Kevin’s second week at the Twisted Path sect began with his early morning FORM-101 class.
7:00 AM was an early enough start, but Kevin’s nervous energy woke him up almost two hours earlier than that. There were precious few chances for an Outer Sect disciple to impress an Inner Sect Elder, and he was lucky enough to have one of those few.
FORM-101 was the class he had to ace at all costs if he wanted any hope of Elder Fischer handing out bonus merit. Merit that was likely to be the difference between remaining at the sect and being booted at the six-month mark.
Unable to sleep further, Kevin pulled himself out of bed and spread his completed formations across the floor for a third time. While he’d confirmed a few days ago that there were no errors, he couldn’t help but go through all eighteen flags again.
Only after he’d confirmed again that there were nothing but the most minor of errors was he able to relax and pack the flags away. Unless he was missing something, there should be no chance of any flag failing in class.
With his worries calmed, Kevin turned his attention to his notes from the previous class. If he’d learned anything about Elder Fischer, it was how unpredictable she was. While she hadn’t mentioned any tests, he wouldn’t be surprised if the elder quizzed him on the previous material.
His studying took up most of his remaining time, leaving just long enough for a quick breakfast. Even at this early hour, the cafeteria downstairs from his dorm room was half-filled with early-rising disciples, and Kevin waved in greeting to several of his classmates before finding a spot.
Without Amelia or Brad present, he kept to himself beyond that as he devoured a quick breakfast before heading to the Fire Courtyard. Less than ten minutes there filled his body with Free-floating Qi for later, leaving him just enough time to get to class.
The FORM-101 classroom was closed when he arrived at 7:00 on the dot, freeing him from any concerns that the elder might have trapped it again. While the introductory class shouldn’t cover that kind of trap, anything was possible now that it was a private tutoring session.
Less than a minute after he arrived, a blur flashed past as Elder Fischer slammed the door open and entered the classroom. “Hurry up,” her voice called out from inside. We don’t have all day.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Kevin responded as he hurried to catch up.
The classroom had changed since he’d last seen it. Instead of the usual rows of tables and chairs, someone had cleared the middle of the room to create an empty circle.
Fischer stood in the middle of the new area, tapping her foot on the bare floorboards. “I assume you’ve finished your project,” she said, quirking an eyebrow as Kevin approached.
“Unless you’ve wasted my time, that is.”
Kevin shook his head, pride filling his voice as he responded. “No, Ma’am, I’ve got them right here,” he said, patting his back. “One’s in the quiver; the other two are in my satchel.”
The formation quiver Fischer handed out in the last FORM-115 class was strapped across one shoulder, the opening within reach of his right hand. The strap for his usual satchel was on the other shoulder, positioned to not interfere with the quiver.
None of the formations today were suitable for combat; he’d just loaded the quiver to help him get used to wearing it. The weight of the device changed when it was full, making wearing it loaded a different experience.
“I see you can follow simple advice, at least,” Fischer snorted, eyeing his setup with a hint of approval. “Don’t keep me waiting then; get them out.”
Kevin hurried to comply, spreading the formations across the floor. The combined eighteen flags for the three formations took up an impressive amount of space, reflecting the many hours of work he’d put into them.
“Done,” he grinned, looking up at the elder. “Energy Attraction, Energy Containment, Energy Filtering,” Kevin continued, pointing to each set of flags.
Fischer glanced at the series of flags, her face blank. It would have taken him minutes to examine them all, yet she spoke again within moments. “Very well. Are you confident in your work, Mr. Blake?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Kevin responded without hesitation. He’d done the work well and checked it multiple times. Now was not the time for doubt.
“I see,” Fischer smirked back. “Go ahead and charge them then.”
This time, Kevin did hesitate, her warnings about injuring himself with an invalid flag rushing back. It had to be safe, right? Surely, the elder wouldn’t let him activate a dangerous flag.
After a moment’s thought, he had to hold back a shudder. That sounded like something Fischer would do if he made a mistake. Let him blow himself up, then heal him afterward.
Still, he was confident. The increased danger didn’t change that.
He just had to believe in the work he’d done.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
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Pushing aside his worries, Kevin reached down to grab the first flag.
“No notes?” Fischer asked, her smirk vanishing as she raised an eyebrow.
“I have the process memorized,” Kevin said, shaking his head. Thank god for his early morning study session.
“I see,” the elder said, mirroring her earlier words, this time with a contemplative look. “Proceed then.”
Nodding, Kevin closed his eyes and focused on the flag in his hand. These formations were unaligned, meaning he could use his native Earth Qi without worry.
That simplified the process a lot; all he had to do was channel energy to it like he did for the Qi Blocking technique. Even better, he could release that energy from his palm instead of forcing it out of his arm.
Compared to that painful process, charging the formation was simple. Energy-intensive, yes, but easy despite that.
After a minute, he opened his eyes again and surveyed the flag for changes.
To his regular eyesight, there were none. The flag remained only a section of painted cloth attached to a wooden rod. To his spiritual senses, it was a different story.
