My SSS-Rank Class Is Blood Monarch!-Chapter 348 - - Exo-Burst (Part 5)

Time passed slowly for Arthur, and it was as if he was completely detached from the real world, where seconds ticked at a normal rate. He was feeling like he was in a different world, literally and figuratively.

This training proved to be a very efficient way for him to immediately submerge himself into his own mind and cut all ties with reality. All he had was his own body and the trail ahead of him. He was supposed to take the next step and that was exactly what he was doing.

He kept walking, and then, slowly, his speed increased into strolling. His muscles were starting to ache from the intense workload they were being put under, but Arthur didn't let that break his momentum. He knew this pain was only going to grow more and more with every step.

Eventually, the second lap was finished in almost one-third of the time needed for the first lap. Seeing that, Arthur felt even more excited and motivated to continue. His body was adapting quickly to the changes and working to overcome them.

With each successful step he took, he felt happy and proud of himself. This challenge was not like other challenges where the results don't show up immediately. Each step was a success, and that success quickly accumulated into progress.

Arthur found that to be quite… addictive. He was able to easily have instant feedback, and it gave his motivation a huge boost. Against all the pain and the constantly increasing pressure, Arthur ran.

The third, fourth, and fifth laps passed quite quickly, each one quicker than the other. Arthur's body slowly reached that exhaustion phase, and his pace also grew heavier. So that was when he started fueling himself with mana.

He had been postponing using his mana and simply relying on pure stamina so that he could prolong his breath for as long as possible. Mana granted him a lot more strength than his body could create on its own.

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'Hmm, it's a little bit concerning that I have to already use mana… I'm still in the sixth lap.' The boy clenched his teeth as he shook his head and focused on the path again. 'No reason to overthink, let's just deal with it gradually.'

The next several laps were fast, too. Arthur kept count, and when he reached the tenth lap, he stopped for a moment.

"One-tenth of the way there… I just have to repeat whatever I just did ten more times. Great…"

Taking a deep breath, the boy didn't wait long to resume work. He wasn't feeling exhausted enough to stop. There was no time to waste, and he wished to learn Exo-Burst as soon as possible.

'A few days is too much time. If I can do it in two days… No, in one day! If I can finish it all in one day! I will be able to make it in time!' He thought to himself. Arthur knew that this was a ridiculous goal to set for such an extremely hard test, but that was how he wanted to be… To constantly defy even his own expectations.

That was what pushed Arthur to the position he's currently in. If he wanted to remain the best, then he had to aim bigger and bigger.

***

Several hours passed just like that, during which the boy lapped around the entire place again and again and again without stopping. He finished one lap after the other, each one faster than the one before. The first lap took him an hour to finish, and that time was now merely several minutes for each lap.

He wasn't able to run at full force, but strolling around became very much possible. Even though the gravity was increasing gradually, and he could feel it, his muscles were getting stronger very quickly.

The points he was gaining didn't vanish either. By the time he reached the 30th lap, Arthur had gained a ridiculous 15 points in strength, 20 points in agility, and 13 points in stamina purely because of this training.

That kind of improvement was something that completely blew his mind. The strength he gained would usually take him way longer to acquire. Yet, this training had unleashed that improvement like a broken dam.

'What's happening is ridiculous, but I'm not complaining!' Arthur smiled as he wiped the sweat off his face. 'I'm getting really tired, but the progress is really good so far.'

He heaved up and down as he continued the march, as vigorous as he was at first. He didn't feel like he was anywhere near his limit, even when he was feeling quite tired.

'31… 32… 33…'

However, as he expected, from the 30th lap and on, a sudden shift happened. Arthur started feeling a little more resistance with every new step he took. His eyes started wavering, and he found a hard time keeping them on the trail.

'Huh?' The boy was confused at first and assumed it was just an odd moment. However, with each new lap, those feelings grew stronger and stronger. His peaceful mind felt more and more chaotic.

One lap after the other, Arthur's distress grew exponentially. He was struggling to breathe, and his eyes were struggling not to look up. Thoughts in his head shifted.

'I wonder how much longer I have left before finishing this lap. Maybe a small look won't harm anybody.' It told him again and again, like a devilish monster beckoning him to do what it wished.

Arthur resisted that urge and simply tried to do what he had been doing this entire time. He knew that all of these thoughts simply wanted him to lose. The exhaustion was slowly reaching that limit he had been avoiding that entire time.

His sore muscles started sending electric shocks across his entire body with every move. Then, they started feeling painfully numb, and it only made each step even more agonizing.

'Come on, Arthur! You can't just give up now! I'm sure the end is near!' Arthur clenched his teeth. 'I'm past 50 laps for sure and well into the 60 laps… I made it halfway through! I can do it!'

Swallowing all that pain, he continued walking. Laps passed before his eyes as his struggle reached deeper and deeper parts of his body and mind. The voices grew stronger in his head, and his body started swaying and even falling.

'Stop, look up, your path might not be there.'

'No!'

'Arthur, you have been walking for too long. get some rest.'

'Shut up!!'

'You won't make it to 100 laps!'

'I said shut up!!!'

The boy struggled against the bombardment in his mind. Exhaustion wasn't simply something that attacks the body, its worst attack is against the mind. It gives one a sense of reason to stop and simply rest.

It was not a thought, but an ugly amalgamation of thoughts, trying to take control over the mind with all the possible methods.

Each step made the task even harder, to the point where Arthur started dreading the task. He could swear that he still hadn't reached his limit, yet his body was clearly trying to defy him and stop.

'Why would I stop? I can't stop!' Arthur clenched his teeth. His eyes were starting to get blurry, and his ears started picking up random noises he hadn't heard before. 'Take the next step! I just need to take the next step! Hahaha!'

Every single shred of will the boy had developed across his lifetime was used at that moment to keep him going. This challenge that had started as difficult had suddenly become almost impossible.

The pain, the mental torture, the struggle, and the conflicting emotions all came together for one single goal… To make him stop.

It was all going downhill very quickly, and doubt started to plague Arthur's mind. He had lost count of what lap he made, so the questions became even more uncertain.

'There are still so many laps. I won't make it when I'm barely even able to stay standing. I should take a break.'

The boy felt his entire world spin around to the point where even the trails became a blurry shade of what they were before. It was the worst feeling he had experienced by far, and the comparison wasn't even close.

But, as if the situation wasn't already the worst, Arthur suddenly felt something in his heart.

"Arthur…"

He heard a voice speaking to him. A very familiar voice that he longed for deeply. It didn't even let him have a moment to resist the urge as his eyes looked up. There, a little far away from him, he saw the silhouette of a girl. His eyes slowly widened as he stopped.

"... Is-...la?" He muttered under his breath. "What are you doing he-"

The boy was very confused, he didn't expect to see her here of all places. However, all his questions vanished once he took a closer look at her.

A//N: Thank you all for the gifts, golden tickets, and PS. Let's keep it up!