Inside was a room that was full of crates.
I slowly closed the door behind me then walked over to the crates and began opening them one by one.
After a few crates I realized that most were empty.
"If we don't receive a new shipment by next week we'll run out."
I then opened one and saw that unlike the others that I opened earlier, this one was full.
"But he'll send it." I held up a package. "He's making too much money from the diom I'm selling not to."
Like Lieutenant Maxwell had said, diom was an illegal drug that was sold here in the Pain Federation. In theory Dion was beneficial to people who have awakened since it could help them when they refine, and although it's true that it could help, it was still outlawed over safety concerns.
What made the drug so dangerous was the fact that it was highly addictive, and many cases have shown that after taking diom long enough, Ranked are no longer able to function without it, and normal people even die.
But in this world where personal strength matters a lot, Ranked are always looking for easier, faster ways to reach new levels of strength.
But many people become addicted to diom, which leads to a reduction in the number of useful Ranked.
So after months of discussion it was decided that although there are benefits to diom, the risks far outweigh the benefits.
But this didn't stop the sale, it only made people more careful when buying diom, which is where I come in.
Crates of diom are smuggled to a building in the slums, from there a trapdoor which is connected to the sewage system of the city is raised and the crates are carried down. After about an hour of walking while constantly changing passages, a door is reached which leads to the room I'm currently in.
Since I'm a student of Freestone Academy I am practically immune to a lot of the laws in the Pain Federation, so two years ago Alistair and I made a deal and began to transport and distribute diom all over Freedom City, while receiving a commission for our services.
When we first started this out Alistair, Agustin and I had worked out of a small, dilapidated building in the slums. Back then we had been the only ones around so we had to do all the transporting by ourselves, both the Dion related and legit ones.
But after a year of hard work, we were able to afford this building in the industrial part of the city, and now have several people working for us.
We then officially registered this business and named it Hydra transportation. We named it after the faction we have in Freestone Academy which is also called Hydra.
I opened the package and took out a plastic bottle which held a blue colored pill.
'I'll just take this.' I put the bottle into my pocket then closed the crate.
'Now…' I turned and opened the door. 'It's time to head back to Freestone.'
I then stopped and looked down at my clothes. 'But first I need to change.'
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*PANT, PANT*
I was running down a white hallway, when I looked down at my XOC.
'Shit! I'm very late.'
I turned down another hall then slowed down, before stopping in front of a closed door.
I took a deep breath before opening the door.
A woman who was standing on a podium at the front of the room turned to me.
"Mr Alex Shampa, I'm glad you could join us."
I walked to a desk at the back of the room amidst stares from the other students in the class.
"Of course I came Instructor Vann, I wouldn't miss this class for the world." I then sat down.
Instructor Vann looked at me for a few more seconds before she resumed her lecture.
"As I was saying, today we will go over the basics of Hani."
The students in the class immediately burst out complaining.
"Seriously."
"Come on Instructor Vann."
"We've all long since passed talking about the basics."
I looked around the classroom and shook my head.
I for one didn't mind. I always find discussions about Hani interesting, even if it's basic knowledge.
"Quiet down." A pressure then bore down on the class, which made the complaining stop immediately. "First of all, what is Hani? Hani is basically the life force that every living being possesses. Not only humans possess Hani, others like demons, elves, or even a simple thing like a tree all have Hani."
"Hani is the building block of life and with it everyone would drop dead."
Instructor Vann paused for a moment to let what she'd said sink in.
"Now the second question to ask is, who are the Ranked?"
Instructor Vann looked around the room before pointing at a student to the left in the front row.
"Who are the Ranked?"
The girl who Instructor Vann has pointed at slowly stood up.
"The Ranked are people who have awakened their Hani, which basically means that they can now sense the Hani in their bodies."
Instructor Vann nodded her head in approval as the girl sat down. "That wasn't the best explanation but yes, that is what it means for a person to be awakened."
"So…" Instructor Vann stepped off the podium and began walking around the classroom. "How does a person awaken?"
The next person to be pointed at was in the third row.
The student stood up and began answering.
"The normal way is for it to happen naturally, which means that the Hani will awaken before a person reaches their fifth year." The student then turned and looked at me. "The other way is for it to be forcefully awakened using special or, maybe experimental techniques."
"Correct Leon." Said Instructor Vann. "Now that that's been established, let us talk about what Ranked do to get stronger."
Instructor Vann then looked around the room. "Who should I pick?" Finally her eyes settled on me.
"The late comer, tell us what they do."
I sighed in my mind as I stood up. 'This happened because I was late, next time I will make sure to not come late.'
I then looked to the front of the room where Instructor Vann was and answered.
"Ranked refine their Hani to get stronger, but to do that a Hani refining technique is needed."
"Correct," Instructor Vann clapped her hand and motioned for me to sit down.
She then walked back to the podium and got on it.
"Ok, now that we have talked about the basics of the basics it's time to move on and talk about what happens as we refine our Hani."
"When a person awakens successfully, that signifies the beginning of their Ranked journey. After that they get a Hani refining technique, and from the name it should be obvious what a refining technique is used for."
Instructor Vann sighed and shook her head.
"But for those that don't understand, I'll explain. When a person awakens they're able to immediately sense the Hani in their body, but if they don't start refining soon after they'll lose the ability to sense it, but that doesn't mean they will never be able to sense it again, they will when they begin refining it'll just take some time."
Although I had heard all this before I still leaned closer.
"I got sidetracked, anyway when a person awakens they will notice that their Hani is in the form of a gas and is spread all over their body. But there are also impurities in Hani."
Instructor Vann then smacked the podium.
"Now this is where refining techniques come in, they show in what way the Hani should be moved around the body so as to expel the impurities while also gathering the Hani in one place in your body, usually the navel."
Instructor Vann looked at her XOC.
"Ok, that's all for today, when we have another Hani manipulation class we'll continue our discussion." She then stepped off the podium and strode towards the door.
I quickly stood up and raised a hand.
"Instructor Vann, is there a reason we talked about the basics today?"
Instructor Vann paused as she was opening the door then looked back.
"You find out soon enough." She then walked out of the classroom.
The class became quiet for a few seconds after she left as everyone glanced around at each other, trying to figure out what she meant.
Then everyone got up one by one and left the room.
I slowly stood up. "Well, it's time for lunch."
Then hands in pockets I walked out of the classroom.