20 Days Later
"Done!"
With a thud, Sam threw his only bag on the study table and threw his body onto the bed. With his eyes staring at the ceiling, he sighed.
"All done!"
In this world, everything remained the same, though the concepts differed, and he had successfully given the Matric examination.
The subjects were Social Studies, Science, Math, Biology, and Rune. Though Rune and Social Studies were totally different, their concepts enticed him more because Rune concepts looked more like programming.
'Maybe the foundation of coding can be used in Rune.'
In these 20 days, he also accumulated 26,000 U.C while consistently spending 6 hours every day refining the spiritual fire ganoderma. At the same time, he maintained a diet of 5 Kiwi fruits per day, and his Rune energy became so refined that he could intuitively feel he could manipulate the Rune energy as he wished, though reality might differ.
After calmly spending some hours on the bed, Sam got up and took a breath while glancing out of the window.
'Evening...'
'So early!'
Clearing his head, his eyes roamed to the study table, and he sat down after getting up from the bed.
Unfolding the pages of the notebook, the pen danced in his hand.
These days, he had been busy refilling his memory with history and Rune subject books since he couldn't recall all the content left by the previous owner. All of this was sometimes refreshing, sometimes exhausting, but now he knew that he had done superbly in all the exams, though the math concepts of the 10th standard were vast. He could easily compare them to many advanced topics of IIT, which already came under it. But that was easy for him. The one main thing that shocked him was the Normalization and Linear Interpolation concepts. Though they were easy for him, these topics refreshed his mind and motivated him to study more because he was now excited for his upcoming Rune Association Intermediate College.
Shaking off all these thoughts, he had already decided that his first Runic ability would be Fire, but the Rune of which monster was still undecided. He needed to research, and it would be better to wait for Intermediate College since there would be many options.
After running through all his thoughts about the future, his pen struck the pages:
Join any training institute [2 hours]
Refining [6 hours]
Exercise [2 hours]
This routine almost gave him nightmares because these past 20 days had been spent without proper sleep, but somehow managing his time, he had finally done it. Today, all the rest were accomplished, and he was just waiting for the results.
Getting up from the table, he decided to go for an evening walk. Plus, it would be beneficial if he could find a training institute along the way.
"Hey, Sam!"
Sam's eyes alerted, and he inadvertently glanced behind but quickly gave a faint smile.
"Going out for a walk?"
"Oh!"
With a graceful gait, he stepped out of the hostel and strode toward his destination.
After strolling for about 5 minutes, he entered the flea market.
'This is my first tour.'
Numerous fresh fruits and vegetables were being sold, and many food stalls were lined up across the road.
Sword Training Center
A simple worn-out layout on a whiteboard hung on the wall. The wall structure bore cracks, and the paint had faded, losing its effect.
A faint smile caressed his face.
"Let's go for a trial!" muttering under his breath, he entered and knocked on the door.
"Is somebody here?"
Creak!
The door faltered, and a refined man with a rough beard appeared before his sight.
"Sword training?"
Sam nodded his head as he noticed the man might not have shaved his beard for about two months, and it had grown out unevenly. His face exuded a sharp glare, but the energy he emitted made him look lazy.
"Follow me!"
The man spat out the words, and Sam followed him carefully while analyzing the surroundings.
A wide verandah.
'This may be the training area.'
On the left side, Sam followed the man, who took the stairs.
"The ground floor is mainly for training."
'As I expected.'
Sam's eyes widened as soon as he ascended to the first floor.
Numerous swords were mounted on the wall, reflecting light that flashed back and forth.
"This floor is used by those who are selected on the ground floor."
"Can I touch them?"
The man gave a stern glare.
"It's okay... I was just excited." Sam gulped and forced out a smile.
"You can."
Swish!
Sam stood before the sword, staring with sparkling eyes.
"Am I in a historical era?"
Excitedly, he unmounted a sword, and his fingers traced over the sharp blade.
'So, is this how it feels!'
The sharp edge reflected his face, looking sharp enough to split anything.
'This feeling!'
The tip! The handle!
Sam's fingers traced over every detail like a monkey with a new toy.
Calming his body, he mounted the sword back on the wall.
"What is the procedure for registration?"
The bearded man also unmounted a sword, and words escaped his mouth.
"If you choose to wield this sword, then I warn you again—change your mind!"
"No need. I'm ready!"
The bearded man's eyes changed for a split moment, and Sam suddenly felt like he was facing a cold, freezing wind crashing against his body.
He shuddered but soon stood bravely without blinking his eyes as if his will were manifesting itself to resist the chilling wind, but he miserably failed.
Thud!
Sam kneeled on the ground with a pale face as if he could wither at any moment.
The bearded man shook his head.
"You are not ready. Go and find your reason for using the sword."
Sam stared blankly at the floor.
'My resolve isn't ready?'
"Is my resolve so weak?"
Raising his head with a pale face, he asked.
"I want to register myself in this training center."
"Okay, as you wish. 30,000 U.C per month."
Taking a deep breath, Sam resisted the urge to squash the bearded man alive. Before coming here, he had already researched, and even though he knew he was being scammed, he nodded.
"Okay. I'll pay half now and half at the end of this month."
The bearded man just nodded his head.