She hummed contently as he showed himself off to her. After he had performed one full circle, she snapped her fingers abruptly.
The sound of her fingers snapping resounded sharply through the air. It was kind of harsh on his ears and it caused him to wince and close his eyes. Even Ruff whined about it.
He didn't know why, but every student turned to her immediately after hearing the sound. He found them looking at him when he opened his eyes again.
She said, "Taylor, show the boy to the locker room and give him the smallest size uniform we have. There should be one custom made for him."
The boy called Taylor bowed to her and cupped his fist. Then he beckoned to Arthur and moved in the direction of the building.
As they were leaving, the instructor called out to them, "And don't forget his mat."
Taylor led him to the locker room, which was a room full of boxes with numbers on them. They went straight for the box with number 138.
Within the box was a set of black uniforms, a mat, some bandages, and a towel.
Taylor said to him, "Take your uniform and change in the booth over there."
Taylor pointed to a row of small rooms that looked like a toilet from where he stood. It was until he entered it that he realized that it was not a toilet because it was empty.
He checked the uniform first. It was indeed small and could fit him.
He was wondering when it was prepared for him when he heard Taylor call out to him. "Be fast. We don't want instructor Canes to scold us."
He changed quickly and rushed out. Then he picked up his mat and followed Taylor outside.
When they got back, the trainees had formed a large circle with red-robed instructor Canes at the center. They were also all sitting on their mats. Only instructor Cane's was standing.
She was saying something to them, but he couldn't hear what she was saying from far away. What she was saying became clearer when he got close to her.
"Today, we will go through the introductions because we have a new member among us."
A trainee raised his hands.
Instructor Canes turned to him and asked, "Yes, Felix. What do you have to say?"
Felix stood up and bowed to instructor Canes and then to everyone else before speaking.
Then he said, "He can't be truly at the fourth transformation, right? Isn't he just ten years old?"
She replied, "He is seven years old, not ten. But yes, he is truly at the fourth transformation."
Felix didn't try to sit down, so he must have other questions. She knew what question he might want to ask next, so she went straight to the point.
"Apparently, he became terribly sick. His mother bought a powerful medicine to heal him. The medicine worked very well since he is here, ready to put his body to work. But it also increased the vitality of his body and made him reach the fourth transformation."
Felix's curiosity had been satiated. So he bowed to instructor Canes again and sat down.
By then, Taylor and Arthur had joined the sitting circle. They too were sitting on their mats listening to their instructor speak. Ruff was sitting beside him panting with his mouth wide open and looking at everything with child-like curiousity.
Instructor Canes continued. "Since I'm going through the introductions, I'll start from the beginning."
She called out, "Bella. Tell the class what it is we do here."
The girl that had asked him if he was lost stood up. She bowed and cupped her hands to the instructor and to everyone before speaking.
She said, "We combine mana techniques and exercise to fuel our transformation. We also learn fighting techniques to learn how to use the power of our body efficiently."
Instructor Canes nodded and said, "Good explanation. Short and straight to the point."
Everyone clapped while Bella bowed and cupped her hands to the instructor before returning to her seat.
Instructor Canes turned to him and said, "What she said is the summary of what we do here. In the first class, your body is pushed to its limit and beyond it. This is to encourage it to reach the third transformation earlier than normal."
"This process usually takes one year of work. Even if you don't take any pills, as long as you're dedicated, you will reach the third transformation in a year's time. If you take pills every day, then six months will be enough for you."
"After the third transformation comes the first bottleneck in the first mortal coil. This bottleneck is difficult on its own, but it is extra difficult for us humans."
She called out someone and asked, "Why is the bottleneck extra difficult for humans?"
The person stood up, performed the etiquette, and replied, "It is because our natural potential ends at the third transformation. So we are alone in breaking this bottleneck."
She said, "Good answer."
Everyone clapped, including Arthur.
Instructor Canes continued, ""Exercise and good food will eventually help us to break this bottleneck. But it is efficient and will take time."
"It was later discovered that there was a better way to progress faster. And that was to use the mana in our surroundings more efficiently."
"Instead of relying on just exercise and pills, we could supplement our nutritional needs with mana and actually use it to raise the limits of our body without exercising."
"The best way those at the first mortal could interact with mana is through the air we breathe. So the mana breathing technique was created."
"The mana technique we use here is the fire-breathing technique. You were supposed to have learned it in the second class. But I guess I'll have to teach you myself.
"Pay attention as I show it to you."
She took a stance by lowering her body and spreading her legs. Then she punched forward.
Her fist struck the invisible air and created an explosive sound. The sound was so loud that he had to block his ears to protect his eardrums.