"So you're ready to learn this new skill? Well too bad, because you still got to sit through some explanations. Thus was the life of a student. Got to do some theory before you get your hands dirty. Where was I going with this? Oh right, the explainy-wainy bit."
Lapis' Spirit Hands began to draw on the whiteboard—a funnel with a mesh made out of a crisscross of red and blue markers.
"This is what you're going to use to filter out the impurities: a filter funnel. Creating the funnel inside of your core is the easy part, creating the filter paper is the hard part and I guess modifying your mana is the hard part too. So two hards and one easy. Now. have you drank coffee before? Know what a coffee filter is?"
"I've drank coffee before, but what's a coffee filter?"
"Well, I'd show you and it'd probably make your life easier, but I'm lazy. Also just think of it as training. Anyways, how good are you at multitasking"
The part about him having to do more work did sound like it would suck a lot, but he'd just suck it up. Now there was an opportunity for him to show off the fruits of his efforts, a huge grin spread across Alwin's face. "I'm pretty good at it, been practicing a lot lately."
"Good. Because it's easier to try it out for yourself and I don't exactly want to repeat myself. So, close your eyes and feel your core. I want you to imagine a funnel and maybe a bucket to collect the refined mana. Use whatever you fancy."
Alwin did as told. Darkness enveloped his vision as he sealed his eyes, and that darkness soon gave way to the inside of his core. His consciousness floated over the large swirling whirlpool that was his mana, while drops of mana rained down from the ceiling creating innumerable ripples in his mana pool.
A glass funnel appeared within his core, held up by a pair of mental hands that were conjured up at the same time. From within his Core, he heard the voice of Lapis bleed in, echoing around the spherical chamber—all of that multitasking practice was really helping!
"You got the funnel?" the voice echoed.
"Yes," Alwin said, diverting a minuscule amount of brain power to operating his mouth.
"Great, now I'm going to describe the properties of the filter. Based on those properties, I need you to create a piece of filter paper. First, the thickness. It's about as thick as any old piece of paper you'll find lying around. I only said it in case you're one of those gung-ho types who'll come up with a piece of paper as thick as a book."
A piece of paper exactly as described by Lapis appeared in his mind, swaying from side to side as it floated downwards before finally landing atop the funnel he had made.
"How good are you at manipulating things you've already created within your Core?" Lapis asked.
"You can do that?" replied Alwin. "I just thought it was a one-and-done thing, and never realized that you could still tweak them.
"Well, we can work on that later, for now, we'll just do it by iteration. Now on the next iteration, I want you to make the paper more durable, it has to resist tearing apart when soaked in liquid, but not completely waterproof, it still has to let liquid through. The longer it can hold up the better, let's say five minutes for now. So, have fun, and let me know when you're done."
Alwin got to work. He dipped the first piece of paper into his mana pool, just to see what would happen—a small part of him was hoping that everything would work out from the get-go, but alas life wasn't that simple. Water traveled up the piece of paper, soaking it. Alwin's eye twitched in irritation as he watched the paper dissolve and rip into pieces.
This might take a while. He didn't know what he was doing or how to go about doing it. He definitely should ask Lapis for some tips, but no! This was the chance for him to prove himself, to prove that he was capable of learning on his own.
Filter paper. Filter paper. Filter paper. Make a piece of paper that survives in water. Alwin poured all of his intent into conjuring a piece of paper that could survive in water for five minutes, but each one broke apart faster than he could say 'paper mache'.
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This was getting frustrating. Alwin was getting peeved. If trying it out one by one wasn't going to work, then why not a bombardment? Dozens of pieces of paper fluttered down from high up in the air, landing in the pool of mana—each piece of paper filled with the intent to survive in liquid. They soaked it right up, only to tear and break apart into soggy scraps in less than five seconds. That was a definite improvement from his earlier attempts, but if he kept this up his mana pool would eventually become a paper pool.
