Mythshaper-Chapter 33: The Institution

PART II

Chapter 33: The Institution

My first day at the institution was mildly disappointing. I knew everything would be elementary to borderline intermediate grade, but I had expected to learn at least something new about essence, magic, and the secrets of the world. Instead, all I received was a history lesson on the empire and the Blighted War, followed by a tedious primer on how to interpret our profiles.

I should have known better. This was, after all, a primary academy designed to educate newly awakened individuals.

Of everything I was taught today, there was little to nothing I didn’t already know, though it wasn’t the same for the other pupils. Diana, the only other Shaper in the class with me, absorbed everything and even began taking notes.

Then, finally, the most embarrassing moment came when the teacher asked both of us, Diana and me, to stand up, announcing our paths as Shapers. My classmates clapped, as we were the only two Shapers among a class of forty-three.

“Now, I must add,” said Teacher Plinius with his utmost seriousness, “even if you two are Shapers; don’t expect any special treatment. You are all equal here, no matter your paths or your birth. Isn’t that right, Priam?”

Everyone’s gaze turned towards the Magistratus’s son, who frowned as though he wanted to argue, but he was intelligent enough to let it go with a shrug. He had been here in the academy for over a season, as his awakening had come before the convention age.

With that, the studious classes were finished, and I could finally practise outdoors, when the middle-aged teacher froze mid-step and turned towards us once again.

“I forgot to add,” he said, directing his attention at me and Diana, “the headmaster has called you to his office during recess. As you can already imagine, only he’ll be able to teach you the ways of the Shapers. Don’t keep him waiting…”

Diana beamed at the news and fumbled to collect her things. She had probably been waiting to try out more of her Shaper skills since she awakened.

“Does that mean we are exempted from physical education class?” I asked.

“No,” Teacher Plinius said. “Nobody is exempted from any of the classes during first year. You’ll join once the headmaster is done with you.”

Most days, I spent noon reading and writing, though these days I was more focused on artificing classes under Mum. But the physical education classes here were four hours long, twice as long as the other study sessions, with an hour break in between. With the sword practice in the morning, I felt this was a bit excessive for me. Then again, most of the Augmenter Path Awakened were here for physical education. They didn't care about the histories or geography of our world, they were mainly interested in using the equipment and facilities the institution offered. The institute even allowed us to practise hours after the classes were over.

Once we began, I learned that the first half of physical education was more free-form, while only putting pressure on the awakened to complete the most common ways like Running, Evasion, and Balance.

Eran and I started with archery at the outdoor range. We used to practise here regularly, though at different times. Archery was smooth sailing for both of us, though the third layer had been tiresome. The same old practice of standing in one spot and zeroing in didn’t work that well anymore once we entered the third layer. Ten true shots seemed to count as one point in the third layer. Archery needed its push as well. So we practised from various distances, sometimes running in, sometimes with a moving target.

Not only did this make the practice more difficult, it made it more worthwhile and fun too. Once this season comes to pass, I was sure both of us would have 8 more points to spare.

“I’m going to sprint,” Eran said, handing the bow and arrow to another boy waiting in line.

“Didn’t you hear?” I pointed out, “those who have completed all three layers of the Way of Running are exempt from running.”

“I know,” Eran said, stretching his limbs. “But I like running.”

With that, he began running laps on the ground. Since he had learned his constitution was inadequate to utilize his gift, Eran had been trying all he could to strengthen his body. I couldn't blame him, and nor could I do anything to help him.

A little extra practice never hurt, but I chose not to participate. Eran already had enough of companions to keep him company. Very few decided against joining the laps, though I was certain most of them hadn't completed the three layers of Running. The discordance in their gait and their panting gave it away.

Priam was not one of them, though he still joined. With his build, I was sure he had completed the third layer long ago. It took him barely a third of the time to complete the ten laps before he hurried into the indoor facility.

