Yoel had had enough of crowds for the rest of the day, so he opted for somewhere more quiet to finish his lunch.
Of course, the rest of the boys have followed him. And as if to just rub it into his face, they kept teasing him about the earlier interaction.
"Yoel, it's alright to tell us you know. It's nothing embarrassing having a relationship so early on. Maybe you knew them from before coming here?"
"For the last time, there is nothing going on between us. Hell, I don't even know who she is!"
No matter how many times Yoel tried to explain, the boys took their turns throwing jabs at him.
Even Connor, who had been usually quiet found it in himself to speak to Yoel on this matter. Vasil too, who had always acted so serious let his mask break a bit and made fun of him for it.
"Enough. I don't want to hear this kind of stuff about someone I just met!"
As if it had been Yoel's guardian angel, the bell rang for the end of the break. A deep sigh escaped his lips, he really didn't expect something like this to happen on the very first day.
I don't know if I would have lasted another second with these absurd questions. Did I enter a kindergarten mistakenly or something?
Without giving them a chance to respond, he quickly gathered his belongings and left for the next class. He had a bit of time to look at the overview of the academy, so he could find his way to the next class pretty easily.
He never looked back to see if they had followed him, and quickly tried to think about more important matters, such as what the next class would entail.
Avon Control Basics.
Going off of its name purely, it was quite straightforward what they would need to do in this class.
I wonder, how would it feel like to control avon?
Yoel had never as much as tried touching on his reserves of avon for anything other than activating his enigma, he had never tried exploring that part of being Blessed.
So naturally, he had been quite nervous as to how he would perform. How would it look like if he was the only one who couldn't control avon?
His fast walk slowed down, as he began to think of several scenarios in which he failed to manipulate avon.
I can't let them see something like that.
Determination was something Yoel found commonly within himself nowadays, but it was rare for its flames to burn truly bright.
Suddenly, he found himself standing between two somewhat large doors. It appeared that while he was losing himself in his own thoughts, he had reached his destination.
With an audible gulp, he gathered his confidence and pushed the doors open.
***
Inside the classroom, or rather what was supposed to be a classroom, silence enveloped its entirety.
The large space was filled with a distinct aroma that overpowered every other smell. However, it was not overpowering enough to cause somebody a headache or distract them from their concentration.
Yoel walked towards his class's group, approaching familiar faces as his gaze landed on the professor of this class.
It had been a man with incredibly defined muscles, taller than anyone he had seen up until now.
He believed that if this professor and that giant ape fought, they would almost stand at the same height.
Despite his intimidating build, his eyes held an incredible calmness to them. As if still water, they barely twitched or moved, and sometimes he would go without blinking for a bit too long.
Not to mention, he was barely clothed.
Yoel believed it was because of the amount of tattoos that occupied his body. Even on his head, which had been shaved clean.
Some were large, some smaller, but they still covered his body whole.
Why the fuck are the tattoos moving…
The man's grey eyes worked in contrast with his wild and intimidating appearance, it was as if two differentiating laws of nature were constantly clashing.
And most of all, his voice did not match his appearance at all. He sounded like he had just reached the age of 18, his voice showing no signs of age or anything of the sort.
Overall, the man himself could be described as some kind of amalgamation, as far as Yoel was concerned. He didn't particularly feel comfortable around this man.
Feeling himself growing uneasier by the second, he turned to look at the room instead.
Much less than a classroom, this room resembled some kind of indoor arena, except there had been mats placed down for each of them.
That is where we will be doing our lesson, I assume?
As if he had read his mind, the professor pointed to the mats and announced at the top of his lungs.
"To the mats, NOW!"
He tried to sound harsh and cold, but with a voice that was practically the same as Yoel's or anyone else's, it prompted Yoel to give a small laugh.
Quickly, however, he realized his mistake. He was sure he had done it loud enough for quite a few people to notice him, but the professor took no action against him.
Instead, he kept his eyes closed. Doing so, he showed that he had tattoos even on his eyes…
What kind of trouble does a man need to have to do this to their body?
As Yoel walked to one of the mats, he recalled the class's name once again.
Avon Control Basics.
How do you even begin to control avon?
It was a question Yoel had not figured out yet, nor had he come close to figuring it out in the one week he had before classes officially began.
He could move the avon within himself, and he could even attempt refining it, although it wouldn't really result in him becoming stronger.
But pushing said avon outside of his body without using an anchor like his ability, he could not even attempt to do.
From the conversations about it he had overheard, many new Blessed struggle with creativity and imagination in regards to controlling avon, but he really didn't think that was the case.
How could creativity help me in pushing avon outside of my body?
As he began to sit down on his mat, he realized the bulky professor had began to walk closer to them.
When the last student sat down on their mat, he suddenly raised his arms.
As if the tattoos had suddenly been imbued with a will of their own, or rather as if they had been unleashed, each one of them twitched on his body.
And suddenly, the man was covered by tattoos no longer.
Black shapes sprung out of his body, from 2 to 5, and then to 25. He motioned with his hands as if he had been a conductor coordinating an opera, clear elegance and skill in his handling becoming all the more apparent.
The shapes of black, which had been previously on his body, vanished in the air just as fast as they had dashed away from his body.
After a few yelps and screams, silence returned to the area… until a few seconds later.
Black shapes once again appeared from somewhere out of sight, carrying what seemed like wooden bowls with crystal-clear water in them.
They moved with a swiftness that barely made them appear as simple blurs to the naked eye, and their precision was not something to scoff at.
When Yoel received his own bowl of water, he realized that the water had been as still as ice until he received it.
Once all of them had received their bowls, the black ink-like creatures returned to the man, and they crowded beside him as if looking for a reward from their master.
I don't think I'll survive if I don't get used to this.
"Many Blessed say that controlling avon is as if you're controlling a third limb. Some people also think of it as exerting your dominance over the world. I myself believe that its like moving water out of a vase; everyone has differing opinions on this matter."
A deep sigh escaped his lips, as the air around him began to swirl as if an invisible force was interfering with it.
"However, there is one thing that remains absolutely the same. No matter the belief, they can manipulate avon just as well as the person next to them."
The inky-black shapes jumped into the wind one by one, painting it pitch black.
The swirling blackness positioned itself over the man's arms, becoming a part of him as if it was always meant to be.
And then it swiftly disappeared, as if it never was. The tattoos were back on the man, now still and unmoving, as if they had never moved at all.
"Follow another's beliefs, create your own. Do whatever you want to achieve control over avon– over the power you are destined to wield. Beware, however. Once you have chosen your path, there is no turning back."