"How do I control which path I will pick upon entering Level 4?"
Akiho smiled and looked at the students. Most of them were also puzzled. Except Ryan sitting in the corner and fiddling with his comm.
'He must have been taught by his family already.' Akiho shook her head.
"The choice depends on what you do since you awakened as a Level 1." She gazed at the students with a teasing smile.
"If you train each of your stat separately and extensively, your path will be Controller. If you just train without extra emphasis on all stats, your path will be Enhanced."
"Now, each of you, show your powers…"
The small test ended with every student having a small test by punching at Akiho's palm.
She didn't flinch, even with Ryan's punch.
Varian only used his Body Awakener powers and didn't stand out. But Akiho could feel something different in him.
All these students experienced combat and killed many. But no one had a such a fine stance.
'This little guy… is experienced.' Akiho thought in appreciation, but soon it dissolved into a pity 'he offended Xanders… ai.'
Akiho skimmed the basics and started her first lecture.
"You need to focus on the aura converting into chi. This is the driving force for all Body path awakeners….."
The class continued and soon Varian was bored. The goal of body awakeners in Level 1-3 was to increase the concentration of aura and adapt their bodies to hold in more aura.
At the peak of Level 3, with 100% Greater Human stats, one could lift military trucks and kick away huge buses.
"You'll be informed of the next class." Ahiko said and her figure blurred. In the next moment, she appeared hundreds of meters away.
'Charles Xander… is at least as strong as her.' Varian came to the stark realization that the one he challenged was at the level of his teacher and just in his third year!
'He's a monster!' Varian sighed in exasperation.
Truth be told, Varian knew he would surpass Charles at some point. But the gap of 1 year put pressure on him.
Even if everyone struck it off as gibberish, Varian was serious when he vowed to defeat Charles and take his throne.
'Level 6....Usually, breaking through into Level 7 will take years. So I could catch up.' Varian convinced himself.
{Combat Classes are starting in 10 minutes. Honorary students have separate instructors. Follow the address.}
Varian reached the dome structure. It was made of glass, but he couldn't see the inside.
He saw a few auras approaching at a high speed. He glanced back and saw Narcis, Ryan and Adir, along with other Level 3s.
To his surprise, there were a few Level 2s following these young master figures.
'They used their strength to help their lackeys, huh.' He shook his head and entered the dome.
What greeted him was a white hall with a ridiculously high ceiling and loads of weapon strewn in the corners. There were even several heaps of weapons.
Varian checked his location again and confirmed he was in the right place.
'Really? This is what honorary students get?'
There was one minute for the combat class to begin, and around 25 students gathered in the hall.
Twenty of them were Level 3 and only five were Level 2. That included Varian.
Unlike others who plainly avoided him, most of them showed hostility.
They were divided into two groups. One group led by Narcis and Ryan. The other by Adir and an unfamiliar girl.
Varian spotted the guy who gave the false testimony yesterday. He looked at Varian with contempt and arrogance.
Varian ignored him and started thinking of the solutions to his predicament. His first goal was to earn mp for his fine and also monthly exam fee.
{You have to pay 21 mp. (+1 mp per day.)}
Narcis ignored Varian and glared at Adir. Ryan glared at the girl.
'My enemies also have enemies. Unfortunately, we can't be friends.' Even though Varian hated Narcis, he also hated Adir.
"Yo! I heard someone's brother intervened to help them out?" Adir was the first to provoke.
"At least I didn't come to beg everyone to help my family out." Narcis kept his cool and retorted.
This time, Adir's face was flushed. He drew out his whip and was about to swing it when —
"Formation." A voice sounded, jolting them to their senses.
The Body Awakeners had keen senses, and they were able to spot the source of the sound.
"FORMATION!." the sound came from a heap of weapons — star treasures.
"Click."
"Click."
A man pulled himself out of the weapon heap and yelled at them.
"Now!"
The dome shook for a moment, and everyone lined up in a rectangular formation.
The students around Varian wanted to avoid him, but the man roared, "Stand in place."
Only now Varian got a clear picture of the man. He had a bald head and was exuded a fierce aura. He was reminded of Gareth inadvertently.
He wore the standard military uniform, and his tag read Seth. Instructor.
As he approached them, Varian felt like a fierce beast was approaching him. Only Eric gave him a similar dread.
