"Eh?" Said the two boys chosen as volunteers by Carlo almost simultaneously. However, one of them, the dear Giulio, had a high-spirited Giorgio on his side who made him get up from his seat with a slap and a kick in the butt. The other, on the contrary, seemed extremely hesitant, so much so that when the first volunteer arrived on stage amid whispers and astonishment from the people, he instead chose to curl up and remain still.

Carlo couldn't help but smile at that scene. Just from the smell and the little aura that came out of that barely twenty-year-old boy, the Alcoholic was able to recognize a familiar scent. A distinctive sign that must have been well kept safe by the recruit's ancestors. That's why, satisfied but slightly fearful of entering the stage personally, he ignored his own instinct and went to lift him up.

"Come on, come on... I don't bite, at least not when I'm drunk..." he later commented, joking with the new acquaintance, before grabbing him by the right arm and pulling him towards himself. However, despite Carlo swearing he had used very little force, the poor recruit immediately felt like he wasn't touching the ground anymore. He drew an arc in the air with his body in a flash, flying for a short distance like a bird in the sky.

And unfortunately for him, just like the flyers, he also let out a little bit of urine due to the scare. Carlo noticed it but avoided commenting, although it disappointed him a little. After that, once he returned to the ground with a certain fear in his heart, he was accompanied more delicately towards the stage.

"Ah, right," Carlo said as they finished the short walk. "I already know the other one. What's your name instead? Are you still the Grappetti or have you changed your surname in the meantime?" he asked, keeping himself smiling and almost not serious, even slapping his back a couple of times.

"I... I..." Unable to react as a man should, the boy panicked and couldn't answer. Instead, he mumbled one or two sentences with questionable sounds and meanings. Until, not wanting to keep all the present waiting, Carlo took his wrist and closed his eyes for a few seconds. Then, before resuming the lesson, he said, "Ugo, eh? Even in my time, there was an Ugo Grappetti... Actually, now that I think about it, he too ended up being the third-born. What coincidences there are in this world. Well, anyway, nice to meet you Ugo. I'm Carlo, Carlo Becchi. If you want to make me happy, Amari and the like are always welcome."

Obviously, in a normal situation, being called by name and surname by a stranger whom you have never even exchanged half a word with would put anyone on guard. However, considering that Ugo had already been conserving energy since the recruits' gaze had focused on him... well, let's just say that strength of character was not his strong suit. Poor guy.

Especially considering his status as a second-year student and third child of a relatively important Clan in the Valley. Or, at the very least, just to save face, he should have held his head high instead of looking down and slouching.

But for Carlo, this was not important. Attitude often made the difference between an expert and meat for the slaughter, but for him, the Grappetti were good people to thank for their efforts. He certainly wouldn't refuse to put one of their descendants in line just because he had, slightly, wet himself and had less balls than the only female recruit he had had dealings with so far.

"Well, my dear," he said after a minute of personal reflection, opening his arms fanwise to indicate Giulio and Ugo. "Here, we have two very good examples of why a Support Technique like Little Lake could save your life as a Cultivator," advancing a step while clenching his fist in a theatrical manner and, I imagine, without a real reason.

He then focused his attention on Giulio and began to explain: "Look here, for example," approaching his companion without worrying about receiving a punch in the face but, on the contrary, treating him like a sort of doll and moving him as he pleased. It is still a mystery how Giulio managed to say or do nothing in the meantime; but perhaps it had to do with what Carlo said while pulling his limbs or pinching his skin. "This boy is still young, but it is clear that he has worked diligently on his physique. His Cultivation is still firmly stuck at the First Meridian, but his body would already be ready for the next step. Paradoxically, the stress that his body was forced to endure when he failed to Advance allowed him to grow much more than any other traditional training could have done."

He interspersed his words with a few unnecessary slaps before giving a couple more quick examples to help the kids in front of him understand what he was talking about. He tried, as much as possible, to make the concepts he wanted the crowd to grasp clear and simple, focusing on the positive and negative aspects of the training regime that Giulio had undergone to achieve his current condition, deducing this information from what Mana and the state of the body suggested to him.

It wasn't a method that was perfect one hundred percent of the time, but it was sufficient for a simple practical demonstration.

What he had no idea about, however, was that even Gianpiero was hanging on his every word at the moment. Despite the fact that these were trivial matters for someone who was knowledgeable about divine affairs, for people of that time, this information could only be obtained after a lifetime of study and reflection. Simply put, they had too different perspectives on the matter.

That's why the Alcoholic expert interpreted the general silence and lost looks as a failure. For him, it was like those kids, and we can include Gianpiero in the mix, were telling him that the lesson was boring and senseless. It was a blow that hurt him more than necessary, especially since he had agreed to put himself out there to repay a bottle of wine. To fail would have meant making a mockery of his very respectable producers.

