Second day in the gravity hall was even more gruelling then the first one. 5x gravity field had become a permanent part of training and rows of black discs with adjustable weight via a neural link sat waiting for the students.
Further more each student provided with private body training machine which help students to do all the exercises.
Teacher Andrew walked to the lead machine and begin to teach.
"A Mage need a very strong body otherwise he will not be able to keep up with the fiber growth in there body or they will not be able to increase there realm."
"Now look at me and do the same."
Andrew entered the machine and begin to do all the weight training.
"Every muscle of the body should be exercised properly otherwise your body will not be able to face the burden of higher realm."
After completing the same exercises twice.
"You have two hours," Andrew announced.
"If I see anyone using their fiber to cheat the weight training, I will double the gravity in your lane."
Kaelen looked at the black machine. His body still ached, but as he gripped the bar, he felt the X-1 Serum still not completely absorbed previously begin to assimilate in his body slowly as he did all the exercises.
The hall hummed with grinding gears and the vibration of cables and weights in the machine.
The students began their first full circuit.
Jax, who during the holiday was training within his family using natural stimulators like Lunar-Marrow Extract, moved from exercise to exercise with aggressive, uncontrolled energy.
He slammed through the training, matching Andrew's high settings.
After the first complete circuit of training, Teacher Andrew told the students to take a rest.
But Jax had other plans. The fact that his house had placed second in the year end rankings made him feel inferior, and he wanted to prove that he was better.
He stepped out from his lane, eyes locked on Kaelen. "Hey, Veyron! All that weight and you still look like a stick. How about we see if that 'Veyron blood' can actually take a hit?"
Kaelen wiped sweat from his brow. "I'm here to train, Jax. Not play games."
"Scared?" Jax sneered, his blue fiber flarung. "Or maybe you're just broken after your little stunt in the Capital."
This time Kaelen did not back down and looked coldly in Jax eyes.
Teacher Andrew crossed his arms, his eyes scanning both boys. "You want to test your power right. I approve the duel. Center mat. Three minutes."
The class formed a circle. Gravity was dialed to 3x Earth standard.
Jax and Kaelen together stepped on the mat.
Andrew "Who ever fall out of mat will lose the match."
Jax and Kaelen nodded and the match started.
As the match started Jax lunged forward, his movement unnaturally fast and explosive.
The extracts he used at home made his muscles incredibly dense, yet his movements lacked their usual fluid grace.
His first strike a heavy palm thrust caught Kaelen squarely in the chest, sending him stumbling.
"What's wrong, Kaelen?" Jax laughed, his voice strained by the 3x gravity. "Can't keep up with real power?"
For the first few minutes, Kaelen was purely defensive, his body bruised under Jax's relentless, heavy blows.
Jax prepared a final, crushing blow, channeling blue mana into his fibers into right fist. "Go down!"
But as Jax swung, something went wrong. His arm jerked, and his blue fibers sputtered like a dying candle.
He missed Kaelen by inches, his feet tangling as he tripped over his own awkward momentum.
"What... what is this?" Jax gasped, his muscles twitching uncontrollably beneath his skin.
Kaelen stood up slowly, his red fibers glowing with a steady hum.
"Your body grew too fast, Jax. Your family's mixture forced your muscles to harden, but your fibers hasn't adapted with that density yet."
"Shut up!" Jax roared, trying to throw a wild hook, but his shoulder joint popped audibly as the muscle outpaced the fiber.
Jax tried to lunge again, but his body refused; a lag had formed between his mind and muscles.
Kaelen didn't strike back with anger. He pulled red fiber energy deep into his marrow to stabilize his stance and solidify his frame.
As Jax threw a desperate punch, Kaelen simply stepped aside and caught Jax's arm.
Using Jax's own heavy weight against him, Kaelen guided him to the floor with a firm redirection.
Jax hit the mat with a heavy clang, pinned by the 3x gravity.
Andrew stepped in, signaling the end. He looked at Jax with stern disappointment.
"A fiber mage does not just take supplements. He need to work hard to take back the control of his body."
Andrew tapped a command into Jax's neural link, making the Gravity-Plates glow fiercely.
"I have increased your base training weight."
He then looked at Kaelen with an approving nod. "Veyron, your output was low, but your control was good. You beat him because you were more controlled."
After the duel, Jax did not find trouble again with Kaelen and the intensity of the exercise on the first week of Year Two was exhausting, but for some, the real training happened after the official lights went out in the Training Hall.
One evening, as Kaelen was finishing a late-night cooldown in the high-performance gym of the House Ignis Dormitory, the doors of the gym opened.
Mina stood there, still in her silver lined training suit, her hair tied back in a messy knot. She was holding a small data pad, looking uncharacteristically hesitant.
"Kael?" she called out, her voice echoing in the quiet, metallic space.
Kaelen wiped his brow, his red fibers still tight with intense exercise. "Mina? It's late. Shouldn't you be in the recovery pods?"
"I can't get complete this set of exercise." she admitted, walking toward him. "My silver ffiber is too stiff, I feel like my joints are going to lock up. Can you guide me in my training?"
Kaelen nodded, stepping toward her. "Your silver fiber is use for mage engineering, Mina. It is its characteristic to stay still. You have to slowly find the points where you can bend them and start from there after theat increase your exercise slowly to make them more flexible.."
