"Follow me," Professor McAllister said. The two left the room and headed toward the gym. Meanwhile, Principal Harris and Mr. Kite continued their discussion.
"What do you think about the boy?"
"The test results are not meeting our expectations for Awakeners," Mr. Kite said, maintaining a professional tone.
"True, but we have to keep in mind that his brain crystal was F-ranked. He was unlikely to jump more than a single rank. Even getting out of the F-zone has been a significant achievement for him," the principal said.
"I guess."
"What do you want to do with him?" The principal asked.
Mr. Kite sighed.
"He's still an Awakener. Even though his mana levels are low, he can create twice the neural links and will be stronger than most. While he may not be the best awakener out there, he'll still make a great agent," Mr. Kite said.
Principal Harris didn't reply; he just looked at the man.
"Well, if there is nothing else, I will leave. I have to report what I saw here."
"Yes, yes. Have a safe trip," Principal Harris said.
—***—
Erik and Professor McAllister arrived at the gym. The other students were already there.
"Good morning, Professor McAllister."
The teacher looked at his students.
"I called you here today because, well, we know you don't need to study. Really, you are the best this school has to offer. Today we are going to train."
The students nodded.
"Since we have a full day for training, you'll first practice using your powers. After that, we'll work on combat moves and finish with our usual sparring matches. You're all familiar with the routine, so let's begin."
The students here were all the best. Not only did they all have powerful brain crystal powers, incredible grades, and superb fighting techniques, but most were also from powerful families.
For example, Amber was the eldest daughter of Caiden Joyce, Richard Stone's right-hand man. Not only was the Stone family the wealthiest and most powerful family in the entire nation, but Richard was also a close friend of General Becker and his closest aide.
That alone said how important Caiden Joyce and his family were. However, Amber wasn't the only one belonging to an influential family.
There were also people from the Zamora and the Montgomery clans among them, and they had extremely powerful brain crystal powers.
However, Amber's power was the most peculiar. To use it, she had to leave the gym. Her powers were deadly, and she still had problems using them as intended.
Amber could control gasses, but most importantly, she could create a particularly nasty and corrosive one. More than corrosive, it was right to talk about acidic. It was able to melt everything, to the point only an unidentified goo remained.
She could control it to various degrees. Changing the destructiveness, who it affected, and many more. It was just that; she was young, and her power insidious. She didn't learn how to use everything she could effectively.
One thing was clear: whoever entered her domain was bound to find a horrible death. If they were not experienced, at least. Mana barriers could be used by humans too. Otherwise, whatever kind of attack they received in battle would simply be fatal.
Nathaniel practiced his force fist while sparring with a robot. He wasn't one who held back, and since he would kill his fellow students, he chose a target he could destroy. However, his training was very pleasing to the eye because he combined martial arts and brain crystal powers usage.
Gwen followed a similar training approach. Her power created a protective mana armor, which she usually kept at the gauntlet level. It was just that; they were deadly.
She was currently training with Floyd, who had an energy negation power. He could decrease momentum, speed, heat, and many more, but with some drawbacks.
His power was powerful, but unfortunately, his mana wasn't that much. Mind you, it was still at the B level, but if he had been at the A one, he would have been a powerhouse.
For now, Floyd only mastered how to use it defensively and used it as a sort of barrier. He was no barrier master, though.
There were more peculiar powers out there. Anderson's was particularly deadly, even more than Amber's. He not only couldn't train in the gym; he had to leave the school. He needed specific places to do so since he had a highly destructive power and usually took care of that part of his training on his own.
He could generate explosions from his body. While that alone wasn't unusual, his explosions were particularly powerful. In fact, it was nearly impossible for him to avoid destroying the entire school if he used his power.
Professor McAllister worked with Erik, showing combat moves for the boy to replicate. Though Erik had already injected the knowledge of this fighting style, so he knew what he had to do. Executing the movements was the only problem.
"Good," Professor McAllister said. "Keep training like this and you'll master it."
