Chapter 22: 22. Iron Body
As I watched Claudia, she stood on the stage and prepared to conjure a small fireball, which was the extent she could manage at her level.
As I watched her, I endured the peppery sensation rousing in my eyes.
My eyes started to feel drier and itchy by the second.
Yet, I couldn't just blink nor look away.
This discomfort was the cross I, alone, had to carry.
My eyes burned from staring for too long as she prepared to cast her fireball then.
I couldn't afford to miss anything, not even one millisecond of the entire process.
Tiny vessels were visible in the white of my eyes as they slower got redder but still, I couldn't take my eyes away from her.
…Not until she was done.
'Fuck!'
I clenched my jaws and grimaced, enduring the uncomfortable sensation.
Soon she was done and I blinked.
I've never thought that blinking would be so relieving at this point.
Perhaps, it hurt because this event would be recorded as the first usage of [Jack of all Trades] to this current body of mine.
My mind had memories of me using my skill several times but my real body was doing so for the first time.
I subtly rubbed my eyes, soothing the pain.
"Are you okay, man?" Bright asked, having noticed how much I was rubbing my eyes for some seconds now.
I didn't answer.
After a few more seconds passed, I looked at him with my right eye moderately reddened and the left slightly flushed as I confidently smiled.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
Bright furrowed his brows.
Obviously, he didn't buy such a clumsy reply but he could not dispute it either, so he shrugged and faced forward.
"If you say so."
I covered my right eye with my hand and looked forward.
It wasn't over yet.
I wasn't sure if I still had enough visual tenacity in my eyes to see through the next process but I had to.
This opportunity of having various skills displayed before me was not something that easily came by.
I had to make the most out of it despite the cost.
'Now for Theo,' I said in my head as I slowly gasped from the just concluded strain I had to endure.
He gave the people around the sidelong glances to make sure no one was particularly fixated on me.
Then, I began to control my breathing, making it as natural as possible.
I didn't want any unnecessary distraction, especially not with Bright almost finding me out earlier.
"Theo Ferron," the instructor called the young man forward as Claudia made her way back to the line.
The handsome young man brushed his permed black hair with his right hand as he stepped closer to the Instructor.
Theo was certainly full of himself.
Maybe he believed himself to be the most handsome or something but whatever he was doing with his face and lips right now made me feel like trashing him.
Here I was, burning my eyes to watch him feel too good about himself.
Like the rest before him, he placed his hands on the Tablet after wasting some time.
The Tablet turned dark grey, signifying that he was moving to the next station.
After a short conversation with the Instructor, Theo stepped back for a demonstration of his ability and of course, I was watching from the crowd of Trainees.
Theo folded his hands into fists, clenching them a bit too hard as he gritted his teeth.
His facial expression was like that of someone about to force some stony hard shit out of his butthole, even I feared that he might wet his pants anytime from then.
A second later, a deep, glistening, dark grey, or more like a darker shade of silver, substance manifested around his wrists like a band.
From his wrists, the substance travelled both up and down at the same time, covering his entire hands and going up his forearms until they reached his shoulder and extended beyond it a little bit.
Immense struggle was evident on Theo's face as he struggled to get the substance much more beyond his shoulder but couldn't and eventually gave up.
"That's enough," the instructor halted the boy while recording his finding on his tablet.
He had noticed how much the trainee was straining himself and had to intervene.
Cough–! Cough–!
I immediately fell forward in shock as I started to cough, prompting Bright and Cassandra to swiftly come to my aid.
"Are you okay, Lux?" Cassandra asked in a worried tone.
My heart skipped several beats and my entire body felt a surge of painful impulses in an instant that caused me to lose my balance.
The strain of [Jack of all Trades] was a lot for my current body to bear.
Of course, I did eventually get used to it in the past but right now, it seems I have to make plans of doing that earlier in this lifetime.
I held Cassandra's hand that she placed on my shoulder and looked her in the eyes.
"Your eyes, Lux!" she blurted out in shock.
"...They are red."
"I'm fine," I said, shaking my head. "Don't worry. I'm just a bit sick with a severe headache."
"You are not okay, Luxane."
"I agree with Cassie, man," Bright added. "You don't look okay at all."
"I said I am fine," I established with a stern demeanour while managing to stand back up.
Bzzt–!
[You have acquired a new skill — Iron Body]
Yes!
I had done it.
I had registered a second skill for the day and that was good. But I had also reached my limit for the day.
Thanks to the stage I was at, I couldn't do more than two.
I remained still, trying to calm myself as Bright and Cassandra's words went through one ear and out of the other.
When they noticed that I wasn't paying attention to them anymore, they stopped and left me alone.
For Bright, I knew he'd give up but with Cassandra, I wasn't going to hear the end of it.
Her stopping right now didn't equate to the matter not being brought up just after we left this place.
…But nothing a CHOCO! brand of chocolate bar won't solve with her.
I just have to buy a basket of it and give her my sincere apology along with it and it's case closed from there.
I chuckled inwardly.
Chapter 23: 23. Beast Transformation
Bzzt–!
'Status.'
