Chapter 10

With lunch over, Jesse got on his bed, rolled onto his side, and said, "Wake me up at 6 p.m.," closing his eyes. Before Ulric could say, "Sleep tight," he heard soft snores from Jesse's bed. He laid on his own bed and watched Jesse's chest rise and fall. Ulric closed his eyes and fell asleep while listening to Jesse's breathing.

"Wake up, it's six," Ulric said, slightly shaking Jesse's shoulder.

"Already?" Jesse asked, stretching and yawning.

"We've been asleep for four hours," Ulric said.

"Oh," Jesse said, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

Ulric noticed Jesse yawning once more. "Maybe we should skip tonight's training." "You're tired," he said.

"I'm fine," Jesse said.

"I don't want you overdoing it," he said. They ascended the stairs that were at the end of the hallway. "I want to see your stats before we begin," he ordered. Jesse pulled up his stats.

[STATS]

1/18/2500

Name: Jesse #54591

Race: Human

Level 2

Exp: 60/110

Coins: 616

Strength: 10

Agility: 10

Stamina: 10

Soul Force: 150

Perception: 15

Ulric noticed the drop in Jesse's soul force. "For tonight, just do stretching and a workout," Ulric suggested.

"Okay," Jesse said. They did one hour of stretching and one hour of workouts. Jesse brought up his stats once more.

[STATS]

1/18/2500

Name: Jesse #54591

Race: Human

Level 2

Exp: 60/110

Coins: 616

Strength: 11

Agility: 11

Stamina: 11

Soul Force: 130

Perception: 15

"Your body is still healing, so we better stop," Ulric suggested. "We don't want your level to drop into the danger zone," he said.

"Alright," Jesse said. When they reached their dorm room, Jesse took a bath instead of a shower. When he finished, Ulric took his shower. When he came back into the room, Jesse was on his side, sound asleep. He stepped up to the bed and pulled the cover up on Jesse before lying down on his own bed.

They woke up at 5 a.m., collected their school supplies, and headed to the gym.

"I got us some equipment," Ulric said, pulling out a ring and a necklace from his bag. "The ring is for you, and I'll wear the necklace," he said.

"You didn't have to buy me anything," Jesse said.

"I wanted to," Ulric said. Jesse put on the ring and smiled at Ulric, who clasped the necklace around his neck. Jesse pulled up his stats and scrolled down.

[Items]

High-grade ring: 500 soul force points + 30% resistance to magic

"My soul force is now 650," Jesse said, happily.

"That's great," Ulric said. "We only have time to stretch and do our workout," Ulric said.

"That's fine," Jesse said as he started stretching.

Ulric sat down beside Jesse and did his stretching. "How are you feeling?" Ulric asked while standing up and doing some phantom punches.

"I'm good," Jesse said, doing some push-ups. When their training ended, they headed to alchemy class.

Jesse noticed a 6-foot-tall, dark-skinned woman standing at the front desk when they entered the classroom. He noticed a tattoo of an angel on the right side of her neck. When everyone was in the room, she spoke.

"All right, settle down and stand behind your tables," she said sternly. Jesse and Ulric stood behind tables that were side by side. Murmurs circled around the room, then it got quiet. "Hello, my name is Nina, and I'll be your teacher for your first year here," she said. "In your bags that were given to you, there are vials and herbs to craft low-level potions," the teacher added.

The teacher stopped speaking to observe the class. "For those not paying attention, you can help me gather supplies," she said, making eye contact with a small group of students toward the back of the room. "Now, back to business," she said. "As you can see, there's a piece of paper with information about the potion we're making today," the teacher explained. Jesse glanced back at Ulric and grinned. It was a healing potion.

Jesse took from his bag his cauldron and the ingredients he'd need. He arranged everything on the table neatly in the order that it would go into the cauldron. Jesse followed the detailed instructions step by step. With the teacher's help, Jesse learned how to use his soul force. Once the water started to boil, he added the ingredients. When the last ingredient was added and the potion had turned bright purple, he heard the familiar chime in his head.

Jesse, out of curiosity, opened his holographic screen and read the messages.

[Congratulations, you have crafted a Healing potion of low grade, you have gained 10 exp points and 1 soul force point.]

[Congratulations, you have just unlocked a new skill block, Crafting Potions.]

Feeling excited, Jesse checked his skills right away. Everything was the same except a block had appeared.

[CRAFTING POTIONS]

Potion Low Grade level 1: 1/50

Potion Medium Grade is required; potion Low Grade level 3 and 1500 soul force points.

Potion High Grade: required; potion Medium Grade, level 5; and 3000 soul force points.

Jesse tried to hide his excitement, but when Ulric glanced at him, Jesse's cheeks turned bright pink. Jesse bottled the potion and sat it on the table. Since the potion used up 150 of his soul force, he sat cross-legged and meditated. While he finished creating his own potion, Ulric watched Jesse out of the corner of his eye. The teacher noticed him sitting on the floor and stepped over to investigate.

She noticed the boy was surrounded by spiritual energy and determined that he was meditating. Nina noticed the bottle that held the healing potion and was pleased because it seemed to be perfectly executed. She picked it up and opened it to check its quality. Her assumptions were correct; the boy had successfully crafted a low-grade healing potion. What surprised her was that he did it on his first try and in twenty minutes.

When the hour ended, Jesse came out of his meditative state and stood up. Ulric wasn't in the room, but for some reason, he wasn't worried. He gathered his bag, exited the classroom, and found Ulric sitting on a bench.

"Are you ready to get something to eat?" Ulric glanced up and asked.

"Yeah, I'm starving," Jesse said, nodding his head and rubbing his growling stomach.

"You choose where we eat," Ulric said.

"I'd like to go to the cafe," Jesse said. "I'll pay for my share this time," he said.

"Is my money not good enough?" Ulric asked, showing a fake pout.

"I like your kindness," Jesse said. "But I don't want to look like a freeloader," he explained.

Ulric kissed Jesse on the forehead and said, "I like treating you." "It's fine if you want to pay," he said. Jesse's smile widened as they left the building. It felt good to have a friend who understands and listens to him. When they arrived at the cafe, Ulric ordered a fish sandwich, cole slaw, and a medium Pepsi. Jesse ordered a cheeseburger, curly fries, and a diet coke. They each paid for their meals and sat down at an empty table.

"You impressed the teacher today in class," Ulric said.

"Oh, I did?" Jesse asked.

"She said your potion was perfect, and it only took twenty minutes to create," Ulric said. Jesse checked his stats out of curiosity.

[STATS]

1/19/2500

Name: Jesse #54591

Race: Human

Level 2

Exp: 60/110

Coins: 616

Strength: 12

Agility: 12

Stamina: 12

Soul Force: 652

Perception: 15

[CRAFTING POTIONS]

Potion Low Grade level 1: 1/50

Potion Medium Grade is required; potion Low Grade level 3 and 1500 soul force points.

Potion High Grade: required; potion Medium Grade, level 5; and 3000 soul force points.

"I think I'll continue to practice on that potion, but I'll need to buy ingredients after three uses," Jesse said. "The same will go with the other potions once I learn them," he said.

"There's no need to be in a rush," Ulric said. "You do just fine," he said.

"But I want to get stronger," Jesse said. "I hate feeling weak," he said.

"You might have had it rough in your past, but this is a new you with a chance of a better life," Ulric said. Jesse sighed softly and nodded his head. "I'll make the most of this second chance with those who care about me," he said.

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