Areyos Orionis's point of view
----------------------------------------
The day started well, seemingly ordinary. The bell rang, and the students headed to their respective classes. Today, it was an energy comprehension class with Professor Shiki. It had been a while since I had seen him – so much had happened over one weekend that I almost forget I'm still a student. Barrios made it clear, by forbidding us from getting involved in Marlow's affairs and Megane's killer, that we should stay in our place. A wise decision, given the risks... So, I decided to focus on my studies for the rest of the year and put our activities on hold for now.
The students were already seated, waiting for Professor Shiki's arrival, who was five minutes late. Finally, he rushed in, breathless, and stood in front of the magical console, located at the center of the board.
"Sorry, everyone... overslept," he said, visibly embarrassed, triggering general laughter in the class.
"Well, without further ado, let's start today's lesson. But before that, I will introduce some new students who have just joined our class."
New students? I thought.
"Zayren and Zyriel Versalys, please stand up," requested the professor. A boy with short blue hair and yellow eyes stood up, giving a sly smile. Next to him, a girl with long blue hair and equally yellow eyes also stood, offering the class a radiant smile.
"Perfect. Now, I will also call Melios Drimdess to stand." Beside Erina, a boy with short, impeccable blond hair and violet eyes stood up calmly.
"Alright, finally, Anos Sendaris, please stand," said the professor. A tall, muscular young man with long, slicked-back black hair and piercing blue eyes stood up slowly. The entire class, including me, was struck with astonishment.
"A... Sendaris!? Like Thaleus and Eyline!?" whispered Yoko, a glimmer of fear in her eyes.
"He must be way above average in terms of power," said Kaiser, visibly intrigued, while Erina, usually impassive, showed a look of surprise, like all those who had just stood, an enigmatic smile on their lips.
"And, to conclude, Mr. Areyos Orionis, I know you're not new, but please stand," said the professor with a mysterious smile. A bit surprised, I stood nonetheless under the curious gazes of the other students.
"Mr. Klaus Varray, please stand as well," added the professor, triggering a wave of murmurs in the class, except among those already standing. Klaus stood up slowly, looking unperturbed.
"What does this mean?" Kaiser murmured, clearly caught between surprise and confusion.
"Ladies and gentlemen," declared Professor Shiki, "I present to you the new group of your class. We already had Metaryons, Elves, Aegyls, and Humans. Here, then, is a particular addition: welcome among us the race of Devas!"
"What, Devas!?" the students exclaimed. Knowing the legend of Thaleus Sendaris and the reputation that Klaus and I had gained in recent days, it was clear that the Devas race aroused admiration and curiosity.
"Calm down, calm down. I hope you will treat everyone with respect, and don't hurt them too much," Professor Shiki jested, still smiling, addressing the Devas.
"What do you mean, 'don't hurt them too much'?!" Yoko protested.
"It seems the professor is sure about the power of these new students," Kaiser observed with interest.
Once the agitation subsided, the professor resumed his lesson, and we sat back down. "Well, last time, we studied Chi, the energy system that allows for the free manipulation of natural elements and their sub-elements. We also covered Chi bending, which can block the flow of this energy in an opponent's body, thus decreasing their elemental power."
The professor activated the magical console, and a luminous chalk appeared, ready to transcribe every word he would say. "Today, we will discuss two other energy systems: Mana and Ki. You will see, these systems have very interesting characteristics."
The magical chalk wrote 'Mana' and 'Ki' at the top of the board.
"So, who can tell me what they know about Ki?" the professor asked. Kaiser raised his hand and was chosen.
"Ki is a system of pure energy, involving no elements. It is naturally present in Metaryons and allows them to project their physical strength in the form of pure energy, adding multipliers based on the amount of Ki used."
"Project their physical strength as pure energy!?" Corvus exclaimed.
"And apply multipliers?" Arwyna asked, astounded.
