Energy Control

The door to the classroom opened and a very attractive woman entered. She had red hair and was carrying a tablet in her hands.

"What is the main difference between the four types of Nexum?" She placed the tablet on the table and began to draw four squares on the board. "Does anyone know the difference between them?"

Many hands went up, but not mine. The teacher scanned the class and chose a blue-haired boy who was sitting behind me.

"The abilities that one has in the mental palace," he replied somewhat uncertainly under the various gazes of the students.

"That's one of them, yes." The teacher nodded, causing the boy to sit down. She looked around the class again and asked, "Anyone else?"

This time only one girl raised her hand. I turned to the side just to see her sitting in the same row as me, two seats away.

Of all the people in this class, excluding my "sister," she was the only one I could say was familiar to me.

It would be a crime to describe her as just beautiful. She had long, straight hair that fell like black silk over her shoulders. Her features were delicate and defined, accentuated by bright black eyes that seemed to penetrate the soul of whoever looked at her. She wore the gray academy uniform with elegance and grace, standing out among the other students.

On her raised arm was her power scanner, which displayed four dark stars and one bright one.

She was Aria Blackwood, one of the strongest young people of today.

"The floor is yours, Miss Aria," the teacher ordered.

"The main difference between the four types of Nexum is the way their nexus energy manifests," she stood up when she noticed that the students were starting to pay more attention to her. "Each type of Nexum has its own way of manifesting and using energy."

"Good answer, albeit short," the teacher turned to the board and began to write the four types of Nexum inside each square.

"Each type of Nexum is unique in its own way. It's not just about the type of ability you'll be able to use in your mental palace, but how your energy behaves. The type of emission is not just about emitting energy from your hand or body, but about using your energy in a physical way," she explained. Then she raised her hand and a blue energy began to emanate from her.

"With this energy, you can use your ability," she continued as the energy spread throughout the room before turning into a water ball floating a few inches from her hand. "All of you are beginner Awakened, to make it clearer, you need to have 6 stars on your power scanner to be considered an intermediate Awakened."

She raised her arm showing 5 stars on her scanner. She extended her arm and pointed to the power scanner. On the device, only one of the five stars was glowing, indicating her current ability.

Suddenly, another star began to glow, and the instructor's energy began to increase. As each star lit up, her energy grew in intensity, emanating an intimidating aura that filled the room.

As I watched, amazed, the last three stars lit up on the power scanner. The instructor's energy was now so strong that her water ball, once small and modest, began to grow rapidly. In a few seconds, the water ball had expanded so much that it covered a large part of the wall and the board.

"What will differentiate the amount of power each star has is the purity of its nexus energy," she retracted her energy, making the large water ball shrink until it disappeared. "A person who has three total stars but their energy is only 20% pure, has a great chance of losing to a person who has one total star but their energy is 50% pure."

"The purification of your energy offers many benefits, but I won't explain everything again," said the instructor, rolling her eyes. "In our first class, we tested the purity of your energy, but today we have two new additions to the room."

She looked at me and Darya before continuing, "Could you come here next to me, please?"

Darya and I looked at each other before standing up and walking towards the instructor. As we approached, I could feel her energy pulsing with more intensity.

"Let's test the purity of your energy," said the instructor, taking a small device out of her pocket. "Place your hand on this."

I looked at Darya who seemed strangely calm in this situation. Having been worried about the purity of her energy all the time, it was strange for her to be so calm.

Ignoring her, I placed my hand on the device. I felt my nexus energy being sucked as a projection ascended above the device with a number floating.

'78%'

"Impressive," said the instructor.

I raised my eyes and looked at her, surprised. She seemed amazed.

"Your energy is quite pure. In fact, you are among the 30% of students with a purity above 70%."

I pulled my hand back as murmurs began throughout the room. I felt several pairs of eyes fall on me.

I swallowed hard, receiving a smile from Darya, who retracted my hand and placed hers on the device.

Darya stood in front of me, preventing me from seeing the result. I could only see the glow of the light the device emanated and the instructor's reaction.

She was dumbfounded, her eyes widening in surprise as she saw the number on the projection above the device.

"As expected of that guy's daughter..." she muttered, composing herself. Suddenly, euphoria took hold among the students.

"Look! She's just as good as Blackwood!"

"Wow! So we have another student with high purity!"

"This is incredible!"

"Congratulations, Miss Darya," said the instructor, with an expression of surprise and admiration. She put away the device and turned to us. "You are before a true prodigy. Darya is the third person in the history of the academy to achieve an energy purity above 90%. That is truly remarkable."

The information left me sincerely impressed.

I began to wonder if Darya would be the female protagonist of this story.

"However, do not become arrogant. Many people have potential, but few are capable of reaching their limit. How many people with potential have died because they became arrogant in this world?" warned the instructor, throwing a bucket of cold water over Darya's animated expression.

