Alwin looked at the wooden dummy, most importantly the scratch that Lapis' Icicle Shot had caused. None of his Blasts had any effect thus far, other than making his blood boil. Even if it was just a mere scratch, it was enough for Alwin. He wanted it. He craved it. He had to have it.

"Is this good enough for you?" Lapis asked.

"More than good enough. Teach me Icicle Shot!" shouted Alwin with enthusiasm.

"Now, that's more like it," said Lapis. "But, before we start I kind of have a confession to make."

Alwin's previous glee plummeted upon hearing those words. Confessions usually meant bad news. So, he braced himself for whatever it was that his grand teacher was about to lay on him.

"I kind of lied during my demonstration earlier. That move was actually called Ice Arrow. But, I called it Icicle Shot because I thought it sounded cooler, plus it looks nothing like an Arrow. Whoever claimed the naming rights to this spell was obviously an idiot," Lapis sighed.

"That's it? A naming issue? Not a problem for me at all. Other than the coolness factor," said Alwin.

"Don't worry, it's still plenty cool. Now let's get down to teaching. But first, how good are you at using Ice Elemental spells?"

"Bad. Never done anything like that in my life."

"Yes, yes. I thought so. In fact, I knew so. But, on the contrary, I was hoping to be wrong so that we could skip this step. Guess not," sighed Lapis.

"It can’t be that bad. I managed to learn how to create Fire Mana, I don't think Ice Mana will be any different."

"Well, it's slightly different, but, no, no. You're right. I just don't like waiting for you to learn a fundamental step because it takes so long," said Lapis. "Moving on! It's actually pretty easy. Now tell me apprentice, what is the first thing you think of when you hear Ice Mana?"

"Cool?" replied Alwin, unsure where Lapis was going with this.

"Fair enough, but wrong answer," said Lapis. "Okay, what's the second thing you think of when you hear Ice Mana?"

"Cold?" replied Alwin, now even more unsure where this was headed.

"Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!" cheered Lapis. "When you made Fire Mana you had to make your regular mana catch on fire, so can you see where I'm going with this?"

"To make Ice Mana I need to let the mana in my mana pool catch on ice?" Now Alwin was even more confused than ever. What does catch on ice even mean?

"No idea what catch on ice means but close enough. What you actually need to do to create Ice Mana is to freeze mana. Simple, right?"

"So, I just have to freeze it? Seems easy enough," said Alwin.

"It is. That's literally what I've been saying. Anyway, have fun, and let me know when you're done. Believe it or not, right now I'm in the mood for ice cream. So ta-ta," said Lapis, already floating out of the training room.

"Wait!" shouted Alwin, causing Lapis to come to a halt.

Sure, the creation of Ice Mana sounded simple enough and he would definitely figure it out by himself given enough time, but that was the issue. Time. It was better for him to take advantage of the wealth of knowledge that was the Minister of Magic. She undoubtedly had tons of tips and tricks to make the process flow faster—even if it was a simple step.

"How do you specifically create Ice Mana?" asked Alwin.

"Me? Well, I'd tell you, but it wouldn't work for you. So why waste the time? Best not to dwell on it and find what works for you." said Lapis, resuming her float out of the door.

"But, what you do could lead to me having a breakthrough and the whole process could go much faster."

"I doubt it, but if it means I get to go eat some ice cream sooner then sure. I just think it and the mana bends to my will and becomes Ice. So what insights can you glean from that?" asked Lapis. Even without a face, Alwin could tell that she was being smug.

Feeling defeated over how useless Lapis' method was, he let out a resigned sigh, "I've learnt that I should listen to your advice next time."

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"Good boy!" said Lapis in a cheerful tone. "Now, to reward myself for being such a great teacher."

"Wait! What about when you use the Ice Mana to create Ice Arrow? How do you do it?"

"Again?" Lapis said, halting in her tracks. "You know, it'd be a lot better for both of us if you just unload all of your questions at once. I only have so much patience before you become a patient. Now for your question. All I have to do is think, the mana bends to my will, and presto. Ice Ar— I mean Icicle Shot. Anything else, apprentice of mine?"

"No, I don't think so," sighed Alwin.

"Good! Now as punishment for wasting my time, you're only allowed to leave this room once you've successfully casted Ice Ar— I mean Icicle Shot. Boys!" Lapis shouted.

Two drones flew into the room, but only one of them carried something atop its diamond-shaped body: a black, jewel-like stone. Meanwhile, the objectless drone used its entire body to nudge the Wooden Training Dummy to the center of the room. Once it was in place, the black jewel was affixed to the dummy’s center, covering the mark that Lapis had managed to create.

