章 21: Two faces

"Did you try to kill each other?" Bruce asked when he noticed Khan and Martha's state.

"It's just training," Khan replied while inspecting the two boys. "What about you? Did you even try to perform the moves?"

A faint laugh escaped Martha's mouth at that comment. Luke and Bruce had a few spots on their uniforms, but they were perfectly fine otherwise.

"These are only basic techniques," Luke snorted. "It's almost pointless to learn them since our future martial arts will most likely ask us to modify our habits."

"He is right," Bruce added. "Our families have already purchased martial arts suitable for our physique, and I bet that Martha also has something similar. Learning these low-level moves is quite pointless."

Khan turned toward Martha, and the latter nodded while revealing a helpless expression.

"My situation is a bit different," Martha explained. "My family has a few martial arts, but they don't really suit my height. I plan to change it here."

"Height?" Khan asked.

"I learnt how to use hammers!" Martha released a helpless sigh. "Both men and women in my family are usually tall and burly, so those weapons are fine for them. However, I need to match it with a martial art that has exceptional footwork to use it properly."

Martha was shorter than Khan. She was among the shortest in the special class. Hammers usually didn't have a good range, so her height could be an issue in a battle.

'I see,' Khan commented in his mind. 'She is preparing her body for the new martial art.'

"Where can I get one of those?" Khan asked. "I've never seen a martial art. I don't even know what it should look like."

"Martial arts usually are a series of moves that culminate into special techniques," Martha explained while the group began to leave the building. "The Global Army will provide you with a low-level one for free once your attunement with mana reaches the intended level."

"I suggest you avoid them," Luke quickly contradicted Martha. "You will only develop bad habits. It's better to start directly with a high-level martial art. You won't have to force your body to forget most of your training in that way."

"How can I even put my hands on high-level martial arts?" Khan asked.

"There are a few ways," Martha explained. "You can purchase them from the army through Credits or merits, find masters willing to take you under their wing, or-."

"Or you can ask me," Luke interrupted Martha. "My family has a large collection of martial arts. You should come to Ylaco with me when the semester ends. I'm sure I can find something suitable. You can even ask me for a loan and go in specialized shops otherwise."

Martha pretended not to see that interaction, and Bruce also let his gaze wander through his surroundings. Khan didn't miss their behavior, but he still pretended to be completely overwhelmed with gratefulness.

"That would be so great!" Khan exclaimed while wearing one of his brightest smiles. "I'll definitely rely on you then. Don't you dare to go back on your words."

Khan and Luke laughed after that exchange of words. They both felt satisfied with that interaction.

Luke ended up believing that Khan was already in his pocket, while the latter managed to keep that door open without establishing any deal.

"I'll return to my flat now," Luke announced. "We have a long day tomorrow, and I'm sure that Professor Norwell's lessons will only get harsher."

"I'll come with you," Bruce replied. "My flat is in the same direction anyway."

Khan maintained his smile and waved his hand as his friends turned, but Luke seemed to recall something at the last second.

"You should both visit the medical bay," Luke said. "Our bodies might be resilient, but it's better to deal with your bruises before tomorrow's physical lesson."

Luke and Bruce left after that reminder, and Martha and Khan waited for them to disappear around a corner before exchanging a glance. The duo ended up exploding into a laugh, but they still decided to follow that advice.

Martha and Khan chitchatted during the walk to the medical bay. It was already quite late, so they tried to hurry. Luckily for them, they found many free nurses inside the building, and they quickly applied a few cold lotions on their bruises.

Khan didn't get the chance to visit Doctor Ian Parket. He had a few questions about the attunement with mana, but he gave up on the matter after learning that the man had already left.

Martha waited for Khan outside of the medical bay, which slightly surprised him. He didn't expect her to refuse the chance to hit the bed sooner.

"You didn't have to wait for me," Khan grinned. "It's already nine pm. You can't go to the canteen anymore now."

"Only you would think about your stomach at this hour," Martha snorted.

"I don't need to," Khan replied while wearing a proud expression. "I already have a stash of food in my room."

