’The day is over, and I still cannot figure it out...’
He thought dejectedly, while in front of him, the two sisters walked with pride evident on their faces for having successfully channeled Aether for the first time in their lives.
’What exactly did they feel that I couldn’t?’
Riven wondered while quietly walking several steps behind them along the dirt road leading back toward the village.
At first, he tried convincing himself to simply forget about it for now.
Maybe he would figure it out by tomorrow.
Or perhaps the day after that.
However, the more he thought about it, the more restless he became.
Because if others could already sense Aether while he still remained completely lost, then eventually the gap between them would only continue growing larger.
And Riven hated that thought.
Which was precisely why after following behind the sisters silently for several minutes, he finally gathered enough courage to try speaking.
"Excuse me...."
Riven muttered quietly while lowering his gaze instinctively.
However, unfortunately for him, the words left his mouth at a volume that was too low for the cold wind to carry effectively.
"Um.... Excuse me...."
He repeated slightly louder this time, however once again, neither girl reacted at all, since both of them were embroiled in an intense debate with one another, as immediately, embarrassment began spreading across his face.
For one brief moment, he almost considered giving up entirely, since social interaction was not one of his strong suits.
But then, after clenching his fists nervously, he forced himself to speak properly.
"Excuse me!"
Riven finally called out loudly enough for both sisters to stop walking and turn around toward him together, as the moment their eyes landed directly on him, he immediately felt his entire face grow hot from embarrassment.
’I called them out, but now what?’
He wondered nervously, because now that both girls were looking directly at him, he suddenly realized that he had absolutely no idea how to properly continue the conversation anymore.
Still, after lowering his eyes awkwardly toward the dirt road beneath his feet, he eventually forced himself to continue speaking anyway.
"I’m... one of the people who couldn’t sense the heat inside my body today."
Riven admitted quietly while trying his best not to sound pathetic.
"So I wanted to ask...."
He continued hesitantly before glancing briefly toward the older braided girl.
"Can you please tell me what exactly you sensed when you figured it out?
I still don’t understand what I’m doing wrong...."
He requested, before awkwardly looking away and scratching his chin.
"If it’s not too much trouble.... Of course."
He added, not wanting to sound rude as the two sisters looked towards one another as though trying to decide whether to help Riven or not, before eventually deciding that he looked harmless enough.
"You need to focus on the centre of your ribcage, besides your heart and above your lungs, at the centre of your chest.
If you focus there, you will slowly feel the heat burning brighter.
At least, that’s how it feels to me.
It’s like blowing on embers to make the coals burn brighter, as the more you focus the stronger the heat becomes."
The elder sister advised, as she pointed towards the exact spot on her body where she felt her soul vessel to be present, while Riven kept staring dumbly, like a deer gazing at headlights.
’I see, so that’s where the heat is supposed to come from.’
He thought absentmindedly, not realising that he had been staring at the girl’s chest for an uncomfortably long duration now without muttering a single word.
"Ewww, sister Mary, let’s go, this creep is staring at your chest."
Stacy, the younger sister said, as Mary gave Riven a half amused chuckle before turning away, as Riven felt his face redden even more as he realised his mistake.
"Sorry..... and thank-you!"
He muttered, feeling genuinely grateful for the help, when unexpectedly, a group of privileged village kids belonging to the Trash group, came strolling down the dirt road with several small sticks, rocks and other such weapons in their hands.
"There they are! The ungrateful sisters!"
One of the boys shouted while pointing directly toward Mary and Stacy, as immediately afterward, the entire group began walking toward them aggressively.
"It’s lady Lydia and her friends, don’t say anything offensive!"
Mary warned at once, as the moment she noticed who was approaching, she immediately lowered her eyes submissively.
Meanwhile, beside her, Stacy’s expression hardened immediately.
"How dare you insult us like that earlier, you dirty blooded slave borns?"
One boy snapped angrily while glaring toward the sisters.
"My friend who managed to sense Aether today, now thinks I’m worse than some slave trash because I still couldn’t do it, while you could.
And it’s all your fault!"
He complained bitterly while tightening his grip around the stick in his hand.
Then finally, Lydia herself slowly stepped forward from behind the group.
Unlike the others, she wore noticeably cleaner clothes and carried herself with the confidence of somebody who had grown up comfortably within one of the better households inside Ashfang Village.
"Just because my father acknowledged you two as his daughters doesn’t make you a member of the Ashfang Tribe."
Lydia spat coldly while glaring directly toward Mary.
"Your mother was a whore captured after our tribe destroyed your village.
She was brought back and kept in our household like a trophy.
