There was undeniably something odd about the scene. Sure it just looked like a young woman reading a book. But Finn couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong. He tried to figure out what was throwing him off, but try as he might his eyes told him everything was normal. So he closed his eyes and focused. The scene must have looked strange. A young woman reading a book and some guy standing a few feet away with his eyes closed. But Finn felt he had to do it.

He focused until he saw, or rather felt something. He was getting a premonition and it wasn't looking good. He wasn't sure exactly what the feeling was. It was hard to place but it was an intense turmoil. It felt like it was on the verge of collapse or even worse an explosion. To top it off, there was something extremely cold about the atmosphere as well. Was this Nui? He looked over at the nearby shelves and alarm started to fill him. What if this girl did something stupid and damaged the books? He couldn't let that happen. Quickly he came up with a plan of action and calmed himself before he took a seat across from her.

"Hey. You're Nui right? I'm Finn. We were in the combat class together, but I wouldn't be suprised if you don't remember me," He started with a light laugh hoping it didn't sound too forced.

His previous encounter with Nui made him think that she wasn't a very friendly person but he had to do something and was trying his best to be as disarming and friendly as possible.

"What do you want?" Nui asked coldly. But Finn felt that she had calmed down somewhat, which was his real goal in the end.

"Nothing really, just congratulations I guess. I see Avo as a sort of natural talent when it comes to that kind of thing so it's nice to see someone give him a run for his money."

"Thanks," Nui said after a moment as if she was thinking about what to say.

Finn felt he could leave it at that but a building interested in the woman made him want to talk more. The feeling from earlier was already dissapating but it had been so strong. He felt compelled to find out more about her.

"Most people skip over this place so I was surprised to see you here. Do you like reading as well?" he asked.

"Do I like reading?" Nui repeated as she looked down at the book she held. Avo looked down too, making a mental note of the title and page.

"No," she answered with a sigh, and closed it. Just had something I needed to check up on."

" I don't know if you found what you were looking for but I'll let you know they have better things on the upper floor. I came across some cultivation manuals on the first day but unfortunately they've been made exclusive since then," Finn said, trying to think of anything to keep the conversation going.

Nui perked up. "Really? What kind of manuals? Were there any specific elements they focused on?"

Avo thought back to his reading on the text.

"I read a book and it had a few general techniques, two flame, one earth and one wind. There may have been others but those are the ones I saw."

Nui looked a little dejected hearing that and Avo guessed her element wasn't on the list.

"I had the foresight to copy down the general method. I can share it with you if you want," Finn offered.

"You would do that?" Nui asked skeptically. "What do you want for it?"

Finn thought about it and shrugged. "I don't really want anything. It's not like its some big secret of mine. Just help me out with my classes down the road or something."

The girl slowly nodded. She didn't look too happy about taking getting help but it was clear she wouldn't let pride stand in the way of her pursuit of power.

"I'll have to go to my room to get the notes so how about we meet up again after Energy Control class. You are taking that one right?" he asked just for confirmation.

Nui nodded and got up to return her book. Finn didn't really feel like searching the archives right after that conversation, especially since he had even less time now so he went to check on Alice instead. He found her at one of the free tables sifting through a few texts she had picked up.

"Found anything interesting?" Finn asked as he sat down next to her.

"Yes actually," Alice replied with some excitement. "Its not much but this book has common herbs and materials listed and this one has basic alchemy apparatus and functions." She said indicating with her hands which was which.

"It seems like its really basic as far as I can tell, but its a lot better than nothing," she finished.

Finn smiled after hearing the girls words. She was another kindred scholar.

"I felt the same way after finally finding some interesting information in here yesterday. Speaking of, do you have a cultivation manual?" he asked.

"Oh, no," Alice replied. "I was actually hoping to find one in here, but they didn't have anything like it."

He recognized the disappointment in her voice all too well. Then he made an offer.

"Well you're in luck. I actually happened to come across one and I happen to be sharing it with someone after the next class. If you want, you can join us here and I can share it with you as well."

"Really?" Alice asked. "I'd appreciate that," she responded in an instant.

Finn thought it was funny how easily she accepted the offer compared to the icy girl from before. It just went to show how people could differ so much from one another. The truth was he wasn't sharing the manuals out of benevolence. Sooner or later, his knowledge would become useless as someone unlocked the upper floor of the library. If he shared some tips now, he could hopefully sow some seeds of good will among some of his peers and when the time came he could reap the benefits.

