BXBX NOVEL Chapter 17: A New friend
[Congratulations! You have completed your daily quest]
[You have obtained 1 STA point]
[STA: 10 >> 11]
[Energy: 20 >> 22]
He didn\'t pay much attention to the system message as he kept on going towards the dorm restaurant.
He had about two plates of Steak and Shrimp Kabobs before he was full. In total he had to spend 14 credits for the meal; leaving him with 31 credits remaining.
Kyle didn\'t plan on retiring yet. After he was done eating, he took Riya\'s advice and decided to locate the mall.
Kyle walked through the streets leading to the mage academy\'s mall which he had located through the comm.
The mall was an enormous structure, made out of glass and stone. It was a place where academics could find anything they might need, from magical supplies to mundane necessities.
As Kyle entered the mall, the first thing that struck him was the sheer variety of stores. The ground floor alone boasted a myriad of shops.
There was a potion shop, its shelves lined with colorful vials and bottles.
Kyle\'s eyes wandered to a store that seemed particularly popular among the upperclassmen: a magical artifacts shop. The window displays were filled with all manner of enchanted items— rings, cloaks, armor.
He tried to enter the store but was denied access.
He moved through the crowds, observing the older students as they shopped. Some were trying out new equipment, while others haggled over rare ingredients for their next potion-making assignment.
The atmosphere was vibrant and lively, as even in the evening it was still a frequented place.
Kyle continued his exploration, eventually making his way to the central plaza, where a large fountain stood surrounded by benches and food stalls.
He noticed a kiosk giving away free notebooks and pens to academics. Kyle decided to redeem some supplies, which was what had brought him there.
After collecting his items, he went over to a weapons shop he had noticed earlier.
The sign above the door read "Blades and Beyond." Inside, an impressive array of swords, daggers, and other bladed weapons lined the walls.
He tried entering this one and was allowed after his comm was scanned.
Entering the store, Kyle went up to the sword section to admire the swords.
His eyes were immediately drawn to a beautifully crafted katana displayed in a glass case.
"That one\'s a beauty, isn\'t it?" said a voice beside him.
Kyle turned to see a tall academic with short brown hair and a friendly smile. He wore a badge indicating he was a second-year student.
"Yeah, it is," Kyle replied. "How much is it?"
"Five thousand credits," the student said with a whistle. "Pretty steep for an uncommon artifact, huh?"
"Five thousand?! I only have 31!" Kyle exclaimed in shock. He had wanted to buy a sword he could use to train as he had yet to make use of the free room in his house.
The academic chuckled. "I\'m Nate, by the way. The second year, light wing, fire wing. You?"
"Kyle, first year. Just started," Kyle replied.
"Nice to meet you, Kyle. If you\'re into swords, you should check out the practice arena sometime. It\'s a great place to meet people and hone your skills," Nate suggested.
"Sounds good," Kyle said, feeling a bit more at ease.
The two discussed for some more before leaving the mall.
"… I\'m a forge master, we\'re the ones that make artifacts like that sword," Nate gave him a wink. "Forge mastering is one of the elective courses Vyna offers. Other ones include; alchemy, rune making, magic engineering and a lot more."
Nate explained as they went on.
"Wow, that\'s cool. But, how come I haven\'t seen anything about such courses?"
"As a new recruit, you\'ll be given 7 days to form your mana core. After which you\'ll confirm your elements, get your wings and then the real learning can take place." Nate explained.
He went on to tell Kyle more things about the Academy. After which they exchanged IDs the moment they got near the dorms.
"Thank you for everything," Kyle said after they exchanged their ID. "Friends?" he asked with his arms outstretched for a handshake.
"Yeah, friends," Nate responded with a hand of his own, but before Kyle could grasp his palms, he quickly pulled it away and ran it through his hair. "Psyche!"
The two boys laughed before going home.
Kyle didn\'t plan to rest as he got home as he had promised to reflect on today\'s lessons.
He began by trying to remember all he had learned from the history class.
"Uhhm, he said something about the civil war." Kyle had been trying to remember as much as he could but his memory was falling short.
"Ah, I could just call Riya. I\'ll borrow her notebook." he decided.
He had earlier collected Riya\'s ID when they had met earlier. After calling her, she sent him some key dates and information through her comm which he wrote and learned.
After spending thirty minutes on history, he started trying to sense his mana once more.
Like before, he sensed it but the problem still lay in compressing it. He quickly got past the stage where he exerted control over its flow before he tried commanding it to compress.
Kyle struggled for an hour and he could feel he was making progress, it was able to compress to a point before eventually falling apart.
Kyle looked at the time and saw it was already eight. He had resigned himself to sleep early to not wake up late like yesterday.
He first dropped his blood on the egg like he has been doing every day. As usual, the egg absorbed the blood. He noticed he was developing strong emotions towards it. He caressed the egg before dropping it back into the inventory.
"Good night, System, wake me up by 6 am."