Erindor proceeded to bite a small part of his finger , causing a drop of blood to fall on the skill book...
At that exact moment as Erindor was seated in a meditative position , the skill book instantly disappeared into fragments and then nothings, indicating that the information related to the skill has entered Erindor's brain.
Erindor remained seated... The crucial part of the process ,assimilation of the skill had arrived...
Erindor was completely inmersed in digesting the information about the skill he had just absorbed...
A pained expression would occasionally appear on his face from time to time, an indication of the hunger pangs from his stomach. Yet, he closed his eyes and persisted...
Quickly, a week went by... Erindor opened his eyes, a smile evident on his face...
He has succeeded .... It was as though he had been practicing the skill for decades... The skill had completely become a part of him... The same way controlling his limbs was more like a part of him, Erindor felt the same way about using the shadow manipulation skill-"As expected of advanced technology"...
As the name implied in simple and concise description, shadow manipulation was all about manipulating shadows of animate and inanimate objects into different shapes for one's desired purpose.. It was very versatile...
Some would argue that if a shadow was not present , the skill would be useless, however one thing Erindor learnt during the assimilation of the skill was that everything-both animate and inanimate objects had a shadow whether they could be perceived with the physical eye or not... Light only made already existing shadows of animate and inanimate objects visible to the naked eye .
Also Erindor had an affinity to the shadow element so the outline of shadows was clear to him...be it situations where they were visible or not to the naked eye,even though he was just an E+ rank awakened now and the range of this advantage of his was limited to shadows that were in his immediate surroundings.
One thing to note though was that the skill's efficacy would only increase as the individual increases in awakened rank .
Quickly he stood up and proceeded towards a humanoid mechadroid that stood near the wall of the training room ...
Erindor clicked at the back of the mechadroid to turn it on..
The mechadroid seemed to have come to life,as it moved fluidly from where it stood and faced Erindor...
Quickly it scanned Erindor , as a red laser like light descended on Erindor's whole body ,then it voiced in a monotone manner "Proceeding to simulate combat to the level of Awakened Erindor Thorne's E+ rank.... Begin combat in 10....9....8...2....1"
The humanoid mechadroid dashed towards Erindor with swift speed ,launching a blow towards Erindor's right cheek...
However, the blow never landed as before that happened, Erindor,standing in the same location as before with his hands still clad in hoodie pockets manipulated a portion of his shadow into a dark tendrilike substance that bound the hand of the mechadroid about to land a hit on his cheek, holding it in place..
In the blink of an eye, a portion of Erindor's shadow coalesced into a dark layer around his right hand that had now turned into a fist,giving him some physical reinforcement , and landed on the metal jaw of the mechadroid for more than four consecutive times in rapid successions..
" Sweet"...
Erindor quickly released the tendril that bind the hand of the mechadroid ,causing the mechadroid to regain its freedom of motion...
However , the mechadroid staggered around for a few seconds before it regained it's balance...
-"That's enough training... I feel so mentally tired.. it's time to get some rest "...
"Stop" Erindor commanded the mechadroid to halt it's training mode, turned the buttom that turned the mechadroid on off, and walked out of the training facility...
It was currently nigh time. " A week passed and I didn't even notice ... except the occasional hunger pangs that kept assaulting me... Were I still an F ranked awakened, it would have been hard for me to even walk right now since I've not eaten for a week ... "-.
Due to Erindor's connection to the shadow affinity,Erindor could sense the outlines of people's shadows in his immediate surroundings, even those currently hidden behind trees, grasses .
-"What are they hiding behind grasses and trees for at this time of the day.. isn't it ... Oh wait... As expected of teenagers who cannot keep their hormones under control " Erindor sighed., getting the gist of the situation...
He proceeded to a nearby supermarket, bought some instant noodles and enjoyed himself.
After that, he left for his dorm and fell on his mattress.
Erindor did not even take a shower, he was too mentally drained to do so...
*****
Erindor woke up the next morning completely refreshed mentally...
He looked around his dorm and sighed...
"I really need to move out of this place... Since I don't have a problem with resources now, there's no need to stay here any longer ... With my status and privileges of having an S rank talent, I can move into a better apartment outside campus. I only lived here because I had no other choice since I was broke , it was free of charge and was provided by the academy "
The room was really small. There was no kitchen, only a washroom, with his small student mattress, big travelling bag for clothes and his standing mirror..
At the edge of his student mattress, a picture of him and his deceased parents was in view ...
The man looked just like him, more like an older version of him, with the beautiful woman boasting black eyes and black hair...
Both of them had their hands on the shoulder of a younger version of Erindor with smiles plastered on their faces ..
Erindor sighed, a tinge of melancholy encumbering him...
He remembered his desire to teach those demonic
beast who murdered his parents their place... When he awakened a trash talent, he thought it was an impossible thing to accomplish, his hopes had been crushed " But now...I promise you mum and dad..." Erindor muttered, his hands clenched...
" I cannot afford to be weak, I need to become stronger quickly ...."
Erindor took the dimensional bracelet artifact, brought it near a few items he wanted to move out of the dorm with, and willed them to enter the artifact...
"Let's head to the lecture hall. I need to teach some few people a lesson ..After that I'll head into the city and get a house..." Erindor muttered to himself , freshened up and headed to class a few minutes later ...
****
Erindor arrived in front of the lecture hall a few minutes later ..
He intentionally arrived early before class begun because he had something special planned for two special individuals... It was time for payback...
Erindor entered the lecture hall, causing the cacophony of chatters to dwindle down...
A few ladies stole glances his way, lost in their own worlds.. However, his cold looks deterred them from approaching him.
The young man looked at a particular direction , causing a blonde haired individual and his lackey to flinch ...
Erindor's expression was impassive as he headed towards their direction . His hands clad in his white hoodie's pocket...
Duke showed a fearful expression on his face ...
He never thought Erindor had what it took to take revenge for all the previous treatment he had treated him... He was a Michelson after all, one of the influential families in Pristborne City...
The influence his family boasted deterred the academy from doing much after he bullied Erindor... Even if Erindor now miraculously had some S rank talent, and the academy prioritised him now, he never imagined it would be to a point where Erindor would have the courage to attack him without thinking of the repercussions...
However, he was greatly mistaken of the value of individuals with S rank talents , and greatly, he was very wrong about Erindor, as what happened next proved that to be true..
Before the whole class, a portion of Duke's shadow started to move upwards towards Erindor...
The shadow turned into a dark layer around Erindor's right hand and formed a coat around it ...and then....
Pa !!!. A slap so loud that the ears of some people tingled, landed on Duke's cheek, causing him to land somewhere different from his previous location.
Broken teeth, and blood lay on the ground where Duke had just tumbled to , causing a couple of the students to flinch, gasps appearing on their faces...
The difference between an E+ ranked awakened and an E ranked awakened who had just stepped into the E rank was just made clear...
Erindor spoke no word then proceeded to where Duke now lay, everyone knew of the history surrounding Erindor and Duke... However they did not expect Erindor to be so vengeful..
Duke struggled to raise himself up, however, another slap landed on his other cheek, causing him to tumble into a couple of seats at the far end of his previous location.
"Please ... I'm sorry " Duke muttered, his words tinged with fear, his pride shattered..
"What was that?" Erindor grinned, then proceeded to where Duke lay, each step calm and steady...
"Say that again?" Erindor's voice was calm ,cold and chilly ...
"I'm .... Sorry"... Duke repeated in the same pitiful manner...
"Say, how about we kick things up a notch?"... Erindor's cold voice rung in Duke's ears . However the other students heard him clearly...