Earthling in Uncharted Dimensions

A few among the students have already achieved this feat and they had a prideful smug. But they did not know what to do next and silently awaited further instructions.

Professor Millie too had a Summoning Stone for demonstrating. She took out her staff identity card and placed it at the centre.

"Now place both of your hands on the stone and close your eyes. Try not to think about anything for the time being."

The students promptly followed her instructions and Jonathan was no stranger among them.

"Now..."

The change in professor Millie's voice was evident as she sounded serious.

"Try to picturise a pitch-black circle in your mind. It must be flawlessly black and stable."

Millie's words faded away into the air and there was an uneasy quietude in the air. The students remained inflexible and the lack of windows attributed to an eerily stillness inevitable for the senses.

A few minutes have passed and students began to moan and squirm in pain. Some of them suddenly collapsed which disturbed those who stood near to them.

In about 17 minutes, every one of them had either felt disoriented or have fainted. Panting and struggling to stand up, their attempts proved futile as they found themselves tired to their core.

Yet, the professor had a delighted countenance as she saw the students troubled with heaviness. She clapped her hand twice and attracted the attention of the class.

"This was expected. It would take a hefty amount of mental pressure to create a summoning portal. And the fact that you all have been exhausted from this basic attempt means that you can prolong in your next attempt."

Millie conveyed that they can continue again if they have restored enough energy and have gotten rid of their tiredness. She did not forget to mention that forcing themselves to cling to the summoning ritual would only damage their soul.

The warning alerted the students and they retreated to the walls to sit down and recuperate. Jonathan went with the flow and sat down while leaning his back to the wall.

In front of his eyes was the status screen and displayed his Vitality value as 10. The drop was significant as well the sweat drops originating from his foreheads and going down his cheeks to his neck. The steady stream of tiredness drenched his clothes.

'The drop is reasonable. I am reduced to such a state just by attempting this.'

Jonathan was taking in a large amount of air by mouth while exhaling and inhaling. This eliminated the trouble of noise like all other students did. Not only that, he could see his vitality value rising as he took rest for a prolonged period.

As the value went above 25, Jonathan got back on his feet and continued his attempts. Other students had already taken enough rest and continued their struggle.

***

This cycle went on and on and on, and it was already noon.

Millie clapped twice again and the entire classroom's attention was shifted from the summoning stone to her.

"Did you all realise that you have spent more than three hours in this hall?"

The query stunned them all and they rushed to peek out of the door.

Professor was right. They have ceaselessly attempted to create the summoning portal.

"Let's end our session here. We will continue our classes on the day after tomorrow."

The professor asked everyone to take their identity card before exiting the hall. Within the next four minutes, the hall has become vacant.

An unbearable sensation took over the bodies of the students as they welcomed an awful lot of pain. Many rushed to their hostels while those who cannot tolerate the burden paced to their classroom.

Jonathan's Vitality value had risen by two points in the last few hours and he still had more than 15 points, yet he felt his body going through a session of mild torture.

Rushing to his room, Jonathan grabbed his towel and dashed to the bath. He spent almost ten minutes soaking in the water and consequently forgot to eat. But his body benefitted from that as he exited the bath with vigour.

Though late by almost half an hour, the cafeteria in the hostel was merciful enough to serve him food. Jonathan had to apologize for the delay and promised not to repeat this.

***

'Thank goodness, I had a bath.'

Walking to his room, Jonathan could hear the painful moans from the rooms. It seems like the students ignored the pain and consumed food which multiplied their uneasiness by many times.

Some rooms had their doors open and Jonatha saw many rolling on the floor and squirming in their beds.

Retreating to his room, Jonathan locked the door and sat on the floor. He began to meditate and his Vitality level reached 31.

After a few minutes of steadfast concentration, a warm wind blew inside the room which woke Jonathan up. He remembered that he needs to be at the training grounds for the afternoon session and promptly left his room.

"Hey, Jo..."

A familiar voice came from his behind as he exited the hostel building. Turning around, he saw a familiar face.

"Oh hai."

Ricky had an uncomfortable expression on his face. Apparently, he was among those who ran to stuff their mouth with food.

Pressing his stomach and suppressing the ache, he asked Jonathan for a shoulder to lean on. The elf gladly supported him and they slowly moved towards the training grounds.

***

"I don't want to sound mean but, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU ALL!!?"

The masculine voice of a man in his late twenties roared at the bunch of girls that were in no shape to even stand up. The armour-clad woman who stood next to him walked to one of the female students and inquired the reason.

The girl whom the female knight approached whispered something in her ears and her brows rose with acknowledgement. She patted the girl's shoulder and spoke as she walked back to the knight.

"Their forenoon session was about summoning."