"You are hopeless!" Martha shouted, but she ended up exploding into a laugh in front of Khan's funny expression.

'I have enough time to eat, meditate, and sleep,' Khan thought while looking in the direction of his dormitory.

Thinking about his bed worsened Khan's mood. His day had been fantastic, but his recurring nightmare would inevitably ruin it.

Martha noticed the sharp change in Khan's expression. The event left her sightly dumbfounded, especially since they were both laughing and joking just a second ago.

"How much of you is an act?" Martha said, but she quickly covered her mouth and tried to justify her words. "I didn't mean to do that. That had to remain in my head."

"What do you mean?" Khan snapped back to reality and revealed a fake smile. "I'm always myself."

Martha and Khan had yet to have a deep conversation. They had known each other for a mere week, and they had interacted for less than a day. Their friendship had barely begun.

"I'm too blunt at times," Martha tried to dodge that topic. "You don't have to think too much about my words."

"You are my sparring partner," Khan laughed. "I think I need to know a bit to trust you."

Martha frowned. Khan had basically said that he didn't trust her. She stopped caring about the politeness of her words at that point and began to speak her mind.

"You have two faces," Martha explained. "You often are the simple boy from the Slums who can't take anything seriously. Yet, you turn into a completely different guy whenever we talk about mana or aliens."

"I'm just curious," Khan laughed while trying to lie his way out of that topic. "You all know so much, and that's even normal for you. How can I not pay attention when you disclose some of your knowledge?"

Martha's eyes sharpened. She inspected Khan, paying special attention to his gestures. She couldn't find anything off in his behavior, but her instincts told her that something was off.

"I've been your sparring partner," Martha announced. "I have seen how you handle pain. You don't run away from it. You coldly accept it when it's necessary."

"Isn't that normal?" Khan laughed again.

"What did you even experience in the Slums?" Martha sighed. "I hope you'll trust me enough to tell me one day."

Khan wished to say something, but Martha raised her hand while shaking her head. She didn't want more lies. The girl even began to walk in the direction of her dormitory without caring if Khan was following her.

'Women are so sharp,' Khan sighed in his mind as he watched Martha's figure disappearing in the distance. 'I should just tell her about the Second Impact. That might keep her satisfied for a while.'

Martha was right, and Khan knew that. Part of him had broken after spending every night of the last eleven years dreaming about the worst day of his life.

His determination to learn how to use mana came from his desperation. Khan wanted to put an end to those dreams, but he was out of options. He had to meet the minimum requirements for the missions in the foreign planets and search for the remaining Nak.

That alien species was also incredibly strong, so Khan needed the power to hunt them. Working hard to obtain it seemed completely normal in his mind since his sanity was on the line.

'I'll try to find the right chance to reveal my Tainted status,' Khan decided in his mind.

Khan didn't feel any shame about his Tainted status, but he preferred to avoid disclosing that news. The recruits were different from the citizens of the Slums, but they would still treat him differently after learning about his role in the Second Impact.

'I guess I only want to feel normal,' Khan laughed in his mind. 'A normal sixteen years old boy who has survived the attack of a Nak and dreams about it every night.'

Khan ended up revealing a weak smile while starting to walk toward his dormitory. He didn't even know how to explain his nightmares to his peers. His mind went to war every night, and he always lost.

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章 22: Attunement

The lotions eased Khan's bruises in a single night. He could barely see them when he inspected himself after his usual morning shower.

The scar and the azure strands in his hair had remained the same. Khan could let go of the matter and leave the room to hit the canteen before the classes.

It was still early in the morning, so Khan didn't meet any of his friends. He could go to his familiar corner in the park near the main building while he waited for the lessons to start.

Martha didn't interrupt his meditation at that time, but he found her, Luke, and Bruce inside the first class. She had left a chair next to her empty even after the small discussion from the other day, and Khan could only smile at that sight.

"Don't think too much about yesterday," Martha whispered once Khan sat. "I always end up ignoring my friends' feelings when I get angry."

"Will you vent during the physical lesson?" Khan asked while revealing an honest smile.

