Aias was laying atop his trusted Kjil serpent, which he had decided to name Varja. More than a year had gone by since he got Varja, it was soon to be time for his class to learn how to use energy. The last few days Aias had been on edge, he felt like something was wrong, as if any moment he was going to collapse. But he held on, he had went to the infirmary to check if his body was getting sick but apparently it was only anxiety. He thought as much himself, only a few days ago their class had been told that they were going to be getting into the energy locating stage soon.

This was something he had waited for since the first day he began training. When he was only tree one of the caretakers showed off his power to the class Aias was in then. The magnificent display of strength, agility, and techniques was an eye opening event to Aias and he has always wanted to do the same, he always dreamed of fighting using the many energies of the world. Why wouldn’t he be nervous, any day could be the day he started the true journey of training he had always been waited for.

………….

Classes were about to begin so he left Varja to bask in the sun and went to see his friends before class started. Most of his classmates were nervous like him, others had been so excited since the day they announced energy locating classes were going to start that they couldn’t help outpacing themselves during training. Two of these cases were Midae and Jérémie, they saw this as a chance to beat Aias. Energy locating had nothing to do with a person's physical body meaning Aias and their potential was still unknown.

They were going to have a herbology class outside today so most in the class felt ready to go back to sleep even before class had begun. Everyone followed their teacher to the field usually used for any lectures outside but as they got there they saw several more teachers waiting for them. The children weren’t idiots they knew what this meant. “It’s finally starting!!”, “Oh my god we’re going to learn energy locating today!!” These were the roars coming from the class the moment they saw the group of teachers standing by.

“Settle down kids, yes we will begin teaching you energy locating today. Now settle down, we’re starting with a lecture!” A stern looking old man yelled at the rowdy bunch of kids. He was Rubin Ludwin, a chi master in the institute and fifth strongest amongst caretakers.

Everyone quickly settled down and gathered in front of the teachers, the class sat as a large group in front of Rubin eagerly awaiting the lecture to begin. Another teacher came up, this teacher wasn’t a warrior like most in the institute he was a professor and researcher of energy who came once per year from the capital to give a lecture on the energy in the soul. He had become famous in the orphanage as the slow speaking doctor, this was because he would have very small sentences and after every sentence he would take a small breath of air before beginning his next sentence.

“Energy exists throughout this world. All living things have a consciousness. Inside our consciousness we have a core. Our core are what connects us to the energy surrounding us. When we are born our core is empty of this energy and through our entire lives energy is slowly stored in our core. This is a natural phenomenon known as being alive. If your core were to not have any energy in it you would naturally die. If your core takes in energy it isn’t used to it may either kill you or you would become corrupted. This is why most humans aren’t able to survive in other worlds as our cores aren’t accustomed to the energies in them. There are some cases of humans who are able to survive taking in energies normal humans can’t. For example the founder of the Kokubusha empire to the south. He had the unique ability to support demon energy without becoming corrupted. Because our world has very little of it he created a constant connection to the demons realm giving him immense power” The lecture went on for about an hour going into deep history of how the soul works and how much research had gone into it.

Finally when it had ended did the almost sleeping students become energetic again. It was time for Rubin to teach them about the process of how they would be taught to locate the energy within them. “We teachers are going to come to each of you and insert a small bit of energy into your consciousness, learn how it feels and then try to locate the similar power you have within you. It’s alright if you don’t manage to find it by the end of the day we will have another class tomorrow where you can continue trying. After you find where the energy in you is you can start learning different techniques. You will be searching for the ki or chi inside you as they are originally created from you”

All the students in the class spread out on the field and started meditating trying to heighten their focus. Each teacher went from one student to the next sitting down behind them touching the back of their head, asking if they could feel the energy, some couldn’t feel it immediately but after a moment they noticed the energy. Then the teacher would move on to the next student.

Aias sat waiting for a teacher to come by, his body had finally become relaxed. This was the day he had been waiting for for five years, he was about to feel what energy was. As one of the teachers came up behind him he continued his meditation, then suddenly he got an od feeling. It was as if a thread of strength was inside him, it was small but he felt it there. “Can you sense it?” when the question came he realized it had been inserted into him, he simply hadn’t felt the teachers hand touching the back of his head. But he wasn’t dejected he knew he couldn’t be a genius being able to learn energy location without someone else's help first.