"Ahem!" Not wanting to cause such a disgrace, and leaving aside for a moment that only he and a certain Cat would probably think of something like this, Carlo cut Giulio short and quickly moved on to Ugo.

He first adjusted his posture, resembling that of a pensioner, with the same gentleness that an animal would use with its prey, before resuming his explanation. Ugo, on the other hand, was sore and unsteady due to this treatment, but captivated as he was by the speeches of that strange boy in worn clothes, he didn't even think to complain. He remained waiting for him to speak again. A silence that irritated poor Carlo a bit, but let's move on.

"Here, we have the opposite example!" he resumed, raising his voice, adorned with a confidence that only the use of a light drug could provide. Then he said, without further touching his victim: "The body and Mana are unbalanced, but here it was Mana that surpassed the body! Whether it was due to a weak mentality or a lack of consistency in training doesn't matter. Since I wouldn't be able to say either way... Let's move on! The important part is that, even at the gates of his Third Meridian, the mind will always block some of the strength of his Mana in order to protect the body. In this state, no matter what kind of Pill or Potion you swallow, you will never be able to make an Advance!"

As he spoke, Carlo became more and more heated and, starting to enjoy himself, he clapped his hands to draw complete attention to himself. “That being said,” he said in a calmer tone more suited to the topic. “A Technique like Small Lake is born precisely to fix a situation like this. In most cases, practicing it consistently will be enough to avoid growing unbalanced or remedying the damage already caused. Of course, compared to the original Technique from which it probably derives, it has a thousand limits. The... the... the girl who invented it at the time always tended to worry more than necessary. That's why when she created Pacific Ocean, which was the name of the Technique, we were all more worried than happy. You should know that the more complex the Technique is, the more effort the user will have to endure, proportionally, and its possible consequences. However... Well, we were worried for nothing in the end. That damn girl knew more than the devil, and in the end, she even managed to eliminate almost all the collateral damage and Constraints of her Technique. You should also know..."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Carlo spoke for several minutes, recounting events that even Gianpietro had never heard of. He was never specific about when or directly named the people he mentioned, but his story was no less heartfelt. At a certain point, however, when he still had to conclude the story of a specific event, the boy clenched his lips and lowered his head.

The boys sitting in their seats, as well as the Instructor, pushed their necks forward to hear the rest of the story, sure they had already gathered enough points for reflection that could make them improve quickly. It was a sort of custom in the world of cultivation, given how lonely one's journey could be, to use the experiences and knowledge of others to reflect on oneself and improve. A bit like it would be for a sailor to follow the routes of others before him to overcome a sea in which he had never found himself before.

In any case, Carlo did not conclude his story. He did not explain the reason, but instead firmly wore a barely hinted smile and retraced his steps. He ordered Giulio and Ugo to, I quote verbatim: "Throw yourself on the ground!" He also raised his finger in a motion of ignorance and sobriety.

The two obeyed without a word, captured by the previous rambling of that strange boy. Then, satisfied with their obedience, Carlo released a tiny amount of Mana from his fingers. He drew a sort of human figure in the air to visually show how Small Lake should be used. Not content with that, he explained a second time, focusing on the two human cases currently under his wing, what to do and how to do it. However, he spoke in a loud and firm enough tone so that everyone could hear him.

And, as Heaven could bear witness, Gianpiero almost punched himself in the face to snap out of his confusion and drowsiness. How could he call himself a scholar if he didn't take down as much knowledge as the gods were offering him on a silver platter?

At the moment, he couldn't care less about his damn bottle or Carlo's identity. No, all that stuff was so inconsequential that his brain wiped it clean. But as the saying goes, what Heaven gives, Heaven takes away. And in this case, poor Instructor cursed his lack of materials to write down what he was hearing and learning.

Driven by an inexplicable fervor comparable only to a strong sexual desire, the young Instructor immediately sacrificed the backs of some borrowed documents related to Asparetto. Sheets that, by the way, if he returned in bad condition, his future father-in-law would… Well, we can move on. Amidst the excitement of that information, however, even that did not come to mind, despite the pen causing more and more damage without any indication of wanting to stop.

"Clear on everything?" Carlo asked the two boys, while Gianpiero's misadventures played out in the background. He had already told them everything they needed to know about what and how to do it. If they were even a little smarter than monkeys, then they wouldn't have any trouble completing the task and using the Technique correctly.

Giulio and Ugo had more doubts than certainties in the face of that ultimatum. Although they didn't know each other, they looked at each other in the same way. Even though they weren't the brightest bulbs, they understood they had lucked out. Just being there to listen was a blessing for a normal recruit. Meanwhile, the two of them had even been selected for direct teaching, an event that only Ugo had experienced while still within his Clan.

