Chapter 163: 162 - Bump
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Huh...? Where am I? What happened?
I sat up with a slight groan, before stiffening as it all came flooding back to me...th-that was all a dream, right? Yeah, it had to be!
I looked around, letting out a sigh of relief as I saw that I was in my room...okay, great, it was definitely a dream, otherwise I wouldn't be at home!
Hm? Wait a sec, why am I wearing my outgoing clothes? Whenever I'm at home, I wear loose, comfy clothes...at home, I never wear the clothes I put on when I go outside, especially not when I'm sleeping. H-hold on, was it a dream or not!?
Wait, that's it, my inbox! If I check my messages, I should figure out what happened! Oh, wow, it's past midnight already...I must have been more tired than I thought I was, I'm still pretty drowsy. I stifled a yawn as I opened my inbox...
No messages from my sister...can't tell if that's a good sign or not. What about from Ruby-...huh, a whole bunch of messages. I'm getting a really bad feeling about this, a rising sense of dread. Hm, if I delete the messages, then it'll be like it never happened, dream or not...
No, that won't work, I'll only end up driving myself crazy if I leave that uncertainty to fester...okay, then, here goes, I really don't want to, but...I might as well rip off the band-aid! I took in a deep breath and held it with a sense of dread, before I tapped on Ruby's chat icon, opening her messages...
'Great! Just come right in, the door's unlocked.'
...shit. It wasn't a dream. Do I...do I scroll down? Damn it...I have to...
'Really sorry...in my head, after you showed up, I was going to be in the middle of an awesome sibling threesome! But, uh...it didn't go how I imagined, sowwy.'
Goddammit...
'Ella said she's taking you home, but she's kinda mortified so she'll probably leave before you wake up and probably won't message you either. Just in case you're confused when you regain consciousness!'
So that's how I got home...wait, did she carry my unconscious body all the way here? That couldn't have been easy...
'Sorry again, I honestly didn't think you'd straight up pass out. I'll make it up to you sometime, promise!'
Yeah, you'd better. Okay, one more message, let's see what it says...
'Btw, how was it? I know you got a good look! Did you get turned on, seeing me playing with your big sister's pu...'
Delete. Delete, delete, delete! Damn it, what is wrong with her!? Next time, I'm going to get real rough against her to make up for this...I think I might be traumatized.
No, scratch that, I'm sure that I'm traumatized! Enough, I can't take this anymore...I'm going to sleep, and if I can't fall asleep, I'll just have to knock myself out...!
...
...
Ugh...I had nightmares all night. Shit. I sat up and got out of bed with a yawn, stretching my arms up. Well, despite the bad dreams, it feels like my body got some decent rest, so that's something, at least.
What time is it? A little past 2 PM...been a while since I slept this long. No wonder I feel physically well-rested, even if my mind is all messed up.
Hm? Oh, looks like I've got a couple of missed calls from Director Silva. Let's see, she called me about half an hour ago...wonder what she wants? I called her back as I stifled a yawn, rubbing my eyes lazily. She picked up after a few rings...
"Hello, Director Silva? You called?" I greeted her with another stifled yawn.
"Your voice...are you just now waking up?" Came her voice through the speaker.
"Yeah, yesterday was kinda rough," I sighed in reply.
"Really? I thought the exam went relatively smoothly for you," She responded in surprise.
"It did, yeah, but that's not what I'm talking about. Never mind, it's not important. So, did you need something?" I asked her, as I rubbed my left eye.
"Well, I'm meeting with Katie Cummins in about an hour, I was just wondering if you wanted to come? It's about the Manifestation Surge, I wanted to see it for myself and understand how it works so that I can help other X-Warriors master it too...are you interested? I know your next exam is tomorrow, so you don't have to. It'll only be for about an hour, since Katie will also want some time to rest before the exam," Explained Director Silva.
Hm...I can't say that I'm not interested. And with what happened yesterday, I desperately need something to take my mind off...what happened yesterday.
"Sure, sounds like it could be interesting, I'll be there. I'll be at your office in a bit," I replied affirmatively.
"Great! See you then," She responded, before hanging up.
Well, guess I should get ready, I only just woke up, after all...
