A dim, orange sunlight peeked out from the windows of the room and bestowed visibility into Avures's room. The crack of dawn... And he was awake for it. As he had woken up, he noticed that Rael was absent from her bed. Usually, she'd still be asleep around this time, or even waking him up depending on her mood. Sometimes he heard Olicia or Ventrix stirring about from across the hall, or Bif and Lylas arguing or having some sort of arbitrary contest. But everything was totally silent... It was going to be time for breakfast soon, and no one seemed to either be awake or be in their room. Perhaps everyone had truly taken the idea of getting stronger seriously...
As Avures strapped on the last of his equipment, he couldn't help but dwell on the fact that his stomach felt empty. Zen had told him not to eat anything at all for the purpose of their training... He hoped to forget the feeling of hunger at some point through the day, but knew it would most likely plague him until he started the real hard parts of the training. Avures sighed, having no clue what awaited him in the arena room. Usually, he liked to have some semblance of an idea as to what was going on for a class or outing. But, it seemed like he was totally left in the dark on purpose.
He knew it was about the Principles of Zen... Focus and clarity... Yesterday's training had nearly nothing to do with it at all. In fact, it was just a reteaching of a prior concept. Though it made sense to Avures. If this "Zen Mode" truly boosted his Magic Potency, it made sense to get Avures up to the same speed as everyone else first. Still, all that solo study... The only thing that made Avures superior in casting was his ability to do it spontaneously and knowing advanced techniques. Otherwise, he was just a weakling comparatively...
But for today... What was in store? Avures glanced to his blackened right arm. Zen said not to rely on it, but also that they were going to cultivate the power itself. Whatever he meant by that, Avures couldn't deny that he was the slightest bit curious about what was in store today. However, he wasn't one to doubt the words of his teacher. He, instead, turned his attention to his left arm.
"Avura..." Avures closed his eyes and bowed his head. He was facing towards the door, ready to depart, but he needed to confirm something...
"Oh? Need something?" Avura sat on the edge of Avures's bed, kicking her legs back and forth. A long pause sat between the two of them as Avures tried to make out what he wanted to say and ask. He had a general idea, but no clear descriptive way of conveying what exactly he meant. Along with this, there was so much he didn't know about...
"How many of the previous days have you seen? How much of my life have you been watching me for?" Avures opened his eyes and stared at the plain wooden door.
"Hmm... I guess for as long as you've been here. I just remember waking up one day and being able to watch over you." Avura gave off a confused look as the air-kicking ceased.
"Were you already aware of who I was? Did you know how much time had passed?... Did you know you were dead?" Avures felt guilty throwing three questions at once at her, but he needed more confirmation. "Since I've been here?... That would line up with my Future Sight being awakened..."
"Mhm, mhm, and yep!... It was actually like I was in a deep sleep. Once I woke up, I knew what was going on. After all, I left you with my soul, little brother. I did that on purpose... That way, maybe someday, you could make use of what I left you." Avura's legs began kicking again as her lips curled into a small smile.
"Are you... Able to pass on?" Avures turned himself to face the ghostly visage of his sister.
"Uh... Yeah, I think so. I mean, I'm not haunting you, goofy..." Avura rolled her eyes and laughed. As she settled back down, Avura noticed how Avures seemed to be in thought. "Well, unless you think of it that way... I guess I just want to be able to look out for you still... Make sure you stay safe..."
"Don't you want to go to heaven? Aren't our parents waiting for you?"
"I'm sure Mom and Dad are waiting to see me again... So, I think I'll just stick around until I know you'll be fine on your own... Unless you really want me gone..." Avura shrugged.
"No, it's not that. I'm just glad you're not stuck here I suppose... I just also hope that you aren't watching everything... You know?" Avures darted his eyes off to the corner of the room as he scratched his cheek.
"Oh?... Oh. Baby brother, don't worry. I won't be watching everything you do... That would be really embarrassing for both of us, but mostly you..." Avura's smile turned into a sinister and sly grin as her cheeks turned slightly red. "Especially if I happened to see something like- Oh, I don't know... Some red-head girl fall asleep in your lap along with you moments later..."
"-Uh...." Avures's eyes went wide as he froze in place.
"Or maybe you put a beat down on that same girl..."
"I-eh-I...." Avures covered his mouth as he stammered about.
"Or, what if?... What if I saw you get real close to her and "fix" her outfit?... And then she delicately dragged her bloody finger over your face as she sweetly talked to you?..."
"Stop-Stop-Stop!... Please, Stop!" Avures buried his face in his hands as it turned from a pale color into that of a tomato.
"Ha-ha!... Avures! Don't worry... I especially won't look when you finally kiss her too." Avura jumped up from her brother's bed and put her face next to his, bending over to peek at his rose-red face.
"Please..." Avures was completely motionless.
"Oh... I'm sorry... I guess." Avura stood back up straight as she mumbled out the last part. "But, you know, it's really clear that she loves you... Don't you love her? Or is it not like that for you?"
"I-... I guess you could say I do... But I'm not too sure of what it means to "love" someone. I suppose I'm not ready yet either..." Avures fixed his posture and removed his hands from his face as he took a deep breath.
"Maybe it's like what you said before about not really knowing our parents and me..." Avura stared at her brother, knowing full-well that what she said wasn't the case. It was apparent on Avures's face that he didn't agree with that assessment.
"I don't know..." Avures refrained from trying to correct her, knowing he wouldn't be able to explain himself... "Avura. The main reason I wanted to talk to you... You left behind everything you could for me..."
"Correct..."
"Am-... Am I allowed to use it?" Rather than looking her in the eyes, Avures seemed to stare at her shoulder blade instead.
"Huh?... Pf. Ha... Yeah, duh. I gave that part of me to you for you." Avura chortled as she covered her mouth.
