Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 55: Chapter 51: Training

Read chapter 55 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Chapter 51: Training Chapter 51: Training Sylvaris was relentless in his teaching methods. Alex’s body screamed in protest, but Sylvaris gave him practically no rest. “Again,” the elf said. The words came out the same way they had through the entire training day so far, calm and exacting. Alex rose from the ground, his clothing and skin already drenched in sweat. His body was locked in a half-squat stance, arms held at precise angles, palms open and fingers loose. It looked like nothing special but holding it perfectly was agony. “The body is a vessel,” Sylvaris intoned, “and your vessel leaks. Your spine buckles. Your essence gate wavers. Your feet do not speak to the ground.” He snapped his fingers. Aether struck like a whip across Alex’s posture. It wasn’t painful, but sharp and jarring, the type of input that communicated corrective instructions spoken in the language of pain. Alex gritted his teeth and adjusted again. “Your magic will never flow cleanly if your frame cannot bear it. Spellcasting without martial alignment is like pouring wine into a cracked cup.” “Okay but why train like this?” Alex hissed through clenched teeth, his legs trembling. Sylvaris circled him, his hands folded behind his back. “Because if I let you cast spells like you did before, you will die the moment a real warrior closes the distance. And the Kobolds you plan to face are not just beasts. Many of them are warriors, killers. Some, even besides their chieftain, will have combat experience that you do not.” Alex blinked sweat from his eyes. “You’re saying they know how to fight like this ?” Sylvaris stopped walking. “I’m saying that up until now, you’ve only been playing at combat. Again.” He had been at this for four hours. Sylvaris’ teachings had started with what he understood to be “proper aether control” when casting his spells. Once Sylvaris had finished seemingly reality warping the clearing they were in, he found himself beside the elf in a new glade with a tiny hovel hut a dozen yards away to his left. There was also a pond a few feet to his right which looked clean and refreshing, and Alex had yearned for a drink of the waters upon first gazing at it. The elf let him enter the hut first, where it looked Alex would be living for the next three days. It was essentially a tiny studio apartment in log-cabin form from what he could see. A bed, a table and chair, and a small furnace that doubled as a small cooking stove. It was at least better than the military dorms he had experienced in his early enlistment days. Alex was relieved to think that Sylvaris trusted him with a cooking appliance in his living space, unlike the military. His sight eventually fell on to his backpack sitting against the wall to his left. On top of it was his storage bracelet and thus Obby, in all his pebbly glory, tucked inside. He quickly picked up the bracelet, slipping on to his arm and giving it a small trickle of aether to make sure everything was still inside. “ I was manhandled Alex. How dare they treat me in such a way. I think one of them scanned me.” Obby’s voice blared in his head. The sentient rock was certainly upset. He had never heard Obby so riled up. Alex grinned. Finally, someone gave you a spoonful of your own medicine huh? Alex checked the contents of the bracelet and the backpack, it was all properly accounted for. Let’s limit our communications for now though, I’m sure Sylvaris will notice something. “Continue without me for now if you must, but I will be watching and listening in case you miss anything. And you will, meat boy.” “ Okay,” Alex turned back to the elf with a determined glint in his eyes. “Where do we start?” *** And thus, Alex found himself standing in the grassy glade for the last hours moving between various stances with his body. Attack, defense, retreat, lateral positioning, all with multiple movements and precise footwork, arm posture and hand placements. Every mistake that Alex made was punished by Sylvaris. Not always by