Even after what had just happened and how it made him feel, Bryce shoved it deep down and chose to continue with the training. To him, the faster he trained, the faster he would grow stronger.
"What's next?" Bryce asked Silas.
Silas hesitated for a moment. "Let's move on to something a bit more advanced, a basic skill."
He walked toward the human-shaped dummies lined up close together, and Bryce followed him slowly.
"Manipulating energy is all about understanding it," Silas said. "Understanding exactly how it works and the laws that govern it. I want you to set one of these dummies on fire by spontaneous combustion."
Bryce wasn't sure how to do that, but uncertainty wasn't going to stop him. He stood in front of one of the dummies and closed his eyes. He imagined the dummy catching fire.
Nothing happened.
Some of the students were still watching Silas and Bryce. For some reason, they were interested.
Silas wasn't surprised. He hadn't expected Bryce to succeed on his first attempt.
"Visualization is one of the best ways to learn," Silas said. "So you'll watch it being done first. Jace, come here and perform spontaneous combustion on one of the dummies."
Without hesitation, Jace walked over and faced the dummies. He raised his hands slowly and then two dummies burst into flames.
Jace blinked in surprise. The last time he had tried this, he was only able to ignite one. Setting multiple dummies on fire required deep focus, something that wasn't easy to achieve.
"Good," Silas said. "This time you managed to ignite two. That's an improvement. Now extinguish the fire."
Jace waved his hand downward, and the flames vanished.
Bryce stared at the dummies, surprised but watching it hadn't helped. He still had no idea how to do it, and the frustration began to creep in.
"Now, Bryce, try again," Silas said, turning toward him.
Bryce stepped forward, still unsure but determined.
"Even the air contains energy," Silas explained. "It's all around us, though faint and difficult to observe. Focus on that energy. Compress it into a small pocket. When energy moves faster, its kinetic energy increases, producing heat. Transfer that heated pocket of air to your target, and combustion will occur."
For the first time, everything clicked.
The process became clear, practical.
Bryce stood firmly in front of the dummy, confidence rising.
He closed his eyes.
Darkness surrounded him. All he could sense was the air energy around him, and the energy of the dummy before him. He raised his hand and tried to control the energy in the air.
The air began to shift as he attempted to compress it into a pocket.
But it didn't work.
He could feel the energy. He could move it slightly, but nothing more.
Bryce stood there, eyes closed, hand raised, yet nothing happened.
Silas noticed the struggle but said nothing, waiting to see if there would be a change.
Zhen watched as well, and disappointment flickered across his expression. Spontaneous combustion was a basic skill. Once someone could sense energy, performing it shouldn't be difficult.
With his eyes still closed, Bryce's frustration grew.
Silas had called this a basic skill and yet he couldn't do it.
If he couldn't manage something this basic, how could he ever get stronger?
And if he couldn't get stronger, he would never avenge his friends.
He would never fix what he had done.
Anger surged through him. Veins bulged on his forehead. His hands remained raised, trembling slightly.
He didn't know what to do anymore.
He just wanted something to happen.
Most eyes were now on him. Anyone else in his position would have stopped by now, would have given up once it became clear nothing was happening.
But Bryce didn't move.
Silas remained where he was, watching in silence.
Bryce's energy began to rise, fueled by his intense emotions. It became harder to ignore, heavier in the air. The thought of never becoming strong enough haunted him, feeding his rage.
Then the memories came.
The mansion.
That night.
The dark figure, smiling at him.
The image grew closer, clearer, and it made his anger explode.
It became too much.
Bryce fully felt his energy and yelled.
In an instant, every dummy in the training ground ignited.
All fifteen of them burned at once.
Gasps echoed through the area. Everyone was frozen in shock, Zhen, Joy, Jace, Gabriela… even Silas.
Some students recoiled in fear as flames spread across the field, the sudden surge of power was overwhelming.
Silas reacted immediately, signaling to Joy.
Without hesitation, Joy raised her hand and the fires vanished.