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.
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"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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