2 system

"What?!!" Klaus asked nudging the female beside him with a smile plastered on his face.

"What do you mean what?" Arsha answered while moving from Klaus's side to his front to block him from walking. The two teenagers were walking through the streets of the settlement where there were over a hundred houses lined facing each other.

They all mostly looked the same in terms of structural design but each house stood out for it's choice of theme used. Unlike the main city area with large tall wall surrounding its entire land space, the settlement was an open space with house spaced apart from each other by a wide range.

The people here were mostly seen as the bottom feeders, "F" citizens that were barely regarded by the higher ups. But most of the inhabitants didn't see themselves that way and just moved along with the stream of life.

"I mean...why have you being awfully quiet...and what's with that look?" Klaus said with a bit of laughter in between. But soon after seeing that the other party wasn't laughing, he stopped.

"The thing is i..." Klaus was going to say but got cut off by Arsha.

"Come on Kay, you can't just keep lying to your parents like that!... I mean its wrong!!!" Arsha scolded.

"What are you talking about?. What did I lie about?. I said we were going to the open field and that's where we are going...isn't it?" Klaus asked while pointing in the direction.

"Well, are we really going to have a "spar" like you told them we would when we get there?" Arsha asked making sure to stress a particular word.

"Oh come on Ash, we both know my situation here. You can't possibly judge me now can you?" Klaus made his argument.

"Well not really. But i think its bad that we are doing this. I mean, without your parent's knowledge" Arsha claimed yet again. And this time she got a questioning look from Klaus who stared at her for a while before eventually replying her.

"Wait.. Are you worried about me or just yourself. You like when my parents praise you. You do like being called the "perfect child" don't you?...You little scheming demon!" Klaus said with a grin on his face. And immediately he closed his eyes and had his arms blocking his face as he knew his best friend to be quite the swinger when she got agitated.

"Relax wimpy" she said giving klaus a friendly tap with her index finger on his forehead.

Then letting out a sigh out of her mouth before saying ...

"If your parents say you are not ready then I don't think its wise to go against their wishes. I mean, if Shiro Senshi says it's not yet time, let it be that way" Arsha tried to defend herself from Klaus's earlier claims.

"You seem to be more of a fan of my father than his own son" Klaus said with a shrug.

"Come on, take a seat"... He said and pointed at a log of wood that laid on the open grass field. They were finally out in the open field. Being a short distance from the settlement, they had made it there in no time. The field itself was gigantic and could probably occupy two stadiums. That was just how much land Blackwood city had in abundance.

Projects were ongoing everyday but for the most part, this progress stayed far away from the area outside of the main city. Up ahead, as Klaus stared intently he could see a tall figure standing and seemingly almost touching the sky.

Spotting this and knowing what it was made him bend his head down as he was once again reminded of why he had come out to the open in the first place. A sigh soon escaped his lips as he prepared to pour his heart out.

"Look Ash, I know its wrong to lie to them. But given my situation don't you think i have it tough as well?. For some reason Dad won't teach me. He claims to be training me for tomorrow everyday since I was four. What if "tomorrow" comes now?. Don't you think I'd be better off with magic than my fists?". Klaus paused holding his two clenched fists up and saw that his best friend watched silently as he spoke. This gave him assurance that she understood him and was paying attention.

"I brought you out here to ask you again to teach me all you have learnt from your parents about Mana... And yes!...yes! I know its against the wishes of my parents but you gotta help me out here!" Klaus said pleading his course.

"Look, I want to help you, I really do but.." Arsha was going to say but got interrupted by Klaus.

"No but anything!. Come on Ash, we've been best friends since ..I can't even remember .And i know what you have been doing" Klaus said accusingly. They both stopped talking for a few seconds before Arsha broke the silence up.

"What?" Arsha asked inquisitively.

"Ash, I know that you have been lying to your parents too" Klaus paused to see if he would get a reaction from Arsha but he saw none to pick up on. Arsha maintained a clueless face for the most part, forcing Klaus to explain more.

"Oh come on, you've been telling them that you can't still channel your Mana even as they've been teaching you for as long as I can remember you telling me" Klaus made his accusations.

"How do you know that?" Arsha asked.

"Oh, so its true then?" Klaus asked in return.

"Okay fine, look dimwit. Yes I have been lying. But its for good reasons okay?" Arsha argued.

"Either way we've both been lying to our parents. Now the academy entrance examination and gene awakening test is next week!!!...next week Ash!!!. I have to learn how to channel my Mana before then. You have to help me please!!" Klaus said falling on his knees and wailing. But apparently no tears came out of his eyes and Arsha knowing who he was knew what he was doing.

"And he says I'm the Scheming demon?" Arsha said and in the midst of Klaus's loud "sorrowful" cry, Arsha could hear a bit of giggle in it.

"We already tried this many times, Klaus. How are you sure its going to work?" Arsha asked with a defeated expression.

"Come on, it's Klaus. You're not gonna give up on me now are you?" Klaus asked togging the fabric of his best friend's clothe.

"I did that years ago Kay" Arsha replied. Klaus hearing this broke a smile before taking a serious tone again.

"See I've got a plan this time. You now how desperate times call for desperate measures?" Klaus asked Arsha.

"Oh no,now he's got a plan," she said waving her hands in the air gesturing "helplessness"and they both laughed to this.

"I mean if you look up ahead you can see a building from the main city area," Klaus said and pointed at the building he was talking about. This building was one of many and was located in the main area of Blackwood.

Blackwood just like other cities had areas that were more densely occupied than others. And in the case of Arsha and Klaus, they unfortunately found themselves in the less densely populated area.

