Chapter 679: Weak Progression

"Ugh."

Veda’s eyes opened, then closed again.

The light from the lamps around him was too bright.

Even with his eyes barely open, it felt as though someone had shone a light directly into them.

His vision blurred, and the room seemed to shift whenever he tried to focus on something.

He swallowed.

I feel like vomiting.

A dull pain throbbed inside his head.

He remained still for a moment, waiting for his vision to settle before slowly opening his eyes again.

The lamps no longer looked as bright as before, though his head still hurt.

He blinked several times, allowing his sight to return little by little.

Only then did he begin to move.

Veda pushed himself up and rose to his feet.

His body felt heavy, and his legs nearly gave way when he tried to stand straight.

"Ahh... Ahh... Ahh..."

He panted hard.

Sweat ran down his face, passing his cheeks and dripping from his chin.

His clothes were soaked, clinging to his body after hours of continuous training.

Even standing still required an effort.

His breathing remained rough, and his right shoulder ached from the strain he had put on it.

"You are awake, Young Lord."

A maid’s calm voice came from beside him.

Veda turned toward her.

The maid stood at a respectful distance, holding a Zphone Tablet in her hands.

When she noticed that he was looking at her, she lowered her head in greeting.

Veda lazily raised his right hand and returned the gesture with a slight bow.

His movement lacked its usual energy, but he still made the effort to greet her properly.

"How long was I out?"

He spoke between breaths, his voice tired.

"You were out for one day, Young Lord."

"One day, huh?"

Veda repeated her answer, his expression growing thoughtful.

"Thank the Scholars it wasn’t a long one."

He muttered the words under his breath.

Although he was relieved that he had not remained unconscious for longer, the thought of losing an entire day still bothered him.

He had spent so much time training, yet he had nothing to show for the time he had lost while unconscious.

I was able to finish the target training, but...

His gaze fell to his right palm.

Blisters had formed across it from holding different Springfield M1903As for so long.

The skin was sore, and even the slight movement of his fingers caused discomfort.

His right shoulder hurt as well.

Since he had not been allowed to use Cognis to enhance his body’s strength during the exercise, he had been forced to endure the rifle’s recoil with his natural physical abilities.

The repeated recoil absorption from firing the Springfield M1903A almost every second had finally caught up with him.

He could still remember the long hours spent aiming at the targets, pulling the trigger, and repeating the same actions.

One shot followed another.

Whenever he missed, he had to continue until he achieved the required number of bullseyes.

And when a rifle could no longer be used, he had to create another.

The process had been exhausting, but that was not what bothered him most.

It was the result.

"Please, let me see the data on my training progress."

Veda politely asked the maid for the Zphone Tablet.

The maid held it out with both hands.

Veda accepted it in the same manner before looking down at the screen.

The tablet contained the full record of his training.

It showed how many shots he had fired, how many had missed the target entirely, how many had landed outside the bullseye, and how many had struck the center. It also recorded the number of Springfield M1903A rifles he had created and the time he had spent completing each session.

Veda tapped the screen a few times and began scrolling through the information.

At first, his expression remained calm.

Then his eyes slowed as he read the numbers.

His fingers stopped moving.

The slight smile that had formed on his face faded, and his expression stiffened.

The records were clear enough.

He had completed the required training, but the figures showed how much effort it had taken him to reach the target.

