Area 21

Nathan gazed outside through the window. It was something he was now fond of doing. Well, the view was incredible so it couldn't be helped. It was still daytime so students were still moving about.

"There's still alot of things I need to know about this elemental manipulation ability," he muttered.

"It's a very broad ability with immense potential," Siena said.

"There are eleven elements. Fire, wind, water, earth, lightning, ice, wood, space, time, light and darkness." She explained.

"So I'll need to unlock them one after the other and the skills also?"

"Yes and that will be a huge boost in power because all gifted has one ability and some of them are one of the elements but you have the ability to control all the elements."

He knew that it was going to take some time to unlock each one but he was determined to do it.

The day he planned to go to area 21 to hunt beasts was approaching. Classes are usually held on Monday to Friday so Saturday and Sunday were the only days students could go out to hunt beasts.

Before, humans had to walk out of the barrier to hunt beasts. It wasn't that dangerous because beasts were not able to enter but humans could go in and come out.

Three years ago, the teleportation orb appeared. It allowed the humans to move from the barrier to a particular area outside.

It was rumored that it was created by someone's ability while others said that it was created by the blast but nobody knew its "origin" or how it came about except the leaders of the different academies in different cities.

They kept the origin of the teleportation orb a secret due to unknown reasons. The only limitation of the teleportation orb is that it can only be programmed to teleport someone to one particular area and to come back. After that, it has to be programmed again.

The orb was also able to teleport multiple people at once as long as they had physical contact with each other.

One of the most shocking thing was that in an area, humans barely met each other. People from different places could teleport to one particular area but it was rare to see each other.

A theory was made that people were teleported to different corners of a particular area so It was hard for humans to meet each other.

Nathan looked at the time. Class finished early so it was still afternoon. He carried his sword and went down to the first floor and started walking to the weapon training hall.

It was a hall strictly for students to train with their weapons. When he got there, there were some students inside already practicing. Some of them stared at him before they looked away.

He went to the corner of the hall and took a stance.

"Take your left leg backwards and you right leg should be stable," Siena said.

Nathan knew that she was very good with short swords so it was reasonable for her to give him tips.

"Tense your muscles and swing but don't just swing wildly."

Nathan followed her instructions and tensed the muscles in his right hand. He gripped the sword tightly and started swinging it and it wasn't wild.

"You should also learn how to hold your sword loosely. It will help you to change the direction of your sword at will."

Nathan trained with his sword for some hours. His stamina was high so he did not get tired. It was also a means of exercise. He wanted to train his body to be able to withstand the power.

Nathan came out of the training room and the first person he saw was Joey. She was standing just outside the training hall.

"Uhm…..how are you doing?" She asked

Nathan didn't know why but he felt that question was for him and Siena.

"I'm good," he replied.

Joey was already expecting a short reply from him.

"I don't know if this is the right thing to say but I noticed that you don't have friends in the academy. So....is it okay if we become friends?"

Joey was twirling her hair while saying this and it showed how nervous she was.

"I don't know if it'll be possible. I get angry easily," he replied.

"Maybe if you have a friend you'll be able to control it."

Nathan suddenly remembered Ken and Raymond. There were the only friends he made in school before earth changed.

They always tried convincing him to control his anger but it just wasn't possible.

"Alright, we can be friends but don't disturb me," Nathan said.

"Yes, I promise. Thank you," she said with a smile.

Nathan walked away. As he was going, he saw Lena, the girl Joey went to save in the forest. She walked past him and went to meet Joey.

"Why is she thanking me? And moreover why is she so happy that I agreed to be her friend?" Nathan wondered.

The day was slowly fading away. Nathan sat in a lotus position in his room. He continued the process of creating the earth pillar skill.

He had only formed a small part and he still needed more time to completely create it.

He continued till night came before going to bed.

*******************

Days passed and it was finally Saturday, the day he would go out to hunt beasts.

Nothing interesting happened in the last few days. Classes went on like usual and he still went to train in the weapon training hall. Nobody had spoken anything about Josh and Nathan didn't want to go to the forest incase a trap was laid for the culprit.

He spoke with Joey more during the last few days and he was slightly more comfortable around her.

They were no quests yet so Nathan did not get any points.

He still continued his skill creation and he made little progress but it was still going to take time.

Since no classes, students could hunt beasts today but not all liked going. Some were afraid of beasts and didn't even want to see them.

Students were walking about. Some were going to the cafeteria. Nathan didn't need food anymore so that was one place he has never visited.

Nathan opened the wardrobe and saw a black cloak. He wore it and carried his sword that was inside it's sheath on his waist.

He went to the Area Security Control (ASC) building. He saw the strange lady that gave him the manual. He walked towards her.

"Good morning, how can I help you?"

"I want to go to area 21," he replied.

"Alright, please put your thumb on this scanner," she said while pointing at the scanner on top the table.

After putting his thumb, the scanner recorded his name and the area he would be going to. The scanner was linked to the one in each students room door handle so they could be identified.

The lady brought out a machine with a cube-like shape and a hole on top. The number 21 was written boldly on the machine.

She pressed a button and a blue coloured orb came out from the hole.

"Push the small button under it and you will be instantly teleported to area 21," she said.

"Remember to return it when you come back if not you'll be caught and the consequences won't be little," she continued.

Nathan put the orb inside the small bag he carried.

"I hope you return safely and don't overexert yourself," she said.

"Yeah thanks," he replied before walking back to his room.

He brought the orb out of his bag and wore it back. He checked his sword and cloak well. When coming back from an area, the person is teleported back to the same spot he or she teleported from. That was why Nathan stood in the middle of his room in order to be teleported back to that same spot.

"Alright, I'll have to try my best to kill enough beasts to level up."

Nathan closed his eyes and pressed the button under the orb.