What this also meant was that they were a little behind in terms of the benefits that those in the main city enjoyed. Even the entrance examination to "Blackwood Academy" was taken in the main city area.

What baffled a lot of people was how there managed to be such noticeable differences between the main city area and regions like where Klaus and Arsha resided. The thing was, sitting on the log of wood they could see the buildings in the main city area from there.

Meaning the two places weren't too far apart yet it looked like the main city area was light years ahead in terms of technology and development as a whole. The difference was clear just from looking at the two areas.

Most people couldn't afford the life in the main city so they settled outside the city in groups forming a small or sometimes large settlement. Occasionally, this did cause confusion and disputes as people from the main city area often looked down on the ones in places like Klaus's current location.

Yet oddly, Klaus's side of the city or anywhere at all couldn't be referred to as a slum. It would be an insult to say the least. The houses and everything would most likely make the big mansions built before World War III look nothing more than garbage. But in comparison with houses the main area of the city had, they were still unarguably a long way from getting there.

"What is it?....I see buildings. How is that gonna help us right now?!" Arsha asked not getting the point the other was trying to make.

"You know how people are said to go through breakthrough under intense pressure and in desperate situations?" Klaus asked.

"Yes, but that's completely different. You haven't even learnt how to break your Mana shell not to talk of awakening your magic gene. Now you are talking of breakthrough?" Arsha asked with a stunned expression.

"Look, at this point I'm willing to try anything. Maybe if I think about how bad I want to go to the academy, then my Mana will finally stop hiding!!" Klaus said.

"First of all, It's not hiding silly!!!. You just aren't searching hard enough. Secondly, by looking at buildings?" Arsha asked pointing out the absurdity in the his thoughts.

"No, that's just to trick my mind. You know, like if I see the importance of feeling the Mana it might motivate me the more. Now the main goal is to feel the Mana stream right?. So let's quit talking and get to it okay?" Klaus demanded.

Arsha looked at her best friend for a second and the thought of him having lost it crossed her mind. But this was easily replaced by one of pity. The things he was willing to try even knowing it might won't work only made her sad. This wasn't the first time she tried to teach him about Mana anyway . Klaus was just a "special case" and a part of her would often feel his head was mostly built to understand punches alone.

"Mana as you know is the energy hidden deep in our cells that allows us to do magic. Now for someone who hasn't awoken a magic gene yet, this energy is stagnant and resides in your core..." Arsha was about to go on but got interrupted.

"Yeah yeah.. The core is like a shell within you that keeps your Mana within. At age 15 and above humans can break their Mana free from the shell and use it to energize their cells to perform magic...I know!!!..

Please let's move on to what's important now please?" Klaus begged impatiently.

"Fine.." Arsha said with a lowered tone.

"You have to silence yourself and find that inner peace. Then look beyond you and feel where it is that is the most vibrant with energy in your body. Remember the shell can be anywhere" Arsha instructed.....

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In the open field where klaus and Arsha could be seen sitting on a log of wood in a meditation pose that had been going on for quite some time, silence enveloped the surroundings that was until Klaus broke it.

"Ash, this isn't working.." Klaus whispered to Arsha who was also in a meditation pose but unlike Klaus who had his eyes fixed in the direction of the city, Arsha had her eyes closed.

"Maybe if you'd close your eyes and concentrate more. I think your huge plan is more of a distraction you know?. Let go of it all" Arsha said still with her eyes closed.

"Fine.." Klaus said and decided to take one last look at the building he could see far away before closing his eyes. This to him would help motivate him to channel his Mana.

"Wait what?" Klaus said.

"What?!" Arsha said in a lowered tone but Klaus could tell she was pissed from all the distractions he had been causing.

"Look at that.." Klaus said pointing out towards the large building up far ahead.

"Kay, the building won't help you okay?. Face it, you need to concentrate more" Arsha said and closed her eyes again.

"No, not that...this!!" Klaus said with more enthusiasm.

But apparently he had cried wolf too many times and Arsha kept her eyes closed and didn't bother to answer him again.

Just as he looked on it became more apparent to him. He could see a dark glowing ball with little shades of red floating in the air. He would have thought he was perhaps imagining things but after pinching himself a couple of times and still seeing the same thing, he came to the conclusion that there could only be one logical explanation, he had indeed gone mad.

Perhaps he thought, he must have been hit too hard by his father resulting in him seeing things or maybe the pressure he had on him to break his mana shell was getting to him.

But as he looked closely he could see the glow slowly approach him. He was tempted to run but felt it would be unwise as he could very well just be imagining things. And it would take a lot of hard work and a long time to get Arsha to stop mocking him if he made a fool of himself.

"Ash... you really should see this" Klaus called out again.

"No Klaus, close your eyes and concentrate!!" Arsha replied sharply.

"Okay...I'm concentrating... I'm concentrating.." Klaus said and went on to close his eyes this time. But moments later curiosity got the better of him. He just had to have one more look to be sure he wasn't seeing things.

"Hmmm...its gone?. Damn, so I was really going crazy?" Klaus thought within himself. He made up his mind to stop staring at the building and listen to what Arsha advices. So he went on to close his eyes again but halfway closed he saw the same black-red wisp like thing glowing and floating in front of him.

"Err...Ash.." ...Before he could say anything further, the wisp flew into his chest and knocked him over from the log of wood to the ground. Immediately he started feeling dizzy and was losing consciousness. But before his eyes closed, he heard a strange sound and something appeared in his field of vision which was fading by the second.

*Tiiring!!*

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