Professor Gemstone and the First Knight. (8)

The training hall was impressive. The training grounds were even more impressive.

Ezera was standing on the side, as he had promised Dereck he would as not to put himself in danger. The distance didn't mean his eye was anyless open, of course, and he was attentive to everything that happened in the hall.

He wouldn't waste his time trying to describe what all the geats and installments were for, because for at least half of them he had no idea.

Dereck had arranged the students in a large half-circle in front of him. He was standing in the hall, leaning on his giant sword. Explaining.

"To most of our World's inhabitants, having a Grace and knowing how to use it is inherent to our daily life since birth. It is easier to situate yourself in a space where everybody also use their Grace without hesitation all around you. That said, the use of Graces is restricted in the Palace grounds, which is why you haven't seen flying fishes yet. "

Ezera narrowed his eyes. The edge of his lips pulling up. That... Probably hadn't been a joke.

"The only notable exposure you will have will be inside these grounds, and will not leave it until I say so. But that does not mean you won't improve. As long as you listen to me, you will soon know what is adequate – and what is not – to help you deepen the harmony between your energy flux and that of the world."

Was he speaking about what the children had called 'leveling-up'?

Hymei raised her hand. That seemed to do the trick.

"What is it?"

"Why do people have Graces?"

Dereck turned to her, frowning as if deep in thought.

"You should see him like that. As souls created with the same energy as that which created our three suns, we all have this flux of energy. But it is only accessible to us in this carnal form because our body also have a natural reservoir. In a way, you can say yours were filled with nothing but your own energy back in your World. But now that you're here, the energy of the land in the sky invaded your body to make you more atuned with it. That's what we call the Grace."

Hymei nodded.

"And by deepening your harmony with the energy of the world, I mean that you should exercise your gift to harmonise yourself- let me give you an exemple. The person with the Grace 'Hunter' kills a rabbit. The energy of the rabbit dissipates, but not before a part of it is attracted into your own flux. Once integrated to it, you've deepened your understanding of your Grace and the flux of the world will be more open to you."

He smiled ruefully.

"Do not worry yourselves, though. None of us are hunters, and we are not going to kill animals or people as training. Nonethess, I will show you how to fight. That means helping you understand what kind of tool corresponds to your Grace, how to use it, correcting your fighting stance, and train you to improve the quantity and quality of energy levels you can handle using."

Basically, 'I'll help you level up'.

Ezera didn't like the reminder his pupils might have to kill people eventually. He wouldn't even let them close from a hunting ground if he could. He remembered how the last time went.

"There are certain actions that should become reflexe for you, starting from now. Is there a scribe amidst you? Come closer."

Helene looked around. Lucas gave her an encouraging nod. She walked up to three feet away from the instructor. That placed her in the middle of the room.

"You, girl- what's your name?"

"Helene."

"Alright Helene. You have a particular skill as a Scribe which is impressive, for a Grace as relatively passive as yours. Open your Grace's status."

He looked at all of them.

"The blue transparent window you've probably opend at least once since you've arrived is the status of your Grace. All of its data is registered under number figures, which I should warn you are sometimes highly innacurate. This system is not innate to your Grace, instead it is one that has been developped by our researchers over three centuries ago, and can only be used if you have registered on the tool that the priest used on you yesterday."

He turned back to Helene.

"Look at it carefully. Can you see the skill named Memorize ? Try to use it on me when I swing my sword in front of me."

He took about two steps back, prepared his strike, then swung his paladin sword with all the strength of an experienced veteran. The strike propulsed the air around them, even Ezera could feel it from where he was, thirty feet away.

More importantly. Helene's eyes were glowing violet.

"O-Oh," she stuttered, when her eyes stopped glowing.

"Did you suceed?" asked Dereck knowingly.

"Um, yes. It's like... I didn't know that move, and now I know it. It like I recorded it and I'll be able to recognize it later."

Dereck wordlessly span back into a fighting stance, seemingly preparing something.

"What do you feel now?"

"I feel... I know you will do the same attack."

"Correct. Your skill, Memorise will enable you to catalogue your opponent's skills, recognize when they'll next be used, and with enough training you'll also know how to evade or counter the skills. You won't be able to do thel yourself though. For this reason, the scribe is a really important part of a team's dynamics while in a fight. I'm sure you can all understand why. Activating that skill whenever you can should be made an instinct. You can train on yourself."

He directed her to the main group, before declaring.

"You'll be training your most basic skill for today, even if it is only to swing a sword or throw arrows at targets. You have to familiarize yourself with your weapons, and learn how to move with it. That's very important. Take place in the hall. I'll come see you to talk to you about your Grace's specificities. The sniper and the archer? What're the names?"

"Suzuka."

"Ashera, sir."

"Suzuka and Ashera, you'll both be in front of the target. The assassin too, I want them to learn how to throw a dagger."

Yuga followed behind Suzuka and Ashera, looking sufficiently intrigued. Ezera wouldn't need to worry about him causing trouble today.

Ezera watched as his students were guided toward each part of the hall, taking equipment and working on hitting invisible targets or, sometimes, real wooden mannequins.

By the time all of them had been placed and started working, Ezera realized one of them had been left out.

"I'm sorry boy, what's your name?"

"Ming, sir."

"Ming. I have no expertise with training draconic masters, you probably know better than me what you should work on. What is it you can do?"

"... Climb?"

Ezera smiled. So that was how Ming had managed to return to his dorm without alerting the guards. Ming must have already been a nimble climber. Dereck frowned thoughtfully.

"Anything else?"

"Mn... Jump. And... Smell."

"I see. Alright, Ming. Tomorrow, I'll get half the class in the forest, how about we train you there ? For the mean time, you can observe or stay with your professor."

Oh. Ming looked dejected. Ezera motioned him closer as soon as Dereck left to check on Alexandra with the punching bag.

"Don't look so sad, kiddo," he said once Ming was in front of him. "You'll miss the spectacle. I don't know what Shanon is doing, but it looks like she wants to make the wall explode."

Ming frowned confusedly, turning about to look at his classmate at the far end of the hall. The cold beauty that was Shanon was glaring at the wall like it had personally wronged her, hitting it repeatedly with her wooden staff.

There were actual cracks in the stone.

Ming: "..."

Ezera sweatdropped.

"I may not know a lot about that kind of thing but if I recall, aren't shamans supposed to be sage, pacifist nature whisperers? What did that wall do to her?"

"Shanon has... always been very strong."

"I can see that. I guess the nature of those Graces don't always match the person's caracteristics."

Ezera smiled when he saw Ming do the same. Mission: cheer up Ming, successful.

"Mh. As a shaman, she'll probably have to make that fieldtrip in the forest too. Ilun might too, since he's a tamer. I can think of a couple others too. It'll be fine."

He ruffled the boy's hair, earning himself a flinch and a half-hearted glare. Ezera carefully ignored the former reaction, and smiled innocently at the latter.

"Alright. Let's make sure Yuga hasn't driven one of those wooden daggers in his eye, yet, shall we?"

All in all, this day was going well.