Huge Leap

"Hey, I'm Mike Lawrence."

"Oops, there's your opponent for the duels," Malakai said jokingly as he slapped Dan's chest.

Mike Lawrence, an elite student, awakened as a Genetic Guardian. During the placement test, his energy core level was 13, ranking him among the top ten elite students in their set. Presently, his energy core level stands at 17. Just three more levels, and he would advance to a beginner-level 2 warrior.

Malakai and Jezebel had already achieved the status of beginner-level 2 warriors, with energy core levels of 25 and 24, respectively. Mike Lawrence, in comparison, couldn't match the rapid growth rate of these two Ultra Elite warriors.

Mike Lawrence was the prince of a small village in Vigoria. His father gifted him a suitable mystical item—the Essence Sphere—to awaken his first special ability. This small orb was infused with concentrated energies, requiring the user to absorb its essence in order to unlock their special ability.

The Essence Sphere, a rare mystical item, appeared only once every decade in each bloodline. Only five families in the whole of Vigoria possessed an essence sphere. As a result, after absorbing the essence sphere, Mike Lawrence kept it a secret, as he didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to himself. Though he came from a royal family, he feared the higher-ups, who might kill him and condense the energy from the essence sphere into an ordinary orb for selfish reasons.

"Nice to meet you, Mike; I think you're my first opponent in the duels," Dan said with a faint smile.

"Yeah, I already know that." Mike placed a hand on Dan and drew him closer, then whispered in his ears, "Just give up; there's no way you will beat me, you useless Alchemy Freshman."

Dan stood there, shocked, as he watched the arrogant prince leave with his friends. Not long after, Dan and his friends headed back to their dorms to practice and improve their energy cores for the upcoming duels.

In Dan's room

"Just give up…"

"useless"

"hrrrghhhh!!!" Dan screamed and slammed his desk as the words of Mike Lawrence replayed in his mind. He became restless with thoughts of what Mike Lawrence had up his sleeves. Driven by curiosity he began to search for details of Mike Lawrence on his system.

"Ding"

Name: Mike Lawrence

Department: Genetic guardian

Energy core level: 13

Rank: Beginner-level warrior

Bloodline: Vigoria

Note: The energy core level displayed is the level the energy core was at the time the warrior was awakened.

Dan was speechless for 30 seconds after reading Mike's details. "If he was awakened with an energy core level of 13, I wonder how much he must have grown his energy core," Dan murmured to himself.

When Dan was awakened as an elite student, his energy core level was at 10, and he had some disparities in his Dragon Circle, earning him the title of "Useless Alchemy Freshman.". People believed that these disparities may lead to slow growth in the energy core level, like in the case of Instructor Paris, who had been stuck at peak intermediate warrior level. Due to Dan's slow growth, his energy core was at level 15. But he figured that Mike's energy core level would probably be way higher considering how fast his friend Malakai had grown his energy core.

After analyzing his opponent for about 20 minutes, Dan grabbed his robe and headed straight to the martial hall in his department to train.

The martial hall was a wide open space with powerful walls capable of withstanding strong energies that reverberated in the hall.

"Aiyah!"

"Kiai!"

The hall was filled with elite students practicing martial arts. Dan quickly found a corner to train and opened his lesson notes to practice the techniques that Instructor Paris taught them during the previous week. He grabbed a staff and swung it in the air

swoof ~~~

He continued swinging the staff, trying to maintain balance and control. His movement was seamless till he missed a step and fell on the ground

"Oh look who is training" One chubby elite student pointed at Dan who just fell on the ground, drawing attention to herself.

The blonde, chubby lady approached Dan and extended her hand. "How about a friendly staff challenge?" she proposed. "I'll take it easy on you."

Dan felt intimidated, but with nearly 70% of the students in the hall aware of the challenge, he couldn't refuse. "Alright," he replied with a smirk, nodding in agreement. The students who overheard the challenge erupted into celebration.

"Seems like he is not a complete coward," someone said in the crowd.

"I'm honored," the chubby lady replied. "By the way, I'm Elena from the Netherlands bloodline."

Dan reciprocated Elena's introduction, saying, "I'm Jack Daniel, from the Vigoria bloodline."

"Nice to meet you, let's start already" Elena smiled widely as she drew out her staff and took an intimidating position, luring Dan to attack first.

"Haiiiiiiiii!" Dan rushed towards Elena aiming at Elena's staff to disarm her with his first strike. Surprisingly she blocked the attack instead and gave Dan a heavy kick on his leg, making him fall on his knee.

"Stand up," She said

Immediately Dan stood, she attacked again, but Dan was able to block it. The clashing of their staff echoed in the hall and every student who was training paused to watch them.

"Kiai!"

"Kiai!"

"Kiai!"

The staff moved like lightning, Dan taking a step backward each time Elena pressed forward with her staff.

"Your movement is improving," She said as she struck again.

"I know that dude, he's a loser," A teenager said from behind the crowds watching.

"And who are you?"

"I'm Frank, we attended the same high school, and I dealt with him seriously" Frank smiled faintly as he focused on the match.

"See, his energy has greatly reduced." Someone shouted.

"Elena is indeed a powerful fatty"

Dan looked away for a split second, and in that instant, Elena swiftly knocked his staff aside, disarming him. Dan tried to retrieve his staff, but before he could reach for it, Elena managed to sweep him off his feet and placed her staff on his chest signaling victory.

The hall erupted with shouts of excitement.

"Fatty!"

"Fatty!"

"Fatty!"

Elena smirked at those calling her fatty and left the martial hall.

"I can't believe I watched those two losers fight," someone said from the crowd.

Frank approached Dan with a wide smile and spat on his face. "You'll always be a loser," he taunted.

Dan gathered his belongings and hurriedly left the martial hall, unable to bear the mockery.

In Dan's room

Dan sat cross-legged in his room, examining the techniques his opponent had used against him.

"Aiyah!"

"swoof!"

And, boom! He was on the ground.

He began to recall Elena's movements, despite her size, she flowed like water, smoothly and swiftly maneuvering her body as she launched attacks against him.

"She used the Water Drop technique!" Dan exclaimed.

The Water Drop technique was categorized as a beginner-level martial skill. However, once mastered, it enables practitioners to effortlessly handle formidable opponents by employing swift and agile body movements, striking with lightning speed, and seizing opportunities to catch their enemies off guard.

After this realization, Dan delved into meditation, immersing himself in the study of the Water Drop technique. He believed this was the only way to defeat Mike Lawrence in their upcoming duel, considering Mike likely had a higher energy core level. As Dan became completely absorbed in his meditation, his energy core began to glow, emanating golden energies around his body. With each surge of energy, Dan tightened his fist and felt his heart racing as he struggled to fully comprehend the technique.

Ding

Dan opened his eyes in bewilderment and looked at his body with a gleeful smile

"Finally, the leap I needed…"