66th of Season of Air, 57th year of the 32nd cycle

Newt was still amazed at how many former students or workers the order had. He thought that the ten-odd thousand of outer students were a teeming mass of humanity, but the workers numbered tens of thousands, easily numbering five times the outer students.

"Let's recap. What are you going to do from now on?" Lady Alabaster's icy voice drew Newt back to the training ground. She glared at him with folded arms, her feet tapping the ground.

"For two weeks, I will abstain from actively gathering mana. I will spend my time in the library or engage in relaxing activities. No unauthorized use of mana. After that, I will be allowed to enter the Chamber of Instruction, but can't do anything other than draw energy and sculpt my realm inside, no experimenting, no getting distracted. Any duels, spars, or anything else that could pose even a modicum of danger I will do on this training field. Lord Elmshade will pay extra attention to me while I'm here." Newt parroted his master's instructions, imitating an earnest tone.

"You cheeky brat, you think I'm treating you like a kid." Lady Alabaster speared Newt with her gaze, her fists resting on her hips. "Well, I am. Let me remind you, you detonated your lung and a chunk of your heart. It's gonna take a decade for you to regain my trust enough for me to leave you to your devices without someone to monitor you. Is that clear?"

Newt nodded, his gaze downcast, his shoulders drooping.

"Newstar, this concerns your life." Lady Alabaster placed her hand on Newt's shoulder, her voice low and solid like a rock. "Disobey me, and I will expel you from the order, and your debt will remain. Is that clear?"

Newt once more nodded.

"Good, we will continue building your mana sense for the next two weeks. You will start with two threads, and we will increase it slowly and carefully."

Newt obeyed. Two weeks passed in reading and filling voids in his knowledge on various subjects. The practical training both by Lady Alabaster and Lord Flameax went as expected. Newt's master stayed true to her word, and in two weeks, they increased the number of threads he could handle to four.

Meanwhile, Lord Flameax explained the weaknesses of Newt's fire magic, potential improvements, and multiple ways in which he could develop them. The two following weeks were extremely peaceful and boring, allowing Newt to make a full recovery.

"Today, you're learning earth-aligned techniques. Finally," Lady Alabaster said, leading Newt to the training field. "We should've started ten days ago, but someone just had to blow himself up. And no, I won't stop saying that for at least a couple years. Now, as I've said before, these spells won't be anything earth-shattering. I will give you the manuals after today's lessons, but today, you will struggle through them without instructions, guessing how they work based on my descriptions, instructions, and demonstrations."

Lady Alabaster paused, silent for a couple of moments, before speaking again. "You may find this unfair, but do know that if you reach the sixth realm, or the higher ones, this will be the usual practice. At that level, you will have to figure things out on your own based on your previous knowledge, and you will get the manuals only once you have made a technique you yourself deem a good fit. I am also learning like this under my master, and none of my techniques have reached the level of perfect completion. Fortunately, the order cares little for perfecting low and mid tier versions of our techniques, but any improvements you can make will be rewarded appropriately."

They reached their training area, and Lady Alabaster turned to face Newt.

"Any questions?"

"No, Master."

"Good. The first skill for you to learn is the earthen barrier. As its incomprehensible, awe-inspiring name suggests, it involves creating a barrier of earth to block attacks. You are supposed to move earth and shape it into a rough wall. Due to range restrictions, the spell is very limited at the third realm, but it becomes handy starting from the fourth."

Stolen novel; please report.

Newt shifted, and his master sighed.

"Yes, Newstar, what is it?"

"If I may be so bold, Master, why am I learning a spell that is useless for my realm?"

"Stop interpreting my words and just listen. I never said useless, I said limited. There is a difference. The spell is limited because you can only block attacks against you and create a bit of cover within a few steps. Once the range increases tenfold, you can do the same for the rest of your team, creating bigger and sturdier walls in the process. At the fifth realm, you can cover an entire battlefield, hindering your foes and helping your allies."

