It was evening when Athar arrived at the training hall for his practical class. There had been a slight change in the schedule. Angelica would be taking the class today instead of Sankul.
"Good evening, students," she greeted as she arrived precisely on time.
"It's been quite a few days since we last met," she said, her eyes sweeping across the room. "But since you'll have a day off tomorrow, I thought, why not give you all something useful to work on?"
"Now," she continued, "if there is any student who wishes to keep their companion beast a secret, I would advise you to move to the edge of the hall. Such students can only observe my classes and not participate."
"Is there anyone?" She questioned.
No one responded.
"Good," Angelica said with a nod. "Now, I want you all to spread out and create some space between yourselves."
After a brief moment of chaos, the students repositioned themselves around the hall, standing roughly 8 to 10 feet apart.
"Could you all please summon your beasts?" she asked.
With a burst of movement and mana, the hall quickly filled with a variety of beasts. Most of them were bronze grade creatures.
The class went on for quite a while. Though Angelica had asked the students to summon their beasts, she did not make them perform any tasks. Instead, she selected a few as examples and discussed various important aspects of cultivating with companion beasts—how to increase synergy, how to understand the development of the first skill received, and how to nurture that growth effectively.
It turned out to be quite an informative session for Athar. Listening to her, he became more confident in his earlier decision to reduce the power of his Shadow Mist skill. Most of the bronze grade beasts had very basic and weak abilities. If Athar had displayed the true strength of his skill, it would have definitely raised suspicion.
The class ended late at night, and before dismissing them, Angelica gave a final task.
"Spend time studying your beasts," she explained. "Try to understand their skills and their abilities. Do not keep them holed up in their beastscape."
"Try to understand them better. Tomorrow is an off day and if you are not going anywhere, you make good use of the time."
"Always keep in mind," she added. "That as much as your growth is important, your companion's growth is important too."
"Do not make the mistake that since your cultivation is increasing, your beast is getting stronger too. You need to nurture your beast carefully."
"Next class, we will move to further details and hopefully we will also have some demonstrations," she finished and it was a cue to dismiss the class.
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After class, Athar was walking toward the dining hall when someone familiar approached him. It was Ryler.
"Athar," he called out. "Heading for dinner?"
Athar gave a nod and asked. "You too?"
Ryler nodded in return, and the two continued walking together. Athar had just seen Ryler's beast during the practical class and had been quite surprised by it.
It resembled a small cat—grey in colour with yellowish eyes. At first, Athar had assumed it was a bronze grade beast, as most cat type beasts were. But to his surprise, Angelica had selected Ryler's beast as an example during her explanation and Ryler had revealed that it was actually a silver grade companion.
Angelica had then gone into a detailed discussion about cat type beasts, emphasizing their remarkable agility. She explained that agility was not just about raw speed—although cats were certainly fast. True agility, she said, was about unpredictable movement, the ability to change direction in an instant, to leap, twist, and attack from unexpected angles.
Cats were masters of such erratic and tactical movement, making them dangerous opponents if utilised properly.
"What are your plans for tomorrow?" Ryler asked as they neared the dining hall. "Going somewhere?"
Athar shook his head. "No."
"Then how about another spar?" Ryler asked eagerly. "Today's match helped me a lot."
Athar nodded in agreement. "Same here. Let's spar again in the evening."
A grin lit up Ryler's face. "Great."
They soon reached the dining hall. Ryler stayed beside him, and although Athar didn't express much outwardly, he didn't mind the other boy's company. He found Ryler to be a genuine person and not someone who would approach him with ulterior motives.
The two served themselves food and settled at a table in one of the corners of the hall.
"I think we should try a serious spar sometime soon," Ryler said, speaking between bites. "You know, using mana and our beasts. We need experience with that too."
Athar nodded but he held somewhat different views. "True. But first, we should focus on physical martial arts. Let us build our foundations properly. If we start relying on mana and our beasts too soon, we will neglect our basic skills."
Ryler nodded thoughtfully. "That actually makes sense. I did not think of it that way."
Athar was about to add something more when a loud clatter interrupted the dining hall. The sharp sound of a plate crashing to the ground caught his attention.
He turned toward the source of the commotion.
A burly young man, slightly older than Athar, was holding another student by the collar. A plate lay on the floor nearby, food spilled everywhere.
"You dare refuse me?" the burly man barked.
The student he held whimpered, "But… why should I bring you food?"
"Because I told you to," the brute growled, tightening his grip before tossing the student to the floor like a ragdoll.
"Next time I give you an order," the man snarled, "you better obey."
With that, he marched away toward the food counter, ignoring the attention he had drawn.
Athar stared at this unfolding drama stunned. The man had bullied another student in broad daylight (technically it was night0, in full view of everyone, without a shred of hesitation.
He remembered how Terius had warned them that such things could happen, but Athar had not expected someone to act so brazenly in public.
What about all the strict warnings Vale had issued during their first class? How could someone just ignore them like this? Was the boy sure that no repercussions would follow him or he knew better as this might not be the first time, he had been doing things.
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[Thank you for reading. Rate, Review and Comment on my novel. Also send the power stones]