Conquering the Calamity

Richards presentation continued until 9 a.m., followed by a brief break. Mathew decided to go for a walk and stretch his legs; he wanted to ask Elizabeth if she wanted to join him, but since they had been reprimanded by Sir Richard, she maintained her stoic attitude and ignored anything Mathew said.

Mathew frowned as he noticed the jealous looks he was getting. He assumed they were acting jealously because of his proximity to Elizabeth throughout the lecture. Mathew was unaffected by the envious crowd and resumed his carefree stroll.

As the break was drawing to a close, Mathew decided to use the restroom, but just as he was about to enter, a group of individuals approached him. His face clouded as he noticed the mob encircling him; he had experience with situations like this, having been robbed by gangs in the slums countless times.

- ” Hey kid, Whats your name? ” A man dressed in luxury approached Mathew as the rest of his group shoved him into a wall.

Mathew gave the man a look, recognizing him as one of the persons accompanied by security and photographed by paparazzi. Mathew had no idea what he had done to provoke someone of this kind.

– ”My name is Mathew. Could you please tell me what you expect from me? ” Mathew tried to remain calm, but he was afraid the group would beat him up. He doubted his ability to complete boot camp if he was beaten by so many individuals.

– ”Mathew? What were you talking to Elizabeth? ” The rich boy approached Mathew and looked him in the eyes.

- ”Not much, she was just telling me about her family guild, ” Mathew cursed Elizabeth in his head, he never expected someone to go so far as to harm him just because he spoke with her.

- ” Oh? Just talking about her family guild? Thats great; just don approach her again. ” When he heard Mathews response, the mans eyes flashed.

Mathew breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the man turn around and left the restroom; however, before leaving, he issued the commands Mathew had feared.

– ”Beat him up so he learns not to associate with people who are out of his league. I don want the awakened association to notice, so hurry. ” As he exited the toilet, the man had a wicked grin on his face.

Even before the man finished his orders, the mob began to pound Mathew. Mathew closed his eyes as he endured the repeated blows, thanking God that he was close to the corner of the restroom. making it possible for him to curl into a ball and turn his back towards the group, reducing the amount of damage he was taking.

Mathew could only grit his teeth and endure the humiliation as he waited for the group to lose interest in him or for someone from the awakening association to help him.

The group only stopped assaulting Mathew when another group of individuals entered the bathroom; when the new group witnessed the gory beating, they fled in terror.

– ”Shit! We gotta leave; I think they will call security. ” When one of the group members noticed the people fleeing, he yelled.

Mathew exhaled in relief as he realized his beating was finally done and tried to stand up, but his legs were so weak that he gripped the wall and wobbled slowly towards the mirrors.

He was a terrible mess, with blood dripping from his mouth and nose. His garment was shredded and soiled with footprints. Richard and the Burly man entered the bathroom as Mathew was cleaning himself on the sink. They were enraged when they noticed the boys condition.

- ” Fucking hell! Who dares to act in this manner in the awakening association? ” The muscular man hit the restroom wall, causing it to shake.

– ”Are you all right? Who did this to you? ” Richard moved closer to Mathew and examined his wounds.

”Id be a lot better if you guys had come sooner. ” Mathew gave the pair an irritated look as he continued to clean himself in the sink.

The burly mans face twitched; he couldn believe the child had the energy to make snide remarks even in this state. He was ready to reprimand him when Richard raised his hand to indicate that he should hold on.

– ”We
e sorry, they chose the ideal location for this because we don have cameras in the bathroom. ” Richard did everything he could to calm the youngster down.

Mathew now realized why the group was so brave, and could only blame himself for going to the bathroom at such an inconvenient time; after all, even if their leader was some rich pampered youngster, they wouldn be able to escape punishment if a camera recorded them.

- ”Let me examine your wounds; if you are severely harmed, I will not allow you to continue with boot camp. ” Richard grabbed Mathews hand and stopped him as he attempted to exit the bathroom.

– ”Im alright, why can you just let me go? ” Mathew clenched his teeth, pain coursing through his entire body.

Richard gave Mathew a pitying glance and began to cast a spell. – ”Greater Heal. ”

Mathew felt a sense of comfort sweep through every part of his body as the light enveloped him. Mathew felt the pain slowly wash away from his body, and the spells magical feeling left him speechless.

- ”This should help you a little; Ill keep an eye on you, and depending on your condition, Ill revoke your registration. ” Richard was still worried about the youngster; if he wished to awaken using the crystal, his body had to be in good shape.

Even the purest Ether Crystal had traces of Fell Power, and in some situations, the person absorbing the crystal would have to fight against the corruption of the Fell Power and expel it; this process would be far too exhausting for an average person and would be even more difficult if he was injured.

Mathew nodded, cupped his fist, and bowed in front of the man. He was feeling much better now, but there were still a lot of bruises all over his body, and he could feel some discomfort as he walked.

When the burly man saw the youngster walk away, he took out his phone and began to access the camera system; it didn take long for him to retrieve the video before the attack.