You should’ve remained grateful for even being allowed to live under the same roof as us."
Her expression gradually twisted further while anger visibly built inside her eyes.
"And yet somehow today you dared to upstage me in front of everyone."
Mary immediately shook her head desperately.
"We didn’t do anything intentionally...."
She explained hurriedly while taking a small step backward.
"We were only following the instructor’s directions.
We never wanted to make the lady look bad."
She clarified, however, unlike her older sister, Stacy showed absolutely no intention of lowering her head submissively.
"It’s not our fault you couldn’t sense Aether."
She snapped back, as Mary’s expression instantly turned aghast.
"If you have a problem with our progress, then complain to the instructor instead.
We never even wanted to attend the stupid training in the first place.
It’s your father who forced us into it."
She argued, as the moment those words left her mouth, Lydia’s entire expression darkened completely.
"You dare talk back to me? Your mistress?"
She asked slowly while staring toward Stacy with growing fury, as after a moment, she pointed directly toward the sisters with a cold expression in her eyes.
"This slave has spoken out of turn.
As her mistress, I’ve decided both of them need discipline.
Beat them and remind them of their place in this village."
She ordered, as in the very next instant, the boys behind her immediately surged forward together.
Meanwhile, standing several steps away from the confrontation, Riven felt a terrible feeling slowly develop inside his stomach while watching everything unfold before his eyes.
Because although a part of him desperately wanted to help the sisters somehow, another part understood the reality of the situation painfully clearly.
There were seven boys.
Most looked older than twelve.
Several already possessed far sturdier and healthier bodies compared to his own thin frame.
And Riven knew with certainty that he stood absolutely no chance against them in a direct fight.
Still, before he could properly decide what to do, the fight had already begun.
*BAM!*
The very first boy who rushed toward Stacy suddenly stumbled backward violently while clutching his face after Stacy drove an Aether reinforced punch directly into his jaw.
A horrible cracking sound echoed across the dirt road.
"My mouth!"
The boy screamed while blood immediately began pouring between his broken teeth.
For one brief moment, the entire group froze in shock.
Then immediately afterward, all restraint disappeared entirely.
"You bitch!"
The boys exploded into rage before rushing toward the sisters together.
And from that point onward, the beating became completely merciless.
Sticks.
Stones.
Kicks.
Punches.
Anything they could grab became a weapon as the group swarmed the two girls from every direction while Mary and Stacy desperately tried shielding themselves from the attacks raining down onto them.
At first, Stacy still attempted fighting back.
Mary also tried pulling her sister away repeatedly while protecting her head with both arms.
However, against seven older children attacking together, resistance quickly became meaningless.
Eventually, both girls simply collapsed onto the dirt road while the beatings continued landing across their bodies relentlessly.
Meanwhile, Riven stood frozen nearby while watching the entire scene unfold before him helplessly.
"What are you staring at, huh?"
One of the boys suddenly snapped while noticing the look inside Riven’s eyes.
"Get lost if you don’t want to get beaten too."
The warning immediately caused Riven to instinctively take one step backward.
Still, even while retreating slightly, he silently committed every single face standing before him into his memory carefully.
However, unfortunately for him, the boy seemed to notice the defiance hidden within his eyes anyway.
"I don’t like the way you’re looking at me, you little rat."
He muttered angrily before suddenly stepping forward and throwing a punch directly toward Riven’s face.
*SMACK!*
Instantly, Riven felt his vision darken violently while his balance disappeared beneath him almost immediately.
The world spun sideways.
Then suddenly—
*Thud*
He crashed onto the dirt road awkwardly while pain exploded across the side of his face.
’Huh? Where am I?’
Riven wondered as his ears started to ring, when suddenly, he felt a sharp stinging sensation through his mid section, as the boy kicked him hard in the gut before losing interest and turning away.
"Stay down."
He spat before rejoining the others, as meanwhile, the beatings against Mary and Stacy continued for another minute longer before the group finally seemed satisfied enough after seeing the miserable condition both girls had been reduced to.
Their clothes were torn.
Their faces bruised.
Blood stained the dirt road beneath them.
Then finally, Lydia gathered the others around herself once more.
"Let’s go."
She instructed coldly.
"My father won’t be happy if he finds out we were involved in this."
Then after glancing briefly toward the battered sisters one final time, she continued speaking.
"And if anybody asks questions later, remember this properly.
The younger sister got overly aggressive and attacked Kyle first.
We only defended ourselves afterward."
The others immediately nodded in agreement before the entire group finally turned and disappeared down the dirt road together, leaving behind only silence, blood, and the three injured children lying there beneath the fading evening light.