Chapter 28: Blocked

After suffering from the recent attack, the elementalist class was moved into an indoor auditorium.

This auditorium was smaller that other auditorium, but it could still fit around 100 students.

This auditorium was different from the other auditorium that the class had seen before. Apart from the difference in size, the walls were particularly different. There were strange carvings on the walls. If Teo did not read about inscriptions he would not recognize these carvings at all.

The inscriptions that were carved into the wall increased their durability. Because of certain elementalist exercises, classes were usually held outside to prevent any damage to the buildings but with the recent incident, the academy decided to move the elementalist class into these special auditoriums.

...

As Teo and Windle approached the building, they saw a familiar guard standing besides the entrance. This guard was one of the people who visited the victims within the medical center.

The guard also recognized Teo and gave a smile.

Teo did not know who this guard was. He could only vaguely remember the guard's face from when he was looking towards Emily. This guard was one of the people who visited Emily. Teo found it strange that this guard would smile at him.

...

When Teo and Windle entered the auditorium, Teo looked around the class. He started looking for that blonde girl who he saw in the medical center but could not find her

His eyes suddenly stopped at a strangely hooded figure

'It must be her' Teo thought

He knew that the class only had 27 students, and since no one was absent. The only conclusion was that this hooded figure was her.

He wanted to apologize but decided not to reveal his secret. If it was revealed, not only that he would be punished but Windle and perhaps even Lia would be punished as well.

He convinced himself that he should keep it a secret. Not just for protecting himself, but his friends as well.

Teo decided to sit down nearby the hooded figure, since the auditorium changed, it wouldn't be weird for him to choose a new seat.

Windle noticing Teo's intention quietly followed

Dina arrived early than usual

She looked at everyone to see if they were all present

"Welcome back everyone, I'm sure you all must know about the incident, but I assure you that from now on, the academy will ensure your safety from future incidents like the one before"

"Now, lets get on with the class"

"Since the majority of you have already reached Gathering stage, it is important to learn how to increase and use your Qi"

"I am sure that all of you know, that everybody is born with Qi. Qi is the mysterious force of heaven and earth. everything in this world has Qi. Elemental energy comes from the world Qi, but people have their own personal Qi."

"People knew about Qi even before we knew about elemental energy. Before the discovery of elemental energy, cultivators ruled the land by using their Qi and martial arts"

"In the same way that a cultivator's strength is directly dependent of how much Qi they have, elementalists' strength is somewhat determined by how much Qi you have."

"It is not guaranteed that you will be stronger with more Qi, but you will have more options if you have more Qi. An elementalist that runs out of Qi is basically the same as a non-elementalist"

"In this era, elementalists can stand on even ground with cultivators because to use the elemental energy, we do not have to use a lot of Qi, but if you run out of Qi, a cultivator can easily defeat you"

"Everybody has a container of Qi inside them and we can absorb Qi from our surroundings. We can also absorb Qi from herbs and refined pills but absorbing that way has its own disadvantages. By absorbing more than you can handle, you can stretch that container and thus increase the amount of Qi you have, but if you absorb too much too quickly, there is a dangerous risk that it could permanently damage your container so be careful and increase it slowly"

"I will now teach you the different breathing techniques you can use to increase your Qi"

"Teo, Grifford, I know both of you are not yet at Gathering Stage so you can listen and learn the breathing techniques then go practice do the Sensing stage exercises"

When Dina mentioned Teo's name and looked at him, the hooded figure looked to where Dina was looking at. Emily was surprised that Teo was sitting so close to her.

Teo and Emily's eyes met. Emily abruptly gave a slight bow and then turned to listen to Dina

...

After Dina's demonstration of breathing techniques, Teo continued on practicing his Sensing stage. Although he could sense the auras of 10 different elemental energies, he still continued to practice it.

Other students within the class, who mostly had 1 elemental attribute could see their elements with their naked eyes as if they were mist in the air.

But there were some students who couldn't see them as clearly but still moved on to the Gathering stage. They were mostly the impatient students that didn't master the Sensing stage. Even though they didn't master it, they could still start Gathering elemental energy.

Although it was recommended to master the Sensing stage, most combatant rare do early on. They naturally master the sensing stage as the moved on through the other stages.

As for Teo, he didn't choose to move onto the Gathering stage. He believed that it was useless for him to advance to the Gathering stage.

In his perspective, since he knows how to build simple arrays, he should be able to easily use his knowledge into inscriptions.

A pure generalist's path is through inscription and although his potential deemed to be really bad, he enjoyed the fulfillment of designing and creating arrays.

So mastering the Sensing stage should help out with inscriptions and arrays. He also had that bet with old man Cien.

....

After the class ended, Teo looked at Emily.

He approached her and said "Hello, my name is Teo"

Teo hoped to become friends with Emily who he had wronged. When he becomes her friend, he can make it up to her by doing her favors. That was at least what Teo thought, but the girl just nodded and turned away. She didn't even introduce herself.

Teo was considering on what to do when his eyes met with the 3 members of the Silver Sword Association.

When Teo woke up in the medical center, the 3 of them apologized to him earnestly.

They no longer looked at him with disdain and mockery but instead with respect.

Although they did not approach Teo to talk to him, they did not cause trouble for him either. They also called Teo "turtle", behind his back, but it wasn't with ill intentions.

Teo slightly bowed at the 3 and the 3 returned the bow. Then Teo turned and chased Emily.

When he was about to reach her, a figure blocked his path.

"What do you want?" the figure said in a firm voice

The figure was the blonde visitor from the medical center. When Emily heard the voice, she quickly turned around and said "Elder brother Will, you are here"

Teo became slightly intimidated. The look of the girl's brother, Will, seemed hostile and slowly gathered up the courage to reply

"I just wish to become friends with her" Teo pointed towards Emily

Emily also heard this and looked at Teo, but Will covered their line of sight.

"You are not worthy enough to become friends with my sister. Please stay away from her"

After saying that, Will immediately left with Emily

Teo could not say anything back. He wanted to be friends with Emily so that he could somehow pay her back, but Emily's brother did not want him anywhere near Emily.

The guard who smiled at him earlier gave an apologizing look and quickly followed Will and Emily.

[Author's note: This chapter marks the end of the first Arc]