...
...
"Hey, how's it going?" I greeted Katie, as she entered the room.
I'd made it to Director Silva's office about five minutes ago, Katie had been running a bit late so I ended up arriving before her. She'd just walked in now, Director Silva had been looking a little restless and impatient until this point, but she was all perked up now.
"Oh, you're here too, Kilzachs," She responded, before shutting the door behind her.
She looks a little worn out, I could see it in her eyes.
"You seem like you're pretty tired...you alright?" I asked her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just need a little more sleep," She replied in her usual monotone, her eyelids drooping slightly.
"Ahem, uh...shall we go to the underground facility? I mean, uh, the sooner we get this done, the sooner you two can go back home and rest before your exam tomorrow," Spoke up Director Silva, not doing a very good job of hiding her impatience.
"Fine by me, let's get started," I responded affirmatively.
"Me too, no problem," Added Katie with a nod.
Barely able to contain herself anymore, the director wasted no time in getting us up on the teleportation platform and teleporting us to the underground facility, before rushing us to one of the training spaces.
"Calm down, director, you look like you're about to pop a blood vessel," I remarked in amusement.
"I'm not-...! Ahem, I have no idea what you're talking about," She responded, clearing her throat before calming down a bit...but not much.
We then reached the training space and walked in, Katie making her way to the middle while Director Silva and I hung back by the sidelines.
"I heard that your new form is supposed to be really fast...so to start with, could you transform and then move around at your top speed?" Requested Director Silva with a gleam in her eyes.
"Okay, sure," Katie replied with an affirmative nod, before closing her eyes and focusing, channeling her XFE into the spot between her shoulder-blades...and then suddenly opened her eyes, as she chanted, "."
Her XFE wrapped around her body like armor, extending from behind into a tail and wings, as a row of spikes formed down parallel to her spine and along the length of her tail, before finishing up by the XFE wrapping around her head and forming the shape of a dragon's head and jaws.
"Oh, fascinating...," Director Silva muttered to herself, her eyes widening slightly with a look of excitement in them.
I kept a close eye on Katie too...let's see how much I can keep up with her speed by sight. Her knees then bent slightly, as she got ready to zip forward, and then, in the blink of an eye, she zoomed across the space at a rapid pace, all I could see was a flash, an electric blur zipping around.
Damn...my eyes can't keep up with it, she's way too fast. Manifestation Surge...it's on a completely different level to Manifestation Overdrive. I'm guessing it takes the same amount of XFE as Overdrive, but Surge compresses and maintains that amount instead of burning through it in large-scale attacks.
It may consume the same or similar amount of XFE, but the difference lies in the potency and intensity...suddenly, Katie came to a halt, reverting to her normal state with a quiet sigh.
"Wow...that was incredible, you were barely even a blur to my eyes!" Exclaimed Director Silva, after a brief moment of shocked silence, "How do you keep up with that speed?"
"Oh, my eyes adjust to the speed. It almost looks like everything around me isn't moving when I'm at full speed," She replied, rubbing the corner of her right eye while her lower lip quivered as she tried to stifle a yawn...huh, that's kinda cute...
"You know, not to sound arrogant or anything, but all this time, I considered myself to be the strongest in our class, especially with my time stopping power. Actually, it's more accurate to say that I was confident that I could beat any of our classmates in a one on one fight...but if you rushed me in your Manifestation Surge form, I doubt that I'd be able to recite an activation chant in time, so I probably can't defeat you now, even if I use all the tricks I've got up my sleeve," I admitted wryly.
"What about your next form? You've been trying to channel your XFE between your shoulder blades too, right? Did it work?" Inquired Director Silva curiously.
"I'm close-...or at least, I think I am. For days now, it's felt like I'm only one step away, but right when I get a bit closer than before, I lose control," I sighed in frustration.
"Hm, well, keep at it, you'll reach it eventually," She replied encouragingly.
After that, Katie revealed a few more aspects of her abilities in her new form, before Director Silva reluctantly suggested that we end this for today, since our next exam is tomorrow and all.
We teleported back to her office, before Katie and I left, heading for a Teleportation Point in order to return to our respective quadrants...it was still only the afternoon, but I think I'll spend the rest of the day relaxing and lazing about at home.
