Adam was eventually teleported to his room to avoid any of the unnecessary drama currently unfolding. His master had informed him not to think about anything besides focusing on his recovery. He also assured him he would take care of everything that needed handling.
And truth be told, Adam was too tired to think about anything else. He collapsed onto his bed moments after he appeared in his room. As he lay there silently staring at the familiar ceiling, his mind could not help but wonder back to the advice his master had shared with him.
The beatings and verbal abuse he had endured were more than enough to break most people. He had known there were people out there who were capable of doing such things. But never could he have imagined himself a victim of such a situation.
He had been ready to give up on everything he had ever envisioned for himself, ready to succumb to the cruelty of the world. But his master was right. If he broke under such weak circumstances, then he might as well end it all.
The path of evolution was not an easy one. Despite the agony and torment he had been through, a small part of him was grateful for the harsh lesson. He had been too shielded since he was born.
He hadn’t truly been baptised in the reality of what the world could do to a person. The world was a cruel place for the weak. Many had died simply because they had been weak and could not protect themselves.
’Staying weak is a luxury I cannot afford.’
Whoever had captured him could try again. When his master hinted that his capture was more than it seemed, he realised someone wanted him for reasons he could not fathom.
Those three elites he had humiliated might not even be involved at all; something else was at play. And he was not willing to just sit back and wait for them to try again. He silently made a decision to begin training in earnest starting tomorrow.
And as the seconds went by, his thoughts naturally drifted to his parents. With his phone destroyed along with his car, his parents would be unable to reach. He was willing to bet they were aware of his situation and were already on their way to Academic City.
He should have asked his master to contact them when he was with him. Unfortunately, the thought did not occur to him. Nevertheless, he would cross that bridge when his parents arrived.
Adam let out a tired sigh and shifted his focus to something else.
During the hours of brutal torture he endured, he had heard his system chime in his mind. At the time, he didn’t have it in him to take a look, as he was in a world of pain.
Bringing up his system, he first looked at his stats and noticed a few more improvements, particularly in the strength and vitality stats.
’Given what I’ve been through, it’s not that surprising.’
Adam flipped the stats page aside and opened the Knowledge Index. He looked through the various indexes, appreciating the minute increases across the majority of them. Further down the list was another newly unlocked index.
[Psychological:....2.98%]
<Emotions:....5.57%>
<Behaviour:.....1.23%>
<Persuasion:....1.89%>
<Cognition:.....1.45%>
<Resilience:....2.41%>
<Perception:....0.26%>
Adam looked at the index for several long seconds, as things were starting to look like a pattern. When he unlocked the Runic index, he had been forced into a situation where grasping its fundamentals was essential.
’Must I be shoved into such situations to unlock the other indexes as well?’
He didn’t like how things worked. It was like his life had to be in some kind of danger to trigger the unlocking of what he needed to grasp. What was wrong with grasping those concepts long before the danger arrived?
Closing the system interface, Adam closed his eyes and let out a sigh.
He didn’t have the energy to look into the sub-indexes under the newly unlocked index. Whatever it was that they each meant would eventually be grasped by him. For now, however, he needed his rest.
But first, a shower would do him some wonders.
***
After many hours of dreamless sleep, Adam woke up refreshed, the physical pain of the previous day forgotten. The time read 8:34 am in the morning. He hadn’t overslept or anything of the sort. Not that he had anything to do for the day.
The memories of what he had been through the past day flashed through his mind, almost instantly souring his mood. Clenching his fists, he stood and approached his closet.
He had made a silent promise to himself to begin training last night, and he had every intention of keeping his word. Putting on a set of workout clothes and other amenities he would need, he stepped out.
Several heads turned in Adam’s direction when he arrived on the ground floor. He had been the talk of the city since last night, and many had not even known he had returned to the academy.
Adam ignored the whispers and fingers as he made his way to the entrance/exit. Some of the people he had previously interacted with tried to catch his attention, but he simply nodded at them, neither speaking nor smiling.
With his car destroyed, he had no way of getting to the training facility besides using his feet. He broke into a jog as he made his way towards the facility. Eyes continued to follow his every move as people stared at him like he was some rare specimen introduced into society.
Half an hour later, he arrived at the academy’s training facility, and still faced the same staring problem. But Adam was already getting used to it since there was nothing he could do in that regard.
Based on the routine he had created on his first night at the dormitory, he began with weightlifting and some cardio to get his blood pumping. After an hour or so, he transitioned to martial arts training, going through the motions of the arts he had learned from his father.
The training helped him get his mind off things, his determination and desire to get strong burning brightly. Like this, he spent hours practising his martial arts, steadily improving his fundamentals.
"Adam Highstein?"
Hearing his name, Adam paused and turned. Before him stood one of the caretakers of the training facility.
"Yes?"
"You are to return to your dormitory. You have visitors."
Adam instantly knew it had to be his parents. He whispered a soft ’thank you’ to the caretaker and went to clean up.
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