Chapter 30- Focus

Kaito went back underground, but he didn't know whether to go straight to the testing room or to the infirmary. More than that, he was really confused about why the professor Caligan hadn't gone with him, since he still had a class to teach and a class that was waiting for instructions from him. Still he chuckled to himself. In a short time he had met another very peculiar person, and he was just another one of several he met there.

Walking around and thinking many things, Kaito found himself standing in front of the infirmary. He stopped for a moment and stared at the dimly lit hallway door for a moment. The smell of Amara's sweet, slightly citrusy perfume was present in that space, and it made him somewhat nostalgic. He poured many drinks sensing that same smell. It was a welcoming perfume.

"Seeing your shadow out there is pretty weird, Kaikai!"

Amara's voice came from inside the room and all the questions in the boy's mind were gone at once. Kaito opened the door and saw that Amara was lying on one of the beds fiddling with her cell phone while sucking on a lollipop. The cleric looked at the boy, gave a yawn and sat down on the bed cross-legged with an expression of pure boredom.

"What does my most precious boy want with me?"

"Look, on other days I would crack out a joke and take my time getting to the point, but today I can't. Professor Caligan said I have one week to improve my stamina so I can use more skills and for longer. I still have to help my team get stronger for the battle twelve days from now." Kaito said, pulling up a chair and sitting on it with the backrest forward, "Can you help me, Amara?"

Kaito noticed that the cleric's eyes changed for a moment. It was as if she had been startled a little. She stared at him for a moment, thought without saying anything, and then leaned back on one arm.

"And why do you think I, a drunkard, can help you, Kaikai?"

"I don't know. Professor Caligan said you knew something that could help me. And I also know that you know something. You're the one who helped me get stronger the first time."

"I just told you the basics, kid. Knowing how your enemy fights and training is something anyone can do."

"You know that's not true, Amara. You didn't tell me to do exercises, you showed me how to fight against the high classes and ranks!" exclaimed Kaito "Why don't you want to teach me?!"

Amara stared into the boy's gray eyes, pondered to herself, and slowly leaned in close to him.

"Are you sure this is what you want? Once I teach you this, everything will change. You already attract a lot of attention, and I even wish you'd be quieter, but after this, Kai, there's no way they won't notice you. Do you really want that?"

Kaito saw in the woman's eyes that she was serious, and it scared him a little. It was unusual to see Amara act like that, and it made him uncomfortable. Still he would have to answer and he would never back down.

"I know you and the others don't mean me any harm, and I also know that this world doesn't want to see me win, but I still want to get stronger, Amara." said the boy closing his fist and facing the cleric in front of him "I want to prove to myself that I am strong!"

Amara stared at him for a while longer, as if examining the truth in everything he had said. Finally she shrugged and lay back on the bed with her hands behind her head.

"If this is what you really want, then I will help you, my dear. But I'll make it clear to you that I'm not going to train you! The most I can do is give you some advice, and that's it! Are we clear?" she said with her eyes closed, as if she were talking to the walls.

"If it's good advice, it helps a lot. As a matter of fact, I'll take any help I can get." said the boy, dragging his chair closer to the cleric.

"So... let's make you understand what you need to get at. Tell me, Kaikai, how do you activate your powers?"

Kaito thought about answering right away, but something in him didn't make it certain that he actually knew the answer. Still he had to say something.

"I think of an ability and make my blood act like the class I want."

"Okay. That's almost right. But what happens when you overuse it?"

"I get tired. My consciousness feels like it's going to fade and I feel like I'm going to pass out."

"Do you get out of breath or something? Does your body hurt? What happens?"

"No, my body stays normal. After I trained my body I became more resilient, so it always looks really good. Now my head...everything seems to spin and becomes unfocused. It's a huge fatigue, but I don't get out of breath or anything."

The cleric opened her eyes and lay on her side, facing the boy with a clever smile. At first Kaito didn't understand, but something seemed to light up in his mind.

"That's it... the problem is not physical endurance, but my mind!" he said excitedly.

