BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

A week passed since Erik enrolled at the Red Palace, and things were progressing smoothly. Most of the training was in the morning, and he liked his training time with master Nieminen.

The Flyssa was a great sword, suitable for slashing but also for stabbing, and it complimented his power quite well. It was definitely better than using random branches he picked randomly from the forest.

Erik also noted that the sharpness he provided with his power added to the blade, which meant that whenever he acquired a superior weapon, he would be even more powerful than before.

As for his Flyssa, Master Nieminen actually asked him to give it a name. Erik thought about a name for almost a week as he wanted to give the blade a name fitting for his purpose but also wanted it to strike fear. In the end, he decided to call it Heartseeker. It seemed appropriate for a weapon that was going to kill thaids.

Erik was training with Master Nieminen as he had already followed Master Rook's martial art class. The two were using real blades in order to get accustomed to it.

"You must keep your arms up!" Master Nieminen said.

Erik then slashed, trying to follow his master's instructions.

"Not like that! Stop for a second. I will show it to you again..."

Master Nieminen then went into stance and performed a vertical slash. The move was beautiful yet imposing, reflecting a vicious fighting style that his teacher created herself. It was called Crypt of the desert style. As its creator intended, the style had minimal movements, as it tried to mimic the stillness and peace that a crypt actually had.

Its only movement was when one raised an arm forward to attack, making the whole thing seem like a statue moving slightly.

"Now, watch how my hands move." Master Nieminen started by slowly extending her left hand while handling her Flyssa, which became a blur within seconds.

"Now, do it."

Erik tried to repeat what the teacher just showed. Still, it was clear that wouldn't be easy despite having that much dexterity already. The young man couldn't cheat his way out as he did with martial arts; he had to sweat here. As Erik continued practicing, he started getting frustrated that his movements were not as fast or as precise as his master's.

However, despite his feelings, the young man kept exercising, and soon the sparring resumed.

"Good! Now rotate your wrists!"

Erik did as instructed, and he was able to disarm his master. Of course, she let him do that for the sake of learning.

She explained that rotating the wrist properly meant that there was no need to twist the elbow too far back. With proper rotation, all the force could go directly through the palm. This allowed the sword wielder to control where he or she wanted the opponent's weapon to go.

"There is another important detail when executing this move..." said Master Nieminen, "and that has to do with the grip. You have to hold the handle firmly between your thumb and index finger, but make sure that you don't squeeze too hard so that your fingers won't lose flexibility," the woman said.

"Ok, I got it..." Erik said, and like that, this second lecture ended. However, Master Nieminen wasn't done with the young man. As the awakener was putting his sword away, Master Nieminen suddenly addressed him.

"Erik."

"Yes, Master?"

"A week already went by as you joined the Red Palace, and as you know, we left you alone this week to give you time to get used to this place. However, starting by this week, you will have to start fighting for the inner-ranking positions," Master Nieminen said.

"Yes, I'm aware..."

"And you should also be aware that your match is tomorrow, am I right?" the master asked.

"Yes, I am..."

"Good. Do you feel ready?"

"I guess... I don't think I will be able to use my weapon, but I will try it nonetheless. What really worries me is that I won't know who my opponent will be until tomorrow," Erik said.

"Yeah, fighting unknown enemies is nerve-wracking. I know that feeling well," she said while looking at her student behind her glasses. Erik was surprised by that statement; however, it was clear that despite being a Red Palace master today, she had to be a newbie just like him in her youth.

"You too, Master?"

"Of course, I wasn't born knowing how to handle a sword, and my power is not as good as the others may say..."

"If it is not too much, mind sharing what your power does?" Erik asked his teacher.

"Yeah, it is not that big of a deal. I can simply manipulate weight. This isn't that useful in many situations. Still, it is an A-ranked power on the Jorm scale since, by decreasing my weight, I can improve my speed a lot, and by increasing it, I can boost the damage I deal in the same way."

"It looks like a cool power to me," Erik said.

"It is, but I actually needed a weapon to inflict serious damage. What I could do at most was to make other creatures so heavy as to stop them from moving, but that was the best I could do at the time. It is different now, obviously, but I had my share of hardships in the past."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Erik said.

"Nevermind, it's in the past now. Ok, let me give you a word of advice: if you want to win against someone stronger than yourself" —she paused for a moment—"don't fight head-on. Instead, search for any opening they may have. During the test with Master Walker you didn't exploit even a single one..." the teacher said.

"Sorry, master, but it is not that easy for me to notice them..."

"I know, but try to pay attention to them. During this week, I tried to train you in doing so, and sometimes you could take advantage of them."

"All right, I will do my best..."

"Good, now you should go to the weightlifting class... Don't be late."

"Yes, master."

With that, the young man left the Yellow Palace and headed to the Red one. As usual, he had to take the bus to get there, and as he did so, he found all his friends already on board.

"You took your time..." Amber said to her friend.

"Yeah, sorry, I had a chat with Master Nieminen and was a little bit late," Erik replied.

"You are very lucky to be the sole student of Master Nieminen. I'm just the fifth with mine," Floyd said.

"Who is your master?" Erik asked.

"Viktor Hartwin, spear master."

"How is he?"

"Meh... He is good with the spear but not that much good at teaching. Professor McAllister was better, to be honest," Floyd replied.

"If I were you, I would refrain from badmouthing your own master," Gwen said.

"Yeah… Yeah. Don't worry, bro," Floyd said, addressing Gwen like a male.

After a short trip, the group finally arrived at the Red Palace, and one by one, they took the elevator to reach the first floor and headed to the gym. Everyone remembered where to go to reach the place by now, so they didn't have particular problems going there.

However, as soon as they stepped inside the room, they saw countless students training. There were at least three hundred people inside the gym, but since each year had its own schedule, it wasn't hard to find a spot to train.

The group of friends decided to exercise together. Since Anderson, Erik, Aaron, and Mikey were going to train their back and shoulders, they decided to work out together. The others, in turn, did their own training separately.