"Definitely," Martha replied while showing her tongue, and the duo soon had to stop talking to focus on the lesson.

Professor Conche resumed his lesson about the history of mana. He went over a few interesting topics that the documentaries often ignored. He explained how the first wealthy families came to be.

"The Global Army had yet to establish political boundaries back then," Professor Conche explained. "It didn't have proper backers. It was just a name that humankind had created after the First Impact."

Luke and Bruce cracked some jokes about Professor Conche's belly, but Khan couldn't hear them through the headphones. Instead, Martha glared at them since she didn't want to end up in trouble.

"Ten large companies had survived the First Impact," Professor Conche continued. "Earth was nothing more than a wasteland back then, and those corporations held almost all the wealth available on the planet. The Global Army developed through them, and the world slowly returned to its previous splendor."

Professor Conche picked a pen from a drawer under him before snapping his fingers. The item flew across the vast hall and hit Luke at the center of his forehead.

"I don't care that the Cobsend family has ties with the ten noble families," Professor Conche grunted. "You will be silent during my class."

A wave of laughter spread through the room, and Luke hid his face in shame. Instead, Khan reevaluated Professor Conche after that throw. The soldier was only a first-level warrior and mage, but his power was far from human.

'Reaching the first level must feel great,' Khan commented in his mind while the lesson resumed.

"The world had transformed after the First Impact," Professor Conche explained. "The mana had changed the human society to its very core. The ten companies also had to wear a new face, so they became families. They obtained the "noble" title only after more families appeared on the planet."

The lesson quickly ended after that topic, but Professor Conche remained in the hall to prepare for his next class.

The second lesson covered the mana cores again, and Khan could add new information to his mind. Professor Conche went over specific details about the organic and synthetic cores, and he even showed stats that explained other important matters.

'Wow,' Khan exclaimed in his mind when he inspected the graph on his desk. 'Synthetic cores last ten years at best, but organic cores have a thirty percent chance to leave long-lasting injuries during an upgrade.'

Those numbers worsened when it came to multiple transplants. A soldier who wanted to get the second upgrade of an organic core would have a fifty percent chance to remain severely injured.

'No wonder the army tries to push everyone toward the synthetic cores,' Khan noted in his mind. 'The surgery is safer since they never completely fuse with the nape. The only problem is their cost and the slower pace in attuning a body with mana. Also, only the best A-tier can last for ten entire years.'

In theory, Khan didn't have to worry about mana cores. He already had the best on the market. However, it didn't hurt to improve his knowledge in that field, especially since he could lose his mana core during battles.

The second lesson eventually ended, and Bruce returned to his flat to take his usual nap. Luke imitated him while Martha and Khan hit the park near the main building and entered a meditative state without wasting time.

The duo moved to Professor Norwell's lesson once their alarms rang. The soldier made her class repeat the same exercise as the last time, and Khan and Martha ended up full of bruises again.

"You two are incredible," Luke commented after the end of the lesson when he noticed Khan and Martha's state.

"You didn't even sweat," Martha snorted. "I can't wait to see how you perform during our first mission."

"We'll already have access to mana by then," Luke laughed. "Everything will be different. Training so hard will make more sense."

"What's your attunement level anyway?" Bruce asked. "I have been sitting at seven percent for an entire week. I guess I'm not working hard enough."

Khan's eyes lit up at those words. He couldn't wait to hear what his friends had to say about that stat.

"Eight percent," Luke revealed proudly. "My professor back in Ylaco says that my growth has slowed down the attunement, but it should pick up speed now. I should hit twenty percent in a little more than a month."

"Ten," Martha revealed while wearing a taunting smile. "I checked it in the medical bay yesterday. I gained two whole points in a week."

Luke and Bruce showed surprised expressions, and Khan didn't forget to imitate them. Yet, various thoughts surged in his mind as he reviewed that conversation.

"Having an organic core sure sounds nice," Luke commented. "It even causes fewer problems since it develops with your body."

"Sounds like we are all going to gain access to mana in a bit more than a month." Bruce laughed. "I wonder how our classmates are. Maybe we should socialize a bit more."

