30 Class 7 Tempering

The class were in shock for a moment as they looked at Arata in disbelief. One of the students sighed loudly which then caused the other students to release all the built up tension and worry.

"Arata did it!"

"He defied his chances! Amazing!"

"Vice-Rep, you really scared us just now."

The class were all buzzing seeing that Arata had overcome what seemed like a set in stone death. Even Teacher Takuma looked slightly relieved. Akari looked proud and elegant on the outside, but inside she was teeming with joy. Ryouma sighed in relief to see that Arata was fine. Arata looked around before slowly standing up. He had regained his body control, but he still couldn't tap into his Elemental Reservoir and was still extremely weak. His body was currently absorbing the Holy and Dark Energies into his body, healing, mending and strengthening his muscles. Although he did his best to look noble, he was still in a lot of pain.

Teacher Takuma turned to face the class.

"We will have a short break. Someone get Ryouma a new uniform to wear. You have 15 minutes."

As a student brought some clothes over to Ryouma, the rest of the class came over to Arata, surrounding him. They all began to ask him if he was alright and talk about how strong he is to overcome the Yin and Yang Sphere. As they spoke, Arata replied with simple nods, he was overwhelmed by the class's acceptance of him, it confused him slightly. After a few minutes, they broke off to continue talking amongst themselves. Akari came forward and Arata looked to her. She gave him a simple nod before turning to go sit back at her seat.

Arata didn't see it but Akari was smiling as she walked back. Ryouma came in wearing a new set of clothes and walked over to Arata.

"Captain, are you feeling better?"

Arata nodded.

"My body is still broken but I can feel it absorbing and converting the Yin and Yang Sphere. It may take a while."

Ryouma nodded.

"I get that. My body feels strange. When I was putting on my shirt I almost ripped it in half. I feel weak yet strong. It is confusing."

Arata nodded and they continued to talk casually about the way their bodies felt. As they spoke, the rest of the class watched the two curiously.

"What happened? Why are they suddenly so close?"

"Ryouma came with Arata late to class. Where did they come from?"

"The Sato Clan's Representative excused them both so he was with the Sato Clan, right?"

"Didn't he just call Arata Captain? What does that mean?"

Arata noticed all the mumbling amongst the class. He looked at Ryouma briefly before turning to the class. They all went silent as he turned and looked at the class, curious to what he was going to say.

"The ceremony hasn't occurred yet so it hasn't been officially announced, but yesterday Ryouma has successfully passed a certain test and gained the approval of the Sato Clan. He will be joining the Clan as my Shadowguard."

He then turned to Teacher Takuma.

"He also underwent a slight change during the test, thus the increase in power and why he came out of the Cocoon phase sooner than you anticipated."

Teacher Takuma realized what had happened and was now impressed with the strength of the Sato Clan. Ryouma had improved so much in a single day. Arata turned back to the class.

"Ryouma was strong. He is now stronger as a member of the Sato Clan. Do not see him as the same person you knew from yesterday. His position is now on another level completely compared to you all."

The class stayed silent. Although they didn't like Arata's arrogant attitude, they respected his power and, clearly, what he said wasn't false. Ryouma was a completely different person according to Teacher Takuma. And he was now a member of the Sato Clan? They all looked at Ryouma with respect. Akari smirked. Although Arata sounded like he was being arrogant and condescending, he was actually defending and protecting Ryouma.

Ryouma may have been powerful previously, but he was an orphan and a commoner so he was still looked down on and treated differently by the class. Although the class acknowledged his power, they wouldn't see him as an equal due to his lowly status. But that changed with Arata's words. He placed the full backing of the Sato Clan behind Ryouma, raising his status to a position higher than most of the class. He was now on another level completely.

Ryouma understood this too. He was grateful to Arata for this. Arata went and sat down next to Akari and closed his eyes, completely ignoring the class that was currently processing his words. Ryouma sat down next to Arata with an emotionless face, doing his best to emulate the warrior for someone like Arata Sato. But there was still a hint of joy that could be seen in his eyes.

The class began whispering to each other, excitedly gossiping over this new piece of information. They weren't fans of his attitude, but they respected Arata greatly and saw him as a part of Class 7. After the 15 minutes had ended, Teacher Takuma walked forward.

"Now we will begin with the lesson I had planned. We have discussed what Tempering is and now we will apply what we have learnt."

The class froze and went wide eyed. She couldn't mean what it sounds like, right? She walked around to each student placing a small capsule in front of each of them before returning to the front.

"I have given each of you specific capsule, tailor made for you. Within the capsule will be a red pill, you will eat that one first. The second pill will be different for all of you. You will eat that one second. These aren't rare items like the two that Arata and Ryouma had, so they won't be as painful. However, they won't be enjoyable either. Begin."

The class all looked at their capsules in fear. They knew that it wasn't as bad as what they witnessed, but having just witnessed it, the image of their pain and torture was still fresh in their minds. Even Akari who had gone through specialized Tempering with her Father was slightly hesitant after what she had witnessed.

Arata put his hand up.

"Teacher Takuma. We have already undergone Tempering, must we participate as well?"

Teacher Takuma grinned evilly.

"I clearly placed capsule's in front of you. What do you think?"

Arata frowned. He looked at the capsule annoyed.

'I have to deal with this again, seriously?'

