It had officially been two months since their agreement, and as promised, Lucien trained Kenneth hard for sixty days with no rest.
She had no time to complain about the pain as Lucien kept pumping her with mineralite water and energy restoring patches. Every week, he would make her go to the gym and use the massage and body repair facilities to get her back in shape. Kenneth had never trained so quickly in her life before and she was almost glad she had prior military training because there was no way she could've survived all of this otherwise.
Her physique and demeanor had changed drastically over the past months to the point where she was almost unrecognizable. On top of her training with Lucien, she would take part in the preparations for the trials with the rest of the participants, attend her PTC classes and her regular classes as well. She was worked to the bone but it was all worth it when she looked at herself in the morning, surprised by how quickly she'd grown muscle.
This level of growth was completely unheard of, and Kenneth couldn't help marveling at how amazing this world truly was. You could easily grow and get stronger if you put your mind to it, though Kenneth did have to give credit to the small percentage of Fera blood inside her. The stronger she got physically, the more prominent her abilities as a Fera got, which was helpful considering how she'd need as much power as she could conjure for the trials.
Walking out of her room, she was met with Fletcher who had a worried look on her face.
"I can't believe you're actually leaving today. Not only that, you didn't even get a single moment of rest for the past two months. How you were able to balance your training on top of your classes is beyond me." She said.
Kenneth smiled as she watched Fletcher pace across the living area, the distress in her eyes evident. She had been a great help to her for the past months, making sure to take care of the chores on her end and provided her with healthy and nutritious meals to keep her energy right. If not for her, she would be living off of protein bars and nutritional patches.
"When are you guys leaving again?" She asked her.
Kenneth checked her watch and frowned. "Twenty minutes, I should already be down there actually."
Fletcher nodded, "Right. Well good luck, I know you'll do great, but don't exert yourself too much. Try to have some fun while you're there too."
"I will." Kenneth had already gathered her bags and was about to walk out the door when she stopped. She hesitated for a little bit but she turned back and gave Fletcher a hug, which surprised her.
"T-This is unexpected." She said before wrapping her arms around her. She felt a little sad that Kenneth whom she'd grown fond of was leaving, but she knew she wouldn't be gone forever.
"Alright, you should really go." The purple head said as she pulled back. Kenneth nodded her head and she walked out the dorm, not once looking back.
*
This would be the first time since Kenneth had arrived at Toleran Academy that she'd be standing side by side with Espers. They were instructed to line up in front of the platforms as they waited for the shuttle they would be boarding to go to Lapis.
There were a total of fifteen Fighter on the left side, and fifteen Espers on the right. As Kenneth observed them, she noticed that there wasn't a single first year in the batch of Espers which surprised her. But what surprised her even more, was the way they were looking at her, as if she was an oddity. At first she thought it was because she was the only first year in the group, but later, she had come to realize that that wasn't the case.
It was most likely because she was an Empath who was standing alongside Fighters which was unusual.
"Is she the one?" A girl with light pink hair whispered.
"Yeah, that's the one. I can't believe she made the cut." The boy next to her whispered.
As they continued gossiping about Kenneth, the Ventures as well as the Harmonils arrived, followed by their chaperons for the trip. Kenneth was surprised to see the familiar white-haired assessor she had been thinking about for the last few days.
Their eyes met briefly, and she could see the look of shock on his face when he saw her. He immediately schooled his expression when Lucien addressed him. He nodded his head before standing next to the Espers, who greeted him with respect.
"I see that everyone has gathered at the designated time." Lucien said, nodding his head in approval. He had the usual stern expression on his face, and Kenneth could see, though faint, dark circles marring his handsome face.
"We'll be leaving as soon as the shuttle arrives so make sure you have everything you need. We will be giving you all a briefing inside the shuttle as well. Fighters," He said, now addressing the group of students on the left side.
"Remember that you will be representing Toleran Academy during our trip to Lapis. How you conduct yourselves is a reflection of Toleran as a school. No bad behaviour will be allowed nor go unpunished." He said, coolly.
"That being said," Alcione added, noticing how heavy the mood had gotten because of Lucien. "You are permitted to enjoy yourselves during the down periods, but make sure to keep the goofing around to a minimum." He said with a smile.
"The same goes to the Espers. Make sure to maintain your cool at all times, and not to overuse your abilities either. I know it's easy to mess up since a lot of the time we aren't in control of the emotions around us. Conserve your energy as much as you can, and have fun." Alexandria, the Harmonil captain said as she addressed them.
Kenneth found herself once again intrigued by the young woman and by the words she said. She couldn't help but wonder if the same was applicable to her as well.
A few minutes later, the shuttle had arrived, and all thirty passengers, excluding the Ventures, Harmonils and chaperons entered, and just as Lucien said, the shuttle immediately took off as soon as the door closed. This was going to be a long trip with a total of five hours, and Kenneth would be the first to travel such long distances since arriving in Caüs. Though most people complained about the longevity of the trip, Kenneth didn't mind since this would be the perfect time to see the world outside of this country. Despite how fast the shuttle was going, she could still make out the scenery around them. She looked intently out the window, and took in the sights before her. It looked like the city she was currently in was much smaller compared to the others, and she couldn't help but wonder how big of a country Lapis was compared to Caüs.
As she was deep in thought, she didn't notice Xander approaching her until she got sight of white in her peripheral vision. The two locked eyes, and Xander gave her a kind smile.