"Thank you very much, sir."
After an hour of training, the usual notification appeared in front of Erik's eyes.
[QUEST COMPLETE.]
—***—
After hours of training in the gym, the students moved on to practice various techniques. They then split into their usual friend groups.
Nathaniel paired up with his friends Karl Moran and Natasha Pope. Anderson joined Aaron and Mikey, while Amber, Floyd, and Gwen formed their own group. The cafeteria was closed that day, since it was under renovation, and everyone brought lunch from home.
No one had informed Erik about this. He watched the other students eating and silently cursed his predicament.
Amber noticed Erik gazing longingly at the other students' food. Seeing him without lunch.
"Should we give him something to eat?"
"To who?" Gwen asked.
"To Erik Romano."
"The school trash?" Floyd said.
"I prefer to call him the Awakener."
"Being the Awakener didn't teach him how to throw a punch."
"Seriously? You know he is the only Awakener in the entire nation, right?"
"So what?"
"So, we should be kinder to him. Besides, he looks miserable."
"If you say so."
Floyd shrugged indifferently. They watched as Erik walked toward a tree.
"Is he thinking about growing fruits?"
"That would be a good use of his power..." Floyd said.
"Are you really going to let him do that?"
"I think it's OK, though?"
"Floyd, go give him something to eat," Amber said while nibbling at her sandwich.
"Why me?"
"Because you are a man. What do you think he would think if I or Gwen went?"
"That you are kind?" Floyd said.
"Wrong, that we are there to mock him."
Floyd sighed.
"All right..."
He walked toward Erik.
"Hey," he said.
"Hi."
Erik eyed the student warily.
"Are you hungry?" Floyd asked.
"A little. I didn't know we had to bring food from home and prepared nothing."
Floyd studied him. "Do you want to eat with us?"
That left Erik confused.
"Are you messing with me?"
"No... What? Why would I...? Do you want to come or not?" Floyd asked.
"OK..." Erik was hungry, and since Amber had both a good reputation at school and had been polite to him the previous day, he decided to give them a chance—though he remained guarded.
The two went to Gwen and Amber and sat on the ground.
"Hello," Amber said, smiling.
"Hi..."
Erik kept himself distant. It was the first time someone approached him like this, and he really couldn't help thinking they had ulterior motives.
"I noticed you didn't bring any lunch," Amber said.
"Yeah, no one told me about the cafeteria… So..."
"Here, have some of my sandwich—I always pack way too much anyway!" Amber held out the food.
"I'm Amber, by the way. These are my friends Gwen and Floyd," she said with a friendly wave at the two.
"Erik Romano," he said between his teeth. "But you probably already knew that..."
"Oh yeah, you're the guy with the plant powers… They call you..."
"The plant hugger," Erik said. "Yes."
"Gwen, come on..." Amber gave her an exasperated look.
"What?" She shrugged. "I didn't want to mock him."
"Don't worry..."
Erik felt annoyed but didn't want to complain since they were showing him kindness, or so it seemed. Given his mostly negative experiences with people, he couldn't shake the suspicion that they might have spiked the food with laxatives.
His growling stomach decided for him. Erik took a large bite of Amber's shared sandwich while listening to the three friends' conversation.
Erik watched them with a mix of longing and envy. Though he hated Frant and its people, part of him yearned for a normal life—one with friends, a good brain crystal power, and genuine happiness. He craved friendship and connection like any other people his age.
The group noticed his discomfort and tried to make him feel welcome—Amber, especially while Gwen and Floyd remained somewhat aloof. Still, they tried to include him in conversation, mostly due to Amber.
"So, I heard that Logan, Conal, and Orson got punished for what they did at the cafeteria. They must clean the school for a month..." Floyd said.
Erik looked at him with resignation. Though unhappy about their lenient punishment, he hadn't faced any consequences himself, so he kept silent. He'd expected this outcome, anyway.
"Yeah..." the young man said.