Once again, Noah found himself in a large room, illuminated by white artificial lights. The frigid wind caressed his skin, causing him to occasionally shudder. He scanned through the room, which was filled with over a dozen children. Whispers echoed throughout the room; a sense of foreboding lingered.
Creak...
The door suddenly slid open, and a figure stepped in, adorned in a black robe and a characteristic wooden mask that displayed a withered hand. The figure boasted a feminine build; her height was about 1.78 meters.
The room was quickly plunged into cold silence, and the children hurriedly cleared a path for the figure instinctively as she walked slowly towards the centre because they could all feel the terror-inducing pressure emanating from her.
"She...She is dangerous." Noah mumbled; he could feel his hairs rising straight up.
Moments later, a sluggish voice emerged from underneath the mask. "Good day, children; you can call me bishop. I will be your instructor for today."
She ordered the twenty-six children to arrange themselves in six rows, then she continued speaking in a sluggish manner. "I am your combat instructor, so I will have to ask you to do as I do."
She quickly assumed a stance, clenching her fist and spreading her feet, aligning them with her shoulder while her knees bent slightly. "This is the neutral stance," she said in a characteristic sluggish tone.
The students began mimicking that stance while the woman-bishop corrected their mistakes until their stances were acceptable. We continued through several stances for a few hours.
"The neutral stance; this is the best stance for transitioning into other stances."
"Front stance, for strong frontal strikes and movements."
"Back stance, a defensive stance to absorb damage or evade attacks."
"We will only treat these three for now; make sure to refine them in your free time." Bishop spoke in her sluggish tone.
"I will also teach you a simple move, a straight punch," she spoke and simultaneously performed a flawless straight punch.
Bishop meticulously showed her students the proper way to perform a straight punch until she was okay with their performance.
"Show me a thousand straight punches."
"One thousand isn't that a bit much." Noah whispered under his breath.
"Begin!" Bishop said with a loud tone.
Whoosh...
The room buzzed with sounds of fists displacing air as the children began their repetitive task. The vibrations spread throughout the white room, whose temperature began rising at a steady pace. No one dared to stop while the gaze of the woman bishop lingered, scrutinising their every movement.
Thump...Thump
Noah's biceps throbbed repeatedly while performing the exercise; he occasionally gasped for air to ease his pain. He glanced around, noticing that no one dared to stop; it seemed that the memory of the previous ordeal was fresh in their minds.
Several minutes later, they finally reach the thousandth mark, and the exercise concluded. Thud! Multiple children were sprawled on the floor gasping for breath, Noah included.
Then Bishop spoke once more."After this special examination, we will end the class."
The entire room fell silent at those words; if not for the intense pain that washed over them, some would have screamed out in horror.
"Examination."Noah muttered, a chill running down his spine.
"Land a single hit on me with any method you can think of. That is the aim of this exam; the time limit is three minutes; however, I will also retaliate." She spoke in her usual tone.
"Failure will result in a penalty." She continued her voice, turning cold and terrifying.
No one made a sound, nor did they move a muscle, fearing a primal fear boiled within their hearts. This lady in front of them was akin to a mountain, one whose summit was out of view.
Bishop, with a cold and terrifying tone, announced, "Well, if you can't make a move, i'll just show you how it's done."
Digits on the white wall above suddenly appear reading.
3:00
With that, she moved at an absurd speed towards the children sprawled on the floor. Ahh! A shrill scream punctuated the entire room. With a fluid motion, she unleashed several punches and throws, beating down the fatigued children completely.
Noah caught a glimpse of a black blur Smack! a powerful blow connected with his face, causing him to fall several feet from the figure. The taste of a warm yet metallic liquid filled his throat.
Despite the pain Noah pondered,"How do we even touch monster." He hunched over coughing out a red sticky substance with a pained expression. He returned his gaze to the blur, mowing down the tired children.
2:30
Noah gritted his teeth, an intense anger bubbling inside him. Suppressing said emotion, he suddenly shut his eyes, centring himself in spite of the pain and fatigue. The view of a pulsating star resting at his chest, glowing with an intense brilliance. Noah extended the white tendrils from the core at his jugular in hopes of forming a connection.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
A barrage of blows met Noah's chest; pain flooded into his being, causing all his cores to flare up agitated.
Despite that, Noah was determined to keep his eyes shut. Crack! Noah felt a rib snap, and a mind-splitting pain gnawed at him; he was on the verge of screaming. His intense emotions soared out, leaving his cores agitated, especially the star at his chest.
Focusing on nothing, he plunged himself into a familiar, dark void where only his body and soul existed. His cores began calming down, and his sensitivity to Ki rose steadily. Once again, Noah extended tendrils from the core at his jugular; however, this time the star at his chest provided less resistance because it had been suppressed.
The connection was finally completed. Noah felt a strong burst of vitality coursing through his being as he had finally completed 3/5th the problem. His lips curled up, forming a painful smile. " This...feeling...clarity."
He finally opened up his bruised eyes. The timer above him read 1:59. All the children were bruised and blooded, sprawled on the ground, clutching a part of their bodies with a contorted expression. He too was sprawled on the floor.
Bishop suddenly spoke from underneath the mask, "Today's class will end here; since you were unable to land a single hit, I will be issuing a penalty. From today on, you will be having this class at least once a day."
"Class dismissed." In her usual tone, she uttered and walked out of the room.
As soon as she walked out, several figures led them to their rooms, the same routine. Noah groaned in pain as he returned to his room. He was experiencing an insane level of pain; a cracked rib is nothing to scoff at.
After returning to his room, Noah took a shower and then ate his tasteless grey food bars before slowly sinking into his bed. Lying straight up, Noah wondered. "The penalty wasn't what I expected. It was extremely lenient. It's strange; however, I am not complaining."
"Just one more to go, and then I will be a step closer to escaping." Noah whispered, then let out a pained chuckle.