ALL NOVEL [25] Slow Day of School
Inside the private training room, Eva scanned the surroundings. It was a spacious area with high ceilings. There are many devices and tools lined up against the wall, and she can see various cameras and sensors installed. There is also an obstacle course on the other side of the room for physical training.
"This room is designed to monitor and analyze your Astral abilities. This data will be used to determine the limits of your powers and how best to develop them. So go nuts. Use this chance to show off a little," Masao instructed.
"Now, who wants to go and introduce themselves first?" Masao asked, glancing at his students.
Almost everyone in the class was hesitant. They didn't want to make a fool of themselves, especially in front of their new classmates. But Masao kept staring at them, waiting for an answer, and the pressure gradually increased. With a sigh, Eva stood up from her seat and stepped forward.
"Oh, Lawrence girl. I didn't expect you to be the first one. Aren't you confident," Masao commented, smiling slightly.
"Not really, sir," Eva replied, shrugging. She's just done waiting, and besides, she's been waiting for an excuse to test the limits of her astral powers anyway.
"How surprising... Eva is usually reserved. But I guess there's a first time for everything," Reina also thought.
"Alright, then. Go ahead and introduce yourself," Masao said, nodding.
"My name is Eva Lawrence. My astral power is named 'Minds Links,' an inheritable Astral Ability. My power basically allows me to connect my mind with someone else and use it as a medium to perform certain mental manipulations such as telepathy and memory reading. In addition, I can also detect a person's location within a certain range through the link," Eva introduced herself, explaining her Astral ability.
"Alright, kid. Listen to your classmates properly. Remembering your partner's abilities is crucial, especially in a fight. Now, show us what you can do," Masao added.
Eva nods. She then closed her eyes and focused her mind on establishing a connection with everyone in the arena. After a moment, she felt a tugging sensation inside her head, and her mind was linked to another. The people around her could also feel the link, and they instinctively knew who they were connected with. Eva then tried to send a message through the link.
"Can you guys hear me?" Eva asked through telepathy, her eyes still closed.
"Woah! That's amazing!"
"How did she do that?"
"This is so cool!"
Various voices could be heard from the students. Eva opened her eyes and smiled slightly at the positive reactions.
Masao, just like his students, was impressed. Eva's astral power is versatile and very useful. It can be used for communication, espionage, and other purposes. It is perfect for an intelligence agent. "Good job, Eva. You can sit down now," Masao praised her student.
"Thank you, sir," Eva bowed politely and returned to her seat.
"Anyone else wanna volunteer next?" Masao asks his students, once again scanning the crowd.
This time, Reina, feeling motivated by Eva's performance, steps up and raises her hand. "Sir, I'll go next," she says, stepping forward.
"Alright, go ahead and introduce yourself," Masao allowed Reina, gesturing towards her.
"Hello, everyone, nice to meet you. My name is Reina Takanashi, and my Astral ability is... well, it doesn't have a name yet. But it is a combat-oriented type of ability," Reina introduces herself, slightly nervous.
"Okay, can you explain what it does?" Masao asked.
"Umm... Sure. As mentioned, my astral power is a combat type. What I can do is manipulate and control and manipulate the movement of blood within me or around me. Due to this, I can basically create anything out of my blood. From spikes, blades, walls, armor, or even projectiles," Reina explains, demonstrating her ability.
Reina bites her finger and draws out her blood. Her blood then transformed and hardened, taking the shape of a knife. Reina holds the knife and cuts her palm lightly, drawing more of the red liquid. Instead of dropping to the ground, the blood floats around her like a mist.
"Ohh..." Some students let out a gasp of amazement, watching Reina's ability with interest. But some people understandably felt a little uneasy with how it works.
"Hmmm... can I ask you a question?" A classmate suddenly raises their hand, and Reina nods. "What would happen to your injury? Well, I mean, you pretty much need to cut yourself every time you want to use your astral ability..." The student inquired, looking at Reina worriedly.
"Ah, I see. Don't worry. My injury will instantly heal itself as soon as I retract the blood back into my body," Reina replies, smiling reassuringly. She then demonstrated her healing factor by absorbing the floating blood in the air. The wound on her hand slowly vanished, leaving no trace of a scar.
"Amazing..." Some students whispered. Even Eva is impressed since this is the first time she learns about Reina's power; they never really talk about their Astral abilities. She wonders what rank is Reina Astral's Ability capacity. It must be pretty high, considering she literally created a cage out of blood and could still be alive and kicking even after her heart was crushed. She means, how does that even work?
"Very good, Reina. But considering it draws on your own blood, are there any side effects?" Masao asks, curious.
"Well, yes, but nothing serious. If I use too much of my blood at the same time, I could get dizzy or lightheaded. But other than that, no, sir. Oh, and I can also purify or sterilize the blood that I've absorbed, so no diseases, please," Reina answered, adding a joke at the end.
"Hmmm, impressive. Very versatile. Okay, Reina, you may sit down," Masao nodded, satisfied.
"Thank you, sir," Reina replied, bowing slightly.
The class clapped for her performance, and Reina blushed a bit. She walks back and takes a seat beside Eva. "That was great, Reina," Eva whispered. "Thanks," Reina whispers back.
"Alright, is there anyone else who wants to introduce themselves?" This time, Masao's question was met with silence. Everyone was still unsure of how to showcase their Astral power. Most wanted some time to think about how to properly display it to their classmate, a.k.a, they wanted more time to think about the best way to show off.
"Anyone?" Masao asked again, and still, no one responded. "Fine, I'll just randomly pick someone then. Uhh, let's see... You, the one who's sleeping at the back," Masao points at Keji. "Get up and introduce yourself, or you'll be given detention," He added.
Keji, who was indeed sleeping, slowly got up and yawned loudly. "Huh...? What's going on?" He asked, rubbing his eyes.
"Introduce yourself, Takami. Don't make me repeat it," Masao said, annoyed.
"Sheesh, calm down, old man. I'll do it, jeez," Keji shrugged and stepped forward. Masao's face twitched in irritation, but he restrained himself from retorting. "Name's Keji Takami. My Astral Power is named 'Void.' It is an inheritable Astral power. Pretty self-explanatory, really," Keji introduces himself and displays his Astral Power.
He extends his arm and creates a black sphere that swirls ominously. Everyone could feel the gravity in the room fluctuating wildly, and it felt like they were being sucked into an endless void. Some people even found it hard to breathe, and the air around them was getting colder and colder.
"Interesting, it's a destructive type. How big can you make it?" Masao asks, intrigued.
"Dunno," Keji replied curtly, shrugging. "I can suck the whole oxygen from this room if I want or expand the radius and its pulling force," He added nonchalantly.
"I think your classmate gets the gist of it, kid. You can stop now," Masao instructs and Keji obliged. The sphere disappeared, and the atmosphere returned to normal. The rest of the students sighed in relief and took a deep breath. They didn't even notice they were holding their breath.
"Thank you for showing us. You can sit down," Masao thanks Keji.
"No problem, teach," Keji replied, walking back to his seat.
"He reminds me of Ryuji a little," Reina whispered to Eva.
"What are you talking about? I didn't see any resemblance," Eva whispered back, confused.
"You sure? The careless attitude? The disrespectful behavior?" Reina asked, giggling slightly.
"Umm... if you put it that way, I guess I can see a little bit," Eva shrugged, conceding.
"Don't just agree with her, miss," Ryuji suddenly butts in, overhearing their conversation. "When did I ever act rudely? I'll have you know that I'm a respectable butler," He added, pretending to be hurt.
"Yeah, yeah," Eva laughs, waving Ryuji off.
The class continued introducing themselves one by one. It was not long before Ryuji's turn came. "My name is Ryuji Sato. My Astral ability still doesn't have a name yet, but it can be categorized as a combat-oriented ability." Ryuji seemed to hesitate momentarily, but then he continued, "It allows me to manipulate or artificially create shadows-like elements and move them at will."
Ryuji tapped his feet on the floor, expanding the shadow beneath him. Soon, it forms several hand-shaped shadows and rises to grab something. It grabbed a chair nearby, and Ryuji controlled the shadow to lift the chair.
The students were amazed and bewildered by the display. But there's something Masao didn't get. Shadow is a non-material element, and yet Ryuji was able to manipulate it as if it were tangible. It feels like there's more to his astral ability than meets the eye. Masao makes a mental note to observe Ryuji closely in the future.
"Very good, Ryuji. Thank you," Masao praises him, and Ryuji nods.
As lunchtime approaches and the introduction takes longer than expected, Masao decides to give the students a break. However, upon taking attendance, he realizes that one student is missing. Masao finds it surprising that there is already an absence on the first day of school, especially since this class is supposed to be the best of the best. He sighs and shakes his head in disappointment.
There are also some problematic students, like Keji Takami. It is apparent to him that some students still didn't take his class seriously. They seem more interested in showing off their Astral ability rather than learning itself. Well, they have seven years to learn, so Masao will let them off for now.
Masao opens the students' profiles and looks for the missing student. It turns out to be a girl named Akari Kasuga. According to her profile, Akari is an excellent astral user and has a lot of potential.
Speaking of potential, he noticed that compared to where he used to study, the students' Astral Abilities in his class were more diverse, varied, and powerful. He wondered why the headmaster entrusted him to teach these students. In his eyes, he was an underqualified teacher. Well, the headmaster always operates on his own terms, so there's no point in questioning it.
"Let's see..." He skimmed through the list and widened his eyes slightly when he read all of their Astral powers ranks. S-Rank Astral Users is a one-in-hundred-million occurrence. And yet, his class has three of them... What the actual fuck?!
Masao feels conflicted. Part of him felt a little proud that he was teaching exceptional students, while the other part felt stressed because it meant more responsibilities. Where did even the academy find these students?
Name: Reina Takanashi, S-Rank (94)
Astral Ability: Blood Manipulation, Combat-Type
Name: Keji Takami, S-Rank (91)
Astral Ability: Void, Combat-Type
Name: Akari Kasuga, S-Rank (90)
Astral Ability: Starfall, Control-Type
"This is ridiculous..." Masao muttered, rubbing his temples. He continued reading the rest of the lists and noticed that there were also a number of A-Rank Astral users that were borderline S-Rank, among other things.
Name: Eva Lawrence, A-Rank (87)
Astral Ability: Mind Links, Utility-Type
Name: Ryuji Sato, A-Rank (85)
Astral Ability: Shadow Manipulation, Combat-Type
"This class is packed with talent..." Masao mutters, feeling impressed. But he can't help but feel a sense of dread and apprehension. These students are strong, and many of them are capable of destroying a city or even worse. Masao hopes that he won't need to report anything bad to the headmaster.
With this many talented people, his class would become a hot place for competition and conflict. Wait a minute... only now did he realize what mistake he made due to his laziness. Class representatives here, unlike regular schools, also function as team leaders for their classes in group missions and practical exercises. Unlike traditional schools, where there's little to no benefit from being a class rep, the academy has its own reward system to reward a person with leadership skills and qualities.
He could choose the class representative freely, but he just let the kids choose their own representative. He also said he didn't care methodically about the process. It would be fine if he was teaching an ordinary class, but with a pack of wolves like this, the class rep position will become a very competitive spot, especially due to the number of S-Rank and A-Rank astral users in his class. Ego and pride would usually run high, and conflicts would be inevitable. Masao hopes there won't be a bloodbath in his classroom.