"So, you ready for the next exam? How's your temporary team working out?" I asked her, as we headed back.
"Yeah, I think I'm ready. As for my team, well...I have no problem working with Lin, but...Tairo is a real piece of work," She sighed in response, a slight look of irritation in her usually blank expression, before she stumbled slightly, her shoulder bumping onto mine.
Wow, she must really be tired...and now she looks a bit embarrassed, averting her gaze and trying to play it off as she moved away a bit.
"Heh, that's an understatement. Mine's about the same, Kiran is fine, if not a bit lazy, and Bytra is a nightmare," I replied with a sigh.
"Well, hopefully once this is over, we'll never have to team up with the likes of them again," She stated wistfully.
"Don't jinx it...but yeah, I think I just might straight up drop out of the Academy if I'm paired up with either of them again," I responded with a wistful smile, as we reached the teleportation point, "Well, I guess I'll see you after the exam tomorrow. Good luck, Katie."
"Thanks...," She replied, before holding her fist out towards me, "And good luck to you too."
I paused for a moment in surprise, before letting out a slight chuckle...
"Heh, gotta say...offering a fist bump so seemingly emotionlessly is kinda eerie...," I grinned, before tapping her fist with mine...
_____________________________________________
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!
Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.
Join the Discord server, I plan to tease upcoming chapters and future story arcs here, and you can also discuss or ask me any questions about the story and characters. Use the invite link to join:
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Huh...? Where am I? What happened?
I sat up with a slight groan, before stiffening as it all came flooding back to me...th-that was all a dream, right? Yeah, it had to be!
I looked around, letting out a sigh of relief as I saw that I was in my room...okay, great, it was definitely a dream, otherwise I wouldn't be at home!
Hm? Wait a sec, why am I wearing my outgoing clothes? Whenever I'm at home, I wear loose, comfy clothes...at home, I never wear the clothes I put on when I go outside, especially not when I'm sleeping. H-hold on, was it a dream or not!?
Wait, that's it, my inbox! If I check my messages, I should figure out what happened! Oh, wow, it's past midnight already...I must have been more tired than I thought I was, I'm still pretty drowsy. I stifled a yawn as I opened my inbox...
No messages from my sister...can't tell if that's a good sign or not. What about from Ruby-...huh, a whole bunch of messages. I'm getting a really bad feeling about this, a rising sense of dread. Hm, if I delete the messages, then it'll be like it never happened, dream or not...
No, that won't work, I'll only end up driving myself crazy if I leave that uncertainty to fester...okay, then, here goes, I really don't want to, but...I might as well rip off the band-aid! I took in a deep breath and held it with a sense of dread, before I tapped on Ruby's chat icon, opening her messages...
'Great! Just come right in, the door's unlocked.'
...shit. It wasn't a dream. Do I...do I scroll down? Damn it...I have to...
'Really sorry...in my head, after you showed up, I was going to be in the middle of an awesome sibling threesome! But, uh...it didn't go how I imagined, sowwy.'
Goddammit...
'Ella said she's taking you home, but she's kinda mortified so she'll probably leave before you wake up and probably won't message you either. Just in case you're confused when you regain consciousness!'
So that's how I got home...wait, did she carry my unconscious body all the way here? That couldn't have been easy...
'Sorry again, I honestly didn't think you'd straight up pass out. I'll make it up to you sometime, promise!'
Yeah, you'd better. Okay, one more message, let's see what it says...
'Btw, how was it? I know you got a good look! Did you get turned on, seeing me playing with your big sister's pu...'
Delete. Delete, delete, delete! Damn it, what is wrong with her!? Next time, I'm going to get real rough against her to make up for this...I think I might be traumatized.
No, scratch that, I'm sure that I'm traumatized! Enough, I can't take this anymore...I'm going to sleep, and if I can't fall asleep, I'll just have to knock myself out...!
...
...
Ugh...I had nightmares all night. Shit. I sat up and got out of bed with a yawn, stretching my arms up. Well, despite the bad dreams, it feels like my body got some decent rest, so that's something, at least.