—––
[Profile]
Name: Luxane Enstar
Skill: Jack of all Trades
Stage: Ore Stage
Step: Initial
Essence: 56/200
—––
[Statistics]
Strength: 16
Agility: 16
Focus: 24
—––
'Skill details.'
—––
Skill: Jack of all Trades
Skills Acquired: 6/10
—––
Abandoning what was happening in the present, I drifted away in thought as I gazed upon my status window.
In the course of ten days, I had learned some tangible things about the Cube ID which I had missed.
It had slipped past my radar but now, I noticed that it didn't account for lost Essence.
Instead, it only displays my profile when my body is at full health.
Simply put, the Cube ID functioned as more of a Progress Monitor than a sentient companion.
Its operations were nothing compared to the Hunter Exo Suits which were more sentient, almost like a partner to a hunter.
I had also managed to acquire six skills from different persons while those had been fairly easy because no one knew what kind of Skill I possessed, it was a painful process still.
One that required that I use eyedrops like I had already done a few seconds ago after making a copy of Theo's [Iron Body].
Additionally, from my calculations and speculations, I should be ahead in Essence points, making me the closest to the Intermediate Step of the Ore Stage among the already awakened trainees.
I used the advantages at my disposal to make my way to the top, becoming the strongest among the First Year Trainees currently.
Don't get me wrong though.
I am not neglecting the possibility that some recruits may have figured out how to gather Essence on their own, especially those birthed into strong Hunter Families like the Kenton, Emberton and so on.
Most certainly, I expect people like these to have made some reasonable progress.
*********
A few more people went for their appraisal and it continued until it was mine and Cassandra's turn.
"Sarafina Crow."
"Cassandra Enstar."
"Luxane Enstar."
…
I suddenly felt a nudge on my shoulder which snapped me back to reality.
"Huh? What?"
Bright kissed his teeth and looked at me worryingly.
Apparently I had missed my name and a few seconds had passed since I was called.
"They've called you, man. Hurry up!
Realising, immediately, what had happened, I hurried towards the stage.
Luckily for me, Sarafina and Cassandra were yet to reach the platform, leaving me a few steps to catch up.
Sarafina, being the first of the three of us, walked forward and registered her skill.
As a member of the Crow Family, her skill had not been a surprise.
A transformation type skill that allows her to disperse her body into crows.
The number of crows and the extent of control was dependent on what she wanted as the user of the skill.
It was impressive and somewhat suited for espionage as her senses were linked to the black birds in the case of a partial transformation.
It was a versatile skill.
Cassandra, on the other hand, had a beautiful skill that allows her to manipulate ice.
Cold… and yet, captivating to the eyes that beheld it.
When she performed her demonstration of her skill called [Dead of Winter], everybody was left in awe at the beauty of the shapes she had formed from ice.
There was this natural shine to her technique that stole away all the attention.
Even the unruly Eric Marvice and the few stern-faced instructors couldn't help but break character and smile.
"Hihihi," Cassandra laughed sheepishly, her face turning rosy as she hurried back to where we stood in the line.
I heaved a sigh since it was my turn after her.
It was like calling an average jester to come after a star had performed and had the crowd wild.
Left to me, I didn't want to do this but I had no choice.
I stepped forward and placed my hand on the Tablet and it gave a positive reaction.
"What is your ekill?" the instructor asked.
Wasting no second, I gave him an answer that had come from several analyses of my acquired skills which led to choosing one skill that would benefit me for the longest time since I have to openly stick with whatever skill I mentioned.
"Super strength and beastly transformation" I answered and looked at Cassandra and Sarafina as she hopped away.
"...Nothing as fancy as theirs."
"A double skill? Hmm," the Instructor breathed as he scratched his chin and looked at German and Eric.
Imitating him, I looked at the Head Instructor and his Deputy as well to gauge their narration.
They understood the message which the instructor had passed and from the reaction on their faces, only Eric Marvice seemed impressed with my fake double skill.
'Tch!' I snorted in my heart.
Commending Cassandra's exhibition, I alternated my gaze between her and the instructor's.
"Can we get a demonstration?" he asked, not even sparing a look my way as his eyes were briefly immersed into his tablet.
Click–! Click–! Click–!
I bobbed my head and then took about five steps away from the Instructor.
Taking in two deep breaths as I shut my eyes, I spread out my fingers as they slowly extended beyond the tips, turning into what could be likened to small claws.
The tone of my muscles increased as they tensed and hardened more than they usually were.
…My beastly transformation was starting.
Revealing my full beast form could have been intimidating but I didn't complete it.
I could only do a partial transformation.
Even with that, I still couldn't keep it up for quite long.
The moment my eyes turned from blue to golden, I felt my heart pound harshly against my ribcage like it wanted to burst out.
Thu-Thump–! Thu-Thump–!
With that hard pounding, I was forced out of the incomplete transformation as I lowered my body, clutching my belly and gasping for air.
"I see," the instructor commented and opened his device and inputted some details.
All the while, I had my eyes on Terrence as he stood in front.
I wanted to know if I was someone worth his while this time around and yet…
Yet I couldn't get any reaction from him.
I couldn't say if he was disappointed or impressed.
His face was simply listless.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
0 Power
stone 
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