Alwin paused in his tracks, evaluating Lapis' proposition. Playing guinea pig? Again? The chances of it being an Evolution experiment were slim to none. So what kind of guinea was he supposed to pig in this scenario? He needed more information before he could make a choice. He also needed to tone down on the introspection because he was analyzing such an inconsequential part of the statement when he should've been asking for the details.

"It depends, Lapis. What exactly are you talking about?"

"Well, you know how I was supposed to be researching Essence and its effect on Evolution."

"Yeah, I know that. I was part of the research after all."

"Wow, your follow-up skills are second to none. Good job, apprentice of mine. So back on topic, I kind of, maybe, might have gotten a bit bored and started up a new research topic. What if instead of using Mana for spells or skills, we use Essence? Genius, right?"

Essence as fuel for spells? It sounded intriguing, but it also sounded extremely experimental. Odds of it working out in time for the final exam were even lower than learning a brand-new skill. The old Alwin would've jumped at such an opportunity. Who cared about such a risk? He'd figure it all out in the end. But, the new Alwin that had been tempered with disappointment by a certain someone, was apprehensive about such an idea. It just didn't sound like a worthwhile venture at this current juncture.

"I'm not so sure about that, Lapis. I'm actually on a time crunch because of the final exams coming up. I'd prefer it if we stuck with something more... tested."

"Okay," said Lapis, sadness evident in her voice. A drone flew in, drawing a frowning face with a tiny tear dropping down to really sell it.

"I'm sorry, Lapis. I don't mind helping out after my finals, it's just that this is too important for something so uncertain."

"I understand, slime boy. I know what you’re doing. I bet you didn't follow my advice so the girl didn't accept your apology. Now you're trying to use this as a way to show off during your final exam and win her back. It's just that I was really hoping for your help before I lose inspiration," she sighed.

"I'm sorry, Lapis. This is just too important." Alwin reiterated, ignoring her accurate assessment of his predicament.

"I know," she sighed again. "Plus, your possession problem isn't really helping. I really need to fix it."

"For the last time, Lapis. I'm not and have never been possessed! Now could we please carry on with teaching me a new ranged attack spell."

"Fine, fine," said Lapis, the sad undertones in her voice vanishing when she realized that she couldn't convince Alwin. Another drone flew in with a cloth, rubbing away her facial expression and restoring Lapis back to her shining crystal diamond self. "Also, any chance you're allergic to silver daggers?"

"I think most people will die if a dagger gets too close to them. Can we please just go?" Alwin was starting to get frustrated at his grand great master sensei—first time for everything.

"All right, all right. No need to get so angsty. In fact, you kind of remind me of little Milvee back when I was teaching him. Looks like he's rubbing off on you a little too much. That's why I have the perfect thing to teach you because you really need to chill out."

Lapis looked at Alwin, staring at him. Waiting for a response. All that Alwin delivered was a deadpan stare rather than entertain Lapis' antics—who was this person? Maybe he really was possessed. That was a scary scenario. There was no way he was being possessed right? Nope. Not in a million years. Possession wasn't on the table, chair, or even the floor. What even was possession? It didn't exist in Alwin's dictionary, nor did it exist in any real dictionary. Definitely not.

"Are you okay, slime boy? Your face is doing this really weird thing where you keep scrunching, wincing, and a bunch of other stuff that I have no idea how to describe. Do you need another holy water shower?" asked Lapis.

The threat of being soaked again immediately wrenched Alwin out of his spiral. He really needed to remember to dedicate some of his brain processing power toward not instinctively moving his face whenever he did some introspection. Multitasking was a skill that he had been slacking on recently. Now that he had gotten most of the thoughts out of the way he could finally respond. "What? Nope. Don't need it. I was just thinking about some stuff. Yup, just thinking about stuff."

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"If you insist. Now let me show you how to chill out."

Lapis stopped talking once again and stared at Alwin, obviously waiting for a response from her pupil. Not wanting to prove that he was really being possessed, Alwin gave in to his grand teacher's demands.

"Go on and show me, sensei. If you keep staring at me like that I'd think you're giving me the cold shoulder."

"That's the slime boy I know!" Lapis cheered.

In an instant, two Spirit Hands appeared right in front of Lapis—she had silent casted them. Their purpose? She just needed them to clap their hands. A single tile in the floor of the Training Room slid open. Rising up from below the ground was a foe that Alwin was all too familiar with—a Wooden Training Dummy.

