"Thanks again for last time." Mina tugged on her golden hair, her voice tender. "If you didn't stop to help me, something terrible would have happened to me."
"Don't mention it. You would do the same thing for a friend." Noah gazed tentatively at her, his voice even.
A solemn smile played on his lips as he continued. "You seem well put together, considering yesterday."
"I could say the same about you," she paused briefly, contemplating Noah's words. With her delicate bearing, she replied. "I felt bad at first, but I don't know any of them, so it's hard for me to understand."
Noah sighed lightly, and with an understanding tone he spoke. "It's okay, you're still a child."
Everyone has their own way of coping. Thankfully, you weren't scarred for life, Noah mumbled internally.
Tap...
Suddenly soft footsteps echoed throughout the silent room. Noah threw his gaze, past Mina, towards the sounds.
Before him stood three children, two boys and one girl, around the same age as him. They stared at Him, each with a different expression: gratitude, jealousy, and amusement.
A brown-haired girl glared daggers at him with her pale blue eyes. "What are you doing talking to my sweet honeybee?" she screamed, embracing Mina tightly.
"What?." Noah stared at her with a deadpan expression.
A black-haired boy with narrow eyes smiled awkwardly at Noah. "Sorry about her," he let out a soft chuckle while speaking. The blond boy by his side yawned while scratching his scalp, much reminiscent of Noah during the first exam. He stopped his mimicry, then snickered at Noah.
Noah's left eye began twitching in frustration. He sighed partially, then muttered in a defeated tone. "Kids."
"Noah, these are Em...My friends." Mina smiled, a tinge of embarrassment painted on her face. Pointing at the irritating brown-haired girl, Mina chuckled, then spoke in her usual bearing. "Noah, this is Hana."
"Hana, this is Noah."
"Humph!." Hana, still clinging to Mina, shook her head; her disapproval was quite clear.
She gestured towards a black-haired, narrow-eyed boy. "This is William."'
"William, Noah."
"Nice to meet you." William spoke in a low tone.
Suddenly, the blonde boy stepped forward with a wide grin. With an exaggerated pose, he announced, "You can call me Ray Jackson!."
Mina covered her face in embarrassment.
Noah let out a soft chuckle. Quite the colourful cast of characters. Hehe. No wonder she's embarrassed. He threw a thoughtful glance at Mina; her cheeks were flushed red. it's not that she isn't affected by everything? Her friends make it easier to forget...
Noah smiled softly with a friendly voice uttered."Pleased to make your acquaintance, you can refer to me as Noah."
The hell we are living in.
Suddenly, at the heart of the room, a hand emerged from nothingness. It caused a distortion that warped the space around it in an illusionary haze. Bit by bit, the figure to whom the hand belonged began materialising—a man clad in black robes and a black wooden mask hung casually on his face came into view.
A deep sound resounded from underneath the jet black mask. "Welcome again, children. It's nice to meet once more."
The children slowly began forming a semicircle around Rook in an orderly and almost instinctual fashion.
"We will be continuing from where we left off," he said with his usual tone. "I hope you have been practicing the last exercise, because this will be building upon what we have learnt."
"Ki is present in all living beings with a soul; however, its concentration isn't equal. The head, jugular, chest, and solar plexus are the areas where chi is at its most potency. He paused for a brief moment, gesturing to the areas simultaneously.
"To gain complete access to this power, one has to connect these areas with the chi pathway in the arms and feet." He continued speaking, his voice alluring, magnetic even.
The children stared at him; their eyes sparkled with both puzzlement and anticipation. Rook stretched out his right arm slowly. Following that, his robe instantly flared up, and blue waves of light blanketed the entirety of his being.
The sudden pressure from this release caused a powerful gust of wind to sweep the entire room, pushing against the group of children and causing their hair and clothes to flap in a disorderly manner.
Sheesh, this guy is STRONG!!!. Noah exclaimed internally. Sweat trickled from his forehead. I was naive in thinking that I could escape here; this guy is serious trouble. I'll need an ability that is good with concealment; attempting to fight him is just suicide.
Rook continued speaking, his tone dignified. "This is but a mere fraction of what can be achieved with this power."
"The problem, however you put it, is the connecting of those points, due to the immense repulsion created by opposing cores. The key to this lies in certain emotions, allowing you to suppress them and form a connection."
Emotions, this is new. I never expected the secret to be something laced with sentimentality. Noah murmured to himself, his gaze distant as he pondered the implications.
"I am issuing an assignment in seven days, if any of you can connect all four points. You will receive a reward." He concluded retracting his arm.
Reward? Well aren't you awfully generous Noah snickered inwardly.
As the minutes stretched on into hours, the room settled into a hypnotic calm. The children's initial fidgeting and quiet coughs faded, replaced by the steady hum of their breathing.
Noah envisioned a familiar scene: four balls of light aligned vertically. White and pure tendrils extending from his arms, the white star on his chest.
Focusing on his cerebral hemisphere, he traced the feeling towards the blob of light in his jugular, attempting to create a connection. However, the tendrils of light were repelled by a pressure formed by the star.
Noah steadied himself, simulating an array of emotions, but to no avail, the star remained as strong as ever, vanquishing his efforts.
He sighed with frustration. Then he felt the star flare up in sudden intensity; this sudden shift caused Noah's concentration to break.
What was that? I was supposed to achieve the opposite effect. Noah thoughts settled as he began pondering.
"The lesson has concluded; I hope to meet you all again in our next class." Rook placed his palm on his chest and motioned a smooth and practiced bow.
As soon as he finished speaking, his figure turned illusionary and vanished from view.
Creak
Immediately the door swung open, and figures dressed in familiar white garments strode into the room, ushering the children out one by one. Soon it was Noah's turn to leave; he threw a glance at Mina before following the figure into the lightless hall.
He walked into his room. The sound of the iron black door locking filled his ears. Sighing heavily, he assumed a meditation posture and continued his breathing.
Noah's thoughts ran sporadically dissecting the event that transpired in the training hall. When I lost my cool and became frustrated, the intensity of the star increased; this is the opposite of what I am looking for. But what if I try the opposite of frustration, patience—yes, a fitting emotion for a Ki master.
Concluding his thoughts, Noah redoubled his efforts to create a connection with the blob of light at his jugular. Time slipped away seconds into minutes then hours. Who knows how much time had gone by inside the shadow garden? The concept of time might as well be a myth!.
Resisting every urge to move, he continued stretching out the tendrils of light in an attempt to connect. Suddenly the ball of blinding light shrank back bit by bit, the pressure from it dwindling. Noah stretched out the tendrils connecting them to the core at his jugular, his muscles tensed up, and his breathing intensified.
Sweat trickled down his forehead, forming a pool in between his legs; the core was finally suppressed, allowing Noah to completely form a connection.
Without warning, a wave of calmness washed over his being filling him with a otherworldly tranquility. His mind and body trembled violently, pulsating with vitality. 2/5th of the problem had been completed!.