Shin sat in Director Kim's massive office, waiting for him to arrive. After his conversation with the instructors, he immediately made his way to the castle.
He sat with his eyes closed, practicing his Mana Breathing technique learned from the Omni-Magi's skillbook.
He took deep breaths through his lips, absorbing the mana-rich air, circulating the mana through his Mana Circuit, and then exhaling the mana-deprived air through his nose.
After learning the Mana Breathing technique, his next task was a long and tedious process to complete the next task.
[Mana Circuit Expansion (1/4) - 1,230/1,000,000]
Each completed Mana Breath completing a cycle through his Mana Circuit increased the tally by one, meaning he needed to complete a million.
He lamented what the second cycle would throw at him if the first was a million, but if he could complete the weaponmaster training, he could do this.
Across the forty-five weapons he completed for the training, he completed over six million attacks across the last four months.
He had been Mana Breathing for over an hour when he heard the door open, and with a heavy sigh, he slowly opened his eyes.
"Good morning, my boy!" Director Kim cheerfully said, closing the door behind him, strolling through the room, reaching out, and shaking Shin's hand as the young man stood.
"Good morning, sir." Shin said, returning to his seat as the headmaster held his hand out and sat across from him.
"What can I do for you today?" Kim asked, crossing his leg over his knee and leaning back, resting his arm against the back of the couch.
"I'm here to get permission to enter the beginner dungeons as a Rookie." The young man explained.
"Oho!" Director Kim exclaimed, leaning forward and resting his elbows against his knees as a malicious grin spread across his face, "You want to take the midterms, eh?"
"Yessir." Shin replied flatly, nodding as he stared into the headmaster's eyes.
"Hmmm, what day is it today?" The headmaster asked a rhetorical question, exclaiming again, "Wednesday? Alright!
I will administer the midterms on Friday. It's honestly quite elementary; you just have to survive for three minutes."
"That's it?" Shin asked, blurting out before he could stop his outburst.
"That's it?" Kim asked, exasperated as he leaned back, his eyes widening as he stared at the audacity of the young man.
"You do realize that over fifty students have attempted it over the last nine years, and none have even tried it over the previous three?" He asked.
"You haven't had a student like me before." Shin said, standing and bowing as he thanked the headmaster and stated he was looking forward to the midterms and would see him then.
Shin quickly walked through Academia City as he avoided his classmates on their way to the Altar of Prestige.
"Shin!" A voice called out, halting his not-so-stealthy escape.
"Hey, Sienna…" Shin answered hesitantly as he slowly turned around, forcing a smile and waving at the young woman.
"Where are you going? The Altar is that way." She asked, turning around and pointing down the street behind her.
"Yeah, I know, but I gotta run back to the classroom for a minute. I'll meet ya there!" Shin said, lying as he forced another smile and placed his hand behind his neck, rubbing it.
"Have you been invited to a team?" Sienna asked, holding her hands in front of her as she swayed her hips back and forth.
"Nah, I think John has managed to turn the entire class against me. It's not an issue, though." Shin replied, placing his hands on his hips and shrugging lackadaisically.
"I can join your team if you want…" She said, speaking softly and averting her gaze, her face flushed with embarrassment at her forwardness.
"Sienna!!" A voice called out, interrupting Shin's response, and when she turned to see who called her, the young man vanished by the time she turned back to him.
"Shin…" She muttered, looking around with worry filling her eyes for a moment before returning a bright smile to her face when she turned to face the group of girls that were her teammates.
Shin leaned against the wall out of view and only stepped out after she turned, watching her laugh with her friends.
He turned around and continued his way back to the training hall. He struggled with his emotions internally, maintaining his stoic facade.
He shouldn't be making friendships and relationships; it would only cause more problems than resolving his feelings.
He slipped onto the academy grounds, quickly making his way through the halls and coming to a dead end.
He quickly glanced around, ensuring he was alone as he approached the wall, sliding his hand around the corner, tapping a false portion, and inserting his hand.
Suddenly, a crack appeared, crawling up the wall, and the two sections separated, slowly sliding apart and the young man slipped in and tapped the invisible button, closing it behind him.
He descended down the hidden staircase and through a hallway to a large locked door. He pulled out a large, black key from his inventory and unlocked the door.
He reached over to the nearby wall, sliding his hand in the absolute darkness as he searched for the next invisible button, tapping it.
Bright lights flashed, illuminating the secret dojo the headmaster had given him access to in order to practice without interruption a few months ago.
He accessed the system menu and double-checked the settings to ensure he had enough nutrients and that the waste management system was empty enough.
His own personal Dive Pod from his home had the best NutriPacks on the market and would be locked within the dojo until it was time for the midterm battle against Director Kim.
Shin walked forward and spread his arms outward from his body as silver sparkles danced around him, and they transformed into a dozen various weapons.
Red lights flashed as a giant iron golem materialized in the center of the dojo, and a robotic roar resounded through the room.