Max was cold, wet, and hungry. Laying on the forest floor, Max thought he was going to die. Despite Max’s training, he wasn’t good at adapting to new situations. And had a habit of just trotting along on whatever path seemed most tenable. Furthermore, he was frail for a spirit master but still strong for a human, which meant he was reasonably athletic.

Getting to his feet, the boy noticed he wasn’t cut where the eagle had grabbed him. In fact, he wasn’t even bruised. Of course, one could think that doing things like this could make travel convenient.

First things first, however, he needed to dry himself off. The eagle had dropped him in a small pond, and he had to swim out to avoid drowning.

“What’s the point of this training? I have no tools and no tamed creatures by my side. How am I supposed to survive?” Max asked aloud, hoping for an answer. Unfortunately, he didn’t get a response which meant he was supposed to figure things out on his own.

Max stripped off his shirt and wrung it out before throwing it over his shoulder. There wasn’t much to see as he was pretty thin, his ribs present through his skin despite being reasonably healthy. He had no visible muscle tone and was quite pale as well.

Max decided to start looking for firewood. As the young boy walked off, some rustling could be heard in the brush behind him.

“Do I really need to wear that?” Brion said, looking at a small piece of cloth.

“Yes. Until you can use your manifestation properly then you’ll be having quite a bit of trouble melding and unmelding. Transformation abilities sometimes use the mana in your outfit leaving the natural form undressed. You don’t want to do that during a tournament and if you think you can get away with not using your full power and still succeed then you’re wrong. Beyond that, if you go onto a battlefield ill prepared then you’ll find yourself dead or worse you’ll live with the knowledge that your hubris let your friends and comrades die.”

“My transformation is literally useless. I know that and i’m sure you know that.”

“Not useless. The more restrictions on a power the better it is at doing its job.”

“But I’m the vanguard. I stand in the frontlines and take hits. This would drastically change our dynamic.”

“Ugh. Your team has two people who can evade hits and a healer. You should be fine.”

“Fine. So I just need to put this on.”

“Yes you need to put on the transformation thong. Feel free to put it under your regular clothes so long as you know the will probably be the only thing you’ll be wearing when you revert.”

“What if I put it over my clothes?”

“...” The woman eyed Brion for a long moment.

“Not that I’m shy or anything but if people are already seeing it then it isn’t underwear, it’s overwear.”

The woman stared at Brion for a long time. “How did you come up with that?”

“It’s common sense. I’m not a sicko. This is clearly the only option if I don’t want people to think I’m weird.” Brion said aloofly.

The woman’s eye twitched. “So it’s common sense to you.”

“Of course. What else would it be?” Brion said plainly.

“Well then. Fine, do it your way.” The woman turned around.

“Great.” Brion put the thong over his pants and soon covered himself in light.

Bella stood in a horse stance. In her arms was a tree branch; at this very moment, it was the heaviest branch she’d ever held.

Lingar stood adjacent to her, mirroring the stance only instead of a branch. He held the trunk of a tree. Unlike his student, he didn’t seem to be straining as much.

The rules of this game were simple, Bella was increasing the weight of the log in Lingar’s hands while he did the same to her stick. The first to break their stance would lose and have to do a hundred push-ups while exerting their own gravity ability on themselves, equal to the amount of force used on their opponent.

Bella had tried hard to knock Lingar off his game the first few times, using an absurd amount of force to take the older boy down to no avail. Eventually, she learned that she wouldn’t win and should pace herself. If she can’t handle her own force, then she shouldn’t use it on others to that degree. Gravity users should be able to move freely in their own fields while their opponents are restricted.

“Why aren’t you trying to beat me anymore?” Lingar

“I can’t beat you this way. I’m not stupid. You’re an expert with years of experience and training.”

“Not by that much.” Lingar pouted.

“Enough for a late starter like me not to be able to catch up.so now i’m practicing control.”

“Is that so? Then get some rest. And we move on to your next stage tomorrow morning.”

“But we just started?”

“No we didn’t. Look up.” Lingar pointed at the moons dancing in the night sky that kept the world lit.

“What?”

“This type of training requires alot of mental concentration. Things like time seem to pass by quickly.”

“No. I can continue further. I’m only just getting started. Unless you’re starting to get old. I’m actually much stronger when the moon is out.”

“Ah. Should I adjust our training schedule then?”

“Up to you.”

“I only need a day of rest a week and have nothing better to do at night. So fine. Lets continue.” Lingar amplified the gravity exponentially and watched as Bella fell to a knee.

“What was that?”

“If we’re pushing past our scheduled training period then I’m pushing you as hard as I can. Gotta find your limits here too.” Lingar smiled as the younger girl began her push-ups.

“I bet you just want me to win so that you can get some training in.” Bella said in between reps.

Tiffany parried a strike aimed at her face with a shield of light on her wrist and retaliated with a rapier thrust at the man’s body.

