Chapter 4: A day in academy

4th Grade Training Ground. 

A pen was levitating on top of Rewen's right hand. It was two-and-a-half centimeter from touching the hand. 

"So that's how it works. The procedure is actually pretty simple." The pen dropped on his hand. "First, you activate your nearest mana circuit from the target. Second, try to focus on the mana in the surroundings. And lastly, you connect the mana to your mana circuit through your inner mana."

He threw the pen up in the air and tried to stop it from falling down. "The pen should weigh about 25 grams. So let's see how much strength my Repulsion has. From my estimate, it should work for now."

Sure enough. The pen didn't fall. In fact, it even went upwards a bit. 

With some questions in mind, Rewen went to the instructor who was watching everyone's progress. 

"Instructor, I have some questions."

Venitt, the Chief Instructor of 4th Grade Training Grounds, looked towards the cadet. "Where are you having problems with?"

"I'm not having any problems at the moment. I just wanted to ask if I could increase the strength of my properties."

Venitt didn't answer and stared at him. A while later, she opened her mouth. "You must be the misplaced student."

"What misplaced student?" Rewen asked with a confused tone. 

The Chief Instructor Venitt answered calmly. "You have a magic resonance of 22%. 22% was enough to bring you to 3rd Grade Class. Do you know the reason why you were put into 4th Grade?"

Rewen had heard of this matter from his cousin but he never bothered to care. The previous Rewen was lazy and if it were not for his cousins' pressure, he wouldn't even bother to go to the Academy. How could he care about which class he would be in? 

He thought for a bit and answered. "My family is in an economic crisis and couldn't handle the costs of 3rd Grade Classes."

Venitt shook her head. "The Academy could have deducted the annual fees. The reason you are stuck in 4th Grade Class is because of your properties."

"My properties? Could they have some defect in them?"

She again shook her head. "No, they don't. Your properties in whole are a defect. It has very limited combat scope."

Bullsh*t! Rewen cursed in his mind but still kept a respectful expression. "Instructor, my current strength (of the properties) is only 28 grams. If I could somehow increase it to 80-90 kilograms, would it still have limited combat scope?"

Venitt's face made a bizarre twist before finally breaking into pearls of laughter. Holding her belly with a hand, she gestured to the Assistant Instructor to come. The Assistant Instructor curiously came overseeing the usually stoic woman laughing like a madman. 

Rewen looked over at her with a frown. "If I said anything over-the-top, it was my ignorance…" Before he could finish, she cut him off and started explaining the conversation to the Assistant Instructor who too soon broke into fits of laughter. 

A while later, Avid, the Assistant Instructor, patted Rewen's shoulder. "Kid, I like your passion. Wanting to increase the strength of your properties to 90 kg relying on your 22% essence is not something a normal person can think of."

During the entire ordeal, Rewen had not for once got angry or awkward. He kept the same frown from beginning to end. Looking at the rough Assistant Instructor, he let out a sigh. "Then, what is my upper limit?"

Avid smiled. "24-25 kg with your 22% essence. For that 25 kg, you have to do intense training for at least 15 years."

"So if I train for 60 years, I could reach 100 kgs of strength?"

Avid and Venitt now looked at him weirdly. "No, with your 22% essence, you have to train more than 80 years to attain the strength of 90 kgs."

Rewen chuckled. "Only 80 years?"

Avid and Venitt: "Only!?"

"Don't post-apocalypse humans have a lifespan to 200? I'm only eighteen. Let's just say I go into training for 85 years, by the time I come out I'll only be a bit over a hundred and I would still be in my prime. The heaviest human on Earth right now is 210 pounds which is just about 95 kg. Won't I be the strongest person in the world?"

After his explanation, Venitt had an amused look while Avid was much more solemn. After a moment, Venitt spoke. 

"This theory is very interesting. Why don't you give it a try?" 

Rewen sighed. "I know that you're looking down on me. It's not that you think that it is impossible but rather, you aren't willing to believe that I can train for 85 years."

Venitt calmly nodded. "Yes, I ain't going to believe that unless you prove it."

"I'm afraid your shocked expression isn't worth it. Also, I'm sorry for not being motivated. Anyways, coming back to the topic, how can I increase the strength of my properties?"

Venitt's eyebrows twitched. "Only practice can improve it."

'It's troublesome in that case.' Rewen thought. He nodded and left the training ground. His face was filled with exhaustion and sweat and planned to go to the restroom to wash himself up when he suddenly saw a familiar face walking towards him. It was Avid. 

"You can increase the strength of your properties by getting hold of "Strength Crystals". They cost a bit too much so don't have too much hope. However, although rare you can also find it in random places. They are bright red in color. For more information, look into the internet."

Rewen was startled by him. It wasn't exactly normal for a person to appear in front of him out of the blue and spout some particular things. But he didn't make a comment regarding this as the information was quite helpful. 

He nodded. "I'll look into them."

***

Central Canteen. 

In the corner, Rewen leisurely sat in a chair occasionally looking at the time on his watch. Drinking some kind of weird cheap juice he ordered, he looked at his surroundings. Disputes were all over the place. 

'Why is this world so noisy?' He wondered. 'The juice isn't half bad though. It tastes a bit like Greenwood Wine from the village.'

Thinking till this point, he remembered a funny incident from his childhood, and the corners of his lips curved up. 

"That's the creepiest smile I have seen."

He looked up to find a girl looking at him amusedly. With a wry smile, he said. 

"Childhood incident. I'll tell you about it sometime."

Taking a seat opposite him, the girl gave him an annoyed look. "What's the serious business you were talking about? Just so you know, I have canceled two welcome parties to come here-"

"I had interference yesterday." Rewen directly came to the point. 

