Thorne exited the shower after a prolonged period of time. His muscles had finally relaxed, and the pain that the forceful tail had inflicted was now gone. He changed into a new robe, identical to his last one, apart from the rips and tears of course. Going to the kitchen, Thorne intended to quickly grab something to eat and then study the combat manual.
‘I truly need to be better.’ Lost in thought, Thorne wandered into the kitchen area, ‘I can’t be barely winning against foes with such exploitable weaknesses.’ He shook his head, frustrated. He had won two battles, and in the greater context of the duel between the two, Thorne undoubtedly emerged the ultimate victor. But it was not good enough.
“You just going to stand there and wander?” Zal sat at the kitchen table and laughed, pointing at Thorne, who was pacing the kitchen back and forth, unaware of Zal’s presence.
Thorne’s eyes snapped sharply and glared at Zal, who in turn whimsically held his ground against Thorne’s intensity, unphased. Thorne quickly broke his trance and apologized while taking a seat.
“Are you thinking of your battle?” Zal asked, his joking expression dying down slightly as he was engrossed in Thorne’s expressions, awaiting his answer.
“Yes,” Thorne sighed, “I won and knocked my opponent out twice, but I barely did so, and it was extremely difficult, too difficult.”
Zal slightly raised his eyebrows while a light smirk played across his angular face. Then he exploded in hearty laughter, his thick voice gurgling out a chorus of laughter. When he stopped his moment of mirth, he looked at Thorne again and spoke in the highest tone someone with a voice like his could go, “You are upset because it wasn’t easy?” He stared at Thorne, incredulous.
Thorne looked down awkwardly but still responded, “Yes.”
“Fights aren’t easy by nature; we must strive to make them easy,” Zal’s quick voice rang throughout the small kitchen.
Thorne looked up from his previous downcast gaze and saw Zal’s piercing amber gaze.
“I understand.”
Zal’s gaze softened before Thorne opened his mouth; “By the way, did you win your duel.”
Zal grinned widely, a radiant expression taking over his face; “Oh, of course,” he chuckled, “it was easy.”
----------------------------------------
Thorne devoured his food before heading towards his next class, General Basic Energy Control with Zal. Thorne decided to hold no presumptions about this class, as he was sorely mistaken in his guess about the combat class.
Thorne trod lightly; the adrenaline and nerves from the earlier battle stuck with him even now. Walking through the halls, the pair soon reached a single wooden door. It contrasted with the metallic technological grandeur which permeated most of the academy. Instead, it aired a feeling of age, wisdom, and knowledge.
The two did not falter at this sight and slowly opened the massive door. Thorne saw a sight he did not expect for the sole reason that he would typically expect it of a classroom from Earth.
‘It’s a...lecture hall.’
It was not any lecture hall; however, it was a lecture hall of the revered Zupu Academy. As Thorne walked into the lecture hall, he was immediately struck by the grandeur and the mystical energy emanating from every corner of the room. The hall was circular in shape, with a high domed ceiling painted in the glowing combat spectrum colors and studded with shimmering stars that twinkle in lifelike similarity. The walls were adorned with intricate golden designs and ancient runes that seemed to pulse with their own life, very similar to the runes displayed on the massive pillars at the academy entrance.
The lecture hall was immense, with tiered seating that rose towards the ceiling, providing an unobstructed view of the stage at the center. The seats are cushioned and upholstered in deep blue velvet, giving the hall an air of sophistication and luxury. Each seat had a small wooden desk attached to it, where students could take notes.
A lectern sat at the front of the hall. It was made of dark oak and adorned with carvings of mystical creatures that Thorne could barely comprehend. Behind the lectern was a large screen that displayed various images and diagrams to aid in the lectures. The lectern was surrounded by a circular platform, not unlike a magician’s stage.
The lighting in the lecture hall was enchanting, with shimmering orbs of light that floated and danced above the audience. Blazing down with mysterious grace.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
The true mysticism of the hall struck Thorne. It invaded his mind and reminded him that this was what the spectrums were, and this was not even their full majesty. How could a novice like him understand the scope of it— a laborer from Earth.
Thorne and Zal ambled, admiring the massive hall, found two empty seats, and awaited the teacher’s arrival. Soon, the supposed teacher arrived. It was a vaguely female creature with an elongated body and shimmering blue skin that glittered under the mystical lights. Their eyes were large and black, and their head was crowned with a delicate network of sapphire crystalline structures that radiated a soft blue light.
Thorne nudged Zal, “What spectrum is that?” he whispered lightly.
