The First Lesson (1)

The morning at Peak of Darkness Academy exudes a mysterious aura. The cold air and thin fog that envelop the academy grounds can be clearly seen. Toga woke up very early today after having dinner last night. He quickly prepares himself and heads out to meet the officer in charge of new students like him.

From a distance, Toga could see the officer who had requested that he meet before class today. Toga promptly approached the officer.

"Hello, sir, I am here as requested yesterday."

"Alright, here, take this and immediately change into your Peak of Darkness Academy uniform."

"Yes, sir."

Toga then received the uniform from the officer and quickly went to change into it. He changed quickly since he didn't want the officer to wait too long and possibly get angry.

"I'm ready, sir."

"Alright, I'll take you to the classroom for new students."

The officer then asked Toga to follow him to the classroom where the new students were.

The journey to the new student classroom was not very long, and it wasn't too far from the dormitory where Toga lived. On the way, Toga passed many rooms, possibly around 20.

Toga and the officer arrived at a room with a large door made of high-quality wood with a glossy brown color.

"You can go inside. Classes usually start at 8 a.m. and end at 12 p.m. for new students."

"Thank you for the information, sir."

Toga thanked the officer and then headed inside the classroom.

"Crack!"

Toga opened the large door, and inside he saw a magnificent sight with chairs arranged in a circular and tiered fashion, resembling an opera house.

At the bottom and in the center, there was a podium and a large chalkboard behind it, which would be used by the instructors later on.

Toga scanned the chairs and chose one in the far-right corner in the middle tier. He then walked towards the chair and sat down.

Since nobody had arrived yet, probably because Toga and the officer had come too early, he just sat there and observed the surroundings.

Toga was impressed by the classroom, finding it quite magnificent. He wondered how grand the Forth North Academy, said to be the best on the northern continent, would be.

After a while, other students started arriving and sitting in the available chairs. Many of them were already in groups and had friends, although Toga noticed some who were alone and not part of any group.

While Toga was busy observing the arriving students, a young man's voice could be heard asking him:

"Excuse me, friend, is the seat next to you available?"

"Yes, it's empty. No one has taken it."

Toga replied to the young man. The young man appeared very tall, even taller than Toga, with white skin and ivory-colored hair, indicating he came from a wealthy family. However, Toga couldn't help but wonder why he looked malnourished and thin.

"Friend, are you new here? I just saw you today."

"Yes, that's right. I just arrived last night, and today is my first day of class."

"I see. My name is Bari. What's your name, friend?"

"My name is Toga. Nice to meet you, Bari."

Toga then introduced himself to Bari, the young man, who seemed to be from a wealthy family. Soon enough, the room filled up with students, possibly around 99 new students this year, according to Toga's estimation.

He was likely the last student to join because the academy registration would close in a month.

After the students had taken their seats, the classroom door opened, and a man in his fifties entered the room. The aura of this man instantly silenced the previously noisy classroom. Even someone like Toga could tell that the man who had entered was a formidable Aden warrior.

The man was the lecturer who would teach the new students about knowledge regarding Ken and absorption cores.

"Good morning, everyone. For those who have just joined the class, you can call me Professor Doron. In this session, we will start by discussing Ken and introducing the absorption core."

Professor Doron introduced himself and informed the students about the topics he would cover today.

"Alright, can anyone tell me what Ken is and give a brief explanation?"

Professor Doron asked the students a question. Students in the room had varying levels of knowledge depending on when they joined the academy. Those who joined earlier were likely more knowledgeable than new students like Toga. One of the students at the front raised his hand and answered Professor Doron.

"Permission to answer, professor. Ken is natural energy that an aden warrior absorbs and stores in their absorption core, which eventually becomes the Aden warrior's strength."

"Very good. Your explanation is quite good. Essentially, Ken is natural energy stored in our absorption core. The more ken stored, the stronger the Aden warrior. However, it's important to know that everyone has an absorption limit based on their core's talent.

Before you can absorb Ken, you must be able to sense it and absorb the raw energy, known as natural particle energy. Only after your core becomes accustomed to this raw form can you absorb true Ken and become a true warrior."

Professor Doron thoroughly explained Ken as the natural energy source that empowers an aden warrior. Hearing this explanation, Toga felt his previously limited knowledge open up.

"Alright, I will demonstrate how to absorb ken. Remember, absorbing Ken is based on your absorption capacity. Your absorption core will grow over time until it reaches the limit of your inherent talent."

Professor Doron then demonstrated how to absorb ken. He recited a spell that Toga didn't understand and then sat cross-legged on the floor as if meditating.

Shortly after, black auras began entering Professor Doron's left chest. This black smoke-like aura quickly entered his left chest.

"Swosh!"

Shortly, Professor Doron opened his eyes, and it felt like a wind blew out of his body. The wind was so strong that the students had to hold onto their desks to avoid being blown away.

"Wow, this is the power of Grandmaster Aden!"

The students' admiration was evident as they praised Professor Doron. Toga realized how impressive it was and couldn't help but feel eager to start his journey to become an Aden warrior.