"Are you sure? Cause I-"
"Avures. How many times have we been over this?"
"I suppose plenty... But it's not just about some uncertainty." Avures closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. He clasped his left wrist with his right hand... "I'm done with taking the easy way out on things. I want to earn your permission to use what you left me... The left arm, the ability to see the past... I suppose it's too late to ask to earn that, but everything else... I want to feel as though I've done something right to earn it. Training with Master Zen in a short time made me realize how important something like that is."
"I think I see what you mean..."
"Despite everything... Despite our parents giving up their lives for me... Despite that you gave your life for me as well... Despite that you even gave me what power you had... I haven't been a good brother to you, and I haven't lived up to my name. I haven't done anything to merit what I've been gifted."
"I don't think you ever had a chance to do any of that..." Avura's smile faded out as stared at the boy's emotionless face. "As in, the opportunity hasn't arrived."
"No... I've just been aimless is all. Even now, the only thing I know for real that I want is to just clear a path towards a future with everyone important to me... I can't ever say that I've had a discernible goal. I have one now that's more solid and tangible... But I want to be able to fulfill whatever you might ask of me. That, so I can feel as if-... If even for a moment, like I've done right by you."
"Okay okay... How about this?" Avura held up a single finger as the smile on her face made a return. "If you can show me that you can do fine on your own... That you can make your big sister proud... I'll allow you to use my power, and I'll get out of your hair for good..."
"I'll try-... I'll... I'll make you proud..."
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Avures placed his arms on the reception desk in front of him and stared at the person manning it. The man behind the desk sighed as he planted his forehead down on the wooden surface. As he peeled his face off of it, he found himself dismayed to see that Avures was still standing there.
"Can I... Help you?" The librarian put his hands together and placed them where his face rested for a single moment.
"I'm looking for something, and I have no clue where to begin in finding it." Avures looked the librarian in the eye. Both of them held a similar tone of speaking towards each other.
"Wow. Incredible. That's actually unheard of." The librarian clapped his hands together at a slow, mocking rate. The expression on his wrinkled face was stagnant, seemingly forever curled into a frown. "Ah... Look, as long as you're not going to ask me about the- Oh... Of course, why wouldn't you be here too?"
"Hm?" Avures took his arms off the desk and turned around. Ventrix marched down the hall with a book hugged close to his chest.
"Oh. Funny seeing you here, Avures." Ventrix smiled and tilted his head as he placed the book down on the librarian's desk. Avures met his friend's eyes and gave a nod, then turned his attention to the book... "Beginner Level - Light Destruction"...
"I thought you would already know that stuff..." Avures tapped a finger on the book cover. This sort of book was one that was a compiled list of known techniques. It was the kind of books that Avures would frequent in order to pick new things to learn, before finding the original source book to learn more about it.
"It wasn't for me. It was for Lylas. He asked me to help him with training. It's why I couldn't really stick around for long yesterday..." Ventrix shook his head and shrugged. "As it has turned out, we don't really require it. So, I'm returning it."
"Huh... That's right... I almost forgot about that..." Avures watched the librarian sigh in response to Ventrix's question before giving a weak thumbs-up. "As it is, I might not even see everyone else until it's time to go again..."
"What are you doing here, Avures?" Ventrix brushed his hair out of his face and awaited a response.
"That's... What I'm also trying to figure out..." Avures turned his attention back towards the librarian who seemed to never be too pleased about having to do his job. "I'm looking for anything on Runic Magic..."
"Oh." The librarian seemed to animate by the slightest bit as his attention lifted to Avures's words. "It's been quite some time since I've had anyone pass through and ask for that..."
"Well?" Avures gripped the edge of the table as silence filled the front area of the library.
"And... Well, I can't really help you. We don't have any books or sources on it... Not anymore."
"What do you mean by that? Around fifteen years ago, there should have been an addition from-" Avures flinched as the librarian raised his hand up and put it in his face.
"Avuran Kovar. Yes, I'm well aware. As I recall, Mister Valkir was very enthused by its addition and the possibility of that man being able to teach it as well... It is why I must also apologize to you, Avures." The librarian folded his hands together and lowered his face. Avures was a bit caught off guard that the man even remembered his name... "If I'm right in assuming he was your father, I'm terribly sorry to say that we have no copies of his original work, nor the original piece itself."
"No..." Avures clenched the table with a greater amount of force as his brow furrowed and his gaze fell to the floor below him. In a small promise he had made to himself, Avures had wanted to give Runic Magic a try. If not for his own sake, at least to make an effort in indulging something that his family had a hand in. Not only that, as far as he knew, it was the only remaining piece left behind by his family... "Is-... Is it destroyed?..."
"As far as I'm aware... No. The whole issue is my own fault. I had been working on transcribing a copy... But, under the impression that Avuran would later make a more refined work, I ceased creation of a copy and allowed a student to check out the book from here... While it is fully my fault for not creating a copy anyways due to a bit of laziness... There's no denying that it was a set of perfectly adjacent events after which led to this in the first place."
"Adjacent events? Like what?" Ventrix leaned against the desk as his interest seemed to be piqued. But he felt some sadness and feelings of sorrow as he stared at his friend. Avures was completely motionless. He simply stared at the floor while still holding a grip on the desk. Ventrix hated that it felt like a spectacle to see Avures like this. The most emotion he might ever see from him...
"Well. For starters, there was the cult massacre in Belva that left the village completely destroyed which also resulted in Avuran Kovar's death. After that happened, I tried to contact that student and regain possession of the book... But I was never able to do so. As it turned out, that student cut ties with the Academy and went rogue. No one's seen or heard from him since."
"What's his name?..." Avures's head turned upward as his narrowed gaze met the librarian's eyes. The librarian seemed taken aback by the student's change of demeanor. Ventrix recoiled as he felt an air of determination that was completely unrecognizable. Avures let go of his grip and planted his hands flat on the desk. "You must have his name... Right?"