***

GUN ALCHEMY TRAINING ARCHIVE — YOUNG LORD OF ASH

Weapon: Springfield M1903A Bolt-Action Rifle

Training Objective: Achieve 50 Bullseyes per Session

Magazine Capacity: 5 Rounds

[Fourth Training Session — Day 1 to Day 2]

Total Time Elapsed: 48 Hours

Total Springfield M1903A Rifles Created: 186

Total Rounds Fired: 6,845

Total Bullseyes: 50

Total Hits Outside the Bullseye: 1,732

Total Missed Shots: 5,063

Total Five-Round Loading Cycles Completed: 1,369

Average Rounds Expended Per Bullseye: 136.9

Bullseye Accuracy: 0.73%

Overall Target Hit Rate: 26.03%

Total Time Spent Aiming and Firing: 31 Hours, 12 Minutes

Total Time Spent Cycling the Bolt and Replenishing Ammunition: 4 Hours, 36 Minutes

Total Time Spent Creating Replacement Rifles: 12 Hours, 12 Minutes

Training Result: Fifty Bullseyes Achieved After Two Days

[Fifth Training Session — Day 3 to Day 4]

Total Time Elapsed: 48 Hours

Total Springfield M1903A Rifles Created: 163

Total Rounds Fired: 7,215

Total Bullseyes: 50

Total Hits Outside the Bullseye: 1,846

Total Missed Shots: 5,319

Total Five-Round Loading Cycles Completed: 1,443

Average Rounds Expended Per Bullseye: 144.3

Bullseye Accuracy: 0.69%

Overall Target Hit Rate: 26.28%

Total Time Spent Aiming and Firing: 31 Hours, 48 Minutes

Total Time Spent Cycling the Bolt and Replenishing Ammunition: 4 Hours, 24 Minutes

Total Time Spent Creating Replacement Rifles: 11 Hours, 48 Minutes

Training Result: Fifty Bullseyes Achieved After Another Two Days

[Combined Training Record]

Total Training Duration: 4 Days

Total Springfield M1903A Rifles Created: 349

Total Rounds Fired: 14,060

Total Bullseyes Achieved: 100

Total Hits Outside the Bullseye: 3,578

Total Missed Shots: 10,382

Total Five-Round Loading Cycles Completed: 2,812

Average Rounds Expended Per Bullseye: 140.6

Combined Bullseye Accuracy: 0.71%

Combined Target Hit Rate: 26.16%

[Final Training Assessment]

Required Bullseyes Per Session: 50

Actual Bullseyes Per Session: 50

Average Completion Time Per Session: 2 Days

Marksmanship Proficiency: Unsatisfactory

Target Acquisition: Inconsistent

Shooting Precision: Poor

***

Veda stared at the assessment.

He had achieved fifty bullseyes in both sessions, just as required.

Yet the number of shots he had needed to reach that target had increased during the fifth session.

His average had risen from 136.9 rounds per bullseye to 144.32. His bullseye accuracy had also fallen from 0.73% to 0.69%.

He had spent another two days repeating the same training, fired more rounds, and created another 163 rifles.

Despite all that effort, his performance had become worse.

To Veda, that was not progress.

It was a regression.

"Ahhh."

He sighed heavily and lowered the tablet a little.

He had expected the repeated training to produce some improvement.

Even a small one would have been enough to reassure him that he was moving in the right direction.

Instead, the figures showed that he was still struggling with the same task.

And the more he looked at them, the harder it became to ignore the problem.

One of Veda’s greatest weaknesses had become clear during his fight against Ravenor at the Combat Festival.

It was his inability to handle advanced Cognis manipulation skills while maintaining control over other aspects of combat.

Multitasking.

Target accuracy.

Cognis control.

Those were the areas where he struggled most.

Unlike Vera, Ravenor, Diane, Ezra, Willow, Selena, Maxwell, Cyrus, and even Lyra.

Veda performed poorly in all three.

He could not maintain the same level of precision while managing several demands at once.

His attention was too easily divided, and when his concentration slipped, the quality of his control suffered.

The fight against Ravenor had exposed that weakness.

It had shown him that being an Alchemist was not simply about having a large Cognis Pool or possessing powerful techniques.

He also needed the control to apply his abilities properly when the situation demanded more than one thing from him.

The Duke had seen it too.

That was why Veda’s training had been designed around concentration and control.

Rather than allowing him to rely on his strengths, the Duke had directed him toward the areas where he was weakest.

