Man Of Systems

Chapter 17: Temperature Index

Right on time, the professor entered the class, casually expanding his Flux to sense the Flux of others, surprised when he noticed Rael’s, ‘His Flux has become a lot stronger overnight.’

He then noticed the mental states of all students, noticing that they had worked hard, but had gotten ample sleep too. He then observed Rael, exhausted, looking on the verge of falling asleep, ‘I see, that makes a bit of sense too. He’s hardworking and also has talent.’

He then began to talk, “Everyone, show me the results of your training.”

Hearing the professor’s voice, Rael closed his eyes, using his Flux to move his Plasma from his abdomen to the palm on his right, bringing it back to the abdomen as he next moved it to the palm on his left.

In this manner, he moved it to every corner of his body.

The professor noticed that Rael was able to move his Plasma a tad faster than the rest, nodding in satisfaction as he spoke, “This is the first exercise one must perform. For the next three days, we’ll only be doing this until you’ve reached a satisfactory level.”

Rael barely managed to hold on for the rest of the classes, noticing his Flux improve as he received guidance from the professor.

In the evening, when he was returning to his room, he stopped by the theatre-sized screen. It was conveniently placed before an open park, allowing for students to huddle there and watch the scenes that played on it constantly.

The fights that happened in the Arena could also be watched from the TV in his room. But, watching it in the open like this with a group had its fair share of fun. Conversing about the things done in the fights with his peers would also be enlightening.

As Rael thought in such a manner, he arrived at the spot, noticing that there wasn’t that much crowd tonight. There were only a couple dozen students scattered around, casually watching the fights.

He wondered why it was like that, but the moment he gazed at the screen, he understood. The fight wasn’t anything impressive. It was between two E-Rank soldiers that weren’t even ranked in their category. So, their attacks were neither lethal nor spectacular to watch.

“I’ve joined the Teflon Squad’s expedition for next month. There are still some vacancies left, why don’t you join too?” Rael heard the conversation of a couple of students nearby.

“Nah, I’ll pass. I’ve purchased a sensory-type Plasma Skill just a couple of days ago. So, I’ll have to focus on training and mastering it. Sorry man, I’ll accompany you on another mission.”

Rael watched the fight for a couple of minutes as he noticed the ways in which the two students in the screen fought. Their attacks weren’t impressive but were closer to what he should be able to achieve eventually.

So, this was more educational than the previous day’s fight.

The fight ended in three minutes as a winner emerged between them. Shortly after that, another fight began to play. Upon seeing that they too were E-Rank soldiers, Rael returned to his room.

He was pretty tired, so even if he saw the fights, he wasn’t able to grasp much detail anyway. The moment he slumped on the bed, he fell asleep. On the morning of the next day, he attended classes punctually.

On the fourth day, the professor started the second topic, “One of the primary advantages of our Plasma is our ability to alter its temperature.”

“And, it can be either in the positive or in the negatives of the Celsius scale.” The professor said, “So, we introduced a term for this…”

Temperature Index: It was the difference in temperature that one’s Plasma could vary.

“Suppose the temperature of your Plasma can vary from 25 to 45 degrees Celsius, then your Temperature Index is 20.” The professor smiled, continuing, “If it varies from 30 to 50 degrees Celsius, your Temperature Index is also 20.”

Upon seeing their doubts, he laughed, “Do you know the temperature at which your Plasma is at now?”

Seeing everyone shake their heads, the professor said, “It’s at 37 degrees Celsius. And, the Plasma of everyone starts from the same temperature. Beyond this, whether you wish to simply pursue higher temperatures or also attempt lower temperatures is your wish. And, Temperature Index is only a show of the extremities your Plasma can attain.”

“Now, I’ll be teaching you the basics to increase or decrease the temperature of your Plasma. The direction you wish to proceed after this is your decision.” He said, causing his Flux to merge into his Plasma and begin to vibrate suddenly.

And in response to the Flux’s erratic vibration, the temperature of his Plasma continued to rise.

Even though the professor hadn’t emitted any heat, as all the students enveloped his figure in the range of their Flux, they were able to sense the rise in his Plasma’s temperature.

“If your Flux vibrates at a certain frequency, the temperature of your Plasma increases. And, the various directions from which your Flux lines vibrate and affect determines how quickly the temperature of your Plasma increases.” He said before stopping, causing the temperature of his Plasma to return to body temperature, “Now, I’ll help you.”

Saying so, he caused his Flux to grab hold of the Plasma of all the students, very slowly vibrating in response.

Rael noticed his abdomen turning warm before soon, it became uncomfortable. It felt like he had a stomach ache while his body was burning up like he had a fever.

A minute later, his body cooled down as he gasped for air, clutching his stomach, feeling that the pain was still there. He looked around, noticing that the other students too were feeling the same.

At this time, the professor chuckled, “You’re only experiencing discomfort because your body is unable to endure this level of heat. But, as you continue to practice, your body will adapt to the higher temperatures.”