He adjusted her posture and then said "Start with the Shoulder Press. It's the easiest for your fiber type."
Mina stepped into the machine, gripping the handles. As she pushed upward, her silver fiber moved easily.
"You have to remember to not fight your fibers but find the perfect spot to work them out." Kaelen said softly.
He stepped behind her to check her alignment. "Your shoulders are too tense. If you don't relax the outer muscle, the inner thread can't move easily."
Without thinking, Kaelen reached out, placing his hands firmly on her shoulders to guide her posture.
The heat from his palms, still radiating from his own workout, seeped through her thin training suit.
Mina's breath hitched. In the quiet gym, the sound was loud. Due to the presence of fiber. The body and brain of 6 year olds on Core is more developed then 12 year olds of normal humans.
She looked up, and for a second, their eyes met in the reflection of the polished black steel. Kaelen was focused, his gaze intense and professional, but the proximity was undeniable.
The air between them seemed to thicken, not from the exercise, but from a sudden, electric tension.
"Kael..." she whispered, her face flushing a deep pink that rivaled his red fiber.
"Close your eyes," Kaelen commanded, unaware of her growing shyness. "Don't look at the weight. Feel my hands. Where I press, that's where you send you apply pressure."
As he moved his hands down to her mid back to correct her arch, Mina felt a jolt of static electricity, a literal spark.
She quickly looked away, her heart hammering against her ribs faster than any 5x gravity field could cause.
"Focus, Mina," Kaelen murmured, his voice dropping an octave as he stood closer to ensure she didn't slip.
She took a deep breath, trying to ignore everything. She visualized her silver fiber folding around her joints, mirroring the way Kaelen's hands felt on her skin.
Clang.
The weights moved. Smoothly. Effortlessly.
"You did it," Kaelen said, stepping back and releasing her.
The sudden loss of contact made Mina feel colder than the air-conditioned gym. She turned around, biting her lip, unable to meet his eyes directly.
"Thanks, Kael," she said, her voice small and shy. She busied herself with the settings on the machine to hide her face. "I think... I think I understand now."
"You have a lot of potential, Mina. Your fiber just needs some adjustment" Kaelen replied, picking up his towel.
After completing all their exercises, Leo, Sora, Kaelen, and Mina collapsed onto the large floating sofa in the center of the House Ignis dormitory lounge.
The anti gravity cushions hissed as they absorbed the weight of four exhausted bodies. Leo was the first to speak, his orange fiber flickering weakly.
"I think teacher Andrew is actually trying to break us" Leo groaned, staring at the ceiling. "My orange fiber feels like they have been stretched out more then they should."
Sora nodded, leaning her head back with a sigh. "It's the stamina for me. My fibers are flexible but lack endurance."
Mina, who had been uncharacteristically quiet while sipping her nutrient shake, glanced toward Kaelen and then quickly looked at her drink.
"I... I actually some problems earlier." Mina said softly, her voice catching the attention of the group. "My silver fiber were too rigid. It kept rejecting to cooperate. I couldn't move the Gravity-Plates properly."
Leo sat up slightly, squinting at her. "Wait, you were moving them fine by the end of the session. What changed?"
Mina's cheeks tinged with a faint, unmistakable pink. "Kaelen helped me. We went to the gym together after the main session."
"Oh?" Sora teased, a playful glint in her eyes as she looked between them. "Private tutoring in the middle of the night?"
"He just guided me," Mina added quickly, her silver fiber shimmering with a shy, warm glow. "He showed me how to redirecting the weight instead of resisting. He helped me align my fibers and the weights by... showing me exactly where the pressure needed to go."
Leo nudged Kaelen with a wide grin. "Look at Veyron, the aligner. First you break Jax's alignment, then you're out here giving masterclasses in the moonlight."
Kaelen remained calm, though he could see the Mina's brief, shy glance. "She knew what she need to do Leo. She just needed someone to guide her."
"Someone to guide, huh?" Sora hummed, leaning closer to Mina with a smirk. "Is that what we're calling it now?"
Mina hid her face behind her shake, the silver light of her aura pulsing softly in the dim lounge. The tension in the room had shifted from the physical exhaustion of the gym to something much more ambiguous.
The conversation on the floating sofa slowed as the adrenaline from the gym finally began to fade, replaced by a heavy, comfortable lethargy.
Sora stretched her arms over her head, her joints poppingf. "If we think Teacher Andrew is tough, wait until tomorrow. I heard Teacher Elena is taking class tomorrow.'"
Leo groaned, burying his face in a cushion. "Teacher Elena? She will teach us fiber thoery right."
"It's right." Kaelen noted, his voice calm despite the fatigue. "Teacher Andrew train our fibers so it doesn't break and teacher Elena explain us in detail what fibers are."
Mina looked over at Kaelen, her shyness from earlier lingering in her gaze. "She's going to teach us how to use fibers for multi-tasking, isn't she?"
"Exactly," Sora said, standing up and stifling a yawn. "She is strict. So we should take a proper rest before the class. Goodnight everyone."
One by one, they stood up and went to there rooms.
"Goodnight, Kael," Mina said softly as they reached the split in the hallway leading to their private quarters. She hesitated for a fraction of a second, her silver aura flickering with a warm, shy pulse. "And... thanks again."
Kaelen gave a small, rare nod of acknowledgment. "Get some rest, Mina. You'll need it for Teacher Elena's class."