"Of course. But I can't condone-" The librarian couldn't finish his own sentence in the face of Avures's glare. It gave off a sort of primal aura that seemed unnatural given the source... It was that shock and perhaps the slightest shred of sympathy that made the librarian rethink his answer. "Actually... I suppose it would benefit us both if you were able to retrieve the book... Muradin Pomos. That's the name of the person who last had the book..."
"Muradin Pomos..." Given this information before, Avures might not have even considered himself to be able to follow through on this lead. But with the training from Zen... The power he could cultivate... It was possible. And so, it was decided. He would reclaim that book, no matter what...
"I'll keep that in mind too... Otherwise..." Ventrix pushed himself off of the desk and planted his hand on Avures's shoulder. "I hate to ask this of you considering I basically had to turn you down yesterday... But how is the puzzle box coming along?"
"The puzzle box... Let's see..." Avures snapped out of his current mood and reached for his satchel... He fiddled around, using his hand to guide his mind to where it could be hiding within his disorganized mess of a container. Then, he felt it. That solid cube... He pulled it out and showed it to Ventrix. Two of its six sides glowed brightly...
"Oh no... I didn't think you two were serious..." The librarian buried his face in his hands as he let out a deep, frustrated sigh. "Please. Don't let anyone else know you have that..."
"Is it that big of a deal?" Ventrix was bent over examining it as he twisted his face back towards the librarian.
"Yes!... I have seen a fight or two break out over it... I didn't actually think you had the tenacity to spend so much time to find it..." The librarian trailed off in the last part of his sentence as the two students refocused their attention back on the box. “How did they even get it?...”
"I suppose when all sides are glowing... It'll be ready to solve. So, I just have to carry it around more." Knowing the "powering" mechanism for it, Avures figured it would just be a matter of time and patience before he'd be able to make progress.
"Makes sense... It's a little unfortunate that it's almost been a year since I found it and there's hardly any progress..." Ventrix rested his hand on his chin and mouth as he pondered on a few things. "That's no slight against you, Avures."
"No, I get it." Avures shoved the puzzle box back into his bag and shrugged.
"Hm... Oh well. Avures, I promise that, after this next contract, I'll help you master the sword some more. It's just that my hands are tied with Lylas since he came to me first." Ventrix raised the corner of his lips into a small smile as he patted his friend on the shoulder.
"First come first serve... That's fair I suppose." Avures turned away from the library with a tiny sense of defeat. "I have my hands full with Master Zen's training anyways."
"Master?... Is he-"
"Yes, he is..."
"Ah. Understood. Well, I must be getting to grabbing some more books. Lylas will most likely be very snide with me if I don't use a little more haste." Ventrix meandered his way around the librarian's desk towards the rest of the library when he suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Oh. And by the way, Avures. I know you're a little strapped for money right now... So, I'll get you a replacement sword. Don't worry about paying me back or anything."
"Thank you, Ventrix." Avures's mood picked up. There was no visible smile, but Avures felt a wave of relief and appreciation by Ventrix's gesture. "If I'm anyone to judge, I think you're a good friend."
Ventrix snapped back to look at Avures who was a little taken aback by the blonde boy's sudden shift. His lips were slightly parted as he stared at Avures. Ventrix felt like he should say something... Anything, really. But, there weren't any exact words he could find. And it made him feel guilty. As far as he knew, it was probably hard for Avures to vocalize something like that...
But still, Ventrix's face shone with a smile in response. It was the simplest answer he had...
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"Alright, before we do any of the real important stuff, we need to set a mental switch in your head for when you want to go Zen Mode. A trigger, if you will." Zen had his arms crossed as he stood in the center of the arena room. Zen felt relief that it seemed Avures wasn't going to back out or take the easy route to power. But, he also knew that his student showing up wasn't a guarantee that it would remain like so.
“A trigger? Like metaphorically?” Avures rested his hands and arms at his side as he kept eye contact with his teacher. Though, he found it hard to do so. His stomach was aching, begging for replenishment.
“Mhm. A mental and physical trigger. Something that activates your “Zen Mode”. Think of it like this… If you do this thing, that’s when you focus and enter that concentration. Come up with what this thing is, and treat it like such. Anytime we train this form, you will use this trigger you make. That way, it’ll become a subconscious thing you can control with ease. I’d show you what I mean with my trigger… But there are people who don’t need to know any of that…” Zen shrugged and looked from the corner of his eye. Avures followed his vision and found what Zen meant. Up at the top of the stands in the arena room, there stood two assistants wearing their usual attire that shrouded their identity.
“Come to think of it, have they always watched us like that?” Avures stared at them directly. They didn’t seem to mind or budge an inch. It crossed his mind... Zen seemed very direct about the way they were being watched here. Was that also the case yesterday? And, had he only just now picked up on that?
“Anyways… You need to be able to snap in and out of it. So, make it something simple.”
“Something simple…” Avures put some thought into a simplistic move. Something physical and mental. It seemed as if anything in his arsenal could serve as this trigger. Since the act of channeling magic came pretty easy to him, it could be something he used often. Like the dark tendrils, the Snaking Shadow, or Perfect Dark. Or even…
The spatial area of his right arm crept up and to his eye. It made too much sense for him. Sure, his Future Sight was costly, but if this form was everything Zen made it out to be, it would make his ability much more potent. It was a power that Avures had to suffer through to use anyways. But, if this would really make him focused… It might not be the case anymore. In fact, part of him wondered if this was part of Zen's plan for cultivating his ability.
