Tree sap training

The quick sip of sap also determined how he would go about using it to train. After he swallowed the few drops in his mouth he could feel the energy rushing down to his stomach before turning around and heading through his arms into his hands where it settled down and sank into his bones. All the areas it had passed through had their resident aether grow tumultuous and excited.

If the aether in his body could continue getting wild and crazy it might spontaneously reinforce his body, especially his bones and internal organs.

Since he now had a method with which he can improve, even if the specific efficiency and eventual side effects are unknown, Ace can finally start getting stronger in a somewhat reliable way.

Without further ado Ace began his training and let his chip monitor the state of his body and aether.

He drank the tree sap in small sips at a time, as a break between punching and kicking the sturdy tree in front of him. Since punches only lead the energy around his upper body he varied his methods to include different kicks as well, and elbow strikes, and shoulder tackles. Stimulating the entire body with such an intense program increased the consumption of sap, as well as the raging energy within his body.

Ace felt like a furnace as his muscles were warm and sore from the beating and from the exertion, but most of all because he could feel the energy within his body trembling and circulating at tremendous speeds. But the heat was nothing to him since he could also feel the energy disappearing into his bones, muscles, organs, cells, at a pace that surpassed what he had achieved in his trance. Even if it didn't cover every last corner in his body, he felt more stronger and sturdier, so until he found a better method he would continue doing it.

Although Ace took a few short breaks to drink sap and water he continued striking the tree in various ways for several hours. Almost his entire body was covered in scratches, bruises, sweat and blood. It was a gruesome and brutally simplistic way of training that under almost any other circumstances would only leave lasting damage without improving anything except pain tolerance. And considering most injuries were superficial, the pain was nothing outstanding either.

As he continued training the smaller cuts and bruises began to heal at a noticeable pace, although the larger injuries such as the destroyed skin on his knuckles also healed, it was continuously getting destroyed at a faster rate.

No matter how much Ace bled he wasn't overly worried, partially because he felt the aether from the atmosphere, the tree sap, and himself heal him. And if he managed to injure himself to such levels that continuing would leave irreparable damage the chip would warn him. besides any blood loss could be recovered by eating a load of iron rich fish.

Thankfully he had prepared a lot of fish after his trance and before he started his training. One problem he had noticed with his fishing was what to do with what he couldn't eat, like the bones and skin. He felt like he could dump it in the ocean but wouldn't that possibly scare away other fish of the same kind. Although it might work to attract more fish if they were cannibals, or other kinds of sea creatures even. Since it brought risks he decided to think about it more.

Since he was getting so terribly injured just by punching a tree he wondered if he should maybe dry the skin to use and wrap around his hands and joints to prevent wear and tear.

Originally he would have never conducted such a brutal training regime but with the mystical properties of aether injuries didn't seem to leave permanent damage. Although he didn't have enough evidence to back up his idea, it just felt reasonable. If the aether only sped up the healing process it could worsen injuries in some cases, make bones grow askew, reconnecting tissue wrongly. Even if it was suspicious for the aether to bring only beneficial effects there was nothing that warranted support against such a claim.

He decided to trust in himself and the aether to not leave him with permanent damage, and instead focused wholeheartedly on abusing his body as much as possible to turn it into the weapon it needed to be for his continued survival and for him to eventually thrive on this desolate planet.

As Ace grew tired he let his thoughts wander and moved his body on autopilot, continuing his abuse level training. But when he regained focus he decided to stop for now, rest was just as important as anything else ni training, and even if the aether had strengthened his body and kept healing him he would still end up suffering from fatigued muscles after such an intense workout.

He unsteadily moved his body back to the campsite on the beach, a few fractures in his feet and legs made it really uncomfortable to walk, but the pain made Ace feel alive in a way he had not felt in a long time, excluding his fight with the lizard.

When he got back to the campfire the first thing he did was to refill the burning firewood with some bark from his nearby supply. After which he decided to stretch.

Before eating and letting his muscles cool down it was important to care for them properly, especially since his training manual required mobility and flexible body movements. The stretch was nothing out of the ordinary but it helped settle his trembling muscles and relax his beating heart and bellowing lungs. As his body calmed down, so did the energy within him. The aether in Ace's body sank into the injuries, slowly healing them and any remnant aether continued circulating around his body in a passive manner.

After satisfyingly stretching his body in all kinds of ways to reach all the muscles he had abused during the day it was time for a not as satisfying dinner of a lot of fish.