A member delivered a pack of energy drinks and a box with materials to the meeting room, where Arthur and Meth stayed. The package had a black upside-down smiley face, and so did the red energy drinks.

Meth opened two of the drinks and handed one to Arthur. It was midnight, so they were naturally tired, plus a few hours ago, they suffered through a hellish journey just to get to the mansion. Their eyes were baggy, looking like they'd fall unconscious any second. However, they chugged their drinks full of unhealthy chemicals, but at least the caffeine hit them and allowed them to re-focus on learning Tuam.

"Alright, alright, alright," Meth said, sliding all the food containers off the table with his arm. He pushed the chairs away and stood near the table, placing the box in front of him. He opened it and nodded. "Before we get into the intricate details. Let me recap the basics. Stuff you really. Really need to know."

Arthur's eyes were wide open, looking at Meth. The caffeine coursed through his bloodstream, keeping him awake.

"Tuam is a name for how we can perform powers, but Tuam is also what flows inside us. There are seven fundamental Aif: enhancement, effusion, conjuration, manipulation, augmentation, and deviation. The lesson I want you to learn from all this is that Tuam is a shit ton of work. And I don't mean that lightly. It is a lot."

Meth was correct. Tuam, in essence, was much like a tree, and its roots were the ever-expanding knowledge it had to offer. But the seven fundamental Aif were near ground level, far from how complex the process could be.

Enhancement is the idea of adding one's Tuam aura onto an animate individual or object. Effusion is where someone can discharge raw Tuam in any shape they please. Conjuration, unlike effusion, is the discharge of materialized Tuam — Pyromancy. Manipulation is the power to control objects or people. Using Tuam to enhance one's body is augmentation, and this Aif is particularly crucial since it dictates all else. Deviation is something that doesn't abide by the fundamental Aif. For whatever reason a user chooses deviation, there are only two explanations for their powers; it's a unique Aif that can't be explained by the aforementioned, or the most likely reason is that it's simply an advanced Aif — a subclass of an Aif.

"I mean, that's fine and all. But you told me effusion was best for me, so shouldn't I just learn about that? Why waste time on the other stuff?"

"Excellent memory. However, we need to focus on your basics. Aif is essentially Tuam classifications, so we need you to focus on Tisba, which is how you get to using any Aif."

Arthur rubbed his temple and sighed, looking at the ceiling. "I don't think I get this."

Meth smiled, emptying the box onto the table. A bunch of materials fell: papers, a deck of cards, and many other random belongings. He grabbed the deck of cards and opened it, spreading all the cards face down on the table. "Grab a card, any card."

Arthur grasped a card, holding it upside down. "Now what?"

"Look at it."

He looked at the card, but it was blank, a white card with nothing. He tilted his head and faced the card at Meth, trying to show him it was empty.

"Just keep holding it," he said. "Do you remember how we have Tbars?"

"I think..."

Meth sighed. "They're like our veins. They pump Tuam instead of blood, but remember, we only have so many. That's why I want to teach you the most effective Tisba."

"But what the hell exactly is that?"

"One sec," Meth said, grabbing two energy drinks. He opened them both and tossed one to Arthur. They both chugged the drinks down and resumed. "Tisba entails a lot... like a shit ton of stuff, but I'll teach you the relevant information." He paused and scrunched up his drink, throwing it. "Before I get into Aif, let me show you why you need to know the basics. Say a person can sneeze fire. That person needs to employ augmentation, effusion, and conjuration. They need to augment where they want their Tuam to travel, which leads to effusing their raw Tuam out of their nose, and they need to conjure it by materializing their Tuam into the fire."

"So... Can I do that?"

"Well, you can't because you don't know the basic subclass of augmentation. I'll keep it simple and not use fancy language. You need to learn how to reposition Tuam inside yourself. This will unlock many more Tisba, such as improving eyesight, your defense, stealth, and much more."