She paused, looking at Newt with bored, half-closed eyes.

"And you should learn it now because it will make things easier later, and the higher your realm, the more starved for time you will become. Especially if you take spikeback-headed wards who question your every word and misquote you every chance they get."

Newt resented the statement, but he could tell from Lady Alabaster's tone that the woman was joking.

"Master, do all champions have wards?"

As expected, Lady Alabaster shook her head.

"Most take wards at certain points. Teaching and writing sharpens your mind and polishes your knowledge. Some use students to resolve heart demons, others to deepen their own comprehension, others simply teach their descendants, though that one often has questionable results, especially if you're close with the descendant in question."

She folded her arms.

"Now, I indulged your idle thought, so get started with the earthen barrier. We have three more spells to go through and only two hours." Newt stared for a moment too long, and Lady Alabaster clapped her hands, forming a barrier of earth between them. "Chop chop."

Newt closed his eyes and sent a pair of earth-aligned tendrils of mana from the soles of his feet. They entered the ground and moved in front of him. He had already considered the inner workings of his master's spells which summoned rock spikes, and he concluded that she was using the same tendrils of mana she used for perception, but added a purpose to them somehow.

Yeah, that somehow is the key.

Newt considered what he had just seen, but earth blocked his mindcore, and all he caught were thick flows of energy. While not enough to unravel the mystery, his observation suggested his direction was more or less correct.

Please form a wall, Newt thought at the earth, and nothing happened. Then he made the same request to the thread of mana extending from his feet with the same result.

Maybe I need to be more persistent? Newt kept repeating a simple mantra of, "Form a wall," but the world ignored his request, no matter how earnest.

Thanks to his youth, Newt's patience was limited; so less than a minute after starting, he poked at an especially thick clump of earth mana he had sensed, pushing it up, and the energy moved. It was a minuscule shift, but Newt clearly felt the movement, and the hard-packed earth shook before him, despite the fact that there was no wind inside the defensive spell formation.

Newt tilted his head and poked again, but instead of stopping after the initial shove, he kept pushing. A cone rose from the ground, forming what looked like a large, abandoned anthill.

New grinned, so focused on his success that he failed to notice his master's eyes open wide. It had been less than five minutes since she had given her ward the vague task and an intentionally useless demonstration, yet he was already moving the earth.

Newt activated Magmin Scales to balance his mana usage, then mobilized another thread of energy, rising the tiny mound even higher. He followed up with the third thread, and considered trying with the fourth, but there was no need. The mound slowly rose higher and higher, and Newt felt like someone was sitting on his brain as the world resisted his unnatural change.

Half a minute after the initial success, Newt had a conical, wall-ish construct, which reached all the way to his knees. Finally, with a sweaty brow, Newt dismissed Magmin Scales and stopped projecting mana, but the mound remained.

"Was that any good, Master?" Newt's voice was full of doubt.

Lady Alabaster made her face expressionless before Newt looked at her. "It's passable, but I won't lend you the books discussing these techniques. I have to discuss them with my master, and check whether there's anything better suited for you."

Newt was unsure what to think. Was his display vexingly inapt and his master needed to consult with someone more experienced? Or was he a genius they would invest more resources into? That might increase his debt, though…

Considering the Explorer's Gate had ninth realm Grandmasters, and probably tenth realm Exalts, who were students at some point, it was unlikely Newt's talent was staggering enough he warranted Lady Alabaster to discuss his progress with her master. That left only one option in his mind; he was underperforming.

"Master, I will try harder," he said, and Lady Alabaster nodded, dead serious.

"I wouldn't expect anything else from you. The next spell is earthen spike. The basic premise is the same as for the barrier, but more focused, so creating a wide mound won't cut it."

Newt sighed in relief. Making one point to guarantee sharpness was much easier than dispersing his power in multiple spots.

"Yes, Master, I will do my best!"

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