Chapter 5: 5. Training

The days have more or less started blurring together. Jun's called a few times, and I've talked to Ritsuko, but beyond that, the last two weeks have consisted of the same thing everyday.

Sleep, practice my telekinesis, eat, train my telekinesis, repeat.

Today marks another day of intense telekinetic training. After breakfast, I head straight into my room and begin moving around weights.

I'm beginning to run into a problem. The rate that my power's strength increases has more or less evened out, each day my power is multiplied by 1.5. I'm already capable of lifting around 80 pounds using my power.

80 pounds floating through the air is somewhat intimidating. While manipulating a weight, I accidentally pushed myself way beyond my limit, and lost control once. . . I dropped it.

My desk barely survived the impact.

I'm slowly running out of room to continue my training. I hoped that it was possible for my power to grow this fast, but I can't keep using my apartment as a training grounds.

I need more space than this.

Even more incredible than the fact that I can already manipulate 80 pounds—is that I discovered that my random idea about increasing the range of my power actually works. I decided to order a pair of binoculars to test if it was possible to use something like that to increase it's range.

I was careful when I did it, but when I placed a tiny object on a street far away from my apartment—far enough away that I couldn't see it with my eyes alone—I was able to move it when I used the binoculars.

I had to quickly drop it to avoid exposing my power, but it definitely worked.

Once I confirmed that that idea worked, I tried using a camera as a medium instead of the binoculars. That idea didn't work. So it seems I have to physically perceive an object in order to move it—and when using something to expand my vision, it has to be a physical medium. Digital mediums don't work as range extenders.

Based on that line of thinking, I tried using a mirror. Mirrors don't work for some reason.  I thought I'd be able to use one to manipulate objects behind me—but that didn't work.  

The only downside to massively increasing the range of my power is that the energy consumption increases drastically. Had I tried this idea last week, it probably wouldn't have even worked, my stamina simply couldn't have handled the strain.

Possibly the biggest hurdle I'm going to run into is that soon—possibly within the next few weeks, I'm going to run out of objects to manipulate in my home. Most likely though, if this growth rate remains constant, that's going to become an issue even sooner. I'm going to need heavier objects to manipulate if I want to continue increasing my power's strength.

I'm going to need to find a place that has enough space, has no cameras, and has access to heavy objects. I'm afraid my options may be fairly limiting. Things like drones, and other flying vehicles are also going to cause an inescapable problem—I won't even be able to do my training outside.

That totally rules out any kind of construction areas, or moving things out on the street. My only option will be to go underground, or a covered area.

***

It's been three weeks since my summer vacation began. I've spent the last week feeling like I'm half dead from exhaustion, but the pain from overusing my power seems to have mostly subsided, at least for now.

As I hoped, my telekinesis has continued to rapidly increase.

I've finally been forced out of my apartment. There was no other choice.

I managed to find an abandoned area underground—it's an abandoned construction zone that was being used to build new Maglev routes.

The place was originally built underneath a park, it's massive size makes it a perfect place to hide while practicing my power. It's surrounded on all sides by concrete walls, and there's almost no chance of being seen from above ground. The only way anyone would know something was hidden here is if they knew exactly what to look for—which isn't likely.

With this place, I'm able to exercise my power without worrying about people seeing me.

I'm extremely happy. With how rapidly my power's strength is increasing, I may need even more room soon.

I've been manipulating massive rocks, debris, steel, and really anything down here. I'm not sure exactly how much weight I'm moving, but it's somewhere around 1400 pounds.

It finally feels like I'm capable of something amazing.

I mean, picking up massive boulders—being able to pick them up, and even push—throw them, is difficult to describe.

The speed I can move objects has increased as well, so long as I put enough energy into it, it's capable of reaching high speeds. Of course the size of objects affects how fast I can move them, but when I use tiny objects—I'm not capable of breaking the sound barrier, but I can't help but feel that I'm not that far off.

Through my training, I also discovered another limit I have. If an object I try to manipulate is in some way connected to something too heavy for my power to move—I'm unable to manipulate it, unless my power is strong enough to break it's connection.

If a large rock is connected to the walls of the tunnel—and that connection is incredibly strong, I can't move it. But if the connection is weak—I can just use brute force to snap it away, and manipulate it like normal.

All of this has of course come at the cost of every other part of my life. I'm basically living like a mole. The journey here isn't particularly long, I'd be able to reach it in no more than 10 minutes if I used transportation, and walked directly here.

But I can't.

I can't risk my movements being seen on cameras, so I have to take a roundabout way, while constantly hiding. It sucks. I still feel that this is better than the risk of becoming a human guinea pig.

***

I've been at this training for a month straight now. I've barely slept at all. And yet—my power continues to increase. Everyday is the same thing, just endless repetition.

I feel like I'm going insane.

Spending the majority of your day underground, alone, moving massive objects around is mentally exhausting. I can't stand it anymore. I want to leave this place behind. I want to stop this insanity.

The strength of my power has reached a bit of a wall—or, I suppose I should say it met a large bipedal tank.

