The cluster of students slowly settled down in the classes. Sei and Navi too followed back to the classroom. Miyo was a senior, so he went into the other adjoining building.
The classroom felt different now, somehow heavier.
Instructor Shin stood at the front, his piercing eyes scanned the class. His gaze as though it could see into the soul.
"So, now we will begin the true lessons," he announced, his voice brimming with authority. "Now you will all try to channel nature energy," he added.
Sei noticed a few students shuffle uncomfortably. Even Navi moved a little, her hands clasped tightly in her lap.
"Nature Energy Channeling," Shin continued, his fingers slowly extending upwards in thin air. A faint ripple appeared, water coiling like a thin stream from his fingertips, dancing in the air with a grace that seemed effortless.
"This is raw energy drawn from the world itself," Shin explained, his voice softening ever so slightly. "No stones. No tools. Feel the nature. Let it speak to you. Channel the energy to your core through your body and then refine it."
The spiral of water shimmered under the sunlight, then broke apart into droplets that fell to the floor like rain. It was so simple for Shin, so natural, that it left the room in stunned silence.
Then, Shin clapped his hands, marking the beginning. "Start."
The room fell in an uproar of motions, all the students closed their eyes, their faces twisting with concentration. Some reached out with trembling hands, others bit their lips in frustration. The air in the room was filled with a quiet tension and desperation.
Sei also closed his eyes, and acted up like a newbie. In reality, it was too easy for him, he had trained for two and a half years, those hard training sessions had made channeling nature energy like breathing to him. But he can't show it here.
Sei trembled a bit, then a ripple of air, moving in different circular directions, formed over his hand. He smiled and opened his eyes. The air vanished.
All the students' gazes shifted to Sei.
"Good," Shin murmured, watching him for a moment too long. Sei's skin prickled under his gaze. 'Did he suspect?'
In the front, Ajin, the muscular boy who showed a presence of strong hydro core, channeled hydro energy, forming a little water ball over his palm for a moment before it rippled.
Around the other corner, the girl Lisa, the one who showed a strong herbal core, everyone looked at her shockingly as little vines played effortlessly around her wrist.
The boy who laughed at Navi was desperately struggling to bring up even a chunk of metal, as he possessed a Petra core, a core that channels natural metal energy. The boy bit his lip in frustration.
Sei laughed inside, 'that fool, and I should get an award for such good acting haha.'
Then his gaze shifted back to Navi, who was struggling harder than anyone else. A faint flicker of flame erupted, only to be extinguished by a stream of water. This was because of the Dual Core. A Dual Core anomaly caused two distinctive cores to exist within a body, making it hard to control the two types of energy at the same time.
Sei's eyes melted. He wanted to help, but he was helpless here.
Time passed by as students tried and failed and tried again. It was the same training the old man asked Sei to do under the waterfall.
'that old man, really... why did he make me go under that waterfall?'
Soon, Shin clapped his hands again. "Now you all can stop," he spoke, his voice a little firm. "From tomorrow onwards, you all will be doing this exercise till you can easily channel nature energy. Don't let yourself be left behind, because this academy doesn't nurture failures." His tone was soft, yet the words themselves carried such weight.
These words were like a warning, that if you can't keep up, no one will help you.
The bell echoed again, marking the end of all classes.
"This is it for today, now you can all go back to your dorms," Instructor announced. His eyes lingered on Sei.
Sei felt a shiver down his spine.
After class, as the students filed out, Shin's voice cut through the noise like a blade.
"Sei Haswarth. My office. Now."
The room fell silent. Sei could feel every eye on him.
He forced a small, practiced smile and nodded. "Yes, sir."
Navi's eyes found his, wide with worry. He flashed her a quick wink, though inside, his stomach churned.
'I am done for.'
Sei followed after Shin through the hallway to a room. It was smaller than Sei expected. A wooden desk, and a chair. A few books, neatly arranged. A potted plant by the window, its leaves curling toward the light. The air smelled faintly of ink and old paper.
Shin sat behind his desk, hands folded, gaze steady.
Without a word, he slid a small, circular badge across the table. Yellow. The color seemed to glow against the dark wood.
"This is a Watch Badge," Shin said quietly. "It means you'll be monitored. You're marked, Haswarth. Any more... incidents, and it won't end here."
Sei swallowed hard. His throat felt dry. The badge felt heavier than it looked. "Understood, sir."
Shin didn't smile. He didn't frown either. Just watched.
"You can go now."
Sei walked back to his dorm, clenching his grip on the yellow badge in his hand. As he opened the door, Fari jumped on his face. "You fool! Navi told me everything, why in the world did you go and fight Rudo?"
"Ahh, give me a break, Fari," Sei replied, but a small smile crept on his lips. He had friends who bothered about him.
"Sorry, Fari. I will not do it again, but I won't hold up if he does something," Sei spoke, darting his eyes off to the side.
"You are a brat, what can we do about you." Fari sighed, wiggling his tail.
"You, little—" Sei grabbed Fari and gazed at her.
"Help me, Navi!" Fari squeaked dramatically.
Navi laughed, seeing the commotion between them. All of them laughed off without a worry.
Time and days went by, they followed their usual routine daily, a theory class in the first half of the day, then break and a practical Nature energy channeling class continuing after the break. 2 weeks passed by like breeze. Yet they were all still struck on the same old routine. One thing clear they won't advance until they learn how to channel Nature energy properly.
One night, Sei sat by the window, looking at the crescent moon glowing in the sky. The clouds went by smoothly, the trees and grass shifted with the smooth breeze.
His mind was a swirl of random thoughts from his days, and within those thoughts, one that never left his mind: "I wonder what Mom is doing."
Suddenly, Sei's eyes caught a movement in the dark.
A shadowy figure, barely visible, walked across the garden. And then, it _slipped through the walls_ like mist, melting into the stone itself.
Sei's breath caught. His eyes sharpened.
What... was that?