Blade Of Life Energy:The Outcasts

8

After mealtime, everyone began dispersing to their respective classrooms. Manas approached Erik and said, "Your class should be Class A, near the entrance of the main building."

Erik thanked him and headed toward the main building. As he stepped outside, a light rain began to fall, so he quickened his pace and continued on his way.

He arrived at his classroom, which was arranged in an amphitheater style. He now understood why the ceiling was so high.

He was the first to arrive. He quickly took a seat near the back and began to wait. Gradually, other students started coming in. Among those who entered through the door was Kayn, followed by the girl named Hela. Erik felt annoyed and muttered to himself, wondering why he ended up in the same class as these fools.

Shortly after everyone arrived, an instructor entered the room. He was a tall, handsome young man with brown hair.

He walked to the center, greeted everyone, and said in a cheerful voice, "Welcome to the Life Energy Usage class. I am Dersan, the energy specialist, and I will be showing you the fundamental use of life energy. After this class, you will successively attend hunting, weapons handling, magical monster identification, and medicinal herbs classes. Finally, each of you will head to different classes according to your hunter category—except for the Nameless. Kayn, you will be receiving lessons directly from Principal Sadan.

Except for the Nameless, everyone else must develop their own technique within 5 years to be eligible for graduation.

Additionally, attendance in the medicinal herbs class is not mandatory.

Now that I have explained everything, let us begin the lesson. The source of life energy is our soul. Using life energy enables you to become far stronger and more durable than a normal human being. First, I will show you how to release this power. Stand up from your seats and gather around me."

When all the students gathered around him, Dersan spoke up, "To release life energy, visualize it emerging from your heart and allowing it to spread throughout your entire body." Suddenly, green smoke began to emanate around Dersan. Erik thought to himself, "So he is a Solidifier."

According to what he had heard, Solidifiers could shape and direct life energy into various forms, such as a monster composed of life energy or a giant arm.

Dersan looked at the students and said, "This is what you will learn to release today. Now, line up and try it yourselves."

Everyone lined up and began trying by following the instructor's instructions.

Erik closed his eyes and began to feel his heart. His connection to the outside world was nearly severed, hearing nothing except the beating of his heart. Then he imagined his power emerging from his heart. When warmth enveloped his entire body, he opened his eyes and noticed that his energy had indeed released. He was the first person in the advanced class to achieve this. He noticed everyone looking at him with envious eyes.

If a normal person had done this, they would have received congratulations from everyone. But for one of the Nameless, things were different. Shortly after, Hela and Kayn also achieved it, and as expected, everyone began congratulating them. Toward the end of the lesson, just as he thought only the three of them had succeeded, another girl managed to do it. She was a very beautiful girl with blonde hair.

Erik remembered seeing her previously in the group Kayn was in; he recalled her name was Nina.

She was radiating smiles all around. Erik was quite taken with this girl, but he quickly brushed the thought aside. He believed that girls like her only brought trouble. Such actions could draw unwanted attention to him, making him a target. Moving under the radar was the right choice for him. He knew he shouldn't stand out ahead of the others during lessons.

After class ended, they were given a 10-minute break. Taking advantage of this, Erik placed his head on the desk to rest. At that moment, he felt someone touching his head. He raised his head and looked around; it was Nina. Seeing that Erik had woken up, she startled and pulled back, saying, "Um, there was something on your head, so I took it off." Erik said, "Thank you," and placed his head back on the desk, hoping to himself that it was as she said, otherwise he seemed to be in trouble.

Suddenly struck on the head by a fist, Erik went into shock and couldn't control his emotions. He began looking around, his eyes searching for the culprit. It was Kayn, who was showing off his power to his new friends and had used life energy when delivering the punch. Erik got up from his desk and started walking toward Kayn, having lost control; he was acting purely on impulse with an expression on his face as if he were still asleep.

Hela blocked Erik's path and said, "So you want another beating?" and landed a punch right on his face. Erik didn't step back even an inch, even though his face was covered in blood. Seeing this, Hela threw another punch, but Erik caught her fist, grabbed her arm, and threw her against the wall. Before Hela could even comprehend what was happening, she crashed through the desks and slammed into the wall. Erik continued advancing toward Kayn. No one else dared to stand in his way. Fear filled Kayn's heart; despite knowing Erik for years, he had never seen anything like this... He was a total monster.

Erik grabbed Kayn by the head and slammed his face into the desk. Kayn tried to break free from Erik's grip, but it seemed impossible. Erik's body felt completely stone-like, devoid of any pain or emotion. Leaning into Kayn's ear, Erik whispered, "Don't be such a coward, the nightmare has just begun."

Right as he finished his words, he lost consciousness and collapsed to the floor.

When he opened his eyes, he realized he was still in the classroom. The person waiting by his side was Nina. Her blonde hair and beautiful eyes made Erik feel as though he was still in a dream.

"What happened to me?" he asked.

Nina replied with a bewildered look, "Do you really not remember what happened?"

In a low voice, she added, "A fight broke out. You beat up Kayn and Hela. After you passed out, they tried to kill you, but I didn't let them."

Erik couldn't believe what he heard. He quickly stood up and looked around. Noticing that he was awake, Kayn and Hela promptly walked over to him.

He was surprised to see both of them approaching together. Kayn spoke in an angry voice, "If we weren't within the academy grounds, I would have killed you. You will pay for this humiliation!" After Hela uttered similar threats, they returned to their seats.

Erik understood that it was his turn to speak. Addressing the crowd surrounding Kayn, he raised his voice, "The kid you think is strong was actually a helpless slave until 2 days ago. I am the person who saved him from his miserable life. Now do you see what an ungrateful and despicable person he is? He is the type of person who would even betray the one who saved his life. If I were you, I would be careful about being friends with him."

Erik stopped talking and returned to his seat, leaving the others stunned by what they had just heard.

A short while later, the hunting instructor arrived, introduced himself in a similar manner, and gave information about the class. The day went by quickly.

It was time for the medicinal herbs class. Since it was not mandatory, everyone else in the classroom had left. Erik, unlike the others, was curious about this class—or rather, felt he needed it. He thought this knowledge could prove very useful in the wild lands.

While waiting for the instructor, an elderly, skinny man walked in with a moody and grumpy look on his face. Without making a sound, he sat at his desk, closed his eyes, and went to sleep. Erik was surprised to see him sleeping and called out, "Sir, aren't you going to teach the class?"

Hearing this, the old man jumped up, looked around, and saw Erik. With a surprised expression, he asked, "Were you here? You know this is the medicinal herbs class, right?"

Erik replied with a confident expression, "Yes, I know. That's why I am here."

The old man wanted to shout out of joy; finally, there was someone who wanted to learn this class! Looking at Erik, he said, "Son, tell me your name."

"My name is Erik, sir. Erik, son of Peter."

The old man's exhausted facial expression completely vanished, taking on a completely different aura.

Gesticulating with his hand, he said, "Don't stand over there, come sit here in the front row."

Erik got up and sat in the front row. The old man spoke again, "Welcome, Erik. I am Turkon, one of the few healers in this country. If you follow what I say, I will teach you everything I know."

Erik nodded in agreement.

"In that case, let us begin the lesson..."