Alwin fixed his eyes upon the Minister of Magic, ready to observe what form of magic she was about to unleash upon the blockhead. Knowing Lapis, she would show him the spell once and only once, before forcing him to figure out its intricacies with no extra assistance. He had already gone through this experience several times now, but this time was going to be different.

Now, Alwin was going to ask questions. Even if Lapis refused to reveal the secrets about the new skill she was about to demonstrate, he would hound her with questions until she had no choice but to give in.

"Now, watch and learn," said Lapis, before she turned to face the Wooden Training Dummy.

"Ice Blast!" she shouted.

A ball of mana similar in size to all of Alwin's various types of blasts materialized right in front of Lapis. Unlike his Spirit Blasts, this Ice Blast—as the name implied—was a solid sphere of ice. A faint chill radiated from it, as one would expect. Once it had finished forming it was launched straight toward the dummy.

The ball of ice struck the wooden foe, splintering off into multiple tiny pellets that splattered on the ground next to the training dummy. A small area where the Ice Blast had landed was encased in frost, but that was the only notable observation—other than the dummy wobbling in objection from being hit even though its only sin was simply existing.

As useful as the freezing property of the Ice Blast was, adding another Blast into his arsenal was beginning to become stale. There was also the fact that Blasts weren't exactly the strongest type of spell, in fact, he'd wager that they were the lowest level of ranged attacks available. Why else would Spirit Blast be the very first offensive skill taught in the Academy? If he was going to prove that he was a competent squad mate, he'd need something better.

Although his Yin-Yang Blast was the exception to the rule, but in its defense, it was a Species Skill. It was understandable why it'd be more powerful than a regular Blast, the skill was literally built into him.

"Well, what do you think?" asked Lapis. Her tone implying that a shower of praise was what she desired from her grand apprentice.

"It's technically cool, but don't you have anything... stronger?" replied Alwin, trying his best to not offend Lapis lest she refuse to teach him anything else.

"Too simple for you? I'd expect nothing less from an outstanding student like you," said Lapis. "Now go stand outside in the corridor and think about what you've done."

A wave of panic hit Alwin. He hadn't been tactful enough with his request and was now paying the consequences. But, this was Lapis he was dealing with. With his insights into her personality and this new urge to take things seriously, he was confident in his ability to rectify the situation. Also, he needed to make a mental note to stop introspecting so much.

"It's okay, Lapis. I don't need to go outside to think about what I've done. I'm already finished with the thinking," said Alwin.

"You are? Was that what you were doing with your face? Thinking. Kind of weird, but tell me slime boy apprentice of mine. What have you done?"

Ignoring the urge to criticize his inevitable facial expressions while thinking, Alwin responded. "All I did was ask for a cooler spell. I don't think that necessarily warrants being sent out. If anything, I'm an in-standing student now."

"Right you are!" praised Lapis. "See, it's that kind of out-of-the-box thinking that makes you such a great pupil. It was actually a test and you passed with flying colors! It took little Milvee so long to realize such a simple answer. I'm so glad that he hasn't rubbed off on you too much. I'm also glad that the possession hasn't taken complete hold of you yet. As your reward, I'll teach you a cooler spell!"

Lapis turned and faced the wooden dummy once again. The frost that had built up on its chest was gone, nothing more than a puddle on the ground now. Alwin kept his eyes peeled, eager to observe the skill that Lapis was about to demonstrate. It was a skill stronger than a regular Blast. This was going to be a treat.

Like before, ice began to emerge in front of Lapis. Rather than taking on the shape of a perfectly round ball, the ice began to stretch outwards. Its surface cracking and shifting as it elongated into a thin and sharp point—about the size and shape of an arrow, just without the fletching.

"Ice A— I mean Icicle Shot!" Lapis shouted.

The attack launched forward impacting the wooden dummy. Like the Ice Blast, it shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces upon impact, leaving a thin layer of frost where it had struck, while the wooden foe wobbled in protest once again.

But, that wasn’t the end of his observation. Something caught Alwin’s eye. Something important. Something significant. Something that he had never seen before. Unlike its Blast counterpart, the Shot did more than give it a new set of frosty clothes. It had done what Alwin had never been able to do before—damage the wooden training dummy.

A small chip barely a millimeter deep had formed where the Icicle had struck.

This was it. This was what Alwin needed.