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C298 - Crowd

The walk with Cora was uneventful. Khan teased her a bit, and she stole a hug before reaching the entrance of her dormitory, but that was it. Khan could hurry back to his flat afterward, and his rumbling stomach saved him from falling prey to his messy thoughts.

Khan wolfed four cans of food before moving his focus on his purchases. He had already skimmed through them while he was with Captain Goldmon, but now he had the chance to test them.

The "advanced perception" and "advanced control" were training programs featuring different exercises meant for their specific topic. They would work on two of the three fundamental aspects of the Niqols' approach to mana but from the human's perspective.

The different approach had both negative and positive aspects. Humankind didn't treat the mana like the Niqols. Their understanding and general consideration of that energy were relatively shallow, so the training programs wouldn't reach the same depths that Khan had seen on Nitis.

However, that shallow approach also involved a broadness that would allow Khan to gain benefits in more than those two fields. He had even confirmed that part when he was at the bar with the Captain.

The "advanced perception" involved exercises that the Niqols put in the control field, and the "advanced control" did the same with the manipulation of mana. In theory, Khan would work on the entirety of his foundation, which was exactly what he desired.

It was far past ten pm by the time Khan finished eating. The next day would see him hosting his first lesson, but he would have the entire morning and most of the afternoon free. He had enough time to recover from every hellish schedule that he decided to pursue, and the training camp even offered him the chance to go truly all-out.

'I shouldn't skip sleeping entirely tonight,' Khan concluded after reviewing his opportunities. 'Yet, I can't waste eight hours like that either.'

Khan almost couldn't help himself as he pressed on the first exercise of the "advanced perception" and began to perform it. The training made him imagine the edges of his senses as a sphere that he had to expand by sending tiny tendrils past those limits.

The exercise was efficient, even if it didn't reach the levels of [The Pure Trees]. His senses expanded extremely slowly, but they went past their limits, and that was more than what he was achieving without a proper training method.

Khan didn't remain stuck in the exercise for too long. He went to the next one after half an hour and found something that far different requirements and tasks. The training program asked him to focus on a single large spot at his senses' edges and push it forward.

Khan didn't take long to grow used to the exercise, so he quickly moved to the next one. The training program wanted him to imagine a series of spikes pressing on his senses' edges, but he mastered that part in no time too.

The "advanced perception" suffered from an issue that Khan had predicted even before deciding to purchase it. The training program was the best he could find for soldiers at his level, but it used human standards to set its difficulty.

The first exercises were too easy for Khan, which was the reason behind his skimming through them. He wanted to find the training that suited his level before putting the program inside his schedule.

The following exercises were harder versions of the first three. Khan had to imagine more tendrils, larger spots, or denser spikes, but he completed all of them after a few tries.

The difficulties arrived when the training program asked Khan to fuse the three types of exercises. He had to imagine tendrils, spikes, and large spots at the same time, and his many failures made him smile. He had finally found his starting point.

Midnight had passed by then, but Khan didn't hit the bed. He moved to the "advanced control" to repeat the process, but he felt disappointed to see that the initial exercises were even easier there.

The matter made sense when Khan considered humankind's approach to mana. Control over that energy was a skill that the humans didn't need to nurture since it was easier to master a single technique or spell.

Still, Khan wasn't a normal human. He even felt that his attachment to his species had done nothing but waver during the last year. He wanted his general ability to control mana to be far above the average, and the same went for the manipulation field.

Luckily for Khan, some of the last exercises of the training program turned out to be pretty tough. Khan had to create intricate diagrams around him with his mana and make them rotate in the air. Their movements also had to change from time to time, and their complexity affected the exercise's outcome.

Khan even made it harder for himself. The exercises in the "advanced control" involved a bit of the manipulation field since he had to condense the mana to increase its stability. However, he also decided to alter its nature while he made the diagrams rotate to make the training more complete.

It was deep into the night when Khan found the starting point for both training programs. He didn't feel sleepy, but he forced himself to hit the bed. Still, he set the alarm so that he would wake up by dawn.

The nightmare didn't last long, and Khan jumped out of bed as soon as the alarm rang. He had a lot to do and try out, and he didn't forget the lesson that would arrive later in the afternoon.

