Class

Shooting awake, Jakron feels extremely clear headed. He just traveled into another person's soul and experienced a significant portion of their life. Especially their tragic end. Looking at his armlet Jakron can see that it is only at the very early hours of the morning. Based on that alone Jakron knows that the things he experienced happened at an extremely fast pace. The time that elapsed during that dream was much longer than the time that has elapsed in this world. Maybe it was because most of the time he was reliving the memories of Mekal, but that in itself feels weird and confusing.

While that wasn't his life it still felt very personal. Confused, angry, and agitated Jakron tries to calm down. The myriad of emotions clash in Jakron's head as he tries to force them under control. Finally, after a while, Jakron begins to calm down.

Laying back down Jakron tries to feel the changes in his body. Jakron feels different, but after feeling and sensing everything he can, nothing about his body feels different. Instead, it's like his consciousness or soul has gotten stronger. He feels like he is developing a sixth sense to his surroundings. Everything is clearer, and he even feels like he can feel everything around him even when his eyes are closed.

It feels magical. The energy around the world is clearer, increasing his bodies dormant suction of energy. With every breath, he takes it feels like his body is getting stronger from the increase in energy absorption.

Feeling wonderful, real sleep gently pulls Jakron away.

......…

"Wake up sleepy head," the voice of Hale enters his room, "we need to get ready and grab some breakfast before orientation today."

"I'm up," Jakron responds so that Hale won't continue to bother him.

Getting up Jakron, Jacob, and Derek all slowly get ready as Hale continues to pester them to hurry up. After finishing washing off and getting dressed the four roommates head out to the school canteen.

Arriving at the cantina, the roommates quickly grab some trays of food and sit down together wolfing down their breakfast. Jakron notices a few people looking at him and pointing. The hush that follows him around is slightly surprising. He didn't think that everyone would know of his fight with Rickard yet.

"Surprised?" Ask Jacob.

"Yeah does everyone already know? I figured it would at least take a few days and by then people might have already forgotten," Jakron responds.

"It is because someone posted a video of your fight. You can see it if you look for current news on your armlet," Hale answers.

"Really? Is the video any good?" Jakron questions again.

"Yeah," responds Derek while continuingly stuffing his mouth, "it is from one of the upper-level rooms in the Blooming Rose. They got everything."

"Amazing," Jakron says as he tries to quickly find the video.

"Yeah, you're practically an overnight celebrity," pipes in Hale.

Grunting in response Jakron doesn't really know what to think about that. As the group continues to eat the topic of conversation shifts to what each of them is going to do over the coming school year.

After finishing eating, the group heads toward the front of the school. Orientation will take place at the front of the school close by the building where the sparring for the entrance exam took place. When the group arrives there are numerous other students milling around and a large stage step with mostly faculty and a few students.

The girl from yesterday, Sophia, is one of the students along with a tall handsome man with black hair. He is smiling and making small talk with all of the faculty and Sophia is standing by his side with a cold look on her face as if this all has nothing to do with her.

Jakron finds this all humorous. It feels sort of like the schools back on the Earth that Jack knew, except everyone here is basically a superhero.

Eventually, some of the senior students start to line everyone up and Jakron's group lines up with the rest of the first years. As orientation begins it feels even more familiar to the part of Jakron's memories that came from Jack with a lot of pep talks trying to motivate the students to excel in the coming year.

For Jakron and the rest of the first years, it is rather exciting because after this they will be able to enter the Technique Hall and browse through the techniques that will prove them with a path to the Connate Realm. Jakron's understanding of the Connate Realm is basically nonexistent. He can't wait to start classes and to pick out a technique that fits him best.

Without paying much attention the orientation ends, Jakron and the rest of the first years split up and head to their individual classes. While there aren't a lot of them, they can't all go to the same class. Luckily Jakron and his roommates are in the same class. Jakron is sure that this is to help develop friendships and motivate students by giving them a slightly more comfortable environment to learn in.

As Jakron and his roommates enter the classroom they are greeted by auditorium seating. Sitting in a random spot, roommates start to excitedly talk about the upcoming lesson and going to the Technique Hall.

"So you are the already famous first year," a nasally voice rings throughout the classroom.

