'Aura manipulation?' He felt an ounce of dissatisfaction.
Aura manipulation wasn't flashy at all.
He felt like this wasn't enough to breach the gap between him and his brother.
He took a second to see if he could do anything new. Within seconds he felt the difference. It was like he had another stream of altitude running through his veins. They felt similar but also fundamentally different.
The new energy seemed to be connected to his altitude but his altitude was unaffected by this aura besides the slight drain he felt from keeping it circulating.
When he stopped letting it circulate his man recovered but he felt weaker.
'How did I not notice this before?'
Rather than restricting the circulation in his mana he increased it in his entire body, and then slowly began trying it in just certain limbs.
A smile stretched across his face.
The drain on his altitude wasn't something to cough at though, he knew that if he wasn't in the game he'd be utterly exhausted.
With that thought he remembered where he was and willed the time to appear in his vision.
"11:45?" He yelled aloud and instantly snatched off the headset.
The training hall was completely silent now. He was now aware of his new ability and he was already reaping the benefits.
He could sense everything in a 10-meter radius around him without even looking at it. He pumped altitude into his perception and in an instant he could sense everything in the entire hall.
"This is insane," he said in a whisper to himself.
As he spoke a presence stepped into his perception. He felt nothing threatening from this person but he was still on guard.
"Who'd come here this late at night?" This presence didn't seem particularly strong nor did it seem weak.
Kayui stood up and looked in that direction. Without thinking his aura traveled up to his eyes, increasing his vision 3 fold and he saw the student as if they were standing face to face despite the dozens of meters between them.
Kayui's brown eyes locked with the pale green ones in front of him. The student had long black hair in a ponytail and bronze skin, a few tones lighter than Kayui's. His eyes held something feral within, Kayui noticed it instantly.
Kayui didn't pursue further instead he swiftly dashed towards and out the back doors.
"Hm, he seems strong." The green-eyed boy said before taking a seat in a VBA pod.
"Welcome Modoru, it seems your ability Curse: "Devil of the Woodborn" has grown stronger.
************
Kayui weaved his way through the academy in the dark of night. It was pitch black on the campus but he used his newfound abilities to know exactly where he was going.
At first, it was a little disorienting but he made it back to his room, slightly exhausted though. He prepared himself this time and swiped his key before cautiously opening the door.
This time the room was clean. The dark carpet still showed a clear sign that at one point it wasn't but Kayui didn't mind. This was better than Grayshire.
The walls were made of white cement with dark patterns that crossed them to form a pretty design resembling a flowing beach.
The kitchen and living room weren't separated and the white tiled kitchen floor contrasted with the carpet. He took notice of the high-tech cooking appliances and entertainment devices in the home.
What interested him the most was the large TV mounted on the wall to his right.
Opposite the TV sat a dark brown couch that seemed to be made of some kind of beast skin.
"That looks comfy." He imagined sleeping on such a couch.
His bed in Grayshire hadn't been nearly as cozy.
Next to the coach a dark hallway presented itself. He flicked the light on even though he didn't need it and let his guard down a bit, deactivating his aura and allowing his altitude to recover.
He picked up a note left on the living room table he had noticed before fully opening the door.
"Sorry about earlier, your room is down the hall to the left. -Taz."
He cringed at the name, but it quickly went away at the thought of the aggressive student who'd he had met twice now named Tazreal writing him a note.
'Maybe he isn't so bad' he thought as he walked to the room.
There were three doors down the hallway and a closet. He assumed the far one was the bathroom which he didn't bother to check out.
He stepped into his room. It had a computer and desk and a bed. There was a window on the back wall that made it feel less like a prison.
He went to check the computer. It looked to be locked on the school browser.
He had access to forums, and markets provided by the school.
'I'll look at this later"
He stood up and fell back into his bed.
***
A knock sounded on his door. He opened his eyes as sunlight bathed him from the window.
"Who is it?" He said sitting up. He had fallen asleep without showering.
"It's Taz, the teacher told me to keep an eye on you. You're with me today."
Kayui got up without a reply and opened the door. Taz stood there in his pajamas, his hostile energy gone.
"Let me shower first," Kayui said before heading to the bathroom.
***
This morning Kayui noticed the campus was more active than before.
"Tomorrow will be the first day back from spring break. I won't be waking you up again, so don't forget." Taz said his raspy voice and sharp demeanor were back again, this time not targeted at Kayui.
"We're heading to the market. Zenith said you needed some things. After that, we train."
Kayui had no objections. He wanted to find out what Taz was made of.
They entered a building that simply read "Market" but it was the size of multiple buildings. The two didn't talk much.
Kayui bought some street clothes and necessities to live on campus. The multitude of stores amazed him but they only came for light shopping.
After that, they headed to the training hall.
Kayui was familiar with this place so he didn't have to follow behind Taz anymore. As they walked around the campus he had been testing his ability on different things. He noticed that some could notice when they were inside his perception. He also learned how to project it outwards onto singular things for a full analysis.
He subjected Taz to this multiple times and he had yet to notice, but when they walked into the training hall Breer, the dwarf who had given Kayui his blade, noticed immediately.
The moment Kayui's aura enveloped Breer it died and a blind spot appeared in his perception. He was shocked but didn't show it on his face.
Taz didn't greet the man, "Give us a private room" he said without losing stride.
Kayui on guard didn't look at the man either, instead, he followed behind Tazreal, to not further embarrass himself.
He felt stern eyes on his back as they walked.