A small shortcut
Erik waited for the other students to finish their showers before going in. The shower room was large, with a high ceiling and many rows of stalls.
Erik had never been in such large bathroom stalls; they were massive, easily larger than his shower at home. He walked through the door and turned on the full water blast at the warmest temperature; it would go without burning him.
Erik relaxed for five minutes while taking a shower; he thought about nothing during that short time except how comfortable it was to have an oversized shower.
Once he was dressed, he returned to the training room, where only his teacher waited. Erik observed the man's face as he approached.
He had a pointy nose, full lips, and brown eyes. He seemed tired; there was no expression at all on his face beyond that of intense concentration bordering upon boredom.
His black hair hung over his forehead in lank strands that brushed down his cheeks when he bent forward.
There were wrinkles around the corners of his mouth, but otherwise, this middle-aged professor looked healthy enough.
As Professor McAllister saw Erik, he walked toward him with his usual stern look. He carefully observed the young man's face and sighed.
Erik didn't know what his teacher was thinking about, but it wasn't probably anything good since he had a resigned look.
"Erik," he said, looking at Erik. "Things are going to get complicated for you."
"Why?" the young man asked.
"Because now that you have two powers, the military will do everything they can to make you a killer."
Erik didn't reply; he only observed his teacher.
"It will be different from regular military training. It will be gruesome, harder than any training you have ever made. It is important that you prepare as much as you can during these months because if you lack skill, which you currently do, your training will be much harsher and more dangerous then," the teacher said while looking Erik in the eyes while he started to grow anxious.
"This is not the only problem; the military will want to make good use of you as soon as possible. They will probably send you to some dangerous mission, and you cannot go unprepared."
Professor McAllister looked into Erik's worried face and smiled sadly. Then he spoke: "Don't worry, I'll help you, but I need you to put in all the effort you can, Erik."
The kid nodded. He knew things would get serious when he decided to make his second power public. Still, he felt confident that with Professor McAllister's help, he could handle whatever came up.
After a short explanation of what his training would consist of and some advice about the training styles, Professor McAllister said, "Now go home, and don't forget to come back tomorrow morning," the teacher said.
"But, professor, tomorrow is Sunday," Erik said.
"It doesn't matter," the teacher replied.
Erik turned around and left the school building. As usual, he went toward the train station, the sun had already set, and the night was already there.
He hurried so that he wouldn't miss his train. On the way, he observed his surroundings while contemplating.
<I knew I would attract attention but I can't stop being pissed.>
Awakening was a huge deal around the world, and due to how many benefits it came with, the pros outweighed the cons. However, this didn't mean they were not severe. The teacher gave him confirmation of the fact that once he started his military years, he was going to have a difficult life.
But he didn't care if all of that served to get new opportunities; if it all served to stop the bullying, and get supported by the nation, then it was all worth it. Besides, he could always flee after squeezing everything Frant had to offer.
Erik knew that, from now on, he needed to play smarter. Later, Erik arrived home and opened the door.
After leaving the backpack on the table, he said, "System, show me the quests."
-----------------------------
[Quests List]
{Daily}
<Eating Habits: COMPLETE>
-Rewards for completion: Ten Experience, ten DNA points
-Failure Penalty: None
(Eat a healthy meal)
<Physical training: COMPLETE>
-Rewards for completion: Ten Experience, ten DNA points
-Failure Penalty: None
(Train for at least an hour. The Host may choose whatever exercise to complete the quest.)
-----------------------------
<It looks like I completed my second daily quest by training with Professor McAllister,> the young man thought.
Later, Erik had dinner; while he ate alone, he thought about what Professor McAllister had said to him. Erik wondered what he could do to make things safer; his only conclusion was to train.
<I must take advantage of the system,> the young man thought. He then stood and approached his computer; a holographic screen appeared before him.
[DEVICE FOUND: ERIK'S PERSONAL COMPUTER. DO YOU WANT TO CONNECT TO IT?]
"Yes," Erik said.
[CONNECTION TO THE DEVICE: ERIK'S PERSONAL COMPUTER, COMPLETE.]
Erik then searched the internet for hand-to-hand combat manuals. He chose the one taught by the military, the same one his teacher was trying to teach him. There were also some videos about it, so Erik downloaded them all.
<Activate the brain information injector,> the young man thought. Then a list of videos and books appeared on a window before him.
-----------------------------------------------
List of available information:
-Kyokar hand-to-hand manual.
- Kyokar hand-to-hand lesson 1
- Kyokar hand-to-hand lesson 2
- Kyokar hand-to-hand lesson 3
...
...
...
- Kyokar hand-to-hand lesson 20
...
...
- Kyokar hand-to-hand lesson 50
-----------------------------------------------
"System, will there be a problem if I inject all this information simultaneously?" Erik asked.
[ANSWER: THE HOST WILL LOSE CONSCIOUSNESS FOR TWO HOURS]
"If it is only that, then inject everything," Erik said.
It was the first time he was going to inject all this information at the same time. When he used the power to get the school's subjects' information, he only injected a few at once, but 50 was a different matter.
After he had done so, he experienced a tremendous surge of energy rushing through his body and mind. It was as though he had injected steroids into his brain.
His thoughts became more precise and focused than ever, but that lasted only briefly because Erik slowly lost consciousness, and everything went dark.
He woke up two hours later, feeling like his brain had been into a blender. Everything seemed foggy and vague.
After he regained control over his senses, he tried to look for any signs of damage or problems. Still, luckily he found no sign of anything wrong.
After his mind cleared, Erik thought about the Kyokar fighting style and immediately recalled the videos and the manual.
"Good," the young man said with a smile. "I better start making neural links now." Erik then stood from the ground and sat on the couch, where it was more comfortable; he started focusing on his brain crystal and channeling mana.