Harmonizing Elements & Improvement strategy

The exercise proposed by Elara seemed simple on the surface, but she deliberately refrained from explaining that harmonizing the elements of two magicians was actually much more difficult than harmonizing one's own elements.

Elara had always liked using this pedagogical method for her first lessons because she believed that a small dose of frustration was necessary for good teaching to be given. She had lost count of the number of students who had fallen into the trap over the years. She had even created a small reputation for herself throughout the magical alliance. It was said that you should never fully trust her because otherwise, it would backfire on you.

In reality, being able to commune with the elements of others could already be considered a talent appearing on the statistic chart. The few times she had students who were capable of this, they were taken by great powers to receive elite training.

As Phaistos and Zara continued to work together, they began to feel the first signs of frustration. Synchronizing their elements of light and nature proved to be a far greater challenge than they had imagined. Repeated attempts resulted in energy imbalances, making the combination unstable.

"Why is this so difficult?" murmured Phaistos, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "I thought we were making progress, but we can't maintain harmony."

Zara nodded, sharing his sentiment. "I think we need to find a way to better understand how our elements interact. Maybe there's something we're missing."

During the initial attempts, Phaistos started by creating a ball of light, and only after that, Zara tried to influence it with the plants she created. This time, they decided to do the opposite. While Zara created a patch of greenery, Phaistos used his light element to try to nourish the plants in front of him.

The plants began to grow, and even Elara started watching them intently, thinking she might see a new talent bloom today. As the plants doubled in size, they started to burn extremely quickly under the heat of the sunlight. In a few moments, nothing was left but ashes.

Unfortunately, the interest in Elara's eyes disappeared as soon as she saw this. Even though the reaction between the two showed that Zara had a certain potential (since she was the receptacle of Phaistos's power), the fact that they had failed indicated that her talent would never be great enough to allow her to cultivate this power later.

Despite her disdain for students from lower worlds, she wasn't going to shatter a student's chances of becoming a magician by advising her on a path that wasn't suited for her.

After only about thirty minutes, all the students were lying on the ground, panting. Elara approached the podium and said, "Unfortunately, it seems that none of you are capable of doing something as simple as this. Remember that this weakness will not be the first you will experience in your life as a magician. You are already starting with a heavy handicap in this world because you come from the useless world, you are the son of no one, and you are even less someone. The only thing I can tell you is to work."

With these words, she left, and the class was over. In total, the class lasted only an hour and a half, which was much less than the time they spent in other classes. "Who does she think she is? I swear if I become a magician, I'll kick her ass. She considers us as insects and doesn't even bother to teach us properly," Kibi said in a tone full of anger as he approached Zara and Phaistos.

Phaistos sighed. "I know, it's frustrating. But she's right on one point: we have to work harder than the others. We have no privileges here, but we can make a place for ourselves if we hang on."

Zara, still slightly shaken by the failure, added, "She may be harsh, but she pushes us to surpass ourselves. We can't let her bring us down. I'm sure with more practice, we can do it. We just need to devote some time to it."

Freya, who had been listening to the conversation, intervened, "The important thing is not to lose sight of our goal. We're all in the same boat. Together, we can support and progress. It's not a matter of birth or privileges, but of determination and effort. However, the exercise clearly showed that none of us were capable of doing it so far. I think we should focus on more important things. The library seems to be a more logical place for that. Miki, Zara, and I haven't been there yet."

Kibi then spoke. "I think it would be better if you went without Phaistos and me. After all, it would make us lose practice time, and after hearing Master Elara's words, I have a burning desire to improve."

While Phaistos, Freya, and Zara seemed frustrated by Kibi's words, they had to admit he was right. "However, I think tomorrow, we should all go to the combat hall as our first moment of free time. After all, I think we should learn to use our powers better," said Miki. These words sounded like the final nail that finished shaping their plan for their learning. With a hug, they each went their separate ways: Miki, Freya, and Zara to the library, Phaistos to the hall of light, and Kibi to the hall of metal.

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Miki's words still resonated deeply in Phaistos's mind as he made his way to the Hall of Light. Arriving on the moon, he decided to return to the same spot where he had failed in his breakthrough the previous day. As he sat in a meditative position, he noticed that his mental state had further improved. "It seems that my mental state can also recover passively. However, it's much slower than when I do it myself," Phaistos thought. He decided to continue tapping into his affinity with the light element to heal his mind. This allowed him to ensure proper healing, and he felt that his future breakthrough would be smoother.

As he meditated, he visualized the pure and soothing light enveloping his mind, driving away the darkness and repairing the fissures in his consciousness. Gradually, he felt a deep serenity settle within him, and he allowed himself to be guided by this benevolent energy.

Meanwhile, Kibi found himself in the depths of the Hall of Metal. Since becoming a student of the Hall of Metal, he had long learned about the characteristics of the moon on which he was located.

Vulkaria had not been chosen at random by the magicians of the metal element to settle there. Indeed, this moon was very rich in metal deposits. When he returned to the Hall of Metal and informed one of the instructors that he had acquired the rank 2 spell [Metal Sense] from the library, the instructor became frantic.

The instructor was named Master Ferrax, and he was primarily known for being a great blacksmith. Although he was only 150 years old, he had already burst into the rank of Grand Master Blacksmith, which made him considered a genius with still a lot of potential. However, this year, he had noticed that none of the students of the Elemental Hall seemed interested in forging. Students with low cultivation talent didn't pay attention to it, and those with high talent often came from backgrounds where they didn't have to train in it, as their paths were already laid out. Just when he had lost all hope for this cohort, he learned from Kibi that the library had recommended this book to him, which meant that in addition to good cultivation talent, he should also have good talent as a blacksmith.

He hastily brought him to one of Vulkaria's many mines to begin teaching him how the [Metal Sense] spell worked.

Kibi observed his surroundings carefully as Master Ferrax guided him into the depths of the mine. The tunnel walls glimmered faintly under the light of embedded crystals, revealing veins of pure metal. He could almost feel the raw energy of the metal all around him.

Master Ferrax stopped in front of a large metal vein, then turned to Kibi. "The [Metal Sense] spell allows you to sense the presence and characteristics of the metal around you. Since this is your first time using this spell, you need to commune with the very nature of the metal, feel its vibrations, and understand its structure. As you gain experience, you'll be able to intuitively understand the nature of metals. You may even be able to create them to some extent."

Kibi closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to prepare himself to use the spell. He extended his hands towards the metal vein, trying to feel its vibrations. Gradually, he sensed a subtle energy emanating from the metal, a raw and immutable force. It was as if the metal had a life of its own, a story to tell. While the details were slow to come at first, the speed of information began to accelerate until Kibi's brain could no longer handle it. He had to retract his magical power and couldn't help but vomit.

Ferrax, seeing this, said in an apologetic tone, "Oops... I forgot to mention the side effects."