Chapter 47: Learning to Waste Less (Part 2 of 2)

  The change didn’t show on the slate.

  It showed in the way the drills stopped collapsing around him. Where a line once sagged when someone lost footing, it held longer now. Laurent wasn’t stronger than before. He wasn’t faster. But the force he took stayed where it was meant to.

  He still lost exchanges. He still arrived late on uneven ground, overcommitted when spacing closed too fast. But when he recovered, the same joint didn’t complain twice. The same tendon didn’t threaten failure again the next morning.

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  Others noticed before he did.

  Aila adjusted her position once to mirror his stance. Seris watched his feet during rest intervals. Cael stopped trying to power past him and started circling instead.

  The numbers moved, finally. Not in leaps. By the end of the week, when most of the cohort stabilized between 230–270 kg, Laurent held around 330 kg—not cleanly, not comfortably, but repeatable.

  No one said anything. There was no acknowledgment, no pause in training, no easing of pressure. The frames stayed on. The ground stayed uneven.

  That night, Laurent lay on his bunk and let essence circulate without interference. The pool refilled to saturation as it always did. The body took longer to settle, but when it did, the ache was different.

  Not broader.

  Deeper.

  He hadn’t learned to be efficient yet. But he was no longer wasting strength where it couldn’t stay.