Hearing the voice everyone looks toward the front of the class. A small young man with short brown hair and about the same height as Hale is standing there like a proud peacock. Standing there like he owns the classroom, he stares up at Jakron with a superior look in his eye.

"Are you talking to me?" Jakron asks unsure.

"Who else thinks they're the boss of the first years?" the small young man smiles sarcastically.

"Can you see yourself through those dimwitted eyes. I'm no boss and I don't care to be one. So shut your mouth before I shut it for you," replies Jakron as his temper flares.

"Don't get cocky because you beat some half-assed warrior. I'm only 15 and about to enter the mid-level of the Initiated Realm. Your mediocre talent means nothing to me," the young man rants at Jakron.

Jakron's recent experience with Mekal has increased the power of his consciousness, but also destabilized his emotions. Jakron can feel the analytical side of him telling him to relax because the young man is just a hot-headed youth, but the side of him that just experienced the death of Mekal and his family says fuck that guy.

Glaring at the young man, a hint of killing intent starts to radiate from Jakron. At this moment Jakron is about ready to jump down and beat him senseless.

"Enough!" A middle age man appears in front of the young man as he smiles up at Jakron.

"Haha, oh the hot-bloodedness of the youth is invigorating!" The man laughs as he quickly defuses the situation. "Deran take a seat and Jakron no need to get feisty. You guys are classmates and should stick together," laughed the man as he smiles around the room.

"Ok," clapping his hands as he draws the classes attention after Deran sits down.

"My name is Professor Solomon Lamont and I'll be your be your guiding post through this first year of school. For all questions regarding techniques, sparring, and missions you can come and find me and I'll be able to provide guidance." Professor Lamont says while looking over the class.

"Some of you might have picked your next technique already and are now practicing it working your way to the Connate Realm, but I'm sure a lot of you aren't so fortunate," he smiles while glancing at the students including a slightly lingering stare at Jakron.

"But worry not for I am here and I'm ready and willing to answer all of your questions."

As soon as he finishes a few hands immediately raise ready to ask the questions that have been burning in the back of their heads.

"Haha, wait, class. I know you are doing to increase your knowledge, but let me go over some basic information regarding the Initiated Realm and the process to step into the Connate Realm."

Starting from there, Professor Lamont begins to go over the basics of the Initiated Realm. Reaching the Initiated realm requires gathering energy into the body and purifying it. Part of the energy gathered is immediately used to strengthen the body by enhancing the muscle, tendons, ligaments, bones, and organs. The other part of the energy is stored in the body and will be used in the final baptism when the body actually enters the Initiated Realm.

This baptism will occur when enough energy is gathered in the body and act as a magnet for energy in the environment drawing it together washing the body of most of its impurities. After the body has been thoroughly cleansed, it will be capable of holding even more energy and strong enough to begin the process of unifying that energy.

That is why many Initiated Realm experts will continue to strengthen the body. The stronger a body is the more energy it can hold and the more condensed and unified the energy will be when trying to enter the Connate Realm.

Most students at the academy choose to either focus on their muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones or their organs. This is because the techniques that do both usually have extremely high requirements and are exasperatingly slow.

While there are better techniques at more prestigious academies or sects, at Kasper Academy in Taal the options are limited. Also, it is possible to make up for the defects in your technique when you reach a higher realm and learn an even more powerful technique.

For example, the Ironhide technique that's publicly distributed primarily focuses on strengthening organs, but is much better than other organ focused techniques. This is also why it is much slower than most requiring a higher degree of talent.

Once at the Initiated Realm, a technique is needed to begin condensing the energy in your body. As the energy become more condensed it will gradually form a core in your dantian. Once enough energy is gathered and finally condenses and forms a core in your dantian you will have entered the Connate Realm.

Much like stepping into the Initiated Realm using different focuses the same goes for the Connate Realm. It is easier to gather energy from the areas that have been focused on. So the techniques that push you toward the Connate Realm will follow the same path as your Initiated Realm.

Some will forgo this and take up a technique that is slower but provides a more stable foundation, but others are trying to progress as fast as possible.

Another aspect to consider while condensing your energy to enter the Connate Realm is the type of energy used to condense your core. While any energy can be used if you gather the same type of energy the faster your core will condense. Otherwise, a longer period will be required to stabilize your energy to form a core.

