{16: 44 – Monday, January 26th, 2087}
'Today's class was such a pain...' Evan murmured as he left Jefrrey's classroom.
In Evan's view, that specific class wouldn't be of much importance to him, since he still remembered the main theories regarding mana in that world.
"H-he... just talks too much..."
As he walked toward the training zone, Evan felt a tingling sensation in his stomach.
'Tomorrow is going to be one hell of a day.'
It would be during the next class that Darius would announce the first hunting simulation, alongside instructor Edgar Hells.
Although Darius only taught the subject Principles of Combat, the faculty believed that real dangerous situations could further encourage the students' development.
"That bastard..." Evan muttered as he recalled what had happened in the original story.
When he arrived at the training zone, Evan was met with the same sight as the previous days: Mikael and Erick training relentlessly. Even Karin and Alexia were there as well.
'I'll still need to get used to this.'
Evan walked up to one of the sparring robots. At that moment, he strongly believed that hand-to-hand combat could help him find his own fighting style, tied to his flames.
The robots had humanoid forms and could be programmed according to the user's level.
Adjusting the robot to G-class on a display located on the machine's back, Evan got ready.
Since it was his first time using those humanoid sparring robots, Evan had no idea what it would be like in practice.
As long as he didn't make any move, the robot remained completely still in front of him. But the moment Evan made even the slightest attack motion, the humanoid figure reacted instantly, intercepting Evan's punch.
'Wow... let's see what you're capable of.'
Evan didn't waste time, launching a fast sequence of punches aimed at the robot's head, but the machine completely neutralized his strikes.
Changing his strategy, Evan began varying his movements, throwing kicks and elbow strikes at different parts of the humanoid's body.
But to Evan's misfortune, his attacks seemed useless.
'Damn it!'
...
'Ahg... Ahg...'
Sitting on the cold metallic floor of the training zone, Evan was completely exhausted, breathing heavily.
"That damn humanoid..."
During the hours he spent dueling the machine, Evan came to the conclusion that he was truly nothing compared to the rest of his class.
'I couldn't land a single damn hit on that bastard... I don't remember feeling this miserable since I woke up in New Era.'
But the feeling of inferiority only grew worse when Evan watched the other main cast students training.
Mikael landed countless hits on the machine, as if he was just having fun.
Erick, with his usual brutality, left no openings for his movements to be neutralized.
The same could be said for Karin and Alexia.
Watching that scene, Evan decided to simply take a good shower and walk around the capital's downtown for a while.
...
Rarely had Evan taken time just to walk around ever since he came to this world.
Wheat-colored hair neatly combed, a pair of shining golden eyes, along with a black formal outfit and a white jacket bearing the symbol of New Hope Academy.
It was Evan who drew people's attention in the surrounding area. Everyone in the empire knew the reputation the students of the greatest academy on the continent carried.
But at that moment, none of that mattered to Evan. As he walked, all he could think about was his own future.
With the academy located right in the center of the capital, it was a very crowded area. Evan observed countless bars and restaurants, people laughing and drinking cheerfully.
Suddenly, Evan felt a touch on his shoulder.
When he turned his head, he saw a hooded figure wearing a beetle mask covering his face.
"Scarabeo?" Evan asked.
"Let's go somewhere else, rookie." the man said, as Evan followed right behind him.
They kept walking through several alleys in the less populated areas of the district.
After a few good minutes moving through the shadows, they finally seemed to have reached their destination.
It was a completely isolated building, resembling an abandoned structure.
"Come on, get in."
Before stepping through the door, Evan took his Wolf mask out of his storage device.
It wasn't enough that the Boss and Scarabeo already knew his identity. Evan preferred to avoid having more people find out, even within Requiem itself.
After putting on his mask, Evan quickly took off his academy jacket and entered right after.
Checking if anyone else was inside, Evan looked at Scarabeo.
"There's no one else here, kid. I told you I'd contact you soon, didn't I?"
"Faster than I expected." Evan replied with a dry laugh.
The building wasn't very large. It only had two more floors, which seemed completely sealed off.
"So what are we doing here, exactly?" Evan asked.
Walking toward a door at the end of the room, Scarabeo gestured for Evan to follow.
"The boss decided to reward you for the last mission. Don't waste my time."
As he approached the man, Evan observed what was inside the room.
It was a poorly lit place. The only furniture inside was a massive bookshelf filled with books scattered across it.
"T-those books..."
But before Evan could finish his sentence:
"They're skill manuals, kid. These only go up to rank D, but they should already help you... I'll give you a few minutes to choose 1 of them. I'll be waiting outside." Scarabeo said, leaving Evan alone in the room.
Behind the mask, a huge smile formed on Evan's face.
"Looks like it was worth it..."
As he searched through the shelf, Evan noticed several books, but there weren't many options that would truly be useful to him.
With the help of the chip in his arm, Evan could distinguish the level of each book.
In the end, he only separated 3 that could be considered useful for his fighting style.
{Emperor's Command – Rarity (E)}
When activated, the opponent it is directed at receives a pressure that paralyzes them for 1.5 seconds.
{Smoke Curtain – Rarity (D)}
Capable of generating significant amounts of smoky clouds, which can be increased depending on the user's mana output.
{Aerial Steps – Rarity (D)}
The user gains the ability to levitate above the ground for 2 seconds.
With the three books separated, Evan had to choose only 1 of them.
"It has to be this one..."