"Remind me not to ever engage with you in a running competition. I'd basically lose my joy for running!"
Anthony bent his back while his hands rested on his knees, panting heavily like a dog that was chased by a bus in a highway.
"You should feel ashamed of losing to a girl," I said, tauntingly.
"Hey! There's no such thing as 'a girl' in the world of cultivators. Weaker vessels only exist with those at lower cultivation levels..."
"Which is to say," I interrupted him, "you're a weaker vessel!"
Anthony scrunched his face up as he sat on the floor.
"You know what, I won't argue with you till I beat you in rank."
"Haha, not in this world. And you look so cute when you're angry over a loss," I said casually, laughing my butt out.
He raised his cute eyes and looked me in the eyes.
"Don't you feel abashed to speak so honestly?"
"Hahaha," I waved it off. "Don't let my calling you cute get into your head... ever!"
He quickly coughed and changed the topic.
"May I treat you for dinner? You must be exhausted after the run. I know some good stores with good meals."
I stared at him blankly, already calculating what he was up to.
"I'm not the one panting hard over a run with a girl, so better go get a grip. I need to go home and refreshen up."
He sat there gaping at me.
"Hey, not fair!"
I summoned Roy over and hopped on it.
"I know right?" I replied, then swooshed away, leaving my question mark hanging in the air as our distance separated by a large size.
"I didn't even get to know your room number or dormitory!" I heard him scream.
Turning around, I left him with a short clue, boosting my voice with true essence.
"The first of everything is where you find me."
I didn't care if he'd be able to unravel my meaning or only end up raising self-misconceptions. Nevertheless, I really loved the domineering aura I'd succeeded in pulling off.
Off to the dormitory!
* * *
The following day, my roommates and I woke up extraordinarily early. The previous night, we'd already gotten ourselves some food items to prepare. We finally understood why the school gave us kitchens. We'd prepared a meal down already with reference to breakfast. So things technically worked out smoothly. The previous day taught us all lessons we wouldn't want to repeat.
As we did yesterday morning, all three of us soared through the back of Roy to the Tower of Cultivation. Now that I'd broken into the Mediation realm, I finally understood why I always felt that domineering aura from Xueyi — she was also in the Mediation realm. Truly a prodigy!
Cultivation was a thing of one-step at a time, so explanation needn't be given as to the difficulty in walking up those stairs, especially with how some people even had to go into seclusions just to make it possible; just to build a sturdy foundation.
"Today, we'll be taking our first combat class, to get familiar with each of your abilities. We'll be making two groups each, from the fifteen of you. And don't think it's going to be a mixed gender sparring — it'll definitely be a boys-against-girls competition!"
Teacher Haggz voice rattled through the room of Class 192 before the cross-legged students. He was unusually pleased today, unlike how we saw him the previous day. A girl had hung his motto over the class number, just the way he'd asked. Plus, when we arrived, we'd all gone into practice of the Eccentric Heavens cultivation technique which left him quite pleased.
He separated us into two rows facing against each other. Eight boys, seven girls. Everyone seemed excited at the thought of showing off their mights — myself inclusive.
He brought out sixteen cards from his storage ring, then gave fifteen to us, one for himself.
Jaded screamed unexpectedly on seeing the card in his hand.
"E-ethereal tokens?" he stuttered.
Teacher Haggz nodded in satisfaction.
"Very correct. We're going to the Ethereal Hall today for our combat lessons.
"For those of you unfamiliar with the phrase, an Ethereal Hall is a virtual world created by the Arerat Planet, and could be used everywhere and anywhere. It's charged into existence by the mind, and is a world where even death can take place but without causing any significant harm to you. It's the most fitting for establishing a firm foundation in your combat trainings!"
One of the girls, Ruby, quickly asked, "What's a virtual world?"
Teacher Haggz replied in his normal nonchalance way, "It's a world simulated to resemble ours. The only difference is that, nothing is real there. The pain is real, but none of these actually affect your physical body. In summary, it's similar to what you all experienced in your entrance examinations."
He paused to let this sink in. He then added, "I had to order for these tokens from the headquarters, so you better cherish your opportunities served in silver platters."
"B-but it's humongously expensive! My family only have one in the whole clan!" Jaded interjected.
"Well it shows how poor you family is. Now enough with the talks and fasten your tokens around your right hands."
Jaded quickly swallowed the teacher's words and struggled hard to hide his shame and disbelief, even though he easily gave himself out by clenching his fists really tight.
We wore the ethereal tokens as directed by Teacher Haggz. It had just one button on it. And it was coloured green. On a single order, we all pressed the green button without much hesitation.
We were all seated crossed leg, with our teacher in the middle. We closed our eyes, as the latter had instructed us, before pushing that button.
I felt myself spinning, then falling at an incredible speed, forcing me to open my eyes impulsively. I was covered in absolute darkness as I fell. I couldn't see anything or person. A sudden golden light shone over the background, covering everything within sight, and forcing me to shut my eyes as a result, feeling my legs land on the ground, firmly.
Had my cultivation level not been unreined, I could have suffered much from the landing effect. Teacher Haggz did not permit dropping one's cultivation realm in his class, so that meant that my Meditation realm was clear for all to see.
I opened my eyes, slowly and thoughtfully, not knowing what to expect. What I saw left my jaws falling apart.
Beside and around me was the lushness of nature. I was in a jungle! Closing my eyes to understand my environment, my Meditation realm cultivation made it easier for my environment-wise sensitivity to become more tangible. I could feel that there were several savage beasts hiding in the vicinity. Several. None less than Transient Mortal realm intermediate stage, at least.
A voice suddenly rung from no definite direction in particular. It was a familiar voice; Teacher Haggz's.
"Rules: the opposite gender is your enemy. Feel free to use any means at your disposition in battle, the Ethereal Hall is only a virtual world, as mentioned in class. The more people or beasts you can eliminate, the more points would be awarded to your Academy Tokens. These points can be transformed into usable money by the end of the month, to add to your monthly allowance. It's also what would make up your total test results at the end of the first academic session. Be in alarm of savage beasts as well, but don't hunt them unless the circumstance requires it. They won't disturb if you don't disturb... and pray you don't fall into their territories. The button on your ethereal token is red in this world. Slapping on the button would send you out of here in no time, as a sign that you're eliminated from this test. This test is on teamwork and courage. Do not hold back! One more thing, survive for two hours to pass."
That being said, there wasn't the slightest sound made.
"I get it, Steph," I muttered to myself, "you're doomed."
Look who was about to fight a real combat — me! I didn't even have a knife in my storage room, so how could I actually participate in a vicious combat? I'd be slaughtered in no time. Good thing everything here is only virtual.
I pinched my skin hard and felt the immense pain as a response.
Tears gathered in my eyes, "I don't want to die anymore!"