Rayan woke up late. The sun had already risen.
He sat up slowly. He raised his hand to his right shoulder. It didn't hurt. He removed the bandage and looked at the wound. It had healed remarkably, thanks to Mira's plant element.
He got up. He put on his shirt – high collar – tightened his belt. He hung his sword on his hip. He looked at the dark blue robe – the academy uniform – hanging on the back of the chair. He decided to wear it later.
He left the room. This was his first day at the academy after the exam, and he decided to walk around to get to know the place.
The boys' dining hall was in a separate wing. Rayan entered; it was spacious, filled with long tables. He took a plate of bread, cheese, and a cup of milk, and sat in the corner. He ate in silence. He spoke to no one.
After breakfast, he wandered through the academy's corridors.
In one of the side corridors, he saw a large bulletin board. He read the posted papers:
List of accepted students – he searched for his name: "Ryan Darvin – Spark score 57 ".
Start of Year Ceremony – seven days from now in the Grand Hall.
There were 50 people who passed the test, and their names were listed in order of success. Ryan was ranked 49th.
He didn't really care because he didn't even want to attract attention during the test, but...
'My name will attract attention.'
Everyone knew Darwin's name because his sisters were very famous, so when students saw his results, it might be upsetting.
Ryen heard footsteps behind him.
"Excuse me, are you also a new student?"
He turned. It was a boy around his age, with curly black hair and large brown eyes. He wore simple clothes. He seemed friendly.
"Yes."
he smiled.
"I'm Edan Do you know where the main lecture hall is? I have a map, but I'm not sure."
He showed a folded paper, hand-drawn.
Edan said proudly.
"I drew it myself,Do you want a copy? I have two."
Ryan would have ignored the boy in the first place, but the map caught his attention a little because this academy was larger than he expected.
Therefore, he nodded in agreement with Edan's suggestion.
Rayan took the copy.
Then Eden spoke
"I'm Edan, from a village in the west – near the Doraval border,And you?"
Ryan looked at him and after a few seconds answered him
"Rayan. From the east."
"It seems we are from faraway places,Do you want to walk around with me?"
Rayan looked at him.The boy was nice and there was no reason to reject him.
"Alright."
********
They walked together. They discovered the locations of the classrooms, the library, and the back garden. Edan talked a lot – about his village, about his excitement to learn the wind element.
Rayan was mostly silent.
Edan asked.
"So what is your element, Ryan?"
Ryan looked at him.
'This boy seems very curious.'
Of course, asking someone about their element wasn't rude, but most people wouldn't ask someone they'd just met about their element.
Because for some people, these elements are personal.
But Ryan had no reason to hide his element because he would be using it in the near future.
"Ice"
Edan whistled.
"Interesting, I've never heard of someone using the ice element at our age before."
Energy Circulation
Ryan sat on the floor in the middle of his room. He closed his eyes. He began circulating energy within his body.
He was at level two and still felt far from level three.
But he felt it when he used his element
Since his spark was not diminishing much
And of course, the reason for that was because the Energy Circulation
He felt the energy move from his chest to his limbs. He moved it slowly, making sure it reached every part of his body. At first, his right shoulder – where the wound had been – resisted the flow a little, Ryan believed that the cause was the injuries he had sustained.
And By the third day, the energy flow became smoother.
Ryan stayed in his room for those six days, only leaving to eat.
He trained in his room to get closer to level three, but he was focusing on something else.
He was focusing on his second element, fire, and how to use and control it.