Shattered Sanity

(Imperial Academy Training Grounds)

By the time the class should ordinarily have ended, more than forty students were somehow still running around the enormous training ground.

Professor Mike had expected a number of students to stumble and give up from sheer exhaustion by now. However, to his surprise, this year’s batch seemed more resilient than the last, with many students possessing enough stamina to run for two hours straight.

”All right, that’s enough! More than forty of you are still standing, and eliminating five people every lap isn’t going to cut it anymore, so we’re changing the rules one final time.”

Professor Mike shouted, as the remaining runners crossed the finish line and several immediately slowed their pace while looking towards him.

”You have three laps remaining. No more eliminations between laps, and no more worrying about whether five people are behind you.

Everyone starts together, and when those three laps are over, I only care about the first five people across that line.”

Several exhausted expressions immediately changed, as until now, survival had been enough, but that was no longer the case.

”And before some of you decide you’ve already proven enough and stop caring, I’ll give you something worth running for.”

Professor Mike continued, as a faint smile appeared across his face while the exhausted students waited to hear what reward could possibly make another three laps worthwhile.

”The five students who finish first will receive one privilege I almost never give anyone attending my classes.....

..... You will each receive one free pass allowing you to arrive late to one of my morning training sessions without receiving any punishment whatsoever.”

For several seconds, nobody said anything, although the atmosphere quickly changed as the remaining students understood how valuable that privilege could become.

With Professor Mike expecting them two hours before sunrise three mornings every week, a free pass for arriving late was certainly worth fighting for.

”Interested now? Then get ready!”

Professor Mike shouted, as Riven stared towards the track ahead and started to plan as to how he would approach the final two thousand four hundred meters.

’Top five..... that sounds doable.’

Riven thought, as after spending the entire exercise deliberately conserving stamina, he felt equally curious about what would happen if he finally allowed his body to go all out.

”Go!”

Professor Mike shouted, as Riven immediately exploded forward and abandoned the conservative pace he had maintained throughout the exercise.

Until now, he had circulated only enough Aether to support his muscles and limit the fatigue accumulating throughout his body, but that restraint disappeared as he accelerated.

Within seconds, more than twenty runners had fallen behind him, as his reconstructed muscles propelled him forward with enough explosive power to surprise even Riven himself.

’This is good, I’m going to be number one in no time at this pace....’

He thought, as within the opening stretch, Riven reached the front group, although Gary Ironveil appeared beside him moments later with a smug smile across his face.

The West Duke’s son matched him stride for stride, while several physically gifted noble children and two athletic commoners remained within striking distance behind them.

Further back, Mary and Stacy were already beginning to lose ground despite possessing enough endurance to continue running for considerably longer.

Garron’s training had taught Mary how to continue through exhaustion, while Stacy possessed that same stubborn endurance in even greater measure, but neither possessed the explosive acceleration of the students pulling away.

Their bodies had been hardened through hardship rather than refined through years of specialized training, while Riven possessed the additional advantage of a body painstakingly reconstructed for efficiency and power.

And so, by the time the first of the final three laps ended, Riven and Gary stood amongst the pack of leaders, while a massive fifty meter gap separated them from the mid pack runners behind.

’Two more to go....’

Riven thought, as suddenly, one of the noble boys began burning Aether aggressively through his legs and surged several meters ahead, although neither Riven nor Gary reacted.

The end goal was to be top five, and not first and so, the two of them did not risk overdoing it.

However, to their joy, the kid who had pulled ahead started to lose all steam half a lap later, as he struggled to maintain the explosive pace he had foolishly chosen.

’A fool.’

Riven thought, as with the final lap approaching, Riven glanced towards Gary as determination gradually replaced whatever interest he had initially possessed in Professor Mike’s reward.

’Victory today is going to be mine...’

He thought, as Gary returned his glance with a small nod before accelerating alongside him, as they both finally abandoned whatever restraint they had maintained.

Riven drove more Aether through his legs while Gary remained beside him, neither managing to gain meaningful distance as the remaining runners gradually scattered behind them.

Hundreds of eliminated students had remained around the training ground to watch the finish, and their voices steadily rose as Riven and Gary pulled away from everyone else.

By the final three hundred meters, they were running almost perfectly beside one another, neither willing to surrender even half a stride despite only needing to finish within the top five.

Professor Mike’s free pass had stopped mattering.

