Chapter 63 - The first week

With the practice session now over, I make my way outside of the white room. I glance at my schedule to ascertain that I have no more reason to stay, and decide to head back to the dorms. I try to look for the others, but with the outpour of students, I judge that I am better off waiting at the main entrance. With that thought, I make my way towards it. I climb onto the elevator and promptly reach the ground floor. There, alongside a few other students, I head towards the large entrance. As I exit through the front doors, I see Ivana engaged in conversation with another trainee. I can overhear them from where I stand. 

"Haha! You and I should hang out during our next vacation, Miss Ivana!"

".... Yeah, I'll think about it" says Ivana dismissively.

"Both of our families are quite affluent, building a relationship will be great!"

"Sure, sure, why don't we talk about this some other time?"

He raises the arm where his watch is attached.

"Yes! if you could just give me your personal contact information, then it would be easier to stay in touch!"

Ivana's face contorts when the trainee pulls out his watch to take down the information. As if looking for an escape from this situation, she observes her surroundings. From the corner of her eye, she spots me. 

"Alden! I'm so happy to see you!"

'...Are you?'

She hastily walks towards me, leaving the other trainee behind. Once she stands right in front of me, she attempts to start a conversation.

"So, how did you find the class? What task did they give you?"

The trainee tries to insert himself into the conversation. It appears his self-esteem has taken a bit of a hit upon witnessing Ivana's clear change of mood when she saw me.

"M-Miss Ivana, about the contact information…"

She snaps at him while she clutches my arm. Her body is pressed against mine and she shoots daggers at the trainee with her eyes. 

"Can't you see I'm talking to my friend?"

Baffled by the implication of her words, the trainee gives me a look of fury, ready to start an altercation. He must be wondering who this man is that is preventing him from getting Ivana's number. I also do not doubt that he believes he can impress her by intimidating me. However, before he can do so, a look of realization forms on his face. His eyes expand wide and he stumbles over his own words.

"Y-you're…!!"

It is not difficult to understand his reaction. I imagine he has caught wind of my reputation, as apparently many people have. Drops of cold sweat begin dripping from the side of his face, and he takes a few steps backwards. He looks around for help, but there is no one here to assist him. Finally admitting defeat, he offers a polite nod to Ivana and runs off. I turn to her and she looks at me with a mischievous smile. I'm certain she did this because she knew he would not have the guts to confront me. I speak to Ivana who is still clutching onto my arm.

"Was that really necessary?"

"Uh , yes? You should have heard what he was thinking about me."

I raise an eyebrow.

"...That bad?"

"That bad"

She lets go of me and begins walking away. When she realizes that I am not following, she turns around to question me.

"Are you coming or what?"

"Are we not waiting for the others?"

She puts up four fingers to account for everyone else. "Alex and Zora have class, Vivi too, and I saw Adam leave already. He looked a bit off, so I didn't try to get him to wait for you."

Understanding that there is no point in waiting any longer, I reach Ivana's side and head for our mountain peak. We travel at a slow pace because we know what awaits us once we arrive. More training, as always. Most likely, Maestro Lauren is waiting for those who have finished their classes with an enthusiastically prepared training regimen. 

As we stroll through the forest, we make conversation. Eventually, we get onto the subject of the class we've just had. Curious, Ivana asks me about my task.

"So, what are you supposed to do for the next month?"

I scratch the back of my head.

"They told me the way I use my shield may be easier for me, but it's inefficient. I'm supposed to learn to keep it manifested for longer periods of time."

"Hmm, but then won't it just stay in one place? That sounds very inconvenient."

"Well, actually no, I can move it."

She looks at me, slightly confused. I cannot blame her, she must be wondering why I have never done it before. She squints her eyes and questions me.

"You could do that this whole time? Why-"

I do not give her time to finish her sentence.

"It's very difficult, especially while in combat, to move it around. It's like I'm controlling a whole new limb on top of the four I already have. I'm just not comfortable doing it while fighting yet."

A look of understanding forms of her face, but is then quickly replaced by another one. She looks at me, squints her eyes again, and strokes her chin. It appears she is imagining some sort of scenario in her mind.

"People can use your shield as a platform to jump on, right? I'm pretty sure I remember VIvi saying something like that" She asks.

"Right."

"And,as you just confirmed, you can also move it around, right?"

"Sure, yes"

"Then, can't you fly? I mean, get on your shield, and move it around. It'd be like flying, no?"

Her train of thought is completely logical. Unfortunately, it is a possibility that I have already tested. The first time I attempted to stand atop my shield, it ended up bringing me along in its fall and caused me to smash my nose against the cold dirt. I explain to Ivana that the shield is like an extra limb in every sense of the term. In the same way that I can not lift myself by pulling on my legs, I cannot fly using my shield. Sure, someone else could be transported a short distance, but considering its rather short range of a few meters, there would not be much use in that. I must admit however, being able to fly would have been unbelievably cool. Ivana sighs in disappointment at my answer. I roll my eyes and ask her about her own challenge in the class for the next month. She lets out an even bigger sigh.