Tisba is the minor details that help one use Aif. To perform any Aif, one needs to know most of the Tisba, and the most essential is knowing how to move Tuam within one's self. This control employs augmentation, which is an Aif, but this aspect is under Tisba because it's needed to achieve the other basic Aif. Anything required to operate — most — Aif falls under Tisba. While, technically, moving Tuam in a user is augmentation, it's an essential skill, therefore, it falls under Tisba.

Meth popped open two energy drinks and threw one to Arthur. They drank more caffeine...

"Okay, carefully hear me out. I'm about to teach you how to regulate your Tuam with that card you're holding. Look at the card, stare into it and then examine it deeper, don't blink. And don't stop. Imagine a fluid moving, be it water, blood, or even piss. Think of that liquid moving in a line throughout the entire card, like a snake, but organized. Make sure it's organized."

"What does that mean?"

"Don't question it. There's no trying, just doing."

"Alright..." Arthur whispered under his breath. He gripped the card and focused on it. "Hiss."

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"You said like a snake, so I..."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Meth sighed and shook his head, passing Arthur another energy drink. They both swallowed the divine liquid again, becoming re-energized.

After a few hours, a small black dot was sketched onto the card. Arthur smiled and showed the card to Meth, but as soon as he did, the card became blank again.

"Keep at it, idiot."

"Damn." Arthur squinted his eyes at the blank card, gripping it as he calmly breathed.

Every living thing possesses Tuam. Now accessing it was another story, but a way to learn to do so was by having a feel for moving your Tuam wherever you please. Even if you don't know how to utilize Tuam, you can inherently use it, and that's why abnormalities are born: freak athletes, psychics, geniuses, and so much more. But it's wise to learn how to employ Tuam because it enhances the user. The technique Meth was teaching Arthur wasn't extraordinary, yet it was effective. Whoever holds the card would have one of their Tbar sketched, and when the user employs Tuam, it actually passes through that exact Tbar. This gives the user a feel for their Tuam movement since it produces a ticklish sensation. Eventually, they become adept at moving Tuam throughout their bodies if it's repeated enough.

After two more hours and five more drinks, Arthur finally had one of his Tbars sketched out — a simple line. Now Meth told him to infuse his Tuam into the card by literally acting constipated. This may seem bizarre, but according to Meth, it was like squishing oranges to make orange juice because clenching one's body allows Tuam to escape. Or Meth was joking, which wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility.

It took Arthur twenty-one grunts and three blood clots to feel a sizzling sensation within him. The feeling wasn't unpleasant. It was friendly, almost like a familiar emotion. That sense was the same as when he used Tuam to emit red waves. Of course, not to that degree, but it was close. Very close.

Meth smiled and handed Arthur another card. "Living beings hold many Tbars, too many to count. But not enough to master all the Aif, eventually, you run out. Still, familiarizing yourself with as many as possible is essential. I want you to sketch more with the remaining cards on the table."

"Hand me a drink," Arthur said, rubbing his temple as his head thumped in agony. He drank the caffeine and got straight to work. The second card wasn't as challenging as the first, and it actually took less time to complete. It didn't take him many hours to finish thirty-nine cards, leaving one left. The only problem was that the last card gave him more hardships than the previous.

Humanity doesn't know how many Tbars a person has because it varies among people, and Tbars are so small that it eventually becomes impossible to find them. The card technique allows a person to acknowledge only forty of their Tbars, meaning the rest need to be found naturally through meditation and other methods.

Eventually, Arthur sketched out his last card. The Tbars he opened all varied in different spots, allowing for variability in Tuam movement. Now he could regulate Tuam more freely rather than having his emotions activate it.

"It feels like I keep saying this, but now we can get into some complex aspects. We will do this by the cork and ball torture method."

"What?"

Meth picked up a silver metal cork and a ball with a hole out of the pile of items. He put the cork into the indented ball and positioned it against Arthur's chest.

"How's this torture?"

"Imagine Tuam flowing towards your chest."

Arthur did as Meth said and coursed Tuam towards his chest. It successfully flowed through his chest, but the ball stung him. He stepped back, clenching his teeth.