He could now feel a faint energy pulse within the flag, hinting at its power. At a distance, this would be almost undetectable until the formation activated, but this close it proved he’d succeed.
With a deep breath, he offered the flag to Fischer in silence, waiting for her confirmation. She barely glanced at it before giving a terse nod and jerking her head at the other flags.
It seemed he’d get nothing else from her until he was finished, so Kevin placed the flag back with care and then grabbed the next one. With focused attention, he finished flag after flag until all eighteen were laid out before him again.
This time, each held a hint of power, and he looked back up at Fischer with further pride. Not one had broken, exploded, or even failed to charge; a perfect score so far.
“Still confident, Mr. Blake?” Fischer asked, her blank face giving no hint as to the correct answer.
Kevin paused, glanced back down at his finished flags, then gave a firm nod. “Yes, Ma’am. I believe they are all charged and in good condition.”
“Then let’s see if that confidence is warranted. Activate them.”
His hand was already reaching for a flag when Kevin paused, a hint of doubt worming its way in. “Ah, what about the floor?” Did she expect him to have already mastered some technique for embedding flags in wood?
He hadn’t even looked at the technique she’d handed out in the FORM-115 class yet, instead focusing on the throwing techniques she’d shown.
“Look again, Mr. Blake,” Fischer snorted, pointing toward the floor.
Where before there had been plain but intact floorboards, there was now a series of small holes dotted across the floor. Each looked the perfect size to hold a flag, making Kevin’s earlier questions seem silly.
He should have expected that a classroom dedicated to formations would have a way of deploying them. Shaking his head, Kevin grabbed each flag for the Energy Containment formation, slotting them into his formation quiver.
If he wanted to impress the elder, then it made sense to use the equipment she’d provided in the more advanced class. Now prepared, he walked around the circle, activating each flag, then slotting it into the floor with a downward flick of his wrist.
This was the flag planting technique Fischer had shown in the FORM-115 class. It wasn’t something he’d practiced as much as the flag lobbing technique. However, it was far more suitable for the small confines of the classroom.
Fischer gave no indication that his use of a proper throwing technique had impressed her, but he forged on with it nonetheless. After a near-complete pass at the circle, he activated the control flag with a deep breath and planted it.
Time for the moment of truth.
Often, a completed formation remained dormant, waiting until its action condition was met. This was not the case with the simple Energy Containment Formation. Instead, it activated the moment Kevin planted the last flag.
Before his eyes, an earthy-brown dome shimmered into being with only the slightest ripple on its surface, indicating a near-perfect creation.
Fischer clicked her tongue as she walked over, giving the finished product far more attention than she had the flags. After almost a minute, she raised a hand, paused, then nodded.
“A solid showing, Mr. Blake. I’m unable to extract the trapped Qi using equivalent strength to a peak Body Realm cultivator. Take it down and continue with the next one.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Kevin responded, unable to keep the grin off his face.
‘Solid’ was high praise coming from the elder. Now, he just needed his other two formations to perform to the same standards.
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The Energy Filtering Formation wavered as Elder Fischer directed a stream of water Qi toward it. The intensive test pushed the limits of the basic pattern, verging on the edge of an offensive technique.
Yet Kevin’s flags held firm, shedding the undesired Qi while allowing tiny motes of natural Earth Qi to flow through. Like the two before it, the formation performed at the highest level of efficiency.
“Satisfactory,” Fischer said, lowering her hand and cutting off the energy flow. Despite her flat tone, the hint of a smile betrayed her.
A broad grin crossed Kevin’s face, his entire body relaxing at the single-word response. His formations had exceeded his hopes, and he was confident he’d impressed the elder to at least a small degree.
All those hours of careful flag construction had shown themselves worth it, even the ones spent redoing his old work. There was no way he’d have done anywhere near this well with the original versions he’d produced.
“Leave it running,” Fischer held up a hand as he reached for the control flag. “We’ll see how the matrix looks at the end of class.”
“Right,” Kevin said, running a hand over the back of his head. That was a bit more than he’d expected, but he could see her point. Formations like this were often expected to run for hours or even days, so a true test required time.
“In the meantime, we will continue with the next set of flags,” Fischer said as she walked over to the whiteboard. “Since you have completed the assigned work, we will continue with the accelerated program I devised.”
“About that,” Kevin began as he followed behind her. “We could go even faster if that works. I can handle it.”
Asking for even work made part of him wince in horror, but there were solid reasons behind his decision. First, of course, was the need to continue impressing Fischer.
If he wanted serious support from her, he needed to do better than all her other students in the outer sect. Not just the other two in FORM-101, who would also be trying hard, but the more advanced disciples in FORM-115.
His second reason was a more long-term consideration. Few disciples would ever get one-on-one tutoring with an Inner Sect elder. In the outer sect, it was almost unheard of, the situation only possible due to some political game Fischer was playing.
Every moment with her was a precious resource to be used and one he’d dearly miss later if he wasted it. From that point of view, the faster he could get past the basics, the better.
Fischer turned back at his words, a predatory smile crossing her face. “Am I too slow for you, Mr. Blake?”
“In that case, let’s get serious.”