An hour into the adjustment, Will had managed to reduce his Area to 10 meters, but he struggled to pass this mark. From time to time, Jingsung would offer words of advice to help the process along.
"For now work with what you have. The mental energy you possess cannot be like water and metal at the same time, it can only be one. For this exercise, it's best to use the water aspect of it and slowly transition it to the metal element.
Imagine your mental energy field as a pond. The water is currently chaotic and creating random currents. You want the pond to be perfectly still. It is much easier to sense disturbances in stagnant water than in active water. If you can stagnate your mental energy field, it will become easier for you to pick up disturbances.
Once you are capable of stagnating it, you can then apply the hardening concept of the metal element. Changing the structure of your field from a pond to a metallic dome! Your mental energy can even harden, allowing you to reinforce your physical capabilities to an incredible tier.
I once saw a spiritual being with a weak body punch through the surface of a planet just by hardening their Area and covering their fist in a membrane of reinforced metal-attribute mental energy. I doubt you can reach such a level, but it can at least help you cover up for the weakness of your physical body."
Will was motivated greatly by these words because his physical body was indeed quite weak for the standards he wanted to achieve. His physical strength and explosive strength were particularly lacking while his agility and endurance were quite good. If he had a way of covering up for this weakness, the path ahead would become smoother.
"There is no such thing as Jack of all trades in the truest sense. All cultivators have to choose a speciality. There is a limit to how much you can improve your body as a vessel, no matter how many high-quality dans you stuff down your throat. Instead, use your strengths to cover up for your weaknesses, which is the best way forward. Make no mistake, you are a mental energy cultivator before anything else. This is the path of Solitary Sword Sovereigns. Now it's time for you to actually fight like one."
In response to Jingsung's lecture, Will pushed himself to condense his Area and did his best to stagnate his mental energy.
"It's best to develop your Area properly before evolving at level 100. That way your Area will develop with you as well. Once your Area can shift in terms of nature from wave to particle at will, then you can be said to have truly embarked on the path of a mental energy cultivator.
The path of a mage is especially dependent on the sensitivity of mental energy. For warriors, the strength of one's mental energy is more important, but for mages, control and sensitivity are more important. Your casting time, energy expenditure, output and processing of spells will greatly improve with time. But what will truly improve is your ability to apply the Realms of perspective.
My mental energy has peak level sensitivity and control even among top-tier deities. That's why I was chosen to not only be your first contract but also to be your teacher for mental arts. Once I gain the talent of the Realms of Perspective from you, I will help you improve and integrate it into your other skills. Your Unbound Vector, SSS arts and Frozen Asgard Arts will only shine once you can actually apply the basics behind them." Added Narcissus.
Narcissus could speak directly into Will's mind thanks to a connection through the pendant. The pendant not only allowed visual projections, but it also allowed thoughts to be projected into Will's mind in the form of dialogue.
Odin had gifted Will with plenty of information on the basics, but there was still a lot to learn. Education was in essence being lied to in steps. As a child, one is told there is no number below zero only to learn of negative numbers at a later stage. In high school, one's taught that atoms are the building blocks of matter but later one learns that atoms are made of subatomic particles that are also made up of other particles as well. One is taught that light is the fastest particle in existence but later one can learn that Tachyons move faster than light. One is taught that the universe is mostly empty but in actuality, it's mostly made up of dark matter.
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"Ignorance makes education possible because you learn in steps. So far Modus has used a rather extreme method of teaching you I'm not happy with, but it has no doubt produced results. Your intent is so pure Athena could not stop ranting about it. But now it's time for a proper education. Once you have stabilized your Area, feel the environment close to you. You never know, you might notice something amusing." Added Narcissus.
It was at this point that Lydia approached the tent with the rest of the group. Will's Area was still 10 meters in size, but he had made progress in stagnating his mental energy. Will immediately felt a great disturbance as Lydia approached. At first, Will was stunned, but he did not allow himself to be shocked for long. Spirit Link was after all a common spell for those gifted in Spiritual Magic. What surprised Will was the fact that no one seemed to notice.
"You mortals are ignorant of many basics. Hence you shouldn't be surprised. You are only able to see this due to training your sensitivity during your adjustment according to our advice. If you had tried this after you had levelled up or not in a state of adjustment, like them you would be blind. Be grateful you have a teacher as talented as I." Remarked Narcissus with a snide grin. To others, it only looked like he was smiling at his own reflection but Will knew that he was just finding an avenue to brag.
Will reached out for the spiritual being that had invaded his Area as soon as Lydia made it into the tent. With some effort, he gathered a string of mental energy on his palm and sliced the worm, grabbing one end in the process. This was incredibly difficult for him to do due to his disorientated state but he succeeded nonetheless.
It was the fact that he had done this without notice under disorientation that had truly caught the attention of the observers.
"This guy has some talents after all." Remarked Gianluigi with a smile.
The others raised their alertness level of Will as well because he had performed a feat that no one present could reproduce. They had their mental faculties but none of them had the ability to detect anything out of the ordinary.
'How did he do it? Does he know some sort of advanced mental energy skill?'
Natasha could not help but frown as she watched Will steady himself. The latter breathed a sigh of relief because his adjustment was now entering its final phase. He was no longer swaying like a drunkard, but he was still feeling dizzy and had to focus to stay on his feet.
"It seems Peerless has quite the treasure. Do you have any more to add?" questioned Mercedes with a grin. Lydia blushed in embarrassment and remained silent. Her pride did not allow her to utter a single word of thanks as she quietly retreated to Mercedes' side. The embarrassment of having one's life saved by the one they were mocking was not an experience she enjoyed. She sorely wished there was a hole in the ground she could bury herself into.
"Now to deal with the source." Said Will as he swayed from side to side. Before anyone could make heads or tails of what he said, Will turned to Gianluigi and said, "Indomitable Moon, inform your weakest clansmen to get their Unrelenting Hunt ready, in a few seconds I'm going to send in Achilles with a Macedonian Charge to clean up the mess. Outside."
Will's words stunned the listeners, but Gianluigi was quick to react. He didn't bother asking Will for the details and quickly sent out an order to the front troops via telepathic communication. He was quite interested in seeing what kind of rabbit Will was going to pull out of his hat.