“Say, I’ve seen that before. If you can maintain that, I think it’ll work…” Zen circled around his student and smiled as he observed. He knew that this would serve as a good trigger for Avures. “On and off. Again and again. Then, the real training begins…”
"Hm. Okay..." Avures honed in on that exact feeling. It was something that he recognized and had done a few times. But, those were in seemingly drastic moments. Deactivating this ability felt like he was pulling off a sticky bandage that seemingly melded into his skin over sitting there for a day or two. But activating it felt like paper-thin vines creeping up his shoulder, neck, and face. It made him want to scratch at his skin until it dipped into his eyes. There, it gave a mixing and swirling sensation that eased on the itchiness. It was as if it belonged...
Over and over, a repeated series of donning and undoing this visual alteration...
On...
Off...
"Now. When you aren't doing this, you're normal Avures. Normal Avures can still do everything he usually can. He can even focus and concentrate a little as if he were trying to emulate Zen Mode... But, when you don that change, you are Zen Mode Avures. This Avures locks down any sort of prying or distracting thoughts, and solely focuses on what's in front of him and around him. He becomes hyper-aware of his surroundings and his objectives. And, he can often take action in the most efficient and correct ways without even sparing a single thought or crumb of brain power to do so..." Zen waltzed around his Avures as the student continued to allow his Future Sight to turn on and off... "Now, hold your form and create an orb of Mana."
"Okay..." Avures opened his eyes as the spatial cover remained rooted into his right eye and sat on his face like cracks.
Avures held his two hands apart, palms facing inward. The gap between his hands was occupied by a swirling black orb, a small portion of his mana taking form. As it circled around, a sweeping of shadows cascaded off, and a new layer formed on top. Mana would dissipate, and Avures would replenish it simultaneously. All this while the spatial darkness hung over his face.
“Perfect. Now. Hold that level of mana as best as you can. Do not use too much or too little. Stay just like that. And don’t stop no matter what I do.” Zen held a sly grin on his face as he circled his student. Avures focused solely on the ball of his mana. His control over his magic was solid. So, Avures was a bit confused as to how exactly this trained his focus.
However, his answer would soon come.
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“Hey… Hey!...” Zen walked up to his student at his side. He then tapped the cheek of his student… Then, he started slapping him on the face. It was soft slaps and pokes, but Avures felt his nerve give way slightly. The mana ball shrunk in size… “Oy! Don’t be slipping up, Avures!”
Avures grimaced as he put his mind solely back on the orb. The mana he poured in then made it bigger than it was before. Zen laughed as he slapped the boy across the face. This slap was more solid than the previous ones, and caused Avures’s head to turn. But, the boy was quick to recompose himself, fixing the ball of mana. Zen then quickly slapped downward at the ball of mana. Avures managed to barely pull the orb back out of his reach while stepping back.
"Getting a little better already, are we?" Zen pointed his index finger and middle finger towards the boy’s feet as a bolt of lightning crackled out. Avures leapt backwards and squatted down. His heart rate had peaked as he hadn’t expected it. The mana ball was now double the size it was before.
“Damn…” Avures sighed and took a deep breath. The ball returned to its initial size.
"Don't worry. This isn't the sort of thing we "start over". We'll just keep going until you get it down… I have other methods too…"
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“Forty-seven minus fifteen?” Zen was encroaching in Avures's space as he winded back and unleashed a series of quick punches.
“Uh. Thirty-Two!" Avures solved the answer and then shifted into Future Sight's transformation. However, he quickly fell backwards to the ground as he was punched in the jaw. He winced as he rubbed the attacked area of his face. "Gah!..."
"Hey hey. Form, and answer. Stop trying to switch between the two like that." Zen wagged his finger in the face of his student who was still rubbing his jaw.
"I know that!..." Avures clenched his fists as he shot to his feet... But he soon let go and dropped his frustration. "Sorry. I'm having trouble. I can get completely empty-headed now and concentrate on one thing... But, when you throw stuff at me like that... That concentration gets broken and it makes me go into an automatic thinking phase."
"It's fine, Avures. It isn't exactly easy. Zen Mode demands a sort of mastering method that seems hypocritical to its intent. Asking you to keep a clear mind, but to then also train you to think during it?... It's hard." Zen grinned as he stepped back from his student and crossed his arms.
"Is there some easier method?... No..." Avures caught himself and shook his head as he gazed at the ground away from his teacher. "Maybe... Could you maybe explain it in a different way?"
"Hm... Okay, let me try to explain it from the way you might see it." Zen snapped his fingers. He then cusped his hands into a circle and put them over his eyes, cutting down his vision to a very oddly shaped cone. "This is where we start with Zen Mode. Nothing else outside of this cone matters. And thus, we drop every single thought or idea possible. The only thing that remains is the visuals you see. Once you are completely empty-headed, from here, we want to build back up our situational awareness and knowledge base only from what we can see. The only thing on our mind is what is in front of us. That, it seems you have down."
"Right... Anytime it goes past that though... It becomes hard to maintain..."
"The idea of asking you questions outside of your limited view is to slowly expand the cone. Of course, there's no way to perceive the answer to forty-seven minus fifteen when you're solely aware of just me and I am the only thing you’re thinking of. But, being able to answer that without spending too much time thinking or taking your attention away... That expands your awareness. The end goal is to train your awareness to an elite level. If you can fight, move, and think without wasting time and effort... Then you'll be a step closer to fully achieving Zen Mode."
"I get that. But it's the process I'm struggling with. It's like I constantly want to slow down, or move first then think... Or think first then move..."
"Hm... Maybe we go about this in a different way then. We still have five days... I have an idea." Zen placed his hands on his hips and turned to the side. Despite his confidence in the given timeline yesterday, Zen knew that if they didn't get this part down in two days, there would be no way Avures could efficiently use Zen Mode in time for the next contract. The next part needed at least three days worth of training... "Close your eyes."
