The Nightmare Training course took place on a small mountain range very close to the academy grounds. Inside a small building on the side of the beginning of the physical marathon, all the necessities were stored.
Since very few students joined this course, the instructor wasn't overwhelmed. Even though students from all three years of study joined this course and followed it at the same time, there were currently only two-hundred students on site. Not to mention that many of the newbies who've underestimated the difficulty of this course would probably retire from it, not being able to keep up.
After the instructor told the trainees to wear the equipment assigned to them based on gender and build, he began explaining to them their route.
Of course, Acheron asked for heavier weights that could give him a challenge. He was wearing almost half a ton of bodyweights made up from a few bracelets and a vest.
They first had to pass a forest filled with hidden traps that were set up differently for each and every day. Swim through a small lake while being impeded by their bodyweights. Then go through an ardous climb up a small cliff. After they took a small break on top of the cliff, they had to return through a similar route. That signified the end of the course, and then they would be free to leave.
As Acheron ran through the uphill forest, using his heightened perception, he managed to only fall for a few of the traps which he still managed to dodge in the end. The few that were able to keep up with him were third year students that were already accustomed to this training. They were easily able to avoid most traps, all while running at a similar pace as Acheron, even without powerful senses, albeit with much lighter bodyweights.
The swimming part was easy, as Acheron had some swimming experience. Still the weights he wore made him quite slow, even with his strength.
With most of the first and second years being left behind, Acheron reaches the small cliff. This is the part where he struggled the most, but since the instructor didn't disuade him from trying to climb with such heavy weights, it was obviously in the realm of possibility. He had to choose each foothold and handhold very carefully, due to his ridiculous weight. Before even beginning to climb, he was already forced to analyze a route for himself.
The route back to the main academy grounds was much easier, after getting accustommed to the quirks of the first half.
With the instructor telling him that he can leave, he takes off the bodyweights and, since he didn't have any other classes for now, leaves for a shower. Immediately after, Acheron heads towards the library. Thankfully he had more than enough Crimson Dragon points, ten-thousand of them just from getting first place in the combat exam.
For the sake of not having a crowded library, an hour inside required ten points. It's also worth mentioning that books couldn't be brought out.
Merely two hours later, Acheron leaves the library, very satisfied with all the knowledge he's acquired. Besides managing to study several glossaries of spiritual herbs, he was also given an introduction to spiritual artifacts.
Spiritual artifacts didn't necessarily require spiritual materials. Although the ones made from spiritual materials possessed much greater capabilities than those made with normal materials. What made spiritual artifacts have magical properties were the runic formations inscribed on them, giving the artifacts their magical abilities.
It was also worth mentioning that, apparently, the Human Coalition's artifact forging methods were very crude and backward compared to the nearby greater powers. Thus, Acheron completely lost interest in learning the methods used in the coalition, prefering to wait till he entered the Arantara Alliance.
Now that his reading time is over, Acheron has to attend 'Cultivation 101'. This course was very important to Acheron's plans. Not because of the knowledge he could acquire from it, but because he would be able to show off his cultivation talent from then after.
In the class reserved for first year 'Cultivation 101' attendees, the professor went ahead and explained the first three realms of strength in-depth, Earthly Shackles, Heavenly Ascension, and Planetary Subduing realms.
Besides the Earthly Shackles and Heavenly Ascension realms, in the Planetary Subduing realm, humans had to go through two cultivation realms before entering the Galactic Travel stage, Mortal Termination and Divine Absolution.
After that, he explained the importance of cultivation techniques and how to choose based on combat style and preference regarding the elements, also expressing the pros and cons of the various elements, including but not limited to water, fire, earth, wood, metal, wind and lightning.
Finally, he allowed each student to select their prefered cultivation method, which was directly sent to their devices. Amongst these techniques, Advanced General Tactics was present, still being one of the best techniques. Consequently, there wasn't any reason for Acheron to change it.
What followed were about thirty minutes of brief study and responding to some of the common questions students new to cultivation usually have. More in-depth questions would have to wait till the next session scheduled two days later.
Acheron's academic life continued, leading to him becoming completely immersed in his various courses and studies, all the while continously releasing different life fluctuations. In the first week, he directly went from nothing to peak Qi Gathering.
A week later, he pretended to breakthrough to Foundation Establishment. After revealing peak of Foundation Establishment a month later, he decided to begin studying energy-dependent combat techniques, preparing himself to challenge the overall Student Ranking.
Arriving at the library, Acheron requests the librarian to tell him where energy combat techniques are located.
After about thirty minutes of checking out all of the techniques, he settles on two of them, 'Great Way of Water' and 'Storm Steps'. They were a very comprehensive method of attack and a method of movement respectively. Acheron figured he didn't need anymore than this.
While he felt he lacked a finishing move, his crazy strong physique made up for that. No other student would have a physique as ridiculous as his. Not to mention, 'Great Way of Water' was the best attacking technique he was able to find in the library.