Chapter 14: WHY?
Amon walked a step ahead of Medichi. Medichi was much, much taller than him. Amon had thought Medichi was like the crowd of people he liked to hang out with. The type of people who are loud and say dumb things to make others laugh, and overall have a good time. But rather, he was shy and, from his observation, lacked confidence.
Amon focused on Medichi's face. He looked like he wanted to ask something, but was hesitating to ask. Amon deduced that it was because it might be something related to his nightmare, and Amon did not want to be asked those questions. So Amon spoke up to lead the conversation, "Medichi, I haven't seen you today at the mess hall. Were you not hungry? You know missing meals are not good." Medichi responded, "Ah.. yes, I just did not want to at that time and was just a bit late", adding a nervous chuckle at the end.
Amon knew he was lying since he saw him walk in and walk out after seeing him. That's why Amon had approached him. Because he didn't feel any hostility from him nor any sort of disdain. Rather, Amon was certain that Medichi was putting him on a pedestal from their earlier interaction. And it wasn't like others; they might have approached him out of interest or to create a bond of equals at least on the surface, but Medichi was looking at him like confirmation of his own incompetence.
By this, Amon could deduce that Medichi was someone who always or most of the time failed to meet the expectation set upon him, or he himself had set, causing him to lack confidence, and he must have really strict and accomplished parents or teachers. Amon thought, 'Judging by how he ack, he might have been a Legacy? Maybe? Might he have been disowned?'
Amon thought all of this while Medichi was still replying to his earlier question. Then Medichi said something that was a surprise to Amon, "You know that meals are provided 24 hours a day?" That caused Amon to pause a step and look at him. Medichi said, "You didn't know that?" Amon widened his eyes and said in an exaggerated manner, "No, I thought we were provided meals at a set time" He acted out his reaction; he acted that way among his friends, too. He acted that way to match the vibe he was portraying. But he genuinely did not know that.
Then Medichi said in a hesitant tone, "Can I ask you something?" The thing Amon had dreaded had happened. He did not like questions right now, since he did not simply have the answer. Amon had been dodging questions since the orientation and lied a few times. He did not care if someone found out he was lying; he expected others to do the same, and what mattered more was that he said he had a True Name and it being true, because that was much more significant to them. And Medichi sounded like he really wanted an answer.
Amon, in a nonchalant way, answered, "Ok, u can ask me anything, well, except my flaw." Amon had to answer like that to maintain his persona. He thought he would deal with it according to the question he was asked; if he was asked about his ability, it would be the best, since from his earlier observation, it seemed no one seemed to be able to remember what his powers are, and if asked about his True Name, he would make something on the fly.
Medichi then spoke, "Why do you need to train? I think you are already strong enough, and I don't really think lifting for a month would really benefit you."
Amon was a bit surprised but also relieved by the question, but he did not show it in his posture. He replied simply, "Because I am weak." By this time, Medichi was walking beside him, a sign of his visible comfort that had grown around Amon. Confusion was visible on his face, but it seemed like he would not ask further. Amon, sensing the confusion, continued his answer, "well I have an attribute that makes me a bit stronger overall, but it's proportional"
Medichi was not expecting Amon to continue answering his question, but his curiosity only deepened, and he asked, "Proportional?"
Amon, sensing his confusion, continued to answer, "By proportional, think of my attribute like this. A man who had never trained his whole life jumped with all his strength. He might be able to do a few jumps before his legs start to burn and he experiences muscle fatigue, but a man who had trained could do it more times. My attribute enhances my strength, but since I have never really trained my body, even though I could jump higher, the rate at which my muscles fatigue remains the same. Meaning that if I could do three jumps before my muscles burn, I would still jump only three times, only the height increases a bit." Medichi seem to understand what Amon meant.
Amon revealed his attribute because he was certain that his attribute and aspect ability would not be remembered.
As for why Medichi did not question his fight with Nephis, it was a slop; anyone who could fight well enough would know that, his head movement and his reach were a mess. Amon was 6 ft before, but now he was around 5'7 ft., and he could not move his head because of his ability to view his surroundings in 360 degrees. If he moved his head too fast, it would cause him nausea. And the instincts he had honed for years kicked in multiple times, which caused some of his punches to be easily dodged.
Medichi asked, " Amon, you know how to fight a bit, right? Why not join a combat class?"
Hearing this question, Amon thought of his reason why, 'from the memory I had received from this body, regarding the Nightmare Creatures and the survivability rate among the Dreamers, I would say that this is very important, but what, among other things, like resource management, first aid, wilderness survival, combat is the least beneficial one to survival in an unknown place. Also, from what people had described and the pictures he had seen, the best strategy to deal with it was to run away. And the combat class the academy provided was only to fight humans.'
They were not walking side by side. Amon had deliberately slowed down his pace so that Medichi could catch up. They had entered the building assigned to them and were walking towards the academic gym.
But Amon only answered, "I don't think I will be able to learn much in just one month, and I think building body endurance, stamina, and strength is more important. "
[Author note: How was the chapter plz comment on your opinion and tell me how the chapter was. also i will update 1 chapter a week. I am lazy, sorry.]