"Uh, okay?" Avures obeyed his teacher's command, shutting his eyelids and standing in place.
"Start running in place." Zen put his hand to his chin, circling around the student and observing him. Avures let out a defeated sigh as he continued to follow orders. He moved his arms and legs in tandem, only moving up and down slightly while utilizing jogging mechanics. Zen continued to pace around the student. "Doing okay with your eyes closed?"
"I guess so..."
"Good. Keep doing this, and clear your mind. What do you see?"
"Nothing..."
"Exactly, keep it that way." Zen paused in his circling and thought about how to proceed from here. Zen had caught onto this sort of thing fairly easily when he learned it. With Avures's inability to learn like he did in this process, it made things a tad more difficult for the teacher... Zen got an idea. "Avures, imagine a small, blue light sitting in front of you."
"Got it..." Avures found himself struggling just a bit to imagine this small blue light as he moved.
"Now, imagine it moving in tandem with you. The same rhythm."
"Okay... Done."
"Here's the hard part. Jog forward a few feet. Keep your eyes closed, and keep the blue light image in your head." Zen watched as Avures took a moment to inch forward, soon breaking into a small stride as he seemed to get a hang of moving with his eyes closed. "Did the light move forward in accordance with your movement?"
"Yes!"
"Okay. Now, do the same thing again. But, this time, the light doesn't move with you. In fact, imagine it as if it is jogging in place at its own pace and you're moving closer to it."
"Uh..." Avures got the urge to stop jogging, but he knew it was vital to continue. His brain locked up. The light remained in his imagination, floating among the dark void ahead of him. It was easy to imagine it in motion like he was. It flowed perfectly. But he felt the tugging strings of intrusive thoughts as he tried to use his mental power to keep the light still... Though it was a struggle, he eventually managed to do so after a minute . He maintained his jog in place while the light sat still.
Then came the real hard parts. Avures tried to imagine this light as its own entity with its own movement. Avures knew what this meant. It was to separate his perception and perspective from his own actions. Or rather, to perceive the thought and idea of movement without actually seeing it. It began to make sense. It was Predictive Thought. Instead of wasting his focus on figuring out everything around him with sight, he could mentally factor patterns. The blue light was meant to be nothing more than a set piece for training this concept. It was just imagining it moving... It was predicting the movement itself, and giving Avures the brain power to react to it without spending time or energy in discerning its intent or action...
In the barren shadows of his closed eyes, the blue light began to bounce of its own accord. Completely free of Avures's frequency, it hopped up and down in a circle. Slowly but surely, Avures moved his jogging over to the light... And it now stood inches away from him. He wasn't making any conscious effort to move it independently of himself. It simply... Did...
"Got it?..." Zen watched as his student nodded in response to his question. Zen felt uplifted, seeing that all it took was a bit of re-wording to get Avures to understand. "It's really hard to tell if this is the first time he's ever conceptualized spatial awareness, or if he's always just reacted based on what he sees..."
"Okay. Now what?"
"Avures... Based on your limited previous information... Try to imagine the arena room all around you. Recreate it in your mind, then turn towards my voice and keep that light moving in your head."
It all flooded to his head at once. Avures took deep breaths as he tried to imagine his current position. Previously, he was in the center of the room. But now, he was mostly askew towards a wall. Avures noticed that his jogging pace was starting to grow slower. It was hard to keep speed while doing all these mental tasks. So, with focus on maintaining his jogging, Avures took plenty of time in slowly recreating the room. From the solid dirt ground, to the large and towering walls with seats on top of them. The light that shone down from the middle... He never quite knew where that light came from. Avures had never bothered to look up to see, but he knew it couldn't have been from outside considering the strange non-euclidean magics at work... Either way, in his head, a light simply existed. All in all, Avures felt that he was fairly accurate with the scene he imagined around him, even if he couldn't verify.
Once he was finished, he tried to focus on where he last heard Zen. However, his teacher still sat in the middle of the room, humming aloud. The noise made it simple for Avures to turn to his teacher. The imaginary room in his head shifted with him as Avures made the conscious effort to keep his awareness.
"The one thing that works in your favor is that you don't over-utilize anticipation. However, you're at the opposite end of that spectrum. You don't recognize situations fast enough. In fact, you hesitate. But, that's not so hard to work with. What's difficult is that you seem unable to process more than a few things at once, even down to mundane details. Something you may not realize... Ley-lines constrict and loosen based on focus. When you're too scatter-brained, or not really in line with one main objective... It tightens your Mana-flow. When your state of mind is constantly being pulled in every direction, it weakens you."
Avures grunted as he continued jogging in place. Zen's words reminded him of what Yuval had said before. And those words all mimicked the one's from the book of the second Magi. It almost sickened him to hear the same criticisms over and over. Not so much that he felt insulted by it, but because it cut deep for him to not have a direct answer on fixing it.
"It doesn't just reflect on your Magic, but your physicality as well. But do not worry. It is because it reflects on your physicality that we know it can be fixed and trained... Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to quiz you. When I ask you a question, drop down and do a pushup while answering the question. Take it slow at first if you need to. But, after the pushup and answer, you should be back on your feet jogging in place again. We're going to keep evolving this back and forth method until I have you where I want you to be..." Zen crossed his arms and watched the resolve gather up on Avures's face. He seemed to grow more stern and confident as Zen continued to work with him. "Are you ready, Avures?..."
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"Which elements Hard-Cast best?" Zen pointed with his outstretched arm at Avures.
"Earth, Ice, Lightning-" Avures dropped to the ground instantly and began to recite his answer. Suddenly, he made out the sound of Zen snapping his fingers. Avures's eyes shot open as he followed through and finished his pushup and answer. "Light!"
"Soft-Cast?" Zen began the motion of swinging his outstretched arm towards the outside of him... Avures wasted no time in dropping to the ground and completing a full roll to that same side.