I found something that's definitely interesting while exploring this area underground. An old construction version of a combat mech—a combat frame.

In the last couple decades, they've become the predominant fighting force for most modern militaries. Either autonomous, or manned by a pilot, they're a essentially a human shaped tank. They're highly regulated, and outside of the military or combat zones, you'd never even see one. So finding even an abandoned construction version is surprising.

They can come in many different shapes and sizes, but most of them, especially those piloted by a human, are fairly humanoid looking. At it's core, combat versions look like slightly humanoid bipedal tanks, complete with relatively small legs supported by either additional treads—or sometimes wheels, and two mechanical arms.  Most versions lack a "head," pilots sit in the torso, so there's no need for a human like head.

Generally, they range in height somewhere between 3-5 meters, this one in particular is about 4 meters.

For regular civilians in the modern era, they may never even see one in person. It's something they'd never even worry about.

I'm not exactly a regular civilian anymore, considering my power.

If I'm going to try to change anything, it's almost an inevitability that I may one day have a combat version try and kill me.

So I decided to use this as an opportunity.

This is also connected to the wall I've hit.

This frame I've found weighs just a bit over 12 tons.

If I'm going to protect myself, I have to be able to do something against one of these.

Of course, this isn't a real combat frame. It's just an abandoned model, and not as advanced as most modern models. But it's weight is similar to modern models.

Gain the strength to manipulate one—that became my goal.

And finally, after a month of this awful training, I'm able to manipulate it with my power. My strength has reached a maximum of around 12.5 tons.

At first, I was just trying to lift a single leg to see if I could make it move. But then, after another hellish week—I was able to pick up the whole machine.

I was so shocked that I forgot to even celebrate. I was just staring dumbfounded at the thing I was holding, and eventually dropped it because I ran out of energy.

12.5 tons.

I'm able to move a combat frame. I can't help but feel excited—being able to pick up what is essentially a massive tank, it's something that should be impossible.

It's been a full day since I managed to lift this thing. I'm exhausted. I think I'm going to sleep for a week.

I have no idea how much stronger my power will get—since I can manipulate something this massive.

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But for now, as I said, I've hit a wall. My strength is at a level where I simply don't have access to the objects necessary to further increase it. There's nothing heavier than this mech down here, and I can't exactly start manipulating objects out in the open. So I've more or less decided to put my strength training on hold.

Up until now, I'm still only capable of pulling objects towards me, and pushing them away from me. Now that my strength and stamina have reached this level—I feel that it's time to try and change that.

My control over my psychic muscle has somehow gotten even more ingrained into my senses, and I feel that if I take some time, I may be able to move objects freely—that's my current goal.

***

Well, it's taken me another two dreadful weeks, but I finally made progress.

Honestly, I was happy just to be able to leave that underground training ground. Since strength is no longer my primary focus, I've been able to practice increasing my control with smaller objects—objects that actually fit in my apartment. Compared to moving massive construction frames around, this has felt like nothing at all.

It was astonishingly slow progress at first, it took me the first few days just to be capable of manipulating objects without using my hand, or body as a center for manipulating objects.

Once I became capable of that though, my progress ground to a disheartening halt. I really almost gave up. I thought I'd only ever be able to push and pull objects.

Until I decided to change my methodology.

During my training, pushing and pulling objects became so ingrained in my mind, I kept trying to connect those sensations to my current goal of manipulating objects freely. That was a mistake.

I was trying to move objects freely by pushing or pulling them in different directions. Instead, I started to focus on manipulating my psychic muscle differently—using it to grab hold of an object, and then dragging it where I want it to move.

It was slow going at first, and it took an astounding amount of my energy—even though I was only manipulating objects that were incredibly tiny compared to my limit.

But, almost two weeks later, it actually feels like my control has been close to perfected—at least compared to where I was. So long as it's within my field of view, I can manipulate objects freely. Vertically, horizontally, closer, further, so long as it was within my field of view, it slowly became as simply as dragging it to where I want it positioned.  Distance still increases the amount of energy used—speed as well, but with the stamina I built up over the past month and a half—it's completely sustainable.

I can finally move objects without such tight restraints.

Now that I know I can move things freely within my line of sight, my psychic muscle feels as if it's undergone a small change. It was very odd at first—I started feeling random sensations when grabbing objects with it.

It's very difficult to describe.

It's reminiscent of the sense of touch. It was astoundingly dull at first, almost like there was nothing there—but there was something there.

When you close your eyes and rub your hand across something, you can somewhat make out what it is based on your sense of touch. Texture, shape, size, you're able to figure out that information by simply running your hand across something—my psychic power has a similar quality.

And the fact that I can feel things with my power—it gave me a new line of thought. Instead of simply using my power as just a glorified crane, what if I instead tried directly manipulating my power?

Not just using it to manipulate objects, but use it to feel my surroundings, use it as another sense—use it to increase my perception. I know it's a long shot, but my control over it has increased greatly, and I think that I should at least try manipulating it that way.