Saying so, he took out a blowtorch, switching it on, asking, “Now, if I were to put this flame on my skin, would I be injured?”

The students nodded immediately, as if it was common sense.

“You’re wrong.” The professor smiled as he caused the flame to touch his eyes, making the students shriek in response.

Rael hurriedly got up, wishing to stop the professor’s suicidal actions, pausing after he took a couple of steps, now able to see in closeup. The flame from the blowtorch slammed into his eyes, but even the fluid in his eyes remained unaffected.

“What you have to understand is this.” Switching off the blowtorch, the professor said, “Suppose you raise the temperature of your Plasma to 300 degrees Celsius, then any form of fire until that temperature will not even be able to harm a single strand of your hair. It’s because your body has already adapted to that temperature levels.”

“You might still look like a regular human, but you aren’t.” The professor’s tone turned serious, “So, you should keep this in mind. Though, as long as you maintain your Plasma at a normal human body temperature, you will be able to mingle with the normal populace without any trouble.”

“Now, start practicing.” Saying so, the professor turned silent.

The scene of the blowtorch’s fire was evident in his mind as Rael sighed, feeling how powerful Plasma actually was. He then closed his eyes, focusing on his Flux to make it vibrate.

But, he wasn’t able to do that, feeling difficulty in the process. It was like learning to use a hoop ring.

He had just managed to learn how to spin it around his hip. But now, he had to do the same while also causing the ring to vibrate. The difficulty had spiked, causing him a lot of trouble.

‘How do they even fight at such speeds if the process to use Plasma is so complex?’ Rael wondered as he continued to struggle. From time to time, the professor would use his Flux to point out his mistakes, allowing him to correct himself.

By the end of the day, Rael was able to feel his stomach warming up, grinning in response. For the next week, the professor made him train the two exercises. The first was moving the Plasma in his body and the second was to raise or lower its temperature.

Lowering the Plasma’s temperature was even harder than raising it, as he had to morph his Flux into concentric circles around his Plasma and make them spin so fast, the temperature of his Plasma drops down.

It was not only mentally draining, but was harder to achieve.

After all, to heat up his Plasma, all he had to do was vibrate his Flux. Even if he made some mistakes, only the rate of temperature increase or the maximum temperature attained would be affected. The Plasma would still heat up in the end.

The lower the number of mistakes, the greater the efficiency of it heating up.

But, it was an entirely different field when it came to cooling down Plasma. He had to cause the Flux lines to become concentric and then spin them rapidly. If the Flux lines came out of alignment, then the Plasma would start heating up.

The end result would be a lukewarm Plasma where he had wasted a tonne of effort. The entry barrier itself was very high to cool down Plasma.

But after a week’s worth of training, Rael managed to increase his Plasma’s temperature to 38 degrees Celsius. Surprisingly, he also managed to bring it down to 36 degrees Celsius, attaining a Temperature Index of two.

It wasn’t anything beyond that, but the result was still satisfactory, since the initial steps were the hardest. After that was to just grind them until he could perform them even while asleep.

Ten days since the classes had begun, the professor observed the extent of their results, nodding in response, “Alright, you’ve gotten the basics down. Now, I’ll teach you the third and one of the most important exercises. And that’s to raise the quantity of your Plasma.”

“Sir, how will we recover our Plasma after use?” Rael raised his hands, asking after the professor nodded in response.

“It’s an integral part of our body now.” The professor replied, “So, as long as we eat, our Plasma would recover. Though, there are specialised serums that replenish Plasma the fastest. But, they are only available for use during missions.”

He then motioned for them to follow him, exiting the class as they headed into a specialised room of sorts, meant as a training room. The moment they stepped foot into it, the students felt odd all of a sudden.

Rael felt his Plasma pulsing within as his heartrate began to increase, causing him to mutter as he gazed at the walls that were a shade of blue, “What…is this place?”

At first glance, the walls appeared like they had been made using marble. But, the texture was smoother and without a glossy finish. The temperature within the room was neither hot nor cold, but rather varied every second, pulsing like it was alive.

One second, it was hot and the other, it was cold. It made him feel restless for the first couple of minutes. But gradually, he felt relaxed, adjusting to it as he was shocked, gazing at his body like he was observing it for the first time.

“Is this the adaptability of the Maurta race?” He muttered.

“Pretty much,” The professor nodded, “And, the material coating the walls is a precious resource that we mine from the Maurta Race’s home planet, Mauwalt.”

“This material is called the Maurad and not only helps us train and increase our Plasma reserves but also serves as the primary fuel for our Warp devices.” The professor said, tapping the walls once, “In this F-Rank training room, we have layered a thick layer of Maurad. As you train here, it’ll continue to affect your body.”

“You’ll not only experience insane bursts of hunger here, but you would also tire out quickly. As you repeat the process, your Plasma reserves would increase gradually.” The professor motioned for them to stand before him, “And now, I’ll impart upon you a basic exercise to manipulate your Flux. Not only would it slowly increase your Plasma reserves, but…”

“It’ll also strengthen your physique.”