Showing Of

Mr. Alex then proceeded to sit in a locust position and gestured for me to do the same. After I followed his lead, he began to explain.

"The collective is intertwined with every croxer, and every croxer is intertwined with it."

"This connection is always neutral, but only with your power can you shift the scales."

I listened attentively as he continued.

"So, in order to control this connection, you must first sever it."

"Sever? Why can't we strengthen it instead?" I asked, curious.

"In theory, it is possible, but practically, it is unachievable."

"Unachievable?" 

"Yes, unachievable," he reaffirmed.

"Scholars in the CDA theorized that it may be because a connection is easier to break than to make."

"And since the collective is the total subconscious of every living thing in the world, it is normal for it to follow the same principles."

I nodded in understanding at his explanation.

But then I suddenly realized something.

"If we can only train our buoyancy by severing the connection to increase speed and reaction time, how will someone learn how to strengthen the connection to increase strength and endurance?"

Mr. Alex suddenly closed his eyes before replying.

"If you want to strengthen the connection, just do the opposite of severing it."

I was at a loss for words after his explanation.

"I thought it was impossible to strengthen the connection."

"It is," he answered with his eyes still closed.

"So how do we strengthen the connection?" I asked, frustration evident in my voice.

"By doing the opposite of severing," he replied in the same casual tone.

When he gave the same answer again, I was tempted to think he was being his typical eccentric self, but my gut told me he was serious.

I exhaled gently before finally asking, "So how does one do the opposite of severing?"

"That's a good question," he responded proudly, before answering, "You don't need to know how to do it; you just do it."

"After one has mastered the art of severing the connection, the art of strengthening it comes naturally."

"It's just like how you can't build a new house without demolishing the old one; in this case, the old house is severing, and the new house is strengthening."

I was instantly enlightened by his words and subconsciously said, "So it's that easy."

It seemed like my comment offended him, and he began hurling sarcastic insults at me.

"Oh, he says it's easy; why doesn't he just become the master while I become the student?"

"This is coming from someone with below-average stats."

"I don't know whether this is arrogance or just ignorant stupidity."

I kept quiet while the man who was supposed to be training me continued to criticize me. He eventually went on and on about how I had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai.

When he finally finished, we returned to my training.

"So, I want you to clear your mind and sense the connection."

"You do not have to force it; you already have the connection—it's just about sensing it."

I gently closed my eyes, trying to sense the connection.

"You have to follow the flow if you want to sense the connection, so eliminate any distracting thoughts."

"Normally, it takes a few minutes to a few hours to sense the connection, so don't rush. We have all day."

"I'm sure even you can manage to make the connection in at least a day."

I began ignoring him at this point.

With my eyes still closed, I focused, trying to follow Mr. Alex's instructions—go with the flow and sense the connection.

The air around me felt still and expectant. At first, there was nothing but an empty void stretching beyond my reach.

Then, faintly, something stirred.

But it wasn't the connection.

A presence loomed in the darkness of my mind—a giant eye, watching and unblinking. Its gaze bore into me, vast and unknowable. A chill ran down my spine, but before I could react, it vanished as if it had never been there.

"What was that?" I thought.

After deciding to concentrate on the matter at hand.

I steadied my breathing and reached out again. This time, I felt it. The real connection.

It started as a whisper, a barely perceptible sensation, but it grew—threads of energy weaving through me, binding to my fingertips, my arms, my chest.

The flow surged stronger, wrapping around my entire being like an unseen current.

This is it.

A thought crossed my mind: since I had reached this point, why not take it further? Why not try to sever the connection?

Without hesitation, I acted.

The moment my will clashed with the threads, they began to break—easily. Too easily.

Mr. Alex had said this process was supposed to be difficult.

But here I was, unraveling the connection as if it were nothing more than fragile strands of silk.

One by one, they snapped.

And then—weightlessness.

