Talented
26th day of Zargis Calendar. TRAY. Room 1-G. 8:20am.
Akzel yawned as he made his way to his classroom. Last night, he was studying advanced magic theories due to which he is in a half-asleep state. Let alone breakfast, even brushing his teeth was a pain in the ass for him. "If only mom was here…" Even though he has his servants who were supposed to wake him up, his mother always took this duty to herself.
Just as he entered the classroom, he started chatting with his new friends - Trent and Wadel.
"What's your progress on «Synchronization»?"
"Meh… around 20 per cent. Yours?"
"Around the same."
"Ah… I heard that the next basic skill we'll be learning would be three times harder than this."
"Party pooper…"
"Better start taking mental preparations."
Just as they were chatting among themselves, a few groups of girls from the same class interrupted. Among them, a red-haired girl named Itsela spoke. "Sorry for interrupting but are any of you interested in participating in the Awakening Ceremony? If you don't know what that means, let me explain. It's basically a ceremony where cadets all over the TRAY gather and awaken their dormant innate skills. As for the possibility of waking up, it depends but overall it's around 60 per cent. Interested?"
Akzel thought for a while. "Any charge? What's the date?"
Itsela replied, "No. Free! Tomorrow around 6pm."
Trent's and Wadel's eyes lit up as they hurriedly gave their names but Akzel didn't. "I'm not interested. I have an appointment tomorrow."
Trent, Wadel and the girls went speechless. What appointment is more important than unlocking your innate skill?
Itsela asked with concern. "You sure?"
Akzel shrugged and nodded.
The girls quietly departed. Among them, one of them - Zora, a dark-blonde haired girl, muttered quietly but enough for Akzel and his group to hear. "Such a show-off!"
Trent and Wadel helplessly looked at Akzel whose expression was also the same. They again engaged in their previous topics of conversation.
Soon Professor Quyte gave a lecture on curses. Of course, he didn't teach them but rather provided them with ways to remove it.
Akzel quietly slept. Zzzzzzzzz…. He lost track of time.
"... to wake up! …. is starting…." Hearing a few words, he opened his eyes which are still drowsy and lazy. Sitting straight, he found his fellow classmate Wiyli standing in front of him. Sweeping his gaze through the room, he found it empty. Immediately figuring out the situation, he said, "Thanks for waking me up!" Trent and Wadel couldn't wake him up because they had different classes to attend. Akzel guessed that he must have slept for three whole hours.
Wiyli smiled and replied, "You're welcome. Mock battles are about to start. Our turn is about to come!"
Akzel let out a tired sigh and went along with her without any more words.
"That reminds me… I heard you aren't taking part in the Awakening Ceremony?"
"Mhm. I have other things to do."
"Is that so? But I honestly advise you not to miss such an important event."
"Will it happen next year as well?"
"Next year? I'm not too sure about that…"
Akzel shrugged and changed the topic. "I didn't notice until now but it seems that you grasped some Space laws…. I can only blame my luck if I lose today for getting paired up with a monster like you."
Wiyli wasn't too surprised and laughed lightly. "Would you believe me if I said that I can release Space Aura?"
"What the heck!? Space aura!! You're serious!?"
"Hey! Don't overreact!"
"Haha… I was too shocked."
***
Training Area.
Akzel silently gazed at his mock battle partner, Wiyli who stood straight and was gathering her aura. From her slightly bent stance, it was pretty clear that she was going on the offensive right from the start. However, Akzel didn't seem to mind at all. He took out a small blue dagger and made the first move.
«Accelerate» *Swish*
Wiyli too made her move by a teleportation spell and disappeared. Akzel didn't panic and activated a basic skill «Trace» to detect his opponent's aura.
Just as he searched for Wiyli while still in motion due to inertia, Wiyli appeared behind him and tried to hold him by his neck.
«Decelerate»
*Thump*
Quickly casting his spell, his back collided with Wiyli's front.
«Horizontal Slash»
Seeing the dagger approach her neck, she quickly backed off with a movement skill.
During their exchange, Wiyli figured that she is at a slightly disadvantageous position at close combat with Akzel. 'His advantage lies in his quick-wit and his movement skills. I wonder how he will deal with this.'
«Flame Wave»
Dazzling blue flames lit up in Wiyli's surroundings. The flames swirled around her body until they finally stopped and quickly disappeared. Akzel's eyes dropped as he put away his dagger.
*Boom*
An invisible wave attacked Akzel. This is an unavoidable attack. "Accelerate."
*Swish*
*Swish*
Not to mention Wiyli, even the instructor was baffled by the sudden charge of Akzel.
"Circuit close". Akzel's every mana channel connected itself resulting in no leakage of mana.
«Max - Accelerate»
The distance between Akzel and Wiyli was originally 75 metres. Three seconds passed by, the distance between each of them has closed up to 15 metres. A few inches in front of Akzel is the offensive wave. Around this time, he slowly stretched his right hand.
«Minor Delay» Basically, a space skill to slow down the time of the target.
Mana density increase!
Liquify!
Condense!
Infuse Destroyer Laws!
«One - Finger Break»
*crac*
*crac*
*crac*
The upcoming wave dispersed in thin air. Akzel stood straight looking at his jaw-dropped opponent, Wiyli as well as his instructor whose expression remained calm but eyes fluctuating now and then.
"I… admit defeat!" Regaining her composure, Wiyli continued with a sigh. "Even if I act stubborn, the outcome won't change."
The instructor silently evaluated both of them and flashed a smile. 'These are not seeds that belong in this class. Even some S-class cadets couldn't compare to them. It's a pity… I could have given them pointers if not for the upcoming game...' Meanwhile, Akzel and Wiyli were discussing their recent mock battle.
The instructor coughed to draw their attention. "Akzel, strategies, variables and unpredictability is your strong point but you must not be dependent on these alone. The current you would struggle before brute force. As for Wiyli, how should I put this… you're too naive. While Akzel was busy preparing for the final strike, you were standing there in a daze. If you would have made an attack, even if your wave were to be destroyed, your position would have been much better. Also, your «Flame Wave» is just at it's elementary level. Don't force it to the next level. Now, go back and send the next pair."
Akzel and Wiyli both shouted in unison and headed back. "Understood!"
***
After his classes, Akzel went to the nearest shopping districts to buy his daily necessities. He took a look at the grocery. The prices are neither high nor low. Akzel bought some groceries and entered the supermarket. The market was moderately crowded. Most of the people were cadets who were hanging with their fellow mates.