Chapter 28- Training (Part 2)
By the time Elio hit the 10th lap, he was still feeling relatively good. He wasn't struggling whatsoever, and he had entered a deep focus state where his rhythm became even more stable and controlled, and his breathing was also completely under control. It was odd, but he found himself simply focused on the next step he was going to take, then the step after that, and the one after that.
He simply kept moving, and the world around him eventually became a blur. Only his beating heart, his breathing, and the feeling of his feet on the hard ground stayed with him. It was oddly enjoyable. For someone like Elio, who had never enjoyed sports and physical activity in general, he was having fun.
Perhaps it was the Blood Energy giving him that feeling as it kept fixing and improving his body with each breath. Or perhaps that was the effect of the stamina potion that boosted his endurance. Either way, Elio was having fun.
'I can feel my entire body adapting and improving. This is so odd.' He mused. While he knew it should've been impossible for his body to start changing this soon, he still had this weird feeling that Blood Energy was actually hastening the improvement process a lot.
15th, 20th, 25th, and 30th laps all came quickly after. Elio started sweating more, and his breathing increased as he began to feel exhausted. His feet were also starting to hurt from the continuous running. His muscles clenched tighter, and his bones felt immense stress.
However, he didn't stop or slow down. He had this perfect rhythm, and he wanted to keep it. He was doing great, and the progress was perfect.
'I'm already more than halfway through. What's left isn't that much.' He encouraged himself with a glistening eye.
However, there was one thing Elio didn't know due to his inexperience. A detail that was crucial.
'The last part of the entire run is always the hardest and the most brutal.' Fiona thought to herself as she watched Elio. 'The real test isn't the first 30 laps, it's the last 15-20 laps. The ones where the real pain begins.'
Elio seemed blissfully unaware of that reality, but she knew that at any given moment, he was going to feel… 'that'. That instance where the entire body suddenly breaks down, and all the systems go into emergency to maintain this brutal overload.
It was merely a moment where one domino falls before the rest follow suit, leaving the body with sheer will and endurance as its only weapons against exhaustion.
'Mmm, 32nd lap…' Elio continued his run, still feeling relatively ok. 'I will have to eventually start controlling my breathing more. I can't speak even if I want to no-'
Before that thought could even formulate in his head, his eyes suddenly widened. A strong shock coursed through his entire body out of nowhere. It started from his toes up to his head. It felt like someone had electrocuted him.
Then, an immense pain followed in his legs. It was like all his muscles started contracting violently. Elio's breath halted as he almost fell to the ground.
'Wha-' For a second, he lost complete control. 'What… is this feeling?'
Quickly, he clenched his teeth as he balanced himself and continued jogging. The pain then subsided a bit as he was able to continue running.
'That pain… What was that pain? It felt like my muscles stopped working for a second. Dammit, am I already getting exhausted? I can't. There are still 17 more laps.' Shaking his head, he focused again.
However, not long after, the second shock hit his body, far stronger than the one before. His entire body felt like it had been hit by a truck.
'Shi..t!!!' He cursed in his head as he closed his eyes and tried to continue running. Each step after that felt like hell. The pain kept increasing the more he ran. His throat started burning, and his breathing became ragged.
Everything started hurting at the same time. It was as if his body was fine one second, and the next second, everything went wrong. He knew that it was going to come at some point, but he didn't expect it to be this quick, instant, and brutal.
"Hah… Hah… Hah!!" He breathed through his mouth as he tried his best to keep the same rhythm. The next 3 laps felt way harder than the first 30, and it wasn't even close. He was fighting for his life, barely being able to keep standing.
He even forgot what lap he was on as his entire brain was focused on trying to survive for the longest time possible.
'I can't… I can't run anymore. My legs are so weak.' Quickly after, he started having ideas of stopping. After all, why would he even finish 50 laps? He wasn't supposed to do such a thing in the first place. Fiona was clearly setting a goal for him rather than asking him to accomplish such a thing now.
'She won't blame me for stopping, right?' His eyes slowly wandered to Fiona, who watched him silently. Her gorgeous face was as consistent as ever, calm and collected with sharp eyes that followed his every movement. For some reason, seeing her, he had a feeling in his chest. A burning sensation.
'No.' He shook his head. 'No, she gave me this opportunity. I promised to do my very best. I can still keep going!'
Elio didn't want to disappoint Fiona. He hated that idea very much, for some reason. In fact, he hated it so much that the mere thought of it kept his legs moving and even made him run faster.
'I will finish this damn run!' He yelled in his head, his eyes burning with determination. So what if he was hurting? So what if he wasn't able to breathe? So what if his heart was beating so damn fast it was burning?
He just had to take that next step, and that's it.
"Hm?" Fiona hummed, seemingly noticing a shift in Elio. He suddenly increased his speed a bit out of nowhere, and his clearly waning ability suddenly sprang up again.
'What is he doing?' She muttered. 'I was expecting him to fall at any second. He is suddenly running with more vigor now?'
Her eyes focused even harder on Elio. The mysterious boy had done something she didn't expect. Fiona would've been satisfied if he had done 37 laps. That was already way more than enough.
Yet, he didn't stop and didn't fall even once.
38… 39…40… 45…
The boy seemingly gained a new lung. She didn't comprehend where he brought all of that energy.
'Wait, is his Blood Energy?' Squinting her eyes, she seemingly started looking beyond the boy's flesh. That was when she saw it, and her eyes widened.
"... What?" She whispered, almost in a trance.
One lap after the other, Elio didn't stop. Every time she thought he was going to finally fall, he would defy her expectations and continue. Even though she could analyze his body and tell that he was way past his limit, for some reason, he refused to stop. It reached a point where she wanted to tell him that it was enough.
'Why is he adamant on continuing? Isn't he in immense pain at this moment? Why are you not stopping?'
Unbeknownst to her, she was the very reason he refused to do that, as if his life depended on it.