Volithur dropped Little Nero with a knee to the liver. His one-time nemesis held up a hand in an informal request to wait out the rest of the round and Volithur stepped back. Completing his skeleton and starting on his tendons had given him a tremendous advantage in sparring. It really could not be overstated.

  He firmly believed now that the Sergeant had been right to encourage him to practice body enhancement before pushing on to level four. His combat capabilities had skyrocketed already and the next steps in the enhancement process would increase his health and natural lifespan.

  The only thing that approached the benefits he had gained from body enhancement was mental enhancement. Volithur had no idea how he had won the calcutions event of the prior year’s academic tournament when his opponents had such potent means of bolstering their intellects. Either they had not effectively trained using those means or their mathematics educations had been criminally incompetent. Why not both options, he asked himself.

  Instructor Gordo pulled Volithur aside while Little Nero was still recovering. “We’ve talked about using a soft touch before, Ward Harridan. You rely too much on your superior constitution in sparring. If I sent you to train with the intermediate group as you are, it would not go well for you. They have simir levels of body enhancement to you, familiarity with their aura barriers, and a level of actual skill. You need to work your skills, not bully opponents.”

  “Instructor Gordo, I’m one of the smallest people in css.”

  “With bones of steel, Ward Harridan. You might as well be fighting people half your size. If you don’t start pulling your punches and concentrating on technical proficiency, I will send you to train with Instructor Lisbet instead. As things are going, my css is of little benefit to you and you are an active hindrance to the development of the other students. I’m dismissing you from the rest of css.”

  Volithur spun on his heel and marched towards the barracks, a furious heat building in his chest. How long had Instructor Gordo pushed him to work harder? Often by having rger, stronger opponents beat him bck and blue. Now, when it was Volithur’s turn to dish out the punishment, all of a sudden spars were supposed to be gentle affairs.

  The Marshal met him at the door to the barracks, wearing a knowing smirk. “Ward Harridan, I hear that you have become known as an overly aggressive sparring partner. And today you are ejected from Instructor Gordo’s css.”

  Volithur gave the shallowest bow he thought he could get away with. “I don’t think the reputation is justified, Master Marshal.”

  “No one ever does. The truth of the matter is that you are more powerful than your peers in the beginner css, even while they remain physically stronger than you.” The Marshal pulled three vials from behind his back, instantly capturing Volithur’s full attention. “I am not here to criticize you for being too rough today. I have observed your progress in body enhancement. You have done well, Ward Harridan.”

  The Marshal held forth two of the vials, which contained the murky liquid Volithur recognized as tea powder elixir. “Your regur monthly allotment.” When Volithur had accepted both vials, the Marshal made a show of holding out the final vial on both hands. “And your reward for meeting my expectations.”

  “Thank you, Master Marshal!”

  “Take the blood boiling elixir first. You will need to perform physical exercise to fully activate it. Go to the library after and find the cultivation manual titled ‘sinew strengthening pn’. Discard any previous schemes you have made and follow the steps in that manual exactly. You will not have time to plot out your next move with a potent elixir powering you.

  “This is a reward, Ward Harridan, but also a test. I am giving several individuals extra resources and watching how effectively they use them. You may receive a second vial if your performance merits it. When the blood boiling elixir begins to wane in potency, take both tea powder elixirs to extend your enhancement time.”

  A steely determination arose in Volithur, pushing aside the gratefulness to the Marshal, the lingering frustrations with Instructor Gordo, and even the ever-present loneliness that defined his existence. He had been given an opportunity that just might be within his capabilities. He was not talented at bodily cultivation, it was true. But he had dedicated a lot of time to building the skills.

  More than skill, though, he had a mind enhanced well beyond what any soldier under the Marshal’s command could reasonably be expected to have. That was an advantage he held over the other competitors, whoever they may be. Especially with his focus on sensory training and his memorization of anatomy. If any of the soldiers aside from the Marshal and the Sergeant could find the exact location of anatomical features faster than Volithur, he would be shocked.

  “Ward Harridan? Get to work.”

  Without another word or even a bow of courtesy, Volithur imbibed the blood boiling elixir. Then he tucked the two other elixirs safely away and began to sprint for the library. Rather than a lengthy workout to activate the resource, he figured rapidly bringing his body to the absolute limit of its capabilities would be a more efficient use of time.