The one-armed man evaded the strike and twirled his wooden wand covering himself in a shimmering barrier.

Tiffany jumped back as the two were covered in a magical light, and the one-armed man changed his stance.

“Dance of the seven armed dragon.” The man spun before engaging Tiffany with his blade slashing rapidly.

Tiffany blocked a strike aimed at her face but found herself slashed in three spots on her left arm, while her inner right leg also ended up getting cut twice. She tried to jump back but found that two strikes had hit her ribs, and the side of the wooden implement was placed against the back of her neck.

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“What is that?”

“It’s a variant of a technique you may face in the tournament although it’s meant for dual wielding. You have the basics down, but you need to learn to use your techniques against skilled opponents. There are holes in your movement. Moments where you should be capitalizing on an opening and ending the bout. Not that you need to worry.”

“I do, the style I use is about disrupting mana flow by injecting light in key parts of my opponents body. It looks like it could cripple or kill an opponent if used that way.”

“Ah. So it’s a style meant for killing. That’s every style. That's what swords are for. You should embrace that aspect and don’t worry about me, go all out. Even if you do hit me you can’t kill me with your abilities and the tournament will pull your opponent out before lethal damage is done.”

“I see. Again?” Tiffany asked as the marks of light on her form faded.

“Again.”

The two continued their training.

Ander sat in the middle of a circle meditating. His spear was placed in front of him, yet that wasn't what he had been focusing on. Instead, Ander's goal was to find the root of his spirit. Then, he needed to connect with it and set new boundaries to complete his manifestation. What he had been doing now was fine, but it needed to be more efficient, and it wasn't complete.

"Get your spirit to wake up and speak to you. Find the voice that told you it's incantation. You don't make those up. They come to you naturally. Find that thread and trace it to the root."

Ander scowled. That's what he was doing. He focused harder on his core. Maybe you need to have a few screws loose to talk to your spirits. Kyrion made it seem so easy. Just casually talking to himself in public.

"Hello?" Ander asked his core.

"..." The core didn't respond verbally, but it did seem to vibrate.

"Oi! I'm talking to you!" Ander spoke louder this time.

"..." The core vibrated more.

"Oi! I know you're there, at least answer me!"

"Ugh. Can't you just like go away? I'm tired." Said an annoyed voice.

"What?" Ander broke concentration.

"I told you to focus. What's wrong?"

"I heard a voice in my core…He sounds like a layabout. I could feel the lazy on him."

"Not surprising. Most spirits rarely talk, in fact it's normally beast spirits that can do so. For some a spirit is an extension of one's soul for others their soul was strong enough to summon another being. Weapons tend to be silent for the most part."

"So you expected me to fail."

"Very much so. Your power is lazy. Like a cat sunbathing. Your incantation didn't mention a spear, however, it mentioned a beast."

"Was that enough reason?"

"Ander. You have an above average amount of mana and had trouble using it to its full potential. I've had enough weapons that housed spirits to know when one is playing coy. Do you know what a second awakening is?"

"No. And you're not a spirit master."

"I've known many in my long lifetime. I've killed half as much and have taken their swords. Luckily you have a spear."

"I see."

"Aside from that this confirmation doesn't change much." The golden-eyed teacher stood up and crossed his arms.

"What do you mean?"

"It just means you won't be able to reach your full potential until you get that second awakening. You can manifest but it won't be complete or powerful and there are only two ways for that to happen. The first is the natural method where you are forced into a near death situation that pushes you to your limits and beyond causing a the beast in your spear to break free. Or you can win the upcoming tournament a much safer method but will be much harder to accomplish in a weekend state."

"So ontop of using lightning wrong I've also been hamstrung by my own spirit."

"Yup. But thats normal for your age. You probably would have learned this after you hit expert. But since I have a vested interest in watching a fateless wreck havoc on the universe I'll help you out." A sword floated above Maldain's head and flew right past Ander's cheek.

Blood fell from Ander's cheek, and before his mind could process what was happening, he had gotten to his feet. Spear in hand, ready to deflect the sword as it returned to strike again.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying the first method. Meditation is boring, you can do that when we're not fighting."

Ander had a suspicion, but truth be told, he also hated meditation. "Fine then."

The sword returned to Maldain and floated above his head as a second blade joined it. An emerald gem was embedded in the hilt of this new sword. Ander didn't know it, but he would be pushed to the brink quite a few times.

Hel’s training was the easiest, plain and simple. She didn’t actually need the push. She needed to break out of her shell. The bug user only had one real friend, and she was a sociopath. Hel knew this fact. She also knew that Kyrion was hiding his real abilities. She knew he had wind and water affinities along with earth, but he only showed them a portion. As the self-appointed team strategist, she needed to know what everyone could do. If not, then they’d bumble into the first round and lose.