Whereas many students couldn’t even complete the ten laps, which amounted to less than three miles. Diana was among them, who finally wheezed freely once the instructor in charge excused them, as it was their first day.

I devoted my time to earth shaping in one corner of the field. Somehow that caught others' attention, as a bunch of my mates came to watch. I did my best to ignore them, but it became difficult when they began to tell me how I should be practising. My difficulty didn’t matter, they merely wanted to see something flashy.

When I didn’t do their bidding, they departed one by one. After all, earth shaping gets pretty bland after a while. As I approached the half an hour mark, only one spectator remained.

“Can you teach me how to do it too?” Diana asked, a sparkle in her eyes. Her face was flushed from exhaustion, while her blonde hair—which was even shorter than mine—clung to her head, drenched in sweat.

“That…” I paused, “may not be plausible.”

The girl pouted.

“It’s not that I won’t teach you,” I said. “I just can’t.”

“Did your mother tell you not to?”

I blinked. “No…” I considered how to break the news to her. Diana seemed completely oblivious of what she should be capable of, and incapable of, doing with the Shaper path. “I believe your talent is not geared towards elemental shaping.”

“It’s not?” A look of panic crossed her face. “You're lying!”

I shook my head as the bell for recess clanged. “Let’s go meet the headmaster. I believe he’ll be able to explain better.”

It turned out the headmaster could not explain it better to the little girl. He mentioned that she didn’t have the right type of essence for it, but Diana heard it all with her mouth hanging open, her eyes teary.

“Don’t feel down, child,” said Headmaster Larius. “Although you may not be able to shape elemental powers, you can train your body to be incredibly strong—as strong as those on the Augmenter Paths.” He coughed, brushing a palm over his balding head. “Sometimes I wish I had awakened the Augmenter Path. I could use some strength with my old bones.”

The headmaster didn’t look old. He was middle-aged with a distinctive fatherly vibe about him. Dressed neatly in a formal navy-blue coat and black trousers, his hair was dyed, though he seemed hopeless at keeping the strands on the top of his head. What intrigued me, however, were the hundreds of blue essence threads weaving through his body, marking him to be of the Prestigious Class.

“Now then,” the headmaster said, “there’s very little I can teach you about the wizardry ways of the Shapers as you are now. The first thing, though, I must teach is the Way of Essence Unification. This usually comes in the second year for most, but for Shapers it is foundational.”

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I raised an arm.

Headmaster Larius cocked his eyebrows at me.

“I already know Essence Unification. Mum taught it to me.”

He scrunched his nose and nodded. “She did, huh? What else did your mother teach you?”

“I also learned Elemental Shaping and Telekinesis.”

At that, he asked me to demonstrate. I proceeded by using Telekinesis to pull a paperweight from his table before showing him a few exercises with it.

“Can I do this?” Diana asked. “Control an object with my mind?”

“Yes,” the headmaster and I replied in unison.

She relaxed a bit at that, while the balding headmaster focused on me. He asked me to demonstrate what other skills I possessed. I chose Fire Shaping—the element I was most familiar with, along with Kinetic Force, though most people didn’t even consider it an elemental force.

“So, your mastery of Fire and Earth Shaping has already reached Intermediate grade,” he muttered, peering at me. “To have such mastery with barely eight threads, you must have a very high affinity for those two elements.”

I shrugged.

“Tor’s marvellous balls," he swore, as though forgetting there were children in his office. "I've asked for an Affinity Orb for so many years, but they always say the same thing that we don't have enough shapers to need one.” He let out a resigned sigh. “I guess all we can do is wait until the Inter-District Tournament in Klearon to have you take the affinity test.”

Since I already knew Essence Unification well, I was free of what he proceeded to teach Diana.

Once lunch was done, it was time for combat class, something that seemed to cheer everyone up. We gathered in the indoor gymnasium, where Combat Instructor Delric, a Noble Class Augmenter, would teach us about combat. Two assistant instructors were there to help him, as combat class was arguably where the institution spent the most resources, as it was deemed essential by the Guild and the Empire. They wanted more soldiers, and adventurers, not hapless scholars.