Seeing his frustrated face amused Teacher Takuma. She originally hadn't planned to give them the capsule's and was actually planning to let them rest. She had designed these pills specifically for each student, Ryouma and Arata weren't any exception. However, the pills were based on what she knew of their bodies yesterday and, as she said, they were clearly different now. And with them coming late, she was going to punish them with the Volcanic Turtle's blood and the Yin and Yang Sphere and leave it at that.

But seeing the changes within them and watching how they dealt with their respective Tempering's, she decided that they could handle a second Tempering. Which could also be useful for them. She found that they had indeed grown stronger over the last 24 hours. However, especially in Ryouma's case, it was too much too fast.

She could sense that Ryouma wasn't at a hundred percent, possibly due to a backlash of some kind when he gained this new strength. But going through a second Tempering, one that was weaker, it would help to solidify all the strength that they had acquired. She could tell that what they currently needed wasn't more strength, but to make their newfound strength their own.

This was going to be enjoyable to watch.

As Teacher Takuma sat in her chair, picking up a book and reading it, one by one the students began to scream in pain. Each of them were shaking in agony from the effects of the pills. Some were changing colors as they twitched and groaned. Those with creature bloodlines had their powers activated, manifesting their creatures on themselves.

Akari clenched her fists with her face scrunched up. She was glowing, emanating a bright white light. It was clear that she was also in a lot of pain. Ryouma and Arata both looked pale. They could feel that this Tempering wasn't as bad as the one they just went through, but they were weakened already so it hurt a lot. They had control of their bodies now but they still had no access to their Elemental Reservoir so only their body could resolve this pain.

As Teacher Takuma was reading, she called out.

"Oh, by the way. The red pill you all ate is a wonderful pill called the Phoenix's Extension. Taken with another Tempering substance, it reactivates and replicates the effect of the Tempering substance repeatedly over a certain period of time, thus extending its effects and prolonging the Tempering for more effect. So for those of you that were looking forward to lunch, don't bother. You are going to be here all day."

The class all silently cursed Teacher Takuma. The Tempering continued as the students all struggled with the pain for several hours. Arata sat in silence, yet his body was visibly shaking. As much he disliked going through this, he could feel that it was beneficial. This Tempering wasn't tearing apart his body like the previous Tempering, instead it was healing him, building his muscles and strengthening him. He was recovering at a rapid rate but as soon as he was healed, pain would strike him and his body was weakened again. Arata knew that this was this particular substances Tempering. Restore and weaken.

By bouncing back and forth rapidly between restoration and weakening, the body would learn the quickest way for it to recover its strength. This was an incredibly vital thing for Arata who directly received the attacks of others and converted it within him. By having a body that knew how to recover quickly, he could push himself more and handle larger amounts of Energy, even if his Elemental Reservoir couldn't handle the oncoming Energy, he could utilize his body for it as well.

This opened up many avenues in Arata's mind for how he could apply the different techniques of the Sato Clan to his body. Although she was a crazy sadist of a teacher, Arata acknowledged that she knew how to push her students to greatness. If they didn't die on the way.

After 5 hours, many of the student's Temperings had begun to come to an end. The first to finish their Tempering was Akari, followed by Ryouma. One by one, student's opened their eyes in relief that it was over and then amazement as they felt their new strength in their body. Teacher Takuma was effective in her methods but her methods were too brutal for some people. But this was a class of monsters and freaks, so they naturally could get through the pain and appreciate the difference in power.

Arata opened his eyes. He felt refreshed. His body felt lighter yet stronger. He could tell that all the effects from the Yin and Yang Sphere had been fully integrated into him because of the second Tempering. He felt great. As he looked at Ryouma, he could tell that he was feeling great as well, the second Tempering seemed to do wonders on his recovery as well. Arata also sensed that his Elemental Reservoir had recovered slightly as well, though it wasn't fully restored.

He turned to Akari and was taken aback. Although the Tempering was clearly over, there was a soft glow on her skin that made Akari look even more elegant than usual. Before Arata could say anything about it, Teacher Takuma's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"That is all for today, dismissed."

Akari stood up and gestured for Arata and Ryouma to follow. They went to the cafeteria and had dinner together. Arata completely forgot about this. As they ate, everyone continued to eye him out just like yesterday. He sighed. Ryouma looked at him.

"What's wrong, Captain?"

The glares intensified hearing Ryouma call him that. Before he could reply, a student slammed his hand on the table in front of Arata. Arata looked up and saw a tall youth around 13 years old with short black hair staring at Arata angrily.

"I heard there was some new guy eating with my girl yesterday. I come today to find it to be true. Who do you think you are to just walk up here and eat with our Goddess? Huh?"

A small group of angry students gathered behind the youth. Both guys and girls. They all stared daggers into Arata. Ryouma and Akari were both about to get up and retort when Arata held them back and stood up instead. He smirked. As he was about to speak, there was another voice that sounded out from behind him.

"He's our Vice-Rep."

Arata turned around to see Tallis standing behind him. Then he noticed the rest of Class 7 standing there intimidatingly, staring at the youth and his group. Matoki stepped forward, his hand forming into a dragon claw, and pointed the Lightning Dragon Claw at the youth.

"You aren't worthy to fight the Vice Rep. Let us entertain you."