My body lifted, rising effortlessly into the air. A rush of exhilaration filled me. I did it. I had severed the connection, completing 99% of the process.

I was on the brink of advancing my buoyancy.

But as I floated there, a thought lingered in the back of my mind—why was it so easy?

And more importantly... what was that eye?

******************

**Mr. Alex's POV**

I sat a few meters away, arms crossed, watching closely.

The boy had closed his eyes, following my instructions, but I wasn't expecting much. Mastering the connection took time, patience, and relentless effort. Most apprentices spent weeks—sometimes months—just sensing it, let alone manipulating it.

I had told him that it took a few hours at worst just to build enough pressure for him to put in more effort, but I never expected what happened next.

His breathing slowed, his posture shifted, and for a fleeting moment, I felt a disturbance—like a ripple in still water. He had sensed something.

"Good," I thought. "He is making progress."

Before I could say a word, the air around him thickened, pulsing with invisible threads of energy. He could fully sense the connection.

"Already?" My brows furrowed. "That was fast."

But then he went further.

He wasn't just sensing the connection; he was severing it.

And he wasn't struggling or hesitating.

One by one, the threads snapped like brittle twigs, dissolving into nothing.

My breath caught in my throat.

This was supposed to be difficult. Even for apprentices with higher stats, severing the connection required a battle of will, a clash of forces. Yet here he was, unraveling it like it was second nature.

Then he began to rise.

Weightlessness overtook him; his body lifted effortlessly from the ground. My heart pounded. "He did it."

He was on the brink of advancing his buoyancy.

I clenched my jaw, forcing my expression to remain neutral, but inside, a storm raged. "This should not be happening."

Had I underestimated him? 

**********************

**Lucas POV**

I decided to ignore the eye for now, hoping it was just an illusion.

"Is that the entity I resonated with? If it is, why would it choose to resonate with me ?"

I didn't plan on telling Mr. Alex because who knows, I might be harboring a strange demon inside me, and I wasn't ready to be on the CDA's blacklist.

'I will just leave it for future me to handle'

Back to Mr.Alex, I could tell he already had his plate full; I saw the surprise in his eyes despite his attempts to hide it.

"Who is the below-average one now?" I thought smugly.

At that moment, I suddenly felt weak.

"What's happening to me?" I muttered before plummeting from two meters above the ground.

Mr. Alex left his location and walked towards me.

"You can try walking a little faster," I thought angrily.

When he approached, he said, "It seems that you are done with the most important part of the process."

"Way to go, Mr. Obvious, but can you please get it over with and tell me what's wrong with me?" was what I wanted to say, but I didn't even have the strength to move my mouth.

"But you had to show off by severing the connection without me telling you to do so."

I was immediately shocked by his statement.

'Oh no, don't tell me there were some things I had to do before severing the connection. Will I become a cripple now?'

"Anyway, you can check your template to see what's wrong with you."

I used the little strength I had to click my left molar.

**CROXER: LUCAS DOUGLAS** 

**RANK: NONE** 

**ENERGY: 1 - 1** 

**BUOYANCY: 5 + 2** 

**CHARGE: 6** 

**WHISPERS: NONE** 

I immediately saw what was wrong: my energy had decreased by one, while my buoyancy had increased by two. I would say it's a fair trade, but would I end up this exhausted every time I train?

"I'm sure you've seen the problem now," Mr. Alex said mockingly.

"If you had just been patient and waited for my instructions, this wouldn't have happened."

"The energy required to sever the connection is more than your measly energy can handle."

"Ouch, that's harsh," I thought.

"Normally, you didn't have to use the whole thing; you could have used the continuous method, attacking it one step at a time. But you had to go and show off."

After calming down, he said, "You don't have to worry; you will regain your energy back after an hour."

"An hour! So, I have to stay like this for an hour?" I thought.

"Well, it could have been worse; I could have ended up a cripple." I used that thought to ease my sorrow.