'What?!' I stared at the screen for a few minutes in disbelief trying to figure out why I had suddenly gained Karma points after speaking to Audrey.
'Is it because I lied?'
I couldn't be sure…
But while I was still pondering it, the large doors to the classroom opened, and an instructor walked in, breaking me from my thoughts.
It was a beautiful lady with chestnut hair and golden brown skin.
I could recognize her instantly because she was one of those characters whose striking beauty had been used to advertise the game back then. If I remembered correctly, her name was Mellisa Hathaway.
She walked with grace and poise befitting a beautiful noble of her status. Not long after she got to the podium, she placed both hands on it and scanned the large room.
"Quiet down everyone. I hope every cadet is here because I won't be taking an attendance."
Her voice was just as beautiful as everything else about her.
It didn't take long for her gaze to finally settle on me, and when it did, I was sure I could see a frown crease her face.
Though she immediately looked away, adjusted her glasses, and began in a serious tone: "It would do a lot of you good to pay close attention, as this course is very important and will be very necessary for your survival when you begin your journeys to the world beyond the veil. It will help you understand a few crucial things about your nature as dominants..."
I yawned as she continued talking. This course, which was called Basic Elemental Theory, was indeed really important for Dominants because in this world, every bond manifested with an affinity for one of the six primary elements that shaped a dominant's skills. The elements were Water, Air, Earth, Fire, Light, and Darkness.
But I knew all of this already, which was why I couldn't help but feel sleepy only a few minutes into the lecture. Plus, I barely had enough sleep during the night.
The instructor continued on in her beautiful voice:
"As we all know, after awakening, all dominants get attached to the element of their bond. It is important that you understand exactly how this element affects us as dominants."
She raised a finger. "For one, all exclusive skills are derived from them. One cannot be of the Fire element and manifest skills of the Water element."
She raised another finger. "Another important thing to note besides that, is that we can only draw in the mana we use to power these skills from our element. This means that if a Water or Fire dominant is low on mana, they must physically be near water or fire to replenish their mana core.
"Of course, this is manageable for them. However, it makes the Light and Darkness elements exceptionally risky. Because unlike their peers who can carry water around or easily light a torch when they need to replenish their mana, a Light dominant caught with an empty core during the night, or a Darkness dominant in open daylight without mana, is essentially defenseless.
"For this reason, it is advisable, especially for dominants of the Light and Darkness elements, to always make sure that their mana cores are full and manage their mana in times not near their element."
Mellisa paused for a brief moment to let that information settle in. Even though most were already aware of this, it still caused brief murmurs among the cadets.
A few seconds later, Mellisa tapped the podium a few times, demanding silence in the room, then continued. "Now, a few of you may be thinking: is this entirely fair? What about those of the Earth and Air elements? Wouldn't that mean they always have their mana reserves full?"
She looked around for a bit, smiled, then added. "Not exactly. You see, every element has its weaknesses. Unlike Dominants of the other four elements, who can often refill their mana cores within an hour or less, Dominants of the Earth and Air elements take more than triple the time just to reach a full reserve. And not only that, their mana tends to deplete far more quickly during combat…"
…At this point, I yawned again.
It was getting harder to keep my eyes open. I couldn't even hear Mellisa any longer.
After a few struggling seconds, I finally succumbed, rested my head on the table, and slept off.
***
After what felt like a really good nap, a gentle tap on my side woke me up.
I lifted my head to the podium and saw that there was no instructor; rather, cadets were already streaming out of the class. I then turned to my side to see who had woken me, and saw Audrey already standing there.
She brushed a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear, then asked, "Aren't you coming to the training field?"
I wiped a drool from the side of my face and focused my sleepy vision on her. "Huh? To where?"
Audrey chuckled, then said, "The next class is combat training, so we've all been asked to head to the training field."
"Oh…" I tilted my head back, then prepared to stand, but just then, what she said finally registered, and I began to panic.
"Wait… did you say combat training?"
Audrey gave a slight nod.
Suddenly, I felt my knees go weak.
Combat training was a class that pitted cadets against each other in order to train, show off, and polish their combat skills. Every cadet was required to participate and instead of dummy weapons, cadets were even allowed to use their bonds.
Of course, I needed combat training. But was I looking forward to this class? Absolutely not.
Who knows what sort of monster I would be pitted against? With the number of experienced people lining up to destroy the weak, inexperienced Cedric, it was safe to say I was completely screwed.
"Aisssshhhh!" I frantically scratched my head with both hands, then sighed and leaned back on my chair, drooping my head back in defeat.
Audrey, who stood watching me in concern, immediately understood the source of my distress. She leaned closer and tried to cheer me up.
"Uhm… Hey, come on. Don't worry so much," she said, offering a small smile. "If you want, I can ask the instructor to pair me up with you. That way you avoid facing anyone serious. And since you don't have a bond, I promise I won't use mine, and we can just stick to using those old dummy swords."
Hearing that, I immediately turned to look at her. "You'd do that?"
Audrey nodded and her smile widened slightly. "Of course! It's no big deal."
I couldn't control my excitement as relief washed over me and a giddy smile formed on my face.
'Holy hell, she's an angel!'