"How did you even check your attunement yesterday?" Khan asked while interrupting that conversation and moving the attention on himself. "I thought Doctor Parket wasn't in the medical bay."

The trio wore helpless expressions when they heard those words. Luke even shook his head and heaved a loud sigh to express his feelings.

"You don't need the Doctor to check that," Martha decided to explain. "Any nurse can handle the scanner. It takes less than a minute."

"Please, Martha, help this poor boy," Bruce said in a poetic tone. "Show him the wonders of technology. You are going to the medical bay anyway, right?"

"I'll lead the way," Martha sighed before leaving toward the medical bay, and Khan followed her while waving his hand toward his friends.

"I'll ignore the fact that you switched topic before revealing your attunement with mana," Martha said after the duo remained alone.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Khan laughed. "You forgot about me. Your fault."

"I was actually waiting for that," Martha smirked. "I don't even know the quality of your mana core."

"My pride doesn't allow me to give up so easily," Khan sighed while placing a hand on his chest. "You hurt my little heart by ignoring me earlier."

"I'm starting to hate you," Martha snorted. "You know that we'll see the nurse together, right?"

Khan's expression froze for a second, and Martha laughed at that sight.

"What about privacy?" Khan asked.

"They literally scan you in a corridor," Martha continued to laugh.

"I'm ashamed of my body," Khan continued.

"You don't have to remove your clothes," Martha could barely spell words among her laughs.

"This is definitely abuse," Khan snorted while picking his phone. "Harassment in the Global Army is a serious matter. I can read the punishments if you want."

"What do you even have to hide?" Martha asked while taking deep breaths to suppress her laughs. "You should have a decent attunement even if your core is weak. You always meditate!"

'That's the issue,' Khan said in his mind.

Even Doctor Parket had remained surprised by his stats. Khan didn't dare to imagine what Martha would say when she saw them. He could sense that she was still pissed at him for keeping secrets and that feeling would only intensify if his attunement turned out to be too high.

"Just, promise me that you won't reveal the results to anyone," Khan said in an honest tone. "I have no backing, and Luke is already trying to recruit me in his future platoon. I want to keep some secrets until I know who I can trust."

That burst of honesty left Martha stunned. She didn't know how to react when Khan was serious. It was easy to talk with him when he acted like a sixteen-year-old boy, but she felt overwhelmed by his maturity during his stern moments.

"Does it mean that you trust me now?" Martha asked.

"I have confirmed that you don't have hidden intentions toward me," Khan laughed and reverted to his previous act.

Martha felt slightly disappointed that boy-Khan had returned, but she nodded to express her compliance. The duo remained silent during the walk toward the medical bay, and Martha quickly summoned a nurse to perform the scan once they arrived.

Khan felt slightly anxious even if he had no real reason to hide his talent. Still, the Slums had taught him that wealthy people with no protections were easy targets, and he felt like that inside the Global Army.

Khan didn't have money, but he was a valuable asset. Also, his nape hid an A-tier organic core. The training camp seemed peaceful, but he didn't know if some families would try to obtain it through illegal methods.

Truth be told, Khan knew almost nothing about Ylaco's political environment. The camp seemed the complete opposite of the Slums, but human nature didn't change according to the environment.

Bad men could exist everywhere, and Khan was all alone. His father couldn't do much in his position, so he preferred to remain careful about his interactions with the other wealthy kids. The scuffle on the first day had been a mistake that he didn't want to repeat.

"There must be a problem with this device," The nurse said while reading the scanner in her hand. "I'll take a new one and perform the scan again."

Khan's anxiety increased after that announcement, but Martha remained clueless about the whole situation. She simply waited for the result while wearing a curious expression.

The nurse eventually returned and performed the scan again. She moved her device across Khan's back, and a beeping noise finally came out of it.

"Oh," The nurse exclaimed while reading the device, but she remained silent afterward.

"What is it?" Martha asked as her curiosity was about to burst.

"It says here that his attunement is already past fifteen percent," The nurse explained. "It should reach sixteen tomorrow at this pace."

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