'Why does this guy keeps staring at me…'
Elyas thought as he tried to avoid the teacher's eyes. Before the class had the chance to turn quiet, or for any of the two men to confront each other, the bell rang.
RING! RING! RING!
'To think we still use bells…'
"class is dismissed." Said the teacher as he hurriedly walked out of the door, seemingly more happy to be done with class than the students.
'Michael had to go through all that…If alive.' The thought of his son destroying his body and going through centuries of experience's, both good and bad, did not sit right with him.
But that only made his resolve stronger. He had to understand this world. He had to survive it.
'Alright, I got a few answers, let's do this again.' As Elyas was thinking of this and stood up to leave, Someone marched in.
Barely fitting in the doorway, was a man with braids and tanned skin. His muscles and most of his robust body was exposed from under his tight grey robe.
His choice of attire reminded one of a monk. Unlike the real thing, his robe was embroidered with golden lines and was tightly grabbing onto him, showing off his stature even through cloth.
He spoke without giving anyone time to process his sudden appearance. "You have physical training next." He paused and added with a threatening tone: "Don't run away."
Then, as abruptly as he entered, he left.
The entire class was dumbfounded.
"Who was that guy?"
"He's scary…"
"I think he's the trainer."
"Oh really? How did you come up with that genius?"
Elyas was listening to the chitchat of his classmates, It was then that he realised someone was watching him.
It was Cid.
'...This kid again. Do I have something on my face? Everyone keeps staring at me today.'
'Doesn't matter'
Elyas got up and left class. After he had left did his classmates realise that they missed the opportunity to talk with a legacy.
…
Hiding in the bathroom from his classmates, Elyas was going over what he had learnt so far by writing it down in his yellow calendar.
"So…I think I finally understand why I get a headache that feels like heartbeat whenever I use my powers… it's actually my heart. Beating and pumping will into my head."
"But how do I negate it? That weird teacher mentioned something about artifacts. They weren't around when I was still out… Guess I figured out what I'm going to ask next time we have a theoretical class."
'Also, I think I figured out what D.E.B stands for. Dreamer's Education Bureau... That's my best guess, I should probably ask Noah to make sure.'
Elyas was happy with his results so far. He had managed to answer one of his questions while also learning more about dreamers. He opened a window and threw his calendar in the void.
"Well, I think they should be done looking for me." Elyas said as he opened the stall's door and walked into the hallway.
RING! RING! RING!
'A bit faster than expected…but not having to hide from those little demons anymore is welcomed none the less.'
As Elyas walked towards his class, he considered wasting time to avoid the inevitable barrage of questions from the children. But when he saw his destination, he froze. The robust man was standing near the door.
He looked down at Elyas and spoke: "Follow me."
Elyas, confronted with the menacing tall man, kept quiet and followed. They walked down the long hallway.
Sunlight peeked from the window just to assault them, the cold wind banged against the glass, trying to do the same.
"It's not everyday that we get a legacy as a student." Said the man, his back facing Elyas as they walked.
He added: "What brings an associate of the protocol to our humble D.E.B?"
The interrogative tone of the imposing man was not missed by Elyas. He considered his words carefully before answering.
"To be honest with you, I don't even know what D.E.B means. To clarify, I'm not part of the protocol, my friend who helped me enroll is."
The trainer abruptly stopped, turned back towards Elyas. "...Do you think I'm stupid?"
Elyas expecting his answer, calmly replied:
"No. Because I'm telling the truth. I was trapped somewhere for four hundred years. My friend from the protocol saved me and is currently helping me integrate back into society."
The trainer paused, looking at Elyas with doubt. He rolled his eyes, giving up on pursuing the matter now. Then he turned back and resumed walking.
He wasn't going to fight with a student for his suspicions, let alone a legacy that had connections with the protocol.
'Some times it's better to come clean. I don't have any reason to hide the truth, so I'm not going to.'
After a bit they reached a set of stairs, going down in the basement.
'An underground class room?' Elyas, although surprised, followed his teacher closely behind.
After thirty or so steps, they reached the basement's first floor. Elyas's eyes widened as he saw the view.
Walls several metres high, made of cement. cubic Pillars of the same material, with a few sawed off bits of rebar visible in them, supported the massive room.
Fluorescent light illuminated bits and pieces, but most of it was still engulfed in shadows. What Elyas was looking at was.
A parking lot.
"Welcome to the training grounds."
The teacher said, seeing Elyas's shocked state, he sneered and added: "It's impressive, right? As much as I would like it to be, it's not ours. It's owned by the protocol… So don't break anything."
"No worries…" Elyas said, still entranced by the familiar setting.
'To think I would be this happy to see a parking lot.' He chuckled inwardly and followed the trainer. Soon, they were in front of a group of kids.
They all wore weird outfits. Some resembled gym clothes. Others black shirts and pants that looked too comfortable for training.
Others were a mix between robes, something vaguely resembling a suit made of hide, and the rest hadn't changed like Elyas.
There was one thing common between all of them. They all had an intricate golden badge pinned to their chest.
The badge depicted several trees, under them were three droopy circles drawn, almost resembling mist.
'Mistwood…The designer must have felt really clever.'
"I'm Julius, your trainer. In this class you'll be learning about the basics of combat. The importance of a ready body and in the following weeks, the basics of will control."
'oh, so this is the guy I shouldn't miss the classes of, noted.'
"For today we'll be focusing on basic strength training and cardio. Any questions?" Mr. Julius asked, not getting a response he continued.
"If you look to your left, you'll see a few kids running around or sparring. If you don't manage to reach the minimum credits for today's test, you'll be joining them."
The entire class and Elyas turned left. All they saw were a few collapsed bodies on the ground and people dragging themselves forward or crawling instead of running.
'Is this legal?… Now that I'm thinking about it, it's a test for children, so an adult should pass easily, isn't this a little unfair?'
As Elyas was submerged in his thoughts, trainer Julius spoke. "Everyone get ready, the test starts in five minutes."
He said and walked up to the half-conscious students, carrying them away and clearing the testing ground.
Five minutes passed in a flash.
In the same ground where several students lay flat minutes ago, now new lines of five had formed. In the first line, a skinny man wearing a brown vest atop a grey shirt could be seen among the children.
Elyas was waiting for the call, just like the rest of the student
s.
Trainer Julius was standing next to them, leaning against a pillar. His hand was raised. In a flash, he cut the air and shouted.
"Go!"