"Don't worry, there's more to come," Meth said, placing the ball at Arthur's chest. "The only way the ball won't sting is if you flatten your Tuam. Right now, you're bringing your Tuam towards the ball, but you need to stretch it and protect your entire chest."

This technique taught mobility. In essence, Meth was preparing Arthur to circulate his Tuam — an aspect of Tisba.

They continued cork and ball torture. Once Arthur stopped feeling stings in his chest, they moved on to other parts of his body — head, shoulders, knees, and toes. And eyes and ears and mouth and hips. Hands and fingers, legs and lips... Basically, his whole body.

Arthur could now spread Tuam to different parts of his body to improve their functions: speed, eyesight, protection, and even pissing with more thrust if he pleased to do so.

"Interesting," Meth said, handing the last drink to Arthur. "Drink up. We've entered the final stage of your crash course. I'm going to teach you the most complicated yet critical Tisba: FQ."

Arthur's eyes were baggy, but he didn't pay attention to his fatigue. He was at the final stages of his training and the most important part. He knew he needed to put his all into focusing.

"The FQ rule is the idea of adding restrictions to your powers," Meth said, grabbing Arthur's gloved hand. "You control a wavelike Tuam, and you've taken it further and manifested it into a water-like figure, but it's not strong enough. You need to add restrictions to it to make it more distinct."

"But what can I restrict?"

"That's for you to figure out, but I can help you with how to do it. Your best bet at creating a restriction is through a mental note. To do this, you use Tuam through your whole body and mentally sound the restriction over and over."

"Mentally sounding the rule is all I need to do? That seems a lot easier than I thought..."

"You could do it through a contract as I did, but mentally it is easier. However, about the ease of restrictions... It's not as simple as saying it out loud," he said, rubbing his eyes. "Well, the only way a restriction can be set is through a sober mind, so be deliberate with your rules. Your brain will automatically establish the restriction, and if you break it, the damage will be proportionate to your rule. The stricter the rule, the stricter the punishment if it's broken. Also, you can set your own penalty if you'd like."

"I realize I have to be intricate with my rules. I also get it's important to set rules, but what should I set a restriction on? Like there are so many possibilities."

"Fair enough. Let me give you a hint." He rubbed his chin and lifted his head, looking into Arthur's eyes. "The gauntlet you wear helps limit Tuam out of your body, but it also has another function. It serves as an empty space, much like a Tbar. Of course, there's no Tuam in them, but think of it as an extra area for your Tuam to go." Meth looked around and nodded. "You can utilize the Tuam that goes into your gauntlet. I'd add restrictions to your gauntlet and work from there. Might as well use it and not let it go to waste."

Arthur seemed gloomy, his eyes fixed on the floor. He felt like he had accomplished nothing. Despite spending hours and hours on learning, it felt like a waste.

"We're done. You know that means we can finally sleep," Meth said with his eyes closed. After not hearing a response, he opened his eyes, looking at Arthur as he tilted his head. "Something wrong?"

"I learned so much, yet I'm still at square one..."

"Well. Technically, yes. But your knowledge can help you enact your FQ rules. If you didn't know about the Tisba or Aif, you could never have a successful power. Now that you know them, you can take advantage of them by setting your restrictions to benefit whatever ability you'd like to do."

"I get that, but wouldn't it be better to guide me to specific FQ rules?"

"Perhaps, but I don't want to guide you in the wrong direction. The most common result of telling people the rules they should enact is subpar outcomes. I would rather you take your time and do it right than rush it and mess up."

Arthur didn't want to argue, so he stayed quiet, but a part of him wanted to protest. He bit his tongue and didn't argue.

The rest of the "night" was easier. It was ten in the morning, and most individuals were awake and eating breakfast, but the idiotic duo was just getting their sleep — around two hours until Arthur needed to begin his mission.

Meth escorted Arthur to the resting area — a floor designed for individuals to sleep. He was kind enough to let Arthur into his own bedroom while he rested with his organization members in a military-like sleeping space; he slept like a baby.

Arthur, on the other hand, couldn't sleep. He sat criss-cross on the bed and got lost in thought. 'What should I restrict? What should I...'