Ben messaged his friends that he was back. They agreed to meet up at the school the next day. Ben had a good night sleep for about 10 hours that day & he woke up feeling refreshed. Soon they got ready for school.
Ben was now in the final year for the school. So his attire & discipline needed to be top notch as per the military standards. Whenever he came to school that decorum was expected. He soon reached the school.
His friends met him at the indoor game facility. They just talked 5 minutes, as they had test in the morning. They agreed to meet up during lunch.
Ben also could not relax. Ben went to 8 teachers during the gap till lunch, not just to greet them, but also to collect materials for his studies from them. Mahaansh was not present in the school. Also Mahaansh's subject was now converted, the mission which he had to complete at the end of the year.
Soon it was lunch time. Ben, Jim, Rais, Roshin & Saarsh came together at the school canteen. Seeing Ben many classmates also came to see him. They knew about what was happening at Aatva now. It could not be hidden much. Also the final year students in college were considered proper adults now. So they were informed about it.
Ben knew what he could & could not tell. It was in the lessons he learned during acclimatization training & in the non-disclosure agreement he signed when entering Aatva. Within the bounds of those, he spoke with them.
He told them about the forest, what all animals were there & what kind of resources were there. He also told them about his hunts & resource gathering. He also told about experiencing the battle between two monarchs. His classmates had seen it in screen. But experiencing it was another matter.
After about 20 minutes the 5 friends were alone, let alone. Many classmates had questions which Ben could not answer. So he had to avoid many questions. Thus, it took 20 minutes for them to disperse. The 5 friends started their discussion.
Rais: "So what all are you hiding?
Jim: Yeah man tell us."
Saarsh & Roshin were waiting eagerly.
Ben: "Guys you know the rules. I know you might find it silly & rigid. But it is important. There are reasons for those."
Saarsh: Oh please, what a bummer.
Roshin: Do you have the Mahaansh Fever?
Ben: Guys it is because you don't understand. I would have gone astray if I was not guided properly. If I was not informed the right thing at the right time, I would have died of energy deviation. And it is real. Once you start to circulate energy you would understand the delicate balance maintained in the body.
Saarsh: You mean we might explode?
Ben: No, as far as I know not at the knight realm at least. I don't know about higher realms. But energy deviation is painful & will lead to incorrect development of meridians which is painful & a life long issue.
Rais: Ok enough about the issues that you can't talk about. So what about the stuff you can? Did you learn some martial arts?
Ben: Well about that, I have plenty to show you guys."
All of them found themselves in the outdoor stadium of the school. This was a huge place where the outdoor activities of the school happened. But still since it was going to be exam season soon & teachers needed to cover more syllabus, this place was not put to full use during the past few months. Ben & friends were at the middle of the ground. "Ok guys, keep some distance this is going to be wild! There is going to be shock waves!"
Jim seemed to be more excited than others. "Come on, enough with the build up. Show us what you have got!" Ben grinned. Suddenly his friends were hit by a shock wave. When they opened their eyes after a few seconds they saw Ben standing at the end of the farthest seat from the middle of the ground. The wind from Ben's movement was still not settled. All of them exclaimed "What?! How?!" "How did he get there so fast?" "Did he teleport?"
"I don't know." Suddenly Ben disappeared. They experienced another wind. This time Ben was directly standing front of Jim. He was startled.
"What the—" He startled & fell down. The friends had a good laughter. Saarsh asked, "What kind of speed is that? When you beast master something, where did you get it with such speed. What is up with this!"
The others also were having the same doubt. Ben answered "This is an innate technique that I acquired from my meridian seed. You will understand in future. I call this aether leap. It helps me to move fast. Like really fast."
Rais asked, "This is all?" Ben answered, "I have the claws." He showed it to them. Roshin asked "They look different from the last time we saw them. This time seems more menacing."
Ben answered that, "This one is more consolidated & more sturdy. The amount of aura used has also reduced." Saying this he used the claw on a large rock nearby which was instantly destroyed. Instantly all 4 of them had their mouths hanging.
Ben added, " Well I also have another trick, a variation of this." Then he unleashed his claws as well as tail. His friends laughed. Saarsh said " Dude that is funny. Are you going to fight in that." Ben was not so amused. This was his hard won form. He said " Hmpf... What do you know? When I use my speed, I can get supersonic. In order to change directions quickly and stop fast, I need the tail. That is basic physics." They still laughed. They knew Ben. " You learned it from watching all those animal shows didn't you." Jim teased.