The rifle training was one part of that effort.

Veda had to maintain his aim, control his body through the repeated recoil, manage the weapon, and continue working toward the bullseye without allowing his attention to wander.

The task was simple enough to understand, but carrying it out consistently was another matter.

He had now spent four days completing two sessions.

One hundred bullseyes.

Fourteen thousand and sixty rounds fired.

Three hundred and forty-nine rifles, created.

And his marksmanship proficiency was still rated unsatisfactory.

Not to mention the previous results of the other training sessions.

Veda rubbed his right palm with his thumb, then stopped when the movement irritated the blisters.

How much longer will it take me, before I’m ready?

He had a goal he wanted to reach before the second semester resumed.

Yet the results on the screen made that goal seem farther away than he had expected.

He lowered the tablet and took a slow breath.

"Thank you."

Veda returned the Zphone Tablet to the maid, keeping his expression composed.

The maid accepted it with both hands.

"You should rest for a while, Young Lord."

An older man’s voice came from behind him.

Veda turned.

"Greetings, Uncle Stoke."

He lowered his head to greet the man standing there.

Stoke Ashforge was his father’s Personal Guard and the leader of Ashenlocke’s strongest Gun Alchemist force.

His presence carried the authority of someone accustomed to commanding capable Alchemists, yet his greeting was simple.

"Greetings, Young Lord."

Stoke raised one hand in response.

His eyes settled on Veda’s face.

The young lord appeared calm.

There was even a small smile on his lips, as if the training had gone well enough and he had nothing to worry about.

But Stoke could see through it.

Veda’s expression was complicated beneath that faint smile.

His eyes kept returning to the tablet on the Maid’s hands, and the way he held his right hand suggested that his thoughts were still fixed on the results.

He was thinking about his progress.

More precisely, he was thinking about the lack of it.

"You don’t want to rest?"

Stoke raised an eyebrow.

Veda looked at him.

"Well, I know resting is important, but then it would just be wasting my time when the days are passing thick and fast."

A hint of frustration entered his voice.

He did not raise it, but the words came more quickly than before.

He knew his body needed rest.

The ache in his shoulder and the blisters on his palm made that clear enough.

However, every hour spent recovering was another hour he could not use to improve.

"I have a goal that I want to achieve before the second semester resumes, and that is to break through to the Meister Alchemist rank. But with the way my progress is going, I..."

His words trailed off.

Veda looked at his right palm again.

He found it difficult to finish the sentence.

Saying the words aloud would mean admitting something he had been trying not to think about.

He was afraid that he might not reach his goal in time.

Worse, he was afraid that his current struggles were a sign of a problem he could not overcome through hard work alone.

Stoke watched him for a moment.

"You have hit a wall, Young Lord."

He said it directly, without trying to soften the truth.

Veda’s jaw tightened.

"Tsk."

He gritted his teeth, and the frustration he had been holding back finally showed on his face.

He had indeed hit a wall in his growth.

And he knew what made that wall so dangerous.

One of the most important things an Alchemist had to be careful about during a breakthrough was the construction of a perfect star.

Even if the star formation of the next Alchemist rank began at only a particle’s size, its construction had to be completely perfect.

There could be no flaw in the formation.

For Veda, this meant that reaching the Meister Alchemist rank was not enough.

He needed to become a Full Alchemist at that rank.

The distinction mattered.

If he failed to construct the star properly during his breakthrough, advancing to the Arcanist Alchemist rank in the future would become almost impossible.

And with his level of talent, he could end up stuck at the Meister Alchemist rank for the rest of his life.

That was the possibility he feared.

He could not afford to treat the breakthrough as another challenge that he could overcome through sheer effort.

He needed a deeper understanding of his Alchemy Path, something that could solidify his mind and help him remain steady throughout the process.

That understanding would give him a better chance of becoming a Full Alchemist.

But his current progress was doing little to reassure him.