To Khan's surprise, his phone had three different messages. One came from Cora in the form of a simple "good morning", another from Amber teasing him about Cora, and the last from the Global Army, which confirmed the total refund for the purchase of the Tainted ape.

Khan had learnt how things worked with Credits. He left his flat and reached one of the consoles placed near the central area of the camp to withdraw the money from the refund. He saw his finances getting close to thirty thousand Credits again, but the event created no happiness or satisfaction in his mind. It only confirmed that the Global Army would support him fully for now.

It was too early for the training camp to get crowded, but Khan met a few recruits willing to make the best out of their day. Those boys and girls performed military salutes whenever Khan crossed their paths, but he only nodded at them since most of his attention was on his phone.

Cora wanted to meet for a few minutes while Amber kept probing about last night's events. Khan couldn't refuse the former after his promise, so the two met in the canteen and enjoyed a peaceful breakfast. As for Amber, Khan didn't mind talking with her, but he never revealed too many details.

Khan found it funny that his only two friends in the camp woke up as early as him, but the matter didn't bother him. Amber only wanted to have a laugh, and Cora would die rather than become a hindrance for him. The conversation with Amber ended after a few messages, and Cora went on her way happily after the breakfast was over.

'Now,' Khan exclaimed in his mind as he watched Cora disappearing in the distance.

The phone quickly appeared in his hand, and his fingers tapped the screen until they reached the map of the camp. Khan didn't hesitate to head for the training halls. He had every intention to spend most of his day there.

More recruits began to appear on the camp's streets, but most failed to perform their military salute before Khan walked past them. He was basically running, and his destination was his favorite place in the world.

A few short buildings eventually unfolded in his vision. Reebfell's camp had three structures featuring multiple training halls. The quality, type, and purpose of those spaces changed slightly from room to room, but Khan had already made up his mind about his destination.

Khan went into the second building, which contained the elite versions of the training halls for soldiers at his level. He picked the only area with stats that could meet his requirements. His status as a chaos wielder gave him a stark advantage toward technology in general, so he had to choose something capable of enduring his mana.

The training hall opened as soon as Khan placed his phone on its entrance. The interactive floor activated, but a few menus remained dark. When he put his phone in its the designed spot on the wall, more options appeared, but they had a price attached.

'I'm indeed too poor to spend all my time here,' Khan concluded after evaluating the options in his mind.

The training halls were expensive, especially when it came to programs that allowed spells and similar powerful techniques. Moreover, Khan's status as a chaos wielder had only worsened the situation.

Still, Khan could benefit from multiple discounts. He was a Lieutenant, a Professor, and the winner of Onia's tournaments. He could see the original price of those programs, but their cost went down by more than half due to his status.

The discounts weren't enough to make the training halls affordable. Khan had a monthly income of one thousand and five hundred Credits, but using those services at their fullest would cost him around four hundred and fifty Credits each week. He wouldn't be able to save anything if he decided to go all-out. Yet, he could settle for a schedule that prevented him from going broke.

Of course, that was his first day there, so he tested the best program that money could buy. Khan ended up facing multiple reinforced puppets made from an alloy resistant to mana. Those dummies could perform different martial arts, and they even knew how to apply simple battle tactics that made use of their superior numbers.

The battles were harsh. Khan saw his seemingly unstoppable spells being unable to destroy his opponents in a single blow. Even his knife often failed to shut them down, but the Divine Reaper wasn't to blame. The puppets didn't have weak points, so cutting their heads or opening large cracks in their chests didn't interrupt their offensive.

Khan obviously lost himself in the mana around him. His experience in the city allowed him to grow used to the synthetic energy inside the puppets quickly, so he could stop thinking in no time and bathe in the feeling of having worthy opponents.

A soldier brought Khan lunch directly in the training hall, so he never left the area until his phone rang to inform him that his time was up. His lesson would start in a few hours, and that required him to handle a few matters to prepare it.

Khan returned to his flat, showered, and responded to the messages that had arrived on his phone. The soldiers tasked with the maintenance of his Tainted animal knew that his lesson was approaching, so they contacted him to complete the last preparations.

