[Avatar] 3 – Failure

As minutes began to pass, my annoyance grew until it started to become anger. 

Who the hell built this place?! Why make it into such a labyrinthian structure with intersecting hallways that circled around, led to deadends, or led the wrong way?! 

It was clear that without any markers or signs, we'd quickly lose our way in these confusing hallways, adding yet another difficulty to our stay here. Luckily for us, the Twi'lek that I bunked with proved to have a good memory, as she retraced the steps we took to reach our quarters following our Instructor, eventually leading us to the entrance hall next to the landing pads we arrived on.

From there, we struggled to find our way to the training halls, which apparently lay on the other side of the Academy. It's not like we could ask for help or directions, as those in our group who tried merely received scoffs and sneers if not insults. However, we eventually managed to find the training hall where we were to meet our Instructor. The problem was that we were an hour late, and our instructor looked livid.

Our Instructor, who has yet to have named themself, stood within the center of one of the many training halls for the Academy, this particular one made for us Novices and newbies of the Academy, and our Instructor looked absolutely pissed off if his glare was anything to go by.

“You were all an hour late,” the Sith spoke out, his voice sounding more sinister than it was the day before.

Silence answered him, as none of us wanted to speak up and make a target of ourselves to the Sith’s wrath. 

Walking forward, the Sith began to speak, “I explicitly warned that you all arrive on time, before sunrise. Yet here we are, an hour past sunrise. You will all be punished for your failures. Prepare yourselves, for I shall not go easy on any of you. Heed my warning, clench your teeth,” and without any further words, a moment later, a spark rose from his hand before an arc of electricity traced across his hands and arms. 

With a wave of his hand, a bolt of this electricity shot out from his limb straight into one of my fellow acolytes. It didn’t even take a moment until the Acolyte that was struck howled in pain and collapsed to the floor, electricity arcing over his spasming frame.

Moments later, four others were struck before it was my turn, and I clenched my teeth hard as I watched his arm swivel to me before electricity shot out from his palm and fingers straight into my chest.

It was so much worse.

I felt my muscles lock on me, forcing me to collapse as I lost all control of my spasming muscles. The Force Lightning traveled through my body, causing an indescribable amount of agony, yet in the red haze of the pain, a soft ding continued to echo in some corner of my mind.

What felt like hours of torment was but a few moments in reality as I felt the Force Lightning that struck me dissipate, allowing my body to loosen up as I felt my muscles and body burn. I heaved and panted on the ground, having difficulty hearing or focusing on anything as my heart pounded in my ears, my nerves throbbed, and my vision blurred.

"Get up, you sorry sacks of waste!" the Sith shouted, startling us.

"Get up now, or I will issue another round of punishment!" The Sith threatened, and I was not willing to bet otherwise as more Force  Lightning arced across his hands.

Gritting my teeth, I attempted to stand, only to fall again, my muscles feeling numb and limp. Trying again, I wobbled to my feet, taking a stand with a few of my other Acolytes. As my vision cleared and refocused, I noted the notification at the corner of my eye.

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-[Pain Tolerance]-

Type: Passive/Resistance

Description: Pain, a biological process that alerts an organism that something is wrong, whether it be foreign bodies, damage, illness, and more. Depending on the Individual organism, this pain can prove dangerous as it may cause the organism to freeze, flinch, or involuntarily make noise. 

With each level, you become more tolerant of pain, but this does not provide immunity to the source of the pain.

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Dismissing the notification, my eyes swept around my surroundings, seeing that a few of my fellow Acoyltes still remained on the ground, unable to get up. The Sith wasted no time marching up to these Acolytes and literally kicked them while they were down, sneering and insulting them before stepping away and returning to the hall's center.

"Now that you have all been adequately punished, it is time to begin our first lesson," The Sith said as he lowered himself to the ground into a lotus position.

"Do as I do," the Sith ordered, my fellow Acolytes and I following suit.

"Take in a deep breath and slowly release it, repeat. Close your eyes, clear your mind, and reach out with your will. Try to feel your surroundings through the Force," the Sith cryptically ordered us.

"You will sit in this pose until I tell you to stop, deviate from it, and you will be punished. Some of you will feel the Force faster than others. Still, if you do not feel the Force by the end of the week, I'm afraid you do not qualify to be an Acolyte in this Academy. I will personally remove you," the Sith warned us, and I was willing to bet that there were probably only two options to what would happen to me if I failed. Death or slavery were options I was not willing to accept.

Following his instructions, I relaxed into the lotus position, trying to clear my mind but getting distracted by every sound, feeling, and even my own heartbeat. I tried over and over, minutes passing, then half an hour, yet it always remained the same. I couldn't focus. So, I began counting.

With each deep breath, I counted. Trying to focus on nothing. Time was the first thing I lost track of, and then my surroundings as I focused on my mind. 

...

As hours passed and I sat perfectly still, it finally happened as I shaped my will and sent a slight tap into my surroundings.

Even with my eyes closed, my senses dulled, and my body feeling relaxed yet still, I felt all of my fellow Acolytes in the Training Hall with me, along with our Instructor, who calmly walked in between all of us, watching our every move, but it was a struggle to keep a hold of this...view of the world.

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-[Meditation]-

Type: Passive/Technique

Level: 1

Description: With some effort, you may enter a trance that boosts your Mp recovery by 10%

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Acknowledging the new skill but not losing focus, I couldn't help but marvel at what I felt. It wasn't exactly a sight; it was a feeling—like an all-encompassing embrace blanketing everything, including myself. I was a novice, reaching out towards everything around me, and while my fellow Acolytes didn't notice, our Instructor did.

"Well done. It seems there's some talent among you after all," our Instructor said, sounding neither impressed nor disappointed. Walking up to me, he handed me a small ball before he started speaking aloud once again: "Once you have begun sensing the Force and those around you, I want you to try and levitate a ball bearing into the air. Once you can do that, you will move over to the other side of the Training hall and begin training with one of the training spheres. You will be blindfolded and must dodge ten of the shock bolts in concession. After that? You will be done and can move about however you wish, so long as you follow the Academy's rules."