"Dark, Fire, Water-'' Avures stabilized himself post-roll and completed a full push up, hopping back to his feet as he completed his question. "Wind!"
"Great!... You're really growing into this. But now here comes the hard part again. Are you ready for it this time?"
"Try it!" Avures's eyes maintained all focus on Zen as the rules of the test were shifted once more. He failed the first time prior to testing out Zen's altered method. He then failed again after a while of doing pushups and running in place. But now, Avures felt confident.
"Enchantment plus Protection?" Zen flattened out the shape of his right hand as lightning cackled around his fingertips. He brought that hand to his left side and sliced back towards the right, unleashing a rippling wave of electricity towards Avures.
"Healing!" Avures bent at his knee and lowered his back, ducking under the soaring wave of lightning with a relative ease. As he did so, he stabilized himself by putting his hands to the ground. When his palms touched the ground, shadows spread out in all directions as his Mana swirled and poured forth. The pool of darkness encompassed the arena floor in a rush... But Zen, knowing Avures's usual tactics and usage of Perfect Dark, brought both of his hands together in front of him and interlocked them. He stomped his right foot to the ground and pulled his hands apart, shooting them back to his sides. The ground rippled in front of him and behind him in a circle shape as the dirt and earth cracked and separated. There was now a distinct perimeter around Zen, and Perfect Dark couldn't penetrate it. Rather, the shadows seeped around it.
"When undoing a Curse, what does one do?" Zen bent at his knees, straightening out his arms with his palms facing the ground. If he focused well enough and tried to foresee Zen's pattern, Avures could almost make out how his Mana flowed. With this... Avures turned his attention to the ground around him as it quaked and threatened his balance. Zen pushed himself upwards with his bent knees, standing straight up. His arms thrust up in the same motion with his palms now facing the ceiling.
"One must apply the inverse effect!... Or rather, the inverse flow of Mana!" Avures hopped back and around as the shadows on the ground gave him indication of the attack Zen unleashed. Soon, where he was standing, a sharp earthen pillar pierced through the dirt and stood as tall as he did. Avures's eyes went wide, seeing that this sort of attack could kill him... But, he had no time to dwell on it. More and more, the pillars shot out from the ground. Avures narrowly avoided all of them, dancing back and around the field of danger. But, now his back was against the arena walls.
"Full answer!" Zen clapped his hands together as a set of shadow-like walls burst forth from the arena's own walls. The shadow walls were on each side of Avures. At the same time, the ground rumbled underneath the student's feet...
"Shit... Uh..." Avures squatted down for a moment and used his Perfect Dark to sprout a small tendril on the ground underneath him. Using a bit of momentum from the tendril, Avures jumped backwards. His hands and feet touched and stuck to the wall as a shadowy aura surrounding his hands allowed him to cling there. Then, without another moment, another spike rose out of the ground, nearly grazing Avures's nose as it barely missed him. After that, Avures kicked off the wall with the sprouted tendril rising up to serve as his landing pad. High above the spikes now, he spread his feet out on his shadowy floor and raised his arms up. With a final clap above his head, the entire perimeter of his Perfect Dark spawned more tendrils that matched his current altitude. As the height was reached, they bent and curved. A pitch black roof of intertwined tendrils formed over top of Zen, blocking out any light and effectively making it impossible to see except for an uncovered opening to the opposite end of him some twenty-odd meters away. The roof itself, however, served Avures as a new floor to run across.
"Hm... If he's doing this well so far, I should probably let him run with it while providing a little resistance. There's a fine-line in providing a challenge to further him without shattering his confidence..." Zen noted that the circle around him still served as a safe spot from Avures's direct range. Being that his student's casting effectiveness was mid-long range, Zen postulated that Avures would want to keep his current position or range from him at the moment. So, odds were, Avures wanted to harass Zen by encroaching the shadows...
"In the case of a Curse, use the reverse effect or reverse the flowing of Mana to counter." Avures clapped his hands together and concentrated... The ceiling bulged and contorted above Zen as tendrils began to fire out and plunge into the ground all around him. Holding his left hand up, a series of electric bolts poured out and around him, forming a spherical shield around his safe zone and himself. A few tendrils hit the shield, but were stopped in place by it. Regardless, the tendrils latched onto it.
"This method, if used on another person, will free them of the Curse entirely." Avures dropped down from the makeshift roof and out into the open where his Perfect Dark hadn't spread or made a ceiling. A long, dark shadow line extended out from the boy and touched the area afflicted by Perfect Dark. With a simple motion, he unsheathed his sword and made haste towards his teacher. Zen turned himself to face his oncoming student. In a few moments, Avures was once again under the dark of his magic and in his territory.
"Damn. He obviously has the advantage when in Perfect Dark... He'll be able to tell exactly where my Earth Magic is coming from... But, he won't be able to pierce my shield from above or the sides where he wants to assault me from." Zen raised his right hand, level to his student's body. He needed some way to deter the kid from his assault. With visibility being low, Zen had just the idea. Though, this idea had to be very restricted in terms of power... "Nightmarish Purge."
The palm of Zen's right hand excreted small, visible pieces of Mana as they converged into a perfectly rounded orb with the look of an endless void. The orb swirled with a disturbing silence as its strength gathered. Avures seemed clueless to the attack as he continued to encroach. Deeming it strong enough for his needs, Zen commanded the orb to flatten out into a circular pattern, before firing out his technique.
The circle emanated several darkened rings that seemed to warp the very space in and around it. The air distorted and a sickening silence drowned out any other sound in the area. By the time Avures realized what was happening, it was too late. The rings enveloped and passed around Avures with him being in the center of the effect. The very space and air itself seemed to pierce and rend his skin with ease. Avures shouted in agony, but it was all drowned out by the ominous droning of the technique. Seeing the damage it was doing to Avures, Zen hurriedly let up on the move... Stumbling back a few steps, Avures was now covered head-to-toe in cuts and slashes as blood oozed out of his wounds.