I have a rough idea of what I want to try, but I doubt it's going to be that easy.

But for now, I have a more important task at hand. I can't help but feel that it's time for a reunion with my mech friend. I've already made my way back to my training ground, and there it is.

I start off slow, just picking it up a bit at first—testing to make sure I can move it freely without draining my energy entirely. Confirming that my stamina can hold up, it's time to actually test my limits.

My limit is still manipulating two objects at a time, but that should be enough. I hold onto the mech's body, and using my power to grab a limb, I start dragging them apart. The sound is an almost deafening screech, but I'm able to rip it apart. Limb by limb, I tear it apart.

This is the kind of psychokinetic power I'd been imagining. Being able to use my power to carry out my will freely. It's somewhat intoxicating. Knowing that machines like this are the strongest piece in New Eden, and other country's military arsenal—I'm able to just tear it apart using only my will. It's power like this that can bring about change.

***

So far, I'm a full two months into my summer vacation—another awful two weeks of training.

And somewhat unexpectedly, I finally received a call from my mother.

I'm not entirely forgotten after all. What joy I feel.

I've only been completely unattended for months, no big deal I suppose.

The crux of the issue though, is the fact that she's apparently having some sort of movie, or music, or something releasing at the end of summer. And she'll be holding a celebration. . .

Here.

This apartment. My home.

She'll be returning here at the end of summer. One month away. Meaning I've only got another month of freedom. I already know it's not going to be enjoyable. If she's back long term—I'm going to have to somehow find a way to continue my training with her living here.

I know she's my mother, and I love her dearly, but I can't stand Annette. And maybe I'm being overly cold—but being kicked to the wayside at my age, I can't deny I feel somewhat bitter towards my mother. . .

I mean, I'm sure she loves me too, it's just that she doesn't understand me—she never tried.

I guess I just have to make as much progress as I can with my last remaining month of freedom. I already hate the amount of training I do now—I really don't want to do more. But such is the price, I suppose.

Speaking of—I've made a fair amount of progress with directly manipulating my power. It's nowhere near as refined as being able to move objects. But I can at least feel my surroundings with my power.

Like, I can sense things.

These last two weeks though—I allowed myself to get used to using my power without pain, but I somehow found a way to bring that pain back. Almost worse.

I started by just trying to control my power, directly manipulate it's shape. Up until this point, I'd really been using my power similar to a crane—I'd use it to grab onto on object, and then I'd move it freely within my field of view. It wasn't anywhere near as complex as directly manipulating the shape of my power.

I had to start by simply trying to draw my power into my body—not as simple as you'd think. Once I could do that though, I began trying to manipulate it. I tried extending—spreading it out around my body. Shaping it into a type of all encompassing aura—surrounding my body.

It was fucking awful.

Ever tried stretching your arm out and wrapping it around your body a few dozen times? Because it'd probably be a pretty similar feeling.

I thought that since my power felt like it didn't have a concretely defined shape—this part would be easy.  That was not the case.

But—after two weeks I've finally made notable progress. It was slow at first, but I got the hang of it. After two weeks, I've learned how to control my power in a way that allows me to see—feel the world around me.

Essentially, I've figured out how to see the world with my power.

It was small at first, just forming my power into a small radius around my body took a whole week. But I've continued to extend my aura's radius. Currently my aura encompasses a radius of around 2 meters—my body is the center point.

And that feeling—that sensation of my power touching the world, I can use it. I can use the feeling of my power's aura to create a sort of mental map of my surroundings—use it to create a sixth sense that can feel the world around me.

Now for my greatest advancement.

I can use that mental map—my power's feeling—to manipulate objects. Even objects that are behind me, below me, or above me. So long as my power's aura encompasses it, I can manipulate it with my psychokinetic power. Keeping that aura up takes energy—but not an unreasonable amount. And manipulating objects that I feel using that aura also doesn't require more energy.

I'm able to not only move objects freely within my field of view, but so long as the area is encompassed by my aura—I can also move objects freely within it.

The only downside may be that it's incredibly overstimulating. Feeling everything around you—it's impossible to describe. The more I focus my aura on a specific area, the clearer that area becomes. When I'm not focused on seeing—feeling an area, it becomes a bit duller—I can't make out tiny objects, and it feels like I'm missing information.

But when I'm focusing my aura, it seems like I'm able to perceive everything. It's a strange feeling, but it's extraordinary.

It's truly like a sixth sense, almost like a third eye.  When you focus your eyes on something—it becomes clearer, and the surroundings become duller—out of focus.  The focus of my sixth sense works in a very similar manner.

I've come to the conclusion that my psychic power is acting as both a sensory organ and a muscle. The stronger I am, the better I can feel the world around me. And the stronger I am, the easier it is to focus my aura. So I've decided to stick with training my psychic power with my current method.

My goal is to expand my aura's radius, and increase my ability to manipulate my power directly—shape it exactly how I want.

I'll go through another month of hell—but hopefully I'll reach my goal before my mother returns home.

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