Elem closed his eyes and tried to meditate in the way his father had taught him. Given how much had happened over the last few weeks, it was only natural that he had developed an incredible amount of anxiety. Everything about him was tense and he felt as if his very soul was weighed down by his crippling ambition and his fear to fail.

He took a deep breath, figuring it was pointless to think so much. If a breakthrough were to come, it would do so regardless of whether Elem was worrying about it or not. For now, the best thing he could do was stay calm and allow himself to take a pause. Before he’d do anything else, the storm inside his mind had to settle first.

“Wait until the mud settles and the water becomes clear,” his father’s words echoed through his thoughts. Through Ardan’s teaching, Elem had learned not to mentally engage with his worries but to leave them for what they were. As such, he would simply sit in silence and solely focus on his breathing.

While meditating, he slowly felt a lightness fall over him while his body simultaneously began to regenerate its own Essence. The energy danced through his frame in a calm, content manner; like a ribbon gently dancing wind. As the Essence-levels within his body increased, Elem felt the Kappa’s presence gain prevalence as well. The Water Summon was waiting to be called with the intensity of a hungry dog drooling for a bone.

Elem ignored his Kappa and patiently bided his time. He kept concentrating on his breath, blocking out any expectations before they could even arise. Meanwhile, the Essence within his body kept expanding. It rose and rose until Elem could feel the energy softly escape his pores like water overflowing from a cup. It was a strange sensation. Something he had never experienced before and was now leading him down an uncharted path. Elem placed his palms on the grass, allowing his Essence to ooze into the earth and spread across the meadow much like the roots of a tree.

And then it happened.

His muscles tightened, his pupils widened and Elem could feel the rhythm of all that was around him; the blades of grass swaying in the morning wind, the flowers thirsting for sunlight and even the miniscule bugs crawling between it all. Elem could only barely contain his astonishment. The old hermit was right. Everything seemed to emit some kind of Essence.

By allowing it to bleed beyond the confines of his body, Elem’s own energy appeared to function like a sort of supersonic echo, a tool that allowed him to perceive the world around him. A world consisting of a constant exchange of Essence, steadily swirling and morphing until the end of times. According to Balthazar’s theory, Elem should be able to somehow draw from the Essence that surrounded him. If that were true, his potential as a summoner would be limitless.

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As time passed by, Elem could feel more and more. He experienced the butterflies fluttering around him, the trees along with their hundreds of leaves and even the energy pouring from the sun. He churned his Essence forward, casting it out like a net, before pulling it back to him directly after. Having acted more out of instinct than strategy, Elem was surprised when the effort paid off. The energy poured into his body. The hairs on his arms stood up and some of his muscles began twitching. This was a power he’d never experienced before. This was something else, something ethereal; as if he had dabbled into heaven itself and had become one with all of existence.

He figured now was the time to call the Kappa. Elem only had to think of his Summon and the Kappa instantly emerged from its watery vortex. Due to their intimate connection, the Water Summon had been exposed to the meteoric increase of Essence within Elem’s body. As it faced its summoner, the Kappa straightened its posture. It rolled its shoulders back and slightly cocked its beaked face to the side.

The summon exerted confidence in a way Elem hadn’t had seen before. Even the dish on top of the Summon’s head glowed brighter than ever and blue light radiated from its fierce glare. Elem watched the turtle-like summon as it folded its webbed claws into fists and snarled into the air. The Kappa then launched a beam of gleaming water from its crown like an erupting geyser. The water reached high into the sky, lighting up the entire meadow in the process.

Elem could only gasp at the sight. So this was what his Summon was truly capable of. He had seen glimpses of the Kappa’s potential before -his duel with Fawkes’ Vodyanoy came to mind- but he hadn’t seen it display such a pure demonstration of power yet. Clearly, the Kappa wanted him to see what it could do.

He watched until his Summon finished its move and the aquatic pillar disintegrated into a multitude of luminous raindrops. If he could master this unusual method of gathering Essence, Elem was sure it would elevate him to a whole other level.

“That was impressive,” rang Balthazar’s voice.

The hermit’s sudden comment caught Elem off guard. He’d been so focused on his training sessions that he had completely forgotten he wasn’t the only person at the meadow. Come to think of it, the Kappa’s beam had probably awoken the others.

“You figured that out quickly,” the man added. “I don’t think I’ve seen a student manage to do that so easily.”

“Thank you,” Elem answered as he quickly broke his trance. “It was nothing. Just some morning exercises.”

His face flushed, he didn’t mean to attract Balthazar’s attention. While the man's words were polite and the session felt like an immense personal accomplishment, Elem knew he’d probably come across like an absolute amateur in the eyes of the retired champion.

“I see the sun has come up,” he continued, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. “Aja and I should probably get going now and leave you alone. Thank you for-”

“No…” Balathazar raised his hand in a dismissive gesture. “You are not going anywhere. We have work to do.”