Academy Life

With a squeak and a groan Del flopped on the floor as he had awoken abruptly. He was wide eyed as he saw felt the heat of the sun beam in from the side window. Del slowly got up from the floor as his vision focused onto the scroll in front of him.

[Manus Replenished]

[New Ability: Manus ???]

Del felt weak but his strength was gradually returning. Apparently a drain of manus caused one to fall unconscious. Either that or his control was so low that it had ended up sapping his energy as well. Once he was on his feet he dusted himself off.

"Damn, that was unpleasant." Del thought back to how he had fallen without warning. He shrugged it off, hoping to find a way to control his manus. He approached the desk where the manus book laid open and he flipped a few pages. After a few minutes of scanning through pages he eventually reached a section that held emphasis on the cultivation of manus.

He received new insight, seeing how there were several ways to cultivate manus. There were a few methods preferred by most like regulating output while straining oneself. A method that caught his eye though was meditation. He inspected it further to see how he could do so himself.

In hindsight meditating for manus was similar in thr way he had focused to activate it earlier. The main difference was that instead of trying to 'burn it' he would more so try to make it flow through his body and attempt to contain as much as he could. Del read for a few more minutes before getting on the floor and crossing his legs.

He had to relax. That's right...

Relax...

Focus...

Flow...

The world around Del disappeared as he focused on the feeling he had felt before. He felt the energy through his body, though faint at first. As he kept on meditating he felt the flow even more, and it felt even more like he could touch it.

It felt like tiny zaps of power flowing through him within every part of his being. He felt something leave him though. He felt some of the energy escape his clutches and leave his body. He wasn't aware of if this was supposed to happen or not, so he focused on getting the energy back. His mind drifted towards the places where he lost the energy and tried to imagine where the manus could have left him.

After a few tries he eventually saw it. He then reached out to grab the manus. Just as he was about to catch it, he suddenly felt a strong strain within him. It became so great he was forced to the end the meditation. He opened his eyes and gasp while he took deep breaths. He was in a cold sweat and his heart was beating fast. The strain felt as if he were sleeping and all of sudden started falling while something clutched his heart. It was a strange feeling, yet he couldn't quite describe it as painful, though it was similar.

Del turned his head to the side window and saw that it was night. "Tsk, I swear I hadn't been in there for that long."

...

Del could be found in a large room with Bruce just as the sun was rising. It was an extra class since Bruce had extra time in the morning.

"...and since manus is only meant to flow within one's own body, trying to exert it outside of the body can cause more harm than benefit." Bruce was teaching, while Del was wholely paying attention.

That was why he couldn't maintain meditation when he tried to reach out to the manus. The body was like a conduit for manus, so when he tried to reach outside of that conduit he simply released energy.

"Is there any way to keep control of manus after it is released from the body?" Del asked curiously. He rarely asked questions so Bruce was a bit surprised by this. Unfortunately this was one of the few questions for which he did not have a solid answer.

"It is possible, but I could not teach you as I would require talent for it, and you would too." Bruce said with some disappointment.

Del didn't ask anything else and continued to listen to the lesson.

Del continued to study under Bruce, the academy's president for the next two months which went by with a flash.

...

"And welcome to Black Brooke Academy!"

A young girl no older than seventeen exited the large auditorium. Brown, long wavy hair almost fully covers her fresh, charming face. Smart blue eyes, set gracefully within their sockets. She has a single beauty mark under he left eye. She stood at about 5'6. Her body was not exceptionally curvy but combined with her face it made the other male and even a few females students fawn over her. This was the appearance Melinda Sulenet.

This was her first year attending the academy, having gained access through her prestige and exceptional talent. She was half expecting the academy's president to approach her before everyone else to greet her considering her status, but was thoroughly disappointed when she heard he was busy with a different student already.

With her frustration building she wanted to take it out on someone and had already found herself bored with the posse following her. She glanced from side to side until she saw a single boy sitting on a stone bench, spinning a bronze coin next to him. A smirk formed on her face as she walked over to him.

"Imbecile, it's commoners like you who give bountiful academy's a bad name, I hadn't even seen you at the auditorium." Melinda said to Del with much contempt in her voice.

Del felt a pleasant jolt fly through his head, urging him to respond."Oh? And who might you be, cuteness?" Del said nonchalantly to the girl. He didn't even have a hint of worry in his face.

The girl's face grew red and she quickly retorted. "How dare you speak to me like that!? Do you even know who I am!" She said furiously.

"Ah but you approached me first, I would only assume you had some sort of intent." Del said as he shrugged his shoulders and an impish grin growing on his face.

"Psh, look at how this commoner tries to look all high and mighty when he's nothing more than dirt." A boy from the posse spoke up and took the coin that had been spinning. He tossed it behind himself.

"Just get rid of him." Melinda finally said.

The boy who had spoke up and another nodded and began to approach Del. Del took another coin out of his pocket and started spinning it on the bench once more. "Ah, the academy life." Del said.

The boy to Del's left reached out to grab Del's collar. Del's hand moved like a snake and grabbed the boy's wrist, then squeezed and bent it causing the boy's knees to buckle. The boy to Del's right quickly reacted and went to kick Del. Del's right hand reached out and caught the foot. With a twist of his arm Del made the kid he caught spin and fall into the grassy floor.

Del then looked to the other boy in which he kicked in the knee with his left foot making the boy kneel fully. Del then let go of his wrist and slapped him with his right hand making a sound loud enough to let others know it surely stung. The boy fell to the floor and held his face in pain.

This had lasted no longer than ten seconds.

"Tsk, and here I thought you actually liked me." Del said with an impish grin as he looked back to the girl. After witnessing what he had done, Del seemed a lot bigger than he did before, and his smile felt threatening, accompanied by the sound of a single spinning coin.