What time is it? A little past 2 PM...been a while since I slept this long. No wonder I feel physically well-rested, even if my mind is all messed up.
Hm? Oh, looks like I've got a couple of missed calls from Director Silva. Let's see, she called me about half an hour ago...wonder what she wants? I called her back as I stifled a yawn, rubbing my eyes lazily. She picked up after a few rings...
"Hello, Director Silva? You called?" I greeted her with another stifled yawn.
"Your voice...are you just now waking up?" Came her voice through the speaker.
"Yeah, yesterday was kinda rough," I sighed in reply.
"Really? I thought the exam went relatively smoothly for you," She responded in surprise.
"It did, yeah, but that's not what I'm talking about. Never mind, it's not important. So, did you need something?" I asked her, as I rubbed my left eye.
"Well, I'm meeting with Katie Cummins in about an hour, I was just wondering if you wanted to come? It's about the Manifestation Surge, I wanted to see it for myself and understand how it works so that I can help other X-Warriors master it too...are you interested? I know your next exam is tomorrow, so you don't have to. It'll only be for about an hour, since Katie will also want some time to rest before the exam," Explained Director Silva.
Hm...I can't say that I'm not interested. And with what happened yesterday, I desperately need something to take my mind off...what happened yesterday.
"Sure, sounds like it could be interesting, I'll be there. I'll be at your office in a bit," I replied affirmatively.
"Great! See you then," She responded, before hanging up.
Well, guess I should get ready, I only just woke up, after all...
...
...
"Hey, how's it going?" I greeted Katie, as she entered the room.
I'd made it to Director Silva's office about five minutes ago, Katie had been running a bit late so I ended up arriving before her. She'd just walked in now, Director Silva had been looking a little restless and impatient until this point, but she was all perked up now.
"Oh, you're here too, Kilzachs," She responded, before shutting the door behind her.
She looks a little worn out, I could see it in her eyes.
"You seem like you're pretty tired...you alright?" I asked her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just need a little more sleep," She replied in her usual monotone, her eyelids drooping slightly.
"Ahem, uh...shall we go to the underground facility? I mean, uh, the sooner we get this done, the sooner you two can go back home and rest before your exam tomorrow," Spoke up Director Silva, not doing a very good job of hiding her impatience.
"Fine by me, let's get started," I responded affirmatively.
"Me too, no problem," Added Katie with a nod.
Barely able to contain herself anymore, the director wasted no time in getting us up on the teleportation platform and teleporting us to the underground facility, before rushing us to one of the training spaces.
"Calm down, director, you look like you're about to pop a blood vessel," I remarked in amusement.
"I'm not-...! Ahem, I have no idea what you're talking about," She responded, clearing her throat before calming down a bit...but not much.
We then reached the training space and walked in, Katie making her way to the middle while Director Silva and I hung back by the sidelines.
"I heard that your new form is supposed to be really fast...so to start with, could you transform and then move around at your top speed?" Requested Director Silva with a gleam in her eyes.
"Okay, sure," Katie replied with an affirmative nod, before closing her eyes and focusing, channeling her XFE into the spot between her shoulder-blades...and then suddenly opened her eyes, as she chanted, "."
Her XFE wrapped around her body like armor, extending from behind into a tail and wings, as a row of spikes formed down parallel to her spine and along the length of her tail, before finishing up by the XFE wrapping around her head and forming the shape of a dragon's head and jaws.
"Oh, fascinating...," Director Silva muttered to herself, her eyes widening slightly with a look of excitement in them.
I kept a close eye on Katie too...let's see how much I can keep up with her speed by sight. Her knees then bent slightly, as she got ready to zip forward, and then, in the blink of an eye, she zoomed across the space at a rapid pace, all I could see was a flash, an electric blur zipping around.
Damn...my eyes can't keep up with it, she's way too fast. Manifestation Surge...it's on a completely different level to Manifestation Overdrive. I'm guessing it takes the same amount of XFE as Overdrive, but Surge compresses and maintains that amount instead of burning through it in large-scale attacks.
It may consume the same or similar amount of XFE, but the difference lies in the potency and intensity...suddenly, Katie came to a halt, reverting to her normal state with a quiet sigh.
