Guardians Academy

Another thing he practiced was the Uta Form. Using Cyril's training arena in the Sphere, Cody was practiced lunges against the target dummy for hours on end. The dummy didn't seem to like that; it kept trying to dodge. The moment Cody took a step towards it, the dummy would try to avoid the inevitable stab that followed. The only way Cody could really hit it was if he struck as fast as he possibly could.

As quick as a thought, Cyril said. Cody remembered seeing Cyril strike like lightning. That was a truly fast move. If he himself could strike that fast, Kalen would have no chance!

***

When Monday morning arrived, Cody sneaked back into the Academy VR hoping not to meet Kalen. There was no helping it; he had class first thing in the morning, and was supposed to report to Multi-Purpose Hall 2 at First Light. That meant he had to get up early and make his way there before the sun even rose.

Fortunately, coming early did seem to have its benefits. Kalen wasn't anywhere to be seen. Cody didn't know what time Kalen logged in usually, but thankfully, he didn't seem to be on just yet. Cody darted through the quiet village and slipped into the hall without any trouble.

Inside the hall were six students, including Oren and Na'Sar, but no Kalen. At the far end of the hall, an older girl in colorful flashing clothes sat tapping away at a handheld datapad.

"Orb? How long until First Light?" Cody asked, then.

"First Light occurs in Initial Village one minute and thirty nine seconds from now."

"Great." Cody tried to relax, but kept glancing about in case Kalen just somehow showed up at the last minute. To take his mind off his own troubles, Cody asked Orb, "How are things in the village today? Any special events?"

"There are no special events today. Status of Initial Village SE-T3 is as follows; Current security level for Initial Village is measured at 44. Threat level is estimated at 32. At this ratio, safety for Initial Village is graded at Risky."

"Wait. What?!" Cody gaped. "How did the security drop so fast? How did the threat level rise so quickly? It's only been a few days!"

"Security levels drop with damages and deaths suffered by the village." Orb supplied. "Threat levels rise as present threats grow in strength."

"The threats grow?!" Cody gulped. Then, he thought back. "And you're saying that every time a building gets damaged or someone dies, the Security level drops? So whenever Riki blows something up and dies in the process…"

"Security levels drop accordingly." Orb confirmed.

"So what happens now that the safety is graded at Risky?" Cody asked.

"At this level, the Elder of the Village may invoke Yellow Alert. Security-related missions would have bonus rewards with more being offered while non-related missions would have reduced rewards and likelihood of being available."

"Oh. That doesn't sound too bad."

"Be warned, if safety levels continue to deteriorate, a Red Alert could be invoked and conscriptions may occur."

"Is that bad?"

"Conscripted personnel may be required to engage in battle at any time without any payment required."

"We'll have to fight without pay?!" Cody gaped. "That's not fair!"

"It is an emergency option that the Elder in charge may legally invoke under Red Alert status."

"So… it's all up to Elder T in the end?"

"That's right."

An alarm went off inside the hall, making Cody jump nervously. But apparently, it wasn't anything to worry about. The older girl in flashy clothes simply got to her feet and announced, "It's First Light! Time for class to begin. Gather around!"

They gathered.

"My name is Cyrita. Obviously, I'm from Ancayx." She said, gesturing at her clothes.

Cyrita's attire was a colorful mesh of advertis.e.m.e.nts. Both her long-sleeved T-shirt and jeans were covered with animated advertis.e.m.e.nts. Words, images and colors moved all over her clothes at every moment. Cyrita was literally a walking advertis.e.m.e.nt board. Was that typical of Ancayi? Cody suspected so.

"To avoid distracting you guys, I'm going to turn the ads off while class is in session." Cyrita added, and with that, the colors all over her clothes faded, leaving her with a comfortable black t-shirt and jeans. "That means I'm missing out on money I could be earning, so you guys better make this worth my while!"

Cody blinked, dumbfounded. "You get paid for wearing advertis.e.m.e.nts…?"

But Oren gave a more level-headed response. "Here's my payment. Fifty credits for the class fees."

Oh. So that was what she was asking for.

They paid their fees, and then class started in earnest.

Similarly to Vera, Cyrita started with having them sense their own Life Force. Unlike Vera, however, she wanted them to focus their Psuche in their muscles.

"The most basic Active use of Psuche is to boost strength. It's the easiest form of Channeling Life Force; simply focus it in your arm when you punch." She said. "I will guide you through the first few times, and then you should be able to do it on your own."

She laid a hand on Cody's arm. Soft yellow light gleamed. Cody suddenly felt a surge of energy in his arm.

Then, that Cyrita's energy drew Cody's own Life Force towards it like a magnet. When she took her hand away, Cody found that a good dollop of his Psuche was gathered in his right arm muscles.

"Add more power to it. Just follow the feeling you had earlier. It's easy." Cyrita advised.

She was right! Cody suddenly felt a bit miffed when he tried it and found it happen almost naturally.

Blast it, Vera! Why didn't you start with this?! It would have been so much easier!

Arms, legs, fingers, feet, even their backs and shoulders… Cyrita guided them to practice focusing Psuche in each of them.

"The process of moving Psuche through your body is called Channeling." Cyrita added. "There are many applications to it. Boosting muscle strength is just the beginning. Focusing Psuche to heal injuries is also possible. A more advanced use is to enhance your senses or internal organs with it, like your stomach, to absorb nutrients better. An even more advanced use is to channel Psuche outside your body, like a protective layer. But that's all for later. Right now, just practice focusing it and increasing the strength of your movements."

"How long would it be until we reach the protective layer stage?" Oren asked.

"If you practice diligently, you could reach it in an Earth year." Cyrita shrugged.

"How long is an Earth Year?"

"365 days."

"365 days? That's short!" Cody exclaimed.

"It would be enough, if you practice hard every day." Cyrita assured him.

"I don't know. The rate I'm going, I might take a Sabakan year instead." Oren g.r.o.a.n.e.d.

"How long is a Sabakan year?" Cyrita asked.

"517 days. We have seventeen months."

"That's long…" Cody gulped.

"Well, it's all up to you to practice from here on out." Cyrita waved, and turned her ads back on. "We're done for the day! Come back same time next week and let me see your progress! Practice hard, now!"

With that, she left them to it. The other students dispersed, leaving Cody alone in the hall, practicing, half because he wanted to progress further and half because he was worried he'd bump into Kalen outside.

***

Meanwhile, Riki went back to find Farmer Andrews. Time had stopped for this virtual world during the weekend, so according to Farmer Andrews, 'tomorrow' from last Friday was actually today.

Riki found him looking around his garden anxiously. The traps had all been triggered and tracks were everywhere, but Farmer Andrews seemed unusually worried this time.

"What's wrong?" Riki asked.

"It's my wife." Farmer Andrews said, looking around. "Have you seen her? She's missing."