BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM—!!!!
Gravity descended once more.
The reinforced chamber groaned.
Ancient runes carved into the floor ignited one after another, flooding the room with a deep silver glow as the gravity array awakened further.
The pressure doubled.
Then doubled again.
**BANG!!**
Another prodigy crashed onto the floor.
His elbows struck first.
Then his chest.
The black alloy beneath him dented slightly from the impact.
A girl beside him gritted her teeth, desperately forcing herself to remain upright.
Three seconds later—
Her knees buckled.
BOOM!!
She collapsed.
Sweat poured from everyone's bodies.
The air itself had become heavy.
Even breathing felt like dragging mountains into their lungs.
...
Caelion remained exactly where he stood.
Not a strand of hair moved.
The terrifying gravity seemed unable to touch him.
His expression remained calm.
Indifferent.
Watching.
Always watching.
"Stand."
His voice echoed through the chamber.
No one moved.
Not because they refused.
Because they couldn't.
"Did I..."
"...give any of you permission to kneel?"
Silence.
His words were neither loud nor angry.
Yet every syllable carried undeniable authority.
One young man roared and forced himself upward.
Veins bulged across his neck.
His muscles trembled violently.
For one brief moment—
He stood.
Then—
BANG!!
He collapsed again.
Caelion didn't even look at him.
"Weak."
One word.
Nothing more.
I slowly inhaled.
The pressure wasn't merely pressing against my body anymore.
It was invading it.
My bones felt heavier.
My blood flowed slower.
Every heartbeat required effort.
Instinctively—
I tried resisting.
The result was immediate.
Pain.
My muscles stiffened.
Energy consumption increased.
My breathing became uneven.
Prime Instinct pulsed.
A quiet warning.
Wrong.
I exhaled.
Slowly.
The tension left my shoulders.
Then my arms.
Then my waist.
I stopped fighting the gravity.
Instead—
I accepted it.
My posture lowered slightly.
Every joint aligned naturally.
My breathing found its rhythm again.
Inhale.
Exhale.
The pressure remained.
Nothing became lighter.
But my body...
Stopped wasting energy resisting what it couldn't change.
The difference was immediate.
Caelion's eyes shifted toward me.
Interesting...
He said nothing.
Across the room—
A broad-shouldered youth forced himself upright through sheer strength.
His muscles expanded dramatically beneath his clothes.
With every step—
The floor cracked.
Raw power.
Nothing more.
Another girl surrounded herself with a golden layer of energy, using brute force to oppose the gravity directly.
For a few moments...
It worked.
Then—
Cracks spread across her energy barrier.
It shattered.
BOOM!!
She fell unconscious before hitting the floor.
Two elders hidden behind the observation glass quietly removed her from the chamber.
The lesson continued.
"Power."
Caelion finally spoke.
"It is the easiest thing to obtain."
Nobody answered.
He continued walking between us.
"Efficiency..."
He stopped beside one of the students struggling desperately to stand.
"...is far more difficult."
Without warning—
He lightly tapped the student's shoulder.
The boy lost balance instantly.
BANG!!
Face first.
The room echoed with laughter from no one.
No one had enough breath to laugh.
Caelion looked down at him.
"You are wasting strength."
The boy clenched his fists.
"I... am resisting..."
"No."
Caelion interrupted.
"You are panicking."
Silence.
"Panic wastes movement."
"It wastes energy."
"It wastes life."
Every word struck like another increase in gravity.
My pupils narrowed.
Those words...
Prime Instinct.
They were describing the exact same principle.
Not the technique itself.
The philosophy behind it.
The gravity increased again.
BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM—!!!!
The room shook violently.
The air became thick enough to distort vision.
More than half the remaining students collapsed instantly.
Only six remained standing.
Barely.
Sweat dripped continuously onto the black alloy floor.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Each drop seemed unbelievably loud within the crushing silence.
My legs trembled.
Tiny fractures formed inside my muscles.
My heartbeat slowed again.
I could heal.
But healing consumed energy.
Unnecessary healing...
Was waste.
Prime Instinct adjusted.
Energy no longer flowed randomly through my body.
It gathered only where needed.
Supporting weakened muscles.
Reinforcing stressed joints.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
Perfect allocation.
The light-blue aura hidden beneath my skin shimmered faintly.
Tiny blue sparkles drifted peacefully through it.
One...
Then another...
The sparkles became brighter than before.
Not because more energy appeared.
Because less was being wasted.
Caelion stopped walking.
His gaze rested upon me.
Only briefly.
Then shifted toward the others.
"...Interesting."
It was impossible to know whom he meant.
Another boy roared.
Blue flames erupted around his body.
He forced himself upright through explosive power alone.
For several seconds—
He actually succeeded.
Then—
His breathing became ragged.
His flames weakened.
His knees buckled.
BOOM!!
He fell.
Unconscious.
Caelion shook his head slightly.
"Explosion."
"Without control."
"A common mistake."
He looked across the few students still standing.
"Most warriors believe becoming stronger means producing more energy."
He slowly raised one finger.
"They're wrong."
Silence.
"The greatest increase in power..."
"...comes from wasting less."
Those words echoed inside my mind.
Like a missing piece finally finding its place.
Prime Instinct...
Was never about increasing energy.
It was about increasing the value of every single unit of energy I possessed.
One ounce...
Controlling a thousand.
One movement...
Replacing ten.
One breath...
Accomplishing what others required an entire battle to achieve.
Understanding.
Not force.
Efficiency.
Not excess.
For the first time—
I smiled.
A genuine smile.
Prime Instinct...
Finally felt natural.
Like breathing.
Like walking.
Like living.
Not a technique I activated.
A way of existing.
Across the chamber—
Caelion saw it.
The faint smile on his face disappeared.
His ancient eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.
For the first time since entering the chamber...
He looked directly at me.
Not as another student.
But as someone who had understood the lesson.
Without being taught.
Without another word—
He snapped his fingers.
**SNAP.**
The gravity...
Rose again.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM—!!!!
**— End of Part II —**