Time was running out so he and Alice left for class. Finn had just learned today that meditation was necessary but ultimately overlooked by young inexperienced cultivators. Energy control was different in that everyone wanted to learn it. The classroom was full when they arrived, with nearly every student being accounted for. Since it was so crowded Finn just found a spot and sat with Alice rather than look for Avo and the others. Turns out the class actually had two instructors and Finn found found himself separated from Alice as well as one instructor focused on applying energy for combat and the other focused on its use in crafting.

"Greetings students, I am Elmara and I will be your energy control instructor," a blue haired woman adressed his group. "I'm sure you all are aware of the method by which cultivators use ambient energy to empower themselves over time. This class will pay a small focus to improving these techniques. Our main focus will be how you can apply energy in real time, giving yourself temporary boosts or using skills."

Elmara pulled out some stacks of blue sheets and held one up for all to see. "First things first. You will have to get a grasp on your internal energy and learn to move it around your body. This blue sheet is a modified item. It's yours now, so be careful not to destroy it. If you infuse a little bit of energy into it, no matter what kind, it will change to a red color for a few seconds." Her card turned from blue to red before changing back to blue. " This is the goal for today. You can call me over when you are able to change the color of your card."

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Finn was a novice, but he still knew at least how to channel energy, after all he had to do it whenever he used his token. That's why he was so suprised when nothing happened. He tried again and again, but there was no change in color. The class must have been going through the same since the other students were quietly holding their cards. However a ripple disrupted the calm a few moments later as a student had managed to change their card's color. It was Nui. And she waved it in the air signaling for the teacher to come over.

Instructor Elmara had a short private discusion with Nui before Nui stood up and searched the room. She met eyes with Finn and started walking over. She managed to find a space nearby him where she sat down but it didn't look like she was going to say anything, so Finn returned his focus to his card.

He imagined a ball of energy moving through his body before entering the card through his hand but nothing happened. He tried flexing his muscles and changing his breathing, but he just couldn't get the card to light. Still he didn't feel bad about it since less than half of his section managed to light their cards. Each one who did got a private lecture from instructor Elmara before they were allowed to leave. Eventually time ran out, and Avo could only pack up his card and get ready to leave.

He turned to Nui who was still seated next to him. "I'm guessing you want to head back to the library now," he asked.

She confirmed with a nod and Finn let her know he would have to stop by his room and he would meet her in a few minutes. She agreed and left.

"Already abandoned your old friends for someone new. I guess we just aren't good enough, eh Fred?" Avo's voice came over.

"It's a shame. I gave him a chance to make his move alone but looks like he got rejected as well," Fred said

"It truly is unfortunate indeed," Finn agreed. "But I'm afraid I still don't have time to explain, back to the library I go."

"Seriously man. What is up with you and the library?" Avo asked. "Are you sure you're not secretly into the librarian?"

"What can I say?" Finn responded ignoring Avo's last question. "Knowledge is important to me. Not all of us have been gifted muscles for brains. I've got to use my strengths."

Fred laughed at the joke and Avo only shook his head. Finn didn't know what the three did in their free time, but he assumed they either just hung around or cultivated their bodies. Finn could have told them what he knew about the many factors to cultivation but what use was there in strengthening the competition for no reason. He was behind them enough as it was and they were already on friendly terms. Not to mention he didn't think he was really any different from them, he just chose to focus on other things instead of body tempering at the moment.

"I'm guessing you guys are gonna get back to whatever it is you do? We can meet up later for dinner," Finn offered.

They all agreed to meet up later in the evening and the three guys went their own way leaving Alice and and Finn to return to the library.

"I actually have to stop by my room to pick up a few things. I can meet you at the library," Finn said.

"That's fine. I'll come with you," Alice said.

"Suit yourself," Avo shrugged and the two were off.

It was a quick stop since he just had to pick up a notebook and one of his smaller bags to carry it and his new card. Then the two were at the library where Nui was already waiting.

"Hey Nui. This is Alice. She's going for the master alchemist route. Alice this is Nui, she's a very talented cultivator," The two girls greeted and it look like they got along easy enough.

"Here is the manual I copied. Do you understand it?" he asked Nui, taking out his notes and showing it to her. There was no point in wasting time here, so he got straight into business.

Nui went over it for a second before she responded and started taking notes of he own. "I think I get it. But I'll have to try it out for myself to be sure. Have you tried it yet?"

" I haven't got the chance actually. I'll probably get to it later today," Finn answered.

Nui seemed to think something over before she responded. "How about we go to the fields together. Since you've helped me with this, I'll help you with your energy control."

"Sounds good. Looks like you're pretty talented with that as well," Finn agreed remembering the proficiency she showed in the earlier class.

"Can I come too?" Alice asked, who was now in possession of Finn's notes and taking notes of her own.

