Budding

The next morning, Atticus followed his usual training regimen and made his way to the training grounds for the morning session.

Once again, Atticus was the first to arrive at the training grounds. He noticed Aurora was absent, a recurring pattern he had observed recently. He shrugged it off and decided to wait for the other trainees to join.

Gradually, the rest of the trainees began to arrive. Unlike the previous day, none of them showed signs of exhaustion. After regaining control of their mana, it's passive recovery nature dissipated their fatigue. 

As he waited, Nate and Lucas approached. Lucas exchanged brief greetings, while Nate boldly declared, "I'll be the first this time!" 

Amused by Nate's sudden confidence, Atticus couldn't help but challenge him, "Want to make a bet?" he asked with a smirk. 

Nate promptly cleared his throat, avoiding eye contact, and mumbled, "No, I don't want to lose any points."