"How are you Ms. Greywater." He asked as he sat next to her. Under normal circumstances this would've bothered her, but considering how it was Xander who was the one invading her space, she was willing to let it slide. She had lots of questions to ask the instructor after all.
"I'm fine, and just Kenneth is fine." She said politely.
"Kenneth then. How has your time been in the Fighters Division?"
"...It's been an..experience. I definitely found myself learning a lot." She honestly said.
"That's good. I hear you may have some concerns about your Empath side of things from Skyla. What seems to be the problem?"
Kenneth couldn't help but be grateful to Skyla for actually putting in a word for her. Although she didn't doubt the girl's persay, she also didn't expect much from her either. They were strangers after all, she had no reason to go out of her way to do something like this. She was still thankful nonetheless, and made a note to thank her afterwards.
"I just wanted a little more insight on restoring my energy and getting rid of fatigue. I've been fighting for prolonged periods of time, and I even fainted before, which has never happened to me before."
Well besides that time when Kenneth 1.0 was attacked, but that doesn't count.
Xander's pale eyes widened, "Fainted?!"
"It was nothing serious. According to the nurse, I suffered from deprivation. I also had someone tell me that these things can happen to Espers, it's the reason why they train and use a method called conservation to help and prevent these kinds of things from happening."
Xander relaxed a little when he heard this. "I see. I guess it's normal for you to be concerned about given how it's happened to you now."
He remained quiet for a moment as if contemplating on how best to explain this phenomenon to a beginner—which Kenneth was.
"It can be a little tricky as an Empath to deal with the drawbacks of pushing your body to its limits since our constitutions don't always allow us to do so. Our biological makeup differs greatly from Fera's and getting your body to go against its nature can be quite a shocking process. It's the reason why most of us don't become Fighters, since it can be taxing on our bodies. We aren't built to fight physically, but like I said when we first met, it's not impossible for us either." He said.
"There have been a few Empaths, though they are quite rare, who have become excellent Fighters in the past. I actually know one Empath who was able to train both as a Fighter and an Espers and is quite renowned not just in Toleran, but other academies as well."
Kenneth was surprised to hear this. "Really?" She asked in disbelief.
Xander shot her a knowing smile. People were always shocked when they heard about it. Even when he first heard about the man who could do both.
"Really," He smiled.
"Why do so few become Fighters then? I mean you said it's a possibility right? I think it's a given that people would want to be strong physically as well." She asked.
"...It's fine to utilize brute strength to fight since that's what most Fighters do. All they have is strength to deliver blows against their opponents. But being able to train your mind is just as important. Unfortunately it's our most perimount but often forgotten muscle since we don't have to do much physically to get it to function. However, just like a sound body leads to a sound mind for Fighters, the same can be said about a sound mind leading to a sound body for Espers as well." He explained.
I guess that makes sense. Kenneth thought to herself. It was a common saying back on Earth as well. But she had never heard the opposite be said before.
"For Espers, being able to subdue your opponent isn't the end goal. We look to alter our opponents instead."
Kenneth frowned. Just when she was starting to understand, instructor Xander went on to say some things that confused her. "What do you mean by alter?"
Xander could sense her confusion and smiled. He had grown used to seeing this kind of reaction from Fighters and young Espers. It was a concept that didn't make quite a lot of sense, even to the brightest minds, especially under normal circumstances such as this one. But to an Empath, especially an Esper, it was the foundation to their abilities.
"Think of it this way," He started to say. "A Fera derives their power from their innate abilities. If they have the blood of wolves running through their veins like Mr. Canmore over there, they are able to utilize the strength of said animal. We Empaths have something similar yet completely different."
"It's a simple yet complicated concept to grasp, and you most likely won't ever understand it until you find it. I'm sorry to sound so vague and mysterious, it is not my intention to confuse you after all. But it's something you'll come to know once you mature as an Empath. Only if you train your abilities of course."
Kenneth was filled with so much information, a majority she didn't understand. Though she found a lot of the things Xander said confusing, she was able to piece some things together. Empaths were fragile beings in the first place, and the only way for them to get stronger was to train their mind, whatever that meant. It was probably the reason why Kenneth, who was blessed with a lot of power, was so weak mentally and physically. She didn't have a lot of time to train. The only information Kenneth had about the previous Kenneth was the things her father taught her, which was meditating whenever she needed to regain some of her strength.
There was still something she wanted to understand. She turned to look at Xander who had been observing her as she was deep in thought. The way he regarded caused a shiver to run down her spine. It was as if he was peering into her soul, and she wasn't a fan of that feeling at all.
Xander immediately sensed her discomfort and retracted his eyes. "My apologies, I was trying to get a better sense of your constitution to figure out how you could help your body to go through conservation. I should've asked for your permission first. It's a bad habit we Empath's have." He said, his tone filled with regret.
"Uh…It's fine." I guess I'm guilty of it too, but what exactly was that? It was like I could feel his eyes inside of me. She couldn't help but shudder as she recalled the feeling.
Meanwhile, Xander had made some interesting discoveries as he looked at Kenneth. She really did have a strong constitution, a powerful one at that. And it looked like the Fera blood within her was helping to strengthen her as well. Plus, she was able to sense my all seeing ability, which no one has ever been able to do, besides him of course.
Looks like she'll have to meet him sooner than I thought.