However, moved by the awareness that a single Technique couldn't change their destinies or heal their Cultivations, much of the tension they felt inside dissipated. Learning the theory had to be the first step, while it would be up to practice to generate good fruits to eat. That was just the first step in reaching Advancement in the future.

Unfortunately, the Lambrusco artist behind them didn't share the same idea. Sure, as soon as he noticed that the two had started using Small Lake, he intervened a little, touching their backs to guide their Mana in case of derailments. But for the most part, he really believed that both of them were already ready for the big leap and a single session, presided over by him, would be enough.

And so, to the frightened and unbelieving looks of the students, the World Mana began to flood into the room where they were. It crept through the cracks in the walls, flowed beneath the doors, and then spiraled like a strong autumn wind, finally settling like a veil around Giulio and Ugo, who were completely absorbed in their Technique and unaware of the commotion they were about to cause.

From that moment on... Well, if I were to describe it as 'a huge mess like a sudden storm in the middle of summer’, I doubt anyone present could argue with me.

It wasn't just witnessing some absurd event. Rather, at least from the students' point of view, it was more like being suddenly swept away by violent winds and blinding lights when just a second before the sky seemed perfectly clear. That said, it's probably better to take it slow and explain one thing at a time.

At the beginning of the pyrotechnic show, the World Mana, a energy similar to a subdued glow of raw emerald color, had already filled the room. The sensation of being in the middle of such a dense cloud was almost suffocating for students with lower Cultivation Bases. Luigi, for example, felt such a tightness in his chest that he fainted.

It was a pressure that didn't just come from above, but compressed the body from all directions, involuntarily refining the Cultivation Bases even of those who were not directly involved in Carlo's practical test. Not that there was anything surprising about it. Mana, after all, was the energy that made everything in the universe move, but at the same time, a high concentration of it could easily kill even an experienced Cultivator if they didn't know exactly what they were doing.

Once the peak density was reached, the sturdy wooden boards that formed the building began to visibly vibrate. Then, Carlo raised his head and murmured some strange words in a language that had already disappeared. The Mana, however, seemed to recognize those commands and stopped pushing at the door, instead beginning to orbit around the three of them and reuniting, in the end, circuit after circuit, in dozens of trails formed by incalculable grains of colored sand.

Finally, as if the world were about to end, some of those particles accelerated more and more, slamming into each other with violence and causing flashes and thunder that could even be heard in the city. Despite this, there was no sign of a Tribulation in the sky. This meant that nothing had been done outside the rules defined by the World that limited the freedom of action of all creatures below the Heavens, including various types of deities.

Obviously, the execution of Small Lake was only a small cause of all that mess. Wanting to show off a bit given the weak reactions of the public, Carlo had summoned a large amount of Mana to advance not only the two boys, bound to him by their ancestors, but also the rest of the people around him. After all, why shouldn't he have done it? Gianpiero had 'offered' him good wine without even complaining. Doing something similar was the least he could do to honor his chivalrous gesture.

At that point, both Giulio and Ugo had already stabilized their Cultivation Bases. The former could form his Second Meridian at any time, while the latter could form his Third Meridian. What they needed at that point were several days or weeks, depending on their talent, to gather the World Mana within themselves and subsequently attempt the great leap.

However, when they reopened their eyes, fearing they were delirious and risking losing control of their sphincter, they realized they had so much energy ready for use around them that they could immediately Advance. Of course, Carlo had to intervene personally when they lost concentration, but it was only a moment. Immediately after, both Captain Asshole and Courage General were forced to get back to work driven by a 'higher force' that prevented them from taking a step or getting up.

Needless to say, being under the care of the Alcoholic, the chances of failing in their enterprise tended towards zero; and, even if they had wanted to, they would have been forced to turn back with two slaps and a half curse before it was too late.

And so it was that a new luminous ball formed quickly on both their heads, the size of a walnut, which began to rotate around an empty point at the center, drawing an elliptical orbit. Giulio found himself with two of those balls while Ugo formed his third.

Little was known about the nature of those balls, even by Cultivators. However, more out of tradition than proven scientific discovery, that vision that appeared only following an Advancement was called Manifestation, and, as the name suggested, showed outside a rarefied and incorporeal image of the state of the Meridians that were instead somewhere inside the body; or, at least, that was the most popular theory since ancient times. A theory that was mostly correct, by the way, but if one wanted to prove it, one had to become a fool like Carlo and have the resources to do the same things he did at the time.

"I must say it was more fun than expected," Carlo said once he had finished his work, letting go of the two boys sitting next to him. "I'll stop here for today. It should be enough to repay my debt," he said, this time addressing Gianpiero, too busy with his writing to realize he had been addressed, concluding after a brief sigh: "Maybe I went too far. They're worse off than I thought."