Everyone in the room sat in stunned silence, Wraith allowed them some time to process what she had just said and she did so with a smile on her face. Things had just become very real, not only because he was finding out about Spirit, which was pretty much magic! Magic was real and he was now on a world where he might one day learn how to use it. But with the upside of being able to literally be able to do magic it came with the danger of the continuous threat of death.

What made things more confusing was that Spirit powered his skill but his skill was Spirit Mastery, so how the hell did any of that make sense. If he could master Spirit, that would mean he should hopefully be able to train up his sub attributes easier, which would help him unlock more gates, which would help him use his skill more which would just help him again with the sub attributes to just keep repeating the process. It was just a loop with no end.

If his assumption was right, his skill would just help him get better at using his skill and Spirit and that was it. He really hoped Spirit could be used for something more than just his skill as otherwise he may be absolutely useless when it comes to doing anything more than just unlocking his gates.

“If there is no question then we shall move straight on to the goal of this class. To pass the class you will need to unlock your first Spirit gate. It may sound like an easy task but I can assure you it is not. Unlocking your first Spirit gate can take weeks if not months of hard work. Yet we are giving you one week. It may seem unfair but to enter The Academy that is the absolute minimum requirement when it comes to Spirit. Some have unlocked several gates, others dozens. It is something that can be done without access to the system, although it is dangerous to do so, people still do. I can tell you that most first years that come to The Academy are the ones that train their Spirit from the moment they can.

Now outside of what I just said, little more information will be provided to you about Spirit and skills until you open your first gate. And how do you open a gate? Dedication, practice and meditation! Our planet has Spirit in the air you breath and in many materials. It is not enough to just walk around and you accumulate Spirit in your body though, you have to do it with a clear mind, with purpose and most of all with control.

To bring Spirit into your body you must clear your mind, breath in the air and Spirit around you and purposely take that spirit you have just taken into your body and make it your own. It may sound easy but I can assure you it is not. Only when you have successfully built up enough Spirit in your body will you open your first gate, and only then will you be able to start training your sub attributes in preparation to unlock the next gate, then the next and so forth.

Most find it easiest to meditate so they can fully concentrate on this process. You have to feel the Spirit around you and inside of you, and to do that you must have a clear mind and no distractions.

I will warn you, opening a Spirit gate is not the most pleasant experience in the world, you will feel it when you are close. If you do manage to open your first Spirit gate this week, no matter where you are or what time, you let an instructor or Jack know. Do not activate your skill and do not take in any more Spirit. This is non-negotiable. Understood? Good, then I suggest you all start meditating and learning to clear your mind. As you have completed this intro before classes start you have no need to come to any of my other classes unless you have questions or open your gate. I will be repeating the same thing I told you tomorrow but after that it is all up to you. Spend the time under a tree or in your bed, I don’t mind. You know the requirement to pass my class now and how to do it, the rest is up to you.”

Instructor Wraith had been serious when she said that actually attending her classes was option and that it was now up to them to do what needed to be done. He didn’t leave the classroom after that though, instead he got comfortable in his chair and tried to meditate again, realising why the Headmaster had told him to practice it before. No matter how hard he tried though he couldn’t get into that clear headspace he was supposed to get in to start the process of bringing in Spirit to his body and keeping it there.

He spent the remaining time in the classroom trying to get the hang of it, but the only thing he managed to do was get frustrated. When Wraith left the room he followed shortly afterwards. The other three people that had joined him in the class had already left, either to do something else or find a place where they could get more comfortable to try meditating.

He wasn’t tired or hungry yet, he also had a good amount of time until dinner. His building frustration at not being able to get the hang of meditating pushed him to revert to his usual tactics. Whenever he got frustrated or angry or stuck on something he would go for a run until he was exhausted, it always got him into a better headspace. Considering that he was currently living next to a giant training field, and he was already in his workout gear from before he was taken form Earth, he decided to go out for a run.

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As he waled out towards the training area he passed several people who were making their way back in, they all looked like they had been worked to the bone. They were sweaty and looked defeated. Some of them were barely able to walk and practically limped their way into the building towards the dorms.

Whatever Sonar put them through must have been hell, some of the people that he passed were in decent shape, while others not so much. But regardless they all looked like they had been pushed to their limit and broken, just as was promised.