"Sigh… I can't even use my [melody] while fighting the golems. They don't think of me, or anything for that matter, they're most likely automated."

"Hmm yeah, that makes sense. Are they going to change your exercise or something?"

Her head snaps to face me and she nearly jumps with anger.

"That's the problem, they're not!! After I explained my abilities to him, Professor Quill found it strange that I don't have to touch people to hear their thoughts when they are about me. So now he's convinced there must be a reason, my task is to find that reason!"

I scratch the side of my head.

"That's definitely, more of an… abstract goal." 

I pat her shoulder and give her my best thumbs up.

 "... Good luck though! And don't worry! I'll make sure to send you letters from the outside if you can't figure it out by the time of graduation!"

She swats my hand away and I see fire burning in her eyes. I want to tease her more as revenge, but I decide not to push my luck any further. In an attempt to calm her down, I switch the conversation to a different topic as we make our way to our dorms. Upon our arrival, as expected, Maestro Lauren is waiting, ready to make us suffer. Maestro Lauren makes sure everyone trains for the same amount of time, hence, I do not get to see any of the others besides Ivana before crashing onto my bed. That night, I go to bed feeling more tired than usual. The classes on top of the afternoon training is an entire new level of physical work. I hope to get used to it soon. 

The next morning, the routine repeats itself. I wash up, eat in the now rowdy kitchen, and head to my courses. The only new mandatory class today is the history class. This one is exactly what I expect it to be. The lecture starts with the Professor giving a short geography reminder. He quickly goes over the nations present on the three continents. 

His explanation goes as such: On the western most one, ours, lies the northern alliance consisting of Melodica, Armonika and Lyranthia, in the northern region of the continent. Then, there is the Sonatara Empire which dominates the south by itself. On the easternmost continent reside the citizens of a plethora of smaller nations who have recently united under the banner of the Choralia coalition, feeling threatened by the Empire's military might. Finally, the center most continent, which is in reality a narrow piece of land surrounding a massive lake, is the domain of a single person. Every entity living within its expanse, is under the rule of one of the Octave; Zephyra Fa Maryvale, the siren queen. None of this is new information, but the Professor claims that it is always good to have reminders.

Following this short introduction, he proceeds to explain the curriculum. According to him, we will go through different world events in different areas, but will be looking at them through the lens of the [enlightened] rather than the ordinary. I must admit that it sounds interesting, but I do not think I will ever be excited to come to this one in the morning. When class time comes to an end, I cannot help but feel somewhat relieved. This is the only one that feels like a 'regular' class and as such, is the most boring. If it wasn't for the fact that we are required to pass every class without exception to graduate from DaiKar, I might have considered using the time to do more productive things, such as sleeping maybe. 

I exit the room and head towards the cafeteria to eat with everyone. I eat the exact same thing I did yesterday, deciding not to test out new items on the menu. The discussion at the dinner table is once again heated. When lunch ends, I head towards one of my complementary classes on the use of pureflow beyond combat, which I am especially looking forward to. Surprisingly, Zora and Alex are also taking it, thus, we decide to head there together. However, before we can reach the class, we receive a message on our watches.

[Due to an unforeseen incident, the intended Professors for PURE F2-2 and INST M2-1 will not be able to teach the course. New ones will be selected promptly, until then, the class will not be given. Please await further notice.]

'Of course it just happens to be both of my classes that are canceled…'

Zora speaks with disappointment.

"Aw man, I was looking forward ta this!!!"

"Yeah, bummer. Let's head back?" I say while closing the message.

Zora's shoulders slump and she pouts. "Sure…"

We return to our peak and face the Maestro's Grueling training once more.

The week passes by in a flash and it is now time for the weekly Showdowns. We are all made to go towards the room with the immersion pods and, once again, Zora cannot contain her excitement. She jumps from pod to pod, unable to select one. Eventually, Alex taps her on the shoulder, and points to one he has deemed suitable for her. Surprisingly, after a thorough inspection, she is content with it, and sets in. Once the scene ends, I head towards Sylvia and she offers a bright smile upon noticing me.

"Good luck in your battles, Alden!"

"I'd say the same to you but I'm sure you don't need it."

I extend my first towards her.

"Go kick some ass." I say.

She looks down at my fist, then looks back up at me. "Pfft, That saying is a bit vulgar, don't you think?"

I mockingly place my free hand in front of my mouth. "Oh, right! Please forgive me Lady FullCastle!!"

She chuckles softly. A few seconds pass and an awkward silence forms as I wait for her to hit my fist with hers. She looks me in the eyes and tilts her head to the side, as if waiting for me to say something. I slightly wave my fist which is still extended towards her. She looks down, confused. I raise an eyebrow as I talk to her.

"Uh… Fist bump?" I say.

"Oh! Right! It's just, I don't usually do things like that."

"... You don't fist bump?"

"Not usually, but maybe I should start!"

She performs the fist bump with strange… elegance, and I bid her farewell as I head towards a pod of my own. I set in, the lid closes and the immersion begins. However, a screen different from last time is displayed before me.