Chapter 122: Unbroken

(Rodova Military Academy – Leo's Dorm Room)

That night, as Leo finally collapsed onto the floor of his dorm, he truly felt it.

The sheer difficulty of trying to focus when his entire body was on fire.

The soreness from Professor Marvin's morning torture session, combined with the absolute beating he had endured under Major Hen's merciless matchmaking, had left his muscles in ruins and his bones aching with every breath.

Meditation, something he had always done without fail, was absolute hell tonight, as every time he tried to settle his breathing, his body screamed at him to stop.

If not for [Monarch's Indifference] keeping him from fixating on the pain, and [Faster Regeneration] working overtime to heal his battered body, he doubted he would've lasted even a few minutes before losing focus.

But despite the struggle, he pushed through.

And by the time his six-hour meditation session finally ended—his body was nearly fully healed, feeling rejuvenated enough to endure another round of punishment.

But his mind?

It was completely shot.

After the day's grueling activities and six hours of focused meditation, it wasn't Leo's body that gave out first—it was his mind.

Lightheaded and cramping, his thoughts rebelled against the idea of training any further, as if demanding that he stop, that he rest.

His mind knew that, as per ritual, the last hour and a half of his day was reserved for refining [Absolute Vision]—pushing it toward (Perfect) grade.

But tonight—

Even as he sat down, skill scroll in hand, forcing himself to focus—

His mind fought back.

Every part of him was exhausted.

His thoughts moved sluggishly, his mana control was erratic, and his ability to process information felt like it had been buried beneath layers of fog.

For the first time since arriving at Rodova—Leo genuinely questioned if this level of training was sustainable.

Because tonight, it wasn't his willpower that was giving up on him.

It was his body.

"Am I really supposed to go through this hell every single day?"

The thought crept in before he could stop it.

The idea of just skipping tonight's training, closing his eyes, and giving himself a single night of rest sounded tempting.

Just this once.

Just to recover.

Just to feel like his body wasn't being shattered every damn second.

His fingers instinctively tightened around the skill scroll.

And for a split second—

He almost did it.

He almost let himself quit.

But then…

His breath steadied.

His muscles, though battered, held firm.

And deep within himself, something cold and unwavering reminded him—

"That's not who I am."

Leo was many things—reckless, insane, overconfident at times.

But a quitter?

Never.

He wasn't here to be comfortable.

He wasn't here to take breaks.

He was here to become the strongest.

And the strongest didn't get the luxury of weakness.

So, with a determined exhale, Leo shoved aside the exhaustion, forced his scattered thoughts into place, and began training.

His mana circulation was slower than usual.

His processing speed was sluggish.

But none of that mattered.

Because when it came down to it—

Leo Skyshard didn't stop.

No matter what.

—------------

(Next day, Rodova Military Academy)

The next morning, Leo received the confirmation he needed—that yesterday's hell was not a one-time thing.

Once again, Professor Marvin put him and Su Yang through torment beyond their means, exhausting them until they lay sprawled on the floor, gasping for breath, their bodies completely drained after yet another grueling session.

Once again, they had failed to meet the day's targets.

However, this time, Leo felt mentally better about it.

His body was sore, aching in places he didn't even know could ache, but he had come to understand something important—this was just the cycle now.

He knew that after a little time spent standing still, letting [Faster Regeneration] work its magic, he would heal enough to endure tomorrow's abuse.

Unlike Su Yang, who had to chug bottle after bottle of potions just to get through the rest of his academy day, Leo didn't have to rely on anything but food and time.

He simply had to eat vicariously and let his body do the rest.

Then—

At that day's Practical Combat Class, it was a couple of Army Majors who had been assigned to whoop his ass.

Unlike his previous opponents, they wielded different weapons and employed a completely different fighting style, forcing Leo to adapt in ways he hadn't needed to before.

It was a painful learning experience, but an invaluable one.

Of course, they were too strong for him to land a hit on, and his day once again ended with him beaten black and blue—but that wasn't what mattered.

What mattered was the exposure to a new kind of opponent.

What mattered was that, slowly but surely, his reflexes sharpened, his instincts honed, and his understanding of attack sequences deepened.

Through every loss, every blow, every failed strike—he was starting to form something of his own.

A fighting style that wasn't just learned moves strung together, but a fluid, adaptive, counterattack-free system that felt uniquely his.

And with each passing day—he was getting closer to mastering it.

—---------

That night, as Leo once again sat cross-legged on his dorm floor to meditate, his body aching like hell, he found an odd sense of solace in this relentless cycle of pain and growth.

On one hand, his mind rebelled against the sheer brutality of it all. The thought of enduring this level of hell for the next five months nonstop—only to then add skill move training on top of it after mastering [Absolute Vision]—felt almost impossible.

And yet—

On the other hand, something deep within his blood thrived in it.

The sharper and stronger his body became, the more intensely he could feel his instincts stirring inside him, screaming at him, guiding him—like an invisible beacon leading him in battle.

It was a strange, almost primal sensation.

At times, it felt like a whisper, an early warning system that flared before danger appeared in battle. Other times, it felt like an inexplicable hunger, an urge to push himself further, to refine his movements until they became second nature.

Leo couldn't fully grasp what it was just yet—but he knew one thing for certain.

The harder he trained, the more he unlocked something buried deep within him.

As he could feel it—the Genetic Awakening Serum's absorption improving dramatically under the pressure of his training.

As it really was just as Su Yang had told him.

The harder he pushed his body…

The faster and better the Serum Absorption became.

This bonus chapter is sponsored by patron HighlanderCharles via Supergift, Please thank him in the comments for the same.