This is why she had entered the tower with her teacher. They would watch him train and devise a strategy around what he could do. Teleportation is powerful, and if used correctly, it could be a hidden ace.

Her teacher stood silent as they looked through a screen as the words “Trial of Resolve.” raced past it repeatedly.

On the screen, two bandits stood above the corpses of a woman and a small child as Kyrion was frozen in place.

Minah lay on a hospital bed strapped down. Her battle with Cecil was quick and definitive. Unfortunately, it also left her unable to move on her own.

She had opened with her daggers and then a punch to his chest that ended up doing nothing. Her attack was then countered by a blast to both of her legs and a shot to her ribs.

She hadn’t been healed with magic and was currently suffering through her own wounds.

“Force = Mass * Acceleration. Which means the faster you go the more force you will have. Sadly you also need to have more mass to amplify the damage you deal. You ability is acceleration and deceleration. Increasing kinetic energy. So why in your goddesses good name are you using your ability to accelerate a mundane chemical reaction to create explosions?”

“Because explosions are cool.”

“I get that. But it’s resource draining and inefficient. Guns won’t do much to a spirit master with a durable body. So what you’re doing will only get you so far.”

Minah groaned.

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

“Are you calling me crazy?”

“If the shoe fits. Now, since you’re taking up most of my vacation time, let’s continue.”

Minah tried to get up, but all it accomplished was to remind her of the wounds she had received in the duel she requested.

“Good now Eden where was I?”

Eden jumped as she had stopped paying attention when Minah interrupted. “Something about time and force?”

“Close enough. Please take notes and stop using your journal for drawing.” Cecil said.

“Fine.” Eden pouted.

“Good. Now, if acceleration is your power and you want to do more damage how would you do so?”

“Move faster?”

“And if you’re going as fast as you can?”

“Stab it?”

“That could pierce potentially. But there is only so much you can do with those small daggers of yours. Sure you could kill with them but they aren’t enough, you need multiple tools and adaptability. You also need to find a way to amplify your strength exponentially. Potentially adding more power to your golden armor. I can do that part if you let me make you a suite. But you will need to learn how to use your power. You also need to learn how to decelerate your opponents’ attacks. Kyrion shouldn’t have been able to touch you if you slowed his attacks. And if he did then you should have been able to prevent the damage by slowing down his attack exponentially. If acceleration becomes zero, force becomes zero.”

“Does he know about this?”

“Of course he knows. He probably did that to spite you. You did make yourself a pain in his… Oh nevermind.”

“I’m sure he’ll forgive you. Kyrion is a nice guy.” Eden said reassuringly.

“I doubt it.”

“He doesn’t care about you. So far you’ve made yourself an annoyance. He doesn’t care for those, but if you were to stop being an annoyance then he may forgive you. He also may put birdseed in your pockets or slip some sort of squirrel pheromone lure on your person.”

“That sounds mean.”

“He’s also the type to have a purse of copper coins coated in a chemical laxative and mixed with burrs.”

“That sounds paranoid.”

“He’s been robbed a few times. Now he embraces it, almost welcomes it.”

“What’s a laxative?” Eden asked.

“It makes people use the chamber pot, or toilet depending on where you’re from.”

“Huh. It’s mean that he does that but its meaner that they take his stuff. This is a conundrum.”

“So I only get what I deserve. Sounds like a fair person. Still, why did he force my brother into his and your debauchery?”

“...This was all a practical joke that went too far. You know how Kyrion has a water affinity?”

“Yeah?”

“He can also manipulate mixtures that are mostly water, like ink and blood to a degree.”

“Following.”

“I filled out a club creation form for my lab.”

“Alright.”

“We came up with the name Magitech research society. Well I did. My best friend Bella floated the Idea of Cecil’s Harem as a joke. Kyrion seemed disinterested at the time and he hadn’t shown that he could manipulate ink. When the vote came Ceci’ls Harem was chosen but I decided to veto it for practical reasons.”

“Sounds fair.”

“They agreed and I asked Kyrion if he could deliver it to the headmaster.”

“What did he say?”

“If you really want me to, I’ll do it but I gotta tell you, if you start acting like a tyrant then you’ll be the only person in your club. If you want to change the world then you’ll need a group of loyal followers.” Cecil stated.

“What happened next.”

“While he was walking he moved the ink about and made it say Cecil’s Harem. He also mimicked my handwriting perfectly. Which isn’t saying much but still it was enough to raise club morale a bit. They all think I changed the name back myself. After a while I stopped caring.”

“Does he know what he’s insinuating?”

“Nope. Nor does he really care. Although he does share our activities in a colorful fashion for cakes.” Cecil stated.

“So he’s the reason for the rumors.”

“Yup…”

“So my brother hasn’t been tainted.”

“Not by Kyrion, I do recall Kyrion saying that Max had to cancel a date because of that game you played though.”

“Date? With who?”

“Back to the lecture Minah.”