  He slowed to a walk as he entered the pace, fighting the urge to colpse to his knees. Instead, he fought through the dizziness and tingling in his extremities as he continued on towards the library. It took him a few minutes to find the ‘sinew strengthening pn’, which was long enough for his exhaustion to entirely evaporate as power began to flood his veins. It was a different heat than the one summoned by his anger at Instructor Gordo, a fierce and effervescent variation ripe with promise.

  Volithur sat at the library’s reading table and began to cycle energy through his body aperture. He started at the first page of the dense manual and forced energy into the tissues illustrated there. When that had been done, he moved onto the second page, then the third. He turned a page every fifteen minutes or so.

  Not much ter, he had completed the first major system from the pn: the spinal column. The vertebral discs had been the first order of business, followed by the vertebral ligaments binding bone to bone, then the tendons attaching bone to muscle.

  The sense of accomplishment barely rose before Volithur dismissed it in favor of seeking out the next area specified in the pn: the pelvis and hips. Then knees. Ankles and feet. Though energy still flowed through him at that point, his soul felt exhausted from constant use. He pushed forward anyway, eager to prove himself to the Marshal.

  The ribs came next, and there was far more connective tissue there than he would have imagined. His cosmic energy levels began to wane and he took the two vials of tea powder elixir to get a boost. That let him finish the ribs and start on the shoulder girdle. He was working on the arms when energy levels dropped precipitously.

  Holding nothing back, Volithur began to deplete the reserves in his soul. Though he had been spending down almost everything he gained from his daily cultivation practice over the past month, Volithur had benefited from the three elixirs in soul as well as body. He zeroed out that benefit by forcing the cosmic energy into his arms.

  When he found it utterly impossible to continue, Volithur had only his hands and face remaining. Though he didn’t have the experience to hold an informed opinion, he suspected that he had gone about it much faster than was typical. Whatever he cked in cultivation talent, he possessed a strong memory and, per Khana’s assessment, excellent mental senses.

  Had the test set by the Marshal been one of pure enhancement talent, Volithur would have been at a disadvantage. Instead, perhaps unintentionally, the test had measured mostly how quickly and accurately he could locate the next tissue to infuse. With elixirs providing the cosmic energy, the core talent of cultivation had been removed from consideration. What remained was locating specific body parts and forcing energy into them. Most people struggled with the former. Volithur was the opposite in that regard. He was below average when it came to saturating the tendons, but fast at finding his targets. The entire situation had been tilted in his favor. For once, events conspired to help him instead of hurt him.

  As Volithur let himself rex, releasing the tension built up in his shoulders, he noticed Khana sat across from him. “Oh! Hi, Khana. What are you doing here?”

  She watched him with a mysterious look in her eyes. “I came for our lesson.”

  A moment passed as he took that in. He had been vaguely aware that people had walked through the library to enter and leave the cssroom at some point. That meant he had skipped lunch, which was to be expected when you had a valuable elixir in your belly. And skipped css, which meant he didn’t get his donation of cosmic water from the Head Scribe. It seemed silly to stress over missing out on a resource that was almost worthless, but he did anyway. And if it was time for lessons, he had also inadvertently skipped dinner.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t know if I am up for lessons today. I was doing body enhancement.”

  “You’re almost done with your tendons,” Khana noted.

  “I think I made good use of the elixir,” he said.

  “Excellent use, Ward Harridan.”

  Volithur nodded. “The Marshal… he said if I made good use of the blood boiling elixir, he would give me another one. Hopefully…” he trailed off as he noticed Khana’s steady eyes didn’t leave his face. “Uh, I wish I could share my good fortune with you, but….”

  “The best thing is for you to grow your strength,” she stated firmly.

  “That’s what I was thinking.” He stood and dipped an awkward bow in her direction.

  “Ward Harridan?”

  “Uh, yes, Khana?”

  “The formal dance at the Evergreen Institute was well liked by the participants st year. They announced that it will become an annual tradition.”

  She still had not looked away from him and he found himself frozen like prey before a predator. “Is that so? I guess that’s good.”

  “I thought that since you ensured that we will both attend the competition, it would be helpful if you had some instruction in proper dancing. You are exhausted today, obviously, but maybe tomorrow we could practice that for your lesson?”

  “I… maybe? Yes, I guess. Bye.”