“It’s the sapphire spectrum of knowledge and wisdom,” He spoke in a low tone, shocked, “It’s almost as rare, If not rarer, than your red spectrum.”
Thorne whistled lowly upon hearing this and geared up to ask Zal more questions. Yet he couldn’t, as the teacher began to speak, “Hello, fine students, I am teacher Bwanya.” The teacher spoke in a peaceful, melodic voice, the volume always quiet. Despite this, the teacher grasped all the students’ attention with her voice as well as her spectrum.
“This class will primarily teach you how to initially feel and then eventually control your energy once you break through the first substage.” Teacher Bwanya said lazily, “Of course, there are different requirements for each spectrum, yet some factors always remain consistent.”
Thorne’s eyes didn’t blink once. His attention was rapt by the teachers’ words; ‘substage, it must be a barrier to cross in each stage.’ Thorne assumed, yet he still doubted his theory due to his endless lack of meaningful information.
Teacher Bwanya, oblivious to Thorne’s meandering thoughts, continued her monologue; “The basis of energy control for all spectrums is the ability to feel the energy internally.” She gestured nonchalantly, lifting her abnormally long arm towards the mass of students, “All of you possess at least a basic level of feeling. Yet none of you can do anything with it.”
Some students in the seats nodded in affirmation, one being Thorne. He had always understood the energy was in his body and doing something, though he had never grasped what that something was. The energy had also never felt malleable or usable. The only time where he felt a genuine connection with his spectrums and his external actions was when he fought the snake creature. Even then, he couldn’t control the energy; it just seemed to passively assist him, strengthening his punch and making him faster and more durable.
“Naturally, there are different methods to better feel your internal energy, many of them being exclusive to their own spectrum, but that is not my job.” She said while leaning on the lectern, “I will teach you the theory of how to control your own internal energy.” Suddenly, she projected a diagram of a body; at the forehead was the non-descript colorless spectrum crystal and lines running without purpose through the body’s veins.
“Right now, many of you possess an energy flow similar to the diagram. Your crystal is stagnant, not producing much or any energy. While the energy you do have is lazy and flowing without direction in your internal body.” The lectern’s burden softened as teacher Bwanya stopped leaning on it. She used her thin, elongated arms to point at the veins through which the energy flowed. “Many of you also have a situation like this where your energy is borrowing your body’s natural pathways. This by itself is inefficient, and the first step to mastering energy control is to use the energy already in your body to form new pathways meant exclusively for energy and energy alone.” She pointed to her head, “You should focus your pathways on what you prioritize in cultivation. For example, my pathways are centered around my brain because I focus on knowledge.”
Suddenly, a swarm of papers and pencils flew out into the air from the teacher’s spatial storage and landed in front of each student. Teacher Bwanya yawned and spoke softly, “For the rest of class, draw and brainstorm ideas for what your pathways should look like.” She then planted her large head on the lectern and promptly fell asleep.
Thorne and Zal looked at each other before looking back at the teacher.
“Huh.” Thorne murmured, “I guess we just have to draw this diagram, and then we’re done.
Zal smirked and nudged Thorne, “Much better than almost losing your fight, huh.”
Thorne ignored him and began to outline the human body.
“Tsk, you’re boring,” Zal muttered, disgruntled.
“Just get to work.” An annoyed Thorne shot back.
Zal shook his head and began to sketch his body and pathways.
‘How should I do this? I need to incorporate both defense and offense while keeping them balanced.’ Thorne cast a look at Zal’s drawing. He had already begun sketching his potential pathways, prioritizing his upper body, especially his arms, chest, and core, the main areas necessary for stalwart defense. He almost completely ignored his legs, only drawing one thin line through each leg.
Thorne recalled his battle earlier that day; ‘I used legs for explosive speed, my arms for attack and defense.’ Looking at the paper where he was supposed to map out his pathways, Thorne felt nothing but utter confusion, unable to come to a finite conclusion.
‘I should wait; I need to be able to incorporate my weapons, whatever they are.’ He thought back to Master Khal, hoping the man would help solve his pathway problem with the weapon he decided to grant Thorne. ‘Also, one battle is not a big enough sample size to determine my entire battle style; I need more fights.
In conclusion, Thorne simply decided to wait, ‘it’s not like we have to forge the pathways now; I still have time to think.’
For the remainder of the class, Thorne slept like the teacher. He was still somewhat tired from his previous fight; his muscles ached, and he even felt some phantom pain in the areas the tail hat hit. Thorne assumed that his following two classes would be far more exhausting than this one and require him to be at his peak fitness.