His training was meant to improve his concentration and control, yet even after several days of effort, the results remained poor.

If he could not overcome these weaknesses, the chances of failure during his breakthrough would only increase.

And the fear was beginning to take hold.

Stoke could see Veda’s growing worry.

There was another matter that made the situation harder for the young lord to ignore.

Vera had achieved more than him at the Royal Academy.

Her progress was already drawing attention within the Ashenlocke hierarchy.

Quiet conversations had begun about the possibility of Vera taking the Heir title from Veda.

Those conversations did not mean that the decision had been made.

Still, the fact that people were discussing it at all was enough to create pressure.

Veda was the Young Lord.

The heir’s position was his to protect, yet his Twin sister’s achievements were giving others reasons to question whether he should keep it.

Even if the pressure was slight, it was difficult to ignore.

Stoke understood that.

He could see the concern in Veda’s face, even when the young lord tried to hide it behind a calm expression.

He also knew that simply telling Veda to work harder would not solve the problem.

The boy was already working hard.

What he needed was a chance to look beyond his own frustration and see something that might help him understand what he was missing.

Stoke turned slightly.

"Walk with me. Let me show you something."

Veda looked at him, then nodded without asking what he meant.

He followed Stoke as the older man led him toward the room where Ezra was undergoing his own training.

Several days had already passed.

Ezra was still inside, facing more Guards of Ash as he worked to perfect his skills.

The training had continued, and the room was no longer quiet.

The sounds of weapons striking and feet moving across the poles carried toward the entrance.

A few servants and Guards had gathered nearby.

They were watching the fight with keen interest, their attention fixed on what was happening inside.

Some leaned forward to get a better view, while others stood to the side to make room for those behind them.

Their excitement made the scene resemble an entertaining performance, though everyone watching knew they were witnessing a serious training session.

Veda glanced at the gathering crowd.

"What’s going on?"

His brows drew together in confusion.

"You will see when we get there."

Stoke gave him a simple reply and continued walking.

When the servants and Guards noticed Stoke approaching with Veda, they straightened and bowed respectfully.

They then moved aside, clearing the way for the two to see through the entrance.

Veda stepped forward.

His eyes widened almost immediately.

"What... The..."

The words came out in fragments.

For a moment, he could not put together a proper sentence.

Inside the training room, Ezra was fighting six Guards of Ash.

All six were Binder Alchemists.

That alone was enough to draw attention, but it was not what held Veda’s gaze.

Nor was it the Blacksteel rods suspended in the air at equal heights and the now Twenty-five Blacksteel rods moving rapidly and fluidly in the air.

It was the way Ezra was using them.

His movements flowed from one action into the next.

When a Guard attacked, Ezra responded without wasting a motion.

A rod would move into the path of a strike, then another would follow to counter from a different angle.

His body shifted across the poles while the rods moved with him, their paths changing as his hands guided them.

There was no obvious pause between blocking and counterattacking.

The rods did not simply rush forward and stop after an attack.

They moved in coordination with Ezra’s body, following the flow of his movements as though they were extensions of his arms.

When one Guard tried to strike from the side, Ezra adjusted his position and redirected a rod to meet the attack.

Before the Guard could recover, another rod moved toward the opening created by the exchange.

The other Guards continued pressing him, but Ezra’s control remained fluid.

He shifted his footing, evaded an attack, and countered without allowing his balance to break.

The speed was astonishing.

So was the precision.

Veda stared at the fight, his attention following the rods as they moved through the air.

He had spent days trying to improve his own control, repeating the same exercise until his body gave out.

Yet here was Ezra, facing six Binder Alchemists and controlling multiple Blacksteel rods while moving through a complex fight.

Veda’s mouth remained slightly open.

He could hardly believe what he was seeing.

It wasn’t simply a matter of power.

It was the fluidity.

The control.

And, above all, the speed at which Ezra blocked and countered.