Markus was about to activate his ability and change the memories of these five civilians. Closing his eyes, he began to concentrate. To the others, it seemed like nothing was happening.
"Done," Markus said, opening his eyes. Kayden and Dan were surprised upon hearing this. They weren't sure whether what Markus was saying was true, but their instructor chose to confirm for herself.
"Who are you?" she asked one of them.
"We are the protectors of humanity. It is our sworn duty to defend against the notorious Shales," the man replied. They were even more surprised upon hearing this.
'That ability... I better make sure I don't step on his toes while I'm here,' Kayden thought.
"From this experiment, it is clear that his ability could affect five people at once. However, number is not the only thing that determines the effectiveness of your ability. Things such as someone's will power and mental resolve. Or their overall power can make it harder for your ability to work on them. Take me for example. Try to change my memories," she ordered.
Both Kayden and Dan were interested in seeing how this would turn out.
"Yes, ma'am," he said, before closing his eyes to concentrate.Unlike the last time he used his ability, he seemed to be struggling this time around. Visible sweat began to appear, running down his face. It was clear this was a lot harder to do. Eventually, Markus gave up, opening his eyes wide and falling onto his knees. He had exhausted all his Mana and was even out of breath.
"Now you understand what I said," the woman said. "My will power is strong. At your current level, your ability has little to no affect on me. It worked on those five because they have weak will power. While you rest and regenerate your Mana, it's time we focus on you, Dan. Your ability allows you to copy the ability of others.
"So, I would like you to copy Marcus's ability and change the memories of these people back to normal."
Hearing this, Kayden now knew that he had to look out for not one, but two students at the academy. One that could change people's memories, and another who could copy abilities. It was obvious who was far more dangerous.
Tapping Marcus on the shoulder, Dan closed his eyes and began to concentrate. He had never come across such an ability before. He still had a basic understanding of how abilities worked. He just hoped that he could apply that and whatever bit of random stuff he knew and change back their memories.
After concentrating for a while, Dan opened his eyes and turned to face the instructor.
"I think I did it," he said.
She nodded her head and turned towards the civilians. "Who are you?" she asked.
The man gave her a weird look before responding. "Huh? Do you have memory loss of something? You know that I'm just a taxi driver and that you asked me and my friends to assist you with some tests.
"The only reason we agreed was because we were in dire need of the money you promised us. Plus, you said that the tests weren't dangerous and that we could get back to our lives soon after."
'What the fuck?' Kayden was speechless.
"You're a fast learner. Now, let's see what you can do," she turned to look at her last student. "So you can transform into a Werewolf. Show me," she ordered.
Kayden gulped before doing as told. Just like every other time he transforms, he reached into his body to tap into a red energy. The energy circulated through out his body, and it began to change. In a few second, what stood before them wasn't a boy, but a beast.
"Interesting. Show me what you Candi with your ability. "Fight me," she declared.
"What?" he asked, shocked. But, no one could tell what it was exactly that he said. Kayden knew he couldn't disobey a direct order from a superior. Not now, at least. So he decided to attack her.
However, instead of fighting like he usually would, he decided to try out what learnt from his previous class. The technique know as Ikkyo which allowed him to pin down his opponent using his own strength while avoiding his opponent's strength.
Since the instructor wasn't doing anything other than standing in place, he saw it as a good opportunity to test out the technique. He still wasn't fully in to the motions, but just wanted to test the waters.
He waited until he got close enough, then grabbed the instructor by the arm, although it wasn't the way the instructor taught them. It was then that he noticed a problem. This technique was meant to be used as a defense. If your opponent wasn't attacking you, then it was useless. Also, it seemed like the instructor wouldn't budge. So he decided to switch things up.
He started attacking like how he would back at the underground fighting club. He slashed with his claws. Mid-swing, she caught them with both her hands. It was clear from her expression that she wasn't even struggling.
"You have decent strength for a sixteen-year-old," she said. She pushed his arms away, then quickly followed up with a kick to the chest.The force of the kicks pushed Kayden back. He almost fell on the floor from the force.
The attack had ruptured a few internal organs, causing him to spew blood from his mouth. It would take a lot of Mana to heal the injuries. What was more terrifying was the fact that she looked so calm and collected while beating the crap out of him.
"You'll need to improve your strength in the future. I hope that one day, we can fight each other for real. But for now, focus on getting stronger."
Getting back up to his feet, Kayden cancelled the transformation. He bowed in respect to the instructor. "I will," he replied.
So far, everyone had a good idea if each other's strength, but now, it was time for what brought them here in the first place.
"For the next week, we will be focusing on a technique designed to increase your rate of Mana regeneration. This technique will not only improve your Mana regeneration rate, but will also lengthen your health and overall life span." She then went on to display the breathing technique before explaining it to her students.
"To execute it, you inhale and exhale at your own pace, but keep a constant rhythm. Inhale for four beats. Hold the breath for two beats. Exhale at four beats. Hold for another two beats. And then inhale again. If walking, use each step as a beat. Remain entirely focused on the breath and how it flows through the body."
For an entire hour, the trio would spend the time practicing the breathing technique. Although they weren't doing it very well, they could still feel their Mana replenishing a lot faster than before.
"I advice you practice the breathing technique outside this class as it is useful to practice constantly. Now, I believe you all have fully regained all your Mana. For the next part of today's lesson, I want you, Dan, to copy my ability. Then, you and Kayden will fight against me."
Doing as instructed, Dan walked up to her to copy her ability. He was terrified, having no choice but to do as he was told. His ability allowed him to copy two abilities at once. Whatever ability he copied wouldn't stay with him forever, as they would oy last for twenty-four hours before he would loose them.
That was why the instructor was confident in what she was doing. After copying her ability, Kayden began to transform.
"Now!" she said, and they both charged towards her. While this was going on, the students with other ability classes turned to see what was going on. After seeing first-hand what she could do to Kayden, they were interested in seeing how she would deal with these two students, one of whom had a copy of her ability.
While Kayden kicked and clawed, Dan had no idea what the instructor's ability was. Concentrating hard, he began to feel a foreign energy in his body. Kayden did his best to land a blow, but the instructor dodged all his attacks with ease.
Dan opened his eyes, all that could be seen was white. Not saying a word, he charged at the instructor.
'He's finally decided to join the fight,' Kayden thought. It was then that the instructor delivered a severe punch to the snout, sending him flying back and crashing against the floor. Now, it was just her and Dan left standing.
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