"Exactly, my little Kai!" exclaimed the cleric sitting up at once and pointing the lollipop at him "The mind commands the body, and it's not a bit different with skills. You activate the blood, it works as it should, but it's the mind that handle all that energy. The body and mind of a normal class is made to hold its skills, but you are not like that. You can use any skill you have understood and received."

Amara stood up and picked up a small dummy that she used to get patients to point out where they were feeling pain.

"If a warrior mashes your face using their weight of blood..." she punched the dummy in the face "your body and blood will learn that! If a rogue speeds up the blood and breaks your leg with a kick..." she bent the dummy's leg "Your blood will copy that! If a mage sets fire to your di-"

"Okay, Amara! I get it! My body copies what it gets and I can activate the abilities because my mind tells the body to do it."

"That's it! You activate with your mind and your body follows suit! But if the mind can't handle it, then you black out. Is that clear?" asks the cleric as she sits back down on the bed.

Kaito wondered where she had learned so much about F ranks, but something in the cleric said she would not answer. Even getting that little hint was hard enough. Seeing that he had learned more things, Kaito realized that he still didn't have an answer.

"Okay, I understand that the problem is my mind. But how do I strengthen it?"

"Simple, sweetie, you're going to get off your butt, sit down and meditate. You just meditate while activating your blood. That's the first step."

"Just meditate? That's it?"

"You think meditating is easy? You'll be surprised how hard it is to stay focused. But that's not all, Kaikai, you need to activate the blood you want and see how far you can take it. Write it down and do it again with the same class. It will get better little by little. After it holds up well, let's say at least an hour, you can continue the training with the activated blood, but now using the skills. Just do that and it will work out."

Kaito couldn't believe it could be so simple, but he wasn't going to doubt it either. From what little he saw, Amara seemed to know things that many only dreamed of knowing. She was a mysterious woman beyond what he could comprehend.

"But that's strange...I've always trained using the skills. Still I get tired."

"No, no, no, sweetie. You trained using several skills together to beat people you shouldn't even be facing right now. What I told you to do is to train one skill only and get used to it. When you are tough enough you can use another one. Each one will be like learning to walk again," the cleric corrected.

Kaito pondered everything that was said and affirmed to himself. The cleric must have been right. Well, at least he had to try before he could even say anything.

The boy stood up feeling more confident than he could possibly do. He looked tenderly at the cleric and said with a smile filled with gratitude.

"Thank you, Amara! This will really help me!"

Amara didn't answer right away. Kaito noticed that again her gaze was changing. It was as if she lost herself for a moment as she looked at him, and the next moment returned to herself. But this reaction was somewhat different. He could be wrong, but it seemed that the cleric was briefly teary-eyed.

"You're welcome, my dear! But I'll only give you this one tip. Now turn around and grow up on your own!" she said lowering her gaze.

Kaito could question her for several things, but he wouldn't do it now. It looked like she was not doing well. The boy nodded and soon went to the door to leave, but before he could leave, Amara caught his eye.

"Kaito, as much as I have taught you this, you need to have the notion that people like us are never going to be high ranks. Our power will always be low, and even with a lot of training that won't change. So study your opponent, train your body, and fight well! There's always a way to catch up to these idiots!"

"I know that. To tell you the truth, the fun is in it. It's great to see a low rank put a high rank in his place! I guarantee I'll do it, Amara!" replied the boy looking at the woman.

"Look at that, what a beautiful confidence you have!" praised Amara laughing "and what about your class? Are you going to want some help?"

"You can leave that to me! With the plan I have, class D won't lose any battles!" said Kaito overcome with enormous confidence.

Kaito nodded once more and left the room, leaving the cleric alone. Amara stood staring at the door and her gaze was lost, as if she had let something valuable go. She gave a heavy sigh and went to her desk, opening the drawer and taking out a very old and used small notebook with the name Lance written on the cover in a very strong black pen.

"You still have no idea what your blood is capable of, my dear.... When you discover all you can do you will turn this world upside down...and when that day comes I will be prepared to make you greater than you can imagine."