39. Training

Rufus outlines Jason’s training plan: Gary will run Jason through physical conditioning, Rufus will build combat skills from fundamentals, and Farrah will handle mental training. The group’s tone is light, but expectations are firm; Jason jokes through nerves as they set an early routine and plan long runs into Old City.

At dawn they run from the Island across the bridge, briefly meeting guard Bertram. Reaching Broadstreet Clinic, Jason teams with alchemist Jory to cleanse patients using Feast of Absolution. The ability restores Jason’s resources as he removes diseases and toxins, which prompts Jason to grapple with the painful contrast to his non-magical home where such cures don’t exist.

Gary encourages Jason to seek guidance from the goddess Knowledge, while Rufus insists on returning to training. On the Adventure Society field, Rufus forbids shortcuts and focuses Jason on stance and footwork to prepare for later skill-book learning, explaining the risks of shallow understanding. Farrah notes Jason’s attitude differs from rigid academy students, and shares how distance has eased Rufus’s self-imposed pressure.

Farrah then gifts Jason an epic Awakening Stone of Omens to honor his rescue of their team, hoping it yields an aura ability essential for bronze-rank competence. Jason absorbs the stone and awakens Hegemony, securing his first aura power and a vital step toward aura control and serious adventuring.