As Mike got outside he was shocked into stillness. In the middle of the field was an obstacle course that had not been there previously. It was about 100 metres long and just by looking at it, he could see that it would be hell to get through. There was swinging bats in one section, a wall that needed to be climbed, rope that would need to be used to get across a gap, and much more.

“Class is over kid, you will get your chance tomorrow.” Mike turned around, quickly facing the person who had spoken. Sonar stood behind him staring him down. He hadn’t even seen him there, it was like the guy appeared out of nowhere.

“Sorry Instructor Sonar, I was just planning on doing some laps around the field. Is it okay if we use the field outside of class? If not I can, go elsewhere?” He had no idea where exactly he would go but if he wasn’t allowed to use the field he would figure it out.

“You didn’t come to my class. Most of you did, where did you end up?” Sonar took out a tablet, it seemed it was a common thing for people to have here. “Mike Winset. You went to Wraith. I would assume you would be meditating considering you know what you have to achieve. Why are you going for a run instead?” Sonar was looking at him again, now with a more inquisitive look, expecting a response.

“I find it easier to think when I run. It helps me clear my mind a bit. I am…I mean I was on scholarship for track back on Earth.” Sonar didn’t reply to him immediately, but he did give him a more thorough look up and down.

“Use the field as much as you want. Its up to you how much you push yourself. If you are tired or sore in the morning I won’t give you any leeway though. I will break you like I did the others.”

“Thanks Instructor Sonar……” Sonar had disappeared from in front of his eyes, leaving him staring into blank space. “Holy shit…..”

It was the first time he had seen someone do something superhuman and it took him a minute to just process how incredible it was. He shook off the dazed feeling he had pretty quickly though and went straight into doing his stretches.

The moment he did he felt more at ease, this was something his body knew how to do without any thought or feeling, it was as normal as normal could get for him. After a good five minutes of stretched he started himself out a slow jog, letting himself warm up and get used to the loop around the field.

After the first loop around he felt himself fully get into the rhythm of running around the large oval, that when he let himself pick up the pace and fall into a steady run. He got halfway around the field before he felt himself enter into the calming state he usually did when he had nothing clouding his mind outside of taking the next step.

His breathing fell into sync with his heartbeat and the pounding of his feet as he ran around the loop not once, or twice but four times before he slowed his pace and did another lap at a jog to slow down his heart rate and breathing.

When he was done he was dripping in sweat, his body tired but he felt good. He didn’t let himself drop to the ground though, rather he moved into his post workout stretches, the same ones he had been doing for years. Stretch, breath, hold, repeat. Working his way through all of his muscle groups until he felt loose and ready to go have a shower before he went back to meditating or studying depending on if Jack got the materials he was after.

As he walked back to the common area he thought about putting a to do list together. On the physical side of things, running wouldn’t be enough. It had been made clear to them that the classes would also involve combat so he needed to factor in training on this as well. He had done boxing and martial arts for a number of years before moving into track full time. He still remembered a good amount of what he was taught but it would be worth running himself through it again before tomorrow came.

Meditation was also on the list, he would need to focus on this whenever possible to ensure he broke through the first gate in the next week. Lastly it was study, there was going to be a lot of information thrown at them over the coming days by Instructor Owl, if he wanted to stay on top of it all he needed to reserve time in his day to not only review what they went over in classes but also see if he could get ahead.

Lost in his thoughts, he entered the near empty common area. Only a few people were sitting around, mostly lost in though. Jack was sitting at one of the tables alone but when he looked up and noticed him he waived him over to join him.

“I won’t ask you how your class went, or why you are drenched in sweat. I got approval to give you this though.” Across the table he pushed across a tablet, one that looked exactly the same as the ones all the Instructors had. “All the materials you could want are on there. Its easy to use, you will figure it out. I am not doing you any favours by giving it to you. If anyone else asked me for what you have I would give each of them one too. But no one else has asked yet. Should I expect them too?”

He knew what Jack was asking him, would he tell everyone else so that they could also get a tablet to study with. “I don’t know if you have noticed, but everyone here is acting like helping each other is a sin. It’s a competition, I get that, but even for me they are taking it to the next level. I get the feeling that most of the people here would put a knife in my back to get the tablet rather than ask where I got it. If someone asks nicely I will tell them, if not, they can figure it out for themselves.”

If these people wanted to walk all over each other to make it to the top, he had no issues not giving them any help. It just meant he had a better chance of making it through to The Academy anyway.