"Wow...that was incredible, you were barely even a blur to my eyes!" Exclaimed Director Silva, after a brief moment of shocked silence, "How do you keep up with that speed?"
"Oh, my eyes adjust to the speed. It almost looks like everything around me isn't moving when I'm at full speed," She replied, rubbing the corner of her right eye while her lower lip quivered as she tried to stifle a yawn...huh, that's kinda cute...
"You know, not to sound arrogant or anything, but all this time, I considered myself to be the strongest in our class, especially with my time stopping power. Actually, it's more accurate to say that I was confident that I could beat any of our classmates in a one on one fight...but if you rushed me in your Manifestation Surge form, I doubt that I'd be able to recite an activation chant in time, so I probably can't defeat you now, even if I use all the tricks I've got up my sleeve," I admitted wryly.
"What about your next form? You've been trying to channel your XFE between your shoulder blades too, right? Did it work?" Inquired Director Silva curiously.
"I'm close-...or at least, I think I am. For days now, it's felt like I'm only one step away, but right when I get a bit closer than before, I lose control," I sighed in frustration.
"Hm, well, keep at it, you'll reach it eventually," She replied encouragingly.
After that, Katie revealed a few more aspects of her abilities in her new form, before Director Silva reluctantly suggested that we end this for today, since our next exam is tomorrow and all.
We teleported back to her office, before Katie and I left, heading for a Teleportation Point in order to return to our respective quadrants...it was still only the afternoon, but I think I'll spend the rest of the day relaxing and lazing about at home.
"So, you ready for the next exam? How's your temporary team working out?" I asked her, as we headed back.
"Yeah, I think I'm ready. As for my team, well...I have no problem working with Lin, but...Tairo is a real piece of work," She sighed in response, a slight look of irritation in her usually blank expression, before she stumbled slightly, her shoulder bumping onto mine.
Wow, she must really be tired...and now she looks a bit embarrassed, averting her gaze and trying to play it off as she moved away a bit.
"Heh, that's an understatement. Mine's about the same, Kiran is fine, if not a bit lazy, and Bytra is a nightmare," I replied with a sigh.
"Well, hopefully once this is over, we'll never have to team up with the likes of them again," She stated wistfully.
"Don't jinx it...but yeah, I think I just might straight up drop out of the Academy if I'm paired up with either of them again," I responded with a wistful smile, as we reached the teleportation point, "Well, I guess I'll see you after the exam tomorrow. Good luck, Katie."
"Thanks...," She replied, before holding her fist out towards me, "And good luck to you too."
I paused for a moment in surprise, before letting out a slight chuckle...
"Heh, gotta say...offering a fist bump so seemingly emotionlessly is kinda eerie...," I grinned, before tapping her fist with mine...
_____________________________________________
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!
Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.
Join the Discord server, I plan to tease upcoming chapters and future story arcs here, and you can also discuss or ask me any questions about the story and characters. Use the invite link to join:
https://discord.gg/sRbx9VbTVP
Huh...? Where am I? What happened?I sat up with a slight groan, before stiffening as it all came flooding back to me...th-that was all a dream, right? Yeah, it had to be!I looked around, letting out a sigh of relief as I saw that I was in my room...okay, great, it was definitely a dream, otherwise I wouldn't be at home!Hm? Wait a sec, why am I wearing my outgoing clothes? Whenever I'm at home, I wear loose, comfy clothes...at home, I never wear the clothes I put on when I go outside, especially not when I'm sleeping. H-hold on, was it a dream or not!?Wait, that's it, my inbox! If I check my messages, I should figure out what happened! Oh, wow, it's past midnight already...I must have been more tired than I thought I was, I'm still pretty drowsy. I stifled a yawn as I opened my inbox...No messages from my sister...can't tell if that's a good sign or not. What about from Ruby-...huh, a whole bunch of messages. I'm getting a really bad feeling about this, a rising sense of dread. Hm, if I delete the messages, then it'll be like it never happened, dream or not...No, that won't work, I'll only end up driving myself crazy if I leave that uncertainty to fester...okay, then, here goes, I really don't want to, but...I might as well rip off the band-aid! I took in a deep breath and held it with a sense of dread, before I tapped on Ruby's chat icon, opening her messages...'Great! Just come right in, the door's unlocked.'