The next morning, Agni Igris woke the kids and led them to the now-familiar kitchen. They were sore as all h*ll and struggled to even get out of bed!
But with the determination of a hungry alley cat, they managed to stumble their way into the kitchen!
Despite the Ki-saturated food and drinks that they consumed to help speed up their reconditioning, they were still feeling weak from the extreme exertion!
Thor grunted as he struggled to lower himself onto the seat as the 4 of them began eating! Once they finished eating, two people that the kids had never seen before walked into the room.
The kids were curious about who these people were when they heard Agni Igris say, "These are Mira and Albert, your instructors"
"Nice to meet you, I hope to impart some of my vast knowledge unto you during my teachings," Albert said in a refined and calm tone, nodding his head at them.
"You three better count yourselves lucky to go through my amazing teachings," Mira said as she crossed her arms and tilted her head skywards.
Thor and Iris thought that Albert was cool from the way he introduced himself but they felt like Mira was a bit of an air-head.
While, Rudra simply looked at Agni Igris and asked, "Are they strong?"
Agni Igris nodded his head in response before Rudra turned to the instructors and shrugged, "We starting now?"
The instructors were a bit thrown off by the boy's reaction. However, they were professionals for a reason.
"Hey kid, you ignoring me?" Mira said with a scowl as she eyed Rudra.
Well, Albert was.
"No, but I am not going to waste my time with weaklings," Rudra said as he looked at Mira neutrally as if he didn't just insult her.
*Pak*!!
Agni Igris smacked Rudra on the back of the head and said, "Apologize"
Rudra frowned from the pain but also because of confusion as he asked, "Did I do something wrong?"
Agni Igris nodded with a frown as he said sternly, "You just called her weak when I told you she was strong. If I wasn't here, forget about being taught, you may not even be alive to apologize for insulting someone of her strength"
Rudra nodded as he explained, frowning deeply, "I understand that fact, but I didn't call her weak. She asked why I talked to you first instead of greeting her. And I responded that I wanted to confirm she was strong from someone else who was"
Albert interrupted as he said with a sigh, "Boy, you do not even understand what strength truly is, you are not at all qualified to seek the qualifications of power when most people in the world are stronger than you"
Rudra was silent as he heard that lecture. He realized that they were all right. He had been so obsessed with getting strong that he became blinded by it.
'A strong person wouldn't lose to themselves in the way that I just did' Rudra thought as he clenched his fist in anger at himself.
He took a deep breath to calm down and looked Mira in the eyes before saying, "I apologize for my earlier words, I did not mean to insult you"
Mira just huffed, seeing that the boy had learned his lesson.
Agni Igris then told the kids the schedule.
Agni Iris got them instructors for the reason that he was still a ruler of a kingdom. He couldn't spend all day with them for an extended period of time.
Therefore, Agni Igris would help them build their bodies in the morning while teaching them his basic martial arts. Then, during lunch and after, Albert would teach them various things about the world that they needed to know.
After resting and learning from Albert, they would train with Mira in combat and become proficient in it.
They would train with her alone so the others had time to rest, explore, and learn more for their teachers outside their lessons if they wanted.
Understanding the day's events, the kids got to work immediately. Agni Igris took them through the same drills as the day before, getting them accustomed to being under pressure!
It was just as grueling as the day before, but the kids managed to keep up a bit better and managed to dodge one or more hits than before!
After putting on their weighted gear, Agni Igris led them through the next movement in his art. A kick!
The kick held the same principle as the {Draconia Art: Twin Claw}. Except instead of pushing the second impact, this one was meant to swipe!
They stood on the balls of their feet and shifted all their weight onto the opposite leg that they were kicking with! Then, whip their leg in the air while tensing their muscles and dragging their foot behind the leg!
As their leg reached the apex of the arch, they used their muscles to snap the foot forward as fast as they could! As they snapped it forward, they were supposed to spin as fast and abruptly as they could!
After successfully snapping it, they would have to pivot on the planted foot to regain their balance! However, the kick will feel less like a blow and more like a lashing from a whip!
If done against a tree correctly, one could skin some of its bark off without breaking it!
It was called {Draconia Art: Tail Disk}!
Rudra didn't manage to successfully do it while Thor managed to squeeze out a sloppy one. Iris managed to get the movement perfectly, however!
All that was left was for her to familiarize herself with it and gain experience.
After drinking water from the jug, they went to eat! As they were ready to voraciously gorge, they saw Albert sitting there waiting for them.
He smiled courteously as he said, "You are free to feast as you wish for the time being, however, you must pay attention to my words"
The kids nodded as Albert started to explain, "Somethings you may know already and some you may not"
He continued, "However, I will be going over everything regardless"
"The world's currency is a system of coins where the diamond is the most valuable coin. 1 diamond coin is equal to 1 gold and 1 gold coin is equivalent to 100 silver. 1 silver is the same as 100 copper" He explained as the kids listened intently.
However, 50% of their attention was on the food before them!
"There are multiple professions in which these coins can be used to buy, make, and barter items made with, from, or by Ki—things like Ki-infused armor, equipment, and natural resources like beast cores, bodies, and parts"
"Things like skills or techniques can also be bought, along with potions, weapons, and such," He said, taking a brief pause as he sipped some of his water.
"The rarer or the higher the quality of an item, the more expensive it will become" he explained.
He put his hand up and said, "For example, if I had a knife that was of the high-legendary grade it would cost infinitely more than a mid-common grade knife"
"The grades were split into low grade, mid-grade, and high grade. The ranks were Poor, Common, Rare, Legendary, Mythical, Transcendent, and Empyrean. An Empyrean-grade item is so rare that only 8 of them are known to be in existence" Albert said, making the kids, now done eating, stare at him in wonder.
He then went on to explain where these grades came from.
Every sentient being, upon reaching the age of 13, will develop an ability to sense and feel the ki in the air around them.
This leads to them being able to use the energy to create wondrous phenomena, differing based on their elements.
Skill books/techniques teach different ways to harness a form of ki for different purposes. Everyone (Upon reaching the age of 13) will unlock a character status, depicting themselves and their attributes.
People call this thing a system.
"Nobody knows who or what the so-called system is, or at least the people who do know haven't made it common knowledge" Albert sighed wistfully as he closed his eyes.
"However, I digress. That's enough information for now. Aura, you are the first one to train with Mira. Class dismissed" He stated, standing up and walking out of the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Iris started heading towards the designated training room as Thor and Rudra were contemplating all of the information that they had just been exposed to.
Rudra was on his way to the library when he thought, 'The system, huh?' with a thoughtful frown.
'I turn 13 soon don't I? I'm kind of excited about it,' He thought with a smile as he arrived at the library. He was planning on reading books about the kingdoms, creatures, and cultures of the continent of Pangea.
He felt like the knowledge of these things could very well save his life someday. It wasn't at all because he was interested in the topic.
Definitely not!
*****
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