The meeting happened near the building that would hold Khan's lesson. He needed a vast and reinforced hall due to the size of the Tainted ape, and the training camp had something suitable near its edges. It took him a while to reach that place, but everything went smoothly afterward.

Three soldiers moved a large cage covered by thick dark fabrics inside a building that resembled a hangar. The place was clean, but it lacked the sophisticated features of the halls in the central parts of the camp. Yet, it was perfect for Khan, so he didn't complain.

"Are you sure that you don't need help, sir?" The leader of the squad that had moved the cage asked after making their vehicle place the item in the corner of the hangar.

"You can remain in the area," Khan responded while taking a peek under the fabrics, "But I should be more than enough on my own."

The Tainted ape didn't like being kept in the darkness, but the arrival of the artificial light in the hangar angered it even more. The creature immediately leaped ahead, but the transparent metal of its entrance endured the blow perfectly.

'Good cage,' Khan commented in his mind before letting the structure be.

The soldiers performed a military salute and left Khan alone in the hangar. His lesson would start in less than an hour, so he sat next to the cage and began to meditate. As for the alarms, he didn't set any.

Presences began to enter the range of his senses as he meditated. Khan saw a young crowd gathering inside the hangar, even if he kept his eyes closed. People seemed to flow endlessly, but they stopped entering the building after a few minutes.

Khan waited a few more minutes before interrupting his meditation and straightening his position. The Tainted ape had slammed its head on the transparent part of the cage a few times while the recruits had gathered, and the event had naturally startled them, but Khan's awakening claimed the entirety of their attention.

'So many,' Khan couldn't help but think as his stern gaze moved among the anxious recruits. All of them tried to keep their eyes fixed on him, but many ended up looking at the floor during the inspection.

A quarter of the hangar was full of recruits, which messed up Khan's plans, but he quickly found a solution. He reached his phone and opened one of the long walls. The well-kept lawns of the training camp unfolded in everyone's view, but all the recruits turned toward Khan as soon as he cleared his throat.

"Okay, raise your hand if you have read my profile," Khan ordered in an aloof voice.

Everyone raised their arms, and Khan expected as much. The sheer number of recruits in the hangar was a direct consequence of his fame.

"Well, we can skip the presentations then," Khan said in a loud voice as he laid his back on the dark wall. His eyes fell on one of the recruits who didn't divert his gaze before he voiced another order. "You, can you tell me why you are here?"

The sudden question startled the young man. He inspected his surroundings to make sure that Khan had really pointed at him, but he couldn't find any way out of that situation. He performed a military salute, cleared his throat, and shouted his idea loudly. "We are here to learn how to fight, sir!"

"Wrong," Khan stated, and despair appeared on the young man's face.

"Let's make this clear now so you won't complain if you decide to stay," Khan continued. "All of you know how to fight. I bet that some are close to reaching the competent proficiency level, while others might be only one step away from mastering their first spell. Many of you even have experienced masters at your disposal."

Everyone remained silent. Some recruits understood what Khan wanted to say, but they didn't say anything.

"Still, almost all of you wouldn't be able to apply what you have learnt in an actual battle, let alone a war," Khan revealed. "Istrone has proven that a crisis can fall on you at any time and place, and it's my job to make sure that you are ready for it."

Khan sighed before continuing. "I won't hide that my classes will be dangerous. I'll do everything in my power to make you experience the fear that only a real battlefield can provide. You will get hurt, so get out if you aren't willing to go through that."

The recruits steeled their faces and tensed their bodies to remain as still as possible. They wanted to show their determination and confidence, but that sight didn't impress Khan.

"Very well," Khan exclaimed while approaching the cage. "I'll give you another chance to leave before the beginning of the lesson. Today you'll have one versus one fights against this creature."

Khan pulled the fabrics and uncovered the cage. The Tainted ape appeared in everyone's view, and its angry screams filled their minds with fear.

"This creature can kill you," Khan announced. "There is no point hiding it.. I'm the only one in this hall capable of defeating it, and I'll also be the only one coming to your aid once you get overwhelmed. So, do you still want to stay?"

To be continued