Honestly, after a whole day of disappointing lessons, I didn’t expect much. The indoor training hall was nice, though. It was wide enough to hold a hundred students, its walls painted with various figures in fighting stances, and there was no shortage of training weapons.

The instructor was a young man—tall and muscular, his physique not solely the result of high attribute points. He probably dedicated significant time to cultivating his body, which was somewhat rare. Most of the instructors were either middle-aged, retired Awakeneds or of the more scholarly type. Given his age, Instructor Delric should have been striving to make a name for himself. Instead, he was here teaching kids combat. The man appeared so very militant, a rare no-nonsense type, as if he was a drill sergeant in the legionaries.

“Pick up any weapon of your choice,” he instructed. “But be mindful, I will only allow you to change to another after the end of the month.”

A variety of training weapons lay before us, including duelling canes, wooden swords, wooden spears, quarterstaffs, as well as maces and shields. The students rushed forward to make their selections. Most chose either swords or duelling canes, while others picked long wooden knives or spears.

Fortunately, there were still a few duelling canes left when Eran and I reached the rack. Eran chose a short sword with a shield to go along with it.

"Maybe I'll get a Way of Shield with it," he said with a shrug.

“Those who have completed at least the first layer of the techniques for your chosen weapon, step to the right,” Instructor Delric commanded, gesturing with his palm. “Those who haven’t, step to the left.”

He joined the left side. “For the first week, I will teach you the basics of how to wield your weapon." He turned to us. “Meanwhile, the rest of you will pair up and duel each other.” Delegating further instruction to the assistants, he then taught the fundamentals of swordsmanship. the weapon he evidently favoured.

As our group huddled to pair up, I noticed something interesting on the other side of the wall. A leaderboard etched with the names of all the pupils along with their overall scores. What interested me more was the very first name at the top.

Aleya Octavius: Victories: 893 out of 1121

Many of my classmates gathered around it, chattering excitedly.

“Wow, you’ve already won so many duels,” someone remarked, drawing gasps from the room as eyes turned to the leaderboard.

“It’s not bad,” Priam said nonchalantly. “My numbers would be better if I didn’t have to duel against those who’ve been practising for two seasons longer than me.”

After a quick scan, I found Priam’s name on the list:

Priam Octavius: Victories: 243 out of 312

"Doesn’t that make the numbers even more impressive?" Markus asked.

Priam merely shrugged. He had been at the academy for a while and hadn't wasted any of it from the look of it. I’d even heard from Eran that he had tried to join the upper class before the academic season started but was turned down because his other studies hadn’t matched his combat capabilities.

"This year, I'll break Aleya's record. You’ll all see," he announced. "So don’t feel too bad when I defeat every one of you."

His bold declaration drew everyone’s attention. Some seemed to believe him, while others were more skeptical. Just then, the instructor herded us to choose our opponents quickly as Priam’s eyes scanned the room until they locked on me.

"Oh, among everyone I’ve dueled, I rarely fought a Shaper," he said. "Care for a duel, Arilyn?"

I narrowed my eyes and stepped forward. Although I was planning to pair up with Eran, I found no reason to refuse him.

A smirk played on Priam’s lips. "I warn you, this won’t be anything like our duels two seasons ago," he taunted, "Then I wasn't allowed to use my gift against you."

But you did anyway, I mused inwardly.

"Give him hell!" Eran cheered, patting my shoulder as the crowd gathered in a circle around us.

We stood face to face, with ten paces between us. The assistant teacher took his place as the referee and handed us helmets and guards.

Priam seemed reluctant to put them on, but after shooting me a glance, he donned them without complaint. I had no issue either, since they would make the practice all the more efficient.

"A critical strike amounts to three points," the referee announced, "and any other hit earns one point. Whoever gets twelve points first wins."

