Cursed Comprehension

Ato woke up quite early the next morning, roused by the incessant crowing of the local chicken, that damned creature never knew when to shut up even in his past life. Though, that could end up being a great boon for Ato, as he did not know when the slaves were scheduled to rise from bed.

If there even was a schedule.

He got up from his bamboo bed and began performing a few stretching exercises—a habit from his past life.

His roommate, a tall, lanky boy that he'd only met whilst lying in bed glanced at him strangely, staring at Ato as if he were some kind of alien existence.

Which he was.

"What are you doing?" he asked, sitting cross legged on the bed.

"Stretching" Ato answered simply.

"Stret-ching?" Echoed the boy awkwardly. "Is it a type of dance?"

Ato simply nodded, expressing his unwillingness to continue the conversation any further.

Luckily, the other boy knew how to take a hint.

Glancing at the sky through the hut's singular window, Ato's roommate spoke out loud: "It's almost time for the drills, I'd better get ready."

He then grabbed his machete, which lay by the side of the bed, and exited the hut, followed closely by Ato, who had mirrored his actions to the letter.

The two then passed through a complex network of roads and alleyways, soon arriving at a large, tiled courtyard, where a small congregation of 15-17 year olds had gathered, each one standing at attention and gazing reverently at the man atop a large stone platform.

Ato and his roommate quickly fell in line, with Ato trying his hardest to imitate the stances of the people before him.

The Courtyard was quite spacious, ensuring that each teen had their own personal space.

Ato had only just realized that he had aged down.

He had no time to dwell on this though, as the man suddenly shouted a greeting, brandishing his machete.

"Maa chi!" He bellowed, raising his machete above his head

""Maa Chi!"" Echoed the teens, each one mirroring his actions.

The man then began to wildly swing his machete, as if he were in a battle with the air itself, an action which was perfectly mirrored by the teens and Ato as well.

The man performed slices, thrusts, blocks and even parries, further cementing the idea that he was engaged in some kind of battle with the wind, his legs seemed like they had minds of their own, moving back and forth and left and right in a strange ritualistic dance.

He truly embodied the phrase: "Fighting Demons."

Ato replicated the actions as best as he could, swinging his machete with wild abandon.

At first, he did not think much of the esoteric dance, seeing it as nothing but a strange morning ritual. But as the sun began to rise, Ato noticed something strange going on within him.

His body had started to heat up, his temperature climbing higher and higher with each movement until beads of sweat began forming on his body, the bodily fluid forming a small puddle underneath him.

Eventually though, he stopped sweating altogether, the reason being that his sweat had begun to literally evaporate instantly upon appearing on his skin.

The extreme internal heat caused Ato's mouth to dry up, his lungs began to burn and his heart began to thump fiercely, the sensation of his blood thumping becoming very apparent to him.

It felt as if he could see within himself, as if he'd suddenly switched from a 1st to 3rd person point of view.

It felt... exhilarating.

As the sun climbed higher in the sky, this feeling grew even more intense, causing Ato to lose his sense of time completely as he continued with the exercise far after the man and everyone else had stopped.

And he was not the only one.

Countless teens from among the congregation also experienced this unusual sensation, they kept going and going and going.

Until they began to glow, literally.

A golden light reminiscent of the rays of the sun erupted from underneath Ato's skin, filling him with a sense of freedom and euphoria.

There was a sense of weightlessness and then, a very distinct "Ka-tcha!" as the light was absorbed within Ato, nestling itself deep within his body.

Similar events occurred within the courtyard, prompting various Oohs and Aahs from the crowd of teenagers.

The man on the platform smiled, projecting his voice to the group before him.

What a promising bunch.

"Congratulations to those who have manifested their Kra." He said, the joy evident in his voice. "You have now begun on the path of Immortal cultivation!"

But Ato did not hear this message, as he, and all those who had undergone a similar event, passed out from the sheer stress of their great accomplishment.

The smile on the man's face grew wider.

What a truly promising bunch of potential soldiers.

***

Ato groggily opened his eyes finding himself in the same hut he woke up in, his roommate sat on the ground, roasting a whole chicken on a metal tray thing.

The aroma of food was extremely exciting to Ato, who felt his stomach begin to rumble in hunger.

"You could cook?" He said incredulously.

His roommate looked at him as if he were stupid.

"Everyone can."

Ato thought it wise to ask no further questions.

"The instructor says we've broken through." Said the boy, flipping the chicken over with his bare hands.

What a freakishly useful skill... Mused Ato, before registering what the boy said.

Ato was quite slow.

"Broken through?"

The boy nodded, breaking of a chicken wing to chew on.

"He talked about some kind of heavenly will, and said we'll be transferred to another class to learn spells and techniques."

The boy sighed while munching on the wing. "Frankly, it seems like way too much work, I'd much rather be a farmer."

"Why?" Ato asked, leaning forward to grab a wing as well.

He ended up getting burnt.

The boy laughed and Ato scowled, though he was quite surprised to discover that the burn was healing, albeit quite slowly.

"Look at this." He said, showing the healing injury to the boy, who looked quite surprised to discover the nifty ability.

He was about to say something, only to be interrupted by the loud voice of the messenger.

"All Slaves who broke through, assemble in the courtyard!"

The boy sighed again.

"It seems we won't be able to finish roasting the chicken."

Saying that, both he and Ato rose to gather at the second assembly of the day.