– ”Damn you, Brat! He thinks he can do whatever he wants because his father supports the awakening association? ” When the burly man realized who was behind the attack, he became even more outraged.

– ”Tsk, don tell me that was Freds son? ” Richard shook his head in dismay.

– ”Obviously, it was! Who else would dare to act this way? Im kicking that damned brat out! ” In wrath, the hefty man walked out of the bathroom.

– ”Fernando! Stop! Do you believe the President would agree to that? ” Richard instantly followed him, knowing that they couldn touch the pampered boy.

– ”Should we allow that jerk to walk about doing whatever he wants? This is an awakened organization, not a playground! ” As he turned to meet his old friend, Fernandos face darkened.

- ”The Council Election is next year; you cannot do something harsh as it will endanger your situation. ” Richard did everything he could to calm Fernandos fears.

Fernandos eyes widened when Richard mentioned the Council Election; he had been planning to take the position of the current leader of the organization for quite some time, and he had even begun to recruit some acquaintances who could enhance the power of his camp.

- ” Sigh, you
e right, so many people have given so much to support me, I can just throw it all away because I lost patience with some spoiled brat. ” Fernando took a deep breath and began to relax. ”Are you able to keep an eye on the kid? Im afraid this isn the last time hell get in trouble. ” Fernando felt obligated to keep the boy safe throughout the boot camp.

– ”I would do this even if you didn ask. Im not going to let those kids do whatever they want. ” Richard dashed back into the auditorium.

The lesson was already in full swing when Mathew arrived; the new lecturer was angry at his tardiness, but after witnessing his bruised body, he chose to ignore the unfortunate child because he appeared to have suffered enough.

The lecturer wasn the only one who spotted his bruises, and as he walked into the auditorium, a wave of whispering began. Mathew walked back to his seat, attempting to ignore everyone.

Mathew couldn help but smile at the leader of the group that beat him up. He considered obeying his threats because he barely knew Elizabeth, but after being pummeled so severely, he opted to sit by her again simply to spite him.

Elizabeth was staring at Mathew with interest, and when she spotted his smile towards the group, she instantly linked the dots and realized what had occurred to Mathew.

- ” Did Jeremy do this to you? ” Elizabeth asked Mathew as soon as he sat down.

- ”Did Jeremy do this to you? ” As soon as Mathew sat down, Elizabeth questioned.

- ” Is that his name? ” Mathew turned around and glanced at the man once more. ” He appears to be very enamored with you. ”

Elizabeths eyes became icy as her suspicions were verified; she wanted to stand up and confront him, but she restrained herself. Elizabeth despised Jeremy with every fiber of her existence, and even the sight of his face made her sick.

– ”Im sorry, I didn imagine hed do something like this. ” Elizabeth sighed as she examined the marks on Mathews body.

”Its not like its your fault. ” Mathew shrugged and resumed his attention to the lecture since he wasn in the mood to talk right now, Mathew had already missed the very first part of the lesson, so he wanted to pay close attention.

- ”Most of the skills that you will acquire in the novice class will be so-called Passive Skills, which will not give you any spells or techniques and will only boost your overall stats. Of course, there are exceptions, such as Magic Mastery, which will give you beginner spells; if you acquire this skill in the novice class, you will most likely advance into a spell caster class. ”

– ”Magic Mastery? Is this similar to Mana proficiency that Sir Richard showed us? ” As the lecturer came to a halt, one of the audience members inquired.

– ”They are related but not the same. Mana proficiency is a skill that most classes have access to, while Magic Mastery is only available to spellcasters. ” As more people raised their hands, the Lecturer swiftly pointed to another participant and motioned for him to ask his question.

– ”What exactly does Mana Proefiency do? ” As he asked the inquiry, the boys eyes gleamed.

- ”Mana Proefiecny reduces mana consumption of spells while increasing your mana recovery and your total reserves. ” The Lecturer continued after another glance at the rest of the participants who had their hands raised. ”As for Magic Mastery, aside from the vast spells that this skill grants you, Magic Mastery also helps you with control of your mana, which can aid spellcasters to lessen their mana usage. ”

– ”So, how do we obtain mana? Do we have to absorb it like Ether? ” Another boy hastily inquired, as he lacked the patience to wait for the lecturer to select the next person to ask the question.

- ” As you continue to absorb Ether, it will gradually be transformed to mana and blood energy. Mana is required to activate some skills and spells, while blood energy is generally utilized to strengthen your body, although some skills and techniques also use blood energy as a source. ”

After answering all of the questions, the lecture finally got to the point that everyone was looking forward to. Finally, the lecturer would show them how to receive and cultivate Ether from crystals, as well as how to discharge the residues of Fell Energy from its body.

The entire auditorium was deafeningly quiet as the man passed the instructions; nobody wanted to miss even the smallest detail, for if they failed, they would have to wait for the next boot camp. Mathew was no exception, as he was entirely concentrated on the contents of the lesson, immediately writing down what the man said and attempting to memorize everything.