The Arrayist

Chapter 8: A Brief Introduction

A figure wearing a purple and black robe, brown hair, green domineering eyes, holding a few documents with her, she walked in the center of the auditorium. It was precisely Dina!

"Quiet a big class we have today" her gaze circled the entire area, counting the number of students and confirming the same number same number on the student list.

Her expression changed when she looked at the direction of Windle and Teo, she quickly recognized them from her previous class as well as another student.

"For those who don't know me, I am Dina, you can call me Ms Dina or Teacher Dina, it doesn't really matter. I am in charge of teaching you all how to use your elemental attributes for the next 2 years"

Suddenly a strong wind force moved across the room and encircling Dina. Dina quickly rose up a few feet above the ground and quickly landed back down.

Seeing such a showcase of power, the student's fearful face was replaced with excitement.

Dina gazed off to the distance, she noticed some prying eyes watching her class. Although other students were restricted from entering, many would watch from a distance.

"Now then, I will need everyone to introduce themselves. State your name and title and which elemental attributes you have" Dina wanted to remember everyone's face and attributes, if she was going to nurture these children, she would need to know them more intimately. The several prying eyes also looked intently.

She pointed at a student "Lets start with you"

"My name is Grifford Driftwood, a generalists. My elements are fire, earth, water, dark and metal"

Dina's eyes widened and smiled 'A generalist with metal, fire and earth attributes, how fun' she thought

she kept pointing at next students until the her fingers stopped at the group of haughty kids.

"Zachery Rizon, Triad. Wind, Light and Lightning" said the silent black haired youth.

'Another one, a Triad, as expected as the Rizon clan' Dina thought

The blonde youth spoke next "Kristofer Elmsfall. Dualist. Wind and Fire"

"Erin Elmsfall,Dualist. Water and Lightning"

"Ash Moran, Dualist Dark and Wind"

....

Dina continue until she pointed at Windle

"Hello everyone, my name is Windle Char. I'm a specialist with Fire attribute"

Windle's introduction was very friendly compared to others.

Dina then pointed at Teo

"Teo Char, pure generalist"

He did not bother to say the other elements because being a pure generalist implied that he has all the other elements.

When everyone heard this, they were in shocked, even the haughty kids were somewhat surprised and a trace of dissatisfaction could be seen in their eyes. They thought of themselves as the elite of the elite in this class, and although a pure generalists is a non-combatant status, the major powers of the empire would always fight for them when one appeared

Dina was also surprised 'A pure generalists, I didn't think that I would meet one in my lifetime' she thought

....

The introductions continued until all 27 students had introduced themselves.

Dina quickly remembered everyone's names and continued on with her lecture

"As you might have already known, people born with elemental attributes have an affinity with that element. Some speculate that the Heavens gifted the world with this special power, but no one really know where it came from."

"Even though we don't know how it came to be, we learned how to utilize them. To use the power of the elements we must first rely on these"

10 small stones floated in the air rotating around Dina

"These are elemental stones, they are the key for you to be able to learn how to use the power of the elements. Everyone should have stones that correspond to their elements, they were given out with the bag that you received a month ago"

"Starting tomorrow, you will bring your stones with you to class. These stones will be used every class so please don't forget them"

"These stones are amirite stones that has absorbed a specific elemental energy, if it absorbs more than one elemental energy, after a certain period of time, it settles and the majority would force the other elemental energy out and then it will continue to absorb until it is completely full and only one type of elemental energy exist within the stone"

"As long as you have an affinity with an element, you should be able to feel an energy pulse coming from the stone. The process to controlling elemental energy could be simplified in a 4 main stages."

"The first stage is to sensing the energy, you cannot control what you can't sense. This stage is called the 'Sensing Stage'. There are different ways you can sense energy, some can see them, some can smell them, or even taste them, but every elementalists should be able to feel them. You must train your sensitivity in order to feel the elements. The better you can sense the energy the better you should be able to control them later on. Also your understanding of elements should also increase, which is very useful for production jobs"

As she said this, her gaze fell on Grifford and then on Teo

"The second stage is 'Gathering Stage'. To use the energy, you must be able to gather them. In this stage, you have to use your own energy within the body, known as Qi. Every life has their own Qi, but to control them requires a great deal of concentration. By melding your Qi with your elemental attribute, you can gather that specific elemental energy in the environment.

