{07:21 – Saturday, January 24th, 2087}
"It's been 1 week since I woke up in this body."
Evan murmured as he stared at his own reflection in the mirror inside his room.
Since it was Saturday, the students were free from classes, although there were other optional activities available.
With other objectives in mind, Evan obviously discarded the idea of wasting his time at that moment. All that mattered was ensuring his own survival, which meant he would have to sacrifice mere teenage pleasures.
'I need to get stronger...' the boy sighed.
Taking advantage of the fact he had just woken up, Evan decided to check his status.
Name: Evan Thompson
Potential: ???
Rank: G
Strength: G
Speed: G-
Endurance: G+
Intelligence: G
Mana Capacity: G-
Luck: G+
Charm: G-
Affinities: Primordial Fire (Elemental)
Seeing the increase in his rank and in his Strength and Endurance attributes, Evan couldn't help but feel proud.
Even though he was still extremely weak compared to the main prodigies, the simple fact that he was able to improve at all made him feel rewarded.
"Looks like I'll have even more work ahead of me."
As he got dressed, Evan couldn't help but notice that kanji on his hand.
"It's better if I hide this for now."
Putting on the academy uniform, Evan pulled the sleeve down as far as he could in an attempt to hide the kanji.
As he walked through the academy, Evan's goal was the training zone. Since his commitment to Requiem was only later at night, he still had the morning and afternoon available to train.
Evan headed to the weight training area first. There were machines for every possible muscle group.
'Aah... let's start with the basics.'
Evan began at the bench press machine. His goal was to focus on exercises that could amplify his strength and endurance, and the bench press was a great exercise for that purpose, or so he believed.
Even though he had never been truly dedicated to working out, Evan still had a basic understanding of weight training from what he used to watch online.
"Let's start with 20kg on each side."
As he placed the plates onto the iron bar, Evan noticed how empty that huge space was. Unlike him, the vast majority of students preferred using other academy resources rather than coming to the weight training zone.
But looking more closely, Evan noticed a familiar figure performing squats with around 200kg total.
White hair combed down to perfection, and a robust physique... it was none other than Erick, who spent most of his free time training his own body.
Ignoring Erick's presence, Evan started his first bench press set.
Lowering the bar slowly until it touched the center of his chest and lifting it through the full range of motion, the boy counted his repetitions.
"10, 11... 17."
Dropping the bar after completing 17 reps in his first set, Evan added another 20kg to each side.
'I think I can handle 40kg easily.'
By the end of 4 bench press sets, Evan managed to do around 6 reps with 65kg on each side.
'...I-I'm really proud of this.'
The boy sighed, still out of breath. For many, the amount of weight Evan could lift would be considered a joke, but for someone like him, a mere background character, it was an achievement he could truly be proud of.
'I should keep doing exercises that strengthen my chest.'
And so Evan continued for the next 2 hours, trying to ignore Erick's presence and the terrifying amount of weight that boy could handle.
Evan did two bench press variations, finishing his workout with a sequence of lateral raises to strengthen his shoulders.
'Training with this damn bracelet really is hell...'
Throughout all that time, Evan didn't remove the gravitational bracelet for even a minute, keeping it set at around 8x while training under heavy loads.
'Even after all these exercises, my body still feels extremely light...'
Deep down, he knew that maintaining all that pressure on his body in the long run would be extremely beneficial.
After finishing his training, Evan headed to the locker room, where he took a quick shower.
'Let me see how much time I still have.'
Touching the crystal on his forearm, the boy checked the time.
{12:45 – Saturday, January 24th, 2087}
'I still have some time.'
...
During the rest of the afternoon, Evan spent hours meditating in his room.
"Today I finally understand why it's so hard to meditate."
In Evan's view, meditation went far beyond simply closing your eyes and feeling your mana circuits... it was something much deeper.
With only 1 hour left before meeting Scarabeo, Evan put on a dark blue formal outfit and a black suit.
The Port of Kaliste was only a few minutes away from Platinum's center.
'I should get there in 30 minutes.'
Heading to the train station in the capital, Evan couldn't help but notice how lively the city was at that hour.
Passing by several bars and entertainment centers, there were many nobles indulging in pleasures while having fun.
"Some things really never change..."
...
Arriving at the long-awaited Port of Kaliste, Evan made sure to check whether he was being followed. Now that he was part of an underground group, every bit of caution mattered.
'Where am I supposed to meet this guy?...'
Looking around, there weren't many people at the port. There were only a few fishermen unloading boats nearby.
The Port of Kaliste was known as one of the main loading and unloading points on the continent, mainly because of its advantage of being close to major urban centers.
Evan couldn't help but remember the few times he had seen the ocean. Even at nightfall, that view of Etherea was enough to leave anyone speechless.
As he walked into a more isolated part of the port, near a massive lighthouse, Evan suddenly felt something suffocating him from behind.
'W-what?!'
"..."
Unable to fight back, Evan's vision slowly darkened... until the boy completely blacked out.