Riven’s legs burned as they entered the final stretch, although he ignored the discomfort and continued forcing himself forward while Gary remained beside him.

With approximately one hundred meters remaining, Gary attempted one final acceleration, but Riven immediately answered with his own.

The crowd erupted as they crossed almost simultaneously, with Riven reaching the finish barely half a step ahead of Gary.

Riven continued several meters before finally slowing, while Gary reduced his pace beside him and three other students arrived shortly afterward to claim the remaining positions amongst the five winners.

”Did you see that? Dawnriver actually beat Ironveil by half a step!”

One student exclaimed, as several others immediately began discussing what they had just witnessed.

”Those really are the two best entrants we’ve got this year. I can’t wait for their fight tonight.”

”Neither can I. I thought Ironveil would destroy him, but Dawnriver might actually have the physical advantage.”

”Physical conditioning isn’t everything. Ironveil has two Excellent affinities.”

”Who cares? Did you see them just now?”

One boy who had been listening nearby suddenly cursed upon realizing that he had never purchased admission for the exhibition.

”Damn it. I didn’t buy a ticket, but I’m going straight there during lunch. There’s no chance I’m missing those two fight after watching this.”

Similar conversations spread throughout the training ground as the already considerable anticipation surrounding the exhibition increased once again.

Riven heard several of them while attempting to regain control over his breathing, although Gary appeared considerably more interested in their own performance than whatever everyone else was saying.

”Man, you really must have trained hard to build a physique like that. When I came to this Academy, I genuinely didn’t expect to find anyone amongst the incoming First Years who could match me physically.”

Gary said between heavier breaths, as despite having just lost their impromptu competition, the familiar smile remained across his face.

”But I suppose having an equal gives me something to look forward to, Dawnriver.”

Riven looked towards him and considered responding, although he eventually decided against it because there was little value in celebrating a half-step victory during a running exercise when Gary would be holding a sword the next time they competed.

Instead, Riven turned towards Professor Mike, who was already waiting for him a short distance beyond the finish line.

”Well done, Dawnriver. You’ve earned yourself one free pass. Arrive late to one of my morning sessions and I’ll pretend I never saw it.”

Professor Mike said, as he gave Riven a firm pat across the back before his expression became considerably more amused.

”But I hope you never use it.”

”Thank you, Professor.”

Riven replied, as he offered him a short bow before turning away and beginning to make his way towards the training ground’s exit.

His lungs were burning considerably more than he wanted anyone else to know, and every instinct urged him to remain where he was for another minute and properly recover.

Yet hundreds of students were still watching him, many of whom already expected the heir of House Dawnriver to be extraordinary, which meant collapsing beside the track while gasping for breath hardly seemed appropriate.

So Riven simply continued walking, controlling his breathing as best he could while keeping his posture upright and making his way towards the exit as though running nearly twenty five kilometers before sprinting another two and a half had barely inconvenienced him.

’Need to find a secluded spot before I collapse....’

Riven thought, as he tried his best to keep up a tough guy’s appearance, while behind him, Mary and Stacy rolled on the floor breathing heavily, as they accepted their end results.

Neither seemed particularly disappointed about ending outside the top five, however, they were surely shocked by seeing Riven walk out as though the whole exercise had barely fazed him.

*Gulp*

Mary swallowed between breaths as she remembered watching him run, accelerate and eventually defeat Gary Ironveil, as somehow she could just not superimpose that image over the Riven she used to like.

Back beneath Garron’s supervision, the Riven she remembered had never been exceptional, and he certainly had never possessed anything remotely resembling the physical ability she had just witnessed.

Stacy slowly straightened beside her, apparently reaching much the same conclusion as she continued staring towards the training ground’s exit.

There was no way the boy they remembered from Ashfang could possess a body capable of surpassing theirs so completely, nor could he realistically stand beside Gary Ironveil and defeat him in a contest of physical conditioning.

More importantly, neither girl could understand how the relatively unremarkable boy they remembered could have transformed into someone who now seemed excellent at practically everything.

’He is not the same guy I know....’

Mary thought, as she continued staring towards the exit long after Riven had disappeared from her sight, as the possibility she had spent the last two days resisting suddenly seemed considerably more believable.

Perhaps she really had been wrong, and perhaps Riven Dawnriver truly wasn’t their Riven after all.