…
Lieutenant Leina surveyed the class with a stern expression. "Listen up, maggots," She said, her voice echoing through the armory, her demeanor completely different from a few moments ago.
The students were left with their mouths agape, surprised at how someone could change attitudes instantly.
Aria was shocked at another thing himself. 'Are all teachers in this school paid to call us maggots' He thought, as he wasn't even sure how many times he was called maggot today.
"This is not for the weak. Forging your own armor requires high level inner energy control and stamina. Even though you are only first years, I know that some of you are capable of completing this task today" She continued.
She scanned the faces of the students, her eyes lingering on Aria for a moment. "If you cannot finish today, you can always come back and continue." She said. "But know this, you will be lagging behind those who can actually finish it."
A murmur of anticipation rippled through the class. Some of the students had thrilled expressions on their faces, eager to prove their worth. Others were nervous, their eyes wide with trepidation.
No tools are needed for this task," Lieutenant Leina continued. "It all depends on your amount of inner energy and your imagination. Simply imagine how you want your armor to look, and allow your inner energy to mold the material accordingly."
"But how does the process actually go" A student asked with her hand raised.
"Well, it is quite simple actually," she said.
"The process of forging armor using inner energy is a delicate and intricate one. It requires a high level of inner energy control and a vivid imagination."
"The first step is to imagine the desired shape of the armor. Once the image is clear in the mind, the inner energy is passed through the material, causing it to unravel into thin, metal like strings. These strings are then guided by the imagination of the user to form desired shapes.
The process is slow and requires a great deal of concentration. It is also physically and mentally exhausting, which is why most students are unable to complete their armor in a single session.
However, once the armor is complete, it not only provides physical protection, but it also amplifies the wearer's inner energy, making them more powerful in battle." Lieutenant Leina ended, while scanning the student's faces.
"So, are you ready to begin," she said and the students nodded in reply.
She gave the students a curt nod. "Begin."
One by one, the students closed their eyes and took deep breaths. They began passing their energy through the materials, their imaginations running wild.
The process started slowly, with thick metal like strings unraveling from the materials and rejoining back together to form the desired shapes. For students like Kael and Elara, who came from the top families, it was easy. They already had minor training in this during their childhood. Their inner energy flowed effortlessly, and the top parts of their suits were already complete within the first hour.
For others, it was more challenging. They began to sweat profusely as they struggled to control their inner energy and maintain their focus.
Aria watched the other students with indifference. He had never forged armor before, and he had no idea how to begin. The memories of his parents dying in the war still haunted him, and he had never learned the basics of inner energy control.
But as he watched the other students, a flicker of determination ignited within him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in and out. 'She said I should just imagine a suit of armor right? Then I know the perfect one to use.'
As he imagined the armor in his head, a warm smile crawled on his face. He could feel his inner energy being sucked out, as if someone was forcefully drawing out of him. The material began to glow a Kaleidoscope of different colors which made Lieutenant Leina's mouth drop.
'This boy really is something else,' she thought to herself as she watched the light display in front of her. 'Luckily, the rest of the students are focused on their works or this could've easily been a problem'.
At first, it felt as if nothing was happening. But after a few minutes of his inner energy being sucked out by the material, He could feel the metal like strings begin to unravel from the material, slowly and steadily.
Aria continued to pour his inner energy into the material, his imagination guiding the process. It felt as if his imagination was being pulled out of his head, which was an extremely strange and surreal feeling.
'I can feel this is going to take a lot of time' Aria pondered with furrowed eyebrows seeing how slow the progress was. 'If this goes on like this, others will end up finishing theirs, and I will left behind'
Suddenly, Aria increased his inner energy output, the intensity of the glow of the material increase. The speed of the unraveling increased, although only a little. Beads of sweat had already began forming on his head at the rate in which his inner energy was dissipating.
In the background he could hear the whispers of students, it seemed some had already stopped to get a rest.
"Damn, this is hard, I don't know when the hell I am going to get this done." One of the students said.
"Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it. Just focus on your inner energy," the other replied"
What about those 3" Another student entered the fray as he pointed at Kael, Elara, and Aria, whose material light kept glowing brightly despite the rate of inner energy absorption. They really was a large gap between the top ten and the rest of them.
...
After two hours of constant unraveling and recreation, the students began to collapse one by one, their bodies exhausted from the intense use of inner energy. Lieutenant Leina called a halt to the exercise after seeing that some of the students were about to collapse.
Aria opened his eyes, and he could feel his vision getting blurry, the rate of inner energy he had lost was too much. Kael walked over and helped him stand, not even asking what was wrong as he could see Aria legs already shaking.
Elara glanced over for a few seconds, before turning back to face Lieutenant Leina as she and Kael made eye contact during that brief moment.
"That's enough for today," she said. "You can come back and continue whenever you are ready. But remember, without these armors, you will not be able to begin your real journey in this school."
The students nodded, their faces a mixture of exhaustion and determination.
…