"Oh... Shit... Hey, maybe we-" Zen lowered his left hand and his shield and went to take a step forward... Only for Avures to begin his charging assault once more. Zen was entirely caught off guard by his student's sudden boost of tenacity, but realized he needed to get into position once more. He found it quite odd. Even without the proper training, Avures still seemed to be channeling his primitive version of Zen Mode with the obvious streak of spatial patterns on the right side of his face. That, despite the great pain he just endured. He raised his left hand once again...
"However, unless you have an extremely high Potency or are very proficient in Equilibrium or Healing Magic... You cannot free yourself of a Curse, only mitigate it." Avures's gaze narrowed down onto his teacher's left hand as he continued his assault. Before Zen could pour the shield out of his hand once more, one of the previous tendrils wrapped around his left wrist while another shot out of the ceiling and entombed itself over his hand. As he tried to create the shield, Zen went wide-eyed when the Lightning Magic surged under the force of Avures's tendril but couldn't break free.
"Instead, someone else needs to free you of that Curse." Avures was only a few feet away now, and Zen was getting desperate. However, refusing to break the limits he placed on himself for Avures's sake, Zen decided to get a little crafty as well. He just needed to incapacitate his student. Using that same, outstretched, right arm and hand, a speeding tendril of his own shot out and wrapped itself around Avures's neck before he could react. The tendril stopped the boy in his place as he dropped his sword and tried to fit his fingers under Zen's magic.
"It was a good effort, Avures. I'm definitely impressed... But, it's time to take a break." Zen's right arm burst forth with electricity that zipped down his tendril and engulfed Avures. The lightning ravaged and made quick work of the student as the combination of heat and numbness brought him to his hands and knees. Avures gasped for air as his entire body trembled...
"Curses are a product of Enchantment Magic with Manipulation used as an alteration. They can be placed in objects which transfer them on contact." Avures's voice did not originate from his body in front of Zen. In fact, Avures didn't seem to move his lips at all. Zen raised an eyebrow as the tendril released from Avures in front of him.
"Huh-?..." Zen watched as Avures, on his hands and knees in front of him, had all color on him fade to black. What remained had his shape entirely, but was clearly not him. That thing then also fell apart, separated into a thickened shadow-like fog which then entirely dispersed... Then, Zen felt a hand-shape clasp to the side of his neck...
"Or, they can be applied by direct touch from the caster to the target..." Avures stood behind his teacher, facing off in another direction. The pseudo-dome of black tendrils retracted and dissipated, restoring the arena to its default state as light re-entered the area. Zen turned his gaze to Avures's hand on his neck. A shadowy aura encompassed his hand. That was checkmate...
"Wow. I'm more than impressed... What a tremendous effort..." Zen's lips trembled as he tried to keep a straight face. But, his feelings betrayed his own efforts as he cracked a wide grin. "Avures... Well-played..."
"Thank you... Master Zen." Avures peeled his hand off of his teacher's neck... Zen studied and observed his student. Avures retracted the spatial pattern from off his face and returned to his normal appearance. Suddenly, he was assailed by three different sensations. For starters, his entire body ached like he had just gotten done with one of Grula's workouts. Secondly, he felt completely nauseous and dizzy as if he had just spun in circles for ten minutes straight. And lastly, his head felt like it was being torn open with one of the worst headaches he had ever experienced. Not to mention, with all of that, he couldn't even see straight... "M-... I need to..."
"Yeah!... Let's rest!... Okay?..." Zen couldn't help but let out a few laughs as he shouldered his student and carried them up into the stands of the arena room...
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"Feeling better?..." Zen sat beside his student as he pulled away his hands from Avures's head. A light aura shimmered away from his palms.
"Mhm..." Avures nodded his head and made noise as he took a bite out of a ham and cheese sandwich.
"Good... Good. Alright. Whenever you're ready, run me through what your plan was, how well it went, and how you felt the entire time." Zen tilted his head to the side as he waited for a response from his student. Zen was incredibly proud of his protege, but he needed to know if Avures had actually tapped into Zen Mode or not. There was no doubt that the short, limited scuffle had shown some growth, but it was vital to figure out whether or not Avures had achieved the true goal. And, there was no clear or definitive way for Zen to know other than if Avures felt a certain way...
"Mm..." Avures swallowed the last bite of his sandwich. This was the best Avures felt all day. Healed up with some food in his stomach, Avures was ready to reflect on those prior moments... "I suppose... My plan was... Fluid? I definitely felt different after all those exercises yesterday and a bit of practice today."
"Fluid?... How?"
"It was as if I had this rapidly evolving idea in my head. Everything seemed slower than usual. I set up like I normally do, and then, each idea changed or flowed into another as time went on."
"In reaction to what I was doing? Or changing on its own?"
"Both..." Avures raised both of his hands up. He held up one finger on his left, and two on his right. "If this was the central strategy I chose, my mind then shifted that strategy into two possible ideas without me having to sit on it. Then, I could either choose one, or wait on your move and then decide."
"So, your plan from the start was to trap me then?" Zen raised his hand to his chin.
"Correct... Honestly, everything panned out just how I imagined it would too in one of the scenarios." Avures rested his hands on his knees as he looked out to the arena.
"Interesting... No flaws or adjustments?... And "one" of the scenarios?... It really does seem like he's perfectly suited for this form. No doubt, he's tapped into that power. But now, we need to make sure he can hold it, then evolve it..." Zen tapped his chin a few times as he thought about where to lead the conversation from here... "So, that was just a clone?... I was surprised you had it pull a sword considering we were both only using magic for a while."