"That's right," the professor continued. "Metaryons are capable of lifting up to 50 tons on average. Now, imagine what this means for the power of their strikes: if one of them hits you with a punch at full speed, the impact energy is equivalent to that of a heavy truck moving at high speed! It's like getting hit head-on by a charge, or a vehicle for those who know, of several tons rushing towards you, concentrated in one single point of impact."
The class fell silent for a moment, trying to visualize such power.
"And of course," the professor continued with a smile, "their physical strength doesn't stop at their punches. This same potential allows Metaryons to withstand similar forces. In other words, they can take hits with the same intensity, making them formidable melee fighters."
"Wow!! They're too strong!" some students exclaimed.
"We're not weaklings, what do you think?" a group of Metaryons proudly declared from the back of the room.
"Quiet, please, in the back," the professor retorted.
"Professor, they are almost impossible to beat in hand-to-hand combat," Sorey said, looking thoughtful.
"Exactly. Hence the need to avoid engaging in melee combat with them and to favor elemental or non-physical techniques," Shiki responded, leaving the class in uproar.
The professor then gestured for Kaiser to come forward. "Mr. Kaiser, could you give us a little demonstration?" he asked. Kaiser stepped up, attracting the fascinated gazes of the students. Professor Shiki adjusted the magical console, and a magic circle appeared on the ground, sprouting a striking machine and a magical training dumbbell.
"I'll ask you to lift this magical dumbbell," said the professor. Kaiser grabbed it effortlessly, but a surprised look crossed his face.
"Strange... it's surprisingly light," said Kaiser, examining it.
"Yes, it weighs nothing for now," confirmed the professor. "Thanks to the console, I will gradually increase its weight." All eyes were on Kaiser, eager to see his limits.
The professor started at 50 tons, which had no effect on Kaiser. Shiki continued to increase the load until reaching 100 tons, still without difficulty for him.
"You know, professor, I was training with 80 tons on my back at twelve," said Kaiser with a crooked smile.
Shiki, slightly confused, smiled back. "Well... in that case, 750 tons should offer you a bit of a challenge?" he suggested.
Kaiser, with a spark in his eye, retorted: "You can go higher. Double the weight, and I should reach my limit," Kaiser asserted, his piercing gaze fixed on the professor.
"Huh!? Double...!!" began a human student, before an elf next to him continued, looking puzzled: "...He's serious??"
"Are you sure? Very well, I'll double the weight, which brings us to 1500 tons," announced Professor Shiki, an incredulous smile on his lips. At this statement, a murmur of astonishment swept through the class, while the Devas, intrigued, turned their gazes toward Kaiser, lifting the weighs quietly, his veins appearing on his arms.
"Well... Thank you, Mr. Kaiser, you can put down the dumbbell," the professor requested, visibly impressed. With caution, Kaiser set the weight down, causing a slight tremor in the room.
"Now, Mr. Kaiser, I want you to hit the machine here," indicated the professor, pointing to a padded leather surface. "Don't go too hard; I'm not sure the magical damage control system can handle the shockwave from your punch."
"Understood, I'll be careful," responded Kaiser, aligning himself with the punching bag. He struck quickly but with enough force to make the entire room vibrate. The professor froze, his eyes glued to the magical console's screen. Suddenly, a heavy silence fell over the class before the professor burst into laughter, a mix of confusion and wonder lighting up his face.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiser, but your strength is ridiculously high for your age," announced the professor, gradually regaining his composure, a mysterious smile on his lips.
"I won't give you the exact impact value of Mr. Kaiser's punch, as many of you wouldn't be able to fathom such power. But let me illustrate it differently." By manipulating the console, he displayed two images on the board.
"Getting punched by Mr. Kaiser here equates to the impact of a small meteorite weighing several tons hitting at over 100 km/h," he explained, pointing to the first image, that of a meteorite. "Or, for those who know trains, it would be like being hit by a freight train weighing thousands of tons, moving at full speed, over 200 km/h." He then pointed to the second image, showing a freight train.
"WHAT!!?? NO, THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!?" the students exclaimed, including the Metaryons, visibly shocked.
