Sol’s epiphany lasted only an hour, however when she awoke from it, she felt as if she discovered a new world. The cluttering blockages in her soul that were previously an unknown persistent irritate were eradicated. In their place, she found evidence of something wonderful.
Eager eyes darted for An and not a moment after finding him, Sol applied pressure.
“An. Teach me how to use magic.”
“Are you sure? There could be some side effects depending on the method you practice. Not all Assemblers cultivate magic the same way. Like I said, there are thousands of different methods out there. I know of only one that’s suitable for women.”
“Then teach me that one. I can figure out things as I go by myself… Wait, why do you only know one method?”
An stared at Sol as if she were an idiot for a moment. He reflexively felt insulted. Was it the clothes? He had yet to swap out of the maid attire as they were still on their original trip. Had she forgotten he was a man? He wanted to hit her for some reason.
“Why would I care about methods tailored for women?”
“I thought it was your hobby to cross dress…”
“If you didn’t want to learn, you could have told me nicely.”
An turned his gaze to look out the window at the passing scenery. They had long since crossed from Arcgate and into the Blonsall territory. By his estimate, they needed only another day or two before they arrive at the Imperial capital.
Sol watched An ignore her with a wry smile. Placing an innocent expression on her face, Sol sat beside An and started pestering him. She poked his arm.
“Hey…”
The man remained unmoved. His gaze fixed out the window. She poked once more and added a bit of innocence to her voice. Her child-like disposition surged and laced each movement and tone.
“You won’t teach me?”
An tried to remain disinterested, however her antics succeeded in fracturing that stoic outlook he was struggling to maintain. Helplessly, he returned his attention to her. He never could win against the girl when she started playing innocent.
Her puppy eyes and feigned pouting could have won the girl an award. He was certain of that much. She poked him once more after seeing his lips crack into a subtle smile. An felt a bit helpless at their interactions.
He signed once more before resigning. It was always his intention to teach her anyhow, but there was no way he could do it for free.
“Let me ditch the maid outfit and be a butler or something instead.”
Sol immediately shot the idea down. “Impossible. If anyone knew I was taking a male with me and allowed him to ride in my carriage, alone, for the past few days, my reputation would be utterly ruined beyond repair. If you think it’s bad now, you’d be amazed how twisted rumors can become with the slightest spark. Mother is already avoiding most social invites due to me. I see no need to poison the well further. Ask for something else.”
Her attitude remained firm whenever it came to matters affecting her family and so An relented somewhat. He instead decided to teach the girl a lesson, though she would likely find out far into the future. An decided to consider it as payback for all the karma Sol dealt towards him so far.
In his mind, he altered the women's cultivation method slightly to make it more beastial in nature. Although the side effects would be a bit more pronounced,he felt his Master would thank him in the end. Chuckling to himself, An continued his modification until the method suited Sol’s constitution.
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“Fine. Then you’ll follow my orders during the banquet to a tee. If you can agree to that, then I’ll pass along a method to get you started.”
“No problem. You’re supposed to protect me anyhow, why wouldn’t I listen to my bodyguard’s orders?”
An replied with a soft “Cheeky.” before pressing his finger against Sol’s glabella. Information related to a cultivation method dubbed The Unchained Queen Beast method filled Sol’s mind. The initial mental construct assembled itself and Sol felt the stagnant magic in her body get influenced.
Moments later, the sensation disappeared and the magic returned to its dormant state. An noticed the sense of loss exuded from Sol and couldn’t help but laugh at her. He spoke the moment he recollected himself.
“Girl, you have to cycle the method yourself. I only assisted you a little to help you sense how to use the cognitive model.”
“Cognitive model?”
“Yeah. That construct that appeared in your mind is what we Assemblers use to manipulate the magic within ourselves and influence the outside world. The stronger the model and the more precise it is, the greater the difficulty in cultivating it. It’s not uncommon for Assemblers to swap between methods as their strength grows. Utilizing a rather simple model for the beginner stages and improving on that method as they grow is also pretty common.”
“Then can I improve this model as I go?” asked Sol with an uncanny tone. For a moment, An thought the cat was out of the bag, however since the girl remained calm, he dropped his suspicions.
“Of course you can, however I don’t recommend it. I’ve already tailored that method for you. It primarily focuses on strengthening your life force. Until you have a better understanding of how the cognitive models work and how it manipulates the magic within you to alter your body, I suggest you hold off on manipulating it.”
“I understand…”, Sol fell into deep thought over the matter and started reviewing the cognitive model in her mind. She had an uncanny feeling towards it, however nothing in particular stood out. In the end, she took the path An suggested and decided to use that cultivation method until her understanding grew.
Closing her eyes, Sol cycled the method and after a few cycles, she noticed a sensation develop inside her that was similar to the kinesthetic sense. Magic filled and circulated within her body, but it retained a similar shape to her body. Filled with questions, Sol reached out.
“An, I can feel the magic in my body as if it’s molded from my body. What is that?”
“That’s your soul. Magic adheres to the soul and so the soul acts as a container. As you practice more and more, you’ll eventually fill up that container and you’ll have to break through to the next major stage in order to continue growing.”
“Break through?”
“Break through. There’s quite a few stages for Assemblers and depending on how you cultivate, the stages can overlap somehow, however the most common method to measure an individual’s progress is by the number of refinings their soul goes through.
Technically, you’re not an Assembler yet. The potential is there, but your soul and body are still very much Human. During your first break through, you’ll enter the Apprentice Assembler realm. Inside the Apprentice realm are a few minor realms, however they’re not nearly as important.
They’re often named after the common goal posts since refining your body and soul must be done methodically. For example, once you enter the Apprentice Apprentice realm, you’ll first encounter the Body Refiner Realm. Obviously, that means you’ll be reconstructing your body over time to be better suited to storing, manipulating, and defending against magic.”
Sol looked dumbfounded for a moment. She felt as if An was narrating a fantasy book to her. Despite that sense of detachment though, Sol was already planning a future for herself internally. Her body was the primary cause of her weakness and would likely be the lunch pin that killed her in the future.
As such, her immediate desire was to enter the Apprentice Assembler realm and accomplish the Body Refiner stage as soon as possible. While there was no guarantee it would solve her problem, Sol had only practiced The Unchained Queen Beast method for a little bit and her body felt as if it had more strength than usual.
That was to say, if the method didn’t save her, it would at least allow her to live a more normal life without worrying her parents. Sol closed her eyes and entered meditation once more. She cycled the cognitive model while also paying attention to its affects on her body.
The desire to survive had never left Sol, it had only grown stronger. As long as her principles weren’t compromised, there was no method she would consider off limits if it allowed her to recover. Sol remained in meditation for the remaining trip.
Beside her, An kept his creepy smile wide. A hint of humorous expectation flickered across them.