That is why most will find out what element they have the most compatibility with speeding up the process. Most people are only compatible with one element. A few more talented individuals are compatible with multiple elements allowing them to more easily form a multi-element core increasing their potential and strength.

After finishing going over all the information Professor Lamont starts to answer some students questions.

Raising his hand Jakron finally gets called in by the Professor. "Professor Lamont, is there any other way of increasing the speed of our cultivation?"

"Yes there are a few, but they require a lot of luck and aren't things that can be found by looking," Professor Lamont while smiling mysteriously.

"These are ways that I know and all of them require rare spirit plants that I personally have never seen, but only heard of. First are miracle spirit plants that can send you directly to the Lord Realm, but I've never heard of one growing on the planet Jakar. A more reasonable expectation is a spirit plant that can help you form a core directly, a plant that can increase your affinity to a specific element, or even more mysterious plant that can increase the powerfulness of your soul."

"Why the soul?" Ask Jakron.

"The soul for all people is a mysterious entity. Only at the Lord Realm will your understanding of it increase. From talking to the headmaster once someone enters the Lord realm their soul will be baptized in the energy that is present in their body. That is when using your soul you can actually start to understand the laws of the universe. Drastically increasing your powers and perception."

"What about those that haven't entered the Initiated Realm yet? Should they switch techniques and practice something more suited to them?" Another student quickly ask.

"While it isn't unheard of to switch, generally it is faster to continue with whatever technique you are using now. To switch will require you to learn a whole new technique and spend more time trying to enter the Initiated Realm. Instead, it isn't a terrible idea to pick up another Initiated technique and practice it. It can help increase your strength and gather energy, but it should be secondary in focus. Most techniques to enter the Initiated Realm are energy agnostic anyways because of their main focus of strengthening the body and bringing energy in. It isn't until you try to compress that energy that drawing similar energy is important," the professor explains.

After answering a few more questions Professor Lamont asks all the students that don't know their affinity to wait after class to be tested. The others he releases for the day so that they can go to the Technique Hall and use the free contribution points that are burning a hole in their pockets.

As Jakron and his roommates get their turn to be tested they can barely control their excitement. Hale has an affinity to wind, Jacob is metal, and Derek is earth.

Finally, Jakron gets his turn. Stepping forth the way that affinities are tested are with a Channeling Stone. This unique stone requires channeling the energy in your body into it. For everyone in the class, this isn't a problem because they are all at least at the half step Initiated Realm giving them some control of the energy in their body.

While it is possible to not have an affinity with any element those people would never have even made it this far in their cultivation because of their inability to gather or feel energy.

As Jakron gathers his energy and begins to channel it into the stone two colors emerge. While this in itself is noteworthy there have already been a few people with two or more colors. Instead, it is the colors themselves.

The most notable color is black because of its Stark contrast with everything else. The next color is the purest white. What confuses Professor Lamont is that in between these colors feels like another color, but it isn't.

For everyone else that the Professor has ever seen, there isn't a break in the colors instead they will encompass all the light that is shining out of the stone. For Jakron though are sporadic spots that seem to be cleanly devoid of color and simply display their surroundings as if nothing is there. It is bizarre and hard to explain even for the Professor. Hesitating slightly he eventually gives up because even if he annotates it in the records it will mean nothing since no one has heard of such a thing.

"Space and time. Impressive Jakron. There are a few manuals in the Technique Hall that will be helpful to you. It is too bad that or most powerful manual was lost. It used to belong to the founder of the academy," Professor Lamont explains.

As soon as Jakron finished, he quickly caught up with his roommates as they rush to the Technique Hall.

"Jakron you are always full of surprises," Hale laughs, "I'm just glad I'll have such a powerful brother in the future."

"Thank you Hale, but there is still a long way to go," answers Jakron.

"Forget about talking and let's go," Jacob hollers as he quickens his pace leaving everyone else behind.

"You want to race Jacob? Sounds good to me," Hale responds as he takes off too and Jacob and Hale start to sprint to the Hall competing.

Laughing Jakron and Derek follow along at a slightly more leisurely pace.