Svety's mouth abruptly closed and her eyes lost focus. "W-which interference are you talking about…"

Rewen sighed. "Soul interference. Yesterday, a soul tried to merge with mine. My mind became muddled for a while but after I woke up, it became all too clear to me."

Svety took a deep breath and asked. "So how much can you control?"

"More than 40 percent."

"You know, we can actually work this out…"

"Let's cut ties." He misspoke. Instead of 'cut ties', he should have said 'break up'. Not that it mattered. 

The other party stood up nonchalantly. "Alright, we're done. Don't call me again if you need some help!" She deliberately said in a loud voice. The onlookers who were busy in their own affairs looked at them in interest. 

Rewen was disinterested in arguing. Finishing his juice, he took his bag and turned to leave the canteen.

"Miss, don't worry about him. You did the right thing. He didn't deserve you."

"That's right. As the old proverb goes, there's plenty of fish in the pond. Just hop on to another."

"Good job dumping him."

Some just started cheering and clapping. 

Hearing the voices, Rewen felt dumb enough to answer. But how could he let it go just like this? He was petty. He was a normal guy who cares about what society thinks of him. He couldn't let the matter slide. 

He looked at the crowd who swarmed around Svety and said calmly. "I had interference yesterday and today, I decided to break up with her. You can ask her if what I said was true or not. You guys launch campaigns and cry about how sad it is to be a victim of interference. Yet here you are, ignorantly making comments about a guy you don't even know about. Of course, you can keep saying I'm playing the victim card and I'll be damned as an exception to the interference community but luckily, I have been recording everything on my phone."

All of them had different kinds of expressions on their faces. Some awkward, some smiling in disdain and others ignoring him completely. A guy smiling at him stood up. "Very sorry for not giving you the sympathy you deserve." Although his words were polite, his face was full of sarcasm. 

Rewen didn't care. He said what he wanted to say and knew his words affected a lot. He also understood that people won't acknowledge their mistake and changing opinions is a crime nowadays. He just shrugged. "Since you are sincere, I'll forgive you."

He exited the canteen without saying anything more. The other guy's face twitched not expecting his provocation to fail. The others talked about the issue for a few minutes and forgot about it entirely. All this time, Svety kept standing blanking out. 

***

Rewen met up with Gill to go to the official welcome party arranged by the academy. 

"Yo, I heard you broke up with Svety and that you got interference? Are you okay mate?"

"Don't worry, I'm still Rewen. Just my thoughts and views changed a bit."

"Well, good to hear but then, why did you break up with her? I mean, don't get me wrong but couldn't you guys work things out? You know, you have been dating her for like six years."

Rewen shook his head. "The matter is much more complicated. Trust me, you don't want to know."

Gill's face lit up with curiosity. "Oh come on man… let out those dark secrets!"

Rewen eventually gave up. "Okay but don't gossip around after hearing this."

Gill seriously nodded his head. 

"So it was in elementary school. I had a crush on one of the girls in my class. Back then, Svety was a good friend of mine. I talked about my crush with her and one day, she told me to try my luck out. I went to the girl but before I could say anything, she directly said 'you're disgusting' and ran off. I was in a bad mood when I saw Alfred running to me and hit me pretty bad. He was two years older than me. Just when my consciousness was about to fade, Svety came to me and helped me up."

"Then why-"

"Alfred was Svety's step brother. The girl I had a crush on didn't come to school again. Add Svety's background and all of your confusions will clear."

"You don't mean…"

"Yes, Svety is a manipulative girl. The me before interference deduced all of this yet didn't do anything to confront her. She had wrapped me up all too well. You could always argue that 'at least she liked you and didn't play with your feelings but no matter how much I try, I just can't fancy a control freak."

"Well, I suppose you did the right thing."

"Hmm… when will the ceremony start?"

"By 7."

Rewen looked at the time. 3:14 pm. 

"Do you have some place to go to? I haven't eaten anything since morning except for the juice. How about the-"

He suddenly bumped into a figure and fell down. Without even seeing the other party, he instinctively cursed out loud. "F*cker, do you have eyes on your lower half!?" 

"Open your two eyes and look at me. You think someone like you can berate me!? Be glad that I gave you an unforgettable memory of a lifetime."

'Woman, huh.' Rewen thought as he looked at the lady dressed in a cute one piece dress. Her hair was dyed navy blue. He had to admit that she was prettier than the third prettiest girl in the village. Upon closer look, he figured that the reason she acted so arrogant is because she is a part of an idol group which consisted of aggressive and outspoken girls. 

'If I remember correctly, her stage name is Ruby.'

Rewen had qualms about it but ultimately decided to end things. "Look. I get that you're portraying as a character and have to be a persona you are in your music. I get that. But I really wish you could not act like a jerk sometimes. It's not cool." He said and started walking away. 

Gill followed him.

However, the woman had other ideas. She went upto Rewen and pushed him.

Rewen's physical strength could not match up to her and he fell on his face.

"From the next time, watch where others go!" 

Rewen looked at her back with a frown. 

"She… might be a victim of interference…" Gill knew how dangerous and weird interference can be.

"Interference or not. She is one crazy woman." Rewen snorted, then got up dusting off the dirt from his pants. No one could be more familiar with interference than him. Although he personally didn't experience it, his predecessor did. His condition was possibly way worse than her. But he managed to hold it in and never publicly lashed out.

"What did you say?" The idol stopped in her tracks.

Rewen might not be a bad person but he was certainly not a pushover. "I said you are crazy! Clean your ears next time!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" She turned back, her eyes went red from anger. Looking at him menacingly, her whole figure emitted yellow gas.