The Essence of Power 

"Good morning, sir. I came here after I heard some students from your gymnasium fighting. I'd like to learn. How much does the tuition cost?" Zac came straight to the point.

Looking at Zac's crumpled clothes and old backpack, torn here and there, the instructor who approached this teenager imagined that he had no money. "The gymnasium has a symbolic cost for the instructors' salaries and the maintenance of this area.

The monthly fee is 45 Lunar Pennies. But we have a seven-day trial program. The program doesn't require any commitment on your part. If you think it's worth it, you pay the first monthly fee on your eighth day. If you don't think it's worth it, you don't owe us anything, but you won't be able to go through the experience again." The man explained as he looked into the eyes of the slight, blond teenager in front of him.

'45 Lunar Pennies?' Zac thought.

That wasn't much. The minimum wage in Ushal was 800 Lunar Pennies, so even someone as poor as him could afford it.

He and Amy didn't have much, so he would probably have to give up something to pay for it if he decided to continue at the gymnasium. 

He agreed to the free seven-day trial. If he liked what he saw during those days, he would talk to his sister about joining the Strength Titans.

"All right. I'm interested in going through the trial program."

The man in front of Zac smiled at him and said. "I'm Instructor Bell. What's your name, son?"

"Zac Small."

"How old are you, Zac?" He asked as he showed the teenager around as they walked to the new student registration room.

Strength Titans was a small gymnasium. Apart from the four instructors, no one else worked in the group. The instructors were the ones who took care of cleaning and organizing the place along with their students, and each of them shared the work of registering students.

"15. I'll be 16 in October." Zac said as he looked around this area of about 100 square meters.

There were no decorations on the walls of the area. Apart from the soft flooring, the rest of the area was simple, with only the entrance door and two other doors leading to the individual bathroom and the instructors' room.

"A good age to start. Have you ever practiced fighting?" Instructor Bell asked. "What motivated you to come here today?"

"No, I've never fought before," Zac said as he entered the instructors' room, leaving the previous area where the students who came to the gymnasium at that time were fighting. He noticed most of them were kids, but he thought that must be because of the time of day.

Teenagers like him usually studied in the mornings, while children usually studied in the afternoons and had mornings free for extracurricular activities.

"As for what motivated me, I realized I'm not as disciplined and self-controlled as I thought. I know that martial arts can help people in search of these two qualities, which is why I'm here."

"Oh?" Instructor Bell liked what he heard.

Many young people of Zac's age were confused about the meaning of martial arts. They thought that coming to a gymnasium like Strength Titans was a step towards becoming stronger and dealing with their problems violently.

Instructors like Bell usually had trouble dealing with these youngsters, so the man naturally liked it when he found someone with a good mentality like Zac's.

"You've come to the right place, Zac. The path of martial arts is not about having strength or being better than others. The main goal of a martial artist is to reach the maximum of their potential and self-control. The essence of power is controlling it and not getting carried away by it."

Instructor Bell quickly filled out a form with some data and then handed it to Zac to fill out the young man's personal information.

Bell handed Zac another piece of paper as he put the form away. "Get your legal guardian to sign this paper. Once you have their signature, you can return to the gymnasium to begin your one-week test.

We're open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. We have classes starting every hour, so you can come anytime.

If you can come at the same time every day, it will help you and us. We instructors are divided into shifts, so if you come at different times, you'll meet different instructors who won't be able to keep up with you, as well as someone who sees you every day."

Shaking one of Bell's hands, Zac thanked him for the explanation and said he would return for his first class the next day.

He looked around with a smile, feeling strangely good after his brief conversation with Instructor Bell.

His powers remained calm as he listened to Bell's words, which made him sure that he hadn't made a mistake in entering the Strength Titans.

...

Three days after Zac's suspension, he left Strength Titans for the second day in a row this afternoon.

After the conversation with Bell, he returned home and studied the subjects he would have for the next few days. 

At night, he had practiced his hatred a bit but hadn't been very successful. Fortunately, he managed to get his sister to sign the paper from the martial arts gymnasium and also his suspension.

Amy didn't blame Zac for his suspension, nor did she stop him from attending the martial arts gymnasium. She knew what her brother was going through at school and thought going to a gymnasium would be good for him.

The day after the first conversation with Bell, Zac returned to the gym in the afternoon for his first lesson, which taught him not only how to start practicing a fighting style but also how to know his limits and control himself.

The idea of martial arts was to strengthen the body and turn it into a weapon. But a weapon had to be controlled and couldn't be used for every kind of problem.

As part of every class at Strength Titans, the students meditated and tried to improve their self-control.

When he tried it the first day, Zac didn't feel much of a difference in himself, but he did notice an inner peace he hadn't had in years.

That alone made him enjoy the experience and return today with interest for his second day of practice.

But as he finished his lesson today, he felt a change within himself, noticing a sign of control over his visual ability for the first time.

When he left the gymnasium around 2 p.m., he rushed back home, thinking he would meditate and practice the things he had learned in the past two days.

He thought he had to use his hatred to control his powers, but the way seemed to be the opposite. He had to control his emotions in order to control his powers!