"Because I know you're about to ask a question, I've taken the liberty of answering before you even get to ask. Saving us the time wasted from the back and forth which I think I might have just squandered." Lapis said, pausing to evaluate her statement. "Anyway, long story short, break black jewel thing to be set free. Black jewel thing only weak to ice. Me go get ice cream now. Bye-bye."

With that, Lapis raced out of the room along with her drones before Alwin had a chance to ask any more follow-up questions. The door to the lab was slammed shut, taking what little color he had access to in this big white training room. At least, the wooden dummy was still brown.

As if wanting to make a mockery of his thoughts, the wooden training dummy started morphing. The faded brown patches of its wooden grain slowly paled, the color draining away until only pure white remained. Now, the only thing remotely colorful was the black jewel in its center.

Crackling started to echo throughout the room, the sound of static buzzing in the background before a voice finally started to speak. "Testing. Testing. This is headmaster Lapis speaking over the intercom. If you can hear me, don't say anything." There was a short pause as Lapis waited for a response—that was Alwin's assumption anyway. Who checks if someone can hear them by telling them not to say anything?

Finally, she started speaking again. "Good, you can hear me. If you're wondering what just happened, I thought that the best way to help you focus was to make the dummy blend in with the room. Now all you have to focus on is the black spot. You don't have to thank me. Actually, I take it back. You can thank me by creating an Ice Ar— I mean Icicle Shot using Ice Essence. Now, good luck apprentice of mine. We’ve wasted too much time talking so no more words until you manage to learn Ice Ar— I mean Icicle Shot. Anyways, try not to go crazy!"

The intercom clicked off, leaving only Alwin alone with his thoughts.

Lapis was right. There was a lot of wasted time in their back and forth, coupled with all of the introspection he had been doing lately. It felt like things were progressing at a pace where molasses was the fastest thing in the universe. Still, there was just this intrinsic need to analyze everything in detail.

Darn you, Uchronia—not really, he just needed someone to blame—your disappointment had somehow rewired his brain, making him actually think things through.

To quickly summarize: he first needed to create Ice Mana, then mold said mana into an Ice Arrow to pierce the jewel that was trapping him in this stark white room.

There was just one last observation—Alwin was pretty sure what Lapis was doing was similar to a torture method that humans of the old age used to perform. Something something white torture.

Finally moving on to the task at hand, Alwin closed his eyes, letting his consciousness enter his Core. It was the same old Core, just a floating pool of swirling mana with droplets raining down, ripples breaking the surface, as his body naturally replenished his mana reserves.

To create Ice Mana, he had to freeze his mana. Seems simple enough. He was pretty sure he had already done something similar when he was learning how to refine his Mana into Essence—not that he had any intention of participating in Lapis' experiments again.

Freezing something was just a matter of lowering its temperature. Unfortunately, the only way Alwin knew how to do that was by dumping mental ice into his mana pool. Not just a cube. Not just a bucketful. Not even an avalanche. He needed to create an Ice Age.

Hailstones of cold fury spawned into existence inside of his Core. They crashed into the mana pool, creating splashes of chilled mana. As the hailstorm continued, thin sheets of ice began to appear, floating above the ocean of mana.

Had he done it already?

Alwin floated his consciousness to the closest sheet of ice. His mental remote control was summoned, allowing him to view the status of what he was dealing with.

Name: Mental Ice Sheet

Description: A sheet of Ice created by Alwin, through the use of cognitive schemas.

That was disappointing. It wasn't frozen mana, just a bunch of hailstones that had clumped together into a lousy sheet. He needed more ice!

The hailstorm intensified. But, it probably wasn't enough. So, a snowstorm was summoned inside of his Core. Visibility was reduced to near zero, Alwin's consciousness could barely see in front of him. Even so, he could tell it was working, he could feel it—or maybe that was the hypothermia setting in. Could his consciousness even succumb to hypothermia? Whatever the case, he needed to continue.

The Ice Sheet was growing. From an Ice Sheet, it expanded into an Ice Flow, then an Ice Berg, finally stopping at an Ice Shelf that dominated his entire Core. Below him was a layer of ice that sealed his mana pool.

Had he done it? Was it finally cold enough to freeze the mana in his Core, creating Ice Mana?

Only one way to find out.

But, first, he had to find a way to break the ice separating him from the frozen fruits of his labour.