None of it was working. The longest piece had only survived for ten seconds and that was 673 pieces ago. Good thing the papers here were created using his mind. Otherwise, there would be a lot of angry eco-friendly warriors armed with pitchforks heading his way. Still, he needed a way to actually create a piece of mental paper that could survive being soaked in mana, but he simply lacked the control. Wait, control? That's it! He just needed control.
The best way to gain control was with a controller, but what type of controller? The only controllers that he knew about were the control panels under Milvus' desk and in the Evolution Chamber, and the remote controllers that ancient humans used to control their colorful square boxes called television. If he had to choose, it'd be the latter, simply because they'd fit in one of his mental hands and he wouldn't have to worry about the big control panel falling into his mana pool and short-circuiting.
Within his Core, Alwin conjured up a remote control similar to the ones ancient humans used to use. It was long, black, and rectangular with a myriad of buttons that did who knows what—well, the humans knew but that wasn’t the point.
There weren’t any ancient humans floating about within his core which left Alwin with one choice. Try each and every button until he hit the jackpot. With the remote pointed at a newly summoned piece of paper, Alwin began his barrage. He commanded his mental hands to press down on every single button, the smooth gray surfaces depressing under the force. A moment passed, with nothing happening. Then two moments, still nothing. Four moments, then eight, sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-four, and finally one hundred and twenty-eight moments, and... something happened.
A menu appeared on the paper: ‘Settings.’ The options were, well, lacking. Only one: Wet Strength. Alwin didn’t hesitate. Using the directional buttons, he cranked the Wet Strength up to eleven.
Alwin grabbed the modified piece of paper and dipped it into his mana pool. The liquid mana traveled up the white piece of paper, turning it into a sopping wet mess. But that was a good thing. It remained a sopping wet mess, instead of transforming into a pile of bits and pieces—he was finally moving in the right direction.
One, two, three, four, five... two hundred ninety eight, two hundred ninety nine, three hundred! Yup, Alwin counted until his five minutes were up instead of using a stopwatch or a timer like a normal sensible person. That's because Alwin was special. The type of special that carried a good connotation instead of a negative one.
"I did it!" Alwin shouted, opening his eyes only for them to get assaulted by the bright white room that Lapis had decided was the optimal place for training.
Lapis wasn't in front of him. Alwin looked around and finally found the location of his elusive grand teacher. There she floated, in front of a table that she must've dragged in. On the table was a giant glass bowl, the centerpiece of the attraction, along with dozens of loose sheets of paper scattered all over the place. Her drones zipped around, carrying test tubes and flasks filled with various liquids and powders. Her Spirit Hands would grab whatever items the drones were transporting only to dump their contents into the giant glass bowl in front of her. Lapis hadn't heard him, she had all of her efforts placed in whatever experiment that she was conducting. It must've been a type of experiment that was possible only by the person that held the title 'Minister of Magic'. An experiment so grand, that it would change the very lives of the monsters in the city.
Alwin hopped over to where Lapis was conducting her experiment. His eyes were peeled open, focusing on every minute detail. This was 'serious-business' Alwin reporting for duty—not like he hadn't been here this whole time. Who knows what sort of knowledge and invaluable insights he might be able to glean from this encounter.
She poured in different types of powders. Some white, some dark brown, she even used some sort of metal apparatus to sift the powder—she must be getting rid of impurities too! Next, were the liquids. There was a clear one that must've been water, but she added in two more liquids that he had no clue what they were. They were a deep golden yellow and a thick creamy white. After pouring them all in, a Spirit Hand carrying a wooden spoon came swooping in and began to stir the mixture. What kind of concoction was Lapis brewing?
Once she had completed the ritual did she finally notice Alwin watching her every move. "Did you manage to last five minutes?"
"Yes, I did. What are you creating?" Alwin asked.
"Oh, this. Just conducting some experiments."
"What kind of experiment? Is it the beginning of some super-powerful spell? Some amazing creation that would change the course of history?"
"Nope. Just trying out a new cake recipe for my cafe."
Alwin's reality shattered—he really was an idiot. It was so obvious. How could he have not seen the signs? There was only one thing left to do. Drown his shame in more work.