Then, the instructor pointed at Aria, who was sitting in her place.

"Furthermore, she also has a high percentage, just like yours," said the instructor, beaming at Aria. "We are blessed to have two people with so much potential in this era."

"Okay, sit down! Let's get back to the lesson." The instructor shouted, making both of us walk back to our seats.

*****

"The class is over. Have a good day, everyone." The teacher gathered her things and left the room.

I made some acquaintances in class, even though I paid close attention to everything the teacher said.

Classes at Espiral only lasted until 4 pm. After that, students were free to enjoy everything the academy had to offer.

Since class had been dismissed, students started leaving the room. Some crowded around Darya, who was answering everything with a smile on her face.

Even though my purity was also very high, it was completely overshadowed by Darya, so they didn't have the same reaction towards me.

"Well, for me," I thought as I grabbed my things and left the room.

The class was very productive for me and left me with some theories and ideas that I needed to put into practice. The problem was that I had lost the map of the academy and had no idea where to go.

So I started walking alone through the corridors, looking for help. Despite having several students walking back and forth, none seemed very inviting to talk to.

Until walking down the hallway, I had a somewhat unique vision.

A girl walked in silence and at her own pace, alone. As I watched the girl from behind, I noticed that she walked silently and at her own pace, completely alone. Her short blue hair was unmistakable, and her uniform was quite unique, very different from what the other girls wore at the academy. It was hard to say exactly what made her uniform different, but there was something about it that immediately caught the attention.

But what caught my attention the most were the people who passed by her. Everyone avoided her or made way for her, some with fear and others with admiration on their faces. It was as if she had some kind of intimidating, yet magnetic aura that made her impossible to ignore. Even from behind, I could feel her strong and intriguing presence.

"I might as well try." I thought, speeding up my pace.

"Hey, you with the blue hair!" I shouted, hoping she could hear me and stop.

And it worked.

She turned to me and stared at me with a strange expression. Dozens of students around her also stopped to observe.

"Do you know where the training field is?" I asked, hesitantly in front of her reaction.

The girl was silent, carefully analyzing me. Now that I saw her face-to-face, I couldn't help but be impressed by her appearance.

"Your short blue hair was unique, and your uniform was quite different from what the other girls wore. Your eyes were the same color as your hair, and your skin was smooth and delicate. Your expressions conveyed strength and confidence, but somehow, even with the confused and cautious expression, she had an air of inexplicable kindness.

"You don't know?" I furrowed my brow when I sighed and looked around. "Damn, I'll have to ask these weirdos."

I had nothing against the rest of the people, just the way they were staring at me was... uncomfortable.

"I know," the girl replied. Turning to face her, she still had a cautious expression. "It's just strange that you don't know."

"Yeah... I arrived today." I scratched my head a little embarrassedly. "And I kind of lost my map."

She raised an eyebrow and then let out a long sigh. "I'm heading there, just follow me." And she started walking again.

"Great!" I replied, watching her walk. "By the way, my name is Kian."

I shouted, running and walking alongside her. She looked at me again with a strange expression, as if walking beside her was a strange thing.

She turned to me, and for the first time, I noticed a different sparkle in her blue eyes. "Anna Delacroix," she said, emphasizing her last name.

"Anna Delacroix," I repeated, trying to remember her name. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Anna."

We walked in silence for some time, and I realized that Anna was feeling uncomfortable. She occasionally looked at me with a strange expression.

"So, why do people avoid you?" I asked, curious. "Are you the strongest girl in this place or something?"

Anna immediately stopped walking, looking surprised at my question.

"You don't know who I am?" she asked, uncertain.

"I have no idea," I replied, confused by her reaction.

She seemed shocked by my response, but didn't show sadness or disappointment.

"Are you serious!?" she exclaimed.

"Yes, why?" I replied.

She started walking again, murmuring: "You're weird."

"I hear that often," I joked, walking beside her.

From that moment on, the mood seemed to change. Anna became more open and friendly, and we chatted animatedly until we arrived at the training field. We said goodbye there and went our separate ways.

The training field was a spacious and open area, surrounded by a high and sturdy fence. The green and tall grass covered the entire ground, providing a natural mat for training and fights. There were several areas marked with white lines, each seeming to serve a different purpose. Some students were practicing martial arts in one corner, while others ran around the field with weights in their hands. There was a training area with punching bags hanging, as well as a space for weightlifting. In another corner, a group of students were training in a large combat cage.

I stepped away from the commotion and walked to a more isolated corner of the field. There, the grass was taller and the space felt more calm and private. Feeling the fresh wind on my face, I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. It was good to be in a place like this, where I could train and challenge myself intensely and freely.