A week passed by and Adrian could see the terrifying effects of the Nucleus Potion along with the harrowing exercises working well. His body had started to show signs of rigid shape and hints of growing muscle. In the ancient times, such progress would take months of training, but now with scientifically tailored training and the power of Alchemical potions this progress could be crammed into the matter of a week.
Jimmy had explained to Adrian that the first month would completely consist of heavy body training exercises only, and only after his body would reach a certain level that Jimmy would teach him self defense techniques. Adrian could see with his own eyes how his body was improving and had no problem with the training schedule as arranged by Jimmy.
Meanwhile, in school Adrian had noticed that there was something wrong in the atmosphere. There was a palpable tension surrounding the third years the students in his class seemed to be on edge.
"What's going on?" Adrian wondered to himself. Unfortunately, being one of the only 'cripples' in class.meant that he was completely isolated and didn't have any friends who could exchange the gossip with him. Yet, while in the library, he one day discovered the cause of the increasing tension.
The school had decided to procure three Fortification Potions at great cost from Enigma Corp to boost its prestige at the high school examinations. The three potions would go to the three most ability users in the school who would obtain the most amount of contribution points.
Students in school who awakened their abilities could accept missions from the school. Upon successfully completing the missions, they could obtain ability points. However, there was a faster way to obtain ability points, which was to challenge someone else into a duel on a wager of ability points. Duels between ability couldn't be rejected by the challenged, but the challenger had to bet all their points in the process, to maintain some parity.
Adrian then understood why the students were on edge. Everyone seemed to be looking for an appropriate opponent to challenge. For a change, Adrian felt relieved that target had been taken off of his back.
As Adrian continued his daily routine, the ability users in third grade who were considered the strongest five had been looking at the situation in seriousness. They were the five members of the Student Council, the most powerful student body in the school.
Lear was the head of the student council, widely considered to be the most powerful student in school. His ability was to control water. It was an extremely versatile and powerful ability with extreme potential if trained properly. His ability was currently graded at 6, which was extraordinary for a high schooler.
Janice was the vice head of the student council, and the most powerful female ability user in school. She had the ability to control vibrations. Whether to create shockwaves or to simulate earthquakes, her ability was extremely powerful and versatile as well. She too was graded at 6 when it came to her ability.
Trix was the secretary of the student council. Her ability was to create illusions and confuse others using mental abilities. She was widely regarded as one of the mathematical geniuses in the school as well. Her ability was graded at 5.5.
Wheeler was the head of defense management in the student council. His ability was a powerful body strengthening ability that made it as hard and indestructible as diamond. Once he began rampaging, few could stop him. In terms of physical strength he was the strongest student in the school, but was famous for being a bit of a hard headed person. His ability was graded at 5.7.
Finally, was Cran, who was just the emergency management official in the student council, who could handle any and every emergency. His ability was graded rather low, at 3.4 points, yet because of his ingenious use of the ability and extreme training, Cran had managed to establish himself as a strong player in the school as well. His ability was to make his body extremely slippery, but with excellent control.
Lear looked at his peers and sighed. Janice didn't seem to care about being in the student council, Trix was busy conjuring up a new dream to laze in and Wheeler was too dumb and only blindly followed orders. Cran was the only one in the student council who would listen and provide input to Lear.
"Cran, the school seems to have exploded a tinder this time. Ability users are going to engage in heavy battle." Lear said.
Cran nodded. "There won't be a shortage of individuals looking to challenge us. After all, only the top three contribution point holders will get the fortification solution."
Lear shrugged. "I can procure that solution through my own channels. Janice and I don't really need it. You on the other hand would benefit a lot from having it. I am not planning to compete for it, but as Student Council members, we need to ensure that battles don't go out of hand."
Janice, who seemed to be browsing a fashion website stopped and smirked. "Don't go out of hand? I literally keep feeling the vibrations of illegitimate fights, mostly stronger ability users bullying weaker ones. Don't see you two doing anything about it?"
Lear looked at Janice in surprise. "You know the school's policy over that. Duress leads to awakening. We can only turn a blind eye to that."
Cran frowned. "That might be the case. But this event would be an excellent excuse to use to settle personal grudges."
Lear rubbed his forehead in irritation at the school's officials. "Great. More unnecessary work thrust on us. We'll put out a notice that challenges can only take place in the arena. Janice, if you sense any illegal fights taking place, immediately let us know. We can let Wheeler go out for a little jog."
Wheeler suddenly stopped eating. "I can go out for a jog?"
"Not yet, big guy." Cran laughed as he patted the stone like shoulders of Wheeler.