Amari returned to his dorm a few minutes later quite excited. He had so much new information to go on, and he could start training properly, gaining a considerable advantage over other students.
His good mood was dampened considerably as soon as he saw two others in his room. The one from his Elements class and the other one…
"Hello," he waved awkwardly, wanting to go to his room as soon as possible, but it didn't look like that would be happening.
The first one from his Elements class stopped him.
His name was Farlan. He had short-cut black hair and very ordinary pale brown eyes. His horn also didn't look considerably unique or anything so anyone looking at him would wonder how he even got Specially Admitted.
"Hey, is there a reason you're avoiding us?"
It sounded like a genuine question, but Amari couldn't be bothered to believe it. The first time he went into the dorm, he was met with a series of threats that he couldn't bother to deal with.
They were extremely annoying, but not in a good way.
"Yes, there is a reason that I'm avoiding you," he said after a mild internal debate. They were already here, there was no point in trying to get away now.
Farlan cringed back a little and looked to the other roommate for help.
The second guy on the other hand stared intensely at Amari.
"I still want to fight you," the words flowed out of the other demon's mouth as naturally as water running down the tap. He didn't even stop to think about how outlandish it was.
Unlike his normal-looking counterpart, this guy was twice as large as Amari, barely able to walk into the dorm without hitting the ceiling. He was just slightly short of Mel's height. But Mel compared to this guy, he was even more so a gentle giant.
He was called Talenisir'shalang. Sound familiar?
Talen had a long mop of blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. And just like Amari…
"Look, get it out of your head," Amari sighed, still approaching his door rapidly "I don't want to fight you. And even if I did decide to that, you'll probably get hurt,"
The boy grinned from ear to ear, then stepped around Farlan, blocking Amari's door. "No. I refuse your refusal to fight me! I smell it… your power, and so I seek a contest of strength with you!"
Talen was raised by demon beasts as well, further reinforcing Amari's pain. Not only that, there were rumours that he was supposedly the offspring of a Higher Demon Beast and a human.
'I really thought I was special… huh?'
From what he'd heard, Talen had almost completely taken after the beast parent. The only proof of his demon nature was his horns and humanoid appearance.
Amari felt that his case and Talen's case were similar. He still felt like a human from time to time but there was nothing to prove that he was a human.
He groaned inwardly looking at the large demon wholly obstructing his passage.
"I'm not going to fight with you, whether you like it or not. And you can barricade the doors all you want. I've lived in the Pit. Even the floors here are a luxury to sleep on."
It was a pain to even have to sleep somewhere other than his own room, but if it came to that, Amari was willing to sacrifice and just sleep on one of the couches or the floor in the general area.
Evidently, Talen hadn't even thought of that.
"How can I get you to fight me?"
"You can't. It is against the rules for second years and first years to fight, unless under the witness of a teacher. Even if I'm a first year, it isn't because of my strength. It's because my foundational level is lower than it should be. So fighting you despite this complication would still put me at risk of violating the rules."
Amari expected another round of comments, but oddly enough nothing happened.
He stared from the corner of his eyes as he saw Farlan whispering something in Talen's ears.
The large demon seemed to have a lot of doubt on his face, but he grudgingly looked back at Amari and said what he had been instructed to do.
"If you fight me, we'll teach you mana control."
And that was it…
Amari's heart stopped and the room went silent instantly.
Mana control?
He really needed to learn mana control. And there were only about seven days left till SilverOak's next class. Even less until Cluez' own.
But he had to weigh the pros and the cons…
'Mana control? Potentially hurting him?'
It was risky. In an ordinary case, like if Ken asked to spar, he would just say yes. But this was someone that he wasn't sanctioned to fight. If anyone found out, he would be in serious trouble.
Amari took a deep breath and decided to assess Talen.
"Hold on, let me check you out first."
The boy paused with excitement in his eyes, barely able to contain his nervous shiver under the leather armour-like black uniform.
'Observation!'
[Name: Talenisir'shalang]
[Race: Beast-Demon Hybrid]
[Rank: Lesser Hybrid (Birth Rank) - Evolvable]
[Species: Unknown]
[Class: None]
[Level: Apprentice]
[Patrons: None]
Element: Lightning Element (Body enhancer-type)
[Attributes]
[STR: 120]
[AGI: 80]
[STA: 90]
[INT: 250]
[Skills: Innate Basic Lightning Infusion, Spark Fist, Flash Step, Lightning Body Technique, Small Lightning Pulse]
[MP: 500/500]
[Titles: Half-blood]
[Remark: Outcast hybrid with the simple goal of finding stronger opponents to face in battle]
Amari was surprised. Talen wasn't a normal mage like most people, he belonged to the other less-common branch of body enhancer mages, who were strangely born without the ability to project elemental attacks far away from their body, hence he was probably sent to the other version of the Element's class.
Instead of manipulation, they used infusion to project the elemental mana into their bodies.
Amari could do that as well, marking him as the rare two per cent of people who were both Emitters and Body Enhancer types. But he had practised manipulation more.
Body Enhancers were also called Knights, the same line that Lamart Palenia came from.
'Hmm, he has a title. That makes three other people aside from me have one. His stats are also much better than I probably had as an Apprentice rank. Judging from this, the other first years are at least a few notches weaker. Good to know.'
But apart from that, there was nothing else to worry about. It was more or less worth the risk in his eyes.
"Alright. But you're going to have to teach me first."
. . . .
A few hours later he could finish the exercise with no problem. Mana control was finally checked off his list.
****
Author's note: Chapter 50! How are you finding the story so far. Also, thanks to Nihility_Yggdrasil for voting. Remember, power stones are very helpful for new books. After a certain milestone, I will also release bonus chapters.