Flora ran away from the fight until she finally reached the academy. Since there were plenty of Gifted there, she figured it would be the safest place.
Once she arrived, she found Henry and stayed with him until a staff member informed her that the fight was over.
"He escaped? How can he attack us at headquarters and make it out alive?"
Flora paced in her apartment while Henry lay on the couch, asking questions that he obviously couldn't answer.
They stayed in a building made for students attending the academy. Usually, there would be a pair of Gifted in here, but they made an exception for Henry. There were two bedrooms, a living room, and a bathroom. It was an upgrade from their previous apartment in every aspect. The furniture was new, all the appliances worked, and it was bigger as well.
"Maybe you should stay in the academy for a while," Henry suggested. "No one would dare attack a student with all the professors here."
He was right. While most of the Gifted here are students with weak fighting power, the professors are no joke. On top of that, one of the Triarchs lives in the Academy as an extra security measure!
This Triarch is Derek, the Oblivion.
Flora had only seen him once during a large sparring session with almost every student. Although Derek wasn't a part of the academy, he showed up to watch these students fight the professors.
He could barely be called a middle-aged man, his short black hair and long beard showing signs of grey. His expression was always serious and cold, and he didn't speak a word the entire time.
Derek's terrifying ability was called Oblivion. It was the power to make someone forget a concept for a period of time. For example, he could make an enemy who fought with a sword use his fists instead, like he didn't even know what a weapon was. He could make someone forget to breathe, causing them to pass out mid-fight.
On top of that, his strength was unreal. Of course, these were all rumors. Flora had never seen him fight before. But as terrifying as the Triarch sounds, it was reassuring to have him around.
"Whatever, I'm late for my class. The training grounds are also filled with Gifted, so I should be safe there too. Be back here by 7:00 for dinner, ok?"
He rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be here."
Henry had a habit of staying in the library for far too long.
After saying goodbye, Flora got on a special bus for Gifted that took them outside the City walls to the training grounds.
Although it was technically outside the City, it was still considered a part of it. It was located on a small peninsula west of the City; it extended directly off the walls, so there was no way to get there from the Outskirts. The other three sides were heavily guarded by warships in the water, preventing Abominations from setting foot there.
The training grounds was a flat, barren land covered in dirt and rubble. The buildings that were there before were all destroyed and removed, making it a perfect spot for training.
On the bus ride there, Flora's thoughts moved from the assassin to what she had been learning in class. Her specific trainer had an ability similar to hers and opened her eyes to the possibilities.
'Instead of releasing the light right away, I should try to hold it together for longer. If I can materialize it, I can create my own weapons with my power!'
Her trainer's name was Ashley, who had the ability to summon fire. Just like Flora, she started out by releasing it in small attacks, but then was able to conjure it for longer and create objects out of it.
If abilities weren't prohibited here, Flora would be practicing on the bus.
They arrived at the City gate in around 20 minutes. Besides Flora, there were a few other Gifted that she had seen before, yet never spoke to. She wasn't into socializing that much.
Flora walked through the gate and into the training grounds. Immediately, she could hear the sounds of battle coming from countless fights. While professors fought students to teach, there were also student vs student duels that were held.
Massive tents were set up throughout the area, some made for private lessons and others being used as necessary buildings. She approached one and entered through the flaps.
"Flora, you're late."
In front of her stood a secretary where one would go to start a lesson. Further inside the tent, you'd find rooms where you could sit down with your trainer and talk. Then, you would head outside to train and spar.
"A lot happened today, sorry. Is Ashley still here?"
The young secretary glanced at the computer and answered without looking at Flora.
"Go to room 12."
"Flora! Where the hell have you been?"
Ashley stood up from her desk, towering over Flora and showcasing her defined muscles. She had short, red hair and blue eyes, and a bit of a temper. However, her control over her ability was phenomenal; therefore, Flora chose her to train under. She was also a great teacher.
"Well… I was kind of in the middle of an assassination."
Since the attacker's motives are still unclear, Flora could only assume it was an assassination attempt.
Ashley's eyes widened.
"Tell me everything."
Flora began to describe all the events since Ryan took her to headquarters. Although she left before seeing the conclusion, he heard that it ended once a Triarch showed up.
Ashley listened intently while Flora spoke, not saying a word until she finished. But, Flora swore she saw Ashley's eyes flicker when she mentioned Greye disappearing.
"I heard something happened in The City, but I never thought you'd be in the middle of it. Are you sure you want to train today? They will probably bring you back tomorrow for more questioning about the incident."
Flora had already considered this.
"Yes, that encounter made me ever more eager to grow stronger."
Smirking, Ashley grabbed her spear, a gold weapon from a very special Abomination.
"Then let's get started."
Outside, Flora and Ashley picked a small area to begin her training.
"The first section of our session will pick up from where we left off last time. I want to see how you've improved at sustaining your light without releasing it."
Remembering last time, Flora was barely able to suppress her light for a second before it exploded. Although she couldn't use her ability outside the training grounds, she had thought of new ways to approach it and was confident she would make progress.
Flora raised both her arms and faced her palms towards each other, like she was carrying a pot.
'This time, I'll try summoning my light between both my hands. If I can contain it, it will already be an improvement.'
Seeing Flora try this, Ashley was surprised. She didn't teach Flora any tricks, but this was precisely what Ashley first started out with!
A bright, golden light appeared between Flora's hands. It started off the size of a marble, but slowly grew until it reached the size of a fist. She did this cautiously, only using a small amount of her power.
One of the most critical things Flora learned in the academy was Compression. This was a topic discussed in a class only for Gifted with specific abilities, such as Flora's. The key to growing her ability was to concentrate her light so that it grows stronger in a smaller space. In other words, she is changing the quality of her light.
As a Gifted's physical body grows stronger, they will need to advance their ability to keep up. This looks different for everyone since all abilities are unique. Ryan, for example, would have a much different time improving his ability than most Gifted.
However, Flora's progression is pretty straightforward. On top of mastering her control, she needs to absorb as much sunlight as possible and even more. This will eventually increase how much her body can hold. She also needs to release the maximum amount of light and push harder, which will increase how much she can unleash. Lastly, she needs to learn to compress her light so it becomes more deadly and easier to use.
Boom!
The ball of light in her hands suddenly exploded, sending Flora flying to the ground.
Ashley laughed.
"Ha ha! I think that's a new record! What was it, four seconds?"
Flora stood up, glaring at Ashley.
"Shouldn't you be encouraging me?!"
Four seconds was already a huge improvement, but on top of that, she also compressed her light further than she had ever before.
If the first beam of light Flora had ever shot was 100%, the light she just produced was around 300%. This meant that in the same amount of space, her light had become 3 times more dense, thus 3 times more powerful! This was compression, and the key to her growth.
"Yes, of course, your quality had grown stronger. But you still have a long way to go."
Ashley lifted her finger and summoned a small violet flame. She extinguished it immediately, only maintaining its state for half a second, but a wall of heat still hit Flora.
"My flames started out red, then blue, then slowly turned into this violet color. This is around 1500% of my original flames, making the temperature unbearable for some people. I even had to suppress the heat so you wouldn't get burned."
Flora wiped sweat off her forehead, imagining what color her light might turn into.
"You've tripled your light's quality since you've obtained your ability, a remarkable feat, but it gets much harder the more compressed it is. Now, I want you to keep that same quality for as long as you can."