"Wow!! That's mind-blowing and totally terrifying," Sorey murmured, eyes wide, before glancing at me, which I chose to ignore, looking indifferent.
"So, someone I wouldn't have to hold back against," Zayren Versalys, one of the new Devas, murmured. His confidence intrigued me greatly.
"Thank you, Mr. Kaiser, for the demonstration. You may take your seat," the professor said, and Kaiser returned to sit down, feeling the fearful gazes on him.
"Well, let's continue with an illustration of the impact power of Mr. Kaiser's punch to understand Ki," said the professor, displaying a human silhouette illustrating the Ki vein system.
"Like Chi, Ki circulates through the body in the form of veins. These veins allow Ki to be used in every part of the body, thus generating a Ki aura." As he spoke, the magical chalk wrote the details on the board. All students took notes, plunging the room into respectful silence. The professor continued his explanations.
"As Mr. Kaiser pointed out, Ki has no elemental property. It manifests as energy of different colors. When a Metaryon materializes a Ki orb, it has as much power as the Metaryon can emit. The more Ki the orb is charged with, the higher its multipliers," he continued.
"Professor, I'm afraid I don't understand everything," Sorey inquired, visibly curious.
"To simplify, if Mr. Kaiser's punch, thrown at a certain speed, has the impact force of a small meteorite, then a Ki orb thrown at the same speed would inflict as much damage upon impact," the professor explained. He then changed the images on the board to two others; one showing a medium-sized Ki orb, and the other, a Ki orb twice as large as the one in the other image.
"Here we have two orbs, one twice as large as the other. The first orb has as much Ki energy as a physical punch has physical energy. But the second has twice the energy, equalling the force of two punches combined," explained the professor.
"Throwing an orb with twice the Ki energy would thus be like hitting at a distance with twice the force of a normal punch, if I understand correctly," Arwyna commented.
"Exactly. General Barrios, in his base form, can supply enough energy to his special technique 'Alpha Blaster' to reach a multiplier of 100, thus being capable of destroying several planets in one attack," explained Professor Shiki.
"PLANETS!?" the students exclaimed, eyes wide.
"Yes. Why do you think he's called the Scourge Lion?" the professor asked with a smile.
"Wow. My father is so powerful, it's incredible..." Kaiser murmured in a calm voice, clearly impressed.
"To conclude on Ki, know that it can be used for attack, but also for defense. Ki is malleable, capable of taking solid forms, allowing the user to surround themselves with a protective sphere having the same resistance as the user. In Mr. Kaiser's case, a shield from him would be able to withstand the impact of a small meteorite," the professor concluded, sealing his point on Ki.
"Professor Shiki, regarding the defensive use of Ki, what would happen if we used double the energy required to create a Ki wall with the same resistance as ourselves?" a Metaryon asked.
"In that case, the wall would have twice your resistance," the professor answered.
"Wow, interesting," the Metaryon marveled.
"Professor? Will the size of the Mana wall increase too?" a Metaryone asked.
"The modification of the size of techniques depends on the user. The user can decide to concentrate their technique. In this case, it will keep the same size but with the additional power or resistance provided by the extra energy," the professor explained. "Are you satisfied with my answer, young lady?" he asked, his friendly smile on his face.
"Yes, thank you, professor," the Metaryone replied and then sat down.
"Well, now that we're done with Ki, we'll see Mana next time. You'll see that it's an energy system just as fascinating," the professor announced.
"Prepare yourselves, for this energy system, generally considered the most powerful of all energy systems, surpasses Ki, Chi, and even Chakra," the professor concluded with a mysterious smile.
"We have martial arts class now, right?" Zayren whispered to his sister.
"Yes, you plan to assert your dominance from the start?" Zyriel whispered back, confidently.
"Not immediately, but we Devas certainly make up the top five in the class in terms of power. Once I know my position, I can show off easily, especially in front of Kaiser, who probably thinks he's invincible," Zayren murmured to his sister, watching Kaiser out of the corner of his eye, a confident smile on his lips.
The next class was already promising excitement...
To be continued...