"The third stage is the 'Movement Stage', its quiet similar to the Gathering stage but it involves controlling your Qi outside your body. The difference between these 2 stages is that the Gathering stage' you will only need to meld your Qi with your elemental attribute that are all within your body. Your bodies will act like a magnet gathering elemental energy."

Teo was intently listening, but was wondering 'what would happen if there is no specific energy within the area?'. Many students also wondered this question and as if Dina could read minds, she continued:

"Don't worry about any specific energy not being there. In the world there is an energy known as 'World Qi' this world Qi is everywhere and anywhere, and it contains all different elemental energy within it. Once you release your control of elemental energies, those energy return back to the World Qi to be used again, so elementalists do not need to worry about it"

"Continuing on, the Gathering stage occurs within your bodies, while the Movement stage occurs outside."

"The final stage is the 'Manipulation stage'. This where all elementalists should reach in order to use the elemental energy. All combatants should reach this stage. Though it is the final stage, it is infinitely hard to master and mastering how you can manipulate these energies will be all based on your effort"

After the brief introduction on the 4-stages, she continued discussing the process of the Sensing stage into much more detail

.....

The class ended after 3 hours

Dina returned to the central office and looked up the information of the students within the elementalist class.

After flipping the pages, her face became blank. She discovered something odd within the information, then a hint of disappointment was on her face.
"How can this be? I thought he would be outstanding but his growth rate is so low" Dina said to herself aloud

A figure behind her overheard her and looked over her shoulders, and saw the page. The figure quietly walked away

.....

After the class ended, most of the students started dispersing. Zachery and his group were looking towards Teo and Windle as they were talking with each other. They had an unsatisfied expression on their faces. They were suppose to be the elite of the elite, the center of everyone's attention but someone stole the limelight. After a while, the group quietly left.

Soon after Windle and Teo left. As they exit, they saw a bunch of senior students awaiting outside. They were all talking to the members of the elementalist class.

They were from different factions within the academy. Majority of them were 6th or 7th year students. Zachery and his group quickly passed through the crowd since all of them were already members of the Rizon faction. The new elementalists that didn't have a faction were quickly fought over by the seniors.

Of course, the biggest target of them all is Teo. If they could create a relationship with Teo, it would bring many benefits in the future.

When they saw Teo walking out they hastily approached

"Hello, I would like to introduced myself I am from the Blackshield faction.."

"Would you like to join my Blue River association?"

Many seniors started speaking at the same time. Teo became easily overwhelmed.

They also looked towards Windle but saw he was already a member of the Emerald Pavilion

Seeing that Teo was overwhelmed by the suddenly rush of people, Windle quickly stepped forwards and said in a loud voice "Seniors, my friend here is not interested in joining any faction yet. Please let us through"

A tall burly man pushed through the crowds. When the others saw this man, they all became quiet. "Junior, I think your friend should speak for himself. What gives you right to decide for him?"

The tall burly man had a number 7 on his sleeve as well as a small silver sword badge. He was a senior member from the Silver Sword Associations.

"Senior, my friend here has a connection with the Martial faction and he himself do not wish to join any faction" Windle looked at Teo, waiting for him to respond

"Indeed. Seniors, I do not wish to join any faction until I reach my 3rd year." Teo said loudly so that everyone could hear

The man was clearly disappointed and annoyed, but still gave a smile "Junior, if you ever change your mind about joining a faction, our Silver Sword Association will gladly welcome you with open arms. I am Nathan Ashbringer, I really hope you consider in joining the Silver Sword Association, with your talents you will definitely be given a high position"

Nathan did not fully give up on Teo. He knew that once he roped in Teo, their association's standing would catapult to 2nd and even after they graduated, being associated with a pure generalists would certainly bring many benefits.

Compared to the Silver Sword Association, the other recruiters' faction were not even worth a fart. Seeing how a senior member was leaving Teo alone, the rest of the recruiters decided to follow suit and give up.