...shit. It wasn't a dream. Do I...do I scroll down? Damn it...I have to...'Really sorry...in my head, after you showed up, I was going to be in the middle of an awesome sibling threesome! But, uh...it didn't go how I imagined, sowwy.'Goddammit...'Ella said she's taking you home, but she's kinda mortified so she'll probably leave before you wake up and probably won't message you either. Just in case you're confused when you regain consciousness!'So that's how I got home...wait, did she carry my unconscious body all the way here? That couldn't have been easy...'Sorry again, I honestly didn't think you'd straight up pass out. I'll make it up to you sometime, promise!'Yeah, you'd better. Okay, one more message, let's see what it says...'Btw, how was it? I know you got a good look! Did you get turned on, seeing me playing with your big sister's pu...'Delete. Delete, delete, delete! Damn it, what is wrong with her!? Next time, I'm going to get real rough against her to make up for this...I think I might be traumatized.No, scratch that, I'm sure that I'm traumatized! Enough, I can't take this anymore...I'm going to sleep, and if I can't fall asleep, I'll just have to knock myself out...!......Ugh...I had nightmares all night. Shit. I sat up and got out of bed with a yawn, stretching my arms up. Well, despite the bad dreams, it feels like my body got some decent rest, so that's something, at least.What time is it? A little past 2 PM...been a while since I slept this long. No wonder I feel physically well-rested, even if my mind is all messed up.Hm? Oh, looks like I've got a couple of missed calls from Director Silva. Let's see, she called me about half an hour ago...wonder what she wants? I called her back as I stifled a yawn, rubbing my eyes lazily. She picked up after a few rings..."Hello, Director Silva? You called?" I greeted her with another stifled yawn."Your voice...are you just now waking up?" Came her voice through the speaker."Yeah, yesterday was kinda rough," I sighed in reply."Really? I thought the exam went relatively smoothly for you," She responded in surprise."It did, yeah, but that's not what I'm talking about. Never mind, it's not important. So, did you need something?" I asked her, as I rubbed my left eye."Well, I'm meeting with Katie Cummins in about an hour, I was just wondering if you wanted to come? It's about the Manifestation Surge, I wanted to see it for myself and understand how it works so that I can help other X-Warriors master it too...are you interested? I know your next exam is tomorrow, so you don't have to. It'll only be for about an hour, since Katie will also want some time to rest before the exam," Explained Director Silva.Hm...I can't say that I'm not interested. And with what happened yesterday, I desperately need something to take my mind off...what happened yesterday."Sure, sounds like it could be interesting, I'll be there. I'll be at your office in a bit," I replied affirmatively."Great! See you then," She responded, before hanging up.Well, guess I should get ready, I only just woke up, after all........."Hey, how's it going?" I greeted Katie, as she entered the room.I'd made it to Director Silva's office about five minutes ago, Katie had been running a bit late so I ended up arriving before her. She'd just walked in now, Director Silva had been looking a little restless and impatient until this point, but she was all perked up now."Oh, you're here too, Kilzachs," She responded, before shutting the door behind her.She looks a little worn out, I could see it in her eyes."You seem like you're pretty tired...you alright?" I asked her."Yeah, I'm fine. Just need a little more sleep," She replied in her usual monotone, her eyelids drooping slightly."Ahem, uh...shall we go to the underground facility? I mean, uh, the sooner we get this done, the sooner you two can go back home and rest before your exam tomorrow," Spoke up Director Silva, not doing a very good job of hiding her impatience."Fine by me, let's get started," I responded affirmatively."Me too, no problem," Added Katie with a nod.Barely able to contain herself anymore, the director wasted no time in getting us up on the teleportation platform and teleporting us to the underground facility, before rushing us to one of the training spaces."Calm down, director, you look like you're about to pop a blood vessel," I remarked in amusement."I'm not-...! Ahem, I have no idea what you're talking about," She responded, clearing her throat before calming down a bit...but not much.We then reached the training space and walked in, Katie making her way to the middle while Director Silva and I hung back by the sidelines."I heard that your new form is supposed to be really fast...so to start with, could you transform and then move around at your top speed?" Requested