Aias and all the other kids had now gotten a chance to feel the energy running through their soul. Now they continued to meditate constantly searching for something similar to that little thread.

…………..

Many hour passed until finally someone stood up. “I GOT IT!” it was so sudden most around the boy got scared and almost fell over by the surprise from hearing him scream. The boy was an average boy in the class who didn’t stand out much but at this time everyone in class congratulated him as he was the first to find his energy. But the congratulations were short as everyone wanted to continue, many felt they were close to finding it and only needed a little more time.

Just a few moments later another stood up, he didn’t scream like the first he simply walked to the teachers and asked what he should do now. As he was asking the teachers another student found his energy’s location.

More and more students began finding the energy within them until everyone in class was now sitting learning about what to do with the energy instead of locating it.

……..

As evening came the teachers were wrapping up their lectures on different energies and how to differentiate them. “I’m proud of you all, to think a whole class was able to do it in their first day. Tomorrow we will continue learning the fundamentals of techniques, you’re all dismissed” Rubin stood proud of his students smiling at the hopeful future of the class.

The kids went back to their dorms went to sleep and couldn’t wait until the next day.

……..

It had been a stormy night but that just made the day more beautiful and perfect for being outside. All the children and teachers came back to the field. The sight they all saw when returning scared them. Aias sat there covered in the rain from the night, he was still meditating.

Everyone now realized that yesterday Aias had never stood up to go to the teachers, he had sat close to the teachers from the beginning so while everyone else had to walk to the teacher all he would need to do was stand up. Him meditating had blended into the crowd of listeners for the lecture. Aias hadn’t been able to locate his energy yet.

“Boy what are you doing here? You should have at least went back and slept in your room, you’re going to catch a cold, c’mon let’s get you to the infirmary” Rubin was about to help Aias up but when Aias opened his eyes in them a sadness and fear could be seen.

“I can’t feel it” Aias voice was weak and whimpering, it wasn’t like the normal strong willed voice he normally carried. “22 Hours of meditation, it does NOTHING” It was as if he was about to cry but held in his tears.

Everyone in class looked in horror as someone they had great respect for was sitting there broken down and about to cry. They themselves felt ready to cry for him. He was like a hero to them, always stood strong, always won, always so cool. But now he sat there looking so small looking as if a gust of wind would carry him away. They couldn’t bear to see him like this, to them he had been an idol of strength, the entire class turned around and ran as fast as they could away from the painful sight of Aias sitting there.

Rubin and the other teachers didn’t know what to do, they had heard that Aias was unbeaten in physical activities. But they didn’t think he had pride that when broken would turn him into a husk like this.

“I will not stop!” Finally Aias spoke again. The teachers were surprised, his voice was no longer whimpering and weak. It was filled with determination and conviction. “Until i can sense my energy i will not move from this location!” And with those words as his last he continued to meditate.

The teachers around him didn’t know what to do, they heard on his voice that he wasn’t going to back down, the storm from last night could tell them he wasn’t going to be moving any time soon. “Have someone bring him his food here instead” Rubin commanded the other caretakers, he had heard Aias conviction and allowed it.

Aias continued sitting there, not moving, always meditating. The days went on without him being able to feel anything, the headmaster came to see if there was anything wrong with his core but found nothing. More days passed and rumors started of a student going insane after not feeling his energy. In the beginning Aias classmates would defend him, but as the days turned into weeks, they couldn’t help but admit that it was enough. There are other things in the world but fighting, Aias had always been intelligent and would do fine even if he wasn’t a fighter. He could just become a researcher or something instead, he wouldn’t have to sit there like a maniac covered in mud and filth barely living his life.

Months had begun to change and his classmates had given up, he was no longer human to them, his conviction was too great. He would only open his eyes to eat food when it was served to him, any other time was spent trying to locate the energy inside him. He could feel it if someone were to insert it, but he couldn’t sense anything while alone.

It wasn’t impossible for him to become a magician while still not being able to freely sense his own energy but it would mean he had to become a long range caster. That was not his dream. Long range casters are almost only in the army, something he didn’t want to join, he had always wanted to travel and see the world. He wanted to know what was out there, something you didn’t get to do in the army.

Three month had passed, Aias sat there covered in mud and filth while deep in meditation when suddenly he felt a tiny little ball of strength, this wasn’t like the tread he had felt when the teachers helped him, the more he focused on the ball the more different powers he felt from it, one of these were similar to the thread. This was it, this is his energy. His core.