"Anyways, that aside," Stanley began cheerfully, attempting to release the tension in the room.
"Let's begin with our energy manipulation class!" Stanley announced enthusiastically.
"You two are Inns, so it's no surprise you have more energy than humans," Stanley added nonchalantly.
Meanwhile, Akin remained lost in the revelation about Feya—the well-known and most powerful of all previous Inn Kings, and the 97th-generation father of all Inn races.
He couldn't even begin to process his shock. The thought that Feya was now tied to him by bloodline, as the father of all Inns in the current era, left Akin stunned.
"Ain't no way!" Akin muttered silently, his mind racing with anger, disbelief, and a whirlwind of other emotions.
Just then, Stanley snapped his fingers right in front of Akin's face. The wind from the snap was sharp, almost ferocious, as it blew Akin's hair and face violently.
"And that's called energy manipulation!" Stanley said with a faint smile, observing Akin's stunned expression.
"Now your turn," Stanley said as he stood up, his voice full of anticipation.
"Let's see what you've got, boy!" Stanley challenged, his eyes watching Akin closely as he stood up, pulling his sword with a grin full of thrill.
"Alright. Now, relax and feel the energy," Stanley instructed, sitting back down and observing Akin as he closed his eyes.
"Yep, just like that. Simple. It's nothing magical. It's just energy you feel every day," Stanley continued, watching Akin flick the switch on his sword, setting it to level one.
"All you need to do is channel that into your sword. That's all," Stanley said with a grin playing on his lips as he sensed something from Akin.
Meanwhile, Akin, with his eyes closed, struggled slightly to channel the energy. He could feel the heat of his sword's flame growing stronger.
"Damn it!" Akin thought, grinding his teeth in frustration.
"It's just channeling your usual energy, Akin!" he urged himself, trying to push the energy within him out.
"Come on!" Akin thought, focusing as he felt the faint sensation of energy moving.
"Now!" he thought, opening his eyes and focusing on his sword.
"That's impressive!" Stanley exclaimed cheerfully, clapping as he watched the blue flame ignite on Akin's sword.
"You've achieved your first color, or first form!" Stanley added, his face filled with delight as he looked at Akin's excited expression.
Meanwhile, Cara and Kalè looked slightly shocked as Akin successfully ignited a colored flame.
"Impressive indeed," Kalè thought, her cold gaze never wavering.
"All the more reason I need to keep an eye on you," she mused, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.
Just then, Akin started to feel a burning sensation from the flame's heat.
"What the—" Akin exclaimed, quickly letting go of the sword in reflex.
Before the sword could hit the floor, Akin looked up, shocked to see it already in Stanley's hand.
"Are you trying to burn down the facility?!" Stanley said, his voice laced with mock reprimand.
A past memory flashed in his mind—the old facility he had burned down by accident, a mistake he was still paying for.
"If that happens, then that'll also be on your name," Cara said with a smile, her eyes gleaming with mischief as she teased Stanley about his past mistake.
"His name?!" Akin thought, nonchalantly at the exchange.
"Anyways, I guess I should've told you this earlier. But before channeling your energy into the sword, you need to distance it from yourself," Stanley said, pointing the sword forward, his tone now more serious.
"And there are also other way you can protect yourself too," Stanley added with a smile.
"Though his blue flame had become more intense, with little bits of his energy that were slipping through without him even realizing it."Stanley watched him carefully before tossing the turned-off sword back to Akin.
"He sure has a lot of energy, and it's leaking out without him even knowing it," Stanley grinned in amusement, clearly entertained.
"Now, your turn, miss!" Stanley said, pointing at Kalè as he looked back at Akin.
"Let's see what little miss prodigy got!" Stanley thought, his anticipation growing.
"Sure," Kalè responded nonchalantly, her expression calm and collected.
Kalè closed her eyes, focusing on her energy.
"If there are any other ways to protect ourselves from the burning sensation, like he said," she thought, "then I'm sure it's probably this."
With that, she began to manipulate her energy, creating a shield to protect herself which seems very easy for her.
"Now!" she added, her sword igniting with intense white flame.
Akin watched the white flame grow larger than his blue one, a sense of jealousy creeping in.
"I knew she was always a mysterious individual, despite being an inns, but this… this is insane," Akin thought, his excitement growing as he imagined surpassing her in energy manipulation. He heard Stanley clapping in the background, praising Kalè.
"Impressive! I expected nothing less!" Stanley said cheerfully, noting Kalè's use of her energy to shield herself from the burning sensation.
"Though, we can't see energy with our naked eyes, sure can sense you're using energy shield, kalè."
Stanley said looking at Kalè.
"She's now the third individual to attain the white flame as a first form," Stanley thought, impressed.
He knew the white flame and its other progressive form was one of the five greatest hell blades.
"Perhaps she could reach Hell Blade before our boy here," Stanley added, his tone sarcastic as he looked at Akin, fully aware that he was tapping into Akin's competitive nature.
"Hell to the not!"
Akin thought as he grinned at Stanley's comment, then shot him a cold look laced with thrill and determination.
"We shall see about that!"