Director Silva with a gleam in her eyes."Okay, sure," Katie replied with an affirmative nod, before closing her eyes and focusing, channeling her XFE into the spot between her shoulder-blades...and then suddenly opened her eyes, as she chanted, "."Her XFE wrapped around her body like armor, extending from behind into a tail and wings, as a row of spikes formed down parallel to her spine and along the length of her tail, before finishing up by the XFE wrapping around her head and forming the shape of a dragon's head and jaws."Oh, fascinating...," Director Silva muttered to herself, her eyes widening slightly with a look of excitement in them.I kept a close eye on Katie too...let's see how much I can keep up with her speed by sight. Her knees then bent slightly, as she got ready to zip forward, and then, in the blink of an eye, she zoomed across the space at a rapid pace, all I could see was a flash, an electric blur zipping around.Damn...my eyes can't keep up with it, she's way too fast. Manifestation Surge...it's on a completely different level to Manifestation Overdrive. I'm guessing it takes the same amount of XFE as Overdrive, but Surge compresses and maintains that amount instead of burning through it in large-scale attacks.It may consume the same or similar amount of XFE, but the difference lies in the potency and intensity...suddenly, Katie came to a halt, reverting to her normal state with a quiet sigh."Wow...that was incredible, you were barely even a blur to my eyes!" Exclaimed Director Silva, after a brief moment of shocked silence, "How do you keep up with that speed?""Oh, my eyes adjust to the speed. It almost looks like everything around me isn't moving when I'm at full speed," She replied, rubbing the corner of her right eye while her lower lip quivered as she tried to stifle a yawn...huh, that's kinda cute..."You know, not to sound arrogant or anything, but all this time, I considered myself to be the strongest in our class, especially with my time stopping power. Actually, it's more accurate to say that I was confident that I could beat any of our classmates in a one on one fight...but if you rushed me in your Manifestation Surge form, I doubt that I'd be able to recite an activation chant in time, so I probably can't defeat you now, even if I use all the tricks I've got up my sleeve," I admitted wryly."What about your next form? You've been trying to channel your XFE between your shoulder blades too, right? Did it work?" Inquired Director Silva curiously."I'm close-...or at least, I think I am. For days now, it's felt like I'm only one step away, but right when I get a bit closer than before, I lose control," I sighed in frustration."Hm, well, keep at it, you'll reach it eventually," She replied encouragingly.After that, Katie revealed a few more aspects of her abilities in her new form, before Director Silva reluctantly suggested that we end this for today, since our next exam is tomorrow and all.We teleported back to her office, before Katie and I left, heading for a Teleportation Point in order to return to our respective quadrants...it was still only the afternoon, but I think I'll spend the rest of the day relaxing and lazing about at home."So, you ready for the next exam? How's your temporary team working out?" I asked her, as we headed back."Yeah, I think I'm ready. As for my team, well...I have no problem working with Lin, but...Tairo is a real piece of work," She sighed in response, a slight look of irritation in her usually blank expression, before she stumbled slightly, her shoulder bumping onto mine.Wow, she must really be tired...and now she looks a bit embarrassed, averting her gaze and trying to play it off as she moved away a bit."Heh, that's an understatement. Mine's about the same, Kiran is fine, if not a bit lazy, and Bytra is a nightmare," I replied with a sigh."Well, hopefully once this is over, we'll never have to team up with the likes of them again," She stated wistfully."Don't jinx it...but yeah, I think I just might straight up drop out of the Academy if I'm paired up with either of them again," I responded with a wistful smile, as we reached the teleportation point, "Well, I guess I'll see you after the exam tomorrow. Good luck, Katie.""Thanks...," She replied, before holding her fist out towards me, "And good luck to you too."I paused for a moment in surprise, before letting out a slight chuckle..."Heh, gotta say...offering a fist bump so seemingly emotionlessly is kinda eerie...," I grinned, before tapping her fist with mine..._____________________________________________Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.Join the Discord server, I plan to tease upcoming chapters and future story arcs here, and you can also discuss or ask me any questions about the story and characters. Use the invite link to join:https://discord.gg/sRbx9VbTVP