Seth glanced at them and his gaze shifted to the level 2s in the group "Isn't this supposed to be honorary student group? Why Level 2s?"
Ryan was about to step forward and explain, but he waved his hands. "Do whatever you want. I just care about combat, anyway."
The honorary students looked arrogant. They thought he was backing down because of their status.
"Let's start with the basics." Seth grinned and the next moment, everyone collapsed on the ground.
"Ku…" Varian tried to move his body, but the ground held him down. It was as if the floor was sucking him down.
'Gravity!' He looked around and saw even Narcis, the strongest Level 3 at the moment, also collapsed.
Gravity path was one of the three Divine paths of Dimensional Group alongside Space and Time. As its name suggested, Gravity Awakeners controlled gravity.
"Oops. I thought you were second years." Seth chuckled unapologetically and squinted his eyes.
Varian felt his insides being twisted, and his muscles pressed. He wasn't able to breathe and in a few minutes, he'd run out of oxygen.
Level 2 Body Awakeners would still die from Asphyxiation.
"It's alright now." Seth's voice sounded, and the pressure reduced the next moment and Varian could barely move.
Through his peripheral vision, he saw that everyone could barely move. Just like him.
'So he adjusted gravity according to our strengths? Wow!' Varian was surprised as he struggled to get up.
"Your test is to touch the wall. If you fail, I will just teach second years." Seth said.
They were in the middle of the circular hall. So they had to travel an equal distance to reach their destination.
The problem was that it was at least 200 meters away from them. They'd scoff at this proposition in normal times, but now moving even 1 meter was a hurdle.
"Ahh"
"Don't underestimate me."
"I'm the greatest genius."
The students struggled to stand up. There was no progress. They were only able to raise their arms, most of them were still pressed to the ground. Even though it was not life threatening, it was humiliating.
Only Narcis, Ryan and Adir managed to half stand.
After a few more minutes of struggling, Narcis stood straight and took his first step.
Ryan and Adir followed suit, and they each went in their own direction.
An hour passed.
Step by step.
Step by step.
The trio were just 25 meters away from the wall. By now, they were bleeding profusely and sweating like buckets.
Adir kept using earth slides to force him forward. But under gravity, everything slowed down.
Ryan used his body defense to withstand the pressure.
Narcis relied on his stats as a beast morpher. He approached the wall with a blue light covering him.
"Haha! What's your name?" They suddenly heard a laughter from behind, and they turned around to see that peasant boy.
He leaned against the wall and moved his sore muscles.
Seth smiled at Varian. He seemed more than satisfied.
"You...you're first again!" Narcis gritted his teeth and wanted to attack Varian right away.
But he stopped himself. He didn't want Charles to point out faults in his approach.
"Instructor, I think this test is unfair to Level 3s if you adjust the strength accordingly." Narcis said.
His tone wasn't arrogant, which was incredibly rare.
"I'm just checking your power relative to your level." Seth didn't give a fuck and waved his hand.
Narcis gritted his teeth and said, "Then let him duel with a Level 2. If he wins, I consider it fair. If he loses, he doesn't deserve to be first."
Narcis insisted, and Seth couldn't ignore him completely.
"What do you say?" he didn't answer himself but turned to Varian.
Duels required consent of both parties.
Varian's clothes were drenched in sweat and blood. His path had the most blood foot prints. But he was first.
Upon hearing Narcis's proposal, he nodded "Condition is I get to choose my opponent, and he pays me 50 mp for participating."
Narcis's smile brightened and was about to accept but he suddenly paused "20"
Everyone widened their eyes at Narcis. Shouldn't he usually accept the conditions since Varian would lose, anyway?
'This bastard. He knew I need mp this month. He also got the penalty for aggression. If I wait for a month, I'll need 50mp just for penalty and 20mp for exam.'
Varian gritted his teeth "30 or the deal breaks."
"Great. Pick any Level 2 you want." Narcis said and laughed out loud.
Varian checked the Level 2s and knew why Narcis was confident.
The other 4 Level 2s were all at peak of Level 2. So there was a substantial between their strengths.
Varian pointed his finger at the guy who testified that he bribed him to provoke Narcis.
"You." Varian smiled through his bloody teeth. It was the smile of a demon.