"Yeah... It's a sort of trick I copied from seeing Lylas in action. The technique doesn't translate well, so I have to improvise it a little." Avures sighed and crossed his arms. Zen thought back to the clone. There was a shadow line stretching out from it... With the differences in casting from Element to Element, Zen figured that Avures couldn't make a full Dark-Type of clone without it keeping contact with Perfect Dark. Zen nearly slapped himself in the forehead, not recognizing that the moment he saw it. He even prodded Avures on Hard versus Soft casting. It should have been obvious. Avures planted his hands on his seat to his sides. "I was also lucky you didn't know my sword was broken. I made that clone without hesitation, but wasn't sure if you'd immediately know if it was a fake or not. But even before that, I hid myself in one of the tendrils that shot down around you."
"Huh? Really?" Zen watched in awe as Avures winced and pulled his weapon from his sheath. Sure enough, it was just a burnt hilt with only a few inches of shattered blade attached. "Hm... So, overall, how did you feel?"
"I'm not sure. I think I definitely got this "Zen Mode" thing down though. It was like I was thinking millions of thoughts at once without any sort of delay or hesitation. I could perfectly grasp everything going on without much issue. Just like how you sort of described it..." Avures scratched his head with his right hand as he flexed his left one. "It was a rush, and it wasn't overwhelming either. It was like my entire being was solely focused on one thing, and had an arsenal of ideas and tactics I could unleash at any moment."
"That's definitely it... He has it... Granted, it's still primitive... But he can actually do it now... In the end, where I thought his way of thinking might make this harder, it actually helped him somewhat. If anything, I think we've perfected his instinct to some degree." Zen was enamored with the progress his student had made over the last couple of days. Considering this day was over, they had three more... Hopefully, there would be plenty of time for the last section.
"I'm not a fan of the after-effect..." Avures put his elbow on his knee and rested his head in the palm of his head as he sighed once more. "That headache made me suicidal."
"I figured that would be the case. Don't worry though. The more you use it, the more you'll adapt to it and the less side effects you'll feel later. Hopefully, this will also bleed over a little bit into your normal combat. After all, using Zen Mode all the time isn't ideal unless you've truly mastered it." Zen laughed at the expense of his student, but not in a way that would convey mocking. "Say. How long would you say you were in Zen Mode anyways?"
"Probably..." Avures closed his eyes as he recalled the battle from start to finish... The moment it had clicked on for him, even despite his alteration to his appearance, was the moment the spikes shot out of the ground. Then, it lasted until the end. That exchange was fairly short, all things considered... "Fifteen seconds... Roughly..."
"Damn!... That makes sense for why you got such negative feedback afterwards. Out of all the Principles and the powers they have... Zen Mode has the harshest baseline side effect." Zen chuckled as he put his hands flat and swiped it through the air. "Don't worry. For the next couple of days, we'll be refining it so that it's more usable for you. And that is the hardest part."
"I see... So, does that mean I can-"
"No. You can't eat breakfast tomorrow either." Zen shook his head, much to the dismay of Avures.
"I wonder if now I'll be more on everyone else's level..." Avures stared off in space as he thought about what everyone else could be doing. Though he finally seemed to be making great strides in power, who's to say they weren't either? "Strength is arbitrary... But needed sometimes... I just want to make sure that I'm still not going to be left in the dust."
"Don't worry about that. You've made a lot of progress in the past four days. No one can take that away from you or downplay it." Zen turned his face away from Avures. Though his student had been doing great, he still seemed to have that bad habit of comparing himself to others.
"You were holding back though..."
"Well, I have to." Zen turned his face back towards Avures as he shrugged. "If I didn't hold back, you wouldn't be able to learn anything or make that sort of progress. I'm sure you understand that, right?"
"I guess..."
"You know... Even if you want to downplay the achievement because of a handicap... There's still no denying that you did outwit me." Zen smiled as he patted his student on the head and ruffled his hair a bit. "Maybe "surprised" is a bit more accurate... But it's all the same to me."
"You don't have to try to make me feel better. I'm not upset or anything." Avures stood up from his seat. Zen pulled his hand away from Avures's head. "I guess I'm nervous if anything... By the way, what was that attack?"
"Hm?... Oh... That." Zen let out a nervous and stifled giggle as he tried to formulate the best way to explain it. "That's a special little technique for the Dark Element... With a touch of Decay Magic..."
"No... You didn't..." Avures shot his gaze over to Zen as his brow furrowed.
"I... Probably had better choices, sure. But I did kinda want to scare you a little. So... It was just a very watered down version of something called... "Nightmarish Purge"..." Zen slowly shrugged as his eyes peeled away from Avures.
"Why does that sound incredibly dangerous?"
"Well... Because it is?..." Zen lowered his shoulders and smiled as he turned his vision back to Avures.
"W-... Were you trying to kill me?" Avures took a single step back with his left foot.
"No! Of course not!... It only slightly damaged the-... Okay, if that were the real you, I would have felt worse about it afterwards." Zen let out a defeated sigh as he cast his face towards the floor. However, his face then shot up with an even bigger grin. "Say... Wanna learn it? You have the open potential..."
"Uh... I think I'd like to finish Zen Mode first..."
"Pf... Right. Well, to be fair, you're not gonna master that for a while. We have three days to do this last part. If I'm not wrong, we might be able to do it in two. And then, that will leave the last day for you to rest up. Or, we can spend that day teaching you the technique."
"Actually... I don't want to spend that potential yet." Avures scratched the back of his head and turned away. "I suppose I haven't earned it yet..."
"Hm... I see..." Zen felt a great deal of pride looking upon his student. It seemed as if Avures was really taking to Zen's teachings. With his newfound outlook and dedication, Zen was sure Avures could get through the next couple of days. The ones that were going to push him to his absolute breaking point...