"Sure," Finn responded without thinking. But then he thought Nui might have an objection so he looked over at her. She noticed his gaze and just shrugged so Finn took it to mean she didn't mind.

"I don't really have anything to offer in return," Alice responded looking quite embarrassed.

"You're gonna be one of the greatest alchemists of our generation. Just send me a pill or two when you get famous," Finn responded, which in a sense, was what he actually wanted from her. She soon had finished her copy so he took his notebook back.

"Are you gonna share this with the others as well?" Alice asked.

"If they ask, I guess. I think Avo already has his own method though so maybe Fred and Mont learned it too since they're always together." Finn said after some thought. Like he decided earlier, there wasn't any real benefit in hoarding this information, but at the same time there was no point in strengthening so many of his opposition for no real gain.

With that the trio was ready to go and they headed for the fields. It was only the second day and Avo felt it was safe to assume that most students spent the majority of their free time here. There was a ring of people around the privacy arrays, clearly not being able to afford entry but wanting to leach off of whatever extra energy seeped through the array. The trio found a clear spot for themselves and they each sat down to cultivate.

According to what Finn learned in the text body tempering was a play by ear kind of affair. Finn knew that there were stages to cultivation and that he existed on the most basic layer which was the core realm. Following the directions, Finn soon started feeling for the energy in the atmosphere around him and drawing it closer before finally absorbing it. After that he would rotate the energy along a path withing his body and after it passed a certain threshold, you would get a feeling that let you know you could start infusing.

It took almost an hour but soon he got the impression that he was filled. He thought of the best part of his body to enhance and eventually settled on his dextrous elements. The effect was minimal and although there was a tangible increase in his stats, it wasn't like he became superhuman at least not right now. He imagined things would get interesting after a week or two of steady sessions . He opened his eyes to see that Nui had finished her rotation as well.

Alice was still busy so Nui motioned for Finn to follow her a short distance away so that they wouldn't interfere with their companion.

"The manual worked well thank you," Nui said when they had settled on a spot. "Now for my part of the deal."

Finn couldn't understand why she was so pressed about making sure things were even between them but he imagined it was some quirk of hers.

"I took note of your attempts in class," Nui said.

"Oh, is that why you moved to sit closer to me?" Finn asked.

"Yes, its hard to sense the flow of energies within others so I had to get closer. You're actually on the right track," she explained.

"It didn't feel like anything was happening," Finn admitted.

"That's normal for someone who has never moved energy before but you were doing it right, as far as I could tell. It should be easier for you now since you've tried the manual. You should have a better feel for it. Go ahead and try again," she said.

Finn took out his card from class and tried to infuse it with energy like he had earlier. This time he felt something moving within him as he directed and he shoved it into the card. However, it still didn't change color.

"Huh. I felt like I was on to something but I guess not," Finn said.

"You're definitely doing it right." Nui said having confirmed it up close. "I think the instructor left out some key information when she gave us the task."

"And what's that?" Finn asked.

"It only activates after you put in a certain amount of energy," Nui answered.

It was a small difference but it made sense as to why he thought he was going nowhere when he was actually on the right track.

"Why would she do that?" Finn asked dumbfounded.

"Haven't you noticed?" She asked looking at Finn as if he was an idiot. "The instructors are testing us. Our combat instructor did something similar as well."

Avo thought about it and it made sense to him. Instructor Elmara just gave a task without much instruction as if to see who could manage to complete it. Especially if it was true that she set the cards to only react to a certain level of energy. Instructor Mathias had dressed up his test as a competion but it was essentially the same thing.

"Now that you mention it, something similar happened in meditation. She just gave us some instructions and let us do our own thing for a bit," Finn said.

Finn hadn't really thought of it before, but even now he felt it wouldn't be a problem if that was only a first class kind of thing.

"It would be a problem if classes continued with that format," Finn thought out loud.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Nui responded. "It's not like they're here to teach us after all."

"They're not?" Finn asked, confused by her words. They were in an academy after all.

"Their main goal is to identify talent. Teaching is secondary to that goal," Nui said.

It was probably the object truth of the matter, but Finn was sure they would start teaching. It would be defeating the purpose if the sect went through all this effort to find talents and not teach them anything at all.

"In any case," Nui continued, "Try gathering your energy in your hands for a few moments before, letting it flow into the card. That should do the trick."

After that she returned to her spot next to Alice, and sat down most likely to cultivate again. Finn followed but continued his efforts with his card. It was hard at first. He had known how to circulate or move energy within himself, it was sort of an instinctual feeling. However, holding it in an area before letting it flow again was an odd feeling to say the least. Eventually he got the hang of it, and when he was certain he could replicate it at any moment, he put the card away and got ready for another round of soul forging.