Twelve points felt official, considering how tenacious Awakeneds could be.

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"Now, begin!"

Priam sprang toward me as if launched by a springboard. His dueling cane swung at my face. I’d anticipated that and prepared to block.

Unfortunately for me, his speed doubled almost instantaneously, with red strands of essence swirling around his arms in wild fervor. His cane struck my shoulder before I could react.

"Three points to Priam."

He didn’t stop there. Twisting his cane, he struck again—this time at my lower body. I was unable to parry in time, and when I managed to push him back, a terrible sting had already burned through my thigh, where the guards didn’t cover.

"One point to Priam."

I gasped. I had seen both attacks coming—maybe a little too late for the first one—but I had seen them. Yet my arms simply weren’t agile enough to block his strikes.

"I told you it wouldn’t be anything like before," Priam taunted as he launched forward again.

This time, I was prepared. The same trick wouldn’t work twice.

Determined, I set my jaw and held my cane in the defensive position of the third form. Utilizing split focus, I noted every minute shift in his body language.

He lunged with the same attack, and I blocked it confidently. We exchanged dozens of blows in rapid succession. Finally, one slipped through and struck my waist.

"Three points to Priam."

He stepped back, a smug, imperious look on his face. "Doesn’t seem like much of a contest. Just five more points for me to win, and you haven’t even landed a single hit."

We clashed again, the sound of our weapons echoing through the gymnasium as the crowd watched intently. There was nothing extraordinary about Priam’s movements. Like mine, they were simply the basic sword forms. We had both mastered the fundamentals. But his speed was overwhelming, his strikes so swift that although my eyes could trace them, my body struggled to keep up.

The result was decided when he challenged. There was hardly any way for me to counterattack. Every time I tried to shift to an offensive stance, his speed allowed him to evade or parry with ease.

He scored two more points effortlessly.

There had to be a limit to his gift. Celerity might be one of the top-tier gifts for Augmenters, but the boy before me was still a Common class.

The duel was an entirely different experience compared to my sparring with Eran. Priam’s movements were at least twice as fast, if not more.

Then I noticed it, the way he gasped for air between strikes before assaulting again. His strategic retreats weren’t just to toy with me or to give me a chance. No, they were to catch his breath.

This time, when he withdrew, I chased after him, adopting the gait of the Walking Mountain. I feinted, giving him his own medicine, and managed to strike his lower body.

It was about to cheer inwardly, but only then that I realized my mistake.

Priam was tired, but he could have blocked the blow. He chose not to.

In the next instance, he slipped past my guard and struck my head. It didn’t come at a terrifying speed—more with the grace of a snail—but all I could do was watch as he patted the wooden cane on my head.

"One point to the Shaper. Three points to Priam," called the referee. "The victory goes to Priam Octavius by a score of 12 to 1."

A few students started clapping, followed by most of them.

"I told you," Priam breathed.

My weapon slipped from my trembling hands, exhausted. Although I hadn’t dealt more than one blow, keeping up with his terrifying pace was more than enough to wear me down.

"Remembering how you almost beat me before, I thought you’d at least make it challenging," Priam continued, shaking his head in disappointment. "Tch, I guess I can’t expect much from Shapers. They’re all too soft."

I narrowed my eyes. "Fight me again."

"As if that was going to do you any good?" Priam scoffed. "Look at you. You might as well give up on trying to beat me in swordsmanship and focus on your shaping skills. You don’t stand a chance in a duel."

"Fight me now," I demanded, a fire burning in my eyes. "Duel me!"

Priam clicked his tongue but then grinned, stepping into position as the referee called the shot.

A few minutes later, I was on the ground—sprawled and overwhelmed like never in my life.

The second duel was no different from the first. Priam won again, though I managed to score three points this time. A bit of improvement, but that hardly changed anything.

___________

Again, there is an interlude before this. Please click the previous chapter tab to read it.