During lunch break, Kaiser exited the classroom amongst others, then went to a secluded corner of the canteen. He created an auxiliary bank account with the name 'Sherlock Holmes' and sent the account number to Liam.
Just a few minutes later, the awaited alert arrived. It seemed Liam had been waiting for him to send a message.
|Liam Hart: Good afternoon, Sherlock. I've sent the credits you asked for. Here's the receipt. [File: Transaction Receipt]|
Kaiser paused, then typed back.
|Sherlock Holmes: Seen. Here is what you need to know. [File: Rules]|
He had no intention of deceiving the brown-haired boy since he could launch a complaint to the school, therefore exposing his identity and facing punishment.
|Liam Hart: I've seen it. Thank you very much.|
Kaiser didn't bother to reply that. He slipped the phone into his pocket, then began to eat. Suddenly, he saw a shadow being cast over his table, making him look up.
Surprisingly, it was Mordica Nerth from his class. She was still having a cold expression on her face, while carrying a tray of her lunch. After glancing at her, he gave a small nod, then resumed eating. She nodded back, then sat opposite him.
While Kaiser ate, he glanced around the cafeteria. Almost all the tables were full. However, there were still a few that had some extra space.
'Why would she come to sit here? There are obviously other options… though, she'll have to sit with strangers.'
'So, am I not a stranger? Well, we do stay in the same class. However, from my perspective, she's a stranger…'
'Why am I even pondering about this? As long as her actions are not suspicious, there's no need to think too deeply.'
He cut off his own thoughts, focusing on finishing the meal he had cooked.
Suddenly, Mordica looked up from her plate of food, then glanced at his. A surprised expression crossed her face, then it disappeared.
"Star Crabs and Water Serpents? You sure know a balanced nutrition."
She said, prompting Kaiser to look at her.
"Is it strange?" He asked, locking eyes with her.
"No," The girl shook her head softly, "However, you definitely prepared them well. Most students can't do that."
Her purple eyes lingered on the steaming crabs, then shifted to the perfectly roasted serpents. As someone who hailed from a rich family, she knew how to prepare a balanced delicacy. However, looking at Kaiser's food, she felt like she couldn't even do that much.
Kaiser shrugged nonchalantly, then continued eating.
Seeing that he wasn't interested in talking, Mordica fell silent. Time passed in silence, and they eventually finished their lunch. Mordica returned first, while Kaiser lingered behind, his thoughts spinning.
'Haa… let's see. Should I sell the information to the other classes too?'
He immediately shook his head. Unlike his own class, the other classes would have definitely tried their best to find out the rules. So asking them to pay 900,000 credits wouldn't be feasible. On the other hand, his new plan to gather more credits would definitely be profitable.
'Still, I have to get the contacts of the other class leaders. Looks like I'll have to ask Ysabella later.'
Given the blonde girl's friendliness and popularity, she was bound to have a few contacts, if not all. Zipping up his lunch box, he stood up and returned to class.
...
The last class for the day was Instructor Rina's Combat Training. The students of Class-E gathered in the Training Facility's public section, staring at their instructor with serious expressions. A few minds were immersed in indecent fantasies, but most were focused on her teaching.
"As some of you might already know, there is an energy called Force. Not the one you did in Physics in middle school, but the one exclusive to Awakened individuals."
"This energy is somewhat related to your affinity with elements. When you have an affinity for a certain element, you are able to wield the Elemental Force."
"Take fire, for example. Through your affinity with fire, you can wield an energy called Fire Force. Essentially, as long as you have an affinity for a specific element, you can wield the Elemental Force. Do note, though. Without the Elemental Force, your affinity would only give you some resistance towards that element."
At this point, Lucas, a bespectacled student with scholarly looks, raised his hand. Seeing he had a question, Instructor Rina nodded at him.
"Excuse me, Instructor. But what if we don't have an affinity for an element, take water for example. Can we still wield its elemental force?"
The beautiful instructor hummed thoughtfully, her expression still stoic.
"That's a thoughtful question, Lucas. Indeed, you can still use the Elemental Force of elements you have no affinity with. However, that is extremely hard and cannot even compare to the output of those who have the element's affinity."
"Take for instance, you have no affinity with fire. If you try to conjure flames, you'd only produce as much as a matchstick can produce. Do you understand now?"
Lucas nodded, then scribbled something into his notes. With that, she continued.
"To truly be able to wield Elemental Force, you need to create Force Nodes."
"As an Awakened, you possess a Crystal Core, which is equivalent to the Soul Crystal of a Nirad Creature. The Crystal Core is what powers your ability and stores your spirit essence."
"Force Nodes, however, are manually created to help access your elements more fluidly. The number of Force Nodes you can create depends on your talents and personal determination. However, do not push past your limits as forcefully trying to create more nodes could lead to damaged internal organs or even death."
"Now then, I want everyone to try accessing their elements and produce a small amount of it."
Under the gaze of her sharp green eyes, all her students raised their hands and produced diverse elements which gently floated above their palms.
'Water, fire, wind, earth. As expected.' Her green eyes shifted to Sebastian who had a silver ball floating above his palm. 'Metal? Well, he isn't a Hemsworth for nothing.'
She also noticed several other special elements like Lunar from Logan and Ariel, Blood from Kiera, Life from Ysabella, and even Cosmic element from Liam.
'This is a surprise. This Liam has potential.'
Her gaze sharpened, and she unconsciously felt some excitement. Looking at the golden flames on Hazel's palm, she couldn't help but squint.
'Is that Sacred Fire? I'm not too sure. But this set of students… perhaps, they might have some chance at competing with the other classes.'
Finally, her attention landed on the student at the far back, a small black flame on his palm.
'So handsome… wait. Black flame?' Instructor Rina's eyes shrunk. 'No, that's not right. That's… darkness?'
Her eyes widened subtly, though, she quickly composed herself. She soon realized that this particular student had an affinity for darkness, an extremely rare element just like light.
Her jaws clenched subtly, as the sight of that affinity brought back the memories of a certain man she once looked up to.
'I need to focus right now…'
Closing her eyes, she exhaled, then opened them.
"Alright, that's enough. I'll be sending a copy of the Node Creation Technique to your mobile devices. Your assignment is to create at least two Nodes before the next class."
Her words surprised every one of them as that meant they had to understand the technique themselves, then create the Nodes. Ignoring their grumblings and quiet protests, she packed up her teaching materials, then left elegantly.