First Lesson

The next day came by soon enough.

Damien was an early person so he had woken up long before sunrise, done some exercise and even gone for a run.

It was fully morning and the clock read 9 AM.

Time for lessons to start.

The timetable and the arrangement of courses in the school was very liberal. 

The three main courses were taught throughout the week so people could choose to attend those classes at a time which was convenient for them.

The other courses which weren't mandatory like Survival class and weapon class had fixed times which would require the students to rearrange their schedule if they truly wanted to attend those classes.

Each class lasted for two hours.

The previous night, after a long period of forethought, Damien decided to not attend any other classes apart from the compulsory ones.

He wanted to have enough time to learn techniques, absorb mana stones and train.

Damien had planned to attend today's Theoretical Knowledge class first then attend the other two classes the next day.

With that in mind, Damien quickly made use of his school bracelet's GPS function and headed for the class where the Theoretical Knowledge course would be taught.

The class was a vast hall with many chairs. 

Damien didn't find it surprising that the people in the class weren't many.

People, especially young students always tended to procrastinate and put things off for the very last minute.

Even though it was the first Theoretical Knowledge class, not many chose to attend due to the fact that they were either busy absorbing mana stones or doing their own thing.

The Vice Chancellor was right.

The students lacked ambition.

It was appalling that the first class of a very important lecture actually had empty seats!

Or was it?

Perhaps the Vice Chancellor's threat was what had forced them to do this. They were much more worried about not being strong enough to make the cut than missing an early class.

Not that they would miss much anyway. After all, this class was scheduled throughout the week.

Whatever it was, it wasn't Damien's problem.

Shaking his head inwardly, Damien went to a corner and chose an inconspicuous seat as usual. His old habit of playing incognito in class hadn't changed obviously.

9:15 AM on the dot, a beautiful young lady in a simple floral dress with calm features walked in confidently.

The doors of the lecture hall closed shut behind her.

It didn't take rocket science to know that once the door was closed, no one was going to enter again.

The lady took a cursory glance around and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? You're quite few for a first class of an important course," she remarked lightly.

Shaking her head and making the mass of long brown hair on her head wiggle, she typed something into a portable tablet she held and the name MS. LEVINE was boldly displayed on the humongous screen in front of the class.

"My name is Ms. Levine and I will be your theoretical knowledge teacher.

Once you're present for this class, it won't be necessary for you to attend this class until next week because I'll be teaching the same thing over the week.

You can come though if you don't understand anything.

For our first lesson, we will learn the importance of techniques and why you need to have them," Ms. Levine spoke.

She had a calm quiet voice which resounded in the hall harmoniously.

"Techniques is the term given to moves used by Awakened. 

We have five type of techniques namely, spirit, soul, body, movement and weapon techniques.

All of these are crucial to the awakened and are great additions to his arsenal of weapons.

You can only learn techniques which correspond or relate to your Path and powers.

For Variant elements, they can learn the techniques of both the Variant and the main element it was derived from.

Mutant elements though have an unfair advantage.

If you have a mutant element, you can learn the techniques for the mutant element and the other elements which came together to form it.

Once you learn a technique and can use it without a problem, you have to train in it regularly and gain proficiency and understanding in it.

The more you use it, the more your understanding will increase and the more your understanding of the technique increases, so does its power increase.

Thus, you'll be able to draw maximum power from the technique."

Ms. Levine paused and looked around to see if everyone was listening. Satisfied that the students were paying attention, she continued.

"Again, techniques can be improved or fused together.

You can modify a technique and add more moves ways if you have a high understanding of the technique.

If you're able to do this, the technique will become even more powerful and you will have created a new technique.

The government and school is interested in such things like that so if you do manage to create or modify a technique, you can submit it to the school for merit points.

A clear example is the 1-star Wing Chun technique.

Other awakened have been able to develop this 1-star technique and even increase its rank. There are many variations like Air Wing Chun, Lightning Wing Chun, Internal Force Wing Chun and others.

They used their understanding of the technique to create new ones and it has greatly benefited both them and every awakened.

Don't restrict yourself to only buying techniques from the school shop. Rather, experiment with them and create new techniques.

You don't have to be overly powerful or at the Domain or Transcendent realm to make an impact.

You can make your impact now.

If you're able to succeed in this, the school will reward you with 10,000 CP and a free 1-star technique of your choice," Ms. Levine said.

Gasps filled the room.

10,000 CP?!

A free 1-star technique of choice?!

This was insane!

Damien's eyes went wide in excitement. So all he had to do to earn a few thousand CP was to just create or modify existing techniques?

It was too good to be true!

What was the catch?

Ms. Levine smirked as she watched the students' bright eyes as they imagined how they would make use of this. "Sorry to burst your bubble but it's easier said than done. If you want to modify a technique, your understanding of it must be comparable to the tutor who demonstrates them.

If you want to create one, your understanding will have to be even higher and on top of that, you will have to come up with a training manual which will allow others to benefit from the technique.

So far, the number of students who have created their own techniques are few.

An example of one of these brilliant geniuses is the strongest second year student Liu Shandian.

He was able to create a lightning technique called Thunder Overdrive. 

This technique involves charging the atmosphere with electric energy while fighting then you overload the charged atmosphere with mana, causing a huge explosion which will change into an electrical storm.

It's a very powerful technique and I urge you all to strive to do similar.

It requires deep understanding, vision, hard work and dedication. With this, you will also make your mark in this school and pave your path to greater heights.

It all begins with a simple step; buying a technique.

This is your assignment which I will require for the next time we meet; buy a technique, train in it and when you come next week, you'll demonstrate your technique.

Do this sooner rather than later because the Application class heavily requires that you have at least one technique.

That is all for today's lecture," said Ms. Levine.

With a brisk turn, she walked out of the lecture hall, leaving the students in shock.

Damien smiled inwardly. 

He had made the right decision of acquiring the techniques beforehand. 

He didn't plan to attend any course for the day but he would rather focus on learning the other techniques he had acquired.

When others had learnt only one, he would have learnt five.

This was just the beginning of him getting ahead of his peers!

Those who had decided to leave this lecture until the last minute would be in for a time of difficulty. They'd barely be able to learn enough techniques for the next week.

Damien had made the right decision of coming early.

Still having thoughts running through his mind, Damien headed for the exit only to see a couple of familiar but annoying faces.

It was plain as day that they were waiting for him.

"What the f*ck do these guys want?" Damien complained inwardly as he kept moving forward.

Sure enough, they blocked his path.

The guy in the lead had good looks, sparkling silver hair and deep green eyes.

A confident smile lit his face, as if he owned the world.

He stretched out his hand to Damien. "Hello Damien. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Ronnie Quentin."