Rudra met Ronald Clain's piercing gaze, the sixteen-fold gravity pressing down like a physical hand trying to crush them both. Sweat stung his eyes, his breath came in ragged pulls, but his voice emerged steady, cutting through the oppressive silence of Zone 4. "Rudra."
Ronald's aristocratic lips thinned slightly. He hadn't expected such blunt composure. "Rudra," he echoed, the name tasting unfamiliar. He gestured dismissively, a slight movement that cost him effort. "You've impressed me… for now. But stay here. Zone Four is your limit. Pushing further would be… unwise. Know your place." The unspoken words hung heavy: Commoner.
Rudra didn't bristle. He simply nodded, a sharp, economical movement. "Thanks for the advice." The words weren't deferential; they were an acknowledgement, nothing more. He didn't argue, didn't boast. He just turned his focus inward, away from the noble's condescension. The dismissal rolled off him like water off stone. Ronald's advice was noise. His own body's limits were the only truth that mattered here.
Ronald watched him for a beat, a flicker of irritation in his cold blue eyes at the lack of expected cowering or defiance. Then, with deliberate slowness, he turned and began the arduous journey towards the shimmering boundary of Zone 5, the fabled 32x gravity. He stopped mere inches from the terrifying threshold, the air visibly warping there. He didn't cross. Instead, he lowered himself smoothly, despite the crushing weight, into a perfect meditative pose. A controlled silver aura, dense and refined, flared around him like liquid mercury. He closed his eyes, channeling the immense pressure to further purify his already formidable prana, a picture of noble superiority pushing the very edge of the possible.
Rudra followed suit, not towards Zone 5, but sinking into his own cross-legged stance right where he stood in Zone 4. He didn't flare his prana stream yet. Instead, he focused entirely on his body.
He shut his eyes, directing his awareness inward. The crushing pressure wasn't just an enemy; it was the ultimate whetstone. He felt it grinding against every fiber, every sinew, every bone.
He visualized the dense bundles screaming under the load. The pressure forced micro-tears, but almost instantly, his innate, monstrous healing and adaptive capabilities surged. New fibers formed, thicker, denser, woven with greater resilience. It felt like iron bands being reforged inside him.
A deep, resonant hum vibrated through his skeleton. The 16x gravity compressed them, forcing the mineral matrix to realign, to become harder, less porous. It was a painful, profound compaction, like stone undergoing metamorphosis deep within the earth.
The connective tissues, stressed to their absolute limit, stretched and groaned. But under the relentless pressure, they thickened, becoming like braided steel cables, gaining incredible tensile strength. Every subtle shift in posture was a lesson in efficient force distribution.
His heart hammered a furious rhythm against the weight trying to collapse his chest. Blood fought against the immense pull, forced to move through compressed vessels. This brutal resistance strengthened his heart muscle and forced his circulatory system to become vastly more efficient under duress.
Sweat poured off him in rivulets, carrying microscopic impurities expelled by the intense physical refining. He didn't move, didn't flinch. He simply endured and adapted. The pain was a constant fire, but within it, he felt an undeniable surge of power. His physical vessel, already extraordinary, was being tempered into something harder, denser, more capable.
Vaishnav, straining twenty meters away, had witnessed the brief exchange. He saw Ronald's dismissive advice and Rudra's unnerving calm in response. A complex knot of emotions tightened in his chest – the ever-present humiliation from their fight, the burning desire to surpass Ronald, and now… a grudging, unwanted respect for Rudra's sheer tenacity.
He's in Zone Four. Standing. Meditating. Like it's nothing. The thought was galling. Yet, Vaishnav was brutally pragmatic. He knew Zone 4 was his absolute limit for sustained effort right now. Pushing into Zone 5 was suicide. But watching Rudra endure, watching Ronald bask at the threshold… it crystallized his resolve.
This refinement… Vaishnav focused on his own crimson prana, swirling it fiercely within his compressed channels. The pressure was excruciating, but it was forcing his energy into tighter, purer streams, burning away inefficiencies. After this… after I absorb these gains… He glared at Ronald's silver-lit form. I'll be stronger. Faster. I will match him. And that commoner… His gaze flicked to Rudra. He won't be so far ahead next time. He redoubled his concentration, using the shared crucible to fuel his ambition.
An hour under Master Earth's crushing domain felt like an eternity in hell. Yet, it ended with the same suddenness it began. The immense pressure simply… vanished.
WHUMP.
The release was almost as shocking as the initial impact. Students gasped, groaned, some collapsing forward as the weight they'd been fighting against disappeared. Rudra's eyes snapped open. He took a deep, effortless breath, the air feeling impossibly light. He rose smoothly to his feet, a fluid motion that felt alien after the struggle.
He immediately assessed the changes:
he felt heavier, not in fat, but in pure mass. His muscles felt like sculpted granite beneath his skin.
His skin felt tougher, his bones hummed with solidity. A tentative flex of his arm revealed cords of muscle moving with terrifying power.
His awareness of his own body was sharper, more precise. He could feel the subtle thrum of his enhanced circulatory system, the effortless strength coiled in his core.
Moving felt effortless, like shedding chains. The memory of the crushing weight made his normal movements feel preternaturally swift and light.
A fierce, quiet satisfaction bloomed within him. The gains were substantial – far beyond anything he'd achieved through normal training. His first gravity domain session had been brutal, but transformative.
He stretched, rolling his shoulders, feeling the new power thrumming within him. Then, his gaze locked onto the shimmering boundary of Zone 5. The impossible zone. 32x gravity.
Without a word, he started walking towards it.
A ripple of disbelief ran through the recovering students.
"Is he…?"
"Zone Five? Is he insane?"
"He just survived Four! Why push it?"
"Arrogant fool. He'll get crushed flat."
Harry, wiping sweat from his brow nearby, stared wide-eyed. "Rudra… mate… what are you doing?" he whispered, worry warring on his face.
Ronald Clain, standing gracefully near the Zone 5 boundary, having finished his refinement, watched Rudra's approach with icy disdain. A cruel smirk touched his lips. "Overestimating his peasant resilience," he murmured loud enough for nearby students to hear. "He barely endured Four. Zone Five will surely break him. Let the gutter rat learn his lesson the hard way."
Vaishnav, standing closer to Ronald, his own body humming with newly refined power, frowned. He knew Rudra's strength firsthand. "Don't be so sure, Clain" he said, his voice low but intense. "He's… different. Stronger than he looks. Underestimating him is a mistake." It pained him to say it, but it was tactical truth.
Ronald laughed, a short, sharp sound devoid of humor. "Stronger? Than me? Than Zone Five? Spare me your delusions, Vaishnav. Watch. He'll be plastered to the ground before he takes three steps." He crossed his arms, settling in to enjoy the anticipated spectacle of Rudra's humiliation.