As I walked slowly, I eventually got to the isolated grounds that I had decided to train on. I removed the thick dark-colored jacket I wore and dropped a box of lunch I had prepared.
At least I had fulfilled my promise of eating healthily. Just before leaving, I had found a lunch box suspiciously placed in a kitchen cabinet. Alongside it were several other lunches on the verge of perishing and a few commodities and ingredients for cooking.
I was unsure what the box contained, and who had prepared it was unknown. There was a high possibility it was not tasty and, even worse, poisoned, but I didn't see the use of poisoning me, so I shrugged it off.
As I dropped the box, I strolled to the center of the large circular field. It was filled with a few dead grasses and dry, loose sand, which guaranteed my safety from bruises.
'Okay, so how do I start?' I said, stretching my limbs and commencing a few lightweight exercises. My first thought on starting the training was activating my Aura Shield but, even that was tasking.
I then resorted to normal physical exercise to warm up my body before beginning anything serious. I fell to the ground, attempting a few pushups and surprisingly, it didn't demand much.
Perhaps the serum during the injection provided the strength, or maybe my Mana was the cause of the sudden boost of strength. Regardless, I continued my exercises before noticing a few students exiting and loitering around the dorm.
'What are they doing here, now?' I muttered as I had planned to do my exercises solemnly or something close to it.
I stood up from the spot and hid myself behind a building; a shop but at the time, I was unaware. I leaned on the building's firm structure as I viewed my stats.
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[Master Noah, here are your stats:
Name: Noah
Beast: None
Mana: 100%
Abilities: Mana Wielding (Rank E)
Skills: Aura Shield (Rank E)
Overall Ranking: Rank E]
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The ellipsis was no longer visible which indicated that I had completed the tutorial. My Mana, on the other hand, was full and not depleted in any way. Yet, I still felt tired.
'This is confusing. Mana is tied to my physical capabilities but that's not the case the other way round?' I questioned myself, still leaning behind the building.
It appeared that Mana was an independent unit, influencing other factors but not being influenced by any factor except magical skills and abilities. It was my conclusion, and it was quite easy to figure out.
I closed my eyes, and fatigue soon rolled in; I lifted my eyelids and was welcomed by a new value on the systematic panel. Following its appearance was the usual female voice that soothed my mind as I drowned in tiredness.
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[Fatigue: 50%]
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It was exciting and baffling at the same time. At its middle, I felt completely overwhelmed by fatigue, meaning that its maximum is likely to cause a lack of consciousness.
'Oh that's great,' I sighed, hearing the footsteps of others grow louder.
I stood up and clung to the wall like an assassin, peeking slightly at the edge of the building and tracing the sounds of the people.
They were closer, and by the pitch of their voices, they sounded young—almost all of them did. I quickly turned my head, pondering what to do as the fatigue grew worse.
Sweat began dripping from my face and a few slid into my mouth. The salty taste was inconveniencing and I occasionally spat them out, hoping that I wouldn't be heard by the approaching teenagers.
I wasn't sure why I was hiding, maybe not to be distracted. It was almost as if my head was being toyed with and controlled. Almost like I was being drawn to the building.
As I convinced myself to come out from my hiding spot, a faint crack echoed, drawing the attention of the teenagers.
'Hey, what was that sound?' One of them asked and the others fell silent, gripped in fear.
The entire academy's premises were both isolated from the outside and completely desolate, almost like an abandoned village. The area I had gone to train was considerably far from the dorms and any unusual sound would scare anyone who dared to wander around the area.
The teenagers were experiencing the fear I had imagined; some were on the verge of running, but a few brave ones in them decided to stay and investigate.
'Just run! You're acting like you're an actor in a horror movie. You should be scared,' I thought, trying my best to hold my composure.
'Who's there! Who's there!' The voice was surprisingly deep, a little bit deeper than mine. His voice grew louder as he kept asking, his steps making louder sounds as he approached.
Soon, I saw his shadow, big and somewhat terrifying. I maintained balance and tried leaving the spot so as not to gather any attention or fear. As soon as my feet twitched, a faint figure flashed before my eyes.
He had a large build, big black eyes, and a terrifyingly light-absorbent dark skin. It was all too terrifying to process at once, and I backed away in fear. The wall which I leaned on caved in and a pile of rubble descended.
I found myself in a room that looked like a medieval store and surprisingly, the boy somehow didn't see or know I was there. To him, the wall had collapsed on its own, and he walked away with his peers, unaware of my existence.
I sighed in relief, although I was still unaware of why I was hiding from them.
'Whatever, it's better they didn't see me. Now, I'll go back to training,' I whispered, slowly lifting my head from the ground. I felt a faint ache surface in my head but it wasn't of great intensity.
As I lifted my head in the air, it suddenly made contact with a weak piece of wood and before I could react, it collapsed. A bottle with a glowing liquid in it fell as well, spilling on my face. Its broken pieces fell to the ground.
It left me in a state of shock; the large, firm piece of wood landed on my head, and I soon lost consciousness. As everywhere grew darker and my